Hackensack Riverkeeper Urges Bush Administration to Uphold the Clean
Water Act
Joins Clean Water Network in calling for protection of “treasured
waters”
Hackensack, NJ - Standing on the banks of the Hackensack River today, Captain Bill Sheehan, called on the Bush administration to stop pursuing policies that threaten such waterways with unregulated pollution and filling. He and his organization, Hackensack Riverkeeper, Inc., are deeply concerned that the Bush administration is treating many waterways like the Hackensack River as if they are no longer protected by the Clean Water Act, although they most certainly are.
“The Bush administration is saying one thing, and doing another,” said Captain Bill Sheehan, Hackensack Riverkeeper’s Executive Director, “They claim to support clean water and achieving ‘no net loss’ of our wetlands, while their policies often say the opposite.”
In January 2003 the Bush administration instructed agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not to enforce Clean Water Act protections in many wetlands, small streams and other waters considered “isolated” without first obtaining permission from headquarters. At that same time, the Bush administration also announced it was planning to rewrite Clean Water Act regulations to officially leave these waters without Clean Water Act protections. In December, the administration publicly announced that it was dropping formal rule changes, but it has since become clear that the agencies have directed their field staffs to simply ignore parts of the existing Clean Water Act rules – which are federal law – in applying pollution limits over many wetlands, small streams and other waterways.
“A river’s headwaters, wetlands and tributaries are critically important parts of the every watershed in America,” said Captain Sheehan. “By failing to protect these waters, the administration’s policy will add to existing pollution problems and reverse decades of progress under the Clean Water Act.”
New Jersey is more fortunate than most states in that its environmental laws and protections are generally stronger than the federal government’s, with the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) holding delegated authority for environmental regulation. The state’s level of commitment is evident in both the new Master Plan for the New Jersey Meadowlands and the state’s increased use of Category One (C-1) protections. The Plan places 8,400 acres of wetlands and tributaries in the estuary of the Hackensack River off limits to development; and the C-1 designation adds additional layers of protection to the drinking water resources in the Hackensack’s upper watershed.
“The wetlands of the Meadowlands perform vital functions for our region by filtering pollutants, storing floodwaters and providing critical wildlife habitat. Despite being the drinking water source for over 750,000 people in New York and New Jersey, many of the headwater wetlands and small streams in the upper part of our watershed have already been lost or degraded by development. We don’t want to see the Bush administration try to undermine the work that our state has done to protect those resources,” said Capt. Sheehan.
Hackensack Riverkeeper is joining with clean water advocates around the country in drawing attention to the threats posed by the Bush administration’s policies to waters valued for their contributions to hunting, fishing and other recreation and as drinking water sources. “We are, collectively, calling on the Bush administration to reverse its current policy and commit to upholding the Clean Water Act by applying its protections to all waters of the United States. In addition, the Bush administration should support legislation pending in the House and Senate that would reaffirm the historic scope of the Clean Water Act, ” said Captain Sheehan.
From New City, New York to Newark Bay, Hackensack Riverkeeper is the leadingenvironmental organization working on Hackensack River issues.
MEN WANTED AS # 1 FANS!
We’re looking for a few good MENtors to be the number one fans of boys who need men to cheer them on in life.
Volunteers in Protective Services (VIPS), a program of the Volunteer Center of Bergen County, matches caring adults with abused, neglected and isolated Bergen County boys and girls. While women are always needed as mentors, men are especially needed to mentor the large number of boys who need someone to believe in them. These boys need a responsible male to shoot some hoops or toss a ball with them, walk and talk, and just listen to them. They need someone to show them the ropes of life and to tell them they can make it.
VIPS provides a 15-hour, six-session training program and a comprehensive screening process which includes fingerprinting and other background checks. The next training begins Monday evening, March 22, 2004 from 7-9:30 PM at the Volunteer Center of Bergen County, 64 Passaic Street, Hackensack, NJ. On-site training with a flexible time schedule can be arranged at an agency, corporation or other organization for a minimum of 5 interested men.
“We need men to be the hero in a young boy’s life” says Judy Forman, VIPS Program Director. For more information on how you can be a young boy’s biggest fan, call VIPS at 201-489-9474 extension 21.
The mission of the Volunteer Center is to strengthen the community by connecting people with opportunities to serve, operating model volunteer programs, building capacity for effective volunteering, and participating in strategic partnerships that meet community needs. The Volunteer Center provides an equal opportunity environment.
January is National Mentoring Month.
Who mentored you? Thank them and pass it on!
Judy Forman
Program Director
Volunteers in Protective Services (VIPS)
Volunteer Center of Bergen County, Inc.
64 Passaic Street
Hackensack, NJ 07601
201-489-9474
www.bergenvolunteers.org
REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO BE A CHILD?
