A lot of Parsippany’s housing stock predates the era of spacious primary bathrooms. Rowhouses and early-20th-century multi-family buildings across the city often come with bathrooms measured in a handful of square feet, and that constraint shapes what’s actually possible when a homeowner wants to upgrade an old tub-shower combo to a custom glass enclosure.

Why Standard Shower Door Configurations Often Don’t Fit

Most off-the-shelf shower door systems are designed around standard alcove dimensions, typically a 60-inch opening. Older bathrooms frequently fall outside that standard, sometimes narrower, sometimes with an oddly placed window, radiator, or plumbing chase eating into the usable footprint. A custom glass shower solves this by being measured and fabricated to the room’s actual dimensions rather than forcing the room to accommodate a standard-size product.

Neo-Angle and Corner Configurations Make Tight Spaces Work

For genuinely small bathrooms, a neo-angle shower, which uses angled glass panels to create a shower stall in a corner rather than requiring a full rectangular footprint, is often the most space-efficient option. This configuration maximizes usable floor area in the rest of the bathroom while still providing a comfortable shower interior, and it’s a common solution in the kind of tight, older layouts found throughout Newark’s historic neighborhoods.

Why Frameless Doesn’t Always Mean More Space, But It Often Reads That Way

Frameless glass, using thicker glass panels with minimal metal hardware, doesn’t literally create more physical space in a small bathroom, but it does reduce the visual clutter that framed doors add. In a genuinely tight bathroom, that visual difference matters more than the math suggests. A frameless enclosure with clean sightlines makes a small room feel considerably less cramped than the same footprint enclosed in a heavier, more visible frame.

What to Measure Before Assuming a Layout Won’t Work

Before concluding a small or oddly-shaped bathroom can’t accommodate a glass shower upgrade, a few specific measurements matter:

• The actual clear width and depth of the existing shower or tub area, not just the room’s overall dimensions
• Door swing clearance, since a swinging shower door needs room to open without hitting a toilet, vanity, or door frame
• Ceiling height and any sloped sections, common in older buildings with lower ceilings or angled walls near stairwells
• Existing plumbing rough-in locations, since moving fixtures adds cost and complexity beyond the glass installation itself

A sliding or pivot door configuration can sometimes solve a clearance problem that a standard swinging door can’t, which is exactly the kind of solution a custom fabricator can offer that a big-box standard kit typically can’t.

Why Older Buildings Often Have Out-of-Square Walls

Beyond simple square footage, a lot of Newark’s older housing has settled over the decades, which means walls that were originally square are no longer perfectly plumb or level. A custom glass shower installer accounts for this during measurement and fabrication, whereas a standard prefabricated kit assumes perfectly square walls and often shows visible gaps or requires awkward trim work when installed into a building that’s shifted over a century of settling.

Getting a Design That Actually Fits Your Specific Bathroom

Rather than assuming a small or unusually shaped bathroom rules out a glass shower upgrade, it’s worth getting an actual measurement and design consultation first. Custom glass shower doors in Parsippany built specifically around your bathroom’s real dimensions, rather than a standard kit that assumes a modern, square layout, is usually the difference between a shower that genuinely fits and one that looks like a compromise.

PARSIPPANY — The New Jersey Indian American Association will host an Independence Day celebration on Saturday, August 15, marking the 80th anniversary of India’s independence and the 250th anniversary of the United States.

The community celebration, themed “Unity, Culture and Freedom,” will take place at Smithfield Park, Field A, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Mayor Pulkit Desai will join organizers for the event.

The program will include remarks from dignitaries, recognition of sponsors and volunteers, and a lineup of cultural performances showcasing traditional music and dance. A Zumba-led group fitness segment will serve as the event’s grand finale, followed by an open dance floor featuring Bollywood music for all attendees.

Food vendors will be on site offering a variety of dishes, and organizers are encouraging attendees to support local businesses. Guests are asked to bring their own chairs or blankets, as seating will not be provided, and to use designated trash bins to help keep the park clean.

A group photograph session with the mayor is also planned to mark the occasion.

Sponsorship opportunities remain available at the Platinum, Diamond, Gold, Silver and Well-Wisher levels, with booth rentals priced at three hundred dollars for one booth and five hundred dollars for two booths.

For more information, residents may contact event organizers Rajnikant Patel at (973) 615-5935, Inder Singh at (201) 673-0697, Jeegnash Kothari at (973) 216-6166, Danny Desai at (973) 930-0161, Mahesh Prajapati at (551) 580-8006, Kavita Ande at (862) 207-9440, Kamal Kapadia at (201) 748-9944, Mitesh Trivedi at (585) 259-9203, or Dr. Krishna Patel at (973) 462-5109.

