Category: Public Info

Union County, NJ – Local bird watchers have been pleasantly surprised while exploring Union County parks in recent weeks. One intrepid birder even caught sight of an ash throated flycatcher flitting through the woods at Lenape Park in Cranford. The bird usually ranges far into the western U.S. and Mexico, and it is rarely seen in New Jersey.

A young peregrine falcon was also recorded in Lenape Park this season, and a group of birders who call themselves the Lenape Night Hawks recorded several other birds of interest while participating in the annual Christmas Bird Count, a nationwide project initiated by the Audubon Society more than 100 years ago.

“On behalf of the Freeholder Board, I would like to thank the Night Hawks and all of the volunteers who are contributing to the Christmas Bird Count,” said Freeholder Chair Bette Jane Kowalski. “These citizen-scientists make a real difference in Union County and beyond.”

The Christmas Bird Count takes place from December 14 to January 5 each year, involving tens of thousands of volunteers around the country.

The Night Hawks conducted their count on December 14, at Lenape Park and along the Rahway River Parkway in Winfield and Clark.

Despite the rain, the Night Hawks recorded some unusual birds including a snow goose and a gadwall. They also took note of many common denizens of Union County parks such as cardinals, mocking birds, white-throated sparrows, song sparrows, blue jays and American crows.

In addition, the group recorded a great horned owl, which was heard but not seen.

Peregrine falcons are an endangered species in New Jersey, and local birders have been able to report a band around the leg of the young peregrine spotted in Lenape Park. Their report will help scientists learn more about bird populations, population fluctuations, habits and territories.

Union County residents – and people the world over – can learn more about peregrine falcons by tuning into Union County’s free online livestream of a peregrine falcon nest on the roof of the Union County Courthouse Tower in midtown Elizabeth, at ucnj.org/falcon.

Union County residents can also help protect and improve environmental health in Union County by joining the Rutgers Environmental Stewards program. Visit envirostewards.rutgers.edu for more information or contact Michele Bakacs, County Agent and Associate Professor for the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Union County at bakacs@njaes.rutgers.edu or 732-398-5274.

Everyone can also help preserve local nature habitats by recycling or properly disposing plastic bags, bottles and other items. To participate in organized habitat improvement projects in Union County parks, visit the Adopt-a-Park/Adopt-a-Trail program online at ucnj.org/parks or call 908-789-3683.

Quick links to all Union County environmental programs and activities are available at The Green Connection, ucnj.org/green-connect.

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For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.

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The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the County Manager invite you to the 64th annual “Holiday Sing-Along” on Tuesday, December 24^th, at 11:00 a.m.

The event will be held outside of Assignment Judge Karen Cassidy’s Chambers at the Union County Courthouse building, located at 2 Broad Street in Elizabeth. 

Freeholder Chair Bette Jane Kowalski will be the master of ceremonies, and County Manager Edward Oatman will deliver opening remarks. The event includes caroling, musical entertainment, and a visit from Santa.  County employees Annie McNair will sing, and John O’Connell will play the keyboard. Grupo Belen will lead the sing-along.

For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.

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Union County Freeholder Angela Garretson, Freeholder Sergio Granados, Union County Sheriff Peter Corvelli, Union County Manager Ed Oatman, Deputy County Manager Amy Wagner and county employees joined Rabbi Mordechai Kanelsky and representatives from Bris Avrohom of Hillside to light the menorahs in Phil Rizzuto Park, the Union County Courthouse and the County Administration Building in Elizabeth in celebration of Chanukah. (Photos by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders today hosted the 7th annual UCSTEP Summit at Kean University in Union. The Union County Student Training and Enrichment Program (UCSTEP) is a day-long summit that invites high school sophomores and juniors from throughout Union County to participate in hands-on activities focused on leadership, personal growth, and civic engagement.

