Category: Bergen County

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Massive Cost Overruns for Bergen County Justice Center expected to grow by $1.3M

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JUNE 3, 2015, 7:50 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015, 9:25 PM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The Bergen County Justice Center project under construction in Hackensack will cost an additional $1.3 million to build and take about 14 months more to finish, county officials revealed Wednesday.

The freeholders approved a change order Wednesday that calls for paying $1,329,797 more to Gilbane Building Co., the New Brunswick-based construction manager overseeing the project.

The vote to approve was 4-0 with three freeholders absent.

The added payment will keep the firm on site for an additional 14 months beyond its original contract, which was to have expired on July 1, said Ray Dressler, the county’s public works director.

At $147 million, the multifaceted project was already the largest in the county’s history, even before Wednesday’s vote.

Besides a new six-story Justice Center on Court Street, the project includes a new Public Works garage in Hackensack, a Public Works facility in Paramus, a parking deck and renovation of the 102-year-old courthouse.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/cost-of-bergen-county-justice-center-expected-to-grow-by-1-3m-1.134812

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Muslim rights group CAIR calls for FBI probe of swastika carved outside Midland Park mosque

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JUNE 3, 2015, 8:24 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015, 8:47 PM
BY STEVE JANOSKI
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

MIDLAND PARK – A prominent Muslim civil rights group  (CAIR)  is calling for the FBI to investigate an “act of hatred” in which someone carved a swastika into a wooden sign outside an Irving Street mosque on Memorial Day.

The New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations issued a statement Tuesday asking the FBI to investigate the carving of the 10-inch swastika and images of “male genitalia,” that appeared on the sign outside the Elzahra Islamic Center.

“These types of incidents should be investigated within the context of the rising level of Islamophobic sentiment in our society and treated with the seriousness they deserve,” said Nadia Kahf, the council’s board chairwoman, in a statement. “Public officials and interfaith leaders should speak out against acts of hatred and intolerance whenever they occur.”

Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the organization, said it was “incumbent” upon the FBI to look into the vandalism.

“If we were talking about just an isolated incident in a small community in New Jersey, that’s one thing. But unfortunately, we’re seeing a real spike in these kinds of incidents nationwide,” he said. “We see this incident as possibly part of that disturbing pattern.”

A spokeswoman for the FBI’s Newark field office said the bureau wasn’t involved in the investigation, and said it “looks like it’s being handled locally.”

The vandalism is being handled as a bias crime by borough detectives, meaning stiffer penalties could apply for whomever is apprehended and convicted, police Chief Michael Powderley said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/muslim-rights-group-calls-for-fbi-probe-of-swastika-carved-outside-midland-park-mosque-1.1348123

Finally! CAIR, Muslim American Society branded ‘terrorist’ by an American Arab ally

Read more: https://www.bizpacreview.com/2014/11/16/finally-cair-muslim-american-society-branded-terrorist-by-an-american-arab-ally-159404#ixzz3c5a3UTew

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Paterson Man found in woman’s car in Wyckoff said Allah sent him

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JUNE 3, 2015, 6:59 PM    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015, 7:05 PM
BY STEVE JANOSKI
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

WYCKOFF — Police arrested a Paterson man Tuesday night after he was found lying in a car that wasn’t his in the parking lot of the Wyckoff YMCA on Wyckoff Avenue.

Paterson resident Zakiy I. Muhammad, 20, allegedly climbed into the car sometime after it was left there by a 68-year-old woman going on a tour-bus daytrip, Police Chief Benjamin C. Fox said in a statement. When the bus returned from the trip and dropped the woman off, she “found a man lying inside with the seat reclined.”

She yelled at him to get out, but Muhammad allegedly replied that “God told him to be here,” Fox said. The bus driver and others came to the woman’s aid, and the bus driver managed to get the man out of the car and into the bus, where they waited for the police.

