Mayor Robinson-Briggs pays Dan the ultimate compliment

Photo by Dan of Plainfield artist Hubert Reeder at 2001 Art Festival.

Screenshot from the city's website. At least the event is being promoted.

The Plainfield Outdoor Festival of Art finally got its due from the city with the appearance on the city's website headlines (number 3) yesterday of a notice for this year's 49th Annual celebration.

But Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs paid Dan the ultimate compliment by ripping off one of his photos (without credit, of course) to promote the event.

The photo Mayor Robinson-Briggs chose to use was of Plainfield artist and poet Hubert Reeder reading a copy of the Courier News while sitting amid his artwork. The year was 2001, which leads me to wonder why after all the money Mayor Robinson-Briggs has spent on staff for public relations the city doesn't have any -- and any more current -- activity photos.

Anyway, my thanks to Mayor Robinson-Briggs for the tip o' the hat.

Be sure to mark your calendar. The Art Festival is slated for Saturday, September 1, 10 AM - 4 PM at Library Park.

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49th Annual Outdoor Festival of Art

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
10 AM - 4 PM

Library Park
West 8th Street and Arlington Avenue
(RAIN LOCATION: Washington Community School)

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Plainfield Idol 2012 Audition Call

Coordinator Pat Fields always produces hits for the
annual Plainwood Square concert series.

Pat Fields, coordinator of the Plainwood Square concert series has issued a call for audition's for the 2012 Plainfield Idol 'Remix'.

The first twenty applicants aged 13 and up for the August 15th auditions will have a chance to vie for one of three slots as part of the final competition.

Auditions are slated for Wednesday, August 15, from 4 PM - 6 PM at The Incubator, 320 Park Avenue.

The three top contestants will appear at the Plainwood Square summer concert on Wednesday, August 29.

For more information, contact Pat Fields at (908) 369-1152 or by email at pafields@hotmail.com.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Clarity, accountability on ShotSpotter project crucial

2010 map envisioned potential area for ShotSpotter technology.

I first learned of Saturday night's double shooting near Plainfield's Drake House museum early on Sunday morning (see here). At the time, police said that the ShotSpotter system had failed to report the gunshots to the Police Division.

Yet when Plainfield Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig was quoted -- finally -- in Tuesday's Courier (see here) and Ledger (see here), he said that the ShotSpotter system had indeed correctly identified the gunshots.

Notwithstanding Hellwig's asertions, I am still told by cops that the ShotSpotter system did not identify the gunshots in the double shooting.

There is too much at stake here for their to be fuzziness about what the facts are.

It is just a year now since the Council approved the $169,000 tab for the first year's lease, along with accepting a $250,000 technology grant for equipment and installation. The system was installed and tested earlier this summer, but the public has not hear since then of its effectiveness.

In fact, inquiring of several Council members turned up the information that not only have they not been informed by Director Hellwig of the system's implementation and issues or effectiveness, they also noted that communications concerning criminal activities have become spotty over the last several months and no one knew of the double shooting until reading it on Plainfield Today or seeing it in the Courier and Ledger.

The point of the ShotSpotter technology is both to give the Police Division near-instantaneous information on gunshot incidents and to reassure the public that authorities know about, can locate and are prepared to take action in relation to gunplay in the city.

Transparency about all this is crucial to the public's trust that the program is effective and the taxpayers' money is being well spent.

So far, aside from a little fizz about setting up tests to calibrate the system, the public has heard nothing. Does this mean there are problems with the system? Or that there is nothing to report? Either way the public deserves to know.

I am well aware there are tensions within the Police Division and that not everyone sees things the way Director Hellwig does. This is all the more reason for the Robinson-Briggs administration to want to have complete, accurate, factual and timely information about the project made available to the public.

Given the Robinson-Briggs administration's history with regard to accurate communications, I am inclined to give more weight to those who question how well things get done until we have proof positive that the project is indeed working as intended.

Too much is at stake, and it's not just the money.

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• "Police investigate double shooting" -- Courier | Ledger | Plainfield Today |
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Mystery event: 49th Annual Art Festival

Plainfield artist Indira Bailey displays her work...

...and fun for kids of all ages.

Some Plainfield Today readers have asked if there will be an Art Festival this year.

With a little more than three weeks to the putative date, there is no publicity on the city's website, though you can check out ten headline stories on the site's home page (see here), including events that take place after the Art Festival.

Checking with several of the local vendors to see if they have been contacted, I learned that indeed they have and that Mayor Robinson-Briggs is hosting the event on Saturday, September 1.

