Reduction in fire calls reported for 2016

According to the Little Falls Fire Department's 2016 Annual Report, for the first time since 2010 there has been a significant decrease in the number Township and Montclair State University (MSU) fire alarms. 

 

A review of the Little Falls Fire Department's 2010 - 2016 Annual Reports provides a seven year overview of the Department's activities in responding to fire alarms.

Here are the facts:

The 2010 Annual Report, for the period between November 1, 2009 and October 31, 2010, reported that the Department responded to 596 alarms of which 178 (29.8%) were from the MSU campus.

The 2011 Annual Report, for the period between November 1, 2010 and October 31, 2011, reported that the Department responded to 767 alarms of which 224 (29.2%) were from the MSU campus.

The 2012 Annual Report, for the period between November 1, 2011 and October 31, 2012, reported that the Department responded to 741 alarms of which 267 (36.0%) were from the MSU campus.

The 2013 Annual Report, for the period between November 1, 2012 and October 31, 2013, reported that the Department responded to 711 alarms of which 305 (42.9%) were from the MSU campus.

The 2014 Annual Report, for the period between November 1, 2013 and October 31, 2014, reported that the Fire Department responded to 777 alarms of which 318 (40.9%) were from the MSU campus.

The 2015 Annual Report, for the period between November 1, 2014 and October 31, 2015 reported that the Department responded to 790 alarms of which 330 (41.8%) were from the MSU campus.

The 2016 Annual Report, for the period between November 1, 2015 and October 31, 2016 reported that the Department responded to 688 alarms of which 208 (30.2%) were from the MSU Campus.

In sum, between 2010 and 2015 the total number of township alarms increased from 596 to 790 and MSU alarms rose from 178 to 330, and in 2016 there were 688 township alarms and 208 MSU alarms representing reductions of 13% and 37% respectively in fire alarms.

Signs that Litter

As I drive along the township's main arteries I am appalled by the vast number of signs that litter these roadways. 

These signs create a negative appearance and an unattractive image of the township for both residents and visitors.

According to at least two township ordinances the posting and display of these signs is "illegal."

Specifically, township ordinance § 126-10 which addresses the subject of posting of notices. This ordinance states that "no person shall post or affix any notice, poster or other paper or device calculated to attract the attention of the public to any lamppost, public utility pole or shade tree or upon any public structure or building except as may be authorized or required by law and township ordinance § 126-16 which addresses the topic of unauthorized signs. 

This ordinance states that "no person or persons shall attach to or place on utility poles, sign poles, or trees any sign, posters, boards, etc., on any public street, property or building. Signs authorized by the utility company and the Township are exempt. Persons who place signs on poles and/or trees that are removed by the Public Works Department shall (be) fined $5 per sign removed for each and every sign in addition to any penalty imposed under this chapter. 

In addition, township ordinance § 126-17 addresses enforcement. This ordinance empowers the Police Department, the Building Department, Superintendent of Public Works and the Health Department to enforce the provisions of this chapter.

Clearly these ordinances establish the power and authority of several municipal departments to remove all unauthorized signs that litter the township.

Isn't it time that the township enforced these ordinances?

A Code of Conduct for council committees and mayoral advisory groups

Our town has several council committees and mayoral advisory groups. These groups facilitate public input into Town Council discussions, often resulting in the introduction of resolutions and ordinances.

While members of the respective committees and advisory groups should be commended for their commitment of time and energy, it is essential that they remain impartial and objective in the advice they render.

Indeed there are challenges and inherent restrictions placed upon these individuals in assessing and recommending various options in a conscientious and ethical manner. 

Thus there is a need for a general standard - a "Code of Conduct" - for all committee and advisory group members to ensure they are acting in a manner that is appropriate with regard to their duties and responsibilities. 

Here is an example of a model "Code of Conduct" for committee and advisory group members. 

