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There’s not much to fight over in the borough of East Newark.

Hudson County’s least populous municipality — and second-smallest in the state, by area — comprises fewer than 3,000 residents and occupies little more than a tenth of a square mile on the Passaic River.

But over the past few months, East Newark officials have been engaged in an unprecedented power struggle over the board of education, the body that oversees the borough’s one school and roughly 220 students.

Last fall, the East Newark school board recommended switching to an elected body, instead of one whose trustees are appointed by the mayor. But last week, East Newark’s Borough Council voted to add two seats to the Board of Education — effectively allowing Mayor Dina Grilo to appoint new members before residents can vote on whether to strip her of that power.

“In my personal opinion it’s the mayor once again interfering with the BOE and attempting to take control and pack the Board with people that she can control,” said BOE Vice President Mark Balsam, who noted that he was speaking as a private citizen and not for the board.

It’s been 12 months since Grilo, who did not respond to repeated requests for comment, replaced 32-year incumbent Joseph Smith to become the borough’s first female mayor, just the second in county history.

Those months have been both transformative and tumultuous for the tiny west Hudson borough. Last year, East Newark received a $300,000 grant from the Hudson County Open Space Trust Fund to renovate its recreation center. Federal agencies have proposed building a new five-acre waterfront park on the Passaic River as part of a superfund cleanup.

The owners of the Tops Diner on Passaic Avenue, a New Jersey landmark ranked among the state’s best diners, plan to upgrade the restaurant with a new building three times its size and almost double the parking space.

And the historic Clark Cotton and Thread Company Mill is slated for conversion into a massive mixed-use development with 616 new residential units. If filled, those units stand to increase the town’s population by more than 20%.

In another municipality, those developments might have minimal impact. But in East Newark, which boasts an area of 0.11 square miles and a population of about 2,600, they stand to be transformative.

“There is a lot going on, and there’s a lot going on within the next three years,” said East Newark Council President Hans Lucas.

But the new mayor’s tenure has also been marked by an conflict between the borough and the school board.

“The relationship (with) the prior administration was excellent,” Balsam said. “There were zero issues between Mayor Smith, the Borough Council and the Board of Education. As you can see and hear that is not the case with the current administration. The mayor and her administration are not supposed to interfere with the Board of Education business.”

In an email, East Newark Borough Administrator Kevin Catrambone, who was hired by the mayor last spring, said Grilo and the council have “zero interest in having power over the BOE.”

“The main objective is to refocus the BOE’s attention back onto our children,” Catrambone said. “As of recent, a couple members of the BOE have been controversial and uncooperative with the administration which has caused a distraction from their main purpose.”

The mayor’s plan to renovate the town recreation center, where the district held some classes and extracurricular activities, angered school officials. In September, East Newark Superintendent Dr. Richard Corbett announced that he was requesting a state Department of Education investigation into what he called “outside political influences.”

A DOE spokesman seemed to indicate that the agency had turned down the request, saying in a statement Thursday that the “matter is not within the purview” of the department’s investigatory body.

Last fall, the East Newark school board approved a recommendation that would change the board from Type 1 to Type 2 — meaning that voters would directly elect trustees instead of having them appointed by the mayor. East Newark voters will likely consider the question in the Nov. 2021 election, the borough clerk said.

But last week, the borough council voted to expand the BOE from five to seven members — with both new trustees set to be named by the mayor.

“With more members, you just have more people that can vote on the different situations,” said Councilwoman Rose Evaristo, who voted for the increase. “I just feel that the more voices, the better.”

Two years ago, the council had voted to do the opposite: a 2018 ordinance decreased the school board’s membership from seven to five members. (Meeting records show that Evaristo voted for that too, though she said she does not remember it.) Borough officials said the reduction was due to the fact that BOE members sometimes failed to show up for meetings, making it difficult to reach a quorum.

Candidates for the two new seats will be appointed in April or May, Catrambone said.

Corbet, the superintendent, declined to address the reported tension between the mayor and the BOE, but touted the district’s academic accomplishments. Test scores in the district have improved, Corbett said, and for the first time, East Newark has been classified by the state as “high-performing.”

“That’s the only thing that matters, is what we’ve done for these kids,” Corbett said.

East Newark, the tiniest municipality in Hudson County, has another distinction: the borough’s been tagged as having one of the oldest housing stocks in the region.

A recent study by Heyer, Gruel & Associates, of Red Bank, the borough’s consulting planners, found “between 65% to 71%” of East Newark’s residences are “at least 50 years old.”

