News

Several car burglaries were reported Monday evening in Livingston, and four minors were arrested in connection with the crimes that same evening, Livingston Police said.

At 8:25 a.m. on Monday, April 15, Livingston officers responded to Bear Brook Lane on a report of a burglary to a motor vehicle. The homeowner told officers that their video surveillance cameras captured two masked suspects entering his vehicle and appearing to take a phone charger. The actual time of the burglary appeared to be approximately 2:45 a.m., according to the recording.

Later that day, at 2:30 p.m., officers responded to Cedar Commons on a report of another motor vehicle burcontinued on Page A-8) glary. Cedar Commons management reported that there were multiple suspects seen on video surveillance entering parked motor vehicles at approximately 1:30 a.m. that morning. Proceeds of the burglaries included a cell phone charger and a pair of sunglasses.

During the public comment portion of the Wednesday, April 10, meeting of the Township Council, members of the public discussed increases in crime, flying the Israeli flag, and the town’s shooting range.

Crime Concerns

Lauren Scher of Thames Drive discussed her concerns about crime in town.

Specifically, Scher’s home was recently burglarized. Individuals broke into her home, stealing jewelry and other valuables.

She said that the experience was not only traumatic, but evident of an uptick in crime in Livingston, especially near Route 280, which many criminals use to quickly enter and exit town. Scher asked for an increased police presence to combat this issue.

Mayor A1 Anthony said that the Council was sorry that Scher experienced that, with Council member Shawn Klein calling it “gut-wrenching” to hear.

The chess team at Livingston High School recently finished in first place for the second consecutive year in the New Jersey High School Chess Championship. Representatives from the team travelled to Baltimore, Maryland for the national High School Chess Championship.

National Championship

The High School Chess Championship saw chess players from across the nation competing against each other for top honors. LHS was able to nab a second place title, falling behind only to New York City’s Dalton School.

Individual medals were awarded to Livingston’s Roger Zhang,Ashton Roberts, Haari Muthukumar, Sam Israel, and Matt Ge.

State Championship

LHS’s chess team was named as varsity champions of the New Jersey High School Chess Championship. The high school also had a second team enter the varsity section, and they placed fourth.

Livingston will hold its first free Electronics Recycling and Paper Shredding Event of the year on Saturday April 13, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Livingston Senior/Community Center. Under New Jersey state law and the township’s recycling ordinance, it is mandatory to recycle electronic items. Electronic items cannot be placed at the curb for pickup - the garbage and recycling collection trucks will not take them.

Electronics Recycling

The following items will be accepted for electronics recycling: cellular telephones (erase hard drive and clear memory); computers and components (erase hard drive and clear memory); copiers; DVD players; electronic games; fax machines; keyboards; laptops; monitors, flat screens, and televisions (as long as they are unbroken and have no sharp edges); pagers; PDAs; portable electronic music devices; printers; radios; scanners; stereos; telecom equipment; typewriters; USP and other cables; and VCRs.

VIEWING THE ECLIPSE: On Monday, April 8, residents of Livingston gathered at the Oval, in driveways, and even in the parking lot at ShopRite to view the much anticipated eclipse. Above, at Newark Academy, seniors Olivia Croshaw, Katherine Guo, Julia Polen, and Ambika Sharma, watched the solar eclipse from the bleachers at Newark Academy’s football field, wearing glasses provided by the school. Below, even dogs need to be safe, as demonstrated by Clyde. Other pictures here show varying phases of the eclipse. 

WATER MAIN WORK ON MOUNTHAVEN DRIVE: On Tuesday, April 9, the Township was working on a water main on Mounthaven Drive, near the intersection at Spring Road. Residents were warned of possible traffic delays and potential interruptions to their water access. Shown here, the excavators dug up a portion of the sidewalk and yards adjacent to Mounthaven Drive in order to access the water main. With a ladder, workers were able to physically get into the ground in order to fix the broken water main.

New Jersey was the epicenter of a 4.8 magnitude earthquake that affected a large portion of the northeast on Friday, April 5.

The initial earthquake occurred at about 10:23 a.m. near Califon, New Jersey.

No injuries were reported in Livingston related to the quake and several subsequent aftershocks, one of which reached 4.0 on the Richter scale.

Livingston Public School officials noted that a thorough inspection was done of all district buildings and that there was no damage seen to any of them.

In all, about 42 million people experienced the earthquake last Friday; it reached as far south as Washington, D.C. and as far north as the New York-Canada border.

This past week, the Livingston Fire Department responded to a number of calls relating to fallen trees and power outages. They also assisted with a resident stuck in their home’s elevator and responded to a call about an odor. Additionally, LFD was called to the scene of a vehicle fire.

Vehicle Fire

On Tuesday morning, April 9, a vehicle fire occurred at the intersection of Walnut Street and Route 10. A contractor truck with an attached trailer caught on fire, seemingly due to a hydraulic oil leak.

When the LFD arrived, the vehicle’s engine and passenger compartments were engulfed in flames.

No injuries were reported. The fire was extinguished and the burned vehicle was removed by a towing company.

Power Outages and Downed Trees

On Wednesday, April 3, the fire department responded to a series of calls following a storm.

The Livingston Fire Department (LFD) responded to a number of calls this week, most of which were reports of suspicious odors and false alarms.

Odors

On Tuesday, March 26, LFD received a call reporting a strange odor on the second floor hallway of 159 Sycamore Avenue. The area was checked with a meter and nothing was found. PSE&G was notified and responded. They were unable to determine the source of the odor. The homeowners were notified.

Another strange odor was reported on Thursday, March 2 8. The residents at 10 Winans Roadreported a burning odor coming from their home. The department used a meter, but nothing was found. The odor was eventually traced to a burned pot handle.

Also on March 28, a burning odor was reported in the first floor hallway at 315 East Northfield Road. The smell was a result of burned food.

Carbon Monoxide Alarms

In the past week, Livingston Police officers respondedto areportedhome burglary, recovered a stolen U-Haul trailer, and arrested a woman who was driving a vehicle with stolen license plates.

Burglary to Residence

At 7:51 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27, Livingston officers responded to an Aspen Drive residence on a report of a burglary alarm.

Officers arrived and saw that forced entry was made into the home through a rear door. A further investigation revealed that the suspect’s main focus was the master bedroom and the homeowners were not home at the time of the burglary.

The Livingston Detective Bureau is investigating the matter.

Possession of Stolen Property At 4:07 p.m. on Friday, March 29, two Livingston Detectives observed an enclosed U-Haul trailer with an out of state license plate parked at the Livingston Mall.