News

The Livingston High School boys ’ indoor track and field started the championship portion of its season at the Essex County Relays on January 20 at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex. The boys faced some of the toughest competitors in the state from St. Benedict’s Prep, East Orange Campus, and Montclair High School.

“The squadknew the task would be tough but were ready for the meet,” said head coach Nancy Petryna. “Many of the athletes ran personal bests, and two squads broke school records on their way to the first place trophy over St. Benedict’s by just .5 seconds.”

The Livingston chapter of UNICO has announced that Rufino “Rudy” Fernandez, Jr. has been named the organization’s 2024 Citizen of the Year. Fernandez, the 67th recipient of this award, will be honored at a brunch on Sunday, April 21, at Hanover Manor. He follows in the footsteps of Stacey Rubinstein, Brian Boyle, Walter Joyce, Nick Santinelli, Sandy and Len Goodman, Nancy Dinar, Tom Cooney, and many more who have been honored for their service to the community, embodying the UNICO motto of “Service Above Self.”

Fernandez is well known for his commitment to public service. He served on the Township Council for 15 years, and was mayor in 2011, 2013, and 2020. Since 1998, he has taken a leadership role in Kiwanis, a community not-for-profit organization, serving as president, vice president, and, for the last ten years, as treasurer. Femandez has served on the Livingston Planning Board for six years and has recently taken on the role of board chairman.

Over the past week, Livingston Police officers responded to reports of a vehicle burglary, package theft, and shoplifting.

Burglary to Vehicle

At 10:54a.m. onTuesday, January 16, Livingston officers responded to the East Cedar Exxon gas station located at 327 East Northfield Road on a report of a stolen computer tablet from a vehicle.

Officers arrived and were met by the victim, who parks his business vehicles at the location. It was found that one of the vehicles was entered and a smart tablet was stolen from inside the vehicle. The Livingston Detective Bureau is investigating the matter.

Package Theft

At 7:46 p.m. on Tuesday, January 16, officers responded to a Mt. Pleasant Parkway residence on a report of a stolen package from the front porch.

At its Monday, January 22, meeting, the Township Council passed several resolutions and introduced three ordinances, including two for overlay districts that would pave the way for 280 housing units to be built in town.

At the start of the meeting, the Council also acknowledged Muslim Heritage Month and the Livingston League ofWomen Voters with proclamations. Resident Josh Commer also shared information about a recent trip to Israel he took with his son, Adam, details of which may be seen in a separate article in this edition of the Tribune.

Housing Ordinances Introduced

An ordinance was introduced to adopt the 170-106.2 RIAO-2 Residential Inclusionary Adult Overlay District. The 3.23 acre district is located at the comer of West Mt. Pleasant Avenue and Miracle Way (block 101, lot 2).

Nilay Shriram of Livingston Boy Scout Troop 12 became an Eagle Scout during a Court of Honor ceremony on Saturday, January 6. The Eagle Scout rank is the highest rank that the Boys Scouts of America offers.

During his ceremony, Mayor A1 Anthony congratulated Shriram on his Eagle Project, which benefits St. Hubert’s Animal Shelter. Anthony stated that Shriram’s project personally touched him, as he is the liaison to the Livingston Council’s Animal Shelters, and his father had owned a pet store for over 37 years.

Shriram began his scouting career during second grade, at eight years old. He joined as a Wolf Scout in Pack 16. Over his elementary school years, he gained different Cub Scout skills; collecting various belt loops; participating in the exciting pinewood derby; and going to Taconic every December.

SOUTH LIVINGSTON AVENUE CLOSED: At 12:46 p.m. on Tuesday, January 16, Livingston Police officers responded to the area of South Livingston Avenue in front of St. Philomena’s Church on a report of a one-car motor vehicle crash. Officers arrived and found that a 2014 Honda Odyssey had traveled off the roadway and a utility pole had been snapped and was lying on top of the car. The driver of the Honda a 53-year-old Livingston woman - had exited the vehicle by the time police officers had arrived. She told officers that she lost control of the vehicle while driving on South Livingston Avenue, due to the ice and snow covered roadway. The vehicle then left the roadway and struck the utility pole. The driver was uninjured. The roadway was closed between Town Hall and Bennington Road for much of Tuesday, as PSE&G and Verizon crews worked to repair the pole. MI Photo

On December 16, Livingston High School’s “A” Academic Team competed at the annual Garden State Cup championships. Having won last year’s edition, the team defended its title this school year in a field of a record 66 teams from the greater NJ/ NY/CT/DE metropolitan area.

The LHS “A” team is now currently ranked #6 in the nation and #1 in the Northeast (the “B” team is ranked #101).

“This represents our highest National ranking in my 25 years as coach,” said LHS Academic Team coach, Guy Rabner.

“A” Team Captain Robert Wang (junior), Sophia Wu (senior), Kevin Zhang (junior) and Lelun Li (junior) went undefeated, 10-0, on the day. Livingston defeated Hunter College High School’s “A” Team in the final by an impressive score of 570-165, dominating the match from the start. This marked Livingston’s second consecutive finals victory over Hunter College High School, having defeated them in the Princeton University finals in September.

A Newark teenager is facing charges stemming from a burglary that occurred in town last summer, Livingston Police said.

At 2:09 a.m. on Sunday, July 23, officers responded to a Melrose Drive home on a report of an active burglar alarm. Upon arrival, responding officers observed screen damage to a first floor bathroom window, and the window was open.

Officers then entered the home, which was unoccupied. They next discovered that two motor vehicles had been stolen from the residence, a 2022 gray BMW M3 and a 2020 black Range Rover. Since the date of the incident, the Range Rover has been recovered in Newark.

During the conference meeting of the Township Council on Monday, January 8, resident Saba Khan asked its members to recognize January as Muslim Heritage Month, which the Council agreed to do. New Jersey first established January as Muslim Heritage Month last spring, meaning this is the first month that it is officially recognized statewide.

The Council told Khan that they plan to pass a resolution during the January 22 meeting.

At the end of the conference meeting, other residents came in with concerns regarding the recognition. Specifically, they were worried that the town planned to fly the Palestinian flag in front of Town Hall, which the Council said was not the case.

During its reorganization meeting on Wednesday, January 3, the Livingston Board of Education formally swore in Fang Gong as its newest member, and named Board members Pamela Chirls as president andJenissaAmette as vice president.

Gong Sworn In

At the beginning of the meeting, school business administrator and board secretary, Thomas Lambe, swore in board election winner, Fang Gong, as a Board of Education member.

Gong thanked the Board and residents of Livingston for voting for her during the election,.

“Thank you for your trust,” she said. “Your vote means so much, and that is the motivation that will keep me going. I am committed in leading up to your expectations. Together, I’m sure that we will make a collective, positive impact in this beautiful Livingston community. Thank you for this incredible opportunity.”

President, Vice President Named Board member Seth Cohen nominated Pamela Chirls as president.