Captain Darren McConnell is expected to be named chief of the Red Bank police department at Wednesday night’s borough council meeting, redbankgreen has learned. McConnell has been the officer in charge of the department since the September 23 death of Chief Steve McCarthy. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
From left, with their new ranks: Lt. Daniel Bannon; Sgt. Robert Gannon; Capt. Thomas McDonough; Lt. Eliot Ramos; Capt. Darren McConnell; Sgt. Robert Kennedy; Lt. Richard Mangold and Sgt. Errico Vescio. (Click to enlarge)
Following through on a recent department restructuring that Red Bank officials say will save $10,000 this year, the borough council last night promoted eight officers, including two to captain.
Lieutenants Darren McConnell and Tom McDonough were elevated to captains. With the recent elimination of the vacant deputy chief slot, the department now has four officers at the captain’s level just below that of the chief.
Sergeants Daniel Bannon, Richard Mangold and Eliot Ramos were boosted to lieutenants.
Robert Gannon, Robert Kennedy and Errico Vescio rose from patrolmen to sergeants.
An accident involving a drunk driver resulted in a brief power outage to homes in the area of East Front Street and Spring Street early Sunday morning, Red Bank police reported today.
According to Lt. Darren McConnell, a pickup truck heading westbound on River Road/East Front Street failed to negotiate the curve just past Hubbard Park at 3:02a. The truck left the roadway and hit a guardrail and a utility pole, he said.
It’s official: westbound vehicles on Harding Road are now barred from making left turns onto Tower Hill Avenue.
Here’s a press release issued Tuesday by Red Bank Police Lt. Darren McConnell of the traffic safety bureau:
Traffic Pattern Change
Motorists will no longer be permitted to make left turns from Harding Road onto Tower Hill Avenue or from Tower Hill Avenue onto Harding Road.
Chief and interim Business Administrator Darren McConnell with Senior Center Director Jackie Reynolds last October. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
See Correction below
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s council will try again to find a full-time borough administrator, following an abandoned effort of year ago.
The search will be revived even as the governing body, sharply divided on numerous other issues, appears to agree that police Chief Darren McConnell is doing a faultless job in double duty as interim administrator.
By JOHN T. WARD
A heavy police presence in the area of River Road in Red Bank late Tuesday was prompted by an unfounded report of an armed assault, police Chief Darren McConnell said Wednesday.
More than three years after it was closed by a catastrophic leak, the borough Senior Center is about to get repairs. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s council is scheduled to award a contract to repair the Senior Center, and to discuss a possible new search for a borough administrator, when it holds back-to-back workshop and regular meetings Wednesday night.
Here are some highlights from the agendas:
Security video recorded the daytime theft of a white Mercedes from the 7-Eleven at Maple Avenue and West Front Street last August, with the shocked owner giving chase on foot.
By JOHN T. WARD
While towns across New Jersey and beyond grapple with rising numbers of high-priced-vehicle thefts and attempted thefts, local officials are urging residents not to make it easy for perpetrators.
The borough-owned Tesla gets recharged at a station intended for public use. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s borough government is not yet ready to pull the plug on a donated Tesla sedan, even though keeping the vehicle charged up has been a challenge, interim Business Administrator Darren McConnell tells redbankgreen.
Officials said the loose asbestos was limited to a boiler room and transformer room beneath the main grandstand. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s interim business administrator said Friday there is “no cause for concern” as the town moves forward with a plan to address recently discovered asbestos in an area beneath the grandstand at Count Basie Field.
Diners enjoying lunch in the Broadwalk zone in October. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Delayed by street a reconstruction project, Red Bank’s Broadwalk outdoor dining plaza will return this summer, borough officials agreed Wednesday.
The informal consensus of the council was the first indication that the downtown car-free experiment, launched in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, would get a third edition.
Freddie Boynton, in blue shirt, looks on as Mayor Pasquale Menna unveils a plaque honoring him at Johnny Jazz Park. (Photo above by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A two-time Golden Gloves champ, Freddie Boynton didn’t quit fighting after his professional boxing career ended in the 1980s.
