News

Livingston’s annual “Pick It Up! ” community clean-up day will be held this weekend, on Sunday, May 5, from 9 to 11 a.m.

“Pick It Up Livingston is a great way to show your love for our town,” said Council member Shawn Klein who first launched the event in the community. “There will be hundreds of your neighbors coming together to keep Livingston beautiful. Come join us with your family, neighbors, and friends.”

“Pick It Up!” will offer a safe, fun way for residents to help keep Livingston beautiful by clearing litter from designated outdoor spaces. Volunteers can also earn community service hours for their participation.

Participants must sign up online, either as individuals or with a group, to volunteer to pick up and sort trash and recyclables at one of 11 specific clean-up areas. Location team leaders will advise volunteers on additional details and provide clean-up supplies.

The Livingston Zoning Board, at its April 25 meeting, revisited Rodney Brown’s application for a five foot chain link fence at 201 North Livingston Avenue, approving the request. The Board then heard four more cases across the night, ultimately approving all four of them.

201 North Livingston Avenue At the prior meeting, Rodney and Simone Brown had asked the Board for a one-foot variance to help set up the aforementioned chain link fence. As he explained, the fence company hired to replace their damaged fence never obtained a permit to fix it, leading to a door tag warning and the Browns requesting the Board’s assistance after the Town Hall denied their compromise permit application. The Board also noted that, because the fence encroached onto a right-ofway, they couldn’t officially approve the variance and asked the Browns to do research on steps to take next.

The Livingston Board of Education unanimously approved the proposed budget for the 2024-25 school year at its April 30 meeting. The budget included a total tax increase of 5.75 percent, or $6,728,883. This total increase comes from a two percent base tax increase, 0.72 percent in enrollment adjustments, and 3.04 percent of banked capital. This does not exceed the state imposed tax cap. Thomas Lambe, the Board’s business administrator, saidthatthiswould be a tax increase of $558 for the average township home priced at $721,238.

Other highlights for the finalized budget include that all programs currently in place will remain so for the upcoming school year. This budget included $830,064 in enrollment waivers and 3.04 percent of banked capital, or $3,541,737. The district switching health benefits, effective as of May 1, allowed for over $900,000 in additional savings. 154 other appropriation lines were also reduced, accounting for an additional $4.3 million.

During its meeting on Tuesday, April 30, the Livingston Township Council passed several resolutions, introduced one ordinance, and tabled three others.

At the start of the regular meeting, Mayor A1 Anthony recognized April 23 through 26 as Municipal Clerk’s Week, specifically honoring Livingston clerk Carolyn Mazzucco. The Council also recognized May 5 through 11 as Public Service Recognition week.

Resolutions

Mihir Shah was appointed as a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, filling an unexpired term of two years, ending December 31,2025.

A 24-month contract extension was reached with Faircut Services, LLC, to furnish, deliver, and install trees in town.

LHS GOLF COACH JOHN WADDON CELEBRATES 300TH WIN: The LHS golf team defeated Montclair last Wednesday, April 24, with a final score of 163-180. The Lancers were led by Aalok Dhurandhar and Jordan Harris, who shot a 37 and 38 respectively. The win marked coach John Waddon’s 300th career victory. “This is more of a player achievement than a coaching one,” Waddon stated. “I have been very fortunate to have numerous talented teams with great individuals throughout the years.” This year’s team now has a record of 7-1, and is on course to qualify for the state tournament. The Lancers next defeated Glen Ridge on the road, 162-169, on Thursday, April 25. The Lancer record stands at 7-1

GIRLS’ LACROSSE TEAM WINS BORDER CUP: The Lancers defeated Millburn, 12-10, to capture the Border Cup. The Cup game was played on the LHS turf on Thursday, April 25. Shown here, Lancer attack player Delia Lederman carries enroute to scoring a goal. Lancer Casey Conklin follows up the play. Don Schwartz Photo

Livingston Public Schools has announced that Daniel Fishbein has been selected to serve as interim superintendent for the district for the 2024-25 school year. He is the retired superintendent of Ridgewood Public Schools.

Fishbein’s employment will begin on July 1. The Board of Education approved this appointment during its Tuesday, April 30, meeting. Prior to the start of the meeting, the public was invited to attend a “meet and greet” with Fishbein.

Board of Education president Pam Chirls announced at the April 16 meeting that the board would hire an interim superintendent to allow sufficient time for the district to seek stakeholder input and conduct a thorough search for a permanent superintendent of schools. In a press release announcing the hiring, offi-cials stated that LPS would benefit from Fishbein’s leadership in high performing districts.

This past week, two cases involving shoplifting were heard in Livingston Municipal Court.

Latoya Davis, 38, a resident of Newark, was charged with one count of shoplifting from Old Navy on March 19. She was found to be in possession of stolen articles of clothing totalling $381.76.

The Essex County prosecutor downgraded this to a disorderly persons grade charge, to which Davis pled guilty. She was fined $500 and ordered to pay $33 in court costs; $75 for the Safe Neighborhoods Fund; and $50 for the Victims of Crimes Compensation Organization (VCCO).

Aaliyak King, 22, ofNewark, was also charged with shoplifting. On April 6, King was apprehended for shoplifting a pair of Fendi sunglasses valued at $164.97 from Nordstrom Rack.

King pled guilty to one disorderly persons grade charge of shoplifting and was fined $500. She was ordered to pay $33 in court costs; $75 for the Safe Neighborhoods Fund; and $50 for the VCCO.

One hundred students attended the first annual Social Justice Read-In and Coffeehouse, abbreviated SJRI, on April 12, sponsored by the Livingston High School chapter of the National English Honor Society (NEHS).

The event highlighted literature from the many cultures that make up Livingston’s cultural tapestry, said Romeela Anand, who founded and coordinated the event.

“It promoted the recognition of diverse voices, especially when some of these works are being banned around the country,” she said.

SJRI featured booths from high school cultural organizations including the AAPI Youth Alliance, Black Student Union, Muslim Student Association, Italian Club, Eastern European Club, Christian Club, LHS NOW, and Women in Entrepreneurship and Stem. In addition to exploring booths to learn about marginalized authors, cultural literary movements and diverse books, students performed original written works in an Open Mic.