Public meetings at borough hall will go remote again, and visitors and employees will be required to wear masks. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank issued a declaration Friday evening “strongly urging” mask-wearing in stores and restaurants to minimize transmission of the resurgent COVID-19 virus.
Mask-wearing in publicly owned buildings will be mandated.
Mayor Pasquale Menna, right, and Congressman Frank Pallone were masked-up at the Red Bank reorganization January 1. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna is expected to issue an executive order mandating indoor mask-wearing to slow the spread of the resurgent COVID-19 virus.
The order, which could come as soon as Thursday, was motivated by “the pain that is being felt in our community,” Menna said at the monthly council workshop Wednesday night.
Under a state of emergency declared Monday night by Governor Phil Murphy, New Jersey began absorbing heavy rain carried by a northeaster early Tuesday morning.
With winds gusting up to 30 miles per hour, the storm was expected to continue through the day, leaving two or more inches of water on the Greater Red Bank Green, according to the National Weather Service. The NWS graphic above shows the amount of additional rain expected after 8 a.m.
A flash flood watch was issued for the region through 5 p.m.
In his declaration Monday night, Murphy said state residents should stay off the roads, as downed trees and power lines were expected. As of 7:15 a.m., however, no schools in Red Bank, Fair Haven or Little Silver had announced closings.
JCP&L was reporting no electricity outages.
Check out the extended forecast below.
A rare Redshirted Strollerpusher was spotted in the Harding Bird Sanctuary in Fair Haven Tuesday afternoon. A more common sight these days: a man with takeout dinner unconcerned about his safety crossing car-free Broad Street in Red Bank.
Three weeks in, the COVID-19 shutdown of non-essential activity has turned the normally bustling Greater Red Bank Green into tranquil, nearly empty streetscapes, offices and shops. Check out the pictures below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
One week into New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s “stay-at-home” order, imposed to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus, downtown Red Bank was a well-lit ghost burg Friday night.
In fact, the Greater Red Bank Green maintained a near-empty calm through much of the weekend. See additional photos below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
It’s a bit incongruous: beautiful spring weather amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has the Greater Red Bank Green, and parts of the world, on near-lockdown.
Of course, Governor Phil Murphy’s “stay-at-home” order issued Saturday allows for socially-distanced outdoor exercise. And a redbankgreen swing through the Greater Green Thursday found plenty of residents taking in the fresh air, including a jogger on Maple Avenue in Red Bank, above.
Check out more photos below. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Panic? What panic? In the hours before and after Governor Phil Murphy’s “stay-at-home” order issued Saturday, redbankgreen‘s wandering lens found few outward signs of the anxiety that has certainly gripped the Greater Red Bank Green and much of the planet. In fact, an air of serenity pervaded the streets.
Above, a couple passed through the breezeway on East Front Street heading toward Marine Park in Red Bank, while a notice on the door of Jack’s Music Shop announced its closing, as mandated by Murphy’s order.
Check out more photos taken Friday, Saturday and Sunday below. (Photos by John T. Ward and Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge.)
Their activities limited by the COVID-19 pandemic and Governor Phil Murphy’s “stay-at-home” order issued Saturday, neighbors on John Street in Red Bank decorated their walks and driveways with art and encouraging messages Sunday.
“A chalk walk is a perfect, socially-distanced way to get out of your house, and gives the kids something fun to do and see,” says resident Kate Mills.
More photos below. (Reader photos. Click to enlarge.)
A program of free breakfasts and lunches for Red Bank students got underway Monday, along with school closures and other efforts to limit transmission of the COVID-19 virus.
“It’s like 6 o’clock on a Sunday morning,” Brian Benjamin, of Two River Mortgage and Investment, said of downtown Red Bank.
