e I'd like to call this meeting of the Piscataway Township Council to order adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as required under chapter 231 pl1 1975 specifying the time date location login or dialing information and to the extent known the agenda by posting a copy of the notice on the municipal building municipal court and the two Municipal Library bulletin boards Municipal website providing a copy to the official newspapers of the township and by filing a copy in the office of the Township Clerk in accordance with a certification by the clerk which will be entered in the minute there will be public comment periods for both remote and in-person attendees separately each member of the public shall have only one opportunity to speak during each public portion as the technology does not allow us to know if there are multiple callers on an individual phone line or logged in user account we ask that if you wish to speak that you log in or dial in separately so that we can recognize you as a separate individual should you have any any further comments or questions the township council is always available by email and phone and you can always call the mayor's office during normal uh operating hours Miss Cedar would you please take the roll call councilwoman carmichel president councilman espanosa councilwoman Lombardi councilman Rouse here councilman Shaw here councilman Erin here council president K here would you please rise and join me with a salute to our flag Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all okay okay that'll bring us to number five this is comments from Administration and Council this is regarding adjournment of any matters on this agenda anything from Council or Administration seeing none seeing none okay um we'll move on uh for the folks in the public there's been a slight adjustment to the agenda uh of the order nothing's uh taken off but rather um two things are being moved and we're adding so items number eight and nine which are both Proclamation we're going to read now and then after that we're adding on uh the certificate of accreditation of our Police Department where deputy chief uh of police um pilch will be up here so first let's start with number eight which is a proclamation for the Emergency Medical Services week Mr Mayor are you going to read that Proclamation okay whereas um this is the 50th anniversary of EMS week whereas the Emergency Medical Services is a vital public service whereas members of the emergency service Medical Services teams are ready to provide life-saving care to those in need 24 hours a day seven days a week and whereas access to Quality Emergency Care dramatically improves the survival and recovery rate of those who experience sudden illnesses or injury and whereas the Emergency Medical Services System consists of First Responders emergency medical technicians paramedics emergency medical dispatchers firefighters police officers Educators administrators prehospital nurses emergency nurses emergency physicians trained members of the public and other out of Hospital medical care providers and whereas the member of Emergency Medical Services teams whether career or volunteer engag in thousands of hours of so specialized training and continuing education to enhance their life-saving skills and whereas it's appropriate to recognize the value and accomplishment of emergency Ser Medical Services providers by designating emergency medical service this week now therefore I Brian Wall the mayor Township of the scattering County of M state of New Jersey du by Proclaim May 19th 2025 2024 as Emergency Medical Services on the 50th anniversary of Emergency Medical Services week theme EMS week honoring our past and forging our future I encourage the residents of bisc to reserve the this week with the appreciation of these services and gratitude these providers and I believe we have some new the MS folks here tonight okay that'll bring us to number n which is so a proclamation for municipal Clerk's Appreciation Week May 5th through 11th 2024 Mr Mayor are you going to read that Proclamation office mpal clerk is the oldest among public servants and whereas as local government has grown in responsibility and the importance throughout history so has the role of the municipal clerk and whereas the office of municipal clerk serves as the informational Center on functions of local government and Community ensuring transparity and communication between the residents governing bodies and agencies at all levels of government and whereas mpal clerk strive to continually improve the administration of the Affairs of the office through sound management practice and whereas in piscat we have few responsibility of the clerk's office includes issuances of licenses preservation of Vital Records maintaining minutes ordinances and resolutions adopted by the governing council overseeing elections and providing information to public inquiries whereas mpal clerks have pledged to be ever mindful of their neutrality and partiality rendering equal service to all I therefore Brian Waller the mayor scatterby Township in the county MX state of New Jersey along with the township Council recognized the week of May 5th through 11th as mpal Clerk's week and further recognize our mpal clerk Melissa Cedar and Deputy clerk Kelly Mitch and Senior offices Bunty soul for Vital Services they performed okay folks um so then the other item that we are adding on that is the certificate of accreditation for our Police Department um deputy chief pilch did you want to come on up did you w to tell the the so every three years we get re accredited um accreditation is best practices for law enforcement it covers policy it covers the way we uh we do things procedurally um so every three years we get re accredited this year we were just re accredited um for this for the third time uh this is Harry Delgado he is a director of accreditation for the New Jersey State Association Chiefs of police um and he has come here today to present our Police Department uh this award this survicate I just wanted to say I I think she's selling herself a little short here because the fact that uh she has uh accredited this Police Department for the third time just to add context to it so 54% of all the agencies