Tinton Falls clerk to retire after 23 years
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
TINTON FALLS — After serving the borough for more than 23 years, Borough Clerk Karen Mount-Taylor will retire before the holiday season.
Mount-Taylor said in an interview last week that her last day with the borough will be Oct. 29.
“It is bittersweet, but it is a happy time for me because this is what most people work for,” she said. “I am very happy.”
Mount-Taylor said she initially put in for retirement two years ago but kept putting it off until she finally felt like it was a good time to leave.
“Two years ago I put it on the record that I put my retirement papers in,” she said. “I placed it on the record that I was seriously considering retirement and that I was going to go next year.
“I then decided to move it up so I was going to be home for the holidays Thanksgiving and Christmas,” she added. “Normally I do those [preparations] at night and I’m still wrapping presents Christmas morning.”
Mount-Taylor said the council held a special executive session Aug. 25 to interview candidates for the job.
She also said that about 10 résumés were sent for the clerk’s position and that she will largely be staying out of the process of finding her replacement.
“I actually think it’s better that council interviews the candidate because that is [who] they will have to work with,” she said. “They did have me review the résumés that were submitted.”
Mount-Taylor started with the borough in 1987 and has performed her job through four sets of mayors.
She also said that her favorite part of the job has been swearing in new members of council.
“You know what I really love doing? I love swearing in people, new council members,” she said. “It gives me a sense of pride that someone takes that much to be swornin in public.
“I’ve had a lot of best moments so I really couldn’t narrow it down to one,” she added.
She also described some of the more difficult parts of the clerk’s job.
“The hardest part is keeping up with all the different statutes that change and then you have to be able to comply with them,” Mount-Taylor said. “Making sure everything is up to date and kept accurately.”
One of the things Mount-Taylor will do after she retires is help her husband, who owns and operates a landscaping and lawn care company.
“It is time, I am looking forward to it,” she said. “I’ve been doing this a long time and I’m going to go home and help my husband in his business.
“I am going to give him maybe a couple of extra hours during the evening to help him with his paperwork.”
She also said that she would do a lot of volunteer work once she retires.
“I’m really looking forward to doing charity work,” Mount-Taylor said. “With my church, we feed the homeless, we do things like volunteer for a Bible school.
“I can think of so many things … go to the soup kitchen and work, or pass out mittens in New York with my church.”
While she is leaving her post with the borough, Mount-Taylor said she expects to remain involved and active in Tinton Falls.
“Maybe I’ll take a sabbatical, but I have plans for staying involved because I am a taxpayer in Tinton Falls,” she said. “Maybe not twice [council meetings] a month.”
According to the Tinton Falls website, the duties of the municipal clerk include: chief administrative official of elections; prepare meeting agendas for Borough Council and attend all meetings with the responsibility of recording the minutes of the meetings; custodian of the original copies of all ordinances, resolutions, minutes, performance bonds, contracts, borough deeds and easements; administrative officer responsible for licenses and permits (liquor and raffle licenses); and custodian of financial disclosure statements.
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Friday, November 26, 2010
Concerns continue over crime, safety in city
Concerns continue over crime, safety in city
Neighbors ask for better lighting, police presence
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
For the second time this summer, a group of citizens has stepped forward with concerns about issues of safety and crime in Long Branch.
Three residents stood up during the public portion of the Aug. 24 City Council meeting representing their West End neighborhood and the problems they say they have experienced in recent years.
Hildred Woolley presented the council with a list of three recommendations aimed at improving conditions leading to what she said has been a rash of police activity in the neighborhood centering around the apartment building at 559 Second Ave. on the corner of Second Avenue and Passey Gardens.
Woolley’s recommendations include increased lighting in the area, stricter code enforcement by the city, and an increased police presence.
“We, the residents of this neighborhood, want the city of Long Branch to help and support us in returning this area to a safe community,” she said. “We request that the city address these issues.
“We believe adequate street lighting and more police presence will help turn away criminal activity.”
Woolley cited numerous recent incidents that allegedly occurred around the apartment complex, including an Aug. 21 shooting, tires stolen from a parked car, a man loitering in the early morning in the apartment laundry room, occupied cars parked in different driveways, and one neighbor being followed home.
Woolley also gave statistics on the number of police calls made from the apartment complex, claiming that between December 2002 and October 2008 there were 76 calls made to the police. In contrast, she said that between January 2009 and August 2010 there were 66 calls made to the police.
“We are aware of the situation and are actively taking all necessary actions to address each concern,” Long Branch Director of Public Safety Alphonse Muolo said in an email on Monday.
Detective Sgt. Jeffrey Pilone confirmed Monday that a shooting did take place in the neighborhood but declined to comment further because it is an ongoing investigation.
Woolley also said that much of the neighborhood’s problems began when a new company took over the apartment building in October 2008.
“After these apartments were acquired by [Sea West Apartments LLC], the quality of the surrounding area deteriorated considerably, adversely affecting the quality of life in the neighborhood,” she said.
Woolley said that in order to improve the lighting on the corner of Second and Passey, the city must contact Jersey Central Power & Light Co., since they won’t take requests from private citizens.
She also explained why there is a need for stricter code enforcement.
“The area, or the building and the surrounding grounds, are not properly maintained,” Woolley said. “The deterioration of the building and grounds has impacted the value of the surrounding homes.
“We are asking [that] a code enforcer inspect this property and require that the owner make repairs in compliance with the code of Long Branch.”
Some of the problems Woolley cited are broken gutters, loose garbage around the premises, and window air conditioning units that are not compliant with the city code.
Woolley described a few of the other problems.
“We are constantly subjected to a barrage of obscene yelling coming from the apartments,” she said, also alleging that evidence of drug paraphernalia has been found.
A spokeswoman for Sea West Apartments, the complex management, declined to identify herself but said Monday that the allegations about criminal activity and deteriorating conditions at the complex are untrue.
Maxine Greenwald followed Woolley and also described what she said has happened to the neighborhood.
“Two years ago the ambiance of the neighborhood changed significantly,” she said. “We have been blessed with 14 grandchildren, and we are frightened to let them even walk the dog in the early evening.
“The quality of our life has changed; we are very much frightened for the security of our neighborhood.”
Greenwald also said that she worries the problems in the apartment complex will bring down the property value of some of the surrounding houses.
Also addressing council was Carol Hammer, who claims to be the neighborhood’s longest-term resident.
“I’m the longest resident of that street, and I always felt very safe there,” she said. “I no longer do, and the neighborhood is really in trouble.
“It is just a real problem when you see a neighborhood that you love so much changing.”
Councilman Michael Sirianni said that the concerns expressed would be looked into and taken seriously.
“I want to thank the concerned residents who came forward with this,” he said. “This is what we need; we appreciate this.
“Your presentation was great. Your concerns did not fall on deaf ears,” he added. “This matter will be looked into and we will be following up on it.”
Contact Kenny Walter at
kwalter@gmnews.com.
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Neighbors ask for better lighting, police presence
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
For the second time this summer, a group of citizens has stepped forward with concerns about issues of safety and crime in Long Branch.
Three residents stood up during the public portion of the Aug. 24 City Council meeting representing their West End neighborhood and the problems they say they have experienced in recent years.
Hildred Woolley presented the council with a list of three recommendations aimed at improving conditions leading to what she said has been a rash of police activity in the neighborhood centering around the apartment building at 559 Second Ave. on the corner of Second Avenue and Passey Gardens.
Woolley’s recommendations include increased lighting in the area, stricter code enforcement by the city, and an increased police presence.
“We, the residents of this neighborhood, want the city of Long Branch to help and support us in returning this area to a safe community,” she said. “We request that the city address these issues.
“We believe adequate street lighting and more police presence will help turn away criminal activity.”
Woolley cited numerous recent incidents that allegedly occurred around the apartment complex, including an Aug. 21 shooting, tires stolen from a parked car, a man loitering in the early morning in the apartment laundry room, occupied cars parked in different driveways, and one neighbor being followed home.
Woolley also gave statistics on the number of police calls made from the apartment complex, claiming that between December 2002 and October 2008 there were 76 calls made to the police. In contrast, she said that between January 2009 and August 2010 there were 66 calls made to the police.
“We are aware of the situation and are actively taking all necessary actions to address each concern,” Long Branch Director of Public Safety Alphonse Muolo said in an email on Monday.
Detective Sgt. Jeffrey Pilone confirmed Monday that a shooting did take place in the neighborhood but declined to comment further because it is an ongoing investigation.
Woolley also said that much of the neighborhood’s problems began when a new company took over the apartment building in October 2008.
“After these apartments were acquired by [Sea West Apartments LLC], the quality of the surrounding area deteriorated considerably, adversely affecting the quality of life in the neighborhood,” she said.
Woolley said that in order to improve the lighting on the corner of Second and Passey, the city must contact Jersey Central Power & Light Co., since they won’t take requests from private citizens.
She also explained why there is a need for stricter code enforcement.
“The area, or the building and the surrounding grounds, are not properly maintained,” Woolley said. “The deterioration of the building and grounds has impacted the value of the surrounding homes.
“We are asking [that] a code enforcer inspect this property and require that the owner make repairs in compliance with the code of Long Branch.”
Some of the problems Woolley cited are broken gutters, loose garbage around the premises, and window air conditioning units that are not compliant with the city code.
Woolley described a few of the other problems.
“We are constantly subjected to a barrage of obscene yelling coming from the apartments,” she said, also alleging that evidence of drug paraphernalia has been found.
A spokeswoman for Sea West Apartments, the complex management, declined to identify herself but said Monday that the allegations about criminal activity and deteriorating conditions at the complex are untrue.
Maxine Greenwald followed Woolley and also described what she said has happened to the neighborhood.
“Two years ago the ambiance of the neighborhood changed significantly,” she said. “We have been blessed with 14 grandchildren, and we are frightened to let them even walk the dog in the early evening.
“The quality of our life has changed; we are very much frightened for the security of our neighborhood.”
Greenwald also said that she worries the problems in the apartment complex will bring down the property value of some of the surrounding houses.
Also addressing council was Carol Hammer, who claims to be the neighborhood’s longest-term resident.
“I’m the longest resident of that street, and I always felt very safe there,” she said. “I no longer do, and the neighborhood is really in trouble.
“It is just a real problem when you see a neighborhood that you love so much changing.”
Councilman Michael Sirianni said that the concerns expressed would be looked into and taken seriously.
“I want to thank the concerned residents who came forward with this,” he said. “This is what we need; we appreciate this.
“Your presentation was great. Your concerns did not fall on deaf ears,” he added. “This matter will be looked into and we will be following up on it.”
Contact Kenny Walter at
kwalter@gmnews.com.
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L.B. approves pier management team
L.B. approves pier management team
Federal funds will pay for most of $200K contract
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — Taking another step toward the final design of the pier and ferry, the City Council approved a nearly $200,000 contract for a pier project management team.
The contract was awarded to Skanska USA Building for $198,954 with a 5-0 vote on the resolution during the Aug. 25 council meeting.
Long Branch Business Administrator Howard Woolley Jr. explained what the contract to Skanska includes.
“It’s for construction project management services in conjunction with the pier design,” he said. “This is for a firm to analyze the design to see if it’s buildable and what the cost will be.”
According to the contract, the city will pay close to $40,000 for the services, with the remaining funds coming from a federal transportation grant.
In 2009 the city approved McLaren Engineering to be the lead design team, and according to the resolution, Skanska will oversee the progress of the pier.
Woolley also explained the process the city went through to award the contract to Skanska.
“It was competitive procurement. We sent out notices, and I think we had 31 companies pick up the notice,” he said. “Thirteen replied, and we narrowed it down to three and selected Skanska.”
One resident said she is worried that the scope of the pier and ferry project might include the use of eminent domain by the city.
“Will there be properties that are not already in the redevelopment zone or that are in the redevelopment zone that will be necessary for that pier and that might be taken by eminent domain?” Michelle Bobrow asked.
Mayor Adam Schneider said the city may have to expand the boundaries for the redevelopment zones into the ocean, but they will not use eminent domain.
“We are going to move a few fish around,” Councilman Michael Sirianni quipped.
“I just saw a stingray. Will you please get rid of it?” Bobrow responded.
Long Branch resident Howard “Pudgy” Cooper questioned whether the money spent for the contract could have been better used elsewhere.
“Although I’m old and I grew up in this town with the pier, I think in these days and times perhaps the $40,000 might be put to a better use,” he said. “I believe in the infinite wisdom of this council, but I encourage them to vote no on this resolution.”
Councilwoman Joy Bastelli gave her assessment on where the city stands with the pier and ferry project.
“We have a long road ahead and we are making progress, and at this point I think we are doing well,” she said.
During a June meeting it was estimated that the total project would cost $91.5 million, of which $6.5 million had been secured, and officials said they are confident another $53 million could be secured from noncompetitive grant opportunities.
A fire destroyed the Long Branch pier in 1987, and since that time the city has acquired redevelopment rights and plans to rebuild the pier and other amenities, including retail, restaurants, an amphitheater and a children’s play area along the oceanfront.
The pier project is divided into three components:
The core pier, which will be the main structure, will cost approximately $36.3 million. Plans call for the pier to extend 900 feet from the boardwalk into the Atlantic Ocean.
The high-speed ferry terminal and docking facility, slated to cost $20.2 million, would provide a direct route from the Long Branch region to lower Manhattan at a travel time of 40 minutes. The pier would contain a docking system as well as the ticketing and waiting areas required for the ferry operation.
The final component is the amenity uses, at an estimated cost of $32.5 million, which include retail, restaurants, event space, a public winter garden, outdoor amphitheater, entertainment space, fishing area and a children’s play area.
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Federal funds will pay for most of $200K contract
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — Taking another step toward the final design of the pier and ferry, the City Council approved a nearly $200,000 contract for a pier project management team.
The contract was awarded to Skanska USA Building for $198,954 with a 5-0 vote on the resolution during the Aug. 25 council meeting.
Long Branch Business Administrator Howard Woolley Jr. explained what the contract to Skanska includes.
“It’s for construction project management services in conjunction with the pier design,” he said. “This is for a firm to analyze the design to see if it’s buildable and what the cost will be.”
According to the contract, the city will pay close to $40,000 for the services, with the remaining funds coming from a federal transportation grant.
In 2009 the city approved McLaren Engineering to be the lead design team, and according to the resolution, Skanska will oversee the progress of the pier.
Woolley also explained the process the city went through to award the contract to Skanska.
“It was competitive procurement. We sent out notices, and I think we had 31 companies pick up the notice,” he said. “Thirteen replied, and we narrowed it down to three and selected Skanska.”
One resident said she is worried that the scope of the pier and ferry project might include the use of eminent domain by the city.
“Will there be properties that are not already in the redevelopment zone or that are in the redevelopment zone that will be necessary for that pier and that might be taken by eminent domain?” Michelle Bobrow asked.
Mayor Adam Schneider said the city may have to expand the boundaries for the redevelopment zones into the ocean, but they will not use eminent domain.
“We are going to move a few fish around,” Councilman Michael Sirianni quipped.
“I just saw a stingray. Will you please get rid of it?” Bobrow responded.
Long Branch resident Howard “Pudgy” Cooper questioned whether the money spent for the contract could have been better used elsewhere.
“Although I’m old and I grew up in this town with the pier, I think in these days and times perhaps the $40,000 might be put to a better use,” he said. “I believe in the infinite wisdom of this council, but I encourage them to vote no on this resolution.”
Councilwoman Joy Bastelli gave her assessment on where the city stands with the pier and ferry project.
“We have a long road ahead and we are making progress, and at this point I think we are doing well,” she said.
During a June meeting it was estimated that the total project would cost $91.5 million, of which $6.5 million had been secured, and officials said they are confident another $53 million could be secured from noncompetitive grant opportunities.
A fire destroyed the Long Branch pier in 1987, and since that time the city has acquired redevelopment rights and plans to rebuild the pier and other amenities, including retail, restaurants, an amphitheater and a children’s play area along the oceanfront.
The pier project is divided into three components:
The core pier, which will be the main structure, will cost approximately $36.3 million. Plans call for the pier to extend 900 feet from the boardwalk into the Atlantic Ocean.
The high-speed ferry terminal and docking facility, slated to cost $20.2 million, would provide a direct route from the Long Branch region to lower Manhattan at a travel time of 40 minutes. The pier would contain a docking system as well as the ticketing and waiting areas required for the ferry operation.
The final component is the amenity uses, at an estimated cost of $32.5 million, which include retail, restaurants, event space, a public winter garden, outdoor amphitheater, entertainment space, fishing area and a children’s play area.
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Monday, November 22, 2010
Grant will bring fire dept. to the future
Grant will bring fire dept. to the future
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
Long Branch officials are hoping that a $67,500 federal grant will help bring the city’s Fire Department into a new age.
The grant, along with a $7,500 matching appropriation, was approved with two resolutions during the Aug. 10 City Council meeting.
Long Branch Fire Chief Sebastian Tomaine said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) grant would go toward a new computer system for the department.
