community news from Livingston

As is tradition in town, the Livingston Township Council held its annual organizational meeting on the morning of New Year ‘s Day. The meeting, typically held at the Senior/Community Center, was instead held virtually this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Still, hundreds of volunteers were appointed to the township’s various committees and boards, the 2020 mayor and deputy mayor were selected, and a few surprise guests appeared during the meeting due in part to its being held remotely. There were a few minor technical difficulties during the roughly 90 minute proceedings, but the virtual ceremony allowed more people to view the meeting and do so safely from their homes. Shawn Klein was unanimously voted by the Council as the next mayor, and Ed Meinhardt was unanimously selected as deputy mayor. Both previously held those positions in 2017. Rudy Fernandez concluded his third term serving as mayor.

Vineeta Khanna was sworn in to the Livingston Board of Education at the group’s reorganization meeting on January 4; Samantha Messer, who had served as vice president of the Board in 2020, was elected president, and concluded the meeting with a plea for suggestions and ideas as the district wrestles with its re-opening plans.

The meeting was held virtually on Zoom and live-streamed on the Livingston Public Schools Facebook page. Most participants were in their homes, but superintendent Matthew Block, board secretary Steven Robinson, and Messer were in the central office conference room, masked and socially distanced. Robinson administered the oath of office to Khanna via Zoom.

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Essex County’s vaccination sites, including the one in the former Sears at the Livingston Mall, are currently open.

Limited doses of the vaccine are available, and the State Department of Health has compiled a phased-in approach to ensure the vaccine is distributed in a fair and equitable manner until larger quantities of the vaccine become available. Essex County released the following information on the vaccine distribution.

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Harold I. Frieder, of Lake Worth, Florida, formerly of Livingston, New Jersey, and East Hanover, New Jersey, passed away suddenly on December 26, 2020 at the age of 79.

Harold was the loving husband of Judy Frieder; the caring father of Jason and Michele Frieder and Scott Frieder; and the adoring grandfather of Alex, Rylie, Cole and Ryder Frieder. He is also survived by his brother, Jack Frieder; his brother-in-law, Elliot Volk; and his sister-in-law, Sheryl Volk.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, he grew up in Verona, New Jersey and after college, he spent his entire career working in the life insurance industry. He was an avid sports fan and loved attending New Jersey Nets games, Seton Hall basketball games, the U.S. Tennis Open, and all sporting events.

He relocated to Florida over 20 years ago and until his passing, he played tennis multiple times a week and was actively involved in his local community.

The Federated Church of Livingston hosted a food drive recently to benefit the Communnity FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ). Collections were received the week of December 6 through 13. These included a curbside drop-off on Sunday, December 13.

In all, the congregation collected 350 pounds of food, equivalent to 876 meals to support the FoodBank.

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The Township of Livingston is heading into 2021 with two great losses to the administration: Department of Public Works superintendent Mike Anello, and township attorney Sharon “Shari” Weiner. Both leave an indelible mark on the town they spent decades serving.

The township owes a lot to Anello, who has been with Public Works since 1978 and has headed the department since 1988. Under his leadership, the DPW grew from a small department with just seven employees to a well-tuned “machine” with 60 employees. For example, leaf collection, which once took months, became a streamlined four-week process. (We can vouch for its efficiency; when trying to take photos of the DPW leaf collection crews in action, our photographers often find themselves having to “hunt them down” because they move so quickly from their initially reported locations!) Anello was the one who advocated for the better equipment and new collection techniques that made this possible.

Although the holidays are over, Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) is continuing to purchase items for the homeless.
“ ‘The Giving Season’ may be over, but the ‘Needing Season’ continues,” said LPI founder and director Jeff Friedman. “Families suffering from lack of financial access to the most basic necessities of life continues to grow each week, as mom and dad lose jobs during this devastating pandemic.”
Friedman reminded Livingston residents that LPI’s successful “Personal Shopping/Shipping to the Homeless” initiative continues into the new year. He is encouraging neighbors “to continue shopping online for the homeless, profoundly poor and disenfranchised, particularly now, while sales are widely available.” 
LPI volunteers, he added, are also shopping and shipping this week, “utilizing monetary donations to do the buying for those who would rather leave the shopping to us.”

COVID-19 vaccinations have begun at various vaccination centers throughout Essex County, including the former Sears building at the Livingston Mall. The Livingston Mall location is serving residents of Livingston, as well as residents of Belleville, Maplewood, Millburn, Newark, Orange, and South Orange.

The vaccination center at the Sears location opened Saturday, December 26, and will be open Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., by appointment only. At this time, only healthcare workers in phase 1a are eligible to receive the vaccine.

The Moderna vaccine will be administered at the Sears location vaccination center and must be dispensed in two doses. The two doses must be given a minimum of 28 days apart.

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January 1, 2021 will be the first day since 1978 that Mike Anello won’t be reporting for work at the township garage.

The superintendant of the Livingston Department of Public Works (DPW) is retiring after nearly 43 years on the job. Anello started working at the DPW in 1978 as part of a work-study program. After graduating from Livingston High School in 1979, he stayed with the DPW, and has never worked anywhere else.

The DPW has come a long way in that time. Anello, who became “the boss” in 1988, at the tender age of 28, recalls that when he started, the DPW had just six employees; he was number seven. During his career, the department grew to some 60 employees before it merged functions with the township’s Parks Department.

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On Tuesday evening, December 29, the Livingston Board of Education approved a three-year agreement with the Livingston Supervisors’ Association. The agreement, which will be effective from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2023, was the only item on the agenda for the meeting, which had been announced earlier that day.

The Association’s membership comprises 13 subject supervisors. The agreement calls for a 2.5 percent salary increase for 2020-21; and a 3.0 percent increase in each of the following school years.

Brian Carey, Livingston’s grades seven through 12 science supervisor and the Association’s president, said that the Board and negotiating team came up with a fair agreement.

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