community news from Livingston

Livingston Township manager Barry Lewis, in consultation with mayor Rudy Fernandez, the Livingston Township Council, and the Livingston Health Department, has announced that all Township of Livingston offices and facilities are closed to the public, effective immediately, through 8:30 a.m. on Monday, March 30, subject to further extension as circumstance dictate.

Essential Services Provided

Township departments will remain staffed to ensure the continued delivery of essential services. Staff members will remain available through phone and email, although there may be a delay in response due to staffing and schedule modifications.

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Two Livingston residents have tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to mayor Rudy Fernandez. No additional details were immediately available as of press time Wednesday.

A press release with more information was issued after the Tribune went to print on Wednesday afternoon. It will be available in full on the West Essex Tribune Facebook page as soon as it is sent, and in next week’s edition of the paper.

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This article is up-to-date as of Wednesday morning before the Tribune went to print. Given the everchanging nature of this outbreak, and the response to it, some information may evolve quickly.

In an effort to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, officials are taking drastic steps to flatten the curve of the outbreak.

Livingston Public Schools will be closed for at least two weeks. The closure began on Monday, March 16, and will extend through Friday, March 27. All extracurricular, athletic, and social activities are also cancelled, including last week’s Shrek the Musical play at Livingston High School, and the Heritage Middle School parent orientation program. At the time of the announced closure, there were still no known cases of coronavirus in Livingston, however, on Wednesday, the first two cases in the township were announced.

Michael Pontiakos, 93, of Livingston, died on March 13.

He was the father of George (Jessica) of Genesse, Colorado, Anne Toohey (Jim) of Newtown, Pennsylvania, and Stephen (Licia) of Rock Hill, South Carolina; the grandfather of nine; and the great-grandfather of five. He is also survived by his sister, Jean Krystalla of Roseland.

Mr. Pontiakos was born in Newark. He joined the church choir as a young boy and shared his tenor voice every Sunday for 80 years. He was a World War II Navy veteran, and married his late wife, Helen, in 1956.

Funeral services will be offered on Friday, March 20, at 11 a.m. at Sts. Nicholas, Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, 80 Laurel Avenue, Roseland. Interment will follow at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield.

Visitation will be held one hour prior to the funeral ceremony in the church. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Church.

Anne Warren Albano, 95, of Livingston, formerly of Caldwell and Allamuchy, died on Monday, March 16.

Visitation will take place today, Thursday, March 19, at Paul Ippolito-Dancy Memorial in Caldwell, from 9 to 10 a.m., followed by a Mass at St. Aloysius Church, Caldwell, at 10:30 a.m. Interment will be at Prospect Hill Cemetery, Caldwell.

Born in East Orange, Mrs. Albano was a librarian at Caldwell Public Library, director of the Lyndhurst Public Library, and later the Children’s Room at the West Caldwell Public Library. She also worked at the Trinity Academy Library and Roseland Public Library. She was a docent at Craftsman Farms, and secretary of the Master Gardeners of Essex County.

The wife of the late Nicholas Albano, Jr., she was the mother of Nicholas Albano III and his wife, Maryann; David Warren Albano; Elizabeth Anne Albano; and Frederick Charles Albano. She is also survived by three grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were held on Sunday, March 15, for Irwin Sobel, who died on March 13.

Mr. Sobel was born in Brooklyn, New York and married Phyllis Sobel in 1948. They moved to Livingston in 1952 and were together for 72 years.

He was a Navy veteran who fought in World War II. After the war, he owned a mirror manufacturing firm, Silver Troy Corporation, in Belleville, for more than 50 years.

Mr. Sobel was the father of two sons, David and Mark; two daughters-in-law, Andrea and Wendy; the grandfather of four, and the greatgrandfather of four.

He was a founding member of Temple Beth Shalom and was active in Little League, Cub Scouts and local theater.

Arrangements were by Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel. Interment was at Beth Israel Cemetery, Woodbridge.

Memorial donations may be made in his memory to the Disabled American Veterans, www.dav.org.

Services were held for Harry Lauer, 89, of Livingston at King Solomon Memorial Park on February 23.

Mr. Lauer was the father of Scott Lauer and Michelle Waugh; father-in-law to Gregory Waugh and Mary Fran Lauer; grandfather of four and the great-grandfather of three.

Born in Newark, Mr. Lauer was a teacher and administrator in speech and language in the Newark Public Schools for 35 years.

The family suggests that memorial donations made be made to www.freedomservicedogs.org.

Arrangements were by Menorah Chapels of Millburn.

Freya L. Bruckner (née Goldberger) of Livingston died on Sunday, March 15, at home.

Born in 1941 in Newark, Mrs. Bruckner was predeceased by her husband, Alan, and her sister, Joyce. She is survived by her brother, Alan Goldberger and his wife, Carole; her three sons, Robert Bruckner, Dr. Marc Bruckner, and Eddie Bruckner and his wife, Debra; and her two grandchildren.

Freya graduated from Douglass College with a degree in Spanish and French, and worked as an executive secretary. She retired in 2017.

Services were held on March 17 at Beth Israel Cemetery, Woodbridge, with arrangements by Menorah Chapels at Millburn.

A memorial service for Josephine Graboski, who died on March 6, has been postponed due to the coronavirus.

A future date will be announced for the service, originally scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 28.

For almost nine years, Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) has directly delivered donated coats, family clothing, diapers, toiletries, socks, gloves and more to the homeless and those living below the poverty line. Now, LPI is re-inventing itself, as physical donations and on-site deliveries are on hold during the coronavirus outbreak.

Noted LPI founder and director Jeff Friedman, “LPI will ship bulk cases of new items directly from wholesale vendors to our eight Newark and East Orange distribution associates. We are soliciting immediate funding to make it happen. To personally help the homeless and profoundly poor, especially now, you can do it conveniently on Paypal at paypal. me/lpinj; on our Facebook funding page at Livingston Philanthropies, Inc.; or by mail to LPI, P.O. Box 247, Livingston, NJ 07039. Tax-deductible individual and family contributions make all the difference.”