As school districts prepare to release their reopening plans to parents, some New Jersey teachers are reeling at the thought of reentering classrooms and expressing serious concern for their wellbeing and that of their families and students.A national survey by the country’s second largest teachers’ union, the American Federation of Teachers, indicates that 3 in 4 teachers said they are comfortable returning to schools if certain safety precautions are met. But whether safety and health precautions can be guaranteed is another question.“I think almost all educators want to go back, if it can b…
Empire Diner Opens Outdoor Dining; Updated Listing of Parsippany Restaurants
PARSIPPANY — Empire Diner, 1315 Route 46 East, has officially opened for outdoor dining. They will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., seven days a week. They also offer curbside pick up service.
Here is the most up-to-date list of restaurants offering outdoor dining in Parsippany. Please support local businesses and continue to use safe health practices. #EatParsippany #PrideInParsippany #ParsippanyChamber #ParsippanyFocusMagazine
Adyar Ananda Bhavan (A2B) South Indian Cuisine
Applebee’s
Bosphorus Restaurant
Bruno’s Italian Bistro
Buffalo Wild Wings
Churrasco Grill
Dhaba Express
Eccola Italian Bistro
Elmas Turkish and Mediterranean Cuisine
Empire Diner
Fuddruckers
Gourmet Café
Honest Restaurant
Hoover’s Tavern
Houlihans
IHOP
Jashan by Dhaba
Kabab Paradise
Lake Hiawatha Dairy
Las Leyendas De Mexico
Marakesh Restaurant
McDonald’s
Outback
Panera Bread
Pasha Mezze Grill
Rayhoon Persian Kabob House
Reservoir Tavern
Sakura Hibachi Steak House
Singas Famous Pizza
Spa Restaurant
Tabor Pizza
Tandoori Flames
Valentino’s Pizza & Restaurant
Verde Ristorante
Village Restaurante
Wendy’s Restaurant
Reprinted from Parsippany Focus Magazine, July 2020. Click here to view.
Parsippany Community Update July 17, 2020; Parsippany Community Bus to Resume
PARSIPPANY — We’re excited to announce that Parsippany’s bus service will be returning to operation on an altered schedule this coming Monday, July 20.
Our Director of Public Works Greg Schneider has worked hard to get this important program restarted. The A and B routes and schedules:
Remember there is no weekend bus. Also, there will not be a stop at the Community Center for the time being. If you have any questions, please call (973) 263-7273.
Click here to download the schedule.
Parsippany Community Update July 16, 2020
PARSIPPANY — This week, our Director of Public Works Greg Schneider will be talking about our Sanitation Division, which includes trash collection, recycling, and yard waste.
230 Graduate from Parsippany High School
PARSIPPANY — Principal Dr. Denis Mulroony announced the graduates of 230 students for the Class of 2020.
