good evening everyone we're live thank you once again good evening and welcome to the township of East Brunswick council meeting for May 30th 2024 will everyone please rise if you can and recite with me the Pledge of Allegiance remain standing for a moment of personal reflection pledge allegiance to of the United States of America the it stands one nation under indice for personal reflection thank you T clerk please call roll and read our statement of quate notice councilman Bal here councilman Wendell here councilwoman Winston here councilwoman zii here council president makoy here also present mayor Brad Cohen here administrator Joseph culo here and Township attorney Anthony aoka here adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as required under chapter 231 Public Law 1975 by specifying the time date location and to the extent known the agenda by posting a copy on the bulletin board located in the main lobby of East Brunswick Municipal Building providing a copy to the home News Tribune and the Asbury Park Press newspapers posting a copy on the Township's website and by filing a copy in the office of the Township Clerk which will be entered into the minutes thank you I do not mind the signs that I can see from the de but the spear in the front row here that spear has to go what one of the uh police officers please right here front row seat two there's no sticks right the flag is allowed there are no sticks bars Etc allowed in this sacred Hall thank you counil you have before you resolution 24 hyphen 1 61 adopting the meeting minutes from our May 13 2024 meeting I have a motion second is there a need for correction or clarification from Council roll call please councilman Bal yes councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman Z Vicki yes and council president makoy yes thank you I will recognize May uh I will recognize a mayoral Proclamation from this dayus recognizing the month of May as Jewish Heritage Month mayor con the floor is yours thank you council president uh so this is is a proclamation for Jewish Heritage Month uh whereas the month of May is nationally recognized as Jewish American heritage month since 2006 when former President George W bush proclaimed it to recognize Jewish contributions to American culture in many aspects including diversity Education Health culinary arts Science and Technology Social Services the Arts and entertainment business government and the service to the United States armed services and National Guard and as many of you know the Jewish War veterans association is the oldest veteran Association in the United States founded in 1896 whereas East Brunswick proudly Embraces our residents who make up our town and bring their own religious and cultural Traditions that enrich our community New Jersey is home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the nation and whereas the township of East Brunswick strives to be a place where people of Jewish descent can feel safe and celebrated Jewish Americans are part of the success story of our nation and our Township and they are an established and vital component of the neighborhoods in which they live play and work whereas this month serves as an opportunity to better understand the Jewish American experience and celebrate the achievements and contributions of Jewish Americans in our town our state and our country now be a proclaimed that I Brad J Cohen mayor of the township of East brunso along with our Township council do hereby Proclaim that may 2024 and every May going forward as Jewish American heritage month and urge all citizens to join me in creating a welcoming environment and recognizing the Jewish American Community for the many contributions they have made and continue to make to this great Community given under my hand and under the Great Seal of the township of East Brunswick this 30th day of March in the year 2024 thank you thank you very much thank [Applause] you thank Youk jokes here don't miss that's all yes I'm Rabbi Eric Eisen Kramer of Temple Ben Shalom here in East Brunswick and I want to thank our our mayor and Township Council for this great honor uh of the recognition of Jewish American heritage month and the proclamation that was just read uh I am proud to live in East Brunswick and we are all proud to live in East Brunswick a diverse town where all religions ethnic groups and cultures are recognized and appreciated and which many proclamations for other groups have been shared at this Council thank you again for this great honor for the Jewish Community thank you thank you I think we'll stand in recess for a couple of minutes in case there is anyone who wants to exit from the uh courtroom Council ordinance uh 24 hyen 09 countship clerk please read an ordinance adopting regulations for private owned salt storage and supplementing and amending the township code to amend chapter 166 entitled property maintenance code may I have a motion motion to adopt second second I'm I'm going to open this up to the public this particular uh on this particular issue alone ordinance 2409 close the public portion um roll call please councilman Bal yes councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman VII yes counc president Mao yes Council uh Council people you have before you again ordinance 24 hyphen 10 uh Township cler please read an ordinance of the township of East Brunswick County of Middlesex state of New Jersey amending chapter 158 parks and public lands of the township code to make public urination and defecation unlawful may have uh may have motion for this motion adopt and a second second I'm going to open this up to the public does anyone wish to address this particular issue issue ordinance 24 hyphen 10 seeing none I close the public portion roll call please councilman Hall yes councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman ziki yes and council president maab boy yes let's move on to our um reports mayor Kong thank you council president couple of things one uh I I normally do not like to comment on things that I read on social media although I do read it uh because every once in a while there's something that really is important that's brought up in those um messages and and and we act on them um and uh but listening to what's going on in the public and reading what's on social media it's not um uh going unnoticed that there's been questions and concerns uh from many people living in town regarding uh things that have been going on uh in terms of the budget for the Board of Education that this year uh questions about Board of Education members and administration and I think that that dialogue is something that we encourage people to have because as voters as people who live here who value the school system that Still Remains the number one reason that people move here that that dialogue is important and transparency between the Board of Education and the administration is something that should always be encouraged I think we sometimes lose sight of that in 2010 when the governor changed the elections from School Board elections that were in April when we voted on budgets and we voted on board members to being moved to the November election part of that deal um was to allow Board of educations to not go out to a public vote for their budgets uh as long as they stayed within a 2% property tax cap uh and so we haven't had that dialogue in a very long time and I think because of that there is a when something bad happens or when there's a um an issue on the table it it causes an innate response to not trust the answers you get because we don't have that dialogue that's going on regularly um and I get that and I think that we need to work hard and encourage people to speak up and you act through how you vote for your board of education members who represent you the only reason I'm saying anything tonight is because in reading some of those posts I started to see people commenting on thinking of putting their kids in private schools or sending their kids to religious schools because they