Help a youngster grow up with happy memories and a belief in him or herself. Mentor a child.
Volunteers in Protective Services (VIPS), a program of the Volunteer Center of Bergen County, matches caring men and women with abused, neglected and isolated Bergen County boys and girls. These children are in desperate need of someone to show them the ropes of life and to tell them they can make it.
“Mentors from every walk of life and every age have had incredible impact on the lives of children in this program” says Judy Forman, VIPS Program Director. “Couples who mentor together, singles, people with children and those without children are all needed and all have the potential to give a child hope.”
VIPS provides a 15-hour, six-session training program and a comprehensive screening process which includes fingerprinting and other background checks. The next training begins Monday evening, March 22, 2004 from 7-9:30 PM at the Volunteer Center of Bergen County, 64 Passaic Street, Hackensack, NJ. For more information, call Dottie Ogden at 201-489-9474 extension 21.
The mission of the Volunteer Center is to strengthen the community by connecting people with opportunities to serve, operating model volunteer programs, building capacity for effective volunteering, and participating in strategic partnerships that meet community needs. The Volunteer Center provides an equal opportunity environment.
January is National Mentoring Month.
Who mentored you? Thank them and pass it on!
Judy Forman
Program Director
Volunteers in Protective Services (VIPS)
Volunteer Center of Bergen County, Inc.
64 Passaic Street
Hackensack, NJ 07601
201-489-9474
www.bergenvolunteers.org
2004 Ron Vellekamp Environmental Scholarship
Annual Hackensack Riverkeeper award to be awarded in June
Submitted by Hugh M. Carola, Hackensack
Riverkeeper
Hackensack, NJ – Beginning today, applications are being accepted for the 2004 Ron Vellekamp Environmental Scholarship. Now in its fourth year, the program was created to support college-bound high school seniors with excellent grades and a strong commitment to the environment.
The guidance departments of every high school in the Hackensack River watershed, which lies in parts of three counties (Rockland in New York; and Bergen and Hudson in New Jersey), have been contacted and are invited to nominate one of their students for the Scholarship.
Guidance counselors or faculty advisors can submit applications on behalf of any student they feel is worthy of consideration. A panel that includes Captain Bill Sheehan, the Executive Director of Hackensack Riverkeeper and Program Director Hugh Carola will review each application. In deciding upon a winner, the panel will consider each applicant’s academic achievements, environmental extra-curricular activities and future plans. The $1000 Scholarship is essentially unrestricted and can be used for the purchase of books or other educational materials during the student’s first year in college.
The 2003 Ron Vellekamp Environmental Scholarship winner was Ms. Sonia D’Angio who graduated from Cliffside Park High School last June. Ms. D’Angio, who is also an alumnus of the Governor’s School of the Environment, is currently majoring in Biology at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. “I’m certain that Sonia will succeed at Rutgers,” said Mr. Carola, who added, “and I wouldn’t be surprised if one day she was tapped to lead a major environmental organization.”
Application criteria are available from Hackensack Riverkeeper by calling Hugh Carola at 201-968-0808 or by visiting their Website at: www.HackensackRiverkeeper.org. Applications must be postmarked no later than Earth Day, April 22, 2004 and the winner will be announced on June 1st. “I know that Ron would be proud of the scholars we’ve chosen so far,” said Capt. Sheehan, “and I’m sure he’d be happy to know that we will always endeavor to support those students who share his commitment to environmental protection.”
The Ron Vellekamp Environmental Scholarship is supported by generous donations from friends and family of the late Mr. Vellekamp of Tenafly, NJ, who was a well-respected teacher at Ridgefield Jr. / Sr. High School, a much-loved Scout leader for many years, and a dedicated Trustee of Hackensack Riverkeeper. “It is a most fitting memorial,” said Capt. Sheehan.
SPECTACULAR GROUNDBREAKING OCCURS !!! December 24, 2003:
By Lauren Mitreski
Call it Anthony Carrino’s Christmas gift to the City of Hackensack. A long-awaiting groundbreaking has finally occurred on the most lavish and upscale apartment building ever proposed in the vicinity of downtown Hackensack. Seven worn-out two-family homes lie in various stages of spectacular ruin as demolition continues at the southwest corner of Union and Sussex Streets, just north of Essex Street.
The project was originally approved in the Spring of 2002 by the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment, which then granted an extension a year later. Although the Master Plan recommends multi-unit development, the antiquated zoning code still technically calls for two-family zoning at the site. The city is planning to adopt an ordinance which will bring the zoning code into conformity with the Master Plan. The entire length of Union Street is expected to be rezoned for 5-story multi-unit development.
