Brookside/Watsessing Finales This Tuesday

Bloomfield's outdoor concert goers will have to choose between two great concerts on opposite ends of town. Residents are invited to Essex County Watsessing Park on Tuesday, July 31 for the rain delayed concert featuring Newark-native Carrie Jackson. Jazz vocal stylist Jackson honed her talent in her hometown. She began singing in the Children’s Choir at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Newark,.Whether performing solo or with her Jazzin’ All Star Band, Jackson’s classical performances feature jazz favorites, soulful pop, blues and poignant mellow gospel.

 The Infernos, America’s #1 Show Band and the area’s premier live performance group, has been on the music scene since 1977. In recent years their fame has grown and they have had opportunities that even the most famous main-stream bands would only dream of. The band has performed for President Obama and past Presidents as well. Bloomfield's own Bobby Wells brings his band back home with the release of a new dance single entitled “Boom” which features Jazz Artist Robin Filippone with an assist from Kenny Simmons, former member of the 3-time Grammy Award-winning R&B group The Commodores/ The two artists previously worked together on Filippone’s soon to be released Jazz CD, “Love For Sale.” Filippone is a former New Jersey Miss America contestant. She will be touring this summer with The Infernos on their 2012 “The Ultimate Tour”.

Parking and Traffic Issues Up for Debate at Key Meetings

Key votes in next week's Town Council and Planning Board meetings may both turn out to be decisive in Bloomfield's redevelopment plans. Monday night's biggest council meeting question is whether to keep feeding the PA meter or knock it down -- along with redevelopment plans. Among a long list of items on Monday's conference agenda are proposals that may lead to either increased borrowing for the town's fledgling Parking Authority or it's abolition.

At Tuesday"s Planning Board Meeting, the 225 Belleville's traffic expert is expected to make his case that 332 new apartments (with over 600 more cars) will not significantly complicate the traffic flow on Belleville Avenue. It's possible that this will be the last opportunity for the public to question the experts and state their opposition to the development before the Planning Board votes on the application.

Residents Raise New Concerns on 225 Belleville Cleanup

We've heard reports that the developer for the "Oakes Pond" site is stepping up his efforts to prepare the site for his ambitious development weeks before the Planning Board is prepared to vote oh his plan.

I drove down to the site to check out reports that the cleanup crew had been working closer to The Third River than his permits allowed.

Talked to Dan of Danco Inc. about the status of the operation. He insisted that such reports were "unsubstantiated." The DEP subsequently found enough evidence of unauthorized digging to issue a warning to Danco.

Ben Morse summed up many resident's concerns in an excellent Bloomfield Life column this week.
He points out that

"No cleanup is occurring in the area of historic fill. The developer plans to "cap" the contamination with clean soil. How this "clean fill" stays put during a flood – the site is known to have flooded in the 1930s and 1950s, and during hurricanes Floyd and Irene - is anybody’s guess."

Yet Another "Freeze" by Heller.

There have been many mistakes made over the last two decades that have delayed plans to redevelop Bloomfield's downtown. Some of the officials originally involved in the delays are long gone from the scene. Others may not be around when the ambitious plans are ultimately realized.  But one individual has rising from the rubble as the ultimate negative influence. The last obstacle standing is South Orange developer Cary Heller.

 

 In the unlikely event that hell freezes over and Heller wins his latest appeal, and he winds up building his "Field of Dreams", would anyone come?

Pink Floyd Tribute at BHS Tonight 7PM

Today, July 10, 2012, 7:00 pm

Bloomfield High School, 160 Broad St, Bloomfield, 

 Town Bicentennial Concert Series: 

Childhood’s End

(Pink Floyd Tribute Band)

Liongate 10 A.M. Event Postponed

Just received this  email .---No explanation given-- Called the Mayor –no return call ---nick

From: Rosemary Brown [mailto:rbrown@bloomfieldtwpnj.com] On Behalf Of Raymond McCarthy
Subject: CANCELLED ********Baykeeper and the Green Acre’s Ribbon cutting celebration Desimone property July 10, 2012 10am

The Sun Rises on Liongate Park This Tuesday

We're delighted to share this invitation from the revived and resuscitated Bloomfield Third Riverbank Association:

Dear Friends, You have already heard the good news that the township now owns the 5.7 acres plot of land along Liongate Drive recently purchased from developer John Desimone.