So local officials are strategizing to do something to change the complexion of the borough’s tired, old landscape. Of course, they’ve already set in motion plans to transform the old 30-acre Clark Thread Co. plant along Passaic Avenue into a colossal mixed-use development with 600-plus apartments with more than 100,000 square-feet of commercial/retail plus parking and open space.

But that project is still early in the development stages so the borough is expanding its vision to incentivize further modernization — including its recent decision to designate “the entire borough of East Newark … to be an area in need of rehabilitation … in order to institute a program of rehabilitation to prevent further deterioration of the borough and promote the overall development of the community.”

One area in particular being eyed by the borough is the former St. Anthony School property across the street from the Municipal Building on the south side of Sherman Avenue. A new owner has taken title to that property, which takes up five large lots comprising 1.1 acres, and has torn down the old school building.

At one time, the borough had considered acquiring a portion of the property — which had been categorized as part of a Public Facilities Subdistrict under a prior version of the borough redevelopment plan for the area — but never followed through with that plan.

Now, under a revised redevelopment plan recommended by Heyer Gruel, the property would be reclassified as a new “St. Anthony’s District,” which “permits residential development and adopts bulk and design standards governing such residential development,” as proposed by the planners.

Borough Administrator Robert Dowd said the new property owner has come before the Council to sketch out a concept for a number of two-family homes that, the owner said, could be built on the property. However, Dowd added, that concept remains just that, unless and until the owner submits an application to build the new housing to the borough Planning Board.

Elsewhere in the borough, the planners are recommending these designations for consideration by the Borough Council:

— The Riverside District, a 1.3-acre stretch of land on the west side of Passaic Avenue, which could be developed as “public open space, schools and other public facilities.” Or, as alternatives, the property could be maintained as is “or be developed as a hotel with other ancillary uses such as restaurants, meeting and banquet halls.”

—The School House Subdistrict, less than an acre, where permitted uses include “studio and one-bedroom residential lofts utilizing the existing school building, an elementary school and a parking deck serving both the redevelopment project and municipal needs.

— The Thread Mill Subdistrict, where East Newark Town Centre LLC has been designated the site’s redeveloper for mixed-use at the old knitting mill.

Heyer & Gruel have recommended the borough also designate the entirety of the borough as an “area in need of rehabilitation,” as a “mechanism to encourage renovation and reconstruction of existing structures. Local Redevelopment and Housing law permits the use of tax abatements on improvements for a period of five years, which can be an incentive to property owners to make improvements.”

Ron Leir | For The Observer

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Ron Leir has been a newspaperman since the late ’60s, starting his career with The Jersey Journal, having served as a summer reporter during college. He became a full-time scribe in February 1972, working mostly as a general assignment reporter in all areas except sports, including a 3-year stint as an assistant editor for entertainment, features, religion, etc.

He retired from the JJ in May 2009 and came to The Observer shortly thereafter.

He is also a part-time actor, mostly on stage, having worked most recently with the Kearny-based WHATCo. and plays Sunday softball in Central Park, New York

In the world of Hudson County government, there are certain names synonymous with various municipalities. There’s Frank E. Rodgers and Harrison. Frank Hague and Jersey City. Nicholas Sacco and North Bergen.

And whilst he’s not an elected official the way the aforementioned are or were, there’s also Robert Knapp and East Newark — a man who’s served the tiny Hudson borough since early on in 1991. And now, Knapp, 74, has decided to call it a career in East Newark, having retired from his last position here as treasurer of school monies. He also bid adieu as East Newark’s clerk, registrar of vital statistics and welfare coordinator one year ago following the election of Mayor Dina Grilo.

Knapp was appointed to all of the positions he served by the borough’s mayor who served before Grilo, Joseph Smith, and who lost his seat following a 2019 primary election.

Knapp will continue to serve in his role as Hudson County’s director of Welfare, or as it is now known, Human Services. It was that role in Hudson County that prompted Smith to hire Knapp in the first place 30 years ago.

Knapp recalls Smith had spoken with one of his mayoral predecessors, Wilbert Hotaling (the borough’s 12th mayor who served in the ‘60s), who encouraged him to bring Knapp on board, part time, to serve the less fortunate residents of East Newark — those who were in need of governmental assistance, whether it was for food insecurity or various other social services.

For Knapp, who grew up and who still lives in the Greenville section of Jersey City, one of the toughest, more underserved neighborhoods in the state’s second-largest municipality, it all began when he was younger, as his middle-class, working family was struck by a developing tragedy.

“I grew up in an apartment house off Jackson Avenue (now the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive) and we were the superintendents of the building.” Knapp recalls. “It was my mom, dad, my brother and my sister.”

And even though there was a break on the rent on Stegman Street because the family served as the building’s supers, one month, the family was unable to pay the portion of the rent they still had to contribute.

“Mom was terminal and a woman came by and said, ‘Here is the money for your rent.’ I never forgot that,” Knapp says. “From that day on, I always said if I am ever in the position to help others, that’s what I am going to do. And while I was never really in the position to do that personally, I have been able to do it in the work that I do. That’s all I ever wanted to do — help people.”

And help people he did, tens of thousands over the years — so much so a friend once dubbed him a “priest,” because of his selfless service, his uncanny ability to be a Man For Others. One might have even thought Knapp was Jesuit, though he never was. He does, nonetheless, serve his Catholic parish in Middletown as a lector and extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. (He spends most weekends in Middletown, Monmouth County, with his daughter and grandchildren.)

“Whether it’s in East Newark or elsewhere, I see so many single parents who live on meager salaries and it’s so sad,” Knapp says of his social-services work. “This is what it’s all about — helping the people who most need it. It’s very gratifying.”

Knapp, in his 53rd year working in Hudson County (he started in 1968), served despite a similarly meager salary of his own in East Newark — salaries here were all combined for positions he held and he certainly didn’t become rich. He studied for two years and then took and passed the state’s Registered Municipal Clerk’s test, offered by the NJ Department of Community Affairs. He went on to serve as borough clerk from 2003 to 2020.

He also took over as the registrar of the East Newark Bureau of Vital Statistics a year or so later, another position he handled through 2020. And lastly, the one from which he recently retired, he was the treasurer of school monies.

While he’ll miss West Hudson and East Newark, he’ll continue his work in the county.

“My daughter, who lives in Middletown, says maybe it’s time, but I am 74 and I am not ready yet,” Knapp says. “I truly love what I do.”

And though East Newark won’t be a stop on his travels anymore, there’s no doubt his impact will continue to be felt on the .1 square-mile borough for generations to come.

EAST NEWARK, NJ — A new riverfront park is proposed to come to the banks of the Passaic River as an environmentally forward project that state and local leaders hope will not only become a popular gathering space for its surrounding communities but will right the wrongs of the past.

The project, which will be located on Passaic Avenue in East Newark at the wharf of the former Clark Thread Company, was announced Friday during a groundbreaking ceremony that featured remarks from First Lady Tammy Murphy, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Shawn LaTourette, and East Newark Mayor Dina Grilo. The newly proposed 5-acre park is planned to bring various recreational, educational and sustainable amenities to the Passaic River, a waterway that has borne the brunt of years of heavy industrialization.

“Here, we are building a new course for the future with a stronger and more just environment at its center,” LaTourette said.

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By reactivating the former site of the historic thread factory, the commissioner noted that the project represented an “apology for a past of pollution.”

As the cradle of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, areas of northern New Jersey led the charge in manufacturing and processing with major industrial companies lined up along major rivers in Hudson, Bergen, and Essex counties. However, major waterways like the Passaic River which housed many of these types of facilities also served as a dumping ground.

Manufacturing left behind layers of dioxin, mercury, and many other toxic contaminants in the river's sediments. In the 1950s and 60s, Agent Orange was manufactured at a facility on the banks of the lower Passaic River, causing toxic byproducts to be released into the estuary. Years later, that legacy of industrialization took its toll on the surrounding areas and environment. Several areas along the river are designated as Superfund sites. To date, two cleanups of the river have already been completed.

Determined to wash away a legacy of pollution, officials want to see the proposed Riverfront Park become a stepping stone in bringing more green space and sustainable development back to the area.

“This park will not only serve as a public space for community members to gather and enjoy the outdoors, it will also provide critical benefits to our environment,” Murphy, the first lady, said.

The park’s design is being led by BASF Corporation, a Germany-based chemical production company that was determined to be one of more than 100 parties whose past activities, officials said, “potentially contributed to contamination and natural resource injuries related to the Diamond Alkali Superfund site and Berry’s Creek Study Area.”

BASF officials are working to address a portion of these alleged impacts on the site through sustainable initiatives aimed at improving air quality, filtering drinking water and establishing habitats for wildlife. The project is estimated to cost $25 million and is expected to be completed in two years, officials said.

“We’re pleased this property will be restored and returned to the community as a multi-use ecological space,” BASF North America President Tobias Dratt said. “Converting the vacant property to a park will benefit the environment and allows the public to connect with the waterfront by opening many new possibilities for recreation, learning and community engagement.”

Efforts to reconnect residents to the Passaic River have already been across the waterway in Newark.