“We applied 18 months ago for a grant for [a] computerized [system] within the fire department,” he said. “Seventy-five hundred dollars can get you $75,000 worth of computer equipment. I don’t think that’s a bad deal.”
Tomaine said the goal is to bring the department into the future to better serve residents.
“We are putting laptop computers in all the fire apparatuses and the fire chief cars,” he said. “It brings us light years into the future as far as the information we have before we even get to the fire scene,” he said. “It gives you almost every piece of information you need within those few minutes to get to the fire.”
It will also make the firefighters safer in case there is something in a fire that may be hazardous to them. It informs them how many occupants are in the structure, any pets, the closest fire hydrant, etc., he added.
“It tells you everything imaginable, and you can’t beat that.”
Tomaine said the process of going out to bid and implementing the system is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
“We are totally excited about this,” he said. “Of course it is going to take us a few months to implement information and to go out for bid for the computers.”
Tomaine said he doesn’t expect more than a few local municipalities to have the technology that his department will soon have, and that the system could also be used in non-emergency situations, such as code enforcement.
It will also be used to help coordinate information with both the police department and emergency medical services.
Tomaine said that the average response time is three to five minutes, and in that time with the new computers, the firefighters will be better equipped.
“The information that they’ll get while they’re en route is absolutely essential,” he said. “If you need to find an address, you just look it up and it gives you all the information.”
Tomaine said that the paid firefighters would have in-service training days, while the volunteers will take a class to learn how to use the computer system.
“It is going to take a lot of effort to input all the information,” he said. “It’s not going to take very long; it is a very simplistic system.”
Contact Kenny Walter at
Kwalter@gmnews.com.
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BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
Long Branch officials are hoping that a $67,500 federal grant will help bring the city’s Fire Department into a new age.
The grant, along with a $7,500 matching appropriation, was approved with two resolutions during the Aug. 10 City Council meeting.
Long Branch Fire Chief Sebastian Tomaine said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) grant would go toward a new computer system for the department.
“We applied 18 months ago for a grant for [a] computerized [system] within the fire department,” he said. “Seventy-five hundred dollars can get you $75,000 worth of computer equipment. I don’t think that’s a bad deal.”
Tomaine said the goal is to bring the department into the future to better serve residents.
“We are putting laptop computers in all the fire apparatuses and the fire chief cars,” he said. “It brings us light years into the future as far as the information we have before we even get to the fire scene,” he said. “It gives you almost every piece of information you need within those few minutes to get to the fire.”
It will also make the firefighters safer in case there is something in a fire that may be hazardous to them. It informs them how many occupants are in the structure, any pets, the closest fire hydrant, etc., he added.
“It tells you everything imaginable, and you can’t beat that.”
Tomaine said the process of going out to bid and implementing the system is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
“We are totally excited about this,” he said. “Of course it is going to take us a few months to implement information and to go out for bid for the computers.”
Tomaine said he doesn’t expect more than a few local municipalities to have the technology that his department will soon have, and that the system could also be used in non-emergency situations, such as code enforcement.
It will also be used to help coordinate information with both the police department and emergency medical services.
Tomaine said that the average response time is three to five minutes, and in that time with the new computers, the firefighters will be better equipped.
“The information that they’ll get while they’re en route is absolutely essential,” he said. “If you need to find an address, you just look it up and it gives you all the information.”
Tomaine said that the paid firefighters would have in-service training days, while the volunteers will take a class to learn how to use the computer system.
“It is going to take a lot of effort to input all the information,” he said. “It’s not going to take very long; it is a very simplistic system.”
Contact Kenny Walter at
Kwalter@gmnews.com.
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City hopes for state $$ for oceanfront upgrades
City hopes for state $$ for oceanfront upgrades
Council approves application for $800K in Green Acres funds
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
Despite nearly missing the deadline, Long Branch officials are hopeful that their application for a grant will warrantmore than $800,000 in state funds for improvements to the oceanfront.
The Long Branch City Council during its Aug. 10 meeting unanimously approved a resolution authorizing an application for Green Acres funds that will go toward replacing railings on the boardwalk and improving the roadway on Ocean Avenue.
The project would include repaving Ocean Avenue between Bath and Brighton avenues and replacement of the railings on the boardwalk between Morris and Brighton avenues.
“We have some aluminum railing there that is OK, but to match the new railing we need to replace all of it,” said Jacob Jones, director of community and economic development.
Business Administrator Howard Woolley Jr. explained some of the other work that the money would go toward if the grant application is successful.
“Then we would need to shore up the roadway at a couple of spots because there is erosion under the boardwalk,” he said.
Jones explained during the Aug. 11 public hearing that the city nearly missed the deadline on the application.
“I don’t want to burst anybody’s bubble here, but I found out there was an application due July 15,” he said. “The city clerk never got the notice [from the state].
“There is a lot to this application, and you know what happens when you rush,” he added. “We had to rush this in, and fortunately the people of Trenton accepted our application.
“Once you rush an application, you are at a disadvantage. Funds are very competitive in the state these days.”
Jones said that if the application is approved, the state Green Acres program would provide a grant equal to 75 percent of the project cost and a loan for the 25 percent of the cost the city would be responsible for.
He said the project is slated to cost $842,400, which would leave the city on the hook for $210,600.
He also said he inflated the estimate by 20 percent to leave them some wiggle room if there is a cost overrun.
Jones said the current plan is to bond for the money, but it is possible that the city could receive federal grant money, such as a Community Development Block Grant, to pay for some of the costs.
City Attorney James Aaron explained the financial part of the Green Acres project.
“The city will bond for the total amount of the project,” he said, “through bond anticipation notes.
“As soon as the project is completed, Jake [Jones] will submit a series of forms back to Green Acres.
“Green Acres will then throw the bulk of the money back to the city,” he added. “We’ve always been able to get 100 percent of what Green Acres has promised.”
Aaron also said that the city would look toward using beach revenues to fund some of the costs for the project.
“I also will take a look at whether or not you can use beach revenues to fund part of the project for the city’s cost,” he said. “It is certainly directly related to the operation of the beachfront; you can’t get people to the beach unless you can get them across the boardwalk.”
Jones said he expects the process of starting the project to go rather quickly, should the city receive the grant money.
“If we are funded, we already have cost estimates, so it would just be a matter of getting an engineer to write up the complete bid packages, to get the quotes out, and then we can get the award,” he said.
Jones said that he expects to get word on the grant sometime this fall and if the application is rejected, the city will move forward for next year’s grant.
“If we do not get funding, I will have the same application submitted very early next year,” he said. “If we are awarded, I see a groundbreaking by early spring.”
Jones explained that the Green Acres programmight approve the application because of the need for the work.
“It will be a benefit for all of those who have seen the damage that has been done out there,” he said. “We really want to make the boardwalk beautiful.
“If they give it legitimate consideration, the lateness of the documents should not hurt,” he added.
“We are talking about replacing the railings on the boardwalk that are actually dangerous. I think they’ll get the message that this is very urgent.”
Jones said the city has had a winning history in dealing with Green Acres.
“Every application I’ve sent to Green Acres has been funded,” he said. “However, this one was submitted without certain documents and information, and it may hurt the overall evaluation.”
During the public hearing, which included more than 20 residents, Dennis Sherman, a member of the Save Ocean Avenue Committee, which has been pushing for repairs to the boardwalk and other improvements, presented Jones with a petition supporting the application.
Sherman explained the importance of the grant.
“We know during these difficult economic times, this grant is so important because the rails and the roadway are a safety concern,” he said.
“This grant would be the most wonderful funding that Green Acres could do,” he added. “This is a park that people use for free; it is unique, and it’s a jewel.”
Jones said he will submit a summary of the public hearing, as well as photos and petitions supporting the project, to the Green Acres program.
Contact Kenny Walter at
Kwalter@gmnews.com.
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Council approves application for $800K in Green Acres funds
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
Despite nearly missing the deadline, Long Branch officials are hopeful that their application for a grant will warrantmore than $800,000 in state funds for improvements to the oceanfront.
The Long Branch City Council during its Aug. 10 meeting unanimously approved a resolution authorizing an application for Green Acres funds that will go toward replacing railings on the boardwalk and improving the roadway on Ocean Avenue.
The project would include repaving Ocean Avenue between Bath and Brighton avenues and replacement of the railings on the boardwalk between Morris and Brighton avenues.
“We have some aluminum railing there that is OK, but to match the new railing we need to replace all of it,” said Jacob Jones, director of community and economic development.
Business Administrator Howard Woolley Jr. explained some of the other work that the money would go toward if the grant application is successful.
“Then we would need to shore up the roadway at a couple of spots because there is erosion under the boardwalk,” he said.
Jones explained during the Aug. 11 public hearing that the city nearly missed the deadline on the application.
“I don’t want to burst anybody’s bubble here, but I found out there was an application due July 15,” he said. “The city clerk never got the notice [from the state].
“There is a lot to this application, and you know what happens when you rush,” he added. “We had to rush this in, and fortunately the people of Trenton accepted our application.
“Once you rush an application, you are at a disadvantage. Funds are very competitive in the state these days.”
Jones said that if the application is approved, the state Green Acres program would provide a grant equal to 75 percent of the project cost and a loan for the 25 percent of the cost the city would be responsible for.
He said the project is slated to cost $842,400, which would leave the city on the hook for $210,600.
He also said he inflated the estimate by 20 percent to leave them some wiggle room if there is a cost overrun.
Jones said the current plan is to bond for the money, but it is possible that the city could receive federal grant money, such as a Community Development Block Grant, to pay for some of the costs.
City Attorney James Aaron explained the financial part of the Green Acres project.
“The city will bond for the total amount of the project,” he said, “through bond anticipation notes.
“As soon as the project is completed, Jake [Jones] will submit a series of forms back to Green Acres.
“Green Acres will then throw the bulk of the money back to the city,” he added. “We’ve always been able to get 100 percent of what Green Acres has promised.”
Aaron also said that the city would look toward using beach revenues to fund some of the costs for the project.
“I also will take a look at whether or not you can use beach revenues to fund part of the project for the city’s cost,” he said. “It is certainly directly related to the operation of the beachfront; you can’t get people to the beach unless you can get them across the boardwalk.”
Jones said he expects the process of starting the project to go rather quickly, should the city receive the grant money.
“If we are funded, we already have cost estimates, so it would just be a matter of getting an engineer to write up the complete bid packages, to get the quotes out, and then we can get the award,” he said.
Jones said that he expects to get word on the grant sometime this fall and if the application is rejected, the city will move forward for next year’s grant.
“If we do not get funding, I will have the same application submitted very early next year,” he said. “If we are awarded, I see a groundbreaking by early spring.”
Jones explained that the Green Acres programmight approve the application because of the need for the work.
“It will be a benefit for all of those who have seen the damage that has been done out there,” he said. “We really want to make the boardwalk beautiful.
“If they give it legitimate consideration, the lateness of the documents should not hurt,” he added.
“We are talking about replacing the railings on the boardwalk that are actually dangerous. I think they’ll get the message that this is very urgent.”
Jones said the city has had a winning history in dealing with Green Acres.
“Every application I’ve sent to Green Acres has been funded,” he said. “However, this one was submitted without certain documents and information, and it may hurt the overall evaluation.”
During the public hearing, which included more than 20 residents, Dennis Sherman, a member of the Save Ocean Avenue Committee, which has been pushing for repairs to the boardwalk and other improvements, presented Jones with a petition supporting the application.
Sherman explained the importance of the grant.
“We know during these difficult economic times, this grant is so important because the rails and the roadway are a safety concern,” he said.
“This grant would be the most wonderful funding that Green Acres could do,” he added. “This is a park that people use for free; it is unique, and it’s a jewel.”
Jones said he will submit a summary of the public hearing, as well as photos and petitions supporting the project, to the Green Acres program.
Contact Kenny Walter at
Kwalter@gmnews.com.
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Complaint: Redevelopment violates civil rights
Attorney seeks to amend complaint in Broadway Gateway suit
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — The city violated the civil rights of lower Broadway property owners by declaring their properties blighted but failing to go forward with redevelopment plans, according to an amended complaint that will be heard in state Superior Court later this month.
Princeton-based attorney William Potter, of Potter & Dickson, filed the amended complaint on behalf of plaintiffs Kevin and Adele Fister, principals in Fuschia Triangle Corp. and Coach Corp., located in the Broadway Gateway redevelopment zone, alleging that the city’s 1996 redevelopment plan has violated their civil rights.
“The freedom to acquire, own, develop, redevelop and freely to sell or transfer private property is a fundamental civil right guaranteed by the New Jersey Constitution, the United States Constitution, and laws enacted pursuant thereto, including but not limited to the United States Civil Rights Act,” the complaint states.
“As a result of holding the plaintiff’s properties in a blighted area for a substantial period of time and without any intention on the part of the defendants to acquire, purchase or condemn through eminent domain the subject properties, the plaintiffs are deprived of their civil and constitutional rights.”
The motion to amend the complaint, filed July 29, has a tentative court date of Aug. 23.
In April 2009, Potter submitted his original complaint against the city and the City Council on behalf of the Fisters, seeking damages and to overturn the city’s unconstitutional designation of private property as blighted.
The complaint was followed by a request for an enlargement of time that would expand the challenge window from 45 days to 13 years.
The two sides met in Superior Court on the enlargement issue in October, where Potter argued that his clients were not truly informed of the ramifications of being in the zone.
In his July 26, 2009, motion for enlargement, Potter cited criteria the courts have used to grant enlargements, including substantial and novel constitutional questions and an important public, rather than a private, interest that requires adjudication or clarification as exceptions the courts have used for granting enlargement.
Judge Lawrence Lawson ruled against allowing the enlargement and in favor of the city in his November decision.
“It appears that plaintiffs, after over a decade of owning property in the city, have changed their position on the city’s redevelopment plan. Such a change of heart does not justify this court’s review of a designation of property over 13 years old,” Lawson wrote.
“As early as January 1996 and at the latest May 1996, plaintiffs knew that the Triangle had been deemed ‘an area in need of redevelopment,’ ” Lawson’s Nov. 30 decision states. “The court cannot agree with plaintiffs that the circumstances of this case warrant the enlargement of time for the plaintiffs to bring an action in lieu of prerogative writs.”
Potter also requested that another judge hear the arguments for an enlargement of time in a July 2 reconsideration brief that Lawson rejected in November.
In his July 2 letter accompanying the reconsideration brief, Potter requested that Superior Court Judge Dennis O’Brien hear the arguments that were previously denied.
Potter’s decision to pursue the case comes after a late April Appellate Court decision that overturned the redevelopment and zoning ordinances in Broadway Arts, the neighboring redevelopment zone.
“This motion is based on two court decisions decided subsequent to the order of dismissal that have addressed the same or similar issues,” Potter wrote in the brief.
In arguing for the motion to amend, Potter said the Appellate Division reversed a similar ruling by the same lower court in the Broadway Arts zone.
The Appellate Division ruled that the zoning ordinances in the Broadway Arts section of the city were invalid after three property owners in the zone challenged the city in court.
Potter explained that the city has not begun eminent domain proceedings on the Broadway Gateway properties but had done so in the case of properties in the Broadway Arts district.
He criticized the Superior Court ruling against allowing an extension of the time frame for challenging the city’s 1996 redevelopment plan.
“The court did not address the potential impact upon the Triangle plaintiffs if denied, nor upon the city of Long Branch defendants if enlargement was granted,” he added. “This alone presents a basis for reconsideration.”
The Broadway-Gateway redevelopment zone is made up of commercial properties, with the Fuschia Triangle comprising five contiguous lots bounded by North and South Broadway, Long Branch Avenue and Ocean Boulevard. The city designated the site blighted and “in area in need of redevelopment” in 1996.
In the lawsuit filed against the city on April 8, Potter argued that the Fisters have exhaustively pursued alternative courses of action and failed to gain the city’s approval of any plans to develop the Fuschia Triangle, one of the city’s six redevelopment zones.
The lawsuit sought to overturn the blight designation of the Fuschia Triangle and asked the court for compensatory and punitive damages for the defacto taking of the Fuschia Triangle, resulting from the city’s blight designation and its failure to condemn and take the property.
Broadway-Gateway is one of six redevelopment zones in the city. Other zones are Hotel Campus, Broadway Arts, Beachfront North, Beachfront South and Pier Village.
Contact Kenny Walter at
kwalter@gmnews.com.
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Attorney seeks to amend complaint in Broadway Gateway suit
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — The city violated the civil rights of lower Broadway property owners by declaring their properties blighted but failing to go forward with redevelopment plans, according to an amended complaint that will be heard in state Superior Court later this month.
Princeton-based attorney William Potter, of Potter & Dickson, filed the amended complaint on behalf of plaintiffs Kevin and Adele Fister, principals in Fuschia Triangle Corp. and Coach Corp., located in the Broadway Gateway redevelopment zone, alleging that the city’s 1996 redevelopment plan has violated their civil rights.
