Breakfast Club OK’d for use of temple lot Popular ’80s-themed club will be allowed to offer valet parking BY MARY ANNE ROSS Correspondent OLD BRIDGE — The Breakfast Club will be permitted to offer valet parking and use an adjacent synagogue’s parking lot to accommodate its patrons. The Planning Board voted unanimously to approve the plan presented by the Route 516 club. Patrons of the ’80s-themed nightclub, which gets busy on Friday and Saturday nights, would often park on nearby streets, irking local residents who have long complained to township officials about noise, traffic and garbage. Michael Vanleeuwen, owner of the club, applied to the board to offer valet parking and increase the number of parking spaces as a way of keeping patrons from parking where they should not. The club, which opened in 2003, has 67 spaces in its parking lot, but will have access to another 100 from the adjacent Congregation Beth Ohr parking lot. The total of 167 spaces is more than is required by township ordinance, said Frank Melito, an architect and licensed planner appearing before the board on behalf of the Breakfast Club. “We also decided to have the valet parking for free so people will not be discouraged from using it,” Melito said. The new arrangement benefits everyone, he said. “It’s good for the community because patrons will no longer need to use off-site parking. It will help with the traffic in the area because the valet will not need to go out onto Route 516. It’s good for the club and the congregation. Each has extra parking available when they need it,” Melito said. Bob Nagler, a member of Congregation Beth Ohr, echoed that sentiment. “It’s a win-win situation. We will have some extra income from the lease of the lot and we will have extra parking on High Holidays,” Nagler said. The Breakfast Club, which has also installed a full sprinkler system and a full alarm system, increased the number of handicapped parking spaces and agreed to allow township police to come on-site to enforce motor vehicle violations. “Parking lots are private property,” board Chairman Larry Redmond explained. “The Breakfast Club has applied for Title 39 protection, which means that the police will be able to come on-site to enforce motor vehicle violations. For example, if there was an accident in the parking lot, they could issue a summons.” The new parking accommodations may bring an end to the long-standing complaints regarding the club. “This is really what we wanted all along,” Redmond said. “The place did not have enough parking and we did have a lot of complaints. So this is a good plan that will resolve a lot of those issues.” Gerard Haran, the mayor’s designee on the Planning Board, supported the approval. “This was a really intelligent solution to a problem, and it didn’t cost the residents of Old Bridge a dime,” Haran said.