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Firefighters on scene at 91 Bank Street Thursday. (Photo below by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A Red Bank man and his dog escaped unharmed as a basement fire caused heavy damage to their home early Thursday afternoon.
On an unseasonably nippy Earth Day 2021, volunteers marked the third anniversary on Thursday of Pick It Up, an effort to curb litter and single-use plastics pollution in downtown Red Bank.
A view from the northwest of the proposed DPW garage and offices. Recycling compactors would be concealed by a fence. (Concept by the Goldstein Partnership. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Fair Haven planning board members and residents heaped truckloads of “love” Tuesday night on a revised plan to overhaul the town’s public works yard. Read More
Governor Phil Murphy thanked VNA healthcare providers during a tour of the Red Bank YMCA Friday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
New Jersey’s COVID-19 vaccine program has now administered more than 6 million doses since it began December 15, Governor Phil Murphy said Monday. Read More
Dead fish littered the Fair Haven boat launch on Battin Avenue last week. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Clean Ocean Action has called on New Jersey environmental and health officials to hold a virtual town hall to provide updates and guidance for towns along the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers, where massive menhaden die-offs have occurred recently.
“The cause, extent, and magnitude of the die-off is deeply concerning and raising alarm throughout the region,” COA executive director Cindy Zipf and staff scientist Swarna Muthukrishnan wrote Friday. “Feeding the concern is the lack of answers, conflicting answers, and lack of proactive response to the ever-increasing dead fish.”
The geyser aerator at Mohawk Pond in Red Bank added a refreshing visual touch while helping ensure adequate oxygen for recently stocked trout last week.
The Greater Red Bank Green may see a spritz or two of rain Monday and again later in the week, according to the National Weather Service. Check out the extended forecast below. (redbankgreen photo. Click to enlarge.)
Sweet Bee Bakeshop has taken over the space vacated by Sugarush cupcakes at 37 East Front Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
An established, and local, wholesale cookie baker is making the move to storefront retail in Red Bank as soon as next week.
Also in the works downtown: an ‘occult’ soap shop, a tattoo parlor and a ‘golf lounge.’ Read all about ’em this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn.
Councilman Ed Zipprich in 2015. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Eight months after a leak of explosive emails, the Red Bank council is expected to finally get some guidance on how to proceed later this month.
Councilman Michael Ballard during a council meeting in May, 2020. (Photo from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Councilman Michael Ballard spoke with anguish Wednesday night about the police killing of a Minnesota man earlier this week.
The former Visiting Nurse Association site on Riverside Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank officials may soon revisit development approvals for the former Visiting Nurse Association property on Riverside Avenue, following a process kicked off Wednesday night.
Louis ‘Del’ DalPra at Red Bank Regional in 2009. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Former Red Bank Regional High athletic director and coach Louis ‘Del’ DalPra was named director of the borough’s parks and recreation department Wednesday night.
A truck preparing to back into the brush-grinding site as a child rode a bike nearby last May. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A brush-grinding facility that has irked Fair Haven neighbors for nearly a decade will see a 60-plus percent reduction in activity under a plan officials unveiled Monday night.
But one council member pressed for a permanent solution: moving it out of the residential area.
Ziad Shehady, left, and Mayor Pasquale Menna listen as consultant Ken DeRoberts, in foreground, addresses the council in January, 2019. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The resignation of Red Bank’s business administrator after only three years last week was the result of scheming by political enemies, Mayor Pasquale Menna contends.
Now, a prevailing atmosphere of “dysfunction” will “absolutely” make it harder to fill the town’s top unelected position, he told redbankgreen.
Screengrab from a post by Nina Ferrante on the Red Bank New Jersey Facebook page Sunday. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s police chief disputed a claim of excessive force posted on Facebook Sunday, telling redbankgreen that there was “no physical contact at all” when officers encountered a couple on New Jersey Transit property Saturday night.
Flowering trees in front of Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank last week provided a spring welcome to passersby.
With Tuesday as an exception, the week-ahead’s weather is expected to include gray skies and recurring rain, according to National Weather Service. Check out the extended forecast below. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Ed Zipprich, left, with husband J.P. Nicolaides holding a Bible, recites the oath of office in January, 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
With nine weeks to go in a rare primary race for Red Bank council, a civil war within the Democratic party intensified this week. Read More
Ziad Shehady in his borough hall office in June, 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
[This post has been updated since it was first published.]
By JOHN T. WARD
After only three years on the job, Ziad Shehady is resigning as Red Bank’s top unelected official, he told the borough council behind closed doors Wednesday night.
Neighbors John Shepherd, left, and Charlie Oliver, on the grassy island between East and West Lake roads. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The temporary takeover of a block-long island of grass and trees that spans the Red Bank-Little Silver border has neighbors furious.
Red Bank officials said they had no advance notice of the New Jersey American Water Company project, and only learned last week, months into the project, that it had camped out on borough property.
Kathy Horgan with fellow Democrats and council members Ed Zipprich, center, and Michael Ballard in 2017. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Again taking aim at their own party’s chairman, four Red Bank council members and Mayor Pasquale Menna have called for a charter study to review the borough’s form of government – and possibly, change the electoral process.
A pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle Tuesday night on Route 35 in lower Middletown, township police said.
Mayor Pasquale Menna speaking with activist Ben Forest in 2019. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Nearly three years after they briefly moved to the fore, calls to reform Red Bank’s government and electoral process have yet to yield noticeable results.
The crime and arrest reports below were provided by the Red Bank Police Department for March, 2021. This information is unedited; see below for additional information.
CRIMES
Criminal Mischief: Sometime on 03/08/2021 in the area of W. Front St it was reported white spray was used on the exterior of a brick building. Ptl Gary Watson.
Jonathan Maciel Penney speaking as a candidate at the West Side Community Group forum in 2019. (Photo by Ben Forest. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Republicans announced two “placeholder” candidates for borough council in the November election Monday.
Party Chairman Jonathan Maciel Penney said he had filed campaign papers for himself and Christine Stout.
The project would replace the existing two-story building with a three-story structure, below. (Rendering by Michael James Monroe Architect. Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposal for stores and apartments at a busy Red Bank intersection returned to zoning board after a yearlong pandemic interruption Thursday night.
The new plan is significantly smaller than the original.
The operation would be housed in a warehouse on East Leonard Street, indicated by a star above. (Image from Google Maps. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Jumping in on New Jersey’s legalization of adult-use marijuana, a local homebuilder hopes to win approval for a growing facility in Red Bank, redbankgreen has learned.