Transcript for Piscataway Council meeting on January 20 2026

Note: Transcripts are generated by rev.ai and may not be fully accurate. Please listen to the recording (below) if you feel any text is inaccurate.

Speaker 1     00:00:05    Welcome everyone to Piscataway Town Council meeting for January 20th, 2026. I'd like to thank you all for coming. Could we please silence our telephones and please respect others' opinions this evening? I'm gonna call this meeting to order. Adequate notice of this meeting has been provided as required under chapter 2 3 1 PL 1975, specifying the time, date, location, login or dial in information and to the extent known the agenda by posting a copy of the notice on the municipal Building municipal court and the two municipal library bulletin boards municipal website, providing a copy to the official newspapers of the township and by filing a copy in the office of the township clerk in accordance with certification by the clerk, which will be entered in the minutes, there will be a public comment period for both remote and in-person attendees Separately, each member of the public shall only have one opportunity to speak during each public portion. As the technology does not allow us to know if there are multiple callers on an individual phone line or logged in user account. We ask that if you wish to speak, that you log in or dial in separately so that we can recognize you as a separate individual should you have any further comments or questions. The Town Council is always available by email and phone, and you can always call the mayor's office during normal operating hours. Ms. Cedar, can you please call the role  
Speaker 2     00:01:44    Council Member Cahill Here. Council Member Carmichael. Council member Espinosa Here. Council Member Liebowitz Here. Council member Rasheed Here. Council member Ern Here. Council President Lombardi  
Speaker 1     00:02:00    Here. And would everyone please join me in the flag? Salute.  
Speaker 0     00:02:07    Flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation under God in result, liberty and justice for all  
Speaker 1     00:02:27    Five is a proclamation and it's for Muslim heritage month and the mayor will be reading that proclamation for us.  
Speaker 3     00:02:35    Thank you Council President. Whereas Piscataway is enriched by a wide array of cultures, traditions, and backgrounds and whereas Muslim Americans are an integral part of Piscataway community contributing to the social, educational, economic and civic life and whereas strong commitment to family, faith, hard work and service has enriched and enhanced our community. And whereas Piscataway Township seeks to strengthen connections by promoting dialogue, understanding and mutual respect amongst residents of all backgrounds. And whereas observing Muslim Heritage Month provides an opportunity to learn from one another, celebrate cultural traditions and reaffirm township's commitment to inclusion and unity. Now therefore, I, Brian Wahler, the mayor of Piscataway Township County in middle six and in the state of New Jersey, along with the town governing body Dubai here, recognized contributions and impact of Muslim community in the United States and the Proclama proclaim the month of January's Muslim Heritage Month and encourage all residents to engage in an effort that promote cultural awareness and honor our differences and reinforce the sense of community we share. And if I may, can I have Hir come up?  
Speaker 1     00:04:06    Thank you Mayor. I'll move to number seven, which is a open well. Number six, comments from administration or council regarding adjournment of matters on the agenda? None.  
Speaker 2     00:04:26    I'll move to number seven. I have something I would like to say. Sure. In regards to upcoming issues that we will be discussing this evening as we continue to do the important work of our township, I would like to point out my support for the success of our local business community. The protection and dignity of hotel guests that not only provide revenue for our town but can have the opportunity to visit and enjoy all the Piscataway has to offer, as well as the overall safety and quality of life for all Piscataway residents. All discussions and votes are taken seriously and with attention to detail. Thank you so much.  
Speaker 1     00:05:13    You're welcome.  
Speaker 1     00:05:19    Number seven is a portion open to the public, but this is a public portion only regarding the comments from the consent agenda items only. So anyone wishing to comment on the consent agenda items, we will now open it to the public, open it to the public for the remote people first, for each public comment portion for remote attendees. If you wish to speak at this time, please raise your hand either on Zoom app or if by phone by pressing star nine. When it is your turn to speak, you will receive or hear a request To unmute yourself, please click the prompt or press star six on your phone to unmute yourself at that time. Please state your name and address and know that you have three minutes in which to make your comments. The council or administration will respond if necessary. If you have completed any comments or questions. We are now open to the public for our remote attendees only.  
Speaker 2     00:06:18    Council president, there are no remote attendees with their hand raised regarding this agenda item,  
Speaker 1     00:06:23    We'll now close the remote portion of the open to the public and we'll open it to anybody in the audience that wants to comment on the consent agenda. Items only  
Speaker 4     00:06:34    Number 15  
Speaker 1     00:06:35    If you wish. What number? 15? Yes. If you wish to ke speak at this time, please come up for any items for number 15 A through, let's see, L Seeing none close the public portion for the consent agenda number eight is an ordinance. Second reading amending chapter 21, zoning Section six, general regulations. It's open to the public, it's a resolution and it's an adopting ordinance. Msed, can you please read the ordinance,  
Speaker 2     00:07:16    Be it resolved by the Township Council of Piscataway Township, New Jersey that an ordinance entitled Ordinance to amend the revised general ordinances of the township of Piscataway, county of Middlesex, state of New Jersey. Amending chapter 21 zoning Section six. General regulations was introduced on the second day of January, 2026 and had passed the first reading and was published on the eighth day of January, 2026. Now therefore be it resolved that the offer said ordinance having had a second reading on January 20th, 2026 be adopted past and after passage be published together with a notice of the date of past approval in the official newspaper, be it further resolved that this ordinance shall be assigned number 2026 dash zero one.  
