“What is going on here?”
“Is this the type of environment we want our young people growing up in?
Is our town changing so quickly?
These were the questions asked not once, but twice, by Edward Kenney, a comparatively new resident of Atlantic Highlands who moved here with his wife and young children two years ago because he felt it was a beautiful, safe town in which to bring up his children.
So when there was a heroin drug bust not far from his home, he told the elected officials “it was damn scary,” and expressed his appreciation of the local police department for being so vigilant in making arrests.
But it was still scary, he told the elected officials.
That incident, together with hearing of recent car thefts, prompted the new resident to ask council what they’re doing about it. What’s going on here?
One Councilman, James Murphy, acknowledged his letter and wrote back and told him that. But he did not answer his questions.
The rest of council did not even bother to let this new family in town know they received a letter expressing some concern.
“What is going on here?”
So Mr. Kenney appeared at the meeting,well dressed, well spoken, and still concerned. He even read his letter to Council at the meeting. That prompted some explanations, even an acknowledgement from Councilman Jon Crowley that he did get the letter. But he did not see any questions.
So Mr. Kenney told him what his questions were.
Mr. Kenney is correct in asking “What is going on here?” His concern is over increased crime, no matter where and what kind. His concern is that the town is too small and should not be the site for a cannabis business. That, he believes, is too much of a change for a town so lovely.
But many others are asking the same questions.
“What is going on here?”
What exactly is going on in Atlantic Highlands?
Residents were told for weeks they could not ask questions at meetings. Now they can, but it took a lot of talking to get that to happen. One resident was chided publicly for turning around to see if a particular person was present, an issue so important and so apparently disruptive to the meeting that not only the mayor, but also the borough attorney, chided her for such a terrible action.
“What is going on here?”
Minutes later, when that same resident was still speaking and wondered whether someone else was in the audience, a councilwoman told her to “turn around and ask him yourself.”
“What is going on here?”
The question of school regionalization is still not being presented to the public so they can vote on it.. It seemed to be all agreed many months ago, with only the duration of years that the percentage of those millions of dollars coming in from Sea Bright’s joining would be split. Highlands did not like that Atlantic Highlands wanted it to be “in perpetuity” rather than reviewed every five or ten years. But now, it’s taking more meetings, more lawyers, more discussions, a mediator, a lot of mistakes by professionals and time delays and it seems that now it isn’t even the question they are talking about settling. Nor does it seem they even have matching figures on both sides over which they will be mediating. Or if they will ever get to it.
“What is going on here?”
Teachers in years past have taught in the local schools for decades, but now it seems many of them, a large percentage, are retiring early or simply getting out and looking someplace else .
“What is going on here?”
Parents are afraid to go public with their fears and complaints against the school administration, afraid if they complain publicly something even worse than their children’s education will suffer.
“What is going on here?”
A school administrator tells a state official she represents three entirely different boroughs, yet all three boroughs said it was not so.
“What is going on here?”
A million dollar building is built at the harbor, leased to tenants, the contractor paid, and still there does not seem to be any certificate of occupancy or any verification from inspectors that everything is up to snuff. So the borough is now suing the builder, but not saying anything about the fact that they paid for the work, in full for the work, they’ve been collecting full rent from these tenants in spite of the dangerous condition that has existed for more than two years.
“What is going on here?”
Council is great on promoting Black History or Gay Pride, or Irish American or Native American heritage but they do not change the night of a planning board meeting when it falls on the one night of the most solemn time of the year for many Christians who are drawn to church services at the same time as the meeting.
“What is going on here?”
Mr. Kenney’s questions are well founded.
Is this the type of environment we want our young people growing up in? Is our town changing so quickly?
This is what Mr. Kenney wrote, and read, to the governing body.,
Dear Mayor and the Council of Atlantic Highlands,
I moved with my wife and family to Atlantic Highlands a little over two years ago and we have always said how glad we are that we made the move. However, recently we have become concerned with the increasing crime in Atlantic Highlands. We don’t want to see it escalate or it won’t feel like the same safe town we love.
About two weeks ago we heard of a heroin bust on 4th Ave, just four blocks from where we live, part of a stakeout that caught out-of-town drug dealers in Atlantic Highlands. Thank God our police are so vigilant and caught these miserable individuals with their drugs. But the fact that it happened in Atlantic Highlands is damn scary.
There have also been increasing car thefts in the area too. It’s a topic that my neighbors and I talk about often. My wife and I have been much more careful about locking our cars at night. That’s something we didn’t worry about when we first moved here. Is our town changing that quickly?
We have also heard about the possibility of a marijuana shop opening in Atlantic Highlands. What is going on here? My wife and I have two young sons. Is this the environment that we want our young people growing up in? We feel like the face of Atlantic Highlands is changing, and not for the better. We’d like to know how the town council is supporting our police to make sure that the town remains safe and protects its citizens. We believe the council is a key influencing body for the town and that the direction the town goes is a responsibility that the council needs to be able to steer so that Atlantic Highlands remains the lovely town it has always been known as.
Thanks for your time and attention,
Ed Kenney
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