Together, We Made a Difference in the Lives of Many: Thank You, Plainfield!

Dear Friends,

You would recall that my wife Amelia and I hosted the New Democrats annual holiday party and canned food drive for the purpose of helping to address the problem of hunger in our city. This annual event is held in celebration of the life and legacy of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am happy to report that we were able to collect over a ton of canned goods and other nonperishable food items. All items collected were recently turned over to the Starfish Food Pantry, right here in Plainfield.

As the issue of hunger is an ongoing one in our city as well as the nation at large, some of you expressed an interest in knowing how to contact the food banks and soup kitchens in the city so that you could donate year-round. Below is a list of several, for your information.

Amelia and I and the New Democrats would like to thank all of you who donated to such a worthy cause. Together, Plainfield, we made a difference in many people’s lives.

Thank You!

Regards,

Adrian

Click below for the link below for the food pantries located throughout the county:

New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition - Food Pantries - Union County

PLAINFIELD PANTRIES/SOUP KITCHENS

ADDITION: Thanks to Siddeeq El-Amin:

MUSLIM COMMUNITY SOUP KITCHEN

Site: 325 Grant Avenue, Plainfield.
Hours: Every Saturday from 1:00 to 2:00 PM
Contact Person: Faheemah S. El-Amin
Phone: 908-561-6797 or 908-447-3033 cell
Email: msfahchdcr@aol.com
Food Needs: non-perishable, non-pork products
Volunteers Welcomed.

GRACE'S KITCHEN

Site: 600 Cleveland Avenue, Plainfield, NJ 07060
Phone: 908-756-1520
Email: mjbuck@att.net
Hours: open last five days of every month (except Sundays): 11:30am-1pm
Contact: Mary Jo Buck
This site provides a soup kitchen.
Food Needs: any kind of food
Volunteer Needs: driver with car to pick up supplies, occasional help in food preparation and serving
Volunteer Requirements: age 15 and over
Special Needs: toiletries, laundry soaps, used clothing

HOMEFIRST INTERFAITH HOUSING AND FAMILY SERVICES

Site: 905 Watchung Avenue, Plainfield, NJ 07060
Mail: P.O. Box 569, Plainfield, NJ 07060
Phone: 908-753-4001 x13 (Ellen McGovern, Executive Director)
Phone: 908-753-4001C x16 (Brenda Myrick)
Phone: 908-753-4001 x12 (Amy Van Pelt)
Phone: 908-753-4001 x20 (Susan Oldroyd-Laffler)
Email: Brenda@homefirstinc.org
Website: www.homefirstinc.org
Hours: Office - Mon-Fri: 9am-5pm
Contact: Brenda L. Myrick
This site provides a shelter at a network of congregations in Union County, transitional housing, rental assistance, child care, a camp, education, budget management, and advocacy.
Volunteer Needs: committee members - Call Amy Van Pelt for details.
Volunteer Requirements: Call Amy Van Pelt for details.
Special Needs: funding and other needs; Call Susan Oldroyd-Laffler for details.

PLAINFIELD AREA YMCA

Site: 518 Watchung Avenue, Plainfield, NJ 07060
Phone: 908-756-6060
Email: TMcCoy@PlainfieldY.org
Website: www.PlainfieldY.org
Hours: Office – 9am-4pm
Shelter - 24/7
Contact: Teresa McCoy
This site provides an emergency shelter.
Food Needs: breakfast and dinner foods
Volunteer Needs: need for churches and other groups to prepare meals and serve to residents
Volunteer Requirements: Contact site.
Special Needs: Contact Teresa.

SALVATION ARMY

Site: 615 Watchung Avenue, Plainfield, NJ 07060
Phone: 908-756-2595
Email: Donald_Nichols@njsalvationarmy.org
Hours: some holiday closings – Contact site.
Office – 9am-4pm
Food Pantry: Tues & Thurs: 9:30-11:30am & 1-2:30pm
Soup Kitchen: Mon-Fri: 12-12:45pm
Contact: Captain Henry Thibault, Donald Nichols
This site provides a food pantry, a soup kitchen, church services in English and Spanish, and referral to alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs.
Food Needs: non-perishables and perishables
Volunteer Needs: office assistance, servers, clean-up, packers
Volunteer Requirements: age 18 and older
Special Needs: storage space, monetary donations, restaurant supply equipment, microwave, paper goods

