Smoke rises from an Edgewater, NJ apartment complex Jan. 22 as firefighters battle a fast-spreading blaze. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Legislation to improve fire protection and safety in multi-family dwellings has been rolled out by Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto.
It was prompted by a massive blaze at a multi-family luxury apartment complex in Edgewater in 2015 that displaced over 500 residents. The fast-moving blaze spread through sealed spaces in the building that didn’t have sprinklers.
Prieto wants to require fire suppression in those spaces.
“I think it will add minimal cost and that way it will still be able to be built.”
There are three main provisions in his two-bill package of legislation, which is co-sponsored by Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez, Assemblyman Tim Eustace and Assemblyman Joe Lagana.
Edgewater NJ, Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced the arrests of DARNELL MILLER (DOB: 5/24/1982; single; and unemployed) of 52 Myrtle Avenue, Edgewater, New Jersey; ALLEN STATAM (DOB: 06/02/1961; single; and unemployed) of 8831 SW 22nd Street, Miramar, Florida; Juan NORZAGARAY (DOB: 05/04/1983; single; and unemployed) of 6473 East Garden Stone Drive, Tucson, Arizona; and GARY MERTIL (DOB: 11/14/1984; single, and employed as Uber driver) of 407 56th Street, Apt. 406, West New York, New Jersey on drug-related charges. These arrests are the result of an investigation conducted by members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Chief Robert ANZILOTTI, the Edgewater Police Department under the direction of Officer-in-Charge Alex HANNA, the Hackensack Police Department under the direction of Officer-in-Charge Francesco AQUILA, the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office under the direction of Sheriff Michael SAUDINO, and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) West Paterson Post of Duty under the direction of Group Supervisor Steve ORTMAN.
On Thursday, March 2, 2017, members of the Hackensack Police Department responded to a call of two suspicious males in the parking lot of the Riverside Square Mall, located at 400 Hackensack Avenue, Hackensack, New Jersey. An investigation revealed that ALLEN STATAM and JUAN NORZAGARAY were found to be in possession of approximately $68,881.00, which was believed to be derived from criminal activity. Following additional investigation, they were both arrested on money laundering charges.
Shortly thereafter, members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office were contacted and advised of the money laundering arrest. The Hackensack Police Department was then assisted by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office in this investigation. Thereafter, members of the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office coordinated with members of the Hackensack Police Department, the Edgewater Police Department and the DEA, and responded to an address in Edgewater, New Jersey that was suspected to contain narcotics and additional U.S. currency.
Upon their arrival, GARY MERTIL was located outside of the residence, and was found to be in possession of marijuana. He was placed under arrest without incident. Based upon further intelligence, a court-authorized search warrant was obtained for the residence in Edgewater, in which DARNELL MILLER was located. During the execution of the search warrant, detectives located a “drug mill” on the lower level, which included approximately three kilograms of cocaine, approximately thirty pounds of marijuana, approximately one ounce of heroin, a kilogram press machine, U.S. currency counting machine, large digital scales, one hand gun, and approximately $181,885.00 in U.S. currency.
DARNELL MILLER was arrested without incident and charged with one count of Possession with the Intent to Distribute a Controlled Dangerous Substance, namely Cocaine in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5b (1), a First Degree Crime; one count of Possession With the Intent to Distribute Marijuana, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5b10a, a First Degree Crime; one count of Maintaining or Operating a Premise for the Manufacturing of Cocaine / Heroin / Marijuana, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-4, a First Degree Crime; one count of Possession With the Intent to Distribute Heroin 2C:35-5b (2), a Second Degree Crime; one count of Possession of a Firearm while committing a controlled dangerous substance crime in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4.1, a Second Degree Crime; one count of Money Laundering in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-25, a Second Degree Crime; one count of Tampering with Evidence in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:28-6(1), a Fourth Degree Crime; three counts of Possession With the Intent to Distribute Cocaine, Heroin, and Marijuana, While Within a School Zone in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7, a Third Degree Crime; three counts of Possession With the Intent to Distribute Cocaine, Heroin, and Marijuana, While Within a Park Zone in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7.1, a Second Degree Crime. MILLER was issued a warrant and held at the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance in the Bergen County Central Judicial Processing Court.
