Skip to content

A town square for an unsquare town

redbankgreen

Standing for the vitality of Red Bank, its community, and the fun we have together.

MERCHANTS AND MAYOR TEE UP LOITERERS

Call_in_the_authorities

Mayor Pasquale Menna lashed out last night at “little juveniles” from out of town whom he blames for recently grafitti-bombing the public library and loitering in front of stores near West Front Street and Maple Avenue.

His remarks came amid a series of complaints by merchants at last night’s borough council meeting that packs of young people are hanging out in front of stores and damaging property, particularly at the City Centre Plaza shopping center, the 7-11 and the parking lot next to the Commerce Bank.

“These are not our kids,” Menna said. “These are the rich kids from other towns.”

Not so, said Mark Harry, whose wife runs a hair salon at City Centre, where he said employees have been harassed by loiterers, including at least one incident in which a young adult sought to exchange sex for cash.

“Some of those kids wear Red Bank Regional jackets,” Harry said. “Don’t tell me it’s not Red Bank.”

The eruption of the issue seems likely to throw a spotlight on a problem that store owners and restaurateurs downtown have been griping about privately for months: that the business district is becoming clotted by groups of adolescents who block sidewalks and sometimes pester shoppers well into the night, particularly on weekends.

Just west of the downtown, though, the problem may be more acute. On any given afternoon or evening in good weather, it’s not uncommon to see a half-dozen or more young people gathering in the parking lot opposite the Bluffs or at the eastern entrance to City Centre. Business owners complain of finding broken beer bottles many mornings.

At City Centre in particular, the loitering problem has escalated to begging and property damage, merchants said. Phil Giaramita,
the owner of White Dove Cleaners, said his delivery vans have been vandalized. Center co-owner John Bowers said other stores have their windows spit upon and outdoor tables and chairs vandalized; someone recently threw a 15-pound ashtray atop the building’s roof, he said.

Bowers said he would hire a security guard, “but the feedback we’re hearing is that [the loiterers] would just cross the street” and trouble another property owner. “We definitely have a problem.”

“I’ve been here since 1991,” Giaramita said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“You’re this close to something really happening,” said Harry.

But the council was clearly struggling to come up with a solution that didn’t involve a loitering ordinance, which several members, and borough attorney Kenneth Pringle, said could raise constitutional issues, particularly if enforcement is not equal throughout the town in all situations.

Menna said he would convene a meeting of Pringle, Police Chief Mark Fitzgerald and others to review whatever loitering and curfew laws are already on the books while seeking out a new solution that doesn’t simply result in the packs moving from one location to another.

Giaramita said he “can only see one solution: hit them in the pocketbook.” He proposed fines starting at $250 for a first loitering offense, wtiht costs rising for subsequent violations.

“If the parents have to shell out the money, you won’t see it happening anymore,” he said.

But Councilman R.J. Bifani said the first move should be by City Centre.

“You have to hire a uniformed guard,” Bifani said. “Start there, and then we can help you.”

Email this story

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
RBFD SNUFFS OUT SMALL APARTMENT FIRE
A small fire that started in a light fixture at the Colony House apartments in Red Bank was quickly put out by members of the Red Band Volun ...
HEAVENLY RED BANK
Rays burst from behind clouds at the sun begins to set over the Navesink River. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
IN THE FLOW STATE AT RIVESIDE GARDENS
Flow artists in Riverside Gardens Park Friday night. ( photo by Partyline Contributor Karly Swaim)
MAILBOXES HEAD TO HISTORY’S SCRAP HEAP
Sign of the digital age: mailboxes hauled away from Red Bank post office to storage.
HOVERING CHOPPER
What’s going on here? Last Sunday. Hovering around for quite a while. (Photo and text by Partyline contributor Rosaleen Perry)   ...
RBMS HOOPS CHAMPS HONORED
The Red Bank Middle School girls basketball team is honored for their championship season. (click for more)
NAVESINK SUNSET
Sunset sunburst over Riverside Gardens Park (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
RIVERSIDE SUNSET
Sunday’s sunset shot from Riverside Gardens Park. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus) —
MARINE PARK SUNSET
Stunning sunset from Red Bank's Marine Park.
GULLS AND GRAY OVER MOLLY PITCHER INN
On a cold rainy spring day, bulls soared high above the Navesink River and the golden cupola of Red Bank's Molly Pitcher Inn.
Red Bank Commuters Enjoy Stunning Sunrise Over Navesink River
Thursday morning sunrise over the Navesink River, a commuter view from NJ Transit Train 3320. (photo by Partyline contributor Karly Swaim) & ...
SUNRISE OVER MONMOUTH STREET
Sunrise over Monmouth Street Thursday morning (photo by Partline contributor Thomas Doremus)
FINAL STRAW FOR MARINE PARK REMAKE
Workers place a straw covering over the now-dirt (soon to be grass) stretch of Marine Park that had been an asphalt parking lot for generati ...
DEER IN RED BANK
Dear Friends –Original before GPT– Deer Friends
GHOSTBUSTERS ON MONMOUTH STREET
Ghostbusters vehicle spotted on Monmouth Street. (photo by Partyline contributor Roseann DalPra)
BOAT CLUB AND BATTLESHIP GREY
Monmouth Boat Club under the past weekend’s clouds. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)    
CURBSIDE BLOOMS
Broad Street beautified. (photo and text by Partyline contributor Boris Kofman)  
NEW MURAL TAKES SHAPE AT CANNABIS SHOP
Red Bank artist Michael White, donning a hat fitting for the day of the New York Mets’ home opener, works on a new mural at Canopy Cro ...
CHERRY BLOSSOMS ABOUND IN RED BANK
Cherry blossoms are everywhere! (photo and text by Partyline contributor Boris Kofman)  
DOWNTOWN RED BANK ON A FRIDAY AFTERNOON
Downtown on a Friday afternoon. (partyline Photo by Thomas Doremus)