EACH ONE A LIFE
Emerson • Hillsdale • Montvale • Park Ridge • River Vale • Township of Washington • Westwood • Woodcliff Lake VOLUME 24 ISSUE 24
DANCING ON AIR
PA S C AC K VA L L E Y ’ S BEST H O M E TO W N N E W S PA P E R
AUGUST 31, 2020
WESTWOOD
Black Poster Project raises awareness about addiction
Westwood resident Tina Zoccoli Mayers will be virtually and nationally screening an original dance film, “Amazing Grace.” SEE PAGE 13
ELECTION
Dramatic in-person voter totals expected Nov. 3
FORECAST
BY MICHAEL OLOHAN OF PASCACK PRESS
A top county elections official told Pascack Press she anticipates up to a 300 percent increase in registered voters going to the polls to vote on Nov. 3—a total of up to 60,000 in-person voters for the Nov. 3 presidential election. However, due to Gov. Phil Murphyʼs executive order restricting machine voting to disabled individuals due to Covid-19 concerns, every eligible voter casting a ballot in person will have to fill out a “provisional ballot” or paper ballot and fill in circles to indicate their choices. During the July 7 vote-by-mail primary, about 20,000 voters voted “provisionally” at their local polling place, while most voters instead opted to send in or drop off a vote-by-mail ballot.
See ELECTION on page 254
BY KRISTIN BEUSCHER OF PASCACK PRESS
Westwoodʼs Veterans Park was awash in a sea of portraits on Saturday afternoon, Aug, 22. Smiling, youthful faces printed on posters lined the walkways around the bandstand. Among them, musicians, athletes, writers and dancers. Sons, daughters, sisters and brothers. People who loved, and who were loved in
return. Each of the portraits represented a young life cut short due to addiction. Known as the Black Poster Project, this display of silent memorials has been traveling around northern New Jersey during August— Overdose Awareness Month—to make a powerful statement about the dangers of opioid abuse. Beyond that, it seeks to lessen the stigma and shame surrounding addiction—fac-
PHOTOS BY MURRAY BASS
SHOW OF SUPPORT As this summer’s law enforcement lawn sign fundraiser continues, one Woodcliff Lake couple has gone above and beyond. SEE PAGE 32
tors that prevent many from seeking help. The event is a collaboration between Alumni In Recovery (AinR)—a Bergen-based non-profit composed of young adults living in recovery from addiction, who now volunteer their time at events like these—and the Center for Alcohol and Drug Resources. “People are asked to come and look at each one—look at their faces, look into their
See ADDICTION on page 204
B ck in time... In the days when the Pascack Valley was still largely rural, Hillsdale Manor has a popular summer getaway for well-to-do New Yorkers.
SEE PAGE 4