RED BANK: BELLHAVEN MAKEOVER IN SIGHT

Consulting engineer Christine Ballard details the Bellhaven plan for the council last week. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

After years of revisions, and no small amount of controversy, changes to the Bellhaven Natural Area in Red Bank could be completed by this summer, officials said last week.

Once again, the project has been scaled-back from a version of a plan that called for a spray park and triggered loud protests four years ago, they said.

February 13, 2019 - 4:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: SNOW TOSSERS TO FACE TICKETS

How it’s done: a snowblower pointed away from Broad Street during a storm in January, 2014. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj You know who they are: the folks who shovel snow from their property into the street after plows have been through. Hey, maybe you’ve done it yourself.

Red Bank officials say it’s a costly pain in the neck, and plan to make it a violation enforced with “zero tolerance.”

January 21, 2019 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: PARKING SYSTEM FOUND ‘BROKEN’

Carrie Krasnow, with study co-author Brian Bartholomew looking on, addresses the audience at the Red Bank Primary School Thursday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank might soon need another 220 or so parking spaces downtown, but it doesn’t need a parking garage just yet, a pair of experts say in a long-awaited study unwrapped Thursday night.

Instead, local officials first have to fix a “broken” parking management system, they said.

January 11, 2019 - 2:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: NEW FOUR-WAY STOP GOES LIVE

With the installation of oversized stop signs Wednesday, a new four-way stop is now in effect at East Bergen Place and South Street in Red Bank.

The big signs will also be posted at Oakland and Pearl streets, where the borough council created another four-way stop last year, said public works Director Cliff Keen.

Don’t know how a four-way stop works?

January 10, 2019 - 10:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: STUDENTS RETHINK MONMOUTH ST.

Curtis 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

Assignment: 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.

December 18, 2018 - 11:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: COUNCIL AGENDA

Borough hall would get a new phone system under a contract up for approval by the council. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Here’s a preview of the Red Bank borough council’s agenda for its semimonthly meeting Wednesday night:

November 28, 2018 - 8:45 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: HUNT FOR GRANTS CONTINUES

A grant seeking $821,000 for improvements to Broad Street is among the nearly three dozen applications pending, according to a report. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Six months after hiring a professional contractor to seek out grant funds, the Red Bank council is hopeful that a cash pump has been primed.

Business Administrator Ziad Shehady told the council last week that while no grants have yet been secured under the contract with Millennium Strategies, there is now “several million dollars” worth of potential funding “in the pipeline.”

November 13, 2018 - 9:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: COUNCIL MULLS STREET ISSUES

A plow clearing Broad Street during a storm in March, 2014. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Stop signs, snow removal, street sweeping and other road-related issues were on the agenda at the Red Bank borough council’s workshop session Wednesday night.

Some new ordinances are expected to follow.

November 9, 2018 - 11:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: WHAT HR HEAD KNEW IN DISPUTE

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Almost two months before she filed allegations of harassment by the town’s administrator, Red Bank’s personnel director was told her job was on the line, borough officials claim.

The assertion that human resources manager Eva Biviano had been informed her employment was at risk would appear to contradict statements made by her lawyer, who’s also her brother.

But he says that does not undermine her allegations about “months of abuse” by Business Administrator Ziad Shehady.

October 16, 2018 - 11:20 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: HR HEAD AXED IN ‘RESTRUCTURING’

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj The Red Bank government’s personnel director lost her job Monday, one business day after she filed a harassment complaint against borough Business Administrator Ziad Shehady, redbankgreen has confirmed.

October 15, 2018 - 6:20 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: SHEHADY ACCUSED OF HARASSMENT

Red Bank Business Administrator Ziad Shehady at borough hall in June. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

SEE UPDATE BELOW

By JOHN T. WARD

Five months after he took the job, Red Bank’s business administrator is facing a harassment complaint, redbankgreen has learned.

October 15, 2018 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: REDEVELOPMENT WORK ON AGENDA

Ken DeRoberts, who served as interim borough administrator earlier this year, would oversee redevelopment issues under the proposed contract. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

[UPDATE: See clarification below]

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj A consulting firm that earlier this year identified the absence of a redevelopment agency as a competitive problem for Red Bank is expected to be given the job of overseeing redevelopment Wednesday night.

