Chiropractor in Cliffwood, NJ

Aberdeen Twp. seeks to make a zoning change on a controversial Cliffwood property, where a Jewish group wants to build a yeshiva.

Posted Tue, Aug 1, 2017 at 4:55 pm ET|

ABERDEEN, NJ — Aberdeen Township seeks to make a zoning change on a highly controversial piece of land in the Cliffwood section of town. The move has been met with suspicion by some, but Mayor Fred Tagliarini, facing an upcoming election challenge over the issue, insists this could be a solution that makes all Aberdeen residents happy.

On Wednesday night, the Aberdeen Planning Board will be presented with an ordinance that seeks to change the zoning on a six-acre Meizner Street property from its existing R-100 single-family residential to R-65 single-family residential. You can read the ordinance here.

That's a map of the Meizner Street property in question. Part of those six acres are unbuildable wetlands.

If the change is approved, it essentially means a developer can one day build more homes on the parcel. According to Mayor Tagliarini, the owner of the property, Ruach Chaim Inc., has been in talks with a developer to potentially sell that land. He declined to name the developer, or developers.

"We are trying to find a solution here that works for all the residents and everybody in this town," he told Patch on Tuesday.

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

Ruach Chaim Inc. is an Orthodox Jewish organization that for the past 11 years has operated Yeshiva Gedola out of an old nursing home on Center Street off Rt. 35. They have been model citizens in Aberdeen, Mayor Tagliarini said. The controversy arose last year, when Ruach Chaim said they wanted to expand in Cliffwood and proposed building a campus-like yeshiva, or Jewish religious school, on Meizner Street.

Those who live nearby said the area could not handle the multiple dormitories, rec center and buildings the religious group was planning. They predicted that a thriving yeshiva could attract more than 300 people to the sleepy area, and clog its roads. In fact, Cliffwood resident Michael Canberg rose to prominence in town by leading the yeshiva opposition and is challenging Tagliarini for his seat in the upcoming November mayoral election.

"With Glassworks we are already looking at over-development of the area," said one Cliffwood resident who lives near Meizner Street and did not want to give her name. She is referring to the under-construction rental complex right down Cliffwood Avenue.

"I also have concerns regarding how it will affect our taxes since religious organizations are exempt," she added. "The way that Lakewood has been handled, in terms of irresponsibility on behalf of zoning laws, has made us all wary."

In Sept. of 2016, Ruach Chaim requested a variance to allow the yeshiva to be built. After much outcry from the community, Ruach Chaim eventually withdrew their application in February, but they still gave the Township eight new dates that they could potentially re-submit it, according to Mayor Tagliarini.

Ruach Chaim has since canceled those dates. But the yeshiva idea is not yet completely off the table.

"Until we get an unconditional withdrawal of the application it could come back," said Tagliarini. "So this application has been postponed indefinitely — unless certain actions take place to make it possible for the applicant to look for a developer to sell this land."

Under its current R-100 zoning, the Meizner Street property can hold single-family residential lots, which must be 100 by 100 feet. If the new R-65 zoning is approved, the residential lots that can be built there can become smaller, with just 65 feet of frontage and unspecified depth. Many property lots in Aberdeen are even smaller than that, at 50 by 50 feet.

"So instead of being able to build 7 or 8 homes, let's say you can build 11, roughly," said Tagliarini. "The land becomes more appealing to a developer."

When told this news on Tuesday, Canberg said he remained deeply skeptical.

"You always could build 6 or 8 homes on there, and now you're telling me the possibility of three more homes is going to turn it into a 'highly profitable' property all of a sudden?" he asked. "I just don't believe it."

And some say Aberdeen is giving everything and getting nothing in return from Ruach Chaim.

"If the developer places a lifetime deed restriction on the property preventing its development for anything other than single-family detached residential, most, if not all, of these objections would cease," said Jeff Sirot, an attorney with the law firm Curcio, Mirzaian, Sirot, which was hired by Canberg. "It is inappropriate to create a new zone for one developer without addressing any of the community's concerns."

The mayor said the religious Jewish group may just stay where they are on Center Street, with some improvements on the building, such as possibly a new roof.

The Aberdeen Township Council already approved the zoning change ordinance last week on first reading. The Planning Board meets tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall and will vote on the ordinance then. It then goes back to the Council at their Aug. 16 meeting for the second and final reading, and potential adoption. Several residents, including Canberg, said they will attend the Wednesday night meeting and voice their concerns about the yeshiva.