This acquisition, acquired with Green Acres and N.J./ N.Y. Bay keeper funding, is the result of a decade-long effort by the New York/New Jersey Baykeeper, The Rutger's Environmental Law Clinic, the Third Riverbank Association, the township Open Space Committee, township staff, and many, many friends and supporters. To all we say thank you in helping to preserve these critical wetlands.
In honor of this, we would like to invite you to two events:

 Tuesday, July 10 at 10 A.M. To officially welcome the property to the township's fold, the township will celebrate with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the property site. Directions: The property is off of Broad Streets on Liongate Drive opposite Glenridge Parkway. Liongate is the first cross street north of Bay Avenue on Broad St. Going south on Broad Street, it is the first left hand turn after the Glen Ridge Country Club.(You may have to park on Broad St. as roadwork is being done by the adjacent condo association.)

 Thanks,
 Nick Joanow and the Third Riverbank Association

It Always Rains On Bloomfield...

...except when it doesn't. Most towns in NJ and NY maintained their 4th of July plans -- including fireworks. (Still unaware of any other postponements in the area) We happened to pass by the GR Golf Club and enjoyed the climatic conclusion of their show from the lower depths of Broad Street. Seemed like the perfect metaphor for our town's dysfunctional government. Most of our neighboring towns also have a town pool and/or rec center as well as thriving downtowns. This was posted on the NJ Bloomfield Forum site by "byebyebloomfield":

I just don't get it: weather is perfect, everyone is off today, BBQing, celebrating having parties and waiting for the fireworks. Well the whole horizon of the sky lit up, all surrounding towns as ususal having their display, but not Bloomfield. No one knew anything, confusion and disapointment. And just hours earlier a police display sign at Hoover and JFK informend us that we are having fireworks tonight! Cruel joke I guess. I also start to believe in all af those posts below stating how screwed up this town really is!

In fairness, our Rec Department has done a superb job of producing some memorable events in our town -- especially in this Bicentennial year. However, celebrating the 4th on the 5th just won't be the same.

Next! Bloomfield Looking for Fourth Administrator in 18 Months

The Bloomfield Township Council will hold a special conference meeting on Monday to discuss the status of Yoshi Manale, the township administrator.

The previous administrator, Fred Carr (above), served for 14 months before being asked to resign by the Mayor.r. Five members of the council are reportedly prepared to vote out Me. Manale. No word yet as to who might be considered to be the fourth administrator in less than three years. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at the Law Enforcement Building. It will be followed by more fireworks in Brookdale Park.

UPDATE: After a closed session in Monday's conference meeting,it was announced that the council has unanimously accepted Manale's resignation. It is not yet known when his last day on the job will be.

Unofficial List of Current Developments Underway

At last night's council meeting, Councilman Nick Joanow proposed that a fiscal impact study be completed on the longterm affect of the following developments on Bloomfield residents.
Bloomfield College -- Block 242 – 37-59 Broad St./Franklin St. – 5 story residence hall – 124,000 square foot

Scientific Glass at Liongate -- 104 (52 2-bedrooms 52 3-bedrooms) Hartz Mountain – 395 Units

National Starch & Chemical - 225 Belleville Ave --332 units – 654 parking spaces

Downtown Redevelopment -- Block 228– 224 Apartments – Studio, 1, 2 & 3 Bedroom -

78-80 Locust Ave. Property Auction 7/28/2011 -- 40 Unit For Condos/Apartments

12 Willow St. -12 Units – Condos –

Special Planning Board Mtg Tuesday on 225 Belleville

You'd never know if from the vague language on the township's website, but there's a lot at stake at the extended series of special PB meetings to explore the application for over 332 units at the former Oakes Pond site at 225 Belleville Ave.  Many questions have yet to be answered regarding the viability of the project:


Why is the project only seeking approval for industrial standards of environmental health rather than residential standards?

Will there be any direct oversight by the DEP on the site remediation in view of recent EPA sanctions on negligent developers?

Should the town hire its own LSRP to supervise the project?


