Asbury Park Named "Best Small Town in America"

"I was proud to serve as the inaugural public relations director for the Asbury Park Boardwalk whose task was to uplift the image of this historic sun-soaked town. What began as an effort to polish a fading seaside has since unfurled into a cultural tide.

Now known as “Brooklyn on the Beach,” Asbury carries both its scars and its saints — the place where a hometown hero named Bruce Springsteen turned Greetings from Asbury Park into a launchpad for the American dream. Yet the city hasn’t froze in vintage arcade amber. It keeps moving, restless as the waves that define it.

This accolade stands as testament not only to the those whose names still echo across the avenues, but also to the local legends — the bricklayers, the artisans, the musicians, the steadfast talents who never let go. It is upon their shoulders that Asbury’s title as “Best Small Town in America” should rightly be bestowed.

Today Asbury is not simply remembered; it’s alive — a twisted carnival of cool, buzzing with modern mystic. Proof that a boardwalk is more than planks on sand. It’s spirit, it’s spectacle, it’s survival."-- Adam Nelson, CEO, Workhouse