Community Corner

Fort Lee Man Sentenced, PIP to Close for Ironman, GWB Traffic Top Local News

The Week in Review: a weekly roundup of top local news stories on Fort Lee Patch.

Hyo-Il Song, who authorities say was part of a large-scale identity theft and bank fraud ring that netted millions, was sentenced to 65 months in jail and ordered to pay more than $1 million in restitution.

Palisades Interstate Parkway Commission and race officials say the triathlon on Aug. 11 will not affect the Palisades Interstate Parkway’s northbound lanes, but that southbound lanes will close from 2 a.m. to 8 p.m. on race day.

Mayor Mark Sokolich said he regrets not taking action sooner on a red light camera enforcement program for the borough, as the New Jersey Department of Transportation lifted its temporary suspension this week of a pilot program in 21 towns, including Palisades Park and Englewood Cliffs.

Find out what's happening in Fort Leewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A company that provides traffic information, directions and other services for drivers released an analysis Friday of traffic patterns during the first week of major construction on the Alexander Hamilton Bridge and the resulting impact on traffic at the George Washington Bridge. The three-month project, predicted to have a significant impact and now two weeks in, showed that drivers are starting to return to their normal routine, which is resulting in increased volume and delays.

The Fort Lee Mayor and Council last week approved nearly $2.7 million in capital improvements and more than $2.5 million in negotiable bonds to pay for them.

Find out what's happening in Fort Leewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Fort Lee Regional Chamber of Commerce announced its 2012-2013 “Persons of the Year” Tuesday; sharing the honor this year are Fort Lee attorney Craig Weinstein and Mike Pollotta, a retired construction professional and longtime Democratic political leader from Palisades Park.

Kenneth Edwards, the first athlete from Jamaica ever to qualify for the Olympics in Taekwondo, trained at Team USA Taekwondo Fitness in Fort Lee with Master Alvin Bernard, a Taekwondo coach for the Jamaican national and Olympic teams.

Gov. Christie’s nominee for the state’s highest court, Philip Kwon, would have become the state’s first Asian-American justice. Instead he will take on the job of deputy general counsel for the Port Authority.

Less than a week after calling for a referendum on merging the county police and Sheriff’s departments, the two Democratic Freeholders said they want to hear what police and members of the public think.

A moviegoer watching “The Dark Knight Rises” Monday night called police from the Edgewater Multiplex Cinemas on River Road to report the incident, but police couldn’t find anyone matching a description provided by witnesses. The theater was evacuated and the patrons given their money back.

The Week in Review appears every Sunday on Fort Lee Patch.

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