The backyard of the mothballed Senior Center overlooking the upper Navesink River. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposal to repair Red Bank’s mothballed Senior Center without adding any new facilities won a Redevelopment Agency endorsement Tuesday evening.
The action could defuse one of the hottest issues in a contested Democratic race for two council seats just six weeks before a primary vote.
About 500 Red Bank residents have received COVID-19 vaccinations over the past month under a program coordinated by the borough’s Senior Center, an official said Wednesday.
A view into the mothballed Senior Center through a window in December. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank council members clashed yet again over the borough’s Senior Center Wednesday night.
Among the issues: a petition demanding that the facility, which has been out of commission for almost two years, be repaired and reopened at its riverfront location.
The Senior Center offers a rare vantage for Red Bankers to view the Navesink and Swimming rivers, speakers said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s elected officials got an earful from the public about the borough’s disabled Senior Center Wednesday night.
But even as the all-Democratic council unanimously approved a new lease on interim space, sparks continued to fly between its members over the center’s near-term future.
The Senior Center has been out of commission for most of the past two years following a pipe leak. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Tension among Red Bank Democrats over the future of the borough’s Senior Center erupted in public over the weekend.
Joined by Mayor Pasquale Menna, four of the council’s six Democrats lit into the other two, one of whom is the party chairman, as having “placed their own popularity over what’s best for our residents and taxpayers.”
The Senior Center has been out of commission for most of the past two years. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s Senior Center is not for sale, Mayor Pasquale Menna insists.
But two years after extensive damage caused by a burst pipe, multiple questions surround the still-closed Shrewsbury Avenue facility. Among them: will it reopen anytime soon, and will it stay where it is?
Phil Blackwood, at left, addressing architect Pradeep Kapoor during the first of two sessions Wednesday. Below, the Senior Center floor plan. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Repair plans for Red Bank’s long-shuttered Senior Center may get some final tweaks following a pair of public comment sessions held Wednesday.
Suggestions ranged from small (add a door buzzer) to large (dig a basement).
Red Bank officials have slated two sessions to solicit comments on plans for repairs to the long-closed Senior Center.
Dozens of Red Bank senior citizens attended the borough Senior Center‘s annual end-of-summer cookout, hosted at the Westside Hose firehouse on Leighton Avenue Friday.
The Senior Center has been idle since a fire suppression system leak in January, 2019. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Six months after the Red Bank council agreed to repair the water-damaged Senior Center, a presentation – or two – is in the works to get public input on the plans.
Costs associated with planned repairs to the shuttered Senior Center delayed adoption of the borough budget. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Construction plans for repairs to Red Bank’s water-damaged and long-closed Senior Center will cost $96,000, borough officials said Wednesday.
Accommodating that expense into the municipal budget will require a budget amendment and special meeting of the council. But they won’t slow the repair efforts, said acting Business Administrator Darren McConnell.
Dottie Ferris, at right, greeting friends at the event Thursday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Apart for months, Red Bank seniors enjoyed a pandemic-era get-together outside the temporary home of the borough Senior Center Thursday.
“It’s so nice to see everyone and talk, even if you don’t know everyone,” said 92-year-old Dottie Ferris, a resident of the Wesleyan Arms senior apartments on Wall Street, as she sat at a table outdoors. At home, “all I do is watch TV and eat,” she said.
Area senior citizens are invited to join members of the YMCA and Senior Citizens Activities Network for a free day of wellness at the Red Bank Family.
Press release from the YMCA of Greater Monmouth County
It’s been a long and often lonely year for senior citizens. From losing family and friends to the coronavirus to enduring long periods of isolation, the pandemic has impacted older adults in unimaginable ways.
A concept plan showing facilities at the southern entrance to Count Basie Fields includes an indoor basketball court. (Screenshot from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank Redevelopment Agency began sorting through concept plans for possible new senior citizen and recreation facilities Tuesday.
Added to the “fix it now” demand by advocates of a stand-alone Senior Center was a new one: leave the outdoor basketball courts at Count Basie Fields alone.
Marian Quinn of Manor Drive speaking at the rally. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Invoking “demolition by neglect” and the prospect of “apartments” on the site, several dozen Red Bankers rallied Saturday to demand that the mothballed borough Senior Center be repaired.
They also momentarily drowned out the grandson of the center’s founder when he took issue with one of the handmade signs posted on the building.
Supporters of a drive to repair and reopen Red Bank’s Senior Center plan to rally at the facility Saturday for the second time this year.
Councilwoman Kate Triggiano, center of bottom row, prevailed on a resolution regarding the Redevelopment Agency. (Zoom screengrab. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Sarcasm and insults flew Wednesday night as the Red Bank council yet again clashed over the future of the mothballed Senior Center.
This time, residents provided much of the ire. Read More
David Huber, center top, began what he said would be his last year as redevelopment agency chairman. (Photo from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank residents pressed the borough’s Redevelopment Agency to save the Shrewsbury Avenue Senior Center Tuesday.
