Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: NJ LGBTQ Group Hires Lawyers After Director Charged With Assaulting Foster Child

Spotted on the Asbury Park calendar: 2025 What A Wonderful Year Music Festival - Sunday

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Good day Asbury Park! We're here again with what you need to know today. Grab a cup of coffee and read on. ☕️️

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Find out what's happening in Asbury Parkfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

In today's newsletter:

  • Asbury Park LGBTQ nonprofit launches outside review after director’s arrest
  • Where Asbury Park neighbors can find a free Christmas dinner together
  • How a regional sting led to charges for an Asbury Park man

Also on today's calendar: New Years Eve 2026- A New World 4 a New Year.

Find out what's happening in Asbury Parkfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: What did one magnet say to the other magnet? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

  • Tuesday: A little snow, then rain, with a high of 42 and low of 36 degrees.
  • Wednesday: Mostly sunny and windy, temps: high: 45, low: 32.
  • Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high of 44 and low of 26 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. NJ LGBTQ Group Hires Lawyers After Director Charged With Assaulting Foster Child (patch.com) — Asbury Park residents are watching Garden State Equality respond after its former executive director, who lives in Neptune City, was charged with assaulting his foster child. The Asbury Park-based nonprofit, a major recipient of state funding, has hired a prominent law firm led by former state comptroller Matt Boxer to review how it handled the arrest and to examine its operations and governance going forward.
   

2. Christmas dinner offers hope and community at Market Street Mission in Asbury Park (tapinto.net) — A free Christmas dinner will be served at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 25 at Market Street Mission – Jersey Shore, 701 Memorial Drive in Asbury Park, for residents facing hunger, homelessness, or loneliness. Open to anyone in need, the gathering offers a hot holiday meal, companionship, and support from volunteers and recovery program participants who want neighbors to know they don’t have to spend Christmas alone.
   

3. 12 Central Jersey Men Charged In Alleged Child Sex Predator Sting (patch.com) — Law enforcement in Middlesex County recently arrested a dozen New Jersey men in an undercover operation targeting adults who allegedly tried to meet children for sexual activity, and one of those charged is identified as an Asbury Park resident. Officers posed as minors online and made arrests when suspects arrived at a decoy location. The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the county prosecutor’s office.
   

4. Alien-shred, Brit-rock royalty, one blues icon and a hardcore superstar: here are Guitar World's Guitarists of the Year 2025 (guitarworld.com subscription) — A sprawling year-end roundup of Guitar World’s top guitarists briefly drops into Asbury Park, imagining a fictional band jamming with “Bruce” at the Stone Pony in a Springsteen biopic. Most of the piece celebrates rock, metal, blues, and indie players worldwide, from reunion tours to rising virtuosos. It’s fun reading for local music fans, but not focused on local news or events.
   

5. Through heat and snow, homeless man builds life in Ocean County woods (app.com) — Homeless residents in Ocean and Monmouth counties, including people staying in Toms River motels, are bracing for funding cuts that could push them into the woods by January. Advocates warn that federal housing policy changes under the Trump administration are tightening support for long-term housing, even as local homelessness rises. Asbury Park readers may recognize the reporting from the Asbury Park Press and its focus on regional housing insecurity.
   

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Starbucks posted a job opening for shift supervisor - Store# 07854, NEPTUNE - SEAVIEW SQ. in Asbury Park. Apply here.
  • McDonald's posted a job opening for Crew Team Member in Asbury Park. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Asbury Park here.

Ok Asbury Park! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: I find you very attractive!
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