Residents praise seniors' lunches, report poison-ivy and raise library complaint at council meeting

Several residents used the public-comment periods to thank staff for community programs and to raise neighborhood concerns.

Gordon Levitt (131 Hillside Avenue) told the council that a poison-ivy infestation on the back of a neighboring building had been inspected by Bloomfield Health Department personnel and that the homeowner association had been notified; he thanked borough staff for prompt follow-up. Levitt also praised the borough’s seniors’ lunches and the local gym for supporting older residents, and urged the borough to remind property owners to trim shrubs that obstruct sidewalks for pedestrian safety: “I ask you to do every and anything you can to alert the community that it's their responsibility,” he said.

Later in the meeting, Allen Wilson raised a complaint about the library’s handling of closing-time policies. Wilson described an incident in which he said a staff member told him he had held the library up and that police were called; he asked the borough to check whether the interaction was documented. He asked that an officer’s body-camera and library CCTV be reviewed and requested a synopsis be prepared. Wilson also raised concerns about responsiveness from the library director to previous outreach attempts and asked for clarification about the borough’s oversight role given the library’s board structure.

Council members acknowledged both comments, said they would follow up offline to determine the library’s oversight arrangements and recommended further contact with the library board; they also thanked Levitt for calling attention to sidewalk clearance and the seniors’ program.

No formal council action was taken at the meeting on either matter; council members suggested offline follow-up and documentation checks.