Category: Lyndhurst

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Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal Announces the Implementation of the “Heroin Addiction Recovery Team” or “HART” program in Bergen County

Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S

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Mahwah Police Department; the Paramus Police Department; and the Lyndhurst Police Departments

April 11,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Paramus NJ, Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced today the issuance of a Directive to all county law enforcement agencies concerning the implementation of the “Heroin Addiction Recovery Team” or “HART” program in Bergen County. The program is designed to direct those suffering from the disease of addiction towards treatment options by offering recovery resources at municipal police departments. Pursuant to the Directive, participating departments will establish walk-in hours one day per week staffed by a law enforcement officer and a clinician. Those seeking help, who have personal use quantity of narcotics or drug paraphernalia on their person, will not be charged for having such contraband.

While the Prosecutor’s Directive takes effect immediately, the HART program is being rolled out as a pilot program and only the following Bergen County law enforcement agencies are authorized to participate at this time: the Mahwah Police Department; the Paramus Police Department; and the Lyndhurst Police Department. In the future, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office anticipates authorizing additional agencies to participate in the program. In the meantime, however, these three pilot programs will allow for recovery resources to be available in the northern, middle, and southern part of Bergen County. In the weeks to come, each agency will be announcing its HART day and hours, as well as information concerning the recovery care providers with whom they are partnering.

“Heroin and opioid overdoses continue to rise across our country and across our state, including in Bergen County,” stated Prosecutor Grewal. “This increase is attributable to both an overall rise in the number of individuals abusing heroin and opioids and to an increase in the potency of the heroin being sold in our state, which is often mixed or substituted with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 times more powerful than heroin. To combat this growing epidemic, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office has implemented a three-prong approach, which focuses on (1) innovative criminal enforcement, (2) treatment options for addicts, and (3) educational programming to prevent individuals from becoming addicted to opioids and heroin.” Grewal further stated, “The HART program is a natural extension of the BCPO’s efforts to offer treatment options to addicts. It is designed to reduce the impact of heroin and opioid abuse in Bergen County by encouraging those suffering from the disease of addiction to seek help and experience recovery.”

Prosecutor Grewal would like to thank Joseph Masciandaro, the President and Chief Executive Officer of CarePlus New Jersey, and Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg of the Paramus Police Department, for leading the efforts to implement the HART program in Bergen County. In addition, Prosecutor Grewal would like to thank Chief James Batelli of the Mahwah Police Department and Chief James O’Conner of the Lyndhurst Police Department for all of their efforts to battle the County’s heroin and opioid epidemic and for agreeing to participate in this pilot program.

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Local Levels of Chromium-6 detected in Ridgewood and Bergen County Water

tap-water

Here are the local agencies and the average levels of Chromium-6 detected, according to the study:

United Water NJ: Samples taken: 12, detects: 12, range: 0.034-0.33 ppb, average: 0.15 ppb
Ridgewood Water: Samples taken: 56, detects: 56, range: 0.14-2.9 ppb, average: 0.40 ppb
Fair Lawn Water Department: Samples taken: 20, detects: 18, range: 0.0-0.93. ppb, average: 0.28 ppb
Garfield Water Department: Samples taken: 12, detects: 12, range: 0.033-3.8 ppb, average: 0.70 ppb
Mahwah Water Department: Samples taken: 15, detects: 14, range: 0.0-0.37 ppb, average: 0.21 ppb
Passaic Valley Water Commission, Lodi Water Department: Samples taken: 8, detects: 8, range: 0.038-0.098 ppb, average: 0.064 ppb
Lyndhurst Water Department: Samples taken: 8, detects: 6, range: 0.0-0.068 ppb, average: 0.039 ppb
Elmwood Park Water Department: Samples taken: 8, detects: 7, range: 0.0-0.12 ppb, average: 0.063 ppb
Ramsey Water Department: Samples taken: 18, detects: 18, range: 0.044-1.8 ppb, average: 0.62 ppb

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ACTING BERGEN PROSECUTOR GURBIR S. GREWAL ANNOUNCES THE ARRESTS OF 40 INDIVIDUALS AS A RESULT OF “OPERATION HELPING HAND”

Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S
September 1, 2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Hackensack NJ, Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal announced today the arrests of 40 people from August 28, 2016 through Thursday, September 1, 2016, as the result of “Operation Helping Hand” – an innovative and collaborative law enforcement and public health initiative targeting the heroin and opioid crisis in Bergen County.

