A Community Reacts to Friday's Newest Televised Scandal

WABC 7 broke the latest embarrassing  news during it's 5PM hour. Within hours hundreds more residents had seen the video link posted on all of our many Facebook forums. The sense of shock and outrage was felt by nearly everyone, Most residents have shared there reactions on the Citizens of Bloomfield Facebook page. Here's a selection of comments from Bloomfield's smaller forums that many may have missed:

NORTH CENTER

Judy Johanson

What is going on in our town? Between the police department and the town council it sounds like Bloomfield is really falling apart. I saw on Eyewitness news about the cops that were arrested.

Jeanne Talamini DuChemin Internal Affairs needs a thorough cleaning out. And who was in charge at the time?? Chief Goul & Captain Behr.

Bill Sluk Makes me start to question Behr's claims about Bernard. How can we trust anyone in the BPD?

Maria Probst I think each situation is different Bill Sluk...it is just now everything is coming out...wonder if we will ever know the true story in what has transpired now or in the past...
Judy Cardona this video could be the reason the chief stepped down...U behr was put in his place u can't blame him when this happened BEFORE he was placed...this is an older case...

• BLOOMFIELD NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION
• Susana Sotillo Unbelievable! Who can we trust in this town
• Karen Banda No one it seems. What a freaking mess this place is. PD, HD, BoH...what the hell else? Where the hell are/were the mayor and council and the MANY TA's we've had? Our tax dollars at work at the local, state and federal level.

• Donna Donofrio-Paterson Falsifying records SMH!!! This town disgusts me 
• 

  Brown Santa ABSOLUTELY SHAMEFUL!!! i hope he sues everyone involved; especially the prosecutors for their lack of due diligence!

WATSESSING HEIGHTS NEIGHBORS

Pat Ritchings   Unbelievable

Noreen Flaherty Reyes  Disgusted.

• Ben Morse @#%!!
• Peggy Jurow Holy smokes!
• Bibi Zizic Bell Wow. Speechless.
• Derrick Miller The Attorney Stephen Brown, is one of my clients and a close friend as well. I also have known one of the police officer, Orlando, since he joined the police force. Very disturbing to say the least for this to happen in Our town!!
  
  BROOKDALE CONNECTIOINS
• Sandra Cummins I just saw this on the news! It's one embarrassment after another in Bloomfield lately. Not the town it used to be.
  Noreen Flaherty Reyes I also saw this earlier on the news. At a loss for words. I'm so glad for the dash cams in that this man could've faced prison time.
• Pat Gilleran Checking on how long the 3 police have been working in our Township - Orlando Trinidad (also charged with assault) made $96,180 per year in 2012 as did Sean Courter who was also indicted.
  In 2012 the salary of a 5th year police officer and above was $89,749 so these officers have been around for a while. Will we see and Internal Affairs investigation into their cases to see if this has happened before?
• Then there was this comment on ABC 7 reporter Sarah Wallace's Facebook page:

• "Every time I do a story about evidence not being turned over to defense attorneys, it makes me furious. I hear it over and over. And this story also highlights why dashcams should be rolling in every police vehicle that makes a car stop. Last session, the New Jersey legislature passed a bill mandating them; Governor Christie vetoed it. It's been re-introduced. It protects everybody: both drivers and cops. No brainer."
  http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news%2Finvestigators&id=9440401

• Questions remain about the timing of the indictments that may never be answered:

• Were they expedited by the new mayor who works full time for Essex County in Newark?
• Were the revelations by Acting Chief Behr timed to rally police officers and put pressure on the council to appoint him before the indictments?
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Vet-Gate Linked to Latest Corruption Mess

As we indicated in our latest post, Acting Chief of Police James Behr's challenge to Bloomfield's Town Council has had the side effect of dampening the feud between Bloomfield's two police unions: the Police Benevolent Association and the Fraternal Order of Police. While officers throughout NJ and beyond are urging their brethren to support Behr at Tuesday's Conference Meeting(now officially moved to the larger chamber in Town Hall), a local spokesman for the FOP is reminding their followers that the PBA dispute by veterans McCracken and Cartegena has not been forgotten:

"We hope that Bernard is disciplined and that Bloomfield also looks into who has let this behavior go on for so long and disciplines those individuals as well.
We're not sure why Behre continues to bring Cofone and Goul into the Behre/Bernard controversy. What's amusing is that we know for certain that the Bernard issue was going on while Goul was Chief and we were told he and Sierchio were well aware of it and let it go on.
We’re pretty sure that Ehrenburg "changed his mind" about Cofone about the time when both Cofone (1/17) and Sierchio (1/14) chose to make what we were told were staffing announcements with unauthorized FB posts (these posts are screen shot on our page, just go to the photos section to see them). Cofone’s post on FB prompted the Bloomfield PD to recirculate their social media policy that very same day (it was originally put in place in 2012, one would assume that these men in such positions of power would know their job’s policies and follow them- Sierchio’s latest violation of the policy happened this week). Cofone deleted his FB account shortly thereafter.
We are also pretty sure that according to policy, there will need to be a Chief’s test and normal procedure in place for Behre to actually be the official Chief of the Bloomfield PD.
We love how Behre says that “Goul had to leave because of political pressure.” Let’s remember that Goul was forced into retirement as was Sierchio (Mr. “Neutral Party”- ha!) because of the route they chose to take with the railroading of Hector and Michael. We cringe to think that Behre believed Goul and Sierchio acted accordingly with regard to Hector and Michael.
Personally, we think that both Sierchio and Goul should have been terminated vs. allowed to retire and collect their pensions (remember when they suspended Hector and Michael pending termination--- WITHOUT PAY? We do!).
We also feel that Bernard should be disciplined. There has been far too much corruption going on for far too long. And, don’t even get us started on Ehrenburg. He’s sat by and let too much go on for too long. Maybe Q1 will be a turning point for Bloomfield. We can only hope. Way too much to think about on a snowy Saturday. Tuesday's meeting will be interesting for sure."

Mayor Venezia appeared to be encouraging an even bigger turnout on Tuesday with his latest tweet:
  "... good results will come at tomorrow night council meeting, hope you can make to show support of Vets #BloomfieldNJ"

Former Mayor Blasts New Mayor for Suspension of Police Chief

As Bloomfield braces for yet another blizzard, it was announced tonight that yet another police department head has been suspended from his job.  At Monday's town council meeting, acting Police Chief James Behr used the public comment period to publicly accuse 3rd Ward Councilman Carlos Bernard of attempting to trade several favors in order to insure the councils appointment as permanent chief.

The decision to place Behr on paid leave was made by a Township Administrator whose position is also considered shaky. TA Ted Ehrenburg is one of four to hold the post in about as many years.

The suspension was explained by Mayor Michael Venezia as due to "health concerns", but this was challenged by Behr who told the Star Ledger ...."instead of taking my concerns seriously and forward them to the Attorney General's Office, they relieve me of my duties."

Complicating the situation is the suspection that the Star Ledger was apparently tipped off by a Behr supporter, well in advance of the meeting, of his plan to speak. The state's largest daily newspaper has not covered a local council meeting in several years.

A few hours after the suspension announcement, former Mayor Raymond McCarthy took to Facebook to challenge the new mayor for sanctioning the TA's action. "....this reeks of the machine rejecting those who dare to differ with them."  He urged Bloomfield residents and police to "pack the Chambers" at next Tuesday's council meeting.

How Homebuyers Pick Bloomfield....

When moving to a new town, most homebuyers use the internet to check out the schools, taxes, parks, transportation, shopping, etc. On my own Real Estate office's website, it's pretty easy to pull up recent demographic information for any zip code. A screen shot of the basics can be seen below.

Drilling further down, many more detailed stats pop up. You can now also see an up to the month video update of any town's current Real Estate Market(click on graphics to enlarge):

Bloomfield -- 2013 In A Box

It has been a year of changes and adjustments. Promises kept and broken. The New Year promises many more. How many of this year's issues can you recall from just the thumbnails? (Click on graphic to enlarge)

New Years Hopes on Christmas Eve for Memphis Supporters

Jeff Coltenback posted this update on his Facebook page. It has received 389 likes in 24 hours:

Memphis Update: It's been a while since I last posted anything. But, i did want everyone to know that Diana and I have retained L.I.D.A. Attorney, Isabelle Strauss to proceed with litigation to get Memphis back home. Unlike last time, we now are extremely confident with our position and legal standing. Additionally, we will be retaining other legal representation for issues stemming from the Township's treatment of Diana and me including, but not limited to, civil rights infractions. 

We are not going away and we want OUR dog back home. Oh and the for the record.... any money we are awarded from the courts will be donated to various non-profit animal rescue organizations. Diana and I will NOT be profiting from this at all.... All we want is MEMPHIS back home!!