Carrino’s new 5-story building will house approximately 40 spacious 2-bedroom units. The units are expected to be high-rent apartments attracting households earning in the $100,000 per year range. The targeted market is young professional couples as well as empty-nester households. The project is one block west of the Court Plaza office complex, and an easy 1.5 block walk to the Essex Street train station. There will be a 25-foot setback from the curb, and 15 feet of landscaping around the side and rear perimeter. Thanks to the diligence of the board members, the building will have a detailed architectural façade (mostly brick) and a peaked roof. "The only comparable building in Hackensack is the new condo complex at Clinton Place and Grand Avenue, but the Clinton Place building has less extensive landscaping and smaller units", said Eric Martindale, a community activist who regularly attends board meetings. Martindale, who said he testified in favor of the project at the hearings, said it will be the first building on the east side of Hackensack of comparable quality to Prospect Avenue.
City officials are optimistic that the new development will mark a turning point for Union Street. Earlier in December, the city Planning Board approved 19 units at the southwest corner of Union Street and Central Avenue, and groundbreaking occurred on an 8-story tower at State and Clay Streets. Several more projects are in planning stages.
ROBERT CASEY’S LEGACY – 16 YEARS LATER
By Lauren Mitreski
Carrino’s new project will be quite unlike the existing condominiums on the north side of Sussex Street, which are flat-roofed and have little or no architectural extra’s. Carrino himself built some of them in the 1980’s. In addition, Carrino owns more houses and contractor yards on both Meyer and Sussex Streets that may be redeveloped within the foreseeable future. All the condos built during the 1980’s building boom were approved under the "old" codes, which allowed insufficient parking and landscaping. Developers were raping neighborhoods. Buildings were so oversized that there was never enough parking for the occupants, even with parking lots paved to the lot lines. Developers were burdening neighborhoods with parking problems, and creating a sea of asphalt from building to building. By 1987, a city-wide backlash against development was threatening to unseat the mayor and council, to the point that it was considered inevitable.
Former City Manager Robert Casey is credited with pushing the prior mayor and council to amend the codes to require 15-foot landscaped side and rear buffers instead of zero feet, and 2.1 parking spaces per unit instead of 1.5. Casey came to Hackensack from the Township of Roxbury, a leafy community in Morris County. He was appalled by the way developers were over-maxing site plans in Hackensack. He drafted the ordinance and persuaded a very skeptical Mayor Fred Cerbo to support it. Casey claimed that the ordinance, as well as the creation of a city Shade Tree Commission, would help quell a political movement led by neighborhood and environmental groups opposed to the policies of the Cerbo administration.
Over a hundred residents were at the December 1987 city council meetings battling for hours against developers and their lawyers who attended to oppose Casey’s ordinance. The change took effect in early 1988, but included a grandfather clause that allowed hundreds of units not yet approved to be built under the old code. Only one major building, Lilton Manor on Moonachie Road, was built according to Casey’s standards before the real estate market collapsed in the early 1990’s. Carrino’s new project is built according to Casey’s standards, as are many others in various stages of construction or planning in the city. Anyone who thinks that Hackensack doesn’t know how to approve complexes without harming neighborhoods is in for a big surprise when this project is completed. The new project will showcase Casey’s ordinance. To their credit, the current members of the city Planning and Zoning Boards have recently become more diligent in defending Casey’s standards.
Although his tenure was brief, Casey contributed as much to the City of Hackensack as many long-term City Managers. His ordinance is only now beginning to positively impact the City, a full sixteen years after it was implemented. The ordinance, along with the creation of the Shade Tree Commission, will go down as his lasting legacy.
PRESS RELEASE:
SHARE WHAT YOU KNOW. BE A MENTOR!
Submitted by: Judy Forman, Volunteer Center of Bergen County
January 2004 is National Mentoring Month. Reach out and thank those people who have made a difference in your life, and then pass it on by being a mentor!
The Harvard Mentoring Project of the Harvard School of Public Health and MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership have spearheaded the development of National Mentoring Month. The idea behind this year’s theme - “Who Mentored You? Thank them…and pass it on!” – is to help people connect the importance of mentoring by encouraging them to think about individuals in their lives who showed them the ropes and helped them become who they are today. The campaign’s message is that today, too many people do not get enough of the support and guidance they need for leading a healthy and productive life. Mentors can help.
The Volunteer Center of Bergen County, Inc. offers three mentoring programs: Volunteers in Protective Services (VIPS) provides adult mentors to abused, neglected, isolated and troubled Bergen County children; Parent Aides for Teens (PATs) connects adult women with teen mothers, pregnant teens and teens at risk of pregnancy; and Mentoring Moms provides adult mentors who offer encouragement and guidance to isolated mothers striving to become better parents and/or gain self-sufficiency.
