Pallone urges DEP to preserve beach club Congressman calls on state to deny plans for developing historic site LONG BRANCH - U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) wrote a letter Nov. 14 to N.J. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Lisa Jackson urging her to work to preserve the historic Takanassee Beach Club on Ocean Avenue in Long Branch. In the letter, Pallone asked Jackson to work with local, county and state officials to preserve the 5-acre site using Green Acre funds, according to a press release from Pallone's office. "I have been in contact with officials at the local, county and state level and they have indicated their intention to try and work together to protect the lifesaving stations," Pallone wrote in the letter to Jackson. "I want to stress that moving the lifesaving stations to another location is not an option that fits within the framework of preserving the historic site," he wrote. It continued, "The presence of three different stations at the current site is in itself historically significant and that history would be compromised by moving them." The request to the DEP comes after the passage this month of a Green Acres referendum providing $200 million to preserve open space throughout New Jersey. "Takanassee Beach Club is home to three of only a few original life-saving station buildings that still exist today to preserve this remarkable legacy," Pallone said in the release. "These buildings have significant historical value and must not fall victim of development," he said. "The passage of the Green Acres referendum gives our community another opportunity to protect the life-saving stations at the Takanassee Beach Club." Pallone is also seeking that the DEP deny a Coastal Area Facility Review Act (CAFRA) permit requested by Takanassee Developers, LLC in order to build luxury condominiums and townhouses at the beach club site, according to the release. Long Branch Councilman Brian Unger said in the release, "The historic recreational site is important not only to the citizens of Long Branch, but also to the people of Monmouth County and to the state of New Jersey. "We, as elected officials, need to work together at all levels of government to make this acquisition a reality," Unger added. The Takanassee Beach Club includes three buildings that comprised the original United States Life-Saving Station No. 5, which was once part of a vast network of stations that aided shipwreck victims up and down the Mid-Atlantic coast. The station operated until 1928 when it became the Takanassee Beach Club.