Brigantine has a yacht club? That’s what I heard from a visitor recently as they were enjoying their annual vacation here on Brigantine Beach. Even after coming to Brigantine every summer for the past 10 years, this father of 3 teens had no idea that his kids could be learning the fine art of sailing along the windy backwaters of Brigantine. Click thru to see construction pics of the NEW Brigantine Yacht Club.
Instead, his 3 sons were hanging out in front of WAWA & the pinball arcade.
Nothing for kids to do in Brigantine? Well, this isn’t Ocean City……but we do have a fair amount of fun activities for kids & teens. Unfortunately, these types of Brigantine attractions are kept a secret. There’s little or no marketing & promotion of these city assets by the City of Brigantine or the Chamber of Commerce.
Many were excited when they heard about the recent kid friendly…”Free Movie on the Beach”. Too bad it was held in the off season, when vacationers & 2nd home owners couldn’t enjoy this excellent, but poorly scheduled idea. ( Oh, that’s right. It was a Chamber event. No wonder it was scheduled when 70% of non-voting taxpayers would likely NOT take part of the activity )
You see, Brigantine is still controlled by a very small handful of those who do not like tourism. But this group LOVES the opportunity to buy up lots of Brigantine Real Estate on the cheap.
Some prefer Brigantine goes back to the way it was in 1970. Unfortunately, that can’t happen. Past Brigantine leaders made sure of that. Then they cashed out.
Making matters worse, fighting against tourism actually kills the local economy. Ignoring the tremendous value that tourists/investors bring to this island actually hurts the fixed income, primary residents the most. Taxes keep going up. The local unions keeping taking 60% of every tax dollar. (Some of those dollars could be used for Sandy relief & new business development)
Prime retail properties like the Steak & Shake & Burger King sit empty. Brigantine insiders are buying up property at pennies on the dollar. Nonetheless…..smart operators continue to build & expand in Brigantine.
Click below to see slide show of the Brigantine Yacht Club getting rebuilt. Also click below to watch video of the Old Yacht Club.
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