Could taxpayers be liable for failures in the remediation process or flood damage?

What will be the impact of hundreds of additional cars on Belleville Avenue traffic patterns?

UPDATE: On Monday morning, the Planning Board posted a revised agenda which spelled out some of the issues regarding the site remediation.
It also added this item regarding other developments waiting to be considered by the Board:
 "Proposal from Richard B. Reading Associates for an evaluation of proposed residential development throughout town."

Tuesday's meeting begins at 7PM in council chambers.

Beat the Heat in Civic Center

Along with being graduation day at BHS (avoid JFK Drive this evening after 5PM), today's heat wave may break all time temperature records for many towns in the northeast. If your A/C is on the blink, the Township of Bloomfield is hosting a Cooling Center at the Civic Center located at 84 Broad Street, Bloomfield.

The Civic Center will be open from 8:30 a.m until 9 p.m. and is open to all who need respite from the heat. The Civil Center is located in the downtown center of Bloomfield and public transportation is available directly in front of the building. To contact the Civic Center directly, call 973-743-9074. The Mayor and Township Council encourage you to use this cooling center should you not have any access to shelter from the heat. The public library next door is open until 5PM today.

Commercial Real Estate Firm Moves Corporate HQ to Bloomfield

Prism Capital Partners, LLC has relocated its headquarters to BroadAcres Office Park from Englewood, N.J., in an expansion move. The commercial real estate owner/operator has maintained its property management operations at 200 Broadacres Drive since 2006, when it purchased the 380,000-square-foot, four-building BroadAcres campus.

The company’s growth and the acceleration of key local projects were catalysts for consolidating their staff into a single location, and that BroadAcres was the logical choice. “We are involved in two major construction projects within 10 minutes of this property,” noted Edwin Cohen, Principal Partner. “It has become increasingly important for our Prism Construction Services, LLC division, especially, to be physically closer to these sites as things progress.

Among Prism’s larger current projects is Parkway Lofts(top photo), a multi-family adaptive reuse project. The General Electric Company in 1897 built the landmark, six-story warehouse that Prism is redeveloping into 365 loft-style apartments with lifestyle amenities. Upon completion, the property will be transformed into a distinctive residential village also featuring approximately 170 for-sale townhomes and a clubhouse.

Prism also is serving as designated redeveloper for Edison Village, a master-planned mixed-use project in nearby West Orange, N.J. That project’s first phase included the adaptive reuse of the historic Thomas Edison Invention Factory and Commerce Center, including a total renovation and reconstruction of the nearly 100-year-old factory complex.

Arts and Crafts -- and Dogs Galore -- in Brookdale Park

In its 24th year, Spring Fine Art and Crafts at Brookdale Park features over 160 juried professional artists, photographers and craft artisans from throughout the country displaying and selling their hand-crafted work, on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm rain or shine. 

This free to the public show, co-sponsored by the Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs and Janet and Howard Rose of Rose Squared Productions,

Bloomfield's Tony

Congratulations to Watsessing's own Michael McGrath for winning his first Tony Award Sunday for best performance by an actor in a featured role in “Nice Work If You Can Get It.” McGrath had been nominated for the same award in 2005 when he appeared in "Spamalot."

Open Houses on Dream Street

Two open houses caught our eye today as they happened to be a block away from each other on the same street. Both colonials were constructed around 1940 and were nearly mirror images in size and layout. 40 Barnett was reduced from 355k to 339k. 7 Barnet had dropped from 229k to 215k. 40 Barnet had been recently updated with a sparkling new kitchen that opened up into the dining room. 7 Barnett need some updating. Also perplexing was that the newly renovated home was taxed at 9914, while the more dated home was taxed at 1188.

Both sellers are motivated so make your offer now! One home is already vacant and the other is occupied by the former head of the Board of Ed. She is reportedly determined that her child not attend BHS this fall.