in the state of New Jersey that would be eligible to apply for accreditation have been accredited once 32% twice only 12% three times so that's significant the effort of w pill so we found out her determination and commitment you know are incredible and so she persisted and uh again has now uh achieved uh her third accreditation for the police department so congratulations okay um so then that will now bring us to what I guess was formally number seven uh or I'm sorry number six um this is open to the public for items on number seven so the present agenda resolution items if anyone in the public um wants to comment on that they may do so now but let me just um go through how we do this so we open it up to the public for folks who are dialing in remote or on Zoom first and then we open it up for the folks here in uh person so for this item for those who are remote attendees if you wish to speak at this time please raise your hand either on the Zoom app or if by phone by in Star 9 when it is your turn to speak you will receive or hear a request to unmute yourself please click the prompt or press star six on your phone to unmute yourself at that time please state your name and address and know that you have three minutes in which to make your comments the council or Administration will respond if necessary after you have completed any comments or questions council president I'm asking the first individual with their hand raised to unmute thems go ahead hi this is Jessica crille of 1247 Brookside Road can you hear me yes we can excellent uh I had a comment about the letter to the um uh Board of Education regarding the taxation if you could please clarify what is going to be the text if this because if it was what the mayor described at the last council meeting um I think it's very inappropriate to do that could you confirm that for me so I can carry on yes so this resolution it's similar to what we spoke about last time effectively there's going to be tax revenue from uh 1690 south Washington development there um and the there's uh members of the school board or at least the count the school board president was part of litigation to to challenge the township and the planning board um in regards to approval of that development and um effectively the school board has even though they have argued um against the that development um they also took contrary action in setting up a daycare center near a commercial cent in an industrial zone so the question is to the school board is whether they're going to accept the revenue this development has no burden on the school district no additional students Etc but they're going to get a substantial amount of revenue from it I think in the estimated to be around $250,000 a year um so the question to the school board is to see if they just to clarify that they'll be accepting the revenue on it um as as members of that school board have challenged challenged the development okay see I think that's it's very um you're it seems like the township leaders are being very sore winners so the people on the school board disagreed with you about what was best for the students of the school districts and they were unsuccessful in their efforts to prevent the development right near the school of a large industrial um wehouse that would cause air pollution that would negatively impact the students and because you were successful you want to say well we won and you didn't like this so now you don't get your cake or to eat it it seems very um Petty and beneath what should be the way that the township leaders behave themselves and I think it's very Incorrect and you shouldn't do it but um you all are going to do as you please and that's the end of my comment thank you thank you Miss Cedar is there anyone else with their hand rais council president there are no other individuals with their hand raised regarding this agenda item so we're closing the remote uh portion public portion for the consent agenda items right now and now we'll open it up to the public for items on number seven only um if you wish to speak at this time please come to the podium state your name and address and know that you have three minutes in which to make your comments you may take a seat after completion of your comments or questions and the council or Administration will then respond if necessary so my name is gasos I leave at 58 Curtis scared away hi nice to see so many people today this item F this pedaling license can that be contributed attributed to a senior citizens hobby stuff like salvaging all fishing rods and bringing them back into um into a Township bizaar of the sort did that apply as a pedaling license that do you before we answer are there any other questions that you want to ask on this consent agenda item I just want to see if I could do this and pedal my all vintage fishing rods I mean you the process is you apply for a license with the township but mostly our ped peders licenses are for things like um when we do like the the fair Town things of that nature but it's not to just like set up shop maybe in front of your house or like that no no not not no participate in the Bazar sell my vintage fishing rods an all man's Hobby and refurbish clean set up a table and work in any activity that's Township related I mean you would go ahead and if you want to sell Goods in the township you would go ahead and obtain that application and submit it and then you go through the process so it could work right yeah at like uh the street fair other things of that nature most of the peders licenses are for um like food trucks and things of that nature but yeah the street fair you'd have to apply and then also apply to get a table at the fair sort of two different steps thank you you're welcome is there anyone else in the public who'd wish to comment about item number seven which are the consent agenda items at this time okay seeing none I'm going to close the public portion for item number seven although that's not really item number seven but I don't know we're all off um 6 okay and so now that will bring us to um the consent agenda resolution for efficiency items have been Consolidated into a consent agenda to be voted on together the materials for these items have been distributed to the council in advance of