U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain decided Tuesday to allow A&P to restrict seniority bumping rights at 25 stores scheduled to close by mid-October and called for increased severance pay for workers at those stores

A&P has filed layoff notices for 9,515 workers throughout its New Jersey supermarkets as part of pending bankruptcy proceedings. (Janelle Griffith | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) 

WHITE PLAINS -- U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain decided Tuesday to allow A&P to restrict seniority bumping rights at 25 stores scheduled to close by mid-October and called for increased severance pay for workers at those stores, the Record reported.

Local chapters of the United Food and Commercial Workers union have until Thursday to formulate bumping plans to place laid-off workers with seniority at other stores.

Drain recommended that A&P pay laid-off workers at the 25 stores 52 percent of their owed severance and up to 10 percent more if funds allow after bankruptcy. A&P originally proposed paying 25 percent.

A&P plans to lay off more than 9.000 New Jersey employees by Thanksgiving, according to filings with the state Department of Labor. The layoffs are planned for 93 N.J. stores operated by the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, which operates under the brands A&P, Pathmark, Superfresh and Food Basics.

The Montvale company declared bankruptcy in July and plans to close 10 New Jersey stores and sell nearly 40 others. The fate of the other stores remains unclear.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Humanoid robots are stepping into New Jersey classrooms as electronic teacher aides, helping students with everything from responding to social cues and language to improving fine motor skills.

"WOULD YOU LIKE TO PLAY AGAIN?" asks the diminutive robot named Peter.

Several of the 3- and 4-year-olds in the pre-K/kindergarten class are excited about the prospect.

"Yes, robot!" "Let's do it again!" "I love this robot!" they call out.

The new face of learning ... Danielle Richards 

... for special needs students ... Jerry McCrea 

... in some N.J. school districts -- a NAO robot.Jerry McCrea 

"Can you show me a dog?" asks Peter as the classroom teacher nods to the child whose turn it is to answer. The little girl walks to the front of the room, picks up a card with a photo of a dog and holds it in front of the robot's "eyes."

"Well done," Peter says calmly, slowly raising his fist in a victory salute.

All of the children clap and cheer.

This scene is repeated throughout the period as the students take turns playing games with the 2-foot-tall robot. Wrong answers, and there are few, are met with a simple "try again" from Peter.

Keeping youngsters this age on task can be difficult under any conditions, but what is most amazing is that the six children in this classroom are autistic. They are part of a pilot program at Shaler Academy, a Ridgefield pre-K/kindergarten public school that has a regional magnet program for students with autism and other special needs.

Humanoid robots like Peter are stepping into New Jersey classrooms as electronic teacher aides, helping students with everything from responding to social cues and language to improving fine motor skills.

The robots can dance, pose questions and "understand" verbal and nonverbal answers. And, oh, yes, once they master facial recognition, they can greet you by name, keep a record of your progress and even ask for a kiss.

"The fact that this group (of students) could sit, wait their turn and applaud for each other is tremendous," says Patricia Drimones, supervisor of special education in Ridgefield. "The robot has been a success beyond our expectations. For some, their engagement with the robot has helped us develop language that can otherwise be hard to tap."

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have problems relating socially, understanding and using language, and learning. A 2014 study by the national Centers for Disease Control estimated that 1 in 68 children in the United States have ASD; in New Jersey, that rises to 1 in 45. According to the CDC, diagnosis is possible as young as age 2 and early intervention is likely to be more effective and less costly.

The robot that the Shaler Academy is using is still in the initial stages of development. Called a NAO robot, it has been used in classrooms since about 2011. The first packaged software designed for autism, Autism Solution for Kids (ASK NAO), was released in 2013. The initial price of nearly $20,000 for a single robot in 2008 has dropped significantly -- to $9,000. Aldebaran Robotics, the creator and manufacturer, says that more than 7,000 NAO robots have been sold and it estimates that more than 50 are in use in science, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research and special education programs in New Jersey.

Experts say that many autistic students feel overwhelmed by the ever-changing complexities of facial expressions, body language, day-to-day changes in hair styles and clothing, and other extraneous factors that most people either tune out or unconsciously process. The simplicity of interacting with technology makes it easier for these students to focus and process information.

A spokesperson for Aldebaran attributes children's attraction to NAO robots to the unit's human-like natural body motion as it encourages learning and mimicking, which helps translate social information about connecting to others. At the same time, NAO's clean design reduces sensory information, which helps avoid overstimulation and makes social tasks easier, especially for children with autism.
As with other technology, it is predictable. Plus, the robot is tireless and can repeat a lesson until the child understands.

Students who are hesitant to engage with people often eagerly work with the robot, says Mary Ellen Paradiso, the school's speech and language specialist. "Unlike people, the robot shows no facial expressions. It has a steady voice, and is consistent and nonjudgmental. For some students, it takes the pressure off trying to relate to a real person," she says.

And breakthroughs made with the robot usually carry over into human interactions. "Many students have become more verbal in class," Paradiso says. For example, kids learn that words have consequences. "Sometimes a student will say 'no' when the robot asks, 'Do you want to play again?' and then be disappointed when the robot doesn't continue the game. It is a lesson in language and appropriate response."

