good evening everyone and welcome to the township of East Brunswick Township Council ree organization meeting for the year 2024 please rise to salute the flag and remain standing for a moment of silence to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all please remain standing for a moment of silence you may now be seated this is nice came out nice yeah I'll proceed with the roll call followed by the statement of adequate notice councilman Bal councilman makoy here councilman Wendell here councilwoman Winston here council president I'm sorry councilwoman ziki 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 the 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 the first item on the agenda is resolution 24-1 appointing the township council president for the year 2024 may I please have a nomination yes thank you thank you president McAvoy has been a stellar leader in East Brunswick he has appr proven track record of addressing all issues with Fidelity and is a consumate public servant Kevin's characteristics of being an active and proactive listener being inquisitive implementing decisions with care and a trusted public servant and passionate and active citizen of our community make him the perfect candidate to be chosen as president of the East Brunswick Township Council again I believe the citizens of East Brunswick respect Kevin makoy and trust that his heart is always in the right place when making decisions for our community personally I've learned a great deal from Kevin by working closely with him he provides solid leadership to the council and is valued for his frankness for his collaborative manner for his ability to facilitate discussion in a productive Manner and for his proactive approach to problem solving in I therefore proudly and humbly nominate councilman Kevin T McAvoy for president of the East Brunswick Council may I have a second I'd like to second that all these years working with Kevin in fact uh I was one of the council people who appoint him be to be mayor and he show nothing but leadership to the residents to the other Council people to the employees in town and I am proud to nominate I second the nomination for council president to Kevin makoy are there any additional nominations there be none I will now close the nomination process and proceed with a roll call councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilman makoy yes and councilwoman ziki yes congratulations council president makoy I will now turny to me in over to you and thank you for that warm Round of Applause at this time I'm going to open up the day as for nominations for Council vice president council president councilwoman Winston thank you this evening it is my honor to nominate councilwoman Dr Dana ziki as this year's Council vice president there's no denying her qualification and experience as an effective leader with over 25 years as a public school teacher before moving on to serve as the East Brun Education Foundation president for the last 12 Dana is the epitome of what leadership should be having campaigned and having worked with her for over two years I myself have had a front row seat in witnessing her in action always mindful of who she represents and her purpose Dana's compassion Grace dedication and camaraderie with all residents and stakeholders is inspir ational her commitment to our community is Relentless whether it's clothing the poor supporting our veterans or celebrating the education community and so much more she is a willing Champion for anyone she happens to meet Dana walks the talk and would never put her ego before the common good she is selfless and her Integrity is unshakable I'm extremely proud to serve alongside her on this day and if you're looking to learn how to be a better leader or a better human being watch and learn I do East Brunswick is in the best of hands with her in leadership thank you I hereby nominate Dr Dana ziki for Council vice president um I'd like to second that nomination um having worked with Dana for over the past three years two and a half years uh really didn't know much of Dana before that enough to say hello to around town but um we've become I listen I highly respect everything you do and the way you work and the passion you put into everything you do and you know we've become friends colleagues and I would love to continue to work with you and under your leadership uh for the next year so I second the nomination for Dana ziki for Vice President are there any other nominations for vice president close the nomination process roll call please councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman ziki yes and council president Michael Boy Yes before you Council you have resolution 23 hyphen 03 may I have a motion for the resolution adopting the minutes from the December 26th meeting motion approv is there any discussion for clarification purpose prot call prot call please Captain min oh I beg your pardon thank you jump jumping ahead Let's uh Bible he has he's holding it own Bible the of off I do was down that way C but you given no we got sent down that way do you have the old o that is not the do I have it no oh okay where is it until yes down and get it we're going to take a short recess we can't find the oath put the put the blame on [Music] me even are we ready I think so okay we'll be uh administering the oath of office first first for president of the township Council so after me I please state your name hi Kevin McAvoy do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and I will bear true faith and allegiance to and allegiance to the same the same and to the Govern and to the government established in the United States established in the United States and this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I will faithfully and I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties all the duties of town council president of town council president according to the best of my ability according to the best of my abilities so help me God so help me God congratulations council president your turn my turn your turn so I please state your name I Dana and Vicki do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and I will bear true faith and I will bear true true faith and Allegiance to and allegiance to the same the same and to the governments established and to the governments established in the united states in the United States and this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people and I will faithfully and I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties all the duties of council vice president of council vice president according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations Council vice [Applause] president now get back to resolution 24 hy3 motion we're good try it again get a motion make a motion please for uh resolution 2403 which are the uh minutes from the December 26 meeting motion to approve any second uh discussion or clarification seeing none V call please councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman ziki abstain andoun council president maabo yes at this time I would like to call upon Mr David lonsky to present our retiring reti Township attorney Mr Michael Baker with a resolution of accommodation Mr lonsky Mr Baker Podium is yours thank you council president uh distinguished uh members of the Das and Council of the mayor uh first of all happy New Year I want to uh welcome everyone Mike can you weigh your right hand you solemnly swear sorry um this is a resolution 244 of the township of East Brunswick and Mike I know it's unusual for you to be on this side of the day is having served on that side for for about 20 years between your term as Council man council person person and also um Township attorney so we welcome you to the right side and welcome you to retirement um also would like to welcome those members of your firm that came out this evening to uh celebrate your evening and to congratulate yeah well they've been trying to do that for years I think the entire executive board from your firm is just pretty close see if we could vote on something um resolution honoring Michael Baker on his retirement as Township attorney whereas Michael Mike Baker received his Bachelor of Science from Lehi University his jurist Doctorate from Brooklyn law school and passed the New Jersey State Bar in 1982 and then began his career with the law firm hogland Longo Moran dunon duas LLP and whereas Mike began his tenure as East Brunswick's Township attorney in January of 1997 and whereas he has been one of the longest serving Township attorneys in the history of the township of East Brunswick serving a total of 18 years and whereas prior to becoming Township attorney Mike had served the township of East Brunswick and the state of New Jersey for many years before and whereas Mike served on the Township Recreation and Parks Advisory Board from 1979 to 1982 was elected and served as town as Township council person from 1983 to 1986 and was the youngest serving council member in East Brunswick's history at that time he was the East brunic Democratic organization chairman from 1988 to 1992 and further served as an assemblyman in the New Jersey general assembly in 1991 and whereas Mike served as Township attorney for Brunswick from 1997 to 2008 and then from 2018 to 2023 