BASEMENT WATERPROOFING IN Toms River

TOMS RIVER – You might have noticed land being cleared on Bay Avenue near the Ocean County Mall. This is the start of a proposed retail building that will be built there. However, the tenants are not yet set in stone.

The 12,000 square foot retail building will have 49 parking spaces, according to township documents. There would be access from “both Bay Avenue and Mall Access Drive.” There are also plans for a drainage system, utilities, landscaping, and lighting.

The property is approximately 2.43 acres. It was a wooded area but all the trees were to be cut down for the development.

Plans for the building go back at least to 2015. There have been a few times that it looked like construction was about to start.

The approval given by the Planning Board had one variance. A variance is when a developer’s plan doesn’t conform to all of the rules the town set for the property. In these cases, the developer asks for a variance to allow the plan to proceed with one or more changes. The land use board then decides whether the variance is a big deal worth denying the entire plan, or if they should allow it, or make some kind of compromise.

For this particular property, 53 parking spaces were required given the size of the building but only 49 were proposed. The board saw this as a trivial difference since it’s right next to the entire parking lot of the Ocean County Mall. Mall parking is usually only an issue in December.

The Board also allowed the developer some leeway in design since it’s a retail use in a retail area. Also, the developer has agreed to install sidewalks along Bay Avenue.

One condition of approval is that the building can’t house more than four different tenants. The Board wanted to see such things as a truck turning plan and signage.

The developer is officially listed as Block 578 Bay Avenue LLC, because the property’s at Block 578, Lots 10 and 19 on the township’s tax map.

A representative from the Ocean County Mall said they did not have any additional information about potential tenants but will share it as soon as it becomes available.

The most recent new tenant at the Mall is On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, which had a grand opening on November 14.

A Toms River mother who forgot to put the garbage cans out shared her gratitude after a public works employee made sure they got emptied.

TOMS RIVER, NJ — We have all been there. Maybe we were out late. Maybe we were sick. For whatever reason, we forgot to put the garbage cans at the curb.

And when it happened to the Cirillo family earlier this week, it could have been an added frustration at a busy time, because their garbage cans were filled to the brim.

Thanks to the kindness of a stranger — Toms River Township public works employee Mike Scalley— they have one less annoyance, because he got out of his truck, grabbed their cans and pulled them to the curb, and emptied them.

"He made our day," Erica Cirillo wrote in a post on Facebook Wednesday, where she shared the home surveillance footage of Scalley's actions.

"We are so tired, we forgot to put them out," Cirillo said in the post. "It’s been a rough month."

Cirillo said their daughter had recently come home after spending 15 days in intensive care in the hospital.

"She hasn’t been sleeping at all, so we go to bed at 3 a.m.," she said. "She has a long recovery, so we are so grateful for what he did."

In the video below, you can see the lid of one can partially open from the amount of garbage inside as Scalley wheels them to the curb, empties them, and continues on with his route.

"This restores faith, everywhere. This is what needs to go around the internet. Thank you for being so kind," Cirillo wrote.

"One of my goals when I became the mayor was to improve customer service for our residents," Mayor Maurice Hill said. "I told the employees that we work for the residents and they pay our salaries and deserve to have courteous customer service. We may not be able to give every resident the answer they are looking for but we will try to provide good service in a courteous manner."

"Whenever I receive a complimentary email highlighting great customer service that they received, I present them with a certificate of appreciation," Hill said. "A copy of the email and the certificate are entered into the employee's record."

This has been updated with comment from Mayor Maurice Hill.

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There is a new future in the works for the infamous and hazardous Ciba-Geigy Superfund Site in the township of Toms River. But there's still much to be worked out and residents will have an opportunity to speak their mind as well on the site plans.

A settlement was reached between the BASF Corporation — which acquired and took the responsibility of the site (located in the area of 277 Oak Ridge Parkway) from the Ciba-Geigy Chemical Corp. in 2010, including for remediation work — and the state Department of Environmental Protection.