Ridgewood had two residents Christopher J. O’Brien and Lyndsay A. Paul, both 32, who were charged with possession of heroin.
This investigation was the result of a multi-jurisdictional task force consisting of local and county agencies coordinated by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office under the direction of Officer-in-Charge, Deputy Chief Robert ANZILOTTI. Assisting in this investigation were members of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Michael SAUDINO. These detectives and officers formed the backbone of the multiagency task force. The municipal police agencies participating in this investigation were: Bergenfield Police Department; Cliffside Park Police Department; Dumont Police Department; Englewood Police Department; Elmwood Park Police Department; Fort Lee Police Department; Lyndhurst Police Department; Mahwah Police Department; New Milford Police Department; Saddle River Police Department; Tenafly Police Department; and Upper Saddle River Police Department. In addition, valuable assistance was provided by Bergen County officials, including Bergen County Executive James J. Tedesco, III, and Bergen Regional Medical Center.In 2015, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Intel Unit and Narcotic Task Force analyzed overdose data as well as deployments of NARCAN, the overdose reversal drug, in
Bergen County. That analysis revealed the following with respect to 2015:
288 total reported overdoses, 231 of which were heroin/opioid-related;
87 overdose fatalities, 71 of which were heroin/opioid-related; and
187 NARCAN deployments by law enforcement officers, resulting in 170 lives saved.In 2015, the hardest hit municipalities were:
Garfield with 23 overdoses;
Lyndhurst with 20 overdoses;
Fort Lee with 15 overdoses;
Lodi with 15 overdoses; and
Cliffside Park with 14 overdoses.Similar analysis of available data for 2016 year-to-date, revealed the following:
202 reported overdoses, 158 of which were heroin/opioid overdoses; and 48 total overdose fatalities, 40 of which are believed heroin/opioid-related.

In an effort to address this issue in a novel way, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office collaborated with Bergen Regional Medical Center to set aside a number of 5-day detox beds for a one-week period for individuals arrested on drug charges, who were battling addiction. Thereafter, on August 28, 2016, members of the multiagency task force described above began enforcement actions in areas known for narcotics sales, namely heroin sales. As a result of those operations, the task force arrested the individuals reflected on the attached spreadsheet. In addition to arresting them, task force members presented the option of participating in a voluntary detox program at Bergen Regional Medical Center that was available to them. The detox program was not in lieu of criminal charges. Approximately 12 individuals have afforded themselves to the detox option, and task force officers then either transported or are presently in the process of transporting those individuals to Bergen Regional Medical Center to enter into the detox program.

Acting Bergen County Prosecutor Grewal states that the charges against the defendants identified on the attached spreadsheet 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 Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, the Bergen County Executive and Bergen Regional Medical Center, as well as all the municipal departments that participated for their assistance with this initiative.

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Reader says , “Paul Arohnson, just leave – you have been self serving and a disaster for this village”

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I have been a Ridgewood Resident for the last 22 years and bought into the town because of the schools and quaintness of the village.

I would like to know why Rich Brooks and Gail Price have not openly discussed how they plan on handling what is an obvious Conflict of Interest of being married and the effect if will have on decisions for the town.

Secondly, Evan Weitz has only lived in town for around 3-4 years but manages to become the Chair of the Financial Advisory Committee without even serving previous time on the committee? That makes no sense to me except that he was put there for political purposes.

