Under the proposal, most of Henry Street would be eliminated and a new playground built alongside Mohawk Pond. (CME Associates graphic. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A street that effectively serves as shortcut past the main entrance to Count Basie Fields would be closed to traffic under a concept plan discussed by the Red Bank council Wednesday night.
Monmouth Street between Broad Street and Maple Avenue would become a pedestrian plaza all day on Sundays as part of a recovery plan. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Details for turning two downtown Red Bank streets into part-time dining and shopping plazas hinge largely on pending clarity from Trenton, borough officials said Tuesday.
On a Zoom/conference call with merchants, borough officials said they need information from Governor Phil Murphy on key issues before they can finalize plans for allotting sidewalk and street space among restaurants, retailers and others.
Broad Street would be closed from the intersection with Front Street, above, to Wallace Street three nights a week under the plan. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Two major streets in the heart of downtown Red Bank would be closed to traffic to allow mid-street dining and shopping under action taken by the borough council Wednesday night.
The economic recovery measure needed lightning-fast approval so the business district “can to be ready the second we get the call” from Trenton about expected loosening of COVID-19 restrictions, said Councilwoman Kate Triggiano.
Customers dining in the sidewalk seating area of Robinson Ale House on Broad Street in 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank officials have formed a committee to “creatively expand outdoor capacity for restaurants and retail sales” as the town embarks on a post-COVID-19 recovery.
One idea the committee is expected to chew over: use of public spaces for outdoor dining.
Kris Winters says her White Street shop, Cabana 19, was just getting back on its feet from last year’s streetscape disruption when the pandemic hit. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A Red Bank construction project looms large for some business owners as they start to crawl out from under one of the worst economic crises in American history.
They’re pleading for “empathy” as they try to avoid a third consecutive blow in one year.
Ed Zipprich, left, won a fourth term, and Michael Ballard, right, won his first in the 2017 election. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Two incumbent Democrats will defend their seats on the Red Bank council in the November election, the party announced Monday.
In an unsurprising move, the municipal and county Democratic committees unanimously endorsed Councilman Ed Zipprich‘s pursuit of a fifth three-year term, and Michael Ballard‘s quest for a second.
The owners of the Colony House apartments, at right, claim the plan for the VNA site, at left, violates their property rights. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Two months after approving one of the largest development projects in Red Bank history, the borough planning board has been sued over the decision, redbankgreen has learned.
The suit arrives as the board is defending itself in a lawsuit concerning a proposed Hampton Inn just across the street.
A proposed study is expected to track traffic at 19 downtown intersections, including Broad and West Front streets, above. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A study of downtown traffic is up for discussion at the Red Bank council’s workshop session Wednesday evening.
The data to be gathered is expected to be useful for future parking, pedestrian and other initiatives, borough Business Administrator Ziad Shehady tells redbankgreen.
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.”
The latest plan calls for replacing the car wash, at left above, with a convenience store. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Five months after yanking a plan to add a Dunkin’ coffee shop, the owner of Red Bank ‘s lone Shell station will once again try for a convenience store.
Station owner Waseem Chaudhary’s proposal is the third he’s floated in the past seven years.
Saxum relocated the proposed pedestrian plaza shown in this rendering from the Riverside Avenue side of the project to the Bodman Place side. (Rendering by MVMK Architecture. Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
One of the largest development projects in Red Bank history won planning board approval Monday night.
The OK for 210 apartments at Riverside Avenue and Bodman Place requires developer Saxum Real Estate to seek state approval for a traffic light there. But the project can go ahead even if the request fails.
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.
The Red Bank planning board hearing, scheduled for Monday night, on a proposal for 210 apartments on Riverside Avenue has been rescheduled.
Jonathan Maciel Penney speaking at last week’s West Side Community Group forum. (Photo by Ben Forest. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
In an effort to break the Democratic lock on the Red Bank council, this year’s Republican candidates have set their sights squarely on a Democratic stronghold: the West Side.
At events and in campaign literature, Allison Gregory and Jonathan Maciel Penney have sought to align themselves with minority groups and residents threatened with displacement from the West Side as a result of gentrification.
Councilwoman Kathy Horgan. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Red Bank voters will choose two council members for three-year terms in the November 5 election.
On the ballot are incumbent Democrats Kathy Horgan and Erik Yngstrom and Republican challengers Allison Gregory and Jonathan Maciel Penney.
redbankgreen sent all candidates written questions. Here are Horgan’s responses.
Jonathan Maciel Penney. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Red Bank voters will choose two council members for three-year terms in the November 5 election.
On the ballot are incumbent Democrats Kathy Horgan and Erik Yngstrom and Republican challengers Allison Gregory and Jonathan Maciel Penney.
redbankgreen sent all candidates written questions. Here are Penney’s responses.
Councilman Erik Yngstrom. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Red Bank voters will choose two council members for three-year terms in the November 5 election.
On the ballot are incumbent Democrats Kathy Horgan and Erik Yngstrom and Republican challengers Allison Gregory and Jonathan Maciel Penney.
redbankgreen sent all candidates written questions. Here are Yngstrom’s responses.
Allison Gregory. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Red Bank voters will choose two council members for three-year terms in the November 5 election.
On the ballot are incumbent Democrats Kathy Horgan and Erik Yngstrom and Republican challengers Allison Gregory and Jonathan Maciel Penney.
redbankgreen sent all candidates written questions. Here are Gregory’s responses.
A rendering depicts the proposed plaza at Riverside Avenue and Bodman Place that board members raised safety concerns about. (Rendering by Arterial Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank planning board members aired numerous misgivings about one of the largest development plans in borough history Monday night.
High on the list that developer Saxum Real Estate is expected to address: traffic and pedestrian safety issues. Read More
A rendering depicts the Bodman Place side of the proposed apartment project. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The fate of one of the largest development plans in Red Bank history remained unresolved Monday night.
At the fourth planning board hearing on the 210-unit apartment complex proposed for the site of the former VNA headquarters, attention centered largely on the wisdom of putting a public plaza on busy Riverside Avenue.
A rendering displayed at the planning board depicts a public plaza on the Riverside Avenue side of the proposed apartment project. (Rendering by Arterial. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Unanswered questions held up a planning board vote on one of the largest development plans in Red Bank history Wednesday night.
Among them: where will the poop deposited on the rooftop dog runs go?
A rendering shows the Riverside Avenue facade of the proposed apartment project. (Rendering by MVMK Architecture. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Like many motorists, a traffic engineer for one of the largest development plans in Red Bank history found himself confronting an intersection likened to “Russian roulette” Monday night. Read More
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.
A rendering of the new Shell station and Dunkin’ shop at Newman Springs Road and Shrewsbury Avenue. (Drawing by Dynamic Engineering PC. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
After an 11-week lull, the owner of a Red Bank gas station continued his bid to build a Dunkin’ shop for Parkway-bound commuters Thursday night with a revised plan.
This one shrinks the proposed coffee shop, eliminates interior seating and adds more space for vehicles to use the drive-thru service.
Councilman Michael Ballard, center, and Mayor Pasquale Menna on election night 2017. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s mayor and council say they’re “hopeful and optimistic” about implementing the recommendations of a bombshell parking study delivered this month.
The assertion was made Tuesday in an unusual press release that appeared to walk back comments made by Mayor Pasquale Menna and Councilman Michael Ballard to redbankgreen last week, when they termed a key recommendation in the report potentially “catastrophic” and a “terrible hit” for taxpayers.