West Orange Mayor Gives 2023 State Of Town Speech: WATCH

WEST ORANGE, NJ — Public safety, land use, community spirit and rumors of a Target coming to town. These were some of the topics that West Orange Mayor Susan McCartney brought up during the annual state of the township speech this week.

The West Orange Chamber of Commerce held its annual community breakfast on Wednesday for the first time in three years, drawing a packed crowd at the Wilshire Grand Hotel. The presenting sponsor was the Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center.

In addition to McCartney’s speech (watch it below), the event included a presentation to 19 graduating West Orange High School seniors and an update from Tez Roro, president of the chamber, who spoke about upcoming and past milestones.

“The past few years have been transformative for all of us, between a global pandemic and social injustice,” Roro told attendees. “All of us have been impacted personally and professionally, the chamber is no different. We have defended our programming and operations to a virtual setting, much like our members were pivoting back to in person meetings and events, while still leveraging some of the learnings from the pandemic.”

McCartney later took to the podium to a round of applause, touching on topics such as development, policing and public safety, finance and volunteering in the township. Some highlights from her speech included:

POLICING – “More good news continues to pour out of the police department … The West Orange Police Department was the first to implement 24 hours seven days a week domestic violence Response Team … the first to provide 24/7 access to rehabilitation for substance dependency with the township's Operation Hope program … Most recently, the department has aligned itself with the Mental Health Associates of Essex and Morris to collaborate on and set in motion New Jersey's first co-responder program. This successful partnership pairs a police officer with a mental health professional … The West Orange Police Department has increased its commitment to defensive tactics training over the past few years and the results are apparent in the fact that no subjects have been injured during the 2022, with a total of 38 reported incidents incident incidents involving drugs, alcohol, weapons, and with the vast majority requiring de-escalation techniques involving the mental health partnership.”

FIRE DEPARTMENT – “Our fire and EMS crews continue to be the busiest in Essex County. The fire department is comprised of 88 firefighters and offices officers in five locations certified by the New Jersey division of fire safety by the New Jersey Department of Health as emergency medical technicians. In a year's time, the fire department responded to 7,620 calls for service and conducted 1,522 fire inspections. All of our business owners here today can attest to being part of those statistics.”

LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT – “For the past 25 years, our township's legal department under the leadership and direction of Richard Trenk, has successfully navigated the negotiations for the township’s major land use applications, including Liberty Middle School, the Oskar Schindler Performing Arts Center, the Edison lofts – currently 100% occupied – the Harvard Press redevelopment and remediation zone on Central Avenue – also 100% occupied – the new library and dog park, the groundbreaking affordable senior housing units, the adoption of the township's fair share housing plan to avoid builders’ remedy, the preservation of the 18-hole, 136-acre Rock Spring Golf Club, and the prospective movie production studio soundstage agreement.”

MOVING WEST ORANGE FORWARD – “And now, we are poised to face our present challenges, hopefully collectively in order to move West Orange forward … In four quick months, we were faced with the closing of the manor, the library, the future of Mayfair Farms, the approved plan for the atrium, the Essex House, the Essex Equestrian Center, the abrupt discontinued service from DeCamp Bus Line, the unclear direction of the cannabis industry here in West Orange, the long-awaited launch of a movie studio soundstage and the anticipation of a Target at the Kmart Whole Foods Plaza. It sure seems overwhelming. But it is worth noting that our past land use successes provide inspiration toward a promising pathway for economic future. I say promising because just last Thursday, members of the open space commission voted unanimously to request appraisals for the preservation of the Essex Equestrian Center. Although our library has temporarily physically closed services have continued through agreements made possible by the library director and Board of Trustees with our outlying community libraries, and I was able to negotiate and facilitate temporary uninterrupted library services with 10 computer stations at 80 Main Street, another Downtown Alliance member.”

TARGET UPDATE – “As far as Target coming to town, members of my administration and I have already met with the owners of the Kmart Whole Foods Plaza. Discussions are underway on their investment and the proposed improvements showing a promising new plan for that plaza.”

VOLUNTEERING – “The backbone of West Orange has always been the willingness of township volunteers to not Just hope for change but to step up and make a difference. I urge all who volunteer and all who can volunteer to channel their positive energy and interests on 18 of our different organizations and commissions that reflect a microcosm of our community.”

Earlier this month, former town council member Cindy Matute-Brown questioned whether the state of the township speech should be given in a different setting, noting that tickets to the event were $40 in advance and $55 at the door.

People did not have to be a member of the chamber to participate.

“As in years past, I’ve emailed Mayor Susan McCartney my objection to the exclusion of the people of West Orange who would have to pay for opportunity to hear the state of the town address,” she wrote on social media. “This practice is exclusionary and is not intended for the taxpayer who has school, home and/or work obligations during the time this is scheduled. State of the town addresses should be held in a public forum and after work hours.”

Roro wrote back to Matute-Brown, emphasizing that the event isn’t meant to exclude anyone:

“Thank you for this post. As the president for the West Orange NJ Chamber of Commerce, the concerns are valid. Here is some perspective that maybe insightful. The chamber’s mission is to help local businesses start and grow their businesses in and around town. As such, understanding the business scene and overall about the town is an important aspect of that. It is a networking breakfast event the chamber hosts where the mayor is invited to speak. It will be recorded and available for viewing. We are also hoping to stream on social media for those who want to watch. I believe the mayor has open houses etc. for those who may want to deep dive on anything that will be covered. This is not meant to be an event to exclude anyone. It is an event HOSTED by the chamber where the mayor speaks. There are also multi-chamber and events that feature multiple mayors at once for context. Hope this provides additional insight and perspective for anyone who may have questions/concerns about this event.”

Watch the video of McCartney’s state of the township speech below.

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