There is a lot of social learning going on, too, says Nicola Schneider, district behaviorist. "Kids are learning self-control and turn-taking, as well as how to relate to each other and follow directions."

Paradiso is excited to experiment with the robot's functions. "I can type and the robot speaks my words. So the robot may say, 'Can you jump for me?' and the kids will jump. Only one student figured out that I am actually typing the words, but like the others, he responds."

"Robots can't plan a lesson, see when a student is upset or help set up the conditions so a student can succeed," says Paradiso, but she can program a response for the robot's behavior.

Ridgefield purchased two robots, allowing one to be programmed or have its battery recharged while the other is working with students. This school year, one of the robots will be assigned to a high school programming class.

"We have a lot of ideas we want to implement but don't have the time or expertise to do the programming, and it will be a great learning experience for the high school students," says Paradiso. "The special needs teacher at the high school is also interested in using it (to teach) life skills with more severely disabled older kids."

A partnership between the Warren County Special Services School District, which serves special needs students throughout the county, and Warren Hills Regional High School, whose students have been programming the robot, has been in place for more than a year. The school's NAO robot is helping teach life skills to 14- to 21-year-olds with multiple disabilities. The robot also works with students on their fine and gross motor skills, motivating them to pick up and hold a card directly in front of its eyes and to join in exercises and dances.

"You don't see a lot of the typical resistant or defiant behaviors when the kids are interacting with the robot," says Shannon McDowell, special education teacher in the Warren Hills Regional School District. "It's great for teaching kids to identify numbers, letters, emotions. ... Plus, it gives kids used to only working with an aide a sense of independence."

The robot was purchased by the Warren County Special Services School District, with the help of a grant from the Kiwanis International Foundation and a casino night fundraiser organized by the Washington Woman's Club and the Washington chapter of the Kiwanis Club.

Tyler Henning and Nick Gagliano, Warren Hills high school students who did the initial programming and in-classroom rollout of the robot, also made presentations to other New Jersey Kiwanis Clubs and school boards in Parsippany, Chatham and other towns.

Chatham piloted the use of NAO robots at Chatham Middle School during the 2014-15 school year. Seven more robots were purchased for a new high school computer science course -- animation and movement -- being offered this year, says Danielle L. Romero, the district's supervisor of instructional and design technology for grades K through 12.

"We hope that, in the future, we can begin to utilize the NAO robots in our special education classrooms, utilizing the ASK NAO package, as well as have our middle school and high school students create programs based on teacher and student need."

In Edison public schools, four NAO robots are building relationships between high school students in advanced engineering classes and special needs students. The high school students began working with the robots during the 2014-15 school year and the district is now creating logistics and curriculum for a pilot program, says Christopher Conklin, assistant superintendent for pupil special services.

"The idea is to link gifted students with those who are challenged academically and socially," he says. "The robot is a platform, like the iPad, and we want our talented high school kids to spend time in the (special ed/autism) classrooms and think, 'How can we use the robot in this situation?' "

"There's no single magic answer for autism," Conklin adds. "It's a lot of dedicated professionals working with the kids. That's the magic. But, just maybe, another magician may come out of this program; maybe one of these students who gets inspired by their work with autistic students will invent some new way to help these kids communicate."

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Nearly one-third of people admitted to a New Jersey hospital last year sought treatment for a mental illness, an addiction, or a medical condition exacerbated by a psychiatric condition, according to mental health advocates and hospital executives.

TRENTON -- Nearly one-third of people admitted to a New Jersey hospital last year sought treatment for a mental illness, an addiction, or a medical condition exacerbated by a psychiatric condition, according to mental health advocates and hospital executives. These patients likely waited at least three days in the emergency room before a hospital found the room to admit them.

But given the option to begin a process last winter that would have solicited offers from hospitals to open more beds for psychiatric patients, the Christie administration declined to do so. Officials postponed the next review to 2017, according to a notice on the state Health Department's website.

Calling the decision "unconscionable" and "disconnected from reality," Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic) and 14 other Democratic lawmakers, including Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson), are now seeking an explanation as to why the state cancelled "a call. . . for comprehensive rehabilitation beds and services."

RELATED: After Hagedorn: Same care, new setting

They sent a letter to acting Health Commissioner Cathleen Bennett on July 30 asking for her to reconsider the decision, and went public with it this week after getting no response, Schaer said.

Bennett's spokeswoman Dawn Thomas said on Tuesday the commissioner was reviewing the letter and declined to comment.

Nicole Brossoie, spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services, the state's mental health agency, said the state cancelled the call for more beds partly because hospitals and other treatment providers had failed to open 13 new beds they had won approval for in 2008. Nine of those beds were supposed to be provided by Princeton House Behavioral Health, and the remaining four by Newton Memorial Hospital, which has since been taken over by Atlantic Health System based in Morristown.

"We continue to follow up with the 2008...awardees who have not yet (opened) their beds to determine how to move forward," Brossoie said.

Schaer noted that over the past several months, lawmakers have hosted three roundtable sessions that featured discussions about "behavioral and mental health, one of them being our state's inpatient psychiatric delivery system.

"Throughout these discussions, behavioral and other healthcare professionals continuously raised the need for increased bed capacity," Schaer said. "It seems to me on the face of it the decision makes no logical sense, given the need based on what virtually everyone at those sessions said - the presidents and CEOs of their respective institution. One would expect logically to see the department taking a leadership role to answer those concerns. Canceling the call is a total disconnect from the reality."

