08840 Metuchen | Winter 2023

IN THIS ISSUE: Community ProfileReginald “Reggie” Johnson, FPC Food Pantry, Borough Bites …and More!

Letter from the EDITOR:

Hello 08840!

Welcome to our Winter edition of 08840. We hope you have been enjoying our bi-monthly editions so far where we focus on the lifestyle and community of Metuchen. I am excited for you to check out what we have in store for this issue.

First you will meet Reginald “Reggie” Johnson. He wears many hats in the community leading the fight to end racial inequality. He is the president of the Metuchen-Edison NAACP and is a bias crime agent with the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office. His story begins on page 4.

Readers will learn about the Metuchen FPC Food Pantry and the important role it plays to service families in need especially during the pandemic. Construction on an expansion of the pantry is expected to begin in the summer, which will allow for a dedicated space for the pantry. Story begins in page 6.

This issue features Suite Metuchen. Need a space and vendors for a Sweet 16? Retirement? Baby Shower? Then check out Suite Metuchen owned by

Winter 2023

Derek and Trekita Moore. This married couple dove literally headfirst into business ownership. Find out more on page 8. As the Asian population grows in Metuchen, Metuchenites continue to embrace and learn about the Chinese culture. This year, the community learned about ‘The Year of the Rabbit’ with a lively family-friendly gathering celebrated in downtown Metuchen. See the story and photos on page 10. For our Boro Bites segment, we take a look at a family-owned place that has served the community for 40 years –La Rosa’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant on Lake Avenue. Try some of Jim and Olympia Keane’s favorites dishes – penne vodka, eggplant parm and chicken francese. Yum! Segment with photos begins on page 12. All of this and more awaits on the pages ahead. Enjoy!

Kathy Chang Editor

Editor, Kathy Chang

Debra Wallace

Ryan Gallagher

Jamie Giambrone

Jennifer Amato

FIGHTS TO END RACIAL INEQUALITY REGGIEJOHNSON

BY KATHY CHANG

Growing up, Reginald “Reggie”

Johnson, an African American, did not really understand the Jim Crow laws enforcing racial segregation in the southern states set forth until 1965.

Johnson grew up in Metuchen, away from the states enforcing the laws. In ways, his parents – father, George Yancy Johnson and mother, Phyllis Thompson Johnson – did their best to shield their children – who also included sisters Diane and Claryce and

He attended Metuchen schools – Edgar, Roosevelt and Metuchen High School –never missing a day.

“My mother made me attend school the day after prom night to protect my record. My high school principal marked me present and sent me home after lunch. Because my father was in the military, I also attended school in Fort Knox, Ky.,” he said.

After high school, Johnson said he wanted to attend an all Black College, but his mother felt the temptation “to party and not learn” was too great.

He attended Ricker College in Houlton,

“The school was isolated on the Maine/ Canadian border, however I was not homesick because several other Metuchen stu-

There were instances outside of and even in Metuchen where racial segregation reared

The instance when his family traveled by car when his father was stationed at a military base on the West Coast during

“I couldn’t understand traveling down south why we could not stay at [the] Howard Johnson [hotel] or why all of our food came from a basket and not a restaurant or why the secluded areas were our rest rooms,”

Or why Black motorists followed a

motorists find friendly hotels, restaurants, bars and gas stations.

“I was told that when we could not find what we needed from our copy of the Green Book, we had to drive to a depot and wait for a train to stop to get answers from the Pullman Porters (African American men hired to work on the railroad sleeping cars),” he said.

The instance at a Jersey Shore beach where his family was asked to leave a section of a beach because they were Black.

“It was the last time our family went to the New Jersey shore,” Johnson recalled. “We went to the beaches in New York and had no problems.”

The instance when he and his brother looked out their bedroom window in Metuchen and saw a cross burning on their front lawn.

Those instances and his upbringing have led to what Johnson does today.

After college, Johnson said he did not have trouble finding work. He began his career as a federal agent for the U.S. Postal Inspection Services and moved on to serve as an assistant to the warden at the Federal House of Detention, a federal prison in New York City.

He was promoted to vice president of Curry, Telleri Group Inc., a technical recruitment and management search firm and then managed the Outreach, Admissions

please see REGGIE, page 5 08840

and Placement Department for the Edison Job Corps Academy, a federally funded institution designed to provide vocational, educational and social training to high school graduates lacking permanent careers. There’s a quote by Poet John Paul Moore: “And may I never be too busy to help others bear their loads, then I’ll keep drinking from my saucer, cause my cup has overflowed.”