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Trunk or Treat will be Oct. 28 from 4-8 p.m. in the old A&P parking lot on Rt. 35 in Cliffwood. Come out for a great time with family!

|Updated Mon, Oct 23, 2017 at 11:48 am ET

ABERDEEN, NJ — For the second year in a row, the Aberdeen Township PBA will hold their Halloween Trunk or Treat on Saturday, Oct. 28.

Trunk or Treat will be October 28 from 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. in the old A&P parking lot at 325 Rt. 35 in Cliffwood. Please come out for a great time with the family! Register your vehicle on www.aberdeenpba163.com. There will be a DJ, entertainment and Big Daddy's BBQ truck. There will also be K-9 demonstrations from the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office and Touch a Truck from the Cliffwood Volunteer Fire Co. #1, Aberdeen-Matawan CERT and Aberdeen Hose & Chemical #1 Station 62-1, as well as Bayshore EMS.

Set-up for vehicles decorating their trunks for the event will begin at 3:00 p.m. through 3:45 p.m. in the old A&P parking lot. Vehicles that are not participating in the decorating of their trunks will not be permitted in the event’s parking lot. The PBA is asking that all other vehicles park at the Cliffwood Avenue School or Matawan Avenue School.

There will be a bus transporting people to and from the event; the pick-up and drop-off location will be in front of the two schools. Wear a costume and you could win a PRIZE! Everyone who wears a costume has the opportunity to win … Drawings will be held up until 7:00 pm. The Township of Aberdeen is purchasing eight $25.00 gift cards to the Hoppy Shop! You will be able to pick up a raffle ticket from the Aberdeen Table located in the beginning of the Trunk or Treat area be included in the costume drawing.

The Best Trunk Contest will be announced at 7:30, which prizes will be awarded for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners! Those who are participating in the Trunk or Treat, MUST register your vehicle prior to the event. Please complete the registration form below (ONLY FOR VEHICLES PARTICIPATING). The PBA is looking forward to seeing everyone there and asks that if you have any questions to please reach out to Frank Maisano at Frank.Maisano@AberdeenNJ.org

Clean Ocean Action's twice-yearly event is set for 9 a.m. Saturday at sites all along the coastline

Patch Staff

|Updated Fri, Apr 20, 2012 at 3:50 pm ET

In the 1970s, there was a television ad that depicted a stream choked with trash – aluminum cans and old tires, among other things – and the ad would cut away at the end to a Native American man with a tear running down his cheek.

The ads, of course, urged people not to litter, because of what it was doing to the environment.

If those ads were done today in New Jersey, the Indian would be a Lenni Lenape, and he’d be standing on a shoreline choked with plastic bottles and caps, because those are the most commonly discarded items on the beaches of the Jersey Shore, according to Clean Ocean Action.

Clean Ocean Action’s twice-yearly beach sweeps are set for Saturday morning beginning at 9 a.m. at sites up and down the coast, from Sandy Hook to Cape May, as well as some inland sites.

They’ve become an annual rite of spring – a rite the group wishes was unneeded, as it continues to promote its message of protecting the marine environment by recycling and disposing of trash properly.

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

In the 2011 beach sweeps, more than 7,500 volunteers collected more than 450,000 pieces of debris, from plastic bottle caps and straws to the far more odd items like cell phones, fake vampire teeth, TVs, a prosthetic leg and even an adult-sized Elmo costume, according to the group’s annual report on the sweeps.

“Plastic, including foam, represents 83 percent of the total waste found in 2011,” the group’s website notes. “It is clear: disposable plastic items continue to litter beaches, threaten marine life, and impact water quality.”

This spring’s sweeps, which run until noon, also fall the day before Earth Day, which some towns are marking with events promoting environmental awareness. In Point Pleasant, one of the sites being swept is the Maxson Avenue beach on the Manasquan River, next to Riverfront Park where the borough’s will be held on Saturday immediately following the beach cleanup.

While many of those who volunteer for the beach sweeps arrive in groups who have registered ahead of time, Clean Ocean Action volunteers willingly accept individuals or groups who walk up to a site on Saturday morning to participate.

Here’s a list of sites in Ocean and Monmouth counties where cleanups are being held. Volunteers are usually on site by 8:30 a.m. to begin handing out bags and tally sheets – where you can keep track of the litter you collect. The complete list of sites can be found here.

