News

In a recent move, the Trustees of the Livingston Public Library unanimously passed a resolution declaring the library a sanctuary for books. This decision was accompanied by the adoption of the American Library Association’s (ALA) “Freedom to Read” statement, aimed at safeguarding the community’s unrestricted access to information without censorship.

The resolution comes in response to escalating threats against the free flow of information and access to books. Library director Amy Babcock highlighted, in her recent newsletter, alarming statistics provided by the ALA, which documented more than 4,200 book titles targeted for censorship, and more than 1,200 demands for the censorship of library books and resources in 2023.

Book sanctuaries, as a response, collect andprotect endangered books, “making them accessible to patrons instead of banning them,” Babcock wrote.

Livingston detectives are investigating an attempted residential burglary that occurred last weekend.

At 6:41 a.m. on Sunday, March24, officers responded to a Coddington Terrace home on a report of an attempted burglary to the residence.

Officers arrived and met with the homeowners, who said they saw several people trying to force entry into a rear window with a crowbar. They fled the scene upon seeing the homeowner.

Police believe the suspects were targeting keys for vehicles that were parked in the driveway. The Livingston Detective Bureau is investigating the matter.

At its March 26 meeting, the Livingston Zoning Board re-heard the cases for Abhishek Gangwal at 6 Hazelwood Avenue, and 44 North Ashby Ave., LLC, at 44 and 46 North Ashby Avenue, approving both applications. The Board then listened to three more cases during the course of the meeting, and ultimately approved all three of them.

44 and 46 North Ashby Avenue

At the February meeting, 44North Ashby Ave., LLC made a request to subdivide the parcel encompassing 44 and 46 North Ashby Avenue into two lots-Lots 1.01 and 12.01 - and to rearrange their layouts to be more symmetrical. Additionally, a house on 12.01 would be tom down and replaced with a different two-story home, with engineer Joseph Bachi and architect Hayk Ekshian providing testimony. This layout was criticized by the Board for going 45 percent over the existing lot space rather than 30 percent, prompting 44 North Ashby Ave., LLC to reduce its space to a more reasonable size.

At its Monday, March 25, meeting, the Livingston Township Council passed two ordinances related to the plannedBrightviewproject expected to be built at the current location of the West Essex YMCA.

Additionally, the Livingston High School chess club was recognized for winning its state championship for the second consecutive year. The club explained their accomplishments to those in attendance and then were issued proclamations from both the township and the state legislature, the latter by Assemblywoman Rosy Bagolie.

Brightview Ordinances

An ordinance was passed to authorize a sale agreement between Brightview Livingston Urban Renewal and the township, for a portion of its 357 South Livingston Avenue (block 3100, lot 55 in the tax map) property that includes the town’s skate park. The proceeds of the sale are expected to cover the cost of a new skate park, to be located elsewhere in town.

Near the end of the Monday, March 25, Township Council meeting, several East Hanover residents complained to the Council about the Livingston Police Firing Range, which is located in close proximity to them.

That shooting range is used by police officers to train and is located off Eisenhower Parkway behind Lithos Estiatorio restaurant, bordering the Passaic River. The range has been in use for more than seven decades. Town records show that the deed to the parcel - Lot 20, Block 68 - was given to the town in 1961 for the express purpose of use as a pistol range. Purchase of the land, which had previously been the site of the Knotty Pine Bar, was authorized by Ordinance No. 31-1961.

Township manager Barry Lewis said it has been used as a shooting range consistently since the sale, with the current structure erected in the 1980s. Police officers in Livingston and nearby towns use the range to complete required firearms training.

Anirudh Srivastava, a member of Livingston’s Boy Scout Troop 12, recently became an Eagle Scout, the highest rank in the Boy Scouts of America. He was formally inducted as an Eagle Scout in an Eagle Court of Honor on March 9.

The journey to becoming an Eagle Scout is long, requiring commitment and dedication. A scout has to learn the scouting fundamentals, earn merit badges to exhibit the knowledge gathered, contribute to society through service projects, participate in hiking and camping activities, and complete an Eagle project that yields a positive outcome for the community. According to Boy Scouts of America, only about six percent of the scouts achieve this rank.

On Friday, March 29, the Town- existing and planned operations, ship of Livingston will officially programs and events, with only the rename its Senior, Youth & Leisure name changing. Services Department (SYLS) to “We think ‘Recreation and Se-Recreation and Senior Services, or nior Services’ more accurately and “Rec” for short. The newly renamed concisely reflects our role within Rec Department will continue all (Continued on Page A-10) (Continued from Page A-1) seeing little issue with a company changing its signage color each day. The Board also agreed that certain signs required variances to accommodate existing rules, though some members felt that the success of a business depended on more than just signs to promote it.

LIVINGSTON’S HISTORY: Above, the Livingston Fire Department set fire to an old barn in 1939, for a firefighting demonstration. See more historic photos and learn about old-time Livingston in this week’s “Celebrate Livingston’s History” pull-out section, section B of this newspaper.

At its meeting on Tuesday, March 19, the Livingston Public Schools Board of Education approved a tentative budget for the 2024-2025 school year.

The budget totals appropriations between the general fund, special revenues, and debt services amassing a total of $ 154,450,072. This will set Livingston taxes to be raised a total of $125,399,923. An additional Board meeting was held the day prior, on Monday, March 18, to ensure the Board had all its questions answered ahead of the March 19 vote.

The Board also met with the finance committee on March 14 to discuss the district’s budget. Prior to the meeting, a number of adjustments had already been made. These included a $2.5 million cut to the budgeted fund balance, and eliminating $600,000 of recurring expenses. These recurring expenses will still appear in the proposed budget, but they will no longer be recurring. The finance committee also found and eliminated a number of non-recurring costs.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR CELEBRATION: The instructional aides and students in Mr. Justin Grossman’s fourth grade class at Hillside Elementary School surprised their teacher with a Teacher of the Year celebration. The students displayed their support for their beloved teacher by wearing masks of Grossman’s face and donning hats they designed.