Berkeley Heights Officials Under Fire Over Vague Capital Improvements, Bond and Zoom
Berkeley Heights officials are moving forward with a $3.565 million bond ordinance, citing urgent capital needs. But as the Township prepares for a public hearing scheduled for August 19, 2025, scrutiny has intensified — not only over the specifics of what the funds will cover, but also over how the process has been handled online. In a Facebook comment posted...
Berkeley Heights Resident Flags Major Budget Increases Hidden in Capital Plan
One resident’s comment uncovers a deeper—and still unexplained—layer to the bond plan After the second attempt to hold an emergency bond ordinance meeting on Zoom was derailed by another disruption, one Berkeley Heights resident (Joe Iadanza) sent in a comment that cuts further to the heart of the issue. “For the second time the zoom meeting was hacked. It is...
Another Berkeley Heights Town Council Meeting, Another Round of Porn – 08/05/2025
-Michael Leblond The zoom meeting opened with a light hearted discussion of grilling and cleaning up from the storm on July 14th. The meeting began promptly at 4:45, official attendance was taken, meeting information was reviewed. Meeting parameters were set and attendees were told if an incident similar to the August 4th meeting occurred, the meeting would be terminated. Within...
Take 2: After Zoom Incident, Residents Still Left Without Answers on $3.5M Bond
The Berkeley Heights Town Council is holding an emergency Zoom meeting to introduce a $3.565 million bond ordinance today at 4:45pm. The meeting was supposed to occur yesterday however the Township was unable to manage the zoom meeting where an attendee was allowed to share pornography that then led the township to cancel the meeting altogether despite several residents being...
Berkeley Heights Town Council Meeting Disrupted by Offensive Zoom Bombing
The special meeting called by the mayor and Town Council to adopt an ordinance for storm repairs was hijacked three different times by a spammer, causing the meeting to be shut down and restarted. Images were pornographic, racist and derogatory in nature. At different times, what appeared to be swastikas appeared in the pornographic images. Town Administrator Viana came onto...
Without a Project List, Council to Introduce $3.5M Ordinance for Road and Bridge Work — Questions Residents Can Ask
The Berkeley Heights Town Council is holding an emergency public meeting to introduce a $3.565 million bond ordinance this Monday (08/04) at 3:30 pm. The meeting is being held over Zoom, with a hard stop at 4:30 p.m., and is labeled as an emergency under N.J.S.A. 10:4-9b — the law that allows public bodies to meet with less than 48...
Who Gets a Day or Award in Berkeley Heights? Apparently, “It’s Organic.”
–Laura Kapuscinski Every so often, the Township of Berkeley Heights names a “Day” after someone — usually a resident, sometimes a local figure — as a gesture of community appreciation. It’s a nice idea. But recently, a question came up: How exactly does someone get one? So we asked. I sent an email to Mayor Angie Devanney and Council members...
From Screaming to Silence … What Happened to the Berkeley Heights Turf Plan?
As Mountainside BOE member Bill Dillon remarked at the June BOE meeting, “we are still no closer to a turf field.” Those words have proved to not only be true, but mum’s been the word from the Recreation Commission and the Township. As I previously reported, the Recreation Commission had an unadvertised special meeting to hear from a single turf...
No-Bid Contracts, DEP Fines, and the Sewage Bid: What the Council Didn’t Explain
Laura’s Notes on the 07/15/2025 Berkeley Heights Town Council Meeting Following the storm that rocked our world, the Berkeley Heights Town Council met virtually on Tuesday, July 15. The meeting featured the usual theatrical monologues, with Councilwoman Poage and Town Administrator Liza Viana noting they were on vacation and a cruise, respectively. Viana remarked that she always seems to be...
13 Questions Residents Can Ask at Tonight’s Town Council Meeting
Aside from the questions below, we hope the Council reverses the nonsensical decision to prevent public questions and comments from zoom tonight considering the impact of the storm and the potential for residents to want to speak to their elected representatives about it’s after effects. For context on the below, please read Deals Light on Details- Berkeley Heights Council Set...
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