ALLEN STATAM was charged with one count of Money Laundering, specifically by possessing $68,881.00 which is believed to be derived from Criminal Activity, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-25, a Third Degree Crime. He was released on his own recognizance pending a first appearance date in Bergen County Central Judicial Processing Court.
JUAN NORZAGARAY was charged with one count of Money Laundering, specifically by possessing $68,881.00 which is believed to be derived from Criminal Activity, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-25, a Third Degree Crime. He was released on his own recognizance pending a first appearance date in Bergen County Central Judicial Processing Court.
GARY MERTIL was charged with one count of Possession of Marijuana in an amount under fifty grams in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10A(4). He was released on his own recognizance pending a first appearance date in Bergen County Central Judicial Processing Court.
Prosecutor Grewal states that these charges are merely accusations and that the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and would also like to thank the Hackensack Police Department, Edgewater Police Department, DEA, and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this investigation.
Nicholas Pugliese , State House Bureau, @nickpugzPublished 5:39 p.m. ET Feb. 20, 2017 | Updated 3 hours ago
The obliterated homes and torched wedding photos. The lost green cards and melted jewelry. Those things, at least, might have been anticipated once the first flames took hold in the Avalon at Edgewater apartment complex in January 2015.
The type of sprinkler system installed in the building, as required by New Jersey’s building code, was designed primarily to give people enough time to get out, not to save the building and its contents. To that extent, it succeeded. No one died. No one was even seriously injured.
Ridgewood NJ, Representatives from the Bergen County Police Chiefs Association recently accompanied Santa Claus to The Valley Hospital Pediatric Unit and Pediatric Emergency Room to give holiday gifts to hospitalized children. Pictured here are (standing back row, from left to right): Aleyamma Varghese, R.N., Bergenfield; Heather Evers, APN, Ocean Grove; Chief Frank Regino, Westwood; Lori Check, Fair Lawn; Chief Daniel Maye, Bogota; Christine Trent, Kinnelon; Chief William Skidmore, Edgewater; Retired Chief Fred Stahman, Glen Rock; Janine Cook, Saddle Brook; Tom Hauck, FBI; and Chief Michael Cioffi, Englewood Cliffs. Front row (from left to right): Nadine Morton, Waldwick; Santa; and Kristin Harmon, R.N.
Police have charged 12 women they say work at 11 area massage parlors with prostitution offenses, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal said Friday in a release.
The arrests followed a week-long undercover investigation and were made at massage parlors in seven municipalities on three separate days, Grewal said. He said that each person arrested worked as a masseuse and is accused of engaging in sex with customers.
Nine of the women are from Queens, N.Y., one is from Maryland and two are from Little Ferry, the acting prosecutor said. The arrests were made at four massage parlors in Edgewater, two in Fairview and one apiece in Wyckoff, Tenafly, River Edge, Little Ferry and South Hackensack.
The two women who reside in Little Ferry are Shunyu Pio Piao, 48, who worked at a spa in Little Ferry, and Mihwa Jang, 41, who worked at one of the Edgewater massage parlors targeted in the investigation, Grewal said, and the Maryland woman, Yougin Cho, 36, was arrested at a spa in South Hackensack.
DECEMBER 25, 2015, 10:09 PM LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2015, 1:30 AM
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
An Edgewater man shot and killed his wife and 8-year-old daughter before taking his own life, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said during a press conference just before midnight Friday. Police discovered their bodies on Christmas in their luxury apartment building after they failed to turn up at a family holiday celebration, he said.
