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RED BANK: INDOOR CANNABIS FARM APPROVED

The facility would operate in three buildings now used for warehousing at 15 East Leonard Street. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicRed Bank moved closer to scoring a wholesale cannabis growing facility Monday night.

Before granting approval, however, planning board members had to overcome misgivings about an all-cash operation – and an electrified security fence meant to give intruders a “kick in the chest” without killing them.

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RED BANK: LEAD-TAINTED SOIL TO BE REMOVED

A map showing the properties where the DEP plans to do soil testing and remediation. An added arrow indicates the community garden lot. (DEP map. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

redbankgreen hot topicHomes near Red Bank’s community garden may require heavy excavation work to remove lead-contaminated soil, New Jersey environmental officials told residents Tuesday night.

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RED BANK: $10K CANNABIS BIZ FEE ON TABLE

Map indicates areas of town that are off-limits for cannabis operations and sales with cross-hatching outlined in red. (Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

redbankgreen hot topicA proposed $10,000 fee for licenses to grow, store or sell cannabis was flagged as possibly problematic by Red Bank’s borough attorney last week.

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RED BANK: BOARD OKS CANNABIS SITING PLAN

Map indicates areas of town that would be off-limits for cannabis operations and sales with cross-hatching outlined in red. (Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

redbankgreen hot topicA plan to accommodate all levels of cannabis businesses – from growth to retailing – advanced in Red Bank Monday night.

The borough planning board, meeting in person for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, gave the plan its seal of approval, finding no conflicts with the town’s Master Plan.

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RED BANK: FARMER DEFENDS PRODUCE TOSS

red bank farmers market kurt poehlerKurt Poehler at the Red Bank Farmer’s Market in May, 2020. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njThe farmer who trigged a backlash over disposed produce at the Red Bank Farmer’s Market Sunday defended the practice as a normal result of sorting Wednesday.

In addition, an organization that puts surplus produce into the hands of those who need it backed him for donating carloads of fruit and vegetables weekly, including Sunday.

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RED BANK: TOWN TO ZONE FOR CANNABIS

By JOHN T. WARD

redbankgreen hot topicRed Bank will move quickly to set zoning rules on the growth, distribution and retail sale of cannabis, the council informally agreed Wednesday night.

The decision will enable the borough to dictate where cannabis commerce can occur, and eventually generate some tax revenue.

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RED BANK: MARIJUANA GROW SITE PROPOSED

The operation would be housed in a warehouse on East Leonard Street, indicated by a star above. (Image from Google Maps. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

Jumping in on New Jersey’s legalization of adult-use marijuana, a local homebuilder hopes to win approval for a growing facility in Red Bank, redbankgreen has learned.

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RED BANK: LITTLE PROGRESS ON GARDEN

red bank what's going on hereThirteen months after it was abruptly closed over contamination concerns, Red Bank’s only community garden heads into autumn with a crop of periodically mown grass.

But what happened to the neighborhood soil testing that was supposed to be conducted? And will the garden reopen?

redbankgreen’s What’s Going On Here? has an update.

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RED BANK: MARKET REOPENS AS DRIVE-THRU

red bank farmers market red bank farmers marketThe Red Bank Farmer’s Market reopened Sunday, with some changes to limit the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19.

The foremost modification: the market is now temporarily a drive-thru only, with customers encouraged to pre-order their purchases.

Kurt Poehler, above, and his crew from Spring House Farms were ready with arrays of colorful fruits and vegetables.

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RED BANK: CRISIS DELAYS FARMERS’ MARKET

Mother’s Day is still five weeks away, but this year’s edition won’t be accompanied by the customary opening of the Red Bank Farmer’s Market.

George Sourlis, whose family-owned Galleria of Red Bank hosts the popular Sunday market, tells redbankgreen that this year’s start has been indefinitely postponed by the COVID-19 crisis. It will open once the pandemic has passed, he said.

The seasonal farmstand typically runs through November.  (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

MIDDLETOWN: GEORGE BOWDEN DIES

red bank george bowdenGeorge Bowden, right, with Historic Preservation Commission members Charles Nickerson and Michaela Ferrigine in 2016. Below, Bowden spearheaded the borough’s centennial celebration and parade in 2009.(Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

red bank george bowdenGeorge Bowden, once dubbed “the Energizer bunny” of historic preservation in Red Bank, died at home in Middletown Sunday. He was 92 years old.

