INSIDE THE FAIR HAVEN/RED BANK REGIONAL PARKING SPAT

A temporary No Parking sign on Cambridge Avenue in Fair Haven erected the day before the June 18 graduation at Red Bank Regional High School. (redbankgreen photo Click to enlarge.)

By BRIAN DONOHUE

“The community is restless.”

That’s how Fair Haven Mayor Joshua Halperin put it in a May 7 email to Borough Administrator Christopher York.

Frustrated by a long-simmering dispute with the Red Bank Regional High Scool administration over an influx of students parking on residential streets on school days, Halperin told York it was time for the borough to ban parking on five streets near the school on June 18.

It was a date, however, on which instead of students heading to class, it would be hundreds of parents, grandparents and family members looking for parking near the school: graduation day.

That decision, which Halperin vehemently defended in a 28-minute speech to the Borough Council last week, sparked a social media backlash, along with criticism from Red Bank Regional Superintendent Louis Moore who called it a Bridgegate style act of “retribution.”

Even residents who had complained for years about students’ parking and behavior questioned the graduation day ban.

“We didn’t ask for this,” Cambridge Avenue resident Colin Burns told redbankgreen. “We were just asking for a safety solution.”

**Mayor Joshua Halperin (left) addresses the Fair Haven Borough Council. (Youtube screenshot).**

Mayor Halperin stands by the move.

“Leadership is not just about the easy decisions,” Halperin told the Borough Council last week. “Sometimes it requires making difficult decisions and then standing by them.”

In the end, though, it appears the borough may adopt the solution for which RBR officials had advocated for more than two years – and which borough officials had appeared to resist: changing borough ordinances to restrict parking on the streets near the school.

At last week’s meeting, officials said the Fair Haven Borough Council this summer will consider parking restrictions on Cambridge Avenue and other streets affected by the RBR overflow parking issues.

“We expect this to be on a summer agenda,” Halperin said.

In the meantime, a trove of emails obtained by redbankgreen from the Borough of Fair Haven through an Open Public Records request illustrates the graduation day kerfluffle was the result of a slowly escalating controversy three years in the making.

The 95-pages of correspondence show the issue evolved from neighborhood complaints about traffic and safety into repeated discussions between borough officials, police, and school administrators over responsibility for addressing the problem,

Fair Haven officials believed RBR could significantly reduce neighborhood parking by granting additional student parking privileges and making fuller use of its parking lot.

RBR officials consistently maintained that the school had no authority over parking and traffic laws on public streets, that all available student parking spaces were already assigned (with a 20-student waiting list). Any lasting solution, they argued repeatedly, would require Fair Haven to adopt municipal parking restrictions rather than rely on enforcement by the school.

It all started, residents of the affected streets say, with the pandemic.

With more students being driven to school to avoid buses, residents said they saw a growing number of parents dropping students off on Cambridge Avenue and other streets.

Beginning in 2022, the emails show, residents began complaining of between 20 and 50 students parking on local streets to go to school.

They blocked driveways, backed over sprinkler heads and sped down the street, residents said. The mother of a one-year-old told the Borough Council last week the rookie drivers’ behavior made her afraid to let her children play outside or ride their bikes.

Cambridge Avenue resident Colin Burns told redbankgreen a speeding driver came within a foot of striking his elderly father. In 2026, Fair Haven police issued 26 tickets for traffic and parking violations, Halperin said.

In social media posts, public comments, and interviews with redbankgreen, several residents described the scene as something out of the 1994 film Dazed and Confused: students having sex in cars, smoking marijuana, flipping the bird, and mouthing off to residents who complained.

**The May 7 email about graduation day parking ban on streets near Red Bank Regional High School.**

Speaking before the borough council last week, one resident described the ordeal as “five and a half years of feeling uncomfortable in their own homes day in and day out.”

In response to appeals from borough officials to stop students from parking on Fair Haven streets, RBR sent out notices alerting students and parents not to park or drop off students on Fair Haven side streets. In April, emails show, Moore agreed to a mid-year audit to try to free up more reserved spaces in the student lots.

Through it all, multiple emails show, they responded to borough officials with a simple proposed fix: have the borough council change the parking laws. Emails show Moore repeatedly said Board of Education officials would write a letter to the council in support of new parking regulations.

**An email from Red Bank Regional Superintendent Louis Moore to Fair Haven Borough Administrator Chis York about on campus parking availability.**

Halperin said last week the borough imposed temporary parking restrictions five times over the past several years. But residents, he said, were reluctant to see on street-parking restricted.

As the issue festered into the 2026 school year, attempts by Borough of Fair Haven officials and residents appeared to be ripping a page from another Gen X flick: 1989’s sendup of suburban neighborhood dynamics “The Burbs”.

In an email to borough officials, one resident complained that his request for a police presence brought out an officer who sat in their car and watched violations without taking any action.

An email from a resident to the Borough of Fair Haven sent in November asking for more police patrols around Red Bank Regional High School.

