(23/P022) TRENTON – The Department of Environmental Protection is awarding 23 Urban and Community Forestry grants totaling $1,106,934 to local governments and non-profit organizations to help municipalities advance the stewardship of their urban and community trees and forests, Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette announced today.

Awarded through a competitive process since 2000, the DEP’s Urban and Community Forestry grants assist in the establishment and growth of local, self-sustaining urban and community forestry programs. With proper care and maintenance, trees in community and urban settings can be healthy and live many decades. Today’s announcement is made on the International Day of Forests, which the United Nations General Assembly established in 2012 to raise awareness about the importance of forests.

“The stewardship of urban trees has never been more important than now, especially as New Jersey continues to experience the adverse impacts of a changing climate,” Commissioner LaTourette said. “These grants will help improve the urban tree canopy throughout the state providing ecosystem services, reducing heat island effects and improving human health. Proper planning and management of trees and forests also mitigates storm water and other flooding, as well as air pollution.”

Funding for the 2022 grants comes from the “Treasure Our Trees” state license plate sales and the New Jersey Forest Service’s No Net Loss Compensatory Reforestation Program.

“Trees and forests are important to New Jerseyans on so many levels. Trees store carbon and reduce greenhouse gases and energy use, which lessens the impacts of climate change and strengthens the resilience of towns and cities, said John Cecil, Assistant Commissioner for State Parks, Forests & Historic Sites. “It is a priority of the New Jersey Forest Service to not only plant trees in communities and urban areas, but to ensure their long-term survival through proper planning, care and management.”

Reforestation and tree planting grants totaling $598,216 have been awarded to:

Bergen County: Bogota ($40,000), Englewood ($66,830) Burlington County: Moorestown ($8,000) Hunterdon County: Clinton Town ($25,000) Middlesex County: Highland Park ($150,000) and East Brunswick Township ($30,000) Monmouth County: Interlaken Shade Tree Commission ($42,150) Morris County: Pequannock Township Department of Public Works ($50,000) Passaic County: Clifton ($49,026) Somerset County: Somerville ($137,210)

Resiliency planning grants totaling $508,718 have been awarded to:

Bergen County: Ramsey ($20,000) Camden County: Haddonfield Shade Tree Commission ($50,000) Essex County: Caldwell ($11,258) and Essex County ($20,000) Hunterdon County: Lambertville ($37,000) and Readington Township Environmental Commission ($50,000) Mercer County: Trenton ($50,000) and Princeton ($50,000) Morris County: Morris County Park Commission ($50,000) Monmouth County: Long Branch ($50,000) and Millstone Township ($50,000) Warren County: Lopatcong ($46,145) and Belvidere ($24,315)

Grant recipients may use their awards for a variety of projects such as community tree inventories, risk tree assessments, storm assessments, tree planting and establishment, and reforestation. Local governments also use the grants to manage impacts from invasive species such as emerald ash borer, an invasive tree-killing beetle causing widespread losses of ash trees nationwide.

“A comprehensive local urban and community forestry program provides environmental, social and economic benefits,” said Todd Wyckoff, New Jersey State Forester. “An urban tree canopy is part of a community’s infrastructure and creates valuable environmental, economic and social benefits. Communities that are accredited with the New Jersey Urban and Community Forestry Program have a Community Forestry Management Plan, participate in required training and education programs, and report back to the program on their accomplishments every year.”

Currently, 253 municipalities and counties across New Jersey have management plans for trees and forests approved by the New Jersey Forest Service, 152 of which are fully accredited with the Urban and Community Forestry Program. The program hopes to announce a new round of grants in 2023 aimed at urban and community tree inventory to help inform local management decisions moving forward.