Though one can hope for miracles, I have a feeling we will see it even more diminished over last year.

And if Her Honor doesn't get a move on, no one will even know it's happening.

Far cry from the old days when thousands of attendees and scores of artists and craftspersons from the tri-state area thronged to the show.

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49th Annual Outdoor Festival of Art

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1
10 AM - 4 PM

Library Park
West 8th Street and Arlington Avenue
(RAIN LOCATION: Washington Community School)

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Double shooting near Drake House raises questions

Unreported double shooting near Drake House Sunday.

 
An unreported double shooting near Plainfield's Drake House Museum raises questions.

I am told that Plainfield police were called to the scene of a double shooting just before dawn on Sunday morning at the BP gas station on the corner across from the city's Drake House museum. The victims are two Hispanic males, one of whom was said to be shot in the face and seriously wounded.

It seems that the gunshots were not picked up by the new ShotSpotter system, I have been told. That is troubling if true, since the system was installed earlier this summer and could reasonably be expected to have passed its 'shakedown' phase and be fully operational. (I saw large numbers of uniformed and plainclothes Plainfield police, along with what appeared to be students from the police academy, sweeping the area mid-morning Monday, apparently looking for shell casings and other evidence.)

But just as troubling as the unreported shooting is an evident crime news blackout in the days leading up to tonight's National Night Out celebration. Besides the double shooting, cops tell me recent crime activity has included the robbery of a bodega by a machete-wielding man; breaking and entering of a laundromat in an attempted robbery; and a car purposely set on fire.

Meanwhile, Public Safety Director Hellwig is quoted in the Courier's National Night Out story (see here) -- 

During previous National Night Out events the city held marches during which elected officials would urge residents to “take back our streets.” But Hellwig said late last week that a new slogan is in order.

“I think, to a certain extent, we should, and we are, moving away from that mentality. I don’t think we ever gave the streets up,” Hellwig said. “The streets will remain safe because we have community involvement, and we’re not going to tolerate anything less than that.”

That's a nice sentiment, but does it mean crime should be swept under the carpet for public relations purposes?

Plainfield's official National Night Out celebration this evening (see more here) will feature free entertainment, refreshments, informational tables, and a dance contest. Attendees are invited to bring canned goods and nonperishable food items for donation to local feeding programs. Mayor Robinson-Briggs will no doubt be distributing hugs.

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• Courier:  "Anti-crime effort grows in region"

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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National Night Out: Residents have two choices

Notice from the city's website.

Though there is confusion about just when Plainfield's observance will take place, residents of the city will have two opportunities to participate.

The city's 'official' National Night Out observance is slated for Tuesday, August 7 on the steps of City Hall.

But what time? The discussion at Council on July 16 was for it to be from 6 - 8 PM. (At that time, Councilor Reid elicited that long-time coordinator Freeholder Linda Carter had not been contacted to lead this year's event.)

Meanwhile, the city's website advertises the times as 6:30 to 8:30 PM (see here), while the Courier's write up -- including remarks by Public Safety Director Martin Hellwig but none by Mayor Robinson-Briggs -- pegs the time as 6 - 9 PM (see here).

You get the idea. It will be Tuesday evening.

There is no doubt, however, as far as the Netherwood Neighbors' celebration. It starts at 6 PM at the Dixie Lane, Denmark Road and Lorraine Avenue and includes an appearance by Lt. Kevin O'Brien of the Plainfield Police Division.

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• Courier:  "Anti-crime effort grows in region"

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Hidden Plainfield: A Plainfield Petit Four IDed

Yesterday's Hidden Plainfield home is an architectural petit four at 626 East 6th Street.

One of several such modest late Victorian homes, this one still has its fancy porchwork intact.

By the way, the 'four' in 'petits four' has nothing to do with the English word 'four'.

These delightful little frosted cakes came into existence in the 18th century, when bakers made them after the main baking of the day and the ovens were cooling down. In French, the term means 'small oven'.

In any event, they -- and our Plainfield architectural petit four -- are a nice little treat.

Where shall we go next week?

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• Hidden Plainfield:  "Plainfield Petit Four"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Hidden Plainfield: A Plainfield Petit Four

A little architectural 'petit four'.

Petits four are small frosted and decorated pastries -- a special treat. Today's Hidden Plainfield home is an architectural petit four on a by-street.

One of several such modest late Victorian homes in its neighborhood, this one still has its fancy porchwork intact -- unusual as porches require a good deal of maintenance and are often sacrificed when the expense becomes too burdensome.

This home is in a quiet neighborhood that developed over a period of time, with numerous post-WWII homes as infill.

