MAYOR'S UPDATE:
NOVEMBER 12

Thank you to everyone who joined us yesterday for a beautiful and moving ceremony to honor our veterans. I am very grateful to the Martin Wallberg American Legion Post 3, not just for organizing this annual event, but for their ongoing dedication to our veterans throughout the year. If you missed it, the replay of the ceremony is available on the Town’s Facebook page.

Ready or not, the holiday season is quickly approaching! We are preparing for some wonderful festivities in our Downtown, which you can read about in more detail below. As the season of giving draws near, please remember our local businesses, who have weathered an unprecedented 18 months and rely very heavily on this time of year. And it’s easier than ever this year with a newly introduced Downtown Westfield gift card! Let’s all commit to doing our part to keep our holiday spending in Westfield as much as possible.

Wishing you all a great weekend!

COVID-19 UPDATE

Regional Health Officer Megan Avallone reports that, once again, one of the six regions in New Jersey (our Central East region) is showing high levels of activity.

Locally, there were 38 cases identified in Westfield between November 5 and November 11. The age ranges are broken down as follows:

Age 9 and under: 4 cases
Age 10-19: 18 cases
Age 20-29: 2 cases
Age 30-39: 1 case
Age 40-49: 4 cases
Age 50-59: 7 cases
Age 60-69: 1 case
Age 70-79: No cases
Age 80-89: 1 case
Age 90 and above: No cases

The state’s seven-day average for new confirmed cases is up 15% from a week ago and down 14% from a month ago. The statewide transmission rate is .98.

Statewide, vaccination rates have increased 11% from last week’s rate, with an average of 38.6K doses administered per day. More 6.1 million New Jersey residents are fully vaccinated.

In Westfield, 96% of adults and 76% of our entire population is fully vaccinated. Additional breakdowns by location and age group can be found on the NJ COVID Dashboard.

Last week, the Health Department vaccinated 100 5-11 year-olds, in what was the first of many pediatric vaccination clinics they will offer, and the first pediatric clinic to be held in Union County. Tomorrow, a vaccination clinic will be held at Roselle Park Middle School from 9:30 - 12:00 for ages 5-11, where the Health Department will have 250 vaccinations to distribute, and there will be another on November 19 at Evergreen Elementary School in Scotch Plains from 3:30 - 6:30. Information on County-held pop-up clinics can be found on the Union County website.

Pediatric COVID Vaccination Clinic - November 13

Pediatric COVID Vaccination Clinic - November 19

WESTFIELD SENIOR HOUSING CENTER

Thank you to the residents of the Westfield Senior Housing Center who attended our information session in Town Hall on Wednesday. We truly value the opportunity to speak with these residents directly, provide them with the facts, and listen to their concerns.

We have a growing list of WSHC residents and family members on our information distribution list so that they can continue to get the latest information from the Town; to add your name, please email westfieldseniorinfo@westfieldnj.gov.

POLICE UPDATE

Earlier this week, I met with Chief Battiloro, Town Administrator Jim Gildea, and Councilman Dardia who Chairs the Public Safety, Transportation, and Parking Committee, as part of our ongoing discussions regarding police activity. This included an updated look at regional crime trends and public policy, as well as an evaluation of our current police resources and Nixle alert practices.

While there is of course a level of personal responsibility expected from residents in securing their own property, this is not and never has been our exclusive area of focus in crime deterrence. As residents are asked to do their part, we continue to do ours by exploring all possible avenues to address this issue. We are in the process of working on an updated, three-pronged approach centered on emphasizing policy reform at the state level through coalition building efforts, securing additional resources and pursuing innovative new technology to further assist the Police Department, and implementing a more streamlined communication strategy -- all of which need to work together to meet our shared goal of reducing crime and improving public safety for the community. I will provide updates on these efforts as they are implemented. In the meantime, please be assured that we continue to prioritize the use of all available resources in our approach to public safety.

You can read more detail about police activity in 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.

DOWNTOWN HOLIDAY EVENTS

The DWC has been busy planning for a fabulous holiday season! On Wednesday night, Westfield resident Les Trent and I spoke on Facebook Live with DWC Executive Director Bob Zuckerman and DWC Promotions Committee Chair Erin Ben-Hayon about this year’s exciting line up. In addition to the annual Christmas Tree Lighting (Sunday, November 28) and Menorah Lighting (Monday, November 29), this year will also bring Santa to town for selfies with the kids (December 12), as well as the return of the ice sculpture display throughout the downtown area (December 5), the Miracle on Elm Street raffles, and the Holiday Visitors Center -- this year, at the North Avenue train station!

And, to help keep your holiday gifting local, make sure you pick up a new Downtown Westfield Gift Card, which is redeemable at a number of our local businesses. For full details on all of these events, visit the DWC's website.

STREETWORKS PANEL DISCUSSION

Don’t miss next week’s panel discussion on Facebook Live on November 18 at 7:00 PM: “Offices: It’s Time To Go Back To Work!”

I will be joined by Westfield resident, workplace futurist, and founder of
SWAYworkplace Denise Brouder; renowned architect Michael Green of MGA Michael Green Architecture; Planner Phil Abramson of Topology; and both Christian Michel & Richard Heapes of Streetworks Development.

The conversation will include information on current local office trends, new live/work places, the impact of green initiatives on work spaces, and the opportunities for post-pandemic office development here in Westfield. Questions can be submitted through our website, or in the live feed.