Monday, October 24, 2011
Residents during public hearing on state's response to Irene also asked why power substations are located so close to rivers
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 during Hurricane Irene. Residents and officials alike said they were left in the…
Friday, September 9, 2011
Today's top Fair Lawn 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) Memorial School students start school Friday at their respective locations. Busing will be to and from Memorial School, however. 2) Because sixth grade Memorial students will be at the Community Center Friday for class, it is closed to the public from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. for privacy reasons. 3) The Passaic River at Little Falls remains above "major" flood state Friday and shouldn't dip below until Monday. Cresting point is predicted at 11.4 feet, early Saturday morning. That's down about a foot from yesterday's forecast. 4) The Amateur Radio …
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Pending Fair Lawn council approval tonight, Memorial Middle School students will return to class Friday
So much for that week of extended summer vacation. Memorial School students could be back in their seats as early as Friday morning, if borough council approves a motion coming its way tonight. The catch: It won't be at Memorial School. Superintendent Bruce Watson said that when contractors readying the flood-damaged school for class told him it might be two to three weeks before it was ready, he was forced to adopt an alternative plan. That alternative plan, which will be voted on at tonight's council meeting, would put Memorial students back to work starting Friday, at three separate locations across town. Sixth graders would head to the Community Center, seventh graders to Thomas Jefferson Middle School; and eighth grade students would …
Monday, September 5, 2011
Verizon construction on Fair Lawn Avenue at Plaza Road is expected to continue into Wednesday
Updating previous reports, Verizon did not complete its construction work on Fair Lawn Avenue at Plaza Road over the weekend. In fact, as residents driving through town Monday can attest, the number of construction sites has actually grown. Verizon trucks are now stationed along Fair Lawn Avenue at Pollitt Drive, Chandler Drive near the Route 208 on-ramp and 11th Street, in addition to the Plaza Road intersection. Crews have been working around the clock to repair or replace underground copper telephone cables that sustained water damage in last week's flooding. The Verizon foreman in charge of the Plaza Road repairs estimated that construction there -- which has reduced traffic to one lane -- would be finished by Wednesday morning. He …
Tell us what you think about this week's question
Fair Lawn resident Alexis Burke never received a call to evacuate her Bellair Avenue home before flood waters rose to the apron of her driveway Tuesday. Her neighbors across the street, on the other hand, did receive an automated evacuation phone call. "There's a disconnect between the management of Fair Lawn and its citizens," said Burke, who has lived on the street for 13 years and had never previously seen flood water reach her driveway. "They're not letting us as citizens make informed decisions." She said she likely would not have evacuated even if warned, because she wanted to be around to mitigate damages, but said she wished the borough had at least informed her what she might be facing when she woke up Tuesday morning. In your …
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Charts break down the number of Fair Lawn residents and businesses that have been affected in some way by last week's flooding
It’s been a week now since Irene became the first hurricane to make landfall in New Jersey in 108 years. She swept through Fair Lawn last Sunday morning, dumping rain, uprooting trees and outing power lines along the way. But more devastating than Irene’s initial jaunt through town were the slow-rising Passaic flood waters that followed her. On Tuesday morning, at their highest point, Passaic River water levels measured 14.19 feet according to the flood gauge nearest Fair Lawn – more than five feet above “major” flood level. The one and only time levels have risen above Tuesday’s cresting point came way back in 1903, when Fair Lawn was still farmland. That year, they reached 17.5 feet. “Flooding was what I expected,” Fair Lawn’s emergency …
Friday, September 2, 2011
Today's top Fair Lawn tips and events
"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) Community Emergency Response Team volunteers will hit the streets Friday to pass out clean-up kits. The kits, which are booklets with health and safety tips for ensuring sanitary flood clean up, are also available at the Office of Emergency Management and online at the borough website. 2) Passaic River levels at Little Falls are down to 9.2 feet, as of 7:30 a.m Friday. When levels are below 9 feet, water should be entirely off the streets, save for some puddles. Almost there! 3) With recycling pick-up canceled for the remainder of the week, …
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Photos taken Thursday of some of Fair Lawn's hardest hit flood areas
A photo slideshow created five days after Irene hit Fair Lawn
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Updates on flood-related conditions and issues throughout the day
Wednesday, 7:15 a.m. As of 8:25 p.m. Tuesday, flooding in both directions on NJ-20 between Broadway and Fair Lawn Avenue Bridge in Paterson had closed all lanes until further notice. To this point, the NJDOT commuter website has yet to provide any further notice. Make of that what you will. Wednesday, 5:30 a.m. The Passaic River gauge at Little Falls was down about a foot from where it crested yesterday morning. Water levels will continue receding for the rest of the week, but should not go below 'major' flood stage (9 feet) until 7 a.m. or so on Friday.
Monday, August 29, 2011
NJ Transit: Most rail service will be restored
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Monday, August 29, 2011
NJ Transit announced late Monday that it would be restoring most rail service Tuesday, including the Main/Bergen County Line. Service had been shut down because of the effects of Irene. Main/Bergen County Line trains are expected to operate on a regular weekday schedule Tuesday. NJ Transit said those who normally transfer at Secaucus for service to New York can instead go to Hoboken to connect with the PATH at no additional charge. Here is what the transportation company expects on the other lines: Bus Service: Light Rail Service: Access Link: Systemwide Cross-Honoring in Effect: To give customers additional travel options, NJ Transit will offer systemwide cross-honoring, enabling customers to use their ticket or pass on an alternate …
Joe
12:32 pm on Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Leadership? Hahaha Where are the kids gonna eat at the rec center? Where are the kids who are in 6th grade taking 7th grade Math going to do? Questions unanswered! more ›