Livingston community

The involvement of Livingston’s civic, service, religious and corporate communities has been key to growing Livingston Philanthropies, Inc.’s (LPI) service to the homeless of Essex County, noted LPI founder and chief executive officer Jeff Friedman. “Local groups and organizations have the power to really make a difference in those lives of the ‘homeless, profoundly poor and disenfranchised.’ My hope is that additional organizations will partner with Livingston Philanthropies. Whether it’s through collecting new items like diapers, new men’s clothing in large sizes or toiletries, or providing tax-deductible contributions that empower our volunteers to do the shopping, assistance continues to be needed as the pandemic marches on.”
Toiletries/Handbag Donation

During the Tuesday, February 1, meeting of the Livingston Public Schools Board of Education, director of school counseling Sinead Crews presented an annual report about the experiences of the Class of 2021 graduates and the role of the school counselors and related staff members who supported them. The meeting, intended to be hybrid format, was conducted in person, but there were technical issues with the livestream and webinar. It was expected to be posted to the Livingston Public Schools Facebook page once the issues had been resolved.

Students in the Class of 2021 submitted 4,975 applications to 413 different schools, an increase from the previous year in both the number of applications and the number of different schools. The students matriculated into 144 different colleges, one more than in 2020. These include 39 universities ranked in the top 50 by US News and World Report.

The Livingston High School wrestling team placed second in the Essex County Tournament and went on to win the Super Essex Conference title.

Seven Individual Winners

The team competed in the ECT on Wednesday, January 26. The Lancers placed second overall as a team, but the big story came in the finals when they rewrote Essex County wrestling history with seven individual champions, the most ever by a single team in the tournament.

The Lancers’ gold medal winners included Aidan Carmody (106 pounds), Shaun Quirk (126 pounds), Zack Vera (150 pounds), Max Lee (165 pounds), Stratos Kantanas (175 pounds), Vinny Militello (190 pounds), and Eddie Padilla (215 pounds). The Lancers

The Lancers also had two more top three finishers. Jason Quirk took second at 120 pounds and Anthony Pellegrino took third at 113 pounds.

Livingston got off comparatively lightly in this past weekend’s nor’easter. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency for the storm, which, between Friday and Saturday, January 28 and 29, dropped up to two feet of snow on eastern and coastal areas. Department of Public Works (DPW) superintendent Chris Southworth estimated that Livingston received six to seven inches of snow, although certified totals were not available at press time.

DPW crews worked more than 24 hours straight in dealing with the storm. Southworth reported that crews began salting Livingston’s roadways at 7 p.m., and went out again at 11 p.m.

Snow plow trucks hit the road at 5 a.m. on Saturday, and all roads, including school parking lots and paths, were cleared by noon. However, as it continued to snow, plow crews had to make a second pass, and roadways were cleared for good by 3 p.m.

An application by Remarkable Foods, Inc., which was scheduled to be heard by the Planning Board February 1, has been adjourned, at the request of the applicant, to March 15.

As outlined in its notice of hearing, the applicant is seeking preliminary and final site plan approval for a catering hub and distribution center at 576-586 West Mt. Pleasant Avenue. The site consists of two contiguous, currently vacant lots, designated Lots 3 and 4, located west of the Westminster Hotel between Regent Street and Miracle Way. The parcel is located in the C-1 Commercial Industrial District.

Louis A. Georges of Livingston died Saturday, January 29. He was 82 years old.

Born in Newark, Mr. Georges resided in Livingston for many years. He was a veteran of the National Guard and the Army Reserves. He worked for over 35 years for CRIB (Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau) as the associate director. He retired in 2003.

Mr. Georges is survived by his wife of 58 years, Sandra. He is also survived by his sons and their spouses, Michael (Denise) and Tony (Lisa); his sister, Georgia Decker (Joseph); and one grandchild. He was predeceased by his sister, Diana Fox.

All services are private and are being handled under the direction of Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home.

The Livingston High School girls’ fencing team is currently undefeated, with eight wins against no losses. “The girls are very passionate about and committed to this sport; nearly all our starters and a number of subs also fence outside of school and train at private fencing clubs,” says coach Jeanette Ng. “They have brought, and continue to bring, what they learn to school events and help each other grow as fencers and as a team. You will often hear them shouting ‘do this’ or ‘try that’ and see them call time-outs to strip-coach each other.”

The Livingston High School boys’ indoor track and field team traveled to the New Balance Armory in New York City for the Metropolitan Invitational ahead of the final weeks of the championship portion of the season.

“The meet allowed for Freshman, Novice and Varsity Divisions, and for many of the athletes, this would be their last meet of the season,” noted coach Nancy Petryna. In addition, the meet saw Krish Malhotra break the school record in the 200 meter dash.

First up for the Lancers was the 1,600 meter. Freshmen Richard Romero and Jordan Fleishman set out running in their heat looking to gain experience. Fleishman went out fast leading the pack, but it was Romero who finished first for the Lancers and ninth overall with a season’s best 5:13.76. Fleishman crossed the line at 5:49.61, also his best time of the year.

WINTER WONDERLAND: After a weekend snowstorm dropped some six inches of snow on Livingston, local children flocked to Hillside School for some sledding fun. Connie Lam Photos

Over the past few years, stormwater management has been an urgent issue for residents in certain areas of town, though for others not living in flood-prone areas it may not be given much of a thought.

For many, this pressing concern is only top of mind when massive rainfall and weather events like last summer’s tropical storms Henri and Ida resulted in extensive flooding (melting snow also causes stormwater runoff). Such storms used to be few and far between, “thousand year storms” as they have been referred to. But as our climate continues to change, these storms, and the flooding that comes with them, will continue to occur with increasing regularity. Stormwater runoff also leads to pollution caused by carrying bacteria and chemicals into nearby waterways; it is directly contributing to contaminants in our drinking water.