A radio telescope that discovered evidence of the Big Bang in 1964, revolutionizing the study of the universe, will remain in its original place on Crawford Hill in Holmdel, N.J, town officials announced last week.

Rakesh Antala, a real estate developer, had proposed building a senior housing center on the site, a plan that drew opposition from residents and far-flung astronomy buffs. But an agreement between town officials and Mr. Antala seemed to augur the end of the cosmic controversy.

The Holmdel Horn Antenna, as it is known, was built in 1959 by AT&T Bell Laboratories, the renowned research arm of the phone company, for an experiment called Project Echo that relayed messages by bouncing microwaves off giant aluminized balloons.

In 1964, two young astronomers, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, found themselves plagued by an omnidirectional hiss as they surveyed the night sky for their own research. The static was eventually identified as leftover heat from the Big Bang. Its existence provided compelling evidence that the universe had started with a tremendous explosion; ever since, astrophysicists have been studying this radiation for clues to how and why the Big Bang happened.

Dr. Penzias and Dr. Wilson won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1978, and the Holmdel antenna was designated as a National Historic Landmark.

But the location of the horn has been in dispute recently. An odyssey of ownership began in 1984, after AT&T was broken into the so-called Baby Bells. Bell Labs eventually became Lucent and then Alcatel-Lucent, which was bought by Nokia.

In 2020, Nokia sold its last remaining piece of the former Bell Labs complex in Holmdel — 43 acres comprising Crawford Hill, including the antenna — to Crawford Hill Holdings L.L.C., headed by Mr. Antala, a former Bell Labs administrator and serial entrepreneur.

A coalition of conservation and community groups opposed the development over concerns that it could result in the antenna being moved to another part of the hill or elsewhere altogether. It cited the need to preserve open space and protect the antenna.

Coalition members plastered the town of Holmdel with “Save the Horn Antenna” signs and circulated a petition urging the preservation of the antenna and its setting, eventually collecting 8,000 signatures from 49 states and 60 countries.

Dr. Wilson, who lives in Holmdel, weighed in on the controversy in a recent interview.

“I’d like it to stay where it is,” he said, noting that the antenna would require protection from vandals and storms. “And I think the idea of making it into a park is a good one.”

In August, the Holmdel Township Committee took the first steps toward acquiring at least part of the hill, including the antenna, citing “a ground swelling of public support for preservation of the Crawford Hill property.”

According to a memorandum of understanding signed on Oct. 12, the town will pay $5.5 million for 35 acres, including the ground the telescope sits on, leaving the rest for Mr. Antala to develop. The town wants to make its portion of the hill into a park, perhaps to include a visitor center.

“This breakthrough will allow future generations to observe the Horn Antenna, a National Historic Landmark located within Holmdel, as well as the impressive views that can be observed from the highest point in Monmouth County, all as part of a sprawling, 35-acre public park,” Mayor Domenico Luccarelli of Holmdel said in a statement to Patch, a local online newsletter.

In a separate statement, Mr. Antala said: “As in all negotiated settlements, no one gets entirely what they want. But as we maintained from the start of the process, the Horn Antenna would be preserved on-site and a significant portion of the property would remain open space — and that’s exactly what was agreed to with the town.”

Reached after the announcement by email, Mr. Antala said, “We are glad that both parties are working to resolve the matter, which is moving in the right direction.”

The coalition of groups that had opposed Mr. Antala’s plan — Citizens for Informed Land Use, Preserve Holmdel and Friends of Holmdel Open Space — commended the agreement but said in a statement that they would remain vigilant: “This recent action by the Holmdel Township Committee highlights the progress that can be achieved when local governments are willing to listen to and work with residents.”

HOLMDEL, NJ —The Township Committee has directed the Planning Board to study if the former 88-acre Vonage site in Holmdel should be designated an area in need of redevelopment - as requested by the owner of the property.

The township received a letter Oct. 24 from 23 Main Street Propco, LLC, Bloomfield, the owner of Block 13, Lot 15, requesting that the property be considered for redevelopment for non-condemnation purposes.

The committee voted at its Nov. 21 meeting to refer a study to the Planning Board, but did pull back from a plan to have Township Planner Jennifer Beahm work on the redevelopment study.

The Planning Board planner is Kate Keller, who would be expected to work with the board to study the redevelopment issue. The committee withdrew any action on Beahm at this time. Planning Board member Ron Emma had questioned the role of the township planner in the study, saying he felt a board study should be conducted by the board's own planner.