Speaker 1     00:07:59    Thank you Ms. Cedar. We'll now open this to the public For the any remote attendees, do we have any remote attendees?  
Speaker 2     00:08:13    Council president, there are no remote attendees with their hand raised regarding this agenda item  
Speaker 1     00:08:18    Now closed for the remote attendees. Do we have anyone in the audience that wishes to comment on number eight? Seeing none, we'll close the public portion. I have an offer  
Speaker 4     00:08:37    Council President Lombardi. I'd like to make that offer, but also with the comment that I'm grateful to the staff in our building department for consistently looking through some ordinances that are a little, I don't wanna say outdated, but need revision and updated with times. And this will take care of that and, and will then avoid the need for many residents to have to come in for variances on a very minor fence issue. And I was on the planning board and I voted yes to accept this and to have it to come here. So I'm grateful because they did all the work looking through our the variances and what really we need to adjust. So this will be helpful to our residents and to our volunteer board. So I will make that motion.  
Speaker 1     00:09:23    Thank you for that explanation. Do we have a second? Second Espinosa. Ms. Cedar, can you please call the rule  
Speaker 2     00:09:30    Council member Cahill? Yes. Council member Espinosa. Yes. Council member Liebowitz? Yes. Council member Rashid? Yes. Council member Rin? Yes. Council President Lombardi?  
Speaker 1     00:09:43    Yes. And the ordinance passes. We'll move to number nine and ordinance second. Reading amending chapter seven, traffic Section 26, turn prohibitions open to the public and it's a resolution adopting ordinance. Ms. The Can you please read the ordinance, be  
Speaker 2     00:09:59    It resolved by the Township Council of Piscataway Township, New Jersey that an ordinance entitled Ordinance to amend and supplement the revised general ordinances of the township of Piscataway, county of Middlesex, state of New Jersey. Amending Chapter seven traffic Section 26 turn prohibitions was introduced on the second day of January, 2026 and had passed the first reading and was published on the eighth day of January, 2026. Now therefore be it resolved that the officer ordinance having had a second reading on January 20th, 2026 be adopted past and after passage be published together with a notice of the date of past approval in the official newspaper, be it further resolved that this ordinance shall be assigned. Number 2026 dash zero two.  
Speaker 1     00:10:41    Thank you Ms. Cedar. We'll now open this to a remote. Attendees. Anyone wishing to speak on remote attendees? We're open to the public. Regarding number nine,  
Speaker 2     00:10:56    Council president. There are no remote attendees with their hand raised regarding this agenda item  
Speaker 1     00:11:01    Close to the, to the remote attendees and open to anyone in the public that wishes to comment on number nine. Please come up to the podium. Seeing none, we'll close the public portion. Can I have an offer? Leitz? Can I have a second  
Speaker 4     00:11:23    Cahill?  
Speaker 1     00:11:25    Ms. Cedar, can you please call the role  
Speaker 2     00:11:27    Council member Cahill?  
Speaker 4     00:11:29    Yes.  
Speaker 2     00:11:29    Council member Espinosa? Yes. Yes. Council member Liebowitz? Yes. Council member Rashid? Yes. Council member Ern? Yes. Council President Lombardi?  
Speaker 1     00:11:41    Yes. And the ordinance passes Number 10, an ordinance second reading, fully funded 1,235,000 various sewer utility improvements. It's open to the public. It's the resolution adopting ordinance. Miss Cedar, can you please read the resolution  
Speaker 2     00:11:58    Be resolved by the Township Council of Piscataway Township, New Jersey? That an ordinance entitled Ordinance appropriating $1,235,000 from the Capital Improvement Fund to provide for various sore utility improvements in and by the township of Piscataway in the county of Middlesex, New Jersey was introduced on the second day of January, 2026 and had passed the first reading and was published on the eighth day of January, 2026. Now therefore be it resolved that the offer said ordinance having had a second reading on January 20th, 2026 be adopted, passed. And after passage be published together with a notice of the date of passenger approval in the official newspaper. Be further resolved that this ordinance shall be assigned. Number 2026 dash three.  
Speaker 1     00:12:39    Thank you Ms. Cedar. We now have to open this to the public. Any remote attendees that would like to speak on this ordinance please. We are open to the remote attendees.  