were fearful that the school system wasn't at the same level that it was years ago that's throwing the baby a out with the bath water that's a bridge too far I just last week Dana and uh and and who was at the uh Awards last week for the Board of Education recognizing some phenomenal teachers and support staff that work here in this town tirelessly um they do not um do anything but work to their hardest degree to make sure that our kids get top-notch educ educations and while you may look at some surveys that say that we might have dropped a rank or two in the last couple years please don't let that ever take away from the fact that we have some phenomenal programs some phenomenal teachers and support staff many of whom live in this town and have kids that go to this school district so I don't think there's any problem with questioning decisions questioning budgets we always did that um let's just not go and throw out the baby like I said with the bath water because we're looking for more transparency uh which you deserve um so I just want I'm not endorsing or supporting anyone candidate for office I'm not part of any group that wants to support any group of candidates to run that's decision on who sits in those seats is made by the people that live in this Township and vote let's leave it at that so that's my first comment I wanted to bring up second comment I wanted to bring up tonight I know there are many people in this room tonight that responded to a um an ad and post that went out calling for um a group of people to be here this was the ad that went out to everybody and at the bottom of the ad or the post it says East Brunswick funds the state of Israel to the tune of 61400 $65 annually now I don't know if that was done unintentionally deceptively but it's just not true I have in front of you the budget for the township of East brunic which we will vote in its final form tonight I dare anybody to find a line item that says that $614,000 65 of East Brunswick taxpayer funds goes to the state of Israel it's not in there so don't say that it's just a lie and I think that uh if we want to be I've been very very good this entire time trying not to make any comment as mayor about a conflict that does not involve uh nor should involve the township of East Brunswick you won't see posts from me you won't see public comments from me but when you say something about the town ship of East Brunswick which I'm responsible for as is this Council then I will you're out of order you'll wait till the public for portion and then the final thing that I'd like to respond excuse me mayor thank you and the final thing that I'd like to to say is that uh we just really um want to thank our VFW our uh Township along with all of our First Responders for what was I think think an incredible um week where we had the replica of the Vietnam Wall that was here at the Community Arts Center for everybody to see and that we were able to get that and then get that during Memorial Day weekend was I think the highest honor that you can get as a Township I hope that people had an opportunity to go out there and um pay their respects to the uh 58,000 names that are on that wall people who have given their lives uh for this country in what was incredibly unpopular War uh and all those that serve this country and and and gave their uh ultimate level of sacrifice to protect the freedoms that we all have here today on display um that uh people die for us to have these um these these rights let's respect them and be thankful for them so that's my comments this evening council president thank you Mr Chris Mr Chris kouo our business administrator thank you council president I will want to announce the public we will be honoring the BFW at the next council meeting on June 10th uh we were going to do it this evening but they were very tired on Tuesday morning after being there for five days most of the people are in their late 60s and 70s they were there for 7even days straight and and we've been working on this uh with them for months so I I'm hoping that the residents of the township will come out to that meeting on June 10th and honor them for the work that they do tirelessly for our veterans and when you get the opportunity to talk to somebody with with some of the Fallout that they have from that war it really is emotional I know when I was younger I had a register for Selective services got my driver's permit and my selected Services card so it it it is real so I'd like to thank the council for their support in our staff for doing an outstanding job and we will be honoring them at the next council meeting our Paving program has begun we've done several roads already uh this past week alone we paved Allison over uh near Sunburst and yesterday uh uh Sunburst itself was paved uh we also installed uh some drainage over that area because there was drainage issues I would like to report to this Council we will be in full swing with our pavement program we're getting roadways done that don't affect bus transportation for our students and then we'll kick it into high gear and and get those roads as we promised to our residents completed uh hopefully before school year started that that's all I have tonight uh Mr President our Township attorney Mr aoka I just have one item for closed session contract negotiations other than that I have nothing new to report council president our Council for board reports or committee reports uh councilwoman Zan Vicki thank you Reen Park's Advisory board report um just want to thank Cheryl brass for organizing our very first music class for um East Brunswick residents it started off on the first day with 15 P participants and it's growing and thank you to Dr um Braun for leading this um on Fourth of July will be the Big East Brunswick celebration for July 4th and the East Brunswick Symphony Orchestra will be um doing their presentation of many many songs before and after the celebration and I also want to say marisol's kitchen will be graciously feeding our formers which is a very nice thing Crystal Springs opened this weekend a banner opening the weather wasn't necessarily supposed to be great but turned out to be pretty awesome um so they had an a great opening to their season uh the cricket Fields the construction is ongoing if you drive by you can see that they're slightly behind um their projected date due to the weather but right now looking for a June opening um and also our department of aging is absolutely thriving this month is older Americans month and the theme is powered by connection um and how cool they did a speed friending event to help solidify That Power by connection so awesome things are happening in East Brunswick and also on June 9th from 12: to 3: at B sentennial Park there's youth EB youth sports day so your children can come out and try a bunch of the different sports that are offered to see if it's something that might interest them this is a great way to test out new new sports in the community thank you council president I was drawn into the Vietnam Traveling Wall approximately two and a half months ago and for those eight 10 weeks we were meeting twice twice a week once here in the municipal complex and once over the VFW and those meetings lasted for solid two hours in which they were extremely productive and then the end result was what you witnessed when you made your way there um I have a list of names I want to read to you with regard to those people who started the Vietnam Traveling Wall to get here and then have the driver of the the rig that took the wall from location a to location B to location C to location D to have him say and he's been on the job for two and a half years that the East Brunswick display was in the top five of all the shows that he has done therefore my hat goes off to Tommy kill Tony finello Bob Anderson ersy riordon Nick Cabrera Robin Gart Larry Gart Roco gagno Tom fac Wayne Lions George Nonet Tanya kilo Randy gagnan Lieutenant Jason farmer chief of police standing in the back with us Chiefs