Support the Generous New Providence Businesses that Support Us
The New Providence Business Community ended the year with record donations to our local community. In addition to providing scholarships to graduating high school students and funding large community events like the July 3 Celebration, Summer Concert Series, Downtown Trick or Treating and Scarecrow Contest, the Street Fair, and the Holiday Festival, individual businesses stepped up and supported many, many local fundraising activities. They donated to local charities and civic organizations. They provided food, entertainment, and gifts for borough events and sponsored local recreation and sports teams. They hired teens and residents and sponsored senior programs.
Most people don’t realize just how much these businesses give. While each individual solicitation from a local business may not seem like much to ask, people do not think of how many others are asking the same businesses to give, as well. In our town we have pre-schools, elementary schools, a middle school and high school, multiple religious and after school organizations, Boys Scouts and Girl Scouts, non-profit organizations, charitable foundations, soccer teams, softball, baseball, t-ball, football, lacrosse, swim teams, cheerleading, tennis, and basketball teams. Our businesses support all of these, as well as medical research, food drives, school improvements, families in need, and beautification efforts.
In total, New Providence businesses gave well over $250,000! Some individual businesses in town donate nearly $2,000 a month year in and year out, and ask for nothing in return except for your patronage and loyalty. Our merchants are proud and happy to support our community. They are reluctant to say no to someone seeking a donation, even when it is difficult financially for them to continue giving. They care deeply about our community and contribute whenever possible. Let’s show them our gratitude and appreciation by frequenting their establishments often and telling our friends and families about them, too. They can only continue to support us if we continue to support them!
New Providence Business Urges Customers to Be Kind Online
In the past few years, New Providence has seen a growth of small businesses, which is great news for not only the business owners, but also for our residents and visitors. Local businesses support community events, such as the Independence Day Celebration and Summer Concert Series, contribute generously to school and civic fundraising activities, and help keep our downtown safe and vibrant.
Since our community reaps the benefits from having local businesses, we should do everything we can to help them thrive and grow. This includes shopping in our local stores instead of their big box competitors, recommending New Providence stores to friends and neighbors, and developing relationships with the owners and staff. With the evolution of the Internet and business review websites, such as Yelp, Yahoo, Google Reviews, Angie’s List, and Facebook, people have been given the power to influence local businesses to a degree that has never before been available. Online reviews provide a powerful tool for consumers, but it’s one that should be used judiciously.
Customers and clients should take a moment to reconsider before posting harsh comments online. These reviews can be the death of a small business. It is very tempting to go online and blast a business if something wasn’t handled in a way that we would like, but there are more productive ways of handling those situations. Mistakes do happen. Often, the business owner is unaware of a particular situation or incident, and would like nothing more than the opportunity to correct it. By speaking directly with the business owners, you can help them better understand the issue at hand, give them an opportunity to rectify the situation, and allow them to train their staff on how to handle those situations differently. In the end, that provides a more satisfying long term solution to the problem and preserves the hard earned reputations and integrity of our local businesses. Customers are more satisfied, staff is better trained, and our local business community thrives.
“One of the goals of New Providence Business is to foster a thriving local business environment in town,” said Michelle Brugger, Business Community Spokesperson. “This goal can’t be achieved if people use online resources to criticize our local businesses. These business owners are our residents, our neighbors, and most importantly, our friends. They are deeply invested in our community and want to provide the best service possible. In return, they deserve our respect and regard.”
Please take a moment to consider the impact that a negative comment or review can have on not only the small business, but also on the larger business community. A strong local economy helps build community cohesiveness and provides more local jobs for our neighbors and kids. The same people who complain online about local businesses are often the first ones to then complain when there are empty storefronts. So the next time you have an issue, pull the owner or manager aside to try to resolve the situation before you go online to complain. And when you do have a great experience, go ahead and give them a shout-out online. We will all benefit.
Maintaining a Safe Environment Around Your Home Swimming Pool
Millions of us enjoy warm weather every year by swimming in our backyard pools and relaxing in hot tubs. Tragically though, over 200 young children drown in backyard swimming pools each year. The American Red Cross suggests owners make pool safety their priority by following these guidelines:
- Secure your pool with appropriate barriers. Completely surround your pool with a 4-feet high fence or barrier with a self-closing, self-latching gate. Place a safety cover on the pool or hot tub when not in use and remove any ladders or steps used for access. Consider installing a pool alarm that goes off if anyone enters the pool.
- Keep children under active supervision at all times. Stay in arm’s reach of young kids. Designate a responsible person to watch the water when people are in the pool—never allow anyone to swim alone. Have young or inexperienced swimmers wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket.
- Ensure everyone in the home knows how to swim well by enrolling them in age-appropriate water orientation and learn-to-swim courses from the Red Cross.
- Keep your pool or hot tub water clean and clear. Maintain proper chemical levels, circulation and filtration. Regularly test and adjust the chemical levels to minimize the risk of earaches, rashes or more serious diseases.