According to the health department's website, "The Department has reviewed statewide need for new or expanded comprehensive rehabilitation beds and services and determined that need has declined due to national policy changes that have influenced admission rates for comprehensive rehabilitation beds and services."

The department's decision "confused" members of the New Jersey Hospital Association, said Mary Ditri, the association's director for professional practice.

"The volume of patients coming in and out of the hospital for mental health care and substance abuse care continues to grow, regardless of age, regardless of gender, of location," said Ditri, who attended the discussions with hospital executives and led by Schaer.

In 2014, roughly 839,000 people came to acute-care hospitals with an underlying mental health or substance abuse problem, Ditri said. Of those people, 534,000 came to the emergency room and were never admitted. These patients represented nearly 18 percent of all emergency room visits, up from 12 percent in 2008.

Hospitals admitted the remaining 305,000 people, which represented 31 percent of all patients admitted last year, Ditri said. She said did not have complete admission data to compare the rate of growth over time.

Added to that is the level of complexity of cases, Ditri said. One example is the spike in the number of people diagnosed with a mental illness and a developmental disability.

Rita O'Grady of Union Township said emergency rooms have become a second home for her 23-year-old son, Tyler Loftus, who is diagnosed with autism and a mental illness. From January 2014 to January 2015, he spent 99 days outside of his group home, most often in emergency rooms waiting to be admitted to Trinitas Regional Medical Center, the only specialized unit in the state for people who are dually diagnosed with a mental illness and a developmental disability.

He ends up in the ER because group home employees are instructed to call 911 when he exhibits aggressive behavior and makes violent threats, O'Grady said.

"He has gone to Trinitas probably seven or eight times and waited up to 10 days to get in there," O'Grady said. "He's had to sit on a cot in a hallway exposed to infectious disease. They inject them continually with drugs to chemically restrain him to keep him calm."

"The population who is disabled is on Medicaid and the reimbursement is very low. These are not money-generating units in a hospital," O'Grady said. "Mandates need to be created that designates a hospital unit (for disabled people with mental illness) in every county."

The trend in mental health care for 30 years has been "diversion" from hospitals, said Robert Davison, executive director for the Mental Health Association of Essex County. Some people don't need inpatient care, or don't need it for long, Davison said. But he also sees how the high cost of treatment is driving the decisions to eliminate or decline to open more short-term and long-term psychiatric beds.

Acute care hospitals charge about $800 a day, he said.

"Our experience in Essex County is very difficult to get someone hospitalized and the decisions are more often financially driven than clinically driven," Davison said.

Davison said he didn't know why state officials declined to seek more hospital beds. "My opinion is they don't want to pay for it" through Medicaid.

Once admitted, the hospitals push for a short stay, he added. When he joined the Essex County nonprofit in 1999, the average stay was 23.5 days. Last year, it was 5.6 days.

The Christie administration's decision to close Hagedorn Psychiatric Hospital in  Lebanon Township in 2012, taking with it roughly 285 beds, "was absurd, and did harm," Davison said. "The system should be redesigned to give people the treatment they need."

Schaer said the legislature will explore what role it can play expand the availability of patient care. He sponsored a bill that would create an electronic central registry of psychiatric beds, so hospitals would know in real time what is available.

Schaer acknowledged: "The (health) department has very significant control here."

The letter was signed by Prieto, Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Camden), Health and Senior Citizens Committee Chairman Herb Conaway (D-Burlington), Human Services Committee Chairwoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen), Financial Institutions and Insurance Committee Chairmman Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex), Women and Children Committee Chairwoman Pamela Lampitt (D-Monmouth) and Assembly members Nancy Pinkin (D-Middlesex), Daniel Benson (D-Mercer), Shavonda Sumter and Benjie Wimberly (both D-Passaic), Gabriella Mosquera (D-Gloucester), Joseph Lagana and Timothy Eustace (both D-Bergen), and Cleopatra Tucker (D-Essex).

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

 

Developer Nuco LLC hopes to build a six-story apartment building on property owned by Novus Chemical.

Developer Nuco LLC has submitted an application to the Carlstadt zoning board--located at borough hall above--to build 103 apartments on a former chemical site.Google Maps 

CARLSTADT--A Piscataway-based developer is seeking to build 103 new apartments on a former chemical site in Carlstadt, the South Bergenite reported. 

Developer Nuco LLC hopes to build a six-story apartment building on property owned by Novus Chemical. The plans, which Nuco recently submitted to the borough zoning board, include 35 one-bedroom, 64 two-bedroom and four three-bedroom apartments, the last of which would be affordable housing units. 

The site, at 426 Orchard St., has been pegged for environmental investigation and cleanup since 2009. A hearing date has not yet been set for Nuco's application.

Kathryn Brenzel may be reached at kbrenzel@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @katiebrenzel. Find NJ.com on Facebook

 

Two girls reported missing earlier this week were found safe Tuesday, according to police.

Garfield police said two girls previously reported missing were found safe Sept. 1, 2015 File Photo 

Harrison police located Angel Reed and Noel Forte, both 17, The Record reported.