the meeting at this time are there any items that the council would like removed from the consent agenda to be to be discussed or voted on separately seeing none I will then take an offer for the consent agenda items offer councilwoman Lombardi do I have a second second Miss Cedar would you please take the roll call councilwoman carmichel yes councilwoman Lombardi yes councilman Rouse yes councilman Shaw yes councilman Erin yes council president K yes and the consent agenda items pass so that'll bring us as to what is listed as number 10 announcements and comments from officials Council woman Carmichael yes to thank you Madame President I just want to remind everyone of our annual walk for your health uh on this coming Saturday on Sydney Road at the little leak field and uh it's sponsored by our commissioner Chanel McCullum and it's a wonderful event and great time to get out and get a little exercise and also to meet a lot of your neighbors in Piscataway so uh it starts at 9: you can sign in if you haven't registered already and the actual walk starts at 10:00 a.m. so I will be there hope to see many of you there as well thank you councilwoman I will be councilwoman Lombardi yes did out to the uh walk I'll be there with you also I'd also like to thank um Melissa and Kelly for municipal Clerk's week okay thank you for everything that you do uh we'll also be having in May restaurant week which is May 13th to the 19th so keep an eye out for the restaurants um that are participating in Restaurant Week um they are um offering discounts during that week so you might want to look on the uh Township website for the restaurants that are participating and we also have the Greek festival coming up uh May 16th through the 19th it's a very good event I imagine you know it well Council councilman Rouse um councilman Shaw councilman Shaw do you have any comments no thanks okay thank you councilman n just also want to thank Kelly work deserve thank thank you councilman or Mr Mayor just want to congratulate uh the residents who participated in the Piscataway police citizens police academy uh the graduation took place yesterday uh I think all the the residents that were involved in it with the community policing section in the town police department they really enjoyed that so I just want to congratulate them again and the PD also and then we're having our the 90th birthday bash tomorrow I believe at the senior center uh run by the county of Aging right there to be 90 years old to show up so thank you Mr Mayor uh Tim none counselor I just wanted to thank our minicipal clerks um I pretty much bother them every day and they put up with me so just want to thank them and and also congratulations to Kelly again for her registered Municipal uh clerk certification um okay and I thank you very much um I too um encourage folks to come out to the walk on Saturday um it has been a a well- attended event um and it is meant to highlight um the value of getting out to walk for our health uh collectively as a community um thank you Melissa and thank you Kelly congratulations too on your certification there um they do a Yan's job because you do the work that is required of you but you go above and beyond um and I have heard things from president who so I want to thank you because um probably mostly people forget you know um they all know there but you you are part of the face of the Town um and representing our town in such a professional polite andly manner um always so I want to thank you for your hard work um also too because um this is the reason why I asked um we will not have their council meeting until June um I would like to say happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers the fur baby mothers the the aunts um the needs to be uh women are all in our own way whether we have our own children or not um do are nurturers um by nature and um I do want and hope that the Piscataway residents um do raise up their mothers their aunts this Mother's Day so um with that uh we'll go right now into number 11 which is the agenda session for the June 6 2024 um meeting the items on this for this meeting will be an ordinance on second reading amending chapter 7 traffic section 14 parking prohibited at all times on certain streets it will be open to the public and it'll be a resolution adopting ordinance or any comments or questions regarding that item seeing none that will be on the next item will be a resolution appointment of Greg K lewit Deputy tax assessor any comments or questions St in that one seeing none that will be on the next will be a resolution authorizing release of applicable standby letter of credit block 581 lot 12.01 which is 10 Corporate Place South and that is 18 PB 38 or- 3839 V are there any comments or questions regarding that item seeing none that will be on the next solution authorizing amendment to Redevelopment agreement RG Constitution urban renewal LLC block 591 lot 3.23 and that is 10 Constitution Avenue are there any comments or questions regarding that item the next um comments or questions regarding that see none a very worthy organization my sister-in-law was a principal New Jersey which by the way they do not have in Florida um okay so that uh that closed number 11 so then number 12 open the remote attendees first and then to um if you wish to speak at this time your hand pressing start please so Lord Ministry council president there are no remote attendees with their hand rais regarding this agenda item thank you Miss heer so I'm going a close the remote attendee portion and now I'll open it up here in person wish to speak at this time please come to the podium state your name and address and know that you have three minutes in which to make your comments you may take a seat after completion of your comments or questions and the council or Administration hold the button down sir thank you hello good evening uh khed Zed if you guys remember me uh 831 hosan um I've been here before so if you remember where I came what I came here for last time uh I'm here to do a follow up on my request on our request we have a plenty of us here we are asking the city council to pass a ceas fire resolution in Gaza and if you remember last time I was here was in January and there were about uh close to 23,000 uh