As of Thursday, the Planning Board staff said action on the redevelopment study is not currently on an upcoming board agenda. The Dec. 5 board meeting was cancelled, and, with the approach of the end of the year and the upcoming reorganization of government boards, it was not clear if the matter will be before the Planning Board this year. The next Planning Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 19, 7 p.m.

Find out what's happening in Holmdel-Hazletwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Township Committee, under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, voted on Nov. 21 to:

Concept plans for the site were released under an Open Public Records Act request from the public.

The renderings show a 453-unit complex under consideration, including plans for assisted living and skilled care. The plans now indicate 182 existing units; 90 new units; 48 cottages; 44 skilled units and 89 assisted living.

This action would follow the redevelopment process applied in the recent purchase of the Crawford Hill property, site of the Horn antenna.

At this point in the process, there may not be an ability disclose many matters publicly, said Township Attorney Michael L. Collins.

In response to a question from the public, Collins said he could say "confidently" that there are "no offers or guarantees of any particular outcome that support any individual completing a private purchase. That was in their own discretion," he said referring to the Propco company's purchase.

Mayor DJ Lucarelli added that right now there are "just talks about what could potentially work there. . . .There are no guarantees - I can guarantee it," he added.

Vonage headquarters made the short move from its vast 23 Main St. site to Bell Works in August 2022.

Vonage "helps businesses accelerate their digital transformation" with offices across the globe and more than 2,200 employees worldwide, a news release from Bell Works said at the time.

And recently, its property was sold to Propco.

The sale of the 350,000-square-foot building was Oct. 13 with a sales price of $17.5 million, according to information on app.com, adding that a deed lists the buyer as 23 Main Street Propco LLC, an affiliate of Community Healthcare Associates, a Bloomfield developer.

HOLMDEL, NJ — Peter Reddy is one of four candidates seeking three full-term seats on the Holmdel Board of Education in the Nov. 7 election.

Reddy, of Rustic Lane, is the current Board of Education president, seeking re-election.

Two other current board members whose terms expire this year are not seeking re-election: Eileen Briamonte and Linda Zhang.

Alison LoPresti, Anthony Libecci and Reham Taha are also running, as a team, for the school board.

Reddy has served on the school board for nine years and cited many accomplishments for the district - in academics, school activities and capital projects.

"I am proud to serve the residents of Holmdel, and believe there is more work to be done. Being the senior member of this board by a few years, I know my experience, knowledge, history and leadership are absolutely needed on this board. Voting for me will only make Holmdel better," Reddy said.

In these profiles, candidates provide voters with background about themselves and their positions on the issues, as they see them.

Read more from Peter Reddy:

Background:

Candidates were asked to provide their professional or volunteer information, school board experience, campaign links, and personal background.

I've been married to Jennifer Hayes Reddy for the last 20 years, with two sons, Tyler, a high school junior, and Andrew, graduated from Holmdel High School in June and now a freshman at Penn State University Smeal Business School.

I have served on the Holmdel school board for the last nine years, three terms. At present I am most the experienced and tenured board member by a few years. I currently serve as Board President for the Holmdel school district, and I am seeking a three-year full term on the board.

During my three terms I have served in every leadership position possible from president to board vice president during the 2020 Initiative, a $40M project; as well as Finance chair (multiple times), Building Grounds Transportation Safety chair (multiple times), Personnel chair (multiple times), Negotiations chair (multiple times).

While a Holmdel resident for 10-plus years, I have coached 30-plus Holmdel travel and recreation teams in soccer, baseball and basketball. Additionally for seven-plus years I served as the finance chairperson for the annual St. Catherine picnic, raising on average $10,000 to $12,000 each year to fund the picnic. I have also served on the township Recreation Committee for six years.

I am from Massapequa, NY (Long Island). I received a BA degree from St John's University (Queens NY) in May 1994. I was awarded a three-year, 100 percent scholarship from the US Army via the ROTC program. Following graduation from St John's, I was commissioned a 2LT in the US Army. I served four-plus years active duty attaining the rank of Captain. I spent the majority of my active duty time with the 1st Infantry Division. Following my active duty service I spent the next four years in the Individual Ready Reserves.

After the service, I worked as an account manager for Johnson Controls Corp. (Fortune 100 company) in New Jersey, serving Fortune 500 accounts as well as numerous New Jersey school districts, hospitals and universities/colleges.

