EWING, NJ (Mercer) – Fire badly damaged a home on Beacon Avenue and sent one resident to the hospital early this morning (Tuesday, Sept. 19).
It was 6:06 a.m. when Ewing Township career firefighters and volunteers from the Prospect Heights and West Trenton volunteer fire companies were dispatched. Smoke was rising into the dawning sky as firefighters responded. They arrived to find flames shooting from the windows of a room on the first floor of 116 Beacon Avenue.
Hoselines were stretched and put to work, a water supply was established from a nearby hydrant, and additional firefighters were called to the scene from Trenton, Hopewell, Pennington and Lawrence. The blaze was declared under control at 6:33 a.m.
One resident, reportedly suffering from minor injuries, was transported by a Trenton ambulance to Capital Health Regional Medical Center.
The cause of the blaze was being investigated by township fire and police officials.
TOMS RIVER, NJ (OCEAN)–Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on September 15, 2023, Ashley Beams, 32, of Toms River Township, was sentenced by the Honorable Guy P. Ryan, P.J.Cr.P., to five years New Jersey State Prison as a result of her previously entered guilty plea to Vehicular Homicide in connection with a motor vehicle crash that occurred in Toms River on February 8, 2022 – resulting in the death of James Cruz, 62, of the Parlin section of Old Bridge Township. This sentence will be subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act, meaning that Beams will be required to serve at least 85 percent of her prison sentence before she may be considered for parole eligibility. Beams pled guilty to the charge before Judge Ryan on July 24, 2023. Additionally, on September 15, 2023, Beams pled guilty to the motor vehicle offense of Driving While Under the Influence of Alcohol; as a consequence, Judge Ryan suspended Beams’ driving privileges for a term of one year.
On February 8, 2022, at approximately 10:30 p.m., Officers from the Toms River Township Police Department responded to the area of Bay Avenue for a report of a motor vehicle crash. Responding Officers determined that James Cruz had been struck by a motor vehicle operated by Beams. An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, Toms River Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, revealed that Beams had been traveling eastbound on Bay Avenue approaching the cross street of Twin Oaks Drive. Shortly after passing Twin Oaks Drive, Beams failed to maintain her lane of travel and entered the shoulder – striking Mr. Cruz – who at the time was retrieving a package from the trunk of his vehicle. As a result of the collision, Mr. Cruz was pinned between the two vehicles and carried a significant distance eastbound on Bay Avenue. Mr. Cruz was subsequently pronounced deceased at the scene.
Beams was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment of injuries she sustained in the crash. Blood samples taken from Beams at the hospital and in furtherance of the investigation revealed that her Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) at the time of the collision was substantially higher than .08. In the State of New Jersey, an operator of a motor vehicle is presumed to be over the legal limit for purposes of alcohol consumption where the operator’s BAC is .08 or greater. On February 16, 2022, Beams was arrested by Detectives from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit at her residence. She was transported to the Ocean County Jail, and subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform.
Prosecutor Billhimer acknowledges the diligent efforts of Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Robert Cassidy and Supervising Assistant Prosecutor Jamie Schron who handled the case on behalf of the State, and commends the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Victim Witness Advocacy Unit, Toms River Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their collaborative efforts in connection with this investigation leading to Beams’ guilty pleas – and now her state prison sentence.
EAST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP. East Windsor Township held a 9/11 ceremony including a wreath laying to remember the 22nd Anniversary of 9/11 on Monday, September 11 at the East Windsor Municipal Building grounds, at the 9/11 Memorial. East Windsor Township held and dedicated a 9/11 Memorial 30 days after the events of 9/11 and annually has honored and remembered this day. East Windsor annually remembers Township residents Colleen Barkow, Lorraine Bay, Debbie Bellows, Anil Bharvaney, Neil Lai, Ruth Lapin as well as Joseph Pycior, and All Other Lost September 11, 2001.
Participants in the ceremony included: East Windsor Volunteer Fire Company No. 1; East Windsor Volunteer Fire Company No. 2; Boy Scout Troops 6284 and 63; Cub Scout Pack 53; Girl Scout Troops; Apollo Lodge #41; Natalie Maldonado, East Windsor Regional School District, Hightstown High School; East Windsor Regional School District, Hightstown High School Small Ensemble; Rabbi Jay Kornsgold, Beth El Synagogue; Reverend Stephen E. Bryant, Sr., St. James AME Church; Reverend James R. Egan, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church; Police Chief Jason Hart and Police Department, and Mayor Janice S. Mironov and elected officials.
