The owner of the house at 70-72 Wallace Street defended short-term rentals. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank officials postponed a brewing battle over short-term home rentals such as Airbnbs last week.
Still, a number of residents made impassioned arguments pro and con at the borough council’s final meeting of 2022 Wednesday night, previewing what’s likely to come in 2023.
Mayor Pasquale Menna reading ridiculously low room rates from an old Molly Pitcher Inn matchbook. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Mayor Pasquale Menna presided over his final Red Bank council meeting Wednesday night, closing out a political career unmatched for duration in borough history.
His successor will have to wait an extra four days to take up the reins of a form of government that’s also slated for retirement.
Mayor Pasquale Menna and Councilwoman Kathy Horgan are slated to attend their final session as elected officials. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank may inch closer to turning its onetime landfill on the Swimming River into an eight-acre park under a proposed action on the agenda Wednesday night.
The session, which marks the sunset of Mayor Pasquale Menna‘s 16-year tenure, also includes potential action on short-term rentals.
Descendants of Katharine Elkus White and local officials at Friday’s dedication of the roadway in Marine Park to the late mayor and ambassador. White, seen below in 1948. (Photo above by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Amid reminiscences of a “strong-willed” woman countering the casual sexism of the day, Red Bank’s first and only female mayor, Katharine Elkus White, was honored Friday when the road in Marine Park was named for her.
In a brief ceremony on a cold, blustery afternoon, some of White’s descendants joined local officials in unveiling a wooden sign designating the loop road as “Ambassador Katharine Elkus White Circle.”
Completing an effort launched by resident Carl Colmorgen two years ago, Red Bank officials will dedicate the roadway loop in Marine Park to late Mayor Katherine Elkus White at 3 p.m. on Friday with the installation of a plaque.
White, seen here in 1948, White was the only female mayor in the borough ‘s history, holding the office from 1951 to 1956. She later served as the United States Ambassador to Denmark. White died in April, 1985 at the age of 78. (Photo above by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)
Under an ordinance proposed by Mayor Pasquale Menna, the circle at Marine Park would be named for late Mayor Katharine Elkus White, seen below in 1948. (Photo above by Trish Russoniello. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Red Bank’s first and only female mayor, Katharine Elkus White, is up for a drive in the park.
Marine Park, that is. Mayor Pasquale Menna on Wednesday night proposed naming the parking area at the riverfront facility for White, who also served as the first chairperson of the New Jersey Highway Authority and four years as America’s ambassador to Denmark.
A seating area under construction earlier this week at Red Bank borough hall may be named for Mayor Katharine Elkus White, seen below in 1948. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Katharine Elkus White, Red Bank’s first and only female mayor, may finally be getting some overdue recognition in the form of hard civic assets.
Mayor Pasquale Menna wants to name a small plaza now under construction outside borough hall on Monmouth Street for White, who also served as the first chairperson of the New Jersey Highway Authority and four years as America’s ambassador to Denmark, the Asbury Park Press reports.
Ambassador Drive, serving the Elkridge condominium complex off Spring Street, is the only public tribute to late Red Bank Mayor Katharine Elkus White, seen below in 1948. (Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
She was Red Bank’s first, and only, female mayor. She also served four years as America’s ambassador to Denmark, was a champion of civil rights and women’s equality, and once frosted political opponents who wanted a peek into her bedroom.
But driving around town, you would hardly know Katharine Elkus White had existed, says Oakland Street resident Carl Colmorgen.
He hopes to change that.