Johnson takes the quote to heart with the many advocacy roles he has taken on since the 1980s.

He currently is the president of the Metuchen-Edison NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), a role he has serviced since 1987, and is a bias crime agent with the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office.

He served on the Middlesex County Human Relations Commission and Middlesex County Vicinage Committee on Minority Affairs.

With the NAACP, Johnson’s work led to significant attention to racial profiling.

“Many people believe that the ‘Driving While Black’ episode happened when four young men of color in a van were shot at by New Jersey state troopers [in 1998]. But it happened almost 10 years earlier when I was receiving calls from African American parkway drivers stating that they were stopped and ticketed for no apparent reason,” Johnson said.

Over the years, the Metuchen-Edison NAACP has helped reverse discrimination cases, promote diversity in police departments, and provide legal representation to four Rutgers University students protesting comments made by former Rutgers President Francis L. Lawrence on racial standardized scores.

“We helped Middlesex County select their first African American Superior Court Judge Travis Francis,” Johnson said, noting more than 26 African Americans have been added to the Superior Court throughout the state.

In 1990, Johnson was approached by the National Conference of Christian and Jews and the Jewish Federation to address the number of bias incidents in Middlesex County.

“We created commissions in 21 of the 25 municipalities and four counties (Union, Bergen, Somerset, and Mercer). We acted as liaisons to protect the Asian Indian population in Woodbridge (Middlesex County) who were victimized by racism,” he said.

In 1994, Johnson was selected by Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Robert Longhi to chair the Middlesex County Vicinage Advisory Committee on Minority Concerns.

“This committee focuses on the criminal court system and its relationship with minority populations; other issues to be addressed including language barriers and misconceptions about the system,” he said.

His work has led to many, many awards.

Johnson also has had an opportunity to lecture at Rutgers University, Rider College, Widener University, and the National Black M.B.A. Association Conference and Exposition on several topics, including hiring and retaining minority professionals, career planning and race relations.

As Johnson reflects on his advocacy work, he said the early teachings of his mother and the later relationship/learnings with his father has shaped him into the man he is today.

“My mother taught me to be grateful and positive, work hard and follow your dream, be understanding and help other people without seeking reward,” he said.

Since his father was a lifetime soldier who fought in World War II, the Korean War and worked for the Secret Service after retirement, Johnson said he, along with his siblings, did not see much of him until they were adults.

“I got to know him later in life,” he said. “I learned the trials and tribulations he had to go through being a Black man in America.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF REGINALD “REGGIE” JOHNSON LEFT: Reginald “Reggie” Johnson. RIGHT: Reginald “Reggie” Johnson (left) at a mental health presentation

METUCHEN

FPC Food Pantry

Continues its mission to service those in need

Expansion will provide dedicated space for the pantry

BY KATHY CHANG

Almost two decades ago, the Metuchen First Presbyterian Church (FPC) Food Pantry was born – in a closet.

In 2023, the pantry is gearing up for a welcome expansion – essentially from the closet to an extension of the church’s social center - thanks to a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, through COVID-19 pandemic relief funds.

The FPC Food Pantrylike many food pantries across the countrywere inundated with families in need during the pandemic.

When Sarah Teti, director of Local Mission, began her role overseeing the pantry five years ago, the pantry was serving about 60 families in the Metuchen and Edison area. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and the number of families in need more than doubled to 150 or so.

“We never closed,” she recalled. “We trans-

formed into a drive-up model. We spread out the food in the church to pack … food was low, and we were scraping together what we had to give out. We also had opened the pantry to anyone in need.”

The FPC Food Pantry is located in the church’s social center on Woodbridge Avenue. Currently, the pantry shares the space with other organizations that utilize the social center including the nursery and other groups.

Because of this, Teti said the pantry can only be open during certain hours and once they close, they have to pack up as if they never used the space.

Avenue. Currently, the pantry other begin the

The expansion, which they hope to begin construction in the summer, will allow for a dedicated space for the pantry. She said the expansion will be funded through the grant funds plus fundraising.

So let’s recap. Twenty years ago, “congregants saw a need.”

please see PANTRY, page 7

“They would stock the closet full of food and pack bags here and there to give out,” Teti said.

