LET'S TALK ABOUT ARGONNE PARK
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PUBLISHED BY TEANECK VOICES
Managing Editor, Bernard Rous
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LET'S TALK ABOUT ARGONE PARK - MAY 9, 2022
Contents
Let's Talk about Argonne Park
A Week that Really Wasn't
Notable Women of Teaneck
Voter Registration Information
These Questions Remain Unanswered
Upcoming Town Meetings - This Week in Teaneck
Events at the Library
Teaneck Voices Has a Website
COVID Updates
- Rapid Home COVID tests from the Post Office
- Rodda Center
- New Library Covid Policy
Announcements
- NETBPA Celebrates Loretta Weinberg
- Teaneck Road Streetscape Dedication
- PTA Council Raffle
- Bergen County LGBTQ+ Alliance
- Prayers and Support for Ukrainian People
- Support Teaneck Voices
Masthead
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LET'S TALK ABOUT ARGONNE PARK
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Many parks in Teaneck have the potential to be beautiful oases of relaxation, recreation, reunions, and happy social gatherings. With some tender loving care, expert design, and Teaneck’s treasure trove of MOST money, Argonne Park, the largest Park in Teaneck at 54 acres, is a perfect setting.
According to the Township website, Teaneck’s two largest parks are Argonne Park and Votee Park, smaller, at 40 acres. But, according to the website, Votee Park, has 19 amenities and Argonne Park, the biggest, has only 6 amenities, which visitors report are poorly maintained.
Votee Park is located in a central area of Teaneck adjacent to the many restaurants of lower West Englewood Ave. and the Queen Anne Road Plaza.
Argonne Park is in a purely single-family residential area of the Northeast, bounded by Englewood Ave., Schoonmaker Road, Loraine Ave., Aspen Terrace, East Forest Ave., Tuxedo Square, and Byng St. The area is home to hundreds of children, teenagers, families, and seniors for whom a haven of benches, picnic areas, sports and game activities for all ages would be warmly welcomed.
In this time of Black Lives Matter, Argonne Park is especially deserving of township attention and resources.
Votee Park was originally called Central Park. Draining and dredging on it was begun in 1939, and it was dedicated in 1943. In 1959, it was renamed Votee Park for Milton G. Votee, a former Councilmember considered the “visionary” of the Teaneck Park system.
In 1945, Teaneck was a solidly middle-class Christian community, over 99% White. As now, the town was divided into four quadrants by Route 4 and the New York Central West Shore Railroad (now CSX). As Reginald Damerell explains in his book Triumph in a White Suburb, Teaneck and Englewood were prosperous communities, with the middle and upper class Whites living on the “hills,” formed by the rolling Palisades, standing about 300 feet above sea level. Teaneck occupies a ridge about 2 miles wide (the Teaneck Hill). The East Slope of the ridge faces Englewood’s Hill on the back of the Palisades, about a mile distant.
And what was in between these two lovely hills? There, at sea level, lies Englewood’s Fourth Ward, known at the time as a “Negro Ghetto [sic],” housing the servants of the white folks on the hills. To quote briefly from Mr. Damerell’s book:
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“Officials in Teaneck at the time became alarmed. Members of the Town Council and the Planning Board discussed various ways to keep Negroes [sic] out. They talked about a road and a high fence. But during the Depression, the township had acquired 50 to 60 acres along the border of Teaneck and Englewood through the foreclosure of tax liens.”
The streets running through this area were dirt roads, so the Teaneck officials ordered trees planted to create a buffer zone between White Teaneck and the Negro[sic] Fourth Ward. The Teaneck Master Plan at that time, 1945, labeled the buffer Argonne Park.
In 2022, it's appropriate to say, this way of thinking has no home in Teaneck and it is time for a change. The township can demonstrate their respect and recognition to the residents in the North East by improving Argonne Park. While the Park may be nestled in the North East, it can be used by the multi-faceted diversity of all residents in the township of Teaneck.
The visionary of Argonne Park, to this day a heavily treed and overgrown area with minimal amenities, was Council member Milton G. Votee, for whom the Teaneck Park with all the bells and whistles is named.
