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FOLLOW-UP: DEMOCRACY MATTERS

AT MLK CELEBRATION

PUBLISHED BY TEANECK VOICES

1/18/2023

Contents


Follow-up: Democracy Matters at MLK Celebration

MLK Birthday Committee Honored by BF Middle School

The Long Slog Toward Municipal Transparency Has Begun

Here a Chick, There a Chick Everywhere a Chick, Chick

This Week in Teaneck - 1-16 to 25 2023


Announcements


Teaneck Community Chorus - 1-22

Cannabis Forum -1-25


Contacting Teaneck Voices

FOLLOW-UP: DEMOCRACY MATTERS

AT MLK CELEBRATION


A huge overflow crowd attended the Monday night (1/16) 94th Birthday Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Temple Emeth. An untold number also watched by zoom or You Tube. (The event is still available if you go to the Temple Emeth You Tube Channel). The celebration with its focus on Democracy Matters was sponsored by the Martin Luther King Birthday Committee of Bergen County, was again chaired by Teaneck's own Anthony Johnson and was attended by a plethora of State, County and Township officials. Johnson reminded the assembled that this event was last held held in January 2020, just before the onset of the pandemic.


The evening featured an address by YWCA CEO Helen Archontou, music by the Teaneck Community Chorus and Violinist Sandra Billingslea, and the traditional presentation of awards and scholarships. Perhaps the highlight of the evening was Rev. Michelle White's speech to accompany her receipt of the Lee Reid Lifetime Achievement Award.


The images below capture a picture of the attendees as the event began, of Rev. Michelle White as she dynamically calls for inclusive community, and of the We Shall Overcome moment late in the evening.

MLK Birthday Committee Honored

by BF Middle School

 

By Toniette Henry Duncan

 

The MLK Birthday Committee was recognized by Benjamin Franklin Middle School at their MLK Celebration of Service program on Friday, January 13, 2023.

 

The program was led superbly by Benjamin Franklin 8th graders. The theme was recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. for inspiring others to offer their services through volunteer work and mentoring. A video was shown of Dr. King expressing his avid support of education and committee service to a group of young students. Under the direction of BF Music Teacher Reggie Pittman, the chorus entertained the honorees with songs, beginning with "Lift Every Voice and Sing." The Clarinet Quartet delighted the attendees with music as well.  

 

Other Teaneck Community organization honorees were Never Alone Again, Math Adventures, Food Pantry. 

 

Many thanks to Javalda Powell!! She continues to encourage and educate our youth to be concerned and involved residents in the community.

 

The Martin Luther King Jr Birthday Committee is always open to accepting new members. If you are interested in offering your support and services, you are invited to send an email to mlkbirthdaycomm@gmail.com. For more information about the Committee please visit our website at The Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Committee

The Long Slog Toward

Municipal Transparency has Begun

Two incredibly important public meetings took place this week – Council met Tuesday; the Planning Board met Thursday.


The first meeting – Tuesday’s 1-10-2023 Council – demonstrated clearly that the change in Council leadership has opened a path to increased transparency by a Council methodically changing the appointment and participation rules of the Township entities which have previously been blocked from public participation and real public reporting responsibilities.


Here are 4 examples of Council actions on January 10 which demonstrate this shift:


1)Passage of a resolution (17-2023) which publicly & formally appointed Council members to all 2023 Council sub-committees whose memberships and activities have previously been largely hidden from public view. Council also committed to requiring both agenda announcements and public reports of all sub-committee meetings Click Here. Previously sub-committees have often conducted multiple closed door meetings without notice and without making reports (The cannabis sub-committee under their chair, former Councilman Kaplan is seen as a primary example.)


2) Appointment of and Definition of Council Liaisons to Advisory Boards (Res 16-2023 Click Here) following the Council discussion clarifying both what entities do not have Council liaisons (e.g., the Planning Bard and Board of Adjustment) and clarifying the limited role of Council liaisons (a matter which also is being addressed in the introduced ordinance amending the Advisory Board ordinance (Click Here Sec 2-148-c. – see also #4 below)


3) Appointment to the vacant Board of Adjustment membership (See Memorializing Resolution 18-2023 Click Here )which moved Alternate #1 (James Brown) up into the full-member position ending in June 2026 that had been vacated by the resignation of Atif Rehman. It also moved the other 3 Alternates up one and named Victoria Wilkerson as Alternate #4. This resolution directly repudiated the effort by the prior Council to by-pass B of A alternates who have often served for years. Regularizing the BofA appointment process is seen as a very first step toward de-politicizing and opening land use boards.

4) Formal and unanimous Introduction of an ordinance (6-2023 Click Here) to amend Township advisory board rules opening their meeting to the public and requiring G&W at all advisory board meeting. This ordinance specifically reverses the 2020 Advisory Board Ordinance which closed these advisory boards to the public. 


