No Decision on Talmudic Academy in Ocean
By DON STINE A decision on creating a 96-student residential Talmudic Academy on Logan Road in the Wanamassa section of Ocean Township was not reached at a special meeting Tuesday night so the case is being carried to another hearing. About 150 to 200 people attended the special three-hour Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting on the application held at the Ocean Township High School where further testimony was given by Rabbi Shlomo Lesin, head of the academy; traffic engineer Maurice Rached; and architect Stephen J. Carlidge. A date has not been set for the next hearing on the application…
Sharing Ocean Recycling Center
Four smaller municipalities surrounding Ocean Township will soon be given the opportunity to use the township’s new recycling center at the western end of Sunset Avenue. The newly-opened Ocean Township Recycling Center, near the public works yard, was paid for through a $150,000 Monmouth County Municipal Recycling Services Improvement Grant. Township Administrator Andrew Brannen said one of the stipulations of the grant is that the township would attempt to facilitate shared services with neighboring communities, in this case Loch Arbour, Interlaken, Allenhurst and Deal. Brannen said that he has already met with officials from all four towns and that…
Rude Awakening Program in Ocean Details Dangers of Drinking and Driving
By DON STINE Ocean Township High School and Hillel Yeshiva students will have a rude awakening soon about the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The Rude Awakening Program is a nationally-recognized drunk-driving awareness program geared toward junior and senior high school students. The program is scheduled to be presented to students of the Ocean Township High School and Hillel Yeshiva High School in the spring. “It will be given to every junior and senior in the schools. It’s an in-your-face program about fatal automobile accidents,” said Police Administrative Lieutenant Timothy R. Torchia, who is…
More Parking Spaces at Ocean Township Municipal Building
By DON STINE Ocean Township will add about 70 more parking spaces to its municipal parking lot to alleviate overcrowding for municipal court and various other township meetings. “We have court twice a week and the lot can become full. Many times there is not enough parking for some meetings and people park across the street (at the old Monmouth Council Boy Scouts of America building across Deal Road). And this can become a real safety issue,” Township Administrator Andrew Brannen said. The Township Council approved a $120,000 bond to purchase almost half-acre lot, to the north of the…
Proposed Incentive Plan in Ocean Would Decrease Property Taxes
By DON STINE Ocean Township residents may get a little property tax relief by shopping at local businesses under an innovative plan being put together by township officials. Called “Own Ocean,” the program calls for participating residents to get a rebate on their property taxes if they shop at a township-based business. “It is a property tax rewards program that tries to put money back in the taxpayer’s pocket,” Mayor Christopher Siciliano said. Siciliano said the program is still being organized and is expected to be launched sometime later this year. “It may take about nine months but it…
Garofalo Named Deputy Mayor in Ocean
By DON STINE Ocean Township’s new Deputy Mayor William Garofalo said last week that taxpayers can expect no increase in the municipal budget this year. “We have weathered the (budget) storm and cost-saving measures we put in place are paying off. I am confident we will have a flat tax this year,” he said. “I think the tides have turned and I am happy and confident that we are going forward,” he said. Mayor Christopher Siciliano has previously stated that a flat tax rate is one of the main goals under his administration. Ocean Township’s current municipal tax rate…
Sunset Avenue Bridge to Close for Repairs
Motorists better rethink their driving patterns if they are heading into Asbury Park via Sunset Avenue for about the next two years. The Sunset Avenue Bridge, which crosses Deal Lake between the Wanamassa section of Ocean Township and Asbury Park, will be closed beginning Wednesday, January 28 for an estimated 454 days under a $9 million to $10 million Department of Transportation funded project to replace the bridge. The projected date for the bridge to reopen is May 27, 2016 County officials, along with representatives from the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority and the New Jersey Department of Transportation,…
$16,000 in Prizes Offered by Ocean Chamber of Commerce
The Greater Ocean Township Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a year-long contest called “Got 30!” One lucky GOTCC member, and one non-member, will each win a “Grow Your Business” Grand Prize at the contest’s culmination in January 2016. The two grand prizes have a combined total of more than $16,000. Having partnered with many local media outlets and other businesses that provide an array of products and services targeted at business growth, the GOTCC Grand Prizes will include radio, newspaper and tabloid advertising; printing; social media, Website and IT services and more. All things that…
Ocean Schedules Hearing on Talmudic Academy
A proposal to create a residential Talmudic Academy on Logan Road in the Wanamassa section of Ocean Township will have a special hearing before the Zoning Board of Adjustment on Tues., Feb. 24. Board Secretary Maryanne Wilensky said the applicant, Yeshiva Gedolah Na’os Yaakov, Inc., based in Lakewood, has paid the additional $2,500 fee to pay for the special meeting. The meeting will be held at the Ocean Township High School, 550 W. Park Avenue, at 7 p.m. The entire three-hour meeting will be dedicated to this single application and a vote by the board might be expected. An…
Ocean Parents File Lawsuit Over Student Survey
By DON STINE Several Ocean Township parents have filed a lawsuit against the local school district for what they say is illegally administering a survey to sixth, ninth and twelfth-grade students that ask detailed questions about their sexual behavior and attitudes, mental and psychological problems, and other personal questions without parental consent. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, Jan. 6, with state Commissioner of Education David Hespe against the Ocean Township Board of Education. Petitioners in the law suit include Michelle Green, Jack Green IV, Danielle Sintic, Lexa Skowrenski and Christana Kmecz – all with children in the school…