Kristine Yang, Shiv D. Patel, Caitlin Crooker, Sydney Reich, Chelsea Aboagye, Nana Agyemang, Christopher Aleksandric, Kenjiro Andrada, Randall Arauz Flores, Rohan Arun, Jaclyn Azarow, Dawson Bacayo, Mario Barrera Cruz, Aniajh Bermudez, Kyle Bifano, Alexandra Bond, Luqmaan Bouzaitoun, Yoosuf Bouzaitoun, Bethany Brodock, Ashley Brown, Haley Brown, Nicholas Bruno, Davin Budich, Alexis Cajas, Katherine Castano-Villar, Jose Manuel Castellano, Domonic Cattani, Alexandra Cerasiello, Lourdes Chacon, Eric Chao, Sophia Chas, Melanie Chimborazo, Mira Chothani, Sabrina Chou, Vincent Colantoni, Anthony Colasuonno, Timothy Coppinger, Ryan Crooker, Lathan Cukrow, Elijah Darby, Andrew Davanzo, Sabreen Dawud, Dominick De Intinis, Matthew DeCrescenzo, Sophia Delli Bovi, Stacy Deristin, Shivani Desai, Rylan DeSalvo, Jenna Wear, Anabelen Delgado, Erica Desanguine, Sean Deuer, Connor Devens, Xavier Diaz, Jordan Dorsey, Oliver Dowling, Nancy Duong, Wiktoria Dzon, Michelle Ebel, Zachary Ellicott, Ahmed Elsaid, Mara Estrict, Daniela Falcone, Nina Falivene,Kaitlyn Fang, John Fania, Maryam Farag, Shari Finchler, Victoria Freire, Kyle Furfaro, Alyssa Gallagher, Suraj Garah,
Gabriella Gennarelli, Tabitha Gessling, Kaitlyn Glodzik, Elizabeth Golderer, Britney Gomez Clavijo, Matthew Gonzalez, Jillian Goveas, Devin Granda, Angelo Grippo, Daniel Guzman, Danielle Haeussler, Alex Hao, Ali Hassan, Evan He, Stephanie Hill, Hannah Hoeler, Mariam Hosseini, Jared Hurta, Shawna Ignacz, Toni Ilic, Aereana Jamna, Jozef Jankovic, Olivia Johnson, Smeet Joshi, Mikaela Kadian, Aneesh Kakirde, Jaic Kattappurath, Christopher Keifer, Neil Khare, Krista Kiwior, Joshua Knowle, Bon Jean Koo, Aaron Kreitman, Yash Kriplani, Daniel Kuo, Imani Labady, Anthony LaPresti, Maryurie Leal Barahona, Brett Leech,
Ian Lenahan, Carolina Leon, Kyle Lepore, Jordana Levine, Kevin Li, Fernando Lopez Ramirez, Daniel Lupo, Joseph Lynch, Tanesha Lyons, Aqif Mahmudi, Eshika Malgari, Yousof Mamoor, Rikki Marlowe, Shahzod Mashrabi, Yasmeen Masoud, Rani Mody, Saif Mohamed, Faith Mostillo, Emma Navarro, Nalani Navarro, Abinav Nayini, Riya Nayini, Joshua Nelson, AnthonyNewman, Maya Ng’oche, Michelle Nguyen, Jia Lin Ni, Dominique Ober, Ryan Olcott, Eduard Orellana, Pamela Marie Paguntalan, Michele Pantaleo, Anuj Patel, Aryan Patel, Dev Patel, Henilkumar Patel, Janki Patel, Jay Patel, Prathi Patel, Riddhi Patel, Rital Patel, Sahaj L. Patel, Sahaj J. Patel, Shiv Patel, Shyam Patel, Vidhi Patel, Yash Patel, Zill Patel, Katricia Penus, Katelyn Phillips, Alex Picinich, Eric Polo, Radhika Pradhan, Shuba Prasadh, Jason Punskovsky, Krishant Putrevu, Katherine Quinn, Joshua Quizon, Ashley Radler, Shayan Rahmatullah, Christopher Rainero, David Ramirez, Wuendis Ramirez-Sandoval, Kimberly Ramos, Emily Rattacasa, Zakariya Rehman, Adrian Reyes, Isabel Reyes, Alexander Rianhard, Joseph Riedinger, Anthony Rillo, Nadia Rodrigues, Muhammad Sadiq, Gabriella Sanchez, Nicholas Santangelo, Amogh Sarangdhar, Saeed Sarkhot, Riya Sawant, Jarrod Schwed, Kershaun Sedefoglu, Anish Shah, Anjali Shah, Sri Hari Shankar, Farah Sheira, Karen Shih, Anindita Singh, Vikramjeet Singh, Julia Sklow, Sarah Smith, Matthew Sonzogni, Matthew Strano, Joseph Stull, Sanjana Sure, Lina Surmeli, Eka Swamy, Kenneth Sze, Tobey Tan, Tyler Thiel, Michaela Tomanelli, Dylan Tran, Hannah Turrisi, Aniela van Es, Jonathan Vargas, Nicholas Vega Fitzpatrick, Lilianna Vidal, Julia Vincent, Abbas Wafa, Nathaniel Walker, Sarah Walsh, Marcus Wan, Hannah Weber, Jacob Weiss, Justin Wellman, Tyler Wyka, Nazeerah Yildirim, Lawrence Yu, Thomas Zarro, Estefani Zuniga Cruz and Noah Lorencovitz.