Another indicator of our governance opening up was the fact that 42 residents spoke in Good and Welfare and demonstrated that civil responses to the diversity of opinion can be achieved.


  • Pro and con views were heard on the questions of cannabis facilities, backyard chickens and the welcoming/praise of various council members. Unanimity continues in public comment about recognizing Senator Weinberg with a naming, the recognition of Teaneck Policeman Fredrick Green and opposition to the use of Areas in Need of Redevelopment as the mechanism for Township development. To hear the entire G&W session Click Here and begin at 1hr&02min.


But before residents should relax, Voices reports the continuing hostility to change and openness which also was demonstrated last week.


The second meeting – Thursday 1/12/2023 Planning Board meeting – richly exhibited the fact that our primary land use decision entity needs much greater public attention. But the public faces major obstacles to doing so which the Board itself creates.


The Planning Board continuously fails to post its agenda until within 36 hours of its meetings – and more often than not those agendas provide 3-liners without any backup. Often they refer residents to going to the Board secretary to see what’s up. See Voices discussion of these issue in last week’s edition (Click Here under Making a New Development Policy. )


As it turned out, the January 12 PB agenda was not published on the website until 30 hours prior to the 1/12/2023 meeting. And the meeting itself was for the 4th consecutive time being conducted – without internet connection – and only audio coverage. However, even that audio tape has not been placed on the Township website now 4 days after the meeting. Not surprisingly, for most of the meeting only two members of the public were in attendance.


(Note, a Voices reporter did video record the entire 53-minute meeting which can be seen on You Tube (Click Here).

This week’s PB meeting could – like Council’s - have been the start of something different. It wasn’t: Council member Belcher was attending her first meeting as the Class 1 Mayor’s designate to the PB. Chair Bodner failed to acknowledge her but did motion Attorney Eyerman to swear her in. 


And then the meeting began with the chair referencing the agenda item by PB# only and then calling for a roll call. What happened next is very important.


Memorializing the 359 Alfred Avenue Site Plan -

Site Plan approvals -even under the AINR system – are a very major step in approving a new development project – in this case the 247 unit second residential project on Alfred Avenue.

Before a Site Plan can be finally approved, the PB’s original vote has to be written up in a resolution which is Memorialized within 45 days by a majority of PB members who originally approved it. It is that document that had to be Memorialized as describing the PB’s approval.


The presentation & initial PB vote on this site plan by Teaneck Urban Renewal, Phase II occurred on December 8. After 2 + hours of applicant testimony & PB discussion (including tense and unresolved debate about the adequacy of parking spots), a 8-0 vote to approve the plan PB was taken


Then an 18-page resolution which set forth the basis for the PB’s decision was eventually prepared by PB Attorney Eyerman and made available to some PB members just 30 hours before the 1-12-2023 mtg. Again, it is that document that had to be Memorialized as describing the PB’s site plan approval

 

What followed was a 2 minute consideration of the 359 Alfred site plan resolution. at the 1-12-2023 PB mtg. Since only 3 members in attendance on 1-12-2023 were also among the 8 members who originally supported the site plan on 12-8-2022 – the roll call on Memorializing this site plan was not a majority – and thus the Memorialization did not pass – Chair Bodner’s saying so did not make it so.

 

Note new PB member Belcher had to request a copy of the Attorney’s resolution – as it was about to be subject to a roll call vote.

 

How can the other 41K residents know what happened? Well in this case our Voices readers have 2 choices:


They can watch the entire 53-minute video placed by a Voices reporter on You Tube (again, Click Here)


Or they can choose the 3+ minute option of watching the 8-0 vote that occurred on December 8 and then see the 3-vote roll call from January 12. That can be found on You Tube at https://youtu.be/wcB9nqcTurg_or click the video picture below. The Township audio only has not yet been posted on the Township Website as of Wednesday. January 18!!

 

At the end of the January 12 meeting, prompted by a resident’s G&W question about why PB meetings are now being conducted at the Rodda Center with no simultaneous public access, the Board had a 14 minute discussion about where and how to conduct its meetings. Chair Bodner and Attorney Eyerman proffered reasons about why it should keep doing what the PB is now doing. It became clear that their views were not shared by most other PB members. But the meeting closed, of course, with no clarity about whether a change would be made.

Watch this space. 


Here a Chick, There a Chick, everywhere

a Chick Chick: But in Teaneck?



Eggs are so expensive, it makes sense to produce your own right here in Teaneck.


Eggs are so expensive because of the avian flu that has killed so many chickens. Do we want that in Teaneck?


What a wonderful way to educate your children about caring for a community of living creatures.

Chickens are noisy and dirty.

 

Teaneck Voices viewed one of many websites that lays (no pun intended) out the pros and cons of raising backyard chickens (www.homes.com/pros-and-cons-of-backyard-chickens). Here is an overview.



PROS:

Education. Many people find raising backyard chickens educational. Backyard chickens are a great way to reconnect with the food supply and learn how food is made. You also learn about the cycle of life and death.


