MAYOR'S UPDATE: AUGUST 20

I hope everyone is enjoying these remaining weeks of summer! Like many of you, I have been spending these recent days preparing to send two of my kids off to college and I know that this time of year is both exciting and bittersweet. I want to wish all of our Westfield-based college students -- and especially those heading away to school for the first time -- a very safe and fulfilling academic year.

Here at home, this week I had the privilege of meeting with Westfield’s new Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Raymond Gonzalez. I was accompanied by Town Administrator Jim Gildea and Police Chief Battiloro, and in our meeting we reinforced our ongoing commitment to working closely with the Board of Education and school administration under Dr. Gonzalez’s leadership, especially in the face of the ongoing challenges raised by COVID. I continue to believe that a strong working relationship with the district is critical to serving our residents; please join me in welcoming Dr. Gonzalez to Westfield and wishing him much success in his new role.

This week, I was also able to attend an open house at the new luxury apartment building at 501 South Avenue (formerly the PanAm Cleaners site). I’d like to thank former Westfield resident Andrew McMaster for providing a tour and sharing some helpful information about his building. I’m happy to report it is almost fully leased, and rented mostly by 55+ year old downsizers from Westfield and surrounding communities who previously had very few options for staying local. These renters, even those renting three bedroom units, do not have school-age children, alleviating any concerns about school crowding.

These folks will be key to the revitalization of the South Avenue corridor as they shop and eat local, spending their dollars within steps of where they live at places such as Lions Roar Brewing Company, Mulberry House, Westfield Station Cafe, Outta Hand Pizza, and Splash of Thai, to name a few. 501 South Avenue will be part of a larger solution to fill empty storefronts, which includes establishing a new downtown live/work/play ecosystem that will provide the regular and daily foot traffic that our downtown businesses need to not only survive, but to thrive.

If you haven’t seen 501 South Avenue, be sure to check out their website.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

COVID-19 UPDATE

Today, New Jersey reported its highest number of new cases since April 24, and the CDC states that all but one of New Jersey’s 21 counties are now listed as having high rates of coronavirus transmission (including Union County).

The delta variant accounted for 93.5% of positive tests sampled in New Jersey in the most recent timespan available, ending July 31.

Locally, 36 cases were identified in Westfield between August 13 and August 19, up from 26 the previous week. Of these 36 cases, the age ranges are broken down as follows:

Age 9 and under: Two cases
Age 10-19: Ten cases
Age 20-29: Eight cases
Age 30-39: Four cases
Age 40-49: Two cases
Age 50-59: Six cases
Age 60-69: Three cases
Age 70-79: One case
Age 80-89: No cases
Age 90 and above: No cases

As it takes time to obtain breakthrough case information, we will include that data in the monthly reports.

The state’s seven-day average for new confirmed cases is up 7% from a week ago and up 236% from a month ago. The statewide transmission rate is 1.27.

Statewide, vaccination rates have increased 30% from last week’s rate, with an average of 22.3K doses administered per day. More than 5.45 million New Jersey residents are fully vaccinated.

In Union County, 362,278 (65% of the total population) have received one dose of vaccine, and 320,848 (57.6% of the total population) are fully vaccinated.

In Westfield, 95% of those 65 and older, 94% of those 30 and older, 96% of the adult population (18+), and 76% of the entire population has been vaccinated with at least one dose. In terms of fully vaccinated residents ,the data shows 91% of those 65 and older, 90% of those 30 and older, 90% of adults (18+), and 71% of the entire population.

The Health Department continues to provide vaccinations with all three brands of vaccine, and Pfizer and J&J are offered at all of their clinics. They also continue to perform home visits as well. For those who missed the pediatric vaccination open forum for parents several weeks ago, the recording is now available at https://bit.ly/PediatricCOVIDVaccinations.

Any resident interested in receiving the vaccine can call the Health Department at 908-789-4070.