among such similar service in other municipalities I should mention during that uh brief period from 2008 to 18 he continued to serve as special counsel for the township of East bronck so really he's been serving our community for um 25 to 30 years in that range um in that capacity throughout his time as Township attorney Mike has provided the governing body with sound legal advice and has successfully guided the township through its most challenging times and whereas during his tenure as a Township council member and as the township attorney Mike oversaw Acquisitions of hundreds of Acres of Farmland within the township for open space preservation and whereas as a former elected official Mike is has remained involved in politics and government serving as general Council to the New Jersey Democratic State committee from 2010 to 2013 and as a me as a member on two New Jersey Department of Health advisory boards and whereas Mike is valued as a colleague and a friend to the governing body Administration and the executive staff in East Brunswick and I'll throw me in there too so thank you for that and whereas throughout his Decades of service to the township he has demonstrated exemplary performance for the township of East Brunswick through his work ethic leadership team spirit accessibility and enthusiasm for his duties and whereas oh now you're not Mike Anymore Michael jbaker has retired a partner and a member of the firm's executive management committee at hogland Longo Moran Dunston Dukas LLP effective December 31st 2023 and will be retiring at as the township attorney for the township of East bronswick and whereas Mike loves the township of East brunwick a community in which he was raised and a community in which he continues to reside and whereas Mike has made an indelible impact to our community and the lives of its residents and whereas Mike looks forward to continuing his Hobbies of farming woodworking politics and travel in his retirement now therefore be it resolved by the mayor and Township Council of the township of East Brunswick that they hereby extend their sincere and grateful appreciation to Michael Baker for his 40 Years of dedication and outstanding service to the township of East Brunswick congratulate him on his well-earned retirement and wish him happiness and good health in the years to [Applause] come [Applause] thank you very much people watching on thank you I think you have to vote on it yeah I was going to say we haven't really voted on it so it's not real yet uh we get a photo shoot on on that onei let's we could did you want to vote on the sure let's do that first a motion to approve motion Mr Council second second councilwoman Winston roll call councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman zimi yes and council president maoy yes photoo photos thank David for the plug for my Kev you were giv this too one more one more just one more please congratulations again so as as you very well know from your time serving representing uh East Brunswick in the state legislature um sometimes the uh uh sessions go long so your current legislators are down in treaton right now and we're able to make this so they ask that I present this to you so this is a a resolution on behalf of um our state uh really listing all of the incredible accomplishments that you have um done from Council and legislature as uh Mr lonsky had said and um you know not to reiterate most of it I mean a lot of it is is U um just you don't have to reiterate any of it I won't but but I want to say you know since the the assemblyman asked me to speak here for me as someone who's about to finish law school this this sentence in particular really I thought um embodied what you are and and throughout his exemplary career Michael J baker has continuously demonstrated an uncommon measure of public spiritedness and in so doing he's provided a model of faithful commitment worthy of emulation and set a standard of personal and professional excellent towards which others might drive and if there's anyone to look towards uh as an aspiring attorney um to emulate you are definitely uh someone that fits that so thank you with your immense career I think uh U good luck in your retirement for thank you retirement that is appreciate it thank [Applause] you one more Mr Baker and our Township Clerk M La will have done going to read from the in honor of your outstanding services and dedication to the township the governing body would like to honor you with the plaque as an appreciation for all you have done throughout your tenure in the township of East Brunswick you have made an indelible impact on our community and we are honored to have been Guided by your leadership as you Embark upon your new journey of retirement we hope that you find this journey fulfilling but note that you have left behind a legacy that is worthy to be followed Mike you'll be truly truly [Applause] missed floor my turn thank um had some things I thought of of saying uh tonight um first is uh you know I started this when I was 11 years old don't worry I'm not going every year uh handing out literature with my older sister in political campaigns and it just seems like yesterday yesterday not 55 years ago I want to thank all of you I want to thank my partners I want to thank the community who came out to help me celebrate my retirement uh so my my parents moved here in their early 50s uh because East brunic was a place that had a good reputation for schools it was near the turnpike and because it was a diverse Community now back then diversity was different there were Jews Protestants Catholics Irish Poes Germans and Italians nothing like the great diversity that we have in our community today but that's always been a strength of our our community I'm very proud of our community for that believe we have 27 to 30 houses of worship and we've always been able to get along even when we had issues that we disagreed upon we just did it uh respectfully uh my first boss uh when I was in college told me if you want to go into public service take your job seriously but not yourself seriously my second boss when I was a young councilman the mayor here Bill fox said uh whatever you do in public service don't put politics ahead of the public good and I have to say I've tried to live that tried not to take myself too seriously but I will tell you that there is a price uh for public service some of us suffer more than others that is me when I started out uh and I was 50 pounds lighter uh I I do have to say that those those characteristics of not taking yourself seriously but taking your job seriously and never putting uh the the public interest behind politics are something that the four Mayors I've served with and I think I counted 24 25 council members have all followed so I want to thank all of you and all the previous Mayors and council members and all the township employees I've worked with over the years they are our unsung heroes our police officers here tonight our Emergency Management director somewhere out in the hallway uh there the folks that make government run and you all are the folks that make East Brunswick what it is so thank you very much let's take a few uh comments from the day I see if anyone has anything prepared Mr aoka our new attorney why don't you start us off Mike I'd like to congratulate you on your retirement at the firm of hu Longo Mor dunon ducas Mike you've been a mentor and a dear friend of mine for over 20 years I'm very grateful to have been able to work and learn from you you're one of the best attorneys I've ever met and you're just a good person who truly cares about your family friends and East Brunswick Community aside from resolving legal issues whenever there's a major life issue my family and I will always ask hey what would Mike do and we usually give you a call you're the gold standard in September of 2000 my first day at the firm you brought me here at the East brunswood Council for my first meeting and here we are this evening it's been an amazing ride and I hope to follow in your footsteps but the ride is not over and I look forward to seeing what the next next chapter Rings best wishes and congratulations Mike thank you Anthony and the Town's in good hands with you thank you I know we all said some comments on the meeting of the 26th but mayor well there's a an Indian saying that says that um the tree with the most fruit is the one whose branches are bent the lowest and I think that's just a sign of somebody who's extraordinarily humble um but don't make any mistake about the fact that Mike Baker is an extremely intelligent extremely committed public servant who has given Decades of service to the township and we are all the better for it there's a uh saying uh among Jews uh that says that you should strive in life for tiun which is uh translated to leave the world better than the way in which you found it and I think that that is exactly everything that Mike has stood for in his 40 Years of Serv service here to the township and we're all indebted to you for it and you serve as an example to all of us who are up here on the deis whether they are here now or um you know you worked with those that whose pictures uh align this wall um but we're all the better for it and it has made us a team and has made us a town that's extraordinarily