Sgt. Michael Ragucci, Sgt. Thomas Tully and Officers Kevin Pinches and William Christopher responded at 11:04 p.m.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/man-found-in-woman-s-car-in-wyckoff-said-god-sent-him-1.1348114

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Village of Ridgewood June 2nd 2015, Primary Results

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photo of John Mitchell

June 2, 2015 – Primary Results

Dem

General Assembly (2)
Paul Vagianos – 200
Christine Ordway – 187

Members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders (2)
Steven A. Tanelli – 185
Tracy S Zur – 185

Members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders (unexpired term)
Thomas J Sullivan – 187

Rep.

General Assembly (2)
David C Russo – 188
Scott T Rumana – 171

Members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders (2)
John D Mitchell – 177
Kenneth P Tyburczy – 161

Members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders (unexpired term)
Daisy Ortiz-Berger – 167

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Vandals target sign of new mosque in Midland Park

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JUNE 2, 2015    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 2015, 3:50 PM
BY LYNN BRUGGEMANN
CORRESPONDENT |
MIDLAND PARK SUBURBAN NEWS

MIDLAND PARK – Less than two weeks before the Elzahra Islamic Center planned to welcome the public to an open house at its newly established mosque, its leaders were forced to report the defacement of a sign at its entrance in what police are calling a bias incident.

Imam Moutaz Charaf reported the vandalism to the police department on Memorial Day, May 25, and estimates the damage at about $500. In the meantime, the sign has been altered to eliminate the appearance of the offensive symbols.

According to the police report, Patrolman Mark Berninger and Sgt. Gregory Kasbarian responded and found a swastika and “male genitalia” had been carved into the sign situated at the entrance of the mosque at 218 Irving St.

Police Chief Michael Powderley said the bias incident is being investigated by Detective Sgt. John Gibbons.

“It appears this is an isolated incident and the police have not received any other reports of this vandalism occurring in town,” Powderley said in interviews this week.

Powderley said since 2011 there have been “numerous incidents” in which swastikas have been featured in vandalized property.

“There were three separate incidents at the high school,” he said.

He said he has increased patrols in the area of the mosque.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/non-profit-news/vandals-target-sign-of-new-mosque-in-midland-park-1.1347227

 

The Elzahra Islamic Center is hosting a “community open house” from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, June 5.

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Police probe car thefts from Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus

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MAY 31, 2015, 2:25 PM    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2015, 2:25 PM
BY LINDA MOSS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Two men and an accomplice stole two late-model Mercedes-Benz automobiles, apparently left unlocked and with the keys in them by the valet at the Ridgewood Country Club lot in Paramus on Saturday night, according to Borough Police Deputy Chief Robert Guidetti.

Department detectives were investigating the theft of a 2015 S55 four-door black Mercedes and a 2014 S550 white Mercedes sedan, which took place around 7:30 p.m. at the Midland Avenue club, Guidetti said.

Both vehicles had been parked by the club’s valet service, the deputy chief said.

A black car then drove into the club’s lot and two men got out, with each one jumping into one of the Mercedes vehicles, Guidetti said. The suspects then drove off in the two cars, and their accomplice took off in the black car.

“It’s not a carjacking,” Guidetti said. “The cars were parked at the valet … and these guys entered the cars. … They were able to start both cars and drove away.”

The two stolen cars had apparently been left unlocked with the keys in them, the deputy chief said.

“For vehicle theft tips, I will tell you, never leave your keys in a vehicle and always leave your car locked,” Guidetti said.

Paramus issued an alert for the vehicles to surrounding towns, but they had not been found, the deputy chief said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/police-probe-car-thefts-from-ridgewood-country-club-in-paramus-1.1346051

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Anthony Bourdain brings his CNN show to New Jersey

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MAY 31, 2015    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2015, 2:43 PM
BY ELISA UNG
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

tonight, CNN

Globe-trotting chef and Leonia native Anthony Bourdain has brought viewers to his home state before, but this time he wanted to do it differently.

“It’s easy enough to sell New Jersey if you’re going to beautiful farmland and attractive bedroom communities and fine dining,” he said in a recent phone interview. “And I thought, you know what? I’m going to make Jersey look awesome by going to all the places that have been most traditionally screwed.”

So for tonight’s episode of “Parts Unknown,” he features the history and people of Camden, Atlantic City and Asbury Park. And he tries to “make even the refineries look somehow magical,” he said. “That was the challenge — to look at what most people make fun of about New Jersey or look down their noses at, and still sell it as an amazing place brimming with potential and beauty, if you bother to look.”

His first stop? A childhood favorite – the hot dog stand Hiram’s in Fort Lee, where he says he still goes a few times a year with his daughter, Ariane, 8.

https://www.northjersey.com/arts-and-entertainment/tv/bourdain-s-lesser-known-tastes-of-home-1.1345806

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Glen Rock discusses new zone for senior housing

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MAY 29, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY RICHARD DE SANTA
STAFF WRITER |
GLEN ROCK GAZETTE

The Glen Rock Planning Board is addressing a potential borough ordinance that would permit the rezoning of appropriate borough properties for multiple dwelling senior citizen housing.

Planners met on May 4 to discuss and possibly recommend a draft ordinance to the Borough Council, which if approved would legally establish an “S-2” zone that could be applied to borough tracts deemed appropriate, in response to individual applications. The only option now open to developers of such projects is to apply for a use variance, according to board secretary Nancy Spiller.

But she told the Glen Rock Gazette last week that no ordinance recommendation emerged from the May 4 session, as members opted to address concerns over ordinance content and language to the board’s professional advisors.

The group includes borough planning consultant Christine Cofone, Planning Board attorney Stuart Liebman, borough engineer Al Roughgarden, construction official Brian Frugis, zoning officer Mark Berninger and Spiller as land use administrator.

“We are working to have a revised ordinance draft by the time the Planning Board is scheduled to meet again on June 1, so they can again consider it,” Spiller said.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/new-zone-for-senior-housing-under-discussion-1.1344789

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SUSPECT DEAD IN POLICE-INVOLVED SHOOTING AT LYNDHURST PUBLIC LIBRARY

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photo from MY FOXNY

By Josh Einiger
Friday, May 29, 2015 11:24PM
LYNDHURST (WABC) —
A police-involved shooting at the Lyndhurst Public Library in New Jersey left one person dead Friday.

The officers involved were transported to the hospital for trauma, but were not physically injured.

Officials say the building also houses the police department, fire department and courthouse, which is why the response was so quick.

“There was nothing else they could have done,” said Chief James O’Connor, Lyndhurst Police Department.

Late Friday night, the exhausted chief of the Lyndhurst Police detailed the life or death struggle between two of his officers and 36-year-old Kevin Allen, who police say would not go quietly, when they tried to arrest him on the third floor of the village library.

Police say Allen was rolling around on the floor with one officer, and when a second cop arrived to help, Allen reached into his pocket and took out a knife.

“He brandished the knife, the officers deployed pepper spray and batons, Mr. Allen still went after them aggressively and left them no choice but to deploy deadly force,” O’Connor said.

The gunfire broke the silence in a place of peace, as frantic parents rushed to the library to grab their kids. Fortunately, none of them was hurt.

https://7online.com/news/suspect-dead-in-police-involved-shooting-at-lyndhurst-public-library/754657/

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Westwood mayor’s race: Republican Wanner denies being behind Dem primary “coup” against Birkner

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photo Former Republican Westwood Mayor Thomas Wanner

WESTWOOD  NJ– Former Republican Westwood Mayor Thomas Wanner denied assertions made by Democratic incumbent Mayor John Birkner Jr. that the mayor’s rival in the June 2Democratic primary was a “puppet” of Wanner, with the former GOP mayor stating that he has had only an advisory role for Birkner’s opponent. (Bonamo/PolitickerNJ)

Westwood mayor’s race: Republican Wanner denies being behind Dem primary “coup” against Birkner | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis

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BCRO Chairman Yudin backs incumbent, not candidate with literary lineage, in Rutherford GOP mayoral primary

Mayor_Joe_DeSalvo_theridgewoodblog

facebook photo of Mayor Joe DeSalvo

RUTHERFORD – The contested Republican mayoral primary in Rutherford offers voters in the Bergen County borough an interesting choice.

