Home Care In Brick, NJ

Brick Township’s planning board has approved an application by the owner of the longtime home of now-closed TGI Friday’s restaurant to open two new establishments in its place.

The board approved the application by Mission BBQ Brick LLC to open a Mission BBQ restaurant within the 7,537 square foot restaurant located at the intersection of Route 70 and Chambers Bridge Road. Half of the existing building will house the barbecue restaurant while the remaining half will provide space for another restaurant that has yet to be named.

Renovations of existing building normally do not require planning board hearings, however the Mission BBQ application included a proposal to add an exterior enclosure and fence for outdoor dining, as well as the preparation of food outside. The small addition created a technicality in which previous variances over lot lines in the shopping plaza had to be ratified, and the new application was considered an expansion of those variances.

Mission BBQ’s proposal for the site also included an expansion of the parking area, landscape alterations, the addition of a flagpole, plus new signage and facade renovations.

The building was originally constructed as a “Mr. Steak” restaurant, and was later home to a bar and grill known as The Office until TGI Friday’s moved in and remained in business for two decades.

Mission BBQ, based in Glen Burnie, Md., operates 142 restaurants across the country, including four in New Jersey (Deptford, Marlton, Hamilton, Sicklerville), with most of its establishments located on the east coast or midwest. It opened Sept. 11, 2011 – on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks – with a stated mission of donating a portion of its proceeds to various veterans and support organizations.

The chain serves brisket, pulled pork, ribs and other twists on southern cuisine. It also offers various sausages with southern spices, turkey dishes, salmon and pulled chicken, along with macaroni and cheese, beans and collard greens.

The shopping center surrounding the former TGI Friday’s restaurant has gone through several changes in recent years, including the closure of the Bed Bath and Beyond store that once co-anchored the plaza along with Best Buy and West Marine. The portion that housed Bed Bath and Beyond is now home to a Ross, an off-price clothing retailer that opened in late July. Ross operates 1,795 stores in 43 U.S. states and territories.

BRICK, NJ — Brick Township officials have announced the new rules for beach vehicle driving permits for this fall along with changes in the process, prompted by residents' requests.

The changes were included in an ordinance introduced at the Aug. 12 Township Council meeting that is expected to be approved at the Sept. 9 council meeting. The ordinance increases the number of permits to 200, and opens the permits to Brick Township residents before making them available to the general public.

Applications for beach vehicle permits are available in the Township Clerk's office at town hall, 401 Chambers Bridge Road. They also can be downloaded from the township's website.

The town will begin accepting permit applications on Wednesday, Sept. 10, with that day reserved for Brick Township residents only.

The permit applications will be accepted at town hall from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and proof of residency will be required on Sept. 10. Only complete applications will be processed, officials said.

Beginning Sept. 11, the town will accept permit applications from residents and non-residents, and they can be submitted in person or by mail.

"All applications will be date- and time-stamped and processed on a first-come, first-served basis," the township said.

The application fee is $35, payable by cash, check (made payable to Twp. of Brick) or credit card (American Express not accepted).

Vehicle inspections will be scheduled in 30-minute time slots to help reduce wait times. Applicants are asked to indicate their preferred inspection slot when submitting their application. All required documents and equipment must be presented at the inspection; photocopying will not be available on-site.

Permits will be mailed or made available for pick-up during the week following the scheduled inspection, based on the applicant’s preference.

For additional information, residents can contact the Municipal Clerk’s Office at 732-262-1001.

The policy slated for approval in September would prohibit students from having their phones out and on in school, with limited exceptions.

BRICK, NJ — Brick Township students will not be permitted to have their smartphones turned on while they are on the bus or in school under a new policy introduced by the Board of Education on Tuesday night.

The policy, which is slated for a second reading and approval at the Sept. 9 board meeting, bans the use of any "electronic communication device anywhere on school grounds" from the time the students board the bus in the morning or arrive at school until they leave school and get off the bus at the end of the day.

It was the result of extensive discussions, said Alyce Anderson, the district's director of curriculum and instruction.

"We spent a year examining what we should be doing where students are concerned," Anderson said, and the policy tries to balance the need to halt problems caused by student cellphone use with the desire of people to have phone access in an emergency.

"We do not want to see phones out and being used on buses, in classrooms, in hallways," she said. "We want students' full and undivided attention, and we want to get them back face-to-face with folks and learning how to communicate and develop relationships and to learn."