A wreath laying ceremony at the East Windsor Township 9/11 memorial on the municipal building grounds took place during the Township community remembrance program. Pictured (from left to right) are: Chief Brian Foley, East Windsor Volunteer Fire Company No. 2; Mayor Janice S. Mironov; Chief Gerald Laughlin, East Windsor Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 and United States Air Force Veteran, East Windsor Police Lieutenant Ryan Mattek.
Local Boy Scout Troops 6284, 5700 and 59, Girl Scout Troops 70913 and 72965 and Cub Scout Pack 53 presented the colors at the East Windsor Township 9/11 remembrance ceremony.
Elected officials, clergy, police officers, fire company and rescue squad volunteers, school district, veterans and scouts participated in the ceremony at the East Windsor Township 9/11 memorial to remember and honor the anniversary of September 11. The ceremony took place at the existing 9/11 Memorial located on the grounds of the East Windsor Township Municipal Building (16 Lanning Boulevard).
EAST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP, NJ (MERCER)– Mayor Janice S. Mironov, joined by Council Members Denise Daniels, Anthony Katawick, David Russell and John Zoller, along with Frank Kozar, Getinge Vice President of Logistics Americas and Jim Murray, Ares Industrial Management Managing Director/US Development, announced that Getinge, the global medical device technology company, will occupy the entire newly constructed 167,500 square foot building in the Innovation Park complex on Princeton-Hightstown Road, in East Windsor Township.
Getinge, founded in 1904 in Sweden, is a global medical device technology company which provides innovative equipment and systems to healthcare and life sciences industries, which improve people’s quality of life and save lives. Getinge, using digital advances, is helping to create an improved work environment for healthcare staff with products that simplify their work, lead to increased productivity and save more lives. Getinge assists with devices and systems in a variety of healthcare settings, including for intensive care situations, cardiovascular procedures, operating rooms and sterile processing. The company boasts over 11,000 employees operating in 40 countries and 25,000 customers in over 130 countries. The new Getinge East Windsor Innovation Park facility will join production centers in France, China, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Turkey, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Mayor Mironov stated, “We are extremely excited to welcome to East Windsor globally-established life sciences company Getinge, which develops tools to improve the delivery of health care services. Getinge, a medical device and systems technology innovator, is squarely consistent with the Township vision for this prominently located and impressively designed modern Innovation Park complex.”
Mayor Mironov continued, “We are proud to have Getinge join other Route 571 corridor high-tech and pharmaceutical-related corporations, including Shiseido America, Aurobindo Pharma, QTS and ForDoz Pharma. East Windsor’s strategic prime location in central New Jersey mid-way between New York and Philadelphia, excellent access to major transportation networks, availability of highly skilled labor and hands on business friendly local government environment have contributed to the Township success.”
Frank Kozar, Getinge Vice President, Logistics Americas stated, “At Getinge, we are committed to providing medical devices that saves lives and are excited to open our new center in East Windsor. The location and size of the facility fit our business needs and we already feel very welcomed by the Township Mayor and leadership.”
Jim Murray, Managing Director and Head of US Development for Ares Industrial Management, stated, “As the owner and landlord of Innovation Business Park, we are pleased to welcome Getinge to the Park with a full building lease. Tenant Improvements are underway and we anticipate Getinge beginning occupancy by year end. This is a great fit for the Park and the Township and we look forward to continuing to work with Mayor Mironov and the Township in bringing another first class business to the second building in the development.”
The newly constructed contemporary Innovation Park, located on an 86.97 acres formerly occupied by McGraw Hill and comprised of two buildings, is designed to attract innovative high-tech and pharmaceutical-related business. Innovation Park incorporates modern unique architectural features and extensive outdoor public green spaces, landscaping and berming with deciduous, ornamental and evergreen trees, benches and other amenities, and a walking pathway.
Mayor Janice S. Mironov and Council Members join Getinge and Ares Industrial Management executives to announce the opening of Getinge’s new facility in Innovation Park on Princeton-Hightstown Road in East Windsor Township. Pictured (from left to right) are: Council Member David Russell; Council Member Anthony Katawick; Council Member Denise Daniels; Mayor Janice S. Mironov; Frank Kozar, Vice President, Logistics Americas, Getinge; Jim Murray, Managing Director and Head of US Development, Ares Industrial Management, and Council Member John Zoller.