STARFISH FOOD PANTRY, INC. OF PLAINFIELD AT COVENANT UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

Site: 631 East Front St., Plainfield, NJ 07060
Mail: P.O. Box 2822, Plainfield, NJ 07062
Phone: 908-755-8888
Contact: Lynda Stanbach or Edna Shanok
Food Needs: non-perishables
Volunteer Needs: food packers, drivers
Volunteer Requirements: license for drivers
Special Needs: cash donations for perishables and transportation for food

Collaboration with Results Will Be the Fruit of Our Collective Labor: A Way to Move Forward

A couple months ago, the Plainfield City Council adopted an ordinance creating a Board of Recreation Commissioners for the purpose of expanding recreational opportunities for our youth and senior citizens. On the tenth day after its final adoption, the ordinance creating the Commission was vetoed by the Mayor. This past Monday, an attempt to override her veto failed by a vote of 4 to 3; five votes were required.

Hence, those of us who supported the ordinance must now respect the outcome of Monday’s meeting and look for other ways to expand the City’s recreation programs. The beauty of our democracy is that the outcome of the vote is always respected, and people on both sides of the vote always find a way to move forward, in spite of their differences. Now is the time for us to do just that - move forward.

Given that the Commission was vetoed by the Mayor, and given the outcome of Monday’s meeting, it is important for us on the governing body to respond appropriately by providing the required level of funding necessary to ensure retention of the current full-time staff. The question is, how do we do that and remain in compliance with the applicable New Jersey state statute? The proposal that was advanced by the Mayor and her and Administration, in the form of resolutions R105, R106 and R107 was illegal under NJSA 40A:4-46 quoted below:

40A:4-46. Emergency appropriations
A local unit may make emergency appropriations, after the adoption of a budget, for a purpose which is not foreseen at the time of the adoption thereof, or for which adequate provision was not made therein. Such an appropriation shall be made to meet a pressing need for public expenditure to protect or promote the public health, safety, morals or welfare or to provide temporary housing or public assistance prior to the next succeeding fiscal year.

In light of the statute quoted above, I could not, in good conscience, knowingly support a funding request disguised as an emergency that was a clear violation of the law. It is for this reason that I could not and did not support any of the three resolutions referenced above.

However, I am willing to support a transfer resolution that would restore full funding to the Division of Recreation. Therefore, in the spirit of cooperation and collaboration, I will be suggesting to the Administration that it prepare a transfer resolution for adoption by the council in May, and I will encourage my colleagues to support such a transfer request. Everything will be done in compliance with the law, to provide for wholesome recreational opportunities for all in the City who need them. This is a pledge and a commitment.

As to the Purchasing Department, a different idea should be considered; that idea is called a Purchasing Shared Services Agreement. Although I know that purchasing is the responsibility of the CFO in all municipalities where a QPA has not been appointed by the governing body, I am still sensitive to the fact that the CFO is part time and may need more time to get his arms around the many challenging financial issues facing the City.

Therefore, I am proposing a shared service agreement between the City and the Board of Education that would buy the CFO some time, and allow for the Qualified Purchasing Agent from the BOE to be shared with the City. Shared services performed at a high level of efficiency and effectiveness, and with measurable benefits that flow to the bottom line must be pursued as part of the solution to the financial crisis we face in Plainfield. The 2% cap, the $4 million budget gap, and the need for property tax stabilization and relief are the sign posts by which we must be guided. It is to this end that I am proposing a Purchasing Shared Services Agreement for the mutual benefit of the City and the BOE.

I will be asking Council President McWilliams to place this on the agenda for discussion at our April meeting. Just like the CFO for a municipality is almost always the Treasurer of School Monies and is responsible for signing checks and reconciling the bank accounts for the BOE, for a stipend, there can be a similar arrangement with the QPA at the BOE to provide purchasing services to the City for an agreed upon amount that would result in major savings.

There should be no doubt, in anyone’s mind, about our commitment to doing what we believe to be in the City’s best interest, without fear or favor, and without malice. I, for one, will always strive to be guided by the dictates of my conscience; I will compromise when the situation warrants, and I will reverse course when a new direction is required.

Hence, I will support the restoration of funding, by way of a budget transfer in May, to the salary and wage line in the Recreation Division, and I will advocate for a Purchasing Shared Services Agreement with the BOE.

It is my hope, that in these very challenging times, reason will triumph over emotion, verbal hostility will give way to civil discourse, and that collaboration with results will be the fruit of our collective labor. We must all stop and take a deep breath, exhale the impurities affecting our thoughts, and breathe the fresh air of cooperation that is essential to our success.

