Community
What began as an obscure, decades-old property issue has now become something far more serious. It threatens our municipal operations, places an unreasonable burden on Leonia taxpayers and is now obstructing the expansion of our largest employer and taxpayer.
It is time for common sense to prevail—and I am asking for your help.
You can read my previous update providing additional background HERE.
In 1974, the Leonia Mayor and Council constructed our Department of Public Works buildings on a portion of the land returned to the Borough. For the next 50 years, those buildings served—and continue to serve—as the operational home of our DPW.
One would reasonably assume that settled the matter.
Unfortunately, it did not.
Decades later, someone outside Leonia determined that portions of both DPW buildings had been constructed within an old right-of-way listed on the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Acres inventory.
That right-of-way serves no practical purpose today. It does not connect residents to a park, provide recreational access or offer any realistic opportunity for future parkland. It is, quite literally, a road to nowhere.
Nevertheless, NJDEP has taken the position that Leonia must either remove the “encroachment”—potentially requiring the demolition of portions of two fully functioning municipal buildings—or provide replacement property approximately five times the size of the affected area.
Either outcome would impose a substantial and unnecessary cost on Leonia taxpayers.
The inequity is particularly difficult to accept when we remember that Leonia originally donated nearly all this land for the public’s benefit. That donation helped make Overpeck County Park possible, but it also removed a significant amount of potentially taxable property from our community. This is one reason Leonia homeowners carry a disproportionately large share of our municipal tax burden compared with residents of many other Bergen County communities.
Leonia acted in good faith for the regional public good. Fifty years later, our residents should not be punished because different levels of government failed to identify or address this issue when the DPW buildings were originally approved and constructed.
Kulite Industries is Leonia’s largest employer and taxpayer, with more than 900 employees—and it continues to grow. Its highly advanced pressure-sensing technology serves vital roles in commercial aviation, aerospace and our nation’s defense.
Kulite is also an exceptional corporate neighbor. The company supports Leonia High School scholarships and other school programs, sponsors Leonia Day, contributes to our Community Chest and helps fund Oktoberfest and the SnackPack program for food-insecure students. Kulite has also generously supported numerous other community causes.
Kulite’s success is Leonia’s success. I am proud that the company calls our Borough home, and I will do everything reasonably possible to ensure it can continue investing, expanding and creating jobs here.
Kulite would like to use land adjacent to its existing facility and construct a parking lot to accommodate its growing workforce. The proposed parking area would be accessed from Overpeck Drive. Before making this substantial investment, however, Kulite understandably needs permanent assurance that it will be permitted to use that access.
I have spoken with Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco, who has expressed a willingness to provide that assurance. Kulite has also agreed that the parking lot could be made available for County special events, including the Fourth of July celebration and other major festivals at Overpeck Park. This should be a win for Kulite, Leonia and Bergen County.
Instead, the longstanding DPW encroachment issue has now been placed in the middle of an entirely separate transaction.
We have been advised that NJDEP does not want the County to provide permanent access until Leonia resolves the DPW encroachment. As a result, Kulite’s proposed investment is being delayed over access to the entrance of a driveway—even though its parking lot would also help address the County’s need for additional event parking.
This makes no practical sense.
The DPW encroachment and Kulite’s access request can—and should—be addressed on separate, parallel tracks. Holding up Kulite’s expansion does nothing to resolve the DPW matter. It merely places jobs, investment and one of Leonia’s most important community partnerships at unnecessary risk.
New Jersey ranked 50th—dead last—in CNBC’s 2026 business-friendliness rankings. Recent decisions by major employers to relocate or reduce their presence in New Jersey should serve as a warning. We cannot say we want businesses to remain and grow here while allowing unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles to stand in their way.
I am therefore asking Leonia residents to make their voices heard.
Sample letters are available HERE. Please feel free to use one of these templates—or write in your own words—to respectfully ask Governor Sherrill and her administration to:
Please take a few minutes to send an email to the Governor at: Governor Contact Form.
The more Leonians who speak out, the more difficult it will be for this issue to remain unresolved.
Our community acted generously when it provided the land that made Overpeck County Park possible. We are now asking the State to show that same spirit of cooperation, fairness and common sense.
With your help, we can protect Leonia’s taxpayers, support Kulite’s continued growth and finally bring this 50-year-old problem to a sensible conclusion.
I will continue fighting for that outcome and will keep you updated.
Lights, Camera, Action…
For the past two years, we’ve been working to bring movie and television productions to Leonia. Why? Because New Jersey’s film and television industry generated approximately $780 million in spending last year. We thought Leonia should try to get a piece of that action.
That could mean additional business for our local merchants, rental and usage income for residents and community organizations, municipal fees that help offset taxpayer costs, and even a little hometown pride when Leonia appears on the screen.
First, we had to become certified as a “Film Ready” community. I formed a Mayor’s Advisory Committee on TV and Movie Productions, made up of Leonia friends and neighbors, many with entertainment-industry experience. We learned how communities successfully attract and accommodate productions.