Chief and your entire staff that came over and helped John kic Robert Zuckerman Mike Ryner mayor con once mayor con stepped in it ju it just took off it was it was a it was a ball of fire under under under the table and what a credit maricon played in this success of this um Ryan ranahan and Morin Bach anyone else Township Clerk please read our public comment statement the public Comon portion of our meeting is to allow the public to bring to the council's attention their concerns or comments in accordance with njsa 10 4-2a and the East Brunswick rules of council the council ask the public to limit their comments to 5 minutes or less at the conclusion of the statements or questions from a member of the public the council president at his discretion may choose to respond or not respond thank you and uh when I beckon you up to the podium please give us your name and your address and don't be surprised if I if I ask you to clarify the the the address because what we use with the address is that's how we get back to you anyone like to address the council presidenta gja e 68 birkshire Way East Brunswick um first I just want to address what's the address again oh 68 birkshire way okay here in town yeah East Brunswick I just want to address mayor Cohen's first um uh issue with the flyer that was posted for this event um just the event was mostly for the rally outside so we could gather um the $614,000 annually is federal taxpayer so it's not East Bruns Township funds um as we know that we spend $3.8 billion a year to funding is the state of Israel um so that's part of what how they allocate that amount of money for East Bruner Township um he also mentioned an incredibly unpopular war in regards to the Vietnam War well I would say the same thing about the current war that we want to discuss here with you today um it's been almost four months since I've address this Council in that time the genocide has marched along and the number of Martyrs and injured has doubled including 17 ,000 children killed in just the past week Israel rejected a ceasefire agreed upon by Hamas and all negotiating parties thereby preventing the release of all the remaining hostages on May 24th the icj ruled that Israel must halt the invasion of Rafa 2 days after that Israel attacked Rafa in the middle of the night while children and babies slept dropping 2,000lb dumb bombs on Refugee tents burning people alive and actually beheading babies these war crimes are happening to Palestinians and they are happening now they they need to stop so we return to this Council once again and call on you to consider a ceasefire resolution to indicate your desire that this genocide comes to an immediate halt we call on Mayor Cohen and all elected officials to heed our call for ceasefire and to stop the slaughter in guza it is incumbent on us as citizens of this Township to hold our public servants accountable for their decisions we will hold every one of you accountable at the ballot your silence and in action are complicity residents of East Brunswick cannot in good faith support the continued Slaughter and starvation of children there is no justification for genocide as a doctor we are bound by oath to treat every human life equally no matter their race gender ethnicity socieconomic class or sexual orientation Concepts like aarod war or even genocide are incompatible with the practice of medicine which is based on the concepts of equality freedom and justice for all if the mayor wants to act like he has no power in this or that East Brunswick has no role to play in the genocide then that's fine let us divest completely from the state of Israel relinquish our SI Sisterhood with yvy and divest from all complicit entities from the weapons manufacturers to the tech industry to Israeli universities like Tel Aviv University New Jersey tax taxpayers remain complicit with the genocide and the only ones benefiting are the war profiteers of the Elite Class I would like to take a minute to point out just a few of the racially charged remarks made to us at prior meetings I for one will not stand for dehum dehumanizing language being used in our meetings or in our Township one Community member stated from 1990 to 2022 the Palestinian population increased from 1.98 million to 5.4 million genocide is literally the opposite of population growth this type of eugenics argument about reproduction rates was used by Nazi Germany about the Jews in concentration camps and has also been used to attack black people and Native people to insinuate a need to curtail their reproduction another Resident quoted Israeli Prime Minister golden Mayer's racist lines if Palestinians lay down their weapons there will be peace if the Israelis lay down their weapons there will be a massacre the dehumanization of Palestinians or any group of people undergoing a genocide be it in Congo or Sudan is really what's at question here do Palestinian lives have unconditional value and worth another Resident who likened myself and those of us here today in support of Palestine to actual terrorists said there is no difference between the supporters of a ceasefire in Gaza and those who supported the 9911 attacks all of these comments were allowed to pass unhindered by this Council shame on the council for not recognizing these comments as hate speech and for addressing it in real time we reject the IRA definition of anti-semitism that equates criticism of the state of Israel with anti-Semitism we reject anti-bds laws the right to protest and boycott our inherent First Amendment freedoms afforded by the US Constitution we want divestment from the state of Israel while it is in violation of international humanitarian law and US domestic laws what this means for This Town Council is breaking our economic and political ties to the state of Israel by divesting from the New Jersey Israel Commission and our Sisterhood with the state of Israel until it complies with the law New Jersey invests billions of dollars in war weapons of mass destruction and the state of Israel that go directly into the bombs we are seeing blowing up children and refugees right now we need to stop all Aid to Israel and War companies and reinvest in entities that will help promote the peace and health of our planet we need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza we need divestment from the state of Israel and sanctions and embargos we need all eyes on Rafa we the people of the world are not going to stop until Palestine gets a ceasefire and full Liberation thank you mayor con do you need the floor in with the black black shirt on my name is Ben Fen Bal I live at T Shindler Court e Brunswick T Shindler Court thank you sir I would like to start by thanking this Council for recognizing Jewish American heritage month for too long the contributions of Jewish Americans in all aspects of life has been ignored for example Kim Solomon was one of the founders of this country he was the financier of the American Revolution he died at age 45 penniless because he de he gave his entire Fortune to support the revolution for far too long the contributions of Jewish Americans have been ignored hopefully that will change but I would like to thank this Council for recognizing Jewish American heritage month I would like to say that despite the long history of Jewish persecution and murder we still thank God for all the blessings that he has shown upon us and we thank this country for all it has done for the Jewish Americans in conclusion I would like to say an Ma I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah and I'm Isel Kai the people of Israel live [Applause] please hello my name is gal I live at um 217 South felta Street uh where do you live uh South Amboy in South Amboy and what's the name of the street uh South feltis okay good evening Este members of the council we condemn the iof and the Israel government for killing 40,000 plus people my conscience and faith will not allow me to just stay put and remain silent on what's happening in Gazza for me it's not a