37°F clear sky

RED BANK: SPEAKEASY ON ZONING AGENDA

21-23 broad red bank The former Agostino antique store space at 21 Broad Street, vacant for seven years, is the site of a proposed food market and ‘speakeasy.’ (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njOn Thursday’s Red Bank busy zoning board agenda: a proposal for a downtown food market and speakeasy, plus a plan to build a new house on the site of a devastating fire, and changes outside the Two River Theater.

More →

RED BANK: PLAN WITH MICROBREWERY OK’D

42 monmouth st., red bank, njThe long-vacant former home of Fameabilia will get one additional floor instead of two under the approval. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njDowntown Red Bank may soon be home to another microbrewery.

Matawan restaurateur Florin Lupu won zoning board approval Thursday night for his plan to build one on Monmouth Street after volunteering to lop one story off a proposed two-story addition.

More →

RED BANK: DUNKIN’ PLAN RAISES CONCERNS

red bank nj shell dunkin donutsThe Shell station at Newman Springs Road and Shrewsbury Avenue would be rebuilt with a Dunkin’ Donuts shop on site. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njA bid to create a last-chance coffee stop in Red Bank for Parkway-bound commuters got underway at the zoning board Thursday night.

Among the issues: what if it’s really popular?

More →

RED BANK: ZONERS OPEN WITH BIG AGENDA

red bank nj 42 monmouth st. conceptTwo new floors are proposed for the former Fameabilia building on Monmouth Street, where a microbrewery and restaurant are planned for the first floor. (Rendering by Larry C. Johnson. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njShould a one-story building in downtown Red Bank be permitted to add two floors? Should a gas station at a busy corner be allowed to add a Dunkin’ Donuts shop to its site?

Those questions are scheduled to go before the borough zoning board at its first meeting of 2019 Thursday night.

More →

RED BANK: BREWERY PLAN UP IN THE AIR

The building, formerly home to Fameabilia store, has been vacant since October, 2008. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

The fate of a microbrewery proposed for a long-vacant storefront in downtown Red Bank appeared cloudy Thursday night.

The hangup? The two floors of apartments the landlord wants to add to the one-story building.

More →

SEA BRIGHT: IDEAS SOUGHT FOR PARK SITE

Sea bright anchorage park 2sb anchorage lot 040507What should become of Anchorage Park, the 1.2-acre sliver of riverside land at the foot of the Route 520 bridge in Sea Bright?

Acquired by the borough after Hurricane Sandy left the Anchorage Apartments uninhabitable in 2012, the now-vacant site may be eligible for grant money. But first, borough officials are asking for public input: should it be developed, along the lines of the concept shown above? Planted with grass and left at that?

A public discussion of the matter has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 15 at 6 p.m. at borough hall. The regular council meeting will follow at 7 p.m. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)

 

 

LITTLE SILVER: ARREST NETS $1M IN LOOT

By JOHN T. WARD

just_in

A Little Silver burglary earlier this month led to the arrest last week of a Neptune Township man on charges he stole more than $1 million worth of goods from Monmouth County homes over the last three years, Little Silver Chief Dan Shaffery said Wednesday.

“Diligent work” by borough Detective Greg Oliva resulted in a “jackpot” discovery of stolen goods that included a $5,000 bottle of Scotch and a 24-karat gold Zippo lighter autographed by late comedian Bob Hope, Shaffery told redbankgreen.

More →

SEA BRIGHT: APARTMENTS RAZED FOR PARK

sb anchorage 013115sb pole 110512Sea Bright’s Anchorage Apartments, left uninhabitable by the converging waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Shrewsbury River in Hurricane Sandy, were demolished Saturday.  Using Green Acres funding, the state plans to buy the complex, at the anchorage of the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge, and turn it into a 1.2-acre park. At right: during the October, 2012 hurricane, a utility pole became lodged in one of the first-floor units. (Photo above by Kenny Katzgrau. Click to enlarge)

 

 

RED BANK: CLIMBING ABOARD & IMAGINING

The Monmouth Day Care Center’s annual on Touch-a-Truck fundraiser at the Red Bank Middle School offered up a photo-op bounty for parents Saturday. Not only did the kids get to touch the trucks, they got to sit in the driver’s seats of a limo, an Army jeep and a police car. They honked horns, asked for keys so they could drive, and went home with memories – which the photos taken by mom and dad will surely jog later in life.  (Photos by Susan Ericson. Hover over picture to pause slideshow.)

