Bloomfield Neighborhood Association Committee

Summary of Saturday, May 20, 2006 Minutes:

Councilwoman Janice Maly informs us that we now have full budgeting for both a part-time station manager, which will evidently be put out to bid through the engineer's  department, and the necessary video equipment to be mounted in both the council and conference chambers. The newly evolving cable committee has some very good members, including Marete Wester, a former BOE candidate, and Darryl Love, a highly skilled TV producer for NBC. Janice publicly promised that the tech position would go to someone approved by the cable committee and NOT be a nepotistic hire.  We were informed that this could happen as early as September. One thing that would be very helpful is if we write letters to mayor, council and Louise Palagano, Town Administrator, asking that they do whatever is necessary to expedite getting the station up and running.

Bloomfield needs to brace for its biggest building boom since WWII.  We really need to provide the public with an opportunity to tune into all public meetings, especially planning and zoning.

Martin was full of inspiring stories about his quest to peel open government, but his efforts are very well documented in this website: http://www.njsunshinelaw.com (Contributed by Mary Shaughnessy.)

Minutes 3/5/05

In attendance:  Shane Berger, Judy Chin, Geoffrey Cove, Howard Falk , Teri Gatto, Nick Joanow, Larry Kramer, Frances Laudati,  Mary Shaughnessy, Jackie Parisi, Paul Russo, Rebecca Shaw, Sally Singer, Emily Smith, Susana Sotillo, Nancy Sussmann, Carolyn Vadala, Mark Wilet, and Ed Zilinski.  Meeting chaired by Nabeelah Abdul-Ghafur.

The meeting started at 10:10a.m. There were 20 neighborhood association representatives  in attendance. Nabeelah greeted everyone and thanked them for caring about the town as shown by their willingness to attend a Saturday meeting.

Agenda items that were addressed:  (1) Identification of individual organizations: Introductions, updates, and goals of each organization per the discretion of each group.  (2) Goals and objectives of the Bloomfield Neighborhood Associations Committee (Where is the organization going?  What do we want to accomplish? And should we change or objectives or continue as before?)

The next two BNAC meetings are scheduled for April 16^th and May 21^st.  

Reports:  Emily Smith, representing the Williamson Clarendon Neighborhood Association told the group that there is a preponderance of social service organizations in her area.  Hazel Crest, a former nursing home which became a residential facility and is now a boarding house, continues to create problems for owners of single family houses in this area.  Another problem agency is Oxford house, a center for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts.   Residents are very concerned because there are a lot of large mansions in this area that are being bought up or rented by social service agencies to the detriment of the neighborhood.  The Town’s residential code has not been enforced properly, and these social agencies are violating existing code ordinances.  The behavior of residents of these illegal boarding houses is disrupting local residential life.

Nancy Sussmann, who also lives on Williams St., reported that her group is working with the Hazel Crest rooming house, and that the attorneys her group has retained are working against this former nursing home.  There are lots of transient individuals in this neighborhood.  It is a matter of serious concern for all residents and homeowners.  Illegal boarding houses are cropping up all over town.  Another problem in her area is the developers who are trying to build 18-unit townhouses on a tiny lot, between Walnut St. and Hazel Avenue, where two small buildings stood.  The Williamson-Clarendon residents are very concerned because 18-unit townhouses are not the best use of a tiny piece of land.  Four parking spaces are projected for each townhouse in this strip of land.  This is not a healthy use of township land. Community members are very concerned about these developments. In order to build these townhouses, the developers will need a zoning variance.

Shane Berger, who lives across from the LaMonica Funeral Home, spoke about his neighborhood association and the recent problems they have been experiencing. Their organization meets in a private park, Berkeley Heights Park.  There are about 20 homes in this area.  Their biggest problem is with speeders in the Berkeley area.  They are trying to buy speed bumps in order to put a stop to the senseless speeding that takes place in their community.  Since they live right next to Lynne’s Infinity auto dealership, they are concerned with a recent increase in crime.  Shane is going to find out how much these speed bumps cost because they do not want to wait until a child is severely injured before the police and town officials take action.  There are also lots of senior citizens who are terrified to go out because of the speeding problems. 

The next speaker was Frances Laudati who is very active with the Lowell Terrace Neighborhood Association.  Her neighbor, Sally Singer, also lives in Lowell Terrace and had attended this meeting as an observer. 