Mentors are presently being recruited for all three programs. Each program provides a 15- hour, six-session training program held at the Volunteer Center, 64 Passaic Street, Hackensack, New Jersey. The next training program begins on Monday, January 12, 2004 for VIPS and on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 for PATs and Mentoring Moms. All trainings are from 7-9:30 PM at the Volunteer Center.
Learn how you can become a mentor and pass it on! Call 201-489-9454 for more information. The Volunteer Center of Bergen County provides an equal opportunity environment. The mission of the Volunteer Center is to strengthen the community by connecting people with opportunities to serve, operating model volunteer programs, building capacity for effective volunteering, and participating in strategic partnerships that meet community needs.
Judy Forman
Program Director
Volunteers in Protective Services (VIPS)
Volunteer Center of Bergen County, Inc.
64 Passaic Street
Hackensack, NJ 07601
201-489-9474
www.bergenvolunteers.org
DECEMBER 1, 2003: FUTURE FOR MAIN STREET LOOKING BRIGHTER
By Eric Martindale
How to improve the city’s downtown has challenged city leaders for decades. Now, thanks to a core group of dedicated merchants, a surging real estate market, and the cooperation of the Mayor & Council, many pieces of the puzzle appear to be aligning themselves.
At the Monday city council meeting, the mayor & council passed a resolution approving the bylaws for the new Special Improvement District committee. The committee hopes to invigorate the business climate of the city’s downtown. Mayor Zisa praised Steve Mandaro of Brothers Carpet, calling him “a guiding force and a strong leader”. Mandaro helped organize an ad-hoc merchant committee which became the Main Street Business Alliance. Also present was Beth Gordon, President of the Hackensack Economic Development Corporation.
The central focus of the Main Street Business Alliance is the creation of an official Business Improvement District, which will include Main Street from Mercer Street to Euclid Avenue. Business Improvement Districts are eligible for state grants, and possibly Community Development Block Grants. The district will also raise funds by assessing a special tax upon all property owners within the official boundaries. The Main Street Business Alliance has been working hand in hand with the Mayor & Council, which passed an ordinance creating the Special Improvement District on August 18th.
This cooperation is a big improvement over the clash between city leaders and a defunct merchant association known as CHARM (Concerned Hackensack Alliance of Residents and Merchants). CHARM also sought to establish a Special Improvement District, but the group quickly aligned themselves with political opponents of the city administration, namely Conrad Francis and Richard Rankin. CHARM’s choice of advisors made cooperation with the city administration and the Chamber of Commerce next to impossible. The resulting lack of progress ultimately led to the demise of the organization. Almost all of the merchants involved either folded or moved out of Hackensack. Many residents of Hackensack thought it was unfortunate that politics prevented CHARM from achieving their goals. This is clearly not the case with the new merchant committee.
In another move to enhance the business climate, the city floated a bond in November to purchase and level a store on Main Street called Moss Lighting. In its place, the city will create a driveway and sidewalk connecting an existing 130-space parking lot with the front door of the library. By improving the access to the parking lot and its “line of sight” visibility, it is hoped that more people will use it when visiting the library or downtown stores. Jack Donovan, who passed away recently, had long prodded the city council to “do something” for library patrons looking for parking. Two years ago, the city completed $500,000 in renovations to the library, when the issue of parking again rose to the forefront. The city’s free shuttle bus service began on June 3, 2002. This provides yet another way to bring employees and patrons to the downtown district without putting cars on the road or generating a parking burden.
In September, the city and Oritani Bank ended litigation over the future of the old Fox Theatre, which is now a boarded-up storefront with an enormous hole in the ground next to the bank. The bank secured Planning Board approval to expand the parking for their corporate headquarters, and will create a separate 15,000 square foot lot at State and Berry Streets. This extra lot will also be parking, but eventually it will be redeveloped for condominiums or apartments. This will serve as a needed buffer between the downtown and the city’s Middle School. The city had begun condemnation proceedings on the tract, but will instead allow private sector redevelopment and avoid litigation. Storefront vacancies appear to be at the lowest level in at least 20 years, as new businesses and a few upscale restaurants have moved in. This is due to a regional surge in the real estate market, and a rebounding economy. The abandoned bank building at Main & Mercer is now the largest remaining problem property on Main Street.
A half dozen upscale residential projects are also in the works within a 2-block radius of downtown Main Street. The new developments, all on State and Union Streets, will help transform the general perception of the neighborhood from struggling to trendy. This will attract new residents with disposable income, as well as further investment in the city’s core neighborhood, which is State, Union, and Park Streets. If everything works right, all the new residential development will act as a magnet attracting more upscale stores and restaurants to locate onto Main Street, which is only one to three blocks away. People in Hoboken think nothing of walking 5 or 6 blocks to visit Washington Street. Hoboken has achieved the elusive pedestrian inter-relationship between a thriving urban downtown and adjacent trendy neighborhoods. As Hackensack’s core neighborhood becomes a trendy place to live, one of the final pieces of the puzzle may be for the city to encourage and streamline pedestrian traffic from the neighborhood to Main Street.