After 24 months of work—and a few false starts—we’re finally ready for our first major television production.
On Thursday, October 8th, CBS/Paramount will film a segment of Episode 19 of its new television series Cupertino inside our Municipal Center. Coincidentally, the series debuts that same day. You can watch the trailer HERE. It looks interesting, although, of course, the Borough has no role in or responsibility for the show’s content, message or presentation.
When “Hollywood” comes to town, it doesn’t travel lightly. We’ve been told to expect approximately 15 large production trailers and approximately 80 cars. Through our good relations with the County, we’ve arranged for parking at a parking lot in Overpeck Park. A shuttle will bring the TV people up to the Municipal Center to minimize the actual traffic in Leonia. No tax dollars are being expended to make this happen and the library will remain open.
However, it is very possible the Library parking lot and some of the parking behind the Municipal Center will need to be temporarily closed Thursday 10/6 to accommodate the handful of production trailers that must be located adjacent to the filming location.
All filming will take place indoors, so unless you’re part of the show, you won’t be able to watch. Perhaps next time we’ll land an outdoor scene—and maybe even an opportunity for some Leonians to serve as extras!
There will undoubtedly be lessons from our first major production, and we’ll use them to make the next one even smoother. That’s part of why this first experience is important. We wanted to open Leonia’s doors to an industry that is investing heavily in New Jersey, bring some of that economic activity into our community, and create opportunities that didn’t exist here before. October 8th is our first real opportunity to see what that can mean.
My sincere thanks to the Leonia volunteers serving on the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on TV and Movie Productions who helped get us to this point–in particular Graham Alston, Committee Chair and Raquel Bruno who was active every step of the way and integral to cultivating this new relationship with CBS/Paramount. This is not to take away from the efforts of all the tremendous volunteers on the TV and Movie Production Committee whose names are listed HERE. Everyone on the committee played a substantial role in making this first production happen.
And who knows where this leads for both Leonia and individual Leonians? Hollywood legend Lana Turner really was discovered as a teenager while having a Coke at a soda fountain near Hollywood High School. So if you happen to be shopping or grabbing lunch on Broad Avenue on October 8th and bump into someone from the production crew, you never know. Stranger things have happened in show business. I just ask that you remember all the little people who contributed to your success!
Illegal Rentals and Conversions
This next segment is far from Hollywood and addresses a challenge we need to confront more aggressively in Leonia.
During a recent Mayor and Council meeting, we heard a comprehensive presentation from our Construction Official and Fire Marshal concerning illegal occupancies and housing conversions in Leonia. You can watch the presentation HERE and the discussion HERE.
The presentation—and the discussion that followed—made clear that our current penalties do not adequately deter landlords who knowingly create or rent illegal living spaces. The governing body unanimously agreed that we must correct this glaring weakness before the problem grows to the levels experienced in some surrounding communities.
First and foremost, this is a matter of life safety. We were shown troubling examples of basement apartments and other illegally converted spaces without a practical means of escape in the event of a fire. Illegal electrical work, inadequate ventilation, overcrowding, blocked exits, missing smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors, and construction performed without required inspections can place tenants, neighbors and our first responders in serious danger. We cannot wait for a tragedy before taking stronger action.
Illegal conversions also impose very real burdens on surrounding neighborhoods and the entire community. A property designed for one family may suddenly house several households, resulting in more vehicles and greater competition for limited street parking, additional traffic, increased garbage and recycling, and greater demands on police, fire, DPW, Recreation Center and other municipal services. Unreported dwelling units may also add students to our schools without the property being properly assessed or the conversion being reviewed through the legally required process. Neighboring homeowners—who followed the rules and made one of the largest investments of their lives—should not have to absorb these consequences because someone else decided the law did not apply to them.
Under the present system, some landlords simply view the fines as a “cost of doing business” if they happen to be caught. That must change. We intend to establish penalties and additional costs substantial enough to discourage anyone from deciding that illegally renting a basement, attic or subdivided dwelling is worth the cost. Couple this with a more stringent enforcement effort that increases the risk of being caught, and we will be in a much better position to correct bad behavior.
At the same time, tenants affected by these unscrupulous practices deserve our concern and support. They may not know that the space they rented is illegal or unsafe. If inspectors determine that an apartment lacks a safe means of escape or presents another immediate hazard, we must help its occupants find temporary alternative housing. I have proposed that the resulting relocation costs ultimately be borne by the landlord responsible for creating or renting the illegal unit—including, where legally permitted, securing those costs through a lien on the property.
The message should be unmistakable: Leonia will protect tenants, support responsible property owners and defend the quality of life of our neighborhoods. Anyone who knowingly profits from unsafe and illegal housing should expect the financial consequences to be serious enough that this is no longer viewed as an acceptable way of doing business in our community.
If you suspect an illegal conversion or occupancy in your neighborhood, please report it to our Building Department at [email protected]. They will be sure to investigate. In the meantime, the governing body will determine what the fines should be under the circumstances. I will keep you posted.
