Dear Luciane,

Last week you wrote about Asbury Park's proposed redevelopment being the "devil in disguise" because outsiders were moving in and driving up rental prices so that local families could no longer afford to live here.

You and your mom were forced to move to low-income housing as a result, making your lives that much more difficult.

This problem isn't confined to Asbury Park (the median price of existing homes has risen an unbelievable 79 percent in Monmouth and Ocean counties since 1998), but the City Council has been working hard on this issue, and here's some of the inescapable realities -- and opportunities -- that we face.

First, those people with New York license plates started coming here a year or more before beachfront redevelopment was even announced, and they're going to keep coming, with or without formal redevelopment - particularly with housing prices rising so quickly around us.

Fortunately, most of them are not speculators; they're coming to put down permanent roots here. And, as I'll explain in a minute, they may be our best allies in the years ahead.

Second, I don't have to tell you that Asbury Park faces some overwhelming problems. There's too much poverty and unemployment, too much crime, and no money for better recreation and senior facilities.

City Hall desperately needs a new roof, the police and fire department buildings are too small, there's not enough money to clean up the streets, or to ensure that landlords maintain their properties, or to redevelop the Springwood Avenue business district, or to build beautiful, affordable homes for longtime residents.

The city can no longer afford to pay the utilities and insurance on our battered boardwalk buildings, let alone fix them up for our residents to enjoy, and the boardwalk itself is ready to collapse.

What can we do? We certainly can't ask our overburdened homeowners and businesses to pay even higher taxes, and the state is warning us about "shocking" cuts in services and aid this year. Federal and private funds are also disappearing.

There are times (usually around 3 a.m.) when I think we should just pack our bags and flee. But, there are many other times when I wouldn't want to live anywhere else because I firmly believe that, working together, we finally have the opportunity to build the kind of community that other poor towns can only imagine.

Because the secret, I think, is this: redevelopment is neither the angel nor the devil, in and of itself. Redevelopment is simply going to be what we make of it, and it is going to be up to us -- every one of us -- to seize this as a wonderful opportunity.

No, you won't see me living in one of those fancy beachfront condominiums, particularly on my city council salary. But the taxes those new residents pay and the money the redevelopers invest will help us hire new police officers, fix our streets, provide more recreation, fix up Springwood Avenue, and redevelop the city so that no part of town is considered "the other side of the tracks."

It's also going to give us back a boardwalk that all of us can enjoy -- something we can't do on our own.

The key, however, is using the incoming money wisely, and this is going to take cooperation and hard work on everyone's part, because there are plenty of wolves in sheep's clothing out there who are going to want to get that money for themselves.

And everyone is going to have to do their part. For example, there's going to be plenty of high-paying construction jobs coming to town, but city residents won't get them if they aren't willing to make some sacrifices now to get the training they need. Union training programs require that applicants have a driver's license, a high school degree or GED, and the ability to pass a drug test.

A lot of our residents don't qualify, but help is available: For the next three Saturdays, the STARS Community Development Corporation will be helping local residents sign up for GED and drug counseling programs, and will be matching them with union training programs and/or Workforce New Jersey, a state agency which connects residents with non-construction jobs that are available now. The STARS folks are also collecting the names of minority-owned, women-owned, and small local construction businesses so that city developers can hire them first.

But residents need to sign up now and prepare. (Call Denise Brown at 732-502-4579 in city hall for more information.)

The bottom line is that no one is going to help us if we're not willing to help ourselves and to work together as friends, whether we're black, white, Haitian, Hispanic, rich, poor, male, female, gay, straight, Christian, Jewish, agnostic, or any of the thousand other labels that people use to splinter our community into "us" and "them" categories.

That's why I refuse invitations to join in those sometimes bitter debates that rage on the Internet. I'd much rather be out there swinging away at problems than endlessly lamenting them. You get a lot more accomplished that way, and it's a lot of fun besides.

So, Luciane, here's what I'm asking: Find a cause that interests you and do something about it. Contact the hard-working STARS volunteers and help them spread the word about their wonderful job sign-up program. Grab some friends and talk them into adopting a lot or street as part of the city's new anti-litter campaign. Or start a tutoring program for younger kids, and inspire them to stay in school and stay off drugs.

And make friends with those newcomers in town. I bet you'll find that they're eager to help if you include them in your plans, and you'll find more opportunities opening up for you, your family, and your friends than you ever knew existed.

Most importantly, keep informed. Read the newspapers, come to meetings, read the redevelopment documents so that you can separate truth from fiction, and don't be afraid to invite city officials to address your class or to sit down and discuss your ideas and concerns. (My number is in the phone book, and all of us are pretty accessible.)

A healthy community isn't a gift; it's something we create together. And no one is going to care about us or about Asbury Park if we can't demonstrate that we're willing to help ourselves first.

In my dining room, there's a quilt block that reads, "When we believe in angels, angels come to us." The same holds true for the devil. So, don't spend time worrying about whether Asbury Park's glass is half empty or half full.

Asbury Park is dealing with some very harsh realities, but the truth is that, even here, the universe is overflowing with gifts. It's up to each of us, however, to reach out our glass and catch them.