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RED BANK: WHAT’S ON COUNCIL AGENDA

Leaving an unhitched trailer on the street “at any time” would be prohibited by ordinance. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njAt its semimonthly meeting Thursday night, the Red Bank council is expected to finalize its ban on “unhitched” trailers parked curbside throughout town.

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RED BANK: COUNCIL TO TARGET IDLE TRAILERS

Unhitched trailers, like this one in front of the house at 90 Bank Street, have been the subject of complaints. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njResponding to complaints, the Red Bank council plans to strengthen its law on work trailers left curbside.

 

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RED BANK: BROAD REOPENS TO TRAFFIC

After a four-and-a-half-month closure, the northern blocks of Broad Street in downtown Red Bank were reopened to vehicular traffic Monday.

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RED BANK: SETTLEMENT FORCES LOT RE-DO

Workers laying the sidewalk that blocked access to White Street from the Better Housekeeping Shop, the beige building visible at far right, in October, 2020. (Photos by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

See UPDATE below

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

Less than three years after a complete makeover, downtown Red Bank’s main parking lot would be reconfigured to comply with the terms of a lawsuit settlement up for approval Thursday night.

At issue: an 84-year-old appliance shop’s truck access to the street.

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RED BANK: CANNABIS SHOP OK MAKES THREE

Monteverde NJ, at 45 North Bridge Avenue,  hopes to strike a deal for 11 borough-owned spaces at the bend in Morford Place (marked in red at right). (Google Map. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njThough none have yet opened, Red Bank now has three approved cannabis shops, following action by the planning board Monday night.

With an OK for Monteverde NJ to convert a former dry-cleaning shop, two pot retailers could open just steps apart on North Bridge Avenue.

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RED BANK: FLIP OK’D ON MAYOR’S TIEBREAKER

The change will shift parking from the west side of Spring Street (at left above) to the east, and set time limits. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njRed Bank’s council narrowly approved a plan to flip parking from one side of Spring Street to the other Wednesday night.

The action was enabled by Mayor Billy Portman‘s first tiebreaker vote since he took office in January.

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RED BANK: BROADWALK BOLLARDS GO BIG

Red Bank officials this week began to address one of the foremost complaints about the downtown Broadwalk zone: the presence of “ugly” orange safety barrels used to supplement steel bollards installed last year.

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RED BANK: SPRING STREET FLIP RETURNS

Vehicle parking would be allowed only on the east side of Spring Street for several blocks if the proposed change passes. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njA plan to flip parking from one side of Spring Street to the other returns when the Red Bank council holds its semimonthly meeting Wednesday night.

Also on the agenda: a new four-way traffic stop, an expansion of a lead-pipe replacement program, and the installation of a $4-per-transaction automated teller machine in borough hall.

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RED BANK: PARKING CHANGE TABLED

The proposal would have shifted parking on Spring Street from the west side (at left above) to the east. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

See UPDATE below

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njA plan to flip permitted parking from one side of Spring Street to the other was tabled by the Red Bank council Wednesday night.

The governing body also heard from West Side residents concerned about parking and pedestrian issues.

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RED BANK: ART GALLERY TAKING A DETOUR

Detour Gallery on opening night in 2016. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

See CLARIFICATION below

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njSeven years after it opened in Red Bank with a splash, Detour Gallery is heading for the Highline.

The art gallery plans to relocate to open a new space in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, though much of its collection will remain in the converted warehouse owner Kenny Schwartz calls home, he told redbankgreen Tuesday.

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RED BANK: SIX-MONTH BROADWALK ON HOLD

RiverCenter’s proposal includes plans to boost weekday activity in the Broadwalk zone. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicA six-month season for Red Bank’s Broadwalk dining plaza would feature enhanced efforts to boost weekday visitors and battle litter, a business representative told the borough council Wednesday night.

The council, however, withheld an immediate decision on the request.

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RED BANK: PARK DESIGNATION ADVANCES

A satellite view of the Senior Center, where the patio provides a view of the Swimming River. (Satellite image from Google Maps. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njThe Red Bank council initiated a process to create a new “passive park” behind the Senior Center Wednesday night.

Still unanswered, however, is the question of how big the park might be, and how it would be accessed.