- Establish and enforce rules and safe behaviors, such as “no diving,” “stay away from drain covers,” “swim with a buddy” and “walk please.”
Ensure everyone in the home knows how to respond to aquatic emergencies by having appropriate safety equipment and taking water safety, first aid and CPR courses from the Red Cross.
Warm Weather and Swimming Go Hand in Hand
Swimming is a great recreational sport that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. But it’s important to know how to be safe while you’re in the water. The American Red Cross offers these important swimming safety tips you should be aware of before you head out to the pool or beach:
- Swim in designated areas supervised by lifeguards.
- Always swim with a buddy; do not allow anyone to swim alone.
- Never leave a young child unattended near water and do not trust a child’s life to another child; teach children to always ask permission to go near water.
- Have young children or inexperienced swimmers wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jackets around water, but do not rely on life jackets alone.
- Maintain constant supervision.
- Make sure everyone in your family learns to swim well. Enroll in age-appropriate Red Cross water orientation and learn-to-swim courses.
- If you have a pool, secure it with appropriate barriers. Many children who drown in home pools were out of sight for less than five minutes and in the care of one or both parents at the time.
- Avoid distractions when supervising children around water.
- If a child is missing, check the water first. Seconds count in preventing death or disability.
- Have appropriate equipment, such as reaching or throwing equipment, a cell phone, life jackets and a first aid kit.
- Know how and when to call 9-1-1 or the local emergency number.
- Enroll in Red Cross home pool safety, water safety, first aid and CPR/AED courses to learn how to prevent and respond to emergencies.
- Protect your skin. Limit the amount of direct sunlight you receive between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and wear sunscreen with a protection factor of at least 15.
- Drink plenty of water regularly, even if you’re not thirsty. Avoid drinks with alcohol or caffeine in them.
Summer safety tip provided by NPBPA Member,
Peter E. Rovtar; President
The Lantern Agency, Inc.
lanternagency@comcast.net
(908) 464-5100
NP News – by The New York Times: The Town That ‘Grows With You’
NEW PROVIDENCE High School has been getting a lot of attention lately. First it provided the setting for “Win Win,” a film about a high school wrestling team that became an indie hit last year. This September it was named New Jersey’s top-rated high school by a statewide magazine, which led to a feature segment on one of New York City’s evening news broadcasts a few weeks back.
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All this notice has been a bit heady for the school, and the people who live in New Providence, many of whom speak of the small-town atmosphere in a place whose low profile they relish. “Because it’s so tiny, people tend to buzz right through it,” said Michele DiBenedetto, a 17-year resident and a broker with Prudential. “But distinctions like being named top school are starting to put us on the map.”
In addition to the schools, this Union County borough appeals to would-be buyers with its wide range of affordable housing, particularly in comparison to neighboring Summit and Chatham.
There is also its hassle-free commute thanks to the two train stations serving the town, and the neighborliness appreciated by many of New Providence’s 12,000 residents.
That helpful spirit was recently put to the test in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which plunged the downtown area and most residences into darkness, while downed trees throughout town had the public works department on overtime. About a third of residents remained without power a week later, according to the police department. But the borough’s recently institutedCode Red alert system proved valuable to residents like Ms. DiBenedetto, who said she had been appreciative of the frequent status updates on her cellphone during the days she was without power.
Jen and Scott Wetzel, who moved to town in March, have already developed a close circle of friends: six couples in their Murray Hill Farm neighborhood who, in good weather at least, get together for cookouts, outdoor movie screenings and dinners while their children ride bikes and play together.
So eager was the neighborhood for the family to move in, Ms. Wetzel recalled, that the welcome wagon arrived before the paint dried. “Everyone was so friendly,” she said. “We weren’t even living here yet, we were just painting and putting in new floors, and neighbors were bringing over cookies and brownies and inviting us over.” The house, a 3,700-square-foot four-bedroom colonial, cost $875,000.
Raymond Hu and Maggie Lin’s son is just 7 months old, but the couple are planning ahead: schools were the most important factor in their house hunt. They settled on New Providence not long before its high school was cited as the state’s top school.
“I had a feeling New Providence would do well, but my wife was really surprised,” Mr. Hu said. “She was singing when she heard.”
The high school principal, Paul Casarico, was thrilled byNew Jersey Monthly’s top ranking of the school, which knocked out a neighboring rival, Millburn High School, the previous two-time winner. And success was all the sweeter coming as it did after the school’s brush with fame as the setting for “Win Win,” a 2011 film starring Paul Giamatti and written by two alumni.
Citing programs like the senior internship project and the “iPad initiative,” which is to provide each student in Grades 9, 10 and 11 with a tablet computer, Mr. Casarico said his school had worked hard to stay ahead of the curve, but credited the honor to the students themselves. “We’ve got great students,” he said. “They come well prepared, from their parents and from the lower schools. So a recognition like this is just a confirmation that what you’ve been doing is working.”