PARSIPPANY — The Mount Tabor Historical Society will hold its annual Mount Tabor House Tour on Saturday, September 26, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., the organization’s largest annual fundraiser.

The self-guided, walkable tour takes visitors inside more than fifteen privately owned Victorian cottages in the Mount Tabor Historic District, a National Register community the society describes as unlike anywhere else in New Jersey. Ticket holders can wander at their own pace through hidden gardens and view the elaborate gingerbread woodwork that defines Mount Tabor’s architecture, a former Methodist camp meeting ground that has drawn visitors for more than one hundred fifty years.

Admission includes tours of more than fifteen cottages, entry to the Richardson History House, a furnished Camp Meeting Tent staffed with costumed interpreters, a quilt show inside the historic 1885 Tabernacle, and a printed self-guided tour booklet and map available at check-in.

All tours begin at the check-in table near the Old Firehouse on Simpson Avenue, where visitors pick up their printed booklet and map. Houses and gardens may be visited in any order throughout the event window.

Visitors are encouraged to park at Mount Tabor Elementary School on Park Road, where a free shuttle will run continuously from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and drop off near the Old Firehouse check-in location.

Tickets are $35 in advance, plus a $2.00 processing fee for online purchases, and $40.00 the day of the tour. Advance tickets can be purchased online through midnight, September 24. All sales are final, and tickets are not mailed; names and ticket numbers will be on the list at the welcome table. Tickets can also be purchased by mail with a check payable to the Mount Tabor Historical Society, along with a self-addressed stamped envelope, sent to Mount Tabor Historical Society – House Tour, P.O. Box 271, Mount Tabor, New Jersey 07878. Mail orders must be received by September 19, and carry no processing fee. Tickets will also be available at the welcome table the day of the tour.

PARSIPPANY — Mount Tabor’s Children’s Day parade steps off at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, August 8, carrying this year’s theme, “Big Top Tabor.”

Mount Tabor was founded in 1869 as New Jersey’s first permanent Methodist camp meeting ground. Its tight rows of Victorian cottages are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the community governed itself under a state charter until 1980, when it formally became part of Parsippany-Troy Hills.

Children’s Day traces its roots to the community’s earliest years, when it began as a Sunday School parade. Over time it has grown into a multiday celebration featuring the coronation of a king and queen chosen from Mount Tabor’s youth, homemade floats, decorated bicycles and wagons, a midway, and live music, and remains a highlight of summer for residents of what many call “the hill.”

The Denville String Band, a concert and marching band based in neighboring Denville, will be in the line of march, according to its public performance calendar.

The celebration continues past the parade. The Mount Tabor Historical Society will open the Richardson History House at 32 Trinity Place for free tours from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 4:00 p.m. Sunday, August 9. The society can be reached at (973) 975-0001 and asks visitors to check its website before heading over in case of last-minute schedule changes.

PARSIPPANY — The Parsippany Recreation Department is seeking vendors for the twenty-third annual Fall Festival Street Fair, one of the largest fall festivals in the region.

The festival will take place Saturday, September 19, from noon to 5:00 p.m. at Smith Field Park on Route 46 East.

Organizers are looking for food trucks and craft food vendors, artisans and crafters, local nonprofits and community groups, and live entertainment and attractions. Booth display locations measure fifteen feet by fifteen feet.

Vendors can register online at pthreconline.com. Questions can be directed to the Parsippany Recreation Department at [email protected].

TRENTON — State Senator Joe Pennacchio, a Republican representing the twenty-sixth legislative district, which includes Parsippany-Troy Hills, issued a statement following news that Congress is opening an investigation into how 6,600 noncitizens were added to New Jersey’s voter rolls.

“I welcome Congress’ investigation into New Jersey’s voter rolls. This is exactly why I called on the Department of Justice and United States Attorney to launch their own investigation,” Pennacchio said in a statement. “The Governor wants everyone to simply believe this was just a software glitch involving 6,600 registrations, but there are serious questions that go well beyond that, like how that number pales in comparison to the 35,000 non-citizens on New Jersey voter rolls suggested by the Department of Justice. The people of New Jersey deserve the full truth, and I hope this investigation finally gets us closer to the answers the Murphy and Sherrill administrations are refusing to provide.”

Governor Mikie Sherrill announced last month that about 6,600 noncitizens were added to New Jersey’s voter rolls between June 2023 and June 2024, which she attributed to a software error at the state Motor Vehicle Commission. Sherrill said the affected individuals had answered that they were not United States citizens when applying for a driver’s license or identification card, but were registered to vote anyway, and that roughly 400 of them cast ballots in past elections. The 35,000 figure Pennacchio cited has been attributed to the Department of Justice but has not been independently confirmed by state election officials.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil sent a letter to New Jersey Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State Dale Caldwell requesting documents and communications related to the registrations, with a response requested by August 17.