Regards,

Adrian

Beware of Title 59

The very harsh winter of 2011 has created many hazardous conditions in Plainfield and in other municipalities across the state of New Jersey. Conditions that, if left unattended, could result in property damage that could leave unsuspecting or uninformed citizens holding the bag. Under Title 59 of the New Jersey Constitution, municipalities are granted immunity from liability if certain conditions are not met by a plaintiff, i.e., plaintiff must prove that a municipality had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition. Beware of Title 59; I am quoting sections of that statute for the benefit of all Plainfielders:

59:4-1. Definitions
As used in this chapter:

a. "Dangerous condition" means a condition of property that creates a substantial risk of injury when such property is used with due care in a manner in which it is reasonably foreseeable that it will be used.

b. "Protect against" includes repairing, remedying or correcting a dangerous condition, providing safeguards against a dangerous condition, or warning of a dangerous condition.

c. "Public property" means real or personal property owned or controlled by the public entity, but does not include easements, encroachments and other property that are located on the property of the public entity but are not owned or controlled by the public entity.

59:4-2. Liability generally
A public entity is liable for injury caused by a condition of its property if the plaintiff establishes that the property was in dangerous condition at the time of the injury, that the injury was proximately caused by the dangerous condition, that the dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the kind of injury which was incurred, and that either:

a. a negligent or wrongful act or omission of an employee of the public entity within the scope of his employment created the dangerous condition; or

b. a public entity had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition under section 59:4-3 a sufficient time prior to the injury to have taken measures to protect against the dangerous condition.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose liability upon a public entity for a dangerous condition of its public property if the action the entity took to protect against the condition or the failure to take such action was not palpably unreasonable.

59:4-3. Actual notice; constructive notice
a. A public entity shall be deemed to have actual notice of a dangerous condition within the meaning of subsection b. of section 59:4-2 if it had actual knowledge of the existence of the condition and knew or should have known of its dangerous character.

b. A public entity shall be deemed to have constructive notice of a dangerous condition within the meaning of subsection b. of section 59:4-2 only if the plaintiff establishes that the condition had existed for such a period of time and was of such an obvious nature that the public entity, in the exercise of due care, should have discovered the condition and its dangerous character.

I encourage my constituents to inform the City of any hazardous condition in the public right of way, such as pot holes, that they are aware of. By so doing, you will be protecting your interest and that of others in the event of property damage arising from said hazardous conditions.

In the meantime, drive safely and avoid road hazards.

Regards,

Adrian

A Plainfield Citizen's Suggestions for Greater Efficiency and Effectiveness

Dear Friends,

Plainfield, Dec. 27, 2010, (source: NJ.com)

I recently received an email from a Plainfield citizen with suggestions for greater efficiency and effectiveness in the way the City responds to snow emergencies--plowing and removal. I am posting that email here in its entirety.

On Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 7:34 PM:

1.      Mr. Mapp, this recent snowfall started me thinking of how we could respond better as a City to such a hazardous condition and with the most efficiency.  I think the following could be helpful:

2.      Fit several PMUA garbage trucks with plows.  They are out early each morning and could plow snow off to the side while making their regular rounds and when DPW comes in they can finish off what has been started by the PMUA.  Not in their contract? Well all things are negotiable when the economy is down and we are trying to save jobs.

3.      The patrol cars can be given a couple of bags of salt for icy intersections afterhours.  Since we work 24/7 there wouldn't be any overtime cost to the City.  We also have two pickup trucks that we use to plow our own lot, so we could keep sand, salt, etc in the back during winter season to help out with major ice conditions at hazardous intersections after hours.

4.      The Fire Department could keep salt and sand in their open pickup truck for emergency icy intersection conditions. 

5.      The last resort would be a call out to DPW on overtime, which would probably not be necessary if we set in motion the aforementioned plan.

I agree with this citizen that if the suggested plan (or one designed utilizing some of its components) were to be implemented, it could result in a significant dent in the City’s overtime budget for snow removal. The idea of attaching plows to the PMUA vehicles is one that has been previously mentioned; it is a shared service that can be easily implemented between the City and the PMUA. 

The other suggestions can be readily implemented as a directive from the City’s Director of Public Safety. This is one way that the City’s finest and bravest can contribute to the enhancement of public safety while at the same time reducing the operating cost of the DPW. Your suggestions and feedback would be greatly appreciated as well.

