Belmar Mayor Steps Back On Commuter Ferry, Riverfront: Report

BELMAR – The mayor has taken a step back from his initial strong support for a new development that could bring a giant facelift to Belmar, according to The Asbury Park Press.

After the plan was struck last week from the proposed agenda for the Borough Council meeting, Mayor Mark Walsifer told the Asbury Park Press that concerns about parking and traffic weighed on the mayor as the scope of the project "started to sink in." “I’m just trying to protect the borough,” Walsifer said.

Read the story in The Asbury Park Press.

The new development would connect a Manhattan ferry service to the borough while also bringing big changes to the waterfront.

The plan includes a hotel with a ballroom and conference space as well as around 1,000 parking spaces and an amphitheater, according to a video of Belmar's Feb. 4 meeting. There also would be a new municipal building and recreation center, probably on 16th Avenue.

Developers said a key part of the project was that the municipal building was due for a "refresh," said Doug McCoach, who represents DOBCO of Wayne, the developer.

He said there is a need to turn the downtown into more of a year-round destination.

"If we're able to do this, it's just going to really cement Belmar and its downtown as a landmark destination and reinforce its identity as a seashore town," he said.

Walsifer first told The Asbury Park Press that DOBCO could be hired right away to do the project, and he's "all for it."

Former Mayor Matt Doherty, however, rejected it, telling Patch that the plan is "way out of character" for the borough.

Doherty said that, when he was mayor, he made redevelopment of the seaport area a priority. The town successfully had more private economic investment in that area in the seven years he was mayor, Doherty said, than it had the previous 30.

"I am very pro-redevelopment," he said. "That said, if I was mayor, the plan proposed by DOBCO would be dead on arrival."

"It is way out of character for Belmar and should not even be considered," he added. "The DOBCO plan reminds me of the oversized project that Gale/Mack Cali proposed some 15 years ago that went nowhere. We need to learn from the mistakes of the past and not repeat them."

Doherty said he does believe a high-speed ferry from Belmar to Manhattan "would be a great idea. I, for one, would certainly use it."

You can watch the whole presentation here: