Category: Bergen County

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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

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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

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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

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N.J. medical bribe scheme reached grand scale

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MAY 26, 2015, 10:39 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2015, 10:42 PM
BY PETER J. SAMPSON
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The first hint of the vast bribery scheme came with the arrests of a North Jersey doctor and three businessmen who, authorities said, found a way to turn a diagnostic lab with offices in Parsippany and Garfield into a virtual gold mine.

Two years later, federal prosecutors in Newark have racked up convictions of 38 people, including 25 doctors from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, in what is believed to be one of the largest — if not the largest — laboratory bribery prosecutions in the United States, both in terms of money and the number of physicians caught with their hands out.

“To our knowledge, this is the largest number of medical professionals ever prosecuted in the same case,” U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said last week.

By the numbers

25 doctors and one physician’s assistant pleaded guilty to |accepting bribes.
16 of the doctors live in New Jersey; seven in New York; and two in Connecticut. The physician’s assistant is also from New Jersey.
12 other defendants who worked at Biodiagnostic Laboratory Services have pleaded guilty.
The amount of bribes pocketed by |individual doctors ranged from $10,500 to $1.8 million.
In return for bribes, the doctors referred over $100 million in blood tests to the lab.
So far, 12 doctors have been sentenced to terms ranging from one year of probation, for a cooperator, to more than three years in federal prison and fines of up to $75,000.
The government is seeking a combined forfeiture of more than $87 million from the 38 defendants, including $50 million from former BLS owner and president David Nicoll and $25 million from his brother, Scott Nicoll.

“It shows how pervasive this practice can be. It has also made people in the profession sit up and take notice and made the deterrent message that much louder,” he said.

In recent weeks two doctors, one weeping and both remorseful, have been sentenced after helping prosecutors catch others in cases that add to the broadening panorama of corruption.

And it’s not over. Additional arrests of doctors who profited from the scheme are anticipated, prosecutors say.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-medical-bribe-scheme-reached-grand-scale-1.1342843

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Schepisi readies herself for brain aneurysm operation, looks to future

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WESTWOOD – With a smile, state Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi (R-39) said it best before she hits the operation table next week. (Bonamo/PolitickerNJ)

Schepisi readies herself for brain aneurysm operation, looks to future | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis

 

UPDATE

Schepisi recovering from successful brain surgery

https://savejersey.com/2015/05/update-schepisi-recovering-from-successful-brain-surgery/

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Today we remember the loss of the heroic men and women who sacrificed their lives in defense of freedom and liberty

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May 25.2015

Rep Scott Garrett

Today we remember the loss of the heroic men and women who sacrificed their lives in defense of freedom and liberty. We owe our way of life to their courage. Their willingness to fight is the reason why we live in a country free from tyranny and oppression.

In honor of Memorial Day, I’m happy to announce that the Oversight and Government Reform Committee this week passed my bill to rename the United States Post Office building located at 1 Walter Hammond Place in Waldwick, NJ the “Staff Sergeant Joseph D’Augustine Post Office Building.” This action clears the way for this important legislation to be passed by the House of Representatives and sent to President Obama for his signature.

As you may know, Staff Sergeant Joseph D’Augustine, a 2001 Waldwick High School graduate, was killed in action in the Helmand province of Afghanistan on March 27, 2012. He gave his life while protecting his fellow men and women in uniform. Renaming the Waldwick Post Office after a hometown hero would be a fitting tribute to this brave young man.

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Electric Daisy Carnival music festival lights up Meadowlands Sports Complex

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MAY 23, 2015, 9:38 PM    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, MAY 23, 2015, 9:52 PM
BY NICHOLAS PUGLIESE
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

EAST RUTHERFORD — The atmosphere surrounding MetLife Stadium was certainly carnivalesque: Men in neon suits walked past tutu-clad women whirling hula hoops. A giant grasshopper mounted on pogo sticks flitted through crowds. And enough skin was on display to make the Shore jealous.

To add to the sensory overload, Saturday’s event shook with pulsating, bass-heavy music blaring from enormous columns of speakers.

It was the soundtrack of America’s nightclubs and raves — electronic dance music, or EDM.

