Livingston news

The Livingston Planning Board met for its second special meeting of the month on Tuesday evening to continue hearing two applications. Both applications, one for an addition at NewarkAcademy and one for a new commercial building on Eisenhower Parkway to house a life skills and therapeutic center for the disabled, were given preliminary approval.

Newark Academy

Newark Academy at 91 South Orange Avenue, represented by attorney Michael Sullivan, was given approval for an addition to its auditorium. Sullivan explained that the applicant plans to demolish the existing lobby/ corridor that abuts the existing auditorium, and expand the seating area and sound booth. A new lobby/ corridor area with new entrances will be built. The plan also calls for the construction of sidewalk areas, steps, walkways, and handicaped-accessible ramps to the front drop-off area, with associated lighting and landscaping improvements.

The Livingston Trails and Greenways Committee (T&G), in conjunction with the Essex County Environmental Center, the AmeriCorps New Jersey Water Shed ambassador, and the REI co-op, had their first Passaic River Clean-up at the proposed Okner Fields canoe-kayak storage and launch facility on Saturday morning, April 13.

The crew cleaned up the proposed launch and storage area, cleared snags on the river, and picked up bottles, plastic containers, plastic shopping bags, tennis balls, a basket ball and even an aluminum bat that had been caught in the vegetation along and in the river. The volunteers used kayaks and canoes and worked from the proposed launch site south to the Route 10 bridge. More work needs to be done heading north toward the Essex County Environmental Center launch site.

The Livingston volunteer Fire Department had 11 calls this past week, which included a tree down and a person falling through a home’s wooden deck.

On Saturday, April 13, a person visiting an open house event at 2 Sunshine Lane fell through wood flooring on an exterior deck. The victim’s leg became wedged in the floorboards of the deck, and Fire Department volunteers were called to the scene to remove the floorboards. The victim was stabilized and transported to Saint Barnabas Medical Center.

During high winds on Monday, April 15, a tree at 49 North Baums Court fell and pulled down primary electrical wires. Fire officials secured the roadway until Public Service Electric and Gas personnel could make repairs.

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The Livingston Planning Board held a special meeting on Thursday, April 11, to continue a hearing for CP Management Group II LLC for Lightbridge Academy and Starbucks. This marked the fourth hearing for this application. The property in question, located at 92 South Livingston Avenue, was the previous site of a Bank of America branch. The applicant proposes to subdivide existing Lot 3 to create two new lots. The currently vacant building would be expanded on one of the new lots and renovated to serve as a child care center, called Lightbridge Academy. A Starbucks coffee store with a drive-through is proposed to be constructed on the new lot.

The application’s evidential hearing is closed, but the Planning Board will continue deliberations and discussion at its May 7 meeting, when a vote is expected.

The Livingston High School boys' tennis team won three of five matches and has a four and two win-loss record, including two and two in the Super Essex Conference.

Montclair 3, Livingston 2: In the Super Essex Conference match, Montclair prevailed in second and third singles and first doubles while the Lancers won first singles and second doubles.

Sam Levshteyn scored a 0-6, 6-1, 6-3 first singles victory on a very windy day, while Robbie Coleman and Max Esralew lost straight set second and third singles matches.

At first doubles, Jack Friedman and Josh Meyers were defeated by Montclair in three sets while Ben Frankstein and Andrew Rhodes split sets at second doubles before prevailing in the third set 10 point match tiebreak 5-7, 6-4, 10-8.

Dr. Lillian Brunell, who raised her family in Livingston, died in her sleep on Sunday, April 7.

Born in New York on January 6, 1926, she earned a degree in psychology from City College and a Psy.D. at Rutgers University. She served as chief of psychology at the Essex County Hospital Center in Cedar Grove and later ran a private practice in West Orange. She co-authored a book on multi-modal treatment and received the Peterson prize for distinguished contributions in the field of psychology.

Dr. Brunell is survived by her husband, Karl, whom she married in 1947; her daughters, Merrilea Brunell (Jeff Brutman) and Hilary Monaco (Larry); her four grandchildren, and her three great-grandchildren.

The funeral service was held on Tuesday, April 9, at Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel in Livingston.

The Livingston High School golf team started its season with big victories over Verona, Nutley, and West Orange. Zach Freidman led the way with a 39 in the Verona match followed by captain Alex Harte’s 42. In the following match, Jason Selvin shot a 39 while Jake Goldstein and Srishti Dhurandhar each had a 41 to lead the victory.

On April 4, the Lancers defeated a strong Newark Academy team by one stroke thanks to Dhurandhar and Harte who finished with a 39 and 41 respectively. On April 8, the team defeated Montclair by the score of 163 to 178.

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Inside this edition of the Tribune, you will find the entire township budget for the upcoming year. It is published annually in this paper in advance of the public hearing, which will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 22, at Town Hall.

We applaud the township’s decision to continue to publish the budget in its entirety. Maybe everyone does not read it all (though we highly recommend doing so), but we are certain there are some who do. And even those who don’t can take solace in the fact that it is there to read if they so choose.

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We’ve all done it. We’re in the middle of a long drive and our phone won’t stop buzzing. Or we’re waiting for an important call and it comes as soon as we get on the highway. Or perhaps we just need to select that one perfect driving song and we didn’t want to wait for the next red light. So, for a brief moment, we focus on our phones instead of focusing on driving our cars.

With technology as advanced as it is, our vehicles are full of distractions, pulling our eyes from the road while we steer several tons of metal down streets at high rates of speed. In a vacuum, it sounds insane to ever devote anything less than 100 percent of our focus on that task. In the moment though, it is all too easy to become distracted. Most of us can count ourselves fortunate that we haven’t paid a terrible price for these momentary slip ups, that all we have to show for them is a ticket, if even that. Many, however, are not so lucky.

Margaret Louise (Burrows) Reed, who raised her children in Livingston, died on April 6 at her home in Dennis, Massachusetts. She was 93 years old.

Her husband, Leonard Tynan Reed, died in 2009.

Born in Orange and raised in Montclair, Mrs. Reed graduated from Montclair High School in 1943. She attended Orange Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, and graduated from the Seton Hall University School of Nursing Education in 1953.

Mrs. Reed was a member of the Rosary Society at St. Philomena’s Church. She and her husband retired to Cape Cod in 1983.

She is survived by her three sons, Richard Tynan Reed (Carol) of Bedford, Massachusetts; Robert Burrows Reed (Mary) of South Yarmouth, Massachusetts; and Douglas Edward Reed (Missy) of Stow, Massachusetts; her daughter, Virginia Anne Reed Brett (Neil) of North Grafton, Massachusetts, as well as six grandchildren and two great-grandsons.