RED BANK: TOP JOB OPEN AT TIME OF STRIFE

Ziad Shehady, left, and Mayor Pasquale Menna listen as consultant Ken DeRoberts, in foreground, addresses the council in January, 2019. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj The resignation of Red Bank’s business administrator after only three years last week was the result of scheming by political enemies, Mayor Pasquale Menna contends.

Now, a prevailing atmosphere of “dysfunction” will “absolutely” make it harder to fill the town’s top unelected position, he told redbankgreen.

April 13, 2021 - 7:50 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: SHEHADY RESIGNS TOP BORO JOB

Ziad Shehady in his borough hall office in June, 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

[This post has been updated since it was first published.]

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj After only three years on the job, Ziad Shehady is resigning as Red Bank’s top unelected official, he told the borough council behind closed doors Wednesday night.

April 8, 2021 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: GAS SITE MAY GET ‘JET GROUTING’

The sewage pump station at the foot of Cooper’s Bridge was once used as a gas manufacturing plant. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

More than a century after it served as a gas works, a riverfront Red Bank property may get some 20th-century environmental remediation.

Coal tar and other toxic wastes beneath the town’s Bodman Place sewage pumping station overlooking the Navesink are slated to be immobilized by technology known as ‘jet grouting,’ according to borough officials.

March 25, 2021 - 6:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: SENIOR & REC PLANS REVIEWED

A concept plan showing facilities at the southern entrance to Count Basie Fields includes an indoor basketball court. (Screenshot from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj The Red Bank Redevelopment Agency began sorting through concept plans for possible new senior citizen and recreation facilities Tuesday.

Added to the “fix it now” demand by advocates of a stand-alone Senior Center was a new one: leave the outdoor basketball courts at Count Basie Fields alone.

March 24, 2021 - 7:53 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: CENTER BACKERS RALLY AGAIN

Marian Quinn of Manor Drive speaking at the rally. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Invoking “demolition by neglect” and the prospect of “apartments” on the site, several dozen Red Bankers rallied Saturday to demand that the mothballed borough Senior Center be repaired.

They also momentarily drowned out the grandson of the center’s founder when he took issue with one of the handmade signs posted on the building.

March 15, 2021 - 7:55 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: OFFICIALS EYE $1.18M INFUSION

Downtown Red Bank was nearly empty on a Friday night last March as pandemic restrictions on economic and social activity took effect. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank’s government will receive a direct infusion of nearly $1.18 million under the $1.9 trillion pandemic recovery bill passed by Congress earlier in the day, officials said Wednesday night.

The funds will enable the borough to begin filling its own budgetary holes while providing aid to renters, small businesses and local non-profits, said an elated Mayor Pasquale Menna.

But one item it can’t be used on, contrary to the suggestion of a council candidate, is repairing the shuttered Senior Center, according to two officials.

March 11, 2021 - 7:58 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: CENTER BACKERS PLAN RALLY

Supporters of a drive to repair and reopen Red Bank’s Senior Center plan to rally at the facility Saturday for the second time this year.

Read More »

March 9, 2021 - 7:10 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: VISCOMI REBUTS RACISM CHARGE

Sue Viscomi at a school board meeting in March, 2018. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Three Red Bank council members were silent Wednesday in the face of accusations that one of them had smeared a resident by accusing her of using “racist” language last month.

March 4, 2021 - 2:45 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: $200+ SNOW PARKING TICKETS?

Message board at Johnny Jazz Park on Shrewsbury Avenue reminds residents to get cars off the street during a snowfall in February, 2019. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Red Bank Business Administrator Ziad Shehady suggested raising the penalty for snow parking violations to as much as $300 Wednesday.

But Councilwoman Kate Triggiano vowed the fine would never be raised “into that stratosphere.”

March 4, 2021 - 10:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: SHEHADY SLATES PUBLIC FORUMS

Ziad Shehady at borough event in February, 2020. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj A week after announcing he was stepping down from a position that had become a “lightning rod” for criticism, Red Bank Borough Administrator Ziad Shehady said he plans to host a pair of public roundtables on a wide range of issues later this month.

March 3, 2021 - 2:10 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: BALLARD SEEKS PROTOCOL FIX

Councilman Michael Ballard said his proposal would encourage exchanges between officials and residents that clarify information. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank council meeting attendees would regain their ability to ask follow-up questions of officials under proposed changes slated for discussion Wednesday evening.

The revisions to the council’s often derided question-and-comment protocol were announced by Councilman Michael Ballard on Facebook Tuesday afternoon.

March 3, 2021 - 7:10 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: BANK DIMS LIGHTING TO WIN OK

The bank agreed to remove the lights behind the red logo atop its ATM machine, but said the site overall was inadequately lit under state regulations. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Wells Fargo dodged likely planning board rejection when it agreed to dial back an illumination plan for its Red Bank branch Monday night.

The fact that the property is under review as a possible new home for borough government also lit up the conversation.

