Berkeley Heights Resident & Parent Expresses Concerns on OSC Police Training Report
Rekha Ahalya is a parent with children in the Berkeley Heights School District This week, we learned that Berkeley Heights police attended at least one training session conducted by an organization promoting tactics that contradict principles of diversity, inclusion, and equity. This underscores the critical need for oversight. Prism, initially voted down, was later approved after BOE members received additional...
Berkeley Heights Among 16 Union County Townships That Sent Police to Private Police Training by Organization that Promoted Unconstitutional Tactics
The NJ Office of the State Comptroller published a supplemental report to it’s original findings published 12/06/2023 on “Street Cop Training”. It found 240 law enforcement officers from NJ attended the six-day Conference in Atlantic City on October 2021. Among other things, OSC found: Instructors at the Conference promoted the use of unconstitutional policing tactics for motor vehicle stops; Some instructors...
Laura’s Notes on the 01/07/2025 Berkeley Heights Town Council Reorganization Meeting
With the November 2024 election results favoring Andrew Moran, our community seems to be heading toward a direction that many, including myself, are concerned about: governance by a single party. Regardless of political affiliation, single-party dominance rarely benefits anyone. A balanced leadership with diverse ideologies and perspectives fosters healthier governance, especially in a small town like ours, which feels more...
Concerns About the 11/18/2024 Town Council Meeting and the “New Civility”
A resolution authorizing the township to seek bids for improvements to Deerpath, previously pulled from the last Town Council meeting, has returned to the agenda for this weeks council meeting. This development comes on the heels of the controversial approval of a $450,000 resolution connected to the Westside Drainage Project. Before Ms. Akiri addressed the council at the last meeting,...
Follow Up to Controversial Berkeley Heights $450,000 Old Farm/Orchard/Mercier Resolution
The township has uploaded the video of the November 12, 2024, meeting to its website. The video provides further discussion on the $450,000 Old Orchard/Mercier resolution, a topic covered two weeks ago. This resolution, which includes repaving the neighborhood and adding curbing, has sparked frustration among some residents. Critics point out that a $100,000 engineering study and a letter from...
The Story of Politics, Money and Berkeley Heights in Twelve Images
This week, we shared snapshots on our socials highlighting the campaign contributions made by vendors alongside the payments they received from the town for their services. We encourage residents to start paying closer attention to this critical information, especially in light of New Jersey’s recent rollback of campaign finance reforms, which takes transparency back to the dark ages. These special interests...
Today’s Berkeley Heights Special Town Council Meeting Raises More Questions
A resolution concerning Deerpath Lane, which appears similar to a contentious $450,000 proposal voted through at the last meeting, appears on the agenda for today’s unusually scheduled Town Council meeting at 5:45 p.m. This timing, combined with lingering concerns from the prior meeting, has left residents and stakeholders asking even more questions. The previous meeting highlighted significant unresolved issues surrounding...
Discussion on $450,000 Resolution Raises Oversight and Project Alignment Concerns
11/12/2024 Berkeley Heights Town Council Meeting In the clip below, Mr. Donnelly highlighted that the project under Resolution #2 approved by the Council last night, would involve repaving an area resurfaced only a year ago without addressing the primary drainage issues this project was originally intended to resolve. Additionally, it appears – in this discussion – that other council members...
Where Berkeley Heights Votes Tomorrow
Tomorrow, November 5th 2024, Berkeley Heights will go to the polls. Currently there are Four Candidates seeking to fill Two Seats on the Town Council and Eight Candidates Seeking to Fill Three Seats on the Berkeley Heights Board of Education. After months of Campaigning, they ALL deserve a proper decision from our Community. Polls will be open from 6:00am to...
Question to Town Council Candidates: Question #2 No Bid Contracts for Lobbyists and Public Relations Firms
NJ21st sent our second question to the Berkeley Heights Town Candidates on 10/02/2024 with Responses Due on 10/12/2024: Despite your refusal to answer our last question on OPRA reform (surprising as one candidate was very vocal about how we “mischaracterized” her position) we’re not giving up on you yet – we believe in you! Responses are due 10/12/2024 Noon. One...
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