To bolster the borough’s argument that the school’s own lots had ample parking, by spring of 2026, the borough administrator and mayor were doing regular tallies of the number of open parking spaces in the student lot.

Emails show York requested having Fair Haven Councilman Brian Olson meet with the student body to discuss the issue, an idea RBR superintendent Moore rejected.

And on April 2, emails show, an RBR security officer stopped a Fair Haven resident after spotting him driving around school property during school hours to “do a survey.”

By then, both sides appeared to have dug in, with the controversy culminating in the May 7 email from Halperin to York about banning parking on graduation day.

“I think we need to extend no parking for all streets for that date,” Halperin wrote. “Unfortunately, we have not received any help from RBR and the community is restless.’ The email ends: This is a simple problem to solve with a willing partner.”

Here is a timeline of events based on a review of the emails, showing how the dispute evolved:

November 2023: Residents begin organized campaign over Cambridge Avenue traffic

Residents living on Cambridge Avenue begin an organized effort to pressure Fair Haven officials over student parking, speeding and traffic congestion associated with Red Bank Regional High School (RBR). Emails discuss increased police enforcement, stop signs and additional traffic controls while acknowledging that students continue parking on residential streets.

February 2024: Fair Haven acknowledges limited authority over RBR

As resident complaints continue, Borough officials discuss possible solutions but acknowledge they have little ability to influence how Red Bank Regional manages its parking lot. The focus remains on municipal traffic controls and parking regulations rather than school discipline.

August–October 2024: The issue expands beyond parking

By late summer and fall, Cambridge Avenue complaints increasingly include concerns about left turns from the RBR parking lot, pedestrian safety, traffic flow and speeding. Borough officials continue discussing engineering and enforcement solutions while residents press for stronger action.

2026: The dispute shifts directly to Red Bank Regional

February 3, 2026: RBR explains its position

Dr. Louis Moore tells Fair Haven Borough Administrator Christopher York that Red Bank Regional has no authority to regulate where students park on public streets or redesign its parking lot entrances to solve Cambridge Avenue traffic problems.

March 5, 2026: Student parking policies are explained

Moore provides additional information about RBR’s parking system, explaining that parking spaces are assigned based on availability and that most juniors who obtain driver’s licenses during the school year receive parking privileges when space exists.

March 23, 2026: Fair Haven requests a meeting

Christopher York asks Dr. Moore to meet with Councilman Brian Olson to discuss the growing concerns over Cambridge Avenue parking.

March 23, 2026: Moore says the Borough—not RBR—controls the solution

Moore responds that the issue ultimately requires municipal action. He points to Rumson’s parking ordinances around Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School as an example and offers to write a letter supporting stronger Fair Haven parking restrictions. He reiterates that RBR cannot discipline students for parking on public roads.

March 23, 2026: York disputes RBR’s assessment

York replies that he has personally driven through Cambridge Avenue, observed what he believes is a largely empty RBR parking lot and spoken with a student who said she was unable to obtain permission to park on campus. York argues that granting additional student parking permits could alleviate neighborhood complaints.

March 23, 2026: RBR provides detailed parking statistics

Moore responds with specific numbers: RBR has 233 dedicated student parking spaces, all spaces are assigned, and approximately 20 students remain on a waiting list. He explains that empty spaces on any given day are often the result of student absences, Brookdale Early College participation, vocational programs or students simply not driving that day. Moore concludes that while some students undoubtedly park on Cambridge Avenue, the long-term solution remains municipal parking restrictions rather than school discipline.

April 2026: Fair Haven, Little Silver police and RBR meet

Officials from Fair Haven, the Fair Haven Police Department, Little Silver Police and Red Bank Regional hold a joint meeting to discuss the issue and possible solutions.

April 23, 2026: Moore outlines the agreed-upon actions

Following the meeting, Moore summarizes the commitments RBR is willing to make: remind families not to use Cambridge Avenue for drop-off, pickup or parking; expand incentives for student carpooling; and conduct a mid-year audit of assigned parking spaces to identify unused permits that could be reassigned. However, Moore declines a request for Councilman Brian Olson to speak directly with students, explaining that student leaders do not know who parks on Cambridge Avenue and that parking on public streets remains legal.

The Graduation Email

May 7, 2026 (2:30 p.m.): Fair Haven asks about graduation

Christopher York contacts Dr. Moore to determine whether Red Bank Regional’s graduation ceremony will be held on campus so Fair Haven can prepare for possible parking issues.

May 7, 2026 (2:50 p.m.): Moore responds

Moore replies that graduation will once again be held on the RBR campus, as it traditionally has been.

May 7, 2026 (3:15 p.m.): Mayor Halpern proposes borough-wide parking restrictions

Minutes later, Mayor Joshua Halpern sends an email to Moore and York stating that Fair Haven should extend no-parking restrictions throughout the Borough during graduation because, in his words, “the community is restless.”

Halpern says he personally counted dozens of empty spaces in the RBR staff parking lot over several days and argues that RBR has not done enough to help solve the neighborhood parking problem.

redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331.

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