RED BANK: LOOSE LIPS AT COUNCIL SESSION

Mayor Pasquale Menna, upper left, and Councilman Ed Zipprich, center left, seen on Zoom during Wednesday’s council session Attorney Greg Cannon is in second row, third from left. (Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj The final Red Bank council meeting of 2020 included a couple of apparent cases of loose lips.

In one, Mayor Pasquale Menna revealed more than the borough attorney thought he should about the settlement of a lawsuit over Riverview Medical Center’s water bill.

In another, Councilman Ed Zipprich questioned the qualifications of a newly hired official.

December 17, 2020 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: ‘SNO GO FOR WINTER BROADWALK

Empty tables and idle heaters on Broadwalk on a chilly Sunday evening in October. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank’s in-street shopping and dining plaza known as ‘Broadwalk’ will go on winter hiatus at the end of November.

Borough council members informally agreed Wednesday night that the prospect of dealing with a snowstorm before winter is over makes keeping the plaza going impractical.

November 6, 2020 - 7:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: NONPARTISAN ELECTIONS? NOT YET

Red Bank First leader Scott Broschart at home on Hudson Avenue in August. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

Scott Broschart is on a one-man quest to reform both Red Bank’s government and how people get elected to it.

Neither will happen this year. A referendum Broschart has been pushing for since July is not on the November 3 ballot. But Broschart says he’s perfectly fine with that.

November 3, 2020 - 7:35 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: ‘BROADWALK’ TO GO 24/7

A view down Broad Street last Friday afternoon. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank’s ‘Broadwalk’ experiment with in-street dining on Broad Street is going 24/7 for at least the next two months.

The change, from a four-day-a-week schedule, goes into effect Thursday, following a surprise proposal at Wednesday night’s council meeting.

September 24, 2020 - 6:58 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: PLAZA DETAILS STILL IN THE WORKS

Monmouth Street between Broad Street and Maple Avenue would become a pedestrian plaza all day on Sundays as part of a recovery plan. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Details for turning two downtown Red Bank streets into part-time dining and shopping plazas hinge largely on pending clarity from Trenton, borough officials said Tuesday.

On a Zoom/conference call with merchants, borough officials said they need information from Governor Phil Murphy on key issues before they can finalize plans for allotting sidewalk and street space among restaurants, retailers and others.

June 2, 2020 - 5:45 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: TAX SETTLEMENT POSTPONED

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj The Red Bank council postponed action Wednesday night on a proposed tax appeal settlement that would slash the assessment on a downtown bank property by almost one-third.

But the delay, requested by Mayor Pasquale Menna, was not motivated by an objection to the terms of the deal, he said.

May 28, 2020 - 12:45 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: STREET CLOSINGS FOR DINING OK’D

Broad Street would be closed from the intersection with Front Street, above, to Wallace Street three nights a week under the plan. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Two major streets in the heart of downtown Red Bank would be closed to traffic to allow mid-street dining and shopping under action taken by the borough council Wednesday night.

The economic recovery measure needed lightning-fast approval so the business district “can to be ready the second we get the call” from Trenton about expected loosening of COVID-19 restrictions, said Councilwoman Kate Triggiano.

May 28, 2020 - 7:45 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: DINING ‘PLAZAS’ ON THE TABLE

Customers dining in the sidewalk seating area of Robinson Ale House on Broad Street in 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank officials have formed a committee to “creatively expand outdoor capacity for restaurants and retail sales” as the town embarks on a post-COVID-19 recovery.

One idea the committee is expected to chew over: use of public spaces for outdoor dining.

May 20, 2020 - 3:45 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED; SEATING AT BARS & RESTAURANTS BANNED

Customers gathered outside Catch 19 restaurant on Broad Street Sunday afternoon. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

[See clarification below]

By JOHN T. WARD

this just in redbankgreen Red Bank officials declared a “local state of emergency” Sunday night in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, ordering bars, restaurants and other large facilities to cease operations at the end of the day Monday.

March 15, 2020 - 8:30 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: SAXUM PLAN APPROVED

Saxum relocated the proposed pedestrian plaza shown in this rendering from the Riverside Avenue side of the project to the Bodman Place side. (Rendering by MVMK Architecture. Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

One of the largest development projects in Red Bank history won planning board approval Monday night.

The OK for 210 apartments at Riverside Avenue and Bodman Place requires developer Saxum Real Estate to seek state approval for a traffic light there. But the project can go ahead even if the request fails.

December 3, 2019 - 7:25 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: SAXUM HEARING POSTPONED

The Red Bank planning board hearing, scheduled for Monday night, on a proposal for 210 apartments on Riverside Avenue has been rescheduled.

November 4, 2019 - 11:43 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: BOARD AIRS SAXUM PLAN HURDLES

A rendering depicts the proposed plaza at Riverside Avenue and Bodman Place that board members raised safety concerns about. (Rendering by Arterial Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank planning board members aired numerous misgivings about one of the largest development plans in borough history Monday night.

High on the list that developer Saxum Real Estate is expected to address: traffic and pedestrian safety issues. Read More »

October 8, 2019 - 8:10 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: YOM KIPPUR SESSION CANCELLED

By JOHN T. WARD

Less than 48 hours after a divided Red Bank council voted to hold a public session on Yom Kippur, the meeting was cancelled late Thursday.

