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.

‘TIDYING UP’ TURNS TO TEARDOWN

Hardinggas2_ir

Honestly, who among us hasn’t embarked on a simple housekeeping task and somehow gotten detoured into a project involving busted sheetrock and mouthfuls of gypsum dust?

Maybe that’s what happened to Ray Rapcavage.

Last week, the president of Ray Rap Realty on Mechanic Street told redbankgreen he had no plans for the long-vacant gas station on Harding Road in Red Bank, just a block east of Broad Street.

At the time, the canopy above the pump island had been removed, the two-bay garage structure had been sheared of its skin, and a tall fence had been erected around the property. But nothing special was happening, Rapcavage said via email.

“There are no plans at this time other than to tidy the site up and keep away tresspassers,” Rapcavage said.

But over the past weekend, heavy equipment could be seen digging large trenches in the ground from which tanks had long been removed, according to borough records.

And by late Tuesday, the building had been reduced to a pile of rubble.

We’ve left a couple of messages for Rapcavage today but haven’t yet heard back from him.

It seems something is in the works. In recent years, Rapcavage or entities related to him have acquired five adjoining properties at that location, according to Monmouth County records. They are:

• The former filling station property at 28-32 Harding Road, which is in the name of Victorian Apartments LLC and was acquired from an estate last July for $500,00. Rapcavage is identified on a mortgage as the managing member of Victorian Apartments.

• 50 Hudson Avenue, a house acquired with the gas station from the estate of Philip I. Morris for $400,000. Owned by Raymond Rapcavage.

• 36 Harding, a house (and onetime storefront, by the looks of it,) at the corner of Hudson Avenue, acquired by Ray Rap Realty for $257,800 in 2002.

• 52 Hudson, a house that was recently occupied and now appears to be vacant. Also aquired by Ray Rap Realty in 2002 for $102,000.

• 48 Hudson, which appears to be half of a two-family structure. Acquired by Ray Rapcavage last November for $650,000.

The Hudson properties all back up on Clay Street, which runs along the eastern side of the old gas station.

Email this story

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
El Camino y la Siesta
An early-arriving El Camino owner sneaks in a few winks as the annual Liberty Hose – Red Bank Firefighters’ Classic Car Show in memory o ...
RED BANKJ: JAZZ IN THE PARK BEGINS THURSDAY
Jazz in the Park kicks off tonight (Thursday) with The Grace Fox Big Band, an all-women 16-piece ensemble known for its bold original compos ...
LOST PARROT
This little blue beauty was found by a redbankgreen reporter Thursday boldly tempting fate by foraging on the ground on the turf of a pack o ...
ORANGE GLOW OVER RED BANK
A truly unbelievable post-storm sunset Tuesday (shot on Monmouth St. facing west). Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus.
BROAD STREET’S THIRSTY BLOOMS
Delfino, a worker with the company Terra Casa that manages the flower beds for the Red Bank special improvement district waters the flowers ...
PILGRIM BAPTIST MEN’S DAY CELEBRATION
  (photo by: Shanikquya Jackson) On Sunday, June 22, Pilgrim Baptist Church of Red Bank hosted its annual Men’s Day Celebration a ...
THREE GENERATION PROCLAMATION
Mayor Billy Portman presents the Borough of Red Bank’s Independence Day 2025 Proclamation to Arleen Brahn (second from right), grandmo ...
STEW THE BUTCHER COSPLAY
On the occasion of the retirement of Stewart Goldstein, longtime proprietor of Monmouth Meats, we thought it apt to present this photo from ...
NAVESINK FISHING
A kayak fisherman tries his luck under the NJ Transit train trestle across the Navesink River in Red Bank. (Photo by Partyline contributor A ...
RED BAKE
As the temperature hit 100 degrees Tuesday, Tom Sevison, Red Bank High School Class of 1973 and in town briefly on his way back home to Virg ...
JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION
Performers at Red Bank’s Juneteenth community celebration Sunday at Johnny Jazz Park. (photo by Brian Donohue)      
BUTTERFLIES LOVE THE WEED
Save the monarch, plant butterfly weed. (photo and text by Partyline contributor Roseann DalPra)  
LANTERNFLY PARTY
An invasive ailanthus tree sprouting in front of the US Post Office on Broad Street is covered with invasive spotted lantern fly nymphs Wedn ...
STREETCORNER SERENADE
An Irish doodle named Cheddar listens to native New Jerseyan, singer/songwriter and former Houston resident Tom Foti, (identified in the hea ...
Red Bank 5K Fun!!!
Red Bank Classic – June 14th, 2025 (photo by Partyline contributor Adam Kaplan)  
RAINBOW OVER RED BANK
Saturday, before and after the storm that rolled through town. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)    
Mini Ballers Bring the Heat at Fusion Basketball School
As the temperatures heat up, so does the competition in the mini baller clinic at Fusion School of Basketball. These little tykes are intens ...
DOZENS OF PLEIN AIR ARTISTS “PAINT RED BANK”
Plein air artists take over town for first ever "Paint Red Bank" event. (click to read)
RED BANK: SIGN ON ICONIC DANNY’S STEAK HOUSE COMES DOWN
The sign hanging from the shuttered Danny's Steak House comes down ten months after a manager reported Danny's Steakhouse would be back "bet ...
FOR YANKEES FANS, GOOD TRASH PICKIN’
A collection of framed photographs of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio and other New York Yankees greats was placed curbside along with a ...