A celebration of Bradley Beach “Superheroes”

First responders and other key personnel were honored on February 18th by the Bradley Beach Business and Community Alliance on Sunday, February 18th for their service to the community.  The event was attended by members of the BB Police Department, the BB Fire Department, the BB First Aid Squad, the Office of Emergency Management, and the Department of Public Works.  All of these women and men serve our community and provide essential services that are essential for a thriving community like ours. 

- Biase Building is re-opening!

We are near completion of the Biase Building full utilization.  That task was pretty much concluded this week.  We are still working through an improved configuration for the Historical Society; but our Community Development, Meals on Wheels, and Senior Club are again using this space.  Big thanks to the Department of Public Works for their hard work in getting us a “new and improved” site.

The “Meals on Wheels” volunteer group moved back into the north part of the Biase Building on Monday.  This team makes people’s lives better 5 days a week. The Team, Our Meals on Wheels team, headed up by Barbara Anderson, supports seven area communities each day with a solid breakfast and lunch for those who struggle to get out and are housebound- about 55 homes per day- Monday through Friday. Between this team and the Bradley Food Pantry, we are blessed with the opportunity to serve the citizens of Bradley Beach and Monmouth County.

Senior Lunch Wednesday- back home!

Our ever-growing Senior Club had their return to the Biase Building on Wednesday with their monthly meeting.  Again, Our Administration and Public Works Team has worked with the Senior Club President- Jean Leahy, to ensure a smooth transition.

Special thanks to Roy Christensen of the Fire Company who hosted the Meals on Wheels and Senior Club for a number of months in 2023.  This was additional work for the Fire Company, and they graciously accommodated these two important groups!

Continuing efforts on our Infrastructure

Building on the Biase building story, we are working on “re-fitting” the Historical Society next.

We’ll be meeting with the grant officials this week to begin the planning process for up to $50,000.00 for Pre-Development Planning to renovate the Retired Utility Building at 54 Ocean Avenue into a Museum and Exhibit Hall.  

The pre-development will focus on the infrastructure needs and a basic design that could be for a few different uses.  However, we:

• Will partner with the BB Historical Society developing requirements
• Will continue “asset management” discussions with appropriate parties
• CME (Ben Matlack), our Borough Engineers, will help lead the effort

The possibilities of a building on the Promenade that could be a “rotating exhibit hall” for the Historical Society that our residents and visitors could enjoy as they enjoy our “priceless asset” – the beachfront, is an extraordinary opportunity.

Now- on to the BIG NEWS on COASTAL RESILIENCE

Last fall, The State announced a $100 million opportunity for coastal communities to apply for grants with the idea of revitalizing existing boardwalks and increasing storm resiliency.  We have had a vision for years (part of our Master Plan) to “finish” our Promenade that currently stretches from the north part of town south and ends at Third Avenue.  When the opportunity was announced, we were ready to respond with a grant application.  After discussion with the Governor’s office to understand and educate each other, our Acting Business Administrator- Meredith DeMarco, and our Borough Engineer, Ben Matlack, got to work and completed the application.  Now the really hard work starts- planning, resident input, working with the Dept. Of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Army Corp of Engineers, etc., etc., etc.!  Exciting!

A few other points on the Boardwalk Preservation Fund.  First- thank you Governor Murphy for including it in the 2024 state budget!  Of the 40 Jersey Shore communities, 18 were awarded grant money.  Our neighbor, Asbury Park, along with Atlantic City, topped the list with $20 million dollar grants- congratulations.  Bradley Beach faired VERY WELL – with a $4.275 million dollar award.  To be clear, we expect this project to exceed that amount.  We will probably have to bond the balance; but the investment in the safety and resilience of our town is essential.  More to come!

Update- the Mayors Wellness Campaign exciting news!!!

Learn About Acupuncture

Learn about the general principles of acupuncture, including a hands-on demonstration exploring EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) which uses acupuncture points for anxiety and stress relief. Please use the link or QR code to register for this zoom. 

Pre-registration, which is required, can be made at bradleybeachnj.gov/mayors-wellness-campaign.

- Main Street focus in 2024

We have stated that one of our objectives for 2024 is a comprehensive assessment of improvement opportunities on Main Street. We had two very important presentations given at the Council meeting on Feb. 14th.  The first was a presentation given by the Bradley Beach Business and Community Alliance (BBBCA) on a brief survey they conducted late last year.  Ed Mulligan and Andres Zapato did a nice job presenting to the Council the results of a 26-question survey dealing with priorities, with an emphasis on Main Street.  The survey touched on the following areas of Main Street:

The survey details will be available on the BBBCA website next week.  Take the time to review the results and certainly provide your opinions!

CME Inputs:

From that presentation, Ben Matlack of CME provided a refreshed presentation of prior studies and recommendations that have been made that, as of now, have not yet been acted on.  The combination of a prior Rutgers Study and CME recommendations made in 2022 were presented.

I believe this is our time to act on this important part of our community.  Bradley Beach has 2 key “bookends- our Priceless Beachfront and our Main Street.  Between these 2 bookends are the 4,000+ stories that comprise our home town.  Hopefully we’ll get to work on a plan to improve Main Street!

-Police Chief Leonard Guida Retiring on March 1st

Leonard Guida is retiring from the Bradley Beach Police Department, effective March 1st, 2024. Chief Guida is retiring seven months earlier than anticipated.

As many of you know, there has been an ongoing investigation conducted by the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office.  Their report is complete, and actions have been taken based upon the recommendations from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.  I appreciate the concerns raised by many of you and I take them very seriously.

I’d like to thank Chief Guida for his 40+ years of service to our Borough.  Under his leadership, our community has become a much safer place to live. 

Per Bradley Beach Code, Captain James Arnold shall perform the duties of the Chief of Police effective March 1st.

On a personal note, as a resident of Bradley Beach, I am saddened by the media attention that has cast a negative pall on our Police Department and in some ways, our town.  I’d ask that we all come together and continue to improve this tight-knit community we live in.

We will continue to focus on Service and Progress as a Municipal Team.

Thanks, and see you around town.          

Mayor Larry Fox