Fort Lee Patch Year in Review

As we reflect on Patch's first full year as Fort Lee’s daily news source, we present this rundown—by no means a comprehensive list, but rather a snapshot—of the past 12 months in local news:

January

There wasn’t much to reorganize on the Borough Council itself at the Fort Lee Mayor and Council's annual reorganization meeting; council members Jan Goldberg and Ila Kasofsky retained their seats in the November 2010 election. But there was plenty of business to attend to, as Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich delivered his annual state of the borough address.

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Later in the month, Sokolich declared a state of emergency in the borough due to excessive snow and inclement weather that started in late December and continued into January.

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And the body of a Fort Lee man was found frozen to death in his car in a West Nyak shopping center parking lot.

February

Fort Lee’s population declined by just 116 people since 2000, but the racial makeup of the community is changing, according to data released in February by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The 2010 census revealed a significant rise in the Asian, and to a lesser extent Hispanic populations in the borough, but a significant decline in what the census identifies as the “white” population.

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And Fort Lee Superintendent of Schools Raymond Bandlow, along with other members of the school district administration, declined salary increases in order to ease some of the financial burden on the school district brought about by a particularly challenging budget cycle.

March

A fire that claimed the life of an elderly Fort Lee woman was determined to be accidental, according to Fort Lee Fire Chief Jeff Silver, who also said fire officials believed there may have been a delay in reporting the fire to the police department or 911.

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Three Fort Lee Police Officers were suspended after an incident in which police left five teenagers locked in a police van after breaking up a house party.

The five minors were left “forgotten” in the van outside police headquarters in freezing temperatures for more than 14 hours. Police broke up the party in response to complaints of noise from neighbors, and only became aware of the error when a passing officer heard screams and banging coming from the van.

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And then BOE candidate Helen Yoon said Fort Lee Superintendent of Schools Raymond Bandlow took part in campaigning efforts for the three incumbent candidates—Peter Suh, Michelle Stux-Ramirez and Joseph Surace—by attending and speaking at a campaign kickoff and fundraising event organized by Suh earlier in the month.

April

Democratic Assemblywoman Joan Voss of Fort Lee said she was saddened that Fort Lee was “dumped” into Legislative District 37 shortly after redistricting was announced by a bipartisan committee, and that she would not run in the borough’s new district. But she also said that at the behest of constituents, colleagues and friends, she would run for Freeholder instead.

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The Fort Lee Mayor and Council passed five resolutions at a regular meeting, the cumulative effect of which cleared the way for the two parcels of land, commonly known as Redevelopment Area 5, to become what officials hope will be a bustling retail and residential center near the George Washington Bridge.

The agreement among the Borough of Fort Lee, Tucker Development Corporation and Fort Lee Redevelopment Associates ostensibly put an end to years of arduous negotiations and ongoing litigation, paves the way for retail, residential, hotel and office space to be built on the 16-acre site adjacent to the bridge and include restaurants, a large public park and a movie theater, among other amenities.

Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich called the agreement “historic.”

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When unofficial results were in on the night night of April 27, the $55.1 million 2011-2012 Fort Lee school budget had won voter approval by the narrowest of margins: 1,105 in favor and 1,102 against. But it would be several days before the county made the results official, and an estimated 20 to 25 provisional ballots hung in the balance.

"It's very close," said Fort Lee Superintendent of Schools Raymond Bandlow at the time. "And I'm certainly hopeful that the results will stand once the provisional ballots are counted and the count is official. At this point, the yes votes are ahead. We'd rather have it that way than the other way."

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And in the race for three seats on the Fort Lee Board of Education, one incumbent failed to win re-election. Incumbent Peter Suh finished first with 1,147 votes, followed by newcomer Helen Yoon with 1,083 and incumbent Joseph Surace with 1,019. Michelle Stux-Ramirez, with 937 votes, was the only incumbent who was not re-elected. Stux-Ramirez was followed by Tracy Mattei, with 933 votes, and Paul Umrichin, with 688 votes.

May

A review in Hackensack on the afternoon of May 3 of the provisional ballots in the previous week's school budget vote left the results just as they were before—with the $55.1 million budget passing by the narrow margin of three votes.

With Fort Lee School Superintendent Raymond Bandlow, district business administrator Cheryl Balletto and assistant school board attorney Yaacov Brisman watching closely, county election officials reviewed 28 provisional ballots—paper ballots cast by a voter whose eligibility requirements are in question.

After election officials threw out seven of the 28, a count of the remaining 21 resulted in seven in favor, seven against and seven that didn’t vote on the budget question, leaving the final tally at 1,112 in favor and 1,109 against.

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The Fort Lee Board of Education’s newest member, Helen Yoon, filed an ethics complaint with the state School Ethics Commission stemming from the campaign kickoff and fundraising event in March for then incumbent board members Peter Suh, Joseph Surace and Michelle Stux-Ramirez.