Howard Falk with Peace Action represents the feelings of a large group of the Bloomfield and county population who are against the involvement of the US government’s War in  Iraq.  His group has been protesting this war for the past two years.   He informed the group that at least 15,000 soldiers have been seriously wounded in action.   Peace Action is still protesting against the war every Sunday at 7:00 p.m. in front of the Bloomfield Public Library.  They are also meeting with Brookdale Park residents who want to put up a memorial  plaque to honor the memory of one of their neighbors who was killed in the 9/11 massacre.  They support this initiative.

Susana Sotillo informed the group that a representative group from the Halcyon Park Neighborhood Association met with Chief Michael Sisco and two of his Captains in order to find ways of preventing teenage vandalism and to discourage individuals from hanging out in the park after hours.  Halcyon Park residents want to be able to work closely with the police department and arrange for character building and leadership workshops that would help teenagers become involved in constructive activities. 

Paul Russo reported that his neighborhood has changed considerably.  He has seen a tremendous turnover over in the last few months.  Paul also reported that his students at Bloomfield College are working closely with the Township and with Essex County to assess the present status of the Brownfields that need to be researched and identified before putting them up for sale. A Brownfield is a commercial or industrial property that is either abandoned or underutilized because it is or may be contaminated.  For example, the Westinghouse site is one such area.  Eight students from Bloomfield College are currently doing field work trying to find out what the level of contamination is and what steps are being taken to clean it up.  If this site is cleared, it will be listed on the New Jersey Web site for the world to bid on.  One can find more information at http://www.njsitemart.com.   This Internet site gives all the information about the program.

He also mentioned the upcoming planning board meeting, which is scheduled for March 22nd.

Ed Zilinski, a member of the Bloomfield Board of Education, attended the BNAC meeting as an observer.  He wanted to find out what BNAC was planning for the coming months.  In response to a question from those in attendance who wanted to know if we could plan after-school activities for our youth in facilities owned by the School Board, Mr. Zilinski indicated that the gyms are available for neighborhood children, but as the construction of the school progresses, all kinds of activities are being shifted to the middle school.   The gyms are available on a first come-first served basis.  Security and custodial care may be a problem.  You need a supervisor for teenagers and young children.   People may need to supply their own custodial staff.  Nabeelah asked whether principals themselves organize after-school activities. 

The group was reminded that Board of Education elections are coming up in April.  Someone asked Mr. Zelinski whether they could survey the students about what activities they would want to see in schools. They may want to start specific programs for students. 

The next speaker was Jackie Parisi.  She represents the Newark Avenue Neighborhood Association.  She has had such a hard time organizing her neighbors and getting town officials to cooperate with her.  The most important issues she and her neighbors face are speeding and illegal parking.  She did not receive help from former Lt. Flanagan with respect to traffic problems.  Jackie pointed out that the traffic light on the corner of Newark Ave and Franklin Street is on a very dangerous corner.  She would like the town to put up a sign warning motorists to slow down.  There have been many accidents at this traffic light.  Another problem has been created with the opening of Dunkin Donuts. Lynne’s Infinity recently purchased the short stop dinner and now the houses near this Dunkin Donuts store are awash in litter.  People just throw their trash in front of homeowners’ yards.  

Terry Gatto introduced herself as a member of Lowell Terrace.  She is interested in making Bloomfield a great town because one of her daughters just moved here and another one would also like to do so.  She wants to maintain the quality of life in her neighborhood and across town.

Larry Kramer came as a representative of Clark’s Pond.  He has been actively involved in many activities on behalf of Clark’s Pond.  Recently, they obtained a million and a half dollars in funds to dredge the pond.  They are under pressure to do things fast, but that is proving problematic.  They are also working with Bloomfield’s BOE about the work that needs to be done in the soccer field, for which they will be getting $25,000 -$30,000 in Green Acres funds.  They have partnered with other groups to preserve large parts of the green, and their work with the Nature Preserve is vital for the implementation of the Greenway.  Larry reminded the group that there is a planting season coming up and invites everyone to become involved in this rite of spring. Mary Shaughnessy suggested doing something with the middle school since they are next to Clark' s pond.  The school system should sponsor some educational and preservation programs.  Paul Russo reminded those in attendance that for the $100,000 grant, an in-kind contribution from the town is stipulated.  He also suggested that Clark’s pond invite the Eagle Scouts to help with the cleaning up. 

