"We hope to convince the redevelopment agency and city officials, especially the City Council, that The Stone Pony should should remain in its present location and be spared from the wrecking ball," said Lee-ann Nibbling, who chairs the "Save The Stone Pony" campaign.

The most recent plan disclosed by the city's waterfront developers, Oceanfront Acquisitions LLC, shows residential construction at Ocean and Second avenues, the current site of The Stone Pony. However, the company says it is now proposing a combination of residential and commercial construction in the oceanfront block between First and Second avenues.

Nibbling said that the "Save The Stone Pony" campaign is independent from the club itself, although club owner Domenic Santana is aware of the group's efforts.

"I respect and appreciate all of the support," Santana said. "I have always realized that such efforts would come forward at the appropriate time, and undoubtedly, now is that time."

Santana said that his attorney and Oceanfront Acquisitions have agreed not to publicly discuss aspects of the proposed redevelopment as they affect the club.

The Cuban-born Santana, who moved to Asbury Park last year, bought the club two years ago after it had been closed since 1998. He says he has spent about $1 million to purchase and renovate it. Thursday's press conference will announce efforts and events planned by the "Save The Stone Pony" campaign, including a rally and the continuation of a petition drive.

"'Save The Stone Pony' plans to begin a worldwide media blitz in its efforts to save the club and petitions are already pouring in though our web site www.savethestonepony.com," Nibbling said. The Stone Pony is known throughout the world as one of the most famous rock 'n' roll music venues. Scores of artists have appeared at the club since it opened in 1974, including Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Russell Crowe, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Elvis Costello, Jefferson Starship, Cheap Trick, Peter Frampton, Joan Jett and Patti Smith.

"The club has already earned its place in history as one of rock 'n' roll's great venues," said Robert Santelli, former vice president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and now executive director of the Experience Music Project in Seattle. "Most rock critics and historians that I come in contact with on a regular basis feel that The Stone Pony is one of the greatest rock clubs of all time."

"I will take the front line with you and fight to keep the Stone Pony right here," club owner Domenic Santana said today at a press conference organized by fans seeking to stop the Pony from moving. "There is no dollar value on an icon that means so much to American rock 'n' roll history. We are here to stay. Read my lips -- hell no, we won't go!"

Santana said he had been unable to take a public position on the future of the club while he was in negotiations with the developer, Oceanfront Acquisitions LLC of Lakewood. The developer proposed that the Stone Pony be relocated to another site.

Larry Fishman, chief operating officer of Oceanfront Acquisitions, said he received a fax today from Stone Pony attorney and co-owner Joseph Talafous breaking off the talks for the time being. "As of yesterday, we realized that there is no option for this place to move," Santana said. He declared that the Pony would be located away from Second and Ocean avenues "over my dead body." Even though the talks between the club and Oceanfront Acquisitions have ended for now, Fishman said that the Stone Pony could end up staying in place as the rest of the waterfront is rebuilt.

"If the consensus of everybody in Asbury Park was to keep the Stone Pony exactly where it is, that would be something we would have to deal with," Fishman said. "We are trying to do what's best for the city and the people of the city." He said that the club's ultimate fate would be up to city officials.

At the news conference, City Councilwoman Kate Mellina said that every effort would be made to preserve as much as possible of the city's past.

"There's not very much of it out there," she said. "We can't afford to give up any piece of it."

Another of the city's musical landmarks, the Albion Hotel across the street from the Stone Pony, was recently demolished after Oceanfront Acquisitions bought it from the city. The Rainbow Room on the hotel's lowest level was a fashionable nightspot in the 1940s and '50s, when it played host to big bands and top name entertainers.

Santana told the Pony supporters that he and contractor Henry V. Vaccaro Jr. would restore the Rainbow Room sign and present it to Mellina and the city's Historical Society.

As for the Stone Pony, its supporters plan to rally on Sat., Jan. 19 at the Berkeley Carteret Hotel, where the city's new oceanfront planning consultants, Duany Plater-Zyberk of Miami, will hold a day-long public input session beginning at 10 a.m.

The day before the public meeting, an appraiser hired by the city will inspect the Stone Pony.

"This appraisal is being performed in anticipation of the city's fee taking of the property in conjunction with the Waterfront Redevelopment Zone," appraiser Donald Moliver, Rumson, said in a letter to Talafous. "The purpose of the appraisal is to estimate the current fair market value of the property."

Preliminary plans submitted by Oceanfront Acquisitions called for the construction of housing and retail storefronts where the Stone Pony now stands. The city's agreement with the developer calls for the city to condemn waterfront sites for the project.

Organizers of the "Save The Stone Pony" campaign say they've received more than 75,000 e-mails, letters, telephone calls and petition signatures since setting up their web site, www.savethestonepony.com, less than two weeks ago.

"It's such a big part of everything that's happened in rock music, and it's our home, so it's very important that tradition stays in Asbury Park somehow," said Gordon Brown, guitarist and songwriter for Epic recording artists Highway 9, who played prior to the news conference.

The Cuban-born Santana, who moved to Asbury Park last year, bought the club two years ago after it had been closed since 1998. He says he has spent about $1 million to purchase and renovate it. The Stone Pony is known throughout the world as one of the most famous rock 'n' roll music venues. Scores of artists have appeared at the club since it opened in 1974, including Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Russell Crowe, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Elvis Costello, Jefferson Starship, Cheap Trick, Peter Frampton, Joan Jett and Patti Smith.

