The Westfield Serving the Town Since 1890 Leader USPS 680020 Published OUR 108th YEAR ISSUE NO. 30-99 Periodical Postage Paid at Westfield, N.J. Thursday, July 29, 1999 Every Thursday 232-4407 FIFTY CENTS Power Failures Plague Residents On Boulevard By DEBORAH MADISON plagued Boulevard, even when sur- Specially Written for The Westfield Leader rounding blocks have had power and Westfield residents of the 600 block even during nice weather, according of Boulevard want some answers from to Boulevard residents. PSE&G. Many of the residents are exasper- They want to know why the elec- ated trying to contact PSE&G about tric power for their section of Boule- the problem. Cheri Rogowsky for The Westfield Leader vard between Park Avenue and Grove According to several Boulevard Cheri Rogowsky for The Westfield Leader SWEET SOUND OF JAZZ...The Jazz De Ville Trio entertains in front of the POPULAR WITH THE KIDS.....Positive Rhythmic Force was popular with Street seems to go out more often and residents, during power outages, they Rorden Building on Elm Street last Tuesday. The performance marked the final these youngsters during last weeks live jazz event in the downtown. Pictured are stay out longer than any other section can only get through to a taped mes- week of the summer Sweet Sounds Downtown summer jazz series sponsored by band members Jason Berg on trumpet, Sunny Jain on drums (in back) and Noah of town. sage that states that the problem is the Downtown Westfield Corporation. Pictured, left to right, are: Timo Elliston Baerman on piano. Black outs and brown outs have being addressed or they must hold on keyboard; Cedric Jensen on drums and Rick Jarusiewicz on bass. the line for more than 20 minutes to get through to someone. Central Avenue to Get Boulevard resident Jay Hershey reported that in October of 1998, there was a power surge that caused Facelift as Part of Grant his lights to flare very brightly and that destroyed a lot of his electronic equipment. Lisa Dumont, another Boulevard From County of Union resident, said that she was stuck at home many times because their elec- tric garage door could not be opened By PAUL J. PEYTON sex Street, has a proposed price tag of Specially Written for The Westfield Leader $536,000. The grant falls $80,000 during these frequent black outs. Long considered a vital artery for short of the original Central Avenue Another Boulevard resident, Tom Westfield, the Central Avenue corri- improvement plan estimate. Higgins, related that he cannot re- dor will be receiving a facelift cour- This (project) would be done by member how many times hes had to tesy of a $450,000 grant recently outside consultants. That is what Ken discard a freezer-full of food due to awarded to the town from Union (Town Engineer Kenneth B. Marsh) lengthy power outages. County. and I will be proposing to the Town At least a dozen times a year, I As documented in the Downtown Council next week, Mr. Gottko said. wake up and the clock is blinking Improvement Plan created by the He noted the sheer volume of the 12:00, making me late for work, Downtown Westfield Corporation various street construction and pav- Mr. Higgins added. (DWC), improvements will include ing projects, along with work at Sy- Fed up with pre-recorded messages, new sidewalks, crosswalks, lighting, camore Field, has put a major strain Boulevard residents Jay Hershey and signage and shade trees. on Public Works Department man- Lisa Karter drafted a letter, dated This project spans the north and power. The department supervises July 11, to PSE&Gs administrators south sides of town and will be a all road projects. regarding the frequent power fail- ures. Cheri Rogowsky for The Westfield Leader direct benefit to adjoining neighbor- The DWC has asked Maser Con- ONE MORE TIME...A crowd applauds Jonathan Dinklage as he leads the One More Once jazz band on electric violin hoods, according to a description of sulting of Toms River to submit engi- Other residents of Boulevard also during the final Sweet Sounds Downtown summer jazz festival on July 20. Other band members are: Ed Iglewski on bass, the project as reported by county neering cost estimates for the project. signed individual copies of the letter at left, Tom Cottone on drums, and keyboard player, Robert Stephens. officials. The company previously prepared and sent them, with their home ad- The grant will fund improvements the construction estimates for the CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 on Central from North to South Av- project, which were used in the grant enues and on Cacciola Place. New Playground Equipment Stirs Westfield, which had applied for CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 Classrooms $1.2 million as part of the Down- town Union County grant