“The freedom to acquire, own, develop, redevelop and freely to sell or transfer private property is a fundamental civil right guaranteed by the New Jersey Constitution, the United States Constitution, and laws enacted pursuant thereto, including but not limited to the United States Civil Rights Act,” the complaint states.
“As a result of holding the plaintiff’s properties in a blighted area for a substantial period of time and without any intention on the part of the defendants to acquire, purchase or condemn through eminent domain the subject properties, the plaintiffs are deprived of their civil and constitutional rights.”
The motion to amend the complaint, filed July 29, has a tentative court date of Aug. 23.
In April 2009, Potter submitted his original complaint against the city and the City Council on behalf of the Fisters, seeking damages and to overturn the city’s unconstitutional designation of private property as blighted.
The complaint was followed by a request for an enlargement of time that would expand the challenge window from 45 days to 13 years.
The two sides met in Superior Court on the enlargement issue in October, where Potter argued that his clients were not truly informed of the ramifications of being in the zone.
In his July 26, 2009, motion for enlargement, Potter cited criteria the courts have used to grant enlargements, including substantial and novel constitutional questions and an important public, rather than a private, interest that requires adjudication or clarification as exceptions the courts have used for granting enlargement.
Judge Lawrence Lawson ruled against allowing the enlargement and in favor of the city in his November decision.
“It appears that plaintiffs, after over a decade of owning property in the city, have changed their position on the city’s redevelopment plan. Such a change of heart does not justify this court’s review of a designation of property over 13 years old,” Lawson wrote.
“As early as January 1996 and at the latest May 1996, plaintiffs knew that the Triangle had been deemed ‘an area in need of redevelopment,’ ” Lawson’s Nov. 30 decision states. “The court cannot agree with plaintiffs that the circumstances of this case warrant the enlargement of time for the plaintiffs to bring an action in lieu of prerogative writs.”
Potter also requested that another judge hear the arguments for an enlargement of time in a July 2 reconsideration brief that Lawson rejected in November.
In his July 2 letter accompanying the reconsideration brief, Potter requested that Superior Court Judge Dennis O’Brien hear the arguments that were previously denied.
Potter’s decision to pursue the case comes after a late April Appellate Court decision that overturned the redevelopment and zoning ordinances in Broadway Arts, the neighboring redevelopment zone.
“This motion is based on two court decisions decided subsequent to the order of dismissal that have addressed the same or similar issues,” Potter wrote in the brief.
In arguing for the motion to amend, Potter said the Appellate Division reversed a similar ruling by the same lower court in the Broadway Arts zone.
The Appellate Division ruled that the zoning ordinances in the Broadway Arts section of the city were invalid after three property owners in the zone challenged the city in court.
Potter explained that the city has not begun eminent domain proceedings on the Broadway Gateway properties but had done so in the case of properties in the Broadway Arts district.
He criticized the Superior Court ruling against allowing an extension of the time frame for challenging the city’s 1996 redevelopment plan.
“The court did not address the potential impact upon the Triangle plaintiffs if denied, nor upon the city of Long Branch defendants if enlargement was granted,” he added. “This alone presents a basis for reconsideration.”
The Broadway-Gateway redevelopment zone is made up of commercial properties, with the Fuschia Triangle comprising five contiguous lots bounded by North and South Broadway, Long Branch Avenue and Ocean Boulevard. The city designated the site blighted and “in area in need of redevelopment” in 1996.
In the lawsuit filed against the city on April 8, Potter argued that the Fisters have exhaustively pursued alternative courses of action and failed to gain the city’s approval of any plans to develop the Fuschia Triangle, one of the city’s six redevelopment zones.
The lawsuit sought to overturn the blight designation of the Fuschia Triangle and asked the court for compensatory and punitive damages for the defacto taking of the Fuschia Triangle, resulting from the city’s blight designation and its failure to condemn and take the property.
Broadway-Gateway is one of six redevelopment zones in the city. Other zones are Hotel Campus, Broadway Arts, Beachfront North, Beachfront South and Pier Village.
Contact Kenny Walter at
kwalter@gmnews.com.
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Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Pallone bill aims to curtail gang violence
Pallone bill aims to curtail gang violence
Ferraina: School district programs aim at preventing gang influence
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
With replicate bills being introduced in the U.S. Congress, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D- 6th District) is hoping to mount a fourpronged attack on gangs throughout the country.
An impromptu memorial with gang-related symbols marked the site of a homicide 2006. ERIC SUCAR staff An impromptu memorial with gang-related symbols marked the site of a homicide 2006. ERIC SUCAR staff Pallone introduced the Fighting Gangs and Empowering Youth Act of 2010 (H.R. 5969) in the U.S. House of Representatives last week and expects a vote to take place sometime after Congress reconvenes in September following a month’s recess.
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced a replicate bill, which has yet to be assigned a number, in the U.S. Senate at the same time.
In a press release last week Menendez explained the aim of the bill.
“From our cities to our suburbs and beyond, families, police, prosecutors are at war with gangs, and we need to give them full support from the federal level,” he said. “That means not only giving them the tools to crack down harder on gang activity, but also developing the activities, mentoring and job opportunities to steer youth and ex-gang members away from that destructive lifestyle.
“This has become a pervasive problem in need of a comprehensive solution, and that’s what we want to help deliver.”
Pallone in an interview last week described the four parts of the bill.
“This is designed to address gang violence in four ways,” he said. “One is prevention, by providing programs and alternatives to kids.
“So after school they can go to a YMCA or Boys [and Girls] Club or do some kind of educational or job training so they don’t get involved with gangs.”
Pallone described the second part of the proposed bill, which focuses on preventing those incarcerated for gang involvement from returning to that lifestyle after they serve their time.
Job training, education and helping them keep in touch with their families are key to preventing recidivism, he said.
“If you leave prison and you don’t have a family to go back to, oftentimes the gang becomes your family,” he said.
Pallone said the final two parts of the bill deal with funding anti-gang initiatives.
“The third thing is increased funding to towns for police, so that they can put police in areas that have high gang activity,” he said. “The last thing is federal dollars for data information, so we can track and have intelligence about gangs and where they are and what they’re doing.”
Pallone, whose district includes Long Branch, Red Bank and Asbury Park, said the problem of gangs is spreading from the cities to the suburbs.
“We have an increase in gang violence throughout the state, not just in cities but also suburban areas,” Pallone said. “There is some indication that because the gun trade and the drug trade is more lucrative in suburban areas, a lot of the gangs that were in the city are moving into the suburbs.
“I think the perception is that gang recruitment and gang violence only take place in major cities, but gang violence is becoming more prevalent in communities throughout New Jersey and across the country.”
Pallone credited Long Branch for holding community meetings that included representatives of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and Long Branch School Superintendent Joseph Ferraina.
Pallone also said that a large factor in gang prevention is community involvement.
“A big part of this is getting the community involved,” he said. “If the community is watching out and identifying gang activity, that is a big part of preventing the violence.”
Ferraina described some of the efforts the school district has made in preventing students from joining gangs.
“We try to educate the students, the parents and the staff on proper measures of dealing with gangs and preventing gang behavior,” Ferraina said. “Years of experience has taught us that policing our way out of the gangs is really not the answer.
“You just can’t think you’re going to arrest people and that is going to solve the problem,” he added. “We are starting at the age of 3 and continue through high school.”
Ferraina said that the district’s curriculum includes social development and developing communication between parents, teachers and students.
Ferraina also said the district tries to give students extracurricular programs and
sports to help fill the void that a gang might fill.
“The gangs get their foothold because they give something to the children,” he said. “They really try to fill a void for that child.
“Gangs will always have a place unless we are able to reach children and make them feel comfortable in their own skin.”
Ferraina said that there are many different programs and assemblies at all of the district schools to try to educate students about the risk of joining gangs.
He also said the battle against gangs does not necessarily involve the gangs themselves.
“Our battle is not with the gangs, our battle is with us filling the void that has students joining gangs,” he said. “Each person is different, and that is what people don’t understand about education.
“Everybody talks about reading, writing or math, but in schools today we do so much more,” he added. “We really are preventing many major problems that cost the taxpayers.”
Pallone’s bill came the same week that many towns, including Long Branch, Red Bank and Tinton Falls, held events in conjunction with the national Night Out Against Crime, a night aimed at bringing the police departments and their communities together.
Pallone himself attended a National Night Out event in Piscataway, as well as a community forum in Plainfield to discuss a recent string of murders.
While Pallone spoke mostly about New Jersey, he said the problem stretches across the country.
“I highlight the importance of New Jersey, but this is happening all over the country,” he said. “This affects every part of the country, so there is a lot of interest in other states too.”
Contact Kenny Walter at
kwalter@gmnews.com.
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Ferraina: School district programs aim at preventing gang influence
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
With replicate bills being introduced in the U.S. Congress, Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D- 6th District) is hoping to mount a fourpronged attack on gangs throughout the country.
An impromptu memorial with gang-related symbols marked the site of a homicide 2006. ERIC SUCAR staff An impromptu memorial with gang-related symbols marked the site of a homicide 2006. ERIC SUCAR staff Pallone introduced the Fighting Gangs and Empowering Youth Act of 2010 (H.R. 5969) in the U.S. House of Representatives last week and expects a vote to take place sometime after Congress reconvenes in September following a month’s recess.
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced a replicate bill, which has yet to be assigned a number, in the U.S. Senate at the same time.
In a press release last week Menendez explained the aim of the bill.
“From our cities to our suburbs and beyond, families, police, prosecutors are at war with gangs, and we need to give them full support from the federal level,” he said. “That means not only giving them the tools to crack down harder on gang activity, but also developing the activities, mentoring and job opportunities to steer youth and ex-gang members away from that destructive lifestyle.
“This has become a pervasive problem in need of a comprehensive solution, and that’s what we want to help deliver.”
Pallone in an interview last week described the four parts of the bill.
“This is designed to address gang violence in four ways,” he said. “One is prevention, by providing programs and alternatives to kids.
“So after school they can go to a YMCA or Boys [and Girls] Club or do some kind of educational or job training so they don’t get involved with gangs.”
Pallone described the second part of the proposed bill, which focuses on preventing those incarcerated for gang involvement from returning to that lifestyle after they serve their time.
Job training, education and helping them keep in touch with their families are key to preventing recidivism, he said.
“If you leave prison and you don’t have a family to go back to, oftentimes the gang becomes your family,” he said.
Pallone said the final two parts of the bill deal with funding anti-gang initiatives.
“The third thing is increased funding to towns for police, so that they can put police in areas that have high gang activity,” he said. “The last thing is federal dollars for data information, so we can track and have intelligence about gangs and where they are and what they’re doing.”
Pallone, whose district includes Long Branch, Red Bank and Asbury Park, said the problem of gangs is spreading from the cities to the suburbs.
“We have an increase in gang violence throughout the state, not just in cities but also suburban areas,” Pallone said. “There is some indication that because the gun trade and the drug trade is more lucrative in suburban areas, a lot of the gangs that were in the city are moving into the suburbs.
“I think the perception is that gang recruitment and gang violence only take place in major cities, but gang violence is becoming more prevalent in communities throughout New Jersey and across the country.”
Pallone credited Long Branch for holding community meetings that included representatives of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and Long Branch School Superintendent Joseph Ferraina.
Pallone also said that a large factor in gang prevention is community involvement.
“A big part of this is getting the community involved,” he said. “If the community is watching out and identifying gang activity, that is a big part of preventing the violence.”
Ferraina described some of the efforts the school district has made in preventing students from joining gangs.
“We try to educate the students, the parents and the staff on proper measures of dealing with gangs and preventing gang behavior,” Ferraina said. “Years of experience has taught us that policing our way out of the gangs is really not the answer.
“You just can’t think you’re going to arrest people and that is going to solve the problem,” he added. “We are starting at the age of 3 and continue through high school.”
Ferraina said that the district’s curriculum includes social development and developing communication between parents, teachers and students.
Ferraina also said the district tries to give students extracurricular programs and
sports to help fill the void that a gang might fill.
“The gangs get their foothold because they give something to the children,” he said. “They really try to fill a void for that child.
“Gangs will always have a place unless we are able to reach children and make them feel comfortable in their own skin.”
Ferraina said that there are many different programs and assemblies at all of the district schools to try to educate students about the risk of joining gangs.
He also said the battle against gangs does not necessarily involve the gangs themselves.
“Our battle is not with the gangs, our battle is with us filling the void that has students joining gangs,” he said. “Each person is different, and that is what people don’t understand about education.
“Everybody talks about reading, writing or math, but in schools today we do so much more,” he added. “We really are preventing many major problems that cost the taxpayers.”
Pallone’s bill came the same week that many towns, including Long Branch, Red Bank and Tinton Falls, held events in conjunction with the national Night Out Against Crime, a night aimed at bringing the police departments and their communities together.
Pallone himself attended a National Night Out event in Piscataway, as well as a community forum in Plainfield to discuss a recent string of murders.
While Pallone spoke mostly about New Jersey, he said the problem stretches across the country.
“I highlight the importance of New Jersey, but this is happening all over the country,” he said. “This affects every part of the country, so there is a lot of interest in other states too.”
Contact Kenny Walter at
kwalter@gmnews.com.
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9/11 responders hope for passage of aid bill
9/11 responders hope for passage of aid bill
House fails to pass James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — Former 9/11 first responder John Feal has promised to fill Washington with his fellow 9/11 brethren when Congress reconvenes this fall.
Feal’s promise comes a week after the $7.4 billion James Zadroga 9/11 Health & Compensation Act (H.R. 847), which would secure health care benefits for 9/11 first responders, was defeated in the House.
“To ensure they do the right thing, I will do another rally in D.C. and I will bring 9/11 survivors from the tri-state area and all over the country,” he said. “I will put them on the Capital and I will make sure that Congress does the right thing in the name of all 9/11 survivors.”
Feal has organized rallies in Long Branch, New York and Washington, D.C., to build support for the bill.
Currently, 9/11 responders receive free health care, but funding is discretionary from year to year. Under the proposed bill, funding would be permanent and responders would receive health care for life.
Congressman Frank Pallone (D-6th District), a co-sponsor of the legislation, explained the bill in a previous interview.
“H.R. 847 would establish the World Trade Center Health Program, a permanent program to screen, monitor and treat eligible responders and survivors who are suffering from World Trade Center-related diseases,” he said. “It would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct and support research into new conditions that may be related to the attacks and to evaluate different and emerging methods of diagnosis and treatment.
“Also, the legislation would build upon the expertise of the Centers of Excellence, which are currently providing high-quality care to thousands of responders and survivors, ensuring ongoing data collection and analysis to evaluate health risks.”
The bill was voted on by the House during a suspension vote, meaning that no amendments could have been added to the bill, but it needed a two-thirds vote to pass.
Pallone has been maneuvering to avoid having amendments attached to the bill that would weaken the bill with provisions such as excluding illegal immigrants and excluding people who worked and lived a certain distance from Ground Zero.
The bill failed to garner the two-thirds vote needed for passage, with 255 yes votes to 159 no votes, with just 12 Republicans voting in favor of it.
Pallone said most of the Republicans who voted in favor of the bill were from New York or New Jersey.
He said last week that he is confident the bill will eventually be passed.
“In September when we come back, we will try to move it through the regular procedure that just needs a majority,” he said. “We had way more than a majority; we should be able to move it.”
Feal, who was injured as a 9/11 first responder, discussed the emotions he felt watching Congress vote on the bill he has advocated for.
“Utterly disappointed and disgusted,” he said. “The fact that Congress voted no the way they did with a partisan vote is sick and perverted.
“We knew days before the vote that this was going to happen. We were prepared for this, but it still hurt. Human life took a backseat to reckless politics.
“The vote should have been 435 to nothing,” he added. “They should have put their political affiliations and their ideologies away and voted like Americans.”
Feal, who founded the Fealgood Foundation to spread awareness and to raise funds to help 9/11 first responders, said that he blamed both Democrats and Republicans for the vote and blamed Congress as a whole.
However, Feal complimented Pallone for the way he has fought for passage of the bill.
“I have the utmost respect for Frank Pallone,” he said. “Frank Pallone’s been a champion of ours.
“He was eloquent on the floor that night, and I applaud him,” he added. “I watched Frank Pallone speak on our behalf, and I watched him fight for us.”
Feal said he plans to honor Pallone during an Aug. 19 fundraiser at Trinity Restaurant in Keyport.
Pallone explained why the suspension procedurewas used to try to get an affirmative vote on the bill.
“We tried to move it on the floor of the House on what we call suspension procedure,” he said. “It is a way to try to expedite the bill.
“When you have the bill in the regular process, it has to go through rules, there are amendments, there is a lot of time for debate.
“We wanted to move it quickly because the bill needs to still pass the Senate, and we only have until the end of the year,” he added. “Now, when we wait till September it will still pass, but we want to make sure it passes in the Senate, too.”
Feal criticized Democrats for pushing the vote under suspension rules.
