Category: Public Info

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders is pleased to present an exhibit of monoprints by Debra F. Livingston of Scotch Plains in the gallery space at the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, located at 633 Pearl Street in Elizabeth. A selection of her work entitled “Debra F. Livingston – Works on Paper” is on display at the Pearl Street Gallery currently until October 19. Gallery hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays.

“We have many artistically talented individuals here in Union County and we are proud to have Debra Livingston’s monoprints on display,” said Freeholder Chairman Sergio Granados. “The exhibit showcases Ms. Livingston’s skills as a creative printmaker with a wonderful sense of design and use of color. “

Debra F. Livingston is an artist who specializes in creating monoprints and handmade books. She is a printmaker, teacher, docent and mentor. She teaches drawing and painting to adults at the JCC in Scotch Plains as well as printmaking at the Visual Arts Center of NJ and the Baird center in South Orange. Debra has also taught art to elementary students in Essex Fells and Summit for over 15 years. For many years Debra has taught monoprinting at the Union County Teen Arts Festival. She has a BFA in printmaking from Rhode Island School of Design.

One of her monoprints recently won “Best in Show” in the Gaelen Juried art show in Whippany NJ. Over the past year Debra has exhibited her work in several shows in New Jersey, including the Pierro gallery, the Printmaking Center of NJ, the Visual Arts Center of NJ, and the Metrowest JCC gallery. Her work has also been in exhibitions in the Abecedarian gallery in Denver Colorado, the University of Denver library, and the Asheville BookWorks in Ashville, NC. She has had her handmade books in numerous shows throughout the country as well as in the permanent collections of the Tufts University Library, Newark Public Library and the Brooklyn Art library. She has been part of editions in the Museum of Modern Art Library, the National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, DC, and the Victoria and Albert Museum Book Collection, London, England.

Union County artists (whose works can be hung on a wall) interested in exhibiting in the gallery space are welcome to apply. For more information about the Pearl Street Gallery or other programs, please contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 633 Pearl St., Elizabeth, NJ 07202. Telephone 908-558-2550. NJ Relay users can dial 711. E-mail to: culturalinfo@ucnj.org.

The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders announces that 63 artists, historians and local non-profit organizations will receive funding through the 2018 Union County HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) Grant Program.

“The recipients of HEART Grants are a wonderful mix of creative individuals – composers and writers, historians, visual artists, musicians and dancers – along with arts, history and cultural organizations and civic groups,” said Freeholder Chairman Sergio Granados. “The response to the program has been exciting ever since its inception, and we are looking forward to another season of enriching outreach to thousands of Union County residents.”

The Freeholder Board established the HEART Grant Program in 1998, in recognition of the importance of culture and the arts to the Union County economy and quality of life.

The innovative program supports projects that directly benefit the residents of Union County, that enhance appreciation for the arts, history, and the humanities, and raise awareness that cultural assets are a vital part of community well being, economic development and cultural heritage tourism in Union County.

Total funding for this year’s grants is $100,000.00. The following individuals and groups received awards:

