Mayor won't seek re-election

Mayor James Kennedy, who's pushed downtown redevelopment efforts since first winning election in 1990, told members of the Democratic Committee Monday night that he won't seek re-election to a sixth term. The announcement surprised most everyone, including his running mates, according to one person in attendance.

The five-term Democrat was elected to his first four-year term in 1990. Four years ago, he was re-elected with Council At-large candidates James Baker, Nancy Saliga and Sal Mione. Democratic Chairman Rick Proctor, who also serves as the city's health officer and as an elected county freeholder (whose term expires 2011), will run for the Democratic line for mayor and likely will be challenged by Republican Patrick Cassio in November. The filing deadline is Monday, April 12.

Kennedy's 20-year tenure as mayor included construction of a new public library, recreation center and renovation of the train station, along with many of the development projects currently under way or completed. He said he's looking forward to time off but remains committed to the efforts with the cultural arts. "It should be rewarding and fun," he said.

Kennedy, who earns about $70,000 as mayor, according to Asbury Park Press' DataUniverse, confirmed that City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier would remain in those positions should Proctor succeed him as mayor.

City moves to demolish E. Cherry St. building

The city has notified Dornoch that it will proceed legally to knock down the burned out building at 65 E. Cherry St.

City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier last fall asked the city engineer and city construction official to investigate whether the building was structurally sound or should be razed.

Dornoch presented plans to develop the property in November 2007, adding a third floor with residential units on the second and third floors and ground-floor retail. The building housed a former wig and beauty supply store on the first floor before a fire destroyed it in summer of 2005.

Station Place to be scaled down

Developers of the Station Place project on Campbell Street likely will seek approval to reduce the development from 116 residential rentals to 85 units. The move would eliminate one level of structured parking, bringing the building down from five stories to four. The 85 units would be comprised of 39 one-bedrooms and 46 two-bedrooms.

Rather than 125 parking spots in structured parking, there would be 53 on-site surface spaces and 18 on-street permit spaces, along with about 30 spaces leased from the Parking Authority's Lot H.

It's still unclear when Heartstone Development would file a new application with the Planning Board, but managing member Clay Bonny expects it would be later this year. Station Place received approval for 116 units in September 2008 but different options for the project were being considered as early as last summer. Previously, the Planning Board approved 80 for-sale condo units in early 2007.

The East Hanover-based developer, which also built River Place on Lewis Street, has purchased several properties along Campbell Street and Elm Avenue but still has to acquire the main property for the project, A&M Industrial Supply. Closing on that property has been extended through September at the request of property owner, said Bonny. By contract, the company has a year from closing to move out, he added, describing the best-case scenario as one where demolition would take place this fall, with groundbreaking by spring 2011.

City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier mentioned during a Redevelopment Agency meeting last July that A&M Supply had found a location within Rahway to relocate to, though he was not at liberty to say at the time where that was. It's unclear whether A&M has a site in mind or not.

The building would front Campbell Street, from West Cherry Street to Elm Avenue, with the main automobile entrance on West Cherry Street into the parking area behind the building.

Wheatena developers working on new timeline

The city is working with developers to update a redevelopment study for the former Wheatena property and come up with a new timeline for the 130-unit project.

Redevelopment Agency Attorney Frank Regan provided a report to commissioners during their meeting earlier this month and said an amended redevelopment agreement, with a revised timeline, should be completed in 30 to 60 days.

Early this year, developers Matzel & Mumford concluded the 130-unit Carriage Park at Rahway was "economically infeasible" at this time but were still committed to it.

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The Union County Performing Arts Center recently added two shows that you might consider a little more high profile than usual: Popular '90s band Rusted Root on May 21 and comedian Brad Garrett (the brother from Everybody Loves Raymond) on June 13. What do you think? An improvement?

Other developers presented with Savoy project

The administration is working with undisclosed developers in an attempt to have The Savoy property purchased from Wachovia bank, according to City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier.

Mayor James Kennedy is working with the bank and Dornoch about a possible purchase of the Main Street property, Pelissier said during a Redevelopment Agency meeting earlier this month. While it may not look like anything is going on at the site, he added, they're "aggressively working with developers to move forward."

The city plans to repair the sidewalk and move the fence back along the Main Street frontage of The Savoy, according to Pelissier. Whoever ends up doing the project will reimburse the city for the sidewalk work, he added.

Homes By Maplewood apparently has an updated Web site which no longer now lists The Savoy as "Coming Soon" but no longer The Lofts as it once did on our Local Links to the right, the leased apartments at the corner of Irving and East Cherry streets. It still mentions P&F Management's "urban division is currently developing residential communities," in among other places, Rahway.

