Painting Sea Bright Pretty

By Elaine Van Develde

Sea Bright's Main Street is Ocean Avenue. It's a main street that was filled with bustling businesses in a beachside peninsula town — before Hurricane Sandy.

Since the storm, businesses have been bouncing back and people — especially those in the Rumson-Fair Haven area who often refer to the borough as "beloved" — have rallied to revive it. It's getting there, but there's still a long way to go.

Since Sandy, there have been many efforts launched to spiff up the main drag. As soon as it was possible, boarded up business fronts were painted in pastel hues — a sign of springing back as the seasons changed. The chain-link fence around Mrs. Rooney's Hot Dog Stand was yarn bombed (see attached photo), area garden clubs came in with pretty planters and Sea Bright Rising pitched in with a bus stop fix and other amenities.

Now, summer has hit and there just may be a way to get more help to paint the town's Main Street pretty. Benjamin Moore has been conducting a contest called Main Street Matters. There's a list of towns across the nation that qualify for a Main Street beautification boost. In New Jersey, Sea Bright and Hoboken made the list.

Sea Bright needs your votes — and you have a couple more days to cast them, until June 30. So, those who love Sea Bright have asked Patch to help spread the word.

Click here, then when you get to the Benjamin Moore site, click on New Jersey on the map and then Sea Bright (to the left). It's as easy as that.

Cast your vote and help paint Sandy away.