With regards to parking. The height of the current Plan D eliminates much of the parking on Hudson Street. Maybe if the parking stayed with the original estimates as were expressed to the voters before being voted on in November our community would not be going crazy over the height and girth of the current Plan D. It should be the current size of the footprint and Hudson street should stay the same as it currently is designed.

I believe one of the worst offenses is that all of this seems to be coming from politicians in town who seek higher offices in Bergen County. They take their lead from the Democratic Chairperson, Lou Stellato, who is a Lyndhurst resident. So I ask you, why is it we would ever want a Lyndhurst resident influencing our town. Follow the political trail and make your own decision.

As far as Roberta is concerned her allowing 600 tickets to be handed out for leaves in the street is ridiculous. Also her involvement in the local politics of the garage should never be tolerated by town counsel or our residents. She should be reprimanded or asked to leave. It is not the town according to Roberta!

And as for Paul Arohnson, just leave – you have been self serving and a disaster for this village.

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Population rebounds around train stations in New Jersey

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By CHRISTOPHER MAAG

PATERSON, N.J. (AP) — When Kevin Eleby started commuting by train to New York City in 2001, the station in downtown Paterson was nearly empty. Every morning he climbed the stairs to the platform to wait alongside three other riders.

Nearly a decade passed. A few new people started showing up. Then a few more. A few weeks ago, when his train rushed into the station at 7:39 a.m., Eleby was surrounded by a crowd of 45 people.

“This place was deserted. Now you come up here and it’s full. Look at all these people!” said Eleby, 48, a Paterson resident who works in information technology for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. “It’s a big change,” he told The Record (https://bit.ly/1V8CxLm).

It’s a change that’s taking place across New Jersey and in some of the nation’s largest metropolitan regions. During the housing boom of the early 2000s, New Jersey’s population grew by 2.8 percent, but car-dependent suburbs saw their populations grow by 4.1 percent, according to a study by Tim Evans, research director at New Jersey Future, which advocates for transit-oriented development.

Meanwhile, neighborhoods within a half-mile of a transit station barely grew at all.

Then came the 2008 recession — and a major shift in population and commuting patterns.

Statewide, population growth slowed, dropping to 1.5 percent from 2008 through 2014, the latest year for which data is available. Car-oriented suburbs grew at roughly the same rate.

But during the same period, transit-oriented neighborhoods saw their population surge. Since the recession, they have accounted for 38.3 percent of the population growth in New Jersey, Evans found.

“It’s really dramatic, actually, how little these transit places were growing before 2008 and now they’re growing really quickly,” Evans said. “And the outlying counties that were the locus of sprawl are now losing population.

In Bergen and Passaic counties, many older suburbs grew up along train lines, and many newer ones are dependent on cars. That means the change in population patterns is not as stark here as elsewhere around the state, Evans said.

Yet the pattern holds. Most car-based municipalities in North Jersey continued to grow after 2008, but at a slower pace than before the recession, Evans said. Places like Montvale, Cresskill, Upper Saddle River in Bergen County; Wanaque in Passaic County; and Pompton Plains in Morris County all saw their growth rates stagnate.

But many transit-oriented neighborhoods grew. In Bergen County, Fair Lawn, Lyndhurst, Garfield, Ridgewood and Glen Rock all went from losing population before the recession to gaining population since 2008.

https://www.hastingstribune.com/population-rebounds-around-train-stations-in-new-jersey/article_ff935216-b5aa-523a-b990-256991a56ce6.html

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RHS Hockey team returns to Bergen tournament

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JANUARY 15, 2016    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016, 12:31 AM
BY GREG TARTAGLIA
SPORTS EDITOR |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Ridgewood High School gets much better odds playing the numbers 1-13-16 on the ice than in Powerball.

Those digits represent the date of the Maroons’ latest Bergen County hockey tournament victory, a 5-1 decision over Paramus/Lyndhurst/Hackensack Wednesday at the Ice Vault in Wayne.

