SAYREVILLE, NJ—Along the Raritan River waterfront sits 418 acres of land that a national developer plans to transform into “Riverton,” a $2.5 billion mixed-use development.
The land, near one of the busiest sections of the Garden State Parkway, was once home to a paint factory owned by NL Industries.
Previously known as National Lead, the company was responsible for manufacturing lead-based paints until such products were banned by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—A Piscataway resident admitted to leading an automobile theft network, as well as a conspiracy to commit theft by deception on October 23.
Luther Lewis, a 39-year-old man who previously admitted guilt in a scheme to "roll back" the odometers on vehicles before selling them, pleaded guilty to the charges before Judge Benjamin Bucca in Middlesex County Superior Court.
Prosecutors with the New Jersey Attorney General's Office will recommend a ten-year prison sentence, according to a press release.
TRENTON, NJ—Two people involved in a Linden-based lumber company are now behind bars after admitted to defrauding and overcharging customers, including public entities, after showering some of those same customers with gifts.
Victims of the scheme include Amtrak, the Plainfield Board of Education, and several other government entities including RutgersUniversity.
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Laura Czarneski resigned her position on the Middlesex County College (MCC) Board of Trustees less than two weeks into her three-year term, because her appointment violated state law.
The all-Democrat Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders appointed Czarneski on December 8 to fill a vacancy on the MCC Board, which runs the 12,000 student college and manages its $80 million budget.
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Yirgu Wolde, a longtime member of the New Brunswick Housing Authority (NBHA) Board of Commissioners, has been charged with criminal harassment for aggressive behavior and threatening this reporter with physical violence.
The embattled public board reached a new low on November 15, as they faced an angry crowd at their first public meeting in seven weeks, before Wolde issued the verbal threat on his way out of the meeting.
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—In August 2017, Rutgers professor Juan Gonzalez released his new book, Reclaiming Gotham: Bill de Blasio and the Movement to End America’s Tale of Two Cities.
Gonzalez recently joined the Journalism and Media Studies faculty at the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus.
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—The city's historic State Theatre is without a leader, after new CEO & President Anna Marie Gewirtz quietly left the non-profit's top job in December.
"Anna Marie Gewirtz is no longer with the State Theatre," confirmed Director of Communications Kelly Blithe.
No reason was given for the change in leadership.
New Brunswick Today is an independent, print and digital newspaper founded in 2011. Our mission is to improve the level of civic discourse in the City of New Brunswick by accurately covering local government and demanding transparency and accountability from those in authority.
