Margate Commissioner John Amodeo not really worried about Bocca Restaurant taking over Essex Ave….again.
Amodeo can take the heat from Margate neighbors. Many of them, non-voting homeowners.
Blocking access to the public street where many live. Major safety concerns. Quality of neighborhood life negatively affected for the good of a retail business.
Why is a private, for-profit, entity allowed to expand onto a residential street? Tents. Music. Food. Drink.
Amodeo, along with Mayor Becker and Commissioner Blumberg believe the Essex Ave street blockage is good for the community. Really. Essex Ave residents disagree.
Some are threatening lawsuits. Some think they can force Margate City Hall to roll-back the questionable ‘consent agenda’ vote.
Essex Ave residents have considerable worries about emergency vehicle access.
DIRTY MOVE? Some believe Margate City Hall hid the ESSEX TAKEOVER vote within the so-called ‘consent agenda’.
Mayor Becker & crew picking winners and losers?
Margate Planning Board member Mike Richmond supports the street closure for a private business.
Mike doesn’t live near Essex Ave. He believes home owners & buyers should have avoided this block if they don’t wanna be near a business district. Mike said as much at a recent Margate Commissioners meeting.
Listen to Lou Freedman of BOCCA, Ed Berger of Business Chamber:
Mike Richmond says: it’s only a ‘few months’. Geez. Let the business make some money.
Richmond, a local home builder, was quickly rebuked. Many on Essex Ave look forward to a ‘few months’ of enjoying their Margate home during the summer.
A full ESSEX block of Margate residents get hosed for the good of a private business?
Ed Berger from the Margate Business Chamber agrees with Lauryn Freedman of Bocca: Locals are always welcome to ‘chill’ with them. But what about all those non-voting taxpayers?
COMMENT: Who ever thought a private business would expand onto YOUR street where you live?
Margate home values on Essex Ave.
Imagine trying to sell your Essex Ave home while a street party is going on every day and night… for 3 straight months of summer.
Thank ya.
Non-voting “residents” are SUCKERS!
Richmond is an a##hole for saying what he said. He doesn’t even live close-by.
The other 3 stooges must be taking a huge bribe to close a main Street. What happens if there’s a fire on that block?
A great safety issue with cars not respecting traffic pattern. Essex Ave is one way street.
Cars were going ONE WAY, the wrong way. They couldn’t turn left from Oak Grove onto Essex Ave toward Ventnor Ave where Bocca is situated. Barriers were ignored and sometimes pushed aside onto neighbors properties.
Why so concerned about a thriving businessman who doesn’t care about the neighbors? Many homeowners are being overlooked for a disruptive situation. Remember, we pay taxes too!
Unusual for a public representative government to show favoritism towards a private business.
Rather than name calling, let the courts handle this. Just a shame it would have to come to that.
Private businesses, property owners and government should all be in a cooperative and respectful relationship. Allowing private business to use a public street doesn’t seem to fit in with that.
What will happen to other streets’ property values, adjacent to businesses, if the mighty three decide to close them as well? This seems arbitrary at best.
Just moved full-time. My one vote will finally be counted after owning for 22 years.
I read about this last summer and now boycott this restaurant. There are plenty of good pizza joints. Spend your shoebee money, that they can’t survive without, somewhere else.
Not one person who owns a property in Margate should spend one cent there. That’s the only way.
Keep calling out politicians whose minds are way smaller than the towns they live in. They represent all property owners, whether you vote there or not.
The city is looking out for a local business in Margate. Increasing the restaurant capacity to double. It will start a precedence for all other restaurants in Margate.
Next, the city will be closing off Ventnor Ave to accommodate other restaurants. Margate will become a walking town which will limit who can dine at what location.
What of the hardship to residents on this residential street? Families with small children will not be able to sleep at night due to noise, decreased value to their homes.
This is a poor choice to allow the restaurant to expand into the street.
Doing this at the expense of the residents on this street. Both 2nd homeowners and locals. An injustice.
Maybe residents on Essex Ave should get a decrease in their property tax.
AMODEO can take the heat from non-voting home owners as his salary is taken from their real estate taxes. Ironic, isn’t it? Yes, this definitely should go before the courts and citizens should vote these present so called representatives out! Then maybe the real heat wave will arrive.
Was BOCCA the only restaurant in MARGATE who lost tables last year?
