The new tennis court retaining wall and sidewalk along Union Street, as seen last week. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
No, Red Bank’s red clay tennis courts overlooking the Navesink River aren’t being restored — not yet at least.
The sewer lift station and new restrooms under construction on the former site of a shuffleboard court along Wharf Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
As part of a $2 million project to rebuild the sanitary sewer lift station in Marine Park that, along with the courts, was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy in October, 2012, the courts are getting new retaining walls and a sidewalk along Union Street. But no decision on whether and when the courts themselves might be restored has been made, Councilman Mark Taylor tells redbankgreen.
“The plan is still to step back once the other work in the park is completed and take a holistic view of the park,” said Taylor, who’s on the parks and rec committee.
That other work includes relocating the sewer facility to a higher elevation in the 2.2-acre park, on the former site of a shuffleboard court (above); the creation of new restrooms there; and the installation of new lampposts and a flagpole.
A portion of the cost is to be covered by funding from the Federal Emergency Management Administration and insurance funds, officials have previously said.
In 2015, tennis aficionado Jim Cullen of Locust offered the borough $500,000 to restore the courts as one of three competing proposals for the site, but all three were rejected by the borough council.
