Livingston New Jersey news

Mayor A1 Anthony took the stage at last week’s Meet the Mayor program, hosted by the Livingston League of Women Voters. He highlighted items that he is passionate about, including his enthusiasm to talk with residents, and inspired questions and comments from the attendees. This is Anthony’s third term as mayor, he had previously served in 2016 and 2019.

“Each January, the League presents Meet the Mayor, when Livingston residents get to know our new mayor, who will share his vision and answer questions, said Amy Ipp, copresident of the League along with Robin Weiss. The meeting was held on Zoom and may be viewed on the Livingston LWV Facebook page or at livingstonlwv.org.

Topics discussed included the new Department of Public Works garage; Open Space; pre-Council meeting talks with residents; student participation on town committees; and whether the town should make political statements.

Open Space

Erez Cohen, 41, passed away at on Wednesday, January 24.

Born and raised in Livingston, , Erez graduated Livingston High School in 2000 and Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2006 with a major in communications. He has been living in South Orange for the past seven years.

Erez was the son of Bruce Cohen and the late Margalite Cohen; brother to Yarden Cohen-Raven and her husband Scott; and uncle to Bonzai, nephew of Ephraim Lupu and Penina Leiter.

Contributions in Erez’s memory may be made to Jewish Vocational Services of MetroWest, For more information, go to jvsnj.org.

Charles (Chuck) Varney, Jr., 76, of South Royalton, Vermont, passed away peacefrilly in his home on the evening of Monday, January 15,2024.

Chuck was an Eagle Scout and his love for the outdoors carried through into his adult life. Anative of Livingston and a graduate of Iona College, Chuck worked as a substitute history teacher and later worked in sales at Johns Manville. He was also active with the Jaycees, and was always willing to lend a helping hand to those in need.

Opting for a simpler and easy going lifestyle, he relocated to Vermont, where he resided for over 40 years. Chuck enjoyed nature, hunting, fishing, gardening, and playing softball in numerous leagues. He was great with a deck of cards and could famously polish off a whole pizza or a dozen White Castle burgers on his own. He was affectionately known as The Big Kahuna or K-Man to his friends.

Yury Spektor, 79, of Livingston died on Sunday, January 28. He was the husband of Natalie Spektor, father of Marina Spektor and Vadim Spektor.

Aburial was held Tuesday, January 30, at Restland Memorial Park. Following the burial a funeral service was held at Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel.

The Livingston Democratic County Committee has submitted three names for the pending vacancy on the Township Council. Laurence Bergmann, James McIlvaine, and Ketan Bhuptani have been nominated to fill Rosy Bagolie’s seat.

While the holiday season is the most common time for packages to be stolen – due to the uptick in deliveries and nature of what is being ordered – thefts do not stop when the calendar turns to a new year. To wit, a package was recently stolen off the front porch of a Mt. Pleasant Parkway home; the Livingston Detective Bureau continues to investigate the matter.

Package theft has, unfortunately, become a common nuisance in recent years as people more frequently than ever rely on home delivery.

FENCING TEAMS HOST MATCHES: The Lancer girls’ fencing team beat McNair Academy, 22-5, while the boys’ team won against Ferris High School 16-11. The matches were held in the auxiliary gym on Friday evening, January 26. Shown above, Lancer Valentina Zheng scores against Anshi Patel of McNair. Zheng defeated Patel 5-1 in the girls fencing match. To the left, Livingston fencer Shao Zhu moves in to score against Aarush Lal of Ferris High School. Zhu defeated Lal, 5-2 , in the boy’s match. Don Schwartz Photos

Gloria Newman Simon, 96, of Livingston, New Jersey passed away on Sunday, January 21, 2024.

Gloria worked for many years for Travel 15 in Livingston.

She was the beloved wife of the late Sidney Simon, and the mother of Robert Simon and Mark Simon.

Last week, Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) announced its new “Green Initiative,” with the goal of continuing and growing its fresh produce and fruit distribution to families experiencing extreme poverty and living on the streets.

“LPI has been providing this otherwise unavailable sustenance to those without means to do so for themselves and their families, working with long-time distribution partner Newark Emergency Services For Families (NESF) through their monthly ‘Community Grocery Giveaway’ events,” explains LPI founder and chief executive officer Jeff Friedman. “It’s Livingston’s constant contributions that continue to make it all happen for about 2½ years.”

Former Livingston resident Andrew Cameron Harris, Sr., died at his home on January 22. He was 71 years old.

Mr. Harris was raised in Livingston and earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from Marietta College in 1974. It was there he met his future wife, Rosemary Hawkes.

He had a 48 year career in the insurance industry. In 1983, Mr. Harris started his own insurance agency as a founder of Liberty Insurance Associates, Inc.

In addition to his wife, Rosemary, Mr. Harris is survived by his son, Andrew Jr., and his wife Kim; his son, Gregory, and his wife, Melecia, and four grandchildren.

Visitation will take place today, Thursday, February 1, from 3 to 8 p.m., at the Holmdel Funeral Home, Holmdel. The funeral service will be held on Friday, February 2, at 10 a.m. at the funeral home.

The family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to IEP Youth Services, Inc., iepyouthservices.org/waystosupportiep.