Station Parkway Settlement
We are on the verge of reaching a revised settlement agreement with the developer of the property on the west side of Grand Avenue, between Station Parkway and Maple Street. This currently fenced-in site was originally proposed for a six-story development containing more than 150 housing units.
The Borough challenged that proposal in court, and an initial settlement was reached that dramatically reduced the size of the development. However, the developer subsequently dismissed his legal team and asked the court for permission to return to the negotiating table. I did not realize that a settlement could be reopened under those circumstances, but the court allowed the parties to resume negotiations.
Those negotiations have been lengthy, but I believe we are now very close to a revised agreement. And I want to thank Borough Administrator Marisa Mesropian,, Affordable Housing Counsel Jeff Surenian and our Planner Kendra Lelie for their dedicated efforts on our behalf.
I will share the full details as soon as I am legally permitted to do so. For now, I can tell you that—like the first settlement—the revised proposal remains far, far below the developer’s original plan for more than 150 units. Protecting Leonia from an oversized development on this property has remained our priority throughout this process.
As you know, we were able to receive immunity from developer’s remedy lawsuits as part of our Affordable Housing coordinated efforts. Other communities, including our neighbor Palisades Park, have not been granted this immunity.
Consequently, a recent wave of builder’s remedy lawsuits has resulted in approval of more than 1,000 new housing units along Grand Avenue in Palisades Park. These developments will undoubtedly increase traffic on Grand Avenue in Leonia and on other local streets.
While we largely avoided what happened in Pal Park from happening here in Leonia, we will still feel the effects of that many additional housing units here—particularly when they are being built along a roadway that we share. Unlike Leonia, Palisades Park did not secure immunity from builder’s remedy lawsuits.
Borough-Wide Survey
Please make your voice heard by participating in our borough-wide survey on traffic and other important community issues. Recently, you may have received a survey in the mail. Not everyone did. But you can also fill out the survey (in English, Spanish or Korean) online at leoniasurvey.org. Or use this QR code to access the online version.
Traffic remains one of Leonia’s most challenging and frustrating concerns, and we want to hear your ideas about how best to manage the inevitable traffic pressures that come with our proximity to the world’s busiest bridge. We’ve also taken the opportunity to ask other broader non-traffic related questions about issues that affect Leonia. Your opinions matter, and your responses will help inform our decisions and priorities going forward.
Individual responses will be kept confidential, but the overall results will be shared on the town’s website and, in all likelihood, at a future Town Hall meeting. No local tax dollars were spent on this survey or its cost of distribution. The survey was funded through a grant we applied for and received from the Safe Streets and Roads for All program from the federal Department of Transportation.
So let’s fill out the questionnaires and make sure all of our opinions count. If you did not receive a survey in the mail and prefer not to complete yours on line at leoniasurvey.org, you can pick up a hard copy at the Senior Center, Library and Borough Hall. Any questions, please email them to [email protected] or call Cui Wang, Borough Administration Assistant at 201-592-5780 x-221.
Traffic Presentation at Mayor and Council meeting
On September 21st, JP Hilton and Mike Gobbo, our Transportation and Pedestrian co-Chairs, presented their most recent work. Police Chief Scott Tamagny reviewed the resources he has available and how they are being deployed. You can see the presentation HERE as well as the discussion that followed.
Our objective data measures (tied to the recent federal transportation grant and the Safe Roads for All Initiative) clearly show a substantial increase in traffic on Grandview Terrace, Nordhoff Drive and several other roads in the northeast of town just during this past year. As if it wasn’t already bad enough!
We discussed some mitigation activities which have already been implemented and others which are still needed. I will be reaching out as well as our Police Chief to Englewood to see if we can also get their assistance with traffic control particularly on Edgewood Road by the Route 80/95 bridge into Leonia.
At our next governing body work session on October 19th, we will look at some of the progress we’ve made coming out of the recommendations made on September 21st. That meeting, as all meetings, will be open to the public in person and virtually. Here is the meeting link -
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/nou-xhai-hwr
In the meantime and going forward, I want to encourage all Leonians to report parking violations as they see them. Parking violation enforcement is a two-way street. Our Leonia Police Department can’t be everywhere. But I will tell you that if you call 201-944-0800 and report a parking violation, a Leonia Police officer will respond and, as warranted, cite the violators.
We had a recent situation where a resident on Oakdene Avenue called me to discuss the number of illegally parked cars there which made it super difficult for residents to find a spot. I called the Police Department and an officer wrote a dozen or so tickets. You do not need to be the Mayor to get the same results. Simply call 201-944-0800, report the violation, and an officer will investigate (as soon as they reasonably can depending on whatever else might be going on) and begin writing tickets as necessary. By the way, please don’t hesitate to give your neighbors a heads up particularly if any of their vehicles might be among those illegally parked. I’m sure they’d appreciate it.
Next T-Rex Hat
Our creative Leonia volunteers who designed and made the T-Rex 3 corner revolutionary war hat (which will remain on our T-Rex through the 250th Anniversary of George Washington’s army retreat down Fort Lee Road) are already busy at work making the next hat. I understand, apropos for December, it will be a Santa hat possibly with an accompanying scarf. We will see. I’m sure it will be great.
