By Vin Gopal: Our Community Outreach Efforts

By Vin Gopal

Assemblywomen Luanne Peterpaul & Margie Donlon and State Senator Vin Gopal

An important part of our job as state legislators is making sure that residents of the communities we represent can navigate state departments to get the information and resources they need.

Our Legislative District 11 office Constituent Services Team assists residents who call our office every day seeking help with a wide range of issues and questions. The Constituent Services Team also takes the services we provide on the road to residents in the towns where they live with Mobile Office Hours, as well as through social media, email, and the news media.

My LD11 partners, Assemblywoman Margie Donlon and Assemblywoman Luanne Peterpaul, and I visit Monmouth County towns. We frequently participate in events like the recent National Night Out gatherings in Neptune City, Neptune, Asbury Park, Tinton Falls, Eatontown, Ocean Township, and Long Branch. Working with our local municipal and nonprofit partners gives us opportunities to listen to residents and learn about issues important to them.

This summer, we joined the Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition & Trinity Episcopal Church in Asbury Park, to kick off the 2025 Jersey Shore Ride for Food Justice. In Neptune, we attended the Frederick Dempsey American Legion Post 266 installation of officers. We spoke at Ocean Township’s “Heroes United” event in recognition of first responders, township workers, and community members who have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to their community. We also attended events held by Lunch Break, the Community YMCA, and others.

Our Constituent Services Team also reaches out proactively to seniors throughout the year  and to veterans with calls to offer information or assistance with state programs, meeting rising utility bills, the Motor Vehicle Commission, unemployment benefits issues, and more.

Many of our callers inquire about the state’s three property tax relief programs; ANCHOR, Senior Freeze and Stay NJ. We are happy to assist with information about eligibility and deadlines or to mail information packets with applications. Several of our coming Mobile Office Hours will be workshops on the PAS-1 application, which enables residents to apply for all three tax relief programs in a single application, in paper or online.

We will hold PAS-1 Filing Workshops in towns including the Neptune City Community Center at 117 3rd Ave., on Tuesday Sept. 9, from noon to 2 p.m.; and in the Ocean Township Municipal Gym, 1100 W. Park Ave., on Tuesday, September 16, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Additional Mobile Office Hours will be held at the the Long Branch Senior Center, 85 Second Ave., Sept. 9, from noon to 2 p.m.; at the Villas at Jumping Brook, 100 Champion Dr., Neptune, on Thursday, Sept. 11, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; the Neptune Township Senior Center, Tuesday, Sept. 16, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; the Monmouth County Library, in Shrewsbury, Wednesday, Sept. 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and in the Asbury Park Senior Center, 1201 Springwood Ave., on Thursday, Sept. 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For information about our coming events, please visit our blog at www.donlonpeterpaul.com/events.

We urge LD11 residents who need assistance or information on property tax relief or assistance of any kind – from getting a Real ID to chasing down a state income tax return – to call our LD11 office at (732) 704-3808 and a member of our staff will assist you.

In the meantime, we wish all residents a Happy Labor Day and all of our LD11 children returning to school next week a safe, productive and happy school year.