Tuesday, August 28, 2012
More than $458,000 of the borough's reimbursement claims stemming from the destruction wrought last year by Hurricane Irene are still pending.
In the year since Hurricane Irene and the historic flooding that followed hit Fair Lawn, the borough has recovered $853,254.98 from a combination of its insurance company and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Another $458,398.94 is still pending, some of which, borough manager Tom Metzler hopes, will be picked up by either the town's insurance, which provides primary coverage, or FEMA, which is supplemental. "One of four things is going to happen," Metzler said of the oustanding claims. "FEMA is going to give us some of it, the insurance company is going to give us some of it, some of it’s going to be deemed “not eligible because” and some of it will be appealed. If I disagree with their reasoning and I feel that we’re entitled to …
Monday, June 25, 2012
A series of interviews with residents and the pool's director on what to expect at Memorial Pool this summer.
If you're still on the fence about purchasing a Memorial Pool membership this year, here's a look from residents and the pool director at how things have shaped up since last year's devastating storm. -- Follow Fair Lawn Patch on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to receive our daily newsletter in your inbox each morning
Friday, June 1, 2012
The trailers were destroyed in Hurricane Irene.
In a recent development that borough manager Tom Metzler called a “major accomplishment,” Fair Lawn’s insurance carrier will reimburse the borough for the loss of the Memorial Pool trailers destroyed in Hurricane Irene. Metzler said the borough’s insurance would pay the full replacement value on the uninsured trailers -- initially chalked up as an unfortunate non-reimbursable loss – as well as the cost to demolish those damaged trailers and rent temporary replacement trailers, for a total reimbursement of $326,664. Although originally portable, the trailers became functionally immobile after bathrooms and gas lines were installed underneath them. With the borough unable to relocate them for that reason, the trailers became a casualty of …
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Repetitively flooded residents aired their concerns about sewage backup and home buyouts at a public meeting last week.
Council members could offer little more than their condolences to borough flood victims at a public meeting held last week to gauge the community’s flooding concerns and fashion an appropriate borough response. The dozen or so residents who attended the meeting learned that their primary concerns – the status of home buyouts and the frequency with which sewage backs up into their homes when it rains – were unlikely to be resolved any time soon. “When you all brought up that whole FEMA money it sounded very encouraging, so believe it or not, I believed it at the time,” said Second Street resident Laurie Wisse, referring to the borough’s proposed plan to buy out 38 flood-prone properties using state and federal aid. “I really thought that …
Monday, January 30, 2012
In October, the borough applied for $4.2 million in Blue Acres funding to assist with the purchase of 38 flood-prone properties.
Following August's historic flood, the borough sought millions in funding for the acquisition of flood-prone properties from three sources -- New Jersey Blue Acres, New Jersey Green Acres and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. As of last week, however, relief appears unlikely for the vast majority of residents who had hoped the borough might purchase their flood-ravaged homes. Fair Lawn learned last Monday that it had been denied Blue Acres funding and expects to hear more bad news from the federal government regarding its request for Federal Emergency Management Agency money. "We have not officially heard from FEMA on the funding, but candidly we are not optimistic that we are going to be receiving funding from FEMA," borough …
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Missed any of this week's coverage? It's all here
Monday, Oct. 24 Residents, Officials Want Better Communication During Storms "Residents and officials from across Bergen County had a central message for NJ Board of Public Utilities representatives Monday – better communication is essential during future storms. The BPU public hearing, it’s sixth across the state since Hurricane Irene, was to solicit commentary and suggestions on the state’s preparedness and response to the storm, BPU President Lee Solomon, who led the hearing, said. “We want to know what went right and what went wrong,” so that the state can be better prepared should “anything like this ever occur again,” he said. Concerns voiced during the Monday afternoon public hearing at Ramapo College centralized on power outages …
Monday, October 24, 2011
Final of four state hearings at Ramapo College campus
The state Board of Public Utilities will hold a public hearing on New Jersey’s response to Hurricane Irene Monday at Ramapo College, according to a notice posted by the board at the end of September. The last of four public hearings held around the state this month, the hearing is happening in the Trustees Pavilion at Ramapo College beginning at 4 p.m. Residents are encouraged to attend the event to express their opinions. “The purpose of these hearings is to solicit public comments regarding the state of preparedness and responsiveness of the local electric distribution companies prior to, during and after Hurricane Irene,” according to the release. Those who cannot make it to the meeting can still submit written comments to the state …
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Today's top local events and tips
"Five Things" is a daily Patch feature where we give you Fair Lawn's top five tips and events for each day of the week. Have a suggestion for a "Five Things" item? E-mail me at zak.koeske@patch.com. 1) First Memorial Playground was deemed not safe for children. Then it was cleared for play the next day. Tuesday night, council decided to err on the side of extreme caution and close the playground again, along with the clay parts of DeJong Field. 2) The Library has Family Story Time Wednesday from 6:30-7 p.m. for young children between 2 and 5 years old. 3) The Bergen Bowlers League, sponsored by the Bergen County Special Olympics, rolls Wednesday at Brunswick Lanes at 4:30 p.m. 4) Silver Studs offers a strength-training for older gentlemen …
Until further test results are received, Memorial Playground and DeJong Field will be closed to the public
The question of Memorial Playground's potential contamination came up again at Tuesday night's council work session, prompting council to agree that the area -- which had been cleared for public use -- should be closed again, pending expedited toxicity test results. The Parks Department cleaned and cleared the playground area last Wednesday, and there have since been no new developments, but Mayor Swain again brought the issue to council's attention because she said she was uneasy proceeding before seeing explicit test results. "I wasn’t satisfied with the cleaning that I was told of for the mulch on the playground," Swain said. "I thought about what happened at the World Trade Center when Governor [Christie] Whitman at the time, said ‘It’…
Friday, September 23, 2011
Steady rain expected to continue throughout the weekend
Update: 8:30 p.m. -- The National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory for Bergen County until 10:30 p.m. Friday. Rates of rainfall between 1/2 to 1 inch per hour moving north through the area are expected to cause minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas. Get ready for a wet weekend. The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for Bergen County that runs from noon Friday until 8 p.m. Saturday. Rain is expected to begin around 10:15 a.m. Friday and continue throughout the day. Total rainfall between 1 and 3 inches is expected across the county, with amounts up to 4 inches of rain possible in some areas. Fair Lawn's Office of Emergency Management said in an email blast that it would continue to monitor the …
Billy Mays
4:27 pm on Saturday, June 30, 2012
Maybe your hubby and your neighbor ought to go to a doctor for some blood testing. They could have social diseases. more ›