RED BANK: GETTING READY FIR LIGHT-UP
Against a brilliant late-autumn backdrop, Ed Matthews of Powerhouse Signs got down to the business of decorating Red Bank’s official Christmas tree in Riverside Gardens Park Wednesday morning.
RED BANK: CLAY COURTS SCRAPED
The clay tennis courts at Marine Park, as seen Wednesday morning. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
After sitting untouched and off-limits for nearly six years, Red Bank’s waterfront clay tennis courts got some attention from heavy equipment earlier this week.
And of course, the rumor mill lit up. Which means it’s time to call in redbankgreen‘s periodic feature known as What’s Going On Here?
RED BANK: BELLHAVEN PLAN SCALED BACK
Trees were taken down recently at Bellhaven Natural Area in preparation for an observation deck being built there, according to Business Administrator Ziad Shehady. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank officials have quietly started prep work for a project at a site once mired in controversy: the Bellhaven Natural Area overlooking the Swimming River.
The end result, however will be a “scaled-back” version of a plan that once called for a spray park and triggered loud protests three years ago.
RED BANK: SECOND PARK BRAINSTORM SLATED
Red Bank resident Michael Paul Raspanti speaking at the first brainstorming session on the Marine Park Improvement Project on April 9. A second session has now been slated. Details below.(Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: BRAINSTORMING ON MARINE PARK
Borough resident Keith May speaking at the second of two sessions held Monday. Below, some of the suggestions recorded during the first session. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Invoking the planning process that resulted in the creation of Riverside Gardens Park two decades ago, Red Bank officials launched an effort Monday to remake nearby Marine Park.
At two public brainstorming sessions held at borough hall, residents and visitors weighed in on such matters as small-vessel access to the Navesink River, parking, river cruises and the future of the park’s clay tennis courts, among other topics.
RED BANK: MARINE PARK SESSIONS SLATED
First came new restrooms (above), sewer pumps and lighting. Up next in Red Bank’s Marine Park Improvement Project is an evening of public input sessions on what to do with the 2.2-acre facility on the Navesink River.
RED BANK: PARK SESSIONS RESCHEDULED
Public-input sessions on the future of Marine Park in Red Bank have been rescheduled for Monday, April 9, at 4:30 and 7 p.m. at hall. They were originally slated for March 21 but were canceled because of a snowstorm.
For more information, check out redbankgreen‘s coverage here.
RED BANK: MARINE PARK MAKEOVER KICKS OFF
Almost two years after the Red Bank council rejected three private-sector proposals for use of the red clay tennis courts in Marine Park, the governing body is laying the groundwork for a possible makeover of the entire 2.2-acre riverfront park.
RED BANK: SUNSET PARK CONCEPT TO DEBUT
The so-called Sunset Park concept plan includes a soccer field, riverfront boardwalk, kayak launch and other amenities. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank residents will get their first look Monday night at a concept plan for a new park on the town’s long-closed landfill site overlooking the Swimming River.
RED BANK: TREE MARKS SEASONAL SWITCH
Red Bank shifts into the holiday season this week with the lighting of the town Christmas tree, which was installed in Riverside Gardens Park Friday.
RED BANK: MARINE PARK RESTROOMS OPEN
Visitors to Marine Park in Red Bank may be relieved to know that the long-awaited new restrooms are open.
But will they be more accessible than those at nearby Riverside Gardens Park? Read on.
RED BANK: NEW BELLHAVEN PLAN WINS PRAISE
The new concept plan for Bellhaven Natural Area includes an observation deck, similar to the one shown for illustration purposes above left; playground equipment; and a play area covered with a rubberized safety surface, shown in light green. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Two years after residents gave a thorough hosing to a plan for a spray park in a West Side wetlands, Red Bank officials unveiled a new plan for the Bellhaven Natural Area Wednesday night.
This one got a warmer reception.
RED BANK: PARK DESIGN CONSULTANT SOUGHT
Almost 22 months after the Red Bank council rejected three private-sector proposals for use of the red clay tennis courts in Marine Park, the governing body is getting ready to hire a consultant to come up with a concept plan for the entire 2.2-acre riverfront park.
RED BANK: UNVEILING NEW BELLHAVEN PLAN
After scrapping a controversial plan for a “spray pad” in a children’s play area at Bellhaven Natural Area two years ago, Red Bank officials plan to unveil a new plan for the site next week.
