Tag Archives: parks

City Council

Auto parts store could make way for park

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The Planning Board Tuesday night endorsed an application to the state Green Acres program that puts in motion a plan that might turn an auto parts store into a city park.

The City Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. regarding the possible acquisition of Norwood Auto Parts at 125 Monroe St. for use as a public park.

Former city planner Lenore Slothower, who’s been retained to do some grant work since retiring last year, told the Planning Board that the owner of Norwood Auto Parts approached the city administration earlier this month about the possibility of buying the property because of issues with stormwater flooding.

The city would apply to the State Green Acres program for funding that would cover about 75 percent of the $1,005,000 estimated cost. Another $221,000 would be sought from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to cover the remaining quarter. Preliminary estimated costs include appraisal, acquisition, relocation assistance, demolition and remediation, if necessary, among other things.

Union County’s hazardous mitigation plan must be approved by FEMA before it can be eligible for the federal funding and county officials are working to expedite that approval, she said. Deadlines loom for both the state funding and federal FEMA dollars, requiring Tuesday’s special meeting of the City Council.

The 0.1588-acre site at the corner of Monroe and Essex streets, about a block from the Rahway River, was acquired in 1991 for $257,000, according to PropertyShark.com. Assessed at $222,800, the annual property tax bill runs about $11,000.

The Monroe Street neighorhood, including the PSE&G substation across the street, has been mentioned in the past as a potential redevelopment area. The city in May 2009 opened Myron Ross Park, another park along Essex Street, this one a few blocks south, off East Milton Avenue.

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Rahway

County acquires Rahway horse farm

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Did you know there’s a horse farm in Rahway? Well now you do, and now you know it was purchased by Union County through the Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund, according to this report.

The 2.54-acre property at Bramhall Road and Jensen Avenue, near the Colonia border, was acquired for $1.7 million. Assessed at almost $560,000, the property paid about $25,000 in taxes last year.

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I stumbled upon this post on Chowhound looking for some input on Tauros Tapas Grill on Monroe Street. I haven’t been there yet but I know a few readers have, in case anyone wants to share their opinion on that board.

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Uncategorized

Rahway River, Milton Lake favorites by far

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It’s no surprise that two of the largest parks in Rahway led the way in our latest poll, which collected only 64 votes (must be summer…):

What’s your favorite park in Rahway?
Rahway River Park, 34 percent (22/64): St. Georges Avenue and Parkway Drive.

Probably the most utilized park in the city, it can get pretty busy on a summer day, between the loop, pool, ballfields and tennis courts. It’s also got it’s fair share of wildlife, with the geese and a pond.
Milton Lake Park, 28 percent (18/64): Midwood Drive and Madison Avenue.
Probably my personal favorite because it can be fairly picturesque, and it’s a lake plunked down in the middle of a nice neighborhood. Not much in the way of active recreation but you can always find someone fishing and one reader even mentioned it’s good for kayaking!
Tully Field, 9 percent (6/64): Grove Street and Russell Avenue.
This looks like a solid neighborhood park: It’s got a basketball court, a variety of playground equipment and some green space.

Stein Field, 3 percent (2/64): Jefferson Avenue and Murray Street.
Maybe it’s just me, but this seems to have a striking resemblance to Tully Field.

