Redevelopment 5 Hearings Begin, BOE to Decide on Election Law

After remaining an empty eyesore for over four decades, the property known as Redevelopment Area 5, a 17-acre property near the George Washington Bridge, could be nearing final approval on the eastern parcel.

The Fort Lee Planning Board hosted the first of two meetings on Monday, Feb. 6, at the for residents who filled the room to near capacity.

The meeting, a preliminary and final major site plan and subdivision for the eastern parcel of Redevelopment Area 5, allowed James Demetrakis, the attorney representing the developer of the eastern parcel, Fort Lee Redevelopment Associates (FLRA), the opportunity to qualify members of the architectural firm Elkus Manfredi Architects before board members and the public questioned details regarding the site. (Full Story)

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After appointing a firm to conduct a search for a permanent Superintendent of Schools at its last regular business meeting on Jan. 23 but first removing a clause from the firm’s proposal offering to meet with stakeholders prior to conducting its search, the Monday voted to request that Leadership Advantage put the clause back into the contract without changing the cost to the district. (Full Story)

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Also at Monday's meeting, the BOE took public comment on New Jersey’s new school election law, but the board didn’t take action on the question of whether to move school board elections from April to November, with a Feb. 17 deadline to make such a decision looming.

The next day, school officials announced a special public work session for Monday, Feb. 13, at 6:30 p.m. in the Fort Lee School No. 1 all-purpose room to take action on the issue. (Full Story)

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Two New York men were charged in connection with a high-speed chase that started on the George Washington Bridge and ended in a head-on crash with a Port Authority police car on Lemoine Avenue, authorities said Thursday night.

Joseph W. Powers, 28, of Suffern, and his passenger, Edward Ceus, 28, of Spring Valley, were charged with aggravated assault and eluding police, according to a Port Authority police spokesman. (Full Story)

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Residents of a 66-unit garden apartment complex in Fort Lee were without heat or hot water after a boiler room fire Saturday morning, the borough’s fire chief said.

Firefighters were on the scene within minutes of the 7 a.m. call and found flames shooting through the roof of a utility building that houses the boiler at the Plaza Gardens Apartments on Center Avenue, Fire Chief Keith Sabatino said.

The building is separate from the apartments, and there were no injuries. But although the apartments were not damaged, residents were evacuated and relocated through the Fort Lee Office of Emergency Management. (Full Story)

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The Fort Lee Lady Bridgemen basketball team fell to the Dumont Huskies Tuesday evening at , 46-35, in a matchup of Big North Conference foes.

The loss dropped Fort Lee’s record to 8-12 on the season as they prepare for the upcoming state tournament. Earlier in the evening, the freshman girls came from behind to win their game, 28-24, and the JV team lost in a nail-biter, 54-53.

But Tuesday night was about more than just basketball; it was Fort Lee’s second annual “Coaches vs. Cancer” game to raise money for the American Cancer Society. (Full Story)

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A Fort Lee man faces up to 20 years behind bars after pleading guilty Friday to a variety of charges in connection with his participation in a large-scale identity theft ring, federal authorities said.

Hyo-Il “Daniel” Song, 49, of Fort Lee, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Newark to illegally producing identification documents, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced Friday. (Full Story)

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And pre-K through second-graders at were treated to a visit by three special guests Thursday morning: Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, Councilman Harvey Sohmer and “The Cat in the Hat.”

Before the roughly nine-foot-tall Dr. Seuss character helped lead the kids in “The Readers Oath,” Sokolich and Sohmer spoke with the students about what it’s like to work in local government, and Sokolich read to the children from his “favorite” Dr. Seuss book, “There’s No Place Like Space,” which teaches young readers about the planets and the solar system. (Full Story)

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The week in review appears every Sunday on Fort Lee Patch.