28 Apr ESSEX COUNTY EXECUTIVE DIVINCENZO PRESENTS 2023 STATE OF THE COUNTY ADDRESS
Published on April 28, 2023
Cedar Grove, NJ – Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. presented his 2023 State of the County Address at the Essex County Hospital Center in Cedar Grove on Thursday, April 27th. The speech is an opportunity for the County Executive to share accomplishments of the past year and outline initiatives planned for the coming year.
Prior to the speech, a short video depicted recently completed projects throughout the County and Essex directors highlighting initiatives from their respective departments. The video was linked to the theme of the speech which was: “We Feed. We Build. We Connect. We Care. We Grow. We Teach. We help Essex County Recover.” Video messages of congratulations from Governor Phil Murphy, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill and Congressman Donald Payne, Jr. also were played.
“Needs continue to change and for us to be effective, we consistently shift to support, protect and meet community challenges. Nothing demonstrated this more than when we came together as a team to create one of the most comprehensive COVID vaccination programs and administered 620,000 vaccines and 350,000 tests.” DiVincenzo said. “But the truth is we try to pivot and meet modern day needs all the time. In every department, division, office and program, we are there to serve our residents,” he continued.
The County Executive spoke about the new Citizen Services call center and online portal that are helping to streamline communication with clients and enhance services and response times. Instead of having to visit offices to submit paperwork or have questions answered, clients can reach out by phone or the website. He also shared a story about a client and her wheelchair-bound son who fled their home because of domestic violence. The call center staff helped the woman complete and file her application, translated her documents, connected her with a local agency that assists domestic violence victims and purchased furniture and other household items to get her life back in order.
According to their supervisor, and I quote, “I just want to let you know that the right people are here at the beginning of this phase of the Call Center. Not only do they care about the staff, or the system, or the program. They care intensely about the people in this county.”
Other new initiatives included the creation of the new Essex County Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs to enhance the connection the County has with the LGBTQ community and the Reach for Recovery Mobile Unit which has helped over 4,400 clients link with substance abuse prevention programs.
The County Executive boasted that the annual county tax rate increase has been limited to just 0.6 percent the last three years and a carefully constructed debt reduction plan will see the County’s annual debt service payment be reduced by almost half within the next three years.
The Executive presented a long list of public works and parks improvement projects that included modernizing traffic signals and culverts, updating athletic fields with synthetic grass surfaces, developing a professional outdoor stage in Brookdale Park for the popular Summer Concert Series, opening the new Amazing Asia Exhibit with Red Pandas and Clouded Leopards at Turtle Back Zoo and the new West Side Park Community Center. “Student athletes from our Donald Payne School can call the new sports complex in Vailsburg Park with baseball, softball and football fields and track facility as their home field. And our West Caldwell Tech Girls Softball Team and the Cedar Grove Little League also have a new place to call home at Eagles Field,” he pointed out. “Not only will our school athletic programs benefit, but local recreation programs and residents have access to these state-of-the-art facilities,” he added.
Projects already underway include the construction of a new Wally Choice Community Center in Glenfield Park, Cherry Blossom Welcome Center in Branch Brook, Bilal Beasley Center in Irvington Park and Sheriff Armando and Mary Fontoura Community Center in Independence Park; a dog park in Vailsburg Park; improvements at Francis Byrne Golf Course and the creation of pickleball courts at existing tennis facilities in Grover Cleveland, Glenfield, Brookdale, Verona and Irvington parks. Other projects include the renovation and historical preservation of the Parks Administration Building in Newark. At Turtle Back Zoo, the new Island Giants Exhibit featuring alligators and Komodo dragons will be named after Commissioner Pat Sebold and the modernization of the Animal Welfare Center will be named for retired RWJBarnabas Health executive Barry Ostrowsky for their support of the zoo, parks and open spaces.
Also underway is the construction of the new Essex County College Satellite Campus in West Caldwell which includes a new building, parking deck and soccer field. The groundbreaking of a new Family Courts Building, that will be named after the late State Senator Wynona Lipman, will be held later this year. The building “will be a new place of justice where children will be treated with kindness, domestic violence victims will attend hearings in safety and families will be treated with dignity – all inspired by the legacy of Senator Lipman. This is part of our ongoing initiative to provide the most up to date buildings so people who are experiencing their most vulnerable and challenging times are treated with respect,” DiVincenzo said.
DiVincenzo reminded the audience that the ECIA retired $102.8 million of debt in October, making it debt-free for the first time in its history. The annual $3.4 million in savings is being passed along to the County’s 22 municipalities.
He also recognized Newark Tech seniors Mosope Aina, who was named a Disney Dream Scholar, and Ahmaya Johnson, who was accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy. These achievements come as the renovated and expanded Newark Tech school building was reopened, meaning all three Schools of Technology were completely redone in the last six years.
People who had facilities named in their honor this past year include: 7-year-old Terry Demming for whom the Little League Field in Glenfield Park is named, Essex County College Coach Cleo Hill for whom the ECC athletic building is named, NJ State Senator Ron Rice for whom the Vailsburg Park Athletic complex is named, Supreme Court Associate Justice and Congressman Peter Rodino who had busts created in their image, Ivy Hill Neighborhood Association leader Houston Stevens for whom the Little League Field in Ivy Hill Park is named, Essex County Parks Foundation President Louis LaSalle or whom the Amazing Asia Exhibit at Turtle Back Zoo is named and former Director of Constituent Services Director Joyce Goldman for whom the County Executive’s Conference Room is named.
“Essex County. We Feed. We Build. We Connect. We Care. We Grow. We Teach. We help Essex County Recover. We can always do better. We can always get stronger. But we will always continue Putting Essex County First” DiVincenzo concluded.