February 7, 2018 • www.theobserver.com • Vol. CXXX, No. 39
HIGHLIGHTS It’s tax season and The Observer has it covered
See Page 26
COVERING: BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD • EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
HUDSON TO HOLLYWOOD Kearny’s Kellyann Chippendale to screen award-winning film at KHS By Kevin Canessa kc@theobserver.com
K
Photo courtesy of Kellyann Chippendale
Kellyann Chippendale is seen accepting her Angel Award at the Monaco International Film Festival. The film that won her the award will be screened, for free, at KHS later this month.
ellyann Chippendale knew she wanted to be an actor. But living in Kearny, she knew she’d have to make a bold move and head out west to California — Los Angeles to be precise — if she ever wanted to make it big. So several years ago, she did just that, giving up everything she knew and loved in town for the bright lights of the Big City on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. Among the many things she’s done in California was
to take a class to learn the Meisner Technique of acting, a method developed by theater guru Sanford Meisner. The technique involves repetition of what an acting partner says — and it’s designed to get the actor to “get inside” the partner. It’s not about the words, but the emotions behind the words, Chippendale says. “And I loved it,” she said. So much so that she made her first feature film based on the Meisner Technique. “I wanted to show how one great teacher can impact a life See CHIPPENDALE, Page 25
Freeholders look to address HC jail mess By Ron Leir rleir@theobserver.com KEARNY — A spate of recent inmate deaths – including one immigrant detainee – at the Hudson County Jail in South Kearny has prompted internal and external
investigations. And it’s prompting second thoughts among some of the county’s legislators about Hudson’s partnership with federal immigration authorities. Under an agreement known as the 287 (g) program with U.S. Immigration &
Customs Enforcement (ICE), the jail houses several hundred immigrant detainees, for which it receives about $21 million a year. On Jan. 18, Cynthia Acosta, 34, became the sixth inmate to die while in jail custody since early 2016. Inmate Dominick J. Ramunni, 41,
died three days before that. The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office responded to both incidents involving Acosta and Ramunni and HCPO spokesman Ray Worrall confirmed that the HCPO is See JAIL, Page 26
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THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2018
Body cams to KPD? Maybe By Ron Leir rleir@theobserver.com KEARNY — Members of Kearny’s Finest are already equipped with enough hardware to weigh down a camel. Inside their patrol vehicles, for example, are radio communications, computers to check for active warrants, stolen vehicles, etc., or punch out motor vehicle tickets and vehiclemounted cameras that can be activated to record MV stops and/or crime scenes. But what they don’t yet have – in contrast with big-city PDs like New York, Baltimore and San Diego –
are body-worn cameras. Still, on Jan. 23, the municipal governing body authorized acceptance of a $12,000 grant received under the “federal 2016 BodyWorn Camera Assistance Program” administered by the N.J. Department of Law and Public Safety. Does that mean that the KPD is on the path to expanded technology? Not necessarily, said Chief George King, when asked about the chances of the department taking on that technical infrastructure. In July 2015, the N.J. Attorney General’s Office issued a 24-page direc-
tive establishing “uniform statewide standards” for using body cams “while permitting departmental policies to address local concerns, but, at the same time, the AG acknowledged that its rulebook “does not mandate the acquisition or deployment of BWCs.” Instead, decisions about whether to get them, when and where to use them and if and when recordings may be publicly access “is left to each law enforcement agency,” the AG noted. King told The Observer the KPD is “continuing to research” all the ramifications associated with the specialty cameras.
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The KPD may purchase body cams similar to the one worn by this South Carolina police officer.
“We’re looking at the costs and things like whether to go with the cloud or on-site storage [of recordings],” the chief said. As noted by the website GCN Technology, Tools and Tactics for Public Sector IT, for medium-sized police departments with up to 250 officers, “the major issue [weighing on whether or not to acquire the cameras] is cost – not just for the actual cameras, but for handling the data the cameras produce. “The demands for video storage are unprecedented for many police departments, which don’t have enough space on servers or hard drives to store the additional data. Storage costs can reach up to $2 million annually for a police department …” By accepting the funding for a limited number of BWCs, King said, “we’re not obligating ourselves yet” to actually go out and buy them. “We’ve actually met with vendors and discussed a possible
pilot program,” he added. For now, though, the department and the town are simply exercising good policy by conditionally accepting the money and – if the decision is not to go forward at this time – return it, King said. In nearby Nutley, township officials are also taking a cautionary approach to the new police technology. Public Safety Commissioner Alphonse Petracco said he’s recommended that the PD “hold off” before tapping into the outside funding resources being allocated for purchase of the cameras. “Those grants come with strings attached,” Petracco said, “because of the extra costs involved with software, costs for the man-hours required to review the tapes and so forth.” Given the limited amount of local dollars available, it’s probably prudent not to jump into a new technology without knowing what the ultimate financial exposure could be, Petracco added.
Inside this edition ... Opinion....................................................................8 Food & Dining Directory.............................................12 Sports & Recreation...................................................13 Health & Wellness Directory.......................................17 Real Estate..............................................................18 Real Estate Directory................................................20 Obituaries...............................................................21 Classifieds...............................................................22 Business Directory....................................................25 Tax Time.................................................................26
THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2018
03
Four Chaplains remembered at St. Stephen’s Mass
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everal hundred parishioners, veterans, dignitaries and family members of the Four Chaplains gathered at St. Stephen’s for the annual Father Washington/Four Chaplains Mass on Sunday, Feb. 4. The Mass this year marked the 75th anniversary of the four men who lost their lives on the S.S. Dorchester during World War II. The Rev. John P. Washington, one of the four, was assigned to St. Stephen’s Church as a young priest — and just prior to leaving to serve as a chaplain in the military. The Most Rev. Timothy Broglio, of the Archdiocese of Military Services, was the principal celebrant and homilist at the Mass.
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