Livingston news

Grace Irene Russo (nee Bozza) of Livingston died Monday, May 28. She was 87 years old.

Born and raised in Jersey City to MaryandPasqualeBozza,Mrs.Russo moved to Livingston in 1963.

Over the past 20 years, she worked as an administrative assistant for the Township of Livingston clerk’s office. Formerly, she worked as a paralegal for Foster-Wheeler in Livingston for 25 years, and served as an officer of the Peachtree Credit Union.

Mrs. Russo was widely known for her community service in Livingston, earning numerous awards and recognitions. Her most recent was the President’s Volunteer Award. She was an active member of the Livingston League of Women Voters, and served as its vice president up until her death.

At the Monday, May 20, Board of Education meeting, resident Brian Bradley stated that he and fellow resident Mike Ramer were well within their rights to record the meeting. Ramer had been questioned about filming a student at the previous meeting. Business administrator Steven Robinson agreed that, yes, everyone is legally permitted to record a public meeting. We would have liked him to stop there, but he continued, adding that recording is, however, discouraged by the administration.

But make no mistake: at a public meeting, recording is very much allowed. These laws exist for a reason – open government is good government.

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At the Township Council conference meeting, held on Wednesday, May 22, there were two extended discussions about perceived improvements needed in the community. In one, the Council agreed to discuss with the Board of Education how to provide theater space for the performers in our town and in the other, they avoided the question of how to deal with plastic bags.

Retired art teacher Hugh Mahon made a valid point when he said that the town provides ample space for the many young (and not-so-young) athletes, but not one inch of space is offered to the many performers and artists. Fewer athletes from Livingston have been recognized nationally for their abilities than performers, he said, pointing out the accomplishments of Jay Greenspan (AKA Jason Alexander), Nikki James, Stephen Oremus, and others.

Ronald “Ron” Seigle, 70, of Morristown, formerly of Livingston, died May 24.

Born in East Orange, he had resided in Millburn, where he raised his family. He and his wife, Jeanne, have resided in Morristown for the past seven years.

Mr. Seigle graduated from Livingston High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Rutgers University in 1971.

Before his retirement in 2017, he was a product manager at iConnectiv. He had worked with the Bell System for over 45 years.

Ron is survived by his wife, Jeanne (nee Casey) Seigle; his daughters, Jessica Burruano and her husband, Mike, and Elizabeth Seigle; his siblings, Alexandra Seigle and her husband, Paul Traina, and Larry Seigle and his wife, Leslie; his brother in-law, Roger Casey, and his wife, Doty; and two grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held Friday, May 31, at 2 p.m. at the Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 4 Waldron Avenue, Summit.

Dr. Loren K. James, 72, passed away on Saturday, May 25, 2019, at his home in Livingston, surrounded by his loving family.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the funeral from the O’Boyle Funeral Home, 309 Broad St., Bloomfield, on Thursday at 10 a.m. The funeral service will be held at St. James Episcopal Church in Upper Montclair at 11 a.m. Interment will take place at Mt. Hebron Cemetery in Upper Montclair. Visitation was held on Wednesday.

Born inWhite Plains, NewYork, Dr. James lived in Bloomfield before moving to Livingston in 1972. He was a retired administrator and principal for the Montclair School system. A graduate of Bloomfield College, he attained a master’s degree from Montclair State and a doctorate from Nova Southeastern University.

Essex County, in cooperation with LivingstonTownship,the North Jersey Transportation PlanningAuthority, the New Jersey Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration, on Thursday, May 23, hosted a public information forum about a single lane roundabout that has been proposed for the intersection of Walnut Street and West Hobart Gap Road.The open house format program was held at the Livingston United Methodist Church, which is located at the intersection in question.

Essex County is receiving Federal Highway Safety Improvement Program funds from the Federal Highway Administration through the Local Safety Program for the roundabout. Currently, through traffic at the intersection is controlled with the use of three-way stop signs.

Aformal presentation was given by William McGarrigel, vice president and general manager of transportation for Urban Engineers, the firm which designed the roundabout.

At its meeting on Tuesday, May 28, the Livingston Zoning Board of Adjustment approved five residential applications. An application for a retaining wall was withdrawn without prejudice, and an application for a commercial property was adjourned at the request of the applicant.

New Home on Tower Road

An application by Weikuang and Chenchi Lien to construct a single family home at 17 Tower Road (new address: 4 Beacon Avenue) was approved. When the application was heard in February, the applicants agreed to revise the plan to reduce the mass and height of the home.

In the new application, the size of the home was reduced from 4,456 to 3,912 square feet. Board chairman James Hochberg continued to question the mass of the house, saying he hoped it would be capped at 3,520 square feet, as is required for the zone. The existing home is 2,500 square feet.

Several break-ins were reported in the area of Bel Air during the early morning hours of Thursday, May 23.

At 3:42 a.m., a Thames Drive resident called the police to report that his RING security system detected a person trespassing in his driveway. One person was detected on the south side of the house near a Range Rover parked in the driveway. Video surveillance shows that the person realized there was a camera and left the area. Several police officers responded and began to canvas the area, but no suspect was found.

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The need for a municipal theater space and the possibility of a ban on plastic bags were both topics of discussion at the May 22 Township Council conference meeting.

Hugh Mahon, who taught art in the Livingston schools for many years before retiring, asked the Council to help find theater space for the community's theater, symphony and art groups. Mahon is active in many of the organizations, including the Livingston Arts Association and the Livingston Community Players (LCP). He said that the Livingston Symphony Orchestra, Camera Club, Children's Theater, and other groups have indicated a need for space.

Livingston Philanthropies, Inc.’s (LPI) long-time partnership with Livingston’s West Essex Tribune paid additional and continued dividends this week. Barry Shapiro, who is, like LPI’s founder and director, Jeff Friedman, a 1969 graduate of Livingston High School, had been reading at his home in Florida online Tribune pieces featuring LPI. LPI’s work inspired Shapiro to start his own “Studio on 60 Sock Drive” from his framing business in Vero Beach.
“This began because of your efforts,” Shapiro told Friedman. “I’d seen for several years the coat drives and admired what you’d done. After Trish Duffy passed, you had posted something about collecting shampoo and stuff like that,” he continued. “I thought, why not do something to help, and after looking into it, learned that socks are the number one requested item by homeless shelters.”