By Sunayana Prabhu
RED BANK – In a productive meeting despite member differences, the Red Bank Borough Council appointed a new borough attorney – Daniel Antonelli – and unanimously extended the duration of Broadwalk through Oct. 2.
Mayor Pasquale “Pat” Menna, council president Kate Triggiano, council members Kathy Horgan, Angela Mirandi, Jacqueline Sturdivant, Ed Zipprich and Michael Ballard attended the workshop meeting led by Menna. The regular meeting immediately following was conducted by Triggiano.
After lengthy discussions at both the workshop and regular meetings, held via Zoom Aug. 18, council members voted to hire Antonelli, who runs the law firm Antonelli Kantor, PC in partnership with Jared Kantor. The firm has offices in Livingston and Union.
“I am a municipal attorney in two other towns currently in Union County,” Antonelli said in his introduction. “One of them is the township of Union, where I’ve served as both the assistant and township attorney for the last 24 years, and in the city of Linden, I’ve served as the assistant and municipal attorney for 10 years now.”
Ballard, on nominating Antonelli, said, “I think he’ll do the residents justice.”
But some members disagreed. “Mr. Antonelli represented Mr. Zipprich and I think it’s a quid pro quo,” noted Horgan. Antonelli represented Zipprich while he was chair of the Red Bank Democratic Municipal Committee.
Zipprich, Ballard and Mirandi voted “Yes”; Triggiano and Horgan voted “No.” Sturdivant did not appear to be present for the vote.
Menna explained how the borough sent out a request for proposals for the appointment of an attorney and it was up to the council to appoint one. The borough has been looking to fill the municipal attorney position since July when it fired borough attorney Greg Cannon with no explanation.
Antonelli Kantor currently represents about 30 public entities throughout the state. Antonelli said he is looking forward to serving Red Bank. “I’m looking forward to working with everybody and I appreciate those who voted for me, and I certainly appreciate those who voted against me. I don’t take it personal and I’m looking forward to working with all of you and I want to thank you for the opportunity to represent not only you but the residents of Red Bank.”
Broadwalk Continues
Another “contentious” – according to Menna – issue addressed at the regular meeting was the request from Bob Zuckerman, executive director of RiverCenter, to continue Broadwalk into the fall. While the council ultimately voted unanimously to extend the season through Oct. 2, seven days a week, some council members argued for limiting the hours or days of the week Broadwalk operates.
Zuckerman explained that the six-week period for Broadwalk initially agreed upon was not enough for businesses to recover from losses incurred due to the prolonged impact of the pandemic. This summer, businesses not only faced delayed reopening due to construction work needed to prep the streetscape, but the weather contributed to additional losses.
“The first three weeks of this six-week period we had a very oppressive heat wave,” Zuckerman said. “Now that we’re going into nicer weather, with people not going to the beach nearly as often in the month of September, it can be an even bigger success.”
Some spoke in favor of the transformation of the downtown into a pedestrian plaza during the public comments session and noted the traffic congestion was slight and something they would tolerate to have Broadwalk open.
“I think the complaints were minor compared to the benefit to the town,” said Sarah Campbell, a Red Bank resident. “I think we should appreciate the business it’s bringing to the town and the community.”
Chef Dominick Rizzo of Catch Seafood Restaurant, said, “We lost so much in the last year. I know we had hardships because of the construction this year. Give us a chance to extend it. Let us make some money back to give back to the town.”
Broadwalk has been operating seven days a week on Broad Street between White Street and Front Street. This area is closed to vehicle traffic. New mechanical bollards were installed earlier this summer to prevent traffic from entering the Broadwalk area.
While all the council members support Broadwalk, some voiced concerns about its impact. Echoing Ballard and Zipprich, Mirandi said they worried “about the closure of Broad Street, a main artery, for the period of time and it’s still a concern.” She urged the Broadwalk committee to address issues like fire truck accessibility and traffic backups, among others, for next year.
Now in its third year, Broadwalk transforms Broad Street into a pedestrian space for food, family, arts, culture and community. In addition to outdoor dining and a sidewalk sale, the RiverCenter has also been running programs such as Broadwalk Body Blast, a free fitness class Saturdays at 9:30 a.m., and Broadwalk Kids Takeover, inviting families with children ages 2-8 with their trikes, scooters and for end-of-summer fun from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26.
The article originally appeared in the August 25 – 31, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