This is an opportunity for the residents of Teaneck to request that the Council and all appropriate Boards and Commissions use our communal resources to redevelop Argonne Park into a jewel in the crown of diverse Teaneck. The commitment to restore and improve this majestic parkland can also serve as a silent and belated apology from the Township regarding the "cited historical reason" for creating Argonne Park as a racial boundary instead of as a parkland that is open for all residents to enjoy. Another park with great amenities would be a win-win for all!
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What could be a more appropriate honor now in 2022 to all the residents of Teaneck, to Northeast Teaneck and to Teaneck’s own Senator Loretta Weinberg than restoring Argonne Park and renaming it
Senator Loretta Weinberg Park
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A WEEK THAT ALMOST WASN'T
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In the past seven days:
1) The Parks, Playgrounds, and Recreation Advisory Board (PPRAB) meeting was cancelled at 4:30 on the day of the meeting. It was not canceled by the Chair.
2) All Municipal Open Space Trust Committee (MOST) meetings are reportedly postponed until September.
3) At the 5/5/ Board of Adjustment (BOA) meeting, the 6th in the continuing hearings on the proposed 20-unit apartment building at 54 West Englewood Ave. the applicant's attorney was initially allowed to call a substitute expert witness to be cross-examined in place of the planning expert who had actually testified in January.
After 50 contentious minutes, quorum problems and an objection raised by the resident conducting the cross-examination, the Board finally tossed out Thursday’s entire cross examination and tentatively scheduled a new one where the original planning witness for the applicant is to appear.
(Talk about wasted time & effort.)
For the video of this meeting portion Click Here & move the cursor to hr. 1 & min 8.
What’s going on?
To be an involved citizen of Teaneck is like playing a shell game in a back alley!
Or, being tricked in a three card monte game! Guess when, where and who!
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Ever meet someone who blows you away with their acute perception and their practical imagination? Who creates solutions before the world knows it’s ready for them?
Meet Jennifer Glass – always ahead of her time! While in college in the late ‘90’s, when her friends were searching through piles of newspapers for the classified ads, she was predicting that the internet was ripe for selling goods and services, seeking and hiring employees, and pretty much doing away with the classifieds forever. Her family and friends pooh-poohed her idea. But when was the last time you checked the Classifieds?
In her first job in the telecom industry, she questioned charging by the minute, suggesting bundling service charges to benefit both the consumer and the provider. That also came to pass.
The dynamo that is Jennifer was born in Fair Lawn, the daughter of parents who raised her to give back to the community. Her father was the president of the synagogue, and her mother was Co-chair of the Sisterhood. “They taught me the value of volunteering.”
Jennifer spent most of her teen free time in Teaneck on Cedar Lane “where the cool kids hung out.” The fun town of her youth became her home and the home of both her business and of her passionate volunteer service.
Jennifer has been the vice-president of the Teaneck Chamber of Commerce for the past 11 years.
However, the volunteer concept and position that she loved the most was serving on the Teaneck Juvenile Conference Committee. Juvenile Conference Committees are part of a program that operates under the Family Division of the Superior Court in each county in New Jersey. They are an alternative to a formal prosecution and are designed to prevent adjudication of juveniles who have committed minor criminal offenses such as disorderly conduct or shop-lifting.
The Committee makes no finding of innocence or guilt but requires the young person to admit they were wrong. The goal is to prevent a youthful mistake from affecting college applications, financial aid, and, simply, the rest of their lives. For Jennifer it provided a powerful way to make a difference and to use her creative energy to find appropriate penance and solutions for the young offenders.
She also is a Trustee of the local Crime Stoppers organization which covers six towns in Bergen County, including Teaneck. Crime Stoppers works with law enforcement by raising money to provide rewards for arrests and convictions.
Jennifer Glass is the CEO and founder of Teaneck-based Business Growth Strategies International, an award-winning business growth coaching and marketing firm, and is the founder & CEO of BGSIPayments, a payment processing platform for small and medium-sized businesses
Jennifer is frequently asked to speak on numerous stages around the world, including having been a three-time top college speaker and is a partner with the Small Business Development Center - an organization providing consulting, training, and other services to approximately one million small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs each year. She presents on topics such as "The 3 Secrets to Getting More Customers," "Optimize YOUR LinkedIn Profile to Maximize Your Revenues," "The 9-Point Sales Process to Getting More Revenue," and her keynote address "Does Success Equate to Happiness?"