"This property is still a deep wound in Toms River both emotionally and environmentally. There's been damage done, extensive damage done to Toms River," Mayor Maurice "Mo" Hill said Tuesday after the settlement was announced. "We have people who've been affected by the cancer cluster — it's a sensitive area, a sensitive property, and a sensitive issue."

Ciba-Geigy opened a chemical plant in 1952 and until 1990 when the plant ceased operations, they manufactured industrial dyes, pigments, resins, epoxy additives, and plastics, according to the NJ-DEP and EPA, which in 1983 put CG on the National Priorities List after learning there was improper chemical waste disposal causing serious environmental and health illnesses and concerns to the Toms River community and beyond in Ocean County.

The contaminated residential irrigation wells could no longer do any damage by leaking out anything by 1991, according to the EPA, and a more thorough treatment of the contaminated groundwater picked up in 1996 and ever since, there have been about 17 billion gallons of contaminated water cleaned up with those efforts, including testing continuing today.

The BASF and DEP settlement includes a proposal to restore natural resources damaged by industrial pollution and illegal dumping at the site, and permanently preserve 1,000 acres for the public to use by adding access, recreation activities and educational opportunities.

To go along with that, there is a proposed DEP ecological restoration that "would include the creation of a freshwater wetlands complex, restoration of riparian areas, flood plain and wetland enhancements, creation of upland grasslands and pollinator habitat, public access trails and boardwalks for wildlife viewing and passive recreation."

Another part of the proposal is to use about 790 acres for open space and include projects such as an ecological uplift, habitat enhancement, and public access that will allow access for hiking trails, birdwatching platforms and blinds. Another 210 acres will be used for pollinator habitat and solar energy production.

It'll be a five-year process after the project is predicted to break ground in the spring of 2023 but there will be parts opened up in phases over time.

You can contribute your feedback and comments over the next 30 days on the DEP webpage.

“Every natural resource of our state belongs directly to the people of New Jersey, and as the trustee of their natural resources, it is our job to make sure that when pollution damages our environment, the people are paid back for the harm to their natural resources,” DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said in a written statement.

“A true turnaround story, this settlement would transform one of New Jersey’s most notorious polluted sites into one of our biggest environmental success stories—one that delivers the natural resource quality that every community deserves, shoulder-to-shoulder with a good corporate citizen determined to repair the environmental damage of our shared industrial past. My sincere thanks to BASF and every partner that contributed to this success for the people of New Jersey.”

Upon learning of the settlement on Tuesday that did not include any local input, Toms River Mayor Maurice "Mo" Hill issued a statement of his own encouraging residents to fill out the survey.

Hill said that they do welcome "the 1,000 acres that the DEP is going to put aside for an environmental park and an environmental center," however, they have a couple of requests to address lingering concerns.

One is to have the proposed environmental center include an exhibit that documents "the extensive damage done to the environment by Ciba and the history of it, so that it's memorialized," Hill said.

Another is to have BASF fund to compensate the cancer victims.

"We'd also to request that the DEP require BASF to deed the 250 acres that they're going to leave as developmental land to the township of Toms River for the damages incurred to the environment in Toms River and to the residents. We would like it deeded as open space to Toms River and not developed. We'd like to see the whole site preserved as open space, not just the 1,000 acres and then 250 acres for development."

Hill says this would make it the largest single open space area in town and wants it undeveloped.

Above all, there are 30-plus years of emotions resting on this sensitive topic for health reasons and residential concerns alone, and Hill explains that comes first.

"Toms River was aggrieved by the environmental damage and by the damage and pain and suffering of the citizens with the cancer cluster and everything else," Hill said. "We think it should be left as open space in putridity for Toms River and it shouldn't be developed."

“Preserving 1000 of open space is great news for the residents of Toms River who are all concerned by the impact of overdevelopment on the quality of life in our community.

So long as the pollution has been successfully remediated, making the site safe for public access, the proposed nature preserve, park, trails, a boardwalk, and environmental center would be would be a great enhancement for our residents and a potential boom to our tourism industry.

However, I have three requests of NJDEP and BASF that will be formally made during the public comment period and in letters to Governor Murphy and New Jersey Commissioner of Environmental Protection Shawn M. LaTourette:

I urge all Toms River residents to support these proposals, and to make their own comments during the 30 day comment period."