innocent people that killed in Gaza uh today is the double number almost 40,000 so um I'm here again to please to ask you to please consider passing the ceasefire resolution we already have multiple towns multiple cities in the United States that passed the ceasefire resolution this is not this is a humanitarian issue that we need to all consider I know the uh the council woman you talked about Happ you said Happy Mother Day to all mothers mothers are dying on both sides uh many uh there's about 20 to 25,000 children and women at and mothers died in Gaza alone so um the last time I mentioned to you that there are human uh human rights organizations already they called for ceasefire um so I'm here to urge you to consider passing that ceasefire resolution be it's not going to most likely it's not going to end this uh attack on Gaza and I'm not here asking to take sides um of one side or another we all know what's happening but right now the situation is getting worse Gaza is unlivable right now about 80% of the infrastructure is destroyed buildings we have a congressman here in in in our area that who actually keep voting to give money to Israel and it's not fair that our tax money we pay for this we American citizens we pay for it we pay for this war whether we like it or not and I don't like it I'm Palestinian American and my my family I have a relative who got killed few a couple months ago so I don't like my money to be going out and pay for this war crime that is happening but I'm not asking to say what I'm saying I'm not asking you to agree with me I'm only asking you to consider passing a ceas file resolution that is not taking one of the two sides is only just saying stop the fighting that's all you have to do Stop The Killing stop the fighting let's negotiate let's talk about you know peaceful resolution so I handed out a a draft resolution and I I asked you to look into it and consider you know adopting that resolution or make edits to it change it if you like but um please last time I was here I was told that you will get back to me if you you will discuss it internally and get back to me and let me know if you will consider passing I have not received a call or email unless I missed it unless you called me you told me you passed it or you're going to pass it I have not gotten any calls or emails and I understand you have a lot of import issues that you care about and thank you for all you're doing I mean you did I was listening to the agenda good stuff you're doing there but um but I also this is also something that matters to a lot of us we all many of us live here in Piscataway and we are asking you to consider passing the C resolution I will be here I know other people would like to talk but if you have any question for me I'm willing to stay and answer your questions you can challenge me on anything I say I'm willing to provide any evidence of whatever I say so please consider that talk about it and make a decision and I hope that you make that decision to pass the ceas fire resolution and if anybody comes to you says how dare you you know you take side no it's not taking side you're just saying stop the fighting that's all you're doing so thank you so much again if you have any question for me I will be here come and talk to me or ask me I'll come to you and I'll speak with you thank you thank you thank you so much ghost us if they me 58 Curtis mayor I wish you go down to Tony's the property maintenance people get a copy of my complaint with the scratches all over it and take a good look the situation is getting worse now we have our pickup truck parked over a storm drain I'm not cleaning it up no more no he's occupying our space I'm not cutting that grass over there he's occupying a space it's a vehicle without a registration plate or what God knows where it came from it's been there for 3 months what are all police officers doing are they protecting us are they looking after us or are they just handcuffed muzzled and blindfold I was military police we we didn't have to think twice we had to disarm them first before we could talk please may take Tony Baloney over there landscaper and yourself bring a police officer to they're not looking after us they're not they handu thank you when you up there we all have to hold the button just so you know so like this you guys can hear me yes okay awesome just state your name and address first sure thank you thank you guys for your time my name is Dina Awad I'm at 306 Grand View Avenue in Piscataway um and so I've actually been a resident of Piscataway for over 30 years um and then I moved to Brooklyn for almost a decade so I'm basically aging myself which I don't love to do but it's to make a point I came back I came back to Piscataway because I loved Piscataway I grew up in Piscataway I went to high school in P I went to every school in Piscataway and one thing I've taken from me from this wonderful town was that we were so diver Earth I know so much about so many different cultures because of piscato and I I had a when I when we had and Brooklyn's cool guys right Brooklyn is cool and I like to think that even my in-laws moved here because of how great I talked about piscatway all of this to say when I had children I said I want to move them to Piscataway because of the diversity because of the understanding I stand before you also as a Palestinian American I am also asking you guys to call for a ceasefire and as my brother he's not really my brother but as my brother in Palestine said here we are not asking you to choose a side if you get if you get pushed back if you we are not asking you we are asking you to choose Humanity people are being senselessly murdered and we are just asking you to say a single word cease fire now I'm really glad that you wished us a Happy Mother's day and thank you for that and I just want to tell you something real quick it's a personal story I just had another baby now I had another baby baby a few days after the attacks on Gaza started and it's not a war it's not a war it's a massacre on Gaza but again I'm not asking you guys to agree with me I'm asking you just to go for a Seas fire I had a baby a few days after you guys my baby likes to eat right and I've been fortunate enough that I can both nurse and I can get him