For more information about the New Jersey Urban and Community Forestry Program, including details on accreditation with the program, visit www.communityforestry.nj.gov

Like the New Jersey Forest Service on Facebook at www.facebook.com/newjerseyforests

For more information on how to purchase the Treasure Our Trees commercial or passenger vehicle license plate, which funds the New Jersey Urban and Community Forestry grants, visit https://nj.gov/mvc/vehicles/treasure.htm

For more about Urban and Community Forestry Stewardship grants and related programs, visit www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/forest/urbanandcommunity/grants.html

Follow Commissioner LaTourette on Twitter and Instagram @shawnlatur and follow the DEP on Twitter @NewJerseyDEP, Facebook @newjerseydep, Instagram @nj.dep and LinkedIn @newjerseydep

PHOTO: Forester Levon Bigelow inspecting a tree planted under a NJUCF stewardship grant.

New Jersey is known for having its own language. How many times do we all get asked by outsiders what the heck a "Wawa" is?

Besides the NJ-specific "weird odysseys" like Wawa, scrapple, and pork roll, NJ also serves as home to towns with some pretty interesting names. What's worse than their names is the way you pronounce them. Some of the names look like they'd be pronounced the way you say the word.

Sources report, though, that's obviously not always the case.

Mt. Ephraim

Have you ever heard of it? Mt. Ephraim is located up the Atlantic City Expressway towards Philly in Camden County. It's tempting to want to pronounce the 'e' in like 'eh'. However, this town's name is Mount 'ee-from', not Mount 'Eff-rum'. Long 'e', people! You'll hear people say it both ways, but make sure you're someone on the right side of the fence.

Buena and Buena Vista

It's not pronounced the Spanish way. Pronounce the 'ue' part of the word like you'd say "you". So, B(you)na. Or, as NJ.com writes, "Byoona"

Oaklyn

Oaklyn is another town in Camden County. If you're familiar with Runnemede, then from there, you're not too far away. In Bergen County, there's Oakland (pronounced Oak-lind), however, this is Oaklyn (oak-lin). That won't stop people from adding the 'd' at the end, though.

AbseconAbsecon, located in Atlantic County, is not an uncommon one for people to mess up. It's not Ab-sick-on, it's Ab-seek-en. Don't trust your GPS, especially if you use Apple Maps. It says the former, which is INCORRECT. Thanks for playing though, Apple.

Brigantine

This one isn't normally mispronounced by Atlantic County natives, but some NJ residents completely fail to acknowledge the 'n' in the name and say 'brig-uh-teen'. As if it were spelled B-r-i-g-a-t-i-n-e. There's an 'n' in there, folks. It's Brig-an-teen. BrigaNtine. Brigantine. There ya go, you're welcome.

Source: NJ.com

A Bergen County town is the latest in the state to consider a rooster ban due to noise complaints, according to a report.

The Fair Lawn Borough Council is considering regulating against the male chickens as domestic animals, NorthJersey.com reported while citing Councilwoman Gail Rottenstrich, who said there had been a couple of concerns over the noise they create.

Regulations for keeping chickens vary by municipality, as do outright bans on roosters as backyard animals for residential property around the state.

The following handful of Garden State communities already have put their figurative foot down, against poultry — or at least roosters.

Aberdeen allows up to eight female chickens on a 22,500 sq. foot property. For larger properties, the maximum is 12 hens — no roosters are allowed on any domestic property. The chicken enclosure needs to be 20 feet from any neighboring residence, and 20 feet from any area of storm drainage.

Glen Ridge allows for up to 8 hens on a property, no roosters. The borough ordinance calls for a minimum, 4-foot-high fenced, enclosed yard and the chicken coop must be at least 10 feet from property lines.

As of December 2021, Haddonfield has amended its local code to allow for the keeping of "backyard chickens," but roosters are banned. Chicken coops and enclosed chicken runs must be set back at least 20 feet from any residence owned by another, and the coop must be at least 5 feet from any property line.

Jersey City allows for up to 50 chickens, with the proper license, as long as they are kept at least 25 feet away from any other residence. Roosters appear to be restricted under the local code.

Keyport allows up to six hens on a property, with an annual permit for chickens, but roosters are banned.