An 8-story luxury apartment building with 2 levels of underground parking is under construction at State & Clay Streets, replacing a former tax-exempt social service facility. This past Spring, a lavish 5-story complex at Union & Sussex Streets received a 12-month extension on the original approved granted in 2002. It will be similar to, but more upscale than, the new condos at Clinton Place and Grand Avenue. Seven houses onsite have been vacated, but groundbreaking has not occurred. A third project, which will replace a house and funeral home at Central Ave and Union Street, is scheduled for final Planning Board approval on Wednesday, December 10th. Mayor Zisa has been adamant that this applicant eliminate tandem parking, saying that it will set a bad precedent. The expert witnesses for the project testified at the November hearing that developing upscale residential housing around the periphery of the downtown will improve the business climate. These projects are unlike most of the midrises built in Hackensack in the 1980’s, which had insufficient parking and landscaping. Our current city boards have been diligent in assuring that all of the new projects will be encircled with landscaped buffers and ornate lighting, and will provide sufficient parking to meet city codes.
PRESS RELEASE:
Mothers Need Mentors Too!
Submitted by: Susan N. Hogge, Volunteer Center of Bergen County
"Who mentored you? Thank them and pass it on." This is the
theme for January, National Mentoring Month. While most people think about mentoring
children, mothers need mentors too. When you mentor a parent you help the whole
family. Mentoring Moms, a program of the Volunteer Center of Bergen County,
trains and supervises volunteer mentors who motivate and support mothers as
they strive to be better parents, get off welfare and achieve their personal
goals.
Volunteers are provided with a six-session, 15-hour training program and ongoing
support from program staff. They are asked to make a one-year commitment, spending
2-3 hours per week with a mother simply being a friend, listening, sharing ideas,
and offering encouragement.
Winter training begins Wednesday, January 15, 2004 from 7:00 p.m. – 9:30
p.m. at the Volunteer Center of Bergen County, 64 Passaic Street, Hackensack,
NJ. Watching someone succeed because of your influence is one of the greatest
gifts you can give yourself. Resolve to mentor in 2004! Call Susan Hogge at
(201) 489-9454 ext. 24 to learn how you can become a Mentoring Moms volunteer.
The mission of the Volunteer Center of Bergen County is to strengthen the community
by connecting people with opportunities to serve, operating model volunteer
programs, building capacity for effective volunteering, and participating in
strategic partnerships that meet community needs. The Volunteer Center provides
an equal opportunity environment.
Susan N. Hogge
Volunteer Center of Bergen County
201-489-9454 x27
201-489-1995 fax
www.bergenvolunteers.org
NOVEMBER 21, 2003: FAIRMOUNT COMMUNITY BATTLES EXPANSION OF HOMELESS SERVICES
By Lauren Mitreski
Another half-chapter has been written in the 18-year battle between homeless advocates and neighborhood preservation advocates. Hackensack officials looking to block the expansion of homeless services in the city’s Fairmount community scored a temporary victory Wednesday evening when the city Zoning Board of Adjustment voted 4 to 0 to deny an application by the Bergen Community Action Program (CAP). The group sought to allow the homeless the ability to sleep overnight in chairs at the facility. The shelter is located in an industrial area of Orchard Street, about 200 feet east of residential areas on Johnson Avenue.
Louis D’Arminio, attorney for CAP, will be appealing the decision to Superior Court Judge Jonathan Harris. It is widely believed that Judge Harris will force Hackensack to allow the expansion of the shelter’s activities. Three years ago, it was Harris that overturned the Zoning Board’s denial of the shelter, stating that it is an "inherently beneficial use". CAP’s expert planner stated that the expansion does not change the use, and it is still inherently beneficial. "It’s a pre-existing use, all we’re doing is expanding it", D’Arminio added. He said it is unlikely that Harris would rule against CAP.
City leaders have been frustrated for years as homeless services continue to expand against their will. Whether or not Hackensack produces a substantial portion of the County’s homeless population was the big topic of discussion between board members and the applicant. County social service agencies have documented that 16 of the 33 rooming houses in Bergen County are in Hackensack, and that rooming houses are one of the primary sources of homeless. 211 Passaic Street was specifically cited by D’Arminio as a major source address of the homeless.
