Atlantic Cinemas closes permanently

Atlantic Cinemas, the iconic local theater owned by Fred and Mickey Rast has closed for good. The Atlantic Highlands landmark had been in the Rast’s family since 1923 .

Fred told MMM that the theater had generated only $1000 in revenue since reopening with a new business model on October 15.

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Atlantic Cinemas Closed Until Further Notice

Atlantic Cinemas in Atlantic Highlands is closed until further notice, owner Fred Rast told MMM this morning.

Rast announced last week that he was limiting the ticket sales in his theaters to 1/3 capacity in order to provide social distancing space between patrons.  Even still, the box office sales over the weekend were less than $200 and did not cover the cost of sanitizing the 5 plex.

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Atlantic Cinemas Takes Measures To Protect Customers’ Health

Atlantic Cinemas, Atlantic Highlands, announced today that they are drastically limiting their ticket sales in order that patrons will be able to enjoy first run movies without sitting too close to other customers.  These measures are being taken to address concerns expressed by their patrons in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Effective immediately the theater will only sell 1/3 of the seating capacity for each of their five screens.

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Live Events Coming to Atlantic Highlands Cinema

Atlantic Cinemas will soon be hosting live events–comedy acts, concerts, puppet shows and the like– in one of its five theaters on 1st Ave in Atlantic Highlands.

Owner Fred Rast has installed a stage in his 240 seat playhouse in order to enhance the entertainment offerings provided to northern Monmouth County residents.

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“Congenial” Republican Primary in Atlantic Highlands Gets Ugly

Boms disavows Frotton’s flyer

Golden affirms his endorsements

In early April the four candidates running for two Republican nominations for Atlantic Highlands Borough Council declared in a facebook group that they would hold a “congenial and productive primary strengthening our Party for 2018 and beyond.”  In early May the candidates said that they wanted the primary voters, “not individuals who want to wield control,” to choose the nominees.

The candidates, Penny Hofman-Morris, Richard Colangelo, Brian Boms, and Jim Murphy are all friends.   Colangelo and Murphy work together. Boms coaches youth sports with Colangelo and does business him.

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Atlantic Highlands Democrats Endorse Independent Republican Council Candidates

Former Mayor Fred Rast, a Republican, and Regina Keelen, Atlantic Highlands Democrat Chair, announce their support of Lou Fligor and Jake Hoffman for reelection

Atlantic Highlands-Democrat Candidates for Borough Council, Edward Cetron and Elliot Warren have withdrawn their names from the general election ballot and the local Democrat Party has endorsed incumbent Republican Councilmen Lou Fligor and Jake Hoffmann for reelection.  Fligor and Hoffmann are running for as Independents after being denied the Republican endorsement by GOP Municipal Chair Jane Frotton.

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New seats at Atlantic Cinemas

Atlantic Cinemas owner Fred Rast tests his new seats.

Atlantic Cinemas, our sponsor on 1st Ave in Atlantic Highlands, completed a major step in their ongoing modernization with the installation new wider seats with thicker cushions in Cinema 3 this week.

Those coming out to see Zootopia and London Has Fallen in Atlantic Highlands this week will be the first to enjoy the higher seat backs and movable armrests.

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Atlantic Highlands Mayor Fred Rast Encourages Republicans and Independent Voters To Vote For Lou Fligor on June 2

Dear Citizens of Atlantic Highlands,

Over the past seven years that I have been your Mayor, I have made sure that politics played a very small role in operating our town. The successes we have had during these years are 100% due to the fact that I, as Mayor, and most of our Council, have worked together to protect and enhance our town.

I have also never allowed political interference in my appointments and actions. As a matter of fact, approximately half of my appointments have been people who are not registered Republicans.

The County, as is their prerogative, have chosen to support the request of the Atlantic Highlands Chair of the Republican Party to place Jack Archibald as the “Party Line Candidate”. The vote of the local Republican Committee between Lou and Jack was a split vote of 4 to 4. We believe the people should have a choice so the Atlantic Highlands Republican party will have a primary on June 2, 2015.

Lou Fligor is his own man. He is the most dedicated public servant of the people of our town, a champion of our town’s people. He has led the battle to force the Gas Company’s clean-up operations. He spearheaded the committee to dissolve the Atlantic Highlands/Highlands Regional Sewer Authority, which has saved us hundreds of thousands of dollars over the last year alone. Lou is the person we all see working for our town 365 days a year, not just during election time. He is a self-made man, who keeps his actions above political considerations. He is a true, loyal friend to all of our town’s people. Lou wants the job, not just the title as Mayor.

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“Party crashers” could determine Atlantic Highlands GOP mayoral nominee

Atlantic Highlands Councilmen Jack Archibald, left, and Lou Fligor, right, face off for the Republican nomination for mayor in the June 2 primary

Partisan primaries in New Jersey are usually very low turnout elections. Mostly they are uncontested, so only die hard partisans, poll workers and their friends who bring them doughnuts bother to vote. In Atlantic Highlands last year, of the roughly 700 registered Republicans, only 101 voted in the primary. Only 68 or the roughly 800 Democrats voted in the 2014 primary.

In contested primaries on a local level, the candidate with the “Party line” on the ballot usually has a huge advantage over a challenger.

The “Party line” advantage is being challenged in Atlantic Highlands in this year’s Republican primary on June 2.  Two long term Republican Councilmen are competing to be the Party’s nominee for mayor.   Incumbent Mayor Fred Rast, first elected in 2007, is keeping his promise to term limit himself out of office.  Councilman Jack Archibald and Councilman Lou Fligor both want to be mayor.

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Republicans Split In Atlantic Highlands

Atlantic Highlands Mayor Fred Rast. file photo

A simmering feud within the Atlantic Highlands GOP boiled over into the public eye yesterday afternoon during the Borough’s reorganization meeting as three of the five Republican elected officials split with two of their newly reelected colleagues to elect a Democrat up for reelection this year as Council President.

Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno who was on hand to swear in veteran Councilmen Jack Archibald and Peter Doyle to their new terms was not pleased by the drama. “You’re killing me,” Guadagno said to Mayor Fred Rast, a Republican who supported the unorthodox move, according to a prominent county Republican who was present.

Republican Councilman Lou Fligor nominated Democrat Roy Dellosso to be Council President.   Jacob “Jake” Hoffman, also a Republican, joined Fligor, Dellossa, and Democrat Robert Sutton in electing Dellosso to the largely ceremonial post.  Archibald and Doyle voted no.

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