In May, officials representing the Urban Waters Federal Partnership in Newark, an initiative that aims to foster better working relationships between government and community leaders to improve water system remediation efforts across the U.S., hosted a press conference at the Orange Sticks sculpture in the Ironbound neighborhood where they highlighted their top priorities for the next decade.

Among the priorities, officials called for area need to continue water quality monitoring, increased public access and infrastructure improvements on the Passaic River.

“If you ask the average Newarker if they have ever been on the Passaic River, they are going to look at you like you are insane because people know in this community that the water is not safe to get on,” said Marcy DePina, interim executive director of the Newark City Parks Foundation. “But through the programs that we have been able to do, we’ve been able to reignite that relationship between the community and the river.”

Back across the Passaic, East Newark officials are eager to see the Riverfront Park project make headway soon in their community.

"I'm looking forward to seeing our park take shape in the next few years and seeing how this transforms this 5-acre property into an urban oasis," said Grilo, mayor of East Newark.

EAST NEWARK — For Patrick Martin, it was always about the kids.

That’s what brought him to the East Newark Borough School July 1, 2014, after having completed four years as the chief administrator of the Union Township Board of Education with 7,500 students spread among 10 schools.

“I was looking to get back into the classroom, to do hands-on work with the children,” he said. “It was wonderful to come to a new place where I could do that again.”

But he’ll be leaving that experience behind on June 30 when he bids a fond farewell to the nearly 300 students occupying East Newark’s only school where he’s presided as superintendent/principal.

Martin, whose appointment was only recently renewed for five years, said the district won’t be on the hook for paying him for the additional time since he’s leaving of his own volition. His starting pay in 2014 was $115,000 and he’s leaving with a salary of $127,500.

“A search for a replacement has begun,” he added.

So why the change of heart?

“This,” he said, “is my 25th year in education,” which he began in 1979 teaching sixth-grade at Our Lady Queen of Angels School in New York City, and which he now ends putting in papers for retirement and a state pension. “And my wife and I have new grandchildren in our life,” he said.

And while he didn’t mention another variable as a potential trigger for leaving, Martin’s impending departure comes amid escalating tensions between borough teachers/staffers and their employer over an unsettled labor agreement that now threatens to reach three years.

Economics – borough educators are the lowest-paid in New Jersey – has taken a toll on the district as an increasing number of employees conclude they have no choice but to leave to seek higher-paying jobs. Five of the 20+ staffers departed this past year.

When Martin assumed control of the district, the financial outlook was pretty gloomy. “My first budget (2014-15) we were $700,000 in the red,” he recalled, due largely to the high tuition costs of educating special needs youngsters with outside placements.

But that situation was righted, he said, by bringing back a total of 10 children with the creation of two special needs classrooms, one to handle younger kids and a second for middle-schoolers, in the district.

“Now,” Martin said, “we’re very financially secure.”

Another factor contributing to the district’s financial health was the settlement of a long-simmering dispute between it and the Harrison Board of Education in March 2015 over the tuition fee charged East Newark BOE for educating 100+ borough residents at Harrison High.

Both sides agreed to set the annual fee at $13,000 per student for the 2015-16 school year and increasing at a rate of 2% per year for each of the next six school years. At the time, Martin reckoned the initial savings at about $300,000.

Looking back on his East Newark experience, Martin likes to point to such achievements as having “witnessed an overall increase in standardized test scores” by an ethnically-diverse student population whose parents are largely blue-collar and “initiated a ‘one-to-one’ program where all students received a T-Mobile tablet that allows them to access the internet for classwork, homework and special projects.”

And while Mayor Joseph Smith has said there’s no way the borough could afford the cost of replacing the 100+-year school, Martin noted the district has managed to keep the building in optimum shape by finding contractors at the right price to upgrade Internet, phone and security systems, maintain a balanced heating and ventilating system, installed tile flooring and repaint the entire structure.

Meanwhile, Martin has continued to search for ways to connect with students, whether that’s meant running math “bees,” distributing daily morning handwriting sheets, sharing “Word of the Day” and conducting an all-school spelling championship — all inside the building.

For activities just outside school, he organized the August “ice-cream social” as a welcome-back to the fall term, the “Trunk-or-Treat” Halloween event, spring egg hunt/bike giveaway, Saturday Academy/soccer play and a field trip to Washington, D.C.

No matter the situation, Martin has always seemed to find a way to keep it real. One day last week, while delivering his daily dismissal-time announcements via school intercom, he acknowledged providing an inaccurate spelling for the word “archaeologist” and credited a teacher with tactfully pointing out the error.

So noted, Dr. Martin.

Proving that even a magna cum laude Fordham University alum is capable of making mistakes.