The cyclist was struck in the area of River Road and Hance Road, police said. (Google map. Click to enlarge.)
See UPDATE and CORRECTION below
By JOHN T. WARD
A cyclist was struck by a stolen auto during a police pursuit in Fair Haven Tuesday morning, redbankgreen has learned.
Security video recorded the daytime theft of a white Mercedes from the 7-Eleven at Maple Avenue and West Front Street last August, with the shocked owner giving chase on foot.
By JOHN T. WARD
While towns across New Jersey and beyond grapple with rising numbers of high-priced-vehicle thefts and attempted thefts, local officials are urging residents not to make it easy for perpetrators.
Borough Engineer Rich Gardella, at upper right, discussed concept plans for the public works yard on Third Street during the council meeting Monday night. Below, a 2019 rendering showing a DPW building repositioned to Third Street. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
It’s back-to-the-drawing board time as Fair Haven officials try once again to advance two significant capital projects.
One is a proposed new police station, which was the driving factor behind two controversial, and failed, property acquisition efforts in recent years.
The other is a public works yard makeover that not long ago appeared on track to yield residential lots the town could sell to fund later projects. That may no longer be the case.
The police department has outgrown the former schoolhouse that houses it, officials say. (Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Six weeks after Fair Haven’s council killed a controversial plan for a new borough hall and police station, the question of what to do instead may have an answer.
On Wednesday, officials announced the council will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, August 25 “for a borough facilities review and discussion.”
The proposal called for a $3.4 million purchase of the office complex at 623 River Road, followed by an estimated $9.6 million in site redevelopment. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Fair Haven’s council has scrapped a controversial plan to buy a River Road office building for $3.4 million.
Monday’s action marked the second time plans for a proposed home for a new borough hall and police station have fallen through, and left officials turning to plan C.
Red Bank’s parks – including Riverside Gardens, above, and Marine Park, right – were off-limits to visitors Wednesday after borough workers erected barricades at their entrances.
The stationhouse hasn’t been updated since its conversion from a schoolhouse in 1983. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Fair Haven’s police station is in for a once-in-a generation makeover in coming months.
Joe McGovern, who’s to be sworn in as chief Monday night, has spent his entire career with the borough police department. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
It’s a cliché, but in terms of police activity, Fair Haven cries out for comparison to Mayberry. Crime is almost nil, and the top two categories of calls involve traffic and residential construction: blocked driveways, dumpster placements and the like.
Still, this bedroom community has undergone a rapid growth spurt. There are hundreds of kids — more than at any time in the town’s 104-year history — and more traffic.
“We’re also one of the only towns left where most of the kids ride bikes to school,” said acting police Chief Joe McGovern, who is scheduled to become chief next week.
Which makes pedestrian safety the number-one issue for police, he said. “It’s our job to make sure they’re safe.”