Jeff Goldman, a member of the Third River Bank Association, mentioned that he is interested in starting a Broad Street Neighborhood Association because residents in this part of town have issues that affect their quality of life, such as code enforcement, tree planting, and speeding.  He would like to see a variety of trees planted in this area.  This area is similar to Paul’s Broad Street Terrace group in that there is a huge population turnover in the area.

Judy Chin came to the BNAC meeting because she read Mary’s letter in the newspapers.  She wanted to find out about the various neighborhood associations.  Judy lives on Watsessing Avenue, near the Westinghouse site.  She was horrified to learn that WalMart is thinking about opening a store on the former Westinghouse site.  A lot of her neighbors feel the same way.  Nabeelah thanked Judy for her interest in the neighborhood associations and encouraged her to attend future meetings.

Nick Joanow, with the Bloomfield Third River Bank Association mentioned two important issues:  The proposed WalMart store in the town’s third ward, and the Bloomfield Police Accreditation proposal. Police accreditation evaluation reviews police departments on 146 different guidelines relating to administration, standard operating procedure, facilities and record keeping. This program, run by the police chiefs, would cost the township about $5000.00 annually, but the 5 percent decrease in insurance costs would more than cover this figure, according to Chief Sisco. Nick explained the process to the BNAC group and said that two townships have already been granted accreditation.  

Concerning Walmart, Nick explained that big box stores destroyed neighborhoods and small businesses.  In our case, it would be catastrophic for the redevelopment of the town.  There are other options available for the use of the Westinghouse site, such as mixed commercial development or the construction of a recreation center.  There are about 48,000 citizens, young and older, in this town that need a place to meet. 

Someone asked a question about the former South Junior High and was told that the owners of this property are willing to work with the Greenway group and preserve green space for future tenants. 

Nick also spoke about the process of globalization and the growth of Walmart.  Stopping WalMart will only come about through citizen intervention.  There are seven council members.  Of these, four are against this development, but others are for it.  There is a bill pending on the Assembly that will limit the size of big box stores.  It would be against our interests as a town to support a WalMart.

Mary Shaughnessy reported that her group was able to defeat the construction of a cell tower in their neighborhood. 

Regarding the Third River, one of the owners of the property is negotiating with the DEP in order to get clearance to build in this area.  Bloomfield Township will buy one of the properties with monies from a land trust fund thanks to community mobilization.  The Third River Group will be able to preserve this beautiful land.  They are working with the developer and trying to keep the land from being irresponsibly developed. 

The Historic Association will be joining Mary to work on the preservation of the green in town.  Mary Shaughnessy wants the town to televise all meetings.  They should be shown on public access cable so that all Bloomfield residents can be kept informed.  At least 60% of the residents are not aware of all the redevelopments taking place in  town.

Rebecca Shaeffer talked about having a Webcast rather than cable because not everyone can afford cable, but everyone is on the Internet.

Carolyn Vadala was thrilled to be in attendance because she felt re-energized.  Her original issues had been the contamination of the Westinghouse area and she had sponsored several meetings for all residents at the Civic Center.  She was very happy to see so many new faces at our meeting.  Carolyn feels that we need to get teenagers involved in the re-energizing of this town.  Over the past couple of years, Felton field has been redone and now the problem is parking.  For people to use the park, they need to be able to park somewhere.   Carolyn has been in this town for 45 years, and remembers fondly how everyone worked together as a community.  At one point, the town was receiving four million dollars in recreation funds.  They had lots of activities for youngsters, including Olympic tournaments sponsored by the Recreation Dept.  At present, even though the Recreation Dept. centralizes all summer programs, there is really nothing for teenagers who want to use the facilities.  She wants more activities developed in the playground on Floyd Avenue, opposite Felton Field. One of her dreams is to see the Westinghouse site developed as a 14-acre recreation center, with lots of green space, for all of Bloomfield to enjoy.

Carolyn also mentioned that there are polluters in that area, (e.g., Hertz Co).  There are lots of opportunities for the town to develop this area.  There is also a problem with rats because of the recycling facility around the corner from where she lives.  She encourages the local people to get in touch with the Mayor, and for this Mayor to hold Saturday meetings, as the former mayor Bukowski used to do.  Carolyn would welcome encouragement from others to push these ideas forward.