formula and when I tell you that every single time that baby screams for food my heart breaks because I'm imagining The Starving Children in Gaza there's so many women who just had newborns and they're literally starving and I turn to my son who I can easily feed if I can't put him to me to because I'm working I get him a bottle I have I have it at my fingertips and yet he's crying like this I can only imagine how the mothers in Gaza feel that they don't have any solutions for their children because they won't allow in Aid they won't allow in Aid or food the there's eight-year-olds who are starving there's newborn babies who have done nothing who are starving if you call for a ceasefire no okay maybe it won't change anything but maybe it will maybe it will give other towns and other cities and other states to start thinking more people are calling for a ceasefire we need Aid they need food there's imagine your child starving that's all I have to say thank you guys for your time thank you for all you do and I really really hope I see so many of you nodding and I truly hope that this is genuine and that you guys we will hear that there has been a call for a ceasefire thank you so much thank you uh good evening my name is Samara Khan and I'm at 116 Castle Point Boulevard in Piscataway and I just want to pick up on the point um the speaker before me mentioned and it was also about hung we just came out of the month of Ramadan and if some of us hadn't had dinner yet um I just wanted us to think about the hunger pangs on a day busy day at work and when they intensify you know we can't help but think about people who feel that way every day not because of work not because they are busy but because there is famine and today we enjoy the highest rates of food production that Humanity has ever seen and an entire nation is being starved before our very eyes as Collective punishment if you look at un un humanitarian Chief Martin Griffiths he stated the International Community should hang its head in shame for failing to stop this recently some a young gazen girl was forced to eat coarse animal feed which he was unable to digest and died as a direct result of that some Gins were forced to eat rats and according to experts the famine in Gaza is completely manmade and we have the resources as I speak at our disposal to completely avert it the question I want to ask us is what kind of Milestone does our Global Humanity reach when we are AED by the dizzying technological wonders of artificial intelligence the text to image Productions but are not seared by the real images of death and starvation ravaging a defenseless civilian population half of whom are children we have a choice to make today speakers before me said that we're not asking you to choose a side actually I am asking you to choose a side I'm asking you to choose the side of compassion not complacency what happened to the human rights We As Americans have always championed around the world what happened to women's rights over 10,000 women have been killed what happened to children's rights over 15,000 children have been killed today with over 2,000 missing one or both Limbs and a similar number having lost one or both both parents not to mention the burn victims the disfigurement victims white sopers bomb victims and the list goes on and on I just want to mention what Dr Rick Maynard a British physician said about a particular child that he will never forget this child had such bad Burns that you could see her facial bones and there was no chance of her surviving that what was even worse is that there was no morphine to give her so Not only was she going to could die but she would die in agony alone on the floor because there are no hospital beds what does never again mean is it for a specific group or is it for all of us and if it's to the exclusion of others then what does it mean for our Humanity maybe it's too late for the 5% of the gazen population that has been genocided by by today and realize that is not a small number 5% of us here in the US would equal 16 .6 million beating American hearts and souls 5% is a huge number to be lost of dreams and hopes scattered and Shattered by bombs and shrapnel which I'm ashamed that I'm paying for with my tax money let us not choose to be cool or complicit or complacent let's choose to be compassionate let us choose the overwhelming odds that wantam what is best uh within us us maybe we cannot save Gaza maybe the ceas by resolution will not save Gaza but it will save our conscience it will save our Humanity please let us use our voice and say it is not okay and let our children know that it is not okay for the world to be like this this is not normal we have an obligation to care for each other regardless of our race or culture we have an obligation to love one another to clothe and to feed each other I would like to conclude with an important Islamic Nar which is where God says on the day of judgment oh son of Adam I asked you for food but you did not feed me he will say my Lord how can I feed you when you are the lord of the worlds God will say did you not know that my servant asked you for food but you did not feed him and had you fed him you would have found me with him it is only in finding our way to each other that we find our way to God thank you for listening thank you be sure to keep the button held down just hold it speak your name and address e e e e e e e thank so when you speak you're going to have to hold the button down the whole time and then just state your name and address it's green can you hear me my name is Aman Wasim 508 Shirley Parkway I'm standing before you today for a similar reason as several other speakers have uh I'm a 14-year-old girl in Middle School in the eighth grade and the New Jersey education system is actually the number one education system in America because of this education system we have amazing teachers doctors engineers and lawyers coming from New Jersey because of the school system we have here so imagine what it would be like if we didn't have schools it would be chaotic and the City of Gaza doesn't have schools anymore because of all the bombs that have been Dro there for the past six months the kids there in Gaza they don't have schools anymore they don't have