Either by coincidence or master plan, the South Dakota "trainer," who received Memphis from Bloomfield's Neighbor to Neighbor Network, chose Christmas day to post on Facebook the first photo of Memphis anyone has seen since last winter.
When one of Bloomfield's leading advocates for Memphis politely shared a bit of her history with the dog, the trainer immediately shouted back her intention to keep him:

Karen Banda -- Is that supposed to be Memphis, the dog the Bloomfield Health Dept. had railroaded out of town for no good reason? That dog was a doll from day one, I know. As a volunteer at that shelter I saw him right after he came in. He belongs with Jeff and Diana at home in Bloomfield NJ. PLEASE release him.
2 hours ago · Unlike · 1

2 hours ago · Unlike · 1

Teresa Richardson Karen Banda FIRST OFF HE DOES NOT BELONG TO THE COLTENBECKS. HE WAS SENT TO THEM FOR TRAINING TO CORRECT ISSUES HE HAD AN SOME HE STILL HAS. HE HAD HIM 9 DAYS THAT'S ALL. HE HAS BEEN WITH ME OVER A YR NOW. I POSTED THIS PIC TO PROVE TO ALL THAT SAY HE IS DEAD. HE IS ALIVE AN WELL TAKIN CARE OF. I AM NOT INTO THE DRAMA BETWEEN THE TOWN, BOARD OF HEALTH OR THE SHELTER. PER A LETTER I RECEIVED FROM THE TOWN OF BLOOM FIELD AN THE LAWYER RICCI I OWN MEMPHIS. IF YOU WANT TO SEE COPIES OF THE DOCUMENTS I WILL BE MORE THEN HAPPY TO SHARE THEM.

Vet-Gate Welcomes Even More Lawsuits

Bloomfield has become backlogged with so many scandals and lawsuits that it is becoming hard to keep track of them. Bloomfield's latest scandal is still looking for a memorable name. For now let's call it Vet-Gate It's very much a work in progress.
 According to Bloomfield Life Online:

Michael McCracken and Hector Cartagena, who are airmen in the Air Force Reserve, may be fired from the Bloomfield force on administrative charges for allegedly misusing military leave time, said their attorney Catherine Elston at a press conference Friday in Newark. Elston said both are upstanding officers who followed all procedures when they reported for military duty. State Sen. Ron Rice, also speaking at the press conference at the Fraternal Order of Police's union hall, called for the New Jersey Attorney General's Office to investigate the Bloomfield Police Department's actions against the officers. 

 As with other unforced uproars in our town that appear to represent an unnecessary exercise of power over the powerless, this one has most residents wondering "What were they thinking?"

In the first day after the press conference, the story was picked up by The Patch, FIOS1 News, WABC7, Fox News, numerous blogs, and the NJ Fraternal Order of Police who posted:

"In a show of solidarity, we had standing room only participants consisting of the officers’ family, our police brothers and sisters, community leaders, and the press. Kudos to State Sen. Ron Rice for standing with us today. We commend our Bloomfield Lodge President Anthony Argento and attorney Catherine Elston for the awesome work they’re doing on this case." 

Out of state police groups are also expressing support. The Colorsdo FOP commented

"It is not unusual for to see discrimination, intimidation, and abuse of law enforcement officers who serve in the US Armed Forces. It happens far more than it is reported. The sad fact is it does not sit well with employers who are required to make accommodations for our nation’s warriors, and they will take illegal action to remove them from employment. "

Among the factors that may delay a resolution of this issue is the fact that Bloomfield's newly elected Mayor and Council won't meet until early January to address it. It presumably came up in a closed session of the departing Council and it's still not clear what facts were presented to them -- if any.

BPD lawyers may cloud the case if incriminating tapes are not allowed as evidence by a court judge. That may explain the BPD's refusal to comment on the evidence revealed by the vets.
We're wondering how long the BPD can keep up it's Wall of Silence. This may wind up as another lawsuit that gets billed to taxpayers. If the council approved the suspension, they have some explaining to do along with BPD. We know they've been misled in the past by high paid employees trying to cover their mistakes. Transparency is still the best disinfectant.
UPDATE: ON MONDAY IT WAS ANNOUNCED THAT THE SUSPENDED VETS WILL GET FULL PAY DURING THEIR INVESTIGATION
CHRISTMAS EVE UPDATE: "NEVERMIND"....THE VETS WILL ONLY FIND COAL IN THEIR STOCKINGS
12/26 UPDATE A NEW FACEBOOK SITE HAS BEEN SET UP TO SUPPORT THESE VETS. HUNDREDS OF FOLLOWERS IN THE FIRST FEW HOURS: https://www.facebook.com/istandupforwarveterans

Why We Need a Butterfly Park

This was my public comment to the Bloomfield Council before it voted, 4 to 3, to reverse it's earlier approval of a Butterfly Park on its recently acquired parkland on Liongate Drive:

As some of you know, my 2nd Ward councilman and I have a long history together,going back about 13 years. I’ve supported him in just about everything he’s advocated and campaigned for. We’ve probably attended a couple of dozen planning board meetings over the years mostly dealing with Liongate. Our main goal as a group, The Third Riverbank Association, was to reduce flooding along the Third River and preserve one of our last bits of open space for passive recreation. 

