RED BANK: OLD BRICK BUILDINGS REVIVED

The facade of Nest, at 32 Mechanic Street, the former Independent Engine firehouse. Below, Bottles by Sickles anchors an addition to the former Anderson Storage Building. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Two red brick buildings with deep roots in Red Bank have begun new lives in recent days – with assists from Brooklyn and Seattle.

One is the landmark Anderson Storage Building near the train station, where a wine shop owned by Sickles Market opened Sunday. And the former Independent Engine Company house on Mechanic Street is now home to a retail furniture store.

November 22, 2019 - 1:30 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: FIREHOUSE PLAN OK’D

A memorial mounted above the door of the former Independent Engine House on Mechanic Street. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

After more than a century of service, a Red Bank firehouse is about find new uses within its red brick walls.

And thanks to a recently razed house in Brooklyn, it will get some additional new — or rather, quite old — brickwork.

February 19, 2018 - 7:45 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: SECOND FIREHOUSE REDO PLANNED

The former Independent Engine House on Mechanic Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank could see two nearly identical former firehouses getting makeovers in coming months.

The new owner of the former Independent Engine Company firehouse, at 32 Mechanic Street, is planning to create commercial space in the bay where firetrucks were once parked.

February 9, 2018 - 11:45 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: CRAFT BREWERY LEASES FIREHOUSE

John Cocozza and partners plan to open a craft brewery called Ross Brewing Company in the former Liberty Hose Company firehouse on White Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

In another sign of a possible tsunami of craft beer coming to downtown Red Bank, the former Liberty Hose Company firehouse on White Street has been leased to a startup brewery, the principals said Thursday.

August 3, 2017 - 12:15 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: TOP BID $392,587 FOR FIREHOUSE

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.

August 30, 2016 - 10:55 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: SECOND FIREHOUSE UP FOR SALE

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.

August 11, 2016 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: CHURN GALORE

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 »

June 1, 2016 - 9:14 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: ANOTHER RESTAURANT APPROVED

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.

May 17, 2016 - 6:41 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: FIREHOUSE-TO-STORE PLAN OK’D

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.

Read More »

May 9, 2016 - 10:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: RESTAURANTS ON PLANNING AGENDA

The former storefront at 132 Broad Street is the subject of a request for an Asian restaurant called Red Lantern, which needs a parking variance. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

[UPDATE: Borough planning and zoning director Glenn Carter tells us the plan for the former firehouse at 40 White Street has been amended to a proposed retail use, from an earlier request for a restaurant. The original version of this story has been changed to reflect that.]

By JOHN T. WARD

Plans for two restaurants and a retail space the agendas of Red Bank’s planning and zoning board meetings this week.

May 2, 2016 - 5:15 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: BAGEL SHOP OPENS

hot bagels 040816 1 Mike Gambale removes fresh product from the oven at Hot Bagels Brooklyn’s Finest, a deli that opened Friday morning in a former used-car lot at Maple Avenue and Broad Street in Red Bank. The business was the subject of a last-minute, and successful bid for some minor variances needed to open earlier this week.

Gambale owns the shop with Nikos Zaires, who grew up working with his father in a Brooklyn bagel shop. “This is his recipe,” said Zaires, and the result is “a true Brooklyn bagel: kettle-cooked and baked.” (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

April 8, 2016 - 11:44 am | Comments ()

CHURN: BAGEL SHOP OK’D; NEW EATERY OPENS

Nikos Zaires and Mike Gambale in their new shop, Hot Bagels Brooklyn’s Finest. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A just-about-ready-to-open bagel shop got the green light from the Red Bank planning board Monday night.

But hearings on two other proposed new restaurants were rescheduled once again. And yet another eatery, this one with the word “eatery” in its name, opened on Broad Street Monday.

It’s all here in the latest serving of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn.

April 5, 2016 - 7:46 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: FULL MENU OF RESTAURANT CASES

Test baking is already underway at Hot Bagels Brooklyn’s Finest, at Broad Street and Maple Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

HOT-TOPIC_03 Will the owners of a brand-new, ready-to-open bagel store get the OK for the walk-in refrigerator they need to operate? Will the owners of a former downtown firehouse get the green light to build a restaurant there? Will a new Asian eatery be allowed in a former mattress store?

