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ASBURY PARK, NEW JERSEY - USA
Asbury Park is a city located in Monmouth County, New Jersey. As of the 2000
census, the city had a total population of 16,930. The City of Asbury Park
is governed under the 1923 Municipal Manager Law.
Geography
Asbury Park is located at 40°13'21" North, 74°0'44" West (40.222399,
-74.012098).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
4.1 km˛ (1.6 mi˛). 3.7 km˛ (1.4 mi˛) of it is land and 0.4 km˛ (0.2 mi˛) of
it is water. The total area is 10.62% water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 16,930 people, 6,754 households, and
3,586 families residing in the city. The population density is 4,571.1/km˛
(11,842.0/mi˛). There are 7,744 housing units at an average density of
2,090.9/km˛ (5,416.7/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city is 24.77% White,
62.11% African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.07% Pacific
Islander, 6.49% from other races, and 5.53% from two or more races. 15.58%
of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 6,754 households out of which 31.0% have children under the age of
18 living with them, 20.2% are married couples living together, 26.9% have a
female householder with no husband present, and 46.9% are non-families.
39.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 15.2% have someone
living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is
2.46 and the average family size is 3.36.
In the city the population is spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18,
10.6% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 31 years. For every 100
females there are 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 83.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $23,081, and the median
income for a family is $26,370. Males have a median income of $27,081 versus
$24,666 for females. The per capita income for the city is $13,516. 30.1% of
the population and 29.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 40.5% are under the age of 18 and 27.1% are
65 or older.
History
A seaside resort town, Asbury Park once flourished, but is now, quite
literally, in ruins. So much so that a city manager called it 'Sarajevo-by-the-sea'.
The people are struggling to reclaim it, but in the meantime a lot of
developers are moving in and destroying many wonderful, historic landmarks,
thereby changing the character of Asbury Park forever. Bruce Springsteen's
song My City of Ruins (http://www.brucespringsteen.net/songs/MyCityOfRuins.html),
usually believed to be about the September 11, 2001 attacks, is actually
about Asbury Park and was written before 9/11.
Trivia
Asbury Park became famous after Bruce Springsteen released his debut album
Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. in 1973. On his follow-up album, The Wild,
the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle, one of the songs is entitled 4th of
July, Asbury Park (Sandy).
In the movie Dogma by Kevin Smith, God took the form of an old man so that
he/she could play skeeball in Asbury Park.
Asbury Park was was once home to Palace Amusements, an amusement park famous
for the grinning fun face on the side of it called "Tillie".
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