The prosecutor said the bodies of Michael Stasko, 53, his wife, Melissa, 49, and daughter, Nellie, 8, were found shortly after 7 p.m. on Friday in the Windsor at Mariners apartment building, when a relative in Missouri called the Edgewater police worried that they hadn’t yet arrived and weren’t answering their cellphones.
Stasko was found with a gunshot wound under his chin, and his wife and daughter had been shot in the backs of their heads, Molinelli said. The shootings could have occurred while the two were sleeping, as they were dressed in pajamas, and as long ago as Tuesday, on Nellie’s eighth birthday, Molinelli said. Along with the bodies, police found a .45-caliber handgun with hollow-point bullets.
A motive for the killings has not been determined.
Hoboken and Edgewater beat us out , I think we should ask for a recount ?
Ridgewood Resident have prided themselves on Snobbery?
Ridgewood 11
Glen Rock 14
These Are The 10 Snobbiest Places In New Jersey
We analyzed over 200 places in Jersey to identify the ones that probably think they’re better than you.
When it comes to being a snob, you’ve got all types. You’ve got your wine snobs, beer snobs, and food snobs. There are book snobs, movie snobs, and theatre (yes, with an re) snobs. These days, you’ve probably even got snob snobs—people who think their type of snob is better than yours.
And of all the places in the U.S., you may not find a higher concentration of all of the above than in the Northeast—New Jersey in particular.
Yes, that’s right; Jersey isn’t all fist pumps, fugazis, and poufs. In fact, in these 10 places, it’s downright snooty:
Don’t get up on your high horse (unless you live in one of these 10 places, in which case, you pretty much live up there)—we didn’t just pull these 10 places out of our… hats. We relied strictly on the numbers to come up with this list. More on said numbers, in the next section.
Ridgewood NJ, NJ TRANSIT has plans in place to help manage travel for North Jersey customers during Pope Francis’ visit to the area on Thursday, September 24th and Friday, September 25th.
Event-goers are advised to plan their trip ahead of time, plan to travel off-peak when possible and purchase round-trip tickets in advance. Large crowds are expected along with enhanced security measures and expected delays during this time period. When returning to New Jersey in the evening on September 25th, customers should be prepared for longer wait times especially immediately following the Papal Mass at Madison Square Garden.
“With crowds moving into, out of, and around New York City on Thursday and Friday of the Papal visit week, NJ TRANSIT’s regular customers should know that this will be very far from their normal commute,” said NJ TRANSIT Executive Director Veronique “Ronnie” Hakim. “We are asking our customers to be patient – and to be prepared – as we expect our rail and bus service to be at or near capacity during the peak periods so wait times may be lengthy. Our goal is to have visitors utilize off-peak trains and move as many people as possible in a safe and efficient manner.”
NJ TRANSIT will operate additional rail service during the off-peak into Penn Station New York and enhance its bus service into Port Authority Bus Terminal (PABT) throughout the day. Normal football Game Day rail service will run on Thursday and Sunday for the Giants and Jets games, respectively.
Signage and posters will be available at all major rail stations and bus terminals to inform NJ TRANSIT customers of travel options. Also, NJ TRANSIT Ambassadors, who are knowledgeable about travel information during this special Papal event, will be on hand to assist customers.
Special queuing in Penn Station New York will also be in place to handle anticipated crowds. The new busing operations in place at the Port Authority Bus Terminal (PABT) should help vehicles, and customers, travel to and from the terminal more quickly. In addition, the majority of buses do not travel on New York City streets and traverse from the Lincoln tunnel directly onto PABT ramps, avoiding any traffic diversion which may be implemented due to the Pope’s motorcade, unless it impacts the Lincoln Tunnel.
NJ TRANSIT is also working closely with area transportation partners to provide alternate transit options throughout the visit. For example, customers can transfer to PATH service at Newark Penn Station or at Hoboken where they can also travel via NY Waterway. NY Waterway will operate their regular service for Thursday and Friday but will have boats on standby if needed. They also are modifying their bus schedule to coincide with the Papal parade.
