She was a senior living in a neatly kept house on a dead-end street in Asbury Park's West Side. And even though it was a warm, sunny afternoon, her windows were closed and locked, and every shade was drawn.

"The drug dealers hang out on my street all hours of the day and night, yelling and playing loud music, so I never open my windows," she told me. "It's gotten so scary that I'm afraid to walk to church."

In a town with almost 2,000 seniors aged 65 and over - 27 percent of whom live below the poverty level - her story is not unique.

And while Asbury Park boasts multiple senior residences - Asbury Tower, Phillips Seaview Tower, and the Housing Authority's Comstock Court, Lumley Homes, and Dr. Robinson Tower - many seniors live in fear and relative isolation in the places they've called home for decades.

It's now been more than two years since the council earmarked community development funds from Asbury Partners for a new senior and recreation center - money that has yet to be spent.

Based on that commitment, I also requested - and received - $200,000 from Bruce Springsteen's benefit concerts for the same purpose. And, with the completion of the first beachfront condominiums, even more Asbury Partners money will be forthcoming.

It's definitely time - past time, in fact - to make that senior and recreation center a reality.

As I discussed in my last column, the council is now in a strong negotiating position with Asbury Partners to acquire a prime community center site that we identified in 2004. Although it sits in the beachfront redevelopment zone, it unquestionably leads the pack in amenities and accessibility, and Asbury Partners COO Larry Fishman has signaled that he is open to discussing it.

Should that site fall through - and I sincerely hope it doesn't - there are one or two other possibilities identified by city Social Services Director Tony Nuccio that the council needs to jump on before they disappear. (And I am definitely not talking about the rumored downtown site that would come with poorly distributed space, high renovation costs, no grounds, and no parking.)

At the same time, there is good news to report on the senior transportation front: City Finance Director Rick Diaz said he is hoping to advertise in this week's Coaster for that sorely needed senior bus that the council recently authorized. If so, there's a good chance that a contract for a shiny new bus could be awarded as early as the April 5 council meeting.

But as we discussed last time, a bus alone won't solve the seniors' transportation woes if the city can't attract one or more licensed drivers who are available when the seniors need them - which is why the council should either substantially raise our bus driver salary or hire a full-time employee who would be available both to drive the bus and perform other social-service functions when needed.

As described earlier, waiting for this year's time-consuming budget process to end is definitely not an option. Given the acute shortage of qualified bus drivers and the fact that city salaries are far below the going rate for school bus drivers, the council needs to act now to ensure that a driver will be available when the new bus rolls in.

The seniors, as they'll grimly tell you, have waited far too long. And they're right. Which is why it's time to introduce...

The Seniors' Secret Weapon

In all honesty, serving as an Asbury Park city council member is one of the more grueling jobs on earth - particularly when you consider the severity of the city's problems, the startling lack of funds, and that fact that council members suffer untold personal abuse for that whopping $5,000 a year salary.

But the seniors have a distinct advantage when it comes to getting the council's attention, as senior advocate Charlotte Burns smoothly demonstrated in years past. That secret weapon? The seniors themselves.

Trust me on this one: If even a handful of seniors show up at council meetings, week after week, and publicly ask about that community center, that new bus or that bus driver, I predict the process will hit the front burner....and stay there. Because some of those council members really do have hearts buried under those crusty/suave exteriors.

And there's nothing more embarrassing than a wronged senior standing at the microphone.

So, here's what I advocate: Show up at the next senior community meeting at 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14 at our temporary senior center, and let the council know what you need. (The center - open to residents aged 60 and over - is located in the former Mt. Carmel convent on First Avenue, just west of Pine Street. Their number is 732-988-5252.)

These meetings started two years ago as a forum for seniors interested in shaping our new community center. Ask that the meetings be held once a month (they've recently slipped to six times a year) until the new senior center is up and functioning.

And insist that the council appoint one or two council members to attend every meeting and report back to the full council.

Similarly, look for an announcement by Marianne Kislowski of Asbury Tower about a citywide senior planning meeting sometime in April. Kislowski (or "Miz Kiz", as she is popularly known) is our new senior advocate on the city Recreation Commission and I hope you'll support her as a strong voice for increased senior programming.

Finally, identify one or more senior advocates to attend each council meeting and publicly ask for an update on the bus, the driver, and the new senior center. It's one of the more effective things you can do. (Council meetings are held on the first and third Wednesday of each month, and the public can ask questions at 7 p.m.)

And if anyone needs evidence that the current senior facility is too small to be effective, you can tell them this: In 2003, Interfaith Neighbors served approximately 600 hot lunches a month to Asbury Park seniors in our former beachfront facility. That number has now dropped to about 300 a month - with no corresponding change in the number of meals served to seniors in their homes.

That's a lot of seniors no longer being served in a city that was already behind on senior programming. Asbury Park finally has the resources to reverse that trend. It's time to use them.