LONG BRANCH, NJ — On Wednesday night, the Long Branch City Council passed a resolution that allows Kushner Companies to develop several long-vacant properties on Lower Broadway.

The city approved Kushner to build mixed-use retail/residential there, said Long Branch Mayor John Pallone. The city of Long Branch approved a much smaller project than what Kushner originally wanted.

"The redevelopment agreement provides for significantly less density than Kushner Companies' previous proposal for the site," said Pallone in a statement Thursday. "Only 299 residential units are allowed, making this project about half the size of the previous 599 units. Thirty of the units would have to be affordable housing. Kushner Companies are required to have a minimum of 22,000 square feet of retail, which they anticipate will include a food market and cafe."

Kushner was not given a tax abatement for this project.

“There are also strict deadlines Kushner Companies would have to meet, including an agreement to begin construction within six months of their approvals by the city," Mayor Pallone continued.

Kushner also agreed to pay a $100,000 redevelopers' fee to the city.

The Kushners are the developers of Pier Village in Long Branch. Kushner Cos. was started by Charles Kushner, the father of former President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Charles Kushner and his wife still live in Long Branch to this day, and they are also the owners of Monmouth Mall, a big chunk of which is about to be turned into apartment housing. J.C. Penney at the mall is closing in October at the latest, and will be torn down.

Last week, Sept. 7, Kushner Companies officially acquired the Lower Broadway property from Long Branch Partners, ending several years of litigation over the property sale and the termination of Long Branch Partners redevelopers' designation.

Long Branch City Council vice president Dr. Mary Jane Celli hailed this as a win for the Lower Broadway area.

"We are happy to be moving in the right direction in getting Lower Broadway developed," she said. "Our administration has been adamant about no tax abatement for this property. We are also pleased to be gaining another 30 affordable housing units in the city."

Related: First Look At Kushner's Plan For 1,000 Apts. At Monmouth Mall (Aug. 23)

He liked it, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Paul McCartney and wife Nancy Shevell had dinner Sunday at the landmark Jimmy’s Italian Restaurant in Asbury Park.

“He said tell the chef that everything was excellent,” said waitress Bernadette Kozlowski.

He ate a vegetarian meal at Jimmy’s.

McCartney and Shevell were part of a party of six that included members of Shevell’s family. Shevell is a graduate of J.P. Stevens High School in Edison.

MORE: Paul McCartney: Greetings from Asbury Park

“Everybody was fine, nobody was running up to him,” said Maureen Beaver, manager of Jimmy’s. “A few tables saw him and recognized and went over and said hello. The cutest thing was when he was leaving, a couple at the bar, they went ‘Ohh ohh ohh!’ and Paul McCartney went, ‘Ohh ohh ohh!’ He was very down to earth. A very nice person.”

The Shevells have Asbury Park roots: the former Harry and Mina Walters of Asbury Park are Nancy Shevell’s grandparents, and are broadcaster Barbara Walters’ aunt and uncle. Harry Walters, a native of England, started a dry goods store on Cookman Avenue in Asbury Park, which grew into the Walters Department Store. He also owned stores in Long Branch and Freehold. A daughter, Arlene Walters, married Myron "Mike" Shevell, formerly of Edison. Nancy Shevell is their daughter.

Nancy Shevell’s family operates the Elizabeth-based New England Motor Freight company, whose trucks one often sees on Jersey highways, and she was a board member of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

MORE: Meet the man who plays bass for Paul McCartney

Jimmy’s is the place where the stars dine in Asbury Park. Joe Pesci, Vincent Pastore, Ray Liotta, Danny DeVito and Bruce Springsteen have all been to Jimmy’s.

The McCartney appearance is a special one, Beaver said. Yet, the former Beatle was given his space.

“We don’t have young kids in here – it’s not like Justin Bieber and they all go crazy,” Beaver said. “It’s older people, and they’re not going do that to him.”

MORE: Listen to the best new Paul McCartney songs

McCartney’s One on One Tour comes to the area starting with Sept. 11 and 12 shows at the Prudential Center in Newark.