City police earlier on Tuesday issued an online alert asking anyone with information about the girls to contact detectives. Both teens ran away from home, police previously said.

Authorities initially said the girls were likely traveling together and possibly heading to the Jersey Shore or Atlanta, Georgia.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

A Bergen County father and son were arrested Wednesday morning for allegedly organizing sham short sales on two Bergen County properties to reduce their payments to mortgage lenders.

A Bergen County father and son were arrested on bank fraud charges, Sept. 2, 2015. (File Photo) 

TRENTON -- A Bergen County father and son were arrested Wednesday morning for allegedly organizing sham short sales on two Bergen County properties to reduce their payments to mortgage lenders by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

George Bussanich Sr., 56, of Park Ridge, and George Bussanich Jr., 35, of Upper Saddle River, were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and two counts of bank fraud, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

They're scheduled to appear Wednesday afternoon in Newark federal court.

Bussanich Jr. owned the properties in Emerson and Park Ridge. His father, who owns various medical clinics and surgical centers, recruited a business partner and an employee from a sleep clinic lin Cliffside Park to pose as buyers for the properties, the indictment said.

RELATED: Bergen County father and son to pay $5.5 million to settle fraud accusations

Bussanich Sr. used a business entity he controlled to fund the sales, which were for less than the amount owed on each mortgage, the indictment said. In 2010, Bussanich Jr. wrote a request for the lenders to approve the short sales in which he lied about living at the Emerson home and concealed that his father recruited the buyers and was funding the purchases.

Bussanich Sr. bought the properties back from the straw buyers in 2012, the indictment said.

The Bussaniches face up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each count in the indictment.

The Bussaniches in 2014 paid $5.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the state Attorney General's office that accused them of using funds invested in their company to buy homes and exotic vehicles. They denied the allegations.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Two or three notes. That's all it took, according to jazz buffs, to recognize the warm, soulful sound of trumpeter Clark Terry. A bridge figure between the swing and be-bop eras of jazz, Terry played lead trumpet in both the Count Basie and Duke Ellington orchestras, became the first African American to play with a television studio band when...

Two or three notes. That's all it took, according to jazz buffs, to recognize the warm, soulful sound of trumpeter Clark Terry.

A bridge figure between the swing and be-bop eras of jazz, Terry played lead trumpet in both the Count Basie and Duke Ellington orchestras, became the first African American to play with a television studio band when he was hired in 1962 by the "Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," and developed a singing style all his own.

On Thursday, Sept. 10, the New Jersey City University Alumni Jazz Big Band and the City of Jersey City will celebrate Terry's life and legacy with a blow-out concert at the J. Owen Grundy Pier at Exchange Place starting at 6:30 p.m., the year's final installment of the city's Sounds of Summer Concert Series.A longtime jazz educator in New Jersey and friend to New Jersey City University, Terry, who was living in Arkansas, died in February at 94.

To assist with the salute to Terry, the Alumni all-stars are bringing in a jazz heavyweight: nine-time Grammy-award winner and director of Jazz at Lincoln Center Wynton Marsalis. 

"To me, Clark and Wynton play different styles, (but) Wynton has the same effect as a musician, composer and as a jazz educator," said Richard Lowenthal, the NCJU professor who launched the jazz program at the college in 1969 and will be leading the band. "He (Marsalis) was really the only person I thought would come in and do an effective tribute to Clark Terry." 

Lowenthal has known both men for years. 

In the early 70s, Terry performed five concerts with the NJCU jazz band at the school. Then Terry did something that was unprecedented at the time: He toured with the college band for a week playing high schools.  "It was like having a 24/7 seminar in jazz and life," Lowenthal said of the tour. 

Terry was the featured soloist at NJCU's 50^th anniversary concert in February, 1980.  

When Terry lived in Haworth, NJ, Lowenthal and trumpet great Jon Faddis would visit bearing Terry's favorite gifts: collard greens, pulled pork, peach cobbler, and Dry Sack sherry. 

If there was any doubt about whom Lowenthal would invite to guest star at Thursday's concert, that likely evaporated when he heard that Marsalis, who was mentored by Terry, took the entire Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra to Arkansas to perform for Terry during the final weeks of his life. 

Thursday's band will feature 15 NJCU alumni, all of whom make a living as working musicians, and two musicians who were regulars in Terry's group.    A current student will be presented with the first annual Clark Terry Award, a highly buffed 12- to 18-inch metal tube signifying the first instrument Terry ever played.   

The all-stars will likely be at the top of their games for this tribute to this exuberant and singular musician. 

Terry was a master of circular breathing, which allowed him to play riffs extending 28 bars or more without pausing to take a breath. Like Louis Armstrong, Terry became nearly as well known for his singing - really mumbling in Terry's case - as he did for his playing. Instead of using the typical di-di-doo-wop scat vernacular, Terry pretended to mumble real sentences -- an idea he came up with watching bar-goers in his native St. Louis trying to sing after they were smashed. 

"He (Terry) was just a completely unique player, which is the essence of jazz," David Demsey, the coordinator of jazz studies at William Paterson University where Terry taught for many years, said in a documentary about the musician.  

"Clark is one of the great jazz icons because of his connection to both Count Basie and Duke Ellington. From a jazz perspective, that is like saying someone knew both Washington and Lincoln." 