TOMS] RIVER, NJ — Want a Fribble? There's only one place to get one in Toms River now, after Friendly's Restaurant closed its Route 37 location as of Monday night.

The restaurant, near the Berkeley Township border, is closed permanently according to the official Facebook page for the location.

Employees of the Route 37 location were informed Monday that it was closing, according to one who asked not to be named.

A message left for Friendly's corporate office seeking comment was not immediately answered.

The closure leaves only the Hooper Avenue restaurant across from the Ocean County Mall as the only Toms River location for those who want a Fribble or a Jim Dandy sundae to indulge in the treats.

Toms River had four Friendly's several years ago. One on Main Street was sold several years ago and now is operated as a breakfast and lunch restaurant called Shut Up and Eat!, where you can show up in your pajamas for a fun breakfast atmosphere. There also was one at the Ocean County Mall near Sears, readers reminded Patch.

The Hooper Avenue restaurant also becomes the only remaining location in Ocean or Monmouth counties. The Friendly's website lists just 13 remaining Friendly's in New Jersey, with a 14th — Voorhees — listed as temporarily closed.

The Marlton location, which was reported by NJ.com as closing in August, is still listed as open on the Friendly's corporate site. The owner of the shopping mall property wants to convert that Friendly's space into two quick-serve restaurants, according to a report by 70and73.com.

Friendly's has filed for bankruptcy protection on several occasions, most recently in 2020 as it struggled with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Franchise Wire reported.

It was purchased in January 2021 by Amici Partners Group, which has been introducing new items, including a rewards program, to try to stabilize the business, Fox Business reported.

Note: This article has been updated to correct there were once four Toms River Friendly's locations. Thank you to our readers who remembered the one we did not.

Pamela Monaco was chosen after a six-month search to replace Jon Larson, who is stepping down at the end of June.

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The Ocean County College Board of Trustees has chosen the college's next president, the college announced Thursday.

Pamela Monaco, currently vice president of academic and student affairs at Wilbur Wright College in Chicago, will become president of OCC on July 1, 2023.

Monaco will succeed President Jon H. Larson, who announced in April that he will step away from his role at the end of June. Larson will work part-time for two years in an advisory role to assist with the transition, the announcement said.

Larson became the fourth president of OCC on Aug. 1, 2000, following his time as president of Luzerne County Community College in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. He also served as vice president for administration/dean of institutional services at Frederick Community College in Frederick, Maryland, and worked as a research associate at the University of Maryland’s National Center for Post-Secondary Governance and Finance.

In his time at Ocean County College, Larson has overseen the college's development into a technology hub for the county, OCC officials said.

The news release described Monaco as "a passionate advocate for community colleges."

"Dr. Monaco believes that education transforms lives, and she has consistently demonstrated her commitment to removing the barriers that stand in the way of student success," said Jerry Dasti, chair of the OCC Board of Trustees. "The Board is confident that Dr. Monaco will be a dynamic and proactive leader at OCC, one who shares our values and goals for the future and whose strategic vision and collaborative spirit will position the College to thrive and excel in the years ahead."

She was chosen following a six-month search and interview process that drew applications from across the country.

Monaco impressed the Search Committee and the Board of Trustees with her dedication to educational excellence and her long-standing commitment to meeting the diverse needs of the students she serves, the college said.

“On behalf of the board, I want to express my appreciation to the Search Committee for its time and efforts and to the entire C]ollege community for participating in the process that led to the selection of Dr. Monaco,” Dasti said.

Monaco earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from George Washington University and master’s and doctoral degrees in English from The Catholic University of America. She has more than 30 years of experience in higher education.

Larson serves on the Legislative Committee of the New Jersey Council of County Colleges and was Chair of the Presidents’ Association of the Council, which is comprised of all New Jersey college and university presidents. He is a member of the ACCT Advisory Committee of Presidents. He serves as a board member and trustee of the NJ Marine Sciences Consortium, where he also is a member of the Sea Grant Advisory Council.