For the last 20 years, I have worked for Honeywell International as a senior account executive, managing and selling millions of dollars of energy-saving projects and infrastructure upgrades to New Jersey and New York school districts and Fortune 500 corporations. I am intimately familiar with how school districts run from a business perspective and from a board-member perspective.

Top issues:

Candidates were asked about the important issues in their district, and how the school board can address them.

During my nine years and three terms on the board, I am very proud to say we continually made progress and improved the district year after year. Some of those accomplishments include:

Because of the school board's and administration's great success there are very few capital projects that need to be accomplished at this time.

The top two budget items that we faced this past year and will again in 2024 is increased transportation costs and rising healthcare costs. The board and administration will have to continually find areas we can trim to keep the budget below the 2 percent cap.

Thankfully, the district has a very healthy capital and maintenance reserve we can tap into to help offset some of these rising costs, understanding that we need to continue discussions with the township to find a way to share in the $5 million PILOT funds ($20 million received by the township in the last five-plus years) annually from Bell Works.

Educationally, the top two priorities we need to continue progress on is improving the high school guidance department and the high school math program. Both areas have been a focus this past year and both areas are improving. But we as a board need to ensure we do what is necessary to make both areas stronger.

Another area we will focus on in 2024 is to see about adjusting the schedules for the four district schools, flip-flopping start times.

Policy 5756:

Candidates were asked if they wanted to comment on state Policy 5756, which provides guidance regarding transgender students, including communication with parents. Some districts in the state are repealing or amending the policy. (Holmdel's school board is expected to confirm repeal of the policy at its regular meeting Oct. 25.)

For the nine years I have been on the board, I have never been political. All my decisions have two things in mind: the students and how it affects the residents/taxpayers of this town. I evaluate each issue on its own merits and have never been beholden to anyone.

Policy 5756 was submitted to us in 2019 as a "Mandatory" policy so the district accepted it as we had no choice. Once we learned this past year the policy was not "mandatory" we reviewed it and, as a board, decided to rescind it.

I am confident in the way the administration and school leaders have handled these situations before 2019 (pre-5756) and after we received 5756 and can confidently say our administration has done an excellent job working and communicating with affected students and will do the same going forward.

Anti-discrimination and anti-bullying laws still remain in force and will protect all students while the administration and board craft a policy that works for all students in the Holmdel School District.

Candidates for Holmdel Board of Education: (Full term; vote for three)

Note: Candidates who have not received their request for profile information from Patch should check their spam folders or can contact Pat McDaniel at patricia.mcdaniel@patch.com for the email with candidate questions.

Patch asked Board of Education candidates to share their views on the issues. Reham Taha of Holmdel presents her ideas.

Patch Staff

HOLMDEL, NJ — Reham Taha is one of four candidates seeking three full-term seats on the Holmdel Board of Education in the Nov. 7 election.

Taha is running as a team with two other candidates, Alison LoPresti and Anthony Libecci.

Current Board of Education President Peter Reddy is also a candidate, seeking re-election to the board.

Two other current board members whose terms expire this year but are not seeking re-election are Eileen Briamonte and Linda Zhang.

Taha says of her team (designated Parental Rights & Education), "We are looking forward to working for our community and providing our students the best educational standards and resources to help them achieve their full potential academically."

Find out what's happening in Holmdel-Hazletwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In these profiles, candidates provide voters with background about themselves and their positions on the issues, as they see them.

Read more from Reham Taha:

Background:Candidates were asked to provide their professional or volunteer information, school board experience, campaign links, and personal background.

My name is Reham Taha, Holmdel resident at Stevens Drive. I am a mother to three wonderful children, Lana, 17; Ameer, 16; and Leya, 11.

I have lived in Holmdel since 2010. My husband and I moved here for the wonderful family environment and of course the excellent school system.

I am currently a stay-at-home mom with a B.A. degree in Political Science. I try my best to give back to the community and volunteer where I can -whether it be at local food and clothing drives, as well as helping out in school activities and sports functions when needed.

My most recent community involvement was last spring when I co-hosted a community dinner during the month of Ramadan, welcoming our Holmdel neighbors to break-fast together with the Muslim community. It was a great success bringing our community leaders and neighbors in one place celebrating together the Muslim community of Holmdel.

Top issues:

Candidates were asked about the important issues in their district, and how the school board can address them.

One of the first things I would like to work toward is looking for new ways where we can save with our district budget while making sure all our students’ needs are met for overall smooth school operations. I am certain that there is a lot to learn, but I am ready to dive right in.

