The change will shift parking from the west side of Spring Street (at left above) to the east, and set time limits. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s council narrowly approved a plan to flip parking from one side of Spring Street to the other Wednesday night.
The action was enabled by Mayor Billy Portman‘s first tiebreaker vote since he took office in January.
After a four-year closure, Red Bank’s Senior Center will formally reopen next week, the borough announced Tuesday.
A dispute over money ended with a Long Branch man stabbed in the chest with a barbecue fork in Red Bank Saturday, police said.
According to Captain Mike Frazee, police responded to Riverview Medical Center’s emergency room at 1:14 p.m. on a report of a patient who sought medical treatment for a stab wound.
A 40-foot-tall digital billboard would replace the existing display at 187 Riverside Avenue if approved. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
A hearing on a plan to erect a giant digital billboard at Red Bank’s northern gateway has been put off until late summer.
UPDATE: The May 18 zoning board meeting has been cancelled, according to a May 17 notice on the borough website.
Red Bank’s Broadwalk returned Monday night for at least a four-month run. And the weather for the next week looks good for outdoor dining.
Canopy Crossroad plans to lease 9 West Street, a portion of a building that also houses Red Bank Liquors. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposed Red Bank marijuana shop that’s been a focal point in a running debate over cannabis zoning won approval from the borough planning board Monday night.
With a more welcoming council set to take office July 1, Canopy Crossroad now appears to have a clearer path to opening next door to Red Bank Liquors, though hurdles remain.
Plug Naturals LLC seeks board approval to create a cannabis store in a house on West Front Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
An effort to tighten Red Bank’s controversial cannabis business zoning law faces a double-barreled challenge Monday night.
That’s when the owners of two proposed pot shops that would be less than 350 feet apart go to the planning board. Both are expected to argue they comply with the 2021 law.
The crime and arrest reports below were provided by the Red Bank Police Department for April, 2023. This information is unedited; see below for additional information.
CRIMES
Theft: On 04/03/2023 a patrol unit took a report of theft from a vehicle. In the area of Leighton Av., the owner of a vehicle reported a key was stolen from the vehicle. The key was valued at $5.00. Ptl. Jhonatan Quispe.
Theft: In the area of Newman Springs Rd. a patrol unit took a report of theft from a vehicle. On 04/03/2023 the owner of a vehicle reported US Currency in the amount of $800.00 was stolen from a vehicle. Ptl. Ashon Lovick.
Vehicle parking would be allowed only on the east side of Spring Street for several blocks if the proposed change passes. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A plan to flip parking from one side of Spring Street to the other returns when the Red Bank council holds its semimonthly meeting Wednesday night.
Also on the agenda: a new four-way traffic stop, an expansion of a lead-pipe replacement program, and the installation of a $4-per-transaction automated teller machine in borough hall.
A rendering of the proposed home of Canopy Crossroad at 9 West Street, next door to Red Bank Liquors. (Rendering by Stephen Raciti Architect. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A plan for a retail cannabis shop in Red Bank ran into some of the same objections fueling an effort to rewrite where such businesses can operate in town Monday night.
Among them: that it’s too close to a school.
An application to open a retail cannabis dispensary on West Street in Red Bank goes to the planning board Monday night – in the midst of a council effort to block it.
By JOHN T. WARD
A traffic stop led to the arrest of 22-year-old Red Bank man for possession of a handgun loaded with highly lethal ammunition earlier this week, borough police said Friday.
A juvenile was also arrested in the incident.
A member of the State Police bomb squad emerging from a Red Bank storm sewer with a possible hand grenade Tuesday afternoon.
A map used in a February presentation indicated that 366 properties were known to be served by lead water supply lines, with most others “unknown.” (Image by ENGenuity. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
At its final meeting before a history-making election, the Red Bank council will take up a big cost increase for removing lead water service lines.
Also on deck: adoption of a cannabis zoning law that the planning board said does not comply with the town’s Master Plan.