Mayor Janice S. Mironov and Council Members join Getinge and Ares Industrial Management executives to announce the opening of Getinge’s new facility in Innovation Park on Princeton-Hightstown Road in East Windsor Township. Pictured (from left to right) are: Council Member David Russell; Council Member Anthony Katawick; Council Member Denise Daniels; Council Member John Zoller; Mayor Janice S. Mironov; Frank Kozar, Vice President, Logistics Americas, Getinge, and Jim Murray, Managing Director and Head of US Development, Ares Industrial Management.
Getinge will locate in the newly constructed modern Innovation Park complex, located on 86.97 acres formerly occupied by McGraw Hill on Princeton Hightstown Road. Innovation Park, comprised of two buildings, is designed to attract innovative high-tech business and incorporates modern attractive architectural features and berming with deciduous, ornamental and evergreen trees, extensive outdoor landscaped public spaces, benches and a walking pathway.
44-acre Parcel to Include Open Space, Warehousing, and Remediated Parcels for Downtown Redevelopment
September 19, 2023
PERTH AMBOY – The Perth Amboy Redevelopment Agency (PARA) has signed an agreement with a developer to remediate and redevelop a 44-acre blighted assemblage of properties known as “Gateway.”
Under the deal with Viridian Partners of Denver, the redeveloper will invest more than $110 million to clean contaminated parcels of land between the Route 35 Victory Bridge, Smith Street and Riverside Drive. The project, once completed, is expected to generate more than 400 long-term jobs and $1 million in local tax revenue.
As part of the plan, more than nine acres of land abutting the Smith Street business corridor will be remediated and “pad ready” for the city at no cost. Perth Amboy officials will decide how best to redevelop the land.
In addition, the developer will remediate and improve an additional nine acres of land for Perth Amboy residents’ passive recreation, including natural areas surrounding Sonnaman’s Creek, with trails leading to a gazebo on a hill to be constructed overlooking the Raritan River.
About 25 acres will be used to construct a one-story, 471,000-square-foot, Class A, state-of-the-art warehouse. Trucks accessing the warehouse must use Riverview Drive via its intersection at Smith Street to minimize traffic in business and residential areas. In addition, berms, buffer landscaping, and other natural screens will be used to minimize the impacts of the warehouse development.
“We’re eager to take advantage of the commercial possibilities of this large swath of developable property and maximize its ideal proximity to Route 440 and other major highways,” said Perth Amboy Mayor Helmin J. Caba. “Working closely with PARA and the developer, we are moving forward with a three-pronged strategy. The developer is paying to remediate the land, create a public park, and turn nine acres of valuable land into buildable property as part of our overall downtown redevelopment initiatives.”
PARA selected Viridian Partners because of the firm’s experience in remediating contaminated complex properties in Middlesex County and converting large industrial sites into clean, tax-generating uses.
As part of its portfolio, the company launched the ePort 1 warehouse project along 102 acres of the Arthur Kill in Perth Amboy and redeveloped a 400-acre former munitions plant in Cranbury. The site now includes warehouses for Amazon and Wayfair; 150 of the 400 acres are maintained as clean conservation areas.
Michael Cahn, a principal with Viridian Partners, said about 75% of the company’s developments are concentrated from Burlington County to Union County, as the 20-year-old firm seeks environmentally distressed properties near the New Jersey Turnpike and other major highways. Its other large developments are based in Florida, California, and Pennsylvania.
“What excites us about the Gateway project is its phenomenal proximity to highways; it is a perfect fit for our model of remediating complex properties,” said Cahn, noting there is also a landfill on the site the firm will address. “We are eager to move forward with Mayor Caba and PARA, breathing new life into the entire neighborhood and directly addressing a blighted eyesore awaiting redevelopment for decades.”
The site formerly housed a roofing company that manufactured asbestos shingles, closing an estimated 23 years ago, Cahn said. Viridian Partners has been working with the city since 2014 to create the overall plan for the vast site; it requires the developer to assemble 28 parcels to comply with the redeveloper’s agreement.
PARA Executive Director Tashi Vazquez said the next step is for Viridian Partners to submit a site plan to the city’s Planning Board for review and secure approvals from Middlesex County and the state Department of Environmental Protection.
The redeveloper’s agreement calls for the developer to break ground no later than spring 2025. Cahn anticipates it will take one year to remediate the property, addressing all geotechnical issues, and a second year for vertical construction of the Class A warehouse and nine-acre open space area.
“The city has been discussing the possibilities at Gateway for years; now is the time for action,” Vazquez said. “We have terrific, visionary partners working with Mayor Caba and Viridian Partners. We all have the same aggressive objectives for this major parcel: To create a lasting redevelopment project that offers many direct benefits to Perth Amboy residents. Working together, we are making it happen.”
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