Bloomfield's New Political Landscape

Yesterday's primaries resulted in one upset that may well signal changes in store for 2013. The mayor lost his county committee seat 45 to 34 to newcomer Michael Cantalupo in the Democrat's Ward 2. County committee members elect the municipal and county chairs, and are also responsible for getting voters to the polls in their respective districts. This inspired an anonymous pundit with the monicker "Bloomfield Politics" to post the following analysis on the NJ/Bloomfield Forum:

Democratic Chairman Peter Strumolo has decided to abandon the man he has supported for over thirteen years and the same person he has told Bloomfield residents would make a great mayor. Strumolo is leading the charge against the man he spent $140,000.00 to get elected in 2010, Mayor Ray McCarthy. According to the rumors in Town Hall Strumolo is pushing strong for one of the sitting councilman to take on the Mayor in 2013. The problem is that if he makes that move he will be fighting a war with Both the Mayor and Republican Chairman Lou Linares who brought the Republican party within 193 votes of beating the Democrats in 2010 when over 11,000 people voted. Linares spent $36,000.00 to Strumolo’s $140,000.00, and almost won, despite having a less then exciting candidate. Strumolo is still according to rumors getting heat from the County party for almost losing in a town that is two to one Democrat. In addition the mayor who is a proven fighter and refuses to ever go down without an all-out fight is preparing to take the Democratic Chairman on in 2013 with or without the party line . Behind all of this craziness is, according to one town hall insider Michael Venezia the Unions personal representative on the council, The very Pro-Union at any cost Venezia is said to be wanting the mayor’s job since he first became councilman. Venezia is waiting for the union bosses to decide what to do. Strumolo is in a interesting position. His only hope is that Linares and the Mayor don’t become temporary friends to fight a common enemy. If this happens Bloomfield will be in the thick of it again 2013 as it was in 2010.

(At right, 225 Belleville Ave site fur Oakes Pond Development.

A Bounty of Primary Choices at South side of Town

Several candidates are competing for the 10th Congressional District seat left vacant by the death of Democratic Rep. Donald Payne Sr. The candidates include Payne's son, Donald Jr., and and state Senator Nia Gill, Irvington Mayor Wayne Smith, Newark Councilman Ronald Rice, Cathy Wright, and Dennis Flynn of Glen Ridge. The 10th District, which was reconfigured this year following redistricting will encompass parts of Bloomfield, south of Belleville Ave. much of Newark, Maplewood and South Orange, as well as parts of Hudson and Union counties. Thanks to Carl Bergmanson who put this simplified map together.

Purr-fect Yard Sale

A Purrfect World Cat Sanctuary is holding its annual fund raising yard sale this Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 60 Newark Avenue (corner of Baldwin Avenue),in Bloomfield. At left is Val Slamka, founder of Purrfect World.
The sale features over 2 dozen tables of merchandise, including clothing, bookcases, appliances, and assorted knick knacks. A Purrfect World is a non-profit, 501 C3 organization dedicated to assisting the local shelters and communites in the care and education of stray and unwanted cats.

BOE Discusses Overcrowding Issues and New Adult School

Last night's Board of Education meeting led off with Bloomfield High School teacher Anthony Todaro presentin his framework for for a new adult school utilizing BHS facilities. There was much discussion on how to accomodate the projected increase in the student population in the immediate future. Brookdale has taken a number of school choice transfer students. The BOE approved funds to move their library to create more classroom space.

Benjamin Morse summarized the discussion:

There's no more school choice in Bloomfield. NJ schools are able to opt out of that. Maybe it was a waiver--they are going to use a different standard going forward. There will be no more busing for existing students who moved to different schools. If a child has already moved to a different school, he/she will be allowed to stay but that will not be grounds for allowing siblings to move to the same school.

Brookdale is going to "add" a classroom by redoing an old unused room in the basement of the school. Not sure if it was an old gym or not. There are a number of possibilities on the table for getting more classroom space in the district. The one I liked was possibly leasing space in the Essex County academy acroos from the Bottle King. They would possibly make that a 6tth grade only school and make the middle school just 7 & 8th grade.

Boe President Mary Shaughnessy concluded by encouraging all parents to attend an education town hall and panel discussion on Tuesday, June 12 at 7PM at The BHS auditorium. The forum will examine how the proposed state budget will impact public schools. The panel will feature Senator Ronald Rice, Assembly members Ralph Caputo, Mila Jasey and Cleopatra Tucker, Ray Pinney of the New Jersey School Boards Association, and Julia Sass Rubin of Save Our Schools NJ.