Objectors contend that Hackensack should be credited, not penalized, for having low-end housing such as rooming houses. Our city’s rooming houses and public housing complexes could be considered as our contribution towards helping the homeless and near-homeless in New Jersey, instead of homeless shelters. Other towns need to do more, said Chairman Marchal, who confronted the applicant to justify why 100% of CAP’s permanent homeless facilities are in Hackensack when there are over 70 municipalities in Bergen County. The logic that towns with rooming houses must provide housing for rooming house tenants when they become homeless provides the city an incentive to see to it that boarding houses are torn down for redevelopment. This would be counter-productive to helping the poor, from the homeless advocate perspective.
Homeless advocates, The Record, and several local churches have been pressuring the city administration to do more to help the homeless, or at least allow public and private agencies to provide services here. Local residents have been equally vocal in opposing the expansion of social services, charging that the presence of homeless threatens public safety and the quality of life. Main Street business owners are equally adamant, stating that panhandling homeless are ruining the business climate and scaring away the clientele Main Street most desperately needs.
D’Arminio is personally inseparable from the politics of homelessness in Hackensack. Running on a liberal platform and heading a full slate of candidates, D’Arminio ran for mayor in 1989, narrowly losing to John F. "Jack" Zisa. D’Arminio moved out of Hackensack soon after, but has periodically resurfaced to provide legal services for groups seeking to build affordable housing and homeless shelters against the will of Mayor Zisa. Nevertheless, many believe that D’Arminio’s support for the homeless is genuine, and not politically motivated.
As the hearing drew to a close, D’Arminio lost his professional composure and became emotional in his advocacy for the homeless. He implored the board to grant the application, stating that the homeless will be wandering around the city if they can’t sleep at the shelter, and this is a worse alternative for the neighborhood than having them in the shelter. "I just don’t get it…we’re trying to relieve Hackensack of an existing burden", he told the board, throwing up his hands in an acknowledgement of the impending vote.
During inclement weather, homeless are literally struggling to survive on the streets and in city parks. In recent years, several homeless have died on the streets. One was hit by a car, and another died in a suspicious fire. One other died violently in Foschini Park at the hands of another homeless man. This was the first documented homicide committed by a homeless person in Hackensack, although others have been arrested for crimes ranging from burglary to sexual assault.
Five Hackensack residents spoke against the application. Vicky Farhi of Fairmount Ave detailed how homeless congregate around stores in the vicinity of Main Street and Spring Valley Avenue, and stated that our children’s safety will be at risk when the shelter releases the homeless at 7:00 AM to roam the streets. Only an hour later, she said, children walking to school will be interacting with adults that are mentally ill or suffering from substance abuse. Speaking in favor of the application were two outspoken political opponents of the city administration, Lenny Nix of Elm Avenue and Ted Dunn of Summit Avenue. None of those speaking either for or against the application live within 3 blocks of the site.
Hundreds Request Assistance from this
Year’s All
Wrapped Up Holiday Gift Drive
PRESS RELEASE
Submitted by: Kristen Hepsen, Volunteer Center of Bergen County
Hackensack, NJ -- Needy children and families, lonely seniors and disabled adults could be passed over this holiday season unless generous donors come forward to provide assistance. Non-profit agencies in Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex Counties have submitted thousands of holiday requests to the Volunteer Center of Bergen County, hoping to be matched with generous supporters through the All Wrapped Up Holiday Giving Program.
The Volunteer Center is seeking individuals, families, companies and groups of all kinds to help bring holiday cheer to those who might otherwise be forgotten. No matter how limited – or unlimited – your resources are, if you have the desire to give this holiday season, we can match you with an individual, family or agency that needs assistance.
Families and small groups may help a family through the Adopt-a-Family program. More than 250 families, ranging in size from two to seven people, are waiting to be adopted. Donors will be given a family profile, including the first names and ages of family members, and asked to provide food and/or a grocery store gift certificate, an item of clothing for each family member and a toy for the children. Plan to spend about $60 per family member.
Individuals and families with limited budgets or those who would like to focus attention on just one person may help an individual through the Heart-to-Heart program. We have profiles on 150 seniors, lonely or disabled adults and children. We ask that donors provide food, clothing and gifts for the individual they select. Plan to spend around $100.
Participating in the All Wrapped Up Holiday Giving Program is easy. Visit the Volunteer Center website at www.bergenvolunteers.org and click on Holiday Programs. Complete and submit the appropriate form; we’ll get back to you within 48 hours and follow-up with more information in the mail. You can also call Kristen Hepsen, the All Wrapped Up program coordinator, at 201-489-9454, ext 27. She will match you with a family or individual and give you all of the information you need to get started.
All gift requests are submitted to the Volunteer Center by non-profit organizations that have screened and prioritized the requests based on need. Donors will not have any direct contact with individuals or families; all gifts will be delivered to and distributed by the non-profit organization.
