News

As of Wednesday morning, February 24, the Livingston Health Department has reported that a total of 1,610 Livingston residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since the first case was recorded in mid-March. 83 of those residents have died as a result of the virus. Compared to the same time last week, there are 37 new cases, with no additional deaths. In the past month, there have been 214 cases.

Houses of worship and religious services can now operate at 50 percent capacity. Masks are required, and members o f different households must be at least six feet apart at all times.

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The Township Council held a regular meeting on Monday, February 22, during which the Council declared several areas of town in need of redevelopment and confirmed next Monday to be COVID-19 Victims and Survivors Memorial Day.

Salt purchases, the DPW garage, and marijuana legalization were among other topics discussed during the meeting, which was livestreamed and maybe viewed on the Livingston Township, NJ Facebook page.

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Residents who would like to add one or more red maple or eastern redbud trees to their yards this spring can do so while helping the Livingston High School Key Club promote sustainability by offsetting the school’s paper usage.

Key Club is working with TreePlenish, a nonprofit organization that seeks to build sustainable schools and communities.

The Club’s goal is to sell andplant at least 160 saplings in yards throughout the community. That number is based on the amount ofpaper the high school ordered for the 2018-19 school year; Tree-Plenish estimates that planting one tree will offset 10,000 sheets of paper. The young trees range from 18 to 24 inches long. Sales will end on March 18.

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This week, Jeff Friedman of Livingston, founder and director of Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI), has announced that a local law firm has made a donation to assist the Livingston-based charity’s “Personal Shopping for the Homeless” initiative.
LPI, which prior to the pandemic collected coats, clothing, toiletries and other items for the homeless in Essex County, is currently focusing on “Personal Shopping for the Homeless,” encouraging donors to purchase new items for the homeless or offer monetary donations to enable the non-profit organization’s volunteers to do so.
Mandelbaum Salsburg PC., a national law firm with headquarters in Roseland, recently gave the initiative a boost with a major contribution to LPI.

STORM PREP: The Livingston Department of Public Works was prepared for snow and ice storms predicted for this week. They had ten dump trucks with snow plows, all loaded with salt, plus two pay loaders ready in the parking lot near the Haines Memorial Pool on Monday afternoon, February 15. Jerry Siskind Photo

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In light of what he said appears to be the “continuing public misimpression” of township health officer Lou Anello’s role in directing schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically the belief that he has decision-making authority over school remote and in-person learning decisions, township manager Barry Lewis has issued a statement clarifying the matter. His statement, included in its entirety below, explains that the Livingston Health Department is a conduit that shares state and federal information with Livingston Public Schools. Lewis also said that school-related decisions, while based on state guidance, ultimately fall on the district.

A man who most recently served as a volunteer coach for Livingston High School athletics this past fall, Steven Brooks, has been charged with criminal offenses related to child pornography, according to an update sent out Tuesday afternoonby Livingston Public Schools superintendent Matthew Block.

According to a press release from the United States Attorney General’s office and other reports, Brooks, 34, of Morristown, was employed as a fifth grade teacher in the Summit school district, and helped run the Livingston Soccer Club. According to a press release, acting U.S. Attorney Rachael Honig said he has been charged in connection with production, possession of, and mailing of child pornography.

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REST IN PEACE: Shown here, bunting hangs on Town Hall in honor of the late Chuck Tahaney, the former township manager after whom the building was named. The American flag is also flying at half mast. For more about Tahaney and his impact on Livingston, read our editorial on page A-4 of this issue of the Tribune. MI Photo

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CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY: Construction of the new Camuso storage barn began with digging post holes for the footings, shown above. “Big shout out to Scoot, Jimmy, Paul E., Hugh, and Mike Stolfi,” said “Chief Elf” Tom Cooney. “We had Celtic Tree Service use a Bobcat to remove the ‘Blizzard’ last Friday so we could get to work.” Below, earlier this week, the storage barn had begun to take shape. TC and MI Photos

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 Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) founder Jeff Friedman invites Livingston residents to “join their neighbors in providing for the homeless, profoundly poor and disenfranchised, especially during the pandemic.” Friedman, who was preparing to leave for Newark with a load of new coats, gloves, hats, diapers, men’s socks and items from cleaners, said, “Philanthropic residents can find sales on Amazon or other websites and ship directly to LPI World Headquarters (my garage). Or, you can drop items themselves without contact.” Friedman may be contacted at njhomeless@aol.com or 973-533-9336. He asks residents to visit LPI’s newly updated website at njhomeless.org, or “empower LPI volunteers to do immediate procurement of what is needed most by unthinkably poor folks at paypal.me/lpinj or P.O. Box 247, Livingston, NJ 07039.”