Maplewood has been allowing up to 15 households to each keep up to five chickens, with no roosters allowed. Before applying for a permit to participate in the program, each interested household must secure the written consent of all next-door property owners.

Millburn allows up to four chickens by permit, with a required coop at least 20 feet from any property line of an adjacent property and 20 feet from the home. Under the ordinance, no free-range chickens and no roosters are allowed.

The Middle Township Committee had introduced a measure to restrict residents from owning roosters, but several attendees at a September 2021 meeting spoke on behalf on the sometimes noisy animals — and the restrictions were tabled, as reported by the Cape May County Herald.

Ridgewood's ordinance calls for chickens to be allowed by permit, while banning roosters or “screaming or chattering fowl.” The local ordinance says coops must be at least 50 feet from a neighbor's home or any place where people congregate, and at least 200 feet away from any food establishment. Coops must also be at least 10 feet from property lines.

Chicken are among a short list of animals (along with ducks, rabbits, sheep, goats, pigs and horses) that are banned from ownership in Woodbridge. The township Department of Health and Human Services may consider and review, in its sole discretion, certain requests for a special permit.

Special to the Asbury Park Press

LOCH ARBOUR - Though it had changed hands many times over the years, Ocean Township natives Patti Englert and her son Phil Villapiano always loved the local restaurant/bar located on Main Street in their Loch Arbour community and had long dreamed of owning it someday.

So when that opportunity finally presented itself nearly three years ago, they, along with Villapiano’s business partners Andrea Pappas and Greg Bartz — now the owners of Deal Lake Bar + Co. in Loch Arbour — didn’t hesitate to seize the moment.

Growing up with a father who supplied steel and aluminum to contractors for the home-building process, “I enjoyed real estate, worked as a real estate agent for a period of time, and then began investing in homes and flipping them when my kids were in college,” said Englert, 67, an Interlaken resident. “Having gone to Loch Arbour Beach Club all the time as a kid, I knew the property our restaurant is on and had always loved it.”

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Her son echoed that sentiment. “I’d always wanted to own that location,” said Villapiano, 40, an Oceanport resident with a background in hospitality management. “It’s always been the local bar and hangout for Ocean Township residents, especially ourselves, so it just felt like a no-brainer for a group like ours to keep that tradition going.”

Operating as everything from Harvey’s, Cats, Parkhill’s, and, most recently, McGillicuddy's Lakeside Taphouse, “we’d been keeping our eye on it,” Villapiano said of the business, which had turned over multiple times since the 1960s. “But in 2019, a colleague of mine informed me that it was up for sale and we knew that the time was right.”

“Phil and I had looked at a couple of other restaurant/bar investment opportunities, but nothing fit the bill — either the owner wasn’t committed to selling, there was a lot of red tape involved in the sale, or the property conditions weren’t ideal,” Englert said. “But with its location right on Deal Lake just blocks from the ocean, this was a local place that we knew and loved and it was really attractive to us.”

Englert purchased the property in March 2019 and Villapiano and his close friends of over 20 years, Pappas and Bartz, joined him as official owners of the new venture, which offers elevated pub food in a relaxed and casual setting.

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Situated just steps away from the more city-like ambiance of Asbury Park, “we wanted to retain the local feel that we’d all loved growing up but modernize the space and provide a great sports and entertainment venue that offered a fun bar scene while maintaining a family-friendly, inclusive atmosphere,” Villapiano said of their vision.

Following extensive renovations undertaken by Englert — including installation of a brand-new kitchen, floors, ceilings, electrical circuitry, restrooms, and an HVAC system with air purification capabilities as well as industrial chic new lighting, tables and chairs, bars, windows and doors that maximize the beautiful water views, and large-screen TVs — the team officially opened Deal Lake Bar + Co. on Sept. 4, 2020, to a positive response.

