Holmdel Twp Committee Approves New Dog Park In Memory Of Resident

HOLMDEL, NJ - A new park is slated to be built in memory of one Holmdel resident, according to the Holmdel Township Committee.

Alex’s Paw Park will be built at Bayonet Farm at 41 Middletown Rd., municipal officials confirmed last week. The initiative was approved by the Holmdel Township Committee during a Sept. 8 meeting.

The family of late resident Alexander Ching approached municipal officials in November 2019 to memorialize the 24-year-old, according to a Sept. 8 meeting resolution.

Family and friends of Alex Ching will be fully funding the project through private donations, fundraisers and volunteers. Ching’s loved ones have also agreed to “ensure the longevity of the dog park for use and enjoyment by guests and their canines for many years to come,” the resolution reads.

Per the approval, the Township Administrator and Township Director of Infrastructure are authorized and directed to “take any and all steps reasonably necessary” to realize the donation.

A date to begin work on the project has not yet been determined.

“The Township Committee extends its condolences to the Ching family for their loss and gratitude for their generous and thoughtful donation,” officials wrote in the resolution.

Ching passed away on Dec. 25, 2018 after a 17-year battle with cancer, according to an obituary on TAPinto Holmdel. He was born on May 19, 1994 in Red Bank and was first diagnosed with cancer at 7 years old.

Ching dabbled in photography, drawing and rapping as well as sports, including basketball, hockey, tennis and flag football - all while undergoing cancer treatment. In high school, the young resident became an EMT with the Holmdel First Aid Squad, served as the Student Advisory Board President for the Holmdel High School Class of 2012 and was accepted into his dream school, Duke University.

“There were very few people who knew that Alex went to bat with this disease through the rest of his life,” the obituary reads. “ That was because he never let it define him.”

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