News

For almost nine years, Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) has directly delivered donated coats, family clothing, diapers, toiletries, socks, gloves and more to the homeless and those living below the poverty line. Now, LPI is re-inventing itself, as physical donations and on-site deliveries are on hold during the coronavirus outbreak.
Noted LPI founder and director Jeff Friedman, “LPI will ship bulk cases of new items directly from wholesale vendors to our eight Newark and East Orange distribution associates. We are soliciting immediate funding to make it happen. To personally help the homeless and profoundly poor, especially now, you can do it conveniently on Paypal at paypal.me/lpinj; on our Facebook funding page at Livingston Philanthropies, Inc.; or by mail to LPI, P.O. Box 247, Livingston, NJ 07039. Tax-deductible individual and family contributions make all the difference.”

Livingston High School’s spring production, Shrek: The Musical, will be staged this week. Performances will take place today and Friday, March 12 and 13, at 7 p.m., and on Saturday, March 14, at 2 and 7 p.m.

Based on the DreamWorks Animation motion picture and the book by William Steig, the show was originally produced on Broadway by DreamWorks Theatricals and Neal Street Productions.

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Property taxes to support the schools on the average Livingston home, valued at $700,000, will go up $199, business administrator Steve Robinson said at the Monday night Board of Education meeting.

That is an increase of 2.1 percent over 2019. The 2020 school tax on the average home will be $9,622, Robinson said; the tax levy on the general fund is $110,919,955.

The total budget of $128,944,023 comprises three elements that make up the total general fund: general current expense ($115,736,391); capital outlay ($3,151,733); and transfer of funds to charter schools ($93,306).

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Several town organizations met last Wednesday, March 4, with the Township Council and manager Barry Lewis to discuss their requested budgets for the upcoming year.

The roughly two hour meeting was broken up into three sections, focused on Senior, Youth and Leisure Services (SYLS); Department of Public Works; Engineering, Water, and Sewer; and the Police Department. Those departments, exclusive of general debt and the library, account for about 75 percent of the annual budget, and over 90 percent of the capital budget, which is why the Council and manager focused on them prior to finalizing the 2020 budget. During the past few years, the meeting between the Council and department heads had not been open to the public. This year, the meeting was open, though no residents attended.

A planned delayed opening for Livingston Public Schools this past Tuesday, March 10, was instead changed to a full day Professional Development Day for staff and a school closure for students. One of the two remaining snow days will be used, so the day will not have to be made up.

The day was used to train staff in remote online instruction, should it be necessary due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The instruction is an act of preparation, and there are no current confirmed coronavirus cases in Livingston as of press time.

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Thanks to the generosity of Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) donors, the charity’s new van is on the road and officially “lettered” for the road. However, due to concerns about the novel Coronavirus, which may be transmitted through surface contact, LPI is temporarily suspending its collections of coats, clothing, and toiletries, etc., as of this Friday, March 13.
“Our new van will make one last pick-up at the Tribune for now,” said LPI founder and director, Jeff Friedman. “It was a tough call and not one we wanted to make. But, in consultation with our partner, the West Essex Tribune, to ensure the safety of everyone involved – our volunteers, our donors, and our recipients – we feel the best thing to do is to put a halt to the collection of all items for the time being. Hopefully, the virus will run its course and we can go back to collecting clothing and toiletries for the homeless and profoundly poor.”

Lieutenant Reese Riley and Sergeant Deborah Shumaker have retired from the Livingston Police Department, Chief Gary Marshuetz has announced.

Lt. Riley retired, effective March 1, after 26 years of service. He began his career with the LPD in 1994 after graduating from the Morris County Police Academy. He attained the rank of Sergeant in 2003, and was assigned as a road supervisor.

In 2017, Riley was promoted to lieutenant and was a shift commander until becoming the Operation Division supervisor in 2018. During this time, he was in charge of the Traffic Division, the Auxiliary Police, Animal Control, and crossing guards. Lt. Riley was honored as “Officer of the Year” by the Livingston Chamber of Commerce in 2019.

In 1920, women were voting for the first time, Prohibition was in full swing, the “Lost Generation” of American expatriates were transforming the literary world, and George Klein came into the world. He is now 100 years old, and he’s feeling fine.

The former long-time Livingston resident (who currently lives just over the border in Roseland) was born in Newark on February 11, 1920.

His parents, who were born in New York City to German immigrants, bought a house on 12th street in Newark. There they raised ten children, of whom George was the youngest.

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The Livingston Planning Board met on Tuesday evening, March 3, and approved one application and continued a previous hearing on two applications involving property on Scott Terrace, by JMZ Enterprises and Green Terrace Homes.

JMZ seeks minor subdivision approval, while Green Terrace Homes seeks major subdivision approval, for development plans that have been before the Planning Board several times since 2005.

The Board granted approval to Jay Green for a minor subdivision with variances at 27 Spring Road. The applicant requested an amendment of the memorializing resolution dated March 20, 2018, so as to revise or terminate certain conditions of approval relating to timing of events. After discussion of the time line and adjustments, the Board unanimously approved the application.

Livingston UNICO has announced that it has named veteran and community volunteer Brian Boyle its 2020 Citizen of the Year. He will be honored for his many years of volunteer service to the community and the nation at UNICO’s 65th annual Citizens of the Year awards brunch on Sunday, April 19, at the Hanover Manor in East Hanover.

Boyle and his wife of 46 years, Maria, have lived in Livingston for 35 years and raised three sons here. He was a volunteer Little League, soccer, and basketball coach. Today, the Boyles have two grandchildren and a third due this month. Boyle notes he is “grateful for all the nice people, all the volunteerism in town, and the many activities offered.” After college, Brian joined the U.S.