Veteran’s Banners Are Up
In anticipation of Veteran’s Day, we have begun to put up our veteran’s banners throughout town which will eventually also include the latest wave of 26 new banners. Whenever you can, please thank a veteran for their service and take note of the veterans being honored on banners throughout town. It is a very special group.
Thank you to the Leonia families who sponsored their veterans for this recognition. And a very special appreciation for volunteer Justin Choi who advertised the opportunity, explained the program to anyone interested, collected the fees, arranged for their manufacture and overall made it happen. Thank you Justin! Our DPW are doing a great job putting the banners up too.
Journey to Victory
Speaking of veterans, we will soon honor some of our nation’s earliest—the soldiers of the Continental Army—with a special commemoration marking the 250th anniversary of General George Washington’s army retreat down Fort Lee Road.
As you may recall from my previous update HERE, we will project moving silhouettes of the retreating army onto the north wall of H-Mart, facing the exact path (Fort Lee Road) those soldiers traveled on November 20, 1776. We are calling this commemoration “Journey to Victory” because the retreat helped preserve the Continental Army, allowing it to regroup and later achieve victories that secured American independence.
H-Mart’s national leadership (I began with their CEO and COO) were 100% behind this initiative from the start and very excited to participate. We thank the H-Mart corporate family for their selfless participation and patriotic commitment allowing us to use their wall, mount equipment on their roof and make available all the power we need for the project.
I am incredibly grateful to the friends and neighbors who stepped forward with exactly the skills we needed, volunteering their time and talents in creative design, animation, project management, technology, and projection. Thank you to Stephen Silvestri, Sam Ghali, Councilman Christoph Hesterbrink, Joseph Leibow, Julian Fernandez, and Scott Carroll.
Over the past few weeks, I have been privately raising the funds necessary to bring this project to life without using taxpayer dollars. Kulite has stepped forward with an incredibly generous offer of support—another tangible demonstration of its investment in our community. We will acknowledge all of our sponsors when the project goes live, which we anticipate will be during the second or third week of October.
I also want to give a special shout-out to Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, who has made essential technical resources available to Leonia. His assistance has been invaluable in making this commemoration possible. Thank you, Mayor Mark!
Redevelopment Town Hall Tomorrow Tuesday, October 6th at Municipal Center
A reminder that our Town Hall on Redevelopment is tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. As outlined in my last update HERE, we will report on progress along Fort Lee Road below Grand Avenue and the Willow Tree Road corridor.
The main focus, however, will be sharing preliminary ideas for Broad Avenue redevelopment and hearing your reactions. These are early concepts, and your input will help guide whether and how they move forward. Public participation is essential to this process.
Please join us in person in the second-floor Courtroom of the new Municipal Center, 229 Fort Lee Road, adjacent to the Library, or attend virtually using the link HERE.
We hope to see as many of you as possible. If you cannot attend, a recording will be posted on the Borough website within 24-36 hours..
New Store openings
At the southwest corner of Fort Lee Road and Grand Avenue (340 Grand Avenue), Trisoul Dance Studio has opened its doors. There is also new ownership of the café at 454 Broad Avenue, which will now be known as Cafe Namu. And we are getting closer to a new pasta and seafood restaurant at the location formerly occupied by Fontana on Fort Lee Road. We welcome these businesses to Leonia and wish their owners every success. I hope Leonians will join me in supporting them—and all of our local businesses—by stopping in, saying hello, and patronizing whenever possible.
32 Gallon Receptacles Requirement
Please expect to see much more information about this pending requirement. It will affect all of us who put out our garbage for pickup by the DPW twice a week. As I said in my last update HERE, I fully appreciate how this won’t be popular. But it is necessary to protect the safety and welfare of our DPW employees and for that reason, we are going to do this. HERE is a flyer further explaining the rules along with an order form for those wishing to purchase a new 32 gallon receptacle at a substantial discount through the Borough of Leonia.
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That’s it for now. I hope everyone is enjoying the change to cooler weather and having a pleasant Fall.
Kind regards,
Bill Ziegler
Leonia Mayor
Mayor Bill Ziegler’s Monthly Status Report: October 2026
Leonia’s Encroachment Issue: We Need Your Help
Of all the issues that have crossed my desk as Mayor, few have been as frustrating—or as illustrative of government dysfunction—as Leonia’s continuing DPW encroachment saga.What began as an obscure, decades-old property issue has now become something far more serious. It threatens our municipal operations, places an unreasonable burden on Leonia taxpayers and is now obstructing the expansion of our largest employer and taxpayer.
It is time for common sense to prevail—and I am asking for your help.
How We Got Here
In the 1950s, Leonia donated approximately 150 acres of land to Bergen County for the creation of Overpeck County Park. When little progress had been made by the late 1960s, Leonia sued to have the property returned. The resulting court settlement restored approximately seven acres to the Borough and included a firm commitment from the County to proceed with building the beautiful park that all of us enjoy today.You can read my previous update providing additional background HERE.