A more formalized process began 10 years ago when people from the Metuchen and Edison area would call in when the need arose, and volunteers would pack bags to give out to families once a month, she said.

Five years ago - with an even more growing number of families in need - the church committee decided to bring in Teti to oversee the pantry.

produce from Whole Foods in Metuchen and Lotte Market in Edison. Teti said they also get a supply of food from Replenish Distribution Center in East Brunswick, which is operated by the Middlesex County Department of Community Services with the support of the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners.

Three times a year, volunteers come together to pack larger holiday bags for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Teti said in the bags, they include $20 grocery store gift cards for protein. During the recent Christmas holiday season, all the gift cards were donated through generous donors, she said.

committee bring and shop what

She helped the church organize the pantry into a client choice model pantry, which many pantries have transformed into.

“Clients come in by appointment and can essentially shop the aisles and take what they need for their family,” Teti said, noting the model cuts out food waste because families are able to pick out what they need.

The vision is for the food pantry to operate as a component of a comprehensive path for dependent or needy families and individuals as they become more financially stable or move toward complete independence, according to the pantry website.

The mission for the Metuchen FPC Food Pantry is to:

complete to area, age, handicap, sex, or national origin, sexual

• Provide healthy food in a dignified way to those in need in the Metuchen/Edison area, without regard to race, color, religion, age, handicap, sex, or national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

• Strengthen the community while providing individuals and groups with the ability to serve others through volunteering time and/or giving food or monetary donations.

• Educate clients and the public of additional programs and issues of hunger in the area.

Generous donors are the lifeblood of the food pantry, enabling the pantry to provide this form of support to the food insecure.

Volunteers are church members, local businesses, scout troops, local school students, families, chambers of commerce, and many other generous, caring community members and organizations.

Teti said they rely on a mixture to keep the pantry stocked from consistent food drives at Campbell Elementary School, the YMCA of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge and South Amboy, the Metuchen Elks, and girl and boy scout troops.

The pantry receives monetary donations allowing volunteers to purchase fresh

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Teti said the pantry can only guarantee food – also including pet food, but at times the pantry receives or buys hygiene products, laundry detergent and toilet paper. She noted Food Stamps don’t allow people to buy items such as laundry

noted don’t

Currently, the FPC Food Pantry services 75 to 100 families from the Metuchen and Edison area. Along with the number of clients who make appointments to come to the pantry, Teti said they make volunteer deliveries to domestic violence safe houses. The clients at the safe houses only have access to microwaveable food items.

Teti said the local mission also encompasses social services and have programs to help clients, who may need help paying rent or electric bills.

paying rent or electric bills.

detergent and toilet paper.

Every third Thursday a month, volunteers come together for a volunteer mission night from 7-8:30 p.m. to pack specialty bags from hygiene specialty bags to birthday cake bags filled with cake mix, frosting, sprinkles etc.

The pantry hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon every week.

from 9 a.m. to noon every

Food drop off times are from Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Donation drop off is located at the FPC Social Center at 270 Woodbridge Ave., Metuchen, NJ 08840. The donation bins are located outside the building (yellow lid), or inside the lobby. For large donations, or items that are perishable and need refrigeration, contact the food pantry at 732-491-2325 to schedule a drop off.

For more information about the FPC Food Pantry visit https://fpcweb. org/food-pantry/.

donations, or items that org/food-pantry/.

Celebrating 22 years of excellence in our community!

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SARAH TETI The Metuchen First Presbyterian Church Food Pantry has been servicing the communities of Metuchen and Edison for close to 20 years.

Metuchen has a number of minority-owned businesses. Just check out the growing list on the Metuchen Downtown Alliance, MDA, website. This month’s Metuchen 08840 takes a look at Suite Metuchen.

In spring 2022, High school sweethearts Derek and Trekita Moore took a leap of faith by starting a local business in the borough. With backgrounds in the oil business and in nursing (respectively), this married couple dove literally headfirst into business ownership - a niche they were both determined to master. Since unveiling their event space with a May 2022 ribbon cutting event, the Moore’s of Suite Metuchen have hosted guests planning micro-events in downtown Metuchen.

“The name is meant to be universal and apply to many events,” explained Derek Moore. “We’re a bit more upscale than if you rented out a VFW [hall] and can cater to any event that you need four walls and a roof for.”