“We knew putting this on the floor as a suspension, it would not have passed,” he said. “If it would have gone under regular rules, the Republicans would have tried to make amendments and the Democrats would have been afraid of those amendments.
“In the numbers game, those amendments would have been shot down just because Democrats control the house.”
Feal also criticized Republicans for voting no on the bill because they felt they weren’t able to contribute to its drafting.
“Republicans are wrong for voting no because they weren’t allowed to play,” he said. “They were like the little kids in the sand box: if they can’t play, they are going home.”
Feal did say that this setback doesn’t mean he is losing faith in the future passage of the bill.
“I am confident that when they come back, the bill is going to go to the floor and pass,” he said. “The fact that we had to wait six, seven weeks is an insult to our body of work at ground zero, and it is an insult to our body of work the last five years on this bill.”
In previous interviews, both Feal and Pallone said they are hopeful the bill would be signed into law on the 9th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but Pallone said that is no longer possible.
“It is not possible because the House doesn’t come back into session until the Tuesday after 9/11,” he said.
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House fails to pass James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — Former 9/11 first responder John Feal has promised to fill Washington with his fellow 9/11 brethren when Congress reconvenes this fall.
Feal’s promise comes a week after the $7.4 billion James Zadroga 9/11 Health & Compensation Act (H.R. 847), which would secure health care benefits for 9/11 first responders, was defeated in the House.
“To ensure they do the right thing, I will do another rally in D.C. and I will bring 9/11 survivors from the tri-state area and all over the country,” he said. “I will put them on the Capital and I will make sure that Congress does the right thing in the name of all 9/11 survivors.”
Feal has organized rallies in Long Branch, New York and Washington, D.C., to build support for the bill.
Currently, 9/11 responders receive free health care, but funding is discretionary from year to year. Under the proposed bill, funding would be permanent and responders would receive health care for life.
Congressman Frank Pallone (D-6th District), a co-sponsor of the legislation, explained the bill in a previous interview.
“H.R. 847 would establish the World Trade Center Health Program, a permanent program to screen, monitor and treat eligible responders and survivors who are suffering from World Trade Center-related diseases,” he said. “It would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct and support research into new conditions that may be related to the attacks and to evaluate different and emerging methods of diagnosis and treatment.
“Also, the legislation would build upon the expertise of the Centers of Excellence, which are currently providing high-quality care to thousands of responders and survivors, ensuring ongoing data collection and analysis to evaluate health risks.”
The bill was voted on by the House during a suspension vote, meaning that no amendments could have been added to the bill, but it needed a two-thirds vote to pass.
Pallone has been maneuvering to avoid having amendments attached to the bill that would weaken the bill with provisions such as excluding illegal immigrants and excluding people who worked and lived a certain distance from Ground Zero.
The bill failed to garner the two-thirds vote needed for passage, with 255 yes votes to 159 no votes, with just 12 Republicans voting in favor of it.
Pallone said most of the Republicans who voted in favor of the bill were from New York or New Jersey.
He said last week that he is confident the bill will eventually be passed.
“In September when we come back, we will try to move it through the regular procedure that just needs a majority,” he said. “We had way more than a majority; we should be able to move it.”
Feal, who was injured as a 9/11 first responder, discussed the emotions he felt watching Congress vote on the bill he has advocated for.
“Utterly disappointed and disgusted,” he said. “The fact that Congress voted no the way they did with a partisan vote is sick and perverted.
“We knew days before the vote that this was going to happen. We were prepared for this, but it still hurt. Human life took a backseat to reckless politics.
“The vote should have been 435 to nothing,” he added. “They should have put their political affiliations and their ideologies away and voted like Americans.”
Feal, who founded the Fealgood Foundation to spread awareness and to raise funds to help 9/11 first responders, said that he blamed both Democrats and Republicans for the vote and blamed Congress as a whole.
However, Feal complimented Pallone for the way he has fought for passage of the bill.
“I have the utmost respect for Frank Pallone,” he said. “Frank Pallone’s been a champion of ours.
“He was eloquent on the floor that night, and I applaud him,” he added. “I watched Frank Pallone speak on our behalf, and I watched him fight for us.”
Feal said he plans to honor Pallone during an Aug. 19 fundraiser at Trinity Restaurant in Keyport.
Pallone explained why the suspension procedurewas used to try to get an affirmative vote on the bill.
“We tried to move it on the floor of the House on what we call suspension procedure,” he said. “It is a way to try to expedite the bill.
“When you have the bill in the regular process, it has to go through rules, there are amendments, there is a lot of time for debate.
“We wanted to move it quickly because the bill needs to still pass the Senate, and we only have until the end of the year,” he added. “Now, when we wait till September it will still pass, but we want to make sure it passes in the Senate, too.”
Feal criticized Democrats for pushing the vote under suspension rules.
“We knew putting this on the floor as a suspension, it would not have passed,” he said. “If it would have gone under regular rules, the Republicans would have tried to make amendments and the Democrats would have been afraid of those amendments.
“In the numbers game, those amendments would have been shot down just because Democrats control the house.”
Feal also criticized Republicans for voting no on the bill because they felt they weren’t able to contribute to its drafting.
“Republicans are wrong for voting no because they weren’t allowed to play,” he said. “They were like the little kids in the sand box: if they can’t play, they are going home.”
Feal did say that this setback doesn’t mean he is losing faith in the future passage of the bill.
“I am confident that when they come back, the bill is going to go to the floor and pass,” he said. “The fact that we had to wait six, seven weeks is an insult to our body of work at ground zero, and it is an insult to our body of work the last five years on this bill.”
In previous interviews, both Feal and Pallone said they are hopeful the bill would be signed into law on the 9th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but Pallone said that is no longer possible.
“It is not possible because the House doesn’t come back into session until the Tuesday after 9/11,” he said.
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Group presses for improvements to Ocean Ave.
Group presses for improvements to Ocean Ave.
Save Ocean Avenue asks for upgrades to boardwalk, facilities
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
A group of residents is asking the city to repair deteriorated conditions, including sidewalks and restrooms, along a stretch of Ocean Avenue. A group of residents is asking the city to repair deteriorated conditions, including sidewalks and restrooms, along a stretch of Ocean Avenue. LONG BRANCH — The Save Ocean Avenue Committee is pushing the newly seated Long Branch City Council for changes along the beachfront.
Dennis Sherman, one of the committee’s eight members, handed the four new council members and council President Mary Jane Celli a list of priorities for improvements to Ocean Avenue, including traffic flow, the boardwalk and public facilities, at the July 27 workshop session.
Sherman explained to the council the community group’s history with the previous City Council.
“We have worked patiently for the past three and a half years meeting, talking, idea after idea,” he said. “Now is the time for you in good conscience to devote resources to the south end of the boardwalk and create your legacy that will stand for years to come.”
Before describing the 14-point priority list the committee developed for the stretch of Ocean Avenue between West End and Atlantic avenues, Sherman named the variety of sources of funding for the improvements.
“Funding for these projects can come from the [state] Green Acres [program], can come from Monmouth County grants, New Jersey Department of Transportation special projects, can come from private donations,” he stated.
The priority list for the area includes new railings, road improvements, changing the traffic flow to one-way, finishing a bike path, a sculpture of a seal, the creation of an art walk, painting the public bathroom facilities, creating historical plaques, boardwalk improvements, safety improvements, creation of shade areas, and writing Green Acres grants.
Sherman said the city already gets Green Acres money that could be used for Ocean Avenue.
“For years, Green Acres money has been spent in this city on other parks totaling over $6.4 million,” he said. “The city has spent money on the southern part of the boardwalk.”
Sherman also asked council to support an additional improvement: changing the railings of the boardwalk.
“The new railings is something I think we all agree on,” he said. “The new railings will replace rusted-out railings that have existed for 10 years.”
He suggested that because of stalled development in certain beachfront sections of the city, Ocean Avenue should be one-way traffic up to Pavilion Avenue in order to dedicate a lane for cyclists, skaters and pedestrians.
Sherman also suggested that the city draft ordinances similar to those in Toms River and Red Bank that fine vehicles for not properly stopping at high-use pedestrian intersections.
He went on to say that some of the items listed, such as public benches, could fall into the public works budget.
The impact of the changes, he told council, would be to allow visitors to learn about the history of the city.
“These are beautiful ways to introduce the historical [legacy] of Long Branch to the people,” he said. “The people will love to read about the seven presidents and all the history of Long Branch.”
He also suggested that the changes would seal the legacy of the new council.
“The beach and boardwalk are a jewel waiting to be polished,” he said. “It is one of the most unique beaches and boardwalks on all of the New Jersey Shore.
“The choice and the legacy is yours. I hope the council takes this up.”
After the presentation, Celli suggested that the council wait before they take up some of the issues discussed.
“Give council an opportunity to go over the entire presentation,” she said. “Money is very, very tight, and we are going to have to look for state funding and revenues to come in.
“Give us a good two months, and we will talk,” she added.
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Save Ocean Avenue asks for upgrades to boardwalk, facilities
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
A group of residents is asking the city to repair deteriorated conditions, including sidewalks and restrooms, along a stretch of Ocean Avenue. A group of residents is asking the city to repair deteriorated conditions, including sidewalks and restrooms, along a stretch of Ocean Avenue. LONG BRANCH — The Save Ocean Avenue Committee is pushing the newly seated Long Branch City Council for changes along the beachfront.
Dennis Sherman, one of the committee’s eight members, handed the four new council members and council President Mary Jane Celli a list of priorities for improvements to Ocean Avenue, including traffic flow, the boardwalk and public facilities, at the July 27 workshop session.
Sherman explained to the council the community group’s history with the previous City Council.
“We have worked patiently for the past three and a half years meeting, talking, idea after idea,” he said. “Now is the time for you in good conscience to devote resources to the south end of the boardwalk and create your legacy that will stand for years to come.”
Before describing the 14-point priority list the committee developed for the stretch of Ocean Avenue between West End and Atlantic avenues, Sherman named the variety of sources of funding for the improvements.
“Funding for these projects can come from the [state] Green Acres [program], can come from Monmouth County grants, New Jersey Department of Transportation special projects, can come from private donations,” he stated.
The priority list for the area includes new railings, road improvements, changing the traffic flow to one-way, finishing a bike path, a sculpture of a seal, the creation of an art walk, painting the public bathroom facilities, creating historical plaques, boardwalk improvements, safety improvements, creation of shade areas, and writing Green Acres grants.
Sherman said the city already gets Green Acres money that could be used for Ocean Avenue.
“For years, Green Acres money has been spent in this city on other parks totaling over $6.4 million,” he said. “The city has spent money on the southern part of the boardwalk.”
Sherman also asked council to support an additional improvement: changing the railings of the boardwalk.
“The new railings is something I think we all agree on,” he said. “The new railings will replace rusted-out railings that have existed for 10 years.”
He suggested that because of stalled development in certain beachfront sections of the city, Ocean Avenue should be one-way traffic up to Pavilion Avenue in order to dedicate a lane for cyclists, skaters and pedestrians.
Sherman also suggested that the city draft ordinances similar to those in Toms River and Red Bank that fine vehicles for not properly stopping at high-use pedestrian intersections.
He went on to say that some of the items listed, such as public benches, could fall into the public works budget.
The impact of the changes, he told council, would be to allow visitors to learn about the history of the city.
“These are beautiful ways to introduce the historical [legacy] of Long Branch to the people,” he said. “The people will love to read about the seven presidents and all the history of Long Branch.”
He also suggested that the changes would seal the legacy of the new council.
“The beach and boardwalk are a jewel waiting to be polished,” he said. “It is one of the most unique beaches and boardwalks on all of the New Jersey Shore.
“The choice and the legacy is yours. I hope the council takes this up.”
After the presentation, Celli suggested that the council wait before they take up some of the issues discussed.
“Give council an opportunity to go over the entire presentation,” she said. “Money is very, very tight, and we are going to have to look for state funding and revenues to come in.
“Give us a good two months, and we will talk,” she added.
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Saturday, October 16, 2010
T.F. takes state delay to review budget
T.F. takes state delay to review budget
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
TINTON FALLS — A delay in the state’s review of the Tinton Falls municipal budget may mean that the borough will go back and make changes.
The administration announced the delay at the July 20 council meeting, where they held a public hearing on the budget.
“We are at the end of the road, and we need to take every cent we can find and eliminate that expenditure, if we can, without hurting the services to our municipality,” Councilman Gary Baldwin said.
Chief Financial Officer Stephen Pfeffer said the borough is using the state delay to review operating budgets of each department to see if any cuts are possible.
The proposed $22 million budget, up from last year’s $21.6 million spending plan, includes an $11.7 million tax levy and an increase in the tax rate of 1.26 cents per $100 of assessed evaluation, bringing the tax rate to 39.26 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
The budget also includes a 0.75-cent decrease in the borough’s open space tax rate and a $383,000 decrease in state aid from last year.
Pfeffer said that Tinton Falls is one of a few Monmouth County municipalities with solid finances.
“In relation to the rest of Monmouth County, the borough is one of the few municipalities that remains on solvent footing,” he said. Pfeffer also said the borough has $3.2million in its surplus account. He said the borough is ahead of the curve in limiting employees from amassing sick and vacation days.
“Our borough employees, with the exception of the police department, are capped for sick time at $7,500,” he said. “We’re below the state threshold.
“The police department has a formula in their contract that can be above the state’s amount of $15,000,” he added.
Councilwoman NancyAnn Fama suggested that the borough cut the operating budget further in order to fund a road program.
“We are looking for a road program in this budget,” she said. “Let’s ask each department head to reduce their department by 1.8 percent, and perhaps we can gain this money back and start a road program.”
However, Pfeffer disputed whether or not it is possible to cut the departments enough to fund a road program.
“We are still reviewing the operating budgets for further reductions, but we are not going to be able to get to the number you were talking about, because there are other numbers that are in there that are mandated that we can’t reduce,” he said.
Councilman Andrew Mayer, who participated in the meeting via telephone, challenged the administration to find a way to fund the road program.
“We do need to seriously look at adding a line item in this budget for a road program,” he said. “I’d like to challenge the administration to go back and look at where those dollars might come from.”
The talk of adding a road program comes after the council voted in April against bonding almost $2 million for a road program. Baldwin and Councilman Scott Larkin were the only ones to support the measure.
Baldwin said he still believes bonding would be the way to go.
“My recommendation is that if we come up with $100,000 or some lesser number, it probablywouldn’t be wise to take that number and try to do 300 feet of a road at this time until the number becomes substantial,” he said. “We want to be careful as a council not to collect money for a road program and spend it unwisely because of the things that are out there today.
“The cost of bonding is low, and that is why I proposed we strike while the iron is hot and we do some bonding,” he added. “We do need to do something with the roads, but how to do it became the issue.”
Councilman Duane Morrill said he was concerned that certain borough revenues are down for the second year in a row.
“This is two years in a row we are looking at [that] uniform construction [fees] is down, court fees are down, hotel [tax] down,” he said. “If all these things are going down, obviously less work is going on in these offices. Do we need the full complement of staff that we have in these offices?”
Pfeffer and Borough Administrator Gerald Turning Sr. both said that the borough has transferred employees from different departments based on workload, and all departments operate at a minimum.
During the public hearing, resident Leo Lomangino suggested that the borough form a finance committee to study ways to bring in attractive development.
“I was wondering if we can have a finance committee so that we could work along with Mr. Pfeffer, and maybe that will help us move the ship a little with aggressive projects like the outlet mall,” he said.
If the borough makes any significant changes to the budget, they will have to reopen the public hearing. If not, the borough can adopt the budget as soon as the state reviews it.
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BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
TINTON FALLS — A delay in the state’s review of the Tinton Falls municipal budget may mean that the borough will go back and make changes.
The administration announced the delay at the July 20 council meeting, where they held a public hearing on the budget.
“We are at the end of the road, and we need to take every cent we can find and eliminate that expenditure, if we can, without hurting the services to our municipality,” Councilman Gary Baldwin said.
Chief Financial Officer Stephen Pfeffer said the borough is using the state delay to review operating budgets of each department to see if any cuts are possible.
The proposed $22 million budget, up from last year’s $21.6 million spending plan, includes an $11.7 million tax levy and an increase in the tax rate of 1.26 cents per $100 of assessed evaluation, bringing the tax rate to 39.26 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.
The budget also includes a 0.75-cent decrease in the borough’s open space tax rate and a $383,000 decrease in state aid from last year.
Pfeffer said that Tinton Falls is one of a few Monmouth County municipalities with solid finances.
“In relation to the rest of Monmouth County, the borough is one of the few municipalities that remains on solvent footing,” he said. Pfeffer also said the borough has $3.2million in its surplus account. He said the borough is ahead of the curve in limiting employees from amassing sick and vacation days.
“Our borough employees, with the exception of the police department, are capped for sick time at $7,500,” he said. “We’re below the state threshold.
“The police department has a formula in their contract that can be above the state’s amount of $15,000,” he added.
Councilwoman NancyAnn Fama suggested that the borough cut the operating budget further in order to fund a road program.
