Back in 2012, Superstorm Sandy damaged the Ocean Grove pier, and thanks to a nonprofit Christian organization it is now being rebuilt, however, in the shape of a cross, a design that has drawn some local criticism.
The pier, which will be 500 feet long and cost $1.3 million, is privately funded and will be open to the public, replacing the pier and private fishing club that was washed away in October 2012.
However, the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association is defending the design of a new pier it plans to build in the Jersey Shore community, despite backlash from the local LGBTQ community.
The religious nonprofit organization’s chief operating officer, Jamie Jackson, said the group makes “no apology for that we love the fact that it looks like a cross.”
“We make no apology for that, we love the fact that it looks like a cross,” Camp Meeting Association COO Jamie Jackson told News 12 New Jersey. “This is a religious town founded as such in Ocean Grove and most people are excited we will be able to have this pier shaped this way for these purposes.”
“We’ve added the extensions north and south to create opportunities for better life saving, weather stations, lightning detection,” Jackson explained.
Ocean Grove is a small seaside community of almost 3,000 residents, located south of Asbury Park. Ocean Grove is not a town, but a small section of Neptune Township set aside with a unique charter.
Founded more than 150 years ago as a religious retreat, the area was governed by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association for a century until the New Jersey Supreme Court declared the association’s charter unconstitutional.
However, the association still owns all of the lands. When buying a home in Ocean Grove, residents must sign a land-lease agreement with the camp. This means while residents and businesses can own buildings in Ocean Grove, the Methodist group owns the land, according to NJ.com.
The association’s ownership also extends to the beach, boardwalk, and all of its activities.
“Members of the small seaside town’s LGTBQ+ community and allies are saying the cross crosses a line, but many are afraid to voice their grievances with the Camp Meeting Association,” Douglas Grote, a local resident, and a retired Presbyterian pastor told NJ.com. “The cross-shaped pier feels like Christian bullying.”
“I am so deeply concerned,” he said. “And I am so concerned from my neighbors who are scared and bullied.”
When asked if the pier was purposely redesigned to resemble a Christian cross, Michael Badger, president of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, said the design was “highly functional, to be in the shape that it’s been designed to be.”
The outlet reports the camp undertook a three-year private funding campaign for the new pier called “American Treasure” that raised $550,000 towards the construction of the pier and its facilities. In addition, the group is also adding $750,000 of its own funds to meet the project’s $1.3 million construction budget.