Where does a Tuesday morning toddler storytime go when its library is under renovation? In Fair Haven this month, it goes to the Community Center at 35 Fisk Street. Book club goes to Bicentennial Hall, and returned books go into an orange bin in the Borough Hall vestibule. Starting tomorrow, October 5, 2026, the Fair Haven Public Library closes for a renovation the library itself calls "long-awaited and community-driven." It expects to stay closed for about four to six weeks.
That kind of closure could empty a small town's calendar for a month. In Fair Haven it doesn't. The borough owns a short list of public spaces: a community center, a historic hall, two playing fields, a firehouse and a one-way street it can barricade. This October, every one of them is booked. The library closure shows how much of the town's shared life already runs through those few borough-owned places, and how easily it can move between them.
The Library's Programs, Room by Room
The library chose to keep most of its weekly and monthly programs going rather than pause them. Most will move to the Fair Haven Community Center at 35 Fisk Street, and a few go to Bicentennial Hall at 25 Cedar Avenue.
Here's where everything landed for October:
- Toddler Storytime, Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., Community Center
- Knitting Club, Thursdays from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m., Community Center
- Pumpkin Spice Candle Making Workshop, Wednesday, October 7, 10 to 11:30 a.m., Community Center
- Library Book Club, Wednesday, October 14, 2:00 p.m., Bicentennial Hall
- Miss Jolie Halloween Bubbly Beat, Tuesday, October 20, 10 a.m., Bicentennial Hall
Inside the library, the work is a full interior rebuild. The book collection is being removed and stored. Contractors will then put in new flooring, ceiling tiles, lighting, electrical systems, HVAC components and IT infrastructure, followed by fresh paint. After that, a furniture vendor brings in new shelving, tables and seating. The floor plan and drawings are posted at fairhavenlib.org for anyone curious about the finished space.
The cost is shared three ways. The Borough of Fair Haven pays part, residents and patrons who gave to the Friends of the Fair Haven Public Library campaign pay part, and library reserves built up over many years cover the rest. The way the project is paid for matches the way it's being handled day to day. The borough, its volunteers and its buildings are covering for each other.
Where the Books Go in the Meantime
Checkouts ended Friday, October 2. Anything you're still holding can go into the orange "Book Return" receptacle in the Borough Hall vestibule. Due dates are extended until the library reopens, and late fees are forgiven.
If you need something new to read before mid-November, the library is sending patrons to the Monmouth County Library's Eastern Branch at 1001 NJ-35 in Shrewsbury, next to the Trader Joe's shopping center. Bring proof of Fair Haven residency to get a county card. You can then borrow and return materials there until the Fair Haven library reopens. The Eastern Branch is open 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Library staff say they hope to welcome everyone back by the middle of November and will post updates if that date changes.
A Street That Becomes a Market Once a Month
The library's programs needed indoor rooms. Fair Haven's monthly farmers market uses a street instead. The Fair Haven Farmers Market sets up on Willow Street on the second Saturday of each month from May through November. The next markets are Saturday, October 10, from 9 a.m. to noon, and Saturday, November 14, which closes the 2026 season.
Three Fair Haven residents started the market: Ana Anttonen, Elise Casey and Maggie Ludman. It opened on May 25, 2024, with about 25 vendors and has since grown to as many as 46, according to Anttonen in a Two River Times profile this summer. Anttonen said her close family friends Debbie and Doug Douty of Lusty Lobster signed on early. She said that gave the founders momentum, and that a vendor network built around PickleLicious, Potent Potables, Au Honey and Benchmark Bread became the market's core. The most recent vendor list the market has posted is for September 12. It includes Lusty Lobster, Benchmark, Picklelicious, Potent Potables and Beach Bee Meadery.
