This past week, the Bloomfield Fire Department participated in ‘Light the Night for Fallen Firefighters’ Remembrance. The Bloomfield Fire Department headquarters were lit up every evening from dusk until dawn, as part of the national tribute, which lasts from September 27-October 4.
In order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in New Jersey, the state has released a new app that will alert residents if they may have been exposed to someone with the virus. The Bloomfield Health Department is advising residents to download the app to ensure that residents are alerted as quickly as possible.
The township is continuing to take a proactive approach to keep Bloomfield beautiful, environmentally friendly and sustainable. Mayor Venezia and the Town Council in partnership with the Bloomfield Beautification Committee have announced a town-wide cleanup on Saturday, October 24.
With early voting for the November General Election beginning soon, the township in partnership with the Civil Rights Commission will hold a virtual voter information session tonight at 7:00pm. Bloomfield Municipal Clerk Louise Palagano will serve as the presenter for the webinar. During this session, the panel will discuss voting by mail and answer any questions that residents may have about voting this year. “With early voting just around the corner, it is imperative that our residents have all the information that they need to cast their ballot safely,” said Mayor Venezia. “COVID-19 has forced our state to change the way voting is conducted with a shift toward mostly voting by mail this year. Just as we did during the primary election, we will educate residents on how they can vote and answer any questions they may have.” To join the webinar, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82878172318?pwd=VDB2cGIyMnl1MksxY1VOWm51YXBzdz09 and use passcode 755978. You may also call in using the number 1-646-558-8656, Webinar ID: 828 7817 2318, Passcode: 755978.
Mayor Venezia and the Township Council have announced additional COVID-19 testing dates for Bloomfield residents. Testing will take place on Saturday’s beginning September 19 and will occur in the municipal parking lot. “The Township Council and I are doing everything in our power to keep residents safe and ensure that anyone that would like to be tested can be tested,” said Mayor Michael Venezia. “We have been holding free testing events like these since June and will continue to do so as long as there is a demand. If you are exhibiting any possible COVID-19 symptoms, please consider making an appointment so that you can be tested.” On September 19, testing will take place from 10:00am-2:00pm in the municipal parking lot located at 1 Municipal Plaza. Any resident that wishes to be tested must first make an appointment by calling the Bloomfield Health Department at 973-680-4057. Testing will be conducted on a first come first serve basis. Future testing sites and times will be shared with the public at a later date.
The Bloomfield Public Library has received $5,000 in grant money from the NJ Council for the Humanities. The money will be used to fund events that will encourage Bloomfield residents to vote, learn information about local elections and learn why it is important to be involved in local government. “Our municipal government is always searching for opportunities to bring in grant money to improve and expand upon services we offer residents at no cost to our taxpayers,” said Mayor Venezia. “This money will go to an admirable cause and will hopefully increase civic engagement in Bloomfield. Local government often gets overlooked but is what impacts our lives the most on a daily basis therefore residents should know about it.” All events will be streamed via Zoom for free. A schedule for these events will be shared when one is available. “This grant money will be put to excellent use by our Library in order to increase civic engagement among our residents,” said Councilwoman and Liaison to the Bloomfield Public Library Jenny Mundell. “An understanding of how government operates at all levels is essential to our democracy. I look forward to the informative events that the Library staff will put together with this funding.” The following events will be taking place as part of the grant program: ● Who Really Elects the President: The Workings of the Electoral College: Frank Argote-Freyre, an Associate Professor at Kean University and 2012 elector for President Barack Obama will explain the Electoral College process. ● What’s All This About “Fake News”?: Jason Luther, an Assistant Professor at Rowan University at Rowan University will explain why “fake news” spreads so easily, how to identify truth from fact, and how we can overcome it. ● Everything You Need to Know About Voting in 2020: Essex County Freeholder Carlos Pomares and Essex County Clerk Christopher Durkin will discuss vote-by-mail and answer all the questions that residents have about how voting is different in 2020. ● How Local Elected Officials Work Together: A discussion featuring elected officials at state, county, and town level about what their roles are and how they work together.
The Bloomfield Public Library will once again be offering fax, scanning and photocopying services beginning this Tuesday. These services had temporarily suspended as a result of COVID-19. “Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, all of our departments have made it a priority to continue delivering as many services as possible for residents,” said Mayor Venezia. “For safety reasons, some services have been scaled back and others have been temporarily put on hold. I am thrilled to see the Library open up these services once again in addition to the exceptional services they have been providing.” The library is currently offering front door pickup of requested library materials such as books and DVD’s in addition to print jobs which have been emailed to the reference department’s email at reference@bplnj.org. Documents for faxing, scanning, or photocopying should be dropped off at the Adult Library’s front door with instructions as to the handling of the material. A staff member will return the completed job to the patron who will remain outside the building. There is no charge for service costing less than $1.00. Payment for services costing $1.00 and over must be paid for with either a credit or debit card. The Bloomfield Library’s hours are Monday 1:00pm-3:45pm & 5:00pm-7:30pm and Tuesday-Friday 10:00am-12:45pm & 2:00pm-4:30pm. The Library will be open on Saturdays for front door service after Labor Day. Hours will be the same as the Tuesday-Friday schedule. All patrons must wear a mask and maintain social distancing (6’) from staff and other patrons while waiting for their service to be completed. To contact the library call 973-566-6200, email reference@bplnj.org, or use Purechat available on the library’s web site at www.bplnj.org.