In 1974, the Leonia Mayor and Council constructed our Department of Public Works buildings on a portion of the land returned to the Borough. For the next 50 years, those buildings served—and continue to serve—as the operational home of our DPW.
One would reasonably assume that settled the matter.
Unfortunately, it did not.
Decades later, someone outside Leonia determined that portions of both DPW buildings had been constructed within an old right-of-way listed on the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Acres inventory.
That right-of-way serves no practical purpose today. It does not connect residents to a park, provide recreational access or offer any realistic opportunity for future parkland. It is, quite literally, a road to nowhere.
Nevertheless, NJDEP has taken the position that Leonia must either remove the “encroachment”—potentially requiring the demolition of portions of two fully functioning municipal buildings—or provide replacement property approximately five times the size of the affected area.
Either outcome would impose a substantial and unnecessary cost on Leonia taxpayers.
The inequity is particularly difficult to accept when we remember that Leonia originally donated nearly all this land for the public’s benefit. That donation helped make Overpeck County Park possible, but it also removed a significant amount of potentially taxable property from our community. This is one reason Leonia homeowners carry a disproportionately large share of our municipal tax burden compared with residents of many other Bergen County communities.
Leonia acted in good faith for the regional public good. Fifty years later, our residents should not be punished because different levels of government failed to identify or address this issue when the DPW buildings were originally approved and constructed.
The Problem Has Now Spread to Kulite
As unreasonable as this situation already was, the consequences are no longer confined to our DPW property.Kulite Industries is Leonia’s largest employer and taxpayer, with more than 900 employees—and it continues to grow. Its highly advanced pressure-sensing technology serves vital roles in commercial aviation, aerospace and our nation’s defense.
Kulite is also an exceptional corporate neighbor. The company supports Leonia High School scholarships and other school programs, sponsors Leonia Day, contributes to our Community Chest and helps fund Oktoberfest and the SnackPack program for food-insecure students. Kulite has also generously supported numerous other community causes.
Kulite’s success is Leonia’s success. I am proud that the company calls our Borough home, and I will do everything reasonably possible to ensure it can continue investing, expanding and creating jobs here.
Kulite would like to use land adjacent to its existing facility and construct a parking lot to accommodate its growing workforce. The proposed parking area would be accessed from Overpeck Drive. Before making this substantial investment, however, Kulite understandably needs permanent assurance that it will be permitted to use that access.
I have spoken with Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco, who has expressed a willingness to provide that assurance. Kulite has also agreed that the parking lot could be made available for County special events, including the Fourth of July celebration and other major festivals at Overpeck Park. This should be a win for Kulite, Leonia and Bergen County.
Instead, the longstanding DPW encroachment issue has now been placed in the middle of an entirely separate transaction.
We have been advised that NJDEP does not want the County to provide permanent access until Leonia resolves the DPW encroachment. As a result, Kulite’s proposed investment is being delayed over access to the entrance of a driveway—even though its parking lot would also help address the County’s need for additional event parking.
This makes no practical sense.
The DPW encroachment and Kulite’s access request can—and should—be addressed on separate, parallel tracks. Holding up Kulite’s expansion does nothing to resolve the DPW matter. It merely places jobs, investment and one of Leonia’s most important community partnerships at unnecessary risk.
New Jersey ranked 50th—dead last—in CNBC’s 2026 business-friendliness rankings. Recent decisions by major employers to relocate or reduce their presence in New Jersey should serve as a warning. We cannot say we want businesses to remain and grow here while allowing unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles to stand in their way.
Here Is How You Can Help
In August, I wrote to Governor Mikie Sherrill’s office requesting assistance and the opportunity to meet with her. You can read my letter HERE. To date, I have not received a response from the Governor or her office–only legalese from the NJDEP–so the bureaucratic stalemate continues.I am therefore asking Leonia residents to make their voices heard.
Sample letters are available HERE. Please feel free to use one of these templates—or write in your own words—to respectfully ask Governor Sherrill and her administration to:
- Direct NJDEP and the appropriate County officials to separate Kulite’s driveway access request from the longstanding DPW encroachment matter.
- Allow Bergen County to provide Kulite with the permanent access assurance it needs to proceed with its investment.
- Bring all parties together to resolve the DPW issue through a fair, practical solution that does not require demolishing functioning municipal buildings or imposing an unreasonable burden on Leonia taxpayers.
- Recognize Leonia’s historic contribution of approximately 150 acres for the creation of Overpeck County Park when evaluating any proposed resolution.
Please take a few minutes to send an email to the Governor at: Governor Contact Form.
The more Leonians who speak out, the more difficult it will be for this issue to remain unresolved.
Our community acted generously when it provided the land that made Overpeck County Park possible. We are now asking the State to show that same spirit of cooperation, fairness and common sense.
With your help, we can protect Leonia’s taxpayers, support Kulite’s continued growth and finally bring this 50-year-old problem to a sensible conclusion.
