FEB. 26, 2004 -- It has been almost two months since I came on board with the City of Asbury Park as Redevelopment Director.

In that time, I've met or talked with a number of citizens, City staff, developers and development professionals. All have something in common: they see that the City is moving forward with its redevelopment.

The two questions I am asked most frequently are "What do you do?" and then, "Are you working exclusively on the waterfront?" The answer to the first question is plenty and to the second, no.

The City chose to hire a Redevelopment Director to monitor, coordinate and facilitate all of the redevelopment activity taking place. That involves working with City staff, the so-called master developer of the waterfront, developers of individual parcels of land, development professionals such as planners and engineers, and of course the public.

I will help to insure that projects go where they need to go and when they need to go, that things are done the way they are supposed to be done and when they are supposed to be done, and that person A coordinates with person B when they have to.

A key part of my responsibilities is that no delays in Asbury Park redevelopment occur because of City staff or consultants. Another key point: nothing gets "pushed" through, but everything gets done correctly.

I am also here as a resource. The person you can go to find the answers to questions surrounding redevelopment. What does redevelopment mean? How far along is a project? What is proposed on my street?

As part of my acting as a resource, one of my personal initiatives is to establish a redevelopment section on the City's website where you can access redevelopment plans, resolutions, ordinances and anything pertaining to our redevelopment. Through the website, the City can establish a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week reference library of redevelopment activity.

From first-hand experience I can tell you that the amount of redevelopment activity that is taking place is tremendous. By now most of us have heard about the waterfront redevelopment plan: the 3,100 housing units, 450,000 square feet of retail space and near complete reconstruction of roadways and utility lines in this area of the City.

And this part of our City is now generating significant levels of activity. Along Lake Avenue, a proposal to build 146 housing units and 10,000 square feet of retail space is before the Planning Board. By the end of February, the Planning Board will be hearing an application to build 153 housing units along Ocean Avenue between Sixth and Seventh Avenues.

Sometime in March or April, an application to construct an additional 203 housing units along Ocean Avenue between Seventh and Eighth Avenues should be before the Planning Board. Five hundred housing units in three major development projects proposed within the first four months of the year, that's impressive to me.

While the waterfront seems to receive the most attention, it is by no means the only area of the City where redevelopment is scheduled. Within the heart of downtown Asbury Park, the central business district is also a redevelopment area. The plan calls for a mix of residential and commercial uses to enliven the district while at the same time placing an emphasis on the overall appearance, parking availability and pedestrian mobility.

Within another important commercial area of the City, along Main Street, the Planning Board was directed to conduct a study and they are recommending to the Mayor and Council that a redevelopment plan be written to identify redevelopment strategies for this area as well.

The City has also adopted a "scattered sites" redevelopment plan where individual deteriorated properties are identified for rehabilitation. Through this program, the City is able to focus attention on individual properties which have not been rehabilitated by their owners and sit in a state of disrepair. The City is currently interviewing potential redevelopers for 22 of these properties.

Within the City boundaries also lies the S.T.A.R.S. redevelopment area where a number of housing units and neighborhood commercial space is planned. This area is located at the border of Asbury Park and Neptune.

Immediately adjacent to this area along Springwood Avenue sits another pending project, commonly known as Asbury Shores. Currently, a redeveloper is designing a project in response to a City concept plan whereby a variety of both residential and commercial structures will be constructed. Look for more on this development in the coming months.

All of this must be coordinated at the City level and kept moving. That's where my experience comes in.

My background is in urban planning. I have a masters degree in city and regional planning from Rutgers University. I am also a licensed professional planner in the state of New Jersey and a Certified Planner by the American Institute of Certified Planners. I have worked for a downtown special improvement district in New Jersey, a county planning office and a municipal planning office.

Through this work experience, I have gained a working knowledge of land use regulations and laws and development review procedures. I have extensively worked with the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, the primary tool that the City is utilizing to stimulate redevelopment. I have experience in representing a government agency at various boards and committees.

This background has taught me to effectively coordinate actions between groups, whether public or private, who have an interest in the issue at hand. I have always placed strong emphasis on the customer service role that a public employee plays and will continue to do so in the future.

It is this experience that has provided me with the tools to assist the City of Asbury Park with its redevelopment initiatives. Whether it is explaining the redevelopment efforts that a municipality is undertaking to a private citizen who is just looking for answers, or sitting down with a developer to review their plans, I have been there. I am here to represent Asbury Park and will do so with pride.

You can reach me at (732) 502-5711.