RED BANK: PROBE, METERS & MORE ON AGENDA

A leak of emails, including correspondence between Councilman Ed Zipprich and a prospective bidder for the trash contract, is the subject of an investigation. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

redbankgreen hot topic Red Bank Councilman Ed Zipprich will get the investigation into a leak of emails he requested earlier this month.

Approval of the probe, as well as final adoption of the 2020 budget; extended hours of parking meter enforcement; and a half-dozen police department promotions are all on the council’s busy agenda for Wednesday night.

August 17, 2020 - 6:50 am | Comments ()

FAIR HAVEN: PRESERVATION GOALS CURBED

What’s Going On Here? once again checks in on the progress of an unusal construction project in Fair Haven, and finds the developer has had to significantly curb its historical preservation goals.

Read on.

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October 18, 2017 - 7:00 am | Comments ()

FAIR HAVEN: BACK TO THE FOREFRONT

After spending the last five months on rails at the back of a River Road, Fair Haven lot, a 150-year old old house-turned-retail structure was slid into place over a new foundation at the front last week.

What’s Going On Here? Read on.

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October 2, 2017 - 12:20 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: THEATER ADDITION APPROVED

A rendering of the proposed addition to the left of the existing theater and fly tower at center, as seen from the northeast. (Rendering by Kaplan Gaunt Desantis Architects. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank’s Two River Theater won raves from neighbors, and zoning board approval, Thursday night for a plan to expand its non-performance space.

But West Street residents pressed for, and failed to obtain, changes to aspects of the plan that they worry will direct more traffic onto their block, some of it from motorists using the theater lot simply to avoid street traffic.

April 21, 2017 - 7:00 am | Comments ()

FAIR HAVEN: MOVE IT ON OVER

An old house-turned-retail building in Fair Haven’s historic business district literally went up on blocks Thursday. What’s Going On Here? Read on.

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April 14, 2017 - 9:00 am | Comments ()

FAIR HAVEN: FOREFRONT PROJECT BEGINS

A pile of rubble was all that remained Friday of a building at 812-814 River Road in Fair Haven.

What’s going on here?

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March 27, 2017 - 12:24 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: LAUNDROMAT & APARTMENTS OK’D

The new structure would be built between a six-unit apartment building, at left, and Juanito’s Market, at right, with all three properties sharing parking in back. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The Red Bank zoning board approved the creation of a new laundromat and four apartments on a vacant Shrewsbury Avenue lot Thursday night.

But before the project can get underway, grocer and restaurateur Juan Torres will have to reduce a possible tab for water and sewer hookups that could total $562,000.

March 17, 2017 - 6:09 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: TWO RIVER PLANS ADDITION

A rendering of the proposed addition to the left of the existing theater and tower above, as seen from the northeast. (Rendering by Kaplan Gaunt Desantis Architects. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The backstage area of Red Bank’s Two River Theater is about to get bigger, if a plan in the works gets a green light from borough officials.

Scheduled for consideration by the zoning board next week, the plan calls for the construction of an architecturally bold addition to the existing theater for rehearsal spaces, costume-making and the building of props and scenery, according to documents on file.

March 7, 2017 - 10:00 am | Comments ()

SEA BRIGHT: NEW HOME FLOATS INTO VIEW

The house, at 290 Ocean Avenue, features an unusual tunnel underneath the living space. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

One of the more unusual construction projects on the Greater Red Bank Green has been catching the eyes of passersby on Ocean Avenue in Sea Bright in recent months.

There, Red Bank builder Mike Villane is overseeing the creation of a house that appears to hover beside the Shrewsbury River, with a tunnel underneath.

October 26, 2016 - 10:41 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: BUILDER PRESERVES OLD HOME

The newly restored structure at 219 East Bergen Place is believed to date back to 1874, says its new owner. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

An investment by a business owner has secured a future for another one of Red Bank’s older homes.

Mike Villane, owner of Lead Dog Custom Homes, recently completed a gut-job renovation of 219 East Bergen Place, where his young business is now headquartered.

June 7, 2016 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: HORSE-ERA HOUSE GETS CAR LOT

The circa-1875 office building at Broad Street and East Bergen Place. The driveway to the right belongs to the adjoining property. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

The prospective buyer of a historic, high-profile Red Bank property won approval Wednesday night to make an alteration: the addition of a small parking lot out back.

The planning board unanimously approved the creation of a 12-space lot in the rear yard of 286 Broad Street, at the corner of East Bergen.

February 18, 2016 - 11:15 am | Comments ()

FAIR HAVEN: OLD BUILDINGS TO BE JOINED

Architect Matt Cronin’s design would link the two River Road buildings shown below with a new glass-filled central section. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A plan to connect a pair of 150-year-old structures in Fair Haven with a window-filled central addition elicited unanimous praise from the planning board Wednesday night.

ForeFront Incorporated, a web tech firm headquartered in a stately Victorian two doors away, intends to use the conjoined buildings as expansion office space, company principal Michel Berger told the board.

With a patio, yoga space and “mom’s room,” it’s designed to attract millenial coders and developers to his company, where the average employee is 24 years old, Berger said.

December 10, 2015 - 10:00 am | Comments ()

WHERE HAVE I SEEN THIS?

An interesting variety of answers fluttered in for last week’s Where Have I Seen This?, which showed a bell tower of sorts.

April 4, 2013 - 8:58 am | Comments ()

WHERE HAVE I SEEN THIS?

How’s your grasp of local signage? If you think you know Where this one is, send us an email, please.

July 26, 2012 - 7:35 am | Comments ()

MYSTERY OBJECTOR SKEWS HOTEL DEBATE

Architect Lou Silverstein holds up a rendering of the proposed Hampton Inn as objector Marco Sima addresses the planning board. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Already the subject of a lawsuit, hearings on a proposed six-story, 72-room hotel at the foot of Cooper Bridge in Red Bank took another turn for the thorny Monday night when the lawyer for an objector acknowledged that a second client was paying his fees, but declined to say who.

Attorney Ron Gasiorowski’s refusal to tell the planning board whether his other client was a potential competitor with the proposed Hampton Inn appeared to set the stage for an eventual showdown, even as testimony by the hotel’s architect and an engineer went ahead.

“I’ve never seen it before,” acting board chairman Dan Mancuso told reporters after the hearing. “I’ve never seen a situation where it was unclear to the board who [a lawyer’s] client really was.”

November 7, 2011 - 11:58 pm | Comments ()

WHERE HAVE I SEEN THIS?

Consider the wall.

Mesmerizing, isn’t it?

August 11, 2011 - 7:55 am | Comments ()