Oceanfront ramp to be built at Matilda Terrace BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer LONG BRANCH - Plans for a ramp to be constructed on the beach at Matilda Terrace are in the works, according to a Long Branch senior citizen who has been fighting for better access to public places in the city for over a year. Ocean Boulevard resident Austin Gelzer, 81, said at the Feb. 26 City Council meeting that he is pleased that the city has agreed to construct a ramp in time for Memorial Day. "In our city of 30,000-plus population, more than 3,000 persons, 65 years old or more, will be able to put their feet in the sand," Gelzer said at the meeting. "I consider the reality of a ramp to be a necessary step toward the south end of Long Branch." Gelzer, who has voiced concerns at previous public meetings that there are no ramps along the city's oceanfront, said that senior citizens, the disabled and parents with small children will be able to have access to the ocean in Long Branch with the construction of the ramp. Gelzer filed a discrimination complaint form with the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of senior citizens and disabled residents in February 2007, requesting that the federal government enforce Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements in Long Branch. In the complaint, Gelzer said the city has not been compliant with ADA regulations since 1992, when the ADA came into effect. "I stated that there was no access to the public beach from the south end of the boardwalk at Brighton Avenue, approximately one mile to the Pier Village area," Gelzer said. "My claim was accepted with the recommendation that I agree to mediate my claim with the city," he said, adding, "After some months of meeting with city officials, the city has agreed to construct a ramp from the boardwalk to the beach at Matilda Terrace." He added that the city officials said they plan to have the ramp in place by Memorial Day. Gelzer appeared before the City Council several times last year, stating that he and several others have been denied access to the beaches, sufficient parking and accessible restrooms in the city.G elzer collected more than 500 signatures supporting his complaints and presented them to the council last year. In addition to the ramp, Gelzer said that he recommends the city begin to plan for some associated ADA amenities, including constructing accessible toilets at Cottage Place. "The city is placing unsightly and odorous port-a-pots at that location during the summer, [which] is disgraceful," Gelzer said. Mayor Adam Schneider said plans are already under way to fix the public facilities at Cottage Place. "It is already in the works to replace what is there with something more appropriate," Schneider said.