“We are looking for a road program in this budget,” she said. “Let’s ask each department head to reduce their department by 1.8 percent, and perhaps we can gain this money back and start a road program.”
However, Pfeffer disputed whether or not it is possible to cut the departments enough to fund a road program.
“We are still reviewing the operating budgets for further reductions, but we are not going to be able to get to the number you were talking about, because there are other numbers that are in there that are mandated that we can’t reduce,” he said.
Councilman Andrew Mayer, who participated in the meeting via telephone, challenged the administration to find a way to fund the road program.
“We do need to seriously look at adding a line item in this budget for a road program,” he said. “I’d like to challenge the administration to go back and look at where those dollars might come from.”
The talk of adding a road program comes after the council voted in April against bonding almost $2 million for a road program. Baldwin and Councilman Scott Larkin were the only ones to support the measure.
Baldwin said he still believes bonding would be the way to go.
“My recommendation is that if we come up with $100,000 or some lesser number, it probablywouldn’t be wise to take that number and try to do 300 feet of a road at this time until the number becomes substantial,” he said. “We want to be careful as a council not to collect money for a road program and spend it unwisely because of the things that are out there today.
“The cost of bonding is low, and that is why I proposed we strike while the iron is hot and we do some bonding,” he added. “We do need to do something with the roads, but how to do it became the issue.”
Councilman Duane Morrill said he was concerned that certain borough revenues are down for the second year in a row.
“This is two years in a row we are looking at [that] uniform construction [fees] is down, court fees are down, hotel [tax] down,” he said. “If all these things are going down, obviously less work is going on in these offices. Do we need the full complement of staff that we have in these offices?”
Pfeffer and Borough Administrator Gerald Turning Sr. both said that the borough has transferred employees from different departments based on workload, and all departments operate at a minimum.
During the public hearing, resident Leo Lomangino suggested that the borough form a finance committee to study ways to bring in attractive development.
“I was wondering if we can have a finance committee so that we could work along with Mr. Pfeffer, and maybe that will help us move the ship a little with aggressive projects like the outlet mall,” he said.
If the borough makes any significant changes to the budget, they will have to reopen the public hearing. If not, the borough can adopt the budget as soon as the state reviews it.
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Activists: Jobs, programs needed for city's youth
Activists: Jobs, programs needed for city’s youth
Residents tell council: Recreation programs are not enough
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
Ajobs initiative and other programs for city youths are lacking in Long Branch, a group of concerned citizens told the City Council last week.
Speaking in turn, members of the ad hoc community group made their points for over an hour during the public participation portion of the July 27 council meeting.
Many of the speakers told the council and city administration that more interaction between the police and residents is needed to resolve certain problems within the community.
“When I was 14 years old, I knew who the police officers were, I had their respect,” resident John Rogers said. “The problem in our community is, there is no respect.
“We need to find solutions for our kids, whether it be vocational programs or some kind of programs where the kids can interact. We need to come up with more.”
Rogers went on to praise the city’s recreation department but said there is little available for children over age 16.
Daryl Coleman followed Rogers by saying that the city has nice parks but needs more indoor activities.
“I just feel as a community member we can do more together,” he said. “Long Branch has more kids walking the streets than any other place besides Asbury Park.
“I don’t want my kid out there in 100- degree weather,” he added. “They have nowhere to go.”
Coleman suggested the city strike a deal to use the schools.
“You can open up the school one day a week and bring whatever security you need,” he said. “I’ll go up there and [perform] the janitor’s cleanup.”
Resident Jonathon Matthews spoke about programs needed other than sports for minority children.
“We have to try to find jobs or mentoring programs,” he said. “How many African Americans or Mexicans actually work at the beach?”
Long Branch Councilwoman Joy Bastelli, who founded United Neighbors, a community group, said in an interview after the meeting that there are options for programs.
“I thought they had valid concerns, and I was trying to help them connect with the resources that are already available,” she said. “They would like the children to interact with the police officers, and for that, we have the National Night Out Against Crime.
“That night was specifically designed for that particular purpose, so children and adults could interact with the police officers in a friendly environment.”
Bastelli also cited the Long Branch Free Public Library programs, and mentoring by Red Bank-based Aslan Youth Ministries. She said she is going to look into finding out more about jobs programs.
Matthews also said the city should find a way to disseminate information about programs other than the Internet, to which Bastelli responded that this is already being done.
“National Night Out, there are physical signs and banners announcing it,” she said. “Anytime a person without a computer would like to access computers, they can do that right at the library with free Internet access.”
Stephen Worsley, who recently formed a partnership with his nonprofit organization Kingdom Fighters Gear-Up and the Long Branch Public Library to start a jobs program, also spoke about employment issues.
“It’s not just recreation, but it’s also employment,” he said. “We had million-dollar construction built within the city, and the people of the community had no part of it.
“Kids make mistakes and then they can’t get employment. It is up to us to create ways for them to have employment.
“The children are our future, and we are losing our future to the streets,” he added. “We need to come up with something to save our kids.”
Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider defended the city from a statement from a resident that Pier Village employs very few Long Branch residents.
“Most of our employees live in Long Branch,” he said. “I don’t agree with that; I don’t think it could be less accurate.
“I know the jobs that I do control, which is City Hall, a very high percentage come from Long Branch. What I’m trying to do right now because of budget concerns is avoid layoffs.”
Rosella Coleman spoke about violence within the city.
“The last child that was killed out here, that could have been my son,” she said. “Our youth have nothing, our youth have nowhere to go.
“We need help so our kids don’t keep dying,” she said. “I don’t mean that we should just throw a basketball or recreation at our kids.
“I want some tutoring, some mentoring, something where they can have some self-esteem about themselves. I don’t want it to just be about sports. Our community needs help, and we are coming to you for that.”
Long Branch Director of Public Safety Al Muolo said the police share the concerns of the citizens.
“These concerns are not restricted to our city alone but are echoed statewide,” he said in an email. “As a police agency, I feel that we offer several excellent programs for young people to get involved with.”
Muolo went on to name some of the programs.
“Throughout the year, PAL boxing, and the Police Explorers are available,” he said. “During the school year ‘GREAT’ [Gang Resistance Education and Training] and DARE [Drug Abuse Resistance Training] are provided in conjunction with the Long Branch school system.
“These programs provide an opportunity for young people and the police to get together on a social basis, rather than when we are responding to calls.”
Muolo also cited a pro-active Juvenile Division, the newly opened Bucky James Community Center, the recreation department, and the jobs offered on the beaches.
Muolo also responded to concerns about violence in the city.
“We unfortunately suffered a recent murder of a young man, which is always tragic, but this was not a random act of violence,” he said. “It can be characterized as an isolated incident.
“Our police agency is always attempting to improve itself, and all in all I truly believe we are doing a good job,” he added. “As with any city, there is always room for improvement, but I’m confident the city is heading in the right direction.”
While many different topics were discussed at the meeting, Bastelli commended the group for how they handled their concerns.
“I was pleased with the meeting. I was pleased to see residents come out and voice their concerns in a respectful way,” she said.
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Residents tell council: Recreation programs are not enough
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
Ajobs initiative and other programs for city youths are lacking in Long Branch, a group of concerned citizens told the City Council last week.
Speaking in turn, members of the ad hoc community group made their points for over an hour during the public participation portion of the July 27 council meeting.
Many of the speakers told the council and city administration that more interaction between the police and residents is needed to resolve certain problems within the community.
“When I was 14 years old, I knew who the police officers were, I had their respect,” resident John Rogers said. “The problem in our community is, there is no respect.
“We need to find solutions for our kids, whether it be vocational programs or some kind of programs where the kids can interact. We need to come up with more.”
Rogers went on to praise the city’s recreation department but said there is little available for children over age 16.
Daryl Coleman followed Rogers by saying that the city has nice parks but needs more indoor activities.
“I just feel as a community member we can do more together,” he said. “Long Branch has more kids walking the streets than any other place besides Asbury Park.
“I don’t want my kid out there in 100- degree weather,” he added. “They have nowhere to go.”
Coleman suggested the city strike a deal to use the schools.
“You can open up the school one day a week and bring whatever security you need,” he said. “I’ll go up there and [perform] the janitor’s cleanup.”
Resident Jonathon Matthews spoke about programs needed other than sports for minority children.
“We have to try to find jobs or mentoring programs,” he said. “How many African Americans or Mexicans actually work at the beach?”
Long Branch Councilwoman Joy Bastelli, who founded United Neighbors, a community group, said in an interview after the meeting that there are options for programs.
“I thought they had valid concerns, and I was trying to help them connect with the resources that are already available,” she said. “They would like the children to interact with the police officers, and for that, we have the National Night Out Against Crime.
“That night was specifically designed for that particular purpose, so children and adults could interact with the police officers in a friendly environment.”
Bastelli also cited the Long Branch Free Public Library programs, and mentoring by Red Bank-based Aslan Youth Ministries. She said she is going to look into finding out more about jobs programs.
Matthews also said the city should find a way to disseminate information about programs other than the Internet, to which Bastelli responded that this is already being done.
“National Night Out, there are physical signs and banners announcing it,” she said. “Anytime a person without a computer would like to access computers, they can do that right at the library with free Internet access.”
Stephen Worsley, who recently formed a partnership with his nonprofit organization Kingdom Fighters Gear-Up and the Long Branch Public Library to start a jobs program, also spoke about employment issues.
“It’s not just recreation, but it’s also employment,” he said. “We had million-dollar construction built within the city, and the people of the community had no part of it.
“Kids make mistakes and then they can’t get employment. It is up to us to create ways for them to have employment.
“The children are our future, and we are losing our future to the streets,” he added. “We need to come up with something to save our kids.”
Long Branch Mayor Adam Schneider defended the city from a statement from a resident that Pier Village employs very few Long Branch residents.
“Most of our employees live in Long Branch,” he said. “I don’t agree with that; I don’t think it could be less accurate.
“I know the jobs that I do control, which is City Hall, a very high percentage come from Long Branch. What I’m trying to do right now because of budget concerns is avoid layoffs.”
Rosella Coleman spoke about violence within the city.
“The last child that was killed out here, that could have been my son,” she said. “Our youth have nothing, our youth have nowhere to go.
“We need help so our kids don’t keep dying,” she said. “I don’t mean that we should just throw a basketball or recreation at our kids.
“I want some tutoring, some mentoring, something where they can have some self-esteem about themselves. I don’t want it to just be about sports. Our community needs help, and we are coming to you for that.”
Long Branch Director of Public Safety Al Muolo said the police share the concerns of the citizens.
“These concerns are not restricted to our city alone but are echoed statewide,” he said in an email. “As a police agency, I feel that we offer several excellent programs for young people to get involved with.”
Muolo went on to name some of the programs.
“Throughout the year, PAL boxing, and the Police Explorers are available,” he said. “During the school year ‘GREAT’ [Gang Resistance Education and Training] and DARE [Drug Abuse Resistance Training] are provided in conjunction with the Long Branch school system.
“These programs provide an opportunity for young people and the police to get together on a social basis, rather than when we are responding to calls.”
Muolo also cited a pro-active Juvenile Division, the newly opened Bucky James Community Center, the recreation department, and the jobs offered on the beaches.
Muolo also responded to concerns about violence in the city.
“We unfortunately suffered a recent murder of a young man, which is always tragic, but this was not a random act of violence,” he said. “It can be characterized as an isolated incident.
“Our police agency is always attempting to improve itself, and all in all I truly believe we are doing a good job,” he added. “As with any city, there is always room for improvement, but I’m confident the city is heading in the right direction.”
While many different topics were discussed at the meeting, Bastelli commended the group for how they handled their concerns.
“I was pleased with the meeting. I was pleased to see residents come out and voice their concerns in a respectful way,” she said.
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L.B. UEZ looks to state to release funding
L.B. UEZ looks to state to release funding
UEZ leaders meet to discuss state of the program
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
Amonth into the fiscal year and the state’s Urban Enterprise Zones (UEZ) have not received funding, and Long Branch’s UEZ director is questioning when the funds will come.
Long Branch UEZ Director Jacob Jones said in an interview Monday that the state had promised to fund 90 percent of the administrative budgets for the state’s 37 UEZ zones, which represents 10 percent of the overall UEZ budgets, but the city has yet to see that money come through.
“Even though the projects were approved, we have not received those funds,” he said. “We haven’t received a penny.
“He [Gov. Chris Christie] promised to do it but he hasn’t done it yet. We are at the mercy of the state, we are waiting for the funds to be released.”
Jones was one of the representatives from many of the state’s 37 UEZ zones who gathered in Long Branch on July 28 to discuss the state of the program.
He explained exactly how UEZ is funded and why the state doesn’t like the program.
“The state doesn’t set budgets for the UEZ, the UEZ actually [funds it] by the sales tax incentive program,” he said. “The state is upset with the UEZ because they see that those tax revenues could be going to the state.”
Jones said that 3.5 percent of the sales tax collected in the UEZ, which represents most of the city’s business districts, goes into a dedicated account for the UEZ.
Jones said that there is about $300,000 in the city’s UEZ administrative account and he used about $150,000 last year. The zone operates on about $500,000 per year, he said.
The Long Branch UEZ has spent nearly $6 million since 1994 on projects, which have included improving parks, resurfacing roads and building facades, supporting redevelopment and purchasing police vehicles, according to Jones.
The administrative account funds staff salaries locally and in the state UEZ office.
Jones explained that Long Branch is able to survive the state’s withholding of funds for the time being but other UEZs throughout the state might not be as lucky.
“We close out our budgets each year in June so we can’t run over,” he said. “We don’t have any funds that we can tap into to keep this year’s program going.
“We are dicey, but fortunately I have other resources in my office that I can keep things going for staff and operations,” he said. “If I was singly just a UEZ office, I would be in trouble.”
The Office of Community and Economic Development also operates out of Jones’ office.
The UEZ meeting, held at city hall, was presided over by Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage, who is chairman of the UEZ Mayors Commission.
Bollwage said that after the state threatened to take the full administrative budget, he has mixed feelings about operating at 90
percent.
“I don’t know whether we won or we lost,” he said. “I guess we won because in March we had nothing.
“We now have some money and administrative money that is 90 percent that will keep it going for another
year,” he added. “I know the governor has spoken to different mayors that said, “I’m in favor of UEZs.
“He has told people that if things turn around, he plans on funding UEZs next year at the full strength.”
Bollwage urged that the UEZ coordinators should continually send in proposals for projects despite not receiving the funds yet.
“I think the position of all of us is that we need to keep sending in proposals,” he said. “We cannot, just because the state says the money’s not there, stop sending in proposals.
“The business community and everybody else has to be aware that this money rightly belongs to business communities,” he added. “If you think it is going to build up surplus in the coming years, it’s not.”
Millville UEZ coordinator Denise Jackson objected to the state’s labeling the UEZ account as surplus.
“Our money is not a surplus, that money is in an account for us to do projects from,” she said. “This was money that was allocated to our projects, we don’t just store money there.”
Asbury Park UEZ Director Tom Gilmour said that the benefits of the UEZ need to be explained to the people making decisions about funding.
“This is not a simple program, it takes time to understand how it works and why it works,” he said. “We need to educate those people that are going to make the decisions right now moving forward.
“Make sure that they understand that we need to be a part of that process,” he added. “We have never been a part of the decision process.
“Shame on us if we don’t step up and make it happen. It’s not one or two zones that are going to carry us, every zone needs to be a part of this.”
Bollwage credited the commission’s frequent meeting and lobbying efforts with keeping the UEZs afloat.
“If we did a study that looks for success in our enterprise zones, there probably isn’t enough paper to print it,” he said.
“The last governor nickeled and dimed us and this governor quartered and dollared us. This is a great group because not only do we do it individually but also collectively.”
Long Branch Business Administrator Howard Woolley joked that before UEZ was started Long Branch was in really poor shape by showing a picture of a closed-down former go-go bar.
“If go-go bars are a sign of urban decay and we couldn’t even keep a go-go bar open, I’ll ask you where we were,” he said. “Since that time, the UEZ has helped us in our redevelopment efforts.
“The UEZ helped us in the planning, the UEZ helped us in the implementation, the UEZ supported the businesses as they have grown in years,” he added. “If you want to praise UEZ, you’ve come to the right place.”
New Jersey’s UEZ program was enacted in 1983, according to the state website. The program was created to foster an economic climate that revitalizes designated urban communities and stimulates their growth by encouraging businesses to develop and create private-sector jobs through public and private investment.
Administered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the UEZ program supports nearly 150,000 full-time jobs and has attracted more than $24 billion in private investment, the website states.
There are almost 7,000 businesses of all sizes and types participating in and benefiting from the advantages of the UEZ program, according to the website. These include a number of tax and other financial incentives. Since the program’s inception, more than 26,000 businesses have enjoyed the program’s benefits.
From the initial 10 zones designated in 1984, the program has grown to 32 zones in 37 municipalities throughout the state. Long Branch and neighboring Asbury Park share a joint zone.
