Those Who Waited 'Decades' For East Brunswick Rink Will Be First On Ice: Mayor

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — On a simmering summer day, many minds in East Brunswick Township were focused on center ice.

The township will get $3 million in funding from the state towards a municipal ice rink project, Mayor Dr. Brad Cohen officially announced Thursday.

"If there's anything I could use right now, it's a little bit of coolness," Cohen said Thursday, standing under the hot July sun at the former Wonder Bread site (110 Tices), near the Garden Homes development.

The grant was issued through the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and is part of the 2023 NJ state budget, as Patch previously reported.

Cohen noted there have been people waiting "for decades" for an ice rink, and said he told these people they will be the first to play at the new rink.

Cohen said there is a newly-appointed Ice Rink Advisory Board to make sure the rink "meets the needs of the residents here, and the communities around us who will benefit from this great venture."

Cohen also said the public school board has agreed to create an ice hockey team at East Brunswick High School.

"They'll actually be able to have a...home base to work out of," he said.

Township officials, Assembleymembers Sterley Stanley and Robert Karabinchak (both Democrats representing District 18), Council President Jim Wendell, and Senator Patrick Diegnan Jr.(D-18) were among the officials celebrating the announcement. Local kids and families were also there.

The township plans to build the ice rink on 8 acres of land. This rink will be part of East Brunswick's recreation utilities and will have multiple uses like ice hockey and ice skating. More: Council Shares More Details On Potential Ice Rink In East Brunswick

Michael Reisner, the township director of parks and recreation, said East Brunswick has always been "at the forefront" of providing good public services.

"We've already started to visit some municipal and county-operated ice rinks in New Jersey, and we've seen firsthand the impact it has had on the residents and the local community (there)," Reisner said.

"We really look forward to getting to work," he said.