The date of Ridgewood’s last prior county win? Jan. 16, 2013 (1-16-13) over Mahwah in the opening round. The team dropped its 2014 opener to Tenafly and did not qualify in 2015 following a slow start to the season.

This year’s first-round triumph gives the No. 8-seed Maroons a quarterfinal match-up with No. 2 St. Joseph tonight at the Ice Vault. RHS defeated the Green Knights to reach the 2012 semifinals, its furthest advancement in the tourney’s five-season history.

Senior Cooper Telesco led the offense against No. 9 Paramus/Lyndhurst/Hackensack (7-4-1) with two goals and one assist. He was one of four different Maroons to light the lamp in the third period, along with Ryan Carius, Liam Seston and Justin Klatsky.

Klatsky, Matt Cafarella, J.P. Kelly and Tim Anzano added an assist apiece, and goalie David Woodford made 26 saves as RHS moved to 9-3-1.

The win was welcomed after the Maroons sustained their first loss of the calendar year last Saturday, 6-2 against Big North Patriot foe River Dell/Westwood.

Ridgewood began 2016 by topping Clifton, 10-3 on Jan. 2, and RD/Westwood, 8-2 on Jan. 3. After splitting the season series with the latter, the team was 5-1 in the division, good for first place over the Golden Hawks (3-1-1).

https://www.northjersey.com/sports/high-school-sports/boys-ice-hockey/maroons-back-in-bergen-tourney-1.1492244

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Police investigating Oradell bank robbery

Glen Rock Hudson City

Hudson City Saving in Glen Rock file photo by Boyd Loving

DECEMBER 29, 2015, 11:24 AM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2015, 1:15 PM
BY STEFANIE DAZIO
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

ORADELL — Police are investigating a bank robbery on Kinderkamack Road Tuesday morning where about $8,300 was stolen.

The Oradell robbery was the latest in a string of recent crimes at  locations in Bergen County.

The man walked into the bank around 10:10 a.m., placed a black bag on the counter and told a teller to fill it up with cash, Capt. William Wicker said.

The man said he had a weapon, but did not say what it was or show it, Wicker said. Surveillance footage showed that he did not appear to have a weapon, Wicker said. The suspect fled on foot.

The man is described as black, 5’8” and 175 pounds and about 30 years old. He was wearing a black knitted hat, a gray sweatshirt, a gold scarf and khaki pants, Wicker said.

Authorities are investigating if Tuesday’s crime was related to bank robberies at Hudson City branches across the county in recent months. On Dec. 3, a man walked into a Lyndhurst branch in the Lewandowski Commons shopping center and told a teller to fill up a bag he’d brought with money.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/police-investigating-oradell-bank-robbery-1.1481748

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North Jersey Drought Spreads

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North Jersey water officers not able to chill out bans – Surroundings – NorthJersey

By Observer Staff on September 19, 2015

The rain that fell on North Jersey final Thursday and a spritz over the weekend helped the area’s reservoirs – however solely barely.

The three-reservoir system operated by United Water alongside the Hackensack River has recovered to about 49 % of capability – up from 45 % final week, the utility firm stated.

The opposite main reservoir within the area, the Wanaque, hovered at 55 % capability Tuesday.

However with not a drop of rain within the forecast properly into subsequent week, the voluntary and obligatory restrictions that water utilities have carried out in current weeks stay in impact.

“Whereas we’ve got been graced with some aid, it is crucial for patrons to proceed to make use of water correctly, as our reservoirs nonetheless want further water,” stated Steve Goudsmith, a United Water spokesman.

Over the previous 60 days, Bergen County has had 2.5 inches of rain, a few quarter of the historic common for the interval. Passaic County has had three.2 inches, a deficit of 5.6 inches.