Speaker 2     00:12:56    Council president, there are no remote attendees with their hand raised regarding this agenda item.  
Speaker 1     00:13:01    We are closed for the remote attendees and open now to the public. Anyone wishing here to speak on number 10. Seeing none will close the public portion.  
Speaker 3     00:13:13    If I may. Council president, I just wanna remind everybody, this has to do with the upgrading of the sewer pumping station on sunset and also slip lining our sewer lines throughout the town for the general public that's here. We don't like paying for clear water and our sanitary sewers. That means there's inflow into the system and that we're paying for clear water. We wanna pay for dirty water. That's sewage. So that's why we're fixing the lines.  
Speaker 1     00:13:39    Thank you for that clarification. Mayor, can I have an offer? Motion  
Speaker 5     00:13:44    Councilman Uhrin  
Speaker 4     00:13:45    Second Cahill.  
Speaker 1     00:13:47    Ms. Cedar, can you please call the  
Speaker 2     00:13:49    Roll council member Cahill?  
Speaker 4     00:13:51    Yes.  
Speaker 2     00:13:52    Council member Espinosa? Yes. Council member Lebowitz? Yes. Council member Rashid? Yes. Council member Rin? Yes. Council President Lombardi?  
Speaker 1     00:14:03    Yes. And number 10, ordinance passes. Number 11 is an ordinance Second reading, fully funded $3,915,374 to 3 million from the Capital Surplus Fund and $915,374 from the Capital Improvement Fund to the various capital improvements, it's open to the public. It's a resolution adopting ordinance. Ms. Cedar, can you please call read the ordinance, be  
Speaker 2     00:14:32    Resolved by the Township Council of Piscataway Township, New Jersey that an ordinance entitled Ordinance Appropriating $3,915,374 3 million of which is from the Capital Surplus Fund and $915,374 of which is from the Capital Improvement Fund to provide for various capital improvements in and by the township of Piscataway in the county of Middlesex, New Jersey was introduced on the second day of January, 2026 and had passed the first reading and was published on the eighth day of January, 2026. Now therefore be it resolved that the efforts said ordinance having had a second reading on January 20th, 2026 be adopted past and after Passage be published together with the notice of the date of pasture approval in the official newspaper. Be further resolved that this ordinance shall be a sign number 2026 dash four.  
Speaker 1     00:15:21    Thank you Mrs. Cedar. We're now open to the remote attendees. Do we have any remote attendees?  
Speaker 2     00:15:33    Counsel President. There are no remote attendees with their hand raised regarding this agenda item.  
Speaker 1     00:15:38    We're now closed to the remote attendees and open to any attendees that are here this evening that would like to speak on Ordinance number 11. Seeing none, we closed. Can I have an offer  
Speaker 3     00:15:52    If I make council president to remind the governing body? This is going to reconstruct Harold Place between West seventh and West Fifth Hamilton Boulevard between Brett and Montgomery Murray Avenue, between CAO and the cul-de-Sac. Richards Avenue from Adams to Har Lane. Hedgerow from Buttonwood to Buttonwood. Sturbridge Drive from Mettler's Lane to Mettler's Lane and Palisades Avenue. From Brookside Road to Gramercy Drive.  
Speaker 1     00:16:18    Thank you. Do we have an offer? Offer Rashid second Liebowitz. Ms. Cedar, can you please call the rule  
Speaker 2     00:16:29    Council member Cahill?  
Speaker 1     00:16:31    Yes.  
Speaker 2     00:16:32    Council member Espinosa. Yes. Council member Lebowitz. Yes. Council member Rashid? Yes. Council member Ern. Yes. Council President Lombardi?  
Speaker 1     00:16:43    Yes. And number 11 passes. Number 12 is an ordinance First reading amending Chapter seven, traffic Section 14. Parking prohibited at all times on certain streets. It's a resolution adopting ordinance. Ms. Cedar, can you please read the ordinance?  
Speaker 2     00:17:01    Be it resolved by the Township Council of Piscataway Township, New Jersey that an ordinance entitled Ordinance to amend and supplement the revised general ordinances of the Township of Piscataway, county of Middlesex, state of New Jersey. Amending Chapter seven traffic Section 14, parking prohibited at all times on certain streets B and Is hereby adopted on the first reading that it be published in the official newspaper. And that a second reading in public hearing be held at 7:00 PM prevailing time at the Piscataway Municipal Building 4 55 Hose lamp Piscataway, New Jersey on the 10th day of February, 2026. Be it further resolved that a copy of this ordinance shall be posted in at least two public places within the township prior to the day of the second reigning and final passage. And a copy of this ordinance shall be made available at the office of the Township Clerk for any interested member of the public.  