Muslim issue it's a human rights issue I'm requesting the council to approve the humanitarian ceasefire resolution at the township level the atrocities in Palestine have gone on too long the numbers of death has surpassed 30,000 human lives and there are still people trapped under the rubal of buildings that were bombed by the iof and are heartbreaking and astronomical 25,000 people plus killed 8,600 children murdered 53,000 plus wounded 1.9 million human people displaced 2.3 million people starving 100 plus journalists killed no functioning hospitals hundreds of mosques churches and historical sites destroyed in entire neighborhoods where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of Rebel with no life in them said Adil khier unicef's Regional director for the Middle East and North Africa what we're seeing in terms of human deaths has already outpaced rates of harm From Any Given conflict we have documented said Emily trip the director of air wars an organization which has monitored civilian deaths in wars and conflicts since 2014 what's happening with Rai is no less than a Tex the case of genocide per experts and multiply credibly human rights organizations from Human Rights Watch to Amnesty International not only is it a genocide they all agree that it's modern day apartheid the ceasefire at minimum would be to address immediate needs and reduce the suffering of civilians and protect their human right to food water and shelter basic human rights in accord with the rights in international humanitarian law but today this minimum is not being met and it is vital that it's established as soon as possible this has been the by far the most documented modern-day genocide how high does a pile of murdered bodies have to get how many more gruesome images of beheaded children pregnant women without hospitals to delivered in disabled people without any accessibility every single innocent person killed in Gaza today would be alive if we had a ceasefire today now what does the ceasefire in Hill the free movement of humanitarian supplies into huzza to be delivered impartially by humanitarian agencies they should include water medical supplies food non-f food items such as shelter and dignity kits for women and space to provide vital Protection Services the free and safe movement of humanitary Personnel to deliver and monitor of Aid flows the free and safe movement of gathering of civilians to access humanitarian Aid and services to include Child Safe spaces educational activities emergency Health including mental health and other specialized services for women and children the evacuation of the sick and wounded with within or out of the territory alongside additional measures for the protection of civilians in accordance with International humanitary law routs of movement should be identified communicated and be safe from attack in all cases the right to return five minutes has been exhausted thank you very much that was three and a half minutes my name is Judy goldridge and excuse me excuse you you're pushing the envelope outbursts will not be tolerated we respect one another in this sacred room don't push it I beg your pardon repeat be my name is Judy goldridge uh my address is 15 new do Road in East New do in over Edison in East Brunswick okay got it um I would like to address uh very briefly two uh particular um statements that have been made um there is no genocide being committed or for ever have having been committed by Israel in Gaza and I really do wish to thank the East Brunswick Council for allowing me to speak and to point out the truth and the facts because in essence what we are hearing tonight and some of the comments are the use of the term genocide to sensationalize um something that is not not real and not happening uh genocide is defined by the convention on the prevention and Punishment of the crime of genocide as quote a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national ethnic racial or religious group in whole or in part Israel has never planned or stated that it will or has committed genocide the truth however and the irony here is that it is Hamas that that calls for genocide in the Kamas Covenant it states the day of judgment will not come about until Muslims fight Jews and kill them then the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees and the rocks and trees will cry out oh Muslim there is a Jew hiding behind me come and kill them Hamas leaders have called for a worldwide Jihad against the Jewish people the killing of people simply because they are Jews this is indeed a call for genocide against Jewish people it is UN entirely unlike the war against terrorism which Israel was drawn into when the invading Hamas terrorists from Gaza barbarically murdered 1,200 Israeli citizens civilians and other residents in Israel on October 7th and I would like to uh refer to um a statement that was made by an expert in the uh in the field of War Colonel Richard uh Kemp commander of the British forces in Afghanistan after Hamas he stated after hamas's Savage Massacre and kidnapping of Israeli citizens the IDF took Extraordinary Measures as part of its defensive military action to give Gaza civilians advanced notice of targeted areas dropping millions of leaflets broadcasting radio messages sending texts and making tens of thousands of phone calls never in the history of warfare has an army phoned its enemy and told them where they are going to drop their bombs no army takes such risks in order to protect civilians as the Israeli Army does and I would also like to point out that the reason that we even find our here in this room tonight discussing this topic uh for the EMP teth time is simply because Hamas invaded Israel's Sovereign territory kidnapped its civilians brutally murdered raped beheaded and did unmentionable atrocities and uh at this point is still perpetuating a war that could stop literally tomorrow if they were to release the hostages the innocent hostages that are now being held in captivity in Gaza and uh I think that that's that's the primary um thought that we should leave here with tonight release the hostages end the war one has to happen before the other thank you [Applause] gentleman with the red shirt red sleeve on trying to trying to mix here of he's not part of our group of the not not a matter of part of a group or there's one group here it's called residents of East Brunswick I'd gladly sit down you could pick somebody else and I'll take the next slot after them if you'd like that's sort of like not that okay gentleman with the black shirt on hang on to support what the okay president just said about us all being one people good good to know and you are hello my name is Zan godri where do you live I live in 18 goit Drive in Spotswood you're in Spotswood MH so I used to be a resident of East Brunswick and most of my family and friends are from here and I have strong family ties in the community including my in-laws who live here um East Brunswick has been a great space to be in until very recently uh not because of the people inhabiting this including the community members who are here today but because of the people who are governing it so I want to call to action to you uh this Council I see this council's choice to stay silent in a matter of genocide committed by the inhabitants of the sister city of yovi as appalling in addition I'm appalled by this council's decision to uphold a sickness sacredness of the space here last time when a person got up in front and called Palestinian supporters as terrorists members of Nazi uh Nazi supporters and Isis members and you each one of you said nothing so for you guys to allow someone to speak like that to any members of your own Community was really appalling and that is something you guys should be ashamed of you guys should have spoken up and told that individual to stop do notay display hate speech same way we stop our community or anyone else from displaying any hate uh comments against anyone else so it's members of your as a council