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.
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.
Hillside UNICO is a chapter of UNICO National—the nation’s largest Italian American volunteer organization whose members and chapters promote Italian culture and language, offer scholarships, fight bias, and perform acts of charity in the community.
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.
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.
Union County, NJ – Students from the Kean University Center for Leadership and Service bundled up and took rakes and clippers in hand last weekend to prepare Chatfield Garden for chilly weather. The enthusiastic Adopt-a-Park volunteers removed old vegetation to help ensure that the plantings overwinter properly. Chatfield is a formal garden located in Union County’s Warinanco Park, in Roselle. A favorite spot for photographers, it was originally designed for tulips. It is now home to perennials that flower all season, attracting butterflies and other valuable pollinators. Individuals and groups are welcome to join the hundreds of volunteers who participate in Adopt-A-Park projects every year. For more information call the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation at 908-789-3683 or visit ucnj.org/adopt-a-park.
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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.
Union County, NJ – Union County’s Aging Services Kiosk will visit six convenient locations in December to help connect seniors, their families and caregivers with helpful resources and services including home delivered meals, respite care, home care and adult day care.
“I’m happy to report that ASK has received an enthusiastic welcome all over Union County,” said Bergen. “ASK offers a personal, one-on-one experience that helps our residents access services and programs that can make a real difference in their lives.”
ASK is staffed by knowledgeable experts from the Division on Aging and Disability Resource Connection of the Union County Department of Human Services.
In addition to providing guidance and information about senior programs, ASK staff can also assist in completing applications and forms.
All Union County residents are invited to attend ASK events in any of the following municipalities in December:
Wednesday, December 7 Linden Public Library
31 E. Henry Street
Linden, 07036
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Friday, December 9 Mountainside Municipal Building 1385 Route 22 East Mountainside, 07092 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Monday, December 12 Clark Public Library 303 Westfield Avenue Clark, 07066 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Thursday, December 15 Westfield Community Center 558 West Broad Street Westfield 07090 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Wednesday, December 21 Fanwood Public Library 5 Forest Road Fanwood, 07023 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Thursday, December 22 Berkeley Heights Public Library 290 Plainfield Avenue Berkeley Heights, 07922 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
The goal of the Division on Aging and Disability Resource Connection is to promote wellness, independence, dignity and choice for seniors and their families. It is one of the Area Agencies on Aging established under the federal Older Americans Act.
For information about all services for seniors in Union County call 888-280-8226 toll free or 908-527-4870, or visit online at ucnj.org.
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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.
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.
Union County, NJ – A multi-age civic partnership is transforming a roadside parcel of County parkland into a lush, natural habitat for the endangered Monarch butterfly and many other valuable pollinators including butterflies, bees and birds.
“This new meadow will serve as a valuable teaching tool for the thousands of children and adults who visit Trailside every year,” said Chairman Bruce H. Bergen. “It represents the work of many civic stakeholders, and on behalf of the Freeholder Board I would especially like to thank the Trailside Museum Association for their generous contribution.”
The new pollinator meadow is located in Union County’s Watchung Reservation, along the service road by the Trailside Nature and Science Center at 251 New Providence Road in Mountainside.
Preliminary work on the meadow took place last month, when Girl Scouts troop from Mountainside and Westfield planted milkweed seedlings. The ground was mowed and prepared for planting by personnel from the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation.
After a three-day period of frost this winter, the area will be seeded with additional native wildflowers and grasses that attract pollinators including coreopsis, Joe Pye Weed, wild bergamot, tall white beardtongue, New England aster, switch grass, little bluestem, Indian grass, big-leaf mountain mint and New York Ironwood.
The seeds and milkweed seedlings were provided through a grant of $1,250 from the Trailside Museum Association, a volunteer organization that supports Trailside with donations of volunteer time as well as financial assistance for projects in and around the facility. The seeds were purchased from the New Jersey nursery Toadshade Wildflower Farm.
The Borough of Mountainside has also played a role in the project. The Mountainside Fire Department helped the Girl Scouts get their seedlings off to a good start by bringing water to the meadow.
Common milkweed, swamp milkweed and butterfly weed are the only food that monarch butterfly caterpillars eat. In recent years, monarch butterfly populations have decreased dramatically due to habitat loss and food availability.
“The new meadow enables Union County to play a role in a global effort to conserve our pollinator population,” said Bergen. “We really can make a difference, one meadow at a time.”
The new Trailside pollinator meadow is the latest in a series of habitats recently established in Union County parks. They are all fully accessible to the public and they provide colorful opportunities for photography enthusiasts.
These include the existing Butterfly Garden adjacent to Trailside, and the wildflower meadow, shoreline plantings and Chatfield Garden at Warinanco Park in Roselle. The Chatfield Garden, originally kept as a tulip bed, was converted to a pollinator-friendly perennial garden several years ago.
Echo Lake Park in Mountainside features pollinator-friendly shoreline plantings, and Cedar Brook Park in Plainfield has shoreline plantings and the historic Shakespeare Garden, which attracts many pollinators.
Monarch caterpillars have already taken up residence in the new Scotch Plains – Fanwood Community Garden.
The new Union County Means Green Community Garden Grants program has also provided additional support for pollinators in local neighborhoods. The garden grant program is part of Chairman Bergen’s “Union County Means Green” 2016 initiatives. It covers the establishment of pollinator plots in community gardens.
One such garden, the new Scotch Plains-Fanwood Community Garden, became home to Monarch caterpillars in its very first season. The garden is located on a formerly barren parcel of land behind the historic Frazee House, off Raritan Road in Scotch Plains.
Individuals and groups are welcome to volunteer in Union County parks by joining Adopt-a-Park and its companion program, Adopt-a-Trail. The two programs are run by the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation, providing hundreds of volunteer opportunities annually.
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.
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.
Union County, NJ – Students from the 
Union County, NJ – Union County’s Aging Services Kiosk will visit six convenient locations in December to help connect seniors, their families and caregivers with helpful resources and services including home delivered meals, respite care, home care and adult day care.
Union County, NJ – A multi-age civic partnership is transforming a roadside parcel of County parkland into a lush, natural habitat for the endangered Monarch butterfly and many other valuable pollinators including butterflies, bees and birds.