Former mayor Benedict Nicosia riding in Red Bank’s centennial parade in 2008. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Former Red Bank mayor Benedict R. Nicosia died peacefully at his home Saturday, according to an obituary.
He was 101 years old.
Billy Portman at home on John Street Sunday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Why did Red Bank mayoral candidate Michael Ballard sign a petition for a candidate who would oppose him if he won last week’s Democratic primary?
To counter “secret deal-making” engineered by opponent Billy Portman, Ballard told redbankgreen Friday night.
In response, Portman mocked the allegation as “business as usual” from a “dying machine.”
The house at the northwest corner of Oakland and Pearl Streets would be refurbished for rental as an affordable unit, if approved. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The developer of a proposed 45-apartment project in Red Bank would satisfy part of his affordable housing obligation by restoring a house previously targeted for demolition, representatives told the zoning board Thursday night.
It’s the latest change to a plan that’s been inching its way through the review process for nearly three years.
Ed Zipprich, center, with council colleagues Kathy Horgan and Erik Yngstrom in 2017. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank councilman and Democratic party chairman Ed Zipprich issued a “demand” Tuesday that two party members who sued for the removal of Angela Mirandi from the council reimburse the borough for its legal expenses.
Mayor Pasquale Menna, left, with Councilman Michael Ballard on February 11. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
After 16 years in office, Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna won’t seek a fifth term, redbankgreen has learned.
Menna’s decision, and the absence of other contenders, clears a path for Councilman Michael Ballard to secure the Democratic party nomination without resistance by the incumbent in the June primary election.
Michael Ballard and Ed Zipprich in 2015; Mayor Pasquale Menna is visible in the background. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Dumping a party stalwart after more than three decades in office, Red Bank’s Democratic regulars nominated Councilman Michael Ballard as their candidate for mayor Wednesday.
The move exposed new depths of a bitter split with 16-year incumbent Mayor Pasquale Menna, who told redbankgreen that party committee members had shown “their true colors” with their decision.
Councilman and Democratic party Chairman Ed Zipprich attaches a borough pin to Angela Mirandi’s lapel after her February 11 swearing-in. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The civil war among Red Bank Democrats shifted to the courts Wednesday, as two local party committee members announced they sued to have newly-sworn council member Angela Mirandi removed from office.
The Superior Court lawsuit against party Chairman Ed Zipprich and others alleges he illegally froze out committee members Kathy Horgan and Kate Okeson in filling a council vacancy earlier this month.
News of the lawsuit broke just hours before Mirandi was expected to attend her first council session as a member.
An elevation showing the Monmouth Street side of the proposed mixed-used project, looking eastward. (Rendering by SOME Architects. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Stalled for more than two years, hearings on a proposal for four stories of new apartments and shops on Monmouth Street resumed in Red Bank Thursday night.
Among early subjects of concern were plans to raze two homes for parking, and the impacts on adjoining properties.
See UPDATE below
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s governing council is about to get a new member: Angela Mirandi, a corporate-numbers professional who would immediately have a spot on the powerful budget oversight committee.
But Mirandi’s selection Wednesday night followed a dramatic few minutes in which the chairman of the Democratic party declined to endorse one of the other two residents whose names he had forwarded as contenders.
Councilman Hazim Yassin, lower right, listens as Judge Kerry Higgins, upper left, reviews the settlement. (Screengrab from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Lame duck Councilman Hazim Yassin dodged possible eviction from his Red Bank apartment with an agreement to pay his landlord more than $32,000 in back rent Friday.
Mike DuPont, right, riding with law partner and former mayor Ed McKenna in the Red Bank centennial parade in 2008. (Photo by John T. Ward and Chris Ern. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
UPDATE: After publication of this article, redbankgreen learned that John Jackson filed a petition with the borough clerk for a candidacy Tuesday afternoon. This update also adds John Gosden as a resident known to be gathering petition signatures.
Former Red Bank councilman Michael DuPont has made the November election for charter study commission a race.
DuPont told redbankgreen he filed his candidacy petition Wednesday morning, making him the sixth declared candidate for a seat on a five-member body.
