Advanced Knee Pain Treatment in Locust, NJ

Bloomfield, NJ – On Thursday, January 12th, Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. announced that the project to replace the Locust Avenue Bridge in Bloomfield with a new structure has been completed. The bridge modernization was included in a larger project to replace four culverts and bridges throughout Essex County. It is part of the County Executive’s ongoing initiative to modernize infrastructure and enhance safety for pedestrians and motorists.

“Residents rely on our County bridges and roads to get to work, go to school and travel about their daily routines. It has been my ongoing priority to ensure that our infrastructure is up-to-date, able to meet the growing demands of our community and provide the safest passage for pedestrians and motorists,” DiVincenzo said.

“Thank you for what you invest in our township and keeping our infrastructure up to date. It makes an impact on the community,” Commissioner Vice President Carlos Pomares, who is from Bloomfield, said. “This is a wonderful improvement and another terrific job,” Commissioner Patricia Sebold said.

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“Maintaining our infrastructure is incredibly important to the vitality of our community. We appreciate projects like these by the County to improve our quality of life,” said Bloomfield Mayor Mike Venezia, who was joined by Councilman Rich Rockwell.

The original Locust Avenue Bridge was a two-lane bridge that crossed over Lloyd Brook and was originally built in 1930 and rehabilitated in 1975. The old bridge was in a deteriorating condition and exhibited substantial rust. The 30-foot-wide bridge was replaced with a similarly constructed structure.

Other bridges included in the initiative are the Mitchell Street Culvert on Mitchell Street in Orange, Freeman Street Culvert over Foulerton’s Brook in Roseland and Marion Avenue Culvert over a tributary of the West Branch of the Rahway River in Millburn in Millburn.

The Locust Avenue Bridge, Mitchell Street Culvert, Marion Avenue Culvert and Freeman Street Culvert were packaged together in the same project. French and Parrello was awarded a professional services contract to design the improvements to the four culverts and provide construction inspection services on the project. A publicly bid contract for $2,878,204 was awarded to Grade Construction from Paterson to replace the four culverts. The culvert improvements were funded with a grant from the NJ Department of Transportation Local Aid Program.

This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.

Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.

It may be the season of Passover, when the biblical plague of locusts is remembered, but the one‐and‐a‐half‐inch‐long insects now emerging from narrow holes in some New Jersey lawns, though locustlike, are hardly of biblical proportions.

Often mislabeled “17‐year locusts,” they are actually periodic cicadas. Although they can sing loudly like their biblical counterparts in the book of Exodus, they will neither “cover the face of the earth” nor “eat every tree which groweth.” At the most, entomologists say, the cicadas will destroy the twigs at the tips of branches of some deciduous trees.

“People get all excited, but frankly I can't get excited over them,” said Stephen Bachelder, a Union County agricul‐ tural agent with the New Jersey Cooperat ive Extension Service of Cook College at Rutgers University. “There are plenty of insect‐eating birds, such as robins, blue jays and wood thrushes, that love locusts and will eat them before they start breeding.”

Sap‐Sucking Underground

Periodic cicadas breed every 13 or 17 years, meanwhile living quietly underground and sucking insignificant amounts of sap from the roots of trees. After their dormant period, they burrow their way up through the ground and emerge during the night. Then they attach themselves to the bark of trees, where they shed their hard exoskeletons, develop a new surface and grow wings.

During the day, the males screech loud mating song, which, according to one theory, is why they are sometimes called locusts. That theory holds that, in 1613, Pilgrims mistook the wail of healthy brood for the sound of crop‐devouring locusts of the biblical sort.

The little damage that cicadas do cause occurs when the females lay their eggs on tree branches. The females have a sawlike egg‐laying device — the ovipositor—with which they chisel a small spot on twigs where they deposit their eggs. The twigs later brown and die outward from that point.

The brood of cicadas now emerging in New Jersey is early — usually cicadas wait until the warmer months of June, July and August — and, according to Mr. Bachelder, it is .a brood that last appeared in 1962, when it affected the Fanwood, Scotch Plains and Westfield areas of New Jersey.

Mr. Bachelder said that the brood has also appeared in southeastern New York, Connecticut, Maryland and North Carolina, but that New Jersey was the only place where cicadas had been reported this year. A Connecticut entomologist does not expect any in that state, but Long Island might get a brood.