Union County Freeholder Chair Bette Jane Kowalski joined Union County Department of Corrections Director Ronald L. Charles and Assistant Director Robert Cesaro in congratulating the officers and civilian employees of the Union County Department of Corrections at the department’s 2019 Awards & Promotions Ceremony at the UCPAC in Rahway. (Photos by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Union County Freeholder Chair Bette Jane Kowalski and Vice Chairman Alexander Mirabella present a resolution to Eleanor McGovern commending her for her 35 years of service to the residents of Fanwood upon her retirement as the borough’s Business Administrator. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Union County residents can make a New Year’s resolution that will have a lasting impact by joining the Rutgers Environmental Stewards of Union County. The all-volunteer Environmental Stewards program helps members of the public learn how to take specific steps leading to improvements in the environmental health of their communities. 

“The Environmental Stewards program equips residents who have a passion and desire to improve the quality of the environment locally, with the knowledge and tools to be effective,” said Freeholder Chair Bette Jane Kowalski.

The Environmental Stewards program is designed to help non-scientists learn more about the science behind the environmental issues impacting their communities.

The Environmental Stewards hold weekly classroom training sessions on Thursdays from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. beginning January 30^th through early June. Classes are held at the Extension offices in the Union County complex, located at 300 North Avenue East in Westfield. Registration for the program ends on January 30^th.

The training sessions include classes on habitat conservation, pollinator preservation, climate change and its impacts on the Union County region, protection of the Rahway River watershed, and much more. Field trips are part of the interactive experience.

Participants also work on environmental internship projects of their choice. 

Previous Environmental Stewards have applied their knowledge in Union County with projects such assisting in the effort to combat the destructive Ash borer beetle. The Stewards identified hundreds of Ash trees in County parks, collecting data that will help guide the effort.

Stewards have also created programs in multiple municipalities throughout the County. A program was developed by a steward through the New Providence Recreation Department to help children spend more time in the outdoors and learn how to care for their environment.

The Rutgers Environmental Stewards program is run by the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Union County, part of the national Extension system, established more than 100 years ago under the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In New Jersey, Rutgers University runs Extension programs in each county through the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.

The Freeholder Board supports the Union County Extension with administrative assistance and office space in Westfield, land for the Demonstration Garden in the Watchung Reservation in Mountainside, and funding for special projects.

For more information about the Rutgers Environmental Stewards program, visit envirostewards.rutgers.edu or contact Michele Bakacs, County Agent and Associate Professor for the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Union County at bakacs@njaes.rutgers.edu or 732-398-5274.

Quick links to all Union County environmental programs and activities are available at The Green Connection, ucnj.org/green-connect.

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For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.

Connect with Union County on social media.

Union County, NJ — Union County Manager Edward T. Oatman has announced the appointment of Kamili A. Williams to head the County’s Division of Social Services, within the Department of Human Services, effective November 25, 2019.  Ms. Williams succeeds former director Charles Gillon who retired in September after 30 years of service.

Ms. Williams leads approximately 500 employees located in the Elizabeth and Plainfield offices of the Division of Social Services in the Department of Human Services. The Division of Social Services is Union County government’s largest single service unit.

“I would like to welcome Director Williams to the Division of Social Services,” said Union County Manager Oatman. “Her leadership, depth of knowledge, and wealth of experience will enable the Division to continue providing assistance and guidance to thousands of county residents monthly.”

Director Williams holds a BA in Business Administration and Accounting from Howard University in Washington D.C., and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

Her professional background includes experience as President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity based in Plainfield.  Previously, she held an executive position at the Community Food Bank in Hillside. Williams’ experience in the private sector includes accounting positions at The Prudential Insurance Company in Newark, and Deloitte and Touche, LLP, in Parsippany.

The Division of Social Services is Union County’s welfare agency. It implements federal and state welfare-to-work programs, that help income-eligible individuals and families become self-sufficient.

Assistance is provided for job training, education and placement as well as homeless prevention and shelter, supplemental food assistance, medical care including child immunizations, and other support services including refugee resettlement, an area in which Union County handles the highest caseload of any county in New Jersey.

For information about all services provided by the Union County Division of Social Services, visit: ucnj.org/departments/human-services/social-services.

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For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.