Casa Borinquen grand opening Friday

Casa Borinquen will have a grand opening on Friday after several months of interior renovations.

Specializing in Puerto Rican fare, the restaurant will replace Taste of Portugal, which closed in 2009 after more than two years at the East Cherry Street location. At one time the space housed the popular Eat To The Beat Cafe.

Casa Borinquen is family owned and operated by Rahway residents. I met the co-owners while I was strolling downtown on Sunday and they were putting some finishing touches on the place.
The building is among several East Cherry Street properties owned by Dornoch.

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The grand opening of Chess Mates, originally scheduled for March 1, was postponed. No new grand opening date has been set, but construction has been delayed due in part to the recent inclement weather.

The chess cafe will occupy the second retail space in Park Square on Irving Street, next to Eyes On You.

Redevelopment Agency considers parking options for future amphitheater

The planned amphitheater on Hamilton Street is expected to break ground this fall and be completed in about a year. When the amphitheater and adjacent black box theater opens, where will patrons of the facilities park? City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier raised the issue to the Redevelopment Agency during its monthly meeting last week, initiating a discussion among commissioners about future parking options.

Among those discussed as possibilities were:
* Constructing a five- to six-story parking deck near the corner of West Main Street and Elizabeth Avenue;
* Building a deck at the property currently occupied by Cambridge Courts apartments (above) on West Main Street; and,
* Razing the four homes on Hamilton Street between the Bell Building and the amphitheater site for surface parking or a future parking facility.

Pelissier estimated the third option could provide 50 to 80 surface parking spaces and the agency also could pursue a future parking facility for the site. Construction of a parking deck is expensive (~$20,000/space) and buying the homes might be less expensive but just a matter of dealing with multiple property owners, he added.

One suggestion raised last week that was quickly shot down was pursuing a lease with St. Mark's Church across the street from the amphitheater site. Redevelopment Agency Commissioner Timothy Nash, who sits on the St. Mark's Church finance committee, told the agency in no uncertain terms that the church property on Hamilton Street is not for sale and will not be decided for at least 18 months. St. Mark's -- not the archdiocese -- owns the church property. (St. Mark's is slated to merge with St. Mary's Church on Central Avenue, as per directions from the Archdiocese of Newark.)

Council approves Hamilton Street arts projects

With at least one proponent invoking the mythical tale of Prometheus, more than a dozen speakers, including labor union representatives, artists and school officials, last night spoke in favor of borrowing $8.5 million for construction of the Hamilton Street arts projects. Two residents questioned the cost and benefit to city taxpayers.

The City Council last night unanimously approved an $8.5-million bond ordinance to build a 1,100-seat amphitheater (above) at the former Hamilton Laundry site and to renovate the Bell Building (below) to house a black box theater. One speaker after the next noted that the amphitheater project is part of the city's continuing investment in the Arts District and the overall vision for the arts to drive redevelopment, remaking the city as a destination. (Here's The Star-Ledger's take on last night's meeting.)

The council last night also unanimously approved ordinances to shift management of the Special Improvement District funds to the Rahway Arts District and to negotiate the purchase of 52 E. Cherry St. from the Rahway Center Partnership.

Construction of the amphitheater is still on schedule to begin this fall, City Engineer James Housten told the Redevelopment Agency last week. Remediation of the soil can begin now that a case manager has been assigned by the state for the city's Brownfields sites. Most all of the soil has been contaminated with fluids used in dry cleaning, he said, adding that it can either be trucked away or mixed with chemicals on site to remediate.

NJ Transit fares would soar 25 percent

NJ Transit yesterday unveiled 25-percent fare increases and elimination of the off-peak round-trip discount among systemwide service cuts, including several trains that serve Rahway. Public hearings on the proposal are scheduled for March 25-26 (this link also links to an online comment form). The new fares would take effect May 1. Here's coverage from the Star-Ledger, CBS and Asbury Park Press.

Eliminating the off-peak round-trip discount is essentially a 43-percent increase, raising the Rahway-to-New York fare from $12.25 to $17.50. The discount is used by 17 percent of riders, according to NJT.

One-way fares and monthly fares would jump 25 percent, from $7 to $8.75 and from $198 to $248, respectively. The increases would be largest in the transit agency's history. There were no fare increases from 1990 until 2002 but this would be fourth since then. NJT claims said fares would still be 3 percent lower than in 1991 -- when adjusted for inflation. The hikes -- along with cutting executive salaries 5 percent, reducing 401(k) contributions by a third, hiring and salary freezes -- are expected to raise $140 million toward a $300-million budget deficit.