“According to theory we're due for them some time in June or July,” said Joseph Savage, an entomologist and county agent of agriculture at the Nassau County Cooperative Extension Service.

Waiting for the board attorney to compile the list of conditions before the vote on the motion to approve the preliminary and final site plan of Woodcrest at Berkeley Heights.

Woodcrest at Berkeley Heights an age-restricted development for people 55 and older was approved as part of the township's affordable housing settlement.Photo Credit: Barbara Rybolt

Locust Avenue, Berkeley Heights, is on the right of this rendering. Building A is on the left, Building B on the right. Photo Credit: Barbara Rybolt

Photo Credit: Barbara Rybolt

Woodcrest at Berkeley Heights.Photo Credit: Barbara Rybolt

Woodcrest at Berkeley HeightsPhoto Credit: Barbara Rybolt

Photo Credit: Barbara Rybolt

Woodcrest at Berkeley Heights Planning Board meeting.Photo Credit: Barbara Rybolt

Photo Credit: Barbara Rybolt

Woodcrest at Berkeley Heights an age-restricted development for people 55 and older was approved as part of the township's affordable housing settlement.Photo Credit: Barbara Rybolt

By Barbara Rybolt

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ – Another development included in the township’s court-approved affordable housing settlement has received preliminary and final site plan approval from the planning board.

Wednesday, June 20, the board voted to approve the all rental, 196-unit age-restricted development “Woodcrest at Berkeley Heights,” 100 Locust Ave.

Whether there will be brick pavers or stamped concrete sidewalks has yet to be determined, along with other relatively minor issues.

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What is sure is there will be a light at Locust/Hamilton and Snyder avenues and the application to the NJ Department of Transportation for that light could be made within a few weeks. Also sure is no one under the age of 19 will be permitted to live in these units, they can, however, pay short visits.

The developer of the property, Berkeley Developer’s LLC, was represented at the meeting by one of its principals, Tony DiGiovanni.

The board heard testimony from the applicants experts on the how the site plan conformed with the plans contained in the Redevelopment Agreement.

Architect Avelino Martinez of Black Bird group, described the details of the project. There will be two buildings, Building A, at the far end of the property, away from Locust Avenue, and Building B which will be at the front of the property. The buildings will essentially be at right-angles to one another, with a club house or recreation center for all the residents located in Building A. Outside the club house entrance, there will be a porch overlooking a common area featuring patios, porches, decks and a gazebo connected by sidewalks between the two buildings.

Building A will have 109 units, consisting of 14 one-bedroom and 78 two-bedroom market rate apartments, and 17 affordable one-bedroom units, distributed throughout the building.

Building B will have 87 units, consisting of 18 one-bedroom and 57 two-bedroom market rate units and 12 affordable one-bedroom units.

In each building, the one-bedroom market rate apartments will average about 950-square-feet, the two-bedroom units 1,400 square feet.

Martinez called the exterior style of the building “suburban architecture” which features a muted color pallet of various shades of brown, white trim and stone on certain facades.

The majority of the parking will be in garages under the two buildings, with one entrance to each garage. Building A will have 186 parking spaces and Building B, 121 parking spaces in the garage. There will also be 79 surface spaces for a total of 386 parking spaces on the site, Martinez said. The garages will be made of non-combustible materials, the upper floors of “fire resistant wood frame construction,” and the building will have a sprinkler system, Martinez said. Each building will also have an emergency generator and the mechanicals will be on the roof and not visible to the public.

The property slopes to the rear, so the elevation on Building A at the rear of the building is four stories and three stories at the front.

When construction begins, it will start with Building A, then Building B will be phased in – possibly after three months. Building A will be occupied first, followed by Building B. There will be a separate construction entrance to the property, to keep traffic separated once Building A is occupied, the architect said. Once construction is started, it will take 15-18 months to finish Building A, and a total of two years from start to finish of the project.

Engineer Mike Junghans described the property, pointing out the property slopes toward the NJ Transit railroad tracks in the back. There is also an electrical substation adjacent to the tracks. The existing drive and wooded area along Locust Avenue will be maintained and wetlands in the back of the property will be undisturbed.

In answer to a question about the parking spaces and “tandem parking” in some areas, Junghans said, “every space under the buildings are assigned,” exterior parking spaces are not assigned. The tandem parking spots will be assigned to the same apartment and the residents will have keys for all their vehicles and be able to switch cars, as needed, he said.

