PARSIPPANY — Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills Planning Board Meeting – September 13, 2021
Click here to download the agenda.
Diamond Dance Performs at Kiwanis Food Festival
PARSIPPANY — Diamond Dance performed a flash mob at the Kiwanis Food Festival held on Saturday, September 18.
Diamond Dance is owned and directed by Tiffany Slowinski a Puerto Rican, Parsippany native.
The Diamond Dance competition team performed in American and Puerto Rican flag tank tops and will be collecting donations to help rebuild Puerto Rico and support youth educational groups.
“When I was 14 years old we moved from Nutley to Parsippany. Most freshman’s in high school would find that extremely difficult but I just found it as another opportunity to meet new people and make (more friends) as I am still in direct contact with teachers and friends from my youth. I think that speaks volumes about my Hispanic heritage and culture. We are lovers, givers, and extremely passionate. It’s important to me to pass that trait on to my dancers. I want them to lead with their heart, befriend their competition, and give back to those in need,” said Tiffany Slowinski.
Diamond Dance is located at 164 Halsey Road and can be reached by calling (908) 659-8079.
Girls on the Run Begins Fall Season
PARSIPPANY — Girls on the Run begins its fall season.
The group meets Tuesdays and Fridays at Veterans Field in Parsippany from 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. and it is for girls in grades 3-5. Meetups are totally outdoors. This is a non-competitive, friendly group, and the focus is on helping girls grow in confidence with lessons that are fun, combined with light jogging/walking at the girls’ own pace.
They can use another two to four girls. You can sign up by clicking here.
Parsippany in the Changing: Converting Vacant Office Space into Ratables
PARSIPPANY — Another Class A Commercial Building is disappearing from Parsippany.
The building located at Two Hilton Court, previously occupied by Daiichi Sankyo, which relocated to Basking Ridge in 2016, will be demolished and replaced with a warehouse.
Daiichi Sankyo, even though moved out in 2016 maintains the lease on the building until December 2022 and has been paying rent on the vacant building.
The building was purchased in 2020 by Onyx Equities when they purchased a large portion of the former Mack-Cali complex.
In the past year, over one million square feet of vacant office space has been eliminated from the market. Parsippany is a location, location, location town. Approximately 400,000 square feet in the Stanberry Project on Route 10; 400,000 square feet in Lanidex; Two Campus, Four Campus, and 1633 Littleton Road, and this project brings it to over one million square feet.
When Mack-Cali constructed the building in 1991 it was built to specification as a one tenant building, thus making it difficult to lease to multi-tenants, and in the current market it’s considered a “White Elephant.” The Class A office building is complete with a fitness center and restaurant and contains four floors with a total of 181,592 square feet with 726 parking spaces.
The plans submitted to the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills indicate the current building will be demolished and replaced with a 113,000 square foot industrial building containing 102,600 square feet of warehouse and 10,800 square feet of office. The location is very convenient to Route 10 off Dryden Way with access to Route 287, Route 80, and Route 24 within minutes, thus eliminating additional traffic on Littleton Road (Route 202).
In addition in the same complex, the Parsippany-Troy Hills Zoning Board approved 2 Campus LLC., to construct a 172-unit residential building on the property located at 2 Campus Drive (Block 202, Lot 3.20); 4 Campus Drive (Block 202, Lot 3.2); and 1633 Littleton Road (Block 202, Lot 3.1).
| Units | COAH Units | |
| 1 Bedroom | 76 | 7 |
| 2 Bedrooms | 89 | 21 |
| 3 Bedrooms | 7 | 7 |
| Total Units | 172 | 35 |
Also, the Planning Board approved 1 Campus Associates, 3 Campus Drive, a plan to construct a total of 238 units, with 48 units of affordable housing.
| Units | COAH Units | |
| 1 Bedroom | 104 | 9 |
| 2 Bedrooms | 124 | 29 |
| 3 Bedrooms | 10 | 10 |
| 238 | 48 |
In addition, Stanbery will replace two vacant office buildings at 1515 Route 10 with over 500 multi-family residential dwellings. There is also an office and retail component planned but is being delayed due to COVID-19.