proud of our heritage proud of where we've come proud of where we are right now and like was mentioned earlier we all don't have to agree uh that that's not practical um but we all need to treat each other with respect we all need to listen to what another and when we do that um we end up all the better for it and and you're a example of exactly what public service is about and on behalf of I know all of us up here and those who are here before us I wish you a very happy and healthy retirement okay before we move on to uh our reports uh vice president zamii the floor is yours um I just want to thank everybody first of all Dana thank you for the beautiful nomination that you gave me it was very touching um it is certainly has been a privilege to serve in this position and each of my colleagues bring so much to this Council sharing your thoughts and your perspectives which really embodies um I believe the strength of East Brunswick we are always listening we are always communicating and respectful of each other and everybody in this community so I am humbled and honored to be nominated um again as the vice president of this Council so thank you and I would i' like to say to my fellow Council me I would like to say to my fellow council members thank you for your trust and support and electing me as council president for 2024 as such I will do my due diligence to analyze each agenda and prepare with the mayor and our administrators the best possible course of action for the township and our residents moving forward along with the 18 Municipal departments we strive to provide our residents businesses and families with the best possible quality of life standards such that we can enjoy all that life in East Brunswick has to offer as a member of the planning board community housing Corporation Camp Advisory Board I am privileged to serve our residents in various advisory and legislative capacities to help ensure that we have done our homework to enforce regul regulations offer services meet safety standards and above all promote a happy and a healthy environment for our loved ones I'm proud to say that I'm your council president and I thank you for your faith in me and your continued support of my leadership thank [Applause] you sure um yeah before we move to our report section I would if we take a quick recess so that uh anyone who's been recognized so far or has given us of his time can uh scadaddle thank [Music] you con thank you council president first of all happy New Year to everybody um hoping that 2024 brings health and happiness to everybody I'd also like to congratulate um uh council president Kevin McAvoy and Council vice president Dana ziki on their roles here uh on the council and their uh approval and support from the remainder of the council members in their roles want to remind residents that uh the garbage schedule that uh is taking place started uh the new garbage schedule started on January 1 uh everybody should have received something in the mail giving explanation as to uh how that's going to work uh I know that anytime we do something new there's a little bit of a jumpy start to that and so we expected that um but please uh go back to either the township website Department of Public Works uh and if you have any questions about when your garbage is picked up which is now twice a week uh depending upon whether you are north or south of Cranbury Road if you don't know that you can go on to the Department website and typee in your address and they will tell you if you are north or south of Cranberry Road the recycling pickup is every other Wednesday and that schedule is also on the township website we will be Distributing new bins for garbage pickup once they are received we anticipate that should be sometime in March or early April they will be delivered directly to your home you will get a 95 gallon bin one for Solid Waste one for recycling uh we will be working on a mechanism to pick up garbage cans and Rec recycle cans if you want to get rid of the ones that you already have uh that's something we will announce as it gets closer to the time that we deliver those receptacles to you uh bulk pickup must be scheduled the number is on the website we'll still do it but you need to schedule that uh and I think those are the the main changes for next year there was uh an initial thought of not picking up loose leaves we've gone back on that and reexamined it and figured out that that was something that we uh will still continue to provide but that of course isn't until next fall so uh again please refer to the uh to the township website Department of Public Works if you're not sure which district you're in it's either north or south of uh Cranberry Road and um and the last thing I wanted to do is I know that part of the the uh reorganization meeting is for Council to announce those people who are on boards and commissions that either require a council approval or coun mayor's appointment with a council approval what isn't put into the public is those appointments that are made only uh by the mayor so I just wanted to read into the minutes um those individuals so that they're given the same amount of attention as those people that the the council will be voting on this evening so it's a it's a lengthly list but bear with me for on the human relations Council we will be um reappointing Elaine rizley Tamar faltos priia Kamari Ward Robinson Dy sahy Gil Iram Shakir Frank Shen and nezat soil to the library board um we will be reappointing Ken fredman Colleen talbet to the alliance for uh alcoholism and drug abuse uh Gabriella Paul Darren file Jean Christie and uh Lori Herrick to the Arts commission Elizabeth Gman Elaine rizley Howard Schmidt Joseph Alman and Cheryl brass to the cable advisory committee Steven danowit Aden kowitz and Judy Stein to the environmental commission Jack L gu lydy haramati David moscowitz and Barbara Wendell to the planning department or the planning board Muhammad Hashi Adam Neri Mary pan and Lawrence Reese and finally to the traffic advisory Susan Strand and Myra Becker and uh I just want to congratulate and thank each of the individuals who I've mentioned and who you will be voting on this evening because just as was mentioned earlier the town uh runs not only by those people who have been elected to office by the many many many people who participate in boards and commissions and councils here in the township I think that's what makes us a uh a well-rounded town with lots of interests and it's not something that any one of us could do alone but we do as a community and so on behalf of again this body and myself I want to thank all those residents who are willing to step up a put in time and contribute be back to the township because it pays dividends uh to us uh in terms of making the town just an incredibly great place to live so thank you to to all of you who are participating and again thank you council president and before I get to you're you're welcome meor con before I get to Mr culo seeing Mr kasic in the back of uh the courtroom here if there is an emergency okay we are to exit through the two doors and you may go either to the left or you may go to the right as Mr kasic nods his had an agreement sorry I did not announce that earlier Mr Chris Gul our business administrator yes on the recycling and trash collection if you do use the recycle coach it must be refreshed there was a notice sent out through the recycle coach app which is funded by the state to refresh it because you won't get the new dates so people last week that didn't refresh it but the recycling at on Thursday guess what we don't pick up recycling on Thursday it's only Wednesdays that we pick up recycling so please refresh that app because if you don't this uh the DAT is been stored in cash and you won't get the proper proper dates so you're either going to be Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Friday for garbage collection recycling every other Wednesday and it depends if you're north or south of Cranberry Road uh please refresh that app so that you got the proper dates um that's all I have for this evening council president thank you our Township Clerk Miss laul attorney Anthony first oh I'm Miss Anthony Mr R Coke our new attorney there's nothing to report at this time council president thank you thank you our Township Clerk I follow suit I have nothing to report thank you any uh council members with committee reports board reports seeing none um coun clerk will you please read our public comment statement the public comment 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 col 4-2a and the East Brunswick rules of council the council asks 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 not respond or to ask the administration to respond and when you uh uh arrive at the podium please give us your name and your address and I'll probably ask you to spell your last name does anyone wish to address the council president please my name is AA ganja a t k a last name is g u n j a I reside at 16 d8 birkshire Way East Brunswick okay um does my time start now yes okay thank you um good evening esteemed Town Council Members president makoy and Mayor Cohen we concerned members of the community return here tonight to follow up on the last Town council meeting on December 26th where I