September 26, 2018 • www.theobserver.com • Vol. CXXXI, No. 20
HIGHLIGHTS What’s going on at new Walgreens site in Belleville? See page 3
COVERING: BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD • EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
PINWHEELS FOR PEACE
Photo by Chris Hidrovo
Students in Harrison planted hundreds of pinwheels on ‘Pinwheels for Peace’ day on Sept. 21. See the story and additional photo on page 18.
N.A. gets its share of NJSEA funding after long wait lands District. In a three-year battle with the State of New Jersey over the amount of tax sharing allocation to North Arlington, Borough Administrator Stephen LoIacono announced last
By Kevin Canessa kc@theobserver.com
N
ORTH ARLINGTON HAS finally gotten its long-promised fair share from the Meadow-
week the borough had received two checks — nearing $500,000 in total — for two years of funds overdue to the borough. “It was a difficult two years between negotiations and litigation to
#1 LISTING AND SELLING OFFICE IN 2017!
www.Century21Semiao.com 761 Ridge Rd., Lyndhurst, NJ 201-460-8000
531 Kearny Ave., Kearny, NJ 201-991-1300
Semiao & Associates 217 Ferry St., Newark, NJ 973-344-2100
310 Union Ave., Rutherford, NJ 201-939-2224
get what was due from the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority as a result of the annual tax-sharing appropriation, but in the end, we
See NJSEA, Page 18
CENTURY 21 Semiao and Associates - Hudson Count...
http://www.century21semiao.com
SCAN HERE! http://kaywa.me/aBR3I
257 Blvd., Hasbrouck Heights, NJ 201-288-5533
Download the Kaywa QR Code Reader (App Store &Android Market) and scan your code!
BASED ON NJMLS, KEARNY, NORTH ARLINGTON, LYNDHURST, HARRISON, EAST NEWARK
02
THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
It’s R.I.S.E. & Shine to learn & dine for Belleville kids
I
n Belleville, children in pubic schools are digesting learning more easily in the morning hours ... thanks to something called R.I.S.E. and Shine. R.I.S.E. is shorthand for Realizing Individualized Student Enrichment, a program that serves up breakfast with academics. For 30 minutes at the start of the school day, while youngsters in kindergarten through grade 6 chow down on a nutritious morning meal, their teachers apply what Superintendent of Schools Richard Tomko describes as “both directed and independent measures of instruction driven by data and observation.” For example, Tomko said, the teacher “may be reviewing with several students an important concept taught in a previous lesson while other classmates are reading independently, beginning
Photo by Ron Leir
Teacher Taryn O’Mara works with her kindergarten students at School 3 as they consume their morning meal.
homework, researching a topic or collaborating on a
UPS Shipping
project that will challenge students to utilize higher
Get ready for
Packing Supplies
Mailbox Services
Back to School...
Notary Services
Digital Printing
and don’t forget to send your college student a
Freight Services
Copying Services Office Supplies
CARE PACKAGE!
Moving Supplies Packing Materials
Located inside Arlington Pharmacy
434 Kearny Ave • Kearny, NJ • 201.997.6938 HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ARRESTED? HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CONVICTED OF A CRIME? These are two very common questions on most employment applications that can end your career before it even begins. If your answer to either question is YES, please call my office today.
order thinking skills to problem solve.” Students can also use the time to work on special assignments like instrumental music or, for departmentalized students, they can visit a subject area teacher to ask about content matter or clarify a process used on a homework assignment. Complimentary breakfast is also being served in the middle school during homeroom period while students work on interactive reinforcement projects in core subject areas and STEM (Science/Technology/ Engineering/Math) lessons using Chromebooks funded through the district’s one-onone initiative, Tomko said. Teachers in all cases are
expected to spend the time assessing the students’ needs and try to ensure those needs are met, Tomko said. For their daily morning meal, kids get a choice of milk, skim milk or Lactaid, juices two days a week and a bag containing either cereal, muffin, bagel, cereal bar, fruit or yogurt, served on a rotating basis, according to Tomko. Because the program is eligible for funding under the National Lunch Program, “free and reduced subsidies [for the meals] apply,” Tomko said. It costs the district about $30,000 for the purchase of heavy-duty garbage bags, insulated bags for transporting food and carts for transporting food, and “most of the monies will come out of the [district] general fund,” he said. “We are committed to ensuring that every student has the opportunity to start his or her day with a nutritious breakfast to help foster good nutritional habits and the energy needed to face the academic challenges that students in Belleville and around New Jersey come across each and every day,” Tomko said. “This was an important initiative of the Board of Education and the administration and I am excited that we worked together to get this implemented this year,” the superintendent said. Tomko praised teachers and staff for their help in making the initiative a success. — Ron Leir
Inside this edition ... Opinion............................................................................................6
You may qualify for an EXPUNGEMENT of your criminal arrest record, your criminal conviction record, or both. In some cases you may actually qualify for an expungement of more than one arrest or conviction! Once you obtain an expungement of your arrest or conviction, you may answer both of the above questions by honestly answering NO!