Such a "Code of Conduct" would specify what committee and advisory group members shall not:

(a) Engage in any business or transaction or have a financial or personal interest that is incompatible with the discharge of his or her official duties;

(b) Place themselves in a position where she/he is under obligation to any person who might benefit from special consideration or favor on their part or who might seek in any way preferential treatment;

(c) Accord, in the performance of his or her official duties, preferential treatment to relatives or to organizations in which she/he or his or her relatives have an interest, financial or otherwise;

(d) Deal with an application to the Town for a grant, award, contract or other benefit involving his or her spouse, live-in partner, child or parent;

(e) Place themselves in a position where she/he could derive any direct or indirect benefit or interest from any matter about which they can influence decisions;

(f) Benefit from the use of information acquired during the course of his or her official duties which is not generally available to the public; 

(g) Accept gifts, hospitality, or entertainment that could reasonably be construed as being given in anticipation or recognition of special consideration by his or her respective board or committee; and

(h) Disclose or release by any means, confidential information which they have acquired by virtue of their appointment with the Town for personal or private gain, for the gain of their relatives, affiliated organizations or their employer.

Time is of the essence for the Little Falls town council to adopt and implement a "Code of Conduct" to ensure that all members of council committees and mayoral advisory groups remain impartial and objective with respect to the advice and recommendations they render.

Today marks the seventh anniversary of The Gadfly

The Gadfly which started on December 6, 2009 as a blog under the auspices of the northjersey.com - aka The Record - came to an abrupt end on April 22, 2016 when the newspaper was sold to the Gannett news organization.  At that time, not only was the blog discontinued but none of the published blogs were archived by the new newspaper owners.

 

Thus, the history of events in Little Falls as reported by The Gadfly no longer exists as a matter of record within the newspaper's archives.

 

It was almost two months later, on June 16 that The Gadfly found a new home at blogger.com

 

Since then The Gadfly has posted 25 blogs.

 

A review of all posted Gadfly blogs since 2009 revealed that the two blogs that generated the most public comments/interest related to community issues. 

 

These included a blog posted on December 6, 2009 which focused on the newly erected cell tower in the Great Notch Fire Company's parking lot located at 170 Long Hill Road; and a recent blog, posted on November 2, 2016 about changes coming to Browertown Road. 

 

With the demise of Little Falls news coverage by Gannett publications' The Herald News, The Record and The Passaic Valley Today, The Gadfly is committed to keeping "an eye on the issues confronting the residents of Little Falls, New Jersey."

Residents Sought for Township Committee Assignments

Recently Mayor-elect James Damiano requested that residents who want to serve on a Township Ad-Hoc Committee should email their name, phone number and email address to Cynthia Kraus, Township Clerk: ckraus@lfnj.com for consideration.

The following is a list of the Ad-Hoc Committees seeking participants: Domestic Violence, Open Space, Passaic River Advisory, Planning and Zoning, Public Safety, Senior Advisory Committee, Technology, Transportation and Wildlife Management.

 

Mayor-elect James Damiano's request is a positive indication of his commitment to increase residents engagement in Township affairs.

 

At the same time there is a need to establish a criterion for the selection and assignment of residents to serve on these Committees.

 

The following criteria should be considered:

 

1)  No individual shall be assigned to more than two Ad-Hoc Committees,

 

2)  Residents shall be assigned to Ad-Hoc Committees as individuals and not as representatives of an organization or interest group, and

 

3)  All Ad-Hoc Committee appointees shall be required to complete a financial disclosure statement to provide transparency regarding their financial dealings and to ensure the public of their integrity with respect to possible conflicts of interest.

 

With the installation in January of Mayor-elect Mayor James Damiano, and Council members-elect, Maria Cordonnier and Anthony Sgobba, Little Falls residents can expect new government policies and procedures from our new leaders.

 

The Gadfly will be watching and commenting on the changes in future blogs.

PVT Week #2 - Still needs improvement

Week two of the newly formatted Passaic Valley Today (PVT) was just as disappointing as last week's edition.

Readers might recall that Richard A. Green, the North Jersey Media Group's editor and vice president for news, wrote in an Op-Ed "Message from the Editor," published in The Record on Sunday November 13th, that starting on Wednesday, November 16th readers will see a newspaper that is more visible in the North Jersey community, that will expand its public service and investigative reporting to serve as a watchdog of those in public office.

Regrettably this pledge has not been actualized and residents of Little Falls are now left with a weekly community newspaper that is a shell of what it once was.