Even that rain has been hit-or-miss. From Thursday by means of the weekend, Haworth had 2.41 inches of rain whereas Lyndhurst, just some miles away, had about half that a lot.

“It was undoubtedly spotty,” stated Bob Ziff with the North Jersey Climate Observers. “My garden nonetheless seems three-quarters lifeless. It is like straw.”

New Jersey’s northern counties – together with the southern Hudson Valley, coastal Connecticut and Lengthy Island – are in a average drought, in line with federal climate officers. The remainder of New Jersey is taken into account abnormally dry.

 

 

https://www.jacksonobserver.com/north-jersey-water-officials-not-ready-to-relax-bans-environment-northjersey/5927/

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New Ridgewood operations director hits the ground running

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AUGUST 19, 2015    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2015, 9:58 AM
BY MARK KRULISH
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

The Village of Ridgewood has a new director of Operations on board with the hiring of Rich Calbi, a longtime municipal engineer with a background in running public utilities.

A native of Lyndhurst, Calbi has his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and master’s degree in environmental engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He also has a professional engineering license and professional planning license. Calbi is also a certified public works manager and municipal engineer.

Calbi takes over for Frank Moritz, who retired from the post at the end of June.

Aside from serving as the head of Ridgewood Water, Calbi also takes over the director of Operations role, which includes oversight of departments such as recycling, fleet and sanitation.

The announcements of Calbi’s hiring and Moritz’s retirement took place on the same evening, May 27. Calbi started working for the village a few days before Moritz left to ensure a smooth transition during the changeover in personnel.

Calbi began his career working for the Army Corps of Engineers, specifically on the Passaic River Flood Tunnel project, which never came to fruition. He spent five-and-a-half years in the private sector doing flood abatement, storm water management and system design before going to work for local governments.

He started in the public sector in Clifton as the assistant township engineer before becoming the engineer in Maplewood Township in Essex County. Most recently, Calbi was the township engineer in Livingston, where he was also in charge of the Division of Public Works and Water Utility.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/new-operations-director-hits-the-ground-running-1.1394521

 

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South Bergen towns sue COAH, seek protection from litigation

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JULY 23, 2015    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2015, 12:32 AM
BY KELLY NICHOLAIDES
STAFF WRITER |
SOUTH BERGENITE

The municipalities of Carlstadt, East Rutherford, Lyndhurst and Rutherford have filed lawsuits in Superior Court against the Council on Affordable Housing and Mt. Laurel ruling.

The municipalities seek declaratory judgment granting temporary immunity from exclusionary zoning lawsuits also known as builder’s remedy lawsuits, five months to complete an updated affordable housing methodology and judgment of compliance and repose, the documents read.

The COAH process has inundated courts since the agency failed to adopt new third round regulations. COAH third-round obligations from 2004 were challenged in 2007, with the Appellate Division invalidating various aspects of regulations, and a revised third round was published in 2008, only to have amendments added. The transfer of jurisdiction to the courts later showed that the growth-share methodology was invalid, and COAH should use methodologies adopted in the first and second rounds. COAH deadlocked on adopting revised third-round regulations, and the Fair Share Housing Center filed a motion to enforce litigants’ rights. The court ruled COAH’s administrative process non-functional, and allowed developers to go directly to court bypassing the agency — setting up towns for lawsuits from builders.

Although municipalities had until July 8 to submit their affordable housing plan to the court, East Rutherford, along with at least 70 municipalities, is asking for a five-month extension from the date of the court ruling and opted to hire experts to come up with a new methodology to calculate fair share housing since COAH failed to adopt revised regulations. The towns hired Robert W. Burchell and Rutgers, in a Municipal Shared Services Defense Agreement to prepare a statewide fair share affordable housing analysis to be undertaken by Rutgers and Burchell. Burchell will analyze any challenges to the Initial Fair Share Analysis and prepare a rebuttal report for the court

https://www.northjersey.com/news/towns-sue-for-5-month-coah-plan-extension-1.1379122

