SOS-AP is a grassroots, resident-led group working to protect the buildings and public spaces that tell our city’s story. Our volunteers include your neighbors: small business owners, preservation advocates, artists, creatives, and longtime community leaders who believe that progress and preservation can coexist.

SOS-AP is an independent, volunteer-led effort focused on community-centered, transparent historic preservation. We are not affiliated with any other fundraising campaigns or organizations related to the Casino or boardwalk, and we follow strict standards for transparency and accountability in all of our work.

We organize, educate, and mobilize the community so that decisions about demolition, redevelopment, and reuse are made transparently and with real public input. By lifting up local history and amplifying resident voices, we aim to keep Asbury Park’s character, culture, and architecture intact for generations to come.

Our first focus is on leveraging the community to put pressure on elected officials and Madison Marquette through actions like letter writing campaigns, testifying at City Council meetings, and other tactics.

We are a new group and need help with social media, pro-bono legal support, news aggregation, and a thousand other things. Please let us know how you can help by filling out the Contact Us form below.

Our co-founders are:

Dave Henry, an Asbury resident since 2014, brings a long track record on Wall Street, concluding his professional life in his most meaningful role as chief financial officer of the USO of Metropolitan New York, a $15 million nonprofit serving military members and their families. In that position, Dave saw firsthand how essential it is for a nonprofit to earn and maintain the public’s trust, a principle that continues to guide his work and community involvement. He will leverage his expertise to ensure that the committee’s initiatives are both mission-driven and fiscally sustainable.

Celia Morrissette, an Asbury resident since 2001, has been involved with the Asbury Park Historical Society for more than two decades and is widely recognized for her skills as a fundraiser and advocate, and involved member of the A.P. Historical Society and a former Vice-President for many years. Celia co-chaired the 75th Anniversary events honoring the S.S. Morro Castle in 2009 - including the fundraising for the monument south of Convention Hall - and later led the 15th Anniversary celebration of the Historical Society, as well as a yearlong program of events acknowledging the city’s Sesquicentennial in 2021. Her ability to mobilize community support and philanthropic resources will be central to the committee’s work.

Kris Ohleth is a New Jersey native and has cherished the Jersey Shore from her earliest days. A marine and coastal policy expert, she brings decades of experience working on ocean and waterfront issues. She is a proud Asbury Park resident, and her passion and the focus of her spare time and energy is dedicated to the cultural and historic preservation of the city through her participation in Save Our Structures - Asbury Park (SOS-AP) and as the Chair of the Asbury Park Historical Society’s Preservation Committee.

Kristin O’Meara is an Asbury Park resident, an SOS-AP co-founder, and a strategic communications veteran with a background in travel, tourism, and journalism. Kristin has a proven track record of preservation work in Bergen County, New Jersey, where she headed a community group that protected historic residences and prevented a developer from encroaching on a surrounding residential district, protecting the character and integrity of the neighborhood. She focuses on clear, accessible communication that connects residents, media, and decision-makers to the issues at stake in local preservation.