What concern is there for other businesses? Maybe they’re not friends with the right people, or should I say ‘the corrupt people’.
This should go to the courts immediately.
Interesting that the solution to a tough traffic
intersection is to turn public space to a private business at no cost.
Many, less enlightened, communities would have invested in a traffic signal.
It will be interesting to see how this works out now that the other businesses who share this intersection are open at full capacity.
Were they even consulted?
What happens next year? Is the Mayors job to simply look to benefit one local business owner at the peril of other business owners and businesses?
Does the PPP loan not help make up for last year that Bocca received?
Free rent on public streets seems like a great deal for any business!
This was railroaded through and is a real shame.
Bocca supports the community all year. They always give to charities and donate food.
Let them make some money.
i have a home in Margate and love to dine outside and support a small business.
Shame on Margate officials and Mike Richmond. Seems to me that Mike has more than a personal interest in this.
As a member of the building committee, he should probably keep his opinion to himself. This can be very damaging to a thriving building business!
Most Essex Ave residents have owned homes on that street for years before Bocca entered the scene.
FYI, police and officials will be called about every single parking issue, broken noise ordinances, trash, suspicious behavior and all other infractions.
Residents went easy on them last year but this is a whole different ball game. Get ready.
Yes, railroaded through just like LAMBERTI’S. Under normal circumstances, the height of that building would not have been approved. Now this, giving liberties to certain restaurants for use of public property. What was this payoff? Bulkheads of a different nature? Money surely speaks very loudly.
I thought Somers Point was bad.
There should be a taxpayers suit filed on behalf of all the residents of Margate (God knows that town is full of lawyers) and at the same time file for an temporary injunction to set aside any permit or permits that have been issued until this matter is settled!
Comment to Jon Simon
Yes it’s great to sit outside and help local businesses but you don’t live on Essex . Plus I’m sure if you did you wouldn’t be too happy either.
I don’t live on Essex either but if I did I’d sure be pissed off like the other owners.
Anonymous
Bocca/Essex Ave is worst case of municipal power abuse I’ve ever witnessed. I will NEVER spend a penny at Bocca.
I live on S Iroquois Ave and can hear their music. My wife could not make a U turn to exit Essex Avenue if we lived there.
Want to make your voice heard? DON’T PATRONIZE BOCCA.
People buy in Margate for quality of life, not be exposed to music and must make a U turn to exit the street.
Why not just switch the direction of Essex to one way towards the bay? Seems to make the most sense. Less dangerous for all involved.
Long timers will remember when Ventnor, using Eminent Domain, decided to trash some of the commercial district and adjacent houses to build condo complexes and increase their revenues during a housing boom?
Residents fought it legally but not before the restaurant Savaradio, worried, and a favorite moved out of that area to the mainland (it has since closed) and Jagielky’s opened a second location in Margate.
Only legal action will halt this takeover.
Why is a business being given precedence over homeowners Who live on that street?
It seems enjoy grossly unfair and prejudicial. What about the residents quality of life?
The residents have a right to enjoy their homes in peace and quiet.
You want this town to be successful. But as soon as it causes you to sacrifice (Essex Shut Down for Private Business), then it’s ‘screw that’.
It might suck for the houses right behind (BOCCA) and maybe a couple more, but for the rest of you calling foul because of safety issues, that’s bullshit!
You don’t give two shits about the safety of anyone but yourselves.
Government should not be involved with business. The reason for animosity between us and 2nd homeowners.
Encouraging people to boycott the restaurant. Informing everyone that Margate can’t make it without non-voting homeowners money. You and those like you are the problem.
You don’t like something so let’s retaliate to the detriment of everyone.
Put your f**king non-voting Taxpayer money and find somewhere that you might fit in.
Local government DID get involved with business, and as a result has now given Bocca preferential treatment not extended to other restaurateurs.
Non-voting 2nd homeowner status isn’t by choice, it’s by rule.
Perhaps seek some help for your anger issues while you’re acting superior to everyone else. Especially those non-voting (by rule, not choice) 2nd homeowners that make up the majority of the tax base.
It’s not “us versus them” as you’re trying to make it. It’s reasonable adults versus unreasonable ones like you.
I WILL NOT PATRONIZE BOCCA EVER AGAIN.
WILL ADVISE FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS TO DO SAME.
3 CREEPS THAT RUN SHOW SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM THEIR POSITIONs.