I will continue fighting for that outcome and will keep you updated.
Lights, Camera, Action…
For the past two years, we’ve been working to bring movie and television productions to Leonia. Why? Because New Jersey’s film and television industry generated approximately $780 million in spending last year. We thought Leonia should try to get a piece of that action.
That could mean additional business for our local merchants, rental and usage income for residents and community organizations, municipal fees that help offset taxpayer costs, and even a little hometown pride when Leonia appears on the screen.
First, we had to become certified as a “Film Ready” community. I formed a Mayor’s Advisory Committee on TV and Movie Productions, made up of Leonia friends and neighbors, many with entertainment-industry experience. We learned how communities successfully attract and accommodate productions.
After 24 months of work—and a few false starts—we’re finally ready for our first major television production.
On Thursday, October 8th, CBS/Paramount will film a segment of Episode 19 of its new television series Cupertino inside our Municipal Center. Coincidentally, the series debuts that same day. You can watch the trailer HERE. It looks interesting, although, of course, the Borough has no role in or responsibility for the show’s content, message or presentation.
When “Hollywood” comes to town, it doesn’t travel lightly. We’ve been told to expect approximately 15 large production trailers and approximately 80 cars. Through our good relations with the County, we’ve arranged for parking at a parking lot in Overpeck Park. A shuttle will bring the TV people up to the Municipal Center to minimize the actual traffic in Leonia. No tax dollars are being expended to make this happen and the library will remain open.
However, it is very possible the Library parking lot and some of the parking behind the Municipal Center will need to be temporarily closed Thursday 10/6 to accommodate the handful of production trailers that must be located adjacent to the filming location.
All filming will take place indoors, so unless you’re part of the show, you won’t be able to watch. Perhaps next time we’ll land an outdoor scene—and maybe even an opportunity for some Leonians to serve as extras!
There will undoubtedly be lessons from our first major production, and we’ll use them to make the next one even smoother. That’s part of why this first experience is important. We wanted to open Leonia’s doors to an industry that is investing heavily in New Jersey, bring some of that economic activity into our community, and create opportunities that didn’t exist here before. October 8th is our first real opportunity to see what that can mean.
My sincere thanks to the Leonia volunteers serving on the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on TV and Movie Productions who helped get us to this point–in particular Graham Alston, Committee Chair and Raquel Bruno who was active every step of the way and integral to cultivating this new relationship with CBS/Paramount. This is not to take away from the efforts of all the tremendous volunteers on the TV and Movie Production Committee whose names are listed HERE. Everyone on the committee played a substantial role in making this first production happen.
And who knows where this leads for both Leonia and individual Leonians? Hollywood legend Lana Turner really was discovered as a teenager while having a Coke at a soda fountain near Hollywood High School. So if you happen to be shopping or grabbing lunch on Broad Avenue on October 8th and bump into someone from the production crew, you never know. Stranger things have happened in show business. I just ask that you remember all the little people who contributed to your success!
Illegal Rentals and Conversions
This next segment is far from Hollywood and addresses a challenge we need to confront more aggressively in Leonia.
During a recent Mayor and Council meeting, we heard a comprehensive presentation from our Construction Official and Fire Marshal concerning illegal occupancies and housing conversions in Leonia. You can watch the presentation HERE and the discussion HERE.
The presentation—and the discussion that followed—made clear that our current penalties do not adequately deter landlords who knowingly create or rent illegal living spaces. The governing body unanimously agreed that we must correct this glaring weakness before the problem grows to the levels experienced in some surrounding communities.
First and foremost, this is a matter of life safety. We were shown troubling examples of basement apartments and other illegally converted spaces without a practical means of escape in the event of a fire. Illegal electrical work, inadequate ventilation, overcrowding, blocked exits, missing smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors, and construction performed without required inspections can place tenants, neighbors and our first responders in serious danger. We cannot wait for a tragedy before taking stronger action.
Illegal conversions also impose very real burdens on surrounding neighborhoods and the entire community. A property designed for one family may suddenly house several households, resulting in more vehicles and greater competition for limited street parking, additional traffic, increased garbage and recycling, and greater demands on police, fire, DPW, Recreation Center and other municipal services. Unreported dwelling units may also add students to our schools without the property being properly assessed or the conversion being reviewed through the legally required process. Neighboring homeowners—who followed the rules and made one of the largest investments of their lives—should not have to absorb these consequences because someone else decided the law did not apply to them.
Under the present system, some landlords simply view the fines as a “cost of doing business” if they happen to be caught. That must change. We intend to establish penalties and additional costs substantial enough to discourage anyone from deciding that illegally renting a basement, attic or subdivided dwelling is worth the cost. Couple this with a more stringent enforcement effort that increases the risk of being caught, and we will be in a much better position to correct bad behavior.
At the same time, tenants affected by these unscrupulous practices deserve our concern and support. They may not know that the space they rented is illegal or unsafe. If inspectors determine that an apartment lacks a safe means of escape or presents another immediate hazard, we must help its occupants find temporary alternative housing. I have proposed that the resulting relocation costs ultimately be borne by the landlord responsible for creating or renting the illegal unit—including, where legally permitted, securing those costs through a lien on the property.