“Our staff continues to work hand in hand with NJ TRANSIT to ensure that those attending papal activities in Manhattan have a convenient and safe way to get there,” said Michael Marino, the Port Authority’s Director of Rail Transit and General Manager of PATH.
NY Waterway also has additional commuter ferry capacity from a number of locations to accommodate New Jersey residents coming to New York City during the Papal visit.
Ferry service is available to West 39th Street in Manhattan from Port Imperial in Weehawken, 14th Street in Hoboken and Lincoln Harbor in Weehawken. These routes operate all day, with departures every 10 to 30 minutes.
Morning and evening rush hour service is available from Edgewater in Bergen County to West 39th Street, a 13-minute crossing every 30 minutes. Morning and evening rush hour service is available from Belford/Middletown in Monmouth County to Lower Manhattan in 40 minutes and to West 39th Street in 65 minutes with departures every 30 minutes.
There also is service from Hoboken Rail/Ferry Terminal and Jersey City’s Paulus Hook, Liberty Harbor and Port Liberte to the World Financial Center and to Pier 11 at Wall Street.
“NY Waterway is always ready with the boats and the experienced crews to work with NJ TRANSIT to move New Jersey residents across the Hudson River quickly and reliably. We are confident that we can handle the increased ridership during this wonderful event, the visit of Pope Francis to our region,” said NY Waterway President and Founder Arthur E. Imperatore.
Amtrak will provide direct rail service to 30th Street Station in Philadelphia with some trains making stops in New Jersey including Newark, Metropark, Princeton Junction, Hamilton and Trenton. For more information on Amtrak service, please go to https://www.amtrak.com/papalvisit.
NJ TRANSIT has created a special Papal webpage will more detailed information for visitors. Please visit www.njtransit.com/papal for any updated NJ TRANSIT Papal travel news.
SEPTEMBER 18, 2015, 11:34 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015, 11:36 PM
BY LINH TAT
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
For months after a five-alarm fire ripped through a massive apartment complex in Edgewater and left a pile of debris in its wake, residents, firefighters and lawmakers called for changes to state regulations that dictate building standards and requirements, in hopes of improving fire safety.
Many provided input to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, which happened to be in the midst of updating the state Uniform Construction Code, a process that takes place every three years.
On Monday, the newly revised code will take effect. But absent are the changes that so many had been pushing for after the Avalon at Edgewater fire.
Ridgewood NJ, News 12 reported that the Bergen County Fire Chief’s Association and other fire officials are calling for an update to New Jersey’s fire code. According to Bergen County’s Fire Chief Association the State of New Jersey is Still using pre-Avolon fire ,fire codes from 2006. Look at all the build being planned in Ridgewood alone then think about all the multi family high density units being built all over Bergen County .
News 12 cited fire experts claiming that would not be enough to prevent another massive Avolon type fire like the one in Edgewater in January . The new codes would ban buildings over three stories, firewalls between every ten units and sprinklers between floors.Under current building codes the entire Avolon apartments can be rebuild from the same plans .
TRENTON – A mixed group of firefighters, labor leaders, local residents, architects and real estate developers descended on a state Senate community and urban affairs committee meeting in Trenton on Monday to debate an issue burning in their minds: should construction code regulations change statewide, especially in the aftermath of a Bergen County blaze earlier this year that torched an Edgewater apartment complex. (Bonamo/PolitickerNJ)
In Wyckoff, building materials become issue in proposed health care center expansion
MARCH 1, 2015 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY MARINA VILLENEUVE
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
WYCKOFF — Residents opposed to the expansion of the Christian Health Care Center say January’s fire at the Avalon at Edgewater apartment complex shows what can happen if the center developer is allowed to use combustible construction material, as it wants to.
State law currently allows such material, and that has become a point of potential conflict over the expansion application as opponents call on the township’s zoning officials to stand their ground after recently refusing to allow such materials.
