Livingston community

Oishik Mukherjee, an eighth grader at Heritage Middle School in Livingston, is the new 2020 Under 2000 New Jersey state table tennis champion.

The 91st New Jersey State Championships Tournament, a USATT (USA Table Tennis) sanctioned two-star event for New Jersey residents only, was held October 31 and November 1 at the New Jersey Table Tennis Club in Westfield. A total of 36 players participated in eight categories this year, under strict COVID-19 guidelines.

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IN-TOWN BOYS’ CHAMPIONS: The Philadelphia Union were champions of the Livingston Soccer Club’s In-Town Grade Boys, Division, giving up only seven goals throughout the entire season. Team members shown here, are, at rear, Dylan Weisman and coaches Peter Weisman, and Rob Maru; standing in front are Arkit Shah, Elijah Shemesh, Daniel Su, Rishabh Thadani, Smayan Sanjeev, Sukrit Wishwas, Landon Maru, Ali Zafar, and Sebastian Rojas; and kneeling is goalie Aidan Zotti. Also on the team are Felix Yu and Shai Peled.

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Neil Michael Shane, formerly of Livingston, Verona, and Warren, died on November 14 from natural causes.

Mr. Shane was a Merchant Marine and then worked for Affiliated Management for over 24 years. He retired to Aventura, Florida, earlier this year.

Mr. Shane is survived by his sisters, Madelane Shane and Barbara Shane Silverstein; nieces and nephews; and his childhood friend, Andy Liss.

Memorial contributions may be made to an animal support organization or other charity. Services are under the direction of Gutterman and Musicant Jewish Funeral Home Directors, Hackensack.

Save a tree. Recycle this paper!

Bruce Allan, 73, of New Port Richey, Florida, passed away November 6, 2020.

Formerly of Livingston, New Jersey, Bruce graduated from Livingston High School in the class of 1965.

He worked for Bell Telephone for five years before relocating to Florida, where he continued his career as a facilities maintainer. He retired from Verizon after 28 years of service.

Bruce loved music, playing the guitar, and keeping in touch with his friends. He is survived by his loving wife of 33 years, Valerie Allan; his children, Scott Allan, Alexandra (Eric) Tanner, and Michele (Garrett) Jones; his brother, Ronald Allan; his sister-in-law, Terry Allan; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

A gathering will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. on Monday, November 23, followed by a Celebration of Life beginning at 11 a.m., at Grace Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home, Hudson, Florida. GraceMemorialHudson.com.

William Mitchell Rapkin, RN, passed away peacefully on November 5, 2020 at the age of 65 with his partner of 43 years, James Frutchey at his side. They lived in Caldwell, New Jersey; Brookline Village, Massachusetts; and Hawaii for 22 years before moving to Cathedral City, California in 2003.

He was born on July 20, 1955 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey to Don and Ann Rapkin of Livingston. A graduate of Livingston High School in 1973, he received his B.A. from Bryant College in Providence, Rhode Island in 1977 and his B.S.N. from Hawaii Pacific University in 1997.

Bill was an active member of the Aphasia Recovery Connection, the SongShine Foundation and the Neuro Vitality Center in Palm Springs.

He was an avid piano player and loved traveling the world. Bill and Jim took more than 15 cruises. He loved living life to the fullest with an extraordinary sense of humor. He was a generous, kind spirit in his professional and personal lives.

Howard Zimmerman, age 88, of Livingston, passed away due to COVID-19 on November 4, 2020.

Howard was born in Brooklyn, New York, but spent most of his childhood in Rockville Centre, New York. He attended the University of Richmond, obtaining his B.S. in business in 1954.

Howard married his camp sweetheart, Barbara Sturtz, just before being sent to Rome, Italy on U.S. Army assignment.

After his military service, Howard worked several jobs before joining Kaysam Corporation of America. Rising through the ranks, Howard and two partners purchased the company and then later sold the business to Norcross Footwear. He ended his work life buying back a division of the original company and running the company with his daughter, Diane.

As daily COVID-19 cases continue to climb in Livingston, it is time to reassess how our children will complete the rest of school through the calendar year.

We fully understand the value of the in-person experience for students, and the burden it puts on working parents when their children stay home on weekdays. And we are glad that our students were able to spend some time physically in school these past few weeks and months. But New Jersey’s daily case counts are skyrocketing to levels higher than have ever been recorded. It is no longer safe for students and faculty to spend unnecessary time in classrooms.

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Jeff Friedman, founder and director of Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI), is urging residents to buy new items or donate funds to LPI to help the homeless. “With winter fast approaching, and the pandemic ramping up again and causing even greater economic adversity, you can make an immediate impact to help the homeless,” he said.
He noted that residents may take advantage of “rampant online sales” and purchase new winter coats and jackets, hats, scarves and gloves for the homeless and profoundly poor. “Although we started out years ago with a coat drive, this season, because of the pandemic, we cannot accept used items, as we did in the past. However, we can accept gently used items that have been professionally cleaned and are still in cleaner bags.”

The Livingston Planning Board, at a special meeting on Thursday, November 5, finished hearing testimony on a development application at Northfield Center and gave the multi-use proposal preliminary approval.

Attorney Matthew Posada represented the applicant, Livingston Builders, LLC, in the application to create a mixed-use residential and retail development. The applicant proposes to consolidate three existing lots into one parcel at 531 South LivingstonAvenue. The property includes the site of the former Northfield Baptist Church sanctuary at the corner of South Livingston Avenue and East Northfield Road, and adjacent retail buildings on South Livingston Avenue and East Northfield Road.

The plan calls for the demolition of three existing buildings, including the church and two retail buildings on East Northfield Road. A onestory building on South Livingston Avenue, which once housed a bank and now houses a dental practice, will remain and be renovated.

The Livingston High School boys’ varsity soccer team shut out Technology High School, 5-0, on the turf of the Saint Barnabas Medical Center Community Field. Shown here, Lancer wing Jared Fiske sprints to keep the ball in play for the Lancers. Converging on the play is Lay Saigal, #12. Don Schwartz Photo

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