RED BANK: MENNA ADMITS FOOD TRUCK ERROR

Mayor Pasquale Menna on Locust Avenue in March. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

[See UPDATE below]

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna says he will recuse himself from future discussions of food trucks following questions raised by redbankgreen about work he did for the owner of a proposed site of a mobile eatery.

Menna, a private practice lawyer, did not disclose his connections to the property owner during Wednesday night’s council workshop meeting, when he revived the dormant issue of food trucks. But he said the omission was unintentional.

July 2, 2020 - 11:10 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: FOOD TRUCK EYES VACANT SITE

A food truck called Your Sister’s Balls hopes to set up “a few days a week” on a Shrewsbury Avenue lot. (Nicole Montecalvo photo. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Less than a year after the latest effort to remove Red Bank’s ban on food trucks got a flat tire, the issue is back.

Leading the charge: a food truck called Your Sister’s Balls.

July 2, 2020 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: MURPHY, BON JOVI BREAK B2 BREAD

Governor Phil Murphy, whose dining choices have fueled some debate during the COVID-19 crisis, returned to Red Bank accompanied by some star power in the form of neighbor Bon Jovi Wednesday evening.

July 1, 2020 - 8:30 pm | Comments ()

LITTLE SILVER: CROSSING TO CLOSE FOR WORK

One of Little Silver’s rail crossings is slated for repair work that will require a 10-day shutdown this month, the borough government announced recently.

July 1, 2020 - 6:15 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: MURPHY ‘PAUSES’ INDOOR DINING

Patrons of the Dublin House in Red Bank gather at its outdoor Temple Bar on June 20. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 Tapping the brakes on his economic restart effort, Governor Phil Murphy indefinitely postponed a planned resumption of indoor restaurant dining Monday.

The move is “prudent” in the face of rising COVID-19 infection rates in other states, Murphy said at his daily briefing on the pandemic.

He also cited “overcrowding, a complete disregard for social distancing, [and] very few if any face coverings” at some New Jersey bars that he did not name.

June 29, 2020 - 5:15 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: WHITE STREET GAS LINE RUPTURED

The smell of natural gas from a line rupture on White Street in Red Bank could be detected as far away as the intersection of Harding Road and Broad Street Monday morning.

Read More »

June 29, 2020 - 10:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: NEARLY NEW CALLS IT QUITS

After 27 years in business, Janice Brown has closed the Nearly Newly clothing store on Monmouth Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

After a career as a Pan Am stewardess, Janice Brown found her second act in 1993 as a Red Bank retailer, selling stylish vintage clothing.

But in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brown has decided to close the shop.

Read all about the end of the Nearly New Shop and other changes downtown in this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn.

June 29, 2020 - 6:15 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: PLAZAS RETURN FOR WEEK TWO

After a widely praised start last week, pedestrian plaza dining and shopping on Broad Street in Red Bank returns for week two starting Thursday night.

Under the economic restart effort, Broad Street between West Front and Wallace streets is closed to vehicles from 3 p.m to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday evenings, and Monmouth Street between Broad and Maple Avenue is closed all day Sunday.

But after daytime sunshine, the weather forecast for Thursday evening is iffy, with evening showers possible, according to the National Weather Service.

What happens if it rains? Does the street reopen to vehicular traffic? No, and merchants make the call for themselves whether open, close or resume operations when passing summer showers threaten, as detailed by redbankgreen here.

Here’s the extended forecast for the Greater Red Bank Green.

June 25, 2020 - 6:30 am | Comments ()

VIRUS UPDATE: MONMOUTH DEATH TOLL AT 700

One hundred of Monmouth County’s fatalities have been reported since June 1. Below, a map shows the number of COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 population by county; the statewide figure is 147. (New Jersey Health Department data. Click to enlarge.)

[See UPDATE below]

By JOHN T. WARD

One hundred days after its first reported death from COVID-19, Monmouth County has now seen 700 fatalities in the pandemic, Governor Phil Murphy’s administration reported Tuesday.

June 23, 2020 - 4:45 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: AWFUL INTERSECTION FIXED

red bank what's going on here The axle-killing potholes and front-end-scraping dips are gone, and the final touches on a makeover were underway at a key Red Bank intersection Tuesday.

What’s Going On Here? Read on.

June 23, 2020 - 12:25 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: SALONS REOPEN

With the restoration of some personal-care services after three months, hair growers and stylists in Red Bank were eager to get back together Monday.

Gus Carter, owner of Gus’ Barber Shop on Shrewsbury Avenue, took it down to the scalp for customer Jimmy (last name withheld), above, and Tiffany Colelli at Hair & Co. on Monmouth Street, freshened up the color of Tricia Nelson’s locks.

Read More »

June 22, 2020 - 5:30 pm | Comments ()

ON THE GREEN: ECSTATIC LEAPS INTO SUMMER

Summer arrived on the Greater Red Bank Green (and, possibly, elsewhere) with the solstice Saturday evening, and redbankgreen found no shortage of local folks ready to demonstrate their joy with an ecstatic jump.

Among them, as you’ll see if you scroll all the way to the end, was an infant and her family with something special to celebrate. (Photos by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge. Jump to feel young.)