LINCROFT: MONMOUTH TAKES RUGBY CUP

mfrc 042614Team captain Evan Fitzgerald scoring the game-winning try as Red Bank-based Monmouth Rugby Football Club beat Buffalo, 28-25, and took the Empire GU championship at Thompson Park in Lincroft Saturday. More details about the match are here.

Monmouth plays next weekend in New York City against New Haven RFC, winner  of the New England Rugby Union, in the first round of the Division 2 national championship tournament. (Photo by Jack Heidelberger. Click to enlarge)

 

LINCROFT: MONMOUTH SPANKS UNION

Monmouth rugby 041314Andrew Poulson of Red Bank-based Monmouth Rugby Football Club scoring against Union in Thompson Park Sunday during the Empire GU semifinals. Monmouth trounced Union, 81-24, and faces Buffalo in the final on Saturday, April 26, at home. (Photo by Jack Heidelberger. Click to enlarge)

 

MIDDLETOWN: FAMILY WANTS CRASH CHARGES

AUTHORITIES_MTOWN2-2014The family of a motorcyclist killed in a crash on West Front Street in Middletown last September is pressing the Monmouth County Prosecutor to bring charges against a motorist, NJ.com reported Tuesday.

According to a press release issued two days after the September 4 crash by township police, 69-year-old Raymond Depalma was travelling eastbound on West Front Street when he was struck by a westbound vehicle attempting to make a left turn onto Harbor Green Circle.

Depalma was flown by helicopter to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune, he died five hours after the 3 p.m. crash

The driver of the other vehicle, Daniella Coccurello, 23, of Lincroft, was not immediately charged, police said at the time.

But Joel DePalma, one of Robert DePalma’s four sons, told NJ.com that Coccurello was issued a summons for using a phone while driving. He also said it’s undisputed that his father was not violating any traffic laws.

DePalma tells NJ.com that he and other family members have been asking the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office whether criminal charges will be filed, but aren’t getting answers.

More →

RED BANK: IF IT MOVES, THEY’RE ON IT

Limousine, ambulance, utility truck, boat: set a bunch of kids loose in a parking lot full of large vehicles, with license to touch them, and they will touch, alright – and clamber and crawl, as the folks from the Monmouth Day Care Center saw on Saturday at their annual on Touch-a-Truck day at the Red Bank Middle School.  (Hover over picture to pause slideshow)

RED BANK: GALLERY OF ‘LIFE’

diner by d patterson‘Diner,’ above, by Demtrius Patterson, seen below with art appreciator Sharon Bergholm.  (Photo by Sarah Klepner. Click to enlarge)

By SARAH KLEPNER

patterson bergholmDozens of people passed through Red Bank’s Art Alliance of Monmouth County gallery Saturday night, studying the works on display for the opening of its monthly exhibit.
The monthlong, members-only, non-juried show at the Monmouth Street art space is themed ‘Life.'”I love the variety, ” said Stas Nuke, who has two photographs in the exhibit.  “There are so many styles: cold wax, hot wax, acrylics, oils, collage.” The exhibit also features drawings and sculpture.

More →

THREE LOCALS ARRESTED IN GAMBLING BUST

Men from Little Silver, Sea Bright and Shrewsbury Township were among 22 arrested in recent days as part of “a well-organized gambling enterprise” that grossed $1 million a week, authorities said Tuesday morning.

An 18-month investigation dubbed “Operation Shore Bet” culminated Monday with the arrest of 22 suspects, the seizure of a dozen vehicles, more than $500,000 in cash, and the freezing of financial accounts used to facilitate the illegal activity, according to an announcement by Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

The enterprise, allegedly run by men in Monmouth Beach and Hillsborough, extended from Monmouth County into New York State, and allegedly used “sophisticated electronic resources – including websites to track illegal wagering and record profits and losses,” as well as money-laundering schemes, Gramiccioni said.

More →

SEA BRIGHT COVETS ANCHORAGE SITE

The Anchorage Apartments were left uninhabitable by Hurricane Sandy, which deposited a utility pole in the living room of one unit, below. (Click to enlarge)

The storm-wracked Anchorage Apartments complex in Sea Bright would become a beach parking lot under a plan being considered by state officials, the Star-Ledger reported Tuesday morning.

