MAPSO News Roundup: TV Commercial, Health Fair, Smoothie Shop

The South Orange franchise of The UPS Store will be featured in an upcoming commercial for the national chain. Interior and exterior shots were used of the South Orange Avenue store. The commercial features Barbara Corcoran, who co-founded New York real estate agency Corcoran Group, and is well known for being a 'shark' on ABC's show 'Shark Tank'. George Berkeley, the owner of The UPS Store in South Orange, can also be seen in the commercial. The 30 second long commercial was filmed in April, and can be viewed here. 

The eighth annual South Orange Health Fair will take place this year on Saturday, September 6. This year's event will be held at the South Orange Fire Department headquarters at Sloan and First Streets. According to an announcement from Monday night's Board of Trustees meeting, several health screenings will be offered, and free smoke alarms and educational pamphlets will be handed out. There will also be a variety of activities for children, including face painting. 

A new business will open soon in South Orange. The Dancing Blender Smoothie Company will be located at 121 South Orange Avenue between S&S Beauty Supply and Sonny's Bagels. Owner Manny Adeleye once owned a similar business in South Orange several years ago. According to the Dancing Blender website, the business will serve a variety of sandwiches, wraps, salads, smoothies, and juices. Rita's Water Ice used to have a location in the space, before moving down South Orange Avenue to the Vailsburg section of Newark. 

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Updated: 'What Would You Do' Airs Segment Filmed in South Orange

Only on PlaceNJ.com: Part of a an episode of 'Primetime: What Would You Do?' (WWYD) which aired on Friday night was recently filmed in South Orange. The ABC show is hosted by John Quiñones, and creates scenarios in order to capture the reactions of people standing nearby with hidden cameras. The South Orange episode was filmed outside of Stony's on Sloan Street on July 29. In this scenario, a mechanical baby with a recording of a child crying was left in a parked car by a parent, to give the impression that a baby was locked inside. While some people walked by, two people called 911, while others confronted the parent. 

"We...thought it was worth doing because there have been so many cases of this in the news recently", producer Tarik Flannagan told Essex County Place. 

"Over the years that the show has been on the air, we have filmed in South Orange several times", said Flannagan. "We remembered that the location (on Sloan St) had a lot of foot traffic and thought it would be good for our needs". The show has previously filmed at Ashley Marketplace, South Orange Pharmacy, and outside of the former Blockbuster video store on South Orange Avenue. 

According to Flannagan, officials were aware of the scenario. "We did contact the South Orange Police Department and 911 Dispatch in advance so they were aware of our filming. Along with our undercover security who was on hand, there was actually a South Orange Police officer as well".

Part of the segment also aired on ABC news magazine 20/20 following the WWYD episode. 

The segment can be viewed here.

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Current and Former JAC Volunteers Speak Out

Only on PlaceNJ.com: The Jersey Animal Coalition (JAC) shelter off of Walton Avenue in South Orange remains open more than a month since a judge ordered that the shelter quarantine be lifted. Current volunteers at the shelter hope that it will stay this way.

"It is one of the prettiest shelters", volunteer Carole Leonard, of South Orange, told Essex County Place.

The shelter had originally been shut down and placed under quarantine after a joint health inspection between village and state authorities on March 12. At the time, village officials charged JAC with over 50 violations. That number has since increased to over 80 violations. Due to the quarantine, no adoptions from the shelter were permitted. On July 7, nearly four months after the March 12 inspection, JAC sued the village, its board of health, health department, and several of its employees. 

"These healthy animals have people lined up to adopt them", attorney William Strazza wrote at the time. "Yet, they have been held hostage by the South Orange defendants inside the JAC shelter for over three months".

After reading the lawsuit that day, New Jersey Superior Court judge Dennis F. Carey, III in Newark ordered that the quarantine be lifted. Adoptions began that evening, and have continued to this day. 

Current volunteer Michael Schickram, of West Orange, told Essex County Place that there are fewer than 20 dogs remaining at the shelter. "We have been aggressively adopting", he added.

However, since the inspection on March 12, stray animals found in both South Orange and Maplewood have been taken to the Associated Humane Society (AHS) in Newark, rather than the Jersey Animal Coalition shelter. 

