Livingston New Jersey news

The last time Rudy Fernandez was mayor, the job was quite different. He has been on the Township Council since 2008, and was previously mayor in 2011 and 2013, the latter of which was Livingston’s bicentennial. But for his third year in “the center seat on the dais,” he had no idea that the COVID-19 pandemic would upend so much of what he knew about the job.

Township business still had to be attended to, sure, but gone were most events, like the ribbon cuttings and flag raisings that typically fill the calendar. Absent were in-person meetings, which were instead held via Zoom and livestreamed on the township’s Facebook page. In ways big and small, this was a year unlike any other, which meant it was a mayoral term like none that had preceded it.

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“I’d like to thank our ever-generous Livingston residents and our community partners for helping Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) provide for the homeless, profoundly poor and disenfranchised during this devastating pandemic,” said Jeff Friedman, founder and director of LPI. He noted that the resident-community partnership has proven “instrumental” to LPI’s work to assist the homeless, which has had to be re-invented because of COVID-19.
Friedman also reminded residents of LPI’s “Personal Shopping/Shipping to the Homeless” initiative. “Those who want to partner with LPI can shop online for warm coats, gloves, hats, scarves and warm men’s clothing. Diapers in all sizes are needed badly, as well,” he said.

The Camuso Holiday Display became a “winter wonderland” following the snowfall on Wednesday, December 9. On Tuesday, December 15, crews worked to “batten down the hatches,” putting some display items in storage and covering others to protect them, ahead of the major storm expected to begin on Wednesday. The display will be closed due to the storm, and reopening is uncertain. Prospective visitors should check the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CamusoFamilyHolidayDisplay for the latest updates on whether or not the display is open. Jerry Siskind and NBD Photos

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The COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped the Eisner family in Livingston from vigorously treating Annie’s leukemia, as well as vigorously fundraising to find a cure.

Annie became sick with acute myeloid leukemia, a rare cancer, on January 1. The staff at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) quickly determined that a bone marrow transplant would be her best treatment. Fortunately, Annie’s sister Lainie was a perfect match.

First, however, the doctors had to getAnnie into a full remission, which took three rounds of chemotherapy and a targeted antibody treatment.

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The township’s agreement with Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC), which sets the amount of affordable housing needed in each municipality, was made public last Thursday, December 10. The Township Council reached an agreement at a special meeting in earlyNovember, and there will be a fairness hearing that will take place in Superior Court on January 14, 2021. There, the agreement will be reviewed by Judge Robert Gardner, who will evaluate whether an agreement between Livingston Township and FSHC is fair and reasonable to the region’s very low, and low and moderate income households in accordance with legal principles established by court decisions.

The Planning Board, at its meeting on Tuesday, December 15, discussed its 2021 meeting calendar; recommended the redevelopment of property on Peach Tree Hill Road, Block 3700, encompassing property on West Mt. Pleasant Avenue, South LivingstonAvenue, andArden Road; and heard additional applications.

The meeting was livestreamed on Zoom, though, as ofpress time, it was not made available on the Livingston Township, NJ Facebook page, as it has been during the pandemic.

It is expected to be the final Planning Board meeting of 2020. The next scheduled meeting, a reorganizational meeting, is scheduled for January 5, 2021.

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In honor of a lifetime of service, the Northfield Fire Station was renamed in honor of former Livingston Fire Chief and current fire inspector Craig Dufford.

Now named the Fire Chief Craig D. Dufford Northfield Station, it was dedicated this past Saturday in recognition of — and with appreciation for — a lifetime of dedicated service, tireless effort, and unending commitment to improving fire safety within Livingston.

“This honor was certainly deserving of a man with great integrity, honesty, professionalism, and most of all dedication to the fire service and his community.” current Fire Chief Chris Mullin said. “The honor is welldeserved and truly earned!”

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Each New Year in Livingston, town officials and members of the public gather at the Senior/Community Center for the annual township reorganization meeting.

There is a celebratory feeling to this meeting, where Council members are sworn in, along with a new mayor and deputy mayor for the upcoming year (for 2021, Shawn Klein and Ed Meinhardt, respectively), and dozens of residents are officially appointed to committees, having made pledges to volunteer their time for the betterment of their community.

The public meeting is typically attended by hundreds of Livingston residents, and the hope for a prosperous New Year in town is palpable in the room.

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Livingston surpassed 1,000 total COVID-19 cases this week, and with the holiday season in full swing, there is no reason to expect things to slow down anytime soon. It is on all of us to be responsible this holiday season, no matter how difficult it may be to do so.

There are clearly individuals who believe social distancing guidelines should not apply to them and their families, that they should still be able to travel, host large celebrations, and go about their daily lives without wearing masks. If this does not change, we are in for a long and brutal winter.

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George G. Hill Jr. of Saint Augustine Beach, Florida, died on November 12, 2020 at the age of 67. He passed away in his home, surrounded by his loving family.

George was born in New Jersey in 1953. His parents were George G. Hill and his wife, Marcia Bissell Hill of East Orange, NJ. In 1955 they moved to Livingston, where George Jr. grew up. After graduating from college, George lived in South Brunswick, NJ and Washington, DC. He married Margianne (Margie) Wilson in 1979, after which they had a year’s honeymoon in Europe camping. The young couple then settled down in New Hampshire for 36 years. His wife, Margie, retired from teaching in 2016 and they moved to Saint Augustine Beach. George retired in 2017.