Irene: One Year Later

How has the 2011 storm impacted you? Send us your photos and feedback.

Sunday marks the first anniversary of the storm that pulled trees from their roots, flooded streets and cars, decimated homes and businesses and left thousands without power. After Irene blew through New Jersey in August 2011, Patch was there to cover the hurricane that had been downgraded to a tropical storm. The impact of the storm and subsequent flooding is still evident in some areas of Union County. In Cranford - one of the most severely impacted towns in the county - 18 houses that were heavily damaged are being elevated to prevent flood waters from future storms from submerging the structures. Some residents are still in the process of rebuilding parts of their homes that were destroyed. Behind the municipal building on Springfield …

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FEMA Will Reimburse Cranford $1.6 Million For Repairs To Brookside School

The federal funding will offset the cost of repairs to the school, which sustained major damage during Hurricane Irene.

U.S. Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) announced today that the Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide $1.6 million to reimburse Cranford for emergency repairs to Brookside Place School, which sustained severe damage during Hurricane Irene in August 2011. When Hurricane Irene struck New Jersey, the Rahway River overflowed in Cranford Township, causing extensive flood damage at nearby Brookside Elementary School, where flood waters reached up to two feet. These funds will reimburse the township for repairs made following the hurricane, including flood water removal and remediation, repairs for damaged pipes and walls, and restoration of damaged items inside the school.  As a result of the damage, …

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Brookside Students Enjoy A Sweet Celebration

A local business provided doughnuts frosted in the school colors of blue and gold to welcome students and staff back to BPS.

What's better than getting to eat doughnuts at school? At Brookside Place, the answer is simple: having doughnuts decorated in the school colors of blue and gold, in the school building that you weren't allowed to use until a week ago. On their 10th day back at their neighborhood school, students at BPS enjoyed a morning treat, courtesy of the Dunkin Donuts store on North Avenue. As children filed into the auditorium, they were each given a doughnut frosted in the school colors. The special event was organized by the Brookside Place School PTA, after the members were contacted by Michael Komondy, owner of the Dunkin Donuts franchise in Cranford. On Feb. 27, the day BPS re-opened after being closed for months as a result of flood damage …

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Brookside Students Return To Their Neighborhood School

The doors to the previously flood-damaged school opened Monday morning as students excitedly returned to the building for the first time since last year.

Students and their parents had first-day-of-school jitters Monday morning as they assembled outside Brookside Place School for the first time since last year. Their excitement was off the charts as the doors to the previously flood-damaged facility opened and kids returned to class. "I'm thrilled. I'm ecstatic and we're just very excited," Cranford resident Renee Melchiorre said as she waited for her two children to enter the school building." The School District reopened Brookside Place School Monday morning, six months after floodwaters from Hurricane Irene tore through the building, causing extensive damage that led officials to close the school for the first half of the academic year. Since September, students have been attending …

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Brookside Place School To Open Doors Monday

School devastated by damage from Hurricane Irene will welcome returning students in two-part process.

Life will return to normal for students, parents and educators of Brookside Place when the elementary school opens its doors on Monday. Superintendent of Schools Gayle Carrick announced that the finishing touches are being completed and that the school will reopen next week. The school has been closed since floodwaters from Hurricane Irene ripped through the building in late August, causing extensive damage. School officials were forced to close the building and send students to other schools in the district, as well as Washington Elementary School in Garwood. "I am pleased to announce that we are in the final reconstruction phases," Carrick said in a letter to Brookside parents. The reconstruction was a massive undertaking that included …

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Brookstriders Gear Up For Second Annual 5k Race

A group of parents and students from Brookside Place School are working to encourage students to be healthy and active.

For the second year in a row, the Cranford Brookstriders will lace up their running shoes and take to the streets in an effort to get local students to be more active and make health-conscious decisions. The Brookstriders are a group of parents and students from Brookside Place School. Their goal is to get kids moving and to achieve that goal, the group is preparing for its second annual 5K race and 1-mile fun run, which is set for April 22. The event will kick off at brookside Place School. The runners will travel down Willow Street and through Nomahegan Park before heading back to Brookside. The Brookside Place School PTA held its first annual Brookstriders 5K last year Brookside Place School. The event drew hundreds of participants and …

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The Week Ahead: Brookstriders Plan 5k; School Board to Meet; Poll Question

Here's a look at some of the stories Patch is working to bring you this week.

The Cranford Board of Education will meet at 8 p.m. tonight for its regular meeting. Board members are expected to discuss the district's drug-and-alcohol policy. Talk of revising the policy began earlier this month, in the wake of a New Year's Eve incident in which 47 juveniles were arrested for underage drinking during a house party. At the last Board of Education meeting, the New Year's Eve bust prompted board member Michael Caulfield to propose a motion to revive ADAPT, the Alcohol/Drug Assistance Program for Teens. The board may vote on the measure at tonight's meeting. Did you know that Cranford has a Newcomers Club? The group meets each month with a focus on welcoming new residents and planning social events for adults and children…

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2011: The Year In Review

Year in Review: The Biggest Stories

A look back at some of the biggest headlines of 2011.

March 31, 2011: Superintendent Presents $54 Million School Budget The Board of Education held a public hearing for the budget proposal in late March. While last year's budget sparked layoffs, the 2011-2012 proposal, first approved by the Board of Education at a Feb. 28 meeting, adds three additional teachers and two part-time basic skills teachers. It also resurrects three positions lost last year –two part-time academic coaches for teachers in math and literacy and one full-time supervisor. It will also push $671,384 towards resident tax relief. June 29, 2011: Township Committee Adopts Amended Municipal Budget The Cranford Township Committee voted to adopt the amended municipal budget at its June meeting. The resolution passed with a 3-1 …

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Union Painters Protest Work at Brookside Place School

A small group of picketers gathered outside the flood-damaged school to oppose the district's use of non-union painters.

Work continued inside Brookside Place School on Nov. 30, where crews began painting the interior of the flood-damaged building. Outside the building, a small group of union workers protested the district's decision to hire local painters for the job. "We're here as an information line," said a member of Painters District Council 711. The union worker, who said the group does not "talk to the press," refused to give his name. The group arrived at the school at about 7 a.m. to show their dissatisfaction with the Cranford School District's decision to use non-union painters. "The Cranford Board of Education has hired a local (Cranford), non-union paint company, to paint the interior of Brookside Place School as part of the rebuilding and …

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