proposed a resolution for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Palestine the Town Council decided not to put the resolution up for vote because quote they do not legislate Foreign Affairs end quot I wish to respond to the council that this decision is inaccurate irresponsible and unacceptable to me in the mean in the time that has lapsed since the last council meeting two weeks ago thousands more have perished by Israeli bombardment and tens of thousands are now at risk of starvation disease and freezing cold conditions today marks Day 94 of the assault on Gaza and the West Bank and as we unconscionably marched forward towards the 100 day Mark of Israeli aggression the world continues to fail in to secure a ceasefire for Gaza due solely to the US's veto in the UN Security Council which they have abused in defiance of the rest of the world for four times in the time that has laps La lapsed since the Town Council thwarted our efforts for peace and has taken no action on this pressing Global humanitarian issue the lives of millions of innocent civilians half of them children continue to remain at risk Now 23 un and NGO agencies have found that the entire population of Gaza 2.3 million people are facing food crisis and are at imminent risk of famine the head of the world food program ARF Hussein said it doesn't get any worse than this I have never seen something at the scale that this is happening in Gaza and at this speed how quickly it is happened in just a matter of months it is a situation where pretty much everybody in guza is hungry the council says it is not get involved with International Affairs well that position is questionable in April and December 2022 the council signed proclamations to become sister cities with Riv Ukraine and yv Israel both Pro proclamations were not merely cultural gestures but had explicit political basis for rivy Ukraine we sought to help a sister city during war time Mayor Cohen then stated quote it will actually help us to get supplies and donations to Ukraine a little bit more expeditiously it's just another thing to have with another town that has and shares interests especially now that they are in need end quote in yvy Israel Mayor Cohen said that most foreign policy starts at a very granular level and similar interests and and sister city agreements help to develop bonds with people of similar interest living in a different places furthermore the township has sponsored support Ukraine events made official statements about October 7th events and Mayor Cohen even held a vigil for Israel at ebjc on October 9th therefore in just the past year we have many glaring examples of the council officials Council taking an official role in foreign matters again we reject the notion by the council last meeting that this issue is a Jewish or Muslim issue you will clearly see tonight that the call for ceasefire is a humanitarian issue encompassing every Walk of Life including Jews and Israelis calling for ceasefire and endorsed by 153 countries of this world with their vote in the UN General Assembly just this Thursday and Friday January 11th and 12th we will have a historic hearing by South Africa um at the icj the world Court the highest court of the world even higher than ICC um invoking genocide against Israel we reject any notion that our community is split over this issue yes there may be a very loud vocal faction against ceasefire in our community but National polling data clearly shows that 66 to 70% a vast major majority of Americans want ceasefire it's even higher among Democrats therefore it is safe to say that the majority of our town and New Jersey want a ceasefire you as our elected officials even at the local level and I would argue that this is the most important level have a sworn duty to represent us and an ethical responsibility to vote for an immediate ceasefire I'll yield my time thank you if I may present this is on behalf of our contingent to the off sorry to the officer this is from for the council members thank you that's good thank you anyone wish to address the uh council president on that side also good evening honorable Council um your name your address and please spell it Norman finlin 32 putam Road East Brunswick did you want good okay um honorable Council um this this is growing old not just because we had to come here two weeks ago to have this conversation maybe if this is going to continue we should all submit papers uh but really because um it was in the 19 from the 1930s through the mid-40s uh various groups the KKK the bunt the lindberg's uh pro-nazi party got together and covered themselves in banners of peace and talked about ceasefires in Germany and accused the Jews of perpetrating uh aggression against Germany uh this is very similar the October 7th attack was an attack in the middle of a ceasefire there was a ceasefire in place and Gaza attacked uh unprovoked um the October 7th attack was specifically genocidal taking over 26 uh residential areas taking captives and then murdering these P torturing and murdering these captives one after the other um the Hamas government of Gaza specifically gazi hammad on an October 24th um interview with Lebanese TV said that he was proud of the effects of October 7 and he said it would continue on and on as he said until the millionth of October until all of Israel is annihilated that's 7 million Jews 2 million Arabs and we know for a fact that they're going to attack Arab Israeli Arabs as well because the videos that Hamas presented showed them killing Israeli Arabs in these Villages um this call for a ceasefire if if they were genu genuinely interested in peace they would have talked about darur where there's a genocide going on genuine genocide where people are being captured and buried alive uh they would have talked about any of a number of the of uh persecutions China Etc they would have come every year when Gaza broke the ceasefire with new bombings new attacks on Israel but they didn't in fact that's a 16-year war when you have an ongoing repeating yearly ceasefire followed by an attack from Gaza and then uh Israel again giving a ceasefire and again an attack coming and in fact it really goes back to Oslo in the early 90s and a lot of these organizations which have organized these peace protests if you go back and you look at where they come from uh there was a re recent article in the New Yorker interviewing the founders of uh SJP the student organization who leads the uh College protests and they said with no no shame they admitted it's part of their plan that they were founded to oppose Oslo to oppose the peace process to oppose any legitimation of any Jewish presence in the Middle East to eliminate the Jews in the Middle East um so this this is a sham this is uh and excuse and I hope the commun the community will see it for what it is and reject this uh petition in the alternative if a ceasefire petition should be uh voted on uh I would like to uh I would like for that petition uh for that resolution to include the demand for the release of the hostages beforehand and for the retrieval and surrender for trial and uh of all of those who perpetrated the October 7th attack and in case in case people on this side are interested there was actually a phone number provided Yahya sinir was one of the organizers of the attack uh I can give his phone number it was it was actually given out in the UN session and he is the guy to talk to for a real ceasefire thank you ladies and gentlemen sir good evening khed zad last name z a y d I'm a resident of Piscataway uh I'm a Palestinian American and have been living in Piscataway for the past 12 years and my family as I mentioned last time is from the West Bank in occupied Palestine and and um my dad was pushed out of um Palestine after 1967 war which Israel invaded the West Bank and captured that area from the the Palestinian from the jordanians uh in 1967 and my dad became a refugee and until today my dad is not allowed to go back to live in in his hometown I'm here today because I'm here again to ask for ceasefire because ceasefire as my good friend here mentioned last time he said ceasefire basically meaning we stop Bloodshed we are asking for the Bloodshed to stop we are asking that the people of Gaza have been dying every single hour at least one child Palestinian child is being getting killed and one child is getting injured in Gaza the previous speaker said something about the Seas the the call for ceasefire is getting old but I like to remind him and remind everyone that the occupation of Palestine is getting old Palestinian people have been under milit brutal military occupation since 19 67 Israel was founded in 1948 on on on 78% of historic Palestine the Palestinians have already accepted two-state solution under the Oslo agreement in 1993 Israel have yet to allow the Palestinians to have their own State Israeli uh settlers illegal settlers who come from different places like Brooklyn New Jersey all over they come to the West Bank my area and they take our homes and just because they happen to be Jews we have good Jewish friends here that stand with the Palestinian people and stand for justice for Palestine we know that East Brunswick Council city council uh will not be able to bring an end to the uh to this so-called conflict or war or