Week in Review: Letter Campaign Against School Budget, Thrift Shop May Close, Police Investigation Not Done

On Wednesday, when Fort Lee voters go to the polls to elect three members to the Fort Lee Board of Education, they will also be voting yes or no on a proposed $55.1 million school budget.

Opposition to the proposed budget emerged last week in the form of a letter being distributed door-to-door in at least some Fort Lee neighborhoods, according to residents who have received a copy.

The anonymous letter, addressed to “Taxpayers and Residents of Fort Lee,” reads in part, “This is your golden opportunity to send a message like you did last year when they tried to push spending of $100 million on a school referendum … We must stop wasteful spending.”

Fort Lee Superintendent of Schools Raymond Bandlow responded to the letter and its contents Wednesday, saying, “Obviously it’s very, very malicious and obviously intended to mislead people.” (read full article)

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A local thrift shop operated by the Fort Lee Community Fund, which provides assistance to Fort Lee residents in need, is in danger of closing its doors permanently if space can’t be found to house it.

The Second Look Shoppe has been operating out of the ’s C.Y.O. basement since 2004, but fund officials recently received a letter from the church saying it needed the space for other purposes and that the thrift shop has until June to move out. (read full article)

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Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich said Monday he’s expecting the Fort Lee Police Department “to absolutely conclude” an internal investigation into a March 26 incident in which five minors were left forgotten in a transport van outside police headquarters in freezing temperatures for more than 14 hours by the end of the week, “if not early next week.”

“The results of the investigation will then be reported to a borough administrator with direct amended courses of action to take, not only with regard to the officers, but with regard to safeguards [and] whatever else needs to be put into place,” Sokolich said. “I think what we’re going to find is that basically it was human error. At the end of the day, I think the safeguards are in place. It’s just that human error, and the police officers didn’t follow [those safeguards].”

No updates were available on the investigation as of the end of the week. (read full article)

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The Fort Lee school district is hosting four Korean teachers of English for the next month, and school officials are also actively recruiting Fort Lee Math and Science teachers interested in spending a month in South Korea this summer.

The teacher exchange program is part of a recently expanded partnership with Bloomfield College on a program that brings teachers from South Korea to Fort Lee schools for stays of up to six months to be mentored by Fort Lee teachers in an American classroom setting.

The Total Immersion Course for Korean English Teachers (TICKET) program, now in its third year, was recently expanded to continue through the current school year, next year and long beyond.

The group of four Korean teachers will start their month of co-teaching in Fort Lee classrooms Monday. Two are assigned to the middle school and two to the high school. (read full article)

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Fort Lee Councilwoman Ila Kasofsky, council liaison to the borough’s newly formed environmental and beautification committee, believes there’s a lot more local residents can do to make Fort Lee a “greener,” more environmentally aware community.

In honor of Earth Day, Kasofsky spoke with Patch about a slew of initiatives the committee is working on to accomplish the goal of conserving energy and resources but also saving costs.

“We all could,” Kasofsky said when asked if there’s more residents can be doing. “My mission right now is to raise awareness. I next want to save money, and third to stimulate the Fort Lee economy.” (read full article)

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Three of the four eastbound upper-level approach lanes to the George Washington Bridge will be closed during weekend overnight hours through August for resurfacing of the bridge, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The upper level lanes will be closed weekly from 10 p.m. Fridays to 10 a.m. Saturdays and from 10 a.m. Saturdays to 10 a.m. Sundays. (read full article)

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In an article written by our newest columnist Jillian Risberg, Sam Gnasso of In Napoli in Fort Lee was named Fort Lee Patch’s inaugural “Chef of the Month.” (read full article)

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And nine-year-old Jordan Sarnoff was named our “Whiz Kid” of the week.

Described as “one of the smartest third graders,” Jordan is constantly looking to learn more. Every day he goes online to read articles, takes time to watch the news and even gathers as much information as he can about his town.

“[Jordan] really has a strong sense of community and really enjoys Fort Lee,” his father David Sarnoff said. (read full article)

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