In this week's PVT, consisting of 32 pages, there were only two articles relating to Little Falls.  One was about the Passaic Valley wrestling team; and the other was about Passaic Valley High School hosting a substance abuse awareness program on December 2nd.

The remaining content of this week's PVT is lacking letters to the editor; has a generic  article about Black Friday shoppers featuring residents of Bergenfield and Dumont along with an undated photo of shoppers exploring Black Friday sales at the Willowbrook Mall; a listing of Bergen County home sales; an article about mid-autumn in Livingston, Montana; and a review of a New York City play. 

In addition, the PVT web site, which featured the articles from each weekly edition of the PVT, has not been updated since Tuesday, November 15th. 

PVT readers who are disappointed with the newspaper's new format and lack of Little Falls news coverage should flood Mr. Rick Green with messages of concern by calling him at 973.569.7118 or by sending him an email message at: green@northjersey.com

Let your voice be heard!

I Want My PVT Back!

In an Op-Ed "Message from the Editor," published in The Record on Sunday November 13th, Richard A,. Green, editor and vice president for news, stated that starting on Wednesday, November 16th readers will see a newspaper that is more visible in the North Jersey community, that will expand its public service and investigative reporting to serve as a watchdog of those in public office.

Apparently this commitment does not apply to community newspapers such as the Passaic Valley Today (PVT), which serves the communities of Little Falls, Totowa and Woodland Park.

Readers of this week's PVT were in for quite a shock.

For openers, this week's newspaper was reduced to 32 pages (half its previous size); local community news coverage was minimal.  While the newspaper included news items about Teaneck, Paramus, and Wayne, as well as a review of a play being performed in New York City.

The most glaring change was the newspaper's letter to the editor policy.  In the past, the PVT included several letters from readers in each issue of the newspaper which highlighted community concerns and issues.  The current issue featured only one letter to the editor; and there is a new letter to the editor policy that states that "not all letters will necessarily be published."

The northjersey.com's web site states that "residents of communities in the Passaic Valley have depended on Today Newspapers for more than 35 years.... Now, Community Newspapers of North Jersey Media Group covers these thriving suburbs even more completely with separate, community-focused editions."

With respect to the role of a community newspaper, a Pew Research Center survey concluded ".. that newspapers play a far more complex role in the civic life of communities than many Americans believe...."  And the National Newspaper Association reports that 75 percent of people read most or all of their local newspaper each week. 

Now is the time to act and let your voice be heard.

PVT readers who are disappointed and unhappy by the newspaper's new policies should send an email to Rick Green at: green@northjersey.com telling him that you're "mad as hell" and that you want your PVT back! 

Little Falls 2016 Municipal Elections Results

Here in Little Falls the November 8th election was a resounding victory for the Democratic candidates running for Mayor and for two seats on the Town Council.

According to the latest "unofficial" election results available from the Passaic County Clerk's Office:

Mayoral candidate James Damiano (D) received 3,459 votes and Pamela Porter (R) received 2,358 votes

In the race for the two seats on the Town Council, Maria Cordonnier (D) received 2,987 votes, Anthony Sgobba (D) received 3,024 votes, Louis Fontana (R) received 2,536 votes and Chris Stacy (R) received 2,453.

The newly elected candidates will be sworn-in during the Town Council's Reorganziation Meeting which will be held in January.

Changes are coming to Browertown Road

On Wednesday, October 19th the Passaic County Department of Planning and Economic Development held a public meeting at the Passaic Valley Regional High School to inform residents about the Morris Canal Greenway Browertown Road Improvement Project.

The scope of the improvement project includes an American with Disabilities compliant ramp on Browertown Road at the intersection of Stewart Avenue (east side); and crosswalks across Stewart Avenue at both Browertown Road and at the Little Falls Morris Canal Greenway.

In addition, approximately 700 feet of new sidewalks will be constructed along Browertown Road from the Passaic Valley High School entrance to Stewart Avenue.  This, according to the Transportation Alternatives Project, will create a safer route for students and residents that live on Browertown to local businesses and to access the Morris Canal Greenway.

