North Bergen libraries to waive book fines for one week
In honor of National Library Week, the North Bergen Free Public Library is holding an amnesty week for North Bergen and Guttenberg residents. Return all your overdue North Bergen items from April 9 through April 15 at either library location and the fines will be forgiven. The main library is at 8411 Bergenline Ave. The Kennedy Branch is at 2123 Kennedy Blvd. For more information call (201) 869-4715 or visit www.nbpl.org.
‘Grimm Fairytale’ Escape room at library
Students in grades six and up: You have 45 minutes. Can you accomplish the Grimm Escape? Join the main library for their Grimm Fairytale-themed escape room on Saturday, April 8, 2017 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration at the children’s desk is required to reserve your spot. Groups of at least four are preferred. The main library is at 8411 Bergenline Ave. For more information call (201) 869-4715 or visit www.nbpl.org.
Park Avenue community improvement project to start
North Bergen has begun a significant community improvement project to upgrade both Park Avenue and 74th Street. This project has several important goals:
§ Ensure that thoroughfares are fully accessible to handicapped individuals
§ Investigate any potential sewer or drainage issues beneath the street and address them early before they can become problems
§ Repave the street after several punishing winters
Work has already begun on making the corners handicap-compliant at all intersections on Park Avenue between 71st and 79th streets. This phase of the project is expected to take about three weeks to complete. The second phase will consist of underground work to address any potential problems in the sewer lines beneath the streets. Recently, several neighboring municipalities have encountered major problems as a result of aging sewer lines. North Bergen has proactively inspected its sewer lines with sophisticated video equipment in order to root out any possible issues. This project is designed to fix these issues before they impact the community. The sewer work is anticipated to begin about April 10. In addition to Park Avenue, work will take place on 74th Street between Boulevard East and Park Avenue. The final phase of the project will consist of repaving Park Avenue and 74th Street, in conjunction with Hudson County. Paving is projected to begin in late May, after all the underground work has been completed. Residents will be notified when the work is starting.
CarePoint hospitals notch top rankings among state hospitals
Inside Jersey and the prestigious Castle Connelly Group recently named all of the CarePoint Health Hospitals among the top ten in the State of New Jersey, more than any other system in Hudson County. CarePoint Health is the only system in the State of New Jersey to have all of its hospitals named among the top ten in the state. CarePoint Health – Bayonne Medical Center was named number two overall in the state among hospitals with fewer than 350 beds and CarePoint Health – Hoboken University Medical Center was named number six. CarePoint Health – Christ Hospital was named number eight among hospitals with greater than 350 beds. Castle Connolly asked licensed physicians across the state to name the top hospitals for various medical conditions, as well as for overall care.
”We are extremely proud that all CarePoint Health Hospitals have been awarded such prestigious honors,” said Jeff Mandler, CEO of CarePoint Health. “We take great pride in providing excellence in healthcare and to have all of our hospitals named among the top twenty in New Jersey proves that we are committed to providing the best care in the region.”
Township saves over $1 million in insurance costs
North Bergen taxpayers can look forward to $1.2 million in savings from lower-than-expected interest costs after the township completed a successful sale of $31 million in General Obligation Bonds recently, according to a press release. Used to fund major infrastructure and capital improvements, the bond sale received a competitive 32 bids from nine major underwriters. The result is a true interest cost of 2.92 percent. This interest rate is lower than officials estimated when the bond sale was authorized by the Board of Commissioners, meaning that overall net interest costs will be lower than previously estimated.
“This excellent outcome for our taxpayers is a testament to North Bergen’s professional finance team and the hard work they are doing to maximize revenues and lower expenses,” said Mayor Nicholas Sacco. “We will now not have to budget an additional $1.2 million over the life of these bonds.”
The lower-than-expected interest cost is attributable to North Bergen’s Aa3 bond rating, which was recently affirmed and given a “positive outlook” by Moody’s Investors Service.
