Livingston news

Livingston volunteer firefighters quickly extinguished a smoky fire at Turano’s Pizza Kitchen, 69 East Northfield Road, on Thursday, November 18.

Firefighters arrived to find a smoke condition in the restaurant and fire on top of the pizza oven. Firefighters extinguished the flames using a portable extinguisher. A booster line was then used to wet down items that were still smoldering. In addition, they opened the area above the ovens to check if the fire had spread. Fire extension was minor and the area was wet down.

The fire damaged the wiring on the pizzeria’s alarm system. No injuries were reported.

Turano’s announced that the pizzeria will be closed for renovation until further notice.

In other calls, a natural gas leak was reported that same day at 2 Bushkill Drive, and a natural gas odor reported on Sunday, November 21, at a West McClellan Avenue residence.

Gas Leak

As of Tuesday morning, November 23, the Livingston Health Department has reported that a total of 2,601 Livingston residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since the first case was recorded in mid-March of 2020. 89 of those residents have died as a result of the virus. Compared to the same time last week, there are 37 new cases, with no additional deaths. In the past month, there have been 86 cases.

Mayor Shawn Klein noted that the number of COVID cases is starting to rise, and cautioned residents to be careful while gathering with family and friends over the Thanksgiving holiday.

The state currently lists four active cases within the township’s long term care (LTC) facilities. Those cases are three residents and one staff member at Spring Hills Livingston (formerly Atrium Post Acute Care of Livingston).

County and State

BROWNIES GIVE BACK: Brownie Girl Scout Troop #22932 of Livingston, composed of Burnet Hill second graders, worked hard to earn their “give back” patch by participating in community service. The girls stuffed 12 reusable bags with ingredients to create a Thanksgiving meal. They were filled with mashed potatoes, corn, stuffing, condensed milk, rice, yams, gravy, cranberry sauce, and other Thanksgiving favorites. They decorated special cards to put in each bag as well. Troop Leaders Aislinn Shansky and Sarah Weinstein noted that “the girls couldn’t be more excited to help other families. They shared that it makes them feel good knowing they are helping those in need.” The bags were dropped off at the Interfaith Food Pantry of the Oranges. Shown here filling the bags are Brownies Pacey Arons, Sloane Blue, Liv Braverman, Lena Guskin, Elle Hammer, Jolie Hochberg, Isabella Lebersfeld, Eden Lederman, Mabel Moss, Harlow Shansky, Charlie Weinstein, and Zoe Weisselberg.

The Livingston Township Council discussed the sale and purchase of small pieces of land surrounding recently-purchased Open Space properties and carried several ordinances at its Monday, November 22, meeting. The Council also took time to honor the Livingston Fire Department and the Livingston High School varsity girls’ soccer team. The meeting was held virtually and may be viewed on the Livingston Township, NJ Facebook page.

CDBG Hearing

At the start of the meeting, the first of two hearings were held for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), which allows the township to apply for a portion of Essex County’s HUD funding.

The program is designed to benefit those with moderate to low incomes and Livingston is limited in what it can apply for as a result. A recent grant from the program allowed the township to install automatic doors at the Livingston Police Department to make it ADA accessible.

NIGERIA WINS CARPINI CUP: Team Nigeria, a Livingston Soccer Club fifth and sixth grade girls’ team, won the Club’s Carpini Cup championship. Team Nigeria was undefeated throughout the regular season and the tournament. Shown here are, front, Livia Xu, Elise Edelman, Gaya Presman, and Samantha Reitman; at rear are Hadley Skidds, Gianna Rodriguez, Rebecca Luftig, Prisha Das-Khan, Emma Pomeranc, Addison Reitman, Ava Bilancia, Arielle Tobin, and Manasvi Rajendra. Jan Skidds was the team’s head coach, and Ben Pomeranc was the assistant coach.

WINS SEMI-FINALS: Team Brazil, a Livingston Soccer Club fifth and sixth grade girls’ team, played its semi-final game in the Carpini Cup Tournament under the lights at the Madonna field on Thursday, November 18, and defeated England, 1-0. It was a close game and the winning goal was scored by Addison Krantz. Shown here, team members include Eriel Porter, Addison Krantz, Abigale Quillen, Samantha Meyer, Jayde Bernstein, Jayde Crystal, Taylor Goldstein, Charli Wernick, Hailey Doria, and Lexa Abramson.

Members of the “Indian Moms in Livingston (IMIL)” Facebook group participated in an intuitive art workshop with Shraddha Pundeer, an abstract figurative artist and Livingston resident, last Friday, November 19, at the Twisted Tulip.

“Intuitive art is about awakening the spontaneous intelligence that everyone has, we had it as kids, and recognizing that we have access to it,” said Pundeer. “It’s still alive and can actually support us and function in our lives.”

“Abstract work that moms did got an artist out of them; some ladies said that they felt like an artist for a day!” said Monica Gupta, who founded the IMIL Facebook group.

“Through this event, moms were able to relax and unwind in an upbeat atmosphere,” she added.

“One of the goals of IMIL is to support local mom entrepreneurs,” she said. “and to also help new ladies in the town to get to know each other and build a community bond”

Catherine Rita McKenna Gelo, beloved sister, mother, and grandmother, left this life on November 18, 2021, at the age of 90, following a series of age-related illnesses.

Born in Dover, New Jersey, on January 14, 1931, Catherine was the daughter of Lenore (née Emerick) and Felix Francis Xavier McKenna of Long Valley. She grew up in Rockaway and Long Valley. After graduating from Hackettstown High School, she worked at the Morris County Courthouse. She married Joseph V. Gelo in 1956, and the couple lived and raised their family in Livingston until 2013, when they moved to Hackettstown.

Raymond A. Lomax passed away peacefully on Monday, November 22, 2021, at the age of 75 after a long illness.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Ray grew up in Livingston and graduated from Livingston High School and Central College in Pella, Iowa, with a bachelor of science degree in liberal arts. He continued and received his master’s degree in education administration from Montclair State University.

Ray spent many years in high school and college working for the Livingston Recreation and Parks Department. He was the program director at the West Essex YMCA in Livingston when the current facility first opened establishing the original programs and aquatics for many years. Ray was very active in the Liv

Livingston Philanthropies, Inc. (LPI) founder Jeff Friedman, along with LPI volunteers Alan Wishengrad and Rick Levin, delivered some 3,700 pounds of fresh produce to long-time distribution partner Newark Emergency Services For Families (NESF). “Purchased with Livingston’s continued support and just in time for NESF’s Free Grocery Giveaway event, hundreds of families living below the poverty line received their share of the healthy bounty,” said Friedman. He invites Livingston neighbors to purchase diapers, baby wipes, baby food, men’s socks, men’s gloves, and/or toiletries to help those in extreme need. He can be reached at njhomeless@aol.com. For those who prefer empowering LPI volunteers to do the shopping and continue purchasing fresh produce, contributions may be made at paypal.me/njhomeless or by mail to LPI, 8 Country Club Road, Livingston, NJ 07039. More information and photos are available at njhomeless.org.