RED BANK: LUNCH BREAK BREAKS GROUND
Lunch Break Executive Director Gwen Love, above, welcomed more than 100 guests as the Red Bank social services nonprofit kicked off a $12 million expansion of its Red Bank home Thursday.
RED BANK: MEAL PROVIDERS TEAM UP
(Press release from Soup Kitchen 411)
It wasn’t the first time they’ve collaborated to feed community members, but on the mild April Monday morning, the smell of delicious meals was almost unparalleled. The vegetarian sandwiches featured roasted red pepper hummus with lettuce tomatoes and cabbage, while the meat sandwiches had just about any and every type of meat carnivores crave—ham with mustard aioli, monterey jack cheese, mixed greens, tomatoes; turkey/pastrami with creamy horseradish, monterey cheese, lettuce tomatoes; grilled chicken with roasted red peppers, basil aioli and arugula, all in hearty ciabatta bread.
RED BANK: DANNY EASING OUT OF DANNY’S
Danny Murphy, owner of Danny’s Steakhouse, behind the bar Monday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
From the moment it opened in Red Bank in 1969, what’s now known as Danny’s Steakhouse has been the alter ego of its creator.
By next month, however, restaurateur Danny Murphy will have begun “transitioning out” of the Bridge Avenue establishment he’s run and lived above for more than half a century.
RED BANK: NO-CHARGE PHARMACY TO OPEN
The Ritesh Shah Charitable Pharmacy is expected to open in April, its founder said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank is about to become home to New Jersey’s first free-medication drugstore, its founder told redbankgreen this week.
Pharmacist Ritesh Shah said he plans to open the no-charge dispensary next month in memory of his sister, who died from complications of COVID-19.
RED BANK: LUNCH BREAK COLLECTS PROMWEAR
(Press release from Lunch Break)
Lunch Break, the food pantry and social service resource center in Red Bank, is accepting formal-wear donations for female and male students from Feb. 1-March 31, 2022 at its facility, 121 Drs. James Parker Blvd., as part of the Sixth Annual Prom Drive and Give-Away.
RED BANK: SCHOOLS MUSTER FOR RESTART
Domenic Kalorin, left, was elected board president, succeeding Fred Stone, right. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
With “a huge chunk” of their staff out on pandemic-related absences, Red Bank’s public schools mustered once again to provide instruction Tuesday, Superintendent Jared Rumage said that night.
RED BANK: LUNCH BREAK IN HOUSING MERGER
Lunch Break Board President Philip Antoon and Family Promise of Monmouth County Board President Jessica Stepanski sign ceremonial document incorporating Family Promise into the Lunch Break network of programs. (Photo courtesy of Lunch Break. Click to enlarge.)
Press release Lunch Break
Addressing the systemic problem of homelessness in Monmouth County has long been on Lunch Break’s radar. Community members without adequate housing have sought the resource center’s help with life’s basic necessities, among them, shelter.
VIRUS UPDATE: RBR ON REMOTE, BOROUGH NOT
Students and staff at Red Bank Regional are scheduled begin 2022 in remote mode Tuesday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank borough schools will be open Tuesday, but the regional high school in Little Silver will go remote as shifting approaches to a surging COVID-19 virus arrived with the new year.
VIRUS UPDATE: SCHOOLS SCRAMBLE AGAIN
The trend in lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases for three towns since November 1. (redbankgreen chart from Monmouth County data. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Sharp increases in COVID-19 cases scrambled schedules for some Red Bank-area schools as they emerged from their year-end 2021 breaks Monday.
Here’s a rundown.
RED BANK: VNA TO OFFER VAX AND BOOSTER
From a Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey press release
The Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey Community Health Center plans to host a “Boost NJ” vaccination event at five Monmouth County sites, including two in Red Bank, on Wednesday, December 15.
Free doses will be available for anyone who is not yet had a booster or initial vaccination.
RED BANK: PARK MENORAH COMES TO LIGHT
About 50 people gathered in Red Bank’s Riverside Gardens Park for the annual Menorah Lighting Monday night.
Rabbi Marc Kline of Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls and Pastor Steve Brown of First Baptist Church in Red Bank led the Chanukkah event, sharing some thoughts on light for the season.
Shown above, from left: Pastor Brown; James Dalton, who provided the music; Rabbi Kline; and Jess Alaimo of Red Bank RiverCenter, who coordinated the event.
(Photos courtesy of Rabbi Marc Kline. Click to enlarge)
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RED BANK: BUNDLE UP FOR HOLIDAY EXPRESS
After a pandemic year off, the high-energy Holiday Express concert and Town Light-Up is slated to return to downtown Red Bank Friday night.
Attendees will want to bundle up for what looks to be a seasonally appropriate chilly and breezy event.
RED BANK: LOCAL TREE SPRUCES UP PARK
Red Bank’s annual centerpiece Christmas tree is up and ready for trimming in Riverside Gardens Park.
And in a break from most years, this one came from a front yard right in town.
RED BANK: CLOTHES, CANDLES &… CANNABIS?
