OCEAN CITY – Downtown Ocean City, has been named a finalist by the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association in the 2014 People’s Choice Awards for outstanding downtowns in New Jersey. The public is invited to vote online for the favorite downtown in each of the Northern, Central and Southern Areas of New Jersey. Downtown Ocean City will compete with these Southern Area downtowns: Downtown Haddon Avenue, Collingswood and Glasstown Arts District, Millville.
“We are very excited Asbury Avenue in Downtown Ocean City has been nominated and selected as a finalist for the People’s Choice award. Our downtown is a vibrant part of our community year round. We have wonderful shops and shop owners, delicious restaurants and unique galleries the rival any shopping district. We encourage everyone who loves Ocean City, NJ to please take a minute to vote for Downtown Ocean City,” said Mayor Jay Gillian.
Ocean City’s Asbury Avenue downtown shopping district serves as the heart of our island community. Lined with unique shops and restaurants, “the avenue” is the perfect spot for whiling away a lazy summer day, running important errands, or selecting perfect holiday gifts.
Over 100 mostly family-owned businesses feature both merchandise and ambiance unlike anything found in cookie-cutter malls. Shoppers are charmed by quaint, coastal boutiques; enlightened by art and music studios; pampered with one-of-a-kind salons, spa and fitness destinations; and treated to eclectic eats and sensational sweets.
The People’s Choice Awards is part of APA-NJ’s Great Places in New Jersey awards program. A panel of planning professionals selected Downtown Ocean City from nominations that APA-NJ received from the public throughout the month of July. When notifying Ocean City, APA-NJ officials indicated that the panel deliberated how well each downtown excels in the characteristics of a great downtown, including how well it functions as the centerpiece in the everyday life of the community; its reputation for excellence even beyond the community’s boundaries; its vitality during the day, in the evening and on weekends; available options for transportation; and support from the community to attract, retain and grow businesses.
You can help Downtown Ocean City win by voting at njplanning.org/news/peoples-choice-awards/. Be sure to vote before the on-line poll closes at midnight Sept. 26. Participants can only vote once. APA-NJ will announce the winners early in October. Each winner will receive a plaque at a local award ceremony, a place on the map of Great Places in New Jersey at njplanning.org, and, of course, bragging rights.
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