RED BANK: NEW STINK OVER BELLHAVEN COSTS
A 2012 image outlines the extent of wetlands at Bellhaven Natural Area at the western terminus of Locust Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Two years after abandoning a controversial “sprayground” proposed for the Bellhaven Natural Area, the Red Bank borough council is moving ahead with plans for a playground at the site.
At its semimonthly meeting Wednesday night, the council approved nearly $20,000 in additional engineering costs for the site, a move that prompted fresh objections.
“This is deja vu all over again,” said Bill Meyer, owner of a downtown commercial building. The borough has already spent $73,000 engineering fees on the site, and “that money was burned and wasted,” he said. Read More
RED BANK: RESIDENTS RESIST DUMP-SITE PARK
The audience at the Celestial Lodge Friday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank residents delivered a message to borough officials Friday night about a new park proposed at the town’s long-closed landfill site: not everyone wants it.
At a town-hall-style meeting held at the Celestial Lodge #36 on Drs. James Parker Boulevard, area residents expressed concerns that the dump might never be made safe for public use.
RED BANK: RESTROOMS NEARLY READY TO GO
A new structure suddenly appeared in Red Bank’s Marine Park last week. What’s going on here? Read on.
RED BANK: PLANTING SEEDS FOR FUTURE PARK
A map showing the extended former landfill site outlined in green. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
We need a skatepark. We need a playgrounds for West Side kids. We need to remember that this is a neighborhood that can’t handle throngs of out-of-town visitors.
Red Bank residents offered those and other suggestions as the process of shaping a new waterfront park out of the former town dump got underway with a community brainstorming session last Thursday night.
RED BANK: BRAINSTORMING A NEW PARK PLAN
With planning underway to transform the former Red Bank landfill at West Sunset Avenue into an 8.6-acre park, the borough Parks & Rec Committee has scheduled a “concept design kickoff” to solicit public input on the project.
RED BANK: PLAN FOR NEW PARK IN THE WORKS
The former landfill at West Sunset Avenue, as seen in 2014. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank officials took another step toward the creation of a long-anticipated new park on the site of the former landfill and incinerator this week.
They also got some promises of help.
RED BANK: TENNIS COURTS STILL IN LIMBO
The new tennis court retaining wall and sidewalk along Union Street, as seen last week. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
No, Red Bank’s red clay tennis courts overlooking the Navesink River aren’t being restored — not yet at least.
SANDY HOOK: BACKERS RALLY TO SAVE HOUSE
The Sandlass House, reimagined as a museum, above, and as seen in July, 2015, below. (Rendering by Anderson Campanella Archictects. Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
[See update below]
By JOHN T. WARD
A group of preservationists trying to save the last remnants of a long-forgotten Sandy Hook beach resort from the wrecking ball.
Dubbed the Jersey Coast Heritage Museum at Sandlass House, the group has begun circulating a petition calling on the National Park Service, which owns the house as part of Gateway National Recreation Area, not to knock it down, and allow them to turn it into a museum.
RED BANK: COUNCIL TO MEET FRIDAY EVENING
Heading out for an night of fun Friday? Kick things off with a council meeting. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
[See update below]
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s mayor and council won’t meet Wednesday night in observance of Yom Kippur.
Instead, they’ll meet Friday. At 6 p.m.
LITTLE SILVER: BENEVEDIS HOUSE RAZED
As part of a plan to create more parking at Sickles Park in Little Silver, the borough-owned Benevedis house at the park’s entrance on Rumson Road was demolished this week.
Unlike the National Historic Landmark Parker Homestead next door, the 113-year old house was not considered historically significant, and became unusable after a radiator burst during a cold snap in February 2015, causing water damage throughout, official have said.
As reported by redbankgreen, a cache of rare old baseball cards was salvaged from the home among other items associated with the Parker farm, which dates to the early 1665. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
RED BANK: RETHINKING ALL OF MARINE PARK
Longtime Red Bank clay courts tennis pro Rich Nicoletti on the site of the dormant riverfront facility earlier this month. The Monmouth Boat Club is in the background. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
This time of year, scuffing footwork and the thwok of tennis balls would normally be heard most summer mornings down by the Navesink River in Red Bank’s Marine Park, widely considered nirvana among aficionados for its unusual red clay courts.
It was certainly that for Rich Nicoletti, who grew up in an apartment above what’s now the Downtown nightclub just up the hill, and spent decades as the tennis pro at the borough-owned facility.
“These tennis courts were a gem,” said the retired sports journalist, who at 73 estimates he’s spent fully one-quarter of his life at the site. “It was beautiful.”
But 86 years after they opened, the courts may have seen their last match.