In 2013, the center’s representatives signed an agreement with Wyckoff that it would use only non-combustible construction materials. But then they asked to be allowed to use cheaper, combustible materials like wood framing. The non-profit, which previously agreed to scale down the project from 258 units, to 199, says its fire detection and suppression systems exceed code standards.
In December, the Zoning Board of Adjustment voted, 6-1, to deny the request to amend the agreement.
Grand jury indicts North Bergen woman on charges she fatally struck cyclist
February 9, 2015, 2:34 PM Last updated: Monday, February 9, 2015, 2:39 PM
By KIBRET MARKOS
Staff Writer |
The Record
A Bergen County grand jury indicted a North Bergen woman on Monday on charges that she fatally struck a bicyclist in Edgewater last year while driving drunk.
Siobhan Stokley, 40, was arrested after a crash in which she is accused of hitting 61-year-old Tony Tyson of Jersey City with her 2007 Hummer H2 while he was riding his bike along River Road. The crash occurred around 11 p.m. on May 9, 2014, while Tyson was riding his bike in the right lane, authorities said.
Authorities said Tyson was hit from the back and thrown to the pavement, and suffered injuries that left him in critical condition at the Hackensack University Medical Center. Stokley was arrested at the scene and charged with drunk driving and assault by auto, but the charge was upgraded to death by auto when Tyson died two days later.
The indictment returned Monday charges Stokley with one count of death by auto, a second-degree offense that carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
Social media energize donation drives for Edgewater fire victims
FEBRUARY 2, 2015, 10:05 PM LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2015, 10:09 PM
BY ANDREW WYRICH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
They tweeted, posted, shared and liked. And within days, community members raised more than $140,000 on behalf of the tenants of the Avalon at Edgewater who were left homeless after an inferno consumed their apartment complex.
EdgewaterStrong.com has raised $75,000 for victims of the Avalon at Edgewater fire last month.
It’s a real-time example of how social media and crowdfunding have become increasingly important when disaster strikes — even when that disaster is localized to a single community, or in this case, an apartment complex. The virtual pleas for help for the hundreds of residents displaced in the blaze resulted in tangible results — a steady stream of donations, from cash to clothes.
“I really believe that without social media we could not have raised this much money so quickly,” said Sandy Rubinstein, whose Edgewater-based advertising firm partnered to start one of two fundraising websites. “Social media has a power that people probably realize is there, but might not really see until a moment like this – when it can literally change someone’s life.”
The ability to collect $141,000 in just seven days with only a few clicks is becoming the norm, experts say.
Pressure builds for fresh look at N.J. building codes in wake of Edgewater fire
JANUARY 29, 2015, 5:39 PM LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015, 8:31 PM
BY JEAN RIMBACH AND LINH TAT
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
Pressure is mounting for a review of state building codes — and even a potential construction moratorium — in the aftermath of a fast-moving fire that destroyed more than half of an Edgewater apartment complex last week and left hundreds homeless.
Officials in Mercer County on Thursday called for an emergency review of state construction codes before a residential community planned by the same developer for Princeton gets evaluated by the state. And Assemblyman Scott Rumana, R-Wayne, said he is working on legislation that will put a moratorium of up to two years on the approval and construction of multi-family housing developments until the state’s building code is revised.
“The goal is not have any New Jersey residents’ lives at stake. But equally as important, it’s to not put our first responders into these buildings, which I would call fire traps,” said Rumana. “I have too much experience in seeing the failures of these types of facilities — if this fire happened seven or 10 hours later, who knows how many people could have died?”
A five-alarm blaze at the Avalon at Edgewater destroyed much of the 408-unit complex, shut schools and roadways, temporarily displaced nearby residents and brought to the surface long-standing issues in the firefighting community about lightweight wood construction — a cheaper, faster and legal style of building that is common in New Jersey and elsewhere.
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