Reprinted from Parsippany Focus Magazine – July 2020 – Click here to view
280 Graduate from Parsippany Hills High School
PARSIPPANY — Principal Dr. Matthew Thompson announced the graduates of 280 students for the Class of 2020.
Nathan H. Abraham, Alyssa F. Ackerman, Dylan Douglas Acree, Kikiola Jinikun Zoe Adeyanju, Amber Afzal, Jeremy Christopher Aguesseau, Miriam Aguirre, Aminah Ahmed, Briana Alonzo, Brandon Nicholas Amelio, Nirgunkumar Yogendrabhai Amin Cavin Anbuselvam, Jorge Eduardo Andrade, Maria Camila Arenas Toro, Destynee Angeliz Arroyo, Sheethal A. Ayalasomayajula, Sabrina A. Aydin, Ami Babulal Babaria, Sellasy Ama Badasu, Alysha Isabel Bailey, Rohan Balani, Jessica Ann Baldassari, Sara Rose Baldassari, Gabriela Banayotti, Lark G. Bancairen, Devansh Pintukumar Barot, Madhav M. Barot, Jasmine Darshana Basra, Matthew Joseph Batroney, Esha Baxi, Robert Bednarczyk, Christopher R. Bellows, Caroline Elizabeth Berardo, Rajan Bhanderi, Arohi Rajesh Birari, Jaden R. Blanke, Jacob Franklin Borrillo, Mackenzie Grace Bosland, Evan R. Bota, Gerald D. Breslauer, Brian A. Brisson, Anthony P. Bromberg, Sara M. Brotons, Valerie Burke, Christian Angelo V. Camero, Alicia M. Campbell, Javier Alfonso Cardoza-Vasquez, Douglas R. Carter, Aeleen Carvalho, Natalie Castellana, Yacek Castillo, Samantha Catalini, Jami Michelle Cerrato, Jessica Danielle Cerrato, Emily Chan, Vidisha Rajeshkumar Chauhan, Bhavana Chembilli, Angela Chen, Henry Mingrui Chen, Jasmine W. Cheng, Anthony Aiman Ciccotelli, Kaitlin Taylor Cirillo, Angelina Lynn Cofone, Zaria Mikele Coleman, Edward John Comerford, Anthony Josue Contreras, Soliel Audrey Cooper, Alan Patrick Copeland, Ryan M. Cornine, Christian Correa, Jillian Hanna Crain, Janelle Deanna Creo, Samuel James D’Uva, Sai Harshitha Dalli, Ishani H. Davé, Malay Pravin Dave, Devon John Davidek, Brian Alexander Davies, Brianna Alexa Davies, Calder Raymon Frey Davis, Tyler Scott Dean, Aarushi Deo, Isha Desai, Shiv Desai, Keya Shardul Dhruve, Antonina Nicole Di Maggio, William C. Elvin, Rafaella lyana Trimanez Espinosa, Peter A. Fajardo, Maxwell Jayden Falk, Sera Cristin Ferrante, Michael Anthony Fiorentino, Kevin Anthony Floris, Jack Patrick Garbarino, Jose Garcia, Lauren E. Geiger, Abigail Mary George, Disharee Ghosh Dastidar, David Giraldo, Willie Michael Glover, Sandra Jackson Graham, Ruthwick Reddy Guddeti, Danielle Olivia Hardy, Kristopher James Hawkins, Rachel M. Hewitt, Scarlette A. Horvath, Isaac Hu, Meera lyer, Aaryan Dev Jamwal, Saoumyaa Jatkar, Christian Miguel Johnson, Micaela A. Juarez,