Nabeelah concluded the meeting by explaining the activities of the North End Coalition.  There was a celebration at New Light Church to honor the legacy and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 19. Many township and county elected officials attended. She said that in her presentation she advised them that another year had passed and the Bloomfield schools and the municipal offices remained open on this national holiday. In the past, there were always claims that township unions were the ones who decided which holidays would be a day off from work. They in turn denied this.  The good news is that, next year, according to Ed Zelinski, employees will have both Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday and Columbus Day off.                                  

Nabeelah also noted a lot of population turnover in her area.  It was a very stable part of Bloomfield for at least 40 years, but as children inherited their parents’ houses, they sold them and moved away.  Now many of the houses in this area are being bought by and rented to a more transient population.  This does not encourage the formation of neighborhood groups.  Broughton Avenue and this entire area is experiencing change. Several residents have requested speed bumps in this area on the streets leading to the tennis courts at Clark’s Pond South. Emily Smith made a recommendation about installing cameras to take pictures of violators as they speed by.

Jackie Parisi asked the group to consider inviting the Chief of Police to the next meeting in order to discuss all these issues.  Shane Berger suggested that we take action and stop complaining because the town has big town problems but is being run by some individuals with a small-town mentality.

Concerning the Recycling Committee, $8,000 was appropriated by the town and signs have been put up pointing toward the Grove St. recycling center.  It has not all been used. Recycling is a budget line item and therefore must be done. More money is needed in order to encourage recycling across town through advertising.  Jane Califf has worked diligently, doing this work much of the time alone.

Mark Wilet from Ivanhoe Terrace, north of the ShopRite, came to learn and to try to organize a neighborhood association. 

Nick Joanow suggested inviting council candidates to discuss many of the issues presented by BNAC members.

Nabeelah concluded the meeting by remarking that she is pleased with the direction in which this organization is moving. It was suggested that we advertise the meetings two weeks in advance, and that we upload the agenda items to the Web.  Nabeelah also suggested that BNAC may want to become a clearinghouse of issues that affect all of the town’s neighborhoods.  Mary Shaughnessy reminded those in attendance that we should be able to disagree in a civil way, and that we don't have to speak with one voice.  However, the overriding concern for all is the quality of life and economic stability of the town.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:15 p.m.  The next BNAC meeting is scheduled for Saturday, April 16^th.  Police Chief Sisco has been invited to attend this meeting. We will meet in the Art room, at Bloomfield College’s library.  Nancy Sussmann will chair this meeting.   On Saturday, May 21^st, Shane Berger will be chairing the BNAC meeting.  One more meeting has been proposed for July 9^th to be chaired by Peace Action.

Respectfully Submitted,

Susana Sotillo ,
Halcyon Park Neighborhood Association

(Minutes missing for Fall 2004)

Bloomfield Neighborhood Associations Committee  

May 22, 2004

Dear Neighbors--Today's BNAC meeting was lively indeed. Here's an brief roundup:

Thess and Anne Prince hosted the meeting and offered a full roster of events for the summer, including the official unveiling to the Watsessing Park Conservancy, which will take place on July 3 at the park with music, festivities and assorted county and local officials. Anne, Thess, would you kindly post other public events that WHNA or the conservancy group will be sponsoring over the summer months. Kudos to you all for bringing your long awaited dream to fruition. The subject of parks and open space continues to hold a great deal of interest for members of the BNAC and there was some discussion that we are due for a meeting exclusively devoted to that subject. Anybody interested in chairing that meeting?

Nick Joanow (BTRA and Open Space Committee member) distributed a letter from Evelyn Reid inviting members of the public to attend the Weds., June 9, 7:30 p.m. hearing in council chambers regarding public input for the pending Open Space master plan. Interested parties are urged to attend. Morris Land Conservancy, which has been contracted by the township to create the plan, will be in attendence to guide us through the process and to answer questions and consider suggestions. Nick also outlined an upcoming meeting between the township, the new owners of South Junior High and the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission to work out the details of a cooperative arrangement that will lead to the renovation of the Morris Canal tow path along the Second River between Newark Avenue and Wrights Field, a lovely 75 x 1000 foot stretch of wooded property that kicks off the BTRA's campaignto encourage support for implementing greenways along township-owned land bordering the Second and Third Rivers. We'll let you know the outcome of this meeting at the end of June.


