Asbury Park City Lifestyle readers know how to fall in love with a place—the restaurants, the murals, the music, the way the light hits the ocean at golden hour. Save Our Structures – Asbury Park (SOS‑AP) is about making sure the buildings that frame those moments are still here for future generations.
A city defined by its skyline
Stand at the midpoint of the boardwalk on a windy afternoon and look south. You’ll see the weathered arches of the historic Casino Grand Concourse, a Beaux‑Arts spine that once connected Asbury Park and Ocean Grove and welcomed generations of day‑trippers, skaters, and concertgoers. Built in 1929–1930 and designed by Warren & Wetmore—the same firm behind New York’s Grand Central Terminal—the Casino complex helped put this little shore city on the national map. Today, the Casino’s Grand Concourse is fenced, fading, and sitting at what state preservationists now call “urgent risk of demolition.”
For many residents, the slow decline has started to feel like “demolition by neglect”—a quiet erasing of the city’s character, one cracked tile and rusted beam at a time. That’s the backdrop against which a small group of neighbors decided they’d had enough of watching from the sidelines.
What Is SOS‑AP?
Save Our Structures – Asbury Park is a grassroots, volunteer‑driven effort created by residents who see historic buildings as more than scenic backdrops. Co‑founded by locals Dave Henry, Celia Morrissette, Kris Ohleth, and Kristin O’Meara, the group brings together small business owners, creatives, preservation professionals, and people who love walking these streets and want to keep their stories intact.
Their mission is straightforward but ambitious: “to safeguard the historic and culturally significant buildings, streetscapes, and gathering places that make Asbury Park unique.” They organize, educate, and mobilize the community so decisions about demolition, redevelopment, and reuse are made transparently and with real public input—not as a foregone conclusion in a back room.
Equally important, SOS‑AP has planted its flag as a community‑first, transparent organization. The group has publicly clarified that it is independent of other boardwalk and Casino‑related fundraising efforts, and that it does not solicit donations tied to specific private redevelopment schemes. They recently agreed to serve as the preservation committee of the Asbury Park Historical Society. That clarity has helped build trust in a town where development politics can get complicated fast.
What they’re doing on the ground
If there’s a single image that is emblematic of SOS‑AP’s work, it’s the Casino’s Grand Concourse, closed to the public, vulnerable to the elements, and still hauntingly beautiful in its decay. “Job One” for the group is making sure that concourse isn’t quietly reduced to a few token arches or razed outright under the banner of progress. They are pressing both the City and the private waterfront developer, Madison Marquette, to treat the building as the historic resource it is and to commit to meaningful adaptive reuse that welcomes the public.
The City of Asbury Park and Madison Marquette remain at odds over the future of key waterfront properties, with city officials and residents questioning whether the developer has met its longstanding obligations to maintain and restore historic structures. The dispute has intensified around the deteriorated Casino and other boardwalk buildings, where proposed demolition, alleged contract noncompliance, and ongoing legal constraints have fueled concern about both historic preservation and the city’s leverage to enforce its redevelopment agreements.
SOS-AP is actively speaking out in favor of adaptive reuse of the Casino, and their advocacy shows up in very concrete ways: driving turnout for City Council and Planning Board meetings, offering detailed public comments on redevelopment plans, and staying in constant communication with local and statewide preservation organizations.
Despite what O’Meara called the city’s “curious interpretation” of a ruling by Retired New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Lee A. Solomon, SOS-AP leaders believe the city still has recourse.
“We want the city to follow through on what Mayor John Moor himself has stated in writing when the opinion was made public on June 10,” O’Meara said. Quoting the city’s statement: ‘The Casino and boardwalk properties are central to Asbury Park’s identity, history, and future. The City Council and I will continue to pursue every available avenue to protect these assets.’”
“SOS-AP wants to see the city direct its attorneys to map out every enforcement option still available -- and to use them,” O’Meara said, adding “holding them accountable now is the only reasonable way forward.” The group is working with state and national preservation organizations to identify use cases in other cities that have turned around neglected and blighted historic buildings, and made them functional, beautiful, and profitable.
On the streets, residents may have seen SOS‑AP marching in local parades with their bold new logo, which is plastered on the lampposts along the boardwalk in true AP style, or making the rounds informally at community events, using every chance to turn casual curiosity into informed engagement.
The work is starting to resonate beyond city limits.
Residents are rallying on the streets, preservation groups raising alarms about “demolition by neglect,” and elected officials beginning to engage on how the government can support a preservation‑first plan for the Casino’s future. In addition to potential national recognition, the nomination gives Asbury Park a powerful new platform to push for a binding, public‑facing roadmap to stabilize, restore, and reopen the breezeway as a true public asset.