Pennacchio’s statement also cited a New Jersey Globe report that about 75,000 noncitizens are summoned for jury duty in New Jersey each year.

On July 22, Pennacchio sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche requesting that the Department of Justice launch its own investigation of the Motor Vehicle Commission’s automatic voter registration system. On July 27, he called on Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon to expand the federal investigation into the registration and voting of noncitizens in New Jersey.

NEWARK — Governor Mikie Sherrill signed the Fair Price Protection Act into law, protecting New Jersey shoppers from discriminatory surveillance pricing. The law prevents businesses from using personal information, such as online activity, location or purchasing history, to charge different prices for identical products based on what an algorithm predicts a shopper is willing or able to pay.

“New Jersey families are already feeling the pressure of higher costs,” Sherrill said in a statement. “The last thing they need is companies secretly using their personal data to charge them more than someone else for the exact same product. This law puts New Jersey shoppers first by protecting their privacy and ensuring fairness in pricing.”

Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said the price shoppers pay at the grocery store should be based on the cost of a product, not on what invasive data collection suggests they may be willing to pay, and that her office is committed to enforcing the new law.

Surveillance pricing uses consumer data, often gathered through large-scale data collection and artificial intelligence, to set prices for individual shoppers. While retailers have long adjusted prices based on market conditions, surveillance pricing allows them to tailor prices based on the characteristics of individual shoppers, often without their knowledge.

The Fair Price Protection Act prohibits retailers from using personal data to set individualized prices on groceries and other necessities, but does not ban loyalty programs or discounts. It also places a one-year moratorium on new use of electronic shelf labels while the New Jersey Innovation Authority studies the technology’s effects, though existing labels may still be used, repaired or replaced.

“Surveillance pricing is an abuse of modern technology where artificial intelligence is used to set different prices for different customers,” said Senator Joe Cryan, a Democrat representing Union County. “Consumers are being hurt at a time when families are already struggling to pay their bills.”

Assemblyman Onyema, a Democrat representing Essex and Union counties, said the law establishes clear protections to ensure that pricing is based on the product being sold rather than on data collected about the buyer.

Ademola Oyefeso, international vice president of the United Food and Commercial Workers union, praised the law’s moratorium on electronic shelf labels as an important step to ensure the technology does not harm shoppers or workers, noting large grocery chains nationwide are rushing to adopt it.

The Fair Price Protection Act complements the Sherrill administration’s recent actions on junk fees and algorithmic rent-setting, establishing guardrails for emerging technologies while protecting shoppers from discriminatory pricing practices based on their personal information.

PARSIPPANY — Winger is a female puppy, a mix of Yorkshire Terrier, Chihuahua and Shih Tzu, born April 27, and available for adoption through WISE.

WISE is entirely volunteer-run, and all donations made to the rescue go directly back to the animals in its care. By partnering with veterinary practices that support its work, WISE is able to save animals’ lives and restore them to health. While some animals need only standard care, others require more extensive veterinary or behavioral care.

Regardless of which dog someone applies for, WISE asks adopters to support the program with a minimum donation of $850. The donation may or may not be directly applied to the care of the dog being adopted, but instead goes toward supporting all of the dogs in the rescue.

Winger would thrive in a loving and patient home ready to provide guidance, structure, and plenty of affection. As a young puppy, she is still learning about the world and will benefit from a family committed to continued training, socialization, and a consistent routine. A home where someone is available to help with potty training, basic manners, and confidence-building would be ideal. She would do well with individuals, couples, or families excited to include a new companion in their daily activities.

Winger is described as playful and cuddly, with a fun, outgoing personality and a habit of making new friends wherever she goes. When she isn’t playing and exploring, she is happiest curled up next to her people for a nap. She is said to do well with kids, dogs and cats.

Like all puppies, Winger is still learning and making progress every day. She is working on house training, crate training, and basic puppy manners, and is fully pee pad trained while working on outdoor training as well. With consistency, patience, and positive reinforcement, she is expected to continue building confidence and developing good habits.

Some large-scale breeding programs occasionally have dogs and puppies they are unable to place due to medical needs, birth defects, appearance differences, or simply a lack of demand. WISE partners with groups working to give these dogs a second chance rather than an uncertain future, and is committed to rescuing and caring for dogs of all kinds, whether healthy, medically fragile, senior, or in need of special care.

Those interested in adopting Winger can visit WiseAnimalRescue.org to fill out an adoption application.

Reprinted from Parsippany Focus magazine, August 2026. Click here to read magazine.