The Manalapan Police Department reported the following incidents which recently occurred in the community:
On Oct. 14 at 10:30 a.m., a Manalapan resident reported that unknown individuals removed items from a Justin Way residence. The stolen items were valued at approximately $550. Patrolman Reginald Grant handled the report.
On Oct. 15 at 5:41 p.m., a Massapequa, N.Y., resident reported that sometime between 1-5 p.m., unknown individuals entered a vehicle that was parked in the parking lot of the Knob Hill Golf Course, Shinnecock Drive, and removed items valued at $375. Patrolman Mantas Stanionis took the report.
On Oct. 16 at 12:42 p.m., a Manalapan resident reported that sometime between Oct. 2 and Oct. 16, unknown individuals forced entry to a barn and shattered a window of a
Pine Brook Road residence. No items were reported missing. The damage was estimated to be approximately $500. Patrolman Peter Pagano handled the report.
On Oct. 16 at 3:10 p.m., a Manalapan resident reported that an unknown individual gained access to an online banking account and fraudulently transferred $9,220. Patrolman
James Guarino handled the report.
On Oct. 16 at 5:32 p.m., an East Windsor resident reported that on Oct. 15 an unknown individual entered a vehicle that was parked in the parking lot of the Knob Hill Golf Course,
Shinnecock Drive, and removed items valued at approximately $80. Patrolman Michael DeCristofaro handled the report.
On Oct. 16 at 6:10 p.m., a Manalapan resident reported that keys, valued at approximately $350, were stolen from a Ronald Court residence. Patrolman Michael DeCristofaro handled
the report.
The Freehold Township Police Department issued a warning to residents on Oct. 26 regarding phone calls being made to a resident purportedly from the police department.
Police administrators wrote that “today we learned a resident within Freehold Township received a few phone calls which appear to come from our non-emergency phone line (732-462-7908).
“The ‘officer’ on the other end of the phone said he was conducting an investigation and requested information from the (resident).
“The (caller) did not provide a badge number and was evasive when the resident asked how she could verify he was an officer.
“Residents are reminded that any Freehold Township police officer will identify themselves by their rank, name and badge number. Any credentials can easily be checked by calling 732-462-7500 and asking the dispatcher to verify if the contact is a sworn law enforcement officer,” police administrators wrote.
Center Players of Freehold will host a new reading of award-winning playwright Gary Morgenstein’s drama “Free Palestine” about academic freedom, political correctness and the perils of parenting on Nov. 6 at 2 p.m. at Center Playhouse, 35 South St., Freehold Borough.
Directed by Bernice Garfield-Szita, the reading features Jackie Kusher (Adam Seitz); Tracy Howard (Estie Seitz); Tavea Sanderson (Vanessa Bickford); Arthur Gregory Pugh (Reggie Bickford); T.J. Coan (Preston Tyler); and Kristina McKinney (Nadia Ruiz), with Jane DeNoble handling stage directions.
There will be a talkback following the reading. Tickets are $10 and available at
centerplayers.org. The play premiered on Sept. 4 at Congregation Agudath Achim, Bradley Beach, to a sold-out audience, according to a press release.
Morgenstein’s novels and plays have been featured in national media including The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Parade Magazine, the New York Post, Sports Illustrated and National Public Radio.
His award-winning multi-generational drama “A Tomato Can’t Grow in the Bronx,” about a Bronx Jewish working class family in the 1960s, will premiere Dec. 2-17 at the Chain Theater in Manhattan. The drama recently won three 2022 NJACT Perry Awards, including Best Original Play, according to the press release.
New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics held its 2022 Hall of Fame ceremony on Homecoming Weekend, Oct. 8, in the school’s Wellness and Events Center.
Long-time Manalapan resident Lou Mezzina, a 1993 NJIT graduate, was one of the individuals inducted into the Hall of Fame. Mezzina played basketball at the school from 1989-92.
Mezzina scored more than 1,000 career points and pulled down more than 600 rebounds in his four-year career at NJIT. Mezzina’s 114 career games ranks eighth all-time, his 640 rebounds rank 10th and his 1,104 points rank 28th.
The IAC Rookie of the Year and All-IAC Conference selection as a sophomore, junior and senior, Mezzina led NJIT to the school’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1990-91.
As a member of the 1988 Manalapan High School basketball team, Mezzina was inducted into the Manalapan High School Hall of Fame in 2018. The Braves won the 1988 Central Jersey Group IV state sectional tournament title, defeating Trenton in the championship game.