genocide but at least the council will be able to send a message tonight by calling for ceasefire we're not asking the council to take a side you know whether the Israelis or Palestinians we are asking the city council members to pass a resolution calling for a for a ceasefire half of Gaza is already un destroyed over 130 mosques in Gaza have been destroyed about 26 hospitals are out of service in Gaza uh about two or three churches have been bombed in Gaza by the Israeli military and uh the only Cancer Center according to Dr Ben Thompson his Canadian doctor he visited Gaza the only Cancer Center in Gaza has been destroyed the only senior uh senior place for uh senior I believe Senior Center is also been destroyed so many hospitals so many clinics so many uh places has nothing to do with Hamas in residential areas buildings have been under destroyed the the this problem again as I mentioned did not start on October 7 this problem started with the occupation of Palestine in 1948 Gaza has been under air Land and Sea blockade since 2007 and nothing can goes into Gaza or comes out of Gaza without the permission of the state of Israel the Israeli military so everybody the other side would like you to believe that this entire problem started on October 7 did not this year last year 2023 before October 7 almost 300 civilian Palestinian civilians have been killed by the Israeli military in the West Bank alone and nobody talks about that there's also this lie that they always spread out they say that uh you know children were beheaded woman were raped if this is true it's awful I'll be the first one to condemn it but it's not true because even the isra the Israeli newspaper the how reads just a few days ago published article they said the Israeli police are having difficulty locating victims of sexual assault or witnesses to acts from the Hamas attack and they are unable to connect the existing evidence with the victims described in it now 3 months after the massacre the organization decided to turn to the public meaning the police Israeli police turn to the public to encourage those who have information on a matter to come and testify Max Blumenthal a Jewish American investigative journalist you can look up his website The gry Zone he T he says Israeli Israel's military received orders to Shell Israeli homes insired sir thank you thank you my name is Leslie listwa l i stwa five leford Court East Brunswick um like to thank the mayor for our garbage collection seriously it was a long time in incoming um and that's what I thought these meetings were kind of about I'm kind of shocked of what's going on here honestly this is a PR event it's wasting I'm I'm a resident of this town I'm not on yes I have sides but I'm not representing one side or the other or the other I'm just a resident of the town and this is not what's supposed to be happening at this meeting this is an organized group that have come to Our Town how many people live in this town can you raise your hand excuse me sir yeah oh I'm Sor you will address address I'll address council president I address I'm sorry sir I'm sorry excuse um I I'm just I'm just very very upset that I live in this town and we're wasting taxpayers money with with police Emergency Management your time for for a PR event and believe me this is terrible that people are dying on both sides but this is not supposed to be discussed here that's all I have to say thank you sir thank you for your time my name is Joshua zuk that's zuuk I am a Jewish resident of Highland Park I attended a k through 12 Jewish Day School growing up and I lived in Israel for 3 months when I did a semester in Israel in in 2009 I was a strong and vocal supporter of the state of Israel for most of my life and I am here tonight to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and to ask the council to support the resolution calling for a ceasefire the reason I'm calling for a ceasefire is I believe in the idea of never again the idea that after the events of the Holocaust we must speak out to stop any future genocide when I hear never again and when I say never again I mean never again for anyone not only for the Jewish people I have heard claims that Israel's actions in Gaza do not fit the definition of genocide because Israel does everything it can to avoid civilian casualties and that the deaths of civilians that do occur are unavoidable but the statements that Israeli officials have made in the past months suggest that avoiding harm to civilians is not the goal of the Israeli military on October 13th the Israeli president Isaac Herzog said about the events of October 7th that quote it is an entire nation that is responsible end quote it is not true this rhetoric about civilians not being aware not involved on October 9th Israeli defense minister yav Galant said quote we are imposing a Complete Siege of Gaza there will be no electricity no food no water no fuel every everything will be closed end quote we are fighting Human animals and we act accordingly the UN definition of genocide is any of five specific quote acts committed with intent to destroy in whole or in part a national ethnical racial or religious group these five acts are killing members of the group causing them serious bodily or mental harm imposing living conditions intended to destroy the group preventing birth and forcibly transferring children out of the group what Israel is doing in Gaza fits this definition and is a textbook case of genocide and I refuse to be silent as a Jew while a genocide is being perpetrated in my name I understand that the council would like to avoid speaking on International Affairs but please know that the events taking place in Gaza personally affect people here in the city of East Brunswick and so I asked the East Brunswick city council to please please support this resolution calling for a ceasefire thank you for your [Applause] time thank you very much my name is Mark melinger m e l l i n gerer I live in uh three Pilgrim run in East Brunswick thank you members of the Town Council for the opportunity to speak I stand in opposition to the council taking a position on the war between Israel and Hamas this is not the role of this Council or for that matter any Town Council to take a position on this matter the responsibility of US foreign policy lies in Washington DC in the role of the US president his administration and members of Congress if the pro pality groups are truly seeking change then their voices should be directed at our elected leaders in Washington not in blocking Bridges and roads in New York not in blocking traffic traffic to JFK or LAX and certainly not in this town council meeting that being said I want to make clear that whatever side of this conflict you fall on whether you're a Jewish Muslim Christian agnostic or atheist we all have the the right to express our views As Americans in a civil and respectful manner that is the core of our system of governance and it should be protected the conflict in the Middle East is a human tragedy it began on October 7th with the invasion and Slaughter by Hamas of over 1200 Israelis and others including 30 Americans and tragically The Taking of 240 Israelis and others hostage including about a dozen Americans many of those Americans remain in in captivity all of us as Americans should be calling on Hamas and other groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad to release our citizens I expect that this will not be the last time that you as a council will have to address the conflict in in the Middle East the passions on both sides will not soon Abate so I ask you to continue to do the responsible thing and to and to not take a position on the war and to let our elected leaders in Washington to do their job thank you sir in the name of Allah the most gracious the most merci your name and address and please spell it name is Hassan San s a y i n I reside at 432 me Court East runswick I was not alive during the 9/11 attacks but for the longest time now I have grown up surrounded by offensive remarks about my religion and about my people terrorism bombings murder all associated with my religion things said to my face but passed off as jokes it is with much regret that I am seeing the effects of these events in the town I have lived in since I was 2 years old many people I have come across are always shocked by the fact that I'm a Muslim the same cannot be said about my sister though she has taken the courage to put on her headscarf her hijab a symbol of Islam in an environment where young teenagers learn about other cult cultures and religions through their friends and what they see online growing up with false perceptions of who we are I want to refer to a comment made by one of the previous speakers saying that this is a PR stunt I find that highly insensitive as two weeks ago ad amidst all the tension going on around the world after the October 7th events whilst my sister was in her class the only one with her headscarp on with with her hijab on three insensitive boys sitting behind her made comments about Muslims and my religion and thus heard directly as she's the only one in the class what do Muslims believe in anyway one of them said to which the other responded I don't know but they're all Muslim hijabi terrorist bombers my family moved here from New