November 21, 2018 • www.theobserver.com • Vol. CXXXI, No. 28
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See page 15 for information about our joint toy drive with the Kearny FD.
COVERING: BELLEVILLE • BLOOMFIELD • EAST NEWARK • HARRISON • KEARNY • LYNDHURST • NORTH ARLINGTON • NUTLEY
‘TIS THE SEASON Salvation Army of Greater Kearny kicks off annual ‘Kettle Campaign’
Photos by Kevin Canessa
It may only be November, but that hasn’t stopped the Salvation Army from getting into the Christmas spirit. The organization hosted its annual Kettle Kickoff on Friday, Nov. 16, on the steps of Town Hall. Bell ringers are now collecting donations at countless locations across The Observer’s readership area and they do so to help fund the numerous programs the Salvation Army offers throughout the year. LEFT PHOTO: Members of the Salvation Army’s advisory board, at the kickoff. RIGHT: Mayor Alberto Santos and Lt. Jocelin Delaluz cut a ribbon to signify the start of the kettle-ringing season. See more photos at www.theobserver.com.
Could another developer get yet another PILOT in Kearny? By Ron Leir Special to The Observer
Ridge Crossing LLC, an arm of the Alessi Management Organization of Bayonne, for two separate tax breaks involving the former Jeryl Industrial Park site, 590 Belleville Turnpike. As outlined by the firm’s fiscal representative Bob Benecke, Ridge is seeking one tax exemption for 311,915
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S THERE ANOTHER PILOT soon to be awarded in Kearny’s near future? Last week, the mayor and Town Council heard such a pitch by
square feet of new commercial space off the Pike and another break for a 102-unit rental apartment building with on-site parking for 190 vehicles to rise just off Schuyler Avenue. Benecke, who also serves as CFO for the township of Lyndhurst, said that as of April 30, Ridge – which
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THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018
Lyndhurst FD secures gear for ‘combative’ calls By Ron Leir Special to The Observer
I
N THE FACE OF alarming national trends pointing to compromised safety of first-responders, the Lyndhurst Fire Department is taking steps to meet that challenge. With the aid of an outside grant, the LFD secured its first four sets of ballisticheavy vests and helmets through the Bergen County
Fire Chiefs Association Working Group. “Unfortunately, a climate of mass violence has risen in our country,” Lyndhurst Deputy Fire Commissioner and former Chief Paul Haggerty said. It was Haggerty who, a decade ago, began developing the department’s initial policies on response procedures to deal with these types of incidents. In June 2017, the U.S. Fire
Administration, an arm of FEMA, issued a report on the “Mitigation of Occupational Violence to Firefighters and EMS Responders,” based on a series of attacks on these public safety personnel around the U.S. in 2016. Among the more serious incidents logged that year were: • An ambulance hit in a rock-throwing incident in Austin, Texas, on Jan. 12. • A fire chief stabbed near
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a fire station in Denver on Jan. 20. • A firefighter shot and killed on an EMS call in Pulaski County, Arkansas, on Jan. 22. • A Hepatitis C-infected patient spitting blood into an EMT’s eye in Arcade, Georgia, on Feb. 5. • A firefighter fatally shot and another firefighter wounded in Prince George’s County, Maryland, on April 15. • Two people arrested for assaulting a fire captain and damaging an ambulance in San Jacinto, California, on May 3. • An EMT run over and killed by a man driving a stolen ambulance in New York on March 16. Representatives of fire departments from Hackensack, Ridgewood and Garfield have joined with Lyndhurst in acquiring the
safety gear which is priced at “approximately $600 to $800 per setup,” according to Haggerty. “We were issued four helmets and four plate carriers which are rated to stop rifle-caliber rounds,” he said. The gear was issued by the Bergen County Office of Emergency Management and funded completely by the county, Haggerty said. Early next year, Lyndhurst Fire Capt. Nicholas Haggerty will be coordinating with Bergen County Emergency Medical Services Training Center in Paramus to establish a countywide policy on Rescue Task Force (RTF) operations. During a four-week period, said Paul Haggerty, half of the LVFD roster – 32 members – will undergo
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THE OBSERVER | WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2018
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Cop on ‘leave’ gets ‘retirement’ payout By Ron Leir Special to The Observer KEARNY – Earlier this year, the Kearny municipal governing body recently approved a retirement application for a 25-year police officer. Nothing unusual about that but the protocol leading to the officer leaving seemed anything but. That’s because the Sept. 11 resolution adopted by the mayor and Town Council affirming the retirement of Officer Rosemarie Traynor was accompanied by a threepage settlement agreement release and waiver listing terms and conditions for the officer’s departure. That document, which The Observer secured via an OPRA request, contains several redactions explained, in each case, as “personnel” considerations. The limited amount that is known pertaining to the settlement details is that Traynor: • Agreed to remain on an “unpaid leave of absence for the period from June 21, 2017, through May 31, 2018.” • Agreed to an effective date of retirement retroactive to June 1, 2018, completing “more than 25 years of service.” • Will collect a “retirement payment” of $52,540.14 – not broken down into cumulative unused sick and vacation time – and will pocket a monthly pension allowance of $6,657.26 based on her final salary of $122,745.96, according to the N.J. Treasury Department. No municipal officials, either civilian or uniformed, would talk on the record
about the deal and the settlement document takes pains to ensure that no one shall “disclose to any third party [with exceptions noted] any details regarding this Agreement ...” Efforts by The Observer to secure on-the-record background on the matter from municipal civilian and uniformed officials – including how much money the town has spent on legal matters involving the matter leading to the settlement – has yielded nothing. The town dismissed an OPRA filing for legal expenses and related information as “beyond the scope of OPRA as it constitutes a wholesale request requiring the custodian [of municipal records] to find responsive information.” A request “for access to attorney bills or invoices” cannot be satisfied, the town said, because it “does not maintain attorney bills or invoices broken out into the categories you seek.” The settlement agreement – which Traynor signed off on after consulting with her Morristown lawyers Niedweske, Barber & Hager – goes so far as to stipulate that, “In response to any inquiries, Traynor may state nothing more than ‘the matter has been resolved.’’’ Precisely what that “matter” is, the censored document doesn’t reveal, but there are clues. The agreement says that Traynor waived her right to a “hearing” on “pending disciplinary charges.” Those charges aren’t listed. Still, N.J. Administrative
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