The message should be unmistakable: Leonia will protect tenants, support responsible property owners and defend the quality of life of our neighborhoods. Anyone who knowingly profits from unsafe and illegal housing should expect the financial consequences to be serious enough that this is no longer viewed as an acceptable way of doing business in our community.
If you suspect an illegal conversion or occupancy in your neighborhood, please report it to our Building Department at [email protected]. They will be sure to investigate. In the meantime, the governing body will determine what the fines should be under the circumstances. I will keep you posted.
Station Parkway Settlement
We are on the verge of reaching a revised settlement agreement with the developer of the property on the west side of Grand Avenue, between Station Parkway and Maple Street. This currently fenced-in site was originally proposed for a six-story development containing more than 150 housing units.
The Borough challenged that proposal in court, and an initial settlement was reached that dramatically reduced the size of the development. However, the developer subsequently dismissed his legal team and asked the court for permission to return to the negotiating table. I did not realize that a settlement could be reopened under those circumstances, but the court allowed the parties to resume negotiations.
Those negotiations have been lengthy, but I believe we are now very close to a revised agreement. And I want to thank Borough Administrator Marisa Mesropian,, Affordable Housing Counsel Jeff Surenian and our Planner Kendra Lelie for their dedicated efforts on our behalf.
I will share the full details as soon as I am legally permitted to do so. For now, I can tell you that—like the first settlement—the revised proposal remains far, far below the developer’s original plan for more than 150 units. Protecting Leonia from an oversized development on this property has remained our priority throughout this process.
As you know, we were able to receive immunity from developer’s remedy lawsuits as part of our Affordable Housing coordinated efforts. Other communities, including our neighbor Palisades Park, have not been granted this immunity.
Consequently, a recent wave of builder’s remedy lawsuits has resulted in approval of more than 1,000 new housing units along Grand Avenue in Palisades Park. These developments will undoubtedly increase traffic on Grand Avenue in Leonia and on other local streets.
While we largely avoided what happened in Pal Park from happening here in Leonia, we will still feel the effects of that many additional housing units here—particularly when they are being built along a roadway that we share. Unlike Leonia, Palisades Park did not secure immunity from builder’s remedy lawsuits.
Borough-Wide Survey
Please make your voice heard by participating in our borough-wide survey on traffic and other important community issues. Recently, you may have received a survey in the mail. Not everyone did. But you can also fill out the survey (in English, Spanish or Korean) online at leoniasurvey.org. Or use this QR code to access the online version.
Traffic remains one of Leonia’s most challenging and frustrating concerns, and we want to hear your ideas about how best to manage the inevitable traffic pressures that come with our proximity to the world’s busiest bridge. We’ve also taken the opportunity to ask other broader non-traffic related questions about issues that affect Leonia. Your opinions matter, and your responses will help inform our decisions and priorities going forward.
Individual responses will be kept confidential, but the overall results will be shared on the town’s website and, in all likelihood, at a future Town Hall meeting. No local tax dollars were spent on this survey or its cost of distribution. The survey was funded through a grant we applied for and received from the Safe Streets and Roads for All program from the federal Department of Transportation.
So let’s fill out the questionnaires and make sure all of our opinions count. If you did not receive a survey in the mail and prefer not to complete yours on line at leoniasurvey.org, you can pick up a hard copy at the Senior Center, Library and Borough Hall. Any questions, please email them to [email protected] or call Cui Wang, Borough Administration Assistant at 201-592-5780 x-221.
Traffic Presentation at Mayor and Council meeting
On September 21st, JP Hilton and Mike Gobbo, our Transportation and Pedestrian co-Chairs, presented their most recent work. Police Chief Scott Tamagny reviewed the resources he has available and how they are being deployed. You can see the presentation HERE as well as the discussion that followed.
Our objective data measures (tied to the recent federal transportation grant and the Safe Roads for All Initiative) clearly show a substantial increase in traffic on Grandview Terrace, Nordhoff Drive and several other roads in the northeast of town just during this past year. As if it wasn’t already bad enough!
We discussed some mitigation activities which have already been implemented and others which are still needed. I will be reaching out as well as our Police Chief to Englewood to see if we can also get their assistance with traffic control particularly on Edgewood Road by the Route 80/95 bridge into Leonia.
At our next governing body work session on October 19th, we will look at some of the progress we’ve made coming out of the recommendations made on September 21st. That meeting, as all meetings, will be open to the public in person and virtually. Here is the meeting link -
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/nou-xhai-hwr
In the meantime and going forward, I want to encourage all Leonians to report parking violations as they see them. Parking violation enforcement is a two-way street. Our Leonia Police Department can’t be everywhere. But I will tell you that if you call 201-944-0800 and report a parking violation, a Leonia Police officer will respond and, as warranted, cite the violators.
