North Beach: Basket photos

[VENTNOR eVOICE ADMIN]

... with thanks to Peter for sending them along.

[VENTNOR eVOICE ADMIN]

The "instigator" of the baskets goes to speak at a Commission Workshop, and is rumored to have imported from France some of those Ville de Fleurie aspirations for the Garden State.

[VentnorMod]

News article:

http://www.shorenewstoday.com/news.php?id=2147

North Beach residents show their roots

By SHAUN SMITH
Staff Writer

VENTNOR – The view down Ventnor and Atlantic avenues looks a little brighter in the North Beach section of town since a civic committee hung flower baskets last week.

Through an effort spearheaded by North Beach Residents Committee member Richard Gober, 60 planters overflowing with white, pink and purple petunias are hanging from utility poles along the main streets.

Gober said the idea of hanging flowers is not an original one; however, it makes people feel good about their community while eliciting passersby to say “wow.”

“This is the first step in having them throughout the whole city of Ventnor,” Gober said Wednesday, June 10. “The merchants have stepped up to the plate, as numerous merchants and private citizens have already contributed.”

About $2,500 was invested for the hanging planters and their brackets, and the city public works department put them up on Ventnor Avenue Tuesday, June 2, and on Atlantic Avenue the following day.

“Commissioner Stephen Weintrob needs to be commended for taking the bull by the horns, and Dave Smith, director of public works, stepped up. These are very busy people, and I’m sure the last thing they needed was another project,” said Gober.

He said the committee labored over which direction the flowers should hang from the poles – over the street, sidewalk, or on the side. Concerns were raised as to what would happen if a planter fell on someone’s car, so the committee decided to hang them parallel to the street, on the side of the pole facing oncoming traffic.

“The first day they were hung along Ventnor Avenue,” said Gober. “The next day, the people who were hanging the plants felt they weren’t visible enough and they took the initiative to say, ‘Listen, we think they need to be hung out over the street – they only go out 18 inches.’ That was the public works employees saying if they were going to put the time into it, they were going to put their pride into it.”

He said their hard work was also rewarded when the planters were tested against a heavy storm the day they were hung.

“As soon as the flowers were finished being hung, we had that amazing storm,” Gober said.

“I thought I was going to drive down Ventnor Avenue the next day and see them splattered across the street. They did a good job, because we lost not one. And we had 50-mile per hour winds, and how they all survived, I don’t know.”

According to Gober, the flowers will be watered by public works throughout the summer, and the plastic planters will be taken down in the fall. He said he hopes there can be a facility someday where the city could grow flowers as part of a community project.

The project ties into recent beautification efforts by residents that have been paid for by fundraising. Gober said that people simply want to do some good.

“It’s a feel-good situation to work with your neighbors,” he said. “Get involved. There are numerous committees, cleanups, and people who want to get involved with their community. They want to feel good, and they want to be a part of helping.”

For information about the committee email NorthBeachVentnor@gmail.com.

To comment on this story email Shaun.Smith@shorenewstoday.com