• Brian Beste, Fanwood, $1,000,  presenting photography workshops
• Candace Waller, Fanwood, $1,000,  providing free dance classes
• Dario Scholis, Elizabeth, $1,000,  presenting free painting workshops
• Lesl Harker, New Providence, $1,000,  presenting Irish music workshop and concert
• Lluana Jones, Plainfield, $1,000,  providing theatrical classes for K-12
• Lowell Schantz, Westfield, $1,000,  presenting two free jazz concerts in Union County libraries
• Renaee Smith, Roselle, $800,  providing Writers Café workshops
• Valerie Graham, Roselle, $1,000,  presenting free crafts workshops for children and seniors
• Borough of Fanwood, Fanwood, $1,800,  presenting a Fanwood Cultural Arts Performance Series
• Borough of Kenilworth, $1,500,  provide a fall music and art festival
• Borough of Roselle Park, Casano Community Center, $1,000,  presenting a free Halloween concert
• Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company, Union, $2,000,  presenting a dance festival
• City of Rahway/Department of Recreation, $1,500, providing studio art classes for children and adults
• Community Access Unlimited, Elizabeth, $1,000,  providing a choral concert of students
• Continuo Arts Foundation, Summit, $1,500,  presenting a holiday concert
• Cranford Housing Board, Cranford, $1,000,  presenting “Three Po’ Tenors” in concert for senior residents
• Cresthaven Academy Foundation, Plainfield, $1,500,  providing an after school music program for children
• Dreamcatchers Repertory Theatre, Summit, $1,700,  presenting the premiere of “Psychodrama”
• duCret School of Art, Plainfield, $2,300,  presenting an art lecture series
• Elizabeth Avenue Partnership, Elizabeth, $1,500,  presenting Hispanic Heritage Month concerts
• Elizabeth Coalition to House the Homeless, $1,000,  providing art education for homeless
• Elizabeth Public Library, $500,  presenting free haiku writing workshops
• Fair Moon Stages, Rahway, $1,500,  providing musical theater productions
• Groundwork Elizabeth, Inc., Elizabeth, $2,000, presenting 16th Annual Tour de Elizabeth bicycle tour
• Hanson Park Conservancy, Cranford, $600,  presenting “John Bartram Lives” program
• Historical Society of Elizabeth NJ, $1,000,  presenting a history panel discussion
• Historical Society of Plainfield, Plainfield, $1,725,  providing a lecture series
• Institute of Music for Children, Elizabeth, $2,200,  providing arts and culture classes to young children
• Jefferson Parks Ministries, Elizabeth, $2,000,  presenting an art education program for children
• Jewish Community Center of Central NJ, Scotch Plains, $2,000,  presenting a cultural appreciation series for Seniors
• Josephine’s Place, Elizabeth, $2,500,  presenting history programs for immigrant women
• Kenilworth Historical Society, Kenilworth, $1,000,  presenting a Living History exhibition
• Liberty Hall Museum, Union, $1,800,  presenting a dance festival
• Life Drawing Studio Group, Fanwood, $1,800,  providing visual arts workshops
• Music for All Seasons, Scotch Plains, $2,500,  presenting music programs for U.C. Juvenile Detention Center
• National Council of Jewish Women, U.C. Section, Elizabeth, $2,300,  providing two intergenerational programs: a big band swing dance and a jazz band
• New Jersey Festival Orchestra, Westfield, $1,700,  presenting live concert “Home for the Holidays”
• New Jersey Intergenerational Orchestra, Berkeley Heights, $2,200,  presenting a community concert
• New Jersey Workshop for the Arts, Westfield, $1,000,  provide chamber ensemble concerts
• Occupational Center of Union County, Inc., Roselle, $2,500,  presenting art education classes for people with disabilities
• Overlook Hospital Foundation, Summit, $2,000,  presenting “Healing Caregivers” healing arts program
• Peruvians for Progress, Elizabeth, $2,000,  presenting a free traditional Peruvian Christmas celebration
• Plainfield Symphony Society, Plainfield, $1,600,  presenting a free symphony concert
• Premiere Stages at Kean University, Union, $2,000,  presenting the play “Black Tom Island”
• Reeves-Reed Arboretum, Summit, $1,600,  presenting concert with jazz vocalist Cyrille Aimee
• Roselle 24/7, Roselle, $1,000,  providing community-based arts festival
• Roselle Park Historical Society, $1,000,  presenting an historical music concert
• SAGE Eldercare, Inc., Summit, $2,100,  presenting free musical performances to older adults
• Saint Theresa School, Kenilworth, $1,800,  providing two student theatrical productions
• Second Westfield Senior Citizens Housing, Westfield, $1,000,  providing an interactive education program for Seniors
• Springfield Free Public Library, $850,  producing a museum exhibit
• Stony Hill Players, Summit, $2,000,  presenting children’s theatrical productions
• Temple Beth O’r/Beth Torah, Clark, $1,100,  presenting a free comedy performance
• The ARC of Union County, Springfield, $2,500  presenting an interactive concert series
• The Theater Project, Union, $2,000,  presenting theatrical performances in Union
• Union County Educational Services Commission, Scotch Plains, $2,025,  providing interactive music programs to students
• Union Township Community Action Organization, Inc., Union $2,500,  presenting Senior Choral performances in nursing homes
• Union Township Historical Society, Union, $1,000,  presenting history programs for students 
• United Youth of NJ, Elizabeth, $2,500,  presenting an historical play about the Harlem Renaissance
• Visual Arts Center of NJ, Summit $2,000,  presenting a visual arts program for older adults
• Westfield Neighborhood Council, Westfield, $2,000,  presenting dance workshops
• Wharton Institute for the Performing Arts, Berkeley Heights, $1,500,  presenting an older adult choral program
• YM-YWHA of Union County, Union, $2,000,  presenting the “Y Sunday Brunch Art Series”