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In the bright and airy 5,300-square-foot establishment that seats over 250 people inside and out, “our burgers are our best seller and are second-to-none,” said Villapiano, who added that the restaurant’s ‘Burger on the DL,’ made in smash style, is one of their signature offerings.

“Our freshly-made rotisserie chicken, offered in full or half portions or shredded, and our tuna tacos and giant pretzel are also very popular,” he said. “Guests love our lightly pan-fried appetizer of Brussels sprouts with spiced balsamic seasoning as well as our entrées like crispy salmon, flat iron steak, pork chops and fish and chips. And for dessert, we bring in locally-sourced Igloo Ice Cream sandwiches and both our cookie skillet and brownie skillet dishes are made to order with ice cream.”

On the beverage side, “we’re lucky to have Colleen Nealon, one of the area’s top mixologists, working for us, so our drinks are super cool, creative and very fresh and unique,” Villapiano said. “One of our most popular — the ‘Juicy Lucy,’ which features a blend of orange and vanilla vodka, orange juice, and coconut cream — has become a staple at Deal Lake Bar + Co., and our variety of martinis and bourbon drinks (featuring logoed ice cubes made by Ocean Township-based Clear Cut Ice Co.) are big hits too.”

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He noted that the bar menu also includes an extensive list of local beers, including brews by Ocean Township-based Kane Brewing and Bradley Beach-based Bradley Brew Project. Additionally, the venue currently features live music on Thursdays and Saturdays (and every Thursday through Sunday in the warm weather months).

“Our motto at Deal Lake Bar + Co. is ‘good times at all times,’” Villapiano said. “That’s our culture and our friendly, professional and fun staff members truly embody that spirit.”

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Among challenges, Villapiano confirmed that staffing has been hard during the pandemic.

“We retain a really great staff of 50 employees who are incredibly dedicated and happy to be with us, but finding them can be difficult,” he said. “In addition, food prices are going up and it’s hard to sell certain items at prices that customers can get behind. For instance, the cost of basic menu items like chicken wings has gone up significantly, but people will only pay so much for an order of wings, so they’ve almost become a loss-leader for us,” he said.

Despite that, Englert and the Deal Lake Bar + Co. business team couldn’t be happier about the great reviews and tremendous support they’ve received from customers.

“Local people love and appreciate the investment we’ve made and the experience Deal Lake Bar + Co. offers and we’re thrilled to have created this destination for our community,” said Englert, who hopes it will feel like a home away from home for area residents. “Being on Deal Lake and having a great outdoor patio with a large bar has been a real draw.”

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“We hope to continue servicing the local scene and keeping everybody happy — everything we do is about enabling people to have a good time,” Villapiano agreed of their mission. “And based on our proximity to the most popular city on the Jersey Shore, we also want to continue offering a bit of a respite from the hustle and bustle of Asbury Park.”

As a mom, Englert couldn’t be prouder of the team’s accomplishments. “Seeing my son’s dream come true and the success that he, Andrea, and Greg are enjoying brings me the most happiness,” she said of her favorite part of her role as landlord.

“It’s hard to make it in the restaurant industry in the best of times, let alone during a pandemic” she confirmed, “and it’s exciting to see their business not only surviving but thriving.”

Location: 601 Main Street, Loch Arbour

Phone: 848-217-7049

Owners: Andrea Pappas, Greg Bartz and Phil Villapiano

Opened: September 2020

Website: www.deallakebarco.com

When doctors told Arnaldo Silva of Middlesex, NJ, that he had breast cancer, he was dumbstruck.

“They were talking Chinese to me,” Silva, 68, tells The Post. He hadn’t even known that a man could get breast cancer.

His shock was compounded a month later, when his 33-year-old daughter, Vanessa, was diagnosed with the same disease.

At that point, oncologists urged father and daughter to get tested for BRCA gene mutations, which Silva had never heard of before. He and his daughter both tested positive.

