MAYOR'S UPDATE: SEPTEMBER 10

I’d like to take this opportunity to once again thank our residents for demonstrating the very best of Westfield over the last nine days in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Ida, which caused substantial damage to a number of homes. We are fortunate to live in such a community-minded town where our neighbors look out for one another in times of need. This afternoon, I was notified while on a call with Governor Murphy’s office that Union County has been added to FEMA’s emergency disaster declaration, which is a critical next step for our impacted residents to seek reimbursements not covered by insurance. You can find more information and apply for assistance at disasterassistance.gov.

As part of our ongoing focus on community, I hope to see you tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM as we observe the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and come together to mourn 3,000 of our fellow Americans – including 12 of our friends and family from Westfield – whom we lost on that fateful day 20 years ago.

Finally, I’d like to wish all of our students in Westfield a great start to a new school year. While we have come so far, the Delta variant of the virus is still very much a concern, especially among the unvaccinated. Please continue to do your part and take all necessary COVID precautions so that we can keep the kids in school and preserve the health of the community.

Wishing you all a great weekend.

TROPICAL STORM IDA

As noted above, today Union County was added to FEMA’s emergency disaster declaration, which will help facilitate individual assistance for impacted residents. This assistance covers temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs designed to help people and business owners recover. The form to register can be found at disasterassistance.gov, and must be completed to apply for individual assistance, regardless of any previous damage reports you may have already completed. There will be at least one disaster assistance site established by FEMA in Union County, and we will share those details as they become available. Thanks to those who submitted storm damage reports through our municipal Office of Emergency Management portal, which helped quantify the damage to facilitate today’s declaration.

I’d also like to thank everyone who has submitted their storm debris pick up requests. Public Works is making great progress and will continue until all requests are complete -- a process that we expect to continue through the early part of next week. They have done an extraordinary job considering this is the first time in Town history that our DPW has picked up bulky waste.

As a reminder, the Conservation Center remains open this weekend with normal operating hours (Saturday/Sunday: 9:00 - 3:00). All bulk waste storm debris can be deposited without a permit or fee through September 12.

We have continued to receive inquiries about infrastructure improvements following the impact of Ida. For some context, municipal stormwater systems are designed to control stormwater on roadways and design parameters for these systems are commensurate to the average types of storm events municipalities might reasonably endure.

The USGS Rain Gauge in Watchung Reservation measured 7.18 inches of rainfall on September 1, with another 0.12 inch in the early morning on September 2. During the heaviest two hours of the storm, from 7:00 - 9:00 PM on September 1, the rain gauge measured 4.46 inches of rainfall. This two-hour value is important, because the 30-year September average for Northern NJ is also 4.46 inches. In other words, during this storm the region received an entire average month’s rainfall in just two hours.

Overall, our region received 7.3 inches of rainfall, or 164% of an entire average month, in just 24 hours. The rainfall from Ida also came on top of the already saturated ground from a July that was 173% of the average and an August that was 145% of the average, which prevented infiltration and thereby increased run-off exacerbating flash flooding.

While, mathematically, this storm is far removed from the average storm a municipal drainage system is expected to control, I want to make clear that we will have to expedite the ways to make our infrastructure more resilient for the severity of storms that are happening more frequently. Seeing the impact on homes in Westfield, this issue deserves attention, and I am working with our Town Administrator and Town Engineer on the best ways to address this issue town wide. You can expect to hear more about these efforts in the coming weeks and months.

COVID-19 UPDATE

Today, the CDC shared three new studies reporting that COVID-19 vaccines still significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization and death amid the surge in the Delta variant. Among all three studies, vaccines remained 86-87% effective against COVID-19 hospitalizations. In addition, unvaccinated individuals are 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die than those who are vaccinated against COVID.

Regional Health Officer Megan Avallone reports that two of the six regions in New Jersey (including our Central East region) are showing high levels of activity. All 21 of New Jersey’s counties are listed as having high rates of coronavirus transmission. The Delta variant accounted for 99.7% of the most recent case samples statewide in the week ending August 21.

Locally, 47 cases were identified in Westfield between September 3 and September 9.

136 cases were identified in Westfield during the month of August, up from 48 cases in July. Of these 136 cases, the age ranges are broken down as follows:

Age 9 and under: 20 cases
Age 10-19: 23 cases
Age 20-29: 26 cases
Age 30-39: 12 cases
Age 40-49: 22 cases
Age 50-59: 14 cases
Age 60-69: 11 cases
Age 70-79: 5 cases
Age 80-89: 3 cases
Age 90 and above: No cases

54 (39%) of these cases were in residents who were identified as being fully vaccinated. It should be noted that these breakthrough cases had mild or moderate symptoms. In addition, there were two hospitalizations reported during August (ages 83 and 86). One of these individuals was partially vaccinated and vaccination status is unknown for the other. 42 (30%) of the cases received in August were in individuals under 18.

I’m also saddened to report an additional death -- 73 year-old unvaccinated resident. This resident passed in April, but was just reported to us last week.

The state’s seven-day average for new confirmed cases is up 2% from a week ago and up 39% from a month ago, and the statewide transmission rate is 1.01.

Statewide, vaccination rates have decreased 25% from last week’s rate, with an average of 17.2K doses administered per day. More than 5.6 million New Jersey residents are fully vaccinated.

In Union County, 385,926 (69% of the total population) have received one dose of vaccine, and 340,505 (61% of the total population) are fully vaccinated.