Artists, educators, civic and historical non-profit organizations seeking information about next year’s HEART Grant Program can contact the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, 633 Pearl Street, Elizabeth, NJ 07202. Telephone: (908) 558-2550. NJ Relay users dial 711, or e-mail culturalinfo@ucnj.org.

Union County Freeholder Chairman Sergio Granados and Freeholders Christopher Hudak and Alexander Mirabella present a resolution to Union County Sheriff’s Investigator Christopher Zamanski commending and congratulating him upon being named “Big of the Year” by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson and Union Counties. They were joined by Union County Sheriff Peter Corvelli, Undersheriff Mickey Colon and Michele Williers and Gabrielle Lasko from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Essex, Hudson and Union Counties. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Union County Freeholder Chairman Sergio Granados, Vice Chairman Bette Jane Kowalski and Freeholders Christopher Hudak, Bruce Bergen and Alexander Mirabella congratulate Jeffery Gonzalez of Elizabeth, who graduated Union County Vocational-Technical Schools’ Magnet High School, as NJAC Executive Director John G. Donnadio presents the student with a New Jersey Association of Counties (NJAC) – Investors Bank scholarship check. They were joined by UCVTS Superintendent of Schools Peter A. Capodice. During the past seven years, the NJAC Foundation has awarded over $243,000.00 in scholarships to hardworking county vocational-technical school graduates who plan to continue their education at a county or state college. Gonzalez will be attending Rutgers University. (Photo by Jim Lowney/County of Union)

Union County, NJ – Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi advises County residents to be aware that they can access certain types of property information free of charge through the County Clerk’s website on a 24/7 basis, or by calling or visiting the County Clerk’s offices in Elizabeth and Westfield during regular business hours.

“There is no need to pay a third party for information that my office makes available free of charge online, at your convenience,” said Ms. Rajoppi. “If you need assistance assessing this online public information, my professional staff will help you by phone or in person – also free of charge.”

In particular, Ms. Rajoppi drew attention to a recently circulated mailer in which a company advertises a fee of $79.00 to provide clients with a property’s transaction history.

“Any person with access to a computer can get a transaction history free of charge through the ‘Property Search’ link on my website, at their convenience, for property recorded after 1977,” said Ms. Rajoppi. “In addition, for those interested in schools, demographics and other details, that information is available for free, in user-friendly formats, through online real estate companies like Zillow.”

Property records prior to 1977 are kept in book form. Persons seeking records of pre-1977 property transactions can visit the County Clerk’s office in Elizabeth to search the books, with the assistance of County Clerk staff if needed.

Ms. Rajoppi also advised Union County residents to avoid property fraud committed in their name by signing up for the Property Fraud Alert system. This free, online service that sends an automatic alert when a Union County property document is filed in the subscriber’s name.

Union County residents can also increase their awareness of fraud and other consumer issues by subscribing to real-time alerts through the Anti-Fraud Toolkit, an information hub hosted by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.

To report a possible fraud or scam, Union County residents can file a complaint online with the Union County Department of Consumer Affairs online at ucnj.org/public-safety or call 908-654-9840.

For all Union County Clerk programs and services visit online at ucnj.org/county-clerk or call 908-527-4787.

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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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