PLEAES NOTE CORRECTIONS: When County Executive Joe DiVincenzo scheduled a meeting with members of Downtown Millburn the media yesterday, his goal was to reassure shopkeepers the public that county roadwork to replace the Millburn Avenue Bridge was proceeding swiftly, and to dispel rumors that Millburn Ave. would be closed for several months.
He did accomplish those tasks — and said roadwork should be complete by January — but he also angered several shopkeepers who wondered what he was doing scheduling an official visit for the first day of Rosh Hoshana.
“Doesn’t the Essex County Executive have a calendar showing that Thursday is Rosh Hashanah and a lot of the businesses will be closed and at Temples,” said Todd and Gali Rivkees of Suki’s, a children’s boutique, in reply to an email sent out by Downtown Millburn. “How insensitive the county is.”
“I have a call into him,” wrote Daniel Baer, a township committee member. “I agree and we never were called on this visit.” Baer confirmed he missed the meeting because of the holiday.
This afternoon, John Buchholz, president of Downtown Millburn, sent out a note to the business community and the press, summarizing yesterday’s meeting.
The County Executive confirmed that the county would not close down Millburn Avenue, dispelling the recent rumors. He also noted that all road work would be complete by January of next year (provided construction is on schedule without weather delays) and the remaining two months of work would be to complete the sidewalks and bridge abutments.
Joe DiVincenzo responded to questions from The Item and Millburn Patch and the attending merchants. (See The Item’s press release below). One of the more direct questions was related to greater advanced notice for changes that occur during construction to enable business owners to have more time to react and respond. The county executive promised to hold a meeting with the businesses in early November at Town Hall to review the process and changes that would occur to start phase two.
We will continue to monitor the progress of construction, respond to any questions or complaints from the downtown merchants, and continue to make this construction the least obtrusive to the Downtown Merchants. Thank you for your patience.
A spokesman for DiVincenzo has not responded to our question about the Rosh Hoshana conflict explained that the meeting was for press and not merchants, asked for a correction and told us that another meeting will be held at a time convenient for the merchants.
