RED BANK: BUILDING SOLD, PHARMACY CLOSED
After six years in business, the Red Bank Family Pharmacy has ended operations. And the Broad Street building it which it operated has changed hands.
FAIR HAVEN: CONCEPT PLANS UNVEILED
Fair Haven’s new borough hall could look like this, its architect said. The view is from the firehouse on the opposite side of River Road. (Rendering by Eli Goldstein. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Fair Haven officials rolled out a set of concept drawings Thursday night for a pair of new borough buildings at the heart of an ambitious consolidation plan.
They also unveiled a timetable for the proposal, which calls for a domino chain of real estate acquisition, construction and the sale of property to help fund it all.
FAIR HAVEN: CURTAIN TO RISE ON BORO PLAN
Officials are negotiating a deal to buy the former Sunoco station site at 626 River Road, marked with the star above. (Image by Google. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Fair Haven residents are slated to get their first look Thursday night at a plan for a possible new borough hall and police station.
Here’s what to expect.
FAIR HAVEN: PLAN ELICITS VARIED CONCERNS
Part of the plan calls for a new park-maintenance shed at Fair Haven Fields, just south of the Methodist church. (Image by Google. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Fair Haven residents peppered the borough council Tuesday night with questions about an ambitious plan to build a new town hall, consolidate operations and sell real estate.
The questions appeared to reflect a sense that residents were caught off guard by the scope of the project, which was first reported by redbankgreen Monday.
FAIR HAVEN: NEW TOWN HALL PLANNED
Fair Haven officials hope to acquire the former Sunoco station for redevelopment as part of long-range consolidation of municipal operations. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A vacant gas station site in Fair Haven could become the home to a new borough hall and police station under a plan up for consideration Tuesday night.
FAIR HAVEN: INVESTORS BANK PLAN STALLS
The Investors Bank proposed for River Road would be identical to this branch in Woodbridge, the developer said. (Photo by M&M Realty Partners. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A proposed drive-thru bank on the site of a former filling station in Fair Haven ran out of gas Tuesday night.
The Investors Bank project encountered continuing objections to a traffic-flow plan that would put two driveways — for an entry and an exit — on River Road, which planning board members said raised child-safety concerns.
Also an issue: the brand-specific look of the one-story building, which called for a shallow glass atrium dome that one resident likened to a “blister.”
FAIR HAVEN: BANK HEARING DELAYED AGAIN
For the second time since it began in May, a hearing on a proposed Investors Savings Bank branch on the former site of a Sunoco station on River Road in Fair Haven has been postponed at the applicant’s request. The matter, scheduled for Monday night, is now slated for July 28.
Meantime, the board is expected to continue its review of the town’s Master Plan, among other matters.
For redbankgreen’s prior coverage of the bank plan, click here. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
FAIR HAVEN: SKEPTICISM OVER BANK PLAN
An architectural rendering of the bank, proposed for the former site of a Sunoco station. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Like a customer at a balky ATM, a regional bank will have to try again after Fair Haven’s planning board raised numerous objections to a proposed bank branch Tuesday night.
Though the matter didn’t go to a vote, all but one board member cited misgivings about Investors Savings Bank’s plan for a branch on the site of a former River Road filling station.
FAIR HAVEN: BANK EYES SITE FOR DRIVE-THRU
After a four-year vacancy, the former site of a Sunoco station at River Road and Cedar Avenue in Fair Haven may be getting a new use: Investors Savings Bank hopes to build a branch with a drive-thru there. More →
RED BANK: RUNAWAY BRIDAL SHOP?
Activity at the Sassy Chic bridal wear shop during a Wedding Walk in 2012. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
A Red Bank bridal wear shop has been evicted, the Asbury Park Press reported Wednesday.
A customer tells the newspaper that she’s been unable to contact anyone at the Sassy Chic Boutique on Monmouth Street about the bride’s dress she put down a $717 deposit for back in January.
