By John Burton
RED BANK – The group working to preserve the historic T. Thomas Fortune House is kicking into high gear with the revelation this week that the property owners want to tear it down.
“I’m like in a frenzy,” said Gilda Rogers, a local educator and writer who is a member of the committee convened about a year ago working to purchase the property and preserve the house.
Rogers and other committee members were shocked when they became aware this week that the family that owns the historic structure and property has applied to the borough to demolition it.
The committee met Tuesday evening and would like to re-engage the Vaccarelli family in discussions about saving the structure, Rogers said.
Some committee members this week have reached out to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and borough officials about seeking DEP’s Green Acres open space preservation funds to help with the effort, according to a flurry of emails that have been circulating among committee members.
“We’re still in the mindset of trying to figure out what our next move will be,” Rogers said.
“They’re in reaction mode,” said Borough Councilman Edward Zipprich, council liaison to the borough historic preservation commission and chair of Preservation Red Bank, an independent local historic preservation organization.
The home, located at 94 Drs. James Parker Blvd., was once owned by T. Thomas Fortune, a prominent late 18th-and early 19th century African-American journalist, author and early civil rights activist.
The Fortune House, which is on the borough’s west side, was named to the National Register of Historic Places in December 1976 and the state Register of Historic Places in August 1979.
The demolition plan “caught most of us by surprise,” and now advocates are scurrying for strategies, said Mark Fitzsimmons, a Red Bank architect who is also a committee member.
Last Friday, James and Anthony Vaccarelli Jr. filed a development application with the borough’s Office of Planning and Zoning seeking approval to “remove existing house” from the approximately 1-acre property.
James Vaccarelli, a Shrewsbury resident, and his nephew, Anthony Vaccarelli Jr., who lives on McLaren Street in Red Bank, are members of the family that has owned the house and property for generations.
When contacted on Tuesday James Vaccarelli said family members are “still negotiating” with two individuals who are interested in the site.
“We decided it would be better if the property was all cleared,” he said, but added, “No decision has been made.”
He declined to offer any other details.
Donna Barr Smith, the borough’s zoning officer, said the application will need more information before being evaluated.
Mayor Pasquale Menna said the borough has a historic preservation ordinance that will require a site plan review by the zoning officer, an evaluation by the borough historic preservation commission and attorney review before a demolition permit could be issued.
That, he said, “does give people an opportunity to make the argument that there is a basis for its preservation and whether or not a court should intervene.”
“At the end of the day, it’s the court that is going to have to say” what happens to the property, the mayor said, suggesting that the committee formed to save the house should waste no time in retaining counsel.
Committee members have been talking to a lawyer, Rogers said, reaching out to John Tatulli of Shrewsbury, who is a preservation committee member and will advise the group.
Fitzsimmons acknowledged that the home is in private ownership and simply being on the state and national registers offers no protections against the owners razing it.
Menna was empathic that the borough is in no position to shoulder the cost of acquiring the site. “It is impossible,” he said. The acquisition, rehabilitation and maintenance of the structure and site “would be in the multiple millions of dollars.”
Peter Primavera, a cultural archeologist and historic preservation specialist who is heading up the committee, previously said there were ongoing discussions with the Vaccarelli family to settle on a purchase price while the committee did the fundraising to buy the site.
The hope has been to purchase the site and renovate and restore the building for use as a cultural and educational resource.
Primavera did not immediately return calls.
Parties familiar with the process have previously said that the family had been split on future plans for the site.
The future game plan is “we’re going to keep the fundraising going,” Fitzsimmons said, believing this shot across the bow may actually benefit those efforts with the site in very possible immediate danger.
He hopes discussions with the family can continue, as well.
“I’ll say this, it’s been very tough,” trying to raise the necessary money for the committee’s efforts, he said.
Fortune (1856-1928) lived in Red Bank from 1901 to 1915 in the home, Fortune called Maple Hill, built somewhere between 1860 and 1865. The structure, long vacant, has badly deteriorated over the years and has been the victim of vandalism.
The Vaccarelli family has owned it through much of the 20th century through the present.
For the original family members, who had emigrated from Italy, it was home and the site of their family business, a bakery.
“It’s been there a long time and I don’t think it can be repaired,” James Vaccarelli said of the building.