program, Tax Office Open Dust, Noise and Anger of Neighbors was one of 14 municipalities that will Being Built share a grant pot of $5 million to be Late Monday distributed sometime in September. The office of the Westfield Tax By KIM KINTER Town Administrator Edward A. At Franklin Specially Written for The Westfield Leader Collector will be open from 7 to 9 Gottko said the towns goal is to go p.m. this Monday, August 2, in New playground equipment at the out to bid on the whole project by late By MICHELLE H. LePOIDEVIN addition to the regular office hours Specially Written for The Westfield Leader former Lincoln Elementary School fall with construction beginning late on Westfield Avenue is up, but not of 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. for residents Nine brand new classrooms are this year or in the spring. who wish to pay their property everyone is happy. Michael La Place, Executive Di- currently being constructed as a taxes in person. Since the new playground equip- rector of the Downtown Westfield means of helping with an enrollment ment was erected on June 28, chil- Quarterly taxes are due August crunch at Franklin Elementary Corporation, described Central Av- 2. Tax Collector Tax Collector dren have flocked to the park from enue as a very important gateway to School. The project was made pos- Susan Noon said that interest will early in the morning to late into the Westfield. sible due to the school bond which evening, prompting some neighbors be charged on late taxes beginning was approved in December. The Central Avenue corridor Friday, August 6. to complain about the noise and dust. project, from North Avenue to Sus- The Westfield Board of Education As reported in the June 15 issue of received approval from the state on The Westfield Leader, some neigh- June 29 to go ahead with the project, bors adjacent to the park, in particu- which is estimated to cost $2,552. lar, are asking for some type of relief. Terrence Scanlan, a Westfield Av- enue resident whose back yard abuts the park and who spoke at the Recre- ation Commissions most recent William A. Burke for The Westfield Leader ANYONE WANT TO PLAY?...A child gets some help while playing on the new meeting on July 12, asked the town to playground equipment recently installed behind the former Lincoln School remove the equipment. building on Westfield Avenue. The equipment was paid for through a 1998 Union Contacted by The Westfield Leader, County Pocket Park matching grant. Mr. Scanlan said he is upset by the lack of notification by the town that ing, he said. Back in April, the idea that any plan to change the park the small park was being upgraded. beginning of May was when I first was in the works. Franklin Elementary School Previously there were swings and a heard about it. He added that he was told by the The breakdown of the classroom jungle gym in the spot. Mr. Scanlan said he has lived in town at the Recreation Commission addition includes $1,097,800 for gen- I didnt even know it was happen- his house for two years and had no CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 eral contracting from DKD Construc- tion in Dayton; steel construction from EDMA Steel of Paterson at a Stonewalk Passes Bread Co. cost of $248,000; plumbing at David B. Corbin for The Westfield Leader ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! This Torch Red 1934 Ford Roadster which $73,500 by A-Mech of Clark; air Eyes Storefront appeared at the Westfield Chamber of Commerce Classic Car Show on July 27 conditioning upgrade from AMCO Through Local Towns contains a 350 Chevy, 300 Horse Power Engine. It has a Corvette rear end, of Union at a cost of $174,500; elec- automatic transmission and a tilt-column steering wheel. The Red Machine, trical work from Electro-Jet of Scotch on Elm Street which was bought on the Internet, is owned by Harry Olgartz of Gillette. Plains at a price tag of $156,028 and Enroute To Arlington construction of casework (built-in By KIM KINTER equipment such as shelving) by Wood Specially Written for The Westfield Leader Metal Industries of Old Bridge for By MELISSA A. BETKOWSKI in Wars from Sherborn to Arlington A proposal to turn the former $25,000. Specially Written for The Westfield Leader National Cemetery in Arlington, VA. Austers appliance store at 143 The school board has estimated Accompanied by the sounds of Stonewalk began on July 4 and is East Broad Street into a Panera the timeline of this project to run War, Aquarius and other anti- scheduled to arrive in Arlington on Bread Company franchise is sched- through July 2000. war anthems, representatives from Friday, August 6, the 154th anniver- uled to be considered by the Lavatory renovation for the sec- the Peace Abbey and Life Experience sary of the bombing of Hiroshima.