Do you know where today's property is?

Answer tomorrow.

...and a little something for those who simply must have the real thing.

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Little Sir Echo goes to Levittown

Little Sir Echo has a new home in Levittown, PA.

 
Dan's little Echo bade farewell to Plainfield on Friday, leaving for its new home in Levittown, PA.

Todd, a retired Air Force enlisted man, had been looking for an Echo in particular for about a month. With no luck at finding a decent one in his area, he tried a Google search including 'New Jersey' in the search terms and came up with the Plainfield Today blog post on my little Echo (see here).

After checking it out and taking it to his mechanic for a look-see, Todd was more than happy to offer my asking price and drive off into the sunset. I wish him well with the car and many years of driving pleasure.

During the course of the transaction, I learned that he is watching after his folks, who are in their late 80s, and were among the original homesteaders in Mr. Levitt's postwar model suburb (see more about the four Levittowns here).

Plainfield's Brisbane Estates neighborhood is our smaller scale local incarnation of the same postwar housing boom.

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• Wikipedia:  "Levittown"

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Redevelopment as Legos?

Rahway proposal has a familiar look. (Photo courtesy of Rahway Rising.)

Word comes via the Rahway Rising blog that Capodagli Development won approval for its 115-unit Meridia Lafayette Village rental development proposal Tuesday evening (see story here).

There are a number of points of interest to Plainfielders in this story.

First of all, the Rahway property involved was originally slated to be developed by our old friends at Dornoch -- who built Plainfield's Senior Center/condo project on East Front Street which had the misfortune to come on the market as the market collapsed. (And the Robinson-Briggs administration is still involved in a dispute over a quarter million dollars in unapproved interior finishing work.)

Secondly, of course, is that Capodagli also has a history with Plainfield -- the failed proposal for an apartment complex at the PMUA's Cottage Place and Richmond Street site way back in 2006. Though a redevelopment plan was rammed through the Planning Board in a highly unusual manner, Capodagli simply disappeared after questions were raised about whether its principal was barred from engaging in development at the time (he was).

Then there is the matter of the rendering (see top of this post). It reminds me of the 'renaissance of Georgian style' rendering Capodagli proposed for the Plainfield project.

Recycling ideas and plans?

Redevelopment as Legos?

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• Rahway Rising:  "Unanimous approval for Meridia Lafayette Village"

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Welcome new Plainfield blog 'Work Matters'

Plainfield's newest blog debuts.

A warm welcome to Plainfield's newest blog, Roni Taylor's 'Work Matters', which debuts today (see here).

Roni is a longtime community activist. This blog is part of her outreach efforts as the newly-elected vice president of the Plainfield Education Association, the organization representing Plainfield teachers, administrative and support staff.

Roni has deep community roots. She is a 1982 graduate of Plainfield High School. Her mother was a private registry nurse for Muhlenberg Hospital for over twenty years until it closed. One of Roni's first jobs was working at Muhlenberg.

Roni served three terms as an elected school board member and worked for 15 years as the Director of Housing Services for the Plainfield Area YMCA. Roni also served on the Plainfield Housing Authority. She is a past president of the League of Women Voters of Plainfield.

Roni teaches in the Plainfield school district, where her two children, Kenny and Savannah, are students. She also coaches for several of the athletic programs in the school system and serves as a mentor to Plainfield youth.

Roni is currently completing a Master's Degree in Public Administration at Rutgers's-Newark's Executive MPA Program.

Look for posts to Roni's 'Work Matters' blog on Mondays, where she will discuss issues of concern to members of the Plainfield Education Association and the community as a whole that center on the effectiveness of the union and the public schools.

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• Blog:  "Roni T's Work Matters"

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Prepay Plainfield property taxes?

The story was clear and startling: Plainfielders could now prepay their property taxes.

What?!

Actually, it's an idea that has appealed to at least a few Plainfield taxpayers, as I can attest from complaints about the timing of the delivery of the tax bills.

But the Plainfield in question wasn't in New Jersey, it was in Illinois. The story noted that in order to help folks budget their property tax payments by prepaying them in installments in advance of actually receiving the bills.

You can read the complete story on the Plainfield, IL Patch here.

Is this an idea whose time has come?

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• Plainfield Patch:  "Pre-payment now an option for tax bills"

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Pet Wellness Clinic today CANCELLED

TJ thinks it's a good idea.

THE PET WELLNESS CLINIC SCHEDULED FOR TODAY HAS BEEN CANCELED AND WILL BE RESCHEDULED FOR A LATER DATE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT ASSOCIATED HUMANE SOCIETIES AT (973) 824-7080.

