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In solidarity with 25,000 people in New York City and countless others nationwide, hundreds of Livingston residents marched down South Livingston Avenue on Sunday, January 5, to rally against hate and anti-Semitism.

Signs that read “Peace” and “No Hate, No Fear,” were held by residents as they were escorted by Livingston Police officers down the roadway, from Mt. Pleasant Avenue to the Livingston Oval. The march was organized by residents Brandon and Claudia Minde and took place at the same time as thousands marched across the Brooklyn Bridge less than two dozen miles away. The solidarity march is in response to the recent rise in anti-Semitic crimes.

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As is tradition in town, the Livingston Township Council held its annual organizational meeting on the morning of New Year’s Day. The meeting, held at the Senior/Community Center, appointed hundreds of volunteers to the township’s various committees and boards. The 2020 mayor and deputy mayor were also selected in front of hundreds of residents, elected officials, township employees, and committee volunteers in attendance.

Rudy Fernandez was unanimously voted by the Council as the next mayor, and Shawn Klein was unanimously selected as deputy mayor. This will be the third time Fernandez will serve as mayor of Livingston. The longest tenured councilman, it was his 12th organizational meeting.

Seth Cohen and Samantha Messer Installed:

Seth Cohen and Samantha Messer were sworn in at the Board of Education’s reorganization meeting on Tuesday, January 7. Messer was installed for a second term, and Cohen for his first term.

At the meeting, the district provided officially certified results of the November 5 election: Messer received 2,369 votes; Cohen 2,206; Sasha Pailet Koff, 1,854; and Alyse Berger Heilpern, 1,837.

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Abigail Rose Gaston, born Thursday, January 2, to Inna and Shawn Gaston of 25 Scarsdale Drive, is the winner of the West Essex Tribune’s 62nd annual First Baby Contest.

Abigail Rose was born at 7:03 p.m. on January 2 at Morristown Medical Center. She weighed eight pounds, seven ounces at birth, and is the Gastons’ third child. She joins two brothers, Ryan, age 3½, and Jasper, age 16 months.

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HCHY HONORS MEMBER: Helen Flores, executive director of the West Essex YMCA and founding member of HCHY(Healthy Community HealthyYouth), was honored forhercontribution to the community by the group on Monday, December 30. Flores retired from her job at the YMCA at the end of the year. Shown here, Chitra Maridi presents Flores with flowers. NBD Photo

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MENORAH LIGHTING AT CAMUSO DISPLAY: Rabbi David Vaisberg, above, of Temple B’naiAbraham led a ceremonial menorah lighting at the Camuso Holiday Display at Memorial Park on Monday evening, December 23. At right Libby , Heller and Meyer Gottlieb attended the ceremony.The display remained open to the public until New Year’s Day. MCA Photos

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The West Essex Tribune is celebrating more than six decades of showering the first baby of the new year with an assortment of gifts generously donated by our advertisers. The first baby of 2020 born to Livingston parents will be named the winner of the Tribune’s 62nd annual First Baby Contest.

The rules to determine the winner are the same each year: The first baby of 2020 must be born in a nearby hospital to parents who currently reside in Livingston. The exact time of the birth must be certified in writing by the attending physician.

Entries must be received in the West Essex Tribune office by 10 a.m. on Wednesday, January 8. The winner will be announced in the January 9 edition of the newspaper.

New Mini-Survey: Emergencies and Alerts

The Livingston Vision 20/20 Committee is continuing its series of short, topic-focused community surveys with its “Emergencies and Alerts” mini-survey, open throughout January.

This survey takes just one to two minutes to complete and is available online and in hard copy. It asks a few multiple-choice and checkbox questions about use of Livingston’s Swift911 Emergency Notification System, for individuals who have signed up, as well as for those who haven’t.

To find the survey, those interested can visit livingstonnj.org/Survey on a personal computer, smartphone, or other device with Internet access.

GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY: Livingston resident Nelson Rivera, owner of PuroClean of Morristown and a captain with the Orange Fire Department, recently coordinated a toy drive for pediatric patients at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. His employees and fellow firefighters donated a number of gifts for the drive. “Since opening my company early this year we have found different ways to give back to the communities we serve. We decided that putting a smile on a child’s face, at a time when they need it the most, was one of the things we wanted to close the year out with,” Rivera explains.

Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) has finally acquired its long-awaited and much-needed LPI vehicle – a 2019 Ford Cargo Transit van. “Philanthropic donors have done it again,” said Jeff Friedman, founder and director of the Livingston-based charity. “Along with the steady flow of winter coats, hats, gloves and scarves, now they have funded a vehicle for Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI). The van became a reality because of the generosity of family giving funds, Livingston civic organizations, local businesses and individual contributions. It’s almost unbelievable!”
Friedman immediately put the van into service, driving from the dealership to its partner, the West Essex Tribune, to pick up donations.