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In Ocean Grove, N.J., a conservative religious organization sets the rules. The state has challenged its right to keep sunbathers off the sand.
In Ocean Grove, where the beach has been controlled by a conservative Christian nonprofit for more than 150 years, no alcohol is sold. The Christian flag, a white banner with a red cross, flies beneath an American flag near the beach. Two wooden crosses stand in the sand. A massive pier in the shape of a cross was unveiled last year. And perhaps most notably, in Ocean Grove, where the welcome sign calls the community “God’s Square Mile,” the beach is closed before noon on Sundays. Next week, a New Jersey court will wrestle with the beach closure and whether the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which owns the property, has the right to impose religiously motivated restrictions on the public.
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Here are the parts that make sense to me...
The association has long avoided paying taxes on its beach by dedicating it to the public in 1989 through the state’s Green Acres Program. Mr. Martins believes the association is in violation of the program because it says beach owners cannot restrict the public’s right of access unless it is necessary for maintenance or to preserve natural resources. “If the camp wants the beach to be private, I am happy for them to be private,” Mr. Martins said. “Then they have to pay taxes on it. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
And...
Neighbors are now at odds, said Norma Tolliver, a business owner for 18 years of Main Avenue Gallery, and it has damaged the village-like atmosphere. She thinks people on both sides could adjust. For example, the association could be more sensitive toward people who don’t want to wear a cross on their badge. And people who want the beach open could be sensitive to the association, which hosts worship services in a pavilion close to the beach. “They could section off the beach so people in the pavilion don’t have to look at people in bikinis on the beach,” Ms. Tolliver said. “There could be a compromise.”
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I'm in favor of a reasonable compromise. What do you think?
In Ocean Grove, where the beach has been controlled by a conservative Christian nonprofit for more than 150 years, no alcohol is sold. The Christian flag, a white banner with a red cross, flies beneath an American flag near the beach. Two wooden crosses stand in the sand. A massive pier in the shape of a cross was unveiled last year. And perhaps most notably, in Ocean Grove, where the welcome sign calls the community “God’s Square Mile,” the beach is closed before noon on Sundays. Next week, a New Jersey court will wrestle with the beach closure and whether the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, which owns the property, has the right to impose religiously motivated restrictions on the public.
Can a Christian Community Close the Beach on Sunday Mornings?
In Ocean Grove, N.J., a conservative religious organization sets the rules. The state has challenged its right to keep sunbathers off the sand.
www.nytimes.com
No pay wall
Here are the parts that make sense to me...
The association has long avoided paying taxes on its beach by dedicating it to the public in 1989 through the state’s Green Acres Program. Mr. Martins believes the association is in violation of the program because it says beach owners cannot restrict the public’s right of access unless it is necessary for maintenance or to preserve natural resources. “If the camp wants the beach to be private, I am happy for them to be private,” Mr. Martins said. “Then they have to pay taxes on it. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
And...
Neighbors are now at odds, said Norma Tolliver, a business owner for 18 years of Main Avenue Gallery, and it has damaged the village-like atmosphere. She thinks people on both sides could adjust. For example, the association could be more sensitive toward people who don’t want to wear a cross on their badge. And people who want the beach open could be sensitive to the association, which hosts worship services in a pavilion close to the beach. “They could section off the beach so people in the pavilion don’t have to look at people in bikinis on the beach,” Ms. Tolliver said. “There could be a compromise.”
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I'm in favor of a reasonable compromise. What do you think?