Lanidex Plaza will be transformed into PARQ Parsippany which is a multi-generational, mixed-use development that will encompass townhomes, multi-family residences, retail, expansive and open green spaces, and state-of-the-art facilities.
The approved plan will be implemented in two phases. The first phase includes Multi-Family Building 1, which features 275 multi-family residences, convenience retail, indoor and outdoor amenity space, and ample parking. It will also highlight 75 clustered courtyard townhomes with two-car garages. The townhomes will feature contemporary farmhouse-style architecture with access to a clubhouse and outdoor pool. Convenient, master-down home designs are also available. An athletic field, concession building, restrooms, and playground are also included in the first phase.
Coffee with a Cop Returns September 28 at Valley Bank
PARSIPPANY — Join the Parsippany Police Department for another installment of “Coffee with A Cop,” on Tuesday, September 28 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon, at Valley Bank, 800 Route 46, Arlington Shopping Center.
This semi-regular get-together offers local residents the opportunity to chat with our local police force over a multitude of important issues affecting residents and their neighborhoods while offering a glimpse into the day-to-day operations of running our police department.
Please note RSVPs are necessary for this event. Please RSVP to Ildiko Peluso at (973) 263-0601 or email here.
Road Closures in Parsippany on Saturday
PARSIPPANY — Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Department has announced several roads will be closed Saturday, September 18 because of a run/walk event. Closures and detours will take place in the area of Campus Drive, Sylvan Way, Entin Way and Dryden Way.
Also, expect an increase in traffic in the area when the event ends at noon. Here’s when and where the closures will take place, according to Parsippany police:
- 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon: Campus Drive will be closed from Hilton Court to Dryden Way.
- 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon: Century Drive will be closed.
- 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon: Dryden Way will be closed at the intersection of Campus Drive to Sylvan Way. Traffic coming from Route 10 onto Dryden Way will be turned around just south of the intersection of Campus Drive.
- 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon: Sylvan Way will be closed from just west of Century Drive to the entrance to Wegmans.
- 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon: Entin Road will have no access to Sylvan Way. Traffic attempting to get onto Sylvan Way will be turned around just prior to the intersection.
- 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon: If you need to access the Hilton Hotel or Hampton Inn, use the entrance off of Route 10 West.
Driver Rescued From Vehicle Teetering Over Edge of Barrier Wall
PARSIPPANY — The Mount Tabor Volunteer Fire Department was requested to the Morris County Conservation Center for a vehicle that was hanging off of a half wall, on Tuesday, September 14 at 11:29 a.m.
Upon arrival, the driver was still in the vehicle and uninjured, but we did not want to remove the victim until the vehicle was stabilized for fear of the weight shifting.
A veteran front-end loader operator was on scene and with his help, we were able to stabilize the vehicle enough to have the patient step out safely.
The vehicle was eventually removed from the wall with minimal damage. Thanks to Morris County Office of Emergency Management/EMS and the County Fire Marshall for their assistance! Chief 1, Engine 12, Engine 15, and Rescue 14 responded. The Parsippany Rescue and Recovery Unit was dispatched and canceled en route once the patient was safely removed.
Pictures courtesy of Mount Tabor Volunteer Fire Department
Council Approves 2021 Budget 4-1; Carifi Votes No!
PARSIPPANY — The Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Council voted on Tuesday, September 7 to approve Mayor Soriano’s 2021 Budget, 4-1. Councilman Paul Carifi voted against the budget.
Municipal tax rate increase (including Public Library) is 4.28%. This will increase the average homeowner assessed at $311,780 and an additional $97.62 (per year) on the municipal portion of the tax bill.