October 9, 2018 - 6:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: CLAY COURTS SCRAPED

The clay tennis courts at Marine Park, as seen Wednesday morning. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

After sitting untouched and off-limits for nearly six years, Red Bank’s waterfront clay tennis courts got some attention from heavy equipment earlier this week.

And of course, the rumor mill lit up. Which means it’s time to call in redbankgreen‘s periodic feature known as What’s Going On Here?

October 4, 2018 - 10:50 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: PARKING GRIPES, IDEAS ECHOED

Parking consultants Carrie Krasnow and Brian Bartholomew listen to restaurateur George Lyristis at the Red Bank Middle School Monday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Like visitors circling the White Street lot in search of a spot, Red Bank merchants and residents took another spin at solving downtown parking issues Monday night.

In the same auditorium where a similar forum was held 14 months ago, about 50 participants showed up at the borough middle school to advocate for improvements, many of them echoes of long-standing complaints and suggestions.

September 25, 2018 - 10:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: RAMPING UP CODE ENFORCEMENT

The front yard of a vacant house at 98 East Front Street is overgrown with weeds. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank is cracking down on property-based quality-of-life issues, borough officials said last week.

Word of a ramp-up of code enforcement — including foot patrols — for matters like unmowed lawns and rubbish came in response to a complaint that some residents have been threatened with fines for minor infractions.

September 20, 2018 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: K9 VEST, MAYOR’S BALL, PINS

Eko, one of two canine members of the Red Bank police force, has a new ballistic vest, courtesy of the Elks. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

The Red Bank mayor and council were in an appreciative mood last Wednesday, spotlighting good works by three charitable organizations.

And the town now has an official lapel pin. Read on for details.

September 18, 2018 - 8:25 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: ROAD AND PARK WORK UPDATED

Work underway on East Bergen Place last week. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

A messy road project in Red Bank will cost more and take longer to complete than originally anticipated, officials said last week.

Also, the borough plans to seek $250,000 in Monmouth County funding to cover half the cost of a series of improvements to borough parks.

Read More »

September 17, 2018 - 9:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: BELLHAVEN PLAN SCALED BACK

Trees were taken down recently at Bellhaven Natural Area in preparation for an observation deck being built there, according to Business Administrator Ziad Shehady. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank officials have quietly started prep work for a project at a site once mired in controversy: the Bellhaven Natural Area overlooking the Swimming River.

The end result, however will be a “scaled-back” version of a plan that once called for a spray park and triggered loud protests three years ago.

July 23, 2018 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: AFTER SCATHING REPORT, WHAT?

Business Administrator Ziad Shehady in front of the large-screen monitor he uses in staff meetings to track projects. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Now that a scathing review of municipal operations has landed on their desks, what will Red Bank’s leaders do with it?

It won’t go into a drawer to be forgotten, says the newly hired official charged with implementing most of its recommendations. In fact, he says, change is already underway.

July 10, 2018 - 11:50 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: RATS INFEST NEIGHBORHOOD

Rats were easily evident in the yard of a McLaren Street home Thursday morning. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank officials promised quick action Wednesday night after East Side homeowners said their neighborhood has been infested by rats.

Worthley Street residents Jeff and Allison Welker, joined by a handful of neighbors, told the borough council that they cannot allow their children or pets into their backyard because of a recurring “fireworks display” of the rodents.

June 28, 2018 - 10:40 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: BIKE SHARE PLAN IN THE WORKS

Biking in Red Bank —and possibly, Fair Haven and Little Silver — could get a boost under a push to bring a bike-sharing vendor to town. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank officials are exploring the possibility of allowing a bike-share vendor to offer its services in town, and inviting two neighboring towns to get in on the two-wheeled action, Business Administrator Ziad Shehady told the borough council last week.

June 18, 2018 - 10:50 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: PARKING, TAXES & MORE

A consultant was hired to conduct a long-awaited parking study following the failure last year of plans to redevelop the White Street lot, above. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

At last Wednesday’s meeting of the Red Bank council, these things happened:

June 4, 2018 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: RIVERFRONT POOL CONDEMNED

The pool and dock at Riverview Towers are off-limits after the pool tore loose on Tuesday, officials said. (Photo by Google Satellite. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank officials have condemned the swimming pool at a residential high-rise on the Navesink River after it was displaced Tuesday.

The Riverside Towers pool, built over the river, rose several feet, apparently on incoming tide, upheaving the surrounding deck, officials said. Read More »

May 17, 2018 - 11:30 am | Comments ()

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