Livingston New Jersey news

Over the past two weeks, the Livingston High School girls’ track and field team has traveled to the New York City Armory, a world renowned indoor track facility, to compete. “The Armory has a fast, banked track and provides a memorable experience for all athletes of all levels,” notes coach Dave Czeizinger. “As the season nears its end, moving closer to the state championship, the first of these competitions was the Metropolitan Invitational on January 26. The Invitational provided an opportunity at the freshman, novice and varsity levels and included talent from over 50 schools in the New Jersey-New York region. For many of the athletes, this was their last meet of the season.”

The second event, the Varsity Classic, also saw competitors from 50 schools competing in what is primarily “a tune-up for the Sections on Sunday, February 13. This competition sees the best in varsity level with three relay events included in the meet.”

Metropolitan Invitational

TUNNEL TO TOWERS DONATION: Livingston UNICO members Matt Ladolcetta, Michael Stolfi and Mary Beth Picini presented a check to Tunnel to Towers Foundation founder Frank Siller at the Foundation’s offices on Staten Island on Friday, February 4. UNICO sponsored a successful Casino Night fundraising event, with the majority of the proceeds going to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, whose mission is to support the families of fallen first responders and “wounded warriors.”

AAPI YOUTH INTERVIEWED: CBS News correspondent Cindy Hsu interviewed members of the Livingston Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Youth Alliance at Livingston High School. The students discussed their work in advocating for New Jersey legislative bills S4021 and A6100, which mandate that students learn about Asian American history and contributions. The segment aired last week. Shown with Hsu are Eric Dalangin, Hannah Mattam, Hannah Kim, Russell Fan and Eshaan Mahajan.

This past Saturday, for the second consecutive year, a township-sanctioned Black Lives Matter banner was raised in Livingston. It will hang at the corner of South Livingston Avenue and Northfield Road for the duration of Black History Month. Its unveiling was one of several events scheduled by the Livingston Committee for Diversity and Inclusion to commemorate the month.

Additionally, LCDI member Simone Anthony-Brown is hosting an “African American Artist” series on the group’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/LCDINJ). The final two parts of this series will be held on the last two Mondays of the month, February 21 and 28, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Artists Sam Gilliam and Varnette Honeywood will be featured, while Synthia St. James was highlighted earlier this month.

At the February 1 Board of Education meeting, members discussed sending a letter to the state Department of Education, Governor Phil Murphy, and local legislators, concerning the potential for the district to have flexible remote learning days to help offset snow days and other emergency needs in a tight school calendar.

A state bill is in its very early stages, which, if drafted and passed, could give districts the ability to declare remote days (or provide the option to attend school remotely on a given day) at the discretion of the local Boards of Education and district superintendents.

While most of the Livingston Board was in support of sending the letter, member Sam Messer expressed concerns about students having fewer than 180 days of in-person instruction, saying that children learn best in school.

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.