A Well-Equipped Event Space

many different events, guests have given overwhelming praise for “one particular aspect” of the business – the décor in their male and female bathrooms.

“Just [recently], I had some guys book with me after seeing the event space, he was

In this case and in many others, had he been running the show as solo Derek, he may have missed out on this client’s business, he admitted.

“In the beginning, I wanted one bathroom, we argued about it. I said, ‘Let’s just paint it white and go, we’re trying to open,’” smiled Derek Moore. “But this is a testament and credit to my wife. She wouldn’t budge. She had the bathrooms done up very nice with specific fixtures and interior design in mind.”

Suite Metuchen

A Locally-Owned Event Space

BY RYAN GALLAGHER

What’s more, Suite Metuchen is a fully-equipped venue that offers guests more than just the space itself. Suite Metuchen is equipped with WiFi, a sound system, projector, a kitchenette (with an ice machine), the male/female bathrooms, chairs, tables, table linens, and access to the Moore’s network of event planners, photographers, caterers, and entertainers. Plus, every customer is able to use the amenities they need - rather than paying a la carte.

The Moore’s have opened their 100-person event venue to anyone and everyone seeking out a good-looking and fairly-priced space for events of all types. After running

interested in what our male/female bathrooms looked like. He complimented the particular type of faucets we have, the decor, and the cleanliness,” said Derek Moore, who received a booking on-the-spot that day.

The Moore’s explained that their space is meant to be easily accessible and come equipped to have a great party. They believe that with their space, guests can save money please see SUITE, page 9

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PICTURE PERFECT STUDIOS METUCHEN

by making their own playlist for an event, rather than hiring a DJ. In this same sense, guests take advantage and save when using the venue’s furniture instead of renting from a third-party.

At the same time, the Moore’s have a growing network of thirdparty vendors who cater to folks planning parties. So, when renting furniture or outsourcing entertainment is a necessity, guests know they can turn to these business owners for a recommendation.

Events of Metuchen Past, Present, and Future

Since opening, Suite Metuchen has become known for all sorts of events. This venue has already facilitated folks gathering for film screenings, multi-vendor markets, birthday parties, brunches, fashion shows, World Cup viewing parties, holiday parties, and more.

“In many cases, our guests are local ladies who have a general idea for an event,” said Derek Moore, who went on to explain that

their venue has sparked new ideas and helped unique events take shape. After the 2022 holiday season came to a close, one special party stuck out to the Moore’s.

In June 2022, the MDA, the Metuchen Human Relations Commission, and the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) MetuchenEdison Area Branch held a screening of the documentary film “White Man Walks into a Barbershop” with a discussion with the filmmaker, Kyle Schickner, afterwards.

Suite Metuchen also held a Juneteenth Day pop up shop in June 2022. The Black Maker’s Bazaar highlighted Blackowned businesses in the state.

Until 2005, the Moore’s lived in Norfolk, Va. After moving to New Jersey and calling the tight-knit community of

please see SUITE, page 15

“We hosted a meet and greet with Ken Waddell, who wrote the screenplay for ‘An Elf’s Story: Elf on the Shelf,’” recalled Derek Moore. “It was a free community event where we screened the film for the kids, and we received help from [the MDA].”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SUITE METUCHEN Couple opens Suite Metuchen, which has become the go-to zone for client-specific micro-events, as well as events aimed to get Metuchen community members together.

BY DEBRA WALLACE

‘THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT’ METUCHENITES LEARN ABOUT

ASIAN POPULATION GROWING IN METUCHEN

Metuchen residents and other locals had an opportunity to embrace the specular sights and sounds of Asian culture with the colorful splendor of the annual Lunar New Year celebration.

This lively family-friendly gathering celebrated The Year of the Rabbit – one of the 12 animals on the Chinese zodiac, which follow in this order - rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

The Lunar New Year began Jan. 22 and will run through Feb. 9, 2024. While most of Asia celebrates the Year of the Rabbit, Vietnam celebrates the Year of the Cat. In both zodiacs there are 12 animals represented with only the fourth animal - rabbit and cat, respectively - as differing.

With a growing Asian population in recent years, the Metuchen Downtown Alliance (MDA) and the Human Relations Commission collaborated to bring the Lunar New Year festivities to the borough for a second year in a row.

