NEWARK – The city’s three public safety divisions had a busy July 17 in the wake of a severe thunderstorm front that had drenched the “Local Talk” area with almost six inches of rain in about two hours.
Newark Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara said that low-lying areas in the South and East wards promptly flooded, stranding motorists and bus riders in up to waist-high water, that late Saturday afternoon and night.
Members from Newark’s police, fire and emergency management divisions had fielded 112 weather-related incidents and deployed its five Zodiac boats to rescue 73 people. The Passaic River was at high tide, giving the rainfall and storm water nowhere to go.
Five of the rescued were patients at the Fresenius kidney dialysis center at 248 South St. Four of the five were taken by police to another center; the fifth taken by an EMS ambulance to a local hospital.
Another 22 people were rescued from a New Jersey Transit bus that became stuck at waist-high water at Meeker Avenue and Empire Street. The 21 passengers and their driver got out through a roof hatch. It is not known as of press time whether the bus was on an eastbound 37, 59 or 107 route.
Detours were the order at places like Route 21 at Emmet Street, Jefferson and Chestnut streets, Van Buren and Clifford streets and McClelland Street under the Amtrak Northeast Corridor overpass. Some neighbors resorted to blocking streets with chairs and tires until authorities showed up with sawhorses.
Public Safety members also coped with eight power outages, 16 abandoned motor vehicles, a jet airliner fuel leak at Newark Liberty International Airport and several felled trees. Flooding also seeped into EWR’s economy parking lots, delayed flights by 90 minutes and suspended its Skytrain monorail 9 p.m. July 17-7 a.m. July 18.
IRVINGTON – Those who use the Irvington Public Library’s physical services here at 1 D. Bilal Beasley Civic Sq. may want to look at the daily weather report and call in advance of visiting.
The library building had reopened to the public again July 19 but Library Director Jeanette Singleton may close it again should the indoor temperatures get too hot.
The 33,000-square-foot IPL building, completed in 1968, had been closed July 6-16, which was also when the New York City metropolitan area experience a pair of three-day heatwaves. A heatwave is defined as three or more consecutive days of at least 90-degree Fahrenheit weather.
Singleton explained to “Local Talk” that a major component in its air conditioning system had broken July 6, the first business day after the July 4 holiday weekend. That part is in transit as of July 20.
“We had to go across the country to find the part,” said Singleton from her office. “It has a tracking number.”
The A/C failure came after its July 1 expansion of previously COVID-curtailed in-person services. Tuesday and Thursday adult services, for example, were extended from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“Most of our services are virtual,” said Singleton. “We resumed or children’s program here today (July 20).”
EAST ORANGE / MONTCLAIR – Members of the East Orange Fire Department draped mourning bunting on their firehouses and helped escort Capt. Vincent J. Intiso’s remains to and from Montclair’s Church of the Immaculate Conception July 14.
Capt. Intiso, 57, of Succasunna, died from COVID-19 July 8. The 34-year officer is considered to have died in the line of duty.
The route between Montclair’s Caggiano Funeral Home and Immaculate Conception Church – including parts of Grove Street, North Fullerton Avenue, Clermont Avenue, Munn Street and all of Cottage Place – was closed for Intiso’s procession 8 a.m. – 2 p.m. that Wednesday.
Relatives and colleagues called Vincent at the Funeral Mass and the July 13 visitation as “a true family man” and “the heart of the firehouse.” Intiso, who was born April 4, 1964 in East Orange, was also a security guard for the Roxbury Public Schools.
Older brother Thomas (1955-2019), a former Clifford J. Scott and Cedar Grove high school pitcher, predeceased him.
Wife Elizabeth, son Vincent, Jr., daughter Haylee Rose Intiso and brother Charles P., Jr. are among his survivors.
Memorial donations may be made to stjude.org and/or adoptaboxerrescue.com.
ORANGE – Those who only go by the City Council agendas posted on their respective websites before and after July 1 may appear that Orange elders’ leadership remains unchanged.
A majority of council members at their July 1 reorganization meeting, indeed, have kept their leadership for 2021-22 mostly the same as they were for 2020-21.
East Ward Councilman Kerry J. Coley remains the council’s president. North Ward Councilwoman Tency A. Eason remains their vice president.
The council’s next scheduled conference and regular meetings are set to start 7 p.m., Wed. Aug. 4. They will be preceded by a 6 p.m. special meeting – for proposed amendments to the Calendar Year 2021 Municipal Budget – as posted online July 21. The meetings were pushed later from the usual first Tuesday of the month to accommodate Orange’s participation in National Night Out celebrations.
WEST ORANGE – Some 25 people came to the corner of Valley Road and Hazel Avenue here on a hot July 14 afternoon to remember some long-gone wintertime fun.
Township historian Joseph Fagan – wearing a wool hat, scarf and mittens and his back towards the Taco Loco diner – unveiled a downtown West Orange Alliance historic marker commemorating the Oranges’ first toboggan slide.