Board member Kevin Hall questioned a recommendation by Junghans to drop the brick pavers agreed to in the original settlement agreement in favor of a more “safe” choice of an appropriately colored concrete sidewalk with the paver pattern stamped into the surface. Junghans said, “It is durable and the product is less susceptible to settling,” which creates a tripping hazard for older people. He also argued in favor of concrete sidewalks next to the parking spaces, because during the winter, the maintenance of the parking lot and sidewalks can damage pavers. He also recommended changing the color from an agreed upon “fire engine red,” to a brownish color more in keeping with the more subdued hue of the exterior of the buildings

Hall said, “This is a significant departure from the Redevelopment Agreement.”

Board member Jeanne Kingsley agreed, “We negotiated hard” on this project and its requirements such as pavers, not concrete sidewalks are ”half the reason we did PILOTs” with the developers. “I am uncomfortable giving up on pavers,” she said.

The developers also wanted to eliminate a “sidewalk to nowhere” along the Locust Avenue side of their property. There is a crosswalk from the Woodcrest at Berkeley Heights, across Locust to the yet-to-be-built YMCA and the existing outdoor swimming pool.

Kingsley urged the board to not give up on the sidewalks.

See the complete meeting here on LiveStream.

Board member and Mayor Robert Woodruff agreed, “t’s important to stick to what was agreed to” in the Redevelopment Agreement."

Kingsley said on Tuesday, the council will take up a “Complete Streets” measure that would require sidewalks on all new applications, to “make Berkeley Heights a more walkable community.” To back off from the sidewalk requirement only five days before the council votes on the measure would set a precedent for other developers, she said.

Other details in the agreement include that there will be no left turns from Woodcrest onto Locust Avenue. There will, however, be a traffic light installed by the developers of that property at the corner of Locust/Hamilton and Snyder avenues. Locust Avenue becomes Hamilton Avenue after it crosses Snyder Avenue.

The board approved the application with a list of conditions, all of which will be included in the final resolution during the board’s July meeting. Experts from the township and developer will address those conditions in meetings and determine how they will be met.

Loving Father, Writer, Outdoorsman

Stephen Clarke Ferber, 86, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (formerly Locust, New Jersey), passed away peacefully on January 18, 2024, surrounded by his loving family.

Steve was born on May 8th, 1937, to Pauline and Alvin Ferber in Lakewood, New Jersey. His father’s family had been longtime residents, builders, and business owners in the township. The Strand Theater remains, built for the Ferber Amusement Company, opening in 1922. It stands today as a Registered Historic Place in New Jersey.

Steve graduated from Lakewood High School in 1955 then studied Biology and English at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck. After graduating in 1960, he went to Officer Candidate School before being stationed in San Diego on an attack transport as a Navigator.

While in San Diego, Stephen became involved with the Navy’s shooting teams and won the National Service Pistol Championship in 1966.

After Stephen left the Navy Reserves, he worked for Upjohn Pharmaceuticals in New Jersey marketing their products. Steve then became an editor for a medical journal, Medical Insight. Later, he moved to Argosy magazine in NYC as an outdoor editor while prolifically freelance writing and contributing to various publications.

Steve became a publisher in 1974 with the idea to form Aqua-Field Publishing, Inc. The company started in his Manhattan apartment, moved to Madison Avenue then down to Point Pleasant eventually landing in Tinton Falls, NJ. Aqua-Field closed its doors in 2000 before publishing hundreds of mostly annual or bi-annual high-caliber special interest newsstand magazines for dozens of clients (Ithaca Gun Co., Remington Arms Co., Titleist, 3M, Burpee Seed Company, Sears, and more). His novel publishing idea would facilitate rapid awareness of clients’ products by advertising in other (non-competing) Aqua-Field publications. Some of the titles were Fly Fishing Quarterly, Browning Deer Hunting, Coleman Camping Annual, Spalding Playing Your Best Golf, Burpee Home Gardener and ScubaPro Diving & Snorkeling.

In 1976, he married his beloved wife, Sally, and together they had a daughter, Sara.

Throughout Stephen’s life, he remained very active in the outdoorsman arena - fly and deep-sea fishing, competitive shooting, and hunting all over the world including several trips to Africa where a “record book” shot of a Cape Buffalo was placed.

Predeceasing Stephen is his beloved wife, Sally (2004); brother, Michael (1989); mother, Pauline (1977); father, Alvin (1955) and his first wife, Sheila (2012).