Those three questions loom over Monday night’s Red Bank planing board agenda.

April 4, 2016 - 11:51 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: SELF-STORAGE FACILITY APPROVED

Architect Richard Arzberger’s rendering of the proposed Total Storage facility at Central Avenue and Berry Street. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank-area homes and businesses could use some more elbow room, the owner of a proposed 500-unit self-storage facility told the borough planning board Monday night.

And the project would be built in the right place, board members said in giving the plan unanimous approval.

March 8, 2016 - 6:50 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: PACKED PLANNING BOARD AGENDA

Architectural renderings show a proposed restaurant at the former Liberty Hose firehouse, above, and a three-story storage facility on Central Avenue, below. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Be careful: the Red Bank planning board’s plate is hot Monday night.

The agenda calls for the board to hear testimony on three high-profile plans, two of which would add to the borough’s burgeoning restaurant market.

March 7, 2016 - 4:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: FIREHOUSE EATERY PLAN FILED

Architect Mike Simpson’s drawings show outdoor dining areas in front of and beside the former firehouse. Below, the building’s interior in 2014. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Already on fire with new restaurants, Red Bank’s downtown dining market could get hotter soon.

The new owners of the former Liberty Hose Company firehouse on White Street hope to convert the 105-year-old building into a restaurant, with two luxury apartments upstairs.

February 19, 2016 - 1:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: LAUTERWASSER TO BE FD CHIEF

Chief-elect Joe Lauterwasser, right arrives at the First Aid building Tuesday night with his prospective first deputy, Chris Soden, left, and second deputy Pete DeFazio, center. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

If there’s one constant that defines the Red Bank Volunteer Fire Department, it’s family.

That was evident on Tuesday night, when the 143-year-old department’s annual election night celebration was dominated by names and faces that would have been familiar to attendees generations ago.

“We’re based on tradition,” said ex-chief George Lauterwasser (2002) as he awaited the arrival of the chief-elect, his 30-year-old son, Joe, at the First Aid building on Spring Street with dozens of other volunteers. “We keep it up with the kids. We’re old school.”

December 3, 2014 - 2:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: WHAT SHOULD GO HERE?

Restaurant? Bakery? Something else? The owners of the former Liberty Hose Company firehouse are looking for the perfect match for the vacant structure. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Everybody’s got an opinion. But does anyone have a solid, workable idea for the former Liberty Hose Company firehouse’s second act?

The owners of the 103-year building at 40 White Street in Red Bank are open to suggestions, says John Morgan, who along with his brother and father, both named Michael, bought the two-story, red brick structure from the borough earlier this year for $400,000.

“This is such a unique building that you want something that’s going to fit its persona,” Morgan told redbankgreen on a recent tour of the property. And the family is committed to “local.,” he said. “We don’t want somebody from New York to come in.”

October 7, 2014 - 12:28 pm | Comments ()

SEA BRIGHT: TAXES, FIREHOUSE PACK COUNCIL

Mayor Dina Long, center above, helped move tables to accommodate an overflow crowd Tuesday night. John Lamia, below, was sworn to fill the unexpired term of Read Murphy. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A boatload of critical issues came crashing ashore in Sea Bright Tuesday night, as officials and residents wrestled with soaring taxes, where to put a Sandy-wrecked firehouse and more.

Dozens of residents packed a bimonthly borough council with their concerns: a bulkhead ordinance that would require some property owners to raise the level of protection adjoining their homes along the Shrewsbury River; a plan to build a 150-foot tall cell tower just feet from the ocean beach behind borough hall; the timing of repairs to the seawall.

Two matters in particular drew concerted heat: a proposal to rent land for use as a temporary fire station from a former mayor in arrears on taxes, and a 10-percent increase in tax bills, reflecting a whopping 17-percent increase to cover the cost of sending borough kids to Shore Regional High School in West Long Branch.

That one, and other issues, reflected longstanding frustrations.

“Twenty-five years ago, when I first came on the council – it was a subject then,” said Councilman Jack Keeler. “It hasn’t changed.”