hospitals or access to food or clean water or electricity um I'm not a Palestinian and I'm not Arab but you don't have to be Muslim or Palestinian or Arab to support the right cause which is a ceasefire and letting humanitarian Aid into Gaza any member of Congress or any Authority who doesn't who doesn't approve of a resolution is complicit of genocide which this is not a war this is genocide it's one-sided the solution is simple supporting a ceasefire and humanitarian Aid into the people of kazza or the continued Massacre of innocent people the last six months Israel has blocked access to food clean water and electricity and every two minutes a bomb drops in Gaza which kills children journalists World Central Kitchen Aid workers and entire families the time to act is now and passing a resolution is the first step so cease fire now thank you thank you my name is Muhammad Bim 508 shley Parkway Middle sex County imagine the size of the middle sex County and 25,000 people die within that County imagine half of them are your kids and then imagine and is your Mother's Day how would you celebrate have that picture in mind this this week so P the resolution thank you thank you I'm sorry cus you you already spoke at the public portion you'll have to let the person behind I'm sorry you already spoke at the public Aus excuse me sir thank you very much just remember to hold down the button the whole time state your name and address can you hear me how's this hello everyone I'm Nadia Ahmed from the River Road Rescue Squad 101 Shirley Parkway on behalf of all of our members present today our apologies that more of our members couldn't be present today we currently have two crews out one in the somerset area the the other one assisting an agency in Bergen County on behalf of all of our members present and not present we would like to take this time to thank the council for the proclamation on today's agenda acknowledging EMS w we believe it is of utmost utmost importance that our elected officials recognize the hard work and commitment that our team and all EMS providers and all agencies put in every day and for that thank you last but definitely not least thank you to the padway community your endless Support over the past couple of years years and you know since we've been in service means a lot thank you that is all hi my name is SAR Rashid 618 hold it the entire time okay just bring it maybe a little close is that better okay my name is SAR Rashid 618 Buckingham Drive and like a lot of other people here today I am here requesting the township Council to pass a resolution to end human suffering 80% of the population there is displaced they don't have an infrastructure they don't have the luxuries that we are here having right now um you know you already know the facts I won't even repeat the facts again and again because you know the facts now the time is to act um you have to make a decision you have to pass the resol solution for ceasefire now thank you thank you is there anyone else in the public wishing to comment you this time you'd come to the podium state your name and address and note that you have three minutes in which to speak good night my name is Rayman inali I'm a resident of Somerville I'm here tonight to just to restate the importance of the ceasefire a lot of the items in the agenda tonight just imagine you don't have this on your agenda but what you have on your agenda is no hospitals I'm a HealthCare Employee for 30 plus years imagine you don't have an a hospital imagine you don't have a police department imagine you don't have a mayor Department imagine you don't have none of you that's sub their Department that's what's in Gaza that's what the people of Gaza experiencing imagine you don't have food you don't have water you have nothing we talk about Mother's Day we talk about uh restaurants coming out and they have deals and we have talk about all these Gathering there's nothing like that there we're we're humans forget about religion forget about where we're from there's something in our hearts that thick that that thick that that that beats in our heart that tell us what's going on there is wrong suffering and that for anyone across the board is wrong you need to pass the resolution if there's anything you can do that's that's that's little as that is passing the res resolution I know in your hearts it's there bring it out in your actions bring it out in your actions there one day we'll stand before God and we'll act and he will ask us what did we do what what you're doing up there you're going to be questioned about it what we're doing we're going to be questioned make sure you say well at least you pass a resolution that's the least you can do that's the least you can do for Humanity thank you very much for List have great thank you hi um my name is najma aish I'm actually a resident of Edison so I came here to support my brothers and sisters I'm an educator and it breaks my heart looking at my second graders knowing that a lot of second graders no longer live in Gaza and we speak about um diversity and acceptance but yet we are the community as a whole is refusing to ask for a ceasefire to make it an equal make it equal for everyone to live in peace what is so hard about saying hey Stop The Killing you know we're looking for reasons why we should continue the killing we're giving more money we're um refusing to use the word ceasefire but all like we're saying is you're not taking sides I don't know if it's stopped but please for the sake of the children our children your children help this come to light ask for a ceasefire so it can have a trickle down effect a domino effect for everyone else thank you you good even everyone here I'm pressing the button could just please state your name and address yes just waiting for the mayor to finish good evening everyone my name is Abid Awad 306 Grand View Avenue my wife Dina spoke earlier I am a retired New York City employee I was on City Council in Brooklyn New York in my community and in the future I plan to join this community also I plan to be an active remember just letting you know so you see my face and you'll know it and remember it hopefully the reason I'm getting up here today right now again just like all my fellow people who live here my