Partnership pushes plan to beautify pocket parks
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer

FREEHOLD - Area landscapers and business owners are helping to spruce up the pocket parks, walkways and perimeter properties around Freehold Borough.

The program to beautify the borough's tiny, yet very visible pocket parks was launched in 2005. The Adopt-A-Park program sponsored by the Freehold Center Partnership has already seen a number of sites "adopted" by people who agree to care for the areas.

The are still several locations for which sponsors are being sought. These spots include a small park on Throck-morton Street across from St. Peter's Epis-copal Church; a corner near the El Meson restaurant, West Main Street; a walkway leading from South Street to the Market Yard parking lot; and an area behind the Cornerstone Caffe, Sweet Lew's, Bahia De Acapulco Fonda and the Esquire Smoke Shop, East Main Street.

Jayne Carr, the partnership's executive director, said, "We knew we had properties in town that, if spruced up, would enhance the aesthetic appeal of the borough. So we set out to find individuals, organizations and businesses willing to adopt these areas."

Carr said she discussed the idea with Jeanne De Young of the Monmouth County Tourism Office and learned that the county had conducted a similar program with success.

"I rescaled the project to meet our needs in downtown Freehold," she said.

She coordinated the project with the partnership's Planning and Design Committee, which now runs the program along with other landscaping and beautification projects chaired by local attorney Bill Mehr.

One spot that was adopted is at the corner of South and Throckmorton streets.

"This was an important project because this location is a major gateway into town. It was unplanted, unkempt and overgrown," Carr said. "Scott Kuffner, the owner of FGM Landscaping and Brick Pavers, Millstone, in the spirit of community service, adopted this park and through his renovations totally transformed this eyesore into a visually pleasing respite in the borough."

Kuffner, of Manalapan, who co-owns the landscaping company also known as Freehold Grounds Maintenance, with his partner, Joe Spicuzza, of Freehold Township, has been serving Monmouth County since 1985. The company designs, installs and maintains residential and commercial landscapes.

Kuffner, who has lived in the Freehold-Manalapan area since 1971, said he was happy to help out and protect the aesthetic value of the downtown area. He said he knows many business owners in town and was happy to help spruce up this particular location.

In order to transform the barren spot at the corner of South and Throckmorton streets into something beautiful, Kuffner had to jackhammer and excavate all of the underlying concrete and earth. He planted a decorative pillar wall in front of and behind the area. Kuffner said he will also be responsible for maintaining the property.

Henry Daum of Four Seasons Nur-sery, Manalapan, along with sponsorship from the Lions Club, changed a pocket park on West Main Street next to the American Express Financial Advisors from drab to dynamic, according to Carr.

"Carl Steinberg, through the Gateway Association, graciously added a stunning display of flowers to the borough on Throckmor-ton Street," Carr said. "Thanks to Carl, if you enter the borough from the direction of English-town in early spring, you are greeted by a brilliant show of color from the garden of daffodils, tulips and forsythia in their entire splendor."

All of the pocket parks and all of the general landscaping and maintenance of the flower pots in town are maintained through the efforts of George Taylor, who Carr said "works diligently with the partnership to make sure the borough's environment reflects its charm and remains welcoming to residents and visitors."

The properties that have been "adopted and shown tender loving improvements," according to Carr, include a walkway on Monmouth Avenue created by Steinberg; the corner of South and Throckmorton streets renovated by Kuffner; and the pocket park on West Main Street that has been beautified by Daum, who is also taking care of a location South Street.

Rob Kash, who owns the Metropolitan Cafe, East Main Street, is a member of the partnership's executive board and board of directors. He said the Adopt-A-Park program helps to beautify Freehold Borough and noted that the projects give landscapers a chance to show off their skills.