All Wrapped Up is sponsored by the Volunteer Center of Bergen County. The Volunteer Center strengthens the community by connecting people with opportunities to serve, operating model volunteer programs, building capacity for effective volunteering, and participating in strategic partnerships that meet community needs. For more information about All Wrapped Up or to inquire about holiday volunteer opportunities, visit the Volunteer Center website at www.bergenvolunteers.org or call us at 201-489-9454.
Kristen Hepsen
Volunteer Center of Bergen County
201-489-9454 x27
201-489-1995 fax
www.bergenvolunteers.org
November 18, 2003
Annual award presented for work on behalf of Meadowlands preservation.
Atlantic City, NJ – This evening before an audience made up of representatives from every municipality in the state, Hackensack Riverkeeper received the 2003 Environmental Excellence Award from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. DEP Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell made the presentation here at the Atlantic City Convention Center on the first day of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities Convention. “This award is more that just a great honor,” said Captain Bill Sheehan, the organization’s Executive Director, from the podium, “It is a recognition that our work is done on behalf of all the people of New Jersey.”
Hackensack Riverkeeper received its award in the category of Healthy Ecosystems – a category that specifically reviews a nominee’s ability to effect “restoration, protection and enhancement of the State’s ecosystems.” In winning, the organization demonstrated both a commitment to protect, preserve and restore the Hackensack River watershed and a proven track record as well. Among the criteria reviewed by the DEP were Hackensack Riverkeeper’s role administering the Blue Claw Crab Advisory Project and its ongoing work with public and private partners to create the Meadowlands Estuary Preserve.
“A combination of streetwise persistence and good old-fashioned advocacy, based on sound science and ecological practices, resulted in what many thought was impossible: Saving, not paving, the Meadowlands,” said Capt. Sheehan. “This award recognizes not only our work in this process, but also the many, many people who stood with us and helped us make it happen,” he added.
The Environmental Excellence Award also recognizes Hackensack Riverkeeper’s collaborative efforts on behalf of the new Meadowlands Master Plan that will preserve all the remaining 7,000 acres of wetlands within the ecosystem and its successful antipollution lawsuit against Honeywell International. Hackensack Riverkeeper was selected out of “a record number of applicants representing all facets of environmental protection and programs,” according Marybeth Brenner, Director of the NJDEP’s Office of Constituent Services.
The Environmental Excellence Awards Program is administered by the NJDEP and co-sponsored by the League of Municipalities and the New Jersey Corporation for Advanced Technology (NJCAT). Founded in 1915, the League is a voluntary association created to help communities do a better job at self-government through the sharing of information and resources. NJCAT is a non-profit organization that promotes the development and use of cost-effective and innovative environmental technologies.
Founded in 1997 by Captain Bill Sheehan, Hackensack Riverkeeper is recognized as the leading environmental organization working on Hackensack River issues. From its Hackensack office as well as in the field and on the water, the Riverkeeper staff reaches thousands of people each year, helping them to discover the River and the Meadowlands for the unique resources they are.
“It’s the best job in the world!” says Capt. Sheehan.
Post-Polio Patients' Plight Comes to Television during
"Polio Survivors Month"
It has been a twenty-one year battle for Dr. Richard L. Bruno. A graduate of the Maywood schoolsystem, Hackensack High School and Springfield College who trained at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, Bruno has spent more than two decades studying and treating nearly two million forgotten North Americans: The survivors of the polio epidemics of the 1940s and 1950s.
Since 1984 Bruno has written dozens of medical journal articles on Post-Polio Sequelae (PPS), the unexpected and often disabling symptoms --overwhelming fatigue, muscle weakness, muscle and joint pain, sleep disorders, heightened sensitivity to anesthesia, cold intolerance, and difficulty swallowing and breathing -- that occur in 75% of paralytic and 40% of non-paralytic polio survivors about 35 years after the poliovirus attack. Bruno created and works as director of The Post-Polio Institute and International Centre for Post-Polio Education and Research at New Jersey's Englewood Hospital and Medical Center. He has lectured to polio survivors and doctors across North America and Europe. And Bruno's book, The Polio Paradox: Uncovering the Hidden History of Polio to Understand and Treat "Post-Polio Syndrome" and Chronic Fatigue, was published in 2002 by Warner Books. In spite of his work the medical community still ignores polio survivors and their disabling new symptoms. "Doctors don't know about PPS or say they don't 'believe' in it, as if PPS were some kind of strange religious experience polio survivors are having," said Bruno. "Even polio survivors don't know what's happening to them." Hopefully, this is about to change.
In early 2003 Bruno contacted NBC entertainment president Jeff Zucker. NBC's Sunday night series "American Dreams" tells the story of the Pryors, a family living in 1960s Philadelphia. "I asked if 'American Dreams' would be interested in a story about the Pryor's nine-year-old son, Will, who had one leg paralyzed by polio," said Bruno. "I suggested that Will have surgery so he would no longer need to wear a long-leg brace." Zucker readily agreed and Bruno was asked to help write the story of Will's surgery and rehabilitation based on The Polio Paradox, episodes that will begin to air on Sunday, November 16.