There will be limited exceptions, including the ability of administration at the district's two high schools to allow student use in class on a very limited basis. she said.

The policy comes as more and more districts and U.S. states are restricting the use of smartphones in schools amid the epidemic of mental health issues among children and young adults, and growing research showing the 24/7 access to social media is a significant contributor to the problem.

Anderson said the district did presentations on multiple occasions to connect with both staff and parents about the plan to ban use and the district's reasoning. That included discussions of "The Anxious Generation," a book by Jonathan Haidt that examined the connections between social media access and smartphones and the mental health issues seen in students.

"Many principals led book studies with their faculty," Anderson said, and there were presentations for teachers at district professional days, along with information presented to parents at PTA meetings and during family nights at schools.

So far, 33 states have enacted rules or laws limiting or banning the use of cellphones in schools, the Associated Press reported.

Gov. Phil Murphy said he would support a statewide ban on cellphone use in schools in January in his State of the State address, and while there are bills pending in the Senate and Assembly, they have languished since being released from the Assembly Education committee in March.

A Fairleigh Dickinson University poll conducted earlier this year found significant support for banning cellphone use in schools.

Several districts have moved forward with cellphone use bans of varying levels in the meantime, including Middletown, Moorestown, Basking Ridge and Bridgewater-Raritan. While Basking Ridge and Bridgewater-Raritan primarily focus on their high schools, Moorestown addresses at all levels, from elementary to high school. Cherry Hill and Morristown also have implemented bans.

Middletown's cellphone use ban also includes the prospect of discipline for students who use their cellphones to "embarrass, demean, bully, harass, intimidate or otherwise violate the privacy or safety of another person" even after school hours and while off-campus.

Brick's proposed policy focuses on the school day, from the time the students get on the bus or set foot in school for those who attend before-school programs, until they get off the bus or leave after-school programs. It also covers every grade level from elementary through high school.

Students will be required to have their phones turned off and passcode-protected, and they will have to stay in their backpacks, bookbags or lockers. Parents who need to reach students in an emergency will be required to call the main office at their child's school, under the policy.

It also spells out some of the exceptions where cellphone use is acceptable, such as by students attending activities as spectators or in connection with work being done for the district's yearbooks or the drama club. Read the two parts of the policy here and here.

People who walk the path around the reservoir on Sally Ike and Herbertsville roads will have to find another place for several months.

BRICK, NJ — Access to the popular walking path around the Brick Reservoir will be closed beginning Aug. 18, the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority has announced.

The Brick MUA had announced the access closure in June but had not given a specific date until recently. The water level at the reservoir has been lowered in advance of the work.

The closure is for improvements to the reservoir that will increase its useable capacity and reduce the effects of erosion, according to the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank, which is helping to finance the project.

The work includes reinforcing the upper slopes of the reservoir to prevent erosion when water levels drop.

"Currently, erosion limits the reservoir's usable storage to just the top 5 feet (between elevations 95 and 100 feet above sea level)," the site said.

The infrastructure work will stabilize an additional 15 feet of the slopes (down to elevation 80), increasing the reservoir's capacity" when the MUA can't draw water from the river.

"The work involves removing the existing sand layer over the liner and adding a protective layer of geotextile fabric, gravel, and stone," the infrastructure bank statement said. "By strengthening the reservoir's banks, this project enhances climate resilience, safeguards drinking water supply, and ensures the long-term reliability of this critical infrastructure."

"For safety reasons, public access to the reservoir and surrounding recreational areas will not be allowed during this period. We understand this may cause some inconvenience and appreciate your patience and cooperation as we complete this vital work," officials said.

The closing is expected to last about 10 months, MUA officials said.

The Brick MUA approved a contract for $7.967 million for work at the reservoir in December. According to the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank statement, $3,768,154 of the project is approved through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is funding $2,826,104 of that cost.

The NJ Resiliency Bank is providing $1,040,000, which covers the $942,000 difference between the FEMA funding and the FEMA-approved portion of the project, along with an additional 10 percent of the expenses, the NJIB said.

"Any additional costs beyond the FEMA-covered amount were financed through the NJ Water Bank," the NJIB said.

MUA officials said updates including the anticipated reopening will be posted on its website.