Located on Ocean Avenue at the foot of the Route 520 Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge and mere feet from the Shrewsbury River, the single-building complex is seen as a partial solution to a parking shortage that has vexed efforts to open up North Beach oceanfront to visitors.

Razing the property would come at a tradeoff for the town: the loss of a $45,000-a-year tax ratable. But Mayor Dina Long tells the Sledger that’s alright.

More →

SEA BRIGHT: NO BRIDGE WORK ON WEEKENDS

Repairs on the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge may take up to two weeks longer to complete than previously anticipated, but will allow for traffic flows on weekends. (Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

A compromise to a widely criticized plan to shut down the Rumson-Sea Bright Bridge for three weeks starting this weekend January 28 was reached Tuesday, town officials said.

Under the compromise, repair work on the bridge will be halted on Friday afternoons and resume on Monday mornings, with the Shrewsbury River span remaining open to traffic throughout the weekends.

“It’s a win-win-win,” said an ecstatic Chris Wood, whose restaurant, Woody’s Ocean Grille, is scheduled to reopen for business Wednesday for the first time since Hurricane Sandy slammed into the shore, wiping out every business in town.

More →

RED BANK: A SURGE IN SEARCH OF POWER

With power on along the west side of Broad Street, Starbucks was packed with laptoppers at noon Thursday. Below, an unidentified man tapped into the grid courtesy of a vacant storefront. (Click to enlarge)

They’re hungry for power.

With tens of thousands of homes still without electricity on the Red Bank area, data-starved residents are swarming facilities with electricity, wifi and, ideally, coffee Thursday.

Starbucks in Red Bank was packed at noon, nearly 24 hours after power was restored to parts of the downtown.

Other businesses are encouraging the public to stop by and charge up.

More →

SEA BRIGHT SMASHED BY HURRICANE SANDY

Ship Ahoy Beach Club appears heavily damaged, as seen from the bridge. Below, Ocean Avenue looking north during the storm Monday. (Photo below by Peter Lindner. Click to enlarge)

By JOHN T. WARD

Hurricane Sandy devastated Sea Bright Monday, bashing beach clubs and stores from the ocean side, flooding from the river side, and leaving an avenue of deep sand more than a mile long along Ocean Avenue, witnesses said.

As of early Tuesday afternoon, police were still barring entry to the sandbar borough, citing dangers that included downed power lines and natural gas leaks.

But in interviews with redbankgreen, witnesses — including two holdouts who defied a mandatory evacuation order and rode out the storm in their homes — spoke of far-reaching destruction.

“Chapel Beach Club – that’s gone,” said weekly Two River Times news photographer Scott Longfeld, who was permitted into town. “Every club except for Surfside is destroyed.”

More →

RED BANK: SANDY SINKS ANTI-OBAMA FLOAT

Just two days ago, it was riding high, towed around on the Navesink by a boater whose identity redbankgreen doesn’t know. By Monday, though, a custom-built anti-Obama floating ad was underwater at a dock in Red Bank.

Should we read anything into this about next week’s presidential election? And if so, who is sunk: Obama or Nobama? (Photo above by Michael McMahon; at right, by Dan Natale. Click to enlarge)

RED BANK: WIND RIPS ROOF OFF HIGH-RISE

Strong winds peeled back the roofing atop the Grandville Tower high rise on Morford Place in Red Bank Monday afternoon, leaving it flapping over the edge of the 10-story building. (Photo by Ken Kalada. Click to enlarge)

REALLY? NOW??

Fido gets one of his most pressing needs tended to on East Front Street in Red Bank during a Hurricane Sandy downpour Monday afternoon. (Click to enlarge)

SHREWSBURY: WIRES DOWN ON SYCAMORE

Emergency workers closed a stretch of Sycamore Avenue in Shrewsbury around 2 p.m. Monday after a tree limb took down some wires. An auto accident apparently occurred nearby, with a mistaken initial report of an entrapment, though it was not immediately clear if the two incidents were related, police Chief Lou Ferraro told redbankgreen.  (Click to enlarge)

RED BANK? TRY GRAY BANK

Yestercades owner Ken Kalada shared this shot of Marine Park, Red Bank. (Photo by Ken Kalada. Click to enlarge)

redbankgreen readers Ken Kalada and Deb Smith sent us these storm shots taken early Monday.

Have you got one you’d like to share? Feel free to email it to us, full-sized, with info about when and where it was taken, and who if anyone should be credited.

More →