This Was The Year That Was

While the national scene saw the inauguration of a new president and a continuing economic recession, Highland Park experienced a year characterized by community activism, opportunities to enjoy the arts, our usual assortment of downtown events, and the unfortunate losses of several key community members.
National issues loomed large from the year’s start, as a group of residents organized a day-long bus trip to President Obama’s inauguration. Citizens commemorated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with our largest food drive ever, supplying the Highland Park Community Food Pantry for several months. Adults and children went door to door in the snow collecting food donations that residents had been asked to leave on their front porches.

The Food Pantry expanded its role, reaching out to more residents and adding Saturday hours in addition to morning and evening sessions on each month’s second and fourth Thursdays. Many community groups, youth groups, and houses of worship held food drives, and for the first time, the Pantry has been approved to receive federal and state government surplus food.

Who Is My Neighbor, Inc. worked with Elijah’s Promise Soup Kitchen Culinary School, and in October opened A Better World Café, a unique establishment with a multi-cultural, healthy menu, where customers pay what they can afford and have the option of volunteering in exchange for food. All food served is prepared by students at Elijah’s Promise Culinary School. The café is located at the Reformed Church of Highland Park and is open Monday-Friday 11 AM-3 PM.

Other successful projects by Who Is My Neighbor, Inc. include sponsoring summer camps and providing scholarships for children of low-income families, and its after-school program at “The Cave.” Together with the fair trade store Ten Thousand Villages and Main Street, the agency applied and received designation for Highland Park as a Fair Trade Town.

The Edible Gardens Project, an effort to encourage residents to grow their own food in home gardens, began operation, training people in organic gardening and donating surplus produce to the Food Pantry.

The Board of Health and Central Jersey Chapter of the People’s Organization for Progress held their annual Health Fair, which included screenings for blood pressure, blood sugar, and hearing; eye exams; a healthy cooking demonstration; chair massages, and more.

Seven new businesses opened in town, including the “Make Me Take Me” custom crafts workshop at the site of the former Corner Confectionary, Tasty Bakery, Zeina Restaurant, People of the Book reading room, and others. Raspberry Beret relocated from Woodbridge to Raritan Avenue, and The Smelting Pot, which sells handcrafted jewelry, returned to town.

The Sunoco gas station at the corner of Raritan and South Second Avenues closed, leaving a large vacant property. Also vacant throughout the year are the sites of the former Highland Park Cyclery and the old YM-YWHA. A proposal to redevelop the Farmers Market lot and several surrounding properties stalled during site plan review, attributed to the real estate credit crunch.

A plan to build condominiums on Cleveland Avenue was voted down by the Zoning Board last winter.In the spring, the Reformed Church Affordable Housing Corp. obtained approval to convert the vacant All Saints Episcopal Church on South Third Avenue to 11 residential apartments for struggling veterans

Health care reform was discussed locally in workshops sponsored by various advocacy groups. Activists in town continued a weekly demonstration against the war in Iraq, held since 2003, and also held forums on issues such as Afghanistan and immigration. Following local pressure and solidarity actions, Middlesex County ended its controversial contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in which the county held immigrant detainees in the county jail.

The Environmental Commission and New Jersey Community Water Watch held their fifth annual Raritan-Wide Earth Day cleanup in April. Scout groups and other community organizations cleaned up various sites in town including the Native Plant Reserve and the area around the Environmental Education Center.

Marc’s Place Coffeehouse, a monthly event featuring music, poetry and political discussion, continued successfully throughout 2009.

Main Street Highland Park provided its annual opportunities for entertainment in the downtown with Planting Day, the Street Fair, the September Arts Festival, Autumn in the Park, and Holiday Shopping Nights. A 5K run was held on the morning of the Street Fair. The Farmers’ Market was extended to run from June through mid-November, and a cooperative program with the Food Pantry provided Pantry attendees with $5 vouchers to purchase fresh food during the height of the season.

The borough experienced heavy rainfall, and many outdoor events ended up wet. The Townwide Garage Sale was postponed one week but still had one wet day. Excessive rain put a damper on the spring and summer seasons.

Weather caused controversy in March when over 600 residents received tickets for not shoveling their walks during a snowstorm. Many claimed to have shoveled while some said they received more than one ticket for the same storm. A good number of these cases wound up in court.

Other controversies included use of artificial turf used to renovate the high school football field, some opposition by neighbors to the veterans’ housing on South Third Avenue, and concerns that insufficient time and notice were given for public input into a Master Plan revision scheduled for a vote in December. Six business and property owners on Raritan and Woodbridge Avenues asked to be removed from the Business Improvement District, arguing they were paying an extra $1,000-$2,000 assessment and getting few services in return.

School elections were uncontested, and the school budget easily passed. The only local election contest involved a challenge to the Democratic Borough Council incumbents by two Republican candidates.

Councilman Lou Pichinson resigned in October and was replaced by Gayle Mittler. Mayor Frank announced in March that she would resign, as she was appointed US representative to the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Originally scheduled for June 2009, her resignation was postponed several times and is now scheduled for January 5, 2010.

The arts flourished again in Highland Park, both publicly and through non-profits such as Artists Now, the Highland Park Recorder Society, H.P. Artists Collective, and the Highland Park Dance Society. Both the Highland Park Community Chorus and the Recorder Society sponsored several concerts featuring classical music.

The Arts Commission organized the September Arts Festival and the sixth annual Open Studio Day, when artists opened their home studios to the public. In spite of funding cuts, the library sponsored poetry nights, lectures and films, a teen film club, monthly displays by local artists, craft workshops, sustainability workshops, and more. Artists Now sponsored shows by jazz veterans, Celtic minstrels, and “Gamelan, Son of Lion,” an Indonesian repertory ensemble based in New York City.

The Highland Park Dance Society increased its programming, featuring dance socials and lessons in hustle, rhumba, cha cha, and more; an acting class, a jewelry-making workshop; and exercise classes, all at the IM Studio on Raritan Avenue. During the winter and spring, Dances of Universal Peace were held monthly at the Soma Center.
Senior programs and trips remained active through the Department on Aging although director Sheila Flamm left in October. No replacement has yet been hired.

Tragically, the borough lost several key community leaders this year, including former Centennial Commission chair Harvey Brudner, Professor Ivan van Sertima of the Rutgers Africana Studies department, and Mark Botteon of St. Paul the Apostle Church. Most notable is Vickie White, former Board of Education president and chair of the Central Jersey chapter of People’s Organization for Progress, who passed away suddenly on July 1.  A ceremony naming her home street, South Seventh Avenue, in her honor, was held in mid-December.

What can Highland Park expect in 2010? A mayoral special election, to fulfill the last 14 months of Frank’s term, could mean contests in both June and November. If the interim mayor is chosen from among Borough Council, an additional council seat will also be up for grabs alongside the scheduled two. If the real estate finance markets hold up, construction should begin on 82 condominiums approved for the former Cenacle site, as well as the All Saints Church rehab and a three-story apartment building at 130 Raritan. The fates of the Y, Sunoco, Farmers Market, and Illuminating Experiences properties remain uncertain.

We will very likely enjoy our usual festivities such as the Street Fair, Farmer’s Market, Arts in the Park, Autumn in the Park, and other outdoor programming. Residents and organizations will hopefully continue to generously donate to those in need through the Food Pantry.

Happy New Year!