Five weekday trains on the Northeast Corridor (NEC) will be discontinued, affecting an estimated 2,700 customers in all. According to NJT, this is the only line that breaks even, with passenger fares covering the cost of operation; overall, fares cover 43 percent of operations. Only three of the five NEC trains slated for elimination serve Rahway:

* Train 3868, 5:28 p.m. from Trenton -- departs Rahway, 6:16 p.m. for NYC
* Train 3171, 5:41 p.m. from NYC -- arrives Rahway, 6:15 p.m. (express EWR-Rah)
* Train 3801, 12:43 a.m. from NYC -- arrives Rahway, 1:21 a.m.

Four weekday trains on the North Jersey Coast (NJC) will be eliminated, affecting 1,000 customers, but only two serve Rahway:

* Train 3517, 7:42 p.m. from NYC -- arrives Rahway, 8:21 p.m.
* Train 3518, 9:13 p.m. from South Amboy -- departs Rahway, 9:32 p.m. for NYC

Rahway Train Station has more than 3,000 average weekday boardings, ranking about 16th among all NJ Transit stations. Will the new fares affect how you use mass transit, whether for work or play?

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Thanks to all who came out to Flynn's last week for happy hour. You can check out a few photos on our Facebook page. Congratulations to Chandler on winning two passes for The Rahway Taste of Spring on April 9.

Irving St. restaurant slowed by sewer fee dispute

A dispute over sewer connection fees apparently is holding up development of an Irving Street restaurant and bar.

City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier told commissioners Wednesday night he was told by partners in the Station Bar & Grill that they could not do the project if they had to pay the city's total calculation. The city doesn't want to stop the project, he added, but is willing to work within the confines of the ordinance.

The calculation for the connection fee range, set by city ordinance, is based on a property's historic data and previous occupants. The amount the developers want to pay, according to Pelissier, is about a quarter of the calculation by the city's construction official. The developers, he added, have shared their calculation with the city and what they think they should be charged.

The Planning Board approved a minor site plan for the 6,900-square-foot project last June.

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In case you somehow haven't yet heard about "Rahway's snow babe," it first appeared Saturday via CNN's iReport, before getting picked up in Wednesday's Star-Ledger, and then on and on.

Final approval for amphitheater funding Monday

The City Council is scheduled to vote next Monday night to borrow $8.5 million for three projects planned within the city's Arts District. A public hearing is scheduled during the council's regular meeting, which begins at 7:30 p.m. (Click on the image above to enlarge to full screen.)

The ordinance would cover the cost of construction of the 1,000-seat amphitheater; renovation of the Bell Building for a 200-seat black box theater; acquisition of the Elizabethtown Gas building, and acquisition of related arts equipment. The city already has bonded about $3 million for earlier site work and acquisitions, including $2 million to purchase the former Hamilton Laundry building for the amphitheater. The gas building is eyed for a co-operative gallery space, and an adjacent property for artist housing. "It will add a true presence of artists living and working in town," said Mayor James Kennedy.

The Hamilton Street arts projects aim to become self-sustaining, between naming rights and fee- and non-fee based programming, to pay off the debt, according to City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier. They will feature a different type and level of programming than the Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC), the mayor said.

One of the four 2-1/2 story homes between the Bell Building and former Hamilton Laundry site is scheduled to be demolished this spring. Ultimately, the four remaining homes will be acquired and razed to provide more parking for the area, according to Kennedy, ideally within two years.

The site is ideally tailored by the river for an amphitheater, according to Michael Farewell of Princeton-based Farewell Mills Gatsch Architects. "It's hard to find a better site for an amphitheater," he said during a presentation to the Redevelopment Agency last month. The project will include stabilizing the bank in the natural curve of the river. The structure, he said, must be designed to withstand floods as well as being exposed to the elements while the lower area of the amphitheater will have removable seating. The only part of the site not within the flood plain is the Bell Building itself, according to City Engineer James Housten

Housten said remediation should take place over the next four to six months. The city, he added, already has a $500,000 state grant for investigation and remediation will be done through the state Brownfield Development Area funding.

If the UCPAC is ever going to be successful, the city must be able to accommodate 800 to 1,000 people with a 400- to 500-space parking deck closer to the arts center, the mayor said. The city is looking at two potential sites for a parking structure: the corner of Elizabeth Avenue and Main Street and the Cambridge Court Apartments on Main Street.

Also at Monday's meeting, the council is scheduled to give final approval on an ordinance that would shift management of the Special Improvement District from the Rahway Center Partnership to the Arts District board.