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: CENTER BACKERS RALLY AGAIN

red-bank-senior-center-rally-marian-quinn-031321-500x332-6286505Marian Quinn of Manor Drive speaking at the rally. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot-topic_03-220x138-9108919Invoking “demolition by neglect” and the prospect of “apartments” on the site, several dozen Red Bankers rallied Saturday to demand that the mothballed borough Senior Center be repaired.

They also momentarily drowned out the grandson of the center’s founder when he took issue with one of the handmade signs posted on the building.

red-bank-senior-center-rally-031321-1-500x332-6149363Several dozen attendees gathered in the center parking lot for the event. Below, Adrienne Bilaal addresses the crowd. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

red-bank-senior-center-rally-adrienne-031321-220x146-5154816The Shrewsbury Avenue facility has been closed for two years, first as a result of damage from a burst pipe in the fire suppression system, and later over safety concerns discovered during an inspection.

The riverfront property is the subject of pending concept plans being drawn up by an architectural firm for the borough’s Redevelopment Agency, an advisory body that’s reviewing all municipal properties with the aim of making recommendations to the borough council.

Seniors have not been able to assemble for the past year under pandemic restrictions. In January, the council approved a three-year lease at Trinity Episcopal Church, on West Front Street, to serve as an interim senior center once pandemic restrictions ease.

Backers, though, want the center removed from the Redevelopment Agency review, repaired and ready to welcome seniors once the pandemic passes, they said.

“We don’t need a redevelopment [agency] to decide whether to fix the Senior Center or not,” said Adrienne Bilaal, of South Pearl Street. “We want it fixed now.”

Noting the beautiful view of the Swimming River from its western side, former recreation director and present Housing Authority board member Memone Crystian invoked the site’s value to developers.

“Can you imagine how much we could make on this property?” she asked. “What sort of ratable it could become? And why would they pretend that they were not considering this,” she asked of borough officials.

“They were,” she said. “But then you, the people, started speaking, and you said you were against it.” As a result, she said, “the wording and the rhetoric is beginning to change.”

Marian Quinn, a borough resident since 1945, said the center had welcomed her late sister, who had “a wonderful, wonderful” time there.

“She was treated with dignity, she won prizes, she would come every day with her prizes. It was a wonderful place,” she said. “She had a life here.”

In addition, Quinn said, “I know for a fact that for many senior citizens, the only meal they had that day was one they had here. Please, I’m begging you, don’t let them tear this place down.”

Tyler Shaw, grandson of center founder Ethel Frankel, also spoke in support of saving the center, noting that he was present as a boy when ground was broken for the building in the mid-1990s.

But he objected to a sign behind the podium that read, “Keep our senior center building for seniors only,” and said his grandmother would not have wanted it, either.

“She would have let anyone into this building who needed a hot meal or a warm place to stay,” he said. The facility should be more of a community center, where children can learn from their elders and people with special needs can congregate, Shaw said.

“It needs to be open to the community, not just one group,” he said. “You’re talking about age discrimination, but now you’re discriminating against everybody else in the community who needs the same help from the community, what Red Bank was founded on – just having somewhere for people to feel safe and feel respected.”

At that point, members of the audience began chanting “fix it now,”drowning out Shaw.

“They had all that,” said Tiffaney Harris, a former Senior Center outreach worker who organized the rally, as she had one on January 9. She cited visits by Girl Scouts, father-daughter dances and more.

“We’re not saying this isn’t open for other people. We’re saying we want this building fixed, where it is,” she said “We don’t want any private partners. We don’t want a recreation center here. We do not want any apartment buildings.”

When it next meets, on March 23, the Redevelopment Agency is expected to review three concept plans: a renovation of the facility; one incorporating a community center into an expanded building on the existing location; and a revised version of a prior plan that removes the Senior Center from a potential community center at Count Basie Fields.

In attendance at the rally were Mayor Pasquale Menna and all six members of the council, who are scheduled to next meet March 24. None spoke at the event.

If you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen, 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!"
Partyline
RED TRUCKS AT RED ROCK
A small dishwasher fire at Red Rock Tap and Grill was put out quickly by firefighters overnight, causing minimal damage. Red Bank Fire Depar ...
CREATIVE COVER UP
The windows of Pearl Street Consignment on Monmouth Street were smashed when a driver crashed their car through them injuring an employee la ...
THEY’RE BACK!
Ospreys returned to the skies over Red Bank this week for the first time since they migrated to warmer climes in late fall. With temperature ...
SPRING IS SPRUNG
RED BANK: Spring 2024 arrives on the Greater Red Bank Green with the vernal equinox at 11:06 p.m. Tuesday.
RED BANK’S FINEST – AND NEWEST
Red Bank Police Officer Eliot Ramos was sworn in as the force’s newest patrolman Thursday, and if you’re doing a double take thinkin ...
EASTER EGG MAYHEM AT THE PARK
An errant whistle spurred an unexpectedly early start to the Spring Egg Hunt on Sunday, which had been scheduled to begin at eggsactly 11am ...
PRESEASON DOCKWORK
RED BANK: With winter winding down, marina gets ready for boating season with some dockwork on our beautiful Navesink River.
CORNED BEEF AND DISCO FRIES?
It’s Friday, and smart Lent-observing Leprechauns know the pot of gold at the end of Red Bank’s rainbow is actually the deliciou ...
SURFBOARD DITCHED
It’s a violation of etiquette in surfing to ditch your board.  (it could hit another surfer and hurt them). But someone appears to ha ...
ELSIE, TAKE ME WITH YOU!
Soaked by pouring rain with the temperature hovering in the low 40’s, this sign in the window of Elsie’s Subs on Monmouth Street ...
WALK THIS WAY
PARTYLINE: Before-and-afters of a sidewalk cleanup on West Street.
SOGGY NOTION
RED BANK: Breezeway sculpture captured the mood downtown as heavy rains fell Saturday morning.
HOME DELIVERY
RED BANK: After a subdivision, an instant house rises on a new Catherine Street lot.
COMMUNITY PROFILES
For Black History Month, Red Bank's Community Engagement and Equity Advisory Committee has been running a series of local profiles on Facebo ...
HEARTY FAREWELL FOR HARDY
RED BANK: Council to honor DPU supervisor Rich Hardy, who retired recently after almost 39 years of keeping things running.
HOMEBOUND? READ ON…
RED BANK: Can't get to the public library? It's now offering free delivery and pickups for homebound borough residents.
TAMING A BEAST OF A WEEK
RED BANK: After the second snowfall of the week, a borough family finds the perfect use for it – a Godzilla snow sculpture.
RED BANK: LIBRARY CLOSED, BUT THE HILL’S OPEN
RED BANK: Though the library was closed by a snowstorm, kids got to enjoy the riverfront property's steep slope Tuesday.
LIGHT(HOUSE) MAKEOVER
This year, getting ready for spring means a midwinter makeover for Strollo's Lighthouse in Red Bank.
TODAY: LOCAL PUPPY COMPETES ON ANIMAL PLANET’S “PUPPY BOWL”
Red Bank’s very own rescue puppy, Biscuit, is set to compete in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl this Sunday, February 11, at 2 PM. Th ...