Jennifer co-authored Reach Your Greatness, was featured in How Big Can You Dream? and has her book series, It's the Bottom Line That Matters. She’s also the author of Building a Winning Mindset: Strategies to Help You Be More Positive & BE YOUR BEST to Achieve What Matters to YOU
She has been featured in numerous media outlets, including ABC, CBS, NBC & Fox, recognized as a leader in business by more than 1,000 organizations and was named as a top woman in business leader by Acquisition International Magazine among other publications.
Jennifer commented that as she attends events around Teaneck, she sees the same faces. “It would be nice getting some new people involved.” She hopes that as more people start going back to events, more Teaneck people will be attracted to volunteer service.
She shares her love for Teaneck, for giving back and for lively involvement in her community with her two children. She chuckles when she acknowledges that it’s hard to realize that she has a daughter, presently in Israel, who is old enough to be in college, and marvels at her 15-year-old-son who can put anything together “without instructions” and who is the family Ikea guru!
Jennifer laughs when she describes one of her before-its-time ideas – a soaping shower cleaner. Unfortunately, SC Johnson introduced “Scrubbing Bubbles” and beat her to the market.
Asked if she ever considered going on Shark Tank, Jennifer lets slip some news that’s still mostly off the record: She is on the production team of a new Shark Tank-like competition program starting to film on the West Coast. Stay tuned!!!
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If you are not registered to vote, please make it a priority to do so. To complete a registration form or for more information regarding voting in Bergen County, please click onto the this link.
If you are not sure if you are registered to vote in Teaneck, you may search here.
To check the details of your voter record, you may sign up here.
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THE PUBLIC HAS BEEN WAITING
BUT THESE QUESTIONS REMAIN UNANSWERED
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More than one year ago, last March 10th, Teaneck Council, the Teaneck Library and Fairleigh Dickinson organized a community lecture and lab series called Walk the Talk. What is the follow-up to this effort to put "equity into action"?
- Why has Planning Board Good & Welfare been moved to the end of the meeting – late at night and after all votes have been taken?
- Why does the Council use secret subcommittees (there are 16) to make decisions instead of holding Workshop sessions where the public can listen to discussion and decision-making?
- Why was the public not informed until March 24 of the existence & membership of the budget sub-committee which would revise the final 2022 Budget decisions prior to its Introduction
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When will the Planning Board meet to consider and enact a current & compliant Open Space & Recreation Plan so Teaneck can pursue full Green Acres funding opportunities?
- When will the Council hold a workshop or otherwise ask for input from residents with respect to proposed additional parkland located at 611 Roemer Avenue, 1603 Ardsley Court, and 75 Bedford Avenue?
- What is happening with the proposed Alfred Avenue development?
- Why a 255-unit building for which the for-profit developer will pay not property taxes?
- When a real update on where the Town is on allowing cannabis development to grow, process, distribute and sell marijuana?
- Has our council ever spoken to Englewood Council about our draining into their drainage system and selling cannabis adjacent to their park?
- What is happening with the Holy Name Medical Center and Good Neighbors agreement - and the recent litigation?
- Do Teaneck Council and Planning Board still maintain that the American Legion Drive properties constitute a blighted Area in Need of Redevelopment (AINR)?
- Is the council planning to honor Former Senator Weinberg in any way - to recognize her as a daughter of Teaneck, for her years of service on the Council, General Assembly and State Senate? Is the Council really considering anything - possibly renaming a park or street after her?
- Why doesn't Deputy Mayor Katz ever tell us why - for years - he has "abstained" on every vote Council takes on how the Township expends its funds (the Bill List)and frequently also abstains on Council's vote on the entire Consent Agenda? And why did he abstain on the vote to approve the Town's Master Plan?