Bruno, who is chairperson of the International Post-Polio Task Force, also contacted Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter in 2003. "I asked the Senator Specter to sponsor a resolution proclaiming November 'Polio Survivors Month' and 2004 'The Year of Polio Awareness,'" said Bruno, awareness of the need for polio eradication and of the cause and treatment of Post-Polio Sequelae. "2004 is the fiftieth anniversary of the development of the vaccine that eradicated polio. But the vaccine also caused those not lucky enough to have been vaccinated -- those who got polio -- to be forgotten." Specter agreed to help and has worked with Bruno to draft legislation to educate Americans about PPS and to provide needed services to polio survivors. CNBC's "THE NEWS with Brian Williams" will be covering Specter's announcement of "The Year of Polio Awareness" and his post-polio legislation as part of a story about Bruno, PPS and The Post-Polio Institute week of November 18th or 19th. Bruno presented the International Post-Polio Task Force "David Bodian Memorial Award" to Jeff Zucker and Senator Specter on NBC's "Today Show" on November 14 in recognition of their work on behalf of polio survivors.
Said Bruno, "I am hopeful that NBC covering the story of Post-Polio Sequelae, 'American Dreams' portrayal of one polio survivor's plight, and Senator Specter's legislation will help to make the International Post-Polio Task Force motto a reality: 'Every child vaccinated. Every polio survivor -- and doctor -- educated.'"
For information about polio and Post-Polio Sequelae go to http://www.postpolioinfo.com/postpolio
By Dr. Richard L. Bruno
[Note: This article is written in response to a Record article written by Daniel Sforza. By clicking here, you will be asked to sign up for a free registration with the Record. Then, the article will appear.]
Thanks to Daniel Sforza for his article that uncovers lobbyist's money in Washington that is forcing Teterboro Airport to allow Boeing's huge 737 Business Jet. The next step in the investigation is to find out who paid the FAA to doctor the environmental impact statement that allowed installation of the Instrument Landing System (ILS) on runway 19. It is the ILS that allows jets to fly hundreds of feet over local houses and fly dozens of feet over Hackensack University Medical Center and high-rise apartments buildings in Hackensack. The ILS environmental impact statement falsely reported that the Medical Center was not in a "high aircraft noise area" and made no mention of jets flying low over high-rise buildings. Ultimately, the FAA allowed the ILS because annual aircraft takeoffs and landings would "remain under 170,000" until 2007. The New York Times reported two weeks ago that were more than 200,000 flights in 2002. After 9/11 and the August 5, 2003 crash of a corporate jet into homes near a small Connecticut airport, we are terrified each time a plane shakes our building (which in the evenings is once every three minutes) that a corporate jet -- or soon a 737 -- will crash into a high-rise or the Medical Center and kill hundreds. The money trail must be revealed that allowed the ILS to be built, in spite of its fatally flawed environmental impact statement, and allowed to operate in violation of the FAA's own takeoff and landing restrictions.
54 Condominium Units to Rise On Player's
Club Site
By Lauren Mitreski
On November 12th, the Hackensack Planning Board approved construction of an upscale condominium complex on Polifly Road. The lot, vacant for over 10 years, lies between Rite Aid and a Nursing Home. The property was last occupied by a nightclub known as The Player's Club.
The building will rise five stories on top of a parking structure that will slope down from Polifly Road. A second level of parking will be partially underground. Fifteen feet of lawn and landscaping will buffer all adjacent properties, the minimum required under a city ordinance adopted in 1987. The project was approved unanimously by the board after multiple hearings.
Local residents on Kaplan and Parker Avenues did not attend, and public comment was brief. Neil Brower, one of the owners of an adjacent office building at 211 Essex Street, objected to the project, citing runoff concerns. Lenny Nix of Elm Ave battled with the board over several aspects of the plan, while another resident of Second Street requested that the complex have a distinguished sign and a video-monitor security system.
The key area of contention was that the original design of the complex had no pick-up and drop-off driveway for trucks. This meant that moving trucks and delivery trucks would have to back out onto Polifly Road, which is a very busy 4-lane roadway. Planning Board members disapproved this aspect of the plan, and forced the applicant to redesign the project. The approved project has a 95-foot long driveway that loops to the front of the building and back to Polifly Road. It will be paved with patio paver stones. Board members also requested ornate lighting and minor landscaping enhancements.
In recent months, several major apartment and condominium developments have appeared before city boards. Stay tune for more details.
HackensackNow begins accepting articles
By Albert Dib - Editor, HackensackNow
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