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
Homes near Red Bank’s community garden may require heavy excavation work to remove lead-contaminated soil, New Jersey environmental officials told residents Tuesday night.
The Marion Street garden was shut down in 2019 after a private report of possible lead contamination. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is scheduled to update Red Bank residents Tuesday night on its investigation into a report of soil contamination at the borough’s community garden.
Thirteen 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.
The Red Bank community garden, which the borough abruptly shut down last August over concern about possible soil contamination, is on the agenda for Wednesday night’s council meeting.
What’s Going On Here? Read on.
Caution tape signaled the closing of the Marion Street garden in August. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Users 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.
The community garden on Marion Street was overrun with weeds Tuesday afternoon. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Three 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.
The former VNA building sits on 2.7 acres at the corner of Riverside Avenue and Bodman Place. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A recommended new overlay zone that would allow generous density bonuses won’t be on the Red Bank council’s agenda for its next meeting Wednesday night.
That’s because members of the planning board, which was tasked with reviewing the proposal, think it gives too much away to the affected site’s new owner.
The former VNA headquarters, at Riverside Avenue and Bodman Place, is on track to designation for special redevelopment rights. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s elected officials were in redevelopment mode Wednesday night, advancing two measures that could reshape the landscape.
One tapped a consulting firm to set up a redevelopment agency to oversee downtown projects. The other initiated a process under which the former VNA Health Group headquarters could be replaced with high-density housing.
Work underway on East Bergen Place last week. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
A messy road project in Red Bank will cost more and take longer to complete than originally anticipated, officials said last week.
Also, the borough plans to seek $250,000 in Monmouth County funding to cover half the cost of a series of improvements to borough parks.
A lawsuit claims the redevelopment plan for the White Street parking lot ignores the town’s Master Plan. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Would-be developers in downtown Red Bank will no longer have to pay fees for failing to provide enough parking, following action by the borough council Wednesday night.
But progress toward a public garage on White Street — a partial solution to what many business owners consider a parking crisis — may have hit a legal speed bump.
The council may authorize the creation of a concept plan to turn the former landfill at West Sunset Avenue into a park. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
The Red Bank council has a packed agenda for its semimonthly meeting Wednesday night, including possible progress toward a long-dreamed-of new park on the West Side and some bad news for landlords who neglect vacant properties.
On the agenda: a change to the ordinance on overnight street parking in winter. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
A possible 773-vehicle garage on White Street isn’t the only parking issue on the Red Bank council’s agenda Wednesday night.
At its semimonthly meeting, the governing body is expected to take action on a number of matters that would tweak parking downtown as well as in residential neighborhoods.
Under a recommendation of the council parking committee, the left-turn lane from Broad Street into Linden Lane would be eliminated, restoring three parking spaces on the west side of Broad. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
For the first time in recent months, the clamor for and against a new parking garage in downtown Red Bank was absent at the first regular council meeting of 2017 Wednesday night.
Still, there was a smattering of parking-related news.
It’s Columbus Day, so… here’s a map.