“I said it’s an honor to meet you,” Kozlowski said. “He said, ‘It’s an honor to meet you.’"

Chris Jordan: cjordan@app.com

@byMikeDavis

Commuters, open your wallets.

NJ Transit's new train fare schedules go into effect on Thursday, resulting in an average 9 percent increase across all of the agency's stations and rail lines.

For customers on the North Jersey Coast Line, the only line that serves Monmouth and Ocean counties, an unlimited monthly pass to New York Penn Station is increasing between $35 and $40.

"It takes a big chunk out of your pocket, out of your savings. For someone who's raising a family and trying to live in Monmouth County, it's tough," Marlboro resident Mizi Mehaj said in July, minutes before her daily commute from Matawan to New York. "But there's actually no other way. You could drive yourself, which I wouldn't do because of traffic."

See how NJ Transit slammed by cash woes

The fare increase was approved as part of NJ Transit's $2.1 billion budget, unanimously passed in July. It's the agency's fifth fare hike since 2000, the first since a 22 percent increase in 2010.

As of Thursday, a New York-bound commuter from the Aberdeen-Matawan station will be paying exactly $100 more for a monthly pass than they were five years ago.

New Jersey commuters pay the highest fares in the nation, which outpace inflation by 25 percent, said Janna Chernetz, a senior New Jersey policy analyst with the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

"The transportation funding structure in New Jersey is broken," Chernetz said. "We're nearly halfway to the unveiling of our next state budget and we're not any closer to solving our transportation crisis so riders aren't facing a worse crunch next year."

For many commuters, the fare hike adds insult to injury: With the Hudson River rail tunnels between New Jersey and New York falling apart, trains are regularly delayed for repairs.

On Wednesday morning, trains were delayed more than 30 minutes due to a "smoke condition" in one of the tunnels.

The tunnels will likely need to be closed, one at a time, for repairs within the next 5 to 20 years, Amtrak officials have said. The tunnels' short shelf life have placed a renewed focus on building new rail tunnels, a $20 billion project without a solid funding plan behind it.

Earlier this month, Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo pledged to fund half the project – which would be overseen by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey – if the federal government issued a grant for the other half.

Christie, Cuomo want 50/50 tunnel split with feds

NEW NJ TRANSIT FARES

All prices reflect an unlimited monthly pass to New York Penn Station. For station-to-station and one-way fares, visit NJTransit.com.

Mike Davis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com

@byMikeDavis

Overtime sporting event at Madison Square Garden? A headlining band playing late into the night at Irving Plaza?

If you live at Shore south of Long Branch, keep an eye on the clock: When it strikes 11:18 p.m., you're stuck.

As part of NJ Transit schedule changes last month, the last North Jersey Coast Line train – which leaves at 1 a.m. – no longer stops south of Long Branch. Riders who get off at Elberon, Allenhurst, Asbury Park, Bradley Beach, Belmar, Spring Lake, Manasquan, Point Pleasant Beach or Bay Head must instead catch the 11:18 p.m. train, more than 90 minutes earlier.

NJ Transit Executive Director Veronique Hakim said the schedule changes were routine, part of a biannual review by the agency.

"Our customers are very familiar with schedules changing and, in this context, we have to be very careful about providing service where there's demand," Hakim said. "Obviously, the schedules for those trains did not have demand for that service."

The agency already cut some lines as part of its 2015-16 budget, which came with an average 9 percent fare hike for trains. But while NJ Transit held multiple hearings on the budget proposals, federal law did not require the agency to notify riders of the most recent changes.

Commuters frustrated by NJ Transit fare hike

According to federal law, a "major service change" – which requires notification and public hearings – only occurs when at least 25 percent of a line's stops are discontinued or if the line is discontinued on specific days.

“The cancellations were done without notice to riders. In more than 30 years of advocating for better transit in New Jersey, I’ve never seen such reckless disregard for the mobility of passengers,” said David Peter Alan, chairman of the Lackawanna Coalition. “It’s been done to us before, but never with the last train on the route.”

The 9:38 p.m. train from New York has also stopped serving stops south of Long Branch. NJ Transit also canceled late night trains on the Morris & Essex Line.