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RED BANK: NEW ‘PASSIVE PARK’ ON AGENDA

A 2021 view of the rear of the Senior Center, which overlooks the Swimming River. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njA proposal to subdivide the Senior Center property to create a “passive park” is on the Red Bank council’s agenda Wednesday night.

Also on the table for the semimonthly meeting are matters relating to parking, parks and a committee name change. Here’s what to expect.

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RED BANK: BROADWALK SET FOR RETURN

An employee of Catch 19  setting up tables Friday. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njWith borough workers and contractors putting finishing touches on an eight-month-long streetscape  project, a handful of restaurants hastily set up for a return of Red Bank’s Broadwalk plaza Friday.

Outside the traffic-free zone, however, none of the parking-space streateries used over the past two summers have returned, following a sixfold increase in fees by the borough council.

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RED BANK: BROADWALK CURTAILED, FEES UPPED

Businesses readied for the second year of Broadwalk in May, 2021. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank nj

Delayed by months, the third season of Red Bank’s Broadwalk shopping-and-dining plaza may finally get going July 22.

This year’s edition, however, is slated to run only through Labor Day. And new fees for in-street dining will cost restaurateurs twice what they paid over the past two summers, said Bob Zuckerman, executive director of the downtown promotion agency Red Bank RiverCenter.

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RED BANK: MERCHANTS BLAST FEE HIKE

Red Tank Brewing owner John Arcara speaking at Wednesday’s council session. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njThe Red Bank council voted Wednesday to boost the fees charged to restaurants to maintain tables in parking spaces converted to streateries.

The action followed claims by two business owners that the hike was onerous.

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RED BANK: STREATERIES ON HOLD

red bank parkletBorough workers created a streatery outside Bombay River and Tacoholics restaurants on Broad Street in July, 2020. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njAt the Red Bank council’s first in-person session in more than two years last week, a lone member failed to advance a pandemic-era fix said to be favored by two merchant organizations: street eateries.

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RED BANK: SAXUM CHANGES APPROVED

Architect Adrian Melji with a rendering of the revised project’s Bodman Place side looking northwest from Riverside Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicFilling in a horseshoe void, Saxum Real Estate won planning board approval Monday night for changes to a massive apartment project in Red Bank.

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RED BANK: CAR UNFENCED

red bank what's going on hereOnly the posts remained after a chainlink fence that had barricaded a car in Red Bank was removed late last week.

What’s Going On Here? Here’s the latest on the dispute in which an art gallery owner had his car boxed in by a fence last week.

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RED BANK: SAXUM SEEKS MORE BEDROOMS

Saxum’s project would be built on the vacant former Visiting Nurse Association headquarter site at 176 Riverside Avenue. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicTwo years after obtaining approval for a massive residential real estate project in Red Bank, Saxum Real Estate is heading back to the borough planning board in search of a booster.

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RED BANK: FENCE ENCLOSES GALLERIST’S CAR

A fence erected Monday enclosed a car owned by Kenny Schwartz behind his art gallery. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njIn another context, it might be seen as artistic commentary on modern existence: a car boxed in between two buildings and a chainlink fence, and no way out.

But to Red Bank art collector Kenny Schwartz, it’s no ironic statement. His car will need “wings” to escape from his gallery’s backyard after a “heavy handed” move involving a couple of real estate powerhouses, he said Monday.

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RED BANK: DENHOLTZ PLANS MASSIVE PROJECT

Denholtz’s plan would cover several NJ Transit parking lots, as well as company-owned sites. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topicDenholtz Properties is negotiating to create a massive new development at the Red Bank train station, redbankgreen has learned.

The company’s plan is dependent on the borough designating a swath of sites around the station as redevelopment area, CEO Steve Denholtz said in an interview this week.

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RED BANK: ZONING BOARD REJECTS PRC PLAN

The latest proposal by PRC called for additions at 141 West Front Street to top out at six stories, as shown at left. The original nine-story plan is shown at right. (Renderings by William Feinberg. Click to enlarge.)

By JOHN T. WARD

hot topic red bank njAfter two years and multiple rounds of scaling back, the air space above Pazzo MMX restaurant in downtown Red Bank won’t be filled with new apartments after all.

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