The first days of August have been met with rain and shine for those in Northern New Jersey. It’s been another busy week in Essex County and we’ve got all the news to keep you up to date. Among the highlights: two new Playa Bowls locations are coming to Essex County, updates to Montclair’s Glenfield Park are complete, and a NYC-based workout studio is opening a location in Caldwell. Read on for all the news in Essex County for the week ending August 11th, 2024.
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Among the Headlines:
- Essex County Swimmers Compete at NJSSL Championships
- Colias Café Opens in Bloomfield
- Grace Period For 3rd Quarter Tax Bills Extended in Montclair
- Montclair Auto Body Shop’s Floor Falls In
- New Chicken Spot Coming to West Caldwell
- Newark to be Impacted by I-280 Bridge Work
- The Strength Club Opening in Caldwell this September
- Upgrades at Ivy Hill Park in Newark are Complete
- West Orange Athlete is D-1 Bound
- Montclair Basketball + Tennis Courts at Glenfield Park Completed
Colias Café Opens in Bloomfield
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A new café has arrived in Bloomfield. Colias Café, located at 391 Broad Street, serves up coffee, tea, drinks, and fresh-baked goods daily, per Patch Bloomfield. The establishment is owned by Jackie Spiteri. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for 12PM on Wednesday, August 14th.
An Update on Verona Flats, An Affordable Housing Complex in Verona
On August 1st, Conifer Realty announced that it received approval from the state to begin marketing Verona Flats and applications should be sent out by late August, per MyVeronaNJ. Verona Flats, located next to the Verona Community Center, is comprised of 95 units and three buildings. Applicants will need to fill out financial information and Conifer Realty will be evaluating each applicant based on family size, income, and other criteria, such as whether the person has a disability. The complex is reserving ten units for people in the project’s lowest income tier and five are for people with disabilities. Those who do not get an apartment will be put on a waiting list.
Montclair Basketball + Tennis Courts at Glenfield Park Completed
On August 2nd, Essex County officials announced that the renovation project at Montclair’s Glenfield Park was done. Per Patch Montclair, the basketball courts received a new surface and blackboards as well as a reinforcement of the surface around the courts to prevent future flooding. The tennis courts were also modernized.
Breezeway Airways Announces Direct Flights from West Virginia to Newark
Breezeway Airways, a budget airline, has announced 18 new routes and five new cities to its network, per Clarksburg-Weston WDTV. This includes a direct flight from Charleston, West Virginia to Newark, New Jersey which will begin on November 14th. You can book a flight here.
Livingston Hosting Free Screening Clinic for High Blood Pressure
The Livingston Health Department is providing a free blood pressure screening clinic for local residents on Wednesday, August 21st, according to Patch Livingston. The clinic will run from 10AM to 12PM. The screening will be held at the Livingston Senior/Community Center, located at 204 Hillside Avenue, in the First Aid Room on the first floor.
Essex County Swimmers Compete at NJSSL Championships
The North Jersey Summer Swim Team Championships (NJSSL) was held on July 25th at the New Providence Community Pool, per Village Green and Meet Mobile. The league is split into four divisions and included teams with swimmers from Caldwell, Fairfield, Cedar Grove, Livingston, Maplewood, Millburn, North Caldwell, South Orange, Verona, West Caldwell, and West Orange. All teams initially competed at Divisonals on July 22nd, a meet that served as a preliminary competition for the top swimmers to qualify for the championships. The meet included 51 events comprising 44 individual races and seven relays. Essex County swimmers earned first place in 10 of the 44 individual events. First-place finishers included Caldwell-West Caldwell’s Hudson Piwowarski, Millburn’s Paige Nosher, South Orange’s Hailey Dunston, and Livingston’s Madison Lok. Aemilia Gjona of West Caldwell, Lola Silver of South Orange, and Alexander Davis of Cedar Grove all earned two first-place medals. Forty-seven of the 132 top-three finishers included Essex County swimmers. For the relays, Essex County teams earned first place in four of the seven events and nine top-three finishes.
Montclair Auto Body Shop’s Floor Falls In
On August 7th, the Montclair Building Department declared ProStock Automotive Warehouse located at 16 Lackawanna Plaza as unsafe, meaning that no person is to occupy the space until the structure is rendered safe and secure. The first floor of the building has caved, in according to an image David Herron uploaded to Secret Montclair, a Facebook group. ProStock Automotive Warehouse has other locations in East Hanover, West Caldwell, Belleville, Totowa, and other Northern New Jersey communities.
Mothers’ Instinct Starring Anne Hathaway Available Soon for Streaming
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Oscar winners Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain are the stars of Mothers’ Instinct, a new movie that was filmed in some Essex County towns. The film had a limited theatrical release in July and played at Cranford Theater in Union County. Per NJ.com, the movie was filmed in 2022 in various counties like Union, Bergen, Monmouth, and Essex, where Anne grew up. Locations include the Community Church of Cedar Grove and Bergen New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus, among others. Anne and Jessica also starred in Armageddon Time, which also was filmed in New Jersey. There will be a digital release of Mothers’ Instinct on August 13th on Prime Video.
Grace Period For 3rd Quarter Tax Bills Extended in Montclair
Montclair is extending the grace period for its 3rd quarter tax bills to September 6th, per Patch Montclair. Any payment received after that date will have interest calculated back to August 1st. According to a municipal advisory, the interest on late payments for taxes is calculated at a rate of eight percent on the first $1,500 and 18 percent for any amount over $1,500, retroactive to the first of the month.