The slide, which paralleled Hazel Avenue, was opened by the Essex County Toboggan Club Jan. 1, 1886. An enlarged “Harpers Weekly” front page depicted the wooden slide while stating that the attraction in the township’s part of The Valley drew people from as far away as New York City.
The marker was placed at “565 Valley Rd,” a parking lot where the slide had ended and the toboggan clubhouse once stood. The slide’s novelty wore off and was dismantled in the early 20th Century.
SOUTH ORANGE – A former Seton Hall University Pirates basketball player has sued the school, asserting that his injury was misdiagnosed by the team’s physician, leading to permanent damage and his denial by several NBA teams.
Attorneys Alan Milstein, of Montclair, and Jeffrey Resnick, of Moorestown, said, on July 15, that they have filed suit against SHU on behalf of client Myles Powell in State Superior Court-Chancery Division in Newark earlier that week.
The suit names head coach Kevin Willard and sports medicine director/team physician Tony Testa as among the respondents. They and the school are being charged with negligence, breach of contract and fiduciary duty causing severe and permanent injury, emotional distress and monetary damages.
Powell, in his senior year on the NCAA Division One Big East Conference team 2019-20, was the school’s third all-time leading scorer when he was out two games for a concussion and a right knee injury on Nov. 2. Testa and Willard, said Powell in the suit, first diagnosed him as having a right ankle problem and that continued play would not aggravate the condition.
When Powell said he was still having right leg pain, Testa allegedly said it was a bone bruise and had injected a “pain-killer” into his knee. Powell, while seeking consideration for the 2020 NBA player draft, later found out that his right knee had a lateral meniscus tear.
Powell was denied a place in the NBA draft. The Trenton native last played for the Westchester Knicks in the NBA’s G-League until he was waived on April 24.
Powell’s attorneys and SHU have declined comment as of July 20. The school’s website. however, lists Testa as “medical services provider and coordinator for all student-athletes and directly works with the men’s basketball and men’s and women’s golf teams.” The Testa in the suit is not to be confused with a Tony Testa listed as the team’s athletic trainer.
MAPLEWOOD – Authorities are still looking into the circumstances of how a 14-year-old girl walked onto NJTransit’s Morris & Essex right of way July 13, leading her to be fatally struck by a westbound train.
Maplewood and NJTransit police plus a township fire rescue unit responded to a report from the crew of M&E Train No. X667 from just west of Maplewood station at 12:15 p.m. that Tuesday. They found the train, which was on a non-revenue run from New York Penn Station to Dover, and the struck teen.
NJTransit’s M&E dispatcher promptly suspended the entire line’s service until 2:02 p.m. while the rescue became a recovery and field investigation. Medics declared the girl dead at the scene, which summoned ECPO detectives.
Although service resumed with 90-minute delays at 2:02 p.m., the incident and the lack of X667’s train set and crew were felt on the M&E and Montclair-Boonton line for the rest of the day.
Train No. 419 12:36 from Hoboken to Gladstone was canceled at Newark Broad Street station. The 6343 4:42 p.m. and 6359 6:50 p.m. NYPS-Summit locals were respectively delayed 55 minutes or canceled. The 6659 6:56 NYPS-Dover express made all local stops. M-BL Train No. 1003, which was to leave Hoboken at 3:34, was canceled.
Private bus carriers and PATH, the latter at its Hoboken and 33rd Street stations, cross-honored NJTransit train tickets and passes until 4:42 p.m. M&E delays went down to 30 minutes at 4:42 p.m.
Maplewood Police Chief Jim DeVaul and South Orange-Maplewood School District Communications Director Andie Eustache confirmed the girl’s age, address and her being a Maplewood Middle School student.
BELLEVILLE – The Belleville Board of Education Trustees, for the second time in eight months, approved buying a house along Greylock Parkway adjoining the Belleville High School grounds.
The trustees, at their July 19 meeting, passed Resolution 10.5 which authorizes the purchase of 499 Greylock Pkwy.
The resolution, as presented by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Richard D. Tomko and the Belleville Public Schools Purchasing Department, would buy the 1950-built two-story split level three-bedroom house for $434,000. The funding would be drawn from PBS’ general fund.
BPS has 487 Greylock on its property rolls since April 14. The trustees approved that purchase, for $369,000 from its capital reserve, Dec. 21.
Both 499 and 487 Greylock are among nine houses fronting the street’s south side. The nine have backyards abutting the BHS grounds. 487 Greylock, however, also abuts BHS’s driveway.
BPS, with trustees’ approval, is also paying rent on two more properties in the township. That includes 355 Union Ave., a 2.5-story house with a front office, since July 1 for $3,000 per month. 355 Union is reportedly a property owned by Mayor Michael Melham.
It is not clear whether the purchase of both Greylock houses are for possible BHS expansion. Dr. Tomko has said that the purchase and rentals are for more office space.
