Environment & Resident Advocacy Organization

[September 3, 2019]

Essex County prides itself on the Turtle Back Zoo, while many West Orange residents say enough is enough. Traffic, parking, pedestrian safety, animals that don't thrive in NJ climates... West Orange is not Orlando, and residents don't want a Disney in their back yard.

[NJ.com / Star-Ledger Article September 1, 2019, by Kelly Hayboer]

People who care about the South Mountain Reservation SAY NO to the Turtle Back Zoo overdevelopment of the Reservation. $600K of our OPEN SPACE TRUST FUND MONEY has been approved for the design of a 500-1000 person amphitheater in South Mountain Reservation. Gov. Phil Murphy has frozen the additional $4 million County Executive DiVincenzo is requesting for building the aquatic-circus structure.

Next Essex County Freeholder Meeting is on Thursday, July 25, 2019 @ Livingston Town Hall, Livingston, NJ

As reported by Essex County resident Judith Rosenthal, esq. (who was in attendance at both the Essex County Open Space Advisory Board, and the Essex County Freeholders meetings, July 8 & 10, 2019):

• THERE ALREADY IS AN AMPHITHEATER. Why do we need a second one?
• There already is a brand new EDUCATIONAL CENTER at the Zoo. If the goal is to educate children about animals, the facility already exists to accomplish that.
• French & Parillo (which was awarded a $600,000 contract over objections from dozens of members of the public lasting more than an hour), contributed $5,000 to DiVincenzo's campaign. However, the documents supplied by the County to one of the members of the public failed to disclose this fact. She uncovered it through other channels and presented this somewhat embarassing fact at the hearing.
• Two days before the vote, the County Open Space Committee held a meeting that was also attended by 13 members of the public. The Committee took a vote to approve the above expenditure, but refused to hear from the public prior to voting.
• At Wednesday night's Freeholder's meeting, at least 20 people spoke out against the project, citing traffic concerns, contribution to climate change from cutting down acres of trees to build an amphitheatre, objecting to using Open Space Funds to eliminate open space by building an amphitheatre, the liklihood of more flooding by elimination of open space, and the sheer beauty, respite and enjoyment of the forest.
• Leonard Luciano, who represents Millburn & West Orange, took a few minutes away from his non-stop texting during the meeting to tout the educational benefits of parading zoo animals in front of hundreds of children and to support his point, recalled his days as an "educator." This is a material misstatement. His Freeholder web page reveals he was a "Library Media Specialist" with a degree in Humanities (not science) who thereafter went on to hold a position in the Teacher's Union. When confronted with this at the meeting, Mr. Luciano had no response.
• Freeholder Cooper was the only member to ask intelligent questions challenging the need for an amphitheater (she represents District 3). She abstained from voting "yes" for the expenditures. 
• Except for Cooper, your Freeholders have no concern for how members of the public feel. They have one constituent: Joseph DiVincenzo. At this point, it is clear that speaking up is a useless exercise. We must vote most of the Freeholders and the County Executive out of office. The communities most affected by Zoo expansion, and their Freeholders are as follows:
  Millburn & West Orange: Luciano
  Maplewood: Wayne Richardson
  At Large: Patricia Siebold (votes with DiVincenzo 99.9% of the time)
  At Large: Rufus Johnson (votes with DiVincenzo 99.9% of the time).
  These are the 4 that need to be targeted in the next election. Our mouths can't do it, but our fingers can (at the ballot box)!"