Neighborhoods Bond Against Crime, New Rec Building in Top Local News

Neighbors Celebrate Night Against Crime

Neighborhoods celebrated the annual National Night Out Against Crime Tuesday night in Belleville.

From the west side of Belleville at the Little Zion Methodist Church  in the Valley section, the parties stretched to Little Street and Union Avenue east of Washington Avenue, Rutan Road near the Bloomfield border, all the way to the Silver Lake section.

Homeowners came out to say their neighborhoods will not tolerate crime, according to Deputy Police Chief Mark Minichini.

“The night was very successful in encouraging our citizens to get together and keep their neighborhoods safe,” Minichini, who visited all the block parties, said in an interview.

Belleville Rebuilding Recreation Facility

Belleville Township leaders are building a new recreation facility to expand day care services and senior citizen exercise programs.

The new building – which will take the place of the former Friendly House – is scheduled to be construction in Belleville’s Silver Lake section with the help of $589,000 in Community Development Block Grant money.

Volunteers Checking on Nutley Seniors

Nutley volunteers are calling to check that senior citizens who live alone are safe and well.

The Senior Call program uses trained volunteers to place daily telephone calls to check on the well being of Nutley senior citizens aged 65 or older who live alone and register for the calls, according to Commissioner Steven Rogers.

"The program is intended for seniors who live alone, or have little or no contact with others on a daily basis," Rogers said in a statement.

Calls will be made Monday through Saturday throughout the day, he said.

Roofer Bikes to Raise Money for Charity

In order to bring his message of repairing roofs for people in need – Chuck Anania took to the streets.

Anania rode his bicycle through the streets of Belleville and other North Jersey towns to bring support for Roof4Roof.

He rode through Verona, Montclair, Bloomfield and Belleville and ended his trek in Manhattan on Aug. 7

Anania said Roof4Roof is a grassroots project started in Montclair, "Our motto is simple: For every new roof we install,we provide emergency roofing services for families in need, free of charge.”