Donations help Freehold police
build gym in new headquarters
By clare MARie celano
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD — Borough police officers now have an opportunity to stay fit on their own turf.
In addition to the state-of-the-art equipment lining the new headquarters of the borough police department at the Rug Mill Towers on Jackson Street, the building also has a workout room — and due to the generosity of borough resident Walter R. Earle, the officers now have equipment to work out with.
According to Darnell Esdaile, president of Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local No. 159, Earle, who owns the Earle Asphalt Co., Farmingdale, donated $10,000 to the PBA. That was more than enough to fill the room with equipment of all shapes and sizes, he said.
Esdaile said police representatives shopped carefully and found a gym that was going out of business. They were able to purchase an entire set-up with the contribution.
In a brief ceremony during an open house held at police headquarters on April 25, Esdaile dedicated the gym to Earle. He told those in attendance that the gym "would not have been possible without his gift."
Borough Council President Sharon Shutzer accepted the award on behalf of Earle. Councilman Kevin Coyne was also in attendance at the ceremony.
Police Chief Michael Beierschmitt told the News Transcript that the equipment would help "keep officers in shape for the rigorous job they do on borough streets."
A tour of the gym given by Patrolman Michael Sweetman revealed free weights ranging from 5 to 150 pounds lining one wall of the gym. Treadmills, barbells, flat benches, incline benches, as well as machines for leg curls, leg extensions and abdominal workouts have all found their way to the gym.
Credit for the set-up of the gym also goes to the borough’s road department, whose employees helped to bring all the equipment into the building and up a very long flight of stairs.
Other contributors to the gym were Jack Aaronson of the 33 East Car Wash, Park Avenue, who gave a monetary donation, and Anthony Santoriello of Frank’s Aluminum and Glass, Park Avenue, who supplied mirrors for the gym. Employees from T.N.S. in Freehold painted the room blue and accented the walls and the old columns with gray and white paint.
Esdaile said the officers are very pleased with the gym. He noted that the department’s former location had "nothing at all in the way of fitness equipment."
The plaque presented to Earle stated, "It is very rare to find an altruistic person who takes an active role in the safety and well being of the police officers. We, of the Freehold Borough Police Department, salute you."