Cycle shop owner upset
with bill for Kruise Nite
FREEHOLD — As it stands now, Joe Boguslawski, the owner of Mr. Cycle Parts on Throckmorton Street, said he will be having a "nice Italian dinner" at Angelo’s restaurant in Atlantic City on May 30, rather than manning his post as usual for the opening event of Kruise Nite.
Boguslawski, a longtime supporter of and participant in the annual events, has decided to opt out this year due to ongoing problems he’s been having with the Western Monmouth Chamber of Commerce and the Freehold Center Partnership. Those two organizations present Kruise Nite.
Boguslawski, the owner of Mr. Cycle Parts for more than 20 years, said he became involved in Kruise Nite for two reasons: to better manage the space for motorcycle parking and to expand the event.
"Initially, motorcycles would park in between the cars which was very dangerous," Boguslawski said. "People would walk in between the cars, and it was very dangerous.
In recent years, parking for hundreds of motorcycles has been provided on Throckmorton Street, away from the classic cars that park along Main Street between Throckmorton and Center streets.
Kruise Nite is held on the final Thursday of each month from May through September.
Boguslawski said his problem started when he received a letter in August, midway through the 2001 Kruise Nite season, from chamber President Arthur Kondrup requiring him to pay $225 for police hired to patrol Throckmorton Street on Kruise Nite.
Boguslawski said he was never asked to pay for police before.
"We did this to create a service for the community. Why am I being singled out and penalized for doing a service to the community?" he asked.
He took his concerns to the Borough Council meeting on April 15 and asked council members why he was being forced to pay for police. He asked them why the cost couldn’t be spread around to all the members of the borough’s Special Improvement District.
Boguslawski told the council he spends between $1,500 and $2,000 every Kruise Nite on promotions and give-aways, and he doesn’t feel it’s fair to be charged any more.
Mayor Michael Wilson told Boguslaw-ski the difficulties he was having were between him and the partnership. The mayor suggested that Boguslawski take his concerns there.
Boguslawski asked the mayor and council to investigate the chamber and the partnership.
Jayne Carr, director of the Freehold Center Partnership, who was at the council meeting, said she would be willing to meet with Boguslawski to hear his concerns.
In a later conversation, Boguslawski said he hires between six and eight people every Kruise Nite to "work the streets, greeting people and maintaining the integrity of Throckmorton Street."
Boguslawski said he believes his dedication to the event and to his community has helped make Kruise Nite a huge success. He said he’s donated thousands of dollars toward raising funds to benefit nonprofit organizations. He said he believes his promotions have brought people to the borough on Kruise Nite which has increased revenues for many other merchants in town.
Kondrup explained that certain merchants are billed for the six extra police officers who are assigned by the borough to Kruise Nite. He said the chamber is billed for those officers and passes the cost to some merchants.
He said Boguslawski and Bill Kinsey, who owns Hometown Hand Car Wash and Waxing on Throckmorton Street, could split the cost of the police officer assigned to that street.
Last summer, after Boguslawski refused to pay for the officers, Kinsey paid the entire amount, Carr said.
Sylvia Allen of Allen Consulting, Holmdel, said one officer is assigned to Throckmorton Street each Kruise Nite. That costs $230. The rental of a portable bathroom is $125. That $355 total is in effect for five months ($1,775) and may be split by Boguslawski and Kinsey, she said.
Boguslawski said he was removed from a committee which organizes and runs Kruise Nite after he refused to pay the police bill last summer.
Kondrup said everyone who wants to be part of Kruise Nite can be, if they adhere to the guidelines and requirements that have been put in place.
"This is a great program for the borough," he said. "It’s a fun event, and we want it to continue."
Carr said she wants vendors who set up shop on Throckmorton Street on Kruise Nite to pay the same rates ($250 per night) as the vendors on other streets in town. This has not always been the case in the past, she said.
"In fact, that money will cover our police, and no one individual will have to pay for police at all," she said.