New York-bound riders also have one less option for a late-night trip: The 9:43 p.m. train from Bay Head now begins at Long Branch.

NJ Transit trains could halt without safety deadline extension

In response to the service cuts, state Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, is set to introduce a bill requiring NJ Transit to disclose all service changes to the public in advance.

"NJ Transit held nine public hearings on its service elimination plan and, under the cover of night, incorporated additional service cuts that commuters are now forced to deal with without having the opportunity to weigh in on them," Scutari said in a news release. "The way this was carried out, particularly after widespread public opposition to the already proposed cuts and fare increases, just adds insult to injury."

Mike Davis: (732) 643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com

Gateway project: NJ Transit takes lead on environmental permits

Last train from New York Penn Station (North Jersey Coast Line)

New York Penn Station (11:18 p.m.)

Elberon (1:07 a.m.)

Allenhurst (1:11 a.m.

Asbury Park (1:15 a.m.)

Bradley Beach (1:17 a.m.)

Belmar (1:21 a.m.)

Spring Lake (1:25 a.m.)

Manasquan (1:28 a.m.)

Point Pleasant Beach (1:34 a.m.)

Bay Head (1:44 a.m.)

Construction should begin in August

Patch Staff

|Updated Mon, Jun 11, 2012 at 6:38 pm ET

The construction of the Long Branch School District's newest school should begin this August.

The will be the district's first school construction project since the new Long Branch High School was built in 2007.

In August 2009, education officials demolished the old Elberon Elementary School to make way for the Catrambone School, which will be larger and built on the same site. The Elberon Elementary School was located at 240 Park Ave. and was built in 1969.

The school was selected for advancement as part of the 2011 Capital Project Portfolio, and the 109,000 square-foot, partial two-story building will be constructed on a 9.7 acre site and will accommodate approximately 800 students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grades.

Find out what's happening in Long Branch-Eatontownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Terminal Construction Corp. of Wood Ridge, was the lowest responsible bidder for the project and awarded a $27.5 million general construction contract for the construction of the new school, according to Long Branch School District Facility Manager Ann Degnan.

"We are thrilled, because we have been working so hard on this for such a long time," Degnan said.

The School Development Authority (SDA) recently issued a notice to proceed with the project to Terminal Construction Corp, a development that SDA CEO Marc Larkins said will launch a new way of handling school construction projects.

“The award of this contract brings the Long Branch community one step closer toward their new school,” Larkins said in a release. “With our commitment to maintaining the project schedule and budget, the Catrambone project is advancing through a new way of approaching school construction projects in New Jersey."

The initial phase of this award will begin with a required constructibility review.

Degnan said the purpose of the constructibility review is to "eliminate unforeseen change orders.

"In the past, in any construction, once the project is started and an issue is found, they would discuss it among the group and come up with a change order," Degnan said. "Now they will take six to eight weeks to do the review and negotiate one change order."

Degnan said a change order may not be necessary, but that there is "always going to be something that comes up," during construction projects.

Larkins said the constructibility review will help keep construction costs lower for the project.

"Performing a comprehensive Constructibility Review prior to the start of construction will help avoid the type of cost overruns and project delays that plagued the school construction program in the past," Larkins said. "We look forward to celebrating future milestones with the Long Branch community.”

Once the review process is completed and the SDA agrees with its results, Terminal Construction Corp. will be issued a separate notice-to-proceed to begin construction activities including preparing the site for construction, removal of unsuitable material, remediating areas of concern and importing certified clean fill to be compacted and graded, providing footing and foundations, building shell, and completion of the building in accordance with the bid documents, according to the SDA.

Degnan said construction should be completed within two years, and should help ease overcrowding concerns at the district's elementary schools.

"We are over capacity at all of our elementary schools," Degnan said.

Since 2007, the district’s enrollment has increased by about 13 percent, from 4,785 to 5,441. As a result, space like the teachers’ lounges at Gregory Elementary School and Amerigo A. Anastasia School has been converted to classrooms.

When the original Elberon School was demolished, many students were relocated to the Gregory and Anastasia schools, causing the overcrowding concerns.