Entertainment. Often backyard chickens become part of the family and provide entertainment. You can look out your window and see the chickens or hear them when the window is open.


Quality Food Supply. Most of the time, we have no idea about the origins of our food. Often, food is produced on the other side of the country or even the other side of the globe. Backyard chickens reconnect you to the food supply. You gather eggs from the backyard, and those eggs are your supply. It’s a true farm-to-table experience.


Improved Nutrition. Eggs that are free range and not raised in a production facility are healthier. Chickens in your backyard eat bugs along with the supplements you feed them. Production birds are fed almost exclusively grain. According to studiesbirds that are given access to pasture have one-third less cholesterol and a quarter of the saturated fats. They also have seven times the amount of beta-carotene and three times more vitamin E.


Compost. A chicken produces one-pound of manure a month. That’s a lot of waste, but it can be used as a benefit. Backyard chickens can provide manure for composting, and that can help nourish a garden.


Low-maintenance Animal. Backyard chickens do require a lot of attention and daily upkeep. But unlike the family dog, backyard chickens do not need to be socialized or walked. A backyard chicken will eat and lay eggs as long as it has a good home and enough food.


CONS:

Cost. It’s not cheap to raise chickens. In fact, it’s more expensive to raise backyard chickens than purchasing eggs at the store. Chickens cost between $3 and $30 a chick, depending on the breed. The cost of a coop varies. The chickens will not get enough food in your backyard alone so it will cost around $15 a month for feed. You can add $10-$20 a month in upkeep and maintenance costs.


Noise: Anyone who has ever been around a farm knows that chickens make noise. While the hens will not make as much noise as a rooster, they still are noisy. The noise varies depending on the breed, but chickens produce around 60-70 decibels of noise. That’s similar to a human conversation, but not as much as the 90 decibels of a dog bark.


Waste: Chickens produce a large amount of waste, and all that waste can cause a stench in your backyard. A lot also depends on the weather. Rain and heat have a major impact on the smell. The smell can be strong, especially in summer.


Predators. Chickens aren’t very smart and can be easy targets for dogs, foxes, cats and other predators. They are not able to fly and cannot fight back against a predator’s attack. There is always the chance that you will lose some chickens due to predators.


Yard Maintenance: If you want to let the chickens forage on natural bugs and other food, they must be allowed to freely roam the yard. That means the grass, bushes and other landscaping are fair game.


A Solution?

One of the fascinating things about the Backyard Chicken Debate is the FORS and the AGAINSTS don’t fall into the standard “divisive” categories: religion, race, nationality – all the “things” John Lennon sang about in “Imagine.” Even if “the world will live as one,” we’d probably still be arguing about backyard chickens – the FORS and AGAINSTS are not characterized by any of those divisive categories!


What to do? We in Teaneck live in close proximity to each other. We are zoned for 4 units per acre, so most of the single family homes in Teaneck are on quarter acre lots. The activities in and on one home plot have a great impact on the neighbors. Teenage drummers, uncollected garbage, lawn-mowing at dinnertime, barking dogs are among the activities that may satisfy the needs of one family, while making life miserable for the family next door.


Backyard chickens fall into that same category. Is serving one person’s pleasure more worthy than respecting another person’s discomfort and unhappiness?

The Yale philosopher John A. Smith offered a word as a substitute for “compromise” which often has negative connotations: He suggested the word “Settlement.” Let’s think about a Settlement for the Backyard Chicken Debate: A Community Chicken Farm.


Teaneck has long had community gardens off Lindbergh Boulevard adjacent to the Garden Club greenhouse. Teaneck Voices suggests that the Backyard Chicken activists and the leaders of the Teaneck Garden Club Community Gardens committee, meet, plan, and write a proposal to Council and the Manager which Teaneck Voices will gladly publish.


The municipality of Montclair has established community farms which include flocks of chickens. Perhaps their leadership would collaborate with a well-formed Teaneck Farm Team, to help us provide the rich benefits of raising chickens while respecting the rights of those who are not comfortable with the idea,


Please let Teaneck Voices know your thoughts, teaneckvoices@gmail.com

THIS WEEK IN TEANECK - JANUARY 8 to 15, 2023

 


Teaneck Board of Education Workshop1/18/2023 at  at 7:30 pm. The meeting will be conducted in person at the Cheryl Miller-Porter Student Center at Teaneck High School and virtually via the ZOOM https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85981571764 Agenda, TBD.

 

Board of Adjustment - Finally Cancelled on the Town Website as of Wednesday 1/18/2023 after 2:00 pm. following multiple calls to Township officials by Teaneck Voices

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Contacting Teaneck Voices


By Email: teaneckvoices@gmail.com

By Phone: 201-214-4937

By USPS Mail: Teaneck Voices, PO Box 873. at 1673 Palisade Ave. 07666

Teaneck Voices' Website is www.teaneckvoices.com



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