In Westfield, 97% of those 65 and older, 96% of those 30 and older, 98% of the adult population (18+), and 78% of the entire population has been vaccinated with at least one dose. Fortunately, the percentage of fully vaccinated residents continues to increase, reflecting 92% of those 65 and older, 91% of those 30 and older, 92% of adults (18+), and 73% of the entire population.

The New Jersey Department of Health reports that 65% of Westfield 12-17 year-olds have received at least one dose of vaccine.

Local immunization outreach is in full swing, as the Health Department continues to meet people where they are for vaccinations. In total, they administered 82 COVID vaccinations during the month of August (up from 43 in July). They also held eight clinics throughout the month for residents and continue to offer home and office visits as well for those 12 and above. They have started to offer third doses for those who are immunocompromised and will offer booster doses when authorized to do so.

As a reminder, any resident interested in receiving the vaccine can call 908-789-4070.

POLICE UPDATE

The towing of abandoned vehicles commenced on Tuesday, September 7 – almost one week following Ida. As of this date, approximately 25 abandoned vehicles have been removed from streets and roadways throughout the Town of Westfield by the Westfield Police Department. All of these vehicles were submerged in flash floodwaters, appear to have been rendered disabled, and likely sustained extensive damage or were completely destroyed. Additionally, they were left in such a manner so as to obstruct or interfere with transportation and presented public safety concerns.

These vehicles were subject to removal pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-56.5, which prohibits any person from abandoning a vehicle on or along any highway or other public property. A vehicle which has remained on or along any highway or other public property for a period of more than 48 hours or for any period of time without current license plates shall be presumed to be abandoned. Notably, several of these towed vehicles’ license plates were previously removed.

If your vehicle is in possession of the Westfield Police Department, please contact your automobile insurance company for further direction. Insurance adjusters may be directed to contact Sergeant Thomas Ostrander of the Westfield Police Department’s Traffic Safety Bureau at 908-789-6068 to make arrangements to inspect these vehicles and to determine their final disposition. Additionally, should you need to retrieve any personal property and/or other effects from within these vehicles, please contact Sergeant Ostrander to make arrangements to do so.

These vehicles are presently being stored at a secure location on Town of Westfield property, not the property of private authorized police tows. The Westfield Police Department recognizes the extraordinary circumstances presented by Ida and persons shall not be subject to any towing and/or storage charges. However, please ensure that your insurance company has been notified and is taking appropriate action in response.

In addition, Chief Battiloro reports the following notable incidents occurred this past week:

September 5
At approximately 9:53 AM, a resident of the 500 block of Hillcrest Avenue reported that her 2016 Ford Escape was burglarized during the overnight hours. This vehicle was apparently left unlocked, as there were no signs of damage or any indication of forced entry. Reported missing was a quantity of loose change valuing several dollars.

September 8
At approximately 8:06 AM, a resident of the 900 block of Willow Grove Road reported that an unknown male subject wearing a hooded sweatshirt over his head attempted to gain entry into two of her vehicles on the day prior at approximately 5:00 AM, while they were parked in the driveway of her residence. One vehicle was a 2019 Audi A6 and the other a 2021 Audi Q5. Both were locked and no entry was gained. The incident was captured on her Ring doorbell camera.

The Westfield Police Department received reports that occupants of a white Mercedes Benz were observed pulling on door handles of vehicles, first on the 20 block of Barchester Way at approximately 9:43 PM and then on the 100 block of W. Dudley Avenue at approximately 10:10 PM. Two of the vehicle’s occupants were reportedly wearing ski masks. Patrol officers located the vehicle, a 2020 white Mercedes Benz GLE, and executed a stop of it on W Dudley Avenue near Tuttle Parkway. They subsequently took two juveniles who were present inside of the vehicle into custody, one a 16-year old male from Newark and the other a 17-year old female from Plainfield. The 16-year old male from Newark was subsequently charged with two counts of burglary (third degree crimes), one count of theft (disorderly persons offense), and one count of criminal attempt – burglary (third degree crime). The 17-year old female from Plainfield was subsequently charged with three counts of burglary (third degree crimes) and one count of criminal attempt – burglary (third degree crime). The 17-year old female from Plainfield was the driver of the 2020 white Mercedes Benz GLE.

While no vehicles were reported stolen this week, there have been 19 vehicles reported stolen to date 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.

Chief Battiloro advises that, with many people returning from vacation and summer residences, he anticipates there will be a noticeable shift in vehicle burglary and theft activity from Jersey Shore communities in Monmouth and Ocean counties back towards Union County and towns like Westfield. 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.

For a more inclusive account of police activities, please see the weekly Police Blotter, which is posted every Tuesday on the Westfield Police Department’s website, as well as on the Westfield Police Department’s Facebook and Instagram pages.

ADDAMSFEST

The AddamsFest team is gearing up for their favorite month as October quickly approaches, and planning is underway for this year's pandemic-friendly events. Tickets will go on sale this Sunday at 5:00 PM for Morticia & Gomez’s Mask-erade Ball, to be held October 1 outdoors at The Westfield Historical Society. All attendees will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test to enter. To view additional details about this October’s line up and to purchase tickets for the ball, visit addamsfest.com.

NIGHT OF LIGHTS 5K

The Night of Lights 5K will be held this Sunday at 6:30 PM in Tamaques Park! Started in 2019 by The Tooley Legacy Foundation, in memory of Westfield resident Jake Tooley, the race is back in person this year after a 2020 virtual event due to COVID. The foundation is run by Jake’s brother, Sam, and works to provide comfort and financial assistance to those in need when tragedy strikes. Details can be found at jakesrace.com.