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UEZ leaders meet to discuss state of the program
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
Amonth into the fiscal year and the state’s Urban Enterprise Zones (UEZ) have not received funding, and Long Branch’s UEZ director is questioning when the funds will come.
Long Branch UEZ Director Jacob Jones said in an interview Monday that the state had promised to fund 90 percent of the administrative budgets for the state’s 37 UEZ zones, which represents 10 percent of the overall UEZ budgets, but the city has yet to see that money come through.
“Even though the projects were approved, we have not received those funds,” he said. “We haven’t received a penny.
“He [Gov. Chris Christie] promised to do it but he hasn’t done it yet. We are at the mercy of the state, we are waiting for the funds to be released.”
Jones was one of the representatives from many of the state’s 37 UEZ zones who gathered in Long Branch on July 28 to discuss the state of the program.
He explained exactly how UEZ is funded and why the state doesn’t like the program.
“The state doesn’t set budgets for the UEZ, the UEZ actually [funds it] by the sales tax incentive program,” he said. “The state is upset with the UEZ because they see that those tax revenues could be going to the state.”
Jones said that 3.5 percent of the sales tax collected in the UEZ, which represents most of the city’s business districts, goes into a dedicated account for the UEZ.
Jones said that there is about $300,000 in the city’s UEZ administrative account and he used about $150,000 last year. The zone operates on about $500,000 per year, he said.
The Long Branch UEZ has spent nearly $6 million since 1994 on projects, which have included improving parks, resurfacing roads and building facades, supporting redevelopment and purchasing police vehicles, according to Jones.
The administrative account funds staff salaries locally and in the state UEZ office.
Jones explained that Long Branch is able to survive the state’s withholding of funds for the time being but other UEZs throughout the state might not be as lucky.
“We close out our budgets each year in June so we can’t run over,” he said. “We don’t have any funds that we can tap into to keep this year’s program going.
“We are dicey, but fortunately I have other resources in my office that I can keep things going for staff and operations,” he said. “If I was singly just a UEZ office, I would be in trouble.”
The Office of Community and Economic Development also operates out of Jones’ office.
The UEZ meeting, held at city hall, was presided over by Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage, who is chairman of the UEZ Mayors Commission.
Bollwage said that after the state threatened to take the full administrative budget, he has mixed feelings about operating at 90
percent.
“I don’t know whether we won or we lost,” he said. “I guess we won because in March we had nothing.
“We now have some money and administrative money that is 90 percent that will keep it going for another
year,” he added. “I know the governor has spoken to different mayors that said, “I’m in favor of UEZs.
“He has told people that if things turn around, he plans on funding UEZs next year at the full strength.”
Bollwage urged that the UEZ coordinators should continually send in proposals for projects despite not receiving the funds yet.
“I think the position of all of us is that we need to keep sending in proposals,” he said. “We cannot, just because the state says the money’s not there, stop sending in proposals.
“The business community and everybody else has to be aware that this money rightly belongs to business communities,” he added. “If you think it is going to build up surplus in the coming years, it’s not.”
Millville UEZ coordinator Denise Jackson objected to the state’s labeling the UEZ account as surplus.
“Our money is not a surplus, that money is in an account for us to do projects from,” she said. “This was money that was allocated to our projects, we don’t just store money there.”
Asbury Park UEZ Director Tom Gilmour said that the benefits of the UEZ need to be explained to the people making decisions about funding.
“This is not a simple program, it takes time to understand how it works and why it works,” he said. “We need to educate those people that are going to make the decisions right now moving forward.
“Make sure that they understand that we need to be a part of that process,” he added. “We have never been a part of the decision process.
“Shame on us if we don’t step up and make it happen. It’s not one or two zones that are going to carry us, every zone needs to be a part of this.”
Bollwage credited the commission’s frequent meeting and lobbying efforts with keeping the UEZs afloat.
“If we did a study that looks for success in our enterprise zones, there probably isn’t enough paper to print it,” he said.
“The last governor nickeled and dimed us and this governor quartered and dollared us. This is a great group because not only do we do it individually but also collectively.”
Long Branch Business Administrator Howard Woolley joked that before UEZ was started Long Branch was in really poor shape by showing a picture of a closed-down former go-go bar.
“If go-go bars are a sign of urban decay and we couldn’t even keep a go-go bar open, I’ll ask you where we were,” he said. “Since that time, the UEZ has helped us in our redevelopment efforts.
“The UEZ helped us in the planning, the UEZ helped us in the implementation, the UEZ supported the businesses as they have grown in years,” he added. “If you want to praise UEZ, you’ve come to the right place.”
New Jersey’s UEZ program was enacted in 1983, according to the state website. The program was created to foster an economic climate that revitalizes designated urban communities and stimulates their growth by encouraging businesses to develop and create private-sector jobs through public and private investment.
Administered by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the UEZ program supports nearly 150,000 full-time jobs and has attracted more than $24 billion in private investment, the website states.
There are almost 7,000 businesses of all sizes and types participating in and benefiting from the advantages of the UEZ program, according to the website. These include a number of tax and other financial incentives. Since the program’s inception, more than 26,000 businesses have enjoyed the program’s benefits.
From the initial 10 zones designated in 1984, the program has grown to 32 zones in 37 municipalities throughout the state. Long Branch and neighboring Asbury Park share a joint zone.
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City Council opts not to adopt code of conduct
City Council opts not to adopt code of conduct
Citizens group advocates for open govt., televised meetings
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — With four new members and only one meeting under their belts, the Long Branch City Council has decided against introducing an ordinance to rein in conduct during the public comment portion of council meetings.
A proposed “code of conduct” ordinance modeled after an ordinance in Edison Township never made it to a vote as the council unanimously rejected the idea at the July 27 workshop meeting. The ordinance would have addressed behavior deemed hostile or unruly during the public comment portion of meetings.
City Attorney James Aaron said that the intent of the ordinance would not be to limit free speech.
“We started to look at what other municipalities did, not to reinvent the wheel, not to limit free speech, not to limit how individuals express themselves, but how to control, with some teeth in it, the relationship [between public speakers and the council],” he said.
The issue of controlling the demeanor of residents who comment during the public portion of meetings arose after a speaker was removed from a council meeting following a heated dispute with council President Mary Jane Celli over how much of the five minutes allotted per speaker remained.
Aaron explained the intent behind the proposed ordinance.
“This originally came up just after you were elected,” he told the new council members. “You, as a council, put together a series of statements.”
Currently, a “statement to the public” is read at the beginning of council meetings, which states that comments must be “directly related to the ordinance/resolution under discussion.”
Also, the “council reserves the right to terminate any remarks made by any individual that are rude or in a tone that would incite or engender hostility whereby in the judgment of the council president the meeting may become disruptive.”
The proposed ordinance would have made the statement law.
Councilwoman Joy Bastelli said in an interview that the proposed ordinance would not have limited free speech but allowed the council to restrict improper behavior at the podium.
Councilwoman Kate Billings said that after only one meeting the council should give it more time.
“I think we’ve only done informal speech once, I think we should try to keep doing that before we do something like this,” she said.
Councilman Michael Sirianni agreed with Billings.
“I was all for the statement being informal,” he said. “I’d rather stay on the informal.”
In part, the controversy stems from the previous council’s decision to limit public comment to five minutes per person, a limit vigorously enforced, which frequently was a point of contention between the previous council and a few speakers.
Aaron said that the five-minute rule is the council’s way of controlling meetings.
“You, as a council, have the ability to control meetings, and you control it by virtue of time allocated to individuals,” he said. “You can do it in a manner where you control a meeting to an extent where people do not become unruly or disruptive that would cause the meeting to be disrupted.”
At the meeting following the workshop, the council was praised for their attentiveness.
“You’re talking notes, you’re paying attention, I think we are taking good strides,” resident Michael Bland said.
Bland, who ran unsuccessfully for council, did, however, criticize the municipal officials for being less attentive on the dais.
“How would you feel if someone didn’t look at you?” he asked.
Long Branch Citizens for Good Government founding member Diana Multare praised the council for implementing office hours when two council members will be available to meet with residents individually or as a group.
“I think this is great,” she said. “People can come up and figure out the small problems like garbage collection.”
Before speaking, Multare gave a copy of the group’s manifesto to each member of the council.
The manifesto, or goals of the group, include: ensuring open and transparent government; protecting the interests of citizens; full disclosure of documents; publicized and televised meetings on important issues; and term limits.
Multare noted that the office hours would not replace public participation at council meetings.
“While that has its place, nothing can take the place of what goes on here,” she said. “You have an open assembly where citizens can express their concerns, their ideas, they can challenge the City Council, they can challenge each other.”
Multare said the citizens group is not politically motivated.
“We have been branded as political opponents of the mayor,” she said. “I’d like to emphasize that it wouldn’t make any difference who is the mayor and who are the City Council members.
“We are concerned about process,” she added.
“We do not promote or advocate on issues. As individuals we can do that, but as a group we are about process.”
The council was also presented with a sample ordinance and resolution from resident Vincent LePore that would eliminate the city’s six redevelopment zones.
“You can separate yourself from the past council,” LePore told the new council in urging adoption of the ordinance.
Contact Kenny Walter at
kwalter@gmnews.com.
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Citizens group advocates for open govt., televised meetings
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH — With four new members and only one meeting under their belts, the Long Branch City Council has decided against introducing an ordinance to rein in conduct during the public comment portion of council meetings.
A proposed “code of conduct” ordinance modeled after an ordinance in Edison Township never made it to a vote as the council unanimously rejected the idea at the July 27 workshop meeting. The ordinance would have addressed behavior deemed hostile or unruly during the public comment portion of meetings.
City Attorney James Aaron said that the intent of the ordinance would not be to limit free speech.
“We started to look at what other municipalities did, not to reinvent the wheel, not to limit free speech, not to limit how individuals express themselves, but how to control, with some teeth in it, the relationship [between public speakers and the council],” he said.
The issue of controlling the demeanor of residents who comment during the public portion of meetings arose after a speaker was removed from a council meeting following a heated dispute with council President Mary Jane Celli over how much of the five minutes allotted per speaker remained.
Aaron explained the intent behind the proposed ordinance.
“This originally came up just after you were elected,” he told the new council members. “You, as a council, put together a series of statements.”
Currently, a “statement to the public” is read at the beginning of council meetings, which states that comments must be “directly related to the ordinance/resolution under discussion.”
Also, the “council reserves the right to terminate any remarks made by any individual that are rude or in a tone that would incite or engender hostility whereby in the judgment of the council president the meeting may become disruptive.”
The proposed ordinance would have made the statement law.
Councilwoman Joy Bastelli said in an interview that the proposed ordinance would not have limited free speech but allowed the council to restrict improper behavior at the podium.
Councilwoman Kate Billings said that after only one meeting the council should give it more time.
“I think we’ve only done informal speech once, I think we should try to keep doing that before we do something like this,” she said.
Councilman Michael Sirianni agreed with Billings.
“I was all for the statement being informal,” he said. “I’d rather stay on the informal.”
In part, the controversy stems from the previous council’s decision to limit public comment to five minutes per person, a limit vigorously enforced, which frequently was a point of contention between the previous council and a few speakers.
Aaron said that the five-minute rule is the council’s way of controlling meetings.
“You, as a council, have the ability to control meetings, and you control it by virtue of time allocated to individuals,” he said. “You can do it in a manner where you control a meeting to an extent where people do not become unruly or disruptive that would cause the meeting to be disrupted.”
At the meeting following the workshop, the council was praised for their attentiveness.
“You’re talking notes, you’re paying attention, I think we are taking good strides,” resident Michael Bland said.
Bland, who ran unsuccessfully for council, did, however, criticize the municipal officials for being less attentive on the dais.
“How would you feel if someone didn’t look at you?” he asked.
Long Branch Citizens for Good Government founding member Diana Multare praised the council for implementing office hours when two council members will be available to meet with residents individually or as a group.
“I think this is great,” she said. “People can come up and figure out the small problems like garbage collection.”
Before speaking, Multare gave a copy of the group’s manifesto to each member of the council.
The manifesto, or goals of the group, include: ensuring open and transparent government; protecting the interests of citizens; full disclosure of documents; publicized and televised meetings on important issues; and term limits.
Multare noted that the office hours would not replace public participation at council meetings.
“While that has its place, nothing can take the place of what goes on here,” she said. “You have an open assembly where citizens can express their concerns, their ideas, they can challenge the City Council, they can challenge each other.”
Multare said the citizens group is not politically motivated.
“We have been branded as political opponents of the mayor,” she said. “I’d like to emphasize that it wouldn’t make any difference who is the mayor and who are the City Council members.
“We are concerned about process,” she added.
“We do not promote or advocate on issues. As individuals we can do that, but as a group we are about process.”
The council was also presented with a sample ordinance and resolution from resident Vincent LePore that would eliminate the city’s six redevelopment zones.
“You can separate yourself from the past council,” LePore told the new council in urging adoption of the ordinance.
Contact Kenny Walter at
kwalter@gmnews.com.
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Coastal Monmouth Plan outlines blueprint for region's future
Coastal Monmouth Plan outlines blueprint for region’s future
Plan topics: Transit, housing, economy and environment
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
The Monmouth County Planning Board’s Coastal Monmouth Plan looks to create a year-round focus for the coastal region.
“The vision is to revitalize communities and focus on year-round activity for the Shore,” said Marcia Shiffman, of Maser Consulting, who delivered a presentation on the plan at a special meeting of the county Planning Board in Freehold on July 19. The objective is to look at and promote “the unique cultural resources of the region,” she said.
“Really the goal was to look beyond seasonal businesses and look to attract quality businesses that can operate beyond the summer season,” she added.
While a vote was scheduled on the agenda, the Planning Board tabled the vote until the August meeting because not all members felt they were able to properly review the document, which is an element of the Monmouth County Growth Management Guide.
After a brief presentation and a public hearing, the board decided to hold off on the vote on the plan that will affect 30 of the county’s 53 municipalities.
According to Shiffman, the plan would impact 40 percent of the county population and 25 percent of its land area. The municipalities within the scope of the plan include Eatontown, Little Silver, Long Branch, Monmouth Beach, Ocean, Oceanport, Red Bank, Rumson, Sea Bright and West Long Branch.
The plan has a list of objectives, including to preserve and enhance the character and quality of life for coastal Monmouth; to identify and assess future land use; to identify development and revitalization opportunities; to identify and address strategies to aid preservation of land; to identify transportation strategies; and to identify and assess public infrastructure.
Shiffman said the four major topics within the plan are transportation, housing, the economy and the environment.
She also explained the goal of the plan.
“The goal of the plan was to create a strategy for the region while being aware of unique characteristics of the region,” she said. “These visions are really what the plan is focused on.”
The county website also discusses the project.
“Each municipality has its own distinct community character,” the site states. “Many are long-established ‘Shore’ towns, historically associated with summer tourism, which are now being developed and redeveloped to accommodate thousands of new, permanent residents. Other communities, which are more inland, are also engaged in redevelopment and revitalization.
“The challenge for these communities and for the state: create a plan for development and renewal of all municipalities, both affluent and less affluent, to meet market demands while directing growth in a sustainable manner that considers environmental resources and community character.”
Shiffman said it would be important that after the plan is adopted, the regions create their own subcommittees.
“One of the important implementation strategies is to create the coastal Monmouth region subcommittees,” she said. “This will help address the issues identified in the plan.
“The plan tries to provide model ordinances, model outlines, model regulations that can be used in the future.”
Planning Board member Vincent Domidion criticized the plan for not addressing the fact that some of the smaller municipalities do not wish to have a lot of development.
“A very large number of these towns really want to stay exactly as they are,” he said. “They don’t want to be revitalized into anything.
“It is hard to imagine an Interlaken being turned into anything other than what it is,” he added.
Domidion said that the large-scale developments provide entertainment for the smaller residential communities.
“The reason this is problematic to me is we do have communities like Long Branch and Asbury Park that are legitimate centers, but you can’t have 30 towns as all centers,” he said. “Most of these towns provide the market that these centers are going to market to.
“Ultimately the municipalities are going to decide through their zoning. We can’t do everything everywhere, especially with these little towns that are already fully developed.”
The plan makes suggestions to enhance arts around the county, including fostering community arts development, increasing arts education opportunities, and creating local arts councils.
Shiffman said the plan also includes environmental suggestions for coastal communities.
“There are recommendations in the plan on how to improve water quality and the sedimentation of lakes and rivers,” she said.
The local impacted and impaired waterways listed include Franklin Lake in West Long Branch, the Shrewsbury River, and Whale Pond Brook in Ocean Township.
The plan also labels 11 municipalities as being deficient in open space, including Red Bank, Rumson and Sea Bright.
The plan identifies flood-prone areas and stresses the importance of beach replenishment after storms.
It also stresses the importance of public transportation such as bus, train and ferry services, as well as pedestrian and bike routes within coastal communities.
Shiffman explained what will happen, moving forward.