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Mitchell: Bergen County Needs ‘Two-Party System’

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Note for the editor : John actually the GOP needs to offer some competitive ideas on how to run the county , not just be the party of  “Democrat Lite “

LYNDHURST—John Mitchell, a challenger in Bergen County’s race for the Board of Chosen Freeholders said he is running for reelection in November for two reasons: 1. He wants to bring Bergen County back to a two party system and 2. He believes his budget methodology can benefit residents of Bergen County. (Alfaro/PolitickerNJ)

Mitchell: Bergen County Needs ‘Two-Party System’ | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis

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NJ Transit Votes “Yes” to first Fare increase in 5 years effective October 1st

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The board also adopted a fare and service plan which includes an average 9% increase in fares

NJ TRANSIT ADOPTS FISCAL YEAR 2016 OPERATING AND CAPITAL BUDGETS

NEWARK, NJ — The NJ TRANSIT Board of Directors today adopted a Fiscal Year 2016 (FY 2016) operating budget and capital program that supports continued investments in infrastructure and equipment to maintain the system in a state of good repair and enhance the overall customer experience.

The board also adopted a fare and service plan which includes an average 9% increase in fares, with no customer paying more than 9.4% after rounding, and modest changes for rail and bus service.

“NJ TRANSIT is moving forward with a balanced budget that reflects a laser-like look at individual business lines in order to maximize efficiencies and maintain a safe transportation system,” NJ TRANSIT Executive Director Veronique “Ronnie” Hakim, said. “As transit professionals, we owed our customers and stakeholders a good-faith effort to present them a solid plan that had the least impact on our riders.  After much hard work, I am confident we delivered on that.”

The Board adopted a $2.116 billion operating budget and a $2.099 billion capital program for the fiscal year that started July 1, 2015.

Nearly half of the revenue in the FY 2016 operating budget comes from fares ($1.005 billion), supported by a comparable amount from state and federal program reimbursements ($961.8 million) with the balance from a combination of commercial revenues ($115.2 million) and state operating assistance ($33.2 million).

The capital program funds continued state-of-good-repair investments in transit stations and infrastructure supports an ongoing fleet modernization program and advances service reliability, safety and technology initiatives.

Operating Budget

The FY 2016 operating budget reflects an increase of state funding along with a stable level of federal and other reimbursements, which will enable NJ TRANSIT to meet the agency’s projected expenses this fiscal year.  Approximately 59 percent of the operating budget is dedicated to labor and fringe benefits costs.  Other significant expenses include contracted transportation services, fuel and power and materials, which together comprise approximately 27 percent of the operating budget.

This year’s operating budget reflects a $76.7 million (8.3 percent) growth in passenger revenue, based on the fare adjustment and ridership trends. Overall passenger revenue and commercial revenue represents approximately 53 percent of the total FY 2016 operating program.

Capital Program

The FY 2016 capital program continues to prioritize investment in infrastructure to maintain an overall state of good repair, enhance safety and reliability, and improve the overall customer experience on the system.

The program continues to invest in upgrades to the Northeast Corridor (NEC),
the agency’s most utilized rail line.  The NEC is allocated $61 million in FY 2016 as part of NJ TRANSIT’s ten-year, $1 billion Northeast Corridor investment program.

Highlights of the program include $82 million in rail station improvements:  $27 million for Summit Station improvements, $14 million for Elizabeth Station enhancements, $6 million for Perth Amboy Station improvements and high-level platform construction, $4 million for Newark Penn Station upgrades, $4 million to reconstruct Lyndhurst Station to make it accessible to persons with disabilities and $2 million for New Brunswick Station improvements.

The program also supports continued investment in rolling stock renewal, with $87 million invested in rail rolling stock improvements and $40 million toward the purchase of new buses.

