Work on the primary school emergency access road, seen here from Locust Avenue, is nearly complete. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
While most of America is cracking open its first cold beverages of the July 4 holiday Wednesday evening, the Red Bank council plans to hold a workshop session.
Yep.
Among the ideas the committee may take up: the possible sale of borough hall, above, at 90 Monmouth Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A new municipal body with the potential to exert powerful influence on the future of Red Bank quietly took to the stage Tuesday.
Not quite the hottest ticket in town, the late-afternoon session of the new Redevelopment Agency drew an audience of three: two advisory committee members, who left early, and a reporter. But the ideas being floated, including the possible sale of borough hall, could soon move to the spotlight.
The track at Count Basie Fields would be replaced under a plan up for adoption by the council. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposed alternate-side parking ordinance is up for consideration at the Red Bank council’s only regular session this month.
Also on the agenda as the council moves into its summer meeting schedule: taxes, a new track for Count Basie Fields, the settlement of a disputed records request and more. Read More
Government consultant Ken DeRoberts will manage the agency. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council approved two of its own members and five other residents to constitute a new borough redevelopment agency Wednesday night.
The council is looking for Green Acres grants to make improvements to Riverside Gardens Park, above, and Bellhaven Natural Area, below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Appointments to a new redevelopment agency and grants for improvements to two parks highlight a relatively quiet lineup for the Red Bank council’s semimonthly meeting Wednesday night.
Business Administrator Ziad Shehady in December, above. Below, the council plans to advance plans for the redevelopment of the former VNA headquarters at 176 Riverside Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A report on a claim of workplace discrimination and a step toward the building of what could become one of Red Bank’s largest residential projects are on the borough council’s agenda for Wednesday night.
Emanuel Court would be closed to vehicular traffic under a change up for introduction Wednesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The creation of a redevelopment agency for Red Bank is among the items on the borough council’s agenda Wednesday night.
Also up for consideration at the semimonthly meeting: a smoking ban, and the closing of a driveway onto a busy street.
The council is expected to seek transit village status for the area around the borough train station. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Affordable housing, development around the train station and what was said when a key employee got fired are on the agenda for the Red Bank council’s semimonthly meeting Wednesday night.
The council will hold its final session of 2018 Wednesday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s political plates begin shifting once again Wednesday night, the last council meeting for the governing body’s only two Republicans.
Borough hall would get a new phone system under a contract up for approval by the council. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Here’s a preview of the Red Bank borough council’s agenda for its semimonthly meeting Wednesday night:
Instead of taking their usual places on the dais, the mayor and council members sat around a large conference table for the meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council’s first-ever workshop-only meeting proved to be a marathon of matters large and small Wednesday night.
Among the topics discussed at the three-and-a-half-hour session: ways to “deal with the issue” of vehicles parked indefinitely outside the home of an unspecified Bank Street resident, though it was widely understood who that was.
The workshop sessions will be held in the council chambers. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s local-government groupies and gadflies will have another municipal meeting to add to their calendars starting next month.
A proposed ordinance change would allow Catch 19, a seafood restaurant that’s zoned as a club, to set up sidewalk dining like other downtown eateries. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A downtown Red Bank restaurant that’s zoned as a club would be able to join the trend of sidewalk cafés under a law tweak up for consideration Wednesday night.
Also on the borough council agenda: a new vendor for the concession stand in Riverside Gardens Park.
Councilman Erik Yngstrom now heads the all-Democrat parking committee. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
After a post-election lull, Red Bank Democrats plan to bring in a parking consultant to offer guidance on how to fix parking issues downtown, Councilman Erik Yngstrom said Wednesday.
Cindy Burnham, seen here at a candidate’s forum last October, during her unsuccessful council re-election campaign. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A group of Red Bank residents formed by former Councilwoman Cindy Burnham filed suit Monday to derail efforts to build a garage for at least 773 vehicles in the heart of town.
Burnham, who failed in her re-election bid as a Republican-turned-independent in November after one term, said although she supports the construction of a garage, the eight-story structure permitted under a redevelopment plan authorized by the council last week is “just too high.”
Count Basie Theatre security worker Dennis O’Keefe working the entrance to the borough hall parking lot Wednesday night. A restaurant owner cited theater activity for creating parking issues last weekend. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
An effort to coax a 773-vehicle garage into the heart of Red Bank cleared another speedbump Wednesday night.
At its semimonthly meeting, the borough council authorized a request for proposals, or RFP, from developers interested in building on the 2.3-acre municipal lot on White Street.
But first, it tweaked the requirements to be more environmentally friendly.
Read More
Got a parking plan for White Street? The borough will accept proposals from qualified developers until April 26. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A call for ideas to remake the White Street lot into a parking garage anchors a busy Red Bank council agenda Wednesday night.
Up for discussion for the the first time is a request for proposals, or RFP, to transform the 2.3-acre municipal parking lot on White Street into a facility that nearly triples the current capacity of 273 vehicles while adding, possibly, housing and retail space.
The home page of the new Red Bank borough website. Information technology director Joe Fagliarone, below. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
After years of talk, Red Bank finally has a new website.
Launched without fanfare late last month, the new portal to local government information services replaces a clunker that in its final months couldn’t find the mayor’s name in a search.
The Independent Engine House on Mechanic Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank ‘s second firehouse auction in two years attracted four times the number of bidders as the first one, but ended at a lower top bid.
David Glassberg of Little Silver was the apparent bid winner of the Independent Engine Company, at 32 Mechanic Street opposite Globe Court.
Mayor Pasquale Menna at Wednesday’s council meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Things got snippy Wednesday night when Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna claimed he was being dissed by two council members.
A routine discussion over a scheduling question briefly turned into the latest in a recent series of episodes in which the mayor squared off against fellow Democrats Kathy Horgan and Ed Zipprich, and they aligned themselves with the council’s lone independent.
The Independent Engine House on Mechanic Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
For the second time in little more than two years, Red Bank is looking to unload a firehouse.
On Wednesday night, without discussion, the council unanimously agreed to put the home of the Independent Engine Company, at 32 Mechanic Street opposite Globe Court, up for sealed-bid auction on August 30.
Marcos Ramirez shows customer Chris Hawkins his haircut at the newly opened Red Bank R Barber Shop on Shrewsbury Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
[Correction: The original version of this story incorrectly reported that Playa Bowls needs variances to open. The plan has been approved and no variances were needed, according to borough officials.]
By JOHN T. WARD
Kicking off its second decade of covering the endless comings and goings of Red Bank merchants, redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn has the scoop on these churnings:
• The debut of new dance studio
• One barber shop opens, and another relocates
• The departure of a “hippie shop” and plans by a tailor to replace it
• A fruit bowl business plans to open
• RiverCenter puts a bow on 2015
All that and more awaits, just around the “read more” corner… Read More
The Red Lantern restaurant won clearance to open at 132 Broad Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The dizzying transformation of downtown Red Bank into a place to dine, for those who can find parking, got another boost Monday night.
The borough planning board approved a plan to convert retail space at 132 Broad Street to a restaurant, despite a shortfall of 25 parking spots.
The former Liberty Hose firehouse at 40 White Street in Red Bank won borough zoning board approval last week for conversion to a retail store with two apartments on the second floor, according to planning and zoning director Glenn Carter. The vote was unanimous, with one abstention, he said.
An illegal expansion into a breezeway beside Pazzo Restaurant drew criticism, but won planning board approval. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A Red Bank restaurant’s request for permission to keep an already-built extension drew pointed criticism from borough planning board members Monday night.
“I hate it,” board vice chairman Dan Mancuso told an owner of Pazzo Restaurant.