The Meadowlands Sports Complex is playing host this weekend to the “New York” incarnation of the Electric Daisy Carnival, the biggest electronic music festival on the East Coast that runs for two days and boasts a line-up of nearly 100 popular DJs such as Armin van Buuren, Calvin Harris and Bassnectar.

As many as 100,000 were expected to attend over the two days.

“It’s literally the craziest weekend of the year every year,” said Christian Runza, a 19-year-old aspiring DJ from Old Tappan. “Every set you’re going to see someone you love.”

The outlandish outfits are part and parcel of an EDM culture that prizes self-expression above all else.

“You come out here to be anyone you want to be or anything you want to be,” said Jake Berto, 23, who had traveled all the way from San Francisco for the event. “Nobody judges you.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/electric-daisy-carnival-music-festival-lights-up-meadowlands-sports-complex-1.1341659

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Mahwah council OKs signage for recall of mayor

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MAY 22, 2015    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2015, 2:46 PM
BY TOM NOBILE
STAFF WRITER |
MAHWAH SUBURBAN NEWS

Mahwah — Permission to post signs in an effort to recall Mayor William Laforet was granted by the Township Council on Thursday, May 21, despite allegations by one member that the mayor had pressured him to deny the request.
Prior to the governing body’s vote, Councilman Steve Sbarra read a statement on record claiming the mayor had approached him late Tuesday, May 19, after an Affordable Housing Commission meeting in an effort to sway the council’s judgment.

“[Laforet] then said, and I quote, ‘You need to talk to your fellow council members and make sure they vote ‘no’ to the signs or things in this town will get worse,” Sbarra stated.
He also referred to measures that have been implemented to improve relations and communication between the council and the police department. Police Chief James Batelli said in an interview Friday, May 22, that he had recently agreed to provide the council with a briefing packet of police activity every two weeks, in response to council complaints that information has been falling through the cracks.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/mahwah-council-oks-signage-for-recall-of-mayor-1.1341150

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North Jersey Boy Scout leaders react to BSA president’s call for change on policy toward gays

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AP File photo

MAY 21, 2015, 1:02 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015, 7:33 PM
BY JOHN SEASLY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

For local Boy Scouts of America leaders, the issue of whether to end the ban on gay Scout leaders comes down to doing what’s beneficial to keep their organization going.

In this Friday, May 23, 2014 file photo, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates addresses the Boy Scouts of America’s annual meeting in Nashville, Tenn., after being selected as the organization’s new president.

Reacting Thursday tor the BSA president’s urging of an end to the ban, North Jersey Scout leaders reacted generally with support for opening leadership posts to qualified individuals, but in some cases expressed a wait-and-see caution.

President Robert Gates, speaking at the organization’s national annual meeting in Atlanta, said the longstanding ban on gay adult leaders was unsustainable and called for change to prevent “the end of us as a national movement.”

In 2013, the BSA voted to allow openly gay youth as Scouts, but not gay adults as leaders. Gates, who at the time was in favor of allowing gay leaders, said Thursday that recent national gay rights debates have made the issue much more urgent.

 

https://www.northjersey.com/news/north-jersey-boy-scout-leaders-react-to-bsa-president-s-call-for-change-on-policy-toward-gays-1.1340122

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Bergen County sheriff plans to equip some officers with body cameras

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MAY 20, 2015, 4:56 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, MAY 21, 2015, 12:36 AM
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

The Bergen County Sheriff’s Office will join a growing number of police agencies around the country whose officers wear body cameras to record their interactions with the public, officials announced Wednesday.

Forty-seven of the county’s approximately 500 officers will use the cameras as part of a $70,000 pilot project to be financed with forfeiture funds, Bergen County Sheriff Michael Saudino said at a news conference. No date has been set to begin using the cameras, he said.

Saudino said he will first ask for guidance from a panel of law enforcement officials and community leaders selected by the Bergen County freeholders. The panel will address civil liberties and privacy concerns raised by the relatively new technology.

Saudino, who was accompanied at the news conference by County Executive James Tedesco, said they decided to start as a pilot program “because there are many valid issues raised regarding the proper operation of these devices.”

“My objective is to strike the right balance to implement this program on a permanent basis,” Saudino said. |“It’ll take as long as it takes to do |it the right way. We’re not in a rush.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/some-bergen-county-sheriff-s-officers-to-wear-body-cameras-under-pilot-project-1.1338683