The "Tribute to Clark Terry" concert is free and open to the public. The J. Owen Grundy Pier is located near public transportation and there are parking lots in the area. For more information, call (201) 200-3426 or visit the NJCU website at www.njcu.edu. 

Officials met Wednesday in Hoboken to talk about how to advance and finance extending the Hudson-Bergen Light rail to Route 440 and Jersey City's western waterfront, but what's happening with bringing trains to Bergen County as promised 15-years ago?

U.S. Senator Robert Menendez is hoping a tour of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail by federal officials will help make the case for extending it to the Hackensack River waterfront in Jersey City.

Menendez, D-NJ, led Federal Transportation Administration and North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority officials on a round-trip tour Wednesday of the 21-mile light rail line to show them how it has spurred development.

Hudson County officials hope the tour will prompt the feds to look favorably on future plans to extend the light rail line to Jersey City's western waterfront. Officials also visited the northern end of the light rail line in North Bergen and talked about plans to extend it 10 miles north to Englewood.

"What we wanted was for the FTA to see is what has been accomplished with light rail and why it makes sense to extend it and why an application for funding should be highly-rated," Menendez said, during a press conference after the morning tour. "Today was about priming the pump for when New Jersey submits an application."

The "pump" is $2 billion in Federal New Starts money the FTA has for new transit projects, funding that has been tapped by many other states recent, except New Jersey, he said.

The most likely project, and the easiest to get off the ground, would be a quarter-mile extension in Jersey City, from West Side Avenue across Route 440 to the Hackensack River. That project has received environmental clearance. But the clock is ticking, because design would need to start by 2017.

"This is easier to build than the further route," Menendez said.

The further route, a light rail expansion to Bergen County, which Menendez and other officials said they back, is a few steps further back in the process

In May 2013, NJ Transit approved $3 million for Jacobs Engineering of Morristown to finish the final environmental impact statement for extending the line 10-miles north of where it ends in North Bergen, extending the line to Englewood Hospital.

PLUS: How is NJDOT is making work zones safer for motorcycles?

That proposal calls for building seven new stations, at 91st Street in North Bergen, and in Ridgefield, Palisades Park, Leonia, and two in Englewood.

Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGuise, who is chairman of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, said he has met with Bergen County officials and advised them to try to build the light rail line one stop at a time.

"Take small bites to eat the elephant," he said.

Part of the tour was to show off development that has been built and is under construction along the light rail and to talk about potential building of up to 8,200 units on a 96-acre superfund site on Jersey City's western waterfront. Negotiations are underway with developers about funding for construction of a light rail station there.

For both projects, the state would have to match the federal funds, Menendez said, which makes reauthorization of the federal Highway Trust Fund legislation and the state Transportation Trust Fund a necessity.

Environmental work on the Route 440 extension is complete and the total cost to build the extension is estimated at $213.9 million, said Jennifer Nelson, an NJ Transit spokeswoman.

"Both of these projects are considered high priority for NJ Transit, if new funding sources can be identified," Nelson said.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Bergen County Sheriff's bomb squad called out on report of 'suspicious package'

HO-HO-KUS -- Authorities were investigating a suspicious package found at the police department Wednesday night. 

File photo 

Reports of the package first came in around 9:30 p.m. The Bergen County Sheriff's bomb squad was called in around 10:20 p.m. and was still at the scene around a half-hour later, a sheriff's spokesman, Anthony Cureton, said. 

A call placed to the department, which Cureton said is the lead agency in the investigation, was diverted to a neighboring department. 

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaulMilo2. FindNJ.com on Facebook

 

A man walked into the Ho-Ho-Kus Police Department Wednesday night and said he placed a bomb on site, authorities said.

UPDATE: Man held for evaluation after bomb threat, police say

A man is in custody after making a bomb threat at the Ho-Ho-Kus police station, authorities said. (File Photo) 

The man was taken into custody, Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli said on Twitter.

Ho-Ho-Kus police operated out of the Waldwick police station while the Bergen County Sheriff's bomb squad swept the scene. The man who made the threat is local and may have a history of psychiatric issues, Molinelli said.

Molinelli referred further questions to Ho-Ho-Kus police. Department officials were not available for comment Thursday morning.

Suspect walked into HoHoKus police station and advised them that he left a bomb on site.

-- John Molinelli (@johnlmolinelli) September 3, 2015

A borough man is being held for psychiatric evaluation after making a bomb threat Wednesday night at Ho-Ho-Kus police headquarters, officials said.

A man is in custody after making a bomb threat at the Ho-Ho-Kus police station, authorities said. (File Photo) 

John Edwards, 24, walked into the lobby of police headquarters at 9:20 p.m. and said there was a bomb in a black backpack he was carrying, Police Chief Chris Minchin said.

Edwards left the backpack in the lobby and walked out, Minchin said. An officer coming back from break arrested Edwards. Another grabbed the backpack and placed it outside.

Police officers, a dispatcher and Edwards relocated to Waldwick Police Headquarters, Minchin said. Calls were rerouted there as well.

At 11 p.m. the bomb squad determined there was no device in the backpack after taking X-rays, Minchin said. Police returned to headquarters shortly after.

Edwards refused to give a statement, Minchin said. He was charged with terroristic threats and false public alarm.