Here’s where I’m forced to depart from my councilman’s latest campaign to put a soccer field in our newest park. Soccer is NOT passive recreation...and it only serves the needs of a tiny percentage of our residents. This year we’ve had soccer fields available all over town. Huck Field, Demarest School, Brookdale Park, Foley Field, Watsessing Park, Wrights field, Felton Field. Have I missed any? 

My wife and I happen to live a soccer balls kick from Nick’s proposed field of dreams. I’ve seen how many cars fill up the Huck Field parking lots and side streets when games are scheduled. Liongate can handle about 10 more cars than park there everyday. Along with a number of our neighbors, facing Liongate, we have no driveway and have to park our cars on Broad Street. 

I know of no one in our neighborhood -- or the Greenbrook townhouses -- who favors a soccer field here. As a Realtor, I can guarantee you that just about all our home values in this area will be hurt by such a soccer field here as opposed to being helped by a park like the imaginatively designed Butterfly Park.

Dems -- The New Reality

The Democratic sweep in Bloomfield's Mayoral/Council election yesterday can't be blamed on The GOP campaign gaffs or any one single issue.

It wasn't the expensive mailings or robocalls,
It wasn't the yard signs.
It wasn't the unexpected endorsements by Joanow and McCarthy.
It wasn't any of the issues raised from pay to play to forensic audits.
It wasn't high taxes or overdevelopment.
It wasn't the candidates responses to questions during the Candidates' Forum.y

It was demographics. The fact that the final tally showed only small variations in the numbers between the 3 council candidates of each party is further evidence that votes were cast for the party lines rather than any individual candidate.
The last 15 years have seen two national census reports that illustrate Bloomfield's steady shift from a solidly Republican town to a reliably Democratic town.

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 28,398 registered voters in Bloomfield, of which 11,925 (42.0%) were registered as Democrats, 4,393 (15.5%) were registered as Republicans and 12,061 (42.5%) were registered as Unaffiliated. This reality has been reflected in presidential politics for some time.(Click on graphic to enlarge,) In the last  3 election cycle the Democratic advantage appears to have reached point of no returns for just about any Republican candidate.

New Rules for Wednesday

The Bloomfield Neighborhood Association Committee today announced some major changes to its rules for asking questions of council and mayoral candidates at Wednesday's upcoming 2013 Bloomfield Town Council Candidates' Forum.

The event will be held once again at the Van Fossen Ampitheater at Bloomfield College's Westminster Hall, beginning at 7:PM.

In order to allow time for the maximum number of audience questions and responses, only one advance question will be given for each candidate to respond to, and ALL audience questions will be submitted to the moderator on cards. The can be directed to any or all candidates. All questions will be asked if time permits. the only restrictions will be on personal attacks, non-Bloomfield issues, and duplication. The questions will be anonymous so anyone can ask more than one question.

VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED for the following tasks!

• Solicit donations of bottled water and finger food (snacks/dessert) for reception from Shop Rite, Stop ‘n Shop, etc. Gift cards also OK.
• Set up tables/place cards, etc. on night of event
• Greet people at the door/man the table with programs and other information
• Aisle runners to pass out and collect index cards for question
• Set up food/beverages at reception
• Clean up.

If you can volunteer, please contact Doreen Sarcone on Facebook. Please PM her if you need more information.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1408767492674050/

Unexpected Endorsement for Venezia Campaign

With less than a month left in a local campaign year full of twists and turns, today was highlighted by word of a public endorsement that came as a surprise to many residents. Second Ward councilman Nick Joanow is formally endorsing councilman Michael Venezia's ticket.

“I am happy to endorse the Venezia Team, because we are like minded when it comes to preserving open space," said Joanow. "As an example, they are united with me in a common goal to negotiate in good faith with the developer of the Scientific Glass/ Liongate property to preserve this site and acquire it for recreational purposes.”