What makes the market work is that the town treats Willow Street as a public space it can lend out. Borough Council President Elizabeth Koch described that arrangement to the Two River Times:
"Our Department of Public Works, for example, helped with the design and production of their signage, which is prominently displayed on multiple Borough property locations each month. We also paved the way for the Farmer's Market to use a public roadway for the market, with our DPW staff deploying barricades at each end. Most recently, we deployed legal resources to support the addition of alcohol vendors to the mix."
So the same DPW crews that put up the barricades on Willow Street are part of what lets the library move its programs this month without losing a date.
Fair Haven Fields and Sportsmans Field Cover the Rest of the Month
Two October events run by Fair Haven Recreation are held outdoors.
The Community Campout, Movie Night & Concert takes over Fair Haven Fields on Saturday, October 17. Tent setup starts at 5:30 p.m. on the upper field near the playground. The flyer asks campers to avoid any spot marked with a white circle, because those are sprinkler heads. The band No Commitment plays rock hits near the playground from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. At 6:45, Zootopia 2 starts on a giant inflatable screen by "the pit." The concession stand sells hot pretzels, chips, candy and soft drinks. LUPO will deliver to the field or have orders ready for pickup, and mentioning "Camp Out" takes 10 percent off.
Halloween Happenings has moved. The flyer first listed it for October 18. It's now Sunday, October 25. The morning runs in this order:
- 11:40 a.m. Arrive at Sportsmans Field, across from Knollwood School, about five minutes early. Bring a bag for eggs and line up near the parking lot.
- 11:45 a.m. sharp. The free Halloween Egg Hunt begins.
- 11:50 a.m. Parade participants stage in the Sportsmans Field parking lot.
- Noon sharp. The Halloween Parade and Costume Contest heads out along Hance Road, then River Road, to the Fair Haven Fire Department.
- At the firehouse. Complimentary Munchkins and juice, plus prizes for the top costumes.
Questions go to [email protected]. Starting at a borough field and ending at the firehouse puts both events inside the same small set of public places the library is borrowing from this month.
The Town Is Already Asking for More Public Space
All this borrowing comes as Fair Haven is formally planning what its public spaces should look like over the coming years. The borough's master-plan survey ran from March 16 to April 7, 2026, and drew 629 responses. The results were released as one input into the planning process. On September 30, the borough held a public input session at the same Community Center that is now hosting storytime. Topics included parks and open space, transportation, economic development and community character.
One new public space has money behind it. The borough's June 22, 2026 council packet records a $318,750 NJDEP Green Acres grant received for a Waterfront Access Park at 21 Fair Haven Road, and asks to add it to the 2026 budget. The design isn't final yet, so the river access is funded but not yet drawn.
On River Road, a lot that was once considered for public use is becoming a private gathering spot. Construction is underway at Riverline Fair Haven, on the former Sunoco site at 626 River Road and Cedar Avenue. The station operated for two decades before closing in 2011. Edison-based G William Group was awarded a construction contract worth over $10 million, and owner Jake Lebowitz expects the project to finish by spring 2027, likely March or April. In October 2018, the borough council tried to use eminent domain to acquire that corner for a new borough hall and municipal building, according to the Two River Times. The purchase never went through.
The ground floor will have 4,200 square feet of commercial space. Most of it will go to local roaster Offshore Coffee Co., and Eat Clean Bro will run a small grab-and-go. Lebowitz noted that Booskerdoo Coffee & Baking Co. and a Dunkin' are currently the town's only coffee options, both also on River Road. When it opens, it will add one more place in town where people can run into each other. That's the same kind of space the library is getting back in November with new shelving, tables and seating.
For more on everyday life along the Navesink, see our Fair Haven neighborhood page and our earlier piece on everyday life in a river town.
We live and work in Fair Haven, and we watch these projects the same way our neighbors do. If you're weighing a move, a renovation or a sale and want to know how the library reopening, the waterfront park and the Riverline corner fit your own timeline, the Suzanne Veninata Team is glad to talk it through. Schedule a Complimentary Consultation and we'll start with your block of River Road.