Ho-Ho-Kus Judge Harry Norton set bail at $75,000, with no option to pay 10 percent in cash. Edwards was held at Bergen Regional Medical Center in Paramus for a 48-hour psychiatric evaluation.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Cathy Madalone became the first female municipal police chief in Bergen County Tuesday night at a swearing-in ceremony

BERGENFIELD -- Cathy Madalone became the first female municipal police chief in Bergen County Tuesday night at a swearing-in ceremony, the Record reported.

Carmen Martino became the county's first female chief of any kind last year when she was named chief of detectives for the Prosecutor's Office.

Madalone was the first woman to join the Bergenfield Police Department in 1994. The department had to convert a restroom for her to use as a locker room, she said to PIX11.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Morris Dambrot came to New Jersey following his World War II service, which included work inside the concentration camps. Years his service, and his death, his family received the recognition he deserved.

FAIR LAWN -- Morris Dambrot came to New Jersey after his World War II service ended in 1946, eventually settling in Fair Lawn, but it wasn't until Wednesday that he received the recognition he deserved.

It was about 69 years after Dambrot's service ended and about 22 years after Dambrot's death at 84 that Sen. Robert Menendez presented Dambrot's family with four overlooked medals owed to Dambrot. His son and daughter said they began their quest to get their father's medals, to educate their adult children about who he was, in 2013.

His daughter Sandy Starr, of Fair Lawn, and son Steven Dambrot, of Livingston, said their father was a Medical Aidman who administered first-aid treatment to the sick and injured between 1942 and 1945.

He spoke little of the horrors that he saw overseas, but there were small glimpses into his past life.

RELATED: Bayonne-born soldier posthumously receives medal of honor for WWII heroics

Their father's left hand was badly burned and shriveled (from a cannon blast, he told his daughter). Also, they said, in a small patterned cardboard box wrapped in a rubber band in the living room closet, he kept his dog tags and the one medal he did receive, his Good Conduct Medal. That memorabilia was nestled along with a basketball medal their father received after the League of Neighborhood School Centers senior championship in 1935. There were also several photos from the concentration camps, they said.

"Literally piles of bodies," his daughter said.

Besides the Good Conduct Medal, he was owed the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two Bronze Service Stars; the World War II Victory Medal; the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp; and the Honorable Service Lapel Button - World War II.

Menendez presented the family with the medals at the Fair Lawn VFW before a crowd of veterans and media.

Menendez's office routinely helps families with medal-seeking applications, asking the Department of Defense to search its records and learn what medals were owed to an individual, said Menendez's press secretary Steve Sandberg.

Sandy Starr's husband Robert Starr, himself a veteran of the Air Force in the U.S. and Greenland from 1967-71, helped initiate the quest for the medals. 

His own father, he said, was too old to serve, and he and his wife wanted to make shadowboxes for their two children. They were 11 and 6 when their grandpa passed on, he said.

MORE: Secaucus superintendent's family heirloom is in a place of honor: his office

"I wanted them to know something about their grandfather, who he was. What he accomplished," he said. "I'm into the military stuff. I respect the military. I think everyone should."

"We never realized there were many more medals," Sandy Starr said.

Morris Dambrot unfortunately died before his son was married and had his children, but he lived a busy life after the war. After he left the service, he drove a taxi in the Bronx, and later started confectionary businesses with his late wife Rose, including a Clifton candy shop and lunch counter he bought in the 1960s on Lakeview Avenue, Steven Dambrot said.

Called "Murray and Rose's Sweet Shop," Morris Dambrot served sodas and candies there for more than 20 years, "from 5 o'clock in the morning to 10 o'clock at night," his son said.

The two siblings said they never heard their father, a quiet but friendly man, say whether his turn to the sweet business was motivated by witnessing so much suffering.

Learning more about their father, and receiving his medals, "it's really an amazing honor, to tell you the truth," Steven Dambrot said.

Laura Herzog may be reached at lherzog@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LauraHerzogL. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

Share your favorite photos from this Labor Day weekend, and we'll feature them on NJ.com.

The final days of summer are here and we're thinking about how we're going to cap the season this holiday weekend. We're guessing you are too.

We also have a hunch that whatever you do this Labor Day weekend you're going to produce some great photos - and we want to see them.

RELATED: Earth Day 2015: Photos of N.J.'s most unspoiled places

You can post your Labor Day weekend pictures in comments here or tweet them to @njdotcom with the #LaborDayNJ hashtag. We'll collect the best and show them here on NJ.com.

Let's give summer 2015 the send-off it deserves.

Adya Beasley may be reached at abeasley@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @adyabeasley. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

Federal officials have cited Bergen Regional Medical Center for failing to protect employees from violent patients.

Bergen Regional Medical Center (Google Maps) 

PARAMUS -- Federal officials have cited Bergen Regional Medical Center for allegedly failing to protect employees from violent patients.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration found eight incidents from Feb. 22 through June 12 in which health care workers were victims of violent patients. In one case a nurse suffered a laceration and bruises trying to stop an attack on a patient, OSHA said.

A worker's complaint prompted OSHA to inspect Bergen Regional. The agency cited the hospital on Aug. 18 for failing to keep the workplace free of hazards.

Employees reported patients barricading them in rooms, threatening them, exposing them to blood-borne pathogens and biting, punching and kicking them, OSHA said.

