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.
A home security camera caught a pair of thieves as they made off with a bike and skateboard they stole from a porch on Elm Place in Red Bank on Thanksgiving morning.
The edited video shows the pair sauntering east along Elm and, a minute later, racing away on Horace Place with their loot. Contact the borough police at (732) 530-2700 if you have information to share about these turkeys. (Click to enlarge)
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.
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.”
Red Bank volunteer firefighters “did a fantastic job” in quickly quelling a chimney fire at 286 Spring Street reported at about 9 p.m. Sunday, said Chief Tommy Welsh. The homeowner apparently overloaded the fireplace with wood, he said. Fire damage was limited to a small area of the roof, and the firefighting effort produced minimal water damage, Welsh said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
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.
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)
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.
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)
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)
The former firehouse, on White Street was home to the Liberty Hose Company for 103 years. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Here’s a once-in-a-century real estate opportunity: a Red Bank firehouse is going up on the auction block.
The former home of the Liberty Hose Company, vacated late last year over needed upgrades that the borough says it cannot afford, is to be auctioned off on March 18.
A water main break at Harding Road and Spring Street in Red Bank Monday morning. Spring Street was closed between Harding and Elm Place. (Click to enlarge)
Red Bank’s borough government issued a “boil water” alert following a supply line break on the East Side Monday morning.
Public works director Gary Watson tells redbankgreen that a six-inch line, not a 10-inch main, ruptured at Harding Road and Spring Street at about 6 a.m. Water service was shut to two homes on Spring Street and the Manor Drive condominium complex while a contractor makes repairs, expected to be completed by about 3 p.m., he said.
Downtown will be closed to traffic beginning at 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon. The train is the easiest way in and out of town the night of the fireworks, coordinators say. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
In addition to a powerhouse fireworks show, one guarantee for Sunday’s KaBoom event in Red Bank is the logjam of crowds and traffic that comes with it.
Tens of thousands of visitors stream into town by car, rail, on foot and by bike. Gridlock on the periphery of the central business district is likely before the show. Your “secret” path out of town afterward? Forget about it. It’s taillight city everywhere.
Below is a comprehensive rundown on what to expect, where to go and how to get in and out of town with the same amount of hair you came with.
Red Bank Terrace is one of two apartment complexes with complaints pending before the borough’s Rent Leveling Board. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
The meetings of Red Bank’s Rent Leveling Board tend to fly under the radar, given the often sleepy agendas. But Thursday night’s meeting looks like an exception.
Lined up for the board’s consideration are three tenant complaints, making for a potentially packed evening for the five-member body.
A Nissan crashed into a utility pole on McLaren Street in Red Bank Thursday. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
Two car crashes occurred within minutes of each other in Red Bank Thursday morning.
One was reported on McLaren Street, right, sending two women away in an ambulance. Another, appearing to be minor, was on Branch Avenue.
Immediate details on the two accidents, which occurred at around 11 a.m., were not immediately available.
Two were sent to the hospital in an accident at the intersection of Spring Street and Towerhill Avenue Monday, a block away and less than an hour after another crash injured nine. (Photo by Dustin Racioppi; click to enlarge)
By DUSTIN RACIOPPI
A second car accident on Spring Street Monday sent two people to the hospital with minor injuries, Fire Chief John Mego said.
The two-car accident, involving a blue Mazda 626 and black Jaguar, was called in at about 5:20p about an hour after a collision a block away and appeared to be caused by a driver failing to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Spring Street and Tower Hill Avenue, Mego said. He was unsure at the time of the accident which driver was at fault.
“Somebody didn’t stop,” he said.