York in 2008 What attracted them the beautiful nature we have in this town The Greenery the community and environment which East FR has such a great representation reputation for and and the peace it brings to us as its residence I have played soccer for a local Club ebsc since I was a kid and it never occurred to me then but now when I think about it I recognize how diverse our team was and how close we all were not just the relationship with each other as players but the the relationship between our parents I think it is only appropriate as East Brunswick that within the Tranquil of our beautiful town we can reside with each other setting aside our differences and being an example for other cities and towns around us by upholding Justice and recognizing the effect Silence has on us as students I am the one of the presidents of the East Fric Muslim Student Association in the high school aside from my sister I've heard also a lot of stories of comments made to my Muslim friends I'm a senior in high school but I don't want to have to worry about what I'm leaving behind me I don't want to have to worry about who's going to make comments about my friends my mother also wears her hijab as a son I don't want to worry about whether she's going to have to face remarks outside when she goes out to shop as a brother I never want to have to worry about someone making those comments to my sister again while she's the only one in the classroom with a headscarf on this may not affect you but it definitely affects us as students and the fact that some people call this a PR stunt is embarrassing and it's highly insensitive because many of us many of you guys as parents have children in the school and I'm sure you would not want these REM marks being made about your children either I want East runswick to be a town which I can be proud of which represents Justice and leads other towns in New Jersey in doing so thank you your time has expired [Applause] sir I'll pull on next you take your time sir name is Ralph rosenal Ren b m I am at 15 Stockton Court in East brunwick I don't even know what to say I I I can start going into the reasons between Israel Palestine I'm not it's not it's not for this Council to decide it might opinion um I can say that Hama started the whole thing I'm going to hush up I'm just going to say we're lucky to live in the United States and I don't believe East Brunswick is the place for any International resolution to be brought up and to be honestly I think the township should make a resolution that if you're not an East Brunswick resident you should not allow be allowed to speak in front of the council I really don't think that's proper because in this case we have other people speaking here uh the gentleman that just spoke I am very sorry that there's still prejudice whether to it used to be blacks used to be Jews and now it's Muslims that's very wrong it is wrong to happen but basically what I wanted to say is that this is not a place for the township to act to even vote on period let let let the US government go crazy on it not you guys thank [Applause] you sir good evening Sammy kadovic I'm the uh executive director of the New Brunswick Islamic Center located in North Brunswick a significant portion of our community uh is located here in East Brunswick is that where you live in New Brunswick I'm in Franklin Franklin Park thank you for giving me this opportunity uh this evening this this resolution that's being proposed is not so much an issue of resolving the conflict that's going overseas it's more of making a statement of who we are as American here I was born in Tink New Jersey I'm a product of the tink Public School Systems we were one of the first schools I believe in the nation Rel least this is what we were told that had a holocaust and genocide Center in our high school when I was going through high school we were studying the Bosnian genocide which was taking place at that time my father was a victim of the Bosnian genocide that took place in the 1940s where his entire family was massacred due to extreme nationalist religious Serbian uh uh uh extremism the product that of Education that I got in tenek in the genocide and Cultural Center at that time because we use these what was going around around us to understand what is taking place and we use the lessons that we learned about genocide and applied it to the situation at hands we learn these things and we teach our students and our kids these things so that we make sure these things don't happen here in the United States and we don't allow these things to come in what is taking place now in Israel affects us here as Americans in this Council in this Township in this state because where we stand on this issue which most likely in a couple of days we're going to see people brought before the international court of justice and be charged with genocide and if we don't have the courage and the moral framework to St tell our children that we stand against genocide when the world and we see Biby Netanyahu in his lot being brought Beth as madich and milosevich and kadich and those from the Bosnian genocide by the way whose remarks and intent was not even a fraction of what's being said over there we are Americans we are Americans we can't let what is going on by this extreme government over there dictate our morality over here and to say it is not our place to say to have a position on this we don't have a position on genocide we don't have a position on genocide is this what we're telling our children it is utterly important and crucial yes this is not going to resolve the conflict over there but it will be telling our children and what we're raising in that this is an unacceptable way to move forward in any conflict that genocide is unacceptable and that's why this ceasefire resolution is of the utmost importance for us here as Americans not to resolve the conflict over there nobody's foolish to think that we know where that goes to play but we need to understand that that's our role here that we make sure that we protect our society and send a message to our community here that this is unacceptable and we will call it out as Americans that that is our moral framework and we don't allow International war criminals that are operating over there who talk about genocide and dehumanization defining who we are we're Americans let's uphold our moral Authority and let's uphold what we stand for here and not let foreign governments determine who we are so yes we should be standing for the ceasefire resolution for the sake of the education of our children here in the United States and for sending us a message that this is unacceptable from from us As Americans we thank you so much for this evening and for this opportunity we're at the 45 minute Mark with regard to this particular open debate which is the beauty of our country with regard to the First Amendment of the Constitution however I'm going to go with two more speakers from the Jewish community and two pro Palestinian speakers and then that will conclude this evening this please my name is Joel Yavin y a v i n I live at for Mount Court in East Brunswick I hadn't planned on speaking tonight um because there are many who are perhaps more qualified I'm not great at spouting statistics but I cannot also hear things being said that are absolute lies to say that there was no rape on October 7th is abhorent it is as a woman to hear if there was rape if there was beheading there was a two the New York Times spent two months and did an investigative report and I encourage everyone to read it there were rapes there were beheadings and to say that there weren that there weren't does not take us any closer to a ceasefire let's be clear to say that things that happened on October 7th did not happen does not bring us any closer to a ceasefire some of the speakers tonight actually spoke about something that does impact East Brunswick and that is hatred it pains me to hear of the islamophobia that my my friend and I will call you my friend that his sister encountered I will tell you that my 9-year-old old encountered something similar in an East Brunswick School a 9-year-old fourth grade someone said to him because he's the only visibly Jewish kid in his school meaning he wears a kipa and he wears the SE SE the fringes you know I don't know if you know what I'm talking about someone went up to him and said are you Israeli and he said and he said what's that thing you wear on your head and his Pier said oh he wears that cuz he's he's he's Jewish for his religion so the kid said are you Israeli my son said no and the kid said are you Jewish and he said yes he said why did Israel start the war my son when I picked him up that day said to me um EMA that's Hebrew for mom um did Israel start the War I was like that's not a how is your day um response um that shocked me and um pained me in the same way it pains me when anyone receives any type of hatred a a few weeks later the same child asked him why don't the Jewish people why don't the Jewish people follow the Muslim God like that they were told to that has no place in the classroom and the principal agreed with me and hopefully that won't happen again that is something that impacts on East Brunswick has nothing to do with a ceasefire to say lies has nothing to do