Galvanized into action in 2001, after the borough allowed the demolition of an old house on West Front Street, Bowden became a champion for old and neglected structures in town.

Not least of those was the T. Thomas Fortune House, which was resurrected from near-oblivion earlier this year, more than a decade after Bowden and others launched a campaign to save it.

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RED BANK: CONCERNS AIRED OVER LEAD TESTS

red bank community garden 081219Caution tape signaled the closing of the Marion Street garden in August. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njUsers of Red Bank’s community garden questioned the borough government’s sense of urgency Wednesday night about the presence of lead in soil at the town’s only community garden.

 

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RED BANK: TESTS DETAIL GARDEN LEAD LEVELS

red bank community gardenThe community garden on Marion Street was overrun with weeds Tuesday afternoon. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njThree weeks after Red Bank shut down its sole community garden in response to a report of elevated lead in the soil, testing shows lead below levels considered unsafe, the borough said in an announcement Tuesday.

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RED BANK: CONTAMINATION SHUTS GARDEN

red bank community garden 081219Caution tape and notices at the entrance to the community garden on Marion Street Monday morning. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njRed Bank has shut down its sole community garden out of “an abundance of caution” over possible lead contamination, the borough government announced Monday.

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MIDDLETOWN: FUNDRAISER FOR BOWDENS

Family and friends have raised more than $12,000 to help two former Red Bank volunteers injured by a fire in their Middletown home earlier this month.

George Bowden, 91, and his wife, Gladys Bowden, 88, were both injured when their condo in the Shadow Lake Village complex in the River Plaza section of the township was heavily damaged by an electrical fire on December 15.

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LITTLE SILVER: A BARNYARD CELEBRATION

ls-barns-101616-10About 100 Little Silver residents, joined by Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagnols-barns-101616-4, celebrated the completion of restoration work on the three barns at the Parker Homestead Sunday.

The structures, the oldest of which is believed to have been built in the 1790s, and the Parker farm site on which they sit are “as important as Jamestown” in the history of America, Mayor Bob Neff told the crowd.

The restoration, funded with a $250,000 Monmouth County Open Spaces grant, was completed after a dispute with a contractor was resolved and a second contractor, Drill Construction, came on board in January, said Keith Wells, a trustee for the nonprofit Parker Homestead 1665 Inc., the nonprofit that oversaw the project. Two carpenters, Joe Rubel and Mike Cerniglia, were credited for work.

Click the “read more” for additional photos. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

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AUTUMN 2015: RED BANK, IN GLORIOUS COLOR

rb flowers 112115rb sunset 112215The trees may be nearly bare of leaves, but there’s no shortage of bold color to be found in nature this time of year.

Some hardy roses added splashes of magenta to the sidewalk along West Front Street in Red Bank Saturday, and Sunday’s sunset, seen from Pinckney Road at right, offered a glorious array of pink, gold, blue and more. 

Speaking of autumn, Thanksgiving week began with temperatures just above freezing Monday morning, with a forecast of sunny skies and a high temperature of only about 43 degrees. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

RED BANK: LAVENDER-SCENTED MEMORIES

barb randall 083115Barb Randall with a lavender plant in her Red Bank yard. Below, a photo of her late sister, Donna Randall. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

donna randall 083115When her older sister died from a rare form of leukemia three years ago, Barb Randall found some solace in an aroma, and the memories it inspired.

Donna Randall, who worked in the fragrance industry, had created a simple lavender spray for her own use that she applied to linens.

“Whenever she had overnight guests at her Jersey City brownstone, she would spray it on the pillows,” Barb recalled in an interview at her Red Bank home this week. “And when I stayed there, the last thing she would always say to me was, ‘sweet dreams.'”

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LITTLE SILVER: BARN RESTORATION STALLS

parker barns 070915 2No work has been done on the barns at Little Silver’s Parker Homestead in months. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

parker barns 070915 1One year after it began, work to restore three decrepit old barns at the Parker Homestead site in Little Silver has been stalled for months, and may be heading to court.

Neither town officials nor the contractor, Nickles Contracting, would discuss the reason for the inactivity, or even say when the stoppage began, leaving the structures a patchwork of braces and plywood coverings.

“It’s kind of in the hands of our attorneys,” Mayor Bob Neff told redbankgreen, citing the possibility of the matter winding up in litigation for his reticence on the matter.

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