Chiropractor in North Middletown, NJ

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Two women who lived in North Middletown sued their landlord, alleging that they and their toddler son have lead poisoning from the home, and that their landlord knew about it prior to renting them the house.

The two women were identified in the lawsuit as Megan Cartledge and Laura Cartledge. From 2015 through March of 2021, they were tenants in a home at 483 Center Avenue, in Middletown but with a mailing address of Keansburg. They lived there with an infant boy.

The women said it was in February of 2021 that the baby was "discovered and formally diagnosed to have lead poisoning."

"(His) blood levels were significantly higher than the amount needed to be classified as lead poisoned under the applicable medical guidelines," read their lawsuit. "Plaintiffs Megan and Laura Cartledge were also tested and formally diagnosed with lead poisoning (in their blood)."

The women said they paid to have an inspection done of the home, and on June 7, 2021 lead was determined to be present in the home. The women said the results were reported to the Monmouth County Board of Health.

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The women said in their lawsuit it was "severe lead poisoning." One of the women was pregnant with a second child at this time.

The women also claim in their lawsuit that lead was discovered in the home in 2011, before they moved in, and that the landlord never told them.

The women were represented by Greg Gargulinski, a personal injury attorney with the law firm of Rudnick, Addonizio, Pappa and Casazza in Hazlet. When he first filed the lawsuit, Gargulinski also sued the state of New Jersey, the New Jersey Health Department, Monmouth County and the Monmouth County Board of Health, Middletown Township and the Middletown Housing Authority, plus Keansburg borough and the Keansburg Borough Housing Authority.

Since then, Middletown Township has been dismissed from the lawsuit. The home is privately owned. It is not owned or operated by any municipal housing authority.

Gargulinski said the landlord never obtained a clear lead certification for the home.

The lawyer alleged all "knew or should have known of the presence of lead-based paint in the subject dwellings. The defendants knew or should have known that the subject premises were or would be occupied by young children."

The two women filed their lawsuit in January of this year and as of September, it is still proceeding in the courts. A case management conference on the case has been scheduled for October 27 before Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Owen McCarthy.

A call to Gargulinski was not returned.

EWING TOWNSHIP, NJ — A graduate of Middletown High School North spent this past summer working on a heat island research project for the city of Trenton.

The student is Sam Ehret, who is currently getting his degree in physics at The College of New Jersey.

“It was especially satisfying for me because I was able to see my work out in the real world and I had the opportunity to learn about the community surrounding (the college),” said Ehret ’25. "I don’t think I would have had that chance if it wasn’t for this project.”

Nate Magee, a physics professor at the College of New Jersey, and his group of student researchers used a weather balloon this past summer to collect important data in the skies above Trenton on the impact of the intense heat.

Professor Magee's project is called “Collaborative Trenton-Mercer Heat Island and Air Quality Project" and students have been studying the urban heat island in Trenton to collect information about temperature and air quality, and how they impact residents' health.

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“One of the things we’ve recognized is that the temperature in urban environments is significantly warmer (than in surrounding areas), especially on hot summer days,” said Magee. “It can easily be 10 degrees hotter than the surrounding areas, and the air quality is usually worse, as well."

Using a high-resolution, thermal, infrared camera attached to a weather balloon, Magee and his team send up temperature measuring and positioning instruments in an insulated package tethered to the bottom of the balloon. The equipment then provides a “map” of the temperature to establish details about the scale of the neighborhood and how the heat is affecting the area.

Magee and his team are also installing air sensors in the ground at some Trenton-area schools to help provide accurate, real-time information about the temperature and air quality in the city.

That is because the real-time temperature in Trenton can be difficult to capture when the main National Weather Service data for Trenton is gathered from Trenton-Mercer airport, which is in the middle of a grass field.

“The heat island effect is a local phenomenon,” Magee said. “Neighborhoods that have a lot of trees and grass and parks can be several degrees cooler than those with more concrete, asphalt and roofs on buildings. We are hopeful that urban planners will consider and emphasize these factors where there is an opportunity, plant more trees.”

The data collected by the balloon will be used as part of a larger project that includes a public dashboard to provide residents with information, data, and guidance as to how to stay safe and healthy during the increasing summer heat.

“My hope is that this project will inform, educate and raise awareness of the dangers of extreme heat,” said Magee.

The heat island project is a part of a larger interdisciplinary collaboration addressing environment-focused justice, health and education issues in Trenton. Faculty and students from the TCNJ School of Education, journalism program and public health program have collaborated on these interconnected issues for the last two years. Community partners include the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, The Trenton Health Team and the Trenton Public School District.

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — What's the latest with the track and turf replacement at Middletown High School North?

The school district has not forgotten about this, which business administrator Amy Doherty called a "major" and "important" project at the most recent Board meeting, held Tuesday night, Jan. 30 (watch it here).

At Tuesday night's meeting, the board unanimously voted to award two new contracts:

"This is a major project," said Doherty at Tuesday night's meeting. "We had budgeted for this last year, but there were some delays in getting that project going."

The "delays" she's referring to is the fact that the Middletown school district was sued over this last year: A contractor called LandTek sued the school district in March, alleging the Board of Education improperly awarded the job to rival contractor Applied Landscape Technologies.

