Business & Tech
Revitalizing Route 9 - The Goal Of The New Central Ocean Business Association
The next meeting of the newly-incorporated organization is June 27 in Bayville
For years, officials in the river towns have grappled with the same problem - how to attract and keep new businesses along the Route 9 corridor from Beachwood down to Lacey Township.
That's the goal of the new Central Ocean Business Association, which includes the river towns of Berkeley, Ocean Gate, South Toms River, Beachwood, Pine Beach and nearby Lacey Township, said John Crisafulli, a vice president with Kearny Bank in Bayville.
The organizations is holding its next meeting - dubbed "Meet the Mayors" - from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on June 27 at the Kearny Bank at 425 Route 9 in Bayville. All area businesses and professionals are invited.
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Berkeley Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr., Ocean Gate Mayor Paul J. Kennedy, South Toms River Mayor Oscar Cradle, Beachwood Mayor Ronald F. Roma, Pine Beach Mayor Lawrence W. Cuneo and Lacey Township Mayor Peter Curatolo are expected to attend.
"COBA was founded with an entrepreneurial spirit and a lofty objective: to inspire, motivate and champion the small business community along the Route 9 Corridor, through the stimulation of new ideas, shared information and co-operation with local municipalities; all to encompass a more efficient and effective way to grow and create business in the local community," according to the association's website.
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Local business owners and professionals have been meeting at informal monthly networking meetings since October 2016. They formed a 501c6 non profit organization as a volunteer board of 12 local business owners and professionals, Crisafulli said.
The group meets monthly at 8:30 a.m. at the Lamp Post Inn in Pine Beach. But the June 27 event will be held at Kearny Bank in Bayville.
"We've been working to re-establish one here in Berkeley comprising of the Route 9 corridor and beyond," Berkeley Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said. "The COBA, recently established after many months of work, will fill that void."
Lacey Township has its own Chamber of Commerce, but will work with COBA as well.
For more information about the association, go to www.cobanj.org
Image: Patricia A. Miller
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