Fort Lee 2011: The Year That Was, A Look Ahead

During the last week of 2011, Fort Lee Patch took a look back on the year, reflecting on the people that made headlines, the top local stories, the indelible images from throughout the year and the ongoing local stories and issues that will, in all likelihood, carry over into 2012 and perhaps beyond.

Here's a roundup, as we put 2011 in the books and look forward to 2012:

Mark Sokolich, along with Councilmen Armand Pohan and Michael Sargenti, were re-elected in November.

Raymond Bandlow announced in August that he had accepted a position in the Beacon City School District in Beacon, N.Y. and would therefore resign from the Fort Lee School District on Oct. 31. 

Steven Engravalle in October was appointed Acting Superintendent for four months after the school board initially tabled a resolution that would have appointed him weeks prior and a special meeting to take public comment on the issue was held.

The Port Authority and the George Washington Bridge also dominated headlines throughout the past year.

All of them were local newsmakers in 2011, but they certainly weren't the only ones. Patch decided to take a look at some of the more unsung newsmakers of the year, or at least those, for better or worse, who may not have gotten quite as much attention, but who certainly grabbed a few headlines of their own. (Full Story)

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As we reflected on Patch's first full year as Fort Lee’s daily news source, we presented this month-by-month rundown—by no means a comprehensive list, but rather a snapshot—of the past 12 months in local news. (Full Story)

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The numbers don't lie.

Fort Lee Patch launched on Dec. 15, 2010 with little fanfare, and readership has grown steadily ever since. It may therefore come as little surprise that our top 10 most-read stories for 2011 were mostly from the second half of the year, although that's not the case in every instance.

Here's a rundown of not necessarily the best, not necessarily the most important or most interesting local stories of 2011, but rather those that the most people read. (Full Story)

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The Fort Lee Patch Year in Pictures: a look back at 2011 in Fort Lee through images from the past year. (View Photo Gallery)

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Top Fort Lee News Videos of 2011: Donna Brennan captures Fort Lee in moving and still images. (Full Story)

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And as we were looking back on 2011, we also took a look at some of the major local stories that are likely to play out in 2012. (Full Story)

Here's wishing everybody a very Happy New Year!