you guys should have stepped up and in fact in that same meeting you did however kick out a person who dropped the f bomb so how can we trust you to police hate speech when it's happening right in front of you and while you're in a position of power so you do not deserve to be in this power and recently mayor Co and you held a Unity March but how can we support your call for Unity when we can't even be unified in a call for a ceasefire and a genocide that's killed tens of thousands of children your silence and decision to hold a neutral stance when refugee camps are burned and babies are charged to the bone is a Badge Of Dishonor to the city that the city has to wear you have whatever strange morals you have that you are holding up will not get you your next votes so today our ask is very simple and I would like an answer from this Council on this the council should ask for or call for an immediate ceasefire and sever all ties with yv uh lastly um as part of Memorial Day we should recognize the sacrifices of our Armed Forces including Heroes like Aaron Bushnell who as an American Soldier was stained by the guilt of the American military's complicity in this genocide and uh in in in comment to one of the other uh gentleman's or comment in regards to the use of the word genocide these are not our words we're not coming up with the word the genocide it's it's happened and it's in fact these are the words of the international court of justice which by the way is a similar tribunal that many many years ago had decided upon crimes that were committed against the Jewish people by Nazis so we would like to request this Council to respond to us on a call for ceasefire and severing all ties with with yavi thank you is there a response thank you is there a response for the third time you can take your seat thank you thank you okay we don't need outbursts okay save it for another look a not here you are my name's Howard Goldberg I'm from New Brunswick New Jersey but recent recently left East Brunswick being a resident for over 25 years where are you in New Brunswick Howard I'm uh on Birch Court thank you floor is yours uh first I want to apologize to the city council uh because this is definitely not a forum for what's happening right now here this you're here for city government not federal government inter or international issues but unfortunately we've been put into this position and so I find myself here uh to counteract the U Mission or or and represent the other side since since the anti-israel side um has insisted on turning this into a form so I apologize for the for the time the waste of time and money that being said at the beginning of this session we all stood many stood up for these um for the Pledge of Allegiance and I noticed that there were many that did not and I was very saddened by that because the very rights that we state in our in our um uh in in in that statement is what gives these folks the right to actually come here and convey their thoughts and their beliefs and their feelings and their opinions which certainly do have uh a legal right to be expressed in this country in other countries particularly uh uh Arab states you won't find that ability you won't find the right for the women to get educated you won't find equal rights amongst gay uh people or uh people who choose to have faiths that are different than what the state demands that you do but there is one state there is the state of Israel that is a democratic state where people of all diverse backgrounds and cultures enjoy the freedom of expression and living their lives particularly um Arabs who are Israeli citizens enjoy and would never want to give up the ver I've scanned social media I've interviewed others and I find that the majority of Arab Israelis are so thrilled and happy to lead uh uh a happy life in Israel what I wished for since the beginning of October 7th was that there would be leaders of the Palestinian and Arab community that would stand up and uh invite an open Forum where there could be discussion and and uh information shared personto person um unfortunately I haven't seen that happen and so I come here today and say let's move this forum here and let's put it somewhere that could be really productive where we can sit with each other and talk about these things where we can separate the propaganda and the false narratives and the hate from both sides that are spewing out inaccuracies and false information and let's try to get down to some core ideals that we can all agree upon and perhaps we can make some Headway here so um in closing um uh I just would uh ask that everybody make an effort to try to find a much more productive way to make this happen instead of uh doing it in this in this forum which is is really we're preaching to our own choir here in this forum and our words are falling upon closed ears we we all know we all know the uh we've all heard this information before and it could be done in a much more productive way thank [Applause] you people are supposed to be um addressing gentlemen not the audience I'm sorry you had your five I a matter of people are supposed to be addressing the president or they supposed to be addressing the the body I kind of threatening he had five minutes to talk okay good evening hi good evening uh I'm Hass Miraj and I'm coming from piscatway pisc 621 hos Lane West thank you so um I will thank you all of you for giving me an opportunity and other people here to talk about about this very essential very important issue that's going on it's not about a town or city it has become a global issue and when it becomes a global issue it's a human Humanity issue it's not about Muslims Jews or Christians we see that Jews are being killed we see so many Muslims are being killed now and the Christians as well so what I'm talking about is uh why ceasefire is necessary now it's simple whatever is happening it is of War uh and it is killing people from both sides but obviously the Palestinians are being killed like anything we I I understand that 1200 Israelis were killed and that is not at all good that is very painful but there is no comparison 12200 to 35,000 there's no comparison so each life matters but then you have to see what is defined as defense and what is defined as killing and as said genocide is not anybody's words it is uh the word recognized by all over uh all over the world now I'm here also uh to give a a little clue about the American values we are all Americans I'm not originally an American but I have become an American I'm not a Palestinian but I am a human American and what I have learned in America in my stay for the last 20 25 years is the human values so when we look at Gaz what is happening the civilians are killed yes if you want to fight Hamas fight Hamas but there's no justification to kill 35,000 innocent civilians to decimate the whole generation to make the offense of the whole generation there's no justification something has to be done and it has to be done by all human beings around regardless whether we are Christians Jews or Muslims we are abrahamic faith we three of us the other thing I want to talk I'm a psychiatrist and I treat PTT SD and other mental illnesses when I see what's happening now in Gaza I I I don't I don't know what is going to happen to those children who are going to this traumatic event every day day and night what has happened in Israel on 7th October is definitely very bad very painful but that unfortunately has happened now we don't want to continue the same type of thing to happen on they all they are all human beings they're all human beings so see fire at this point can stop the further suffering of the human beings so this is very important this is very important that's why we are here that's why I'm here from bisat because this is a human issue we are killing human beings I understand this is not a war actually this is you know Israel is one of the biggest military and there's nobody to defend those civilians you're bombing civilians what can they do so this