Around Town..................................................................................9
Why not call us to discuss your options? One phone call may help secure your future.
Real Estate Directory...................................................................17
Call our Law Offices today on our special number for expungements. Either myself or another attorney will return your call promptly. Don Rinaldi, Esq. (973) 759-2121
Food & Dining Directory..............................................................10 Sports & Recreation.....................................................................11 Health & Wellness Directory.......................................................15 Real Estate....................................................................................16 Obituaries......................................................................................19 Classifieds..............................................................................20-21 Business Directory......................................................................22
THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
03
Future Walgreens’ wall is there … but not much else By Ron Leir Special to The Observer Where there once was a thriving motorcycle shop and a few other stores, now there is a sprawling vacant lot with a huge concrete retaining wall, high weeds and trenches. The nearly one-acre space at the southwest corner of Washington Avenue and Rutgers Street is reserved for a new Walgreens with a drive-thru pharmacy — but the project is far behind schedule. And no one knows why. Or, if they do, they’re not saying. A site plan and bulk variances for the retail center and on-site parking for 40 vehicles at 165-183 Washington Ave., across from the Municipal Building, was approved by the Belleville Planning Board April 28, 2016. This facility was to replace an existing nearby Walgreens store on Washington Avenue between Rossmore Place and Holmes
Street. Another Walgreens, also on Washington, at Greylock Parkway and Greylock Avenue, was to remain. Attorney Frank Cozzarelli, who represented the retail chain at the site plan hearing, forecast that the new development – which, he said, would become Walgreens’ “flagship store in Belleville” – would take “three or four months” to finish. Eventually, the developer – Win Belleville Development LLC of Belleair Beach, Florida – engaged a demolition contractor to tear down the Motorcycle Mall and a couple of small storefronts closer to Rutgers Street. WIN Belleville hired Churches Engineering of Washington, Pennsylvania, as principal contractor for the construction job ahead. On Feb. 27, 2017, the township construction code office issued a permit allowing for “installation of a new retaining
Photo by Ron Leir
A look at where a future Walgreens will live on Washington Avenue in Belleville.
wall in the rear parcel along rear property line,” presumably to shore up an elevated section bordering on Rutgers Street where several homes are situated. The estimated cost of the wall was listed in the permit application as $300,000. It appears the retaining wall is now in place. On June 27, 2017, WIN Belleville submitted to the construction office “copies of testing reports for pre-cast concrete panels that will be installed between steel piles.” As of press time, there was no evidence of any pilings having been put into place or
any other major work having been done since the installation of the wall, other than trenches dug out, possibly to allow for installation of utility lines. Cyclone fencing surrounds the development site, much of which is dirt covered by overgrowth sliced by the trenches. No heavy contracting equipment has been seen on the site for months. Telephone messages left for Mike Pope, listed in the permit application as “responsible person in charge”; Steven Albazanes, listed as WIN vice president for development”; and Phil Caruso, media contact
for Walgreens Corporate, were not returned. Neither Mayor Michael Melham nor Township Manager Mauro Tucci could be reached last week for comment. Councilman Steven Rovell said he’s been puzzled by the absence of any construction activity at the site. “I’ve heard that they’ve gone over budget and that they’ve been waiting to get approvals for the additional funds needed,” Rovell said. But he acknowledged that he hadn’t confirmed that report with anyone from the development firm.
Angelo’s Ristorante of Lyndhurst marks what would have been Angelo’s
100TH BIRTHDAY.
Join us September 27th, 28th, 29th, and 30th to celebrate Angelo. 263 Ridge Rd, Lyndhurst, NJ • (201) 939-1922