A beach path is being considered as a solution to the shuttered Asbury Park Casino. Asbury Park City Manager Donna Viero said the city wants Madison Marquette, the company that owns all the buildings on the boardwalk, to use the beach as a walk-around to help with foot traffic this summer.
“We have been talking to them about using the beach,” Viero said per NJ.com.
Since the Asbury Park Casino is no longer a solution for beach-goers to walk through, the nearest path is the two footbridges over Wesley Lake. Right now, those footbridges are closed between midnight and 5 a.m. In light of the casino closing, Asbury Park mayor John Moor reached out to the Neptune Township Commission, which oversees Ocean Grove, to keep them open but they have decided to keep them closed during those hours.
“Asbury Park did reach out to us by way of a letter from the mayor, which I gave to the township committee,” said Gina LaPlaca, the Neptune Township business administrator. “But at the moment there is no interest in changing the policy.”
Asbury Park's Iconic Casino Landmark Closed Until Further Notice
Rumors of the casino being knocked down are not verified, says Viero. If Madison Marquette wanted to knock down the casino, then it would need to ask permission from the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection and the City of Asbury Park.
“No application for demolition has been filed,” Viero said. “The only thing we are talking about with Madison Marquette is how to get around the Casino breezeway.”
The Casino goes from one end of the boardwalk, allowing beachgoers to pass to and from Ocean Grove. The building was originally built in 1929. It used to be an arcade with several activities but has remained vacant for decades. However, there is often street artists and buskers in there, and thousands of people walk through it every day during the summer.
While Moor wishes for a “quick fix” for the beloved casino landmark, the building has no targeted repair date.