is not a war this becomes a genocide and we have to stop it for the sake of humanity for the sake of human beings regardless who is being killed and who is killing so I I condemned killing of everybody I condemned loss of every life but at this point today what is happening is that the innocent children are being killed and they have no home they have no water they have no shelter they have no place I mean just imagine we all have children we all I have children I can't sleep in the night night when I see some videos I again say 7th October was very painful but that unfortunately happened but you can't continue to repeat those things today and tomorrow and onwards if there's a war with Hamas fight Hamas but there is no justification to kill 35 36,000 and to continue and then not to listen to the International Community not to listen to the international resolutions so I think so this makes a big case that we must uh here in every town uh support this human cause it's not about International cause it's about human cause and that's why I would request the council to please a ceasefire resolution we can do whatever we can do to stop this Bloodshed from both sides and I hope uh uh I can say so much everybody can say so much but the whole the only word is to save the human life now thank you so much gentleman with the blue sweater on in second row I do believe he had his hand up he's chatting with his my name is Dr David we been I live in East Bruns for about 60 50 years I live what what's your street address 12 Constitution Court I will be brief a few days ago in the opet section of the New York Times Brett Stevens succinctly explained this whole situation America has been in several Wars that we did not win Vietnam was one and lately Afghanistan is another one we fought those Wars to protect another country and at the end of the day we had to leave and in those Wars we killed thousands of people and at the end of the day we left there was no danger to the American people and therefore we were able to leave whenever the United States was involved in a war where our survival where American citizens were in danger America my country did everything we could to make sure our country survived Pearl Harbor was an act of war against the US and unfortunately we had to kill several hundred, people to make sure that our country survived and all our leaders who fought that war were honored as Heroes October 7th was Israel's Pearl Harbor where Americans Israeli citizens were provely slaughtered murdered by Kamas like my country the USA Israel has to do what it has to do to make sure its country survives what the USA did in World War II is not genocide but a fight for survival and what Israel is now doing is also not genocide but a fight for survival the charter of Hamas clearly states that all Jews and not Israeli but all Jews must be killed Israel Will Survive go to Israel and if you have to go to a hospital you probably will be treated by an Arab Israeli go to a cab the cab driver probably will be an Arab Israeli Arabs and Jews can live together if they choose the answer is simple Hamas free the hostages and stop trying to kill my people thank [Applause] you L of point was at a point where we're going to go with uh two more speakers and then we're going to end this particular session I'm going to say the the person with the mask on Susan Gordon 111 Willow of North planfield I am Jewish I am anti-zionist and as a Jew of conscience I stand 100% % in solidarity with Palestine I speak out both as a Jew and an American at what the state of Israel does in my name Integrity demands that I speak out against the ethnic cleansing that Israel has committed against Palestinians for over 100 years ignoring Injustice because we are not the victims makes us all potential victims of the next atrocity Israel has destroyed everything in Gaza that can sustain life with the goal of making it uninhabitable by Palestinians whom they want gone using every ethnic cleansing every genocidal tool at their disposal Israel has eliminated destroyed damaged everything the health sector infrastructure schools and universities mosques churches libraries homes water treatment plants entire neighborhoods refugee camps the destruction was not collateral damage it was specifically targeted damage Israel also targets the West Bank with there is no Hamas presence and the violence against Palestinians has been per perpetrated for decades and decades before there was a Hamas the same Hamas that Netanyahu funded for his own tactical reasons to destroy Palestine Desmond 22 and Nelson Mandela who were well aware firsthand of what apartheid looks like stated that the apartheid in occupied Palestine was more horrendous than that in South Africa Israel by the way supported South Africa and offered them nuclear weapons it still supplies arms to repressive regimes across the globe zionists instead of looking inward at their own culpability claim the world's reactions to every atrocity committed by Israel as anti-Semitism though they have conveniently subverted the definition of anti-semitism to focus on opposition to Israel's crimes they focus on Israel not actual Jews they claim that every excuse me they claim that every instance of people speaking out against Israel State terrorism is because the world hates Jews the world does not hate Jews they hate the zionists they hate them despite the fact they are Jews it is Zionist cruelty violence and Decades of crimes against humanity that they hate not Jews and Israel shamefully uses Jews as human Shields as justification for stealing another people's land the primary victims of Israel of course are the Palestinians but Zionism also endangers Jews Zionism is inherently anti-semitic what could be more anti-semitic than conflating a fascist political ideology Zionism with an entire religion Judaism mislabeling Israel a Jewish State when it is a Zionist State makes all Jews complicit for Israel's clim crimes fomenting anti-Semitism while Israel is doing this they ignore actual anti-Semitism and they May partner with actual anti-semites such as Christian fascists who are pro-israel for their own agendas Israel's crimes do not stop a genocide Israel through its lobbies is directly responsible for the dramatic increase in fascism across the West censorship criminalization of speech employment and educational interference electoral interference doxing State control of print and social media death threats increased State surveillance ignoring international human humanitarian law and the proliferation of unconstitutional laws all in service to a foreign genocidal State hundreds of international human rights organizations and Scholars of genocide have said that what Israel is doing is a classic case of genocide including Jewish Israeli genocide scholar Ros seagull of Stockton University here in New Jersey calling for a permanent ceasefire is the minimum to be demanded [Applause] [Applause] evening you are good evening thank you I'm Dorian dantowitz 18 van he High Court East Brunswick 18 18 vanis Court East Brunswick we've lived here about 17 years raised our children here um and wow I'm still sort of reeling from what I just heard which is an absolute example of why this is the greatest country in the world this level of Free Speech is amazing I heard just heard from a Jew who is anti-zionist okay my I'm a Jew I am Zionist Zionism means to me the rights of a minority people Jews in the Middle East to self-determination that's what Zionism means to me I want to say that the suffering and death of gods and civilians is heartbreaking it is hideous what is going on now the suffering and the death make no no mistake it began on October 7th with a brutal attack by Hamas which is not over it's not over because if you'd like me to not show this I will but there are still civilians being held hostage by Gaz by Hamas in Gaza infants children who are there kidnapped with their mother if Hamas or anyone wants peace with Israel Israel wants peace with all of its neighbors all of