A “temporary” office trailer has been in use at the public utilities yard on Chestnut Street for 20 years and is now “separating and shifting,” a report says. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A detailed review of Red Bank’s public utilities department found unsafe vehicles, inadequate staffing, facilities in need of upgrades and numerous other deficiencies, redbankgreen has learned.
The 14-page report, by former interim director Gary Watson Sr., includes a recommended boost in staffing to improve dealings with residents, who often can’t get answers to their inquiries, he wrote.
Formerly known as Azalea Gardens, the project will feature townhouses and two cottages. (Renderings by Thomas J. Brennan Architects. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
In the works for more than two decades, a housing development featuring a lush garden in downtown Red Bank will finally begin construction this summer, its principals said Thursday night.
Formerly known as Azalea Gardens, with a new name to be determined, the 16-home project now pairs longtime owner Ray Rapcavage with borough-based developer Roger Mumford, who’s built more than 4,000 homes in his career.
A proposed cannabis dispensary next door to Red Bank Liquors on West Street would be barred because it is within 1,000 feet of the Red Bank Charter School. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s pending cannabis zoning law does not comply with the borough’s Master Plan, the planning board found Monday night.
On a unanimous vote, the board rejected the controversial law, finding that it violates the plan’s goal of furthering economic development.
Mayoral candidates Tim Hogan, left and Billy Portman, right, at last week’s dedication ceremony at the Senior Center. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s two mayoral candidates disagreed Monday on whether one of them has “refused” a call for a one-on-one debate.
Azalea Gardens would be built on Harding Road, between Clay Street and Hudson Avenue. (Google Maps photo. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank may get an update on a long-pending downtown housing project this week.
Also on planning and zoning agendas: an EV charger law, and proposed zoning for cannabis businesses.
New public utilities director Terrence Walton addressing the audience at borough hall Wednesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s council appointed a new department head, authorized another season of in-street dining downtown, took action on the long-closed town dump and gave a thumbs-up to a plan for gardens on Broad Street Wednesday night.
Here are some highlights of the busy meeting, which ran for more than three hours:
Tom Hintelmann addresses attendees at the event in his late father’s honor. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
See note below
By JOHN T. WARD
The lobby at Red Bank’s long-closed Senior Center now has a name, in honor of the late Thomas E. Hintelmann, the borough’s longest-serving council member.
Several dozen attendees crowded into the foyer of the Shrewsbury Avenue facility Tuesday evening to memorialize Hintelmann, who served on the borough council from 1975 through 2004.
The crime and arrest reports below were provided by the Red Bank Police Department for March, 2023. This information is unedited; see below for additional information.
CRIMES
Theft: On 03/08/2023 a patrol unit took a report of shoplifting. In the area of Water St., an employee reported the theft of four bottles of laundry detergent. The total value of the items was listed at $71.96. Ptl. Shane Dengel.
Criminal Mischief: A patrol unit took a report of graffiti in the area of Monmouth St. On 03/12/2023 an owner of a business reported lettering in black in color spray paint on a fence and on the rear wall of a business. No cost given for the damages. Ptl. Froilan Hernandez.
Responding to public pressure, the council plans to create a four-way stop at the intersection of Leighton Avenue and Drs. James Parker Boulevard. (Google Maps image. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
On the Red Bank mayor and council’s agenda for Wednesday night: new hurdles for licensing of cannabis businesses; the 2023 budget; a new four-way traffic intersection and more.
Repair work continued at the Shrewsbury Avenue facility last month. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank officials have scheduled a dedication ceremony this week at the borough’s long-closed Senior Center.
But not, it turns out, to reopen the facility, which still isn’t quite ready for prime time, according to the interim borough Administrator Darren McConnell.
The thief fled Leonardo Jewelers Tuesday afternoon, chased by the owner. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A Red Bank jeweler was pepper-sprayed by a thief after he chased her down and caught her a block away from his store, police said Wednesday.
A store employee was also attacked with the irritant, police said.