The total municipal budget for 2021 is $79,733,383, and increase of $2,676,609 over the 2020 budget of $77,056,774. (The 2020 finally adopted budget was $76,333,905.78 subsequently modified by various grants received for a total budget of $77,056,774.70)
“A very challenging budget season for various reasons but in the end, the overall tax rates will be hovering around 2%, including the Fire Districts,” stated Parsippany’s Chief Financial Officer Juan Uribe.
“I originally voted to keep the $1.1 million in the budget so that the tax increase for our residents would remain at 2.15%. By removing that money from the budget raises the taxes to 4.28% which I do not want to do. We already had to increase the sewer and water rates by 39% this past year because our surplus no longer exists. That increase still keeps us in the middle of the county as far as water and sewer rates and those rates have not been raised in 12 years but still counting that and the effects of the COVID pandemic and many residents losing their jobs I just feel increasing taxes above and beyond what was proposed at this time is not fair to our residents. I did my due diligence as I always do and spoke to many residents in the town and every single person that I spoke to said to me please do not raise my taxes any more than what is being proposed and it is for these reasons I voted not to raise taxes more than what was being proposed,” stated Councilman Paul Carifi, Jr.
Parsippany Republican Committee Chairman Lou Valori stated “I urged on behalf of our overwhelmed taxpayers at a Council Meeting with Council President Michael dePierro not to raise taxes.”
Council President Michael dePierro said “The Township is halfway through the third quarter of the year before the Mayor can find enough gimmicks to balance his budget. The Mayor has pushed most of the Township’s deficit into the 2022 budget. The 2022 budget will prove to be a nightmare for Parsippany taxpayers. In an attempt to pay down some of that deficit in 2021, the Council rejected the Mayor’s request to borrow $1.1 million from the 2022 budget. We still have a serious overestimate of Revenue and a serious underestimate of Expenses. As of this writing, the CFO has not been able to provide a calculation for Municipal Taxes or the Tax Rate.”
“Residents who addressed the council praised the fact that this budget didn’t use millions of dollars in utility reserves to balance the budget and at the same time asked the council to approve a budget with a 2.2% tax increase that was achieved by using millions of dollars in reserves. They were just different reserves. There are no more utility reserves to use and those reserves are what replaced revenue and kept taxes artificially low for too many years. The council’s decision not to approve $1.1 million in reserves along with a 4.2% tax rate is intended to slightly increase cash and revenue and hopefully lessen a higher tax increase next year, but more importantly, it begins to limit the use of reserves to compensate for revenue and introduces a degree of accountability,” said Janice McCarthy.
Click here to download the budget.
Governor Phil Murphy Visits Small Businesses in Parsippany
PARSIPPANY — Governor Phil Murphy visited three of the Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI)-Owned Businesses on Beverwyck Road, on Sunday, September 12.
Governor Murphy walked with Mayor Soriano and council candidates Cori Herbig and Judy Hernandez from Asia Grocery & Halal Meat, to Kabab Paradise and then to Pakwaan Indian Take Out.
Every business owner expressed how business has changed over the last year and a half. Kabab Paradise now has a bustling outdoor eating area and commended Mayor Soriano for the town’s quick and efficient approval process for outdoor dining at the height of the pandemic. Pakwaan Indian Take Out has become a take-out-only restaurant after its catering and fine dining establishments struggled amidst the COVID-19 surges. “We were thrilled to welcome Governor Murphy to Parsippany to visit some of our amazing Asian American-owned businesses in town. We are committed to supporting all small businesses in Parsippany and ensuring that the rich cultural diversity of our business community thrives. Cori Herbig, Judy Hernandez, and I look forward to working with Governor Murphy for another four years,” said Mayor Michael Soriano.
Planning Board Meeting to be held Monday, September 13
PARSIPPANY — The Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills will conduct its Planning Board meeting on Monday, September 13, 2021, at 7:30 p.m.
Please be advised that in order for a member of the public to speak during the public portion, they will need to provide their first name, last name, address, and city accurately. Anyone not using their real name and address will not be allowed to speak during the public portion.
Click here to download a copy of the agenda.
For more information, please call (973) 263-4286 or email njolie@parsippany.net.