Bergen Regional management failed to take adequate measures to protect workers, Lisa Levy, director of OSHA's Hasbrouck Heights area office, said.

"With so many incidents, it's clear that this facility's workplace violence program is ineffective and should be improved immediately to protect employees and ensure a safe workplace," she said.

Bergen Regional has requested an informal conference with OSHA in response to the citations. Hospital officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

With 1,070 beds, Bergen Regional is the largest hospital and licensed nursing home in New Jersey.

The hospital is owned by Bergen County and leased to a private operator. The lease runs out in 2017.

The fate of Bergen Regional is one of the biggest questions facing County Executive James Tedesco. In June, he appointed a 13-member committee to recommend what to do with the hospital once the lease expires.

Myles Ma may be reached at mma@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MylesMaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The woman has declined to press charges against her alleged attacker, who has been suspended pending an investigation by the school

MAHWAH -- A Ramapo College student reported being sexually assaulted on campus Tuesday but has declined to pursue criminal charges against her alleged attacker, police and school officials said. The college has launched an investigation and is taking other measures in response to the incident, Peter Mercer, the school's president, said in a statement.

RELATED: Ramapo mulls hard-liquor ban following sex assault allegation 

The 19-year-old victim told police around 1:15 a.m. she had been attacked earlier in the evening by another student she'd just met. The attack occurred at the Overlook dorm, Chief of Police James Batelli said. According to a statement from the college, friends of the woman "came forward...and sought help on her behalf." The woman was treated at Valley Hospital, where she was interviewed by detectives from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office and the Mahwah Police Department.

Batelli said in an email Tuesday night the woman is free to press charges at a later date and that this was explained to her. He declined to release additional details about the incident. The college did not immediately respond to an email seeking more information. 

MORE: Police stepping up patrols around Rutgers following sexual assault 

The student identified as the assailant has been suspended and removed from campus pending the outcome of an investigation, the college said.

The incident occurred during the school's "Welcome Week," which included "bystander intervention training" known as Green Dot, held Monday and Tuesday, when the attack was reported. The school credited that training in the decision by the victim's friends to come forward.

The school also admitted that Mahwah police had been summoned to campus for several incidents of underage drinking early Tuesday. The school has been especially focused on alcohol-related problems since November, when five men were each accused of either taking part in a sexual assault or "aiding and encouraging" those who did.

In response to the latest incident, Mahwah police will now be patrolling on campus,  Mercer said. The school's drug and alcohol education programs will also be enhanced and meetings will be held with campus leaders. 

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaulMilo2. FindNJ.com on Facebook

 

A founding member of the "James Bond Gang" burglary crew that targeted wealthy communities for decades faces new charges in connection with dozens of break-ins across northern New Jersey, authorities said Thursday.

Bruce Anderson, 48Bergen County Prosecutor's Office 

HACKENSACK - A founding member of the "James Bond Gang" burglary crew that targeted wealthy communities for decades faces new charges in connection with dozens of break-ins across northern New Jersey, authorities said Thursday.

Bruce "Cap" Anderson, 48, of Jamaica, New York, was taken into custody Tuesday on charges of fencing and complicity to commit fencing, according to Bergen County Prosecutor John L. Molinelli. He remains held in a New York City detention center, pending extradition proceedings.

Anderson's arrest emerged from a prosecutor's office investigation launched in February 2014 into a string of break-ins around Bergen County, Molinelli said. Detectives soon linked more than two dozen burglaries in affluent sections of Bergen, Morris and Somerset counties.  

RELATED: Teaneck men and alleged 'fence' arrested after string of burglaries, prosecutor says

The burglary crew carefully picked their targets, looking for large homes with expensive cars in the driveway, prosecutors allege.

"The residences were also located in or adjacent to a cul-de-sac and attacked on weekdays in the early evening hours," Molinelli said in a statement. "Entry to the residences was often gained by forcing open the front doors."

Once inside, the thieves went to master bedrooms and grabbed jewelry, cash and other valuables, Molinelli added. They often stuffed the stolen loot into pillowcases.

In an apparent attempt to blend in, Anderson helped his co-conspirators rent expensive cars to use in the burglaries, according to authorities. He is also accused of fencing the stolen goods and committing burglaries himself.

Molinelli also announced a 24-count indictment charging others in connection with the alleged burglary scheme.

RELATED: Prosecutor: Weak burglary penalties make slowing James Bond Gang an 'uphill battle'

Charged in the indictment was David Tadjiev, a fence operating out of New York's Diamond District, who paid cash for the crew's haul, authorities said. Jamelle Singletary, Lawal Erskine, Jamaal Sermon and Janay Cole were also named in the indictment and arrested last year.

Investigators have described Anderson as an member of the original "James Bond Gang" that formed in the 1980s and given the nickname by law enforcement for allegedly using luxury vehicles to flee police.

The 007 label has persisted as new alleged burglars work with some key figures in the original case. 

Anderson has a history of arrests, records show. He was last in state prison on a burglary charge from Oct. 2003 to Nov. 2005, according to state Department of Corrections. 

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

A Tennessee man waived extradition and was returned to Bergen County this week to face charges that he sexually abused a woman beginning two decades ago when she was 7 years old, authorities said.

