Spring 2025

Spring has finally sprung, warmer weather is right around the corner, and beautiful, colorful, blooming trees and flowers are beginning to grace our Borough’s landscape. I am happy to announce the colorful landscape is matched by our newly revamped color bulletin! Going forward, the Borough will be issuing a bigger and full color edition of the Bulletin on a quarterly basis. Four times a year (spring, summer, fall, and winter editions) The Oceanport Bulletin will be delivered to your mailbox and posted on the Borough’s website. For the past 25 years, Edward Lawrence and Atlantic Printing have composed and delivered the bulletin to Oceanport’s residents, and I want to thank both Mr. Lawrence and Atlantic Printing for their decades of service to the Borough’s residents. Change, as they say, is inevitable, and we believe that this change to a larger, quarterly, color bulletin is a positive one which will be more reflective of 21st century sensibilities.

Another important change for the Borough of Oceanport involves our garbage and recycling contract. Because our existing contract expires June 30, 2025, we recently solicited bids for these services, and we will have a new garbage and recycling contract with Roselle/Suburban Carting beginning on July 1, 2025. To keep costs under control, some, but not all, of the changes in the new contract are: (1) a reduction in garbage/recycling zones from three zones to two zones, (2) the elimination of Saturday pick-ups, and (3) the implementation of WEEKLY recycling pick-ups. Residents (and by “residents” I mean Timoteo “New In Town” Vawn Grom) have been calling for weekly recycling pickups for years. Now, the recycling fairy will be in a neighborhood close to you on a weekly basis as of July 1, 2025. So, there is no need to fan the flames any further, Timoteo, because your prayers have been answered. More information about the garbage and recycling changes can be found on the Borough’s website.

Something that doesn’t change, however, is the number of people who drive at excessive speeds on the Borough’s streets. Contrary to what some people on social media say, the Borough has been acutely aware of this problem for the longest time and has, over the years, tried several different methodologies to reduce the number of speeders in town. The governing body and everybody who works for and with the Borough prioritize health and public safety. A good portion of our hard-earned tax dollars have been allocated towards emergency services training, equipment, vehicles, salaries, and staff. Police Chief Gary Grimes has been especially focused on reducing speeding here in town since he was sworn in as Chief. As of the first week of April, our police department has issued more than 700 tickets. 700 tickets in a little over three months! By way of comparison, last year our police department made approximately 2500 stops throughout the Borough but issued about 1250 tickets. As I have been saying in my Mayor’s Messages, in public, and at council meetings, a good number of the people speeding on our streets are residents of Oceanport. Once again, I encourage you all to please proceed with caution when driving on the streets of Oceanport!

To assist our police department with speeding related tickets and prosecutions, the Governing Body enacted an ordinance that designates many of the “cut-through” streets in Oceanport as “targeted enforcement zones”. Now, when you are pulled over within the targeted enforcement zones for any moving violation, an appearance in the Oceanport Municipal Court is mandated and violators will be unable to pay a ticket without going to court. Hopefully, this will prove to be successful in reducing speeding on our side streets and within Oceanport in general. The Borough will be installing the required signage, and the ordinance should be in full effect within a short period of time.

The redevelopment of Oceanport’s Fort Monmouth section is running on all cylinders. The Riverwalk development along Oceanport Avenue is taking shape beautifully. Of particular note is that The Riverwalk is being developed by two Oceanport residents, Michael Abboud and Christopher Ilvento. In the next few weeks, retail establishments at The Riverwalk will begin opening and we will be able to visit Skinny Flowers Brewery and sign up for a pickleball, squash, and padel membership at Nicol New Jersey. My recommendation is you play the racket sports first, THEN visit the brewery, but that is entirely up to you. Some of the new stores that should open during the summer in The Riverwalk include, but are not limited to, Playa Bowls, Rogue Salon, CKO Kickboxing, Stonefit, Round Dough Bagels, Black Belt America Karate, and Broadway Chicken. As much as The Riverwalk has turbocharged redevelopment in the Fort Monmouth section of Oceanport, it is Netflix that will have the most profound impact on Oceanport’s commercial tax base and redevelopment in general. The Netflix development is moving at a rapid pace, with an anticipated closing date in December of this year. Netflix officials have been meeting with both Eatontown’s and Oceanport’s construction departments and demolition checklists and permits have been issued. The project manager, JT Magen, has contracted with multiple demolition companies to perform the work needed to remove approximately 85 buildings throughout the 300 acres in Oceanport and Eatontown. At first, buildings closer to Highway 35 in Eatontown will be torn down and they will make their way to the 400 District on Oceanport Avenue. The anticipated timeline for the completion of demolition is May of 2026. Netflix has also received approvals to commence phase 1A, which includes four soundstages, reuse of the McAfee center and the current FMERA headquarters, in addition to multiple mill and accessory buildings. Netflix plans on breaking ground during the first quarter of 2026 and anticipates completing the first four soundstages within 12 months. This means we can expect to see them operating as early as mid- 2027 if everything goes smoothly.

New Jersey American Water has notified the Borough that they plan to replace all the existing lead and galvanized waterlines in the Blackberry Bay Park neighborhood. NJAW plans on changing out the service in every street from Monmouth Boulevard to Pocano Avenue between Comanche and Port Au Peck Avenue and it will take about a year for NJAW to complete this project. This, of course, will disrupt many of the streets the Borough just paved, including Comanche Drive in its entirety. Please be assured it has been made crystal clear to NJAW that any street that is disturbed which falls under the five-year moratorium will be required to be paved in its entirety curb to curb! A patch will not be accepted. With respect to the older streets throughout the neighborhood, NJAW will be obligated to pave half of the street. As such, we will go over the mileage and square footage and have NJAW pave certain streets in their entirety, patch the other streets, and the Borough will come behind with the road program and pave the roads NJAW is patching. This work is anticipated to start in May and the Borough has agreed to a 7:30 AM start time.

Memorial Day is right around the corner and the Grand Marshal of this year’s parade is Frederick W.B. Elsen. Frederick is a WW2 veteran who served in the U.S. Navy on the U.S.S. Crosley, a destroyer escort in the Pacific. Frederick served as an Electrician’s Mate 2nd class from 1942 until the end of the war. I look forward to seeing you all at the parade and to honor the brave military men and women who have greatly served this country!