Paul Russo, who is a planning board member, also informed us that the planning board approved a council-supported decision to build eight two family homes on one of the parking lots of the former Peerless Tube company. Nobody showed up to oppose so it sailed through. As always, Paul continues to provide tremendous support to our neighborhood groups by helping us gain access to space at the college for our candidate forums and other ad hoc meetings--such as the one we'll be having for candidates nights. He also continues to work with our state watershed group to draw attention to our much abused rivers. Paul also reports that he is monitoring progess of the pond dredging proposal, which is moving nicely through channels. More deer ( and a doe) spotted at the pond, and Anne Prince says a couple were spotted on Maolis Ave, of all places! Waiting for a few to take up residence at the toll booth planters.

Bloomfield Peace Action, represented today by Howard Falk and Sue Mullins, is interested in launching a voter registration drive and invited other neighborhood groups to partake and distribute their literature. Details TBA. Sue also plans to pursue a request to have voter reg. cards distributed to all graduating high school seniors. This will be done without political overtures, simply a request by a citizen to get the cards into the hands of the graduates. (Since the high school allows military recruiters persistant access to our students, we are hoping that this suggestion will be acted on.) She will keep us posted. Sue also announced that BPA continues to hold Sunday night vigils in front ot the library, from 7-8 p.m. She reports that as the weeks roll by, more and more motorists offer support for the vigils by waving and honking horns.

Jackie Parisi, representing Franklin Street residents, raised the issue of possible code violations by a few different business entities, including idling buses and trucks, possible illegal use of a nearby business property to park a dozen or so large trucks near her home. The truck drivers often crank up their engines around 5 in the morning and leave them idling, which is probably a violation of noise ordinance at that hour of the day. Jackie also talked about a proposal by Lynne's car dealership, which owns the Short Stop diner at the intersection of JFK Drive and Franklin, to replace the structure with Bloomfield's fourth Dunkin Donuts. I raised the concern that this was entirely counter to the new township master plan which has marked this location--which is Bloomfield's first exit ramp off the parkway--as one of the township's main "gateways" that is earmarked for beautification in the new downtown redevelopment. Welcome to Bloomfield: Have a donut!

And finally, yours truly (aka Shaughnessy), as a BTRA member and neighborhood activist, raised discussion of the upcoming candidates night. Big topic, too little time to get into it as deeply as we wished, so we will be scheduling another meeting within the next two weeks to deal exclusively with this event. At this point, we have decided that there will be at least two debates, one for the mayoral candidates and one for the council members. While Anne Prince is advocating only one meeting for the council candidates, I am urging two because one and a half hours for a minimum of six candidates (and there may be independent candidates as well, which will add to the crush) is not nearly enough exposure time per candidate. Once you add in open and closing statements, 45 seconds for each question, two minutes for answers and another two minutes for responses, that leaves very little available time for individual candidates to reveal anything of themselves or their views. (As we all have noticed, once they get behind the mahogony rail, we rarely hear them speak.) We are also looking to open up the format, which in the past has been governed by participation from the League of Women Voters. Please come and help us organize the best candidates forums possible. We should strive for a format the shows the candidates' grasp of the issues and their ability to think on their feet. Here are some of the questions we'll mull at the next meeting: what type of moderator--political journalist or poli-sci academic--will serve us the best. (Nobody who votes in Bloomfield)...how many advance questions provided to candidates, what should they be? open floor to public at what point? Other points to discuss: methods of publicizing, flyer distribution/shared costs/ involving church and other organizations to spread the word through their meetings, newsletters, etc. And anything else you can bring to the table to make these the best-attended forums yet. I post the date of our strategy session when Paul tells me he's secured space at the college.

Please forgive if I've left out stuff we discussed; if so, hit reply and tell it like it is...

Regularly scheduled BNAC meetings include:

July 10: Nancy Sussman, hosting for Williamson/Hazelwood Block Assn.

August 21: Carolyn Vadala (Bloomfield Land-Use Forum Network_

Oct. 2: Susan Mullins (Bloomfield Peace Action)...

Regards,

Mary Shaughnessy