Author: Web Site Administrator

Union County Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen and Freeholders Alexander Mirabella and Vernell Wright thank Victor and Jamie Fuzo of Roselle Park for donating a blue spruce from their yard that will be displayed in the Union County Courthouse Rotunda in Elizabeth during the Holiday season.

The tree will be the centerpiece of the annual “Christmas Carol Sing-a-long Around the rotunda Christmas Tree” on Friday, December 23, at 11:00 a.m. The Union County Courthouse is located at 2 Broad Street, Elizabeth.

Emergency construction will require the Goethals Bridge to close in the New Jersey bound direction for one night.  Two drainage catch basins are damaged and must be repaired. They are located on the New Jersey bound roadway under and just west of the Travis Spur Railroad Bridge.  

The closure is scheduled for this Thursday (December 8)  from 10PM-5 AM.  

The Bayonne Bridge will not close Thursday night, and delays at the Bayonne Bridge and Outerbridge Crossing are not expected.

Union County Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen and Freeholders Angel G. Estrada and Alexander Mirabella joined Assemblywoman Nancy Muñoz at the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ BIG GIVE fundraiser at the Jewish Community Center in Scotch Plains. They were joined by NJ State Association of Jewish Federations Executive Director Jacob Toporek and Jewish Community Foundation Executive Director Stanley Stone.

The BIGGIVE is a community-wide event that is part a month-long series of events designed to build community. The Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest is the largest Jewish philanthropy in New Jersey and the eighth largest Federation in the country, serving the Jewish community in Essex, Morris, Sussex, Union, and parts of Somerset counties

Chairman Bergen and Freeholders Estrada and Mirabella were honorary chairs of the event.

Union County Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen and Freeholder Bette Jane Kowalski joined Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Union County Tree and Menorah Lighting Celebration during the 33rd annual Holiday Nature Craft Show at Trailside Nature and Science Center in Mountainside.

(Photos by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the County Manager invite you to the annual “Christmas Carol Sing-a-long Around the rotunda Christmas Tree” on Friday, December 23rd, at 11:00 a.m. 

The event will be held in the rotunda of the Union County Courthouse building, 2 Broad Street, Elizabeth, NJ.

County Manager Alfred J. Faella is the master of ceremonies. The event includes caroling, musical entertainment, and a visit from Santa.  Mr. and Mrs. Victor Fuzo of Roselle Park donated this year’s Christmas Tree in the rotunda, a blue spruce tree.

The Hillside Chapter of UNICO recently held a Veterans Appreciation Breakfast and Program at the Hillside Knights of Columbus in Hillside.

Well over 100 Veterans from all parts of the state, including the Lyons Hospital of the Veterans Administration in Lyons, attended the free breakfast and program. Donations were collected and turned over to Lyons Hospital for use for the Veterans.

Left to Right Hillside UNICO Chapter President Angelo J. Bonanno, Union County Sheriff Joe Cryan, Union County Freeholder Alexander Mirabella, Hillside Council President and Third Ward Councilman Don DeAugustine, and Adam Samiec, a Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipient for the Korean War, Hillside.
Sitting: World War II Veteran Mario Mauro, of Hillside, and World War II Veteran Steven Pega of Cranford.

Union County Freeholder Vice Chairman Sergio Granados and Freeholder Vernell Wright joined Assemblyman Jamel Holley, Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage, Elizabeth Councilman Manny Grova, Rahway Councilman David Brown, Community Access Unlimited (CAU) Executive Director Sidney Blanchard and other officials in cutting the ribbon officially opening CAU’s new headquarters at 80 Grand Street in Elizabeth.

CAU intends for the new 60,000-square-foot, five-story building to be used by both the agency and the wider community while also serving as a symbol of advocacy and community integration.

CAU is a statewide Elizabeth-based nonprofit providing support programs and services to adults with disabilities as well as youth served under the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to enable them to live independently in the community, providing support in areas including housing, vocational skills and life-skills training, education, advocacy and recreation.

Tree to be moved on December 6th

A beautiful blue spruce from the home of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Fuzo in Roselle Park will be donated on December 6th and will adorn the Courthouse Rotunda during the Holiday season.

“This is the 60th anniversary of this tradition and it’s something that we all look forward to seeing at the Courthouse,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “On behalf of my colleagues on the Board, I would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Fuzo for their donation.”