The festival was filled with a number of live performances including the traditional Chinese Lion dance performance, in which the lions bow to be respectful to the crowd, in addition to drummers and fan dancers from the Korean Cultural Arts group.

The Lion Dance is performed to bring prosperity and good luck for the upcoming year as well as to chase away evil spirits.

Bobbie Fawcett, chair of the Downtown Alliance Promotions Team, said among the great feedback from the first year in 2022, people shared they had seen the lion dance and/or Korean fan dance on television, but never witnessed it in person.

And now they were able to up close and personal.

In addition to the Chinese culture, the Lunar New Year celebration in Metuchen celebrated a wider Asian population. Most

please see LUNAR, page 11

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Asian cultures, with the exception of Japan and India, celebrate this joyous holiday.

In fact, a fourth of the world’s population celebrates the Lunar New Year. It is a public holiday celebrated in the Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, North Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Brunei, according to MDA website.

Metuchen celebrated the new year on Jan. 28 with events sponsored by the MDA in collaboration with the Metuchen Human Relations Commission.

Several businesses added some extra pizazz to the celebration. Pastry Lu provided special Asian pastries, What's the Scoop offered unique ice cream flavors, and the Picture Perfect Studio had special Lunar New Year in-studio photography sessions.

“These festivities are a wonderful way to introduce this holiday to a broader community and have Asian Americans feel welcome and represented in our community,” explained Fawcett.

Dawn Mackey, the executive director of

the MDA, which serves the local business district appreciates that the alliance is run by “a tenacious and dedicated group of volunteers who put the magic in Metuchen. This

Both clubs returned for the second year.

“Everyone in the business community was extremely welcoming and the parade audience included so many Asians,” she said. “I have been living in Metuchen for 20 years and I don’t often see as many Asians as I saw

event, as well as the others that we present, are all about the genuine love we feel for our community.”

Volunteer organizer Jennifer Zhu said there were difficulties in finding performers the first year because of the COVID pandemic. She turned to her nephew and his friends from the University of Pennsylvania’s Lion Dance team, as well as members of the Metuchen High School Asian Heritage Club.

come out and support the event.”

please see LUNAR, page 13

Metuchen embraces the sights and sounds of Asian culture with its second celebration of the Lunar New Year.

The event is extremely personal to Zhu, noting that over the years she has brought a dragon costume to school for her three WINTER

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHRISTOPHERBRUNOPHOTOGRAPHY

*Broker Associate **Realtor Associate

Donald Weingart Broker Of Record

**Frank Nicolato

**Puja Sidana

**Edward Reed

**Anthony Georgi**Veronica Hary**Ashley Nicolato

**Murielle Ferino**Nancy Ferraro

**Jason Foxx

**Dilcia Cruz

**Brigit Estrada-Alvarez*Carmen Almanzar

**Omar J Brazon **Keith Boxer

LA ROSA’S Continues to Serve the Community for 40 Years

BY JENNIFER AMATO

Luigi and Adreanna Gerardi emigrated from Naples, Italy, to the United States in 1956. Four years later, they opened a pizzeria in Somerville, which they owned for 16 years.

One night in 1977, Luigi happened to stumble upon La Rosa’s Pizzeria on Lake Avenue in Metuchen.

After a couple of months of “observation and many long conversations,” Luigi and his nephew Carmen Troia purchased the restaurant in January 1978 from the two Italian brothers who had founded the business.

For the pizzeria’s regulars, they are thankful for that “stumble.”

In 1993, Luigi’s daughter Filomena Inghilterra began managing La Rosa Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant, which is still located on Lake Avenue. In November 1998, Luigi’s other daughter Olympia Keane joined the family business and has been managing the popular eatery ever since.

The menu includes everything from appetizers, soups and salads to burgers, subs, calzones, meat and seafood entrees, pasta, pizza, and dessert.

“Some of our favorite dishes are penne vodka, eggplant parm, and another widely ordered dish is chicken francese,” said Olympia’s husband Jim Keane.

Some of the more unique pizzas are topped with Italian hot dog, peppers, onions and potatoes; ground beef taco

please see BITES, page 13

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meat, peppers, onions, tomatoes, olives and cheddar cheese; white clams; or chicken Caesar salad. And for those who need a glutenfree option, they offer a gluten-free crust, deep dish or Sicilian style, too.

