Work on the White Street parking lot easement this week. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
Contractors in the White Street Parking lot were tearing up the place with heavy machinery to re-configure curbs and driveways this week, fixing a borough oversight during earlier work that prompted a lawsuit from a Monmouth Street business owner.
In August 2023, the Borough Council approved settlement of a lawsuit filed by Diane Joy Realty, owner of the building that houses Better Housekeeping Shop on Monmouth Street, claiming a 2020 makeover of the lot blocked truck access to the rear of the store via a long established easement.
As part of the settlement, the Borough agreed to re-establish access from the store to White Street.
Schematics presented to the council showed the creation of a 30-foot-wide lane running north to White Street from the vicinity of the shop, requiring cut-throughs of two sidewalks and the apparent elimination of 12 of the lot’s 273 parking spots. Borough Manager Jim Gant confirmed the work underway this week is a result of the settlement.
According to the suit, the easement was acknowledged in legal documents when the borough acquired the property that became the White Street lot in late 1948. Tax maps dating from 1961 to the present indicate the store’s right-of-way access, it said.
Last year, then acting Borough Administrator Darren McConnell said the easement was not known to the prior administration and engineer when the lot configuration was designed. He estimated the cost of the changes to be “roughly $50,000.”
The final cost of the work was not immediately available. Borough Manager Jim Gant told redbankgreen it would be provided as soon as possible.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