March 2, 2021 - 7:58 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: POSSIBLE TOWN HALL SITE ID’D

The building at Broad Street and East Bergen Place has served as a branch for various banks since 1965. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank’s Redevelopment Agency is looking at a Broad Street bank site as a possible future home for borough government.

Emphasis on “possible.” But the Wells Fargo branch at the corner of East Bergen Place has attributes that may make it “viable,” borough Business Administrator Ziad Shehady said at the agency’s monthly meeting Tuesday.

February 25, 2021 - 3:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: SHEHADY QUITS AGENCY POST

Ziad Shehady, left, with Ken DeRoberts at the 2018 Mayor’s Ball. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Ziad Shehady resigned as the executive director of the Red Bank Redevelopment Agency Tuesday, saying the position had become a “lightning rod” for criticism and source of distraction from his primary job as borough business administrator.

February 24, 2021 - 12:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: DREAMING BIG ABOUT RIVERVIEW

A video created by a Philadelphia architectural firm shows a vastly expanded Riverview Medical Center campus. (Video by BKT Architects. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Over more than a dozen years of amassing Red Bank real estate, officials at Riverview Medical Center have been silent on an obvious question: what do they plan to do with their growing land bank?

They’re still not saying. But someone went to the expense of hiring an architecture and urban planning firm to come up with blue-sky concept plans for Riverview, redbankgreen has learned. And he just made a killing selling the hospital some real estate.

February 24, 2021 - 7:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: WHAT’S ON COUNCIL AGENDA

The council is expected to renew its contract for EMT ambulance services. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank’s borough council meets Wednesday with a relatively light agenda.

There’s still something missing: promised changes to the public comment protocol.

February 22, 2021 - 7:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: RACIST SLUR, OR SLIP OF TONGUE?

Sue Viscomi, right, with Hazim Yassin and Kate Triggiano at borough hall in April, 2018. All three ran for council that year. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj A Red Bank board of ed member faced sharp criticism Thursday for a purported racist rendition of the borough business administrator’s name the night before.

But Sue Viscomi vehemently denied referring to Ziad Shehady as “Mr. Jihad.”

February 12, 2021 - 7:59 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: CENTER DEBATE CONTINUES

Councilwoman Kate Triggiano, center of bottom row, prevailed on a resolution regarding the Redevelopment Agency. (Zoom screengrab. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Sarcasm and insults flew Wednesday night as the Red Bank council yet again clashed over the future of the mothballed Senior Center.

This time, residents provided much of the ire. Read More »

February 11, 2021 - 1:30 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: SENIOR CENTER DEBATE RAGES ON

A view into the mothballed Senior Center through a window in December. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank council members clashed yet again over the borough’s Senior Center Wednesday night.

Among the issues: a petition demanding that the facility, which has been out of commission for almost two years, be repaired and reopened at its riverfront location.

February 4, 2021 - 7:58 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: AGENCY PRESSED ON SENIOR HALL

David Huber, center top, began what he said would be his last year as redevelopment agency chairman. (Photo from Zoom. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank residents pressed the borough’s Redevelopment Agency to save the Shrewsbury Avenue Senior Center Tuesday.

January 27, 2021 - 8:00 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: WHAT’S ON COUNCIL AGENDA

Among the many events organizers hope to bring back in 2021: the Red Bank Classic 5k, slated for June 19. A list of event dates is up for approval by the council. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank’s borough council meets with a busy agenda of financing actions, hirings and more Wednesday.

There’s also something missing, though numerous commenters have demanded it: changes to the meeting protocol covering… public comment.

January 26, 2021 - 7:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: RECYCLING, BULK SKEDS CHANGED

Red Bank officials announced changes to the borough’s recycling and bulk waste pickup schedules Thursday.

January 15, 2021 - 7:54 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: MORE SPARKS OVER SENIOR CENTER

The Senior Center offers a rare vantage for Red Bankers to view the Navesink and Swimming rivers, speakers said. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Red Bank’s elected officials got an earful from the public about the borough’s disabled Senior Center Wednesday night.

But even as the all-Democratic council unanimously approved a new lease on interim space, sparks continued to fly between its members over the center’s near-term future.

January 14, 2021 - 5:00 pm | Comments ()

RED BANK: DEMS ERUPT OVER SENIOR CENTER

The Senior Center has been out of commission for most of the past two years following a pipe leak. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj Tension among Red Bank Democrats over the future of the borough’s Senior Center erupted in public over the weekend.

Joined by Mayor Pasquale Menna, four of the council’s six Democrats lit into the other two, one of whom is the party chairman, as having “placed their own popularity over what’s best for our residents and taxpayers.”

January 11, 2021 - 9:30 am | Comments ()

RED BANK: SENIOR CENTER STILL ON ICE

The Senior Center has been out of commission for most of the past two years. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

Red Bank’s Senior Center is not for sale, Mayor Pasquale Menna insists.

But two years after extensive damage caused by a burst pipe, multiple questions surround the still-closed Shrewsbury Avenue facility. Among them: will it reopen anytime soon, and will it stay where it is?

January 8, 2021 - 1:00 pm | Comments ()

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