Veronica Mogilevich in her new boutique, Another Sunday, on Monmouth Street. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A clothing boutique debuts; a gift shop and a restaurant plan openings; a would-be cannabis retailer stakes a claim; and a major retail building changes hands.
Read all about the latest business activity in downtown Red Bank in this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn.
RED BANK: ROTARY SETS UP OPEN ‘PANTRIES’
The free, 24/7 pantries have been installed at the YMCA, above, and Lunch Break, below.
Press release from the Rotary Club of Red Bank
The Red Bank Rotary has created three “Mother’s Pantries” as freestanding pantries to distribute diapers, baby wipes and feminine hygiene products to those in need.
In partnership with Lunch Break, the Salvation Army and the Red Bank Family YMCA, these pantries will provide a limited free supply of items often needed by families. The colorfully painted, unlocked pantries are accessible 24/7 for anyone in need to use.
RED BANK: LUNCH BREAK EXPANSION OK’D
Lunch Break’s proposed addition, as seen looking west along Drs. James Parker Boulevard. Below, executive director Gwen Love testifying. (Rendering by Kellenyi Johnson Wagner. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Despite some misgivings about its impact on a problematic corner, Lunch Break won approval for a $12 million expansion from the Red Bank zoning board last week.
Board members cited the food-security charity’s “inherently beneficial use” in granting unanimous approval.
RED BANK: LUNCH BREAK PLAN ON DECK
Lunch Break’s proposed addition, as seen from Drs. James Parker Boulevard. (Rendering by Kellenyi Johnson Wagner. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Plans for a $12 million expansion of Lunch Break, the food security and social services nonprofit, are scheduled for review by the Red Bank zoning board Thursday.
RED BANK: CHRISTMAS TREE WANTED
Got a spare blue spruce in your yard? Red Bank RiverCenter is once again looking for a Christmas tree to display in Riverside Gardens Park this holiday season.
RED BANK: HUNDREDS RALLY FOR WOMEN
About 1,000 women, men and children marched and rallied for women’s reproductive rights in downtown Red Bank Saturday.
In conjunction with hundreds of similar events nationwide, the Red Bank gathering, organized by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey and the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, focused on abortion rights as the Supreme Court begins a new term Monday with pivotal cases on the docket.
Chanting “Ruth sent us” and “my body, my choice,” participants marched from the train station to Broad Street and then gathered in Riverside Gardens Park, where speakers, including borough Councilwoman Kate Triggiano, called for the election of women’s rights supporters.
Check out redbankgreen’s photos, below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
RED BANK: KIDS LEND A HAND FOR NEW MURAL
A vivid new mural began taking shape Tuesday at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Monmouth County unit in Red Bank, courtesy of artist Stacey Pritchard.
With funding provided by the Monmouth Arts Signs of Hope program, Pritchard said the finished mural will include “words of inspiration” (at right) provided by children who attend the club, at Drs. James Parker Boulevard and Bridge Avenue.
(Photos by Allan Bass. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: DOGS AGAIN FROLIC IN PARK
Like a dog aroused by the smell of food, Red Bank’s pandemic-interrupted Dog Days of Summer series snapped back to life in Marine Park Saturday.
The gathering, organized by the borough’s Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, featured live music by the Wag, displays by pet care organizations and several hundred wet noses.
Check out redbankgreen‘s photos from the event below.
(Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: TEACHER NAMED COUNTY’S BEST
Alyssa Geary, below, teaches at the Red Bank Middle School. (Click to enlarge.)
On August 25, the New Jersey Department of Education announced 21 educators as the 2021-2022 County Teachers of the Year during a virtual awards ceremony.
Among them: Red Bank Middle School teacher Alyssa Geary, who garnered the honor for Monmouth County.
RED BANK: RALLY DEMANDS VAX/MASK CHOICE
Marchers gathered on the sidewalk outside Riverview Medical Center Monday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
About 150 proponents of “choice” regarding COVID-19 vaccines and masks protested outside Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank early Monday afternoon.
The midday protest followed a rally in Riverside Gardens Park, where god, the U.S. Constitution and the Second Amendment were also invoked.
RED BANK: COPTER STARS AT NIGHT OUT
Hundreds of Red Bank residents turned out for the annual police-sponsored National Night Out Against Crime festival at Count Basie Park Tuesday night.
In addition to free food and games, this years’s edition featured the dramatic arrival of a New Jersey National Guard Black Hawk helicopter, which kids of all ages swarmed over.
The stop was the second of the night on the Greater Red Bank Green for the Lakehurst-based chopper, following an appearance at Little Silver’s National Night Out at Markham Fields.
Check out the photos below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: MURAL LINKS HOMESTEAD TO PAST
Doug Booton, center, and Anthony Jude Setaro with artist Maria Chamra and her mural of Sassano, Italy. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Before they began resettling in Red Bank in 1895, Anthony Jude Setaro and Doug Booton’s ancestors lived for at least 400 years in Sassano, a village in Italy’s Campania region.
Now, a bay window at the family’s Oakland Street homestead frames an idyllic vision of a faraway place that to the new owners still qualifies as home.