MONMOUTH COUNTY LOCATIONS

Aberdeen: Fisherman's Parking Lot at Cliffwood Beach (Next to the roller hockey rink)

Allenhurst: Euclid Avenue beach

Asbury Park (2 sites): 1. Convention Hall at the Boardwalk; 2. North Beach (meet at the dirt lot near Asbury Towers)

Atlantic Highlands: Harbor parking lot on First Avenue

Avon: Pavilion at Norwood & Ocean avenues

Belmar (2 sites): 1. Belmar Fishing Club, First Avenue beach; (2) 16th Avenue beach

Bradley Beach: Gazebo at 5th & Ocean avenues

Deal: Philips Avenue beach

Highlands: (2 sites) 1. Popamore Point on Shore Drive; 2. Snug Harbor Avenue beach (behind Community Center)

Keansburg:- Laurel & Beachway avenues

Keyport: Cedar Street (First Street at waterfront)

Long Branch: Pier Village, meet at public access at Melrose Terrace and Ocean Avenue

Manasquan: Main Street beach

Middletown (3 sites): 1. Leonardo Public Beach South at Beach Avenue; 2. Ideal Beach at Ocean Avenue & Bayside Parkway; 3. Bayshore Waterfront Park, meet at Fishing Pier

Monmouth Beach: Bathing Pavilion at 29 Ocean Ave.

Ocean Grove: Main Street beach; meet at flagpole

Red Bank: Meet at Chapin Avenue

Sandy Hook: Parking Lot D (Seagulls' Nest Restaurant)

Sea Bright (4 sites): 1. Ferguson Beach, north of Rumson/Sea Bright Bridge; 2. Meet at Gaiter's Restaurant Oceanside; 3. Meet at Algarve Milano Oceanside; 4. Meet at Public Beach parking lot

Sea Girt: Boardwalk at Beacon Boulevard

Spring Lake: South End Pavilion at Atlantic & Ocean avenues

Tinton Falls: Historic Tinton Falls. Meet at Crawford House parking lot.

Union Beach: Florence Avenue at Front Street

OCEAN COUNTY LOCATIONS

Bay Head: Central Market, Route 35 and Mount Street

Beachwood: Public Beach, Compass Avenue on the Toms River

Brick: Brick Beach III on Route 35 North, next to Ocean Club and across from Bayside Park

Lavallette: Philadelphia Avenue beach

Mantoloking: Lyman Avenue beach

Normandy Beach: Meet at Labrador Lounge at Peterson Street and Route 35 North

Ocean Gate: Wildwood Avenue Pier

Ortley Beach: Third Avenue beach

Point Pleasant: Maxson Avenue and River Avenue beaches

Point Pleasant Beach (2 sites): 1. beach in front of Jenkinson's Aquarium on the Boardwalk 2. Maryland Avenue Beach

Seaside Heights (2 sites): 1. Grant Avenue on the boardwalk; 2. Bayside boat launch along Route 35 South

Seaside Park (5 sites): 1. Stockton Avenue on the boardwalk; 2. Second Avenue; 3. Midway Beach at 6th Lane; 4. Island Beach State Park Bathing Pavilion 1; 5. 14th. Avenue and South Bayview Avenue

These days, Cliffwood Beach serves as a quiet section of Aberdeen, NJ with beautiful views of the Raritan Bay.

Locals will tell you it is not – I repeat – not the same as neighboring Cliffwood. The two are divided by Route 35.

As nice of a location as Cliffwood Beach is, especially if you're a New York commuter, it doesn't jump out at you when you're considering "beach towns" to visit along the Jersey coast. It's hard to imagine a Jersey Shore-esque environment when you've got Tottenville, Staten Island staring back at you.

But not too long ago, Cliffwood Beach was a popular resort town. Up until the end of the summer in 1960, the area included a boardwalk with amusements, saltwater swimming pool, and sports recreation area including tennis and handball courts.

DigitalCommonwealth.org

DigitalCommonwealth.org

At night, visitors let loose at a popular restaurant, cocktail bar and lounge called The Cat 'n Fiddle.

The area drew comparisons to Coney Island in Brooklyn, NY.

For decades people flocked to the Raritan Bay Shore destination, but it all came to a screeching halt on Sept. 12, 1960. That was the day Hurricane Donna crossed into New Jersey.

The National Hurricane Center calls Donna one of the all-time great hurricanes.

As they describe it,

A northwestward turn on the (September) 9th brought the hurricane to the middle Florida Keys the next day at Category 4 intensity. Donna then curved northeastward, crossing the Florida Peninsula on September 11, followed by eastern North Carolina (Category 3) on the 12th, and the New England states (Category 3 on Long Island and Categories 1 to 2 elsewhere) on the 12th and 13th.

50 people were reported dead in the United States from Donna, and damages totaled in the millions. To this day Donna is the only hurricane to impact every state along the East Coast with hurricane-force winds.

Subsequently, the devastating impacts led to the name "Donna" being retired, and will never again be used for an Atlantic hurricane. The name was replaced by "Dora" in 1964.

When Donna made her way into Raritan Bay, she shifted the popular Cliffwood Beach waterfront from present tense to past tense.

