By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – A crowded party with live music expressed exactly how seniors felt at the grand reopening of the borough’s beloved senior center last weekend.
After being closed for nearly four years due to a pipe break in February 2019, the facility at 80 Shrewsbury Ave. was abuzz with those “so happy” and “ecstatic” to return to their freshly revamped building.
The years it remained closed from 2019 to 2023, however, were “tough,” said Jacqueline Reynolds, director of the Red Bank Senior Center, because that was also the time when the COVID pandemic hit and many became more vulnerable while struggling with isolation.
During the worst of COVID, Reynolds said, the team was doing home visits and sending care packages. After restrictions eased, the center operated out of a “small room” in Trinity Episcopal Church on West Front Street that “could hold only 20 people,” she said. The center continued to serve with a team of volunteers, such as Visiting Nurses Association nurses and legal counsel who helped seniors fill out forms, SNAP applications, explain medications, read HIPAA law, apply for social security, help with wills and trusts and more.
One of the former outreach workers at the center, Tiffany Harris, sat in the building’s swanky new lobby as she recalled the trying years when former director of the center Freda Terry traveled all the way from North Carolina to rally for the center’s reopening.
“It’s been a fight,” Harris said.
The day before the newly renovated center opened, “I couldn’t sleep,” Reynolds said. “This is beautiful.”
New additions to the center include a fireplace, a relaxation room overlooking the river and a suite with a private bathroom “in case somebody has an accident or doesn’t feel good,” said Reynolds.
The completely renovated and upgraded building has individual rooms dedicated to crafts, ceramics, exercise, education, social services and more, including a game room with a pool table and “a lot of puzzles.”
Both current and incoming members of the Red Bank governing body attended the celebration, including Mayor Billy Portman, council president Michael Ballard and council members Kate Triggiano, Ben Forest, Kistina Bonatakis, Ed Zipprich, many of whom were instrumental in bringing the center back from disrepair.
Cindy Burnham, a former council member and president, invested both time and money in beautifying the riverfront area of the property to “turn unusable land into usable land.” Burnham said she “discovered the original slate steps” from the senior center – which used to be a house – and worked with the Red Bank Department of Public Works to restore them.
The Red Bank Charter School donated $1,000 to the project, Ryser’s Landscaping of Little Silver donated five huge boulders that act as chairs in the backyard. Landscaper Wilfredo Garrido custom-made the large outdoor grill and Red Bank resident Alan Hill provided bike racks.
Red Bank resident Joan Wetherell said the senior center had “pretty much collapsed” when she moved to the borough and has “been closed and fought over bitterly ever since I’ve been here.” Wetherell said she is now looking forward to joining as its newest member.
One of the oldest members of the center, 105-year-old Edith Blake, said she has had a “wonderful time” at the center and is looking forward to playing bingo.
Senior center member Robyn Grossman has already set goals. “If they’re looking for me, I’ll be playing pool,” she said. “I don’t know how to, but it’s the perfect place to learn.”
“All I want to do is be able to break and let those balls scatter,” she declared.
Meanwhile, member Christine Dillaman said she was “really impressed” while touring the center with her friends and nearly gasped at the number of televisions.
Dillaman echoed the sentiments of many with one exclamation: “Holy cow!”
The article originally appeared in the June 15 – 21, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