neighbors please call for a ceasefire you are on this board mayor all of you go down in history choosing Humanity not genocide you can go down in history on the right side years from now when people look at your your names and remember you you want to be known for doing something right I hope you do thank you thank you hi uh my name is Katherine balamo at 192 Davidson Road um I I wish that we weren't experiencing this problem um and we of all people unfortunately are not able to wash our hands of this because as you probably know um the United States supplies most of the weapons that have been used for the last almost seven months and so it's each of our duty as an American to do what we can do um to create peace um as you may have heard uh what I believe um it has been the fastest descent in or decline line of nutritional status of a population ever recorded if I'm recalling correctly um and as you probably know 14,000 children have been killed um that's more more children were killed in the first four months of this assault on Gaza than in the previous four years of global conflicts combined again that's all the previous four years World conflicts the number of children that they killed was not as much as in the first four months of this I that's that's unacceptable and I think on to to be honest I feel like if people would pick pick their own demographic and imagine that they were suddenly the demographic in Gaza how would you feel how would you feel seeing 14,000 children be killed 33,000 on record but we know many many more under sorry 33,000 people total on record but many many more under the rubble um how would you feel if that was your group or a group that you're more connected to I think most of us could say this is not acceptable and it's it's not how to create peace this is not how to create good relations it's not how to create peace it's not how to create security um and sorry I'll skip ahead a little bit but um also I'm a I'm a convert I'm a relatively new Muslim and I've only been Muslim for almost 5 years but I personally know four people who have had family members murdered in the last seven months some of them have had one family member murdered some of them have had several family members murdered children are of course included in this because children are being murdered at record rates this is unacceptable it is an absolute crisis for as you can see as swath of the Piscataway Community also as someone who is most connected to the international student community in um in piscatway that's like my main sort of uh social group early on in this I remember sitting with three Muslim women from different countries who are among the best and brightest that is why they were here and they were all so shocked and horrified and they were reconsidering whether or not to stay in the United States in light of what they were observing and that was after only probably a few thousand people had been murdered um but they saw what was being done and what was on track you know I can only imagine how they feel now we we want to keep the best and brightest we want to attract the best and brightest we want to impress people with our with our morality and you know we want to spend our money in ways that do help create peace and that we're proud of not spend money that we should be spending on our kids here to literally murder kids abroad um thank you very much um thank you very much for your time thank you is there anyone else in the public let me sure is there anyone else who wanted to come and speak yeah see hold down the button the whole time you speak it doesn't click okay thank you my name is Naz Ali I live at 512 Silverton place I'm a mom of two they're sitting right there and I'm also a public school teacher here in Piscataway um like all of you I love all of our children I love my job I love teaching and I love all children I want what's best for them so I just wanted to give you a comparison and numbers to kind of make this hit home so far in the past several months 14,000 children have been killed in Gaza that is the population of our entire School District over two times over so I just wanted to throw that out there of just how Grand and how devastating the losses thank you thank you na did you want to ask your question of the mayor afterwards or did you want to we it's okay I just want to know like can this be considered tonight and because we already been talking about this for a few months now understand and I don't think there is we should be wasting any more time to talk about this I'm hoping that you make a decision tonight take a vote on it and please let's do it so we actually but I do believe um either Mr Mayor or Raj did you um want to say something there's somebody behind you um let's let all the public speak and then we'll sorry about that um just when you speak the down and keep it held down and state your name name and address good evening everyone uh this is Samia zafur from Seven St Bridge Drive East Piscataway love this town it's beautiful town and uh my kids um are now grown up mallah one of them has got just married and um we had a very hard time during Ramadan because every passing day was giving us the the number of the deaths going on uh Within aaza and Bon and uh that was the hardest Ramadan we we had ever experienced because every time we were cooking and and the mom's is the queen of the house right and in Muslim household right in any household and it was really hard to plan the dinner right and and the morning meal it was really really hard because uh our brother and sisters were not even had any access to the food and uh with every passing day um the the that toll is increasing right and and we need some immediate action right there should be ceasefire immediately because uh we are going to be accountable right on the day of judgment right and and the wo is U is being wrapped up in front of us right but we are living in the end of time right so it's it's very important that we we care about everyone around us thank you thank you is there anyone else in the public who would like to speak you may do so at this time okay see none then I'm going to close the public portion Raj did you want to say few could I just say something before so um I'm not going to go see here but this