From the Sept. 16, 1960 edition of the The Matawan Journal,

Bayfront areas of Matawan Township took a battering from Hurricane Donna, especially in sections bordering Matawan Creek and in portions of Cliffwood Beach. During the worst of the hurricane, water was nine to 10 feet deep in the streets of Cliffwood Beach, police reported. Damage in the beach area was estimated at more than $150,000. Ten families were evacuated from the waterfront area to the Cliffwood Fire House. Flooding in Cliffwood Beach reached all the way back to Greenwood Ave. The storm lashed bay waters completely covered the roofs of the 180 unit colony of seacots facing the bay at Cliffwood Beach and crashed through the rear of the Cat 'n Fiddle Restaurant, splitting the building in two. Police were stationed at the restaurant after looting was reported.

All that remains today is the saltwater swimming pool, but it is currently buried in a sand dune that helps support part of the sea wall.

The vacation retreat was never to be heard from again.

Efforts to revitalize the waterfront didn't follow through until the last five years.

You can now take a stroll down memory lane and imagine what the resort destination would look like today if it wasn't flattened, flooded, and erased from history. In 2018, the Aberdeen Sea Walk at Cliffwood Beach was unveiled.

The half-mile trail along the Donna-damaged seawall includes fishing posts, outlooks, benches, and a gazebo.

They also opened up Veterans Park on the beachfront, which has playgrounds for children, a picnic area, and multi-purpose fields.

It may not look the way it used to, but the Raritan Bay waterfront can still be a fun and scenic destination.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 producer, writer, and host Joe Votruba. Any opinions expressed are his own.

Vingo liquor store chain is paying the fine to resolve findings from the NJ Attorney General that they engaged in unfair trade practices.

|Updated Wed, Sep 2, 2020 at 3:06 pm ET

ABERDEEN, NJ — The Vingo liquor store on Rt. 35 south in Cliffwood agreed to pay a $90,000 fine to the state to resolve findings from the New Jersey Attorney General that they engaged in unfair trade practices with two of New Jersey's biggest liquor wholesalers.

This comes as part of a sweeping two-year investigation done by the state Attorney General and Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC).

As a result of the investigation, twenty liquor stores across New Jersey agreed to pay the hefty fines, including Joe Canal's in Woodbridge and Lawrenceville, and Vingo locations in Long Branch, at the Eatontown Pathmark plaza, Old Bridge, Aberdeen and Atlantic Highlands.

The ABC said if the liquor stores did not pay the fine, they risked losing their license.

The state's two biggest liquor wholesalers, Allied Beverage Group and Fedway Associates, will pay the biggest fines, an unprecedented $4 million each. Allied Beverage Group and Fedway Associates also agreed to change their business practices.

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The investigation found that the wholesalers — which together account for approximately 70 percent of all wine and 80 percent of all spirits sold at wholesale in New Jersey — unfairly favored 20 of the state's largest liquor stores, such as Joe Canal's and Vingo's, and put smaller liquor stores at a competitive disadvantage.

They did this by manipulating the retailer incentive program (RIP), granting credit extensions and interest-free loans, and engaging in other discriminatory practices, said the AG.

"Simply put, Allied Beverage Group and Fedway Associates rigged the market in favor of a handpicked group of powerful retailers, leaving smaller businesses struggling to compete," said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. "This settlement sends a clear message that we will not tolerate this manipulative and anti-competitive behavior."

The RIPs provide cash rebates payed to retailers by wholesalers for purchasing certain quantities of alcoholic beverages. ABC regulations control the program by making RIPs available to all retailers on a non-discriminatory basis, by keeping the RIP payments to retailers relatively small, and by not allowing wholesalers to substitute RIPs for interest-free loans.

The investigation found that Allied Beverage Group and Fedway Associates were giving chosen retailers a financial advantage by issuing rebates more often and in greater amounts than allowed.

Various Joe Canal's locations in New Jersey, including the Joe Canal's in Woodbridge, will also be paying a $90,000 fine.

Consent order for Long Branch Vingo's: https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases20/EcclipseLLC_Consent-Order.pdf

Consent order for Old Bridge Vingo's: https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases20/Meritage-Wine-Cellars_Consent-Order.pdf

Consent order for Atlantic Highlands Vingo's: https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases20/MM-Wine-Spirits_Consent-Order.pdf

Consent order for Aberdeen/Cliffwood Vingo's: https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases20/Vinvigo-LLC_Consent-Order.pdf

Consent order for Eatontown Vingo's: https://www.nj.gov/oag/newsreleases20/SVGS_Consent-Order.pdf