Benjamin Max Jurow, Corey David Katzenberger, Rableen Kaur Sabrina Kaur, Ryan Michael Kempf, Arsalan Khawar, Fawad Khuja, Eunice Yeeun Kim, Hyun-Jung Kim, Sobina S. Kim, Aleksandra Kolesnikova, Abigail Aradhna Kunde, Nicholas Y. Kuo, Alina S. Kuriakose, Justin Y. Lai, Meghan GraceLalo, Richard Paul Landy, Kevin B. Le, Ethan Lee, Connor Ross Leming, Divine Lemon, Jason C. Levy, Nicholas Andrew Levytsky, Anton Leyzerov, Angelina Patrice Licor, Danielle Marie Lipuma, Amy Yuxin Liu, Tina Lan Liu, Andrew James Loesch, Kimberly O. Love, John M. Malenchak, Elliot Joseph Mann, Sarah J. Manning, Peri Logan Manoff, Cynthia Elizabeth Marrero, Morgan Elizabeth Marron, Stephanie Nicole Martinez, Christopher Fulgar Matias, Nathaniel R. May, Tanishq Meka, Anthony B. Memoli, Dylan Paul Mendes, Vaishnavi P. Menon, Christopher S. Meumann, Sean Michels, Alexes Orion Miranda, Kavin M. Mistry, Carolyn R. Modin, Kelsey Erin Mogan, Luigi Montanari, Christopher Orlando Montoya, Andrew William Morales, Justin Morales, Emily Elizabeth Moutis, Gianna M. Musto, Devesh R. Naik, Peter Francis Nardi, Gabriel J. Nazziola, Brandon Ng, Steven Nguyen, Wasay Noor Kaitlyn M. Ostolaza, Janet Pan, Mann H. Pandya, William Parente, Aarnav Manish Patel, Bijal Patel Darsh N. Patel, Dhruv A. Patel, Disha Rajesh Patel, Greepan P. Patel, Harsh Dhiraj Patel, Jay K. Patel Jaysheel Himanshu Patel, Kishan Patel, Nilay Bhaveshkumar Patel, Riya D. Patel, Riyank Patel, Rushit A. Patel, Shaili T. Patel, Anthony James Paterno, Hernando Pelaez, Debra Rachel Perlmutter, Brandon D. Perot, Joseph Phan, Stephanie M. Pielak-Van Teyens, Mora Anne Pochettino, Andrea Potesta-Oliva, Neyha M. Ramani, Nirali U. Rana, Christopher J. Rapp, Shoumik Vaddi Reddy, Tuga Adel Ridha, Angel Jose Rodriguez, Elijah Moises Rodriguez, Elysabeth May Rodriguez, Nicholas Roepke, Katherine A. Rogers, Anthony Joseph Rubinetti, Nicholas Joseph Russo, Austin Patrick Ruth, Usman A. Saeed, Carmela A. Sanchez, German Santana, Nicholas Santana, Tamanna Sarkar, Jade Schroeder, Kimberly Anne Scott, Falit Sehgal, John Henry Serino, Samantha Rae Serino, Darshil Shah, Isha Shah, Krish K. Shah, Sharanam Shah, Vidhi Bhoomit Shah, Vraj A. Shah, Hiba Shahid, Aidan Patrick Shanley-Steele, Hunter William Shanley-Steele, Nikita Sharma, Bicky Singh, Jagjit Singh, Preya Singh, Suveer Singh, Aman P. Sinojia, Colin G. Smith, Anna Sostak, Stefani Stojanoska, Jasper Carter Stone, HannahA. Stroh, Shrish Subramanian, Kevin Suh, Alexia Yasmine Symak, Brandon Derkhorm Tashi, Bryan Taylor, Elizabeth Thomas, Matthew J. Timney, Alena Tran, Dylan Tran, Angelo Louis Varcadipane, Krislyn Vaz, Manuela Vega-Correa, Michelle Velasquez, Brandon Verderber, Derek MoyVergel de Dios, Anjali K. Vyas, Kelly Rose Walek, Caroline Walz, Harvey W. Wang, Victor Wang, Hailey Anne Watts, Joseph J. Wentworth, Patrick Thomas Whalen, Benjamin Frankel Widdowson, Dennis Timothy Wilson, Richard Allen Wright, Yiwen Wu, Tharini Yagappan, Amy Yang, Jamie Claire Yenzer, Alex Zhang, Chongen Zheng, Nicole Marie Zinckgraf, Emirhan Ziya, Evagelia Zois, Sidrah Zuberi and Karen Alexandra Zumba Urgiles.
