New rules established as Kruise Nite returns

May 29 marks first of four car shows to be held in Freehold

BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer

FREEHOLD – A series of meetings among Freehold Borough officials and representatives of the Freehold Center Partnership produced an agreement that will allow Kruise Nite to resume beginning May 29.

The event’s operation will be reviewed after each date, according to officials.

The 2008 Kruise Nite classic car shows are scheduled to be held onMain Street in downtown Freehold on the last Thursday of May, June, July and August from 6-10 p.m.

Borough officials had considered suspending Kruise Nite activities for 2008 in order to come up with a new way to handle the thousands of visitors, classic cars and motorcyclists who stream into town for the monthly event.

The partnership said that “crowd management issues needed to be addressed and resolved in a most efficient and economical manner to ensure the livelihood of the event for the future.”

Those issues have apparently been resolved. An agreement was announced May 5.

BoroughAdministrator Joseph Bellina outlined the following changes that will be in place for Kruise Nite, beginning May 29: there will no longer be designated parking for motorcycles; parking on Main Street will be limited to vintage cars only; the police presence will be beefed up; no alcohol consumption will be allowed on the street; vendors on Main Street will be spread out to allow for better pedestrian movement. A 9:30 p.m. closing time for entertainment and vendorswill be in effect and Bellina said that end time will be enforced.

Areview of the operation will occur after each Kruise Nite, he said.

“If (the event) needs to be curtailed or to cease in its entirety for public safety then it will be,” Bellina said.

The administrator said Freehold Borough will pay $1,750 toward the salaries of law enforcement officers who work on Kruise Nite.

“Anything over that figure will be borne by the partnership,” he said.

Freehold Borough police officers will be joined on Kruise Nite duty by officers from theMonmouthCounty Sheriff’sDepartment and Monmouth County Special Services. Bellina estimated that the total cost of the law enforcement personnel could be about $9,000.

In regard to alcohol consumption,Bellina said any alcohol consumption at the event must be confined to tables where restaurants are licensed to serve liquor and may only be consumed by those who have been seated for dinner.

“You can’t have an alcoholic beverage in your hand if you’re standing in line waiting to be seated for dinner,” he said.

AnnMarie Lutz, ofManalapan, has been a member of the Freehold Kruisers car club for 19 years. The FreeholdKruisers founded the event almost 20 years ago. Lutz said she was overjoyed when she heard that Kruise Nite would return in 2008.

Lutz, who owns a 1957 Chevrolet whose color she described as “see-me-coming red,” said she experienced “total panic” when she heard that Kruise Nite might not be held this summer.

Thinking about the friends with whom she enjoys the event, Lutz said, “We talk about old times, our cars,whatwe’ve bought and sold, who did what to what car.We look forward to this time all winter long.”

Lutz said she is the person who sells T-shirts and raffle tickets at the event, arriving in Freehold at about 2:30 p.m. and not leaving until the night is over.

The proceeds of the Freehold Kruisers Tshirt sales and raffle go to local charitable endeavors.

Lutz said a “Kruise for the Hungry” will be held at the Adelphia shopping plaza, Elton-Adelphia Road and Route 9 north, Freehold Township, inOctober. She said the members of the club enjoy their cars and helping people in need.

Some borough residents, however, say officials should have asked them how to proceed with Kruise Nite.

Resident Reggie Sims, the brother of Councilman Jaye Sims, attended the Borough Council’s May 5 meeting and said the public needs to be involved.

Reggie Sims is amember of the Freehold Fire Department. He said firefighters have to reroute trucks and cannot get around town on Kruise Nite.

“It’s a safety hazard all the way around,” he said. “If there are fights, I don’t knowhow police will get to them. How many restaurant owners are borough residents anyway? You have made a decision based on people who don’t even live here. It isn’t fair to the taxpayers who do live here.”

Mayor Michael Wilson said there are valid opinions on both sides.

“It’s been a long, drawn-out process. We’ve covered a lot of issues.We agreed that we will re-evaluate every event,” Wilson said. Councilman Marc Le Vine asked residents to give Kruise Nite a chance and to suggest ways to improve the event.