them I have not heard one person on the other side say they want peace with Israel I have heard them say free Palestine when I hear free Palestine that says to me destroy Israel free Palestine means destroy Israel that is not a call for peace that is a call for war when I hear end the occup occupation that I hear and Israel please help me with my time oh we good end the occupation means destroy Israel that's what I hear what I'm not hearing is peace with Israel I pray for peace multiple times a day for all innocent civilians peace with Israel peace with all of Israel's neighbors peace for the civilians the path to peace is peace with Israel Israel has a right to exist I stand with Israel's right to exist thank you thank you all for coming out this evening we're going to take a five s minute recess so that you can either go back out to your cars we're we have still have a lengthy meeting to take care of but with regard to the microphone being open I've concluded that and we'll take a recess okay we're back everyone and let's see moving into some uh some budget resolutions correct so we have resolution 24 hyphen 162 Miss lawful would you please read Okay resolution oriz the adoption off resolution authorizing the adoption of the amendment to the municipal budget of the township of East Brunswick for calendar year 2024 may I have a motion move to adopt and a second second we're going to open this up to the public if is there anyone from the public wishing to comment on resolution 24 hyen 162 seeing then we'll close the public portion a roll call please um I just have to read the oh we not oh so it's on you yeah I'm just going to read the whole thing and then just got to read it okay Okay resolution 24-1 162 whereas the local Municipal budget for the year 2024 was approved on the 25th day of March 2024 the budget amendment was approved on the 13th day of May 2024 and whereas the public hearing on said budget and the budget amendment has been held as advertised and whereas it is desired to amend the said introduced budget now therefore be it resolved by the township Council of the township of East Brunswick County of middlex state of New Jersey that the following amendments to the approved introduced budget of 2024 be made as follows as it pertains to the current fund revenues miscellaneous section a local revenues interest on investments and deposits the following amendments are being made from 1, 675,000 to 1,951 437 in $1 total changes an increase of $276,400 th000 to 857,921 Total change an increase of $ 57,4 180 Council on affordable housing reimbursement from $81,500 180 to 24 $47 total change a decrease of $ 57,4 19180 utility operating surplus of Prior Year from $0 to $900,000 a total change of an in an increase of $900,000 sewer Utility Fund balance from 900,000 to 0 a total change a decrease of $900,000 the total General Revenue in terms of amendments that were made were from 8,335 719 22 to 80 m61 12,156 43 cents the total change is $276,400 [Applause] C continuing with the current fund General Appropriations sheet 17 unclassified National opioid settlement from $0 to $ 32,1 18561 total change an increase of $ 32,1 18561 sheet 18 D deferred charges and statutory expenditures deferred charges parking utility deficit from 600,000 to $876,000 121 uh the total change is an increase of $276,400 1,155 to 1,662 144 total change and increase of 150,000 $15,856 Police and Firemen's retirement system total changes from $ 4,569 51 to $ 4,126 n88 the total change is an increase of $703 I will now proceed with Appropriations excluded from the cap sheet 20 a operations excluded from caps Police and Firemen's retirement system exclusion from $7,350 to 0 total change is a decrease of $70,300 police employees retirement system exclusion from $15,856 to $0 a total change a decrease of 50,8 59 $15,856 public and private programs offset by revenues National opioid sett settlement from $ 32,1 18561 to $0 total change a increase of $ 32,1 18561 summary of General Appropriations sheet 30 operations excluded from caps uh actually you can just uh ignore that uh the total General Appropriations uh that were made or amendments uh is 8,335 7922 uh amendments were made from that to 8, 62,1 15643 the difference or the total Amendment between both numbers is $276,400 operating Surplus anticipated from 670,000 to 393,000 21 special items of General anticipated with prior written consent of director of local government services deficit General budget from 600,000 to 876,00 $ 43721 total change and increase of $276,400 m697 600 to 3,697 600 there are no changes proceeding to sewer utility revenues the following amendments are being made dedicated revenues from sewer utility operating Surplus anticipated from 3,400,000 to 2,500,000 the total change is a decrease of $900,000 the total sewer utility Appropriations the changes are from 10, 600,000 to 9,700 th000 the total change is a decrease of 900,000 and lastly sewer utility appropri ations Appropriations for store utility Surplus uh in the general budget from $900,000 to 0 the total change is a decrease of 900,000 the total changes that are being made for the sewer utility Appropriations is from 10, 600,000 to 9,700 th000 the total changes is a decrease of 900 ,000 that's it that's all and for those in the audience who are still with us you're reading off of this document better eyes than I thank goodness for ruler okay so can we go we can go right to the roll yeah we'll go right to the roll call then please I'm sorry did we have a motion uh councilman bahal yes councilman wendal yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman zenii yes and council president maoy yes resolution 24 uh 163 the budget adoption is there some read just a straight vote not even okay so we don't need a motion a motion motion motion to approve and a second second uh please call the RO Mr la Council Bal yes councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman siki yes and council president makoy yes and I think I think finally finally yes we can give the mayor his procedural I'm checking with my CFO got to open the floor to the budget amendment we did we did we did yeah okay didn't hear it it was quick no one quick no one was want to make sure CU all right we want to want make sure all the on camera right resolution 24164 the official budget adoption motion approve second second oh the and okay can I read you want to read yes please resolution authorizing the adoption of the 2024 Municipal budget be it resolved by the township Council of the township of East Brunswick County of middlex state of New Jersey that the 2024 budget as set forth is hereby adopted and shall constitute an appropriation for the purposes stated of the sums therein set forth as Appropriations and authorization of the amount of 4 42,900 two for municipal purposes and 3,418 182 for minimum Library Levy uh a quick summary of revenues eneral Revenue Surplus anticipated will be $4 million miscellaneous revenues anticipated 28 28,9 54,9 6841 receipt from delinquent taxes 1 million 555,000 amount to be raised by taxation for municipal purposes item 6A and Sheet 11 42 m960 362 amount to be raised by taxation minimum Library Levy Levy 3,141 1882 total revenues 80 m61215 643 summary of Appropriations General Appropriations within caps operations including contingency 47,49 6274 to for charges and statutory expenditures Municipal 8, 84243 121 excluded from caps operations total operations excluded from caps 6,9 19,29 Capital Improvements $900,000 Municipal debt service 12,890 n uh reserve for uncollected taxes include other reserves if any 3,650 7177 total Appropriations is 80 m61215 643 that's all okay need yes we have a motion for a roll just roll call please councilman Bal yes and councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman ziki yes and council president makoy yes now we're going that's the way I look at it all those numbers flying around million here million there can we move to consent to Jack mayor I just wanted to thank you uh Council