We had a recent situation where a resident on Oakdene Avenue called me to discuss the number of illegally parked cars there which made it super difficult for residents to find a spot. I called the Police Department and an officer wrote a dozen or so tickets. You do not need to be the Mayor to get the same results. Simply call 201-944-0800, report the violation, and an officer will investigate (as soon as they reasonably can depending on whatever else might be going on) and begin writing tickets as necessary. By the way, please don’t hesitate to give your neighbors a heads up particularly if any of their vehicles might be among those illegally parked. I’m sure they’d appreciate it.
Next T-Rex Hat
Our creative Leonia volunteers who designed and made the T-Rex 3 corner revolutionary war hat (which will remain on our T-Rex through the 250th Anniversary of George Washington’s army retreat down Fort Lee Road) are already busy at work making the next hat. I understand, apropos for December, it will be a Santa hat possibly with an accompanying scarf. We will see. I’m sure it will be great.
Veteran’s Banners Are Up
In anticipation of Veteran’s Day, we have begun to put up our veteran’s banners throughout town which will eventually also include the latest wave of 26 new banners. Whenever you can, please thank a veteran for their service and take note of the veterans being honored on banners throughout town. It is a very special group.
Thank you to the Leonia families who sponsored their veterans for this recognition. And a very special appreciation for volunteer Justin Choi who advertised the opportunity, explained the program to anyone interested, collected the fees, arranged for their manufacture and overall made it happen. Thank you Justin! Our DPW are doing a great job putting the banners up too.
Journey to Victory
Speaking of veterans, we will soon honor some of our nation’s earliest—the soldiers of the Continental Army—with a special commemoration marking the 250th anniversary of General George Washington’s army retreat down Fort Lee Road.
As you may recall from my previous update HERE, we will project moving silhouettes of the retreating army onto the north wall of H-Mart, facing the exact path (Fort Lee Road) those soldiers traveled on November 20, 1776. We are calling this commemoration “Journey to Victory” because the retreat helped preserve the Continental Army, allowing it to regroup and later achieve victories that secured American independence.
H-Mart’s national leadership (I began with their CEO and COO) were 100% behind this initiative from the start and very excited to participate. We thank the H-Mart corporate family for their selfless participation and patriotic commitment allowing us to use their wall, mount equipment on their roof and make available all the power we need for the project.
I am incredibly grateful to the friends and neighbors who stepped forward with exactly the skills we needed, volunteering their time and talents in creative design, animation, project management, technology, and projection. Thank you to Stephen Silvestri, Sam Ghali, Councilman Christoph Hesterbrink, Joseph Leibow, Julian Fernandez, and Scott Carroll.
Over the past few weeks, I have been privately raising the funds necessary to bring this project to life without using taxpayer dollars. Kulite has stepped forward with an incredibly generous offer of support—another tangible demonstration of its investment in our community. We will acknowledge all of our sponsors when the project goes live, which we anticipate will be during the second or third week of October.
I also want to give a special shout-out to Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, who has made essential technical resources available to Leonia. His assistance has been invaluable in making this commemoration possible. Thank you, Mayor Mark!
Redevelopment Town Hall Tomorrow Tuesday, October 6th at Municipal Center
A reminder that our Town Hall on Redevelopment is tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. As outlined in my last update HERE, we will report on progress along Fort Lee Road below Grand Avenue and the Willow Tree Road corridor.
The main focus, however, will be sharing preliminary ideas for Broad Avenue redevelopment and hearing your reactions. These are early concepts, and your input will help guide whether and how they move forward. Public participation is essential to this process.
Please join us in person in the second-floor Courtroom of the new Municipal Center, 229 Fort Lee Road, adjacent to the Library, or attend virtually using the link HERE.
We hope to see as many of you as possible. If you cannot attend, a recording will be posted on the Borough website within 24-36 hours..
New Store openings
At the southwest corner of Fort Lee Road and Grand Avenue (340 Grand Avenue), Trisoul Dance Studio has opened its doors. There is also new ownership of the café at 454 Broad Avenue, which will now be known as Cafe Namu. And we are getting closer to a new pasta and seafood restaurant at the location formerly occupied by Fontana on Fort Lee Road. We welcome these businesses to Leonia and wish their owners every success. I hope Leonians will join me in supporting them—and all of our local businesses—by stopping in, saying hello, and patronizing whenever possible.
32 Gallon Receptacles Requirement
Please expect to see much more information about this pending requirement. It will affect all of us who put out our garbage for pickup by the DPW twice a week. As I said in my last update HERE, I fully appreciate how this won’t be popular. But it is necessary to protect the safety and welfare of our DPW employees and for that reason, we are going to do this. HERE is a flyer further explaining the rules along with an order form for those wishing to purchase a new 32 gallon receptacle at a substantial discount through the Borough of Leonia.
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That’s it for now. I hope everyone is enjoying the change to cooler weather and having a pleasant Fall.
Kind regards,
Bill Ziegler
Leonia Mayor
Address/Location
Borough of Leonia
312 Broad Avenue
Leonia, NJ 07605
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 201-592-5780