Construction is scheduled to commence next April 2017 and will take approximately 4 months to complete.

The Little Falls Historical Society and You

The mission of the Little Falls Historical Society is to collect, preserve, and promote the history of the Township of Little Falls, New Jersey.

In pursuit of this mission the Little Falls Historical Society recently purchased an etching by Montclair artist Thomas R. Manley (1853 - 1938) which depicts a rustic scene in Little Falls ca. 1900. 

Mr.  Manley, an American Impressionist, was born in Buffalo, NY and moved to Montclair in 1893, where he joined a colony of artists that included George Inness, Frederick Ballard Williams, Charles Warren Eaton and Frederick Waugh.  

He resided at 97 Mount Hebron Road and maintained a studio in a converted barn on Dykes Lane in Montclair.

The woods and hills of the areas surrounding Montclair gave Manley ample subjects for his drawings and paintings.

In 1925 Manley had an exhibition at the Montclair Art Museum which featured 58 works including scenes of the Old Quarry, Upper Montclair, Davy's Pond, Bloomfield, Tow Path, Morris Canal, and the Old Mill, Cedar Grove.

Manley was one of the founding members of the Montclair Art Museum (1913) and in his own time was often called "The Dean of Montclair Artists."  His works are in the Montclair Art Museum's permanent collection.

Your help is needed in preserving the rich history of Little Falls.  The Little Falls Historical Society is actively seeking pictures, films, postcards, letters, business records, deeds, newspapers, annual reports, political ads, family trees, family stories or any type of historical documents pertaining to life in the Township of Little Falls to add to its collection.

If you have items to donate, please contact the Little Falls Historical Society's President John Veteri, Jr., at 973.865.3040 or write to: P.O. Box 1083, Little Falls, NJ 07424.

 

The Future of Community News Coverage - It doesn't look good

Bob Dylan once proclaimed that "something is happening here but you don't know what it is.  Do you, Mr. Jones?"  

 

Well there's something happening with our local media that could affect the future scope and  depth of Little Falls news coverage.

 

This past July, Gannett Co. Inc., the nation’s largest news publisher, purchased the North Jersey Media Group (NJMG) from the Borg family which had owned it since 1930.

 

The NJMG, which publishes The Record, the Herald News, and 49 community newspapers including the Passaic Valley Today, announced on September 14th  that a restructuring of operations across its newsroom and sales department would mean the loss of 200 jobs effective, mid-November.

 

According to Richard Green, the newly hired NJMG editor and vice-president of content, "This is not merely a restructure, but a bold, ambitious vision to make North Jersey Media Group even more competitive in the metro New York City market."

 

While Bob Dylan noted that "The times they are a changin" the termination of so many NJMG staff members and the merger of community newspapers will seriously reduce the ability of the NJMG to provide in-depth coverage of important community issues.

 

There are changes coming and they don't seem to be good.

Lack of Transparency and Administrative Oversight

Transparency and administrative oversight seem to not excess in Little Falls.

 

In the past there has been over a years delay in the review and approval of Council meeting minutes.  For instance, at the Council's meeting of July 11, 2016 minutes from the regular meetings of October 2014, November 24, 2014 and December 29, 2014, as well as the minutes for the workshop meetings of November 10, 2014, December 8, 2014 and January 12, 2015 were approved by the Council.

 

While there has been a concerted administrative effort to prepare minutes for the Council's review and approval in a timely manner, the Township has still fallen short in meeting this objective.

 

According to the NJ Open Public Meeting Act, governing bodies are required to keep minutes and to make them available to the public for inspection and copying.  In addition, the Governor's Best Practices guidelines include a criteria for the timely posting of council agendas and minutes on the town's web site.

 

Failure to adhere to these guidelines is evident by the fact that the minutes approved by the Council at its September 12, 2016 meeting, which included minutes from sixteen meetings held between July 13, 2015 and April 25, 2016 have not, as of his date, been posted on the town's web site.

 

Administrative oversight to ensure compliance with governmental guidelines is lacking. 

 

In the interest of greater transparency it is time that the Mayor stopped allowing the fox to watch the hen house.