New Chicken Spot Coming to West Caldwell
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HCK Hot Chicken celebrated the grand opening of its first New Jersey location on August 10th, located at 590 Passaic Avenue in West Caldwell, according to the restaurant’s Instagram. The grand opening will start at 11AM and will include entertainment and giveaways like $5 sandwiches all day long (one per guest). The first 24 guests will also receive a free sandwich. HCK Hot Chicken specializes in Nashville-style cuisine such as hot chicken tenders and sandwiches, mac and cheese, chicken and waffles, and fried pickles. Check out the menu here. HCK Hot Chicken currently has five Virginia locations and one each in Florida, New York, Texas, and North Carolina.
Newark to Be Impacted by I-280 Bridge Work
On Monday, August 5th, work began on two ramps to I-280 in Newark, per Patch Newark. The bridge deck replacement work will cause closures “as needed” over the next month, according to officials. There will be one detour. Motorists wishing to use the Orange Street ramp to I-280 westbound will be directed to turn onto 1st Street southbound and then right onto the ramp to I-280 westbound. The project will be completed in phases to minimize impact to the public and should fully wrap up in the fall of 2025.
Pickleball Courts Coming to Verona
On July 22nd, the Verona Council discussed concept plans for several new pickleball courts at the Verona Community Pool located at 275 Fairview Avenue, according to Tap into Verona/Cedar Grove. The Council approved a plan to construct four new pickleball courts and a tennis court that can be converted into a pickleball court as necessary. Construction for this project is scheduled to begin as early as this fall and is expected to wrap up in the spring or summer of 2025.
Quick Draw Progressive Winner Purchased Ticket in West Orange
The winner of the Quick Draw Progressive purchased a ticket at ShopRite Essex Green in West Orange, per Shore News Network. The winning sum is worth $46,642 and 20% of the total jackpot.
This New Jersey Olympian Helped Team USA Earn a Medal
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On Sunday, August 4th, Nic Fink and his teammates helped Team USA win a silver medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay with a time of 3:28.01, according to Morristown Green. Nic Fink grew up in Morristown and attended the Pingry School. Nic was also once a member of the Cougar Aquatic Club in Montclair.
Two New Playa Bowls Coming to Essex County
According to the Playa Bowls website, there are over 70 locations in New Jersey which makes sense since it started in the Garden State. That number continues to grow, as both East Orange and South Orange will soon welcome locations. The East Orange location will be at 84 North Walnut Street, and the South Orange spot will be at 209 Valley Street. Currently in Essex County, Playa Bowls also serves Millburn, Montclair, Newark, Newark Airport, and West Caldwell.
MKA Student + West Orange Resident Earns National Merit Scholarship
West Orange resident Ellis Fertig, a student at Montclair Kimberley Academy, was named a National Merit Scholarship winner, per TapInto West Orange. The 2024 NMSC began when high school juniors sat for the 2022 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT®). In September 2023, more than 16,000 Semifinalists were named on a state-representational basis in numbers proportional to each state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors. Semifinalists were the highest-scoring program entrants in each state and represented less than one percent of the nation’s seniors. Each Semifinalist completed a detailed scholarship application and took the SAT® or ACT®, earning high marks.
The Strength Club Opening in Caldwell This September
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The Strength Club, a popular fitness studio in New York City, will soon be opening its second location in Caldwell later this summer. Founded by Kenny Santucci, it will provide group classes and personal training, focusing on building muscle strength and conditioning. Its first New Jersey location will be located at 351 Bloomfield Avenue. Read more here.
Verona Lions Club Sends Supplies to Ukraine
The Verona Lions Club has prepared a shipment of supplies to Ukraine, per MyVeronaNJ. Included are 18 large boxes of personal hygiene products and medical supplies as well as 30 walkers, 15 commodes, 12 canes, 12 sets of crutches, 10 shower chairs, 10 rollator walkers, 10 wheelchairs, 10 sets of bed rails, five transport chairs, five hospital mattresses, three specialty wheelchairs, two hospital beds, and a bariatric bed with a temperature-controlled mattress. These items will be transported to Philadelphia, loaded into a container, and then shipped to Ukraine on August 17th.
Verona Public Library Receives a Large Donation
The Friends of the Verona Public Library presented the Verona Public Library with a $17,000 gift, per MyVerona. This gift will ensure programs like the free Museum Passes, Summer Reading, children’s programs, and the relaunch of the free library at the Verona Community Pool. Learn more about Verona Public Library and other Essex County libraries here.
Upgrades at Ivy Hill Park in Newark are Complete
On August 1st, Essex County officials announced that the updates to Ivy Hill Park in Newark were complete, per Patch Newark. A new comfort station with two all-gender handicapped-accessible bathrooms was constructed. Furthermore, LED fixtures were installed on the light poles, the dugouts at Sheppard Field were updated, and landscaping was planted around both the building and the field.
West Orange Athlete is D-1 Bound
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West Orange High School rising senior Anaya Karriem is a basketball standout, and she only began playing the spot five years ago, per Essex News Daily. With 10 Division 1 offers, Anaya has been selected to attend North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. She was selected to the All-New Jersey Basketball Coaches Association Team. She also earned spots on the Super Essex Conference — American Division First Team and the All-State Group 4 Third Team.
