Historic (duck!) preservation.

With holiday parties kicking in, this may not be the time to fling the first salmon puff, but I can't ignore the on-going decay of three irreplaceable boardwalk icons: Convention Hall (with its fabulously "Deco" Paramount Theatre), the Casino, and the Fifth Avenue Pavilion (home of Howard Johnson's and the Arthur Pryor bandshell).

And, to paraphrase one city hall insider, "Can you write that it's time to 'go or get off the pot' on this?"

Definitely. Because after talking to various elected officials and city professionals, as well as to our developers and their architects, I'm convinced that this is one aspect of beachfront development that definitely needs stepped-up attention.

As you'll recall, the 2002 beachfront redevelopment plan - approved by the state in 2004 - allowed master redeveloper Asbury Partners to purchase Convention Hall, the Casino, the former power plant, and all the boardwalk pavilions.

For the first time since city officials forced James Bradley to give up his beachfront holdings, the city is out of the retail real-estate business - a non-government function that it frequently mismanaged (sometimes criminally) and one that consistently lost money. (For a fascinating account, see Daniel Wolff's new book, "4th of July, Asbury Park".)

And although our city council took some hits in 2002 for allegedly selling the buildings too cheaply, that sale actually came with some very expensive strings: Asbury Partners must historically restore Convention Hall, the Paramount Theatre, the power plant, and the Casino arcade and carousel house according to federal Department of the Interior guidelines - an enormously expensive task that would have bankrupted the city, and one that no established retail developer would tackle before residential development was substantially complete.

And every bit of that restoration work - from replacing a door to repairing the terra cotta trim - must be pre-approved by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and the City of Asbury Park.

So where are we? By the time I left the city council last December, Asbury Partners had drafted a thick structural and environmental report on the Casino and power plant, and the first environmental clean-up had begun.

Since then, John Clarke and John Hatch of Clarke, Caton, Hintz (Asbury Partners' architects) have prepared detailed architectural drawings of all existing conditions in Convention Hall, based on extensive laser imaging.

Asbury Partners has also completed several non-historically sensitive upgrades (for example, to the Convention Hall heating system). They are now working with SHPO to address some basic safety issues identified by the city, including repairs to the beam above the arcade doors and the replacement or relocation of various fire doors.

But that's where things get uncomfortably vague. Asbury Partners Chief Operating Officer Larry Fishman told me that Clarke's firm has been chosen to prepare detailed construction plans for Convention Hall - a task that Clarke estimates will take about six months. Unfortunately, as Asbury Park Director of Planning and Development Don Sammet warned me and Larry confirmed, Asbury Partners has not yet scheduled Clarke to begin that work.

After considerable back-and-forth, Larry agreed to let me write that those plans will be completed next summer (schedule alert!), but that's just the start of what will be a long and detailed approval process involving the city, Asbury Partners, and (most notably) SHPO. Only then can the first phase of actual restoration work even be put out to bid.

The Casino schedule makes me even more uncomfortable. Asbury Partners has not yet hired a firm to prepare construction drawings for the Casino arcade and carousel house restoration. However, they have authorized Clarke, Caton, Hintz to prepare demolition plans for the Casino arena, with the goal of demolishing it this spring.

The arena is the portion of the Casino which juts out over the sand. Because of extensive decay in the building and its foundation, the city and state agreed that this portion could be demolished and an architecturally compatible - although not necessarily identical - structure built in its place. (The Casino's carousel house and boardwalk arcade must be historically restored, however.)

On one hand, potential retailers, residential builders, and even current residents point out that the crumbling structure is a major turn-off to both boardwalk visitors and potential investors.

At the same time, I would hope that Asbury Partners - and their financial partners in New York and elsewhere - realize what a troubling message they'd send (read: public relations disaster) by knocking down the arena before any visible restoration begins on the Casino or Convention Hall.

City hall should certainly understand that message, as should the subdevelopers who are diligently building the first residential units.

In my December 8 column, I'll describe some other "things to consider" before we reach for the riot gear - and propose a few courses of action to help get us where we want to be.

In the meantime, have a happy and safe Thanksgiving. Asbury Park is still on its way.