A food truck called Your Sister’s Balls hopes to set up “a few days a week” on a Shrewsbury Avenue lot. (Nicole Montecalvo photo. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Less than a year after the latest effort to remove Red Bank’s ban on food trucks got a flat tire, the issue is back.
Leading the charge: a food truck called Your Sister’s Balls.
By JOHN T. WARD
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.
Kris Winters says her White Street shop, Cabana 19, was just getting back on its feet from last year’s streetscape disruption when the pandemic hit. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A Red Bank construction project looms large for some business owners as they start to crawl out from under one of the worst economic crises in American history.
They’re pleading for “empathy” as they try to avoid a third consecutive blow in one year.
Downtown shoppers will be able to park in designated spots for quick pickups from restaurants and retail stores throughout town. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
With merchants starting to emerge from the COVID-19 lockdown, Red Bank officials unveiled a temporary parking plan Monday aimed at helping them regain an economic toehold.
Robert Greene, left, and John Caine at the Red Bank recycling center Thursday morning. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A plan to eliminate two part-time jobs at the recycling center sharply divided Red Bank’s all-Democratic council Wednesday night.
Things got personal. During the governing body’s semimonthly meeting, conducted via Zoom, Councilman Ed Zipprich accused Business Administrator Ziad Shehady of retaliation for an earlier action by the union that represents the affected employees.
Red Bank officials are looking into reports of brown tap water, but believe they know what’s causing it, Business Administrator Ziad Shehady said Wednesday.
The White Street parking lot was desolate April 8. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
[See CORRECTION below]
By JOHN T. WARD
Along with their Netflix and Hulu viewing options during the COVID-19 lockdown, civic-minded Red Bankers will have some Zoom options in coming days.
Among them: a presentation on the redesign of the White Street parking lot.
OK, so it’s not quite ‘Tiger King,’ but hey.
Following Governor Phil Murphy’s decision to reopen state and county parks, Red Bank’s parks will reopen too, the borough announced on its website late Wednesday.
The property at 96-98 West Front Street is approved for offices and apartments. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank may get a small addition to its riverfront Maple Cove tract under negotiations authorized by council in executive session Wednesday night.
Officials and council members recite the pledge of allegiance during the borough government’s first-ever digital-only meeting April 7. (YouTube screen grab. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
At its second official meeting of the COVID-19 era Wednesday night, the Red Bank council plans to consider awarding a contract to rebuild much of White Street and the adjoining municipal parking lot.
Red Bank’s parks – including Riverside Gardens, above, and Marine Park, right – were off-limits to visitors Wednesday after borough workers erected barricades at their entrances.
Riverside Gardens Park as seen last Saturday afternoon. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank officials plan to indefinitely close borough parks starting Wednesday.
Like the rest of New Jersey, Red Bank may be on near-lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but work on a trio of closely watched municipal projects continues.
What’s Going On Here? Read on.
Fair Haven’s March 23 council meeting, conducted via Zoom from the office of Forefront Incorporated, drew 68 attendees. (YouTube screen grab. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Thanks to a videocamera placed on a conference room table, Fair Haven residents got a close-up view of Mayor Ben Lucarelli’s beard when the town’s governing body held its first-ever online-only public session two weeks ago.
Now, thanks to the limits on public gatherings in the COVID-19 pandemic, Red Bank is also about to enter the fuzzy world of public sessions at which no members of the public are present.
Mayor Pasquale Menna speaks with school board President Fred Stone at a March 11 ceremony opening the new primary school emergency access road. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
[UPDATE, 4:40 p.m.: Menna tells redbankgreen he has been released from the hospital after treatment as a presumed-positive patient, according to he chart, though he has not received test results yet. He is home and expects to remain self-isolated for the next two weeks, he said. Meantime, the council workshop meeting scheduled for Wednesday has been canceled.]
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank Mayor Pasquale Menna, who said he is hospitalized “as a precaution” in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, blasted former councilwoman Cindy Burnham and an online publication Monday for spreading “rumors” about his health in recent days.
Separately, borough Business Administrator Ziad Shehady told redbankgreen that Burnham “should be brought up on charges” for what he called her “blatant lies” about him.
The pandemic has impacted train schedules and operations at the Little Silver Train Station. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Here’s a quick look at some impacts of the COVID-19 virus on the Greater Red Bank Green.
The view through a patient’s windshield outside Integrated Medicine Alliance in Red Bank Wednesday. (Reader photo. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Four more New Jersey residents have died as the statewide number of COVID-19 cases soared in the last 24 hours, state health officials reported Thursday.
Governor Phil Murphy said at a press briefing in Trenton that the number of cases rose to 742, up from 427 Wednesday, including 11 additional cases in Monmouth County, which had 43.
Ziad Shehady at borough hall in December, 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Business Administrator Ziad Shehady has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, he told redbankgreen Thursday.
But he’s working from home and hasn’t experienced any symptoms worse than a common cold, he said.
Public employees will continue working, but borough hall and other facilities will be closed to the public. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
Public access to Red Bank’s borough government buildings will be halted starting Monday to help mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
In an announcement posted on the borough website Friday afternoon, the administration said all public employees will continue to work, serving the public by email. telephone and mail.
There’s been yet another setback for the new restrooms at Eastside Park in Red Bank.
What now? Read on.
The Red Bank community garden, which the borough abruptly shut down last August over concern about possible soil contamination, is on the agenda for Wednesday night’s council meeting.
What’s Going On Here? Read on.
RiverCenter asked that enforcement of any changes to the parking ordinance be postponed until completion of planned streetscape work on White Street and the adjoining lot. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Facing pushback, Red Bank officials on Wednesday slowed a proposal to extend paid parking to 10 p.m.
The plan, first reported by redbankgreen, drew numerous critical comments on Facebook, which several council members alluded to at Wednesday night’s council workshop session.
Adding four hours a day of paid parking is among the recommendations of a recent report. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s elected officials are expected to take up a proposal this week to expand paid parking – and enforcement – to 10 p.m.
A sign alerting the public to an environmental cleanup appeared at Red Bank’s Bellhaven Natural Area a few weeks ago.
What’s Going On Here? Read on.
Judy and Bill Fraser of Elm Place examine schematics of the White Street plans at borough hall. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Details of a planned makeover of White Street in Red Bank got a positive reception at a public input session Thursday evening.
Officials also offered the first public insights into the future of the adjoining municipal parking lot since a push for massive private development on the site imploded two years ago.