A 2019 plan to name a dead-end lane off Boat Club Court for former mayor Ed McKenna was dropped at McKenna’s request. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s council divided Wednesday night over a proposed policy regarding official memorials.
At least two council members voiced support for allowing streets, parks and structures for honorees who are still among the living; one spoke against it; another suggested erecting omnibus memorials.
The proposed luxury car rental showroom would occupy the storefront at 21 East Front Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Need a Lamborghini for a day? A luxury car club approved for space in downtown Red Bank Thursday night will rent you one for just $1,300 per.
Also OK’d by the zoning board: a personal training gym in a residential neighborhood.
A view of the proposed project as seen from the Pearl Street side. (Image by S.O.M.E. Architects. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposal for 32 apartments on Monmouth Street in Red Bank met little resistance when it went to the zoning board for review Thursday night.
The only sticking point, so far: whether to incorporate a three-bedroom affordable unit into the structure or provide it offsite.
John F. Burton at the Red Bank Mayor’s Ball in 2015. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
John F. Burton, a longtime chronicler of Red Bank-area people, government and more, died Sunday.
The senior reporter for the weekly Two River Times had battled illness for the past three years.
RiverCenter Executive Director Laura Kirkpatrick speaks at a council session in March as Business Administrator Ziad Shehady and Councilman Michael Ballard listen. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
See UPDATE below
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna ripped a proposed overhaul of the bylaws of downtown promotion agency RiverCenter Wednesday night.
With two council members joining his critique, Menna said several of the changes would reduce council and public oversight of the agency, which he called “repugnant.”
Boat Club Court, seen from Union Street, would become a one-way uphill toward West Front Street, but remain a two-way for a short stretch in the other direction. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A steep and narrow road serving Red Bank’s Marine Park and two Navesink River clubs would become a partial one-way street under an ordinance up for consideration by the borough council this week.
An elevation showing the Monmouth Street side of the proposed Salerno project. (Rendering by SOME Architects. Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
[UPDATE: The February 20 hearing for this project has been rescheduled at applicant’s request. No new date yet.]
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposed 59-unit apartment project should be allowed to exceed Red Bank’s height and density limits based on the objectives of the borough’s master plan, its architect testified Thursday night.
The car wash at left is to be replaced by a convenience store. (April, 2019 photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
After a favorable zoning change last year, Red Bank’s lone Shell station won approval to add a convenience store Monday night.
A neighbor called the proposal “lipstick on a pig.” The planning board’s chairman called it “a better pig.”
By JOHN T. WARD
Democrats will maintain their lock on the Red Bank government in 2020.
Incumbent council member Kathy Horgan, seeking her fifth three-year council term, and council president Erik Yngstrom, seeking his second, easily topped Republican challengers Allison Gregory and Jonathan Maciel Penney in Tuesday’s election.
A view of the nameless alley from Boat Club Court. Condos are to be built on the vacant lot at left. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A downtown Red Bank alleyway won’t be named for former mayor Ed McKenna after all.
Instead, it will be named ‘Ice Boat Lane,’ to honor the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat & Yacht Club, located just yards away.
Ex-mayor Ed McKenna with former councilman Tom Hintelmann at Democratic headquarters on election night last November. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
An ordinance that would name a downtown alleyway for former Red Bank mayor Ed McKenna drew both criticism and support at Wednesday night’s council meeting.
The town-owned alleyway off Boat Club Court would be renamed for ex-mayor Ed McKenna, seen below at a zoning board meeting in March. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
An alleyway in downtown Red Bank will be named in honor of former mayor Ed McKenna, the borough council informally agreed Wednesday night.
The nameless alley, off Boat Club Court, runs between a row of stores fronting on West Front Street and a vacant lot that’s slated to become home to a new 10-unit luxury condo project.
The plan called for remodeling the gas station and replacing the car wash, at left above, with a drive-thru Dunkin’ shop. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A plan to create a Dunkin’ coffee shop in Red Bank for Parkway-bound commuters is dead.
A lawyer for the owner of the Shell gas station at Newman Springs Road and Shrewsbury Avenue tells redbankgreen the proposal has been withdrawn.
