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RED BANK: MASTER PLAN’S USE DEBATED

An illustration from the Master Plan section on affordable housing. (Image by BFJ Planning. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njConcluding a 14-month process, the Red Bank planning board adopted the borough’s first new Master Plan in 28 years Monday night.

The unanimous vote followed spirited debate about whether the many recommendations in the 166-page document should be prioritized for council action.

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RED BANK: MASTER PLAN GETS WALK-THROUGH

Master Plan consultant Susan Favate addressing attendees Monday night. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njA proposed new Master Plan for Red Bank drew little criticism in its public debut Monday night.

If adopted, as expected, the next challenge will be in prioritizing the many recommendations in the 166-page document, planning board members said.

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RED BANK: MASTER PLAN GETS MARKED UP

Gianna Maita-Edwards writes a comment on a display at the session. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicAbout two dozen Red Bank residents grabbed Sharpies to weigh in on the borough’s Master Plan Thursday night.

They gathered at the Red Bank Middle School despite heavy rain to share their thoughts on the first wholesale rewriting of the vision plan in almost three decades.

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RED BANK: MASTER PLAN INPUTS SLATED

Hackensack Meridian Health’s Riverview Medical Center and its holdings comprise one of three areas of town that will get special focus in the Master Plan. (Google Map from Monmouth County property records. Click green circles for site details.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicRed Bank residents will have two opportunities to weigh in on the borough’s ongoing Master Plan update next month.

Among the topics: the future of three discrete sections of town, including the area around the sprawling Riverview Medical Center.

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SANDY HOOK: GIRL DIES DAY AFTER RESCUE

sandy hook 061712Sandy Hook as seen from the Route 36 Captain Joe Azzolina Bridge. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

A 12-year-old Union County girl died Monday morning, less than a day after being pulled out of water at Sandy Hook, National Park Service spokeswoman Daphne Yun tells redbankgreen.

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SANDY HOOK: BACTERIA PROMPTS SWIM BAN

sandy hook 2 052613The closure at Gunnison Beach is the second in the park this season. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

just_in1The nudists may still sunbathe in the altogether, but the surf at Sandy Hook’s clothing-optional Gunnison Beach is off-limits to the clothed and unclothed due to high levels of bacteria, NJ.com reported Tuesday.

 

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SANDY HOOK: BACTERIA PROMPTS CLOSURE

sandy hook 070415 3The closure of Beach D is the second since last August. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

just_in1For the second time in less than a year, one of the ocean beaches at Sandy Hook was closed Wednesday after a high level of bacteria was found in the water, NJ.com reported.

 

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SANDY HOOK: NUDISTS GET MORE SAND

Any Jersey Shore denizen knows that sand migrates, even as its being used to replenish storm-depleted beaches. But the biggest beneficiary of the millions of cubic yards of sand pumped onshore to Monmouth County beaches in the past two decades turns out to be New Jersey’s only nude beach, according to NJ.com reporter Brian Donohue.

In his latest video post, Donohue informs us replenishment sand has drifted north to clothing-optional Gunnison Beach at Sandy Hook, which has expanded by more than 500 feet over the past two decades and “continues to grow and grow and grow.”

So “even if all that beach replenishment doesn’t offer much long term protection against storms and rising sea levels,” says Donohue, “it certainly makes it easier for timid New Jerseyans to find some space to shed their inhibitions.” (Video courtesy of NJ.com)

 

 

SANDY HOOK: SUNKEN VESSEL LOCATED

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Authorities searching for a 40-foot boat reported to have sunk off Sandy Hook Tuesday afternoon have found a sunken vessel, the New Jersey State Police reported Wednesday morning.

But they haven’t confirmed if it’s the “Jefe,” which was reported missing, according to a statement issued by the agency.

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SANDY HOOK: SEARCH ON FOR SUNKEN BOAT

sheriff boat 082215The Monmouth County Sheriff’s boat Marine 1, seen here in the Navesink on Saturday, is involved in the search. (Photo by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)

Authorities launched a massive search for a 40-foot boat reported to have sunk off Sandy Hook Tuesday afternoon, according to news reports.

The search, involving Coast Guard and police vessels, divers and helicopters, began with a 4:30 p.m. report of a 40-foot vessel sinking in the Sandy Hook Channel, abc7ny.com reported.

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SANDY HOOK: RED BANK MAN’S BODY FOUND

just_in1The body of a swimmer who went missing off Sandy Hook at dusk Wednesday was found by a fisherman early Friday, according to a news report.

The victim was positively identified as 25-year-old Andros Vega-Pena of Red Bank, according to National Park Service spokeswoman Daphne Yun.

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SANDY HOOK: CREWS SEARCH FOR SWIMMER

sandy hook 070415 3Sandy Hook as seen from the Azzolina Bridge footbridge last month. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

just_in1Searchers resumed their hunt Thursday morning for a swimmer who went missing off Sandy Hook at dusk Wednesday, a National Park Service spokeswoman tells redbankgreen.

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SANDY HOOK: TEEN DROWNS IN OCEAN

sandy hook 061712Sandy Hook as seen from the Azzolina Bridge in 2012. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

A Middlesex County teenager died hours after being pulled unresponsive from the Atlantic Ocean at Sandy Hook Tuesday evening, NJ.com reports.

Sarmad Rizvi, 17, of South Plainfield, “disappeared into the ocean” while swimming with family and friends off an unguarded beach between areas C and D,  the news site reported.

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SANDY HOOK: CAMS AND PARTY MARK 250TH

SH lighthouse 061114 1National Park Service spokesman John Harlan Warren explains the Fresnel lens used in the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. (Photo by Dan Natale. Click to enlarge)

By DAN NATALE

SH lighthouse 061114 4On the night of June 11, 1764, stonemason Isaac Conro watched his newest creation come to life. Several pounds of whale oil were poured into a copper lamp atop the Sandy Hook lighthouse and lit aflame, offering ships at sea a guide into New York Harbor.

On Wednesday, the 250th anniversary of that milestone, the switch was thrown on the latest additions to the 103-foot-tall lighthouse: a pair of livestream cams.

The structure – the oldest continually operated lighthouse in the United States – “is an example of how you can preserve something if you take care of it,” said John Harlan Warren, a spokesman for the National Park Service’s Gateway National Recreation Area, of which Sandy Hook is part. More →

SANDY HOOK: LIGHTHOUSE TURNS 250

sandy hook lighthouse 070113Sandy Hook boasts the oldest operating lighthouse in the United States, one that predates and had a role in the American Revolution.

On Saturday, June 11 14, the National Park Service is throwing a birthday party of sorts for the lighthouse, now 250 years old. The event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., will feature family-friendly activities, including musket drills for kids, historic reenactments, games and talks by lighthouse experts, including park historian Tom Hoffman. There’s no charge for admission or parking.  (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

WHERE HAVE I SEEN THIS?

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A tip of the hat – which is all that Where is wearing this week – goes to the three readers who recognized the tableau of cutesified animal statues shown in last week’s photo.

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