Instead, he got into a truck, and found ways to fight for his neighbors on Red Bank’s West Side.
A fence erected Monday enclosed a car owned by Kenny Schwartz behind his art gallery. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
In another context, it might be seen as artistic commentary on modern existence: a car boxed in between two buildings and a chainlink fence, and no way out.
But to Red Bank art collector Kenny Schwartz, it’s no ironic statement. His car will need “wings” to escape from his gallery’s backyard after a “heavy handed” move involving a couple of real estate powerhouses, he said Monday.
YMCA COO Jennifer Dunn (center) with Red Bank Family Y Advisory Council members (from left) Suzy Dyer, Chris Curcia, Pat Richter and Luigi Laugelli. (YMCA)
The YMCA of Greater Monmouth County has established a new committee of volunteers to help ensure that all area residents can learn, grow, and thrive at the Red Bank Family YMCA, regardless of their ability to pay.
Denholtz’s plan would cover several NJ Transit parking lots, as well as company-owned sites. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Denholtz Properties is negotiating to create a massive new development at the Red Bank train station, redbankgreen has learned.
The company’s plan is dependent on the borough designating a swath of sites around the station as redevelopment area, CEO Steve Denholtz said in an interview this week.
With “very mixed” emotions, Pam Borghi reported for her final day of work before retiring as Red Bank borough clerk Monday.
Angela Mirandi, in second pane from left in the top row, attended her first session as a council member. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
See CORRECTION below
By JOHN T. WARD
Three years after a fire suppression system leak forced a shutdown of Red Bank’s Senior Center, the borough council approved nearly $2 million in financing for repairs Wednesday.
As in the past, members clashed over the reasons for the time elapsed and cost. Added to the acrimony was a new element: blame for failure to identify money recently found sitting idle in old accounts and now earmarked for repairs.
Unmentioned during the virtual meeting was a lawsuit, announced hours earlier, that seeks to remove Angela Mirandi, who attended for the first time as a council member.
A municipal boat ramp on the Navesink River was once envisioned for the north end of Maple Avenue, now a nature area called Maple Cove. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank officials boasted earlier this month that they’d “cobbled together” about $1 million from idle accounts to soften the impact on taxpayers of repairing the long-shuttered Senior Center.
It turns out a big chunk of that sum has been stuck in the borough’s sofa cushions for 30 years, designated for a never-built boat ramp, redbankgreen has learned.
The Marion Street garden was shut down in 2019 after a private report of possible lead contamination. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is scheduled to update Red Bank residents Tuesday night on its investigation into a report of soil contamination at the borough’s community garden.
Councilwoman Kathy Horgan with Ziad Shehady, right, and schools Superintendent Jared Rumage in May, 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Former Red Bank business administrator Ziad Shehady and Councilwoman Kathy Horgan are scheduled to address the Charter Study Commission Tuesday night.
A motorist was killed when his car smashed into a truck at the foot of the Route 35 bridge in Red Bank Saturday morning, according to police Chief Darren McConnell. Read More
Interim Business Administrator Darren McConnell, second row right, at the answered questions from Charter Study Commission members Wednesday night. (Zoom screengrab. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The executive authority given Red Bank’s appointed administrator may shift back to elected officials next week.
But will voters shift it back in November?
Ziad Shehady at borough hall in February, 2020. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
See CORRECTION below
By JOHN T. WARD
Eight months after he ended a stormy stint as Red Bank’s top unelected official, Ziad Shehady is scheduled to offer his perspective on how well the town’s government works Wednesday night.
Red Bank police checking out a car left on Drs. James Parker Boulevard as snow came down hard Saturday morning. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank plow operators had an easier time than in the past making their way down borough streets during the weekend snowstorm, police Chief Darren McConnell tells redbankgreen.
Fewer illegally parked cars also resulted in a dramatic drop in the number of violation notices being issued.
Council Councilwoman Kate Triggiano, center top row, chaired the meeting for the first time since her January 1 election as council president. (Photo from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s council debated several issues with less friction Wednesday night than often seen over the past two years.