RED BANK: NO VOTE YET ON SHELL 7-ELEVEN

Red Bank resident Tracy Khonstam implores the zoning board to reject the planned convenience store on Newman Springs Road. (Photo by Sarah Klepner. Click to enlarge)

By SARAH KLEPNER

All the evidence is finally before the Red Bank zoning board in the matter of a proposed 7-Eleven that would replace a self-serve car wash at Wasseem Chaudhary’s Shell gas station at Shrewsbury Avenue and Newman Springs Road.

But after eight months of hearings, including one Thursday night, there’s been no up-or-down vote on whether to allow the store. The full board is expected to consider the application on August 1.

In the interim, two board members who were not present for concluding testimony and comments are expected to listen to a recording of Thursday’s hearing, said board chair Lauren Nicosia.

RED BANK: EXXON V. SHELL ON 7-ELEVEN PLAN

The plan calls for a the convenience store to be built in the northwest corner of the property. (Photo by Wil Fulton. Click to enlarge)

By WIL FULTON

It’s Shell v. Exxon in Red Bank, and not just over the price of gas.

A proposal by the owner of the Shell station at Newman Springs Road and Shrewsbury Avenue to build a 7-Eleven store where it now has a self-serve car wash has drawn opposition from the Exxon station at the same intersection as well as nearby residents.

CAR WASH, YEAH…

Nathan J. Williams Craftsmen Club, member Tuiwan Loney of Keansburg, left, washes Tinton Falls resident Carl Bowles’ car Saturday as part of a fundraiser for the club’s parent organization, Celestial Lodge No. 36 in Red Bank.

Money raised from the event will go toward charitable efforts and to renovations of the lodge’s building on Drs. James Parker Boulevard, which has been home to the lodge since 1893. (Photo by Stacie Fanelli. Click to enlarge)

June 4, 2012 - 9:12 am | Comments ()

IN DETAIL: ‘BLOWN AWAY’ BY A SHINY CAR

Shawn Gatta applies some elbow grease to a car at Detail Doctor in Shrewsbury. (Photo by Stacie Fanelli. Click to enlarge)

By EVAN SOLTAS

Shawn Gatta has spent more than half of his life in the auto-detailing business. The owner and manager of the Detail Doctor on Broad Street in Shrewsbury, Gatta, 42, has been bringing out the best in the cars of his customers since he was a teenager in Neptune.

Since then, it’s kept him so busy that when he’s tried to pursue other fields — real estate, for one — he’s found himself lured back by the “first love” he found in detailing.

“There are other things I would like to do,” said Gatta, “but I’m so consumed by this business.” He’s had a real estate license since he was 19, but he’s never found a spare moment to make a single sale or listing.

Earlier this week, redbankgreen stole some time with Gatta’s lunch break he works 66 hours a week, by his count for some insights into the life of a clean-car obsessive.

Red Bank Green

Serving Red Bank and Greater Red Bank, NJ

RED BANK: NO VOTE YET ON SHELL 7-ELEVEN

RED BANK: EXXON V. SHELL ON 7-ELEVEN PLAN

CAR WASH, YEAH…

IN DETAIL: ‘BLOWN AWAY’ BY A SHINY CAR