A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities

Suburban Hill Sprawl vs Urban Valley Density

This pastoral landscape is soon to be history.  Plans to build an aparatment
building in that small space ahead are currently under way.

My drama begins September 28, 2017 at the Englewood Planning Board Meeting with a denial of an East Hill Application, 
#2016-9. 

Imagine an apartment building in the middle of this fork in
the road that is also a busy school bus route.

The Brayton Estate LLC. Sub division application sought to divide 161 Brayton Street’s, 1st ward, $9 million dollars property into (2) single family residences. The opposing attorney successfully argued, in a nut shell, that such an act would violate the city’s Master Plan by failing to maintain the character of the neighborhood. The Board agreed. 

Coming soon, an apartment building on stilts.
The next two discussions applied to applications for down the hill, across the tracks in the 4th Ward. 

The Claremont Properties discussion,#2017-8, 40 Bennett Rd. and 51 Lafayette Place, was about building a multi -family residential unit which would incorporate the taking of part of an active city street (Elmore Ave). 

Elmore Ave. facing north is for sale!!!!
This project will not move forward without the city selling off another city street in the 4th ward.

There was no opposing attorney. But, there were several residents from the Elmore Ave community in attendance. The applicant and the Board’s presentation and concerns were centered around ‘set backs’, the space between the curb and the building and landscaping. The residents spoke about ‘quality of life’, the elimination of a part of Elmore Ave. and neighborhood…

This Application proposes to 

The proposed building will extend all the way over to Bennett
Rd.

build a structure bordering Bennett Rd, Englewood Ave (incorporating a part of Elmore Ave.) and Lafayette Pl. adding an additional 99 units to a street/neighborhood/Ward which already has:

• Town Center (320 units)
• Lincoln School project (188 units)
• a construction site on the corner of Green St
• a new residence at the corner of Oak St.
• proposed project at 50 E. Palisade Ave.
• a multi-family dwelling proposed for the Mitchell Simon property (100 units) on Dean St.
• an inquiry into Redeveloping the First Student bus depot/Linden Ave on So. Dean St. (which was on this same agenda)

Note: this board has already approved a sub-division for 256 Hirliman Rd. # 2016-15. (also 4th Ward. )
The Board ‘denied’ the expansion on Brayton St. Let’s see if they will ‘continue’ with the ‘Urbanization’ of the 4th Ward…….

The Tale Continues: On October 5, 2017…….

Update: Toxic fume in Shoprite condoned by Englewood fire department

This message from a bewildered consumer arrived in our email yesterday at 4:31 pm

Update: The message was written by a medical Doctor.
 Dr. Sapphire Mann Ahmed  

November 11, 2016, about 10 AM, I went into the Shoprite grocery store in the town of Englewood, NJ and as I walked near the vegetables, a chemical fume overtook me.
I began to feel nauseous and developed a headache in minutes.
I felt sick so I left the store after complaining to 2 managers who said that they were told that the chemical was not toxic.

I told him that it is noxious even if it is not toxic.

Does produce absorb noxious fumes at a level
that may be harmful to humans?

I heard customers and workers complaining.

I went to the health department which was closed wth not even an emergency number.

I went to the police department and picked up the lobby phone and reported my concerns to Sargent Canner (?) who initially tried to brush me off rather than thank me for being a concerned citizen.

Finally, as I persisted, he told me that he would report it to the fire department.
I called the fire department later and I was told that this is an ongoing complaint during the construction in the grocery store.

The firemen supervisor said that their machine had determined that the fumes were from polyurethane and that the levels were not toxic.

I told them that the levels are noxious and doubted if they would allow themselves, their children or parents to be exposed to it for 15 minutes.

When humans are so ignorant that we wait for a machine to tell us if fumes are toxic we need help.

I did not get a satisfactory answer when I asked if the fumes were not toxic from the fire department. The fumes in that store were noxious to me in a few minutes my eyes burned, and I felt that it penetrated my oral and nasal mucous and I developed a headache. Neither customers nor fresh foods should be exposed to those fumes and this would not be acceptable in other communities.
Maybe the fire department doesn't have access to internet to read:

"Uncured polyurethane can cause breathing problems such as asthma. People who are in rooms that have uncured polyurethane floors can also experience health problems including eye and throat irritation, headaches, nausea, vomiting, coughing and shortness of breath." Dr. Sapphire Mann Ahmed 

I like for you to assign some of your staff and some staff of the police department to stand in the back of ShopRite in Englewood for an hour let alone all day long with those fumes.

                              .....And how are the children?

This does raise a very important question. Who is watching out for our health in situations like this?

"...In a 1987 study, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranked indoor air pollution fourth in cancer risk among the 13 top environmental problems analyzed. The United Nations Development Program estimated that more than two million people die each year due to the presence of toxic indoor air. .. http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2013/03/25/14-plants-that-clean-your-indoor-air-of-toxic-chemicals

I would like to thank this citizen for raising the questions and following them up. People like this are needed  in every Community. I was in Shoprite on Wednesday and Thursday,  but I do not remember if  they removed the leftover mums from the rear of the produce. I had thought the area where the mums were kept was being held for fresh live plants. It was a nice touch for a minute. Now I am wondering if the mums were just doing a fine job of masking the odor. Plants are not  usually allowed to sit and die to that extent in Shoprite. I was not so surprised when I noticed they were gone, but I was surprised to see that a doorway had been cut where they had been displayed. Maybe the store should have closed during the hours of this particular construction and the fumes ventilated outside.

Mothers Against Misdirection

Vote like you remember how many Mothers
with Children Lost their jobs in 2012
when the positions of Paraprofessional and 

Secretary
were abolished in the Englewood Public School District.