There is a separate kids’ menu, plus a special menu for Lent when Roman Catholics don’t eat meat on Fridays.

There are daily lunch specials offered from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Pasta Night is dinein only. On Wednesdays, sit down for an all-you-can eat buffet with selections such as chicken parmigiana, pasta Bolognese or baked ziti.

There is a complete catering menu if you’re hosting a party off premise, or pizza parties are held in house for your guests. Their down-to-earth staff and relaxed atmosphere –

plus great food – are reasons why customers return week after week, year after year.

“We are a family-oriented business and have been serving generations of customers for over 40 years,” Keane said. “Hopefully the legacy will carry on with our children or grandchildren. We shall see. Metuchen has been a great place to run a business and it has been an honor to serve our customers and future customers. We do our best in supporting the community.”

La Rosa Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant is located at 335 Lake Ave. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays to Saturdays, and 1-9 p.m. Sundays. To view the menu, visit larosametuchen.com. To make a reservation or place an order for takeout, call 732-549-6505 or 732-549-6510.

La Rosa’s Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant has served the community for 40 years.

young children and their classmates to enjoy.

She said with the festivities of the lion dance, fireworks and variety of food, people were able to learn something new about the Asian culture “to share with their friends and family members.”

Organizer Jacqueline Ho and her family moved to Metuchen in 2020 and heard about the inclusive downtown events hosted by the MDA and felt like it was something she wanted to support.

“I was a newbie in town, looking to get involved and the Lunar New Year Festival evokes fond memories of attending the New York Chinatown Lunar New Year events with my father, who was one of the co-founders of the United East Athletic Association in Chinatown,” Ho said.

“I have enjoyed being around Chinese culture and the Lion Dance for a long time; in fact, I started playing the cymbals for it when I was 12, and the costume was much bigger than my head back then,” Ho explained. “With all of my experiences, it just makes sense for Metuchen to continue this tradition.”

Not only was Ho excited about the parade and the various performances, her mother, Frances Ho, was back at it again for the second-year teaching how to make Origami rabbits at Genus Boni, a children’s toy store on Main Street.

“I love the Year of the Rabbit because this is my zodiac symbol,” said Ho.

Along with the festivities downtown, the Metuchen Public Library held a Lunar New Year celebration with various music and dance performances by Edison Metro Lions Music Group and Mandarin Academy of Metuchen, First Generation Korean Academy and Gayageum play by Sara Song Suarez, Zumba by Joe Yung and Dream Cat Dance Group, arts and crafts for the children and Chinese painting on a silk fan by artist Yu-Chen Chen.

For more information about additional MDA events visit https://www.downtownmetuchen.org/

PHOTOS BY JAMIE GIAMBRONE

PHOTOS BY KATHY CHANG Metuchen embraces the sights and sounds of Asian culture with its first celebration of the Lunar New Year in 2022. The borough held its second celebration in January.

Metuchen on the Move

Free Programs

The YMCA of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge and South Amboy (MEWSA)

In response to lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical and mental health of area residents, the YMCA of MEWSA is expanding programs and services to help strengthen the community’s overall health and wellness.

Metuchen Public Library

In February, the children’s department at the Metuchen Public Library will have multicultural book displays, games and activities such as Book Bingo with books related to the theme of Black History Month, book giveaways, and bookmarks all highlighting the monthly theme.

The Metuchen Public Library is located at 480 Middlesex Ave. For more information visit www.metuchenlibrary.org.

Celebrate Black History Month

The Metuchen Downtown Alliance and the Metuchen Human Relations Commission are proud to celebrate Black History Month with trailblazers, ground breakers and international legends.

Posters of these “trailblazers, ground breakers and international legends” will be displayed in store windows around Downtown Metuchen.

They include Althea Gibson, first Black woman to win a Grand Slam tennis event; Alvin Ailey, dancer, director, choreographer and activist; Bessie Coleman, first Black woman to earn a pilot’s license; Claudette Colvin, pioneer of the 1950s civil rights movement; Constance Baker Motley, first Black woman to serve as a federal judge; Gil Scott-Heron, poet, singer, musician, and author; Jane Bolin, first Black woman to graduate Yale Law School, join the New York City Bar Association and the nation’s first Black woman judge; and Mae Jemison, first Black woman to travel into space aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

For more information visit downtownmetuchen.org.