Incumbent Mayor Joe DeSalvo, 47, an electrician by trade, a council member since 2009 and mayor since 2012, is facing off on June 2 for the GOP nomination against attorney Daphne Williams-Fox, 52. (Bonamo/PolitickerNJ)

BCRO Chairman Yudin backs incumbent, not candidate with literary lineage, in Rutherford GOP mayoral primary | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis

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Taxes Up in Bergen County freeholders’ proposed budget

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file photo County Executive James Tedesco at Civility Forum in Ridgewood

MAY 28, 2015    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2015, 12:13 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The Bergen County freeholders introduced a 2015 county budget Wednesday that slices just over $1 million from the fiscal plan proposed last month by County Executive James Tedesco.

By a unanimous, bipartisan vote, the board gave initial approval to a $530 million budget that would add $10.73 to the tax bill for the owner of an average home, assessed at $324,200.

The budget increases the county tax levy by about 4.3 percent.

Wednesday’s vote was in sharp contrast to last year, when the budget became one of the issues in the county executive race.

At the time, County Executive Kathleen Donovan, a Republican, accused the Democratic freeholders of using “election year smoke and mirrors” to prevent any tax hike.

Donovan lost her reelection bid to Tedesco, then a freeholder.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-county-freeholders-proposed-budget-includes-cuts-tax-hike-1.1343491

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Schepisi out of brain aneurysm surgery, doing well

Assemblywoman_Holly_Schepisi_theirdgewoodblog

NEW YORK CITY – State Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi (R-39) successfully underwent surgery at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in New York City on Tuesday to fix a brain aneurysm and is doing well, according to her family. (Bonamo/PolitickerNJ)

Schepisi out of brain aneurysm surgery, doing well | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis

 

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America’s Rabbi : As Boteach’s political clout grows, critics ask: What’s his goal?

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MAY 25, 2015, 9:16 PM    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, MAY 25, 2015, 9:31 PM
BY MIKE KELLY
RECORD COLUMNIST |
THE RECORD

The man who calls himself “America’s rabbi” sat in a Starbucks in Englewood on a recent afternoon and touted himself as just the right guy to bring values back to politics.

These are ambitious days for Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.

Critics dismiss him as a shameless publicity hound, backed by powerful and wealthy special interests. Admirers describe him as a courageous, much-needed voice in the public arena. But who is he anyway? Why does he need to be heard — so much and so often?

America’s rabbi may actually be America’s latest political mystery.

Until recently, Boteach, 48, was known primarily for writing the best-seller “Kosher Sex”; for counseling Michael Jackson; for dispensing marital advice in a reality TV show, and for losing by almost 50 percentage points in his quest three years ago to become the first rabbi elected to Congress.

Now Boteach unabashedly says he is perfectly suited to become a major player in politics – maybe even a force in the 2016 presidential race, through his foundation The World Values Network. As he noted, “We are expanding the organization significantly. The demand is there.”

Whether Boteach, who runs his foundation from his sprawling stone estate on Englewood’s East Hill, can find his footing in the crowded and unforgiving American political landscape remains to be seen. But it’s not for lack of trying.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/kelly-as-boteach-s-political-clout-grows-critics-ask-what-s-his-goal-1.1342218

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Hard Rock, racetrack to announce plans for Meadowlands casino

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MAY 26, 2015, 5:43 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015, 6:03 PM
BY JOHN BRENNAN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Hard Rock Casino Meadowlands — a partnership between the Florida-based gaming company and the Meadowlands Racetrack — is the name of a proposed new casino that will be unveiled next week, track operator Jeff Gural said Tuesday.

The announcement will come about a month before a deadline for state election officials to approve a question for the November ballot on ending Atlantic City’s casino monopoly in New Jersey. State Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney said last July that he would seek to place such a referendum in on the November 2015 ballot because the deadline to add it to the November 2014 ballot had just passed.

But three weeks ago, Sweeney said he was considering whether to wait a year, until the 2016 general election, given the low turnout expected with only Assembly members up for statewide election this fall.

“We believe that expanding gaming to North Jersey will strengthen the state’s casino industry, boost the economy and help Atlantic City’s financial recovery, but there is no specific timetable at this point,” said Richard McGrath, Sweeney’s spokesman.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/hard-rock-racetrack-to-announce-plans-for-meadowlands-casino-1.1342809