“Our next steps are to approve the plan, to distribute a newsletter, to finalize the plan and publish the plan,” she said.
The next Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 16. The Coastal Monmouth Plan can be viewed at http://co.monmouth. nj.us/page.aspx?Id=3163.
Contact Kenny Walter at
kwalter@gmnews.com.
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Plan topics: Transit, housing, economy and environment
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
The Monmouth County Planning Board’s Coastal Monmouth Plan looks to create a year-round focus for the coastal region.
“The vision is to revitalize communities and focus on year-round activity for the Shore,” said Marcia Shiffman, of Maser Consulting, who delivered a presentation on the plan at a special meeting of the county Planning Board in Freehold on July 19. The objective is to look at and promote “the unique cultural resources of the region,” she said.
“Really the goal was to look beyond seasonal businesses and look to attract quality businesses that can operate beyond the summer season,” she added.
While a vote was scheduled on the agenda, the Planning Board tabled the vote until the August meeting because not all members felt they were able to properly review the document, which is an element of the Monmouth County Growth Management Guide.
After a brief presentation and a public hearing, the board decided to hold off on the vote on the plan that will affect 30 of the county’s 53 municipalities.
According to Shiffman, the plan would impact 40 percent of the county population and 25 percent of its land area. The municipalities within the scope of the plan include Eatontown, Little Silver, Long Branch, Monmouth Beach, Ocean, Oceanport, Red Bank, Rumson, Sea Bright and West Long Branch.
The plan has a list of objectives, including to preserve and enhance the character and quality of life for coastal Monmouth; to identify and assess future land use; to identify development and revitalization opportunities; to identify and address strategies to aid preservation of land; to identify transportation strategies; and to identify and assess public infrastructure.
Shiffman said the four major topics within the plan are transportation, housing, the economy and the environment.
She also explained the goal of the plan.
“The goal of the plan was to create a strategy for the region while being aware of unique characteristics of the region,” she said. “These visions are really what the plan is focused on.”
The county website also discusses the project.
“Each municipality has its own distinct community character,” the site states. “Many are long-established ‘Shore’ towns, historically associated with summer tourism, which are now being developed and redeveloped to accommodate thousands of new, permanent residents. Other communities, which are more inland, are also engaged in redevelopment and revitalization.
“The challenge for these communities and for the state: create a plan for development and renewal of all municipalities, both affluent and less affluent, to meet market demands while directing growth in a sustainable manner that considers environmental resources and community character.”
Shiffman said it would be important that after the plan is adopted, the regions create their own subcommittees.
“One of the important implementation strategies is to create the coastal Monmouth region subcommittees,” she said. “This will help address the issues identified in the plan.
“The plan tries to provide model ordinances, model outlines, model regulations that can be used in the future.”
Planning Board member Vincent Domidion criticized the plan for not addressing the fact that some of the smaller municipalities do not wish to have a lot of development.
“A very large number of these towns really want to stay exactly as they are,” he said. “They don’t want to be revitalized into anything.
“It is hard to imagine an Interlaken being turned into anything other than what it is,” he added.
Domidion said that the large-scale developments provide entertainment for the smaller residential communities.
“The reason this is problematic to me is we do have communities like Long Branch and Asbury Park that are legitimate centers, but you can’t have 30 towns as all centers,” he said. “Most of these towns provide the market that these centers are going to market to.
“Ultimately the municipalities are going to decide through their zoning. We can’t do everything everywhere, especially with these little towns that are already fully developed.”
The plan makes suggestions to enhance arts around the county, including fostering community arts development, increasing arts education opportunities, and creating local arts councils.
Shiffman said the plan also includes environmental suggestions for coastal communities.
“There are recommendations in the plan on how to improve water quality and the sedimentation of lakes and rivers,” she said.
The local impacted and impaired waterways listed include Franklin Lake in West Long Branch, the Shrewsbury River, and Whale Pond Brook in Ocean Township.
The plan also labels 11 municipalities as being deficient in open space, including Red Bank, Rumson and Sea Bright.
The plan identifies flood-prone areas and stresses the importance of beach replenishment after storms.
It also stresses the importance of public transportation such as bus, train and ferry services, as well as pedestrian and bike routes within coastal communities.
Shiffman explained what will happen, moving forward.
“Our next steps are to approve the plan, to distribute a newsletter, to finalize the plan and publish the plan,” she said.
The next Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 16. The Coastal Monmouth Plan can be viewed at http://co.monmouth. nj.us/page.aspx?Id=3163.
Contact Kenny Walter at
kwalter@gmnews.com.
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Saturday, September 25, 2010
Cell tower application already drawing fire
Cell tower application already drawing fire
Variance sought to erect tower on church property
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
TINTON FALLS — For the first time since 2007, the borough Zoning Board of Adjustment will hear an application for a proposed cell phone tower, an application that already has garnered a swell of opposition.
The testimony for the use variance that would allow the tower kicked off at the July 15 Zoning Board meeting in the first of what will likely be several hearings.
The T-Mobile Northeast application is slated for development at the Church of Christ property at 312 Hance Ave.
The first expert witness was Daniel Collins, Pinnacle Telecom Group, Cedar Knolls, who testified that the proposed tower would meet all federal and state standards for emissions.
“The standard itself is very conservative; it allows only a very low amount of radio energy,” he said. “We are even more conservative than the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] recommends.
“Our numbers are exceedingly conservative. We plug in all forms of conservative figures in order to get the absolute worst possible case.”
Collins explained that the FCC subjects all cell phone towers to reviews.
“The FCC requires that an assessment of compliance be made for new antenna sites and for existing antenna sites where modifications or additions are made,” he said. “The FCC at any time can request proof of compliance and the carrier must produce them.”
Collins also said that the radio frequency levels attributed to cell phone towers are less than various kitchen appliances, including the refrigerator.
Collins also said that while the cell phone tower is going to be erected for TMobile, other area carriers could lease antennas on the tower.
“You could put all five carriers that are licensed to operate in this market, and it still would not cause the [radiation level] you would find in your kitchen,” he said.
Collins made a hypothetical guess that there could be as many as 42 antennas on the proposed tower.
He also said that because the system is constantly monitored, the tower emission levels would remain constant over time.
“This is an electrical system and device like any other,” he said. “If you put a light bulb in your house, over the course of time it deteriorates and eventually stops working.
“It never gets higher at any time,” he said. “They won’t increase or decrease; they will pretty much stay the same.
“As the system ages, it is monitored 24 hours a day; so if they sense something, they replace the part that is causing it to operate at lower efficiency.”
The room was filled with residents opposing the tower, who will likely testify against the proposal at a later meeting.
Resident Allison DeVito wrote in an email about her opposition to the cell tower.
“The church actually houses a preschool and there is a pre-school at the synagogue next to it,” she wrote. “In addition, the property is in a residential neighborhood and is a block from the Swimming River School.”
Opposition to the tower spilled over into the July 20 Borough Council meeting when Councilwoman NancyAnn Fama came armed with a petition.
“I would encourage anybody to get involved with this issue,” she said. “Cell phone towers are needed and important, but surely they do not need to be placed in residential areas and at schools near children.
“This is how democracy works; if you don’t like something, you need to have your voice heard.”
Also expected to testify on the behalf of T-Mobile are a site engineer, a radio frequency engineer and a professional planner.
A 2007 application by the Board of Education to build a cell tower at Mahala F. Atchison School drew widespread opposition and was never built.
The next Zoning Board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 5, but there is no indication at present whether the T-Mobile application will be on the agenda.
Contact Kenny Walter at
kwalter@gmnews.com.
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Variance sought to erect tower on church property
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
TINTON FALLS — For the first time since 2007, the borough Zoning Board of Adjustment will hear an application for a proposed cell phone tower, an application that already has garnered a swell of opposition.
The testimony for the use variance that would allow the tower kicked off at the July 15 Zoning Board meeting in the first of what will likely be several hearings.
The T-Mobile Northeast application is slated for development at the Church of Christ property at 312 Hance Ave.
The first expert witness was Daniel Collins, Pinnacle Telecom Group, Cedar Knolls, who testified that the proposed tower would meet all federal and state standards for emissions.
“The standard itself is very conservative; it allows only a very low amount of radio energy,” he said. “We are even more conservative than the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] recommends.
“Our numbers are exceedingly conservative. We plug in all forms of conservative figures in order to get the absolute worst possible case.”
Collins explained that the FCC subjects all cell phone towers to reviews.
“The FCC requires that an assessment of compliance be made for new antenna sites and for existing antenna sites where modifications or additions are made,” he said. “The FCC at any time can request proof of compliance and the carrier must produce them.”
Collins also said that the radio frequency levels attributed to cell phone towers are less than various kitchen appliances, including the refrigerator.
Collins also said that while the cell phone tower is going to be erected for TMobile, other area carriers could lease antennas on the tower.
“You could put all five carriers that are licensed to operate in this market, and it still would not cause the [radiation level] you would find in your kitchen,” he said.
Collins made a hypothetical guess that there could be as many as 42 antennas on the proposed tower.
He also said that because the system is constantly monitored, the tower emission levels would remain constant over time.
“This is an electrical system and device like any other,” he said. “If you put a light bulb in your house, over the course of time it deteriorates and eventually stops working.
“It never gets higher at any time,” he said. “They won’t increase or decrease; they will pretty much stay the same.
“As the system ages, it is monitored 24 hours a day; so if they sense something, they replace the part that is causing it to operate at lower efficiency.”
The room was filled with residents opposing the tower, who will likely testify against the proposal at a later meeting.
Resident Allison DeVito wrote in an email about her opposition to the cell tower.
“The church actually houses a preschool and there is a pre-school at the synagogue next to it,” she wrote. “In addition, the property is in a residential neighborhood and is a block from the Swimming River School.”
Opposition to the tower spilled over into the July 20 Borough Council meeting when Councilwoman NancyAnn Fama came armed with a petition.
“I would encourage anybody to get involved with this issue,” she said. “Cell phone towers are needed and important, but surely they do not need to be placed in residential areas and at schools near children.
“This is how democracy works; if you don’t like something, you need to have your voice heard.”
Also expected to testify on the behalf of T-Mobile are a site engineer, a radio frequency engineer and a professional planner.
A 2007 application by the Board of Education to build a cell tower at Mahala F. Atchison School drew widespread opposition and was never built.
The next Zoning Board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 5, but there is no indication at present whether the T-Mobile application will be on the agenda.
Contact Kenny Walter at
kwalter@gmnews.com.
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Officials react to gaming industry report
Officials react to gaming industry report
Report recommends four options for future of Monmouth Park
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
Opinion was divided last week among Oceanport officials about the impact of a state commission report on the future of Monmouth Park racetrack.
The Hanson Report recommends adding harness racing at Monmouth Park racetrack in Oceanport. The Hanson Report recommends adding harness racing at Monmouth Park racetrack in Oceanport. The Hanson Report, released July 21 by Gov. Chris Christie at dual press conferences, included a series of options and recommendations for the future of the state’s gaming industry at Monmouth Park, the Meadowlands and Atlantic City casinos.
The 29-page report, prepared by a special advisory commission led by Jon Hanson, former chairman of the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, which owns and operates Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands, listed four options for racing in New Jersey: eliminating harness racing at the Meadowlands; add harness racing to Monmouth Park; lease the Meadowlands to the standardbred horsemen; or privatize both Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands.
A new racing schedule has boosted attendance at Monmouth Park. A new racing schedule has boosted attendance at Monmouth Park. Oceanport Councilman Gerald Briscione said none of the four options are good options.
“I think they are all bad,” he said. “I think all of them create a situation that is going to make Monmouth [Park] a lesser facility, a lesser operation.
“This is a decision made by Trenton in which we have no [input] and no control over,” he added. “I think it’s a slap in the face to the local racing officials in Monmouth Park.”
However, Councilman Joseph Irace sees the report’s impact on Oceanport as positive, and singled out parts of the report that paint Monmouth Park as a historic landmark.
“The part I really like is that it specifically mentions the historic landmark status in the eyes of the public,” he said. “When I read the report, I was very optimistic with the way Monmouth Park comes out.”
The report notes that a 50-day summer meet with a $1 million-a-day purse was initiated this season at Monmouth Park.
“The commission believes that this new arrangement will result in higher-quality horses and major stables being attracted, with the result of higher attendance.”
The report calls the plan “one of the most significant experiments in thoroughbred racing” and one that “should lead to a better future for thoroughbred racing in this state.”
However, the commission notes that the changes at Monmouth “will not be enough to save New Jersey’s racing industry.”
Recommendations for the racing industry include: elimination of the current statutory required number of race days; that off-track wagering (OTW) legislation be amended to make locating facilities easier while still respecting the local planning process; and more flexibility for the racing commission to control the number of racing days.
Contrary to proponents of adding gaming at racetracks, creating “racinos,” the report states: “The idea has a number of drawbacks: 1. Such a move would likely require amending the state Constitution. 2. The move would take several years to accomplish, and time is already of essence for the racing industry. 3. The existence of casinos, racinos and slot machines in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York further exacer- bates the problem.”
Among the report’s assumptions on which the findings are based is the claim that “the Meadowlands no longer resonates as a viable entertainment option … except on major race days.” But “Monmouth Park has established itself as a viable summertime family entertainment option that appeals to a broader segment of the public than just big bettors.”
State Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-12th District) concurred.
“No question about it, [Monmouth Park] is an enormous value for the citizens of Oceanport, and I think the citizens truly do appreciate having that park in their backyard, especially this year. If you’ve been there on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, there’s really a lot of electricity.
“There’s a lot of energy at that place. You see exactly what it’s supposed to be: a beautiful Shore destination where you can watch the horses run and have a good family day out,” said Beck, who was a member of the Governor’s Commission on the Horse Racing Industry under former Gov. Jon Corzine.
Irace noted that Monmouth Park has taken steps to expand as a venue in recent years, including hosting the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Festival and Vans Warped Tour.
“I think the state and the people running the racetrack recognize that there need to be things other than horse racing to attract people,” he said.
“It [Vans Warped Tour] was something that shows that venue can be used yearround for things other than horse racing,” he added. “There is no reason why they can’t run more concerts there or maybe different restaurants or different sports bar attractions at some point to generate more people there.
“It is a building that remains dark eight months a year, so why can’t we bring in more things?”
Irace also said privatizing the track would not necessarily be a bad move.
“Monmouth Park pays us 25 percent of our tax base, so we have to make sure that’s protected in any type of deal,” he said.
Briscione said he has doubts about market would be economically viable.
He went on to criticize the state for not allowing slot machines at the Meadowlands, which he said would help fund purses at Monmouth Park.
“Everyone thought that source of funding could come from two places: it could come from continued casino subsidies, because they haven’t let New Jersey tracks operate racinos, because of the fear that would somehow hurt Atlantic City; or allowing a casino in the Meadowlands,” he said. “They categorically said no casino in the Meadowlands.
“A racino there would provide a permanent purse-funding solution,” he said. “It would keep North Jersey residents from going to Yonkers and Aqueduct and racinos in Pennsylvania.”
Irace also said that he was in favor of a racino at both Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands, but his biggest concern is ensuring that Monmouth Park would stay open.
Irace prefers the option of the state allowing Monmouth Park to operate as is, and he said he is concerned about adding harness racing, because there is already harness racing at Freehold Raceway.
Briscione also was concerned by the cost of adding harness racing; according to the report, a front paddock would have to be added at Monmouth Park for an estimated cost of $8 million to $12 million. Other costs would include additional winterization and lighting.
Briscione was critical of the report’s focus on revitalizing the gaming industry in Atlantic City.
“You would think the emphasis would be on developing a synergy between the two industries to create jobs and maintain open space,” he said. “Unfortunately, it seems that the state wants to promote the casino interest at the expense of the horse racing industry.”
Beck was also critical of the state’s refusal to allow slot machines at racetracks.
“At the moment, as the governor acknowledged, these are just recommendations; he hasn’t made any decisions yet, so it’s preliminary,” she said.
“I think the glaring omission in the report is that there is no discussion of convenience gaming [slots and table games.]
“I think there’s a certain irony because today, Harrah’s at Chester Downs, Pennsylvania, is cutting the ribbon on their table games while they are standing here in New Jersey opposing table games.”
She said revenues from slots and table games could be used to fund improvements to Atlantic City and the horse racing industry.
“The recommendations obviously need to be reviewed and vetted. I think the horse racing industry has acknowledged that it needs to change its business model, and Monmouth Park has embraced significant change this year and it has been wildly successful.
Beck contends that Monmouth Park’s new purse structure, the largest in North America, has revived interest in horse racing.
“We have seen over $200 million bet in 2010 compared to $94 million bet last year, so the interest in horse racing, when it’s quality racing, exists, and it can be a successful business,” she said.
Monmouth Park spokesman John Heims said attendance is also up 12.5 percent this season.
Beck said that privatizing the track is something that has been discussed.
“I think you’re going to see an effort to seek private investment in the track, particularly in light of the fact that we had such a successful season this year,” she said.