Reprinted from Parsippany Focus Magazine – July 2020 – Click here to view.
Murphy Should Reimburse Towns for Managing MVC Lines, say GOP Lawmakers
MORRIS COUNTY — For over a week, the chaotic reopening of state motor vehicle agencies has required local police to help manage crowds lining up for service overnight after the agency was shut down for almost four months.
“Murphy and the MVC had months to prepare for this, but now towns are forced to take matters into their own hands,” said Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R-Morris). “They should not have to bear the costs to deal with the problems Governor Murphy and the MVC created.”
Dunn, Assemblyman Kevin Rooney, and Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso have introduced bills to mitigate backlogs, and are now calling on the Murphy administration to reimburse towns for having to respond to the large crowds building around the 39 agencies across the state.
Mayors have also chimed in about the lack of preparation by the administration.
“Our police spent the better part of several days directing the traffic that backed up onto Route 10 to help with crowd control and other issues that came up among the hundreds of people waiting in line,” explained Randolph Mayor Christine Carey. “The MVC was not prepared to handle the crowds as they reopened.”
The process has also been particularly hard on residents. Last week, when agencies reopened on July 7, drivers reported lines and waits for multiple hours in the sun and heat. Some had to make multiple trips costing time, vacation days, and time-off from work.
“All of this frustration and anger could have easily been avoided if the administration had just listened to the calls we were getting from our constituents,” said Rooney (R-Bergen). “This is about getting people back to work and providing for their families. We have to take action now if we are going to fix this problem sooner rather than later.”
The three lawmakers also offered several creative alternatives to alleviate the demand, such as allowing private buyers to handle the titling of their vehicles with car dealers for a fee and allowing third-party testing, including driving schools, to relieve the backlog of new drivers waiting for their road test.
“Private businesses, like car dealerships and driving schools, were willing to jump in,” explained DiMaso (R-Monmouth). “Governor Murphy had months to figure this out, but now local police have to manage the crowds and the traffic created by doing nothing.”
The Republicans introduced their ideas as legislation at the end of June as A4326, A4327, and A4306, which are currently in the Assembly Transportation Committee.
Chinese Christian Church begins Meals of Blessings Initiative
PARSIPPANY — In an effort to serve our Parsippany community during this pandemic crisis, the Chinese Christian Church of New Jersey (CCCNJ) distributed free surgical masks at our local supermarkets in April. (Click here to read the story)
Recognizing that there are many families who visit the Parsippany Food Pantry for non-perishable food items, CCCNJ wanted to provide these families with hot meals at least once a week. Based on donations from their church members, they have purchased hot meals from local restaurants who could also use the additional business.
86 hot meals were distributed to 28 families recently at the Chinese Christian Church of New Jersey (CCCNJ). Parsippany High School ’19 graduate, Andrew Lie, organized this program to help local restaurants and families adversely impacted by the Covid19 pandemic.
Every Wednesday in July at 6:00 p.m, up to four hot meals per family will be distributed at 232 S. Beverwyck Road.
While the meals are free (they are funded by the members of CCCNJ), patrons must reserve their meals in advance each week by calling (973) 335-0183 ext. 17 to leave their name and number of meals requested, or by clicking here and entering the information.
Letter to the Editor: Response to Mayor Soriano’s Water Message
Dear Editor:
It is unfortunate that anyone who reads “A Message from Mayor Michael Soriano Regarding Parsippany’s Water Quality” may come away with a false sense of security about the water they are now drinking. The state’s problem with Parsippany’s water supply was never the levels of lead and copper present in the various sources of our water. The violation had to do with an unacceptable acidic pH of the water being distributed.
