RED BANK: PORTMAN READY FOR MAYOR’S MIC
Billy Portman in a scene from the 1994 short film ‘No Time,’ directed by Darren Aronofsky. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
After his mic-drop win in the Red Bank Democratic primary last month, Billy Portman enters the general election campaign as – in all likelihood – the first mayoral candidate in borough history with an IMDB listing and a “filthy” rap record on his résumé.
It turns out the 53-year-old building contractor/cover-band singer has had a long involvement in comedy and films, too.
RED BANK: BROADWALK CONCERNS AIRED
A view of Broadwalk at lunchtime last October. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank merchants and residents pressed officials with concerns regarding a third season of Broadwalk at a community forum Wednesday night.
With less than a month to go before a disruptive streetscape makeover project wraps up, they called for efforts to address litter, traffic, speeding on residential streets and more.
RED BANK: MARKET CLOSING AFTER 121 YEARS
Rosemary Minear wished Andy Citarella well Tuesday morning. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
After 121 years of operation, one of Red Bank’s oldest retail businesses plans to close next month.
The end for Citarella’s Meats & Deli continues the rapid disappearance of once-common neighborhood butcher shops and grocers.
RED BANK: FAMILIES PACK DRAG READING
With supporters standing on the porch outside, drag queen Harmonica Sunbeam, above, entertained about two dozen families who packed a children’s story time at the Red Bank Public Library Monday evening.
RED BANK: LBGTQ PRIDE, IN VIVID COLOR
Red Bank’s third LGBTQ Pride in the Park event drew hundreds of colorfully clothed celebrants to Riverside Gardens Park Sunday.
Organized by the borough’s Parks and Rec department, the gathering featured health information booths, juggling lessons, hula-hooping and dancing. Check out additional photos below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: SCOTUS DECISION DRAWS PROTEST
About 150 supporters of women’s reproductive rights gathered in downtown Red Bank for a “community speak-out” on the the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade Friday evening.
RED BANK: BROAD STREET PROJECT NEARS END
Retractable bollards were installed on Mechanic Street near Broad Street Wednesday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
See UPDATE below
By JOHN T. WARD
A messy, overdue and over-budget makeover of upper Broad Street in Red Bank is expected to conclude in late July, acting borough Administrator Darren McConnell said Wednesday.
The project, which began last November, marked a milestone with the installation this week of retractable hydraulic bollards that will enable quick closure of the street to vehicular traffic.
Still to be determined is when the Broadwalk dining promenade will return for a third, if abbreviated, season.
RED BANK: RIVER DREDGINGS PLANNED
An eastward view of the Navesink River from Red Bank earlier this week. (Reader photo. Click to enlarge.)
The Army Corps of Engineers plans to dredge the Navesink River from Red Bank to Sandy Hook in 2023, according to an announcement by sixth-district Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr.
RED BANK: MURPHY UNVEILS TAX BREAK HERE
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy used a private parking lot behind the offices of Red Bank RiverCenter to unveil a short-term sales tax break Wednesday.
RED BANK: SLURS HURLED AT EVENT ATTENDEES
A handful of protesters shouted “pedophile” and other slurs at Red Bank Public Library patrons as they arrived for a childrens’ “Drag Queen Story Hour” event Wednesday morning, library Director Elenyi Glykis told redbankgreen.
RED BANK: BUDGET & TAX ON AGENDA
A chart used in a budget presentation last week shows a tax increase of just $5.03 for the year for the owner of a home assessed at the borough average of $469,876. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The owner of a typical Red Bank home would pay just $5 more in local property taxes under the 2022 budget up for adoption Wednesday night, according to Councilwoman Angela Mirandi.
On the flip side, the average residential valuation on which the tax will be applied is up 16 percent in the past year, said Mirandi, who heads the council’s finance committee.
LITTLE SILVER: FEMINISTS SEEK CLUB STATUS
Members of the Young Feminists outside Red Bank Regional High in February. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Frustrated by bureaucracy, representatives of a new Young Feminists group pressed the Red Bank Regional High School board of education for clarity on how to achieve club status last week night.
RED BANK: CLASSIC 5K BACK ON THE ROAD
The return the Red Bank Classic 5K after a two-year pandemic hiatus brought out a motley mix of nearly 1,100 runners, wheelchair racers, walkers, muscle flexers and two jogglers Saturday.
Check out redbankgreen’s photos below to see if you recognize any.