For years, Joanow has been trying to find solutions to the flooding that has been a real problem for residents who border the Third River and businesses downstream who are negatively impacted from rain events. In addition preservation of this flood prone property would eliminate a significant number of children from this development(104 townhouses ) who would be enrolled in one of our neighborhood schools which already is challenged for space.

Three of the Democratic candidates visited the construction site on Friday to watch the new developer's tractors and ditch diggers chugging away in the rain.
(Pictured above at the Liongate site are candidates Lopez, Venezia and Davis. At right is Joanow and Venezia campaign manager Gary Iacobacci.)

All residents are invited to Joanow'a monthly ward meeting at 7:30 PM this coming Wednesday at the  Brookdale iHop
The main topic at the meeting will be the past, present and future of Liongate.

Eco-Community Fair at Harvest Fest

Be sure to visit the Eco-Community Fair on the library quad, 11-6 pm this weekend during Bloomfield's Harvest Fest.  Located on the plaza in front of Bloomfield Library at 90 Broad St.

You will find the latest information on: recycling, composting, open space and our town's new Butterfly Park.

Brookdale Park Conservancy
Watsessing Park Conservancy
Friends of Clarks Pond

Open Space Trust fund
Bloomfield Recycling Committee

Bloomfield College Greenhearts
Sustainable New Jersey,
New Jersey Hope and Healing

Rain barrel demonstration
The Bloomfield Neighborhood Association Committee
Greener Bloomfield

Historical Society of Bloomfield
(Don't miss Rich Rockwell's historical slide shows from 1 to 5:00 on Saturday)

Community gardens at Oakeside
The Bridge Academy garden
Plans for new community gardens

October 23 Candidate’s Forum,
Halcyon Park Neighborhood Association

Purple Dragon/Community

Bloomfield Bikeability Study

Not a Slam Dunkin

Councilman Nick Joanow is holding the first of a series of monthly meetings starting tonight at 7:30 in the Broad St. IHop. Tonight's main topic is the application for a new Dunkin Donuts at the intersection of West and East Passaic Aves. Expect many questions from both neighbors and residents. The former Getty station has been vacant for many years and most residents have been looking forward to a new tenant.

The location and limited parking does not make it a done deal at the Zoning Board. Will this one be open 24/7 as are many in the area?  Will there be room for tables and/or counters?  How will the entrance and exits be controlled?

At the same time, a tenant like Dunkin may well increase the neighborhoods "walkability" factor along with home values for much of the neighborhood. It should also be noted that other Dunkins in the Bloomfield or Clifton are not surrounded by single family homes.

Developers Play Hardball as Housing Market Improves

The current crop of major housing developments on the drawing boards have several common ingredients. Strains on town services and school populations, traffic and environmental issues, and pushback from local residents.

Developers are increasingly resorting to tactics that might be described as a carrot and stick approach. They've been encouraged to negotiate with the town council for tax abatements or PILOT agreements before going before Zoning or Planning Boards. They've threatened legal action if they don't get their way.

In Cedar Grove, one of the industry's biggest developers is pulling out all the stops to push through a project that would contain 411 units across 53  buildings -- increasing the population of the township by an estimated 8%. Part of Hovnanian's strategy is a lawsuit with the state Council on Affordable Housing that would require the town to house over 300 residents in affordable homes.

Bloomfield's developers are more than likely taking notes.

Would Sharing Services Solve BOH Problems?

Bloomfield's recent disconnect between its Health Department, Board of Health, Neighbor to Neighbor Network, and Animal Shelter has many causes. Among them are the elimination of their most experienced volunteers, the attitude of unaccountability to the town council, and the alienation of overpaid directors who live many counties away from the communities they serve.

During his presentation to the BNAC last month, our new Town Administrator suggested that increasing our level of shared services may be the only way to reduce expenses in future budgets.  Diane Lilli recently reported some of the details on how Montclair and Nutley are successfully sharing their health departments, allowing for a wide range of health services including nursing services.

The Nutley Health Department, in partnership with the Greater Montclair Health Reserve Corps, is creating a Nutley Chapter to train and supplement the existing emergency services in responding to public health and other emergencies. The new chapter will be known as the Nutley Public Health Reserve Corps.

Sharing services has saved both towns significant amounts of money, while also allowing both towns to maximize available services and continuing to meet the healthcare needs of residents.

Animal control for both towns is run by the Montclair office. Many of the Montclair Shelter's most experienced volunteers are "exiles" from Bloomfield's shelter.