In itself, acidic water is not harmful. However, as it travels in pipes to and in your home, lead and copper can be dissolved into the acidic water, so that the final product that you drink can have unacceptable levels of these elements. There is a reason why the letter that we received in the mail this week advised us to “Run water for 15-30 seconds to flush out lead and/or copper”.
As the mayor correctly pointed out, Parsippany’s water is in compliance with N.J. State Secondary Drinking Water Standards. But at the same time, our water failed the pH standards set by the Optimal Water Quality Parameter monitoring program, i.e. our water was unacceptably acidic, which could result in lead and/or copper corrosion and release into our drinking water. Maybe this isn’t an emergency, but it is certainly something to be concerned about.
The mayor’s message also gives overly optimistic hope that the water problem has been solved as indicated by the statement, “Once the sampling methods were corrected our pH readings returned to optimal levels”. I can unequivocally tell you that my water is still acidic. This afternoon (July 14), I tested a sample of brand-named bottled water and a sample of my tap water using a pH meter. The former registered at a neutral 7.0, while my Parsippany water registered 6.5 (acidic). Clearly, I still have a problem. I would advise every resident to check the pH of their own water. A pH meter is easy to use, cheap and can be obtained at any Home Depot or garden store.
Bob Venezia
Morris Plains (Parsippany)
DeCroce Says NJ Must Hold In-Person Voting In November
PARSIPPANY — New Jersey cannot allow an all-mail-in General Election in November and has to begin preparing now to recreate the infrastructure that supports in-person voting, said Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce.
She joins other Republicans including Sen. Mike Testa in calling for in-person voting but says the GOP has to go further and lay out a blueprint for in-person voting, focusing on recruiting new people to work the polls on Election Day.
“We have seen that mail-in balloting is ripe for abuse, mistakes, voter fraud and corruption in New Jersey,” said DeCroce, citing corruption allegations by the state Attorney General in Paterson’s May 12 city council election and disputed and uncounted mail-in ballots in the July 7 Primary Election.
“New Jersey cannot conduct a proper Presidential Election that will have the confidence of the voters if the state insists on banning voters from the polling booth,” added DeCroce. “Once we lose the trust of the people in our democratic election process, we lose democracy.”
NEW POLL WORKERS
But rather than pushing ahead blindly to allow individuals to vote at their regular polling district, the state is going to have to prepare poll workers, said DeCroce, who served as an Election Officer in a large municipality for 21years.
“The nuts and bolts of the election process include the poll workers who spend a lot of time at polling stations informing voters and checking on their voting eligibility,” said DeCroce.
Traditionally, most of the poll workers in the state have been elderly people who are retired and have time to spend at the polling stations on Election Day. In the wake of the coronavirus, DeCroce says, many of those older poll workers will not want to volunteer, so the state needs to begin now to attract and train new, younger poll workers.
The assemblywoman said the state should begin reaching out to college students throughout the state to recruit them to work the polls on November 3. Poll workers are paid $200 a day for their work. Younger people are much less susceptible to coronavirus’s most virulent effects.
“With colleges re-opening for the fall semester with a combination of in-person and virtual study programs, the state has an opportunity to reach out to students and recruit them to be poll workers,” said DeCroce.
The students, she said, can be taught the mechanics of being a poll worker either in-person on college campuses or by virtual instruction over the internet and become certified to work the polls. Training will take about two hours.
With proper safety safeguards in place at a polling station in place as they are at supermarkets, liquor stores and restaurants in-person voting can be as safe or safer than many activities people engage in currently, said the Assemblywoman.
“I don’t see how waiting on a relatively short line at a polling booth is more dangerous than waiting on a long line at a motor vehicle center or the supermarket,” said DeCroce.
“The important thing about the November election is to make sure we get it right and not use the coronavirus as an excuse to open up the voting process to the corruption and abuse that we have suffered from the universal mail-in process,” said DeCroce.