Wanted: “One Genie” to grant the wishes of the Borough of Brooklawn

By Sara Martino

NEWS Correspondent

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  Mayor John Soubasis and Borough Council members were asked to provide a "wish list" of projects needed to help the town.

  U.S. Congressman Rob Andrews (D-1) will later present the resulting list to the federal government in hopes of realizing grant monies for the projects.

  Among the needs is repair or replacement of sewer and storm water mains, painting of the water tower, tree removal near the circle and cleaning up of the circle area, and a safe route to school project.

  Borough Engineer Chuck Riebel Jr. suggested that several of the needs could be incorporated into the re-examination of the borough's Master Plan when it is updated.

  He also said the NJ State Historical Commission approved the start of the waterfront area bank improvements.

  "The historical group wants to monitor the progress during the project."

  Another "wish list" may come from the sports users of the borough's fields.

  Several of the girl's and boy's schedules have been a matter of much discussion among the coaches.

  "Every year there is problems with the use of the fields," Soubasis said. "I will turn the fields into soccer fields if it continues.

  One problem occurs when the bases are moved from the Babe Ruth's need of 50-feet bases to the Little League's need of 47-feet bases. At times, holes are created when the bases are moved.

  Councilman Greg Gilbert has informed the Brooklawn Athletic Association of the schedule for this season and the coaches have agreed to follow it.

  Some renovations are ongoing now at the fields.

  The Borough animal control will respond to complaints concerning feral cats and the mayor has asked residents to resist feeding the cats and to keep their pet cats in the home.

  "Why the cats should be allowed to do their bodily functions on other resident's property?" he asked.

  There are health laws in place that state that all dogs and cats must be licensed; a limit of three animals are allowed in the home; all animals must be leashed when off the owner's property; clean up after "your pet;" and do not allow animals to damage someone's property.

  The mayor said cat traps are available from the Borough to help deal with the wild cat problem.

  In other business, the mayor said, "We will have zero tolerance on graffiti violators. Kids mimic what they see on the internet. They are writing on the stop signs as well as in the park areas. Please call the police department to report this type of vandalism."

  Along with the problems of juveniles, cats and graffiti, traffic on Chestnut Street was also discussed by the governing body.

  Supposedly, a lot of "out- of-towners" use that street as a cut through to avoid a traffic wait on Broadway.

  Councilwoman Rickie Boulden suggested signs be posted to suggest a specific time period when the street would be designated as one way only.

  She said the signs could be a deterrent same as the school posting signs are now and would cut down on the speeding also.

  The mayor advised the police chief to write a letter of recommendation to the council after investigating the violations.