Preservation New Jersey and other statewide advocates have elevated the Casino Grand Concourse as a high‑priority site. In May, O’Meara sent a quick, exclamation point-laden “We did it!!!” text along with a link to PNJ’s May listing of The Casino as one of 10 Most Endangered Historic Places, which brings with it the power of partnership, allowing SOS-AP to draw on PNJ’s technical expertise, programming, and publicity to pursue sustainable adaptive reuse of the landmark.
“We are encouraged by the support already shown by PNJ,” O'Meara said. In addition to professional guidance, PNJ is assisting with the creation of feature stories, video public meetings, and other storytelling opportunities to keep these public spaces visible throughout the year.
The group has been covered frequently by The Asbury Park Press, The Coaster, and the Tri-City News, all of which spotlighted SOS‑AP as a key player in a preservation movement that is suddenly gaining national attention. That outside spotlight, in turn, gives residents more leverage to demand better outcomes, O’Meara said.
The coalition they want to build
For all the focus on the boardwalk, SOS‑AP’s vision stretches across the entire city map. Their long‑term goal is a robust, empowered Historic Preservation Commission that can identify and protect Asbury Park’s significant buildings and streetscapes, review demolition and construction proposals with real teeth, and serve as a year‑round resource for homeowners, businesses, and developers who want to do right by the city’s heritage.
To get there, they’re intentionally building a broad coalition. SOS‑AP is reaching out to:
-
Residents from every neighborhood, from waterfront condos to west side blocks.
-
Local businesses that rely on Asbury Park’s character to attract visitors and talent.
-
Arts and culture organizations that program our stages, galleries, and festivals.
-
Partner groups like the Asbury Park Historical Society and statewide preservation nonprofits.
The common thread is a shared belief that historic places are economic and cultural assets, not obstacles. In a market where rapid development and rising costs threaten to push out the very people who made Asbury Park cool in the first place, SOS‑AP argues that preserving buildings and public spaces is one way to keep the city grounded and inclusive.
They’re also working toward a different way of doing business. “This is a cultural change that we’re asking for,” O’Meara said. “We believe that residents and people who consider Asbury Park a second home -- as I did well before I moved to the area -- deserve a say in the future of the city, and by the numbers of folks who’ve contacted us, that’s not something that’s going away in another news cycle or two. People really treasure these places. That counts for something.”
That means pushing for transparency in meetings with City Hall officials and developers, seeking clear timelines for stabilization and reuse, and formal mechanisms for community input on major decisions. Imagine redevelopment plans that are shaped in open, well‑publicized workshops and hearings with real back‑and‑forth, rather than revealed as a final product. That’s the culture shift SOS‑AP is trying to catalyze.
How City Lifestyle readers can plug in
For readers of Asbury Park City Lifestyle, this story is personal. The places SOS‑AP is fighting to save are where you meet friends before a show, take engagement photos, or walk your out‑of‑town guests after dinner. The group is looking for exactly the kind of talent this community has in abundance: design‑minded volunteers to help with storytelling, social media-savvy residents to amplify updates, legal and planning experts willing to lend pro bono advice, and neighbors ready to show up, ask questions simply, and refuse to accept that “nothing can be done.” Those who wish to get involved can visit their website at www.sos-ap.org, or sign up for their growing email list at info@sos-ap.org.
The places SOS‑AP is fighting to save are where you meet friends before a show, take engagement photos, or walk your out‑of‑town guests after dinner.
We believe that residents and people who consider Asbury Park a second home deserve a say in the future of the city,
SOS‑AP’s message is simple: Asbury Park’s history isn’t just in museum displays or old postcards—it’s written into the skyline, the sidewalks, the cornices and marquees we walk under every day. The question now is whether we’ll act in time to keep those stories standing, and whether the next generation will inherit a city that still looks, feels, and lives like Asbury Park. There's no guarantee that will happen since historic structures aren't guaranteed to last forever in America. Look at Yankee Stadium. The jewel of the Bronx was torn down in the name of luxury suites. You can build a new ballpark with all of the desired amenities but why wasn't The House That Ruth Built spared as an incredible historic attraction? There is a lack of respect for structures that have significance in this country. If something as awful as the razing of Yankee Stadium can happen in New York, it can happen in Asbury Park. We must be proactive to save the important structures in our beloved city. Hopefully what's most important in Asbury Park can be saved.