Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Casino Redevelopment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents, lawyers press Asbury Park council to pursue enforcement and possible litigation over casino redevelopment
Summary
At a public-comment session, multiple residents and local attorneys read and cited Judge Solomon’s reports and urged the council to use code enforcement, defaults and litigation to compel repair or allow the city to reclaim large redevelopment properties, including the casino and convention hall.
Several residents and local lawyers used the council’s public-comment period to press Asbury Park officials to escalate enforcement against redevelopment partners they say have failed to meet contractual obligations for the city’s casino and convention-hall properties.
Thomas Denno, who identified his law office in Neptune, criticized a city press release and a memorandum from Mr. Maraziti for what Denno said was a misreading of Judge Solomon’s reports. "Judge Solomon's report literally says that I was right and we can still sue to take back the casino for a default," Denno said, and he read provisions he said support pursuing default and recovery of redevelopment obligations.
Dan Shaomeo, speaking as a private citizen and taxpayer, echoed Denno and urged the council to retain redevelopment counsel with an appetite for litigation and to hold a public presentation by Judge Solomon so taxpayers can ask questions about the findings. Shaomeo said past legal representation had "sold this city out" and urged vigorous enforcement of redevelopment terms.
Kristen Homera, co‑founder of Save Our Structures Asbury Park, urged the council to map every enforcement option "still on the table," including code enforcement, declaring default, terminating redeveloper rights, injunctions, and leveraging zoning and financial tools to push for repair and adaptive reuse of the historic buildings. "These buildings can be rescued," Homera said, and she asked the council to direct city attorneys to inventory enforcement alternatives.
The council did not take an immediate legal action during the meeting; public comments were delivered to the record. In response to several commenters, the city manager later said the administration will follow up on outstanding public‑comment items and provide updates at meetings when promises to respond were previously made but not fulfilled.
What happens next: speakers asked for clearer transparency and a possible public forum for Judge Solomon’s findings; the council and administration did not announce a scheduled public presentation at the meeting.
Sources and attribution: direct quotations and positions come from public comments by Thomas Denno, Dan Shaomeo and Kristen Homera during the Asbury Park City Council public-comment period.
