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RED BANK: STATION PROJECT GOES TO BOARD

hot topic red bank njAfter months of postponements, the Red Bank zoning board hearing on a plan for a four-story apartment building opposite the train station is scheduled to begin Thursday night.

UPDATE: Yet again, this hearing has been postponed. The borough website says the zoning board meeting has been cancelled and “all applications scheduled for this date will re-notice for a new hearing date.”

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RED BANK: SMELL OF SMOKE EMPTIES TRAIN

A New Jersey Transit crew evacuated dozens of riders from a train at the Red Bank station Sunday over concern about a possible fire in the undercarriage Sunday afternoon.

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RED BANK: MORE STATION UNITS PROPOSED

The project would replace three commercial buildings on Bridge Avenue and two houses on Oakland Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

UPDATE: The May 18 zoning board meeting has been cancelled, according to a notice on the borough website.

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njA proposal for 32 new apartments across the street from the Red Bank train station is scheduled to go before the borough zoning board next week.

If approved, the project would add to a development boom around the station.

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RED BANK: MAN DIES ON STATION PLATFORM

Police on scene at the train station Tuesday.(Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

A 27-year-old Red Bank man died on a boarding platform at the borough train station Tuesday, police said.

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RED BANK: DENHOLTZ PLANS MASSIVE PROJECT

Denholtz’s plan would cover several NJ Transit parking lots, as well as company-owned sites. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicDenholtz Properties is negotiating to create a massive new development at the Red Bank train station, redbankgreen has learned.

The company’s plan is dependent on the borough designating a swath of sites around the station as redevelopment area, CEO Steve Denholtz said in an interview this week.

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RED BANK: DENHOLTZ TO BUY MAYO PROPERTY

Mayo Auto Service owner Pete Soviero outside his Monmouth Street shop last week. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicThe Denholtz Properties juggernaut continues, with the Red Bank real estate development company about to acquire another key block of sites in town.

Mayo Auto Service owner Pete Soviero has agreed to sell the Monmouth Street property alongside the train station that’s been home to his business for the past 18 years, he confirmed to redbankgreen last week.

But the shop is “not going anywhere” for several years, he said.

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RED BANK: RAIL PROJECT NEARS COMPLETION

red bank what's going on hereA view of the Rail project from Chestnut Street, with the existing office building at right and the new residential portion at left. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By CHRIS ERN

For nearly four years, it’s been slowly emerging from the ground alongside the Red Bank train station. Now, most of the block bounded by Bridge Avenue, Chestnut and Oakland streets is a teeming site of construction activity.

So What’s Going On Here? Here’s the latest.

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RED BANK: STUDENTS RETHINK MONMOUTH ST.

curtis mcdaniel red bank ,n rutgers student plans monmouth streetCurtis McDaniel discussing the concept plan he co-created, showing an eastward view along Monmouth Street. Below, developer Todd Herman comments on a student pitch. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

todd herman, red bank, nj rutgers student plans monmouth streetAssignment: come up with new design concepts to enliven the stretch of Monmouth Street between the train station and borough hall in Red Bank.

The response: lots of new apartments, rooftop bars, hidden parking decks, pockets of greenery and even an amphitheater across the street from the Count Basie Center for the Performing Arts.

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RED BANK: STATION APARTMENTS OK’D

Architect Nelson Benavides discussing plans for 170 Monmouth Street, seen in in two renderings from the west. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A plan to turn a five-story office building opposite the Red Bank train station into rental apartments cleared its first hurdle at the borough zoning board Thursday night.

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RED BANK: STATION APARTMENTS PLANNED

A builder’s proposal calls for converting four floors of the five-story building to apartments, plus an addition with 16 more units, directly across Monmouth Street from the borough train station. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

One of Red Bank’s more prominent office buildings would be converted to apartments — and get new ones out back — under a proposal by a Jersey City-based developer, redbankgreen has learned.

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RED BANK: SUMMER SCENE AT THE STATION

luis 072516 1SUMMER-SCENESTrains didn’t look like this, or run on electricity, when the Red Bank train station was built in 1875. But while technology has evolved over the past 141 years, the station itself has maintained its Victorian charm, thanks to the efforts of preservationists and periodic refurbishment work, as in the four-year, $1.6-million facelift that concluded in 2014, when it was named for late Mayor and Supreme Court Justice Daniel J. O’Hern Sr.

In this week’s Summer Scenes photo, Luis Enrique Santamaria Delgado captures the old and the new at the station, as well as the sensation of moving and staying, in beautiful light, both natural and man-made.  (Photo by Luis Enrique Santamaria Delgado. Click to enlarge)

LUIS DELGADO BIO BOX

WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? A LITTLE FRANCESE

060116palumbos8Chicken Francese served with a side salad and plenty of bread at Palumbo’s in Little Silver. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON
060116palumbos5Alongside the tracks of the Little Silver train station in a handsome, stone-facade strip mall with plenty of parking, Palumbo’s Pizza is more than its name implies.

