community news from Livingston

Last week, Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill (S-2921/A-5554) into law that allows municipalities to designate certain outdoor areas in town in which people over 21 years old may consume alcoholic beverages.

We can see the appeal of this bill for cities like Hoboken and Jersey City, as well as along the boardwalks of our shore towns. But does this mean that we could soon see people strolling down Livingston’s residential streets with beer, wine, and liquor in hand? Almost certainly not, but it’s possible that we could see this applied to some of the community’s commercial downtown areas.

While there may not be an obvious open container area that would make sense in Livingston at the moment, as we mark certain areas for redevelopment and build within them, that could change. Hubs around Town Center and Northfield Center (the Northfield Road and South Livingston Avenue intersection) could theoretically be utilized in such a way.

Continuing its partnership with Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI), the National Council of Jewish Women, Essex County Section’s Creative Hands Knitting Group recently dropped another large delivery of hand-knitted items to LPI “World Headquarters,” a.k.a. founder Jeff Friedman’s garage. Shown here, Friedman prepares a portion of the artisan-created hats, scarves, lap blankets and sweaters for babies and children for immediate delivery to LPI’s Newark distribution partners. “The timing was just perfect, considering the recent cold snap,” he commented. “The NCJW ladies rock!” For more information on LPI and how to help, visit njhomeless.org. or email Friedman at njhomeless@aol.com.

ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTION CAUSES FIRE: A general alarm was sounded on Thursday, January 13, after a car caught fire at 200 South Orange Avenue. According to Livingston Assistant Fire Chief Kevin Francione, the car’s driver and passenger noticed smoke coming from the dashboard of the vehicle, and pulled over into the nearest driveway, which led to the Cooperman Barnabas Ambulatory Care Center. The two exited the car, and the interior burst into flames. The Livingston Fire Department was called, and a general alarm transmitted. The fire was extinguished without incident, and the vehicle was towed from the scene. No injuries were reported, although the car was totaled. Firefighters traced the cause to an electrical malfunction. CJM Photo

At Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, school superintendent Matthew Block explained that, while the region is still in the red, high risk zone, “our numbers are improving.”

Average staff absences have gone down from 172 a day the week of January 3, to 151 a day last week. As of Tuesday, the number was down to 97.

“We were able to stay open with all the absences because everyone who was here was doing double or triple or quadruple time,” he said.

Student attendance also improved. At the secondary schools, the absence rate decreased from 13.5 percent to nine percent to five percent. Similarly, the elementary absence rate went from 18.5 percent, to 10.5 percent, to 5.5 percent.

“In some ways,” Block added, “we proved that the spread in schools is less than in the community around it.”

He reiterated his thanks to the educational team for the “daunting” beginning to the year 2022.

The Livingston High School girls’ track and field team had two meets in eight days. The team performed well in the Freedom Games, and tied for eighth in a field of 48 teams in the Group 4 State Relay Championships.

Freedom Games

On January 8, the team traveled to the Ocean Breeze facility in Staten Island, New York, to participate in the highly competitive Freedom Games. Almost 200 teams were represented from the northeastern United States, and as far down the coast as Virginia. The meet was almost 13 hours in length and LHS brought only a select group of athletes to compete in limited events in the meet. The heats of athletes were seeded in Red, White and Blue divisions, in keeping with the theme of the day.

The Livingston Planning Board met remotely on Tuesday, January 18, for a workshop and conference session. The evening’s agenda included a “Complete Streets” presentation by Urban Cycling Solutions.

Hearing Scheduled

The Board reviewed a report by Beacon Planning and Consulting Services, LLC, which was retained to conduct a professional analysis of the land comprising 1, 2, and 17 Old Road and 397 West Mt. Pleasant Avenue, and a portion of the Old Road right-of-way, to determine whether it was in need of redevelopment. The parcel includes the property at the end of Old Road where it meets the Livingston traffic circle, the site of a former Masonic temple and, before that, Olivet Chapel. It also includes a parcel containing retail businesses.

It was announced this week that Ayan Varma Bhatnagar of Livingston Boy Scout Troop 12 earned the Eagle Scout rank on August 10, 2021. His Eagle Scout Court of Honor was held on October 23, 2021.

Bhatnagar began his Scouting journey in first grade in 2011, when he became a Tiger Cub with Den 1 of Pack 16, Livingston.

After earning the Arrow of Light Award in February of 2016, Bhatnagar continued his Scouting journey with Troop 12 Livingston. He was eager to bridge over into Troop 12 and join his older brother, Nishay, who became an Eagle Scout in 2016.

After earning the First Class rank in 2018, Bhatnagar served as Patrol Leader for three terms. He notes that he “enjoyed taking on the responsibility and committed to helping younger Scouts learn skills and advance in rank.”

The Livingston-based IndoBikers bicycling team recently concluded its 2021 season with record-breaking numbers. Team members rode their bikes in several charity events, including the local “Cycle for Survival” event and several events in South Jersey and New York City.

Team founder Ketan Bhuptani noted that several members set personal records, inspiring many new riders to join the team, which includes young adults, men, women and children.

Members Paul Mortizen and Abhishek Kohli rode for more than 3,000 miles. Accompanying them were Yash Chaudhary, who logged over 2,500 miles, and Bhuptani, who rode for over 2,000 miles.

Nilesh Pisal rode for more than 1,600 miles over the season, while Puneet Wishwas and Amnisha Parameshwar clocked over 600 miles each. Rachana Sheth-Anand and Rajat Ravindran set personal records with over 500 miles each.

The entire team, put together, rode over 17,000 miles and climbed close to 700,000 feet of elevation.

Joellen V. McGuire, 73, of Livingston, formerly of Middletown, Connecticut, died on Sunday, January 9.

Born in Pawtucket, she was the daughter of the late Henry and Josephine (Eastwood) McGuire.

Ms. McGuire graduated from Sacred Heart Academy and its school of nursing in Pawtucket. She worked as a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Pawtucket Memorial and later in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

She is survived by her son, Joseph O’Keefe (Erin) of New Jersey; her sister, Valerie McCormick of Rhode Island; her brother, Dennis (Jane) McGuire of Rhode Island; and three grandchildren.

Her funeral will be scheduled and announced at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to charities such as the Disabled American Veterans, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, or ASPCA would be appreciated.

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the William W. Tripp Funeral Home, in Pawtucket.

Patricia B. Isaacs, a 70-year resident of Elmwood Drive in Livingston, died January 5 following a brief illness. She was 96 years old.

Mrs. Isaacs retired at age 85 as president of Hammill & Gillespie, Inc., a dealer in industrial clays and minerals, formerly based in Livingston.

Her husband of 36 years, Richard Isaacs, died in 1986. Her daughter, Dorna, died in 2015. She is survived by her son, Howard Isaacs, of Brooklyn.

Donations in her memory would be welcomed for charities funding glaucoma and macular degeneration research, and for animal rescue and welfare.