North Edition
Closter • Demarest • Harrington Park • Haworth • Northvale • Norwood • Old Tappan • Rockleigh DEMAREST
TOWNHOMES APPROVED IN LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
Demarest borough officials agreed to allow construction of 24 luxury town homes on a four-acre parcel on Duane Lane near Brenner Place to resolve a builderʼs remedy lawsuit filed by Sylco Investments, a developer that purchased the former 60-acre Frick Estate that straddles the Alpine-Demarest border. In exchange for agreeing to rezone the currently wooded property, the developer, Richard Kurtz of Sylco Investments, will provide Demarest with $1 million to construct five affordable housing units on borough property elsewhere, said Borough Attorney Gregg Paster. It was unclear where the new affordable units might be built, he said, though a property on Hardenburgh Avenue nearby Borough Hall might be suitable.
Settlement by May? The attorney said a final affordable housing settlement will likely be presented to Superior Court Judge Christine Farrington soon, likely by late April or May, after a rezoning ordinance is passed by the council. A compliance hearing will be held by Farrington, said Paster, and if approved, the settlement will protect the borough through July 2025. Paster said the council agreed unanimously to settle Feb. 13 in a closed-door meeting, and then took a public vote. Sylco brought the suit in September, alleging that Demarest had not built any affordable units downtown as it agreed to do in its previous affordable housing settlement agreement.
41 townhomes proposed Paster said when Superior Court Judge Christine Farrington allowed the suit to proceed, the
See DEMAREST page 184
MARCH 16, 2020
STARRING ROLES AT NV-DEMAREST ʻThe Addams Familyʼstaged by students
NORTHERN VALLEY
EMERGENCY SEES EVENTS CANCELLED, TRAVEL RESTRICTED
STAFF REPORT NORTHERN VALLEY PRESS
‘The Addams Family’ featured Jeremy Todd Shinder as Gomez, at the head of the table, plus (seated, from left) Oren Cohen at Pugsley, Harlie Epstein as Morticia and Noa Saban as Wednesday.
DEMAREST—Students starred in a stunning production of “The Addams Family,” presented March 5–7 at Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest. The play follows Americaʼs favorite ghoulish family, and director Chuck Miller said it upped the level of productions at
the school, which feature students in leading roles on stage and behind the scenes. Miller, now in his third year as theater teacher at the school, was proud of the cast, which was led by local student and alreadyaccomplished actor Jeremy Todd Shinder as Gomez.
PHOTO BY MURRAY BASS
ONE COOL CAT
The Cat in the Hat made an appearance in Northvale to foster a love of reading.
SEE PAGE 11
In the play, Morticia Addams, played by junior Harlie Epstein, and Gomez struggle as their daughter brings a conventional boyfriend and his family over for dinner, diverting from their typical creepy, kooky, mys-
Continued on page 6
The coronavirus pandemic has prompted the declaration of states of emergency in New York, New Jersey, and Bergen County, along with many other places worldwide, and with it comes an unprecedented wave of cancellations, school closures, travel restrictions, at least one major sports league season suspension, and corporate workfrom-home fallbacks. The aim of the social isolation is to protect the worldʼs most vulnerable—fatalities have hit seniors and those with underlying health problems harder—is to save lives and avoid overburdening the health system. Some worry that the isolation and the loneliness it may bring many seniors, for example those in care facilities where visitation is now restricted, is itself going to take a toll. With the economy reeling, President Donald Trump on Wednesday—departing from earlier comments dismissing the coronavirus as a Democratic “hoax”— spoke from the Oval Office to assert in part, “The virus will not have a chance against us. No nation is more prepared or more resilient than the United States.” He also announced a derided unilateral 30-day ban on travel to the United States by Europeans (the U.K. excepted)
See COVID - 19 page 24
B ck in time...
One little bridge in Haworth has seen its share of history, as a century-old photograph shows.
SEE PAGE 4