Save The Pearl

Below is a transcription of an opinion by Mike Ung in the April 14, 2010 edition of The Current of Northfield, Linwood, Somerspoint (page 11):

To the editor:
The New Jersey Department of Transportation just memolished The Pearl restaurant Money, April 12 under eminent domain to make it a parking lot for the Somers Mansion. This same morning, the Somers Point Business Associations asked for local support for a new motel that is to be built on the same road, MacArthur Boulevard.
There was no support during the five-year effort to stop the DOT from taking away a minority-owned, local family business for the purpose of turning it into an unnecessary parking lot for a non-tourist-attracting historical building. No other business owner in that area would have to be removed from their property for a parking lot, never mind the manner which the Lins were treated after 27 years.
The ridiculously small amount of money the owners of The Pearl are being forced to accept is nowhere near what the value of the property is worth, and certainly not enough to start all over in a new location.
The $1.4 Million, which is close to what the Lin family paid for the property 27 years ago, comes to about $33 per square foot on that prime, central location. The other three businesses involved in the takeover are getting close to $180 per square foot.
And just to clarify past confusion about the “offer” amount originally reported, The Pearl was never offered $4 million by the state. That offer came years before any DOT construction plans, from a private businessman who was interested in owning a bar at the Jersey Shore. Steve and Pearl Lin did not want to retire at that time and refused the offer.
There is much speculation as to the true reason for this takeover by the state DOT. Reasons given by Frank Inverso, head of the $400 million causeway-bridge-circle project, which as no bearing on the actual Pearl property, are: parking for the historic Somers Mansion, scenic overview of the historic Somers Mansion, overflow parking for a boat ramp that has yet to be built off of Bay Avenue, and storm drainage.
Every local knows that there is rarely, if ever, a car parked outside of the Somers Mansion, and a lot that size dedicated to parking for it is crazy.
Scenic Overview must refer to the few shrubs and trees that will be planted in the lot, not taxpayer money going to a “scenic overview” of the outside of that mansion.
Predicting overflow parking across the street for a boat ramp that will have its own parking is ridiculous.
And wasn’t the entire one side of MacArthur Boulevard ripped apart to place those enormous storm drainage pipes underground? I could be wrong, but DiOrio’s, the Point Diner, and the other properties on that side had to give up 15 feet of their front parking lots to widen the road ad for storm drainage.
Please go to the Save the Pearl website, www.savethepearl.com, and sign the petition. It’s obviously not to save the building anymore, but to highlight the abuse of government power that comes from using eminent domain for hidden agendas at the expense of others.
And please, pass it on. Everything the Lins have worked for in 27 years has been taken away from them behind closed doors and demolished unmercifully. Hopefully with everyone’s signed support, someone with a little more power than the individuals involved will see this atrocity and prompt an investigation.
Steve and Pearl appreciate all the friends and patrons of The Pearl for their many years of loving and loyal support. Thy miss you all and hopefully will be able to return in the near future.
The place that gave you exotic drinks like Zombies and Mai Tais, live local music, and the original Sunday ’80s Nite, will always be the only true “Home of the Zombie!”
Michael Ung
Somers Point

Below are the images from the Monday demolition of the Pearl. It was definitely an emotional day for our family as a place that’s been our bread winner for almost 30 years, and a place that most of us have gone to to escape the monotony of day-to-day grind is there no more.

From Jenn Esposito:

Today they demolished an icon of Somers Point…the ironic part is that this morning I received an email from the somers point business association to come out and support a new business venture of a motel trying to open on Macarthur Blvd. and in the body of the email quoted, “The Somers Point Business Association supports this application. Somers point and especially MacArthur Blvd needs this type of economic development. Please come show your support.” This is bullshit….they had a pre-existing business that has been around for decades….YES DECADES…and they did nothing to support this pre-existing business AT ALL…so now all of a sudden the city is so concerned about economic development….what a joke…if you cared so much they would helped and supported THE PEARL!!! It just goes to show how corrupt the city is is…just like the hospital expansion…spent millions to fight it until years later they realized wow…this will create and maintain jobs….DUH????? What a crock of shit! And now its too late because The Pearl didn’t have all the money to fight…it’s SAD and it makes me sick to my stomach and it really goes to show…don’t work for the American dream because…the government at any level can come steal it back from you!!! WHAT A DISGRACE!!!!!!!!!