Surviving Stephen are his three devoted daughters and adoring grandchildren: Cheryl Page (Garth) and daughter, Olivia of Mill Valley, California; Jennifer and Austen Ferber of Petaluma, California, and Sara Roybal (John) and Stephen of San Diego, California. Steve also leaves behind his cousins, Patricia Casey and family of Saint James, NY; brother-in-law, Jack Dickinson (Myriam) and niece, Samantha of Bloomington, Minnesota.

Steve leaves behind many friends from The Rumson Country Club, Sea Bright Beach Club, the Philadelphia Gun Club, Palm Beach Gardens, the Campfire Club of America, the Atlantic Indians, the Metropolitan Press Association, the Overseas Press Club, and more.

There will be a private graveside service in Lakewood, NJ on Thursday, January 25, 2024.

All friends, who knew and loved Steve are welcome to join us at the Rumson Country Club River House directly following the service on Thursday, January 25, from 3:00 to 5:00 PM.

In place of flowers, Steve and his family would ask instead for donations to be made to the Disabled American Veterans

MILLBURN, N.J. In a densely populated place, people prize their slivers of nature and links to a pastoral past. Which might explain why David Giannakopoulos disregarded the signs, rounded the fence, stuck his head under a rock and took a drink.

Among the trees here in the South Mountain Reservation, for longer than anyone can remember, water has burbled out of the rocks and people have stopped for a gulp. The same is true in countless places, but this is one of those springs that became a local treasure, with fans who came to fill buckets and swore that the water was better-tasting, healthier or just more natural than what they could get from their suburban taps.

But last December, the State Department of Environmental Protection tested the spring, in the Locust Grove section at the southern end of the reservation, a county park, and found bacteria from animal feces. The Essex County Department of Parks posted signs saying “unsafe for human consumption.”

That did not deter devotees like Mr. Giannakopoulos, a 40-year-old college student who lives in West Orange. Pointing to his 14-year-old dog, Mango, Mr. Giannakopoulos said, “Drinking that water, I think it’s helped her live this long. There’s nothing wrong with this water.”

The first signs posted on the spring were quickly torn down. Park workers replaced the signs and pushed boulders onto the spot, but someone rolled them away. The county hired a contractor to erect a chain-link fence around the spring, with a locked gate, and someone took the gate off its hinges.

The gate was repaired, and it remains securely closed with not one padlock but two. But about a month ago, someone cut away one of the fence’s four sides, and it is still missing; bits of chain link are scattered on the trail where hikers, dog walkers and picnickers pass a few feet away.

Some of these hikers, dog walkers and picnickers still happily drink from the small pipe that was installed long ago to channel water out of the rocks, despite three signs warning them not to. And they all seem to have stories of friends and neighbors who have consumed the water for decades without any ill effect.

“I used to come here with a bottle, and I’d have to wait in line,” said Jim Fittin, who admitted that he had taken a sip or two since the signs went up. “There’s not as many people now, but some of the people who come here on a regular basis, they weren’t going to let anything stop them.”

It was the spring’s popularity that led the state to test it and the county to fence it; ordinarily, the authorities do not worry about such sources because they are not considered part of the drinking water supply. But animal waste is always a potential threat in untreated ponds and streams and the reason generations of Boy Scout leaders have warned their charges not to drink at Locust Grove and countless similar spots.

“I haven’t touched that water in 25 years,” said Bruce DeVita, the chief project coordinator for the Parks Department. “I don’t drink water that comes out of the ground.”

But among people who recently passed through Locust Grove multiple times, the consensus was that the bacteria could not be much of a threat or no worse than the chemicals found in tap water. “You can’t come to the woods and not have bacteria on your hands,” noted Elizabeth Ebinger.

South Mountain Reservation, a sea of green covering 2,047 acres, almost two and a half times the size of Central Park, includes parts of Millburn, West Orange and Maplewood. The park envelops visitors, obscuring all visible signs of being in the nation’s largest metropolitan area.

It is a cherished illusion, but still an illusion. No part of the park is even three-quarters of a mile away from a suburban neighborhood; it contains roads, the ruins of an old factory and a reservoir for the city of Orange. Just a few hundred yards away from the Locust Grove spring lie a library, a bank and a New Jersey Transit train station.

Still, “It feels like you’re out in the forest like it used to be, out in nature,” Mr. Giannakopoulos said. “I like that.”