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And a group of Fort Lee High School Academy of Performing Arts (APA) students turned up at a Fort Lee Board of Education in May wearing red duct tape over their mouths to protest recently announced teacher layoffs in the district.

The more than 20 students attended the meeting to defend the APA program in particular, and to appeal to the board to reconsider the elimination of one of their teachers’ jobs.

June

Fort Lee police charged a Fairview man in June with two counts of harassment after he allegedly offered two children on their way to School No. 1 $5 and then a ride in his car near the intersection of Anderson Ave. and North Ave., and then allegedly approached a different child with the same offer the very next day in the same area.

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Fort Lee officials said in June that at least eight police officers had been disciplined for their actions on the night of March 26, when five minors were left locked in a police transport van outside police headquarters in freezing temperatures, without food, water or bathroom facilities for more than 14 hours after a house party bust.

But borough officials released few details, citing attorney general guidelines, while an attorney for one of the teens said a lawsuit was still possible.

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About 240 members of the Fort Lee High School Class of 2011 received their diplomas in June, and the large auditorium at the was also nearly full, as proud family and friends came to see 264 Lewis F. Cole Middle School students graduate.

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The Fort Lee Board of Education passed five separate resolutions to notify the parents of five students determined to be in violation of the district’s residency requirements that they are ineligible to attend Fort Lee schools and that the district intended to take legal action to recover back tuition.

The BOE also approved a walk-in resolution to appoint Kristine Cecere principal of Fort Lee School No. 1 for the 2011-2012 school year.

July

A 30-inch water main burst on Route 9W in Englewood Cliffs, leaving a large portion of Fort Lee with little or no water pressure, police said, as United Water urged residents of Fort Lee and neighboring towns to use water for "essential purposes only."

By the next morning, emergency crews, who worked throughout the night, had completed repairs. Fort Lee's water pressure was back to normal that morning, while United Water officials announced that pressure to all towns effected had been restored by the afternoon.

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And New Jersey’s Lieutenant Governor and the deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey visited Fort Lee’s Ladder Co. 3 to present Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich with a $5,000 check for the .

August

Almost like clockwork, the skies opened, and rain poured, signaling the start of the Feast of Saint Rocco. The 82nd year that the feast took place on lower Main Street, and despite the opening day rain, members of the Society of Saint Rocco were busy running from vendor to vendor helping everyone settle in for the five-day feast.

The skies were kind as the Feast of Saint Rocco came to a close the following Sunday.

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Commuters who cross the Hudson River into Manhattan on bridges—including the George Washington Bridge— and via tunnels and PATH learned that they likely would be hit with the largest-ever toll and fair increase, according to a plan announced by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in August.

Later in the month, dozens packed the basement-level garage area of the George Washington Bridge Administration Building in Fort Lee for one of nine public hearings on the Port Authority’s unprecedented toll and fare increase plan, and the Fort Lee Borough Council passed a resolution officially opposing the plan.

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By early afternoon on a Sunday in late August, Fort Lee had seen the worst of Hurricane Irene. Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich said the borough’s emergency operations center at the Fort Lee Police Department would shut down, as the cleanup began in earnest.

Borough leaders and volunteers had assembled at the Fort Lee Police Station, setting up Fort Lee's emergency operations command center and taking control of emergencies and various crises -- from felled trees to flooding -- during Irene's visit to the area.

Photographers Donna Brennan and John Ford captured these images in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.

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Fort Lee Superintendent of Schools Raymond Bandlow announced his resignation from the Fort Lee School District effective Oct. 31, and the state of New Jersey Department of Education's School Ethics Commission dismissed ethics complaints filed by BOE member Helen Yoon against school administrators and current and former members of the BOE.

September

In the days leading up to Sept. 11, 2011, Fort Lee Patch undertook its "Fort Lee 9/11 Oral History Project," a series of stories about people from Fort Lee who played an integral role in or whose lives were profoundly affected by the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

All of these moving stories are archived on "."

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State Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-37), Senate Majority Leader Barbara Buono (D-18) and Assemblywoman Mila Jasey (D-27) joined Fort Lee school officials and advocates of New Jersey’s new anti-bullying legislation on the front steps of Fort Lee High School to officially commemorate New Jersey’s "Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights," as Fort Lee public school .

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The Fort Lee Board of Education voted 5 to 4 in favor of tabling an agenda item that would have appointed Assistant Superintendent of Schools Steven Engravalle “Acting” Superintendent in late September, after concerns raised by a member of the public called Engravalle’s suitability to take on the role into question and highlighted the desire on the part of some members of the public to have a say in the decision-making process.