Victor Fuzo, a former Roselle Park Councilman who is also a good friend of Freeholder Alexander Mirabella, said he planted the spruce more than 35 years ago, and that it is a “perfect” tree in its appearance, with no blemishes.

“I planted it when it was only 18-inches high in the backyard, and then moved it to the front,” he said.

On the morning of Tuesday, December 6th, a crew from the Union County Shade Tree Bureau will go to Roselle Park to cut the tree and load in onto a flatbed truck. Once the tree reaches the courthouse at 2 Broad Street in Elizabeth, a crane will hoist it onto the front steps.

Once inside the courthouse rotunda, the tree is tied with rope and lifted into a barrel stand that is weighed down with concrete. Then the process of adding lights and ornaments begins.

As in years past, workers will take a few days to decorate the tree, which will require multiple strands of lights. The public is invited to view the tree until about the second week of January.

The public also is invited to participate in a Christmas sing-along around the tree hosted by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders, with a visit from Santa Claus. The date for the sing-along will be announced within the next few weeks.

The Bayonne Bridge, Holland Tunnel and Goethals Bridge will institute lane closings this weekend and/or next week due to ongoing construction and repair projects. 

The closings, scheduled in conjunction with other regional agencies to minimize traffic impacts, are as follows: 

Bayonne Bridge: 

• The bridge will be closed from 9 p.m. Friday, November 18 through 8 a.m. Saturday, November 19 to accommodate construction on the “Raise the Roadway” project. 

• On Monday, November 21 and Tuesday, November 22 the bridge will close form 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.  It will then remain open through the Thanksgiving holiday week, and will close again at 9 a.m. Monday, November 28. 

Holland Tunnel: 

• One westbound lane in the Holland Tunnel will close during overnight hours from Sunday, November 20 through Tuesday, November 22, from 11:59 p.m. each night through 5:30 a.m. the following morning.  These closures are necessary for ongoing tunnel repairs.

Goethals Bridge:

• One westbound lane on the New York side of the Goethals Bridge, between the bridge itself and the toll plaza, will close from 10 p.m. Sunday, November 20 through 5 a.m. Monday, November 21.  This closure is necessary to accommodate work on the Goethals Bridge Replacement Project.
• One eastbound lane across the Goethals Bridge will close from 10 p.m. Monday, November 21 through 5 a.m. Tuesday, November 22.  This closure is necessary to accommodate work on the Goethals Bridge Replacement Project. 

To receive real time traffic updates, travelers should register for the Port Authority’s Bridge and Tunnel Alerts at http://www.paalerts.com/, call 511 or visit www.511NY.org or www.511NJ.org. 

Nominations are being accepted now through the end of November for the 25th annual Women of Excellence awards.  The awards highlight the powerful impact that women have on the Union County community. The deadline to submit a nomination for consideration is December 1, 2016.

“Each year, the Women of Excellence awards celebrate the achievements and accomplishments of women of diverse backgrounds from throughout Union County who have distinguished themselves in their careers and communities,” said Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “I encourage local government agencies, businesses and non-profits, and residents to nominate a woman of excellence, whether professional or volunteer, to be recognized for their commitment to Union County.”

Sponsored by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Commission on the Status of Women, the awards program celebrates women who live or work in Union County and have made important contributions of professional or volunteer work. This year, the new Union County Office on Women – a 2016 initiative of Freeholder Chairman Bruce H. Bergen – joins in sponsoring the Women of Excellence awards.

Women can be nominated for their contributions in the categories of Arts and Humanities, Business and Entrepreneurial, Community Service, Education, Government, Law, Law Enforcement, Medicine and Health Care, or Women’s Advocacy.

The Women of Excellence Award is open to all women, 21 years or older, who live, work, or volunteer in Union County.

Awardees will receive a Freeholder Resolution in their honor and will be celebrated at the annual Women of Excellence gala awards dinner, to be held on March 24, 2017 at the Clubhouse at Union County’s Galloping Hill Golf Course in Kenilworth.

For more information about submitting a Women of Excellence nomination, or to download a nomination form, visit ucnj.org/women-of-excellence-award. Questions about the nomination process can be emailed to Jane O’Hara, johara1217@gmail.com.

All nominations should be mailed to Jane O’Hara at 708 Newark Avenue, Westfield, NJ 07090 and postmarked no later than December 1, 2016.