Let the candidates debate

It was four years ago this month when Little Falls’ mayoral and town council candidates last faced off in a debate.

The debate, moderated by the non-partisan Montclair League of Woman Voters, provided Little Falls residents with the opportunity to hear the Democratic and Republican  candidates discuss their respective programs for the future of the Township.

There is still ample time to hold a 2016 candidates forum before the November 8th election.  This would allow Little Falls residents to get to know the candidates first hand and to hear their positions on issues facing the Township.

A candidates forum is an example of transparency in government and democracy in action.

All that is needed to make it happen is the willingness of the candidates to participate.

The Little Falls Municipal Election and YOU!

The November 8th General Election will provide Little Falls' residents with the opportunity to vote for candidates who are running for Mayor and for two Town Council seats.

In order to vote on November 8th you must be a registered voter.

Voter Registration Application Forms are available on line here; at the Passaic County Commissioner of Registration's office; or at the Little Falls' Municipal Clerk's office, 225 Main Street.

Your completed Voter Registration Application should be mailed or delivered to the Passaic County Commissioner of Registration, Suite 1, 501 River Street, Paterson, NJ 07524-9902 by October 18th, which is the registration deadline to vote in the November 8, 2016 General Election.

To have a voice in determining who will lead our township for the next four years you must be a registered voter and you must vote on Tuesday, November 8th.

Your vote can make a difference for a better Little Falls!

Danger, Will Robinson!

The phrase "Danger, Will Robinson," from the  1960'S TV series "Lost in Space,"  is used to warn about a potentially dangerous situation.

Well, a front page article in the September 8th edition of the  Montclair State University (MSU) student newspaper - The Montclarion -  sends an ominous message to Little Falls.

The article entitled "Susan Cole Talks Expansion and Politics in Opening Address" cites Dr. Cole's comments in reference to the 150 Clove Road building as follows: "..."often identified as the big one with the green roof."  She went on to joke that it soon might be assimilated into our "aggressively red-roofed society"....."

The potential acquisition of the building was brought home by a graphic over the article featuring a picture of the 150 Clove Road building (the green roof building) with the image of the MSU mascot - The Red Hawk - planting an MSU flag on the roof of the building. 

The owner of the 150 Clove Road building, Theta Holding, is the second largest municipal property taxpayer in Little Falls.  Their 2016 municipal property tax bill totals $1,562,217.

If MSU was to acquire the building this tax revenue would be lost because as a public entity MSU is tax exempt.  It doesn't have to pay the property's municipal property tax bill.

Simply put, the "assimilation" of the 150 Clove Road building by MSU would have grave implications for the financial well-being of Little Falls.  It would result in the loss of $403,248 to the township; $415,241 to Passaic County;  $725,347 to the two Little Falls school districts; and $18,380 to the Little Falls Public Library.

In other words, the town, the county, the school districts and the Public Library would need to replace $1,562,217 in lost tax revenue.

Images still linger of the lost $294,000 in municipal tax revenue when MSU purchased the Ward Trucking site in 2011. 

While the acquisition of the 150 Clove Road building by MSU may not be imminent, our elected officials need to develop an aggressive strategy to address this potential danger!

Council news - sounds of silence

With the commencement of the new school year elementary school students are often asked by their teachers to describe what they did during their summer vacation.  As you can imagine the children's responses are filled with details of their respective summer adventures.

Try asking Town residents what their Town Council did during its summer vacation and you'd be greeted by blank expressions.

This response is the result of several factors:

1) The Council has a summer calendar which runs from June through September.   During these four months the Council only schedules one joint regular and workshop meeting per month instead of the two separate meetings which it holds during the remainder of the year; and

2)  While the Town does communicate by posts on its web site and via email blasts the agendas for each of the summer Council meetings by the Friday before each scheduled meeting, it provides the public with virtually no information about what occurred during each of the summer Council meetings. 

For instance, this summer the Council held combined workshop and regular meetings on June 13th, July 11th, August 18th and September 12th.  To date neither the video recordings nor the minutes of the respective meetings are available on the Town's web site.

Little Falls' residents have a right to know what its council discusses at each of its public meetings and the town has an obligation to ensure that the public is informed in a timely manner.