October

Fort Lee residents had the opportunity to “tour” the borough by bicycle or on foot in October, as the Fort Lee Education Foundation once again sponsored the annual "Tour de Fort Lee," and the Port Authority lit the “necklace lights” on the George Washington Bridge pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

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After voting to table the resolution that would have appointed Fort Lee Assistant Superintendent of Schools Steven Engravalle “Acting” Superintendent and subsequently holding a special meeting to take public comment on the issue, the Fort Lee Board of Education voted unanimously in favor of appointing Engravalle to the post for four months.

Meanwhile, outgoing Superintendent of Schools Raymond Bandlow attended his last Fort Lee Board of Education meeting, making his farewell comments to the board and members of the public, even drawing polite applause at the end.

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The Korean American Voters Council (KAVC) hosted a debate for District 37 candidates at the following a forum the previous day with candidates for Bergen County office, in an effort to boost participation in the rapidly-growing Korean community.  

The focus of both was on issues of particular concern to Korean-American voters, who tend to have a low turnout rate for elections, said moderator and KAVC staff attorney Chejin Park.

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And the George Washington Bridge, “the world’s busiest crossing and one of its most recognizable,” according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, celebrated its 80th anniversary in October. The bridge was dedicated on Oct. 24, 1931 and opened to traffic on the 25th.

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One firefighter and one civilian sustained minor injuries on the morning of Oct. 31, when an underground transformer fire broke out in a PSE&G vault at a residential high-rise building on Bridge Plaza North, forcing evacuation of the building.

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And Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich said the borough was "handcuffed" by PSE&G after an unexpectedly early snowstorm left as many as 10,000 residents without power for days.

November

Fort Lee voters ensured that the borough's governing body will remain the same this year—all Democratic—as Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich and Councilmen Armand Pohan and Michael Sargenti were re-elected, defeating their Republican challengers, mayoral candidate Judith Fisher and Council candidates Martha Cohen and Alfred V. Norton III.

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As many as 2,500 Girl Scouts crossed the George Washington Bridge as part of an historic event sponsored by the Girl Scout Councils of New Jersey marking the 100th anniversary celebration of Girl Scouting.

New Jersey’s First Lady, Mary Pat Christie, met with some of the girls and spoke after the Girl Scouts’ ceremonial “bridging” event, during which thousands of girls, parents and others walked across the bridge’s southern walkway, starting and ending in Fort Lee.

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And police said that a 73-year-old Fort Lee man who died from a head injury sustained in what authorities were originally investigating as a hit-and-run was actually the victim of a bad fall.

December

A “suspicious odor” that turned out to be fumes from the auto shop forced evacuation of about 1,000 students from Fort Lee High School, while on the same day, a student arrived at the school to find graffiti—described by Acting Superintendent Steven Engravalle as a “religiously biased symbol”—on his locker.

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The Fort Lee Board of Education began lobbying efforts in earnest, or what it’s calling "community engagement," for a roughly $30.2 million school bond referendum—the fate of which Fort Lee voters will determine on Jan. 24, 2012—by offering the first of five walking tours of the schools.

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A 10th grade student at Fort Lee High School died of complications from juvenile diabetes, and members of the school district's Crisis Response team mobilized to speak with students individually or in groups as the grieving process began.

Acting Superintendent of Schools Steven Engravalle provided details at the next Board of Education meeting as to what took place inside Fort Lee High School earlier in the day in response to the death of sophomore Matthew Ramon Calderon.

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Slightly more than a dozen people, including some members of the Borough Council and Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, turned up at the Jack Alter Fort Lee Community Center for the first of three public forums on the Fort Lee Board of Education’s upcoming $30.2 million school bond referendum.

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Fort Lee borough officials joined representatives from developer BNE Real Estate Group at a groundbreaking ceremony on a new $70 million luxury residential building near the George Washington Bridge. The 12-story building—located at 2050 Central Rd.—is called “Twenty50” and will include 194 one- and two-bedroom rental units. The building, which is slated for completion by September 2013, is the first new high-rise project in Fort Lee in 22 years, according to officials.

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Borough officials unanimously approved an amended plan that would add a local clothing store and several pieces of borough-owned property to Redevelopment Area 5 during a special meeting of the Fort Lee Mayor and Council. Cosmos Boutique, at 179 Main St., is being claimed for redevelopment as part of a plan that would expand Area 5 by about two-thirds of an acre to the roughly 16-acre area.

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And the last Fort Lee Board of Education regular business meeting of the year was highlighted by two special honors presented to Fort Lee High School students. Assemblywoman and Freeholder-elect Joan Voss (D-38) of Fort Lee presented a proclamation from the General Assembly to one very active FLHS senior, and the board entered a resolution of recognition into the meeting minutes honoring the Fort Lee High School cheerleading team for winning another state title.

As our first full year of reporting the news in Fort Lee comes to an end, we look forward to growing as your news source for everything Fort Lee in 2012.