A voter dropping off a ballot outside Red Bank borough hall last October. The drop boxes will again be used this year. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Voters on the Greater Red Bank Green and across New Jersey will have a new option for making their picks in November’s general election: early, in-person voting.
Sunny and cool weather provided ideal conditions for the return of the Red Bank RiverCenter-hosted Guinness Oyster Festival Sunday.
After a missed year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s 11th edition saw fewer local restaurants owing to staffing shortages. But thousands of attendees packed the White Street parking lot, waited patiently in lines for food and drinks, and partied with friends in front of two stages as in the past.
Were you there? Look for yourself and your friends in redbankgreen‘s beaucoup photos below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Vidar and Laurie Brekke in the new Mother Knitter shop on Broad Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
In this, the first Retail Churn update of autumn, 2021, we turn our attention to sweaters, hats and mittens.
That’s because downtown Red Bank is about to get a new yarn shop, one that its owners envision as a “studio” for knitting and crocheting enthusiasts.
Likely to be the biggest bash Red Bank has seen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Guinness Oyster Festival is set to return for a skipped-year 11th edition Sunday.
Here’s some helpful information for those planning to attend, including a lookahead at the forecast.
Motorists traveling into Red Bank via southbound Route 35 may encounter delays Thursday as a utility crew continues post-accident work at Pearl, Water and Wall streets.
No injuries were reported after a car struck a home on Branch Avenue in Red Bank shortly before 4 a.m Thursday.
Maple Cove in Red Bank provided a summer-ending birder’s bounty Tuesday. Who can identify these feathered friends of our beautiful Navesink River?
Autumn flutters in at 3:21 Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday, according to the Farmers Almanac. The new season will arrive under cloudy skies, and maybe some rain, with temperatures rising to the high 70s, says the National Weather Service.
Check out the extended forecast below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
A vivid new mural began taking shape Tuesday at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monmouth County unit in Red Bank, courtesy of artist Stacey Pritchard.
With funding provided by the Monmouth Arts Signs of Hope program, Pritchard said the finished mural will include “words of inspiration” (at right) provided by children who attend the club, at Drs. James Parker Boulevard and Bridge Avenue.
(Photos by Allan Bass. Click to enlarge.)
After 17 months off-limits to visitors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, offices in Red Bank’s borough hall have reopened on an appointment-only basis Monday, the town announced Monday.
A revived Red Bank Townwide Yard Sale raised $700 for the Red Bank Public Library Saturday.
It also and gave sellers and freecyclers a means of getting household goods into new hands.
Among them was Monique McSorley, who moved to River Street with husband, Brad, and their son, James, in June, bringing boxfuls of toys they kept so they might get them into the hands of other children, she said.
“We’re just so glad the town is doing this,” she said.
Above, scenes from Harrison Avenue, top, and River Road. More photos from around town are below. (Photos by Trish Russoniello and John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
After five three years in some dark corner, the tarps come off the Red Bank Townwide Yard Sale Saturday.
With 62 (and counting) sellers participating and a weather forecast of sunny skies, it’s looking to be a bonanza for buyers and sellers alike.
Linda Clark addressing Roger Mumford at Thursday’s hearing. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Developer Roger Mumford withdrew his controversial proposal for a 20-unit apartment building on Shrewsbury Avenue in Red Bank Thursday night.
The move, coming moments before an expected up-or-down vote by the zoning board, was a win for residents who opposed the plan as gentrifying to a low-income area.
Ben Lucarelli at the dedication of Williams, Albert and Robards Park in 2019. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Since he abruptly resigned as Fair Haven’s mayor two days ago, Ben Lucarelli hasn’t said a word publicly about his decision.
But a recording of Monday night’s council session captures him frustrated over a loss of “decorum” at public meetings and taking flak for his own conduct.
Chief Darren McConnell at National Night Out in August. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
One of two Red Bank council members who last week called the search for a new borough administrator “stalled” said he learned only this weekend that his colleagues had halted the search weeks earlier.
Meanwhile, two others on the all-Democratic council, as well as Mayor Pasquale Menna, said they’re happy with the job police Chief Darren McConnell is doing as interim administrator, and feel no pressure to replace him.
Ben Lucarelli during the council’s annual session held at the Knollwood School in 2017. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
After nearly a decade in the position, Ben Lucarelli has resigned as Fair Haven’s mayor, effective immediately, borough Administrator Theresa Casagrande announced Tuesday.
No reason was given.
Sue Viscomi has mounted a candidacy as an independent, making it a three-way race for two council seats. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank voters will have three candidates to choose from for two council seats in November.
For the second year in a row, none of them will be Republicans.
And for the second time in three years, Sue Viscomi is running as an independent.
Like a dog aroused by the smell of food, Red Bank’s pandemic-interrupted Dog Days of Summer series snapped back to life in Marine Park Saturday.
The gathering, organized by the borough’s Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, featured live music by the Wag, displays by pet care organizations and several hundred wet noses.
Check out redbankgreen‘s photos from the event below.
(Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Sunday’s Street Fair in downtown Red Bank, a fundraiser for the borough’s volunteer fire department, drew thousands of attendees to Monmouth and Broad streets.
Former Red Bank fire chief Wayne Hartman tolled a bell in memory of 343 New York City fireighters who who died at the World Trade Center. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
On a swath of Riverside Gardens Park lawn emblazoned with a temporary memorial, Red Bank residents and others gathered Saturday morning to remember the 2,996 lives taken on American soil on September 11, 2001.
Dozens of residents of the Greater Red Bank Green were among the 147 Monmouth County residents, and 2,996 overall, who died in the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001.
Information about commemorations in Red Bank and Atlantic Highlands can be found here.
Former Business Administrator Ziad Shehady, right, with council members Ed Zipprich, left, and Michael Ballard in December, 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
With a second vacancy in a key position looming, Red Bank’s search for a borough administrator has stalled without explanation, say two council members.
And the current, interim holder of the position, police Chief Darren McConnell, tells redbankgreen” that there has been no recent movement” toward a replacement.
Mayor Pasquale Menna, however, disagrees, and says the local government is operating “in stellar fashion” under McConnell.
Red Bank-area residents will mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America with memorial events Saturday.
The weather outlook appears ideal for the 2021 installment of Dogs Days of Summer in Red Bank Saturday.
Organized by the borough’s volunteer Animal Welfare Advisory Committee and Parks and Rec department, the event runs from noon to 4 p.m. in Marine Park, and features live music by the Wag (naturally), as well as contests, pet-care information, vendors and animal welfare organizations.
The Red Rock Tap + Grill on Wharf Avenue, opposite the park, will host a Doggy After Party.
According to the National Weather Service, the event won’t need its rain date (Sunday), with lots of sunshine expected amid temperatures peaking in the mid-70s. Here’s the extended forecast. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Off-limits for two months for synthetic turf replacement, the stadium field at Count Basie Park in Red Bank reopened this week.
Jon Stewart serving lunch to construction workers from a food truck at the Count Basie Center for the Arts in 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Political commentator and comedian Jon Stewart is selling one of the two side-by-side riverfront mansions he owns in Red Bank, according to a recent filing.