Sunday, January 1, 2017

MAYOR DECLARES STATE OF THE TOWNSHIP "EXCELLENT." BUT WHAT ABOUT POST OFFICE?

Mayor Victor Deluca declared the state of Maplewood to be "excellent," adding "our future is bright" in the annual State of the Township address today at Town Hall.  

After being sworn in to his ninth straight term as mayor, and 12th overall, Deluca offered up a laundry list of positive aspects for the community and accomplishments under his watch.

Among those was the clear message that Maplewood will remain a diverse community and a defender of immigrant and other rights as a Trump Administration comes in place in Washington later this month.

He stated:

We on the Maplewood Township Committee take our commitment to the Constitution very seriously. Our community will continue to be welcoming and open, embracing individuals of diverse racial, ethnic, religious and national backgrounds, and different ages and sexual orientation. And we will not condition the provision of Township services or benefits on matters related to citizenship or immigration status and we will not take any action to profile or register individuals or groups based on religion, race, ethnicity, national origin or immigration status. 
See the entire 2,100-word speech HERE.

Other highlights are below:


....We had another bit of excitement just a couple of weeks ago with the opening of Essex County’s first Wawa on Springfield Avenue. When we created the vision for a revitalized Springfield Avenue, we knew it was critical to fundamentally change its eastern border. Well we succeeded in attracting tens of millions of redevelopment dollars in that area and now have a new Wawa, the re-opened Maplewood Diner and the Avalon Bay apartment building. Next up is the opening of Cornbread Restaurant in May and the redevelopment of the former Jewelry Mart building. These moves are game changers for the future of Springfield Avenue....


....There was a lot of activity on other fronts too. We:

  • celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Maplewood Pool;
  • hired a national consultant to study the consolidation, merger or sharing of fire protection services between Maplewood and South Orange;
  • contracted with Sage and Coombe Architects to engage the community in developing a comprehensive plan to make the Maplewood Library a building for the 21st Century;
  • entered into a formal agreement with the South Orange Rescue Squad to back up the Maplewood Fire Department in providing emergency medical services in our community;
  • joined with South Orange and the School Board in creating the Recreation Facilities Improvement Fund;
  • recruited Midtown Direct Rep, an group of over 100 Broadway actors and theater professionals, to become the resident theater company at the Woodland; and
  • reinstated quarterly meetings between the School Superintendent, School Board and elected leadership from the two towns.

Public safety continues to be a top priority. The Maplewood Police Department does an outstanding job. Major crimes in 2016 were down by 13 percent from the year before. Of the 25 robberies and aggravated assaults last year, 16 or 64 percent were cleared by detectives, an exceptional rate. Thank you Police Department for keeping us safe....


....We also established the Maplewood Seniors Advisory Committee to guide the Township Committee on ways to improve the quality of life for older residents and engage them more in the civic life of the community. Thank you Ian Grodman for your leadership in establishing this important committee....


.....As I promised last year, in 2016 we held a Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Summit to address this growing problem. In June we brought together experts in the field to discuss what Maplewood is now doing and what we can do better. In October, over 80 residents attended the Summit to discuss ways to slow traffic and increase the safety of pedestrians. Let me tell you what we have accomplished....

Oddly, Deluca did not mention the controversial former Maplewood Village post office project, known as Clarus, that broke ground in 2016 and is slated to be finished this year with a three-story, 20-apartment unit, five-retail shop complex.

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