News

B.Ruth Soffen, a resident of Care-One at Livingston Assisted Living, celebrated her 105th birthday recently with a party planned by Coral Roberts-Ross, CareOne’s director of recreation. In attendance were her daughter, son-in-law, two granddaughters, extended family members, friends, and her CareOne community. Her grandson, his wife, and greatgranddaughter unfortunately were not able to attend, but “were there in spirit.” Livingston mayorAlAnthony, B.Ruth’s geriatrician, Dr. Theresa Redling, and Cantor Riki Lippitz of Congregation Oheb Shalom also joined in the celebration. B.Ruth was thrilled when mayor Anthony presented her with a plaque proclaiming April 17, 2019 to be B.Ruth Soffen Day in the township of Livingston. Everyone present serenaded her with “Happy Birthday” and enjoyed cake and entertainment by Leonardo in the festively decorated atrium. “I’m the luckiest girl in the world!” exclaimed B.Ruth, who always exudes an attitude of gratitude.

The Livingston Board of Education will hold its public hearing on the 2019-20 school budget on Monday, April 29, at 7 p.m. in the Administration building, 11 Foxcroft Drive. This is the public’s final opportunity to ask questions and comment on the budget before it is finalized.

The Board will vote on the budget that evening. Because the tentative budget is within the allowable spending cap, a public vote is not needed.

APowerPoint presentation, including the numbers and tax impact, will be posted on the website before the public hearing.

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At the Monday, April 22, Township Council regular meeting, two final hearings on ordinances that had been left open from a previous meeting were once again left open. There was also a third final hearing on an ordinance, this one to exceed the 2019 municipal budget appropriation limits and establish a cap bank. This hearing was opened, closed and passed prior to the budget hearing, which was held later during the meeting.

Assisted Living

For the fourth consecutive meeting, the Livingston Township Council left open a hearing on a proposed conditional use of the Coventry section of town, block 6300, which would allow an assisted living facility to be built on the property.

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Editor’s Note: This week, Livingston Philanthropies founder and director Jeff Friedman offers the following progress report on the Livingston charity as its annual coat drive comes to an end.
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As Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) continues its eighth season of giving, and coat season draws to a close, it’s my honor to provide a progress report for our generous Livingston neighbors. Although we are no longer collecting coats and winter accessories for now, LPI continues to request donations of new toiletries and cosmetics, men’s dress attire, family clothing, diapers, new men’s socks and shoes. Footwear is paramount, especially men’s sneakers.

To honor an uncle who died from pancreatic cancer, Suchan (Paul) Park of Livingston will undertake a bicycle trip across the country with the 4K for Cancer program.

“I felt helpless when my uncle was sick,” he said. “I was too young, a student at Burnet Hill School, to fully understand the situation, and I couldn’t really do anything to help.”

As a senior at Boston College, majoring in psychology and economics, Park is also making the journey for a friend whose mother was recently diagnosed with cancer.

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The Livingston Planning Board met for its second special meeting of the month on Tuesday evening to continue hearing two applications. Both applications, one for an addition at NewarkAcademy and one for a new commercial building on Eisenhower Parkway to house a life skills and therapeutic center for the disabled, were given preliminary approval.

Newark Academy

Newark Academy at 91 South Orange Avenue, represented by attorney Michael Sullivan, was given approval for an addition to its auditorium. Sullivan explained that the applicant plans to demolish the existing lobby/ corridor that abuts the existing auditorium, and expand the seating area and sound booth. A new lobby/ corridor area with new entrances will be built. The plan also calls for the construction of sidewalk areas, steps, walkways, and handicaped-accessible ramps to the front drop-off area, with associated lighting and landscaping improvements.

The Livingston Trails and Greenways Committee (T&G), in conjunction with the Essex County Environmental Center, the AmeriCorps New Jersey Water Shed ambassador, and the REI co-op, had their first Passaic River Clean-up at the proposed Okner Fields canoe-kayak storage and launch facility on Saturday morning, April 13.

The crew cleaned up the proposed launch and storage area, cleared snags on the river, and picked up bottles, plastic containers, plastic shopping bags, tennis balls, a basket ball and even an aluminum bat that had been caught in the vegetation along and in the river. The volunteers used kayaks and canoes and worked from the proposed launch site south to the Route 10 bridge. More work needs to be done heading north toward the Essex County Environmental Center launch site.

The Livingston volunteer Fire Department had 11 calls this past week, which included a tree down and a person falling through a home’s wooden deck.

On Saturday, April 13, a person visiting an open house event at 2 Sunshine Lane fell through wood flooring on an exterior deck. The victim’s leg became wedged in the floorboards of the deck, and Fire Department volunteers were called to the scene to remove the floorboards. The victim was stabilized and transported to Saint Barnabas Medical Center.

During high winds on Monday, April 15, a tree at 49 North Baums Court fell and pulled down primary electrical wires. Fire officials secured the roadway until Public Service Electric and Gas personnel could make repairs.

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The Livingston Planning Board held a special meeting on Thursday, April 11, to continue a hearing for CP Management Group II LLC for Lightbridge Academy and Starbucks. This marked the fourth hearing for this application. The property in question, located at 92 South Livingston Avenue, was the previous site of a Bank of America branch. The applicant proposes to subdivide existing Lot 3 to create two new lots. The currently vacant building would be expanded on one of the new lots and renovated to serve as a child care center, called Lightbridge Academy. A Starbucks coffee store with a drive-through is proposed to be constructed on the new lot.

The application’s evidential hearing is closed, but the Planning Board will continue deliberations and discussion at its May 7 meeting, when a vote is expected.

Cycle for Survival, the movement to “beat” rare cancers, raised $42 million in 2019 through its signature indoor team cycling events, making it the most successful year to date. A total of $222 million has been raised since its inception — with more than half of that total raised in the past three years. One hundred percent of every dollar raised directly funds groundbreaking rare cancer research and clinical trials led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which owns and operates Cycle for Survival.

Motivational instructors from Equinox, Cycle for Survival’s founding partner, led the high-energy rides at the annual events in 16 cities across the country. Rides took place in Bethesda, Md.; Boston; Chicago; Dallas; Greenwich, Conn.; Huntington Beach, Calif.; Long Island, NY.; Los Angeles; Miami; New York City; Palo Alto, Calif., Paramus, NJ; San Francisco; Seattle; Summit, NJ; and Washington, DC throughout January, February and March.