Berzenic Park, 6 percent (4/64): St. Georges and Central avenues. Built on the former site of the public library, which was flooded during 1999’s Tropical Storm Floyd, Berzenic has tennis courts and a playground.
Madison Avenue/Greenfield Park, 6 percent (4/64): Madison and Westfield avenues.
Another county park that was refurbished a few years ago when a fieldhouse was added. You’ll routinely see the soccer fields being used, and it also sports playground equipment.
Bezega Park, 1 percent (1/64): Allen and Union streets.
One of the many sections of the county’s Rahway River Park, it’s a little more secluded than most. In fact, one reader emailed his vote for this small park near Rahway Animal Hospital claiming to have seen an eight-point buck there.
Brennan Field, 1 percent (1/64): Regina Avenue and Ferndale Place.
Off New Brunswick Avenue, this one has a ballfield and basketball court.
Flanagan Field, 1 percent (1/64): Wall Street and East Milton Avenue.
Not unlike the other small neighborhood parks, it has a playground and ballfield, sandwiched between homes and an industrial area near Linden.
Hart Street Park, 1 percent (1/64): Hart Street.
You wouldn’t think much of a park that’s sandwiched between a go-go bar, a sewage treatment plant and water tower, but it hosts quite a few community picnics and the like.
Howard Field, 1 percent (1/64): Stockton Street.
Not much too it, but another good-looking neighborhood park with playground equipment, ballfield and picnic tables.
Riverfront Park, 1 percent (1/64): Lawrence Street near East Hazelwood Avenue.
Access via Lawrence Street doesn’t look like much when you park in the lot, but follow the boardwalk along the river and you’ll see some views of the incinerator that you’ve never seen, and of the Rahway River too, of course.
Ross Park, 1 percent (1/64): Essex and Johnson streets.
The newest addition to the city’s park system, it opened in May and adds to the greenway along the Rahway River. It appears to have been built with the nearby Golden Age Towers in mind as the exercise stations seem geared toward seniors.
Skarrow Field, 1 percent (1/64): Montgomery and Washington streets.
This was one that I didn’t know about. There’s a playground and field behind Cleveland School, which fronts East Milton Avenue.

Several parks in our poll received zero votes:
Kiwanis Park: St. Georges and Central avenues. Across St. Georges from Berzenic Park, it’s a little swath along the Rahway River.
Madden Field: Capobianco Plaza. The ballfields are home to many of the youth athletic leagues.
Wheatena Park: West Grand and Elizabeth avenues. In the rare instance when I feel like running, I like to take a route through Wheatena and follow the sections of Rahway River Park up the river along River Road and back.

Thanks to reader Matt for finding this map of Union County parks (.pdf), where you can see some of the ones listed above. I came up with this Google Map with placemarks for each park. Also, a big thanks to Mr. Rahway for help in compiling the list of parks.

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Uncategorized

It’s summer time: What’s your favorite park?

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It’s summer, you should be spending time outside (not in front of a computer), so what better poll question for this time of year than:

“What’s your favorite park in Rahway?”
Berzinec Park
Bezega Park
Brennan Field
Flanagan Field
Hart Street Park
Howard Field
Kiwanis Park
Madden Field
Madison Avenue/Greenfield Park
Milton Lake Park
Rahway River Park
Riverfront Park
Ross Park
Skarrow Field
Stein Field
Tully Field
Wheatena Park
Williams Field

Some of these are municipal parks, some county parks, and some are passive parks while others are more active. Whether you like to kick back and read or kick some balls around, your favorite park should be listed above as we tried to include as many as we could think of (with some help from readers). Let me know if we missed one that you’d want to include.

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City Council, Rahway

Essex Street park to open next month

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The park under construction along Essex Street is expected to open next month, according to this report in Sunday’s Star-Ledger.

Construction of the park started last fall. Though there’s no mention of it in the Ledger piece, it’s expected to be named after Myron R. Ross, a Rahway native killed while serving in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.

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City Council, Rahway

Park to be named for native killed in Vietnam

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The park under construction on Essex Street will be named for Myron Ross, a Marine from Rahway who was killed in the Vietnam War.

Construction began in October and a dedication ceremony is expected later this year.

The City Council last month increased the bond ordinance for the park by $175,000, to $1.225 million, which includes $500,000 from a state Green Acres loan. City Administrator Peter Pelissier said the extra funds were the result of additional remediation needed at the site.

In 2002, the city dedicated Berzinec Park, which was named for William Berzinec, who also was killed in Vietnam. The site at Central and St. Georges avenues was home to the former public library until it was flooded by Tropical Storm Floyd in September 1999.

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Commercial, Downtown, Rahway Survey, Retail

Movie theater, clubs and related retail for entertainment district

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A small, two-screen movie theater, night clubs, and ground-floor retail space for entertainment-related businesses could build upon the foundation provided by the Union County Arts Center.

Continue reading Movie theater, clubs and related retail for entertainment district →

Uncategorized

Work under way on Essex Street park

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The new park along Essex Street near Riverwalk is taking shape, with work having begun several weeks ago. Installation of fitness stations began last week (although you can’t see them in the photo above). The City Council approved a $1-million bond ordinance for park improvements back in March.

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This has nothing to do with anything but, is it just me or does anyone else think of the guy from The Shield whenever “Joe the Plumber” has been in the news lately?

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