Alana Quartuccio, Patch Staff

Email - Alana.Quartuccio@patch.com Phone - 201-290-1671 Hometown - Wood-Ridge, NJ Birthday - Sept. 4 Bio - Alana Quartuccio wanted to be a journalist since she was about 14 years old and she has devoted most of her career to fulfilling that desire. Born and raised in North Bergen, she is a native to the area and has been covering community news in several Bergen County municipalities such as Fort Lee, Edgewater, Leonia, Teaneck, Cresskill and Tenafly. She started at North Jersey Media Group as a reporter for the Northern Valley Suburbanite and quickly promoted to its managing editor where she also led editorial operations for the Teaneck Suburbanite.

In 2003, she was chosen to launch the company's first town-specific weekly newspaper, Fort Lee Suburbanite. In 2004 she launched Edgewater View and launched Leonia Life in 2005. She served as Editor of all three papers.

After a brief stint as a media relations coordinator for a public relations firm she resumes her journalism career at Patch bringing along a deep knowledge and understanding of community news to her daily coverage of Hasbrouck Heights. Alana resides in Wood-Ridge with her boyfriend Anthony. 

Our Beliefs At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for them to inject their beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that their beliefs are on the record will cause them to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.

Politics How would you describe your political beliefs?

Since before I was even old enough to vote I always listened closely to the candidates viewpoints and would make my decision based on what I felt was right. Over the years I have never really felt any real strong tie to any particular party. For example, in the 1992 Presidential election, the first election I was legally able to vote in, I supported George H.W. Bush but I voted for Ross Perot. I did not care for Bill Clinton at the time he was elected but years later I really came to like him and respect him and that doesn't have anything to do with which party he represented. To me it's about who can do the job right. Too many people get caught up inside their own party and they don't give themselves a chance to see and listen to what may be out there beyond their own party. How can we claim to be for Democracy if we are only listening to what one side tells us to do?

Are you registered with a certain party?

I am registered as a Democrat however I consider myself an Independent who votes for Who as in the individual and not Them as in the party. Religion How religious would you consider yourself?

I was raised Catholic but am not an actively practicing one. I am not a huge fan of organized religion per se but I do believe people should have faith and I am not opposed to anyone's religious beliefs. Incidents in the world have shown us one too many times how much pain and suffering can be caused due to religious disagreements so if only we could all just get along. . . .

Local Hot-Button Issues What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?

So far through my day to day coverage of the borough, I see a really strong community that appears to work well within itself. Like most towns, Hasbrouck Heights has concerns with high property taxes, safety and education. I am aware that the borough has been involved in area issues such as the Teterboro Airport noise pollution as well as having dealt with the recent proposed division of Teterboro into neighboring towns including Heights.

Where do you stand on each of these issues?

I am no stranger to seeing property taxes be an issue for most towns, especially in this county. Everything from school growth, to reduced or lack of state funding, to increase in maintenance costs to class size growth has affected the financial livelihood of communities all over the county. What my personal opinion is on this doesn't exactly matter but what I will say is something needs to be done, therefore what matters most to me is how these issues are handled. Those who have the power to vote on these issues need to hear from the residents and vice versa. I have witnessed the most controversial issues be worked out to what was believed to be the best case scenario for the majority when there was constant and clear communication between the governing body and the community. And it's up to my team and I to keep on top of such issues and inform the community.