In fact, it was around 9:30 a.m. on a Tuesday, St. Patrick’s Day. Numerous businesses were closed, with no immediate plans to open, given Governor Phil Murphy’s executive order of Monday, mandating far-reaching limits on activity to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
But the New Jersey transit bus to Asbury Park was still running, with a mask-wearing driver at the wheel. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
It’s not that no one was out on the streets of the Greater Green Monday night. Around 9 p.m., an hour into a voluntary curfew encouraged by Governor Phil Murphy earlier in the day, one could still see moving cars and the occasional pedestrian or cyclist.
But it was also possible to stand in the middle of Broad Street, above, or Shrewsbury Avenue, below, in Red Bank for long intervals without fear of being run over.
“It’s like the zombie apocalypse,” one pedestrian said of the eerie quiet.
At right, a woman and her cellphone had the No. 1 Chinese restaurant in Fair Haven all to herself. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
A sign on the door of the Welsh Farms convenience store on East Front Street in Red Bank. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
The following are dispatches from the Greater Red Bank Green as we settle into the widespread shutdowns and upheavals of everyday life prompted by the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Included: Red Bank’s emergency order; grab ‘n go meals for kids; Catholic Mass dispensations; liquor deliveries; a coffee shop’s open-door policy, and Fair Haven’s next council session.
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
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.
Roads on the Greater Red Bank Green were clear before dawn Monday as a storm left just a fraction of the four-to-seven inches of anticipated snow overnight. Melt-off was well underway with temperatures in the mid-30s.
Though school districts on the Greater Red Bank Green began calling delayed starts late Monday, not a flake of anticipated snow had fallen by 6 a.m. Tuesday.
Still, an icy mix of snow and rain, plus strong winds, was expected to arrive in the morning, before turning to all rain in the afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
Neither snow nor sleet nor rain was falling on Red Bank as of 6 a.m. Wednesday. But school closings, event postponements and a state of emergency declared by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy had the region braced for a storm named ‘Toby’ that could dump some 15 inches of heavy, soggy snow on the area throughout the day.
Another blizzard that wasn’t dumped up to two feet of snow in northern New Jersey but skirted the Greater Red Bank Green Tuesday, bringing lots of rain atop an early coating of about three inches of snow. NJ.com talked to forecasters about the bad call.
Meanwhile, a state of emergency declaration by Governor Chris Christie kept would-be motorists off the roads, making traffic control easy easy for Red Bank and Shrewsbury police when traffic lights at the intersection of Broad Street and Newman Springs Road malfunctioned in early evening, above.
Anticipating icy roads, area schools scheduled late starts Wednesday. The National Weather Service forecast showed daytime temperatures peaking at about 29 degrees, with a wind advisory warning of possible gusts of 45 miles per hour until 8 p.m. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
About two inches of snow lay on the streets of downtown Red Bank at around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday during the early part of what forecasters said would become a daylong blizzard.
Over the course of an hour’s slog on foot, redbankgreen encountered sleet that changed to moderately heavy rain.
Road brining at Cross Street and Woodbine Avenue in Little Silver signaled widespread storm preparation underway as towns on the Greater Red Bank Green girded for a blizzard Monday.
Governor Chris Christie declared a state of emergency Monday evening, meaning that government offices would be closed Tuesday and motorist are urged to stay off the roads for the duration of the storm and immediately afterward.
Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna issued the following statement shortly after noon Friday:
A Declaration of Emergency is in place in Red Bank. You will be receiving recorded telephone notifications on our reverse 911 system on your phone and email if you are signed up with our web notification alert.
Residents should prepare by stocking up on essentials at home and avoid any non essential or unnecessary travel. Outside furniture should be secured. All shrubbery and limbs left at curbside shall be removed from curbside and placed on private laws and property prior to 6 PM Friday. Such items in a storm are carried in the storm water basins and clog the system that in turn makes flooding worse.
Ready for battle, a man armed with a shovel braved the white-out conditions on Branch Avenue in Red Bank Sunday afternoon. (Click to enlarge)
A blizzard that prompted a declaration of a state of emergency left a good two feet of snow in the Red Bank area Sunday and prompted a near-complete shutdown of schools, businesses and government operations on Monday.