August 6, 2014 - 10:48 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: A BITTERSWEET RETURN

Sunday’s Doc Holiday Car Show in Red Bank’s White Street lot was bittersweet for the members of the host Liberty Hose fire company, who lost their century-old firehouse in a sale by the borough earlier this year. Fifty-year member Herk Forgione said the company was “very, very sad” to lose its home. But the volunteer firefighters were glad to be back for a few hours Sunday, overseeing an annual fundraising show that attracted some 280 gleaming classics and lots of families. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

July 14, 2014 - 9:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: FIREHOUSE SOLD, USE UNKNOWN

With his brother, Michael, looking on, John Morgan gives borough Administrator Stanley Sickels a deposit for the firehouse purchase. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank’s former Liberty Hose Company firehouse may soon have the second owner in its 103-year history.

Brothers Michael and John Morgan, owners of several prominent downtown properties, acquired the two-story, red brick structure at an auction that drew no other bidders or onlookers other than redbankgreen Tuesday morning.

April 29, 2014 - 11:09 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: FIREHOUSE OPENING BID REDUCED

Having failed to attract any bids in its first attempt to auction off the former Liberty Hose firehouse on White Street last month, Red Bank will try again on April 29, when the minimum bid will be $400,000 – down from $475,000 at the first try. Bid specs are here. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

April 8, 2014 - 12:50 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: FIREHOUSE AUCTION FIZZLES

No bidders emerged at Tuesday’s auction, conducted by attorney Sean Byrnes, left, and Administrator Stanley Sickels. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A discontinued Red Bank firehouse failed to spark interest at the minimum bid when it went on the block Tuesday morning.

The auction of the former home of the Liberty Hose Company, vacated late last year over needed upgrades that the borough says it cannot afford, was over in five minutes, as no voice bids or sealed bids were made.

March 25, 2014 - 11:25 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: KICKING TIRES AT THE FIREHOUSE

Red Bank Administrator Stanley Sickels, at right, leads prospective bidders on a tour of the former Liberty Hose firehouse on White Street in Red Bank Thursday afternoon in advance of an auction the property scheduled for scheduled for Tuesday, March 25, at 10:30 a.m. Minimum bid is $475,000; bidding requirements are here, and the building is being sold “as-in,” Sickels said. For 103 years, the building was home to the Liberty Hose Company, which now shares space with the first aid squad on Spring Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

March 13, 2014 - 2:32 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: FIREHOUSE AUCTION RESCHEDULED

The auction of a former firehouse on White Street in Red Bank has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 25, at 10:30 a.m. The original March 18 sale date was changed to meet public notice requirements, borough officials said. Minimum bid is $475,000; bidding requirements are here. For 103 years, the building was home to the Liberty Hose Company, which now shares space with the first aid squad on Spring Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

March 4, 2014 - 6:41 am | Comments ()

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RED BANK: OLD BRICK BUILDINGS REVIVED

RED BANK: FIREHOUSE PLAN OK’D

RED BANK: SECOND FIREHOUSE REDO PLANNED

RED BANK: CRAFT BREWERY LEASES FIREHOUSE

RED BANK: TOP BID $392,587 FOR FIREHOUSE

RED BANK: SECOND FIREHOUSE UP FOR SALE

RED BANK: CHURN GALORE

RED BANK: ANOTHER RESTAURANT APPROVED

RED BANK: FIREHOUSE-TO-STORE PLAN OK’D

RED BANK: RESTAURANTS ON PLANNING AGENDA

RED BANK: BAGEL SHOP OPENS

CHURN: BAGEL SHOP OK’D; NEW EATERY OPENS

RED BANK: FULL MENU OF RESTAURANT CASES

RED BANK: SELF-STORAGE FACILITY APPROVED

RED BANK: PACKED PLANNING BOARD AGENDA

RED BANK: FIREHOUSE EATERY PLAN FILED

RED BANK: LAUTERWASSER TO BE FD CHIEF

RED BANK: WHAT SHOULD GO HERE?

SEA BRIGHT: TAXES, FIREHOUSE PACK COUNCIL

RED BANK: A BITTERSWEET RETURN

RED BANK: FIREHOUSE SOLD, USE UNKNOWN

RED BANK: FIREHOUSE OPENING BID REDUCED

RED BANK: FIREHOUSE AUCTION FIZZLES

RED BANK: KICKING TIRES AT THE FIREHOUSE

RED BANK: FIREHOUSE AUCTION RESCHEDULED