RED BANK: COUNCIL LAUDS PRINCIPAL CLAY
The Red Bank council meeting Wednesday night began with an ending: a sendoff for Risa Clay, who’s retiring this summer as principal of Red Bank Regional High School.
LITTLE SILVER: BRANDT PHOTOBOMBS AGAIN
Rick Brandt during an interview in January. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Already under suspension by the volunteer fire department for improper use of photos in his campaign, the Republican challenger for mayor in Little Silver is in another flap over photos, this time with the school district.
Rick Brandt, who’s up against incumbent Mayor Bob Neff in the GOP primary next month, has also drawn the ire of the organization that manages the town’s most historic property.
FAIR HAVEN: $15.6M SCHOOLS PLAN UNVEILED
New classroom space and other facilities, shown in blue, would be built on a vacant lot adjoining the Sickles School, said Superintendent Sean McNeil, below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Fair Haven residents would get classrooms to allow for full-day kindergarten as well as improved security under a $15.6 million plan officials unveiled Wednesday.
The typical homeowner would also get a tax increase of as much as $566 per year if a public referendum on the plan passes muster with voters in September.
RED BANK: PARKING, NEWS RACKS AND MORE
News boxes outside the Post Office on Broad Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s borough council is expected to introduce an ordinance Wednesday requiring alternate-side parking throughout town.
Also on the agenda: a law to regulate news racks, and honors for an educator who is retiring.
RED BANK: STREETSCAPE PROJECT BEGINS
Heavy construction equipment began tearing up one end of White Street in Red Bank Monday morning. What’s Going On Here? Read on.
RUMSON: COUPLE DIE IN MOTORCYCLE CRASH
The accident occurred near the intersection of Navesink Avenue and Ridge Road/Hartshorne Lane. (Google Map. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A Red Bank woman — a daughter of a former Riverview Medical Center president — and her boyfriend were killed in a motorcycle crash in Rumson Saturday evening, authorities said Monday.
RED BANK: SHREWSBURY AVENUE TO GET $1M
Flashing beacons to help pedestrians cross Shrewsbury Avenue would be installed at Locust Avenue, above, and two other intersections. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Shrewsbury Avenue in Red Bank will get $1 million worth of pedestrian-safety and streetscape upgrades under a grant award announced Friday.
New streetlamps are also to be installed along the roadway, where dozens of existing fixtures have been out of commission for years.
RED BANK: HOT START TO COMFORTABLE WEEK
Peak temperatures on the Greater Red Bank Green will reach into the mid-80s Monday under a slight threat of rain, according to the National Weather Service.
The outlook for rest of the week looks more comfortable. Check out the extended forecast below. (Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: A FAREWELL TO ‘GAME OF THRONES’
Strings students at the Count Basie Center’s Monmouth Conservatory of Music gathered last weekend to pay a final farewell to Westeros with a student-and-instructor performance of the theme to HBO’s “Game Of Thrones.”
FAIR HAVEN: SCHOOL REFERENDUM ON TABLE
Sean McNeil, center, with fellow superintendents Brent MacConnell of Shrewsbury, left, and Red Bank’s Jared Rumage at a school funding discussion in 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Fair Haven’s two-school district plans to hold a facilities bond referendum in September, Superintendent Sean McNeil announced earlier this week.
How much spending does the board hope to win approval for? How will the funds be used? Stay tuned, says McNeil.
RED BANK: PLAN WITH MICROBREWERY OK’D
The long-vacant former home of Fameabilia will get one additional floor instead of two under the approval. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Downtown Red Bank may soon be home to another microbrewery.
Matawan restaurateur Florin Lupu won zoning board approval Thursday night for his plan to build one on Monmouth Street after volunteering to lop one story off a proposed two-story addition.
RED BANK: MASSIVE SAXUM PLAN FILED
A rendering of the Riverside Avenue side of the multiuse project proposed for the former Visiting Nurse Association headquarters site. (Plan by Dynamic Engineering. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
What could be the largest development project in Red Bank history would put 210 living units and more on a 2.7-acre parcel, redbankgreen has learned.
The project proposed by Saxum Real Estate would also include a 326-vehicle parking garage, co-working space and retail or restaurant space, according to a detailed plan filed last month.
RED BANK: COUNCIL RECAP
Piero Vescio swears the oath as a policeman as his father, Lieutenant Errico Vescio, watches with other family members. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Here are some highlights from last week’s Red Bank council meeting.