June 22, 2020 - 6:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: PLAZA LIGHTS UP BROAD STREET

Diners filled restaurant tables set out curbside along a portion of Broad Street as the first of two pedestrian plazas debuted in downtown Red Bank Thursday night.

Among the customers were Governor Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy, with their son, Josh, having dinner at Char, at right.

June 19, 2020 - 6:59 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: FOG, SUN, RAIN & BAGPIPES

<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span>Though the outlook for performances remains hazy in the lingering pandemic, members of the Pipes and Drums of the Atlantic Watch met under foggy conditions in the parking lot of the Red Bank Middle School to rehearse Thursday evening, generating a sound that cut through the mist.

The Greater Green heads into the weekend with a dense fog advisory in effect until 10 a.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service. And for the rest of the weekend – which includes the official start of summer, at 5:44 p.m. Saturday – expect a spotty mix of partial sunshine and threats of thunderstorms.

Check out the extended forecast below. (Video by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

June 19, 2020 - 5:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: DREAMER ‘THRILLED’ BY RULING

Itzel Perez Hernandez, seen at right above last November with fellow Red Bank ‘Dreamers’ Cristian Aparicio and Deysi Avila, said she is “thrilled” by the United States Supreme Court’s decision Thursday thwarting the Trump Administration’s efforts to to rescind protections for young immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better known as DACA.

June 18, 2020 - 2:32 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: PANDEMIC CLAIMS BAKERY

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed another downtown Red Bank business.

Anthony Campitello, seen above with daughters Cristina, left, and Angie, has shut down Alfonso’s Pastry Shoppe on Broad Street after only 17 months of operation.

June 18, 2020 - 1:50 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: PLAZAS OPEN RAIN OR STARSHINE

With the first of two pedestrian plazas set to debut in downtown Red Bank Thursday under a dicey weather forecast, the question arises: what happens if it rains?

Read More »

June 18, 2020 - 1:25 pm | Comments ()

ON THE GREEN: BUC BRIGADE CHEERS SENIORS

Clad in their graduation caps and gowns and surrounded by family and neighbors, Red Bank Regional High School seniors got a loud and literally moving sendoff Wednesday evening.

June 18, 2020 - 11:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: SICKLES PLANS AUGUST DEBUT

After more than four years of planning, build-out and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Sickles Red Bank has an opening date, the family-owned food store announced Wednesday.

June 18, 2020 - 8:30 am | Comments ()

FAIR HAVEN: NO DUNKIN’ ON OVER EASY

Over Easy Kitchen plans to open in space vacated by Bike Haven nearly four years ago. (Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj No angry crowds, no predictions of traffic jams or children being run over by cars.

A restaurant proposed for Fair Haven’s Acme shopping center had a far easier time winning approval Tuesday night than its prospective neighbor, a Dunkin’ coffee shop that divided the town for months.

June 17, 2020 - 11:20 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: PREPPING FOR PLAZAS

With the first of two unprecedented pedestrian plazas set to debut in downtown Red Bank Thursday night, prep work was underway on Broad Street earlier this week.

Above, a crew from Powerhouse Signs, under contract with Red Bank RiverCenter, installed in-tree uplighting that owner Jim Bruno said he hoped will create a “Greenwich Village vibe” for outdoor diners and shoppers. At right, code enforcement official Frank Woods checked a sidewalk café for its distance from the curb.

June 17, 2020 - 8:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: COPS SAY SESTITO INTERFERED

<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span>Red Bank police dashcam video from the June 3 incident on East Bergen Place. (Red Bank Police Department video. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

redbankgreen hot topic Red Bank’s police chief has asked the Monmouth County prosecutor to review an incident involving Councilman Michael Ballard earlier this month.

The incident, which Ballard reported as it occurred outside his home during a council meeting on Zoom, led to his wife, Rose Sestito, briefly in handcuffs for allegedly interfering with a police investigation, though no charges were filed.

June 16, 2020 - 5:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: BACK IN BUSINESS, OUT FRONT

Reopening after almost three months to the day after they were ordered shut down in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Red Bank restaurants drew numerous diners to their outdoor tables Monday night.

“It’s like normal – almost,” said Charlie Lyristis, co-owner of Bistro, on Broad Street, above. At right: a note left at tables for customers of Pazzo, on West Front Street.

See additional photos as restaurants resumed with sit-down, outdoor-only service under order of Governor Phil Murphy below.

June 16, 2020 - 7:50 am | Comments ()

ON THE GREEN: RESTAURANTS REOPEN

After a nearly three-month shutdown except for takeout, restaurants on the Greater Red Bank Green began reopening as sit-down, outdoor-only eateries Monday.

Even with the weather a bit on the cool side, “it’s nice to get of the hospital,” said a Riverview Medical Center employee sharing lunch with colleagues at Robinson Ale House in Red Bank, above. Read More »

June 15, 2020 - 12:40 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: LANE TO GO ONE-WAY, PARTWAY

Boat Club Court, seen from Union Street, would become a one-way uphill toward West Front Street, but remain a two-way for a short stretch in the other direction. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj A steep and narrow road serving Red Bank’s Marine Park and two Navesink River clubs would become a partial one-way street under an ordinance up for consideration by the borough council this week.

June 15, 2020 - 9:00 am | Comments ()

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