WHAT YOU’LL FIND
Situated on 3.6 square miles on the western slope of the Watchung Mountains, this community 28 miles west of New York is marked by hilly, tree-lined areas like the aptly named Tall Oaks, whose larger properties and a Summit ZIP code command higher prices.
The houses most typically seen, however, are the split-levels, Capes and ranches found along the main thoroughfares and dotting the streets of several pocket neighborhoods convenient to the downtown area.
Many of the houses were built in the 1950s and ’60s, after Bell Labs moved its headquarters to the area known as Murray Hill. Today Bell’s parent company, Alcatel-Lucent, maintains its domestic headquarters just across Mountain Avenue in Berkeley Heights. The New Providence area is also home to BOC Gases, Bard medical products, LexisNexis and the New Jersey Sharing Network, among others.
The last major housing development, built in the mid-1990s, was Murray Hill Farm, 81 homes that, because the developer was held to a “no look-alike” requirement, offer architectural variety. Across from the Murray Hill train station is Murray Hill Square, a onetime retail complex converted in the 1980s to 50 Williamsburg-style town houses. Also near that station are Green Way, a complex of 26 town houses completed this year, and Foley Square, 22 town houses now being built.
The downtown area, along South Street and Springfield Avenue, includes a strip mall, a larger shopping plaza with a new A & P supermarket, and several local stores, like McGrath Hardware and Barth’s Market, a third-generation German butcher.
WHAT YOU’LL PAY
The wide range of housing prices makes New Providence a desirable town for young families looking to establish a foothold. “The town grows with you,” said Kara M. Thoms, a lifelong resident and a broker with Lois Schneider Realtor. “You’ve got starter homes and million-dollar houses. You can start with a condo and move up without having to move out.”
There are 59 homes on the market in New Providence, ranging from a one-bedroom one-bath condominium listed at $258,000 to a five-bedroom four-and-a-half-bath house on Countryside Drive listed at $2.95 million. The average sale price in the first three-quarters of 2012 was $567,773, compared with $573,870 over the same period in 2011, according to the Garden State Multiple Listing Service.
Houses in the Murray Hill Farm area average around $900,000, although some have sold in the $1.3 million range, while properties in the Tall Oaks section range from the $500,000s to more than $700,000. The four-bedroom two-and-a-half-bath split-level in the Murray Hill section that Mr. Hu and Ms. Lin recently bought for $622,000 is fairly typical of the community. The couple pay almost $13,300 in taxes.
As for town houses, they start in the high $200,000s, for a one-bedroom at Murray Hill Square, and approach $1 million at the new Green Way complex.
Looking to move from a high-rise apartment in Jersey City, Alex Prather and Akiko Matsuo quickly found Summit out of their price range, and earlier this year they shifted their focus to New Providence. With a 4-year-old son and a baby on the way, a good school system was a top priority, as was an easy commute for Mr. Prather, who travels to Newark for his management job at Prudential.com. In late September they moved into a three-bedroom 1960 colonial that they had bought for $410,000. With its sizable backyard and large deck, Mr. Prather said, it “offers lots of potential.”
WHAT TO DO
With two Olympic-sized pools, the New Providence Community Pool is a big draw in the summer, as is the private Crestview Swim and Tennis Club. The 2,065-acre Watchung Reservation in neighboring Mountainside offers hiking and horseback trails, fishing streams and a nature center.
Cultural offerings within a short drive include the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, the Center for Visual Arts in Summit, and the theaters and museums of Newark, 13 miles away. For shopping, most go to the Mall at Short Hills.
THE SCHOOLS
Students attend two elementary schools, Salt Brook and Allen W. Roberts, which have 612 and 627 students respectively. The New Providence Middle School, with 337 enrolled, shares its campus with the high school, where there are 623 students. SAT averages atNew Providence High School last year were 600 in math, 566 in reading and 571 in writing, versus 517, 493 and 496 statewide. The high school marching band has 120 members.
New Providence is also home to the Summit Speech School for the hearing-impaired.
THE COMMUTE
New Jersey Transit trains run from the New Providence and Murray Hill stations directly to Pennsylvania Station, with a one-way charge of $9.25 and $10, respectively. The commute takes about an hour. The area is also served by Interstate 78, which feeds into the Holland Tunnel.
THE HISTORY
Settled by Puritans in 1720, the town was originally called Turkey Town because of the abundance of wild turkeys. Then, one Sunday morning in 1759, the choir loft at the Presbyterian Church collapsed onto mercifully empty pews below. Declaring the timing of the incident “providential,” the pastor suggested changing the town’s name to New Providence.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: November 12, 2012
A picture with this article, of a three-bedroom Victorian on the market on Springfield Avenue in New Providence for $550,000, has an incorrect street number. It is 1483, not 83.