with a ceasefire that's what I have to say tonight to say 94 days since Israel that Israel has been bombing Gaza 94 days that hostages are still being held in Gaza and as one of my friends over here said there can be no talk of a ceasefire while there are still hostages in Gaza it is not the place as you have said of this Committee of this Council to vote or take resolutions on international issues and and I understand that we want to make a difference locally but it is not the place for for us to vote on a ceasefire and I wonder are we going to keep coming back to every council meeting you have and spending 45 minutes or longer for how long until you're bullied into taking a resolution because I can imagine none of you are happy having to sit through this yet again that's really all I have to say I yield my [Applause] time please hello everybody and uh good evening my name is n soil and I'm uh I live uh on 18th Brill Road East Brunswick I am going to be speaking at as a common resident of East Brunswick and how this conflict is impacting um all of us not just me um I came to East Brunswick 25 years ago and my two children grew up here they went to East Brunswick High School and we opted to live in this town right from the time we landed here because we loved the diversity the openness the Fair Community our neighbors were very open to us and we decided to live here and since the day we arrived here we opted to stay in this town um I after that when I uh felt that town is giving me and my uh family so much I need to give back and I joined uh Township's uh human relation Council and from more than 16 years I've been serving on it I'm one of the oldest member members on East bus Council and then I started to do more community service and when mayor Cohan uh started his campaign to uh run for um uh to be a mayor I introduced him to our Muslim uh community and brought him to the Masjid to support him because we believed in um uh his uh we I I believed in him because I have uh worked with him before in e ebhc Council so this little scenario that I'm giving you I'm just trying to give you my briefing and I I believed in uh our Township's leadership I believed in what you all have done so far and I felt that you know as a as a Muslim uh family I was accepted during 9/11 uh when we were new in this country my neighbors the community leadership schools everyone supported us and we felt what all other Muslims were feeling in the country we did not feel the similar fear and S similar u u confusion in the town now coming back to this particular incident I felt what others were feeling uh during 9/11 and we did not feel it because of our NE neighbors were great our uh Township's uh leadership was great but now at this point we have started to feel that confusion in our town because uh when we go go to the market if we are wearing hijab we are looked down upon we PE people stare at us and um just and there are so many uh um islamophobic incident that are uh starting in in in different parts of the country a child was uh stabbed in Chicago just recently an Imam in Newark is shot dead so I just feel that these slam phobic incidents that are happening in all other places they may come in our town and just before that would happen I would prefer that our Township's Council would see what's really happening and instead of dividing the their role should be to bring us and to bring us back together and unite us as during the time of 9/11 that had happened I prefer our Council or I request our Council to do the right thing what's happening in uh Middle East it's really really impacting us here and unite Us by uh signing this petition uh or signing this uh uh uh resolution that we are asking for and this way the two sides that we are seeing visibly they may come together because islamophobia and anti-Semitism they are all the same thing it just the leadership just needs to see what is the right decision to make thank you did I see one thought okay just one more please gentlemen then come over thank you um I am art Kagel k a gel I live at uh 222 dhams Corner Road um my family has been resident here in East Brunswick for 34 years um January 15th will Mark the beginning of our 25th year here this has always been as I spoke and mentioned the last time this meeting happened very proud of this community um of its diversity of the people who live here of the acceptance of of um Jews and religious Jews and Muslims and everybody else in this in in this community um I want to address many things but first of all I want to say that the horrific treatment that our neighbors sister and himself have experienced the horrific treatment that the Ain sun has experienced in school is not acceptable as has already been mentioned I know that the administration of the schools is aware but I think it's incumbent on this Council and on the mayor um to more strongly support the efforts of the school to ensure that everyone is safe and feels safe in our schools in our community in all of our institutions um that is the first thing that is the most important thing this community cannot change um we raised our children here um two of my children are raising their children here um this has been a wonderful community and it needs to remain so um and there should be no animosity between any groups here based on honest feelings and and honest um concerns about what's going on in the Middle East and elsewhere um I think that there can be no call for a ceasefire without also condemning what happened on October 7th um and I have heard nobody speaking from the other side saying that this is a horrible thing and it was a horrible thing to have happened um not just to the 1200 people who died not just to the 240 plus people who were held who are were held hostage um or the hundred someone who are still being held hostage it was a horrible thing for Humanity um and for Israelis and for Americans and for everybody um and just to put that aside for a moment um Joel addressed the the the claim that things didn't happen but those were things that were documented they as Joel said that been reported by the New York Times And The Wall Street Journal after ensive investigative reporting um and documented not by Jews not by Americans not by journalists documented by Hamas people themselves taking pictures on their own phones so they could send them to their parents about how proud they were to have destroyed people raped women they beheaded children this is not acceptable human behavior um that said that has nothing to do with any of the people in this room it has nothing to do with any of the people in this community we are a community of decent people who should be supporting each other um and I think there's there's nothing else that needs to be said on that um and as the council has has already stated previously it's not the position of this Council to pass resolutions that affect the federal government of the United States um and I think the last thing I want to say is if you want to call for a ceasefire you should remember that the last ceasefire when negotiations were still going on to release more hostages and continue the ceasefire it did not end because Israel ended it it did not end because the two parties agreed to end it ended because Hamas began lobbing missiles again so thank you um we're going going one more and this gentleman with the with the mask on he had his hand up for the last 12 minutes my name is Aaron beerstein I live in South Brunswick and I'm here today representing the Democratic socialist of America Central New Jersey chapter of which we have many members I recognize that it is not this Council responsible for US foreign policy and yet your voices here do carry a moral weight with the citizens of East Brunswick with central New Jersey with New Jersey as a whole and in this country I believe that you were all elected as members of the the Democratic party I may be mistaken but I know certainly the majority it is under a Democratic president and a democratic Administration that the United States is continuing to support the mass murder of people in Gaza the people did not elect you only for your own individual merits which I'm sure are great but they elected you as members of that party because they believe that the Democratic party is a party committed to Justice fairness and what is right but the leadership at the top has shown us in their support for this massacre this continuing Massacre that they would prefer to be the party of death and destruction therefore I ask you as democrats for the people who voted for you and support you in this community speak up to let your own party know if you wish to save it that you do not stand for this that this does not represent the position of East Brunswick of central New Jersey of New Jersey or the people of this community I was raised in the Jewish community of central New Jersey my own family is Israeli the majority of them live there but right is right and wrong is wrong and the continued murder of people thousands tens of thousands of innocent people who had nothing to do with this many of them children everybody here today asks you to speak with one voice that carries weight because if our elected officials can stand for this they can stand for anything and and nothing and that cannot be our entire