RED BANK: ASSAULT ALLEGED, BUT NOT BIAS
By JOHN T. WARD
Three men have been charged with assaulting a 16-year-old Red Bank athlete in what he claimed was a racially motivated attack outside a party in Oceanport last month.
Police, however, made no allegation of racial bias in complaints filed June 10 and obtained by redbankgreen Friday.
Among those charged were two Red Bank Catholic High School football players, including Alex Brown, the quarterback who made national headlines for his onfield performance just a day after his mother died last November.
RED BANK: DONUTS, TOYS AND MORE IN CHURN
Luis Hurta at the newly opened Once Bitten Donuts on Broad Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Need donuts? A vintage camera? Soul-soothing crystals, toys or housewares? Late spring has brought a bouquet of new businesses offering these goodies and more in downtown Red Bank.
Read all about them in this cusp-of-summer edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn.
RED BANK: NONPARTISAN ELECTIONS ADVANCE
Ben Forest outside Sickles Market last September. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Lamenting the “unpleasantness” of Red Bank politics in recent years, Charter Study Commission member Ben Forest made a tearful plea for nonpartisan elections Wednesday.
The commission’s other four members informally agreed. They also began sorting through alternatives to the borough form of government in use since the town was carved out of then-sprawling Shrewsbury Township in 1908.
FAIR HAVEN: COUNCIL OKS GUN RESOLUTION
Mayor Josh Halpern speaking during Monday’s council session. (Photo from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Overriding objections by Mayor Josh Halpern, Fair Haven’s borough council endorsed a resolution calling for common-sense federal gun laws Monday night.
The 6-0 vote followed a showdown between Halpern and several council members over his blockage of resolutions he said are not local issues.
RED BANK: STURDIVANT DROPS MAYORAL BID
Councilwoman Jacqueline Sturdivant at the council’s May 25 meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Less than a week after it began, Jacqueline Sturdivant‘s controversial bid for Red Bank mayor ended Monday.
The first-term council member and Democrat dropped her bid after a challenge by the Monmouth County Democratic organization said it identified 29 ineligible signatories to her petition to run in the November election – as an independent.
RED BANK: COUNTY DEMS IMPEDE STURDIVANT
Councilmen Ed Zipprich, left, and Michael Ballard at last year’s September 11 memorial service. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Monmouth County Democratic organization challenged the legitimacy of Councilwoman Jacqueline Sturdivant‘s bid for Red Bank mayor Monday, redbankgreen has learned.
The move, announced in a blistering press release, bares yet another rift between the county and municipal arms of the party that has dominated Red Bank politics for three decades.
RED BANK: PORTMAN MOCKS BALLARD CLAIMS
Billy Portman at home on John Street Sunday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Why did Red Bank mayoral candidate Michael Ballard sign a petition for a candidate who would oppose him if he won last week’s Democratic primary?
To counter “secret deal-making” engineered by opponent Billy Portman, Ballard told redbankgreen Friday night.
In response, Portman mocked the allegation as “business as usual” from a “dying machine.”
RED BANK: MERCHANTS BLAST FEE HIKE
Red Tank Brewing owner John Arcara speaking at Wednesday’s council session. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council voted Wednesday to boost the fees charged to restaurants to maintain tables in parking spaces converted to streateries.
The action followed claims by two business owners that the hike was onerous.
RED BANK: STURDIVANT TO RUN FOR MAYOR
Councilwoman Jacqueline Sturdivant attending her first in-person meeting of the governing body May 25, seated beside interim Business Administrator Darren McConnell. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Hours before Billy Portman pulled off the biggest political upset in memory in the Red Bank Democratic primary Tuesday, another candidate slipped into the race for mayor.
Though elected to the council last November as a Democrat, and an avowed member of defeated mayoral candidate Michael Ballard‘s Democratic “team,” Councilwoman Jacqueline Sturdivant filed to run in the general election as an independent, she confirmed Wednesday.
RED BANK: MAN FACES ‘UPSKIRTING’ CHARGES
A Somerset County man was indicted on charges of taking lewd photos of a teenaged girl at a Red Bank business a year ago, Monmouth County Prosecutor Lori Linskey reported Wednesday.
RED BANK: PORTMAN CLAIMS LANDSLIDE WIN
Billy Portman at Red Rock Tap + Grill Tuesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Political neophyte Billy Portman claimed a landslide victory in Red Bank Democrats’ mayoral primary Tuesday night.
At the same time, enough members of an 18-candidate reform slate for the party’s county committee appeared to win races to ensure a change at the top of an organization Portman had criticized for “machine politics.”