All Mothers Matter, but not all Mothers Know Best.
I have a question for the Mothers who know best.
Did you ever read the Code of Ethics
by which you must abide while 

serving on the School Board?

If you do not abide by the very first one, I will file the petition with the Commissioner of Education myself.

Why would you serve someone who requires that you give up your name?   http://www.nj.gov/education/ethics/coe.htm

The faces of the Secretaries who lost their jobs in 2012.
Mothers that people like Elisabeth Schwartz, her sponsors,
Stephen Brown, Glenn Garrison, Henry Pruitt and
Molly Cruig -Berrry put on the unemployment rolls.
These are just the Secretaries. There were approximately
109 employees who were abolished.

Elisabeth Schwartz's name may have been craftily removed
from the latest mailer from the Mothers Who Know Best Campaign,

But this voter, and others, remember her from 2012, when she & some School Board Members supported by folks with bigger bank accounts than ours "abolished positions"  they knew were filled by "head of household Mothers".The Position of Paraprofessional 

July 26, 2012 - The decision to abolish the
positions had already been made.

in a Title I School Districts is not only protected by Law, it is mandated by the State and Federal Governments.

 "They are just a bunch of single women with children who have the nerve to think they can have a Union." Gabriel Bousbib (paraphrased)

Over 5 million dollars had just been deposited in a
Bank in New York, yet they kept telling  us there
was no money.

Do we really want Union Busters on our Board of Education?

Do we really need that kind of stress from people who have taken an oath to uphold the LAW and to provide a thorough and efficient education for all children. 

During this time of crisis, there was often standing room only.
The presiding President kept the public well after midnight,
 while he pontificated.  They pretended to deliberate
over the issue while we watdhed the ads that were published
advertsiing the positions being abolished.

Reorganization of the School Board, January 2013
we watched as the Board Attorney hatched a plan that prevented 2 of the newly 

elected School Board Members 

from voting on personnel issues.because they are members of the Union. During this time, the School Board never voted as a whole to accept the Advisory Opinion pertinent to the issue. They just proceed as if a vote had been taken and their side won. They rode roughshard over these 2 Board Members until December 2015 when the 2 could not take it anymore and voted on a Personnel issue anyway. Even the state advised that it was only an Advisory Opinion. To this date, no vote has been taken on whether to abide by the Advisory Opinion.

Many of the Outsourced Personnel are still devastated.
Some were Mothers who are also "Heads of
the Household".

What about sworn anti-activists, in other words, Union Busters? No one mentions the fact that these present day Union Busters were at one time supported and funded by the Union. They were originally put on the Board with the support of the Union. Are we to allow them free reign of the School Board with no opposition? Why would we do that?

4 current School Board Members have stood strong against 

re-instating the POSITION of Paraprofessional. Why? Everyone must learn to admit when wrong and move on in a constructive manner for the greater good of the District as a whole.

Read the LAW concerning Classroom Paraprofessionals (Teacher's Aides) in a Title I School District for yourself. It was signed January 16, 2010. Our then Board and Board Attorney knew of this law, because a resolution had already been voted on putting the law into practice in Englewood.  ftp://www.njleg.state.nj.us/20082009/AL09/227_.PDF

Meet Bill Feinsten

William Feinstein          FOR ENGLEWOOD BOARD OF EDUCATION

Bill Feinsten attending
the NAACP Freedom Fund Gala

I was raised in Englewood. After attending the Englewood Public Schools, I graduated from Dwight Morrow High School then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality Management from Johnson and Wales University. I am currently a Human Resource professional in the hospitality industry.

I have served on a number of boards and committees in the City of Englewood, including the Board of Adjustment, Rent Leveling Board and the 1999 Englewood Centennial Committee.

I am running for the Englewood School Board to ensure that we are moving the district forward with the positive changes that have been made over the last year. We must ensure that we support our teachers and administrators with the innovative tools needed to provide every child the best educational experience.

We can compete if our goals and objectives are focused on providing every child a quality education that prepares them for success. Let’s continue to hold every person within our school district accountable for achieving these goals and objectives. This includes school board members, superintendent, administrators and teachers. Only then can we restore confidence in our district. I encourage parents and the community to participate in making the Englewood School District great again.

Englewood School Board Election

Wednesday, November 2, 2016 - 7:30 pm

Public Safety Complex

73 South Van Brunt Street

Meet and question 6 candidates for 3 Board positions

Sponsored by the League of Women Voters

Vote.....

Seated: Crystal Brown, Emma C. Williams,
Betty Griffin - EPSD School Board Member
Lucy  D. Walker - Nellie K. Parker Education  Award Recipient
Bill Feinsten - Candidate EPSD School Board
Curtis Caviness - Candidate 4th Ward  Council
Dorian Milteer - Director Curriculum & Instruction EPSD
Howard Haughton - Former School Board President

Left to Right
Devry Pazant - Current EPSD Bd President seeking re-election November 8, 2016
Robert Smith - President Naacp State
Junius "Jeff" Carter- Current School Board member seeking re-election
William (Bill) Feinsten - First time Seeking Election to School Board

Robert Smith - President State NAACP
Gordon M. Johnson - Assemblyman 37 District
Devry Pazant - President Englewood Board of Education

Left to Right
Carter Jackson - Chairperson NAACP Freedom Fund Committee
Devry Pazant - President Englewood School Board - seeking re-election
Anthony Cureton - President Bergen County NAACP
Robert Smith - President State NAACP
Jeff Carter - EPSD School Board Member seeking re-election
William (Bill) Feinstein - Candidate Englewood School Board

Vote Like your children live here!

And by the way..........how are the children?