This coming November 8th Little Falls' residents will have an opportunity to vote for Mayor and two Council seats.  Perhaps each of the candidates running for office will address this issue and will advocate for procedures that will foster greater transparency with respect to our Township's government.

The Buzz on the Main Street Condo Project

An August 22nd post on the FaceBook site "You might be from Little Falls if...." has generated considerable comments about the Main Street condos and plans for future construction on Paterson Avenue.

 

Below is the thread of comments since the original posting on August 22nd -

 

===========

George C Eaton

August 22 at 5:07pm

Monday Aug 21 - progress on project at Main St - looking west from bus stop at Maple St ( Lincoln Ave immediately to the left )

 

 

Comments

Peter Wychman End Of Little Falls, with money you can even ruin a town.

Like · Reply · 6 · August 22 at 6:09pm

Albert Cuccinello Jr Is there any artists rendering of this project? Will it match the structures near by?

Like · Reply · August 22 at 6:52pm

George C Eaton from the architect's facebook page

Like · Reply · August 23 at 7:27am

 

Anna Norman Guinn It looks so big in this pic
I drive past it every day

Like · Reply · August 22 at 6:54pm

Gerri Freund Desmet Oh my! How sad😞

Like · Reply · August 22 at 7:03pm

Melanie Porco Adler Looks so different : (

Like · Reply · August 22 at 7:15pm

Marilyn Meder How many floors is it going to be?

Like · Reply · August 22 at 7:37pm

George C Eaton should just be three - the roof framing is next

Like · Reply · 1 · August 23 at 7:13am

George C Eaton Marilyn Meder - go by it now - roof is done along with paparpet walls at front - this should be it !

Like · Reply · 1 · August 31 at 11:57am

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Eileen Peterson should have been made with cinder blocks instead of wood. Junk!

Like · Reply · 4 · August 22 at 9:11pm

Ralph Fitzwater not a lot of sidewalk for all the shoppers to walk.

Like · Reply · 3 · August 22 at 10:34pm

Ralph Fitzwater if they'd set the bottom back a few feet they might have achieved some sense of architecture- providing a covered walk for shopping- nahh qsquare footage that's all that counts

Like · Reply · 4 · August 22 at 10:38pm

Chris Aliprantis Why do I feel like I'm the only one that thinks the world (town) isn't coming to an end with this? Looks nice to me, center of town could use some sprucing up anyways.

Like · Reply · 8 · August 23 at 9:12am

Carol Jane Belding I agree! One could work in NYC, take the bus, and live in a small town. It's progress.

Like · Reply · 3 · August 23 at 5:19pm

Heather Dougherty Krietzman Agree. 100%! This part of town was not looking so great and had a number of empty storefronts. Change is not necessarily a bad thing. I'm looking forward to the finished product

Like · Reply · August 23 at 7:50pm · Edited

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Sharon Herman It's terrible how money hungry rich people are ruining this town and driving out the older generation

Like · Reply · 1 · August 23 at 9:15am

Karen Casler-negast Change is good for the town and Little Falls needs this new history being rich has nothing to do with it :-)

Like · Reply · 5 · August 23 at 9:30am

Linda Weite Crosman I agree, Karen. Change is good and I don't know what rich people are profitting from this.

Like · Reply · 1 · August 23 at 4:19pm

 

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Sharon Herman Well being not rich has me moving out

Like · Reply · 1 · August 23 at 9:35am

Karen Casler-negast To live in the state of New Jersey is expensive :-)

Like · Reply · August 23 at 9:46am

Judy Morano Love it! Great addition to the center of town that wasn't looking so good!

Like · Reply · 6 · August 23 at 9:50am

Janet Kokolus Omg...I used to live on Lincoln ...big changes

Like · Reply · August 23 at 3:55pm

Pat Zicot Pelonero If you do not live in town any longer you might not know our taxes are out of control. There are no ratables this will help that situation somewhat. Change is good and as for the proximity of the sidewalk it sits back at least 6 feet from the existing ...See More

Like · Reply · 3 · August 23 at 7:13pm

Sharon Herman Maybe but rateables they will never lower the taxes

Like · Reply · August 23 at 7:22pm

Sharon Herman Rents for the stores are too high

Like · Reply · August 23 at 7:23pm

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Albert Cuccinello Jr pretty generic , oh well .

