The BRICK Times
Vol. 20 - No. 4
In This Week’s Edition
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Farmers’ Market Reopens
BREAKING NEWS @
jerseyshoreonline.com
Community News! Pages 8-9
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Pages 12
Dear Pharmacist Pages 13
Inside The Law Page 21
─Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn The Farmers’ Market brought back some normalcy to daily life in Brick. By Judy Smestad-Nunn BRICK - The Saturday Farmers’ Market has a new look and new safety measures in place due to social distancing, but it is as busy as ever with shoppers who are happy to be out of the house and vendors who are happy to sell their products. Now in its sixth year, the popular market opened on May 16 when
an estimated 1,200 people shoppers came out to Windward Beach to buy fresh produce, plants, prepared foods, crafts, and much more. The township Recreation Depar t ment staff, police and other officials were on hand to ensure that shoppers adhere to rules put into place due to the coronavirus pandemic. For example, in the
past, vendor booths were side-by-side along the asphalt walkway. Now they are spaced about 20 feet apart, and booths are also spread out on the grass field. All customers and vendors must wea r masks, and foot traffic proceeds in one direction. Customers may not handle produce or other items, and vendors must have one per-
son to handle payments and the other to handle the products. “Much like many other aspects of daily life, we had to adapt the Farmers’ Market to make it as safe as possible,” said Mayor John G. Ducey. “But having the market open will provide some sense of progress and normalcy, which is a positive (Market - See Page 2)
Toll Increase, Toms River Parkway Changes Proposed
By Chris Lundy TR ENTON – The Turnpike Authority issued a plan to increase tolls throughout the Garden St ate Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike which will include improvements in Ocean County and
beyond. The tolls will increase by 27 percent on the Parkway and 36 percent on the Turnpike for passenger vehicles. Commercial vehicles will see an increase as well. The tolls are expected to go into effect
Sept. 13. In Ocean County, the Barnegat toll will increase from $1.50 to $1.90 and the Toms River toll will increase from 75 cents to 95 cents. The tolls on the ramps in Waretown, Lacey, Berkeley, Lake-
wood and Brick will increase from 50 cents to 65 cents. The tolls will help pay for improvement projects th roughout these two roads. Locally, there is a proposed cha nge to Pa rk way miles 80-83, in Toms
River and South Toms River. The Authority said four continuous lanes in each direction are needed between Interchanges 80 and 83 “to accommodate future traffic demands.” Full (Tolls - See Page 6)
June 6, 2020
Plan Forming To Address Normandy Flooding
By Judy Smestad-Nunn BRICK - Homeowners from the barrier island community of Normandy Beach attended council meetings from December 2019 through February 2020 to ask for the township’s help since streets that previously flooded a couple of times a year now f lood about twice a month. Normandy Beach is located in one of the township’s low-lying areas that sits at just 1.5 feet above the water line. Residents say there is a safety hazard when the streets f lood since cars can’t pass through the only road that exits the community. They said cars, mail trucks, school buses and package delivery trucks could not drive through the f looded streets. “What happens basically is if there’s a high tide a certain amount above a normal high tide, the water comes up through the drains,” said Mayor John G. Ducey during the May 26 council meeting. In January, the governing body hired ACT Engineering, who was tasked with coming up with a strategy that would put Brick in the queue for FEMA funding for projects that could help to alleviate f looding there. ACT Engineering was identified as a firm with a successful track record in projects that have resulted in Federal Emergency Management Agency funding. The engineering company has determined that elevating roads could reduce flooding. Since Normandy Beach is divided between Brick and Toms River, the townships have entered into a shared services agreement for securing state funding for roadway elevations for the f lood-prone sections there. New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is accepting applications for state aid projects for 2021, and this agreement will result in a joint application to benefit residents in both municipalities, Ducey said. As part of the agreement, Toms River will prepare and submit a joint application to the NJDOT for 2021 funding for the street elevation projects. This project will focus (Flooding - See Page 4)
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