Vincent Cozzarelli Named to Interim Council Post

A member of  a prominent Belleville family was sworn in yesterday as the newest member of the township council, replacing Paul "PJ" MacDonald, who died in office last month at the age of 69.

Vincent Cozzarelli, 28, officially joined the council during a ceremony at town hall. Cozzarelli will serve on the seven-member council until at least November, when a special election will be held. Should he decide to run in that election and win, Cozzarelli would then face re-election again in May 2012 for a full, four-year term on the council.

He was selected by vote of the six remaining council members. 

A 2000 graduate of Belleville High School whose family has lived in the township for three generations, Cozzarelli -- who owns a construction company founded in 2005 -- holds a degree in computer engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark.

Cozzarelli belongs or has belonged to several organizations, including the zoning board, the Historic Preservation Commission, the Nutley-Belleville Columbus Day Parade Committee, UNICO and the Belleville Irish American Association.

With his appointment to the council, Cozzarelli has stepped down from the zoning board. 

He has also done extensive volunteer work in town, including donating labor and materials to restoration projects at Little Zion Church, the Disabled American Veterans building and the Sept. 11 Memorial, all in Belleville. He has also contributed to a Passaic River cleanup and to Habitat for Humanity projects in Newark.

He is expected to attend his first official meeting of the township council this evening at 7 pm.