Plainfield pet owners can bring their dogs or cats to a pet wellness clinic today offered by the Associated Humane Society, whose mobile unit will be stationed in front of City Hall from 9 AM to 4 PM.

Vaccines are $10 each, microchips inserted for $10 each and heartworm tests are $20 per pet. The AHS workers will also take appointment for their low-cost spay/neuter program.

For more information, call the Associated Humane Societies weekdays between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM at (973) 824-7080 and ask for Debbie or Scott.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Mister Blister starts outpatient therapy

'Get to work!'

Just an update for Plainfield Today readers on the prosthesis situation. 

I started outpatient rehab at JFK Rehab in Edison on Friday -- at last. There have been several start dates set up which had to be cancelled owing to the development of blisters from walking on the prosthesis.

But Friday we finally got under way, with an assessment by my rehab specialist, Sue, who has nicknamed me 'Mister Blister'.

'Everyone has a challenge,' Sue said, 'and yours is neither your attitude nor your ability, but your tender skin'.

So, at last I'm up and on it, picking up where I left off with the inpatient stint early in July. We will spend time improving my gait and the amount of weight I can put on the prosthesis (which will allow me eventually to abandon the crutches), as well as the strengthening of leg, lower back and abdominal muscles that enable that 'natural' looking walk.

I am looking forward to the computerized treadmill that watches your gait from several perspectives and 'talks back' to you in real time to correct your execution. Talk about feedback loops!

For now, though you'll see me scooting around town in my new (old) Mercury Mystique, which I am calling Big Ruby after her color and the fact that she's larger than Little Sir Echo, the stick-shift Toyota Echo I can no longer drive.

Ad astra!

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Hidden Plainfield: Gambrel house ID'ed

The home sits on an uncharacteristically narrow lot.

Yesterday's Hidden Plainfield's gambrel-roofed home is at 1025 West Front Street.

This style, which was offered by most mail-order catalogs, was ideal for small plots and tight budgets. Basically the gambrel roof was mounted on a standard bungalow layout, but with the gambrel giving extra height to the second floor over the sloping roofline of the typical bungalow.

There is another, similar example on Plainfield Avenue, across from the Koinonia Academy (formerly Wardlaw-Hartridge). I have noticed it is more common in Roselle Park, where the lots are narrower and smaller and this was a developer's choice that allowed maximizing profits on a series of small lots.

Where shall we go next week?

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• Hidden Plainfield:  "Gambrel's exotic origins" -- With comments.
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Hidden Plainfield: Exotic origin of a common NJ home

Extremely tall pines give this small home a stately appearance.

Today's Hidden Plainfield home is a comfortable gambrel-roofed structure which is given a certain stateliness by the extremely tall and elegant pines flanking the front of the home.

Gambrel roofs can be spotted on homes throughout Plainfield, usually of two differing architectural periods. (They are also the quintessential roof form for barns throughout the country as they allow for more hay storage on the upper floor.)

While they are sometimes found on large Victorians with Colonial Revival characteristics, they are most commonly found on smaller 1920s and 1930s homes and are often referred to as 'Dutch Colonials'.

Today's example may actually have been a pattern-book house and would have appealed to a homebuyer on a budget as the gambrel gave extra space to second floor rooms over a simple gable.

What may surprise some readers is that the roof shape is inspired by native structures of the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) which were seen by Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese explorers and traders and re-imagined in European settings -- and hence descending to American usage (see more here).

Do you know where today's property is?

Answer tomorrow.

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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NJ Wolves football season opens at Seidler Field tonight

 
Plainfield-based semi-pro football team the NJ Wolves kicks off its 2012 season at 5:30 this afternoon at Seidler Field against the Philadelphia Panthers.

This is the first of six games that will be played on the Wolves' home turf at Plainfield's Seidler Field. Adult admission is $7/person, children under 12 are free. Kick off is 5:30 PM.

The home schedule is --

• August 11, 2012 ---- NJ Wolves vs. Delaware Punishers
  
  
• August 18, 2012 ---- NJ Wolves vs. NJ Invaders
  
  
• August 25, 2012 ---- NJ Wolves vs. NY Bengals
  
  
• September 15, 2012 ---- NJ Wolves vs. Flemington (NJ) Generals
  
  
• October 6, 2012 ----- NJ Wolves vs. NJ Longhorns

Check out the team's website here, and games on YouTube here.

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• Website:  "NJ Wolves"
• YouTube:  "2011 Season Highlights"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Plainfield's New Dems in breakfast meeting Saturday

 
Plainfield's New Democrats political club will gather Saturday morning for a continental breakfast at duCret School of the Arts.

