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Take a look at Essex Green. And then head west on the map about three miles and take a look at the Livingston town Center. What you’ll see is the tale of two centers. Essex Green is cut off from the rest of West Orange by I-280 and by roads lacking sidewalks. Even getting around […]

When you talk about development, the topic of PILOTs and tax abatements inevitably comes up. There’s often a misconception here, with people thinking that this means that a development pays no taxes at all. But the fundamental belief that most people have – that PILOTs are good for developers and bad for the rest of

Last year, West Orange’s budget process dragged late into the fall. It was so late that the 4th quarter tax bills were delayed because they couldn’t be calculated properly. This started with the Mayor. The budget wasn’t presented to the Council until late April. But after that, the Council engaged in a lengthy series of

When you walk through your neighborhood in West Orange – whether you’re dropping your kids off at school, jogging down Pleasant Valley Way, or visiting a local business on Main Street – you should feel safe. Yet too many of us have experienced near misses with speeding or distracted drivers. I run every morning, and

I live in St. Cloud near the zoo, and we frequently find ourselves driving up and down Northfield Ave. It’s the gateway to Livingston and points further west, and every time we drive through the traffic light at Pleasant Valley Way I think about how the two areas are effectively cut off from one another.

July is national parks and recreation month – which makes it a perfect time to highlight the parks in West Orange. We are blessed to have many great outdoor spaces in town. There are three major county parks (South Mountain Reservation, the Zoo Complex, and Eagle Rock Reservation), a national park (Thomas Edison), and numerous

For some time now, retirement payouts have been a hot topic at town council meetings. The most controversial of those was Abbott’s accumulated leave worth almost $800,000. But other questions have swirled, causing the Council to quibble over payments as small as $5.36. The Council has the benefit of legal counsel to explain the finer

I live in the St. Cloud area by the zoo. I love running every morning, and I often run on the trails. South Mountain is super convenient to get to. But it is frustratingly hard to get up to Eagle Rock Reservation on foot from my house. To prove that point, I ran the route

In February, it was reported that West Orange’s former Chief of Police, James Abbott, was due to receive a $780k payout for accumulated leave at retirement. This is an obscene amount and it raised questions about how this could happen – and whether there was anything that could be done to avoid paying it. Since

Thank you to everyone that stopped by Llewelynn Parq on Wednesday to officially kick off my campaign for Mayor. It was great to be with friends, family, and supporters, talking about the future of West Orange. And a special thanks to all of the regular folks who happened to be up front at the bar