On the academic front, one of the main things we need to look into is making sure students are receiving age-appropriate instructions in the classroom, specifically with their health education curriculum.

It is extremely important that we prioritize our children’s best interest and protect them from being exposed to particular health education materials that may be too advanced for them to comprehend at a young age. I am a firm believer that parents should always have the upper hand on deciding when and how to discuss certain sexual education materials with their children and that the schools should help in making sure of it.

Moving on to one of the many positive notes in our district, I am very pleased with the outline of our district’s five-year strategic plan and cannot wait to assist in seeing it succeed according to plan if elected.

Academic excellence is what we pride ourselves with here in our district and it is important we continue to strive to improve our standards for the better. I have no doubt that such goals will be achievable, especially with the dedication and commitment of the hard working faculty and staff members working in our district.

Policy 5756:

Candidates were asked if they wanted to comment on state Policy 5756, which provides guidance regarding transgender students, including communication with parents. Some districts in the state are repealing or amending the policy. (Holmdel's school board is expected to repeal the policy this month.)

Obviously everyone is talking about Policy 5756 and it is very clear that this policy doesn’t support the kind of relationship we strive to have here between our amazing Holmdel staff and the parents.

I strongly believe our current board needs to rescind this policy, especially now that we know it was merely guidance and not mandatory. Policy 5756 was designed with presumption of bad intent on parents. Prior to this policy, our schools successfully maintained an open line of communication with parents about issues concerning their children, including parents of our transgender students here in Holmdel.

The success of our kids is strongly influenced by the support of the parents and the faculty working together for the best interests of the students. Therefore, parental involvement is essential for the wellbeing of our kids and should never be up for debate. As a parent, I absolutely want to be involved in any challenges my child who is a minor, will potentially face and wouldn’t want them to receive guidance without my knowledge or consent regarding their gender identity. It is just plain common sense! We will work to make sure all our kids have an inclusive and safe environment in our schools, but most certainly in partnership with the parents.

Candidates for Holmdel Board of Education: (Full term; vote for three)

Note: Candidates who have not received their request for profile information from Patch should check their spam folders or can contact Pat McDaniel at patricia.mcdaniel@patch.com for the email with candidate questions.

HOLMDEL, NJ — Wreaths Across America will visit the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial for its annual wreath-laying ceremony as part of its national “Veterans Honor Parade,” a convoy that travels the East Coast every year.

Wreaths Across America Day is taking place this Saturday across the United States. And "Remember, Honor, Teach" is the mission of the Wreaths Across America organization.

The national group says it not only coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC, but also at more than 3,400 additional locations in all 50 states, at sea and abroad.

On Wednesday, Dec. 13, a convoy from the organization will arrive at the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans' Memorial at noon.

There will be a brief lunch, compliments of Salvation Army, Jersey Mike's, Joe Leone’s Italian Specialties, and Mueller’s Bakery, organizers say.

Find out what's happening in Holmdel-Hazletwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The public is then invited to the Wreaths Across America ceremony to take place at 12:30 p.m., honoring 23 New Jersey Gold Star Families, a spokesperson for the memorial said.

In attendance at the ceremony will be the New Jersey Gold Star families; Amy Osborn, executive director of the center; the founder of Wreaths Across America, Morrill Worcester and the executive director of Wreaths Across America, Karen Worcester.

The president of the American Gold Star Mothers Pam Stemple will also be in attendance, as will the American Legion Auxiliary National President Lisa Williamson.

Also in attendance will be (Ret.) Col. Riccoh Player of the US Marine Corps; Deputy Grand Masters of Masons for New Jersey J. Eugene Margroff; Naval Weapons Station Earle; Miss New Jersey Victoria Mozitis; and Wall High School ROTC Cadets, joined by the Civil Air Patrol Cadets from Maine who are traveling with the convoy.

There will also be state, local and county officials at the ceremony.

The Wreaths Across America program began in December 1992 in Harrington, Maine, "when wreath maker Morrill Worcester found himself with a surplus of 5,000 wreaths during the holiday season," according to the organization's website.

Worcester saw the surplus as an opportunity to pay tribute to our country’s veterans and, with the help of then-Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine, arranged for the wreaths to be placed at Arlington National Cemetery.

This annual tribute to veterans has continued ever since, the site says. The organization's website offers many resources to learn about the program and offers educational opportunities for young people.

The New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial is at 1 Memorial Lane, Holmdel.