FAIR HAVEN: CRAVIN HAVEN TAKES A BREAK
Cravin Haven, a luncheonette in the Acme shopping center in Fair Haven, is closing as of Monday for a month of renovations, according to the message on its Facebook page. Co-owner Anthony Mazzucca says the plan is for a reconfiguration and possible rebranding. But catering will still be available, he says. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)
MIDDLETOWN: ROAD CLOSING THIS WEEK
Signs on Navesink River Road warn of the closure. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)
The start of emergency repair work on the New Jersey Transit railroad crossing at Navesink River Road in Middletown appears to have been delayed, but will still take effect this week, according to signage in the area.
MIDDLETOWN: RR XING CLOSURE SET
A flashing sign on Riverside Avenue in Red Bank warns of the closure later this month. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)
Emergency repair work on the New Jersey Transit railroad crossing at Navesink River Road in Middletown will mean a shutdown of the crossing to vehicular traffic for up to 12 days later this month, the township announced Thursday.
WHERE HAVE I SEEN THIS?
Though the above photo may appear to have been taken indoors, Where Have I Seen This hasn’t abandoned its principles. The tableau is visible to a passerby.
Do you know where the shot was taken? If so, or you’d like to guess. please send an email to wherehaveiseenthis@redbankgreen.com.
LITTLE SILVER: ROAD OUTAGE NEARLY OVER
The closure of Seven Bridges Road in Little Silver, which began last July, is nearing its end as Monmouth County wraps up a bridge-replacement project just north of Point Road.
Mayor Bob Neff reported recently that the county has assured town officials that the contractor on the job is working weekends in order to meet the targeted April 15 reopening date. (Click to enlarge)
RED BANK: HOTEL AIMS FOR JANUARY RETURN
The surging Navesink River poured six feet of water into the hotel’s basement, knocking out electricity and other systems. (Photo by Wil Fulton. Click to enlarge)
By WIL FULTON
Almost a month after Hurricane Sandy slammed into the Jersey Shore, Red Bank’s Oyster Point Hotel remains locked and dark, a handwritten note taped to its front door telling visitors it will reopen “when it is safe to do so.”
The riverside hotels basement, the operational heart of the facility, was inundated with more than six feet of water in the storm. Even though flood gates were in place, the water levels exceeded them and entered the basement, destroying the electrical and communication equipment, said Kevin Barry, the hotel’s operating manager.
We have flood gates that were set by the standards of the ’92 storm, but obviously the damage by Sandy was exponentially worse,” he said.
DANGER: FALLING LIMBS AT BELLHAVEN
David Prown came across this sign at Bellhaven Park on Locust Avenue in Red Bank while walking Friday afternoon. According to Gary Watson, director of the borough’s public works department, two trees, one at each entrance to the park, have died and “they’re dropping large branches and we don’t want anyone to get hurt,” he said. The trees will be removed as quickly as possible so that the park may reopen soon, he said. (Photo by David Prown. Click to enlarge)
MONMOUTH STREET SHUT FOR REPAVING
Monmouth Street in Red Bank was closed to vehicular traffic for milling and repaving between Broad Street and Maple Avenue Wednesday. The work is expect to be completed by 4 p.m. Thursday, according to an alert from the borough government. (Click to enlarge)
FAIR HAVEN SUNOCO CLOSES
The River Road station will be boarded up until Sunoco can find another tenant, says the departing gasoline dealer. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
After 20 years, Rich Bercaw has pulled down the bay doors for the last time at his Sunoco gasoline and service station on River Road in Fair Haven.
Unable to keep up with steep rent and what he described as steadily dropping demand for both fuel and repairs, Bercaw pink-slipped five employees and shut off the lights last Thursday, he tells redbankgreen.
“Sunoco will come in and board it up until they find someone to rent it,” he said, as he loaded equipment into a pickup truck Tuesday. And with a deeply discounted first-year’s rent, “eventually, they’ll get someone,” he said.