2020-09-26 - The Brick Times

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The BRICK Times

Vol. 20 - No. 19

MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS

JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM

Interfaith Helps Families When They Need It Most

In This Week’s Edition

September 26, 2020

Restaurants To Replace Old Bank

─Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn

BREAKING NEWS @

jerseyshoreonline.com

Dr. Izzy's Sound News Page 16

Inside The Law Page 19

Classifieds Page 22

─Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn Patricia Cash, Executive Director of Interfaith Hospitality Network of Ocean County, runs the house that serves as overnight accommodation for the homeless. By Judy Smestad-Nunn OCEAN COUNTY Something as simple as a flat tire can break the tenuous financial balance of some families who are living paycheck to paycheck, by creating a domino effect after missing a day of work and having to pay for the

tire repair. It’s not only single-parent homes who are struggling financially while trying to keep a roof over their heads, said Patricia Cash, Executive Director of Interfaith Hospitality Network of Ocean County (IHNOC), which provides shelter,

meals and supportive services to the homeless working poor. “We are seeing more and more intact homeless families because the rents are so high in Ocean County - an average two-bedroom apartment is around $1,500 a month, on the low end, and with

both parents making minimum wage...well, you do the math,” she said. “Add an illness or the car breaks down - and now with COVID, many families have become homeless.” Brick Township recently distributed a $43,500

By Judy Smestad-Nunn BRICK - A section of the 23.6-acre ShopRite/Kohl’s shopping center will have a new look after the Santander Bank is demolished and replaced with two new restaurants. Urban Edge Properties, which owns Brick Commons, got just enough votes during a recent Board of Adjustment meeting for the project to proceed. “Our client has been before the Board on several occasions over the past 20 years or so for various modifications to the plan,” said the applicant’s attorney John A. Giunco. In February 2016, the Board approved a 3,757-square-foot endcap building next to the Old Navy space, which has not yet been built. In February 2018, Urban Edge Properties got permission to demolish the 1,345-squarefoot Brick Hearing Aid building which was (Bank - See Page 9)

(Family - See Page 2)

Officials Still Demand New Veterans Administration Clinic

By Chris Lundy OCEAN COUNTY – While local officials continue to push for a new veterans clinic, there doesn’t seem to be one on the horizon any time soon. The current building, the James J. Howard Outpatient Clinic, opened more than 25 years ago in Brick, but the veteran population has since outgrown it. The facility services people from all over Ocean County, but also since it’s so close to the

northern border, it’s easier for some Monmouth County residents to go there, too. There are two major problems with the Brick location: space and parking spaces. There’s not enough space inside the building to serve the veterans that need help, and there aren’t enough parking spaces for them all to park either. While plans for the clinic seemed to be progressing, issues with the federal bidding process led the VA

to cancel a contract to build the clinic. John Dorrity, the director of the Ocean County Veterans Services Bureau, said that the contractor got to the point of breaking ground and quit, so they had to start the whole process over again. As to what actually happened is unclear, but there are a lot of people pointing fingers, he said. He hasn’t heard any news about the project moving forward since

this current rut. Even the location of the future VA is being debated. Toms River wants to move it to a spot off of Hooper Avenue behind the Seacourt Shopping Center. The land back there is being redeveloped into office buildings and housing. Brick has been wanting it to stay in their town, but at a different location. As recently as 2019, they were scouting two spots - behind the Lowe’s Home Improvement store on Cedar Bridge Avenue,

and a wooded triangle-shaped piece of property located between Burrsville Road, Jack Martin Boulevard and Route 88 On a regular basis, local officials call for the VA clinic to move forward. The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders have been vocal about it, as have several local officials. The most recent Berkeley Township Council meeting had their governing body issue a resolution (Clinic - See Page 2)

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