In addition, the program is undertaking approximately $913 million in major capital projects that will help advance NJ TRANSIT’s resiliency to extreme weather events.

NJ TRANSITGRID, which will serve as an electrical micro-grid capable of supplying highly reliable power when the centralized power grid is compromised, is being funded through this effort as well as other projects including Delco Lead Train Safe Haven Storage and Service Restoration, Hoboken Long Slip Fill and Rail Enhancement, Train Controls Resiliency, and Raritan River Drawbridge Replacement.

Funding is also provided for technology and security upgrades, local programs, and rail, bus and light rail infrastructure improvements.

Approximately 42 percent of the capital budget comes from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Sandy Resiliency funds, with the balance coming from federal and other sources including 22% from the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF).

Fare and Service Adjustments

Throughout the past five years, NJ TRANSIT held the line on fare increases while maintaining high quality services and implementing new customer amenities including MyTix, Departurevision, and MyBus Now.

However, costs such as contract services – Access Link, the organization’s paratransit service, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and private carriers – and workers’ compensation, general liability insurance, healthcare and benefits, and pensions have steadily risen. As a result, NJ TRANSIT was left with a significant budget gap.

Although NJ TRANSIT identified more than $40 million in reductions in overtime, fuel savings, energy and vehicle parts efficiencies, the agency still faced an approximate $56 million budget gap for the 2016 fiscal year. To close the gap, fare and service adjustments were proposed and now approved. The fare adjustment will go into effect on October 1st.

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North Jersey home sales are up, but prices flat, in the spring selling season

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JUNE 28, 2015    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2015, 6:48 AM
BY KATHLEEN LYNN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

Tom Andes put his mother’s Lyndhurst house on the market in late March — and had three offers after the first open house.

Andes sees a couple of reasons for the quick action: a low supply of homes on the market and a demand for properties that are an easy commute to New York City. And, he said, “we asked the right price” — $295,000.

Andes’ experience sums up some of the major trends of the spring market — a market that continues to recover from the worst housing downturn since World War II. The number of sales is up, as a stronger economy draws more first-time buyers — a population that largely had been unwilling or unable to buy — back into the market. And inventories are tight.

But buyers are still wary about overpaying, leaving median prices unchanged for the past year.

“Buyers are very price-conscious,” said George Rosko of Better Homes and Gardens Coccia Realty in Lyndhurst, who was the listing agent on the Andes house. “If you’re overpriced, people drive by.”

The spring selling season is an important barometer of the housing market because spring is when many buyers come out, in hopes of being in their new home by the time school starts in the fall. Several North Jersey agents say the winter’s cold, snowy weather delayed the start of spring activity.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/sales-up-prices-flat-for-spring-1.1364642

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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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NJ entrepreneurs seek TV “Sharks” attention

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APRIL 11, 2015    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2015, 1:21 AM

BY HUGH R. MORLEY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

* Local entrepreneurs lay out their case to be on CNBC show

Lisa Nejjar had one last weapon to wield in her effort to woo the young reality TV casting agent from the CNBC show “Shark Tank” sitting at the table in front of her.

Nejjar, a 41-year-old former nurse from Lyndhurst, had laid out on the table a dozen samples of her company’s product — a stretchy waist band called a “fusion belt” — that can hold keys, money and other items while the wearer exercises.

In fast-paced patter, she had touted her $60,000 in sales since launching the product eight months ago, her new partnership with another waistband maker, the fact that she had “sunk all my 401(k) into it”; and her three patents. She even offered the agent a couple of free samples.

“And I’m Italian and from New Jersey,” she added, alluding to the prevalence of people from that demographic in reality TV shows, and laughed a little self-consciously. “I’ve got to push.”

Nejjar won’t know for a while if she makes it onto the show, but there was no shortage of hopefuls like her at Rutgers Business School in Newark Friday, when the show held auditions for its upcoming season, its seventh.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/small-business/hoping-to-bait-sharks-1.1306998