MAYOR'S UPDATE:
WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 2

The holiday season has arrived! On behalf of all Town employees, thank you to The Garden Club of Westfield for the beautiful wreaths that they made and donated to all of our municipal buildings, as they graciously do each year. And thanks to the Westfield Fire Department for delivering Santa to help light our Christmas tree on Monday night! The DWC put on an amazing event with free cookies and a DJ spinning tunes for a large festive crowd that put us all in the holiday spirit. Please be sure to join us for the Menorah Lighting on December 18 at 4:30 at the North Avenue Train Station to celebrate Hanukkah!

As always, the DWC has many events planned to celebrate this festive time of year, including Westfield Winter Wonderland Activities on December 18 in Foundation Park, Hanukkah Hoopla (December 18 - 23), Kwanzaa Fun (December 26 and 28), the Miracle on Elm Street Weekly Gift Card Giveaways, holiday music throughout Downtown Westfield on December 11 and 18, outdoor fire pits, and more. Some events require advance registration – be sure to visit the DWC’s website for full details.
 
Thanks to our Police Department, Fire Department, Volunteer Rescue Squad and Department of Public Works for launching our first-ever Santa Convoy on December 17, when Santa will drive around Westfield to hand out candy canes to children. For more information, or to sign up to get a visit on your street, go to westfieldnj.gov/santa-convoy.
 
In addition, the Westfield Police Department is partnering with Toys for Tots to collect new unwrapped toys for less fortunate children this holiday season. There is a toy collection bin located in the Police Department lobby, which is accessible 24/7, as well as an Amazon wish list. The deadline to contribute is December 14. For more details, visit westfieldnj.gov/toys-for-tots.

And of course, this time of year is a great opportunity to patronize our downtown businesses! Free holiday parking for shoppers is available through January 1 for pay station lots and street meters (hourly restrictions still apply).

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

ONE WESTFIELD PLACE INFORMATION

Thanks to everyone who attended this week’s Traffic Mitigation information sessions at the One Westfield Place Preview Center. In case you missed it, there is an additional traffic session tonight at 6:30, and be sure to mark your calendars for the next round of information sessions throughout December: 

• The Future of Office Space: Discussion of current market trends, demand for Class-A office space, office amenities, and post-COVID work spaces (December 8 and 13, 6:00 PM)
• Planning and Design: Discussion of land use, proposed scale, and overall aesthetics and design (December 15, 6:00 PM)
• Wellness and Sustainability: (Monday, December 19, 6:00 PM)

To manage capacity, pre-registration is suggested for these sessions, and is available on the One Westfield Place website.

For those that aren’t able to attend these sessions in person, I will also be hosting a series of Facebook Live events with the various professionals. The first discussion, on Monday, December 12, at 5:30 PM, will focus on traffic, where I’ll be joined by John Federico from our traffic consulting firm, WSP, as well as Carolina Simon, VP of Development for HBC | Streetworks Development and their traffic consultants from Kimley-Horn. Subsequent Facebook Live events focused on the financial details of the proposal, planning and design, and the future of offices will be held immediately after the holidays.

If you prefer to speak directly with me or your Town Council representatives about the proposal, join us for ward-specific tours of the Preview Center, where you can obtain information and provide feedback directly to us (no pre-registration required).

• Ward 1: Saturday, December 3, 11:30 AM
• Ward 2: Tuesday, December 6, 6:00 PM
• Ward 3: Saturday, December 10, 11:30 AM
• Ward 4: Wednesday, December 7, 6:00 PM

For those in Ward 1 joining us tomorrow morning, feel free to drop in after the World Cup match is over! The format of these sessions is casual and designed for drop-in visits and informal conversation.

2023 CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

Don’t miss the December 5 deadline to apply for the 2023 vacancies on various boards, commissions, and committees! Please consider lending your time and talent to benefit the Town. Thanks to all who have already applied!

PAVING

I’m pleased to report that all 2022 Town and utility paving projects are now complete! Thank you for your patience during a year of ongoing utility work that resulted in disruptions and detours throughout Town. The good news is that our infrastructure continues to be improved as a result of these utility upgrades – and the paving of those roads is done at no taxpayer expense. Elizabethtown Gas carried several roads from this year’s plan into 2023, and we will issue updates in the spring once we have their schedule for those roads. In addition, the ongoing work on North and South Avenues is being performed by the State, and we will continue to provide updates as we receive them. 

LEAF COLLECTION

Public Works has completed its first round of leaf collection throughout Town, with the second pass now in progress. As a reminder, Nixle alerts are sent out each evening to notify residents of the anticipated collection points for the following day (subscribe by texting 07090 to 888777). In addition, this year the Town is supplementing its weekday collection efforts with six Saturday collection dates. December 9 is the last day to place your leaves curbside. 

Once again, the Town is also providing up to ten free leaf collection bags per household, which can be picked up with proof of residency at the Conservation Center (no permit required). For more information on the Center's seasonal hours and curbside pickup guidelines, visit westfieldnj.gov/leafcollection.

EVENTS

Senior Scam Seminar
Lifelong Westfield and the Westfield Police Department will once again be partnering to host a Senior Scam Seminar to provide seniors and their caregivers with important information to protect themselves against financial losses from scams. The session will be held on Friday, December 9, at 11:00 AM in the Town Hall Community Room. Registration is available at bit.ly/SeniorScamWebinar. To obtain information to join via Zoom, please call 908-301-1287.


Westfield Community Concert Band Holiday Concert
The Westfield Recreation Department will host its 32th Annual Holiday Concert featuring the Westfield Community Concert Band and the Edison Intermediate School Broadway Singers on Friday, December 16, at 7:30 p.m. at Edison Intermediate School.  This free public concert culminates the band’s 110th anniversary concert season! 


Sharing Our Stories Series
Don’t miss the next installment of the Westfield Library Series, Sharing Our Stories, on Thursday, December 8, with an inside look at indigenous tribal life in the Amazon. Attendees will hear from David Good, biologist, as well as co-founder and executive director of The Good Project. David is a member of the Irokai-teri community, where his mother and family reside as part of the Yanomami tribe in the Amazon rainforest. During this event, David will tell his story of reuniting with his long-lost mother in the Amazon and rediscovering his indigenous roots. 

This program is sponsored by the Human Relations Advisory Commission and the Westfield High School Social Studies Department, which will also host David the following day to speak with WHS students about exploring diverse cultures and what it means to be a global citizen.

Those who are interested in attending may register and reserve their seat on the library's website.