June 5, 2020 - Mayor's Weekly Update

[fyi]

June 5, 2020 - Mayor's Weekly Update

Greetings Friends and Neighbors...

It is only June, and boy it feels like this year so far has lasted a lifetime.

I want to begin by offering my personal thoughts and comments on the civil unrest that has arisen from the horrendous murder of George Floyd.

I was a young man in 1992 when the Rodney King beating was broadcast on TV. Since the advent of smartphones, it seems that videos like it have become a permanent and routine part of our shared national experience. Out of complacency and necessity many of us have become inured to them, and although we know that the violence they depict is horrendous we had come to accept them as a part of what it means to exist in America in modern times. The Floyd video was different. The calm almost casual manner in which that man’s life was taken in broad daylight on a otherwise unremarkable city scene was a surreal and sickening reminder of how both a black man’s life can be devalued and how far a police officer can fall from his sworn oath to protect and serve.

If you take that singular event and add to it other senseless murders of black Americans by police and self-deputized community militias in the past few months and recent years you start to piece together a pattern. A short and incomplete list of names is all you need: Breanna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Stephon Clark, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin. I could go on. The names are now well known, and the facts are indisputable. These people, these human beings, these fellow Americans, all had their lives ended prematurely and violently for being black, or even more dangerously, being black and poor.

That is why the protests continue and that is why I support them. Although the protests themselves can seem scary and foreboding, I find reason to be optimistic and even enthusiastic about their possibility to enact change. The protests that I have seen on social media and indeed the one I attended in Princeton were multigenerational, multicultural gatherings with Americans of all stripes in attendance. A more patriotic and American affair would be hard to imagine, for everyone is demanding just one single but elemental thing; that the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for the oppressed minority be upheld and enforced by the law.

One of the important facts that I take from the murders cited above and of the ongoing unrest is that good governance and good policing matters. We can look to the cities of Newark and Camden and their success in having peaceful and productive protests. Those events were successful because the police in those two cities have in recent years (as a result of federal and state intervention and oversights) gone through radical overhauls and are now on a path towards a model of cooperative and community policing. So those two departments, instead of treating their people like an invading army, took off the riot gear and walked with them in solidarity.

Similarly, we are lucky in our town to have a Chief of Police and a police department that have been exceedingly careful and thoughtful in use of force and in being kind and considerate to every person they interact with regardless of color or creed. I am proud to work closely with the Cranbury Police and wholeheartedly support them.

There are at least two events planned in our community next week related to the above, both at Heritage Park. The first is building a Unity Circle/Mandala at Heritage Park on Tuesday, June 9th from 7:00-9:00 pm. This is an artistic way to represent our inter-connectedness as a community. Attendees will use colored powder to create this artwork at the Heritage Park fountain. Bring a spoon for the colored powder used to create the mandala. The second is a candlelight vigil on Sunday, June 14 at 7:30 pm. This event will feature speakers and a poetry reading. Organizers of both will be publicizing with more information.

In other updates:

The NJ Economic Development Authority has recently begun a second round of grant programs for small businesses in NJ affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. $45 million has been allocated for this second wave of grants, the eligibility requirements have been broadened for this second round and will include businesses with up to 25 employees, sole proprietors, home based businesses and non-profits. The applications will be accepted starting on June 9th. Please go to cv.business.nj.gov for more details.

Our annual fireworks display this year will NOT be on July the 5th. We will instead likely re-schedule our fireworks for later this year. We are working on a date and will let you know as soon as we have one.

Beginning June 15th the governor will allow outside dining for all restaurants in NJ. This is great news for the restaurants in our town. I am looking forward to seeing you all as we dine al fresco on Main Street and in the venues around our neck of Route 130.

I want to publicly acknowledge the work of some important members of our town government. I’ll continue to do this to recognize different groups important to keeping our town running.

Since the very beginning of the pandemic and shutdown, there have been a handful of township employees who normally work in our Township building who have been dutifully and without hesitation putting in the work necessary to keep our town running. Without their efforts the town government would essentially cease to function. And although everyone in our town government deserves acknowledgement, I want to single out today four women who have made this extra effort to continue to show up to Town Hall to manage our township business.

Jean Golisano

Jean as our deputy clerk has been doing her part to keep our committees, our website and our communications running seamlessly.

Debbie Rubin

Debbie, as town clerk, like all of us has been adjusting to a new virtual reality that a few months ago would have seemed unfathomable. She has been tirelessly making sure that we all adhere to the law and that all of our virtual TC meetings get organized and run smoothly.

Erin Lysy

Erin, as our QPA or Quantified Purchasing Agent, has been making sure that we have the goods and services that we need to keep our town running and that we get our bills paid on time.

Denise Marabello

Denise, our Township Administrator, she is the one who makes sure that ALL the things in town that need getting done actually get done.