Like · Reply · August 23 at 7:18pm

Albert Cuccinello Jr was hoping it would reflect the Pullara building or Stanton's storefront look

Like · Reply · 2 · August 23 at 7:23pm · Edited

Sandy Webb There is nothing wrong with change, it happens everyday and everywhere, it's life! This town isn't being RUINED. :) Fixating on what was lost as a result of the change will prevent us from experiencing the good things that our new circumstances can bring us.

Like · Reply · 4 · August 26 at 2:57pm

Karen Casler-negast Plenty of sidewalk room I walk it everyday this town needs change big time out with the old in with the new :-)

Like · Reply · 3 · August 28 at 8:50am

Jersey Mama-Gigi Luzzi Rich from our too high taxes

Like · Reply · August 28 at 10:57am

Ralph Fitzwater went by yesterday- there is as much sidewalk as the rest of the blocl- it will make the town look bigger-it'll be good - what was really sad- was all the empty space on McBride ave- all those good solid manufacturing business the town HAD, gone- along with the employment

Like · Reply · August 28 at 11:55am

Peter Wychman Do you mean Paterson Ave?

Like · Reply · August 29 at 7:59am

Marion Start Probably -- everyone thinks, once you go under Rt. 46 from W.P., that it's still McBride -- even though it's the same street, once you're in L.F., it's Paterson Avenue.

Like · Reply · August 29 at 8:55am

Chuck Belding It's being built professionally,the project seems to be going smoothly,without any apparent glitches.

Like · Reply · 2 · August 29 at 9:29pm

Chuck Belding It's not about being money hungry ,it's about being proactive in attracting new people and venues!

Like · Reply · 2 · August 29 at 9:32pm

Hide 11 Replies

 

Peter Wychman Maybe because the older residents built the town for many years, their not needed any more. Most of our older residents probably don't even know this site is here. If they did we would probably hear their side. I bet all of them know the name of the street Enterprise Fire Company is on.

Like · Reply · August 30 at 8:11am

Sharon Herman Trust me we know and can't miss it

Like · Reply · August 30 at 8:32am

Karen Casler-negast They should know where the firehouse is and most of the older generation are desceased they dont run the town any way !!!!

Like · Reply · August 30 at 8:51am

Peter Wychman What runs the town MONEY?

Like · Reply · August 30 at 10:12am

Chuck Belding Why the controversy? enlighten me,my family has lived in this town for 5 generations,most of the older people were not overly wealthy and survived here,but we all know,New Jersey in general is becoming a very expensive state to live in so you have to adapt for the better.

Like · Reply · August 30 at 10:23am

Karen Casler-negast Thats very true Chuck your explanation makes sense to bad other people don't understand :-)

Like · Reply · August 30 at 10:41am

Peter Wychman Other people don't understand 1, is it true all the houses on Paterson Ave from the bank parking lot down to the brown stone are going to be torn down 2 trying to make Paterson Ave. a one way from Main down to Maple. 3 move Enterprize fire company down to Wilmore Road. Just some of the things that have been discussed. .

Like · Reply · August 30 at 5:37pm

George C Eaton Peter Wychman for #1 - I've been waiting for the developer of the Main St project to come before the Plan Bd with next phase that deals with Pat Ave properties that they own ( including the brownstone house at #50 ) ... for #2 - 2013 Master Plan recommendations include 1 way Pat Ave + "roundabout" at Maple St ( see below ) ... for #3 - WoW ! had not heard that one ...

Like · Reply · August 31 at 12:11pm · Edited

Peter Wychman If you move the fire house there isn't any reason to block the one way on Paterson Ave. If one way and there is a fire in school # 1 and Enterprize has to go to Maple Street, to Main make a right then go through town how much time could be loss? Just a thought.

Like · Reply · September 1 at 5:44pm

Peter Wychman Two way Traffic on Maple would make it hard for fire engins to get through.

Like · Reply · September 1 at 5:57pm