system of government depends on the people that we put in our communities into positions of power to speak with moral Clarity and we are asking you to do that here today thank you I first spoke on December 12th with regards to this governing body would not be dealing with legislating international issues I then said again at our December 26th meeting twice during the course of the evening our governing body deals with issues regarding the welfare of the township and we do not legislate international issues and I repeated myself again at that same meeting and I thought my words were very clear so I will say it one more time our governing body deals with issues regarding the welfare of the township of East Brunswick and we do not legislate international issues at this point at this point we're going to take a take a recess so that our friends because there's no sides here our friends can make their way home after an evening of governance and then we can get back to our we have a a rather lengthy style of play so recess for [Music] 10 we have a resolution we're back we're back Anthony you with us yes sir um have a resolution requiring a separate vote council president I ask the uh the council to pull this resolution from the agenda as it is no longer uh needed okay and before we head over to our consent agenda um before I ask for for separations we have before us a series of resolutions uh awarding contracts for various legal and Professional Services for our community from resolution 246 through 20 24 48 uh Mr Chris schol do we have to name any names here we we're good no we're good um resolution there is a revision to 2412 that the uh clerk had provided each of you um on the naming of the Town engineer uh there'll be a primary and all alter it that's all all right so why don't we go with uh 24 yeah but I'm I'm I I was going to 48 then I was coming back because the resolutions radically differ from from 24 uh from uh like 06 to 56 so if I if I'm incorrect please correct me as I make my way down this from my from my opinion these are all housekeeping issues that every that we do every year to just keep the wheels of government moving so can can can I get a motion from uh can I go as far as saying 2406 through 2456 I would make the motion okay can I get a motion on that I'll second and and a second roll call please councilman wendal yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman ziki yes and council president makoy yes uh we have an ordinance for introduction with public hearing set for January 22nd Township Clark can you read that an ordinance to exceed the municipal budget appropriation limit and to establish a cap Bank in accordance with njsa 48 col 44514 for calendar year 2024 and Mr Chris goua can you explain anything that might this is the yearly uh cap cap Bank ordinance that we pass every year as long as I've been here and I know uh checking with others that it was passed since the cap Bank establishment was created um this doesn't mean there's a tax increase this isn't I know there were some things put out years ago this is just authorizing the town to establish a bank from the cap of Prior years and keep it as a bank in case it is necessary in the future and to exceed that appropriation if necessary so this is just estab this is required by New Jersey State ball if if I may I just please um Jo it's a good description I just like to simplify it this is this is the the additional cap that we do not use this is the amount that our budget is under cap and we can carry that until next year should there be emergency Appropriations that are necessary or any appropriation doesn't have to be an emergency yes absolutely roll call please counc yes councilwoman Wiston yes no you have the motion we did not oh no thank you I'll move second second roll call please councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman ziki yes and council president M yes and there's sometimes when we we aren't there sometimes when we don't have motions for Resolutions that are new no we always no we always do yeah yes I I get corrected on something I just can't remember is place empty that thanks morning for staying maybe they're G they all went home to watch the football game speak to the public right for the good to the Course Michigan is winning 1710 wow who is Michigan 1710 we we'll take care of you more mayor I know that people I know that most people have left well all of them have left um but uh just to kind of highlight what we are as a town I that I wanted to talk about someone who came into my office today as someone uh who is part of the Jewish Community an older woman who is contemplating moving um unrelated to any of the stuff going on overseas it's just personal financial type of issues she was asking for advice and information on apartment um prices and what she told me was that uh she has several neighbors of hers Muslim uh that for years they just do exactly what we in East brunic have been known for to be a diverse community that helps one another we don't always have to agree um but uh they because of uh because she's older and because it's difficult for her to move those heavy garbage cans in and out they move her garbage cans in and out for her they uh bring foods during different holidays back and forth to one another uh they they have been great neighbors and I think that despite what people may have seen tonight that actually defines what East brunic is and how people get along and support one another um and not uh when people come out during periodic episodes in world events that cause conflicts um where we may not all agree and we don't have to but it shouldn't ever change what we are as a character as a people and as a community uh I think that demonstrates what we are more than what we may have seen tonight agree Morin I know hi I wanted to say thank you my name is Moren McVey Bach 53 Louise Drive uh East Brunswick but I'm here to represent tonight uh tap into East Brunswick your local online uh news publication and when you I know your experience tonight is one thing but my experience as a journalist is a completely different thing and it's exciting to be in a second career and see in one town so many different things happening uh as a journalist and to see the Redevelopment and its impact on all of Suburbia to see that Duck Donuts gets 200,000 hits on Facebook all right everything from that to pickle ball to International concerns reaching into small towns and finalists on American Idol and Dalmatians winning International competitions and you never really know where the news is going to go and I thank you very much uh on behalf of myself and the owner of the East Brunswick small business that is tap into East Brunswick Robert Coy uh who is in Florida mourning the Dolphins today um I just want to let you know that there are 97 Taps tap means the alternative press tap there are 97 TAPS in New York New Jersey Pennsylvania and Florida the one in Florida opened on Parkland in Parkland Florida on the day of the Parkland shootings um we go every day to 3,000 homes in East Brunswick in a daily email this is a daily newspaper um we send out 27 news alerts when you send out a report from the police department or from you guys or from the Department of parks we send it out again and 2700 more people I'm sure there's some overlap get it the business model for tap is that the main reporter has to be a resident of the Town that's represented and I've been really proud to do that uh Dana you'll understand this because you live in East Brunswick but when you teach in a town you kind of identify with that town a little bit so for 26 years of my living 34 years in East Brunswick my head was in Piscataway but now in my retirement I'm all East Brunswick all the time and it's very pleasing to see the growth of government and the change that has to happen in journalism uh I want to let you know that 1,400,000 people read articles about East brunwick on tap last year that makes us the fifth of 97 Taps that's most read on Facebook uh and that the stories that we put out are objective and my opinion doesn't matter and uh and that's a good thing and I wanted to say thank you on behalf of this East Brunswick small business for allowing us to be your voice online thank you you're welcome thank you Mari we have a motion to adjourn hang on hang oh I'm sorry one last thing yep everyone was busy before so I didn't have a chance to do this and I always think that people who impact you positively and work really hard need some public admiration and I'm going to give you that right now gave some love to Dana before but I did write up a little thing for you about your your re-election to council president and I just I wrote council president makavo congratulations on being chosen to serve a second year as president of our Council because of your fantastic leadership our team here is functional um collaborative and without failure you always communicate and discuss situations and events and value our input and though the public may not realize this you are the front line and you question everything brought forth you're a filter to ensure that we are making the best decisions for our taxpayers in our Township and I thank you and congratulations thank you all those in favor say I I all those opposed the eyes have it good evening