Fort Lee Fire Chiefs, Officers to Be Sworn in on Valentine’s Day

Mark Sulcov, William Chiappane and Christopher Ipek took over the duties of Fort Lee Fire Chief, Deputy Chief and Battalion Chief, respectively, on Jan. 1 and will be officially sworn in on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m.

The Fort Lee Fire Department has a new chief, but he won’t be officially sworn in for another month. Mark Sulcov, who served as Deputy Fire Chief in 2012, assumed the duties of Chief of the local fire department on Jan. 1, replacing Keith Sabatino, who served in the role last year. The official swearing in of the Fort Lee Fire Department’s chiefs and officers for 2013 will take place on Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. in Borough Hall. William Chiappane will be sworn in as Deputy Chief, along with Christopher Ipek, who has taken over the duties of Battalion Chief for 2013.

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Re-Elected Fort Lee Councilman Sworn In, Another in Hospital

Councilman Joseph Cervieri took the oath of office at Thursday’s reorganization meeting, while his running mate, Harvey Sohmer, had to be rushed to the hospital earlier in the day.

One of Fort Lee’s two incumbent Councilmen, who were re-elected in November, took the oath of office Thursday, but it was the conspicuous absence of his running mate that took many by surprise. Democrats Joseph Cervieri Jr. and Harvey Sohmer easily won reelection on Nov. 6, 2012, and both had been scheduled to be sworn in at the Mayor and Council’s annual reorganization meeting, but Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich said that he received what he called “a very troubling phone call” at about 2 p.m. Thursday that Sohmer had been rushed to the hospital. “He’s doing fine; he’s at the hospital for observation purposes, and his wife and family are with him and our prayers are with him,” Sokolich said. “Knowing Harvey, he’s going to come through this …

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Fort Lee Candlelight Vigil For Newtown, Police Chief Swearing In This Week

The Week Ahead: a look at some of what’s going on in Fort Lee this week.

The Fort Lee Board of Education late last week cancelled its regular business meeting originally scheduled for Monday evening, but those who were planning to attend may want to consider heading over to Monument Park instead. There, organizers say, a candlelight vigil is planned for the victims, families and community members of Newtown, Conn., where the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history occurred Friday, resulting in the deaths of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The Fort Lee vigil is planned as a “gathering to give and receive comfort in light of the Newtown shooting,” providing residents of all faiths—or none, organizers emphasize—an opportunity to “share with neighbors,” pray or simply be silent…

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Fort Lee Police Chief, Deputy Chief Swearing In, Re-Org Dates Announced

The new Fort Lee Police Department chief and deputy chief will be sworn in on Dec. 20; the reorganization meeting will take place on Jan. 3. The Mayor and Council will also recognize local student filmmakers at the meeting on the 20th.

The Fort Lee Mayor and Council will swear in a new police chief and deputy police chief at the governing body’s next regular meeting on Thursday, Dec. 20, officials decided Thursday. With Police Chief Thomas O. Ripoli reaching the mandatory retirement age of 65, officials appointed Capt. Keith Bendul Police Chief and Capt. Timothy Ford Deputy Police Chief. Saying the process of selecting Ripoli’s successor was “a lot of hard work” and lauding Bendul for his “incredible attention to detail,” Sokolich told Patch in October that the chief-deputy chief structure is something the Fort Lee Police Department hasn’t had for quite some time. “In Fort Lee, for the first time in a long time, we’ll have a chief and a deputy chief,” Sokolich said at …

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About Town

Fort Lee Fire Department Celebrates New Chiefs with Hopes for Safe Year

New chiefs, new officers, new year.

The newly elected chiefs and officers of the Fort Lee Fire Department were officially sworn in at Thursday's Mayor and Council meeting.  After the swearing in, the entire firehouse family and their friends went to celebrate with a party at newly-elected Chief Keith Sabatino's house--Co. 2 on Lemoine Avenue in Coytesville. Also present to congratulate the Chiefs and new officers were Councilmen Joseph Cervieri, Harvey Sohmer, Jan Goldberg and Michael Sargenti. During his speech to the Mayor and Council Sabatino said, "Standing here tonight is the brotherhood of the fire department; a brotherhood that is unmatched by anything else out there." That brotherhood gathered at Co. 2 Thursday night, represented by the generations of fathers and …

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Fort Lee Fire Department Chiefs, Officers Sworn in Thursday

The annual ceremony preceded Thursday’s Mayor and Council regular meeting.

Keith Sabatino officially took over as Fort Lee Fire Chief on Jan. 1, when Mark Sulcov became Deputy Fire Chief and former department chief William Chiappane became Battalion Chief of the Fort Lee Fire Department. All three were officially sworn in and took the oaths of office Thursday—along with First and Second Lieutenants and Captains of the borough’s all-volunteer fire department—at a special ceremony at Borough Hall before the regular meeting of the Fort Lee Mayor and Council. Sabatino replaces 2011 Fire Chief Jeff Silver, who was unable to attend the ceremony because of the death of a fellow firefighter in another town. Sabatino called 2011 “another busy year for the Fort Lee Fire Department,” which handled 1,696 calls. “Most of them…

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Local GOP Group Swear in 2012 Officers Tuesday

Bergen County Freeholder Chairman John Mitchell will be on hand at the VFW in Fort Lee to administer the oaths of office to five officers.

The United Republican Club of Fort Lee will celebrate the swearing-in of its 2012 officers on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at the VFW Post 2342 at 250 Main St. in Fort Lee. Bergen County Freeholder Chairman John Mitchell will administer the oath of office to the following 2012 officers, according to officials with the United Republican Club: “Fort Lee’s Republican Municipal Chairman, Judith Fisher, will present the incoming officers with certificates of their respective office,” Cohen said in a statement. The URCFL meets every third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. Currently those meetings are held at the local VFW, vetting local candidates for municipal, county and state office, coordinating campaign support and facilitating discussion on politics. …

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Fort Lee's Joan Voss Sworn In As Freeholder

One Bergen County Plaza, Hackensack, NJ, Jan. 3, 2012.

Former Democratic Assemblywoman Joan Voss of Fort Lee was sworn in as a Bergen County Freeholder in Hackensack Tuesday. Voss, who chose to run for freeholder instead of challenging Democratic counterparts Gordon M. Johnson and Valerie Vainieri Huttle in District 37 after redistricting was announced last year, replaces Bernadette McPherson, (D-Rutherford). McPherson decided not to seek reelection after serving nine years on the board. Voss and incumbent David Ganz of Fair Lawn bested Republicans Joel Brizzi of East Rutherford and Anthony Rottino of Franklin Lakes and Independent Edward Brunner in the General Election in November. Republicans continue to hold a 5-2 majority on the board. Donna Brennan captured these images of Voss's swearing…

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