In addition, the three councilmen who voted to hold the meeting walked back from their positions Friday.

October 4, 2019 - 2:25 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: COUNCIL TAKES AIM AT BALLOONS

Campaign balloons given out at the 2014 Halloween Parade prompted complaints that the event was being politicized. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj The Red Bank council may soon take up a proposed ban on mass balloon releases, its members agreed at their workshop meeting Wednesday night.

October 4, 2019 - 8:18 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: ‘SURPRISE’ RIFT OVER YOM KIPPUR

Newly sworn council members Kate Triggiano and Hazim Yassin flank Council President Erik Yngstrom at the council reorganization meeting in January. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

[UPDATE, October 4: Yom Kippur council meeting canceled for lack of quorum after mayor and council members who voted against having it say they won’t be there, he says on his Facebook page.]

By a split vote, the Red Bank council decided Wednesday night to stick to its schedule and hold its next meeting on Yom Kippur.

The 3-2 outcome of a vote at the council’s workshop meeting caught Councilwoman Kate Triggiano, who had argued for a change, off guard.

“We’re going to have the meeting?” she asked. “So we’re keeping the meeting on Yom Kippur?”

October 3, 2019 - 9:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: PARKING SYSTEM TO GET MAKEOVER

Interim parking director Tom Calu with a smart meter at Wednesday’s presentation. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank’s entire inventory of parking meters and kiosks is slated for replacement, borough officials said Wednesday, as they debuted a ‘smart’ meter scheduled for rollout curbside early next year.

Meantime, the search for a parking director, the foremost recommendation of a parking study released in January, has been “disappointing,” the official leading the search told redbankgreen.

September 19, 2019 - 9:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: NEW PARKING METERS TO DEBUT

Red Bank is planning to replace its coin-operated parking meters, and the public will get a chance this week to weigh in Wednesday on the changes they’ll bring. Read More »

September 17, 2019 - 1:15 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: PLAZA FOCUS OF SAXUM HEARING

A rendering depicts the Bodman Place side of the proposed apartment project. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

The fate of one of the largest development plans in Red Bank history remained unresolved Monday night.

At the fourth planning board hearing on the 210-unit apartment complex proposed for the site of the former VNA headquarters, attention centered largely on the wisdom of putting a public plaza on busy Riverside Avenue.

September 17, 2019 - 8:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: POOP & MORE DELAY SAXUM VOTE

A rendering displayed at the planning board depicts a public plaza on the Riverside Avenue side of the proposed apartment project. (Rendering by Arterial. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Unanswered questions held up a planning board vote on one of the largest development plans in Red Bank history Wednesday night.

Among them: where will the poop deposited on the rooftop dog runs go?

September 4, 2019 - 11:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: SAXUM CONFRONTS TRAFFIC ISSUE

A rendering shows the Riverside Avenue facade of the proposed apartment project. (Rendering by MVMK Architecture. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Like many motorists, a traffic engineer for one of the largest development plans in Red Bank history found himself confronting an intersection likened to “Russian roulette” Monday night. Read More »

August 6, 2019 - 8:15 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: RED ROCK, SECRET STASH WIN OKS

Red Rock Tap + Grill will be permitted to enclose some of its rooftop seasonally and make other site changes. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Rock Tap + Grill can convert some of its rooftop space to year-round dining under a decision by Red Bank’s planning board Monday night.

Also, Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash can keep its splashy, ordinance-breaking window treatment, the board ruled.

May 7, 2019 - 8:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: POWER SWITCH IN THE WORKS

Billing for service would continue to come from JCP&L even for those customers who participate in the aggregation plan. (Image by Concord. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

In an effort to head off shocks to residents about anticipated changes to their electricity bills, Red Bank official kicked off a public outreach effort Thursday.

Driving the effort: the borough’s planned entry into the “energy aggregation” marketplace, where the local government serves as a bundler of customers to obtain better rates than those offered by Jersey Central Power & Light.

April 26, 2019 - 9:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: COUNCIL DROPS REVERSE APPEALS

The OceanFirst Bank headquarters was the subject of a reverse appeal case settled Wednesday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Bombarded by criticism from the business community, the Red Bank council on Wednesday dropped a plan to pursue a new round of “reverse appeals” against commercial properties it believed to be undertaxed.

But first, the council approved the settlement of an older reverse appeal that will boost the taxable value of a downtown building by 69 percent over three years. And battles over cases filed in 2018 continue.

April 11, 2019 - 9:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: ELECTRICITY DEAL IN THE WORKS

JCP&L’s power distribution facility adjoining Mohawk Pond in Red Bank. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank officials are considering passage of a law that would automatically turn Jersey Central Power & Light customers in the borough into customers of another electricity provider unless they opt out.

April 8, 2019 - 7:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: SILENCE BY ALL ON HARASSMENT

Business Administrator Ziad Shehady, left, chatting with borough resident Stephen Hecht last May. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank’s elected officials closed the books Wednesday night on a harassment complaint filed against borough Business Administrator Ziad Shehady.

But the public may never know the details of the case, or the recommendations that followed an investigation.

March 14, 2019 - 1:45 pm | Comments ()

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