Both the current and former volunteers came to the South Orange Board of Trustees meeting on Monday night to voice their opinions about this issue. Former volunteer coordinator Nancy Schetelick, of Union Township, spoke to the trustees, saying "there's a lot of publicity going out by JAC about all the animals being sent to die". Schetelick then requested to see the figures regarding the animals being sent by the village to JAC. After Schetelick spoke, Deputy Village Administrator Adam Loehner shared the figures with the former volunteers, as well as Essex County Place, outside the meeting. The figures, which can be seen below, do not include animals sent to AHS from Maplewood.

All of the current volunteers who wanted to speak to the board of trustees arrived after the public comment period had ended. Several of these volunteers accuse the village, particularly Administrator Barry Lewis, Jr. and Deputy Administrator Adam Loehner, of trying to have the shelter shut down even before the inspection on March 12. These volunteers include Leonard and Schickram, both of whom told Essex County Place that they want the trustees to visit the shelter to see how it has improved.

"Nobody understands this", said Leonard. 

At a Board of Trustees meeting in June, Leonard accused Loehner and Lewis of having a vendetta against JAC president and founder Ruth Perlmutter. At the time, Lewis denied the allegation, and said that the term 'vendetta' was "grossly inappropriate".

According to the current volunteers, the village is paying up to $100 for every animal sent to AHS. "We (taxpayers) are paying for something that's heartbreaking", said Leonard. "Those ladies (former volunteers) do not even live in South Orange".

However, the former volunteers disagreed with the current volunteers. "If they are truly worried about taxes, Ruth (Perlmutter) should drop the lawsuit", said Schetelick, adding that South Orange has hired an additional taxpayer funded lawyer for the lawsuit. 

JAC is due at South Orange Municipal Court in Maplewood this afternoon regarding the charges.

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Trustees Meeting: SOPD Sergeant Promoted to Lieutenant

A sergeant with the South Orange Police Department (SOPD) is now a lieutenant. Alan DiEsso, who has worked for the SOPD for over 15 years, was officially promoted at a Board of Trustees meeting on Monday night. Several of Lt. DiEsso's family members attended the ceremony, including DiEsso's father, who is a retired member of the South Orange Fire Department. Several of Lt. DiEsso's colleagues at the SOPD also attended.

SOPD Chief James Chelel called Lt. DiEsso's work ethic "second to none". 

Lt. DiEsso used to be part of the SOPD's community relations unit. According to Chief Chelel, Lt. DiEsso will now work a night shift for the patrol division.

Also at the meeting, South Orange Village President Alex Torpey appointed village resident Shala Anastasio to the South Orange Library Board of Trustees. In addition, village trustees unanimously approved the proposed weekday parking restrictions for Rynda Road. All of Rynda Road will be under a two hour parking restriction. Rynda Road connects South Ridgewood Road with South Orange Avenue. 

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Updated: Learning Academy to Open in September

One of Maplewood's newest businesses will open in September. The Learning Academy of South Orange and Maplewood will be located at 487 Valley Street across the street from Columbia High School. The Learning Academy will offer preschool, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, after school programs, and dance, yoga and theater for children. 

"The Learning Academy is unequivocally filled with compassion, love, understanding, and childhood academics", said owner and director Susan Barr. "The staff is well informed, friendly, and educated".

According to Barr, a grand opening celebration will take place on August 31 from 1pm to 3pm.

The Learning Academy will fill one of several vacant buildings on Valley Street in Maplewood. Spaces which used to contain the News-Record, Seafood Palace, and Little Angels Literacy Program remain vacant. Blue Life Karate Center used to be located in the Learning Academy building, before moving to Springfield Avenue. The 31 bus, which connects Maplewood with Newark Penn Station, runs along Valley Street.

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Places in Essex County: West Essex Trail

One could easily say that the West Essex Trail, which connects the townships of Verona and Cedar Grove in Essex County with Little Falls in Passaic County, is hidden in plain sight. Although it has been open to walkers and bikers for over 20 years, there is little signage on or near the three mile long trail. 

The West Essex Trail is the only rail-trail in Essex and Passaic Counties, and is a county park on the Essex side. The trail was once the Caldwell Branch of the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad, which ran between Essex Fells and Jersey City. Mile markers to Jersey City still dot the trail. 

The West Essex Trail begins on Fairview Avenue in the Township of Verona, and ends at the Montclair-Boonton Line train tracks in Little Falls. The trail passes by the abandoned Essex County Hospital Center in Cedar Grove, in addition to crossing over Route 23 and the Peckman River.