RED BANK: EXPANSION & BREWERY ON AGENDA
The building at 42 Monmouth Street would get two additional floors as shown above if the plan is approved. (Rendering by Larry C. Johnson. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
On pause since last September, a proposal to triple the size of a downtown building — and install a microbrewery on the ground floor — is scheduled to return to the Red Bank zoning board Thursday night.
FAIR HAVEN: FAST-FOOD LAW NEEDS RE-DO
Borough attorney Sal Alfieri and planning consultant Fred Heyer at Monday’s council meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A missing-in-action law that banned fast food restaurants in Fair Haven is effectively revoked and will have to be rewritten, the borough’s attorney said Monday night.
In that case, the next one needs to address “ambiguities” that enabled a proposed — and controversial — Dunkin’ coffee shop to clear the first hurdle to possible approval, officials and residents said.
RED BANK: MAN ADMITS KILLING FIREFIGHTER
Firefighter Andrew Hill in a 2018 photo on his Facebook page. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A 24-year-old Red Bank man has admitted guilt in the 2018 stabbing death of volunteer borough firefighter Andrew Hill, the Asbury Park Press reported Tuesday.
Hill, a 26-year-old second lieutenant at the Westside Hose Company, died in the early hours of May 27, shortly after being stabbed just blocks away from the Leighton Avenue firehouse where he found his purpose in life.
RED BANK: MEMORIAL DAY PARADE SET
A shot from the Red Bank Centennial parade held May 17, 2008. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
If it seems like ages since Red Bank had a parade other than its annual Halloween costumefest, well yeah. Was the last civic parade really 11 years ago, to mark the borough’s first century as an independent entity?
The Parks and Rec department hopes to end the dry spell by bringing back a lost tradition two weeks from today: the Memorial Day parade.
RED BANK: WET START TO MIXED WEEK
After a soggy Mother’s Day, the new workweek starts off Monday with rain, possibly heavy at times, on the Greater Red Bank Green, according to the National Weather Service.
From there, it’s more of the same of what we’ve seen lots of lately: alternating clouds, sun and rain. Check out the extended forecast below. (Image by NWS. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: CRIMES AND ARRESTS
The crime and arrest reports below were provided by the Red Bank Police Department for the month of April, 2019. This information is unedited. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post.
CRIMES
Theft: A parked vehicle in the area of E. Westside Ave on 04/23/19 was reported to be broken into. Missing from the unlocked vehicle was a Black Briefcase containing personal documents belonging to the victim. Ptl. Thomas Doremus.
RED BANK: INTERSECTION POPS WITH COLOR
The intersection of Drs. Parker Boulevard and Bridge Avenue in Red Bank got a new look earlier this week: an eye-popping, curb-to-curb road painting that looks something like a cross between the national flags of Brazil and Kazakhstan.
What’s Going On Here? Click ‘read more’ for the answer. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
SHREWSBURY: CRIMES AND ARRESTS
Crime and arrest reports, unedited, as provided by the Shrewsbury Police Department for the period of April 27 to May 3, 2019. For additional information, please scroll to the bottom of this post
CRIMES
Report of Burglary in the area of Shrewsbury Avenue on 4/30/19. Victim reports unknown subject(s) removed property. Ptl. Derek Myers investigating.
RED BANK: SIGNAGE MARKS COUNCIL AGENDA
The council plans to allow sandwich-board signs on downtown sidewalks through 2021. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council is expected to take up a number of housekeeping measures concerning signs, false alarms and more Wednesday night.
Here are the highlights.
RED BANK: RED ROCK, SECRET STASH WIN OKS
Red Rock Tap + Grill will be permitted to enclose some of its rooftop seasonally and make other site changes. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Rock Tap + Grill can convert some of its rooftop space to year-round dining under a decision by Red Bank’s planning board Monday night.
Also, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash can keep its splashy, ordinance-breaking window treatment, the board ruled.
RED BANK: SUNNY, WARM START TO WEEK
A plastic insect added a bit of color to East Front Street in Red Bank last Thursday afternoon, when sunshine was abundant.
After a gray, rather soggy weekend, the new work week buzzes to life Monday under mostly sunny skies, with peak temperatures in the high 60s, according to the Weather Channel.
It’ll be even warmer Tuesday. Check out the extended forecast below. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge.) Read More
RED BANK: FOOD FEST CANCELLED
The International Beer, Wine & Food Fest scheduled for Sunday in Red Bank has been cancelled in the face of a forecast of heavy rain in the afternoon. There’s no rain date.