Mutations of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes — which are responsible for repairing damage to our DNA — are inherited traits that increase a person’s chance of developing several types of cancer. There is a 50 percent chance of carriers passing a mutation on to their offspring, as Silva did.

Normally, BRCA genes “have a protective effect” against cancer, Dr. Susan Domchek, director of the Basser Center for BRCA at the University of Pennsylvania, tells The Post. But mutations stop those genes from doing their job. As a result, carriers are likelier to develop cancers earlier in life than noncarriers — and more aggressive cancers, too. The Basser Center estimates that as many as 1 in 500 people are carriers of the mutation; that population rises to 1 in 40 among Ashkenazi Jews.

BRCA mutations are widely considered a women’s-health issue. It’s not untrue: Female carriers have up to a 75 percent chance of developing breast cancer and up to a 50 percent chance of developing ovarian cancer.

But men can also inherit and pass down this gene mutation — as well as its life-threatening effects.

Of the two mutations, “BRCA2 is more strongly associated with risks to men,” Domchek says. Male carriers’ breast-cancer risk can rise by 10 percent and their prostate cancer risk by 25 percent. Both male and female carriers see their pancreatic-cancer and melanoma risks rise by 5 percent.

While women’s risk numbers may be more staggering, male carriers face a unique set of challenges.

The first is lack of awareness: For every 10 women who get tested for BRCA mutations, only one man does, according to a study published this June in the Journal of the American Medical Association — a stat that underscores how many men mistakenly believe themselves exempt from the threat.

That was the case for Harvey Singer. The accounts director from Rochester, NY, was devastated when his mom and sister were both diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995 — but never imagined that he would one day suffer with them.

“I thought, ‘I’m not going to get breast cancer. I’m a guy,’ ” Singer, now 64, tells The Post.

Eleven years and two relapses later, his sister, Vicki, learned she was a carrier of the BRCA2 gene mutation. She urged her brother to get tested. He didn’t. Six months later, he was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 51, and prostate cancer a year and a half after that. When he did finally get tested, about a year after his sister’s initial suggestion, he tested positive.

Fortunately, Singer’s in remission from both diseases today, but he still regrets “waiting to get sick” and not getting the test sooner. Today, he and his sister run HIS Breast Cancer, a foundation that educates men at risk for the disease about how to “be proactive.”

But what does being proactive mean for men with a BRCA mutation? While women can take preventative surgical measures to reduce their cancer risk — like having hysterectomies or mastectomies, as BRCA1 carrier Angelina Jolie famously did in 2013 — men’s options are much more limited. “You can’t . . . preventively remove a pancreas, and you’re not going to preventively remove a prostate,” Domchek says. She believes the real benefit of BRCA testing for men is early detection: “It would allow us to give targeted medical intervention and to cure it if it is caught at the right time.”

Steven Merlin is a living, breathing example of how valuable knowing your family history can be. “I’m a walking miracle,” says Merlin, of Interlaken, NJ. In 2012, the former med-tech worker was suddenly diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Like Singer and Silva, he had a family history of cancer, which he frequently reminded his care team about. His doctors decided to have him tested for the BRCA mutation — and when he came out positive, he was able to enter a clinical trial available only to patients with BRCA. He still takes medicine from that trial today, and his multiple tumors have shrunk or completely disappeared. “I’m living a great life,” he says.

Silva hopes that in the future he and his daughter can say the same with confidence. Today, he is in remission after a double mastectomy; Vanessa has relapsed twice. He isn’t sure he’ll ever heal from the horror of passing down the gene: “I’m alive, but I’m still walking around with this guilt trip,” he says.

These days, he dedicates his time to the Male Breast Cancer Coalition, a foundation that raises awareness about the disease’s impact on men. He also shares his story, in the hopes that “no other families have to go through what I’ve gone through.”

“I hope I’m around to hear that this disease has been conquered,” Silva says. But, for now, “If I can help somebody, whatever it is — [if I can] prevent cancer in somebody else — I’ll take it. Sign me up.”