The nonprofit organization is rolling out a host of free programs in the new year designed to promote wellness and support healthy living, including access to health education and screenings and programs that reduce risk for disease and help reclaim health.

MEWSA

In collaboration with Hackensack Meridian Health’s JFK University Medical Center, MEWSA began a new series of health seminars and screenings. Additional programs are planned for all ages and interests throughout the year. The programs are free and open to all.

MEWSA will be resuming its free Blood Pressure Monitoring program at the Metuchen YMCA. The no-cost, four-month program helps participants lower high blood pressure and prevent hypertension with support from certified Healthy Heart Ambassadors.

MEWSA reminds parents of seventh-grade students that the Y offers a free membership during the school year that includes access to fitness equipment, pools, gyms and recreation programs. Nearly 400 seventh graders are currently participating in the seventhgrade youth development program. For more information about the YMCA of Metuchen, visit ymcaofmewsa.org or contact the Metuchen Branch at 732-343-7476.

Restaurant Week

Downtown Metuchen Restaurant Week is scheduled for Feb. 20-26. For more information visit www.downtownmetuchen.org.

Windows of Understanding

The Metuchen Arts Council, once again, joins the New Brunswick Community Arts Council, the South Plainfield Arts Commission, the Highland Park Arts Commission and Mason Gross School of the

Arts at Rutgers University in announcing the sixth annual “Windows of Understanding” public art project running through April 1 in various communities throughout Middlesex County.

The urgency of Community Wellness is the center of this year’s initiative that unites local artists, organizations, and businesses to promote awareness and engagement around social justice issues impacting local communities.

This year’s theme of “Building a Healthy Community” highlights the following topics: mental health, violence prevention, food equity, and women’s health.

Visual Language of Art

In Metuchen, the Metuchen Arts Council is partnering with four non-profit organizations and has engaged five artist to illuminate, through the visual language of art, the services provided to the Metuchen Community by these special agencies. The artwork is on display in the windows of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services and Properties and Merle Norman Cosmetics at 564 and 556 Middlesex Ave. in Metuchen. As part of the exhibit, the Arts Council will hold an Open House reception at Berkshire Hathaway planned for 1-3 p.m. March 11. The public is invited to view the artwork and meet the artists and agency representatives. Refreshments will be served.

Community Conversation

The Metuchen Arts Council and the Metuchen Human Relations Commission will host a “Community Conversation” at 7:30 p.m. March 23 at the Metuchen Public Library, 480 Middlesex Ave.

Send us your calendar listings!

Please include all critical information: who, what, where, when, and how to register or get tickets (if applicable), as well as a few lines of description. Email your listings to kchang@newspapermediagroup.com

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It’s all in the details. When it comes to your social calendar, change is … not always good. But sometimes it’s inevitable. For updates pertaining to weather and other cancellations, visit the event organizer’s website the day of the event.

Metuchen and Edison home, they were inspired to do something they would call their own - Suite Metuchen is just that.

Derek recalled his idea to “learn something new” as his kids neared college graduation. After a career working for a large oil refinery, Moore found an online program catered to teaching event planning and venue ownership.

Today, he and his wife Trekita are working on that “learn something new” by tag-teaming Suite Metuchen operations. While Trekita Moore has built out the venue with her original design sense and multi-faceted additions to the space’s list of amenities, Derek Moore is working to grow his customer base while also planning events with Downtown Metuchen to get the community in for free.

“We’re still getting our event calendar together for 2023,” said Derek Moore while thinking about the events in store for the new year. “We were thinking about doing some Sunday brunches come springtime–with catering and light music. We also had a game night that was a really big success–a lot of people are clamoring for us to do that again.”

With so many possibilities in mind for 2023, Suite Metuchen will undoubtedly be the go-to zone for client-specific microevents, as well as events aimed to get Metuchen community members together. Looking toward the future, these local business owners showed excitement to get the Suite Metuchen name out to a larger radius of clients and to have more fun in the new year with some interesting events.

In a snapshot. Suite Metuchen owners Derek Moore, 41 and Trekita Moore, 42, are high school sweethearts originally from Virginia. They currently reside in Edison. They have two daughters ages 24 and 19. Derek is a college graduate, who works in the petroleum field. Trekita is a nurse by trade. Derek enjoys investing, comic books, and video games. Trekita enjoys reading and cooking.

For more information visit https://suitemetuchen.business.site.