RED BANK: PARK WORK STARTS WITH MISHAP
A backhoe en route to start work on a park makeover project tipped off a trailer in Red Bank Wednesday morning.
RED BANK: LUNCH BREAK SEEKS MURALIST
Attention would-be Gulley Jimsons: a large wall beckons at Red Bank’s Lunch Break, awaiting your artistic vision.
RED BANK: DIVERSION PROGRAM LAUNCHED
Law enforcement and other officials gathered in the municipal courtroom to mark the debut of the program in Red Bank. (MCPONJ photo. Click to enlarge.)
Press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office
By the end of next month, nearly one in every five Monmouth County residents will live in a municipality participating in an innovative program designed to shepherd individuals battling substance abuse and mental health disorders into recovery – and that ratio will only continue to grow in the years to come, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Tuesday.
RED BANK: STIFLING HEAT IN FORECAST
Visitors to the pier in Red Bank’s Marine Park fished, crabbed and sought out relief from stifling heat Monday afternoon.
The discomfort across the Greater Red Bank Green on Labor Day will continue Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. With “feels like” temperatures expected to reach 102 in parts of Monmouth County, the agency issued a heat advisory in effect from Tuesday morning until 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Check out the extended forecast below. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: RESTAURANTS IN CHURN
Catch 19 will close and a new restaurant will replace it, its owner says. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
In this edition of redbankgreen‘s Retail Churn: piping-hot news of changes at two restaurants in downtown Red Bank.
Though one is closing and the other is newly opened, for the owners of both, the appeal of the Broadwalk seasonal dining and shopping plaza remains strong four years in.
RED BANK: SUSPECT CHARGED IN SHOOTING
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank police arrested a 24-year-old suspect wanted in a shooting at a hair salon in which no one was injured three months ago, they said Thursday.
According to a statement by Captain Mike Frazee, police arrested Oliver Romero-Nava Wednesday in Long Branch and charged him with aggravated assault and weapons charges stemming from an incident that occurred May 19.
RED BANK: BRUSH PICKUP REMINDER
With summer 2023 nearing its end, Red Bank’s public utilities department is reminding residents that there are only two remaining brush pickups scheduled for the year. More →
RED BANK: SINKING BOAT PULLED FROM RIVER
A boat that was sinking in the horsehoe-shaped municipal marina in Red Bank’s Marine Park was pulled from the water Tuesday night.
RED BANK: OPEN-AIR OKTOBERFEST SLATED
The event will take place in Edmund Wilson Plaza, between Triumph Brewing Company and the Two River Theater. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
After a year without an outdoor food festival, Red Bank RiverCenter plans to debut a new one next month: Red Bank Oktoberfest.
To be held in Edmund Wilson Plaza between Triumph Brewing Company and the Two River Theater on Bridge Avenue, the September 24 event will spotlight product samples from Monmouth County breweries, wineries and distilleries.
RED BANK: BOLLARDS WITHSTAND FIRST HIT
One of downtown Red Bank’s traffic bollards survived its first real-world test when it was struck by an SUV early Monday.
RED BANK: 800 ENJOY LUNCH BREAK PICNIC
Gwen Love, center, with the Defined Logic team the Lunch Break picnic. Below, nearly 600 children received backpacks and school supplies. (Photos by Millie Jeter/Lunch Break. Click to enlarge.)
Press release from Lunch Break
More than 800 people came to enjoy a perfect summer day, delicious food, fun and games, receive much-needed school supplies and cheered for the winning softball team at the Lunch Break Annual Community Picnic, Softball Classic Tournament & Backpack Giveaway on August 19 at Count Basie Field.
Joining Lunch Break for the Community Picnic were our cancer survivor warriors Millie Jeter and Judith Pandi, who ushered in the softball tournament by throwing the ceremonial first pitch in honor of their heroic achievements. More →
RED BANK: COUNCIL VOWS HPC RESTART
Historic Preservation Commission attorney Michele Donato addressing the council Thursday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s Historic Preservation Commission will be reconstituted, Mayor Billy Portman and other council members informally agreed Thursday night.
But the council will first have to adopt design standards to establish which types of renovation work require HPC perusal and which can be fast-tracked, Portman said.
RED BANK: PRESERVATION PANEL ON AGENDA
Historic Preservation Commission attorney Michele Donato, left, with Chairman Chris Fabricant in March. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The future of Red Bank’s Historic Preservation Commission may come into focus when the borough council meets Thursday night.
Also on the agenda: proposed height limits on new construction along the Navesink River waterfront, and the settlement of a lawsuit over a parking lot issue. More →
RED BANK: NEW HOUSE LOT APPROVED
Red Bank’s planning board approved a subdivision at 27 Locust Avenue Monday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
RED BANK: LUNCH BREAK TO BUY CHURCH
The purchase includes the Mt. Zion House of Prayer and its parking lot on Tilton Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank-based Lunch Break, already in the midst of a massive facilities expansion, may build a residential project on the site of a West Side church.
