New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy used a private parking lot behind the offices of Red Bank RiverCenter to unveil a short-term sales tax break Wednesday.

Murphy announced a nine-day tax “holiday,” starting August 27, on school supplies, including laptop computers, at a press conference held on the Reckless Place side of 140-148 Broad Street.

The location is at the rear of an office building slated for remodeling by borough-based Denholtz Properties. Tenants include RiverCenter and an Arthur Murray dance instruction studio.

Among those in attendance were lame-duck Mayor Pasquale Menna (seen with Murphy above right) and his would-be successor, Democratic candidate Billy Portman; Council President Kate Triggiano; RiverCenter Executive Director Bob Zuckerman, in his second week on the job; and Democratic state Senator Vin Gopal.

Murphy, who lives in Middletown, said at the event that he has a private office in Red Bank that he doesn’t often use. He didn’t specify where.

In a statement, Sheila Reynertson, senior policy analyst at New Jersey Policy Perspective, called the tax break “a gimmick that will not provide meaningful relief to working families who need it most.”

(Photo by Edwin J. Torres/NJ Governor’s Office. Click to enlarge.)

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