Connect with Union County on social media.

Union County, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders today announced that it is investigating all options, including legal action, to put an end to New York City’s practice of relocating homeless families from the city into Union County communities without notice and without support services.

More than 50 families are known to have been relocated from New York City to seven municipalities in Union County under the city’s “Special One Time Assistance Program” or SOTA.

The program provides one year of rent to relocated families but does not provide any other forms of assistance to families relocated outside of the city. The SOTA program commenced in 2017. Union County was added to the program as an out-of-city relocation destination, without notice, in August 2019.

“The families in the SOTA program are already in crisis, and it is heartless for New York City to move them around like so many pieces on a board game, forcing our local municipal and County services to shoulder the additional costs while brokers and landlords pocket the money,” said Freeholder Chair Bette Jane Kowalski.

“Union County is coordinating a united effort by the impacted municipalities to bring this appalling practice to a halt as quickly as possible, and to seek reimbursement for any costs incurred. We will go to the courts if necessary,” said County Manager Edward T. Oatman.

So far the Union County municipalities reporting SOTA placements from New York City are Elizabeth, Linden, Rahway, Roselle, Hillside, Union Township, and Plainfield.

“The lack of communication and the underhandedness of New York City to relieve some of their homeless problems to our City is despicable,” said Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage. “Clearly, this relocation program has not been thought through or seemingly, Mayor de Blasio does not care where these people are being moved to, the impact these programs are having on the cities they are sending them to or where they will end up after their year in the program is up. I guess once they are out of his city, he really doesn’t care what happens to them.”

On Tuesday, Union County officials met with Mayors and other representatives from the seven impacted municipalities by conference call, along with state representatives, to discuss next steps.

Union County has also filed a request under New York City’s Freedom of Information Law to the Department of Homeless Services requesting a full listing of all individuals housed in Union County through the SOTA program. The request includes information for all 21 municipalities.

The SOTA program fails to account for social support services, counseling, employment assistance, medical care, and other costs. In particular, the program places new demands on municipal school districts. News reports have cited unsafe and illegal housing conditions as no procedures are in place to verify housing quality standards, contrary to normal protocols for supportive housing programs.

Families from New York City newly placed in Union County under the SOTA program do not qualify for social services because they have not yet established residency, potentially placing additional demands on local charities to fill the gap. The SOTA program also cuts off after one year, leaving homeless families on their own to continue paying premium rents in their present apartment or search for new housing.

In addition, local homeless families in Union County are reporting that landlords will not accept their housing vouchers, because the landlords stand to gain more by offering their apartments to relocated New York City families. The SOTA program involves a broker’s fee of 15% and thousands of dollars in bonuses for landlords in addition to a one-year rental guarantee.

“If the City of New York is serious about collaborating on a regional solution to homelessness, then it must come to the table and collaborate instead of shifting the problem without notice or planning,” said Freeholder Chair Kowalski.

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For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.

Connect with Union County on social media.

Union County, NJ – Tickets are still available for Union County’s annual holiday season family fun and ice skating event at the Warinanco Sports Center in Roselle on Sunday, December 8.

Three two-hour sessions are available, at 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

In addition to ice skating, each session features holiday carols, arts and crafts, face painting, and more.

The admission fee of $5.00 per person includes skate rental, skating session (including a chance to skate with Santa and his elves), children’s activities, and a free hot chocolate and cookie.

Additional food and beverages are also available for sale on site at the Sports Center Café, where a warm fireplace adds to the festive atmosphere.

Tickets must be purchased in advance (no walk-ins permitted) for each session and for each person attending, skaters and non-skaters alike.

Tickets can be purchased online at warinancoparkstore.com/golf/ecom_v2/ecom.php.

The Warinanco Sports Center is a facility of the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation. It is located at 1 Park Drive in Warinanco Park in Roselle. The park is also bordered by Elizabeth and Linden.

For more information about all events and programs of the Department of Parks and Recreation call 908-527-4900 or visit online at ucnj.org/parks.

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For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.

Connect with Union County on social media.