Charting the Goings-On in Teaneck
Author: Keith Kaplan
//The Fall 2020 class brochure along with the flyers are available now in the Rodda Center lobby. Classes are limited, will be held outside, and will follow all Covid-19 guidelines.
Please see flyers for details.
If you have any questions, please call our office at (201) 837-7130
//At the August 11, 2020 meeting of the Township council, ordinance 15-2020 was adopted, which modifies some provisions for Council’s advisory boards.
In the video below, Mayor Dunleavy provides the reasons for the changes and current state of the Council’s Advisory Board operations.
I want to thank the Mayor for spending the past two years, meeting with all Advisory Board chairs, Township staff and others to create this new framework, which will bring additional clarity and productivity to the boards and how public input shapes the decisions council makes.
Anyone interested in applying to serve on an Advisory (or Statutory*) Board may click here: Application for Township Boards
(* The ordinance above only applies to advisory boards, statutory boards are governed by State statue)
//Please fill out the form below to report damage to the township.
//Please be advised that SUEZ will be working on Test Pits, Saw Cutting, and Services throughout the Township over the next 2 weeks beginning Monday, July 20th.
You can find this information on the Township Website here: Suez Work Schedule
You can find the same information on the map and chart below (enter address to search)
Continue reading “Suez Service Work Schedule for July, 2020”
//In the State of New Jersey, Municipal governments are given powers from the State legislature. If we are not specifically given a power, we can’t legislate it.
Of course, the State can also yank back powers and if the State lege chooses to act differently than a municipality, the local ordinance is superseded and can no longer be enforced. An example of this could be seen in Teaneck’s “hands free phone ordinance” or the “requirement for fences for certain above ground pools”. No matter how wonderful the local population may find the rule, once the State acts in a specific area, the local rules fall.
The question recently came up about whether or not the local “noise” ordinance is enforceable here in Teaneck.
I think this is a good opportunity to share with the public how I look at questions like this, so you can see how the process works out.
First and foremost — what is the ordinance? Continue reading “Do Not Disturb: How to read an ordinance”
//On Wednesday, July 1st, 2020 at 6:00 pm, the Teaneck Council will hold the semi-annual reorganization meeting at the Teaneck Town Hall.
(Agenda available here: Reorganization Agenda)
We will be swearing in Mark Schwartz, Karen Orgen & Mike Pagan.
In addition, Council will elect the Mayor & Deputy Mayors, among others.
For those that may not be familiar with the way the Teaneck Council operates, I’d like to offer some additional information:
How does our system work?
Teaneck utilizes the Council-Manager form of Government under the Faulkner Act. What that means in practice is that residents choose their council-members “at-large” (i.e. you vote for everyone, as opposed to a ward system like neighboring Englewood) and the Council as a body, once elected and seated, chooses a mayor from among the council-members (as opposed to municipalities where the Mayor runs separately). Continue reading “Save the Date: Teaneck Council Reorganization on July 1, 2020”
//As I mentioned in the previous post, many residents have requested information about above-ground pools in light of COVID-19 altering summer plans.
In the past few weeks, I had meetings with the manager, the zoning subcommittee, the building department supervisor and code officials.
Note that fence and setback requirements represent serious and potentially deadly safety issues. While a permit is not required, you must comply with them.
Here’s the latest:
(However, they must still comply with regulations., including fence and setback requirements. — see below) Continue reading “[UPDATE] Above Ground Pool Information [update #1]”
//Below, are the new guidelines on the reopening of personal care services, which in general includes cosmetology shops, barber shops, beauty salons, hair braiding shops, nail salons, electrology facilities, certain spas, massage parlors, tanning salons, and tattoo parlors.
Effective at 6:00 a.m. on Monday, June 22, 2020, the following types of stores are permitted to reopen to the public provided that the facility complies with standards issues by the Dvisiion of Sonsumer Affaris and DOH, as laid out in the order:
As always, please please read these carefully and reach out to the appropriate experts, with any questions.
Continue reading “Executive Order 154: Personal Care Services”
//Some roads in town are concrete. Others are blacktop. Every now and then, you’ll find one that’s still gravel.
What gives?
The difference in pricing and the durability of the materials are significant factors in how we chose to surface roadways. Concrete road surfaces can last nearly 100 years, while blacktop may need to be milled and re-paved every few decades.
If you had your choice (but had to pay for it), what would you choose? Would the amount of time you were planning to live on your street be a factor?
Believe it or not, that was the case. The passage below is from May 5, 1936: Continue reading “What would you prefer: Concrete vs Blacktop?”
//The Covid-19 Pandemic has upended many of the ways we conduct our lives. In the May municipal elections, polls were replaced with envelopes.
Unfortunately, despite the best efforts, not all envelopes were given the same treatment.
Worse, still, it’s impossible to know how many envelopes did not arrive. It’s not as if you can just count what didn’t show up.
In an effort to find out what worked and what didn’t, I requested information from the Bergen County Board of Elections, as to what ballots arrived and what didn’t. The staff and administration at the BOE have been helpful and worked hard to help explain the system. They expressed a profound amount of concern for ensuring the system runs as smooth as possible and that every vote is counted. They do a tremendous amount of work under very strict rules and tight time-frames.
It seems that NJ has a new interface between two independent systems, which created some hiccups in reporting and coordination. The County Board of Elections system feeds information into the State Voter Registration System (SVRS). I spoke with the head of the County system as well as the head of the State system. That integration, to put it mildly, is not seamless.
Two problematic areas which require more review are:
Continue reading “Vote By Mail — How Did it Work? What Can Be Fixed?”
