Livingston Tribune

A funeral Mass will be held today, Thursday, December 2, for Mary Lou Imgrund Hart, at St. Catharine Church, Spring Lake, from 3 to 7 p.m. Burial will follow in Atlantic View Cemetery in Manasquan.

Mrs. Hart was born in Newark on November 7, 1929, to Mary Mulvaney Imgrund and John S. Imgrund Sr., and grew up in West Orange.

After marrying in 1947, she lived in Livingston and then raised her family in Morristown. She later lived in Sea Girt and Spring Lake.

She was a parishioner of St. Catharine’s Church and a volunteer at the Missionary of Charities (Mother Teresa) soup kitchen.

Mrs. Hart was predeceased by her husband of 47 years, George E. Hart, in 1994; her companion of 24 years, James M. Browne of Mantoloking; her brothers, John S. Imgrund Jr. and William H. Imgrund; and a daughterin-law, Tracy S. Hart.

Neil McNulty of Livingston died Sunday, November 21, at the age of 85. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. Philomena Church, Livingston, on Tuesday, November 30, followed by entombment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery East Hanover. Arrangements were by the Quinn-Hoping Funeral Home of Livingston.

Mr. McNulty was born and raised in Bayonne. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1955-57, he earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Peter’s College in Jersey City. He became a certified public accountant for the IRS, where he worked for 35 years until his retirement. He was an international tax examiner, and his career also included many years as an adjunct professor at Rutgers and Seton Hall Universities. After retirement, he consulted for Dreyfus Securities in New York City.

VARSITY TRY-OUTS: Livingston High School coaches are holding try-outs for the boys’ varsity basketball team. Shown here are students working on the three-on-three fast break drill, which requires pinpoint passing. Don Schwartz Photos

At the latest Township Council meeting, we were also thrilled to hear about an exciting new Cycle for Survival event coming to Livingston in the spring of 2022.

The outdoor event would take place in the Haines Memorial Pool parking lot, next to the high school, during the weekend of May 14 and 15. It would feature 215 stationary bikes under a 100 by 200-foot tent on the lot. There would also be an audio setup involved. While the Council gave organizers permission to proceed with planning, some of these details may change in the coming months.

There has been chatter in town over the past few weeks centered on a potential ban of gas powered leaf blowers. Despite some heated discussion, and concerns that a potential ordinance was imminent, however, enthusiasm for a ban never gained much traction among the Township Council.

Local residents whose businesses would be negatively affected by the ban, which had been recommended by the Livingston Environmental Commission (LEC) to begin in a few years, were vocal detractors of such an ordinance. These business owners said that the technology to support commercial level battery powered equipment does not yet widely exist. The Township Council, at its most recent meeting, agreed, and said that they would not pursue a ban at this time, despite the LEC’s recommendation.

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.