Steven Van Zandt, star of HBO's The Sopranos and a member of Springsteen's band, was unable to attend the news conference but sent a fax to the club expressing his support.

"Like Convention Hall, the Berkeley Carteret Hotel and the boardwalk, the Stone Pony has become an institution of Asbury Park," Van Zandt wrote. "It has an important place in history and is a great source of pride for the state of New Jersey as well as being an international tourist attraction. Leave it where it is." Planning firm to release results Jan. 23

The sketches were presented at a four-hour public meeting led by Duany yesterday at the Berkeley Carteret Hotel.

Duany's drawings showed an outdoor stage to the south and west of the club, and condominiums overlooking the stage area. The condos would presumably be sold to music fans who would want to live in such a location.

Supporters of the club staged a march from the Stone Pony to the hotel prior to the meeting. Organizers of the "Save The Stone Pony" campaign said they were pleased with the planner's ideas, but said they would continue their efforts to make sure the club stays in place.

The Stone Pony was been named as the fifth best "reason to love New Jersey" in this month's issue of New Jersey Monthly magazine. The auditorium in nearby Ocean Grove was listed 18th on the list of 50.

ASBURY PARK, Jan. 24, 2002 -- New hope for the endangered Palace Amusements complex emerged last night when it was learned that the city and its oceanfront developer have agreed to a six-month window to find a buyer for the historic structure.

Just days ago, city oceanfront planner Andres Duany appeared to suggest that the Palace would have to be sacrificed in order to generate tax revenue. But at a meeting last night to reveal the city's new waterfront plan, Duany said that city officials and Oceanfront Acquisitions LLC would wait six months to see if a buyer could be found for the building, which is listed on the state and national registers of historic places.

Duany said that Oceanfront, which recently acquired the Palace from failed waterfront developer Joseph Carabetta, had set a price tag of $2.5 million for the portion of the building it would sell. Oceanfront plans to demolish the western section of the Palace, which formerly housed a bumper car ride. The developer says the rest of the block cannot be redeveloped if the bumper car section were to remain.

The price for the entire block was set by Oceanfront at $6 million, Duany said.

The planner called the Palace "the single most controversial" issue he faced during his eight-day assignment to assist the city in revising Oceanfront's redevelopment plan. Duany said the building was "in a state of collapse" and estimated that it would cost $8 million to repair it.

If a buyer can be found in the next six months, Duany said, the prospective purchaser would have another six months to obtain financing. Duany recommended that the city require the renovation to be "substantially completed" within two years so as not to affect the rest of the redevelopment project.

"Six months to come up with a buyer is fair," said Bob Crane of Save Tillie Inc., a worldwide group of Bruce Springsteen and amusement park fans who organized to support preservation of the Palace and led the effort to secure its designation as a historic site. But Crane was critical of the idea of the slicing off the bumper car section of the building.

"Palace Amusements is not a petty relic, to be chopped up or ripped apart," Crane said last night. "It is a Asbury landmark that can bring jobs and business and income to Asbury, year around."

Duany said he would recommend that the city require that the Palace be used as a facility to benefit children, possibly as the site for a children's museum which could be used by school districts throughout the county.

"A children's museum is a great idea," Crane said. "Unfortunately, there are possible violations of federal and state procedures in other parts of this proposal, so the City Council has no choice but to submit it to federal and state agencies for review before they can even vote on it."

Duany said that the timeline or finding a buyer would begin when the City Council sends the proposal to the city Planning Board. The council's next scheduled meeting is Feb. 6.

To help make sure the building survives long enough for a buyer to be recruited, the Save Tillie group has offered to structurally reinforce weakened areas of the facility, parts of which are 113 years old. Initially, Oceanfront Acquisitions accepted the group's offer, but the parties have so far been unable to resolve liability issues.

"We have been assured by potential restorers that the structural reinforcements we can provide are critical to their efforts in preserving the Palace," Crane said previously.

Deborah Robinson, vice president of Save Tillie, said the bracing would be done by Universal Fabricators of Jackson, N.J., under the direction of Gary Loveland, a company official and member of the Palace preservation campaign, at no cost to the owner, the city or the eventual developer.

Loveland, accompanied by a structural engineer and an architect, inspected the complex and identified sections of wall and roofing most in need of reinforcement.

"Our goal is to provide shoring and bracing as a six-month bridge, so the building is delivered to its new tenant with the greatest possible chance for a successful restoration," Crane said.

The planner disclosed that the developer and council had agreed to a six-month window to find a buyer for the endangered Palace Amusements complex. The Stone Pony nightclub is preserved in the new plan, as are a number of significant buildings in the redevelopment zone, where the city has obligated itself to condemn any property desired by the developer, Oceanfront Acquisitions LLC.

Excitement is what is hoped will drive development in the area of The Stone Pony at Second and Ocean avenues. Originally slated by Oceanfront Acquisitions for demolition, the club's future was secured, for the time being, by Duany's proposal to surround it with housing units to be marketed to music fans. An outdoor performance space next to the club and enclosed by the residential building would be controlled by Oceanfront Acquisitions, according to Duany, allowing for its use to be negotiated on a case-by-case basis.

Among other highlights of the plan revealed last night: Sand dunes replacing the boardwalk behind the existing Asbury Tower senior citizens building in exchange for permission to build a new eight-story building in the parking lot now used by Asbury Tower residents.

A waterfront promenade along Lake Avenue leading up to the Casino carousel building.