"We want to thank everyone for their hard work on the June Democratic primary," says chairperson Adrian Mapp, "and begin to lay plans for the fall campaign to re-elect President Barack Obama."

Members, friends and those interested in helping in the Obama re-election effort are cordially invited.

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10 AM - Noon
New Democrats Breakfast Meeting
duCret School of the Arts
1030 Central Avenue
(Parking and entry in lot at rear of campus)

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-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Plainfield library closing for three weeks for improvements, new jobs program lab

As with the classic 'Boss' puzzle, there is no solution
without moving all the pieces around.

Major rearrangement of the Plainfield Public Library's main reading floor to accommodate a new Job Assistance Computer Lab will close the library to the public for three weeks, from Monday, July 30 through Monday, August 19.

While the work is being done, Plainfield Public Library patrons will be welcomed at the 40 other libraries in the MURAL program and the 25 other libraries in the LMxAC consortium. Those who use e-books will be able to download them by accessing the Library's website. Arrangements have been made for the Literacy Volunteers of America program to have access to classroom space at the Plainfield campus of Union County College. And, of course, DVDs will remain available throughout the renovation from the Redbox machine near the entrance. For more information on programs and activities, see the Library's website here.

"The library is so heavily used," says Director Joe Da Rold, "that there just is no convenient time to make changes to the layout. To minimize disruption to patrons and to control costs, the Library has tried to group together projects that maximize improvements while minimizing downtime."

The new computer lab will be located in the corner of the main floor between the circulation counter and the College Place accessibility ramps. The addition of a 30-seat lab will allow the large numbers of patrons using the public terminals for job searching greater access for longer periods of time. The current 20 public-access terminals will then be more available for other patrons. The new lab will also provide a setting for the library staff to expand the offering of basic computer skills classes, which are heavily attended by Plainfield's senior citizens.

Those who have ever worked a '15/16' puzzle or a Rubik's cube will appreciate the difficulty of moving any of the Library's book stacks to another location. Da Rold believes patrons will be thrilled with the final outcome of the collection's rearrangement, which will finally bring all the nonfiction sections -- now scattered in the four corners of the building -- together.

This will advance yet another portion of the Library Board's master plan, making the collection more user-friendly while expanding computer and Internet-access, a main driver in library usage in recent years.

I am sure patrons will be as pleased with the outcome as they have been with the makeover of the Young People's Room, which opened to wild acclaim last year, proving that public libraries are on the cutting edge of changes in how information is accessed and used.

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• Website:  "Plainfield Public Library"
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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Mayor's pool policy leaves kids high and dry

With the summer nearly half over, the Mayor gets the word out.

Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs' policy with regard to the city's swimming pools is leaving Plainfield's kids high and dry in the middle of a long, hot summer.

Belatedly, schedules for reduced pool hours have been posted on the city's website (see here, with the PDF flyers here). As you can see from the screen capture at the top of the story, the flyers were composed on July 23, nearly a month into the summer season -- and well after confusion about pool hours and openings were cited by Plainfield Today and Olddoc.

This, after Mayor Robinson-Briggs especially requested $100,000 for summer Recreation help (including the lifeguards) in May. The request raised a discussion at the time about why the Robinson-Briggs administration needed the money early, instead of waiting for the budget which was being worked on at the time. The Robinson-Briggs administration prevailed and the $100,000 was funded through a resolution.

So, how come we are finding out at this late date that Mr. Wynn does not have enough life guards -- in fact so few that our kids are getting about HALF the pool time of normal years?

Once again, I suggest Mayor Robinson-Briggs is 'Exhibit A'.

Robinson-Briggs simply refuses to hold Mr. Wynn and the Recreation Division to any reasonable standard of accountability -- whether in regard to making room for the Queen City Baseball League to have access to public fields or successfully recruiting enough life guards for a full pool season.

In the private sector, such continual failures to meet expectations would have dire consequences for the employees involved. But this is your taxpayer dollars, where the Mayor evidently sees it as her prerogative to reward her 'friends' (...and punish her enemies?), so don't expect any accountability.

My apologies to Ms. Nesbitt for once again laying the blame at the feet of Mayor Robinson-Briggs, but if she's the chief executive isn't she the responsible party?

As President Harry Truman used to say, 'the buck stops here (at his desk)'.

President Harry Truman kept this sign on his desk.

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• Website:  "City of Plainfield"
• Flyers:  "Pool Schedule(s)" -- PDF.
  

-- Dan Damon [follow]

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