Alex L. Safanova, 62. (Bergen County Prosecutor's Office) 

Alex L. Safanova, 62, of Dayton, was arrested Aug. 27 while visiting family in Connecticut and charged with aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.

Last month, the 27-year-old woman told Special Victims Unit investigators that Safanova assaulted her when she was between 7 and 14, the prosecutor's office said.

Safanova assaulted her when he was living in Hackensack, according to prosecutors. He knew the alleged victim.

Bergen County Jail records show Safanova was being held in lieu of $300,000 bail. It was not immediately clear if he had retained an attorney.

Authorities asked anyone with information about the case to call the prosecutor's office at 201-226-5742.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

 

While exceptionally hot, dry stretch is becoming a concern, state officials say we're not in dire straits just yet.

On paper, a tally of New Jersey's recent run of dry weather sounds troubling.

The entire state has incurred significant precipitation deficits in July and August, and most have not seen a drop of rain in two weeks. Reservoir levels crashed last month, leading United Water to call for voluntary restrictions on water usage. And today, the U.S. Drought Monitor placed much of northeastern New Jersey -- and 4.1 million people -- under a "moderate drought" designation.

Cause for concern? Absolutely. But are state officials panicking? Hardly.

"In the past two months, the trend has clearly been drier," said Dan Kennedy, the state Department of Environmental Protection's Commissioner for Water Resources. "But the bottom line is many summers are dry. That's why we have reservoirs. The reservoirs are doing their jobs and water purveyors are well set up to deal with these high demands."

"Are we monitoring it closely? Yes. We wouldn't be doing our jobs if we weren't."

By all indications, New Jersey is headed in the wrong direction when it comes to water. In addition to reservoirs operating below average levels, streamflows and ground water levels are also low, particularly in the northeast quadrant of the state.

As a result, the U.S. Drought Monitor placed parts of Somerset, Middlesex, Union, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Bergen Counties in a "moderate drought" designation, the nationwide research organization's label for regions in the earliest stages of drought conditions. 

"In the past few weeks, everyone has had their eyes slowly opened and realized there is a problem brewing," said David Robinson, the state climatologist at Rutgers University, who is part of a panel that issues the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor reports. "Because if this persists much longer we're going to be in a deeper hole as we finish the water consumption season, and that's not good as we look toward 2016."

But the DEP is the only agency that can formally issue a drought watch, warning or emergency in New Jersey -- designations that can trigger statewide actions such as water restrictions and rationing. Kennedy said the DEP not only considers climatological conditions, but the relative health of the overall water supply and how it projects to fluctuate over the next six months.

"We learned a lot of lessons from the droughts in the 60s and 80s," Kennedy said. "In New Jersey, our high quality and well integrated water systems and reservoirs help us out a great deal. As a result a lack a precipitation doesn't hit us as hard."

RELATED: N.J. reservoir levels dip after a dry August.

Officials within the DEP currently meet several times a week to assess the situation Kennedy said. He conceded that if conditions continue to worsen, the state could be pressed toward taking more significant action.

Robinson said while the fall and winter are typically the time that reservoirs are replenished, the danger is falling too far below normal levels by spring, when water usage ticks upwards sharply. 

"That's when things can really sneak up on you," he said.

The long term forecast does offer some hope.

The National Weather Service's six to 10 day forecast indicates the eastern half of the country is at a higher probability for precipitation. National Weather Service 

While dry and warm conditions are expected to persist through next week, the National Weather Service's forecast for the following week indicates an above average chance for significant precipitation.

"There is something in the models that suggests to the (National Weather Service) that there's going to be a rain event sometime later next week. Whether it occurs and what occurs, obviously, is the question."

Robinson said state residents should be grateful for what happened in June, when the state received more than twice its normal rainfall after drought concerns had mounted in previous months. 

"I will say this, I'm less concerned than I was on Memorial Day," he said. "If it weren't for June being the fourth wettest on record, we'd be in deep trouble. We dodged a bullet but now we're back where we were three months ago."

Stephen Stirling may be reached at sstirling@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @sstirling. Find him on Facebook.

Passaic County Community College was awarded a nearly $300,000 federal grant to help the school handle and prevent sexual assaults, domestic violence and stalking on campus, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr announced Wednesday.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell calls for more federal funding for firefighters in a press conference at the Paterson firehouse, July 13, 2015. (Myles Ma | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)File photo 

The U.S. Justice Department funds will allow PCCC to boost services to victims, develop programs to prevent domestic, dating and sex crimes, and train campus officials in responding to the cases, Pascrell said in a statement.

"I commend Passaic County Community College for taking seriously the threat of sexual assault and stalking, which is an issue facing campuses across the nation," the congressman said. "As we send our children away to college this week, their health and safety must remain paramount."

PCCC President Steven Rose said the grant would allow the college to coordinate with local police and various community organizations.

"Protecting women against violence is a serious issue on college campuses around the country," Rose said in a statement. "At Passaic County Community College our goal is to prevent incidents through education and awareness, but to be prepared should an incident occur."

The college said it would also partner with the Passaic County Women's Center, Strengthen our Sisters and the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

Reported sex crimes are apparently rare at the college. According to a 2014 campus security report, there were no such offenses in 2013 at any PCCC's campuses.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.