Finally, allow me to correct one final oversight that I, as a former Paramedic, am embarrassed to admit. In my recent letter to everyone after the Memorial Day Touring Parade I failed to single out the EMS group. They took time out of their Memorial Day to be part of the parade. It is comforting to know that these men and women will, with little concern for their own wellbeing, answer the call to aid. Although we all know that 911 is there for us, it is a fact that the EMS crews that run those ambulances are infrequently singularly acknowledged, so with that I want to thank them all for the work that they do.

Thanks everyone for listening,

Please stay safe, stay strong and stay in touch.

Mayor Matt Scott

https://www.cranburytownship.org/home/news/june-5-2020-mayors-weekly-update

[anon-pp26]

Mayor, you are a moron for using several of those names. Your statement appears as if everyone was an innocent bystander and they were murdered for no reason. Maybe do some research and tell me how innocent they were.
“If you take that singular event and add to it other senseless murders of black Americans by police and self-deputized community militias in the past few months and recent years you start to piece together a pattern. A short and incomplete list of names is all you need: Breanna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Stephon Clark, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin. I could go on. The names are now well known, and the facts are indisputable. These people, these human beings, these fellow Americans, all had their lives ended prematurely and violently for being black, or even more dangerously, being black and poor“

[Innocent-648s]

Breanna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Stephon Clark, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Trayvon Martin.
These people were *literally* innocent of any crime warranting the death punishment and they were killed unjustly. To suggest otherwise is an insult to their memory. And, your posts seem to be made in defense of systemic racism, which is appalling to hear from a resident of my town.

[anon-4671]

I fully support BLM. All BLM. All of them. I am not taking away from those murdered by police or racist violence. But I am adding to it saying what about the innocent children who are killed each year by people in their own neighborhood. I don’t see any of us “Allys” raising their names.

Look at this video and tell me you cannot be in pain. Innocent children who were killed for nothing more than where they lived. Children under 10 some purposely targeted and shot while playing. Two year olds shot. Parents who did their best losing their children because of simply where they live. There are many more children lost each year and no one knows their names the media ignores them.

If we are really standing up and saying we’re an Ally of BLM then we need to stand up and say all BLM not just those taken by horrible police officers and racists. Every single one matters.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x9NhRbrAgjk

[anon-03o7]

How did the Mayor get a permit to use the Park with the Town Hall being closed.

[anon-rrqr]

[anon-q2q6]

Dear Mayor Scott,
I appreciate that you took the time to share your thoughts and that you are generally a thoughtful guy. There are two primary points I ask you to reconsider...
1. The word "murder" certainly appears to be an accurate description of what happened to Mr Floyd, however, not so for several other people you named who were tragically killed.
2. Although you could argue that the people who were killed were all victims of systemic racism, the assertion that all of these people "had their lives ended... for being black" is not substantiated by the facts.

The reason these points are important is not to suggest that there isn't racism, or that there isn't a problem with some policing practices, but these points are important because they speak to where the blame lies and to where we need to go to solve the problems.

We continue to put our police in impossible situations and lay all of the blame on them when things go wrong. And yet, they're the first to get called and the first on the scene when yet another child gets shot on a playground in Trenton. We're not going to get good people to do that job if we unjustly call them murderous racists.

So yes, this moment is about social justice, and yes there are police reforms that are needed, but let's choose our words carefully and accurately so we can shelve the war of words and focus on addressing the problems. Thanks for your consideration.

[anon-q2r7]

[anon-7812]

[anon-q2r7]

[Guest]

Did you email the mayor?

[anon-661o]

[anon-661o]

Mayor Scott has invited outside protestors to cranbury. Main Street business need to board up windows and our police need to be ready.

These protest have turned into riots all around the country.

I am scared.


SUNDAY, JUNE 14
The Cranbury Candlelight Vigil will be held at 7:30 p.m. Sunday at Cranbury Heritage Park at 57 S Main St. The event will feature a musical performance as well as speeches from Cranbury Township Mayor Matthew Scott, Reverend Bob Moore of the Coalition for Peace Action and many more.
NJ Advance Media staff

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nj.com/news/2020/06/protests-over-george-floyds-death-planned-across-nj-heres-the-latest-list-june-8-2020.html%3foutputType=amp

[anon-4057]

Heritage. Park does not have an address. He has invited people to someone’s house. I feel sorry that person if we get a lot of confused people showing up. A lot of parks do have houses for events. One is in Hamilton which is amazing for events.

I don’t think there is any concern.

[anon-8n09]

I'm glad we still have the Cranbury Republican party active in this website. What works we do without their BS on this site? Life would get boring.

[anon-03o7]

The mayor should be held personally liable for any damages to either public or private property as it appears this has been organized by a private citizen who also happens to be Mayor and is imposing his personal agenda on a community, outside the scope of his authority as Mayor.