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

Applied then countersued, and the whole project became ensnared in a complicated legal feud between two contractors. Both Applied and LandTek have since dropped their lawsuits against the Middletown school district, said Board president Frank Capone.

Middletown put out a new request for proposals for the job. The project has now been split among two contractors. Also, the district was able to scale back the project "significantly," said Doherty, saving the district about $760,000.

The original bid Middletown was going to pay for the work last year was $1.9 million. Middletown will now pay ATT Sports and Keystone a combined $1.28M, for a cost savings of $760,000, which Doherty seemed very pleased to report at the meeting.

The track/turf replacement is scheduled to resume once the weather warms up this spring. The work will continue through the summer, with the goal of having the North track/turf field ready for use when the school year begins in September 2024.

Capone said he was happy to see the track and turf replacement move forward, "especially saving almost $750,000." The North turf field has not been updated in at least 15 years, he said.

Last year: Middletown School District Sued Over North Turf Field Replacement

District Promises Funds Set Aside For Middletown North Turf Project

Here is the agenda from Tuesday night's meeting, and the paperwork that shows the bids awarded to ATT/Keystone: https://go.boarddocs.com/nj/mi...

Something else Middletown parents should know:

At some point in 2024, the district is preparing to do a "district-wide master facility assessment," said Doherty.

This will be a comprehensive look at all the facilities and buildings in the district, and seeing where improvements need to be made, and if any new construction should be done. The school district will likely eventually ask Middletown residents to vote on a referendum to fund capital improvement work, which means borrow money to pay for the work.

"We really haven't had a large-scale capital improvement plan in nearly 20 years," said Doherty Tuesday night. "It is time we start planning for that. It is time to look at all the things we need across the district."

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The brand-new At Home Middletown is now officially open:

The store opened June 28, but will have its grand opening this Saturday, July 15. They are located at 1361 Hwy. 35 north, in Middletown Plaza, next to Meemom's.

On Saturday, At Home will offer the first 50 customers in the store who sign up for the Insider Perks loyalty program a mystery gift card. The Middletown At Home is open seven days a week - Monday-Friday: 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday: 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.

At Home says they are "the home & holiday superstore," and carry up to 45,000 on-trend home products to fit every room, style, season and budget, including furniture, mirrors, rugs, art and housewares to tabletop, patio and seasonal décor. At Home is headquartered in Dallas, Texas and currently operates 264 stores in 40 states.

Their Middletown location is their eighth — and newest — store in New Jersey.

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“At Home is pleased to bring our eighth store to New Jersey with the opening of At Home Middletown,” said Michael Dzura, At Home's senior vice president of stores. “Our hope is that this store provides customers endless possibilities for every room and style at every budget.”

“We are always excited to welcome new businesses to our community,” said Middletown Mayor Tony Perry in a statement provided to Patch. “At Home is a great addition to Middletown Plaza and we wish them much success!”

“We welcome our newest chamber member At Home to Middletown," said Eastern Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Jennifer Eckhoff. "We are excited to shop for unique home decor for every season at incredible values locally."

At Home bills itself as "the leading destination for home décor, giving customers a wide selection of style ideas all at a great price. Hundreds of new items arrive each week to provide fresh inspiration and shoppers will discover new collections from designers Laila Ali, Tracey Boyd, Willow Crossley, Grace Mitchell and Ty Pennington.

Middletown also plans to completely redo the playground at McMahon, making it an inclusive playground with a rubber surface.

Patch Staff

|Updated Thu, Jan 27, 2022 at 8:24 pm ET

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Middletown Twp. plans to install six pickleball courts at McMahon Park in North Middletown this spring.

The six new courts are part of a larger renovation of McMahon Park. Middletown also plans to completely redo the playground at McMahon, making it an inclusive playground that children with special needs can also enjoy.

“The funds will be used to give the playground a complete overhaul,” said Mayor Tony Perry. “It will be the Township’s second fully inclusive playground — the other is at Croydon Hall — and will include rubber surfacing, as opposed to the more common wood chip surface, creating even greater accessibility.”

“We’ll be starting out with six courts so the pickleball community will have a place to call their own,” said Township Administrator Tony Mercantante. “We’re currently reviewing proposals from engineering firms for the design phase and anticipate that the project will begin in late spring.”

In total, the McMahon Park project will cost $400,000.

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

Last year, Middletown submitted the McMahon Park proposal to Monmouth County. This January, Middletown was given $200,000 from the county's Open Space Trust Fund to build the courts.

Middletown Twp. will issue a bond to fund the remaining $200,000. The bond was introduced at the most recent Township Committee meeting on Jan. 18. It was only introduced, not yet approved.

“The Township Committee and I introduced a bond ordinance at the last meeting for capital improvements to the playground at McMahon Park," said Perry.

Monmouth County gave 19 towns Open Space grant money this January: Highlands got $200,000 to build a skatepark at Snug Harbor; see a rendering here: https://highlandsborough.org/w...

Eatontown received $48,000 to build a splash pad/water park. The splash pad will be located in an entirely new park Eatontown is building, Nicodemus Park.

Construction on all of these projects is expected to start this spring.

Here are all the Monmouth County towns that will get funding for park improvements in 2022 (all matching grants):

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Contact this Patch reporter: Carly.baldwin@patch.com