The 1978 Macho Trans Am sits in the yard of Red Bank Recyling earlier last month. (Photo by Brian Donohue. Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
Red Bank Borough Attorney Greg Cannon said on Jan. 1 that officials did not differentiate any of the 13 vehicles from the tons of other junk hauled from the property during last month’s court-sanctioned cleanup of the property at 90 Bank Street.
“We consider it to be debris,” he said of the Trans Am. “Along with other tons of materials.”
That seems to imply whatever landfill or recyling yard winds up with stuff can do what it wants with it, whether that’s scrapping it for materials, sending to a landfill or selling it.
Asked if Red Bank Recycling now owns the car, the worker at the scrap operation said, “We want to make sure of that.” And so, for now, the car is in storage.
If it’s put up for sale or auction, there’s likely to be takers.
“I still have about a dozen people waiting for me to give them the green light to go get it,” said Max Ioannidis, editor of Machoregistry.com, a site stribes to catalogue all of the 323 Machos ever made.
CAR FANS IN GLOBAL FRENZY TO SAVE RED BANK JUNKMAN’S TRANS AM
Ioannidis himself is not in the running. He already has a Macho. And gettting the car from Red Bank to Australia where he lives would be nearly impossible.
Red Bank resident Mike Reagor, who had stepped in as the “boots on the ground” for Ioannidis and a prospective buyer in Bulgaria, said he’s now hopeful that the car might eventually find its way into the garage of someone who would appreciate it.
Texting a reporter from the bar at Street Kitchen Pub, he said: “No matter who gets it, we have won. Operation save the Macho was a success. It’s safe.”
The borough’s cleanup of the yard at 90 Bank Street capped two decades of summonses, lawsuits, neighborhood complaints and growing safety concerns by first responders over conditions on the property.
The owner of the property, William Poku, continues to ask a judge to halt the seizures of the tons of materials and vehicles hauled away.
He last appeared before Superior Court Judge Mara Zazzali-Hogan on December 18, as the cleanup was in its third and final day. The judge denied that motion.
He has filed several more motions with the court since, asking for relief. Zazzali-Hogan is expected to issue a ruling on the most recent motion tomorrow, January 16.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331.
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.