for uh adopting this budget I know it's a long process it seems totally illogical that in any organization that you would adopt the budget halfway through the year uh no business would ever do that but um uh but government has to work in a a different uh a different set of accounting principles uh the budget process is long and tedious I know a lot of you had to sit and listen to numbers I'm sure you realize it after a while they were just balancing out numbers because when you make your budget has to go to the Department of Community Affairs to get approved if they have Corrections adjustments that need to be made those then have to be moved from one column to another so you see that most of those numbers which statutorily need to be read to all of you every single blessed number um but that's the law um but they balance out and at the end of the day I think that we put together a budget that is uh sound fiscally responsible gets the services and the products and things that we need to have the town work the way it's supposed to and give the services that people enjoy here and with it all over the last uh seven years in office uh the municipal portion of your tax budget I cannot make a comment on schools I can't make a comment on County Fire districts I can only talk about what we can do here which is 20% of your tax bill or the municipal portion of your tax bill that increase on average over the last last s years has been 0.5% per year it averages out to about a little less than a dollar per month for all the municipal services that we provide H I think I don't think it's possible to um to be that you know more fiscally responsible than that and yet provide the wealth of services that people have here in town so it's a team we do it together and I thank you for for helping us get to this point now you're welcome mayor thank you consent agenda um oh on Mr wend some some discussion on consent before we I I'm I'm not looking to pull anything I just want to talk about 24165 24166 and 24174 I know we've had problems with fireworks and the noises previously and we've had demonstrations right right has there been discussion with the fireworks and are they going to be meeting our you know our two a month what they do get two a month in understood but right we we set an ordinance you know we put an ordinance in place a year or so ago for that but I'm just curious we have not been happy with the level of the noise and I'm curious about these two is there has there been any discussion or any further discussions about the noise level after the last uh fireworks display when there was some comment from the public our uh previous Township attorney I know I had had further discussions with the provider regarding uh keeping within the ordinance uh explain to them they need to uh abide by that and if you know if these two don't work out then we just don't give them anym yeah same with the cleanliness too yes and the same thing coun Wendell with regard to drones and lasers that's the the new W I would love to see that haven't seen them come back with some ideas yeah I mean I've been worker football games where they've had drone displays and it's incredible all of that the problem with drones it is very cost expensive it's incredibly expensive and unless you get big corporate sponsors and stuff like that it's it's next to Impossible cuz you're talking about hundreds or thousands of drones in order to achieve understood but you know this is these two uh June 21st and June 7th are both you know private displays that are for a private event right and we are not it's not incumbent upon us to have to do this understand I I don't think I don't think the ability of it being cost prohibitive should be something that we should be concerned about we should be concerned about our residents more than understand I will ask uh Mr aoka to discuss with Mr Baker and circle back with Starfire and and give us a brief report that that was achieved what's the other number uh C uh 24174 it's just uh the St Mary's and St Stevens's y Coptic Church um where is the carnival being held and are we over in Pine Ridge at that church okay are we do we have a traffic plan and a parking plan or a busing plan I know that residents came through here last year regarding that because the the traffic they they I'm sure that was all rectified last year because they had the festival after they came and chatted with us okay okay so so we're conf we're confident that we we we are not going to be impeding on the neighborhood right too greatly the Overflow right yes okay I'm fine with then those are the only questions that I had and I appreciate your good your uh you know comments great um if nobody else any has any comments I'll make a a um to adopt uh the consent agenda from 2465 to 24880 Second and second okay roll call councilman Bal yes councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes Council woman zime yes and council president makoy yes resolution 2411 I'm sorry I'm sorry mayor Kong I know that uh you we were able to do this as one um motion but I just also wanted to point out to the public that in those resolutions was close to a million dollars in Grants that the township received from various different agencies the largest being a Federal grant of $750,000 which is going to the new HVAC system at the library uh which is our building so that would have fallen on the responsibility of the township to to do that uh and that was through the infrastructure grant that the federal government provided during uh um the Biden Administration we applied for that and it was uh approved so I just think it's worth noting some of the other grants are are smaller but nonetheless the million dollars in Grants is a million dollars less to do things that would have otherwise come out of the property taxpayers here and we will have additional ones at the next meeting we're waiting for the notice of awards to come in uh that chapter 159's will be on the next agenda all good news great thank you mayor thank you Mr culo ordinance 2411 an ordinance of the township of East Brunswick County of middlex state of New Jersey amending chapter 209 vehicle and traffic of the township code to include violations for parking obstructions and incumbrances in streets motion approved second second roll call please councilman ball yes councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman zimi yes and council president mavo yes for the good of the cause I know session I'm sorry I'm sorry we're good we have the resolution close session yeah we that's next I'm course first yes thank you council president I just want to reiterate um thanks again to Angel and and our mayor and everyone else involved in the budget for creating such a flat Common Sense budget it shows excellent stewardship to our taxpayers and um I'm very proud to sit on this Das and and be able to vote Yes confidently because I my questions have been answered your open door policy with respect to my my citizen type questions because don't know everything about the budget process nor the budget itself you've been very open and explanatory and um I I just really appreciate that and it's it's good for it's good for the township when we all thoroughly understand what we're voting on and what we're doing with our money their money their money thank you thank you good thank okay we have a resolution 24881 we're going to roll call a minute we we we need to go into close session and uh motion to adopt second second roll call please councilman Bal yes councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman ziki yes and council president makoy yes and then following the uh following the uh executive session or the closed session we come back just to end the meeting so that's will not be Tak no action will be no action okay now we have to I get a motion motion to go into Clos session yes second second roll call please thanks guys councilman Bal yes thank you councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman ziki yes and council president M yes