“There’s nothing wrong with seeking private investment; it’s something we’ve suggested before.”
According to Beck, horse racing is a $4 billion industry in New Jersey that provides the garden state with 13,000 jobs and 200,000 acres of open space through horse farms.
Beck said that initial reactions claiming that Monmouth Park could be closed were inaccurate.
“The governor made no reference to that at all. He said just the opposite, that he would like to see the horse racing industry survive, but obviously we need to revisit the business model, and I couldn’t agree with him more.”
Irace said the borough considers Monmouth Park as vital because it provides jobs to several industries and provides open space for the borough.
He acknowledged that he was concerned about the impact of the Hanson Report prior to its release.
“I was worried because you never know when you go into these things,” he said. “I think it was as good as we could have hoped for.”
According to the report, the next steps will include creating a master plan for the horse racing industry and new legislation regulating the industry.
Oceanport Mayor Michael Mahon confirmed that borough officials would meet this week to discuss the report as part of Oceanport’s newly formed Monmouth Park Task Force.
Staff Writer Andrew Davison contributed to this story.
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Report recommends four options for future of Monmouth Park
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
Opinion was divided last week among Oceanport officials about the impact of a state commission report on the future of Monmouth Park racetrack.
The Hanson Report recommends adding harness racing at Monmouth Park racetrack in Oceanport. The Hanson Report recommends adding harness racing at Monmouth Park racetrack in Oceanport. The Hanson Report, released July 21 by Gov. Chris Christie at dual press conferences, included a series of options and recommendations for the future of the state’s gaming industry at Monmouth Park, the Meadowlands and Atlantic City casinos.
The 29-page report, prepared by a special advisory commission led by Jon Hanson, former chairman of the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority, which owns and operates Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands, listed four options for racing in New Jersey: eliminating harness racing at the Meadowlands; add harness racing to Monmouth Park; lease the Meadowlands to the standardbred horsemen; or privatize both Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands.
A new racing schedule has boosted attendance at Monmouth Park. A new racing schedule has boosted attendance at Monmouth Park. Oceanport Councilman Gerald Briscione said none of the four options are good options.
“I think they are all bad,” he said. “I think all of them create a situation that is going to make Monmouth [Park] a lesser facility, a lesser operation.
“This is a decision made by Trenton in which we have no [input] and no control over,” he added. “I think it’s a slap in the face to the local racing officials in Monmouth Park.”
However, Councilman Joseph Irace sees the report’s impact on Oceanport as positive, and singled out parts of the report that paint Monmouth Park as a historic landmark.
“The part I really like is that it specifically mentions the historic landmark status in the eyes of the public,” he said. “When I read the report, I was very optimistic with the way Monmouth Park comes out.”
The report notes that a 50-day summer meet with a $1 million-a-day purse was initiated this season at Monmouth Park.
“The commission believes that this new arrangement will result in higher-quality horses and major stables being attracted, with the result of higher attendance.”
The report calls the plan “one of the most significant experiments in thoroughbred racing” and one that “should lead to a better future for thoroughbred racing in this state.”
However, the commission notes that the changes at Monmouth “will not be enough to save New Jersey’s racing industry.”
Recommendations for the racing industry include: elimination of the current statutory required number of race days; that off-track wagering (OTW) legislation be amended to make locating facilities easier while still respecting the local planning process; and more flexibility for the racing commission to control the number of racing days.
Contrary to proponents of adding gaming at racetracks, creating “racinos,” the report states: “The idea has a number of drawbacks: 1. Such a move would likely require amending the state Constitution. 2. The move would take several years to accomplish, and time is already of essence for the racing industry. 3. The existence of casinos, racinos and slot machines in Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York further exacer- bates the problem.”
Among the report’s assumptions on which the findings are based is the claim that “the Meadowlands no longer resonates as a viable entertainment option … except on major race days.” But “Monmouth Park has established itself as a viable summertime family entertainment option that appeals to a broader segment of the public than just big bettors.”
State Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-12th District) concurred.
“No question about it, [Monmouth Park] is an enormous value for the citizens of Oceanport, and I think the citizens truly do appreciate having that park in their backyard, especially this year. If you’ve been there on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, there’s really a lot of electricity.
“There’s a lot of energy at that place. You see exactly what it’s supposed to be: a beautiful Shore destination where you can watch the horses run and have a good family day out,” said Beck, who was a member of the Governor’s Commission on the Horse Racing Industry under former Gov. Jon Corzine.
Irace noted that Monmouth Park has taken steps to expand as a venue in recent years, including hosting the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Festival and Vans Warped Tour.
“I think the state and the people running the racetrack recognize that there need to be things other than horse racing to attract people,” he said.
“It [Vans Warped Tour] was something that shows that venue can be used yearround for things other than horse racing,” he added. “There is no reason why they can’t run more concerts there or maybe different restaurants or different sports bar attractions at some point to generate more people there.
“It is a building that remains dark eight months a year, so why can’t we bring in more things?”
Irace also said privatizing the track would not necessarily be a bad move.
“Monmouth Park pays us 25 percent of our tax base, so we have to make sure that’s protected in any type of deal,” he said.
Briscione said he has doubts about market would be economically viable.
He went on to criticize the state for not allowing slot machines at the Meadowlands, which he said would help fund purses at Monmouth Park.
“Everyone thought that source of funding could come from two places: it could come from continued casino subsidies, because they haven’t let New Jersey tracks operate racinos, because of the fear that would somehow hurt Atlantic City; or allowing a casino in the Meadowlands,” he said. “They categorically said no casino in the Meadowlands.
“A racino there would provide a permanent purse-funding solution,” he said. “It would keep North Jersey residents from going to Yonkers and Aqueduct and racinos in Pennsylvania.”
Irace also said that he was in favor of a racino at both Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands, but his biggest concern is ensuring that Monmouth Park would stay open.
Irace prefers the option of the state allowing Monmouth Park to operate as is, and he said he is concerned about adding harness racing, because there is already harness racing at Freehold Raceway.
Briscione also was concerned by the cost of adding harness racing; according to the report, a front paddock would have to be added at Monmouth Park for an estimated cost of $8 million to $12 million. Other costs would include additional winterization and lighting.
Briscione was critical of the report’s focus on revitalizing the gaming industry in Atlantic City.
“You would think the emphasis would be on developing a synergy between the two industries to create jobs and maintain open space,” he said. “Unfortunately, it seems that the state wants to promote the casino interest at the expense of the horse racing industry.”
Beck was also critical of the state’s refusal to allow slot machines at racetracks.
“At the moment, as the governor acknowledged, these are just recommendations; he hasn’t made any decisions yet, so it’s preliminary,” she said.
“I think the glaring omission in the report is that there is no discussion of convenience gaming [slots and table games.]
“I think there’s a certain irony because today, Harrah’s at Chester Downs, Pennsylvania, is cutting the ribbon on their table games while they are standing here in New Jersey opposing table games.”
She said revenues from slots and table games could be used to fund improvements to Atlantic City and the horse racing industry.
“The recommendations obviously need to be reviewed and vetted. I think the horse racing industry has acknowledged that it needs to change its business model, and Monmouth Park has embraced significant change this year and it has been wildly successful.
Beck contends that Monmouth Park’s new purse structure, the largest in North America, has revived interest in horse racing.
“We have seen over $200 million bet in 2010 compared to $94 million bet last year, so the interest in horse racing, when it’s quality racing, exists, and it can be a successful business,” she said.
Monmouth Park spokesman John Heims said attendance is also up 12.5 percent this season.
Beck said that privatizing the track is something that has been discussed.
“I think you’re going to see an effort to seek private investment in the track, particularly in light of the fact that we had such a successful season this year,” she said.
“There’s nothing wrong with seeking private investment; it’s something we’ve suggested before.”
According to Beck, horse racing is a $4 billion industry in New Jersey that provides the garden state with 13,000 jobs and 200,000 acres of open space through horse farms.
Beck said that initial reactions claiming that Monmouth Park could be closed were inaccurate.
“The governor made no reference to that at all. He said just the opposite, that he would like to see the horse racing industry survive, but obviously we need to revisit the business model, and I couldn’t agree with him more.”
Irace said the borough considers Monmouth Park as vital because it provides jobs to several industries and provides open space for the borough.
He acknowledged that he was concerned about the impact of the Hanson Report prior to its release.
“I was worried because you never know when you go into these things,” he said. “I think it was as good as we could have hoped for.”
According to the report, the next steps will include creating a master plan for the horse racing industry and new legislation regulating the industry.
Oceanport Mayor Michael Mahon confirmed that borough officials would meet this week to discuss the report as part of Oceanport’s newly formed Monmouth Park Task Force.
Staff Writer Andrew Davison contributed to this story.
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Coastal Monmouth Plan outlines blueprint for region's future
Coastal Monmouth Plan outlines blueprint for region’s future
Plan topics: Transit, housing, economy and environment
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
The Monmouth County Planning Board’s Coastal Monmouth Plan looks to create a year-round focus for the coastal region.
“The vision is to revitalize communities and focus on year-round activity for the Shore,” said Marcia Shiffman, of Maser Consulting, who delivered a presentation on the plan at a special meeting of the county Planning Board in Freehold on July 19. The objective is to look at and promote “the unique cultural resources of the region,” she said.
“Really the goal was to look beyond seasonal businesses and look to attract quality businesses that can operate beyond the summer season,” she added.
While a vote was scheduled on the agenda, the Planning Board tabled the vote until the August meeting because not all members felt they were able to properly review the document, which is an element of the Monmouth County Growth Management Guide.
After a brief presentation and a public hearing, the board decided to hold off on the vote on the plan that will affect 30 of the county’s 53 municipalities.
According to Shiffman, the plan would impact 40 percent of the county population and 25 percent of its land area. The municipalities within the scope of the plan include Eatontown, Little Silver, Long Branch, Monmouth Beach, Ocean, Oceanport, Red Bank, Rumson, Sea Bright and West Long Branch.
The plan has a list of objectives, including to preserve and enhance the character and quality of life for coastal Monmouth; to identify and assess future land use; to identify development and revitalization opportunities; to identify and address strategies to aid preservation of land; to identify transportation strategies; and to identify and assess public infrastructure.
Shiffman said the four major topics within the plan are transportation, housing, the economy and the environment.
She also explained the goal of the plan.
“The goal of the plan was to create a strategy for the region while being aware of unique characteristics of the region,” she said. “These visions are really what the plan is focused on.”
The county website also discusses the project.
“Each municipality has its own distinct community character,” the site states. “Many are long-established ‘Shore’ towns, historically associated with summer tourism, which are now being developed and redeveloped to accommodate thousands of new, permanent residents. Other communities, which are more inland, are also engaged in redevelopment and revitalization.
“The challenge for these communities and for the state: create a plan for development and renewal of all municipalities, both affluent and less affluent, to meet market demands while directing growth in a sustainable manner that considers environmental resources and community character.”
Shiffman said it would be important that after the plan is adopted, the regions create their own subcommittees.
“One of the important implementation strategies is to create the coastal Monmouth region subcommittees,” she said. “This will help address the issues identified in the plan.
“The plan tries to provide model ordinances, model outlines, model regulations that can be used in the future.”
Planning Board member Vincent Domidion criticized the plan for not addressing the fact that some of the smaller municipalities do not wish to have a lot of development.
“A very large number of these towns really want to stay exactly as they are,” he said. “They don’t want to be revitalized into anything.
“It is hard to imagine an Interlaken being turned into anything other than what it is,” he added.
Domidion said that the large-scale developments provide entertainment for the smaller residential communities.
“The reason this is problematic to me is we do have communities like Long Branch and Asbury Park that are legitimate centers, but you can’t have 30 towns as all centers,” he said. “Most of these towns provide the market that these centers are going to market to.
“Ultimately the municipalities are going to decide through their zoning. We can’t do everything everywhere, especially with these little towns that are already fully developed.”
The plan makes suggestions to enhance arts around the county, including fostering community arts development, increasing arts education opportunities, and creating local arts councils.
Shiffman said the plan also includes environmental suggestions for coastal communities.
“There are recommendations in the plan on how to improve water quality and the sedimentation of lakes and rivers,” she said.
The local impacted and impaired waterways listed include Franklin Lake in West Long Branch, the Shrewsbury River, and Whale Pond Brook in Ocean Township.
The plan also labels 11 municipalities as being deficient in open space, including Red Bank, Rumson and Sea Bright.
The plan identifies flood-prone areas and stresses the importance of beach replenishment after storms.
It also stresses the importance of public transportation such as bus, train and ferry services, as well as pedestrian and bike routes within coastal communities.
Shiffman explained what will happen, moving forward.
“Our next steps are to approve the plan, to distribute a newsletter, to finalize the plan and publish the plan,” she said.
The next Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 16. The Coastal Monmouth Plan can be viewed at http://co.monmouth. nj.us/page.aspx?Id=3163.
Contact Kenny Walter at
kwalter@gmnews.com.
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Plan topics: Transit, housing, economy and environment
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
The Monmouth County Planning Board’s Coastal Monmouth Plan looks to create a year-round focus for the coastal region.
“The vision is to revitalize communities and focus on year-round activity for the Shore,” said Marcia Shiffman, of Maser Consulting, who delivered a presentation on the plan at a special meeting of the county Planning Board in Freehold on July 19. The objective is to look at and promote “the unique cultural resources of the region,” she said.
“Really the goal was to look beyond seasonal businesses and look to attract quality businesses that can operate beyond the summer season,” she added.
While a vote was scheduled on the agenda, the Planning Board tabled the vote until the August meeting because not all members felt they were able to properly review the document, which is an element of the Monmouth County Growth Management Guide.
After a brief presentation and a public hearing, the board decided to hold off on the vote on the plan that will affect 30 of the county’s 53 municipalities.
According to Shiffman, the plan would impact 40 percent of the county population and 25 percent of its land area. The municipalities within the scope of the plan include Eatontown, Little Silver, Long Branch, Monmouth Beach, Ocean, Oceanport, Red Bank, Rumson, Sea Bright and West Long Branch.
The plan has a list of objectives, including to preserve and enhance the character and quality of life for coastal Monmouth; to identify and assess future land use; to identify development and revitalization opportunities; to identify and address strategies to aid preservation of land; to identify transportation strategies; and to identify and assess public infrastructure.
Shiffman said the four major topics within the plan are transportation, housing, the economy and the environment.
She also explained the goal of the plan.
“The goal of the plan was to create a strategy for the region while being aware of unique characteristics of the region,” she said. “These visions are really what the plan is focused on.”
The county website also discusses the project.
“Each municipality has its own distinct community character,” the site states. “Many are long-established ‘Shore’ towns, historically associated with summer tourism, which are now being developed and redeveloped to accommodate thousands of new, permanent residents. Other communities, which are more inland, are also engaged in redevelopment and revitalization.
“The challenge for these communities and for the state: create a plan for development and renewal of all municipalities, both affluent and less affluent, to meet market demands while directing growth in a sustainable manner that considers environmental resources and community character.”
Shiffman said it would be important that after the plan is adopted, the regions create their own subcommittees.
“One of the important implementation strategies is to create the coastal Monmouth region subcommittees,” she said. “This will help address the issues identified in the plan.
“The plan tries to provide model ordinances, model outlines, model regulations that can be used in the future.”
Planning Board member Vincent Domidion criticized the plan for not addressing the fact that some of the smaller municipalities do not wish to have a lot of development.
“A very large number of these towns really want to stay exactly as they are,” he said. “They don’t want to be revitalized into anything.
“It is hard to imagine an Interlaken being turned into anything other than what it is,” he added.
Domidion said that the large-scale developments provide entertainment for the smaller residential communities.
“The reason this is problematic to me is we do have communities like Long Branch and Asbury Park that are legitimate centers, but you can’t have 30 towns as all centers,” he said. “Most of these towns provide the market that these centers are going to market to.
“Ultimately the municipalities are going to decide through their zoning. We can’t do everything everywhere, especially with these little towns that are already fully developed.”
The plan makes suggestions to enhance arts around the county, including fostering community arts development, increasing arts education opportunities, and creating local arts councils.
Shiffman said the plan also includes environmental suggestions for coastal communities.
“There are recommendations in the plan on how to improve water quality and the sedimentation of lakes and rivers,” she said.
The local impacted and impaired waterways listed include Franklin Lake in West Long Branch, the Shrewsbury River, and Whale Pond Brook in Ocean Township.
The plan also labels 11 municipalities as being deficient in open space, including Red Bank, Rumson and Sea Bright.
The plan identifies flood-prone areas and stresses the importance of beach replenishment after storms.
It also stresses the importance of public transportation such as bus, train and ferry services, as well as pedestrian and bike routes within coastal communities.
Shiffman explained what will happen, moving forward.
“Our next steps are to approve the plan, to distribute a newsletter, to finalize the plan and publish the plan,” she said.
The next Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 16. The Coastal Monmouth Plan can be viewed at http://co.monmouth. nj.us/page.aspx?Id=3163.
Contact Kenny Walter at
kwalter@gmnews.com.
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