Inside the Ayers Lane restaurant, you’ll first hear quiet strains of Italian background music, setting a tranquil, family friendly atmosphere. The staff behind the counter converses in Italian too. PieHole takes this as a sign to join some other customers in the dining room and make lunch a more leisurely affair.
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WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? WHITEFISH ON BIG BAGEL

121715bagestation4A sesame-seed bagel teeming with whitefish salad, lettuce and tomato from the Bagel Station, seen below. (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

121715bagelstation2Red Bank has seen its fair share of restaurants come and go over the years. Loyal customers wax poetic about eateries long gone.

Bagel Station on Monmouth Street, across from the train station, has managed to keep its doors open for 28 years now. Rolling with the times, the breakfast and lunch spot is as relevant as any of the newcomers to town, and more affordable than many.

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RED BANK: STATION TO BE NAMED FOR O’HERN

rb station 112514 1The Red Bank train station will be dedicated to the memory of late Mayor and state Supreme Court Justice Dan O’Hern. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

After a four-year, $1.6-million facelift, the scaffolding is down at the Red Bank train station, revealing a spiffy new Victorian-era depot.

On Friday, the station will get a new identity to go along with the new roof, restored windows and gingerbread trim.

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RED BANK: STATION WORK IN FINAL PHASE

rb station 1 050814The long-awaited restoration of the Red Bank train station, named for late mayor and state Supreme Court Justice Dan O’Hern, is on track to wrap up by late August, New Jersey Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder said Thursday. Included in the $1.6 million project are the replacement of the slate roof, repairs to the clapboard exterior and historically accurate restoration of windows and gingerbread trim. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

RED BANK: RR STATION DETOUR TO BEGIN

rb rr xg 042214As reported by redbankgreen earlier this month, the intersection of Bridge Avenue and Monmouth Street in Red Bank will be closed to traffic for about two weeks starting Thursday morning for replacement of the NJ Transit railroad crossing. Expect detours, borough officials said. (Click to enlarge)

WHERE HAVE I SEEN THIS?

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If this is an easy Where, well, you’ve urned it. Send you answers to wherehaveiseenthis@redbankgreen.com, please.

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CHOWDA HOUSE TAKES RED BANK DOWN EAST

Chef Glenn Kovacs at work in the new Chowda House, set to open Saturday. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

It’s been almost a year and a half since redbankgreen first reported that Mary and Roy Jennings were planning a new seafood eatery on Bridge Avenue in Red Bank.

Sine then, apparently, the couple have been battening down the hatches, as indicated by the extensive use of a shipboard motif in the dining room of the Chowda House, their new restaurant located directly opposite the train station. Even the restroom doors look like bulkhead passages to a ship’s engine room.

It’s an environment that chef Glenn Kovacs says reflects the well-thought-out details of the business, which opens Saturday.

“There’s nothing like this around here,” in terms of atmosphere or menu, says Kovacs, whose travels have landed him stints in kitchens throughout the metropolitan region.

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LITTLE SILVER: PEDESTRIAN STRUCK

Injuries suffered by a pedestrian near the Little Silver train station Saturday afternoon do not appear to be serious, police said.

Still, shortly before 6 p.m. traffic was being diverted around the scene of the 3:22 accident as members of the Monmouth County Serious Collision Analysis Response team continued their investigation, Detective Greg Oliva tells redbankgreen.

From Oliva:

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LITTLE SILVER: HOT COFFEE TO GO, OR STAY

Commuters will be able to text in their coffee orders for quick pickup at Rook Coffee Roasters in the borough rail station. (Photo by Wil Fulton. Click to enlarge)

By WIL FULTON

Since late 2010, the concession pavilion at the Little Silver Train Station has been vacant, forcing NJ Transit riders to dash to neighboring stores for coffee, only to rush back to make their train in time.

The mad scramble for a caffeine fix is over. Rook Coffee Roasters officially opened for business Saturday at the station concession stand, filling a void for commuters and passersby alike.

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LITTLE SILVER STATION GOES FOR JAVA REFILL

Rook Coffee Roasters plans to set up shop this autumn in the wood-paneled interior of the borough-owned train station. (Photos by Connor Soltas. Click to enlarge)

By CONNOR SOLTAS

After a nearly two-year vacancy, the Little Silver Train Station is about to get a fresh coffee shop. And the new tenant believes it has a business model that will help it avoid the fate of its short-lived predecessors.

Rook Coffee Roasters announced a plan last Thursday to open its fourth retail store in the borough-owned station’s concession space this fall. Bagels, sandwiches and various baked goods will be for sale in addition to coffee, each cup of which is individually brewed to order, according to co-owner Holly Migliaccio.

Rook’s owners believe the keys to survival at the station lie in making the stand a draw to non-commuting locals and using wireless technology to expedite individual orders.

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NEW RESTAURANT COMING TO STATION?

78-bridge-2-121311The exterior of 78 Bridge Avenue, and below, an interior view showing the rear carriage-house doors. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

78-bridge-3-121311

In recent years, it’s been an ironware store, a teahouse and a teahouse-plus – a place, that is, where one might buy and consume food along with hot beverages, but no cooking could occur.

All have failed. But the building’s owners believe the former home of two editions of NovelTeas, located across Bridge Avenue from the Red Bank train station, is ready for a full-fledged restaurant.

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