has been a very heart-wrenching night not to that first that when you came out um this whole uh I I I don't want to necessarily put words in anyone's mouth but I can tell you that we are all members of this town too and some of us who moved into this town moved into it for some of the reasons that some of the folks here mentioned tonight too about the diversity um especially when you come from a town that's not so diverse and the one thing that we can always say about Pas scataway is we've never been in the news right no one uh outside of I guess one incident people aren't spray painting our houses of worship people respect one another and we have respect for one another I know this Council has a huge amount of respect and um uh uh gratitude for um the Muslim population in this town because your families you make the town better um families are what make towns betters right um and that's what makes this town so great I often think that um because we're located where the university is it affords um us the blessing of having educated people in the town who respect one another no matter what Walk of Life we come from and I know that everyone on this board believes that on this board believes that to their core um so with that I do believe um Raj would like to um say something um for the mayor or yeah I just just wanted to indicate that while you were talking the mayor uh came over to me instructed me to prepare a resolution for the next meeting so I'm going to draft something in the next week circulate circulate it to the council for their comments and review and then we'll have it on to the for the agenda at the next meeting thank you and it is the it is the it is each person on this board has a sense of great sorrow for what's coming on uh what's going on in Gaza um a great sense of sorrow and I think some of you touched on it where um since we represent the entire town right people from every Walk of Life sometimes um you want to make sure that you're not telling one group of people that you are not also for them while still being supportive and wanting to call for a ceasefire so with that I do know that you wanted to have the resolution tonight but we will draft it and we will have it for the council meeting at the next we meet um why don't we um why don't you come and address us right after so because I have to close out the public portion and then please council president if I may have a couple comments yeah yeah absolutely of course um did you want me to close okay so um I'm just going to I closed it okay so I did close the public portion okay Mr Mayor I I just want to mention give my condolences to Dennis Espinosa and his family the loss of his uh brother and that's yeah I'm so sorry I I meant to say that um one of our council members who is not here tonight his brother died suddenly very man at 56 um and so we do send him condolences and his family yeah thank you and I also have one more I would be very remiss um during the consent agenda when it was open to the public a woman who called in uh said that we were allegedly we were being petty against with the Board of Ed that is quite the opposite I just want to let the record reflect that that individual who called in was part of the lawsuit and we're just perplexed up here of the actions of some of the board members and some of the general members of the public and rightfully so because they're complaining about something being constructed near one of the schools when the school district them themselves and there's a member from the Board of Ed that got up here and spoke tonight in a different capacity executed an agreement for a daycare center and prek in an industrial zone right across the street from Logistics building no less than 100 feet away and the fact that they were making comments that it would potentially be a security risk if there's kids going 900 feet away from the school then the school has a risk there should no be no reason I I I I don't get this at all and the only thing we're doing with this resolution tonight is just clarifying from the members of the Board of Education since clearly a majority of have said publicly that this was bad so we're assuming that they don't want to accept the revenue that's going to come off the site what they weren't telling is is that if it wasn't going to be this it was going to be 300 tow houses which was going to overload the school system create more financial burden on the town uh and it wasn't going to be the alleged 21 homes that they were saying because no Superior Court Judge correct me if I'm wrong Raj would allow that to happen so right if I'm not mistaken no no judge in this world would allow that to happen that's why the force the the settlement we ended up coming to was no nowhere near 21 houses so it was almost laughable to even suggest that uh but I want I do want some concurrence from the Board of Education and the members of the board because they have been accepting a revenue off these logistic sites for the last many years and that's why they're have more money now than they've ever had in the history of the town because of all the economic development going on in this town and I want to just let let that record reflected and was not and Petty we're perplexed they should take the revenue I encourage them to take the revenue when that comes about but when you have elected officials up there saying that something's not correct but yet they did the opposite in another instance and and have been accepting money all along I don't know I don't know whether it's an election because this has been going on for two years but we just want some clarity from the board of that and Raj I'm going to also ask that the uh that this be U sent certified to each of the board members because I don't want to hear that they didn't get a copy of it and I know we sent it to the U Administration over at board again so I strongly encourage them to take the revenue stream whatever it may be coming off but I am definitely perplexed about this because it wasn't about uh the safety of the kids because if that was the case why did they locate a prek in the middle of an industrial Zone thank you all right do I have an offer to adjourn do I have a second good all those in favor say I I we are adjourned thank you