POLICE UPDATE

Chief Battiloro reports the following notable incidents since my last update:

August 16
At approximately 3:59 PM, a resident of the 20 block of Carol Road reported that his 2018 BMW was burglarized approximately ten minutes earlier, while it was parked and left unlocked in the roadway in front of his residence. The victim stated that he observed a male wearing a black track suit and full facial mask walk away from the driver’s side of his vehicle. The suspect then entered an accompanying white BMW sedan with a temporary registration and fled the area. Upon inspecting his car, the victim determined that the vehicle’s center console was entered, but nothing was reported missing.

At approximately 7:04 PM, a Piscataway resident reported that his 2015 Dodge Ram was burglarized sometime during the afternoon hours, while it was left parked and unlocked in the roadway on the 1900 block of Boynton Avenue. The victim determined that his brown leather wallet, which contained several credit and debit cards and approximately $650 in cash, was missing from the vehicle’s center console. The victim also reported that he subsequently received several text notifications of fraudulent purchases utilizing different stolen credit cards.

August 18
At approximately 8:00 AM, a resident of the 700 block of Scotch Plains Avenue reported that his 2013 Infiniti was burglarized during the early morning hours, while it was parked in the roadway in front of his residence. It appears that entry into the vehicle was forced, as damage was observed in the vehicle’s locking mechanism. Nothing was reported missing.

At approximately 9:04 AM, a resident of Amy Drive reported that two of her vehicles, a 2019 Porsche and a 2020 BMW, were burglarized during the early morning hours, while they were parked in the driveway of her residence. RING camera footage captured two persons wearing hooded sweatshirts and facial masks entering these vehicles at approximately 3:39 AM. The actors simply pulled on door handles and were able to enter the apparently unlocked vehicles. $7,000 in cash was reported missing from the 2019 Porsche.

While no vehicles were reported stolen this week, there have been 19 vehicles reported stolen to date in Westfield in 2021, 17 of which were subsequently recovered. Chief Battiloro reports that 90% of these vehicles were left unlocked with their key fobs inside at the time of their thefts.

Also, last week, Chief Battiloro reported that a business located on the 200 block of W. North Avenue was burglarized during the early morning hours on Thursday, August 5. A review of security camera footage indicates that a male person entered the business via its front door at approximately 1:18 AM. It appears the subject forced entry into the premises, as damage was observed to its front door. Among those items reported missing was about $80 from the cash register. Chief Battiloro now reports that male subject has been identified by the Westfield Police Department. Isaia N. Parker, age 27, with a last known address in Ewing, has been charged by Detectives with Burglary and Theft. He was served with a complaint-summonses and a court appearance is pending in Superior Court.

Please take appropriate action to protect your property. This includes removing valuables, including key fobs, and locking vehicles at all times, regardless of time of day. Also, please report all suspicious persons, vehicles and/or activities immediately via 9-1-1. Westfield remains a popular target for property crimes, particularly those related to high-end vehicles. Chief Battiloro advises that officers responding to your reports of suspicious vehicles, persons and activities have undoubtedly prevented additional property crimes.

RECYCLING REMINDER

Please remember to have your curbside recycling out before 6:00 AM on your designated collection day. We have received some questions about changes in timing on some streets, which is the result of Grand Sanitation periodically varying their route within a zone based on their operational decisions. Items placed outside after 6:00 AM are not considered a missed pick up. If you have questions about your collection status, please reach out to Grand Sanitation at westfieldrecycles@grandsanitation.com.

NEW RESIDENT RESOURCE SHEET

In my many interactions with new residents, I’ve found that they have similar questions about items such as parking, ward locations and representation, Memorial Pool information, and Conservation Center details. In order to make this and other pertinent information more readily available to them, we’ve added a New Resident Resource Sheet to our website, which provides a quick reference guide, answers to frequently asked questions, and instructions on how to stay connected to Town information. Check out the printable version on our website.