Best regards for 2011,

Adrian

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

The Wise Men Brought Gifts, Not a Pink Slip

It was ironic that the notice of termination from Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs to City Administrator Bibi Taylor was served exactly one month prior to the birthday of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who spent most of his life fighting for peace and justice for all. It is also worthy to note that the termination was to take effect on the date that a new King was born, the Prince of Peace.

Thus the decision of my colleagues last night proved, in the words of Dr. King, that no lie can live forever, and that truth crushed to earth will rise again. King also said that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.

I believe that justice was served last night and that the best interest of Plainfield was weighed in the balance and preserved. I applaud my colleagues, members of the public, and everyone who had a hand in turning a wrong on its head so that justice could stand erect and be dispensed for all of to see.

The unanimous vote of the council to reverse Mayor Robinson-Briggs’s ill-informed decision again evokes Dr. King's admonition that "...injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." It also reminds those who have faith and believe that the King who was born on Christmas day was the Prince of Peace, not Ebenezer Scrooge, and that the wise men brought gifts, not a pink slip.

Regards,

Adrian

A "Thank You" to Leaders of Unions Representing City of Plainfield Employees

Please allow me to take this opportunity to thank all of you who participated in the meeting on Friday, December 3, 2010 with Cory and me and members of the Council's Finance and Administration Committee, along with City Administrator Bibi Taylor. The meeting gave us an opportunity to interact in ways that we never have before. Our discussions were very candid, and all of us at the table appeared to have an understanding and an appreciation for the difficult roles that all of us must play in the effort to save the jobs of fellow employees. It goes without saying that the task ahead of us is a very difficult and challenging one.

I appreciate your willingness to go back to your rank and file to explore opportunities that could lead to material concessions in both the short and long term. Please know that we, as elected officials, take no joy in making the very difficult decisions that we at times are called upon to make in order to strike a balanced budget under the strictures of the budget law and other applicable statutes. It is in the spirit of current economic reality and consideration for the well-being of all employees and tax payers, as well as a desire to not lay off fellow employees that we seek to establish a partnership that leads to meaningful and compassionate concessions.

Again, I convey our thanks and appreciation to you for extending the invitation, not only to meet with you, but for the spirit in which the meeting was conducted.

Regards,

Adrian

Ms. Drakeford Deserves an Apology from the Editor of the Courier-News

The editorial in this past Monday’s Courier-News (11/29) left me with the feeling that the editor of the paper reached deep down into the cesspool where some newspaper editors find their material. This editorial was nothing more than a journalistic lynching of a private citizen. At best, it was disparaging and, at worst, it was slanderous to the former Corporation Counsel, Jackie Drakeford.

First of all, for the Courier to opine that “The City Council has hired an old ally of the late former mayor, Al McWilliams” and that by choosing her “guarantees that the probe will be tainted, regardless of the outcome” is just plain wrong. It suggests that all appointees of a chief executive are allies of the chief executive and are therefore incapable of being objective and impartial. If one were to swallow such twisted logic, one might arrive at the conclusion that the current Corporation Counsel, Dan Williamson, is an ally of Mayor Briggs, who appointed him, and that, therefore, any opinion he renders to the City Council pertaining to her would be tainted by his allegiance.

Furthermore, for the editor to insinuate that the probe of the $20,000 expenditure is about “New versus Old Democrats” is a conclusion that has been reached through a pair of myopic lenses. The idea for a probe into the expenditure in question came from Councilor Rashid Burney, who has disavowed any and all connections he has had to the New Democrats; he did so way back in 2005 and has been a loyal disciple of Assemblyman Green and the “Old Guard” ever since.

This probe is about actions that are questionable and the council’s desire to get to the facts so that decisions can be made in the best interest of the tax payers of Plainfield.

Finally, the editor’s conclusion that “What Plainfield needs is someone without any agenda” is an unfair presupposition about Mrs. Drakeford and her politics. Here again, the editor besmirches Mrs. Drakeford by insinuating that she has an ax to grind and would therefore use it to pin the Mayor against a wall.

This kind of journalism that attacks the reputation and credibility of a private citizen who has a stellar reputation must be seen for what it is, an "Evil Knievel" leap of monstrous proportions fraught with danger. It’s a leap that sullies the name of a decent private citizen who has stayed clear of politics for as long as I have known her. She does not deserve to be tarred with the brush of political affiliation.

Mrs. Drakeford deserves an apology from the editor of the Courier-News.

Regards,

Adrian