By David Cruz
NJ Today
In Asbury Park, what side of the tracks you live on makes a big difference. East of the tracks is the booming downtown with sidewalk cafes and trendy retail, not to mention the reborn waterfront with its wide beaches and restaurants. But on the other side of the tracks, things are a bit different.
“These streets down here, it’s terrible. There’s a lot of people dying for nothing, and I don’t see the cops doing anything,” said Asbury Park resident Telisha Durant.
Residents have seen an increase in crime, including five murders through the end of last month, compared to none at this time last year. It’s caused the prosecutor’s office to take notice, forming a Narcotics and Gang Task Force. The result — more than 100 arrests over six weeks, a small victory, but only a first step says Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Grammicioni.
“This is going to be a continuing effort. We’re gonna be there with that task force, working side by side with Neptune and Asbury Park police departments indefinitely. This is just a six-week sample set of what we noticed when we really undertook thoughtful and aggressive law enforcement over there,” said Grammicioni.
Grammicioni says it’s a start, but he notes that 80 of those arrested live in the Asbury Park/Neptune Township area. He says residents, a key component to fighting crime, are missing from the fight.
“We have a handful of unsolved homicides that are open; I know that there are people out here that know about these shootings. They know about the homicides. I just need people to communicate. I need them to care because I can tell you, I promise you that law enforcement does,” Grammicioni said.
Residents are reluctant to talk — to police, or to us — but those who did talk with us say that a promise like that rings hollow in the face of almost daily violence, most of it not even reported, resulting in mistrust and sometimes paranoia.
“Half of Asbury’s cops are crooked. They’re taking drugs from the drug dealers and sometimes they have them selling drugs for them,” said Asbury Park resident Theresa Wade.
The mayor and the police chief didn’t return our numerous calls and e-mails for comment today. One resident told us — welcome to our world, which seems to typify the state of relations between police and residents in this city by the sea.
“Rarely do you see a cop holding a conversation with someone out here. The only one you see holding a conversation is a cop who went to school with kids out here. But the older cops, they don’t walk the beat; they ride around all day long. They collect a paycheck,” said Will of Asbury Park.
Officials acknowledge that they’re not going to arrest their way to a lower crime rate. There is a gun buyback scheduled for this weekend and that should take some illegal guns off the street but until the community starts to speak up, law enforcement says the best that can hope for is a stalemate.