On November 5, 2020, I met with Mayor Arvin Amatorio and Corey Gallo, the borough administrator of Bergenfield, at my home on New Bridge Road. I was naive enough to believe that if they saw the street between our home and Congregation Beth Abraham they would understand the severity of the situation that I have spoken about to deaf ears for years.
First and foremost, they would see and experience the fact that few cars stop at the crosswalk at the corner of New Bridge and Westminster when a person is waiting to cross. They would see how dark the streets are on Newbridge, and in particular Westminster Gate, and they would experience the broken pavement along New Bridge between Surrey and Cameron.
They actually experienced it all. While walking in the dark, the mayor several times cautioned me to be careful because it was so easy to trip on the broken sidewalk. Gallo commented on how dark it was, and said he was quite sure that he could arrange with PSEG to erect some lights along the street, as he himself had trouble seeing in the dark. He also commented that he had parked his car on Westminster Gate and noticed that there were no lights on that street.
The fact that the crosswalk was such a danger was, according to both men, the fault of Beth Abraham, who “insisted” that the walk be moved from the corner to the corner of nothing. I pleaded for a blinking, constant crosswalk sign, which would not interfere with the fact that New Bridge is a county road. I even suggested that if necessary I would try to collect money for the sign. Again I was told it would be looked into.
It is now more than six months since that famous day. I have never heard from either party. Again, would it not be considered common courtesy for at least one of them to have been in touch to assure me that they were looking into the issues at hand. They themselves told me that an inspector would be sent to see the broken sidewalks on New Bridge so that the owners of the homes could be informed of the infractions that they had.
Last week my beloved husband fell while walking on New Bridge Road and police and an ambulance were called. Although he was deemed fit and I am forever grateful to the police and the ambulance crew that tended to him, later in the afternoon he did not seem OK to us and again an ambulance was called. The Bergenfield Volunteer Ambulance Corps with the Bergenfield Police entered our home and my husband was transferred to Englewood Hospital, where it was deemed that he had a slight brain bleed. B”H after several days in the hospital he is fine. First, again, my utmost sincere thanks to all of the amazing heroes that we have in this community— professional, kind, caring and sincere.
During the evenings of Shavuot we took Mordechai out in a wheelchair, just because we thought that it would be safer than walking in the pitch black. At least eight times my grandson had to stop the wheelchair at various bumps along the street, to prevent Mordechai falling out, especially since it was pitch black and my grandson had no way of seeing where he was pushing the chair.
I am so tired of this situation. I realized that most people from Beth Abraham probably do not even have to cross New Bridge to get to the shul. I do not know if any one of the executives, board or clergy have ever realized the danger that people put themselves into each time they cross at that street corner.
Does anyone care? I feel not. Yes an accident will happen—it happened more than once already. The best known of these incidents was the crossing guard herself, but even that did not get the city to do anything. I expect more from our kehilla. We are known for the amazing chesed that is done in the community. I am pleading with all of you to finally do something about this dangerous situation. It’s just a matter of time.
Nina Glick lives in Bergenfield with her husband, Rabbi Mordechai Glick, after many years of service to the Montreal Jewish community. Nina coordinated all Yachad activities in Montreal and was a co/founder of Maison Shalom, a group home for special needs young adults. She can be reached at [email protected].