Clad in their graduation caps and gowns and surrounded by family and neighbors, Red Bank Regional High School seniors got a loud and literally moving sendoff Wednesday evening.
Lightbridge Academy plans to build a facility at Shrewsbury Avenue and Harvard Way. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A rapid makeover of Shrewsbury’s northwestern corner continues with the approval last week of a large new daycare facility.
The borough planning board OK’d a plan by Lightbridge Academy, a franchisor of educational centers for children from infancy to kindergarten, to build a two-story, 11,600-square-foot facility with outdoor play areas on Shrewsbury Avenue.
Despite wilting heat and humidity, a group of seniors tended the newly installed raised-bed garden purchased by Councilwoman Cindy Burnham for the borough Red Bank Senior Citizens Center Thursday morning.
At right, 98-year-old Edith Blake checks the aroma on a sage leaf from the planter, where seniors have also planted tomatoes, taragon and basil. The planter is set up beside a picnic table so seniors can garden while seated, said Burnham. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Costume contest winner Carolyn Ott (center) meets Forrestdale School sixth-graders Sally Wingertzahn (left) and Brennan Stabler (right) during the Rumson Senior Citizen’s Club Halloween Luncheon, held at the First Presbyterian Church on October 26. The event is one of many student/senior activities offered throughout the school year by the club, information on which (including other activities like a holiday Toys For Tots drive and bus trips) is available by contacting the church.
Registered Yoga teacher Theresa Conlon progresses flawlessly through her routine in the gazebo at Wesleyan Arms in Red Bank.
Press release from Wesleyan Arms
On Wednesday, June 24, the Red Bank-based senior housing community Wesleyan Arms hosted the grand opening of The Arms Café, a new senior resource hub to the area’s growing population of older adults.
A partnership between Wesleyan Arms and Home Helpers Home Care of Monmouth County with the Visiting Nurse Association of Central New Jersey, the Cafe is dedicated to a mission of providing opportunities for essential social interaction, physical exercise and continuing learning to people aged 65 and older who live alone.
Located at 9 Wall Street in Red Bank and part of the United Methodist Homes of New Jersey (UMHNJ), the Cafe welcomes older adults in the area to participate each week in a casual setting with a “drop-in center” feel. Open every Wednesday between 10 am and 2 pm, the facility is staffed with a resource coordinator who can offer information about elder care resources to individuals and their families.
Examples of the varied calendar activities include: chair yoga or Zumba, art, technology, reading and book club discussions, meeting new friends, walking groups, finding information, enjoying the company of others, and more. While The Arms Café has some structure, seniors may do as much or as little as they prefer. All resource information and most classes are free. Occasionally, a special offering requires a fee.
Red Bank Regional senior Jorge Benavides is the school’s first student to complete Teen Outreach Program training, and to co-facilitate a class.
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
“It’s a safe place to let out our opinions and views, where there is mutual respect and we do not judge one another,” states Jorge Benavides of Red Bank.
A senior at Red Bank Regional High School, Jorge is referring to the Teen Outreach Program, or TOP — and as the first RBR student to co-facilitate the nationally acclaimed program in his school, the 17 year old speaks with authority on the subject.
Developed by the Wyman Center, TOP “promotes the positive development of adolescents through a combination of curriculum-guided group discussion and community service learning.” Examples of past RBR community service included a walk for suicide prevention, aiding the victims of Hurricane Sandy and a program supporting the LGBT community.
Freshman participants are recruited for TOP by The SOURCE, RBR’s School Based Youth Services Program. Offering weekly sessions during their lunch and study hall time for most of the school year, the program also runs a section for sophomores and upper classman who chose to continue their participation.
Press release from Red Bank Regional High School
On March 2, Red Bank Regional High School senior Sarah Vates realized a long-term goal in winning the New Jersey State Tournament of Champions in a competitive forensic event. In a few weeks, she will travel by invitation of Governor Christie to the Governor’s mansion, Drumthwacket, to celebrate her achievement along with the 19 other New Jersey students who took first place in their respective forensic categories.
As Sarah explains, “Forensics is similar to acting, but more disciplined since there are many rules by which competitors must abide. It is also pure performance, without props, or costumes and depends solely on voices, gestures and facial expressions. It is much nuanced and can be different every time you perform a piece.”
The Holmdel resident — pictured holding two trophies; one each for herself and for her school — won the New Jersey state championship in prose interpretation. She chose her own material from a novel (The Paris Wife by Paula McClain) in which she synthesized the author’s words into a ten minute forensic performance. Sarah had recently qualified to compete in the state championship when she placed fourth in the University of Pennsylvania’s Liberty Bell Classic national competition. Thirty contestants (who similarly qualified by placing in other high-level tournaments) competed in twenty categories using material chosen from other published sources.