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.

RED BANK: TENANTS’ POOL CASE ADVANCES

red-bank-grandville-tower-031820-2-500x375-8681694The Grandville Towers pool remained closed throughout the summer. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

After three hearings, a partial verdict is in: tenants at Red Bank’s Grandville Towers received “reduced service” when the swimming pool didn’t open this summer.

Up next: the borough rent leveling board tackles the question of what that means in rent to be refunded, if anything.

Like the earlier rounds in the dispute, Thursday night’s hearing, conducted via Zoom, had earmarks of a courtroom trial. Chris Healy, lawyer for building owner PRC Group, summed up his case, and the board’s attorney cited extensive caselaw.

At issue, initially, were claims by 10 tenants of the 10-story building that, through their rent, they were being charged for a pool and gym they couldn’t use all summer.

By Thursday, four were still pursuing the matter.

PRC maintains the tenants are owed an “insignificant” sum, at best. Company officials contend that “real world” COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Governor Phil Murphy accounted for the pool shutdown through June, as well as the closure of the gym at the Morford Place building, said Healy.

Then, after Murphy lifted his restrictions on pools July 1, the company was unable to hire lifeguards and pool “ambassadors” to check-in pool users and keep bathrooms clean, an executive testified in August.

Moreover, Healy contended, a PRC-hired expert testified last month that there’s no pool “value” reflected in the rent.

His evidence: no other apartment complex in Red Bank offers a pool, and yet all charge higher rents than Grandville Towers.

“So, if any of these tenants were to say, ‘I’ve had enough, I’m moving out to a place that doesn’t have a pool so I can pay less rent,’ they’d be out of luck,” Healy told the board.

All of those arguments could be considered mitigating factors, board lawyer Gene Anthony advised the board. But first, he said, the board needed to ascertain if the closure of the pool constituted a reduction of service.

The five board members in attendance unanimously agreed that it had.

“To deny them access to the pool area for grilling or whatever other amenities are there for them, that was not right,” said board chairwoman Gale Soler.

Board member Judy Giunta noted that one tenant testified the pool was “her only source of outdoor space.”

“I don’t think it’s minimal,” said board member Scott Heck, referring to tenants who testified they had to travel to the beach or elsewhere to get what they couldn’t at home.

“Just the mere fact that they would have to leave the complex and go someplace else, even if it’s just five minutes away, is significant,” he said.

The hearing is expected to continue at the October meeting.

If you value the kind of news coverage redbankgreen delivers, please become a paying member. Click here for details about our new, free newsletter and membership information.

Remember: Nothing makes a Red Bank friend happier than to hear "I saw you on Red Bank Green!"
redbankgreen Classics
Partyline
DEM GOV HOPEFUL FULOP VISITS RED BANK
110 people braved the ice on Super Bowl Sunday morning to head to Triumph Brewery to hear Steve Fulop’s case for why he should be our ...
REAL BRICKS!
Pardon our nerdiness, but we were excited to see the facade of the long-vacant building at 42 Monmouth being renovated with a facade that ap ...
NAVESINK SUNRISE
Sunrise colors Sunday over the Navesink. Shot from Maple Cove. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
PET OWNER TO RED BANK: SCREW YOU
(photo and text by Partyline contributor Anna Cruz; headline by redbankgreen) Remember to scoop the poop!  
A HAIR DRYER IN A TREE?
(Photo and text by Partyline contributor Nicole Taetsch) If someone is missing a red hair dryer, it’s hanging from a tree on Oakland S ...
FROM DEEP LEFT FIELD..
(Photo and words by Partyline contributor Peter Cavalier) Shapes, Angles, and Colors: an Artist’s Canvas Where: A frigid Saturday morn ...
SUNSET ICE BOATING
Sunset ice boating Saturday. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
ICY NAVESINK BLISS
Ice boating is back, baby! (Photo by partyline contributor Boris Kofman)
TEACHERS GET COUNCIL KUDOS
The Mayor and Borough Council honored five teachers from the Red Bank Borough Schools who were selected for the Governor’s Educator of the ...
RED BANK LIBRARY HEAD BIDS ADIEU
Eleni Glykis in her last day on the job in Red Bank Thursday (photo by Brian Donohue) redbankgreen stopped in the Red Bank Public Library to ...
TO TOWER HILL!
Parents and kids flocked to Tower Hill on Monday morning, taking advantage of the federal holiday and perfectly timed Sunday snowfall.
BROAD STREET IN WHITE
Taken during the snowstorm Sunday. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)
Stunning Sunrise at Marine Park
Sunday’s sunrise from Marine Park. (photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)  
WALL STREET CLOSED FOR LEAK
Wall Street in Red Bank closed for water leak.
INDOOR SOCCER KICKS OFF
Pre-k and kindergarten aged kids were at Red Bank Middle School bright and early Sunday, participating in the indoor soccer program hosted b ...
SUNSET OVER FROZEN NAVESINK RIVER
Sunset colors Saturday evening over the ice shot from  Shrewsbury Ave. (Photo by Partyline contributor Thomas Doremus)  
ICY VIEW FROM TRAIN WINDOW
View of the partially frozen Navesink River Saturday afternoon from NJCL Train #7244. (Photo by Partyline contributor Karly Swaim)
RBR BEATS RBC IN BOYS HOOPS RIVALRY
 Red Bank Regional's boys basketball came out with the win at home against their crosstown rivals Red Bank Catholic on Tuesday in Little Si ...
FRIGID DINNER FOR WATER LINE WORKERS
Work continued into the late night hours on Bank Street Tuesday night as a crew replaced several water lines to homes under the town wide le ...
SNOWY THREE KINGS DAY
The three kings in the St. Anthony of Padua Nativity scene have a dusting of snow on their crowns as well as the gold, frankincense and myrr ...