Bloomfield residents will be receiving their cycle one water bills in the mail within the next few days. As a result of COVID-19, the cycle one bill will cover a longer billing period than usual which will explain the higher bill that some residents will get.
The township will hold an additional community conversation on race next Wednesday at 7:00pm via Zoom following last month's conversation which focused on the social construction of race and its real life implications. Associate Professor for the Sociology Department at William Paterson University Wendy Christensen, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Clara Maass Medical Center Desyra Highsmith Holcomb and Co-Chair/Director of Equity and Education for the Visions and Dreams Foundation Joseph Graham Jr will be the guest speakers. Councilwomen Dr. Wartyna Davis and Jenny Mundell will moderate the conversation. “Each community conversation on race has gotten us closer to our goal of understanding the issues affecting our residents of color and what we can do to improve,” said Mayor Venezia. “We will continue to have these community meetings as long as they continue to be productive and informative. I encourage all members of the community to join us on Wednesday.” To join the Zoom meeting go to: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86090982309?pwd=ZEpwdlNuZENGTHJuZCsweXBsVUtCQT09 and enter Meeting ID: 860 9098 2309 Passcode: 090007 or call 1 646 558 8656 and enter Meeting ID: 860 9098 2309 Passcode: 090007. During the first part of the conversation on September 2, participants will be invited to share their commitments and experiences. This will be followed by a conversation led by the guest speakers, exploring bias and inequality in various spheres of our life (work, schools, housing, healthcare, etc.) and will wrap up with suggestions for further exploration and action. This is a follow up community conversation building on the July 29 event, "Let's Talk About Race" with Dr. Christensen and Ms. Highsmith-Holcomb, during which community members were invited to commit to participating in an anti-racist, anti-biased activity or engage with one of the community conversation resources here: https://www.bloomfieldtwpnj.com/1538/6971/Community-Conversation-Resource-Links?activeLiveTab=widgets Participation in the previous meeting is not required to attend this meeting. The July 29 conversation, "Let's Talk About Race," can be viewed here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=366969620936415&extid=WyCfCD1Jq5K3dT36 Wendy M. Christensen is an Associate Professor in the Sociology Department at William Paterson University in New Jersey. Originally from Maine, she received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2010. Her research focuses on how political discourse and participation is shaped by social inequalities. Her book, "Mothers of the Military: Support and Politics During Wartime," was published by Rowman & Littlefield Press (2018). At WPUNJ she teaches courses on social movements, social inequality, theory, war and media. She is active in efforts on campus to empower students to political activism, and involved in local community organizing and social movements. Desyra Highsmith Holcomb is the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, New Jersey an affiliate of RWJBarnabas Health, where she pursues an inclusive and compassionate culture for patients, employees and the community. Highsmith Holcomb previously worked at William Paterson University where she held various roles. She helped develop and execute initiatives which advanced the culture of that University and recruited a diverse staff. Additionally in her time there she led efforts to increase awareness for issues having to do with discrimination, equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion. Joseph Graham, Jr. is the Co-Chair/Director of Equity and Education for the Visions and Dreams Foundation. He has been a leader in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion work for over 25 years. He is instrumental in providing Equity, Diversity & Inclusion support to counties in the areas of K12 education, Higher education, Criminal Justice, Corporations, Healthcare, Social service agencies, Nonprofit organizations and others. Joseph Graham Jr. specializes in identifying inequities and providing Professional Development, workshops, short-term and long term plans as a part of tailor-made strategies and methods to accomplish the designated goals.
In an effort to help residents understand the rules regarding battery recycling, the Bloomfield Recycling Committee is releasing the following tips: 1. Regular household batteries, ie, alkaline batteries can be placed in with regular solid waste. These batteries are deemed non-hazardous and there is really no local market for the limited recycling of them. If a person really wants to recycle these batteries, there are a few, mail in services that allow for the batteries to be sent to them for recycling. 2. For other batteries, rechargeable, watch, and lithium ion, these can be brought to the county household hazardous waste days. The next one is October 3 from 8:30am-4:30pm at 99 W Bradford Ave. in Cedar Grove. For more information visit ecuanj.com or call 973-792-9060. Residents may also go to www.call2recycle.org which is the website for a battery recycling organization that has information and a mail back store where you can purchase a kit to send back batteries of different types and in different conditions. 3. For rechargeable batteries, stores such as Home Depot and Lowes will take them back at the front entrances. There is a special drop off location but you should check with the store prior to dropping off due to COVID-19. 4. For lead acid batteries, these are recycled at locations that sell them. ie, typically auto repair stores, etc. “In Bloomfield, we are striving to be as sustainable and environmentally conscious as we can be,” said Mayor Venezia. “I hope that these tips will allow residents to more easily understand how they can best recycle batteries in a way that will be both convenient and responsible.” For more information about what residents can and cannot recycle, please visit http://www.ecuanj.com/household_hazardous_waste_list_2012.html.
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