May 23, 2018 • www.theobserver.com • Vol CXXXI, No. 2
Deadlines p. 25
CAREERS ON WHEELS COVERING: BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD • EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
Photos courtesy of Maureen Colombo
Students at Columbus Elementary School in Lyndhurst got a taste of possible future vocations as public safety, health, public works, postal and military agencies talked about their work at the school’s first ‘Careers on Wheels’ event this past Friday. Kids also enjoyed ice cream and an obstacle course bounce house.
Art show dazzles at Kearny High School By Ron Leir rleir@theobserver.com
A
wing of the South Building at Kearny High School filled with objets d’art on Wednesday, May 16. Dozens
of visitors streamed through the hallways peering at paintings and photographs mounted on walls and ceramic sculptures displayed on shelves. As they munched on pastries and refreshments, several students
ensconced in a corner of the corridor offered up light music and songs. And the artists mingled with the patrons as they nervously awaited the outcome of the judges’ deliberations. It had all the trappings of a typical Chelsea, N.Y., art gallery and why
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THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2018
Teens high on art; chalk it up to ‘the wall’ By Ron Leir rleir@theobserver.com
S
MARTBOARDS ARE all the rage these days in school classrooms nearly everywhere. But at the Belleville Public Library, the once all-toofamiliar squeaky sounds of chalk across a blackboard are much in vogue these days among the teenage (and
younger) smart set. It was almost a year ago that Mia Torres, a principal library assistant at the BPL, launched her experiment with the “Chalkboard Wall” in the library’s Teen Room. Intended as a vehicle for kids’ self-expression — and a valuable substitute for the urban malaise of disaffected teens defacing walls of buildings with distasteful
graffiti — the wall has been a productive link to local youngsters’ creative artistry. And, quicker than you can say, “Harry Potter,” its popularity among those young artists has grown only stronger with each passing fill-in wall project. “Our kids are really excited by it,” Torres maintained. Youngsters are invited to project their ideas onto
Photos courtesy of Mia Torres
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TOP: Crystal and Samantha Guzman, member of BPL Teen Advisory Board, prepare to wipe clean the wall after a recent themerelated exercise. BOTTOM: Unidentified Belleville youth gets into the swing of a famous Beatles tune reflected on ‘The Wall.’
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Winter season offered good timing for the styling of Christmas backdrops, she said. “Every month, we change the theme,” Torres said. During April, which is observed nationally as Autism Awareness Month, the wall played host to the idea of a “giant puzzle,” mimicking an autismSee CHALK, Page 25
Inside this edition ... Opinion....................................................................8 Food & Dining Directory.............................................12 Sports & Recreation...................................................13 Health & Wellness Directory.......................................17 Real Estate..............................................................18 Real Estate Directory................................................20
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the 7-foot-by-14-foot chalk wall per suggestions voiced by Torres that readily lend themselves to different types of murals that even visitors enjoy checking out. Holidays, for example, have been a useful application of translating concepts to chalkboard art, Torres said. “For Halloween,” she said, “we had kids create different types of witches’ broomsticks.”
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THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2018
03
Site plan for Starbucks, other retail approved By Ron Leir rleir@theobserver.com
T
wo new retail businesses will be coming to Passaic Avenue and a mixed-use project is in the works for an industrial park site on the east side of town. The Kearny Planning Board voted May 15 to grant site plan approval for a Starbucks coffee shop with a drive-thru at 143 Passaic Ave., to be developed by Kearny Leasing UE LLC. At the same meeting, the board also approved an application for site plan approval and variances filed by Kearny Holding UE LLC for construction of a 19,700 square foot building just north of the Marshalls department store at 175 Passaic Ave. That building will be occupied by an Ulta cosmetics shop and space has been reserved for an additional retail operation yet to be designated.
Board members also signed off on site plan approval sought by Jeryl Industrial Park LLC/Alessi Org. Dev./Ridge Crossing 1 Urban Renewal LLC to construct a residential building at 682-686 Schuyler Ave. As part of the conditions allowing the project to go forward, the board mandated that Alessi’s development team provide fewer 2-bedroom units so as to accommodate all parking on-site without any spillover of surface parking onto Schuyler. The 4-story, 43-foottall building will contain a total of 102 apartments, consisting of 38 studios, 36 one-bedrooms and 28 twobedrooms, spread among the four levels, with structured parking below. It will be built into the slope of the hill rising up to Schuyler. There will be parking for about 190 vehicles. Previously, on May 2, the Planning Board approved
subdivisions and site plan that will permit Alessi to build several industrial facilities covering four lots within the footprint of the former Jeryl Industrial Park. Lot 6.1 will accommodate
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Garfield School names its April Students of the Month Curtis Brack, principal of Garfield School in Kearny, announces the Students of the Month for April 2018: Brian Chesney, Hidaya Lahlou, Izakiel Moya, Ava Crispin, Valentina Moyes, Jayden Duffoo, Gabriel Munoz, Mason Mendizabel, Ava Acuna, Maryam Azhari,
Genesys Rengel, Nicole Sanchez, Naomi Gutierrez, Destany Lourenco, Jennifer Vazquez, Luanna Mineiro DeSouza, Mohamed Ali, Braeden Cunningham, Karina Couto, Julissa Montes Martinez, Litzy Rosas, Alex Lalbay and Bobby Kennedy.
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