Friday, May 3, 2013
City working through environmental concerns with DEP
Long Branch officials say they are still looking to build a pier/ferry in the future. The city has already chosen a design for the pier, which would be located in Pier Village would have restaurants, entertainment venues, retail stores, amusements, and a ferry service to Manhattan. Long Branch Business Administrator Howard Woolley said the project is currently facing some environmental issues. "We have some issues with the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that we are trying to work through," Woolley said. "There is a substantial issue with tide lands and we're trying to get that resolved." The proposed pier and ferry platform would cost the city at least $100 million, but officials have said the pier would be a booming …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
The bar was destroyed by the 1987 fire which claimed the entire pier
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Council adopts two bond ordinances for projects
The city's oceanfront received major help from the Long Branch Council on Tuesday night. The council unanimously adopted two bond ordinances that will fund improvements to a section of the boardwalk and the design and engineering expenses for the city's pier/ferry project. The pier/ferry bond ordinance that will provide $1 million for design and engineering expenses for the project. The boardwalk bond ordinance will allocate $950,000 for improvements to the boardwalk between Morris Avenue and Brighton Avenue. The city is looking to rebuild its amusement pier that burned down in 1987, and was deciding between three separate designs for the project. The Long Branch Council settled on a final design and opted for the "shaped" pier, which is a…
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Council also introduces ordinance that will allow final design and permitting for project
Long Branch's pier/ferry project is inching along, and may still be years away from being built, but the council took a neccesary step for its construction during Tuesday night's council meeting. The Long Branch Council settled on a final design and opted for the "shaped" pier, which is a curved "L" shape. This also scheme forms an extension of Laird Street, with a stairway at the pier's end which will provide beach access, according to the Pier Charette Report. The city is looking to rebuild its amusement pier that burned down in 1987, and was deciding between three separate designs for the project. Consultants, Peter Liebowitz and Keith Rowan, of New York-based environmental, planning and engineering consulting firm AKRF, Inc., presented…
Friday, November 4, 2011
Consultants recommend adding 25,000 square feet of commercial space to maximize pier's economic potential, bumping cost to city to $120 million
The City council on Thursday received an economic evaluation, including the potential costs and profits, of its proposed $100 million commercial pier project, in which the consultants who conducted the study said that in order to maximize the pier’s potential profitability, the city would have to spend another $20 million. The consultants, Peter Liebowitz and Keith Rowan, of New York-based environmental, planning and engineering consulting firm AKRF, Inc., presented the council with their findings of an economic study on the proposed pier’s potential commercial success, which in order to maximize, they said, would require packing another 25,000 square feet worth of commercial space into the plan, for a total of 75,000 square feet of …
Thursday, November 3, 2011
City Council holding special meeting Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. in City Hall to discuss pier and ferry project
Long Branch officials are scheduled to hold a special public meeting to discuss a proposed project that would bring a new pier and Manhattan ferry service to the city on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. in City Hall, 344 Broadway. The proposed $100 million project would rebuild the old amusement pier that burned down in 1987 and add a ferry terminal with direct non-stop service to Manhattan, officials have said. Thursday's meeting will update the City Council and the public on the status of the project, and officials are expected to review results of an economic analysis study conducted in October, City Administrator Howard Woolley said in a telephone interview Wednesday. Previously described by Woolley as "the biggest infrastructure project in …
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
City looking to narrow down its design options by end of year
Ever since the amusement pier in Long Branch was destroyed in a fire in 1987, residents have been asking when it would come back. The city has now targeted the reconstruction of the pier with addition of a ferry terminal as its next project and is moving closer to choosing a design for what Long Branch Business Administrator Howard Woolley described as the, "biggest infrastructure project in the history of the city." Woolley said the city has the funding in place to do the planning and design work for the project, thanks to grants secured from the Department of Transportation through Congressman Frank Pallone (D-6). "Pallone was successful in getting all the money that we have," Woolley said. "It was a total of $3.5 million initially and …
Monday, August 22, 2011
Congressman Frank Pallone announces $2.8 million in grants for Monmouth County ferry terminal projects
The proposed Long Branch pier and ferry terminal got a big shot in the arm on Thursday when Congressman Frank Pallone announced additional funding for the project. Last week, Pallone announced that he had received a grant to help fund the final phases of design and engineering for the ferry, with the hope of determining the construction costs and moving forward with project. Pallone has lead efforts to provide federal funding toward construction on the Long Branch Pier and Ferry Terminal and has previously secured funding for the pier’s design and engineering. The project once started, would create 1,200 jobs during the construction phase and once completed, it will create 600 full-time jobs, according to Pallone. “Once it’s completed, the…
Judith Gannon
10:42 am on Wednesday, May 8, 2013
When they proposed Pier Village, we were told that our property taxes would go down with the introduction of new ratables. Long Branch exempts businesses from tax. I was told that people who bought the residences were exempted for 6 yrs. Someone then told me LB extended their exempt status. There is no affordable housing in Pier Village. Can any Official rest my mind & troubled heart concerning … more ›