Multi-Million Dollar Tennis Center Readied for Opening in Ocean
By DON STINE An eight-court tennis center under construction on West Park Avenue in Ocean Township, a product of both private and public funding, is scheduled to open this spring. “We are almost there and I think we will be open in the late spring Hopefully, we will also have the outdoor courts ready for the summer. This is a great project and wonderful for the community,” Mayor Christopher Siciliano said. A deal was signed to build close to a $3 million Park Avenue Tennis Center in front of the existing township pool complex on W est Park Avenue.…
Ocean Chamber Says Farewell to Director
By DON STINE Kim Horn Blanda, executive director of the Greater Ocean Township Chamber of Commerce, is leaving her position after serving for eight years leading the organization she helped create in 1983. A founding member of the chamber, Blanda has created and chaired several events over the years and designed and edited the chamber’s long-time newsletter “Business in Ocean.” In addition to running the day-to-day activities of the chamber, and working with all committees on the development and implementation of events and programs, Blanda has been designing and updating the chamber’s website “I was always a very, very…
Neptune Urged to Build Unique Skateboard Park in Township
By DON STINE If Neptune plans to design and build a public skateboard park then they need to do it right to make it work. That is the message that avid skateboarder Louis Cuccaro brought to the Township Committee at its last meeting. Cuccaro worked on creating the skateboard park inside the Carousel building in the Asbury Park Casino. He said the new skateboard park needs to have supervision in its planning. “There are companies with a lot of experience and those with no experience,” he said. Neptune Mayor Nicholas Williams said that the township is looking further into…
Spring Comes in Like a Lion
By DON STINE Talk about March Madness! It seems like Old Man Winter just doesn’t want to give up this year as the fourth nor’easter in three weeks hit the Jersey Shore on Wednesday. It was the first full day of spring. “I believe the last time we had this many storms, in such a short period, was 1985,” said Neptune Township Clerk Richard Cuttrell, who tracks storms on his website TriStateStormWatch.com. Cuttrell said the storm was going to hit later in the day on Wednesday than anticipated and that means the snow will continue until as late as 3 a.m. on Thursday. At press time…
$3 Million OK’d for Neptune Improvements
By DON STINE Close to $3 million will be spent on township-wide Neptune improvements under three bond ordinances adopted by the Township Committee March 12. Under a $360,000 bond ordinance, Neptune will have its first skateboard park, with $165,000 of the cost coming from a Monmouth County Open Space grant. The skateboard park will be in the Sunshine Village Park Fields, off Asbury Park Boulevard and Pine Drive, adjacent to existing basketball courts and soccer fields. The 60- by 100-foot project, for a total of 6,000-square-feet, will include concrete skating bowls, railings, steps, benches, landscaping and buffers. The park will…
Shuttle Considered for Ocean Grove
By DON STINE Neptune officials are considering implementing a shuttle program to help ease Ocean Grove’s usual summertime parking problem. At Monday’s Township Committee meeting, officials said the program is under review. Mayor Nicholas Williams said that plans for the shuttle service are still preliminary. “We are not there yet,” he said. The project would involve using school district buses and parking lots and giving people a shuttle service into Ocean Grove. “We have most of the puzzle if we need to move forward,” he said. Ocean Grove resident Joyce Klein said she applauds the governing body for trying to do something…
Students Show Support for Action on Gun Violence
By DON STINE Neptune and Ocean Township High School students joined other students in a national walkout across the United States Wed., March 14 in a protest urging elected officials to take action on school gun violence The demonstration comes one month after the shooting massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where 17 people were killed. More than 2,800 demonstrations were held in all 50 states, from Maine to Hawaii, and drew hundreds of thousands of students. Students also gathered in major cities, like New York, and others gathered outside of the White House to…
Neptune to Purchase Tract in Shark River Hills
By DON STINE Neptune officials approved the purchase of a 2.65-acre tract on S. Riverside Drive in the Shark River Hills section to preserve the property as open space. The township would like to acquire about 18 flood-prone properties along the Shark River under the state’s Blue Acres program. Township Business Administrator Vito Gadaleta said this is the biggest tract on the site that is scheduled to become a park across from the Shark River. The property purchased by a $1.25 million bond ordinance at this week’s Township Committee meeting was zoned for nine single-family homes. The purchase price…
Ocean Officials Add More Buffering to Development Site
By DON STINE Heavier buffering and setbacks will now be required for a commercial/residential project being proposed on a 32-acre tract at the intersection of Route 35 and Deal Road in Ocean Township. The Township Council last week adopted an ordinance that made the modifications, which was in response to concerns from both residents and township officials. “We want to make this as buffered as possible,” Mayor Christopher Siciliano said. But many of the those filling up the council chambers were not happy with the fact that the site is being developed, with many urging the governing body…
March 11 Marks Great Blizzard of 1888
By DON STINE Yes, the days are getting longer and the flowers are starting to peek out in the garden- but don’t put away that snow shovel or salt just yet. Some of the biggest snows events in New Jersey’s history have happened in March- so don’t drag out the lawn furniture out yet! The Great Blizzard on March 11, 1888 hit the East Coast in one of the worst blizzards in American history, killing more than 400 people and dumping as much as 55 inches of snow in some areas, including Monmouth County. Cities and towns ground to…