Access points:

-Fairview Avenue in Verona between Sampson Drive and Durrell Street

-Durrell Street in Verona between Fairview and Grove Avenues

-Valley View Road in Verona (Dead End Street)

-Keeney Street in Cedar Grove off of Grove Avenue

-Route 23/Pompton Avenue in Cedar Grove between Grove and Myrtle Avenues (Stairwell connects trail to street level)

-Slattery Drive in Cedar Grove (Walkway connects trail to pool parking lot)

-Bowdon Road in Cedar Grove between Lakewood Avenue and Highview Terrace

-Francisco Avenue/Route 612 in Little Falls between Tivoli Court and Houston Road

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MAPSO News Roundup: WCBS Report, Movies, Summer Reading

The Maplewood Memorial Library will host a celebration to mark the end of the 2014 Summer Reading Club. The celebration will take place on Friday, August 15 from 11am until 4pm at the Main Library on Baker Street. According to the library website, activities will include obstacle courses, games, and crafts. The national summer reading theme this year was called 'Fizz Boom Read'. 

Three more movies will be shown this summer at Flood's Hill in South Orange. The movies include E.T. on August 13, Frozen on August 20, and Back to the Future on August 27. The Free Movies in the Park program is presented by the Village of South Orange, the Baird Community Center, and the South Orange Performing Arts Center. 

Does Maplewood have too many lawn signs? Dave Carlin of CBS 2 News asked that question in a report that aired on on Friday night. The report showed signs for a Columbia High School graduate, Save Our Reservation, the South Orange Maplewood Online Radio Experience, Wilber's Painting, Henry Home Improvement, Solarize SOMA, and 'Drive Like Your Kids Live Here'. Also shown were campaign signs for several politicians, including some running for office in other areas, including Summit and Central New Jersey. Local art organization Studio B was also featured in the report for their new signs, which read 'Lawn' on one side and 'Sign' on the other. 

The New York news station also did a report last week on the 'gum wall' on Baker Street near Maplewood Middle School.

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Jersey Animal Coalition Due in Court August 12

According to court documents, the Jersey Animal Coalition (JAC) is due at South Orange Municipal Court in Maplewood on Tuesday, August 12 on dozens of charges. The JAC, which manages an animal shelter off of Walton Avenue in South Orange, had pleaded not guilty to all charges at the Municipal Court in June. 

The JAC shelter was shut down and placed under quarantine on March 12 following an inspection by the Village of South Orange and the State of New Jersey. The shelter remained closed and under quarantine until July 7, when a state superior court judge in Newark ordered that the shelter be reopened and the quarantine be lifted. This happened after the JAC filed a lawsuit against the village, and several of its employees, that morning.  A hearing regarding the lawsuit is scheduled to take place on August 20. The JAC shelter has remained open since July 7.

The municipal court is located at 1618 Springfield Avenue in Maplewood.

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Coming Soon to Essex County: New Stores, New Restaurant

More stores will open this year in the Livingston Center shopping plaza off of Route 10 in Livingston. An approximately 32,155-square-foot Nordstrom Rack store will open on October 8. In addition, a DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and a T.J.Maxx will open in the near future. The shopping center, which is located on Daven Avenue, was formerly home to Circuit City, Linens-N-Things, and Borders. A Cost Plus World Market and a Buy Buy Baby are currently located in the plaza.

Essex County will soon have a Sonic Drive-in location. The national chain has announced that a location will open in the Belmont section of Newark. The restaurant will be on Springfield Avenue near the intersection of Prince Street.

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Coming Soon to MAPSO: Mara's Cafe

A new cafe will open in South Orange later this year. Mara's Cafe and Bakery will be located in The Gateway, a new residential and commercial development being built at 9 South Orange Avenue next to the South Orange Train Station. Mara's has locations in Brooklyn, Fanwood, and Denville. The South Orange franchise will be owned by area residents Will and Alyse Eisenstein. 

According to Ian Magley, president and CEO of Mara's Franchise Systems, items slated to be served include cheesecakes, pies, sandwiches, paninis, coffee, and gelato. Magley said that the new location will have outdoor seating.

"We want to be a place where families, students, and people of all ages can hang out", said Alyse Eisenstein. "We want people to feel comfortable and at home". 

Mara's is expected to open in November or December. The Gateway will open to residential tenants in September.

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