The social services organization is looking into using the Mt. Zion House of Prayer‘s property to provide housing for the homeless, Gwen Love, Lunch Break’s executive director, told redbankgreen last week.
Completion of the deal would also mean the end of more than a century of worship on the site.
RED BANK: THRIVE PARKING PLAN QUESTIONED
Seen on a monitor, an architect discusses the design of the proposed Shrewsbury Avenue project. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposed apartment project for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities would be the first of its kind in New Jersey, which has a critical need for it, sponsors told the Red Bank zoning board Thursday night.
Board members had questions about parking and unit size, but showed no immediate sign of opposition.
RED BANK: SIDEWALK SALE TURNS 69
Helping sustain downtown businesses since 1954, the ageless Red Bank Sidewalk Sale returns for its annual three-day run starting Friday.
RED BANK: SPECIAL-NEEDS HOUSING PLANNED
Rendering shows the Shrewsbury Avenue side of the proposed building. Access to an interior garage would be at the far left. (Rendering by CPA Architecture.Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
When Karen Fluharty moved her special-needs adult son to a neuro-diverse housing complex in Phoenix two years ago, she was both relieved and devastated. There simply was nothing anywhere near her Rumson home that would allow young Ryan to live an independent life with an overlay of needed support, she said.
“I had to make the choice as a parent, to leave my 19-year-old son, my only child, in Arizona,” she said. “I had to make the choice between the right program and being near family. And no parent should have to make that choice.”
On Thursday night, a nonprofit entity Fluharty created will go before the Red Bank zoning board with an alternative.
RED BANK: MCPO WEIGHS IN ON PBA CLAIM
Chief Darren McConnell speaking at an event in 2021. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office amended its policy on internal-affairs investigations into matters involving relatives of local police chiefs in February, the agency told redbankgreen Monday.
But the changes were “not formulated as a reaction to any one specific matter,” the MCPO said in a statement that appeared to contradict an assertion made last week by Red Bank’s police union about borough police Chief Darren McConnell.
McConnell said the statement bares “another misrepresentation of the facts by the PBA.”
RED BANK: CRIME & ARREST REPORTS
The crime and arrest reports below were provided by the Red Bank Police Department for July, 2023. This information is unedited; see below for additional information.
CRIMES
Criminal Mischief: On 07/03/2023, a patrol unit took a report of graffiti. In the area of Locust Av., the caller reported a fence, a slide and other parts of the property were tagged with purple in color spray paint. Ptl. Luke Cahill.
Criminal Mischief: A patrol unit took a report of criminal mischief to a motor vehicle in the area of Globe Ct. On 07/07/2023 the owner reported damage to the hood and front driver side fender of a vehicle. Ptl. Frank Metta. More →
RED BANK: DISPLAY SPOTLIGHTS DRUG DEATHS
Purple flags outside Red Bank borough hall call attention to the dozens of drug overdose deaths in Monmouth County in the first three months of 2023, according to the Prevention Coalition of Monmouth County.
The nonprofit organization says 52 municipalities in the county will host purple flag initiative displays leading up to International Overdose Awareness Day August 31. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
RED BANK: McCONNELL REBUTS ALLEGATIONS
Chief Darren McConnell at the police station in 2020. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank police Chief Darren McConnell acknowledged Saturday that he’d had a relationship with a former “significant other” of a department employee “years ago,” but none since.
The admission came two days after the police union accused McConnell of engaging in “numerous inappropriate and questionable sexual relationships with the significant others'” of department personnel, as well as alleged ethical lapses that led to “no confidence” vote by local members last month.
RED BANK: PBA BLASTS McCONNELL’S ‘ETHICS’
PBA president Mike Zadlock, at table, addressing the council while the union’s executive committee members stood. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
[See CLARIFICATION below]
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s police union accused Chief Darren McConnell of “numerous inappropriate and questionable sexual relationships” with employees and other alleged ethical lapses Thursday night.
The allegations, aired during a council meeting, came a month after a previously undisclosed “no confidence” vote by Police Benevolent Local 39, and almost two weeks after McConnell had been expected to retire.
RED BANK: ‘CLINICIAN’ ON COUNCIL AGENDA
A resolution calls for using grant money to pay for a police department social worker. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
An idea “spitballed” at the new Red Bank council’s first business session last month is up for adoption Thursday night: adding a “clinician” to the police department.
Here’s a quick overview of the agenda.
RED BANK: SUMMER TUTORING IN SPOTLIGHT
Press release from state Senator Vin Gopal
New Jersey Senate Education Committee Chair Vin Gopal toured the New Jersey Tutoring Corps’ (NJTC) high-impact summer tutoring site in Red Bank last week.