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THIS WEEK IN TEANECK - MAY 9 TO 15, 2022
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UPCOMING TOWN MEETINGS - May 9 to 15, 2022
Among the four meetings on the calendar this week in Teaneck, there is currently access information for only one. Two of the meetings are not available to the public. No information of any sort was available as of 5/8 about the Planning Board meeting scheduled for 5/12.
Teaneck Social Services Advisory Board (TSSAB) Monday 5/9/2022 at 1:00 pm
Cedar Lane Management Group Wednesday 5/11/2022 at 7:30 pm
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Public access and opportunity for input limited by the Advisory Board ordinance* (see below)
Teaneck Board of Education Workshop -Wednesday 5/11/2022 at 8:00 pm by zoom
Planning Board (PB) – Thursday 5/12/2022 at 7:00 pm
No information is available as of 5/8
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Note: Teaneck Voices’ website (https://teaneckvoices.com/?p=42) does provide updated information about Town meetings as it becomes available during the week.
Dedication of the Teaneck Road Streetscape Project - Sunday, 5/15 - 3:00-6:00 pm at the corner of Beveridge Street and Teaneck Road
- Sponsored jointly by the Teaneck Road Business Community Alliance and the Township. (See Announcement in this Voices edition.)
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*Quote from Ordinance 15-2020 on Advisory Boards adopted by Council on August 11, 2020:
“Council’s advisory Board meetings are closed to the public. The public can submit items for discussion to the Council’s advisory board chair and council liaison for review and potential for inclusion on their meeting agenda. If the item is placed on the agenda, the chair, with approval of their Council’s advisory board, may invite the member of the public to come and speak to them about the specific issue they want to have discussed”.
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TEANECK VOICES HAS A WEBSITE !
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Teaneck Voices enthusiastically announces that its website
is now available to aid its subscribers and readers and provides information that should be useful to most of them.
1) Its post Teaneck Voices Newsletters – Current and Past is a list that allows users to identify prior Voices editions by date and by edition title and click to retrieve them from the website archive.
2) Its Post Township Meetings under the category Township Calendar is where late every Monday we post what we know about the Town’s upcoming meetings for the week – and then we update that post throughout the week as more information and calendar changes are released.
3) Its post Voice’s Notable Women provides users with the dates and names of
the 29 women who have now appeared in the Voice’s Notable Women series. Each line will allow you to pull up the edition in which Voices has told that woman’s story
4) Other Categories and Posts have recently been added and Voices plans to continue to build its coverage and search capabilities so its subscribers and readers can better retrieve what we have covered.
In addition, our weekly editions are also added to our Teaneck Voices Facebook page -
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Rapid COVID-19 Test Kits Available for Free from USPS
Free at-home COVID-19 tests ordered on www.covidtests.gov and delivered by USPS. Limit of 2 orders per household. Each order contains 4 individual tests
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RODDA CENTER
In an effort to keep the senior center staff and participants safe, mask wearing
and social distancing are required.
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Masks are now optional inside the library. Those attending programs held in limited areas, such as the Auditorium, are still required to wear masks.
Contactless doorside pickup is still available.
masks will be optional inside the library. Those attending programs held i
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Please register in advance for this NTBPA event at:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar
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TEANECK PTA COUNCIL RAFFLE
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BERGEN COUNTY LGBTQ+ ALLIANCE
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TEANECK VOICES OFFERS ITS PRAYERS AND SUPPORT
TO THE BRAVE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE FIGHTING FOR THEIR FREEDOM
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SUPPORT TEANECK VOICES
CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOME
It is our mission to achieve integrity, transparency, responsiveness, diversity, and social justice in Teaneck governance.
Help us continue to publish by sending a contribution to
Teaneck Voices, P. O. Box 873, Teaneck, NJ 07666-0873
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Editorial Board
Natalee Addison
Laraine Chaberski
Toniette H. Duncan
LaVerne Lightburn
Charles W. Powers
Bernard Rous
Micki Shilan
Barbara Ley Toffler
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Supporters
Denise Belcher
Juanita Brown
Margot Embree Fisher
Gail Gordon
Guy Thomas Lauture
Gloria Wilson
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Contributors
Bettina Hempel
Dennis Klein
Henry Pruitt
Howard Rose
Advisors
Theodora Smiley Lacey
Loretta Weinberg
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