Speaker 1     00:17:46    Thank you Mrs. Cedar. Do we have any questions or concerns from council? Can I have an offer?  
Speaker 5     00:17:56    Offer? Councilman Uhrin?  
Speaker 1     00:17:57    I have a second.  
Speaker 6     00:17:59    Second. Espinosa  
Speaker 1     00:18:01    Cedar, can you please call the role  
Speaker 2     00:18:02    Council member Cahill?  
Speaker 4     00:18:05    Yes.  
Speaker 2     00:18:05    Council member Espinosa. Yes. Council member Liebowitz. Yes. Council member Rashid. Yep. Council member Rin. Yes. Council President Lombardi? Yes.  
Speaker 1     00:18:16    And it passes. First reading number 13 is an ordinance First reading, vacating all of the right title and interest of the township of Piscataway in the entirety of Roth Place resolution adopting ordinance. Ms. Cedar, can you please read the ordinance? Be it  
Speaker 2     00:18:35    Resolved by the Township Council of Piscataway Township, New Jersey that an ordinance entitled Ordinance of Vacating all of the right title and interest of the Township of Piscataway in the entirety of Roth Place being is here by adopted on the first reading that it be published in the official newspaper. And that a second reading in public hearing be held at 7:00 PM prevailing time at the Piscataway Municipal Building 4 55 Hose Lane Piscataway, New Jersey on the 10th day of February, 2026. Be it further resolved that a copy of this ordinance shall be posted in at least two public places within the township prior to the day of the second reading and final passage. And a copy of this ordinance shall be made available at the office of the township clerk for any interested member of the public,  
Speaker 3     00:19:17    County public and on the council. Roth Pace is a paper street next to Turner Place. Office. Office South Washington Avenue. It's right next to 2 87.  
Speaker 4     00:19:29    Mr. Mayor, isn't that whole area some, I mean, I remember some people come before us. There's some revitalization going on. No,  
Speaker 3     00:19:37    This is part of the Cohousing. Oh  
Speaker 4     00:19:39    It's, oh, it's part of the Cohousing. Thank you for clarification.  
Speaker 1     00:19:44    You wanna have any other comments? Can I have an offer?  
Speaker 4     00:19:50    Offer Cahill?  
Speaker 1     00:19:52    Second. Second  
Speaker 6     00:19:53    Espinosa.  
Speaker 1     00:19:55    Ms. Cedar  
Speaker 2     00:19:57    Council member Cahill?  
Speaker 4     00:19:59    Yes.  
Speaker 2     00:19:59    Council member Espinosa. Yes. Council member Liebowitz? Yes. Council member Rashid? Yes. Council member Ern? Yes. Council President Lombardi?  
Speaker 1     00:20:10    Yes. And passes. First reading 14 is an ordinance first reading, adding Shah licensing and business Regulations Section 16 Hotels and motels. It's a resolution adopting ordinance. Ms. Cedar, can you please read this ordinance,  
Speaker 2     00:20:28    Be it resolved by the Township Council of Piscataway Township, New Jersey, that an ordinance entitled an ordinance to amend the revised general ordinances of the township of Piscataway County of Middlesex State New Jersey. Adding chapter four, licensing and business regulations Section 16 Hotels and motels Bean is hereby adopted on the first reading that it be published in the official newspaper. And then a second reading of public hearing be held at 7:00 PM prevailing time at the Piscataway Municipal Building 4 55 Hose Lane Piscataway, New Jersey on the 10th day of February, 2026. Be it further resolved that a copy of this ordinance shall be posted in at least two public places within the township prior to the day of the second reading and final passage. And a copy of this ordinance shall be made available at the office of the township clerk for any interested member of the public  
Speaker 3     00:21:13    Theater. If I make council president, I have asked our public safety director to come here tonight to talk about why this ordinance needs to come in place before he has to head to another meeting. So Keith, take it away.  
Speaker 7     00:21:27    Good evening everyone. I just wanna thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak tonight, but I do come with some concerns I'm concerned about everyone hear  
Speaker 1     00:21:37    Him. Can you hear him? Oh,  
Speaker 7     00:21:42    Can you hear me? Yes. Okay. I do come with some concerns. I am concerned about Motel six and extended stay. So let's start with Motel six. In the police department, we use our CAS system as a way to to track data for the public. This is a community, excuse me, excuse me. We use our caste system to thank you. Use our caste system to track data. At Motel six, we received over 700 calls in 2025. These calls vary. They could be mental health calls, assault simple assaults to aggravated assaults to drug distribution. Within those 700 calls, 54 of those calls were involved women. I could tell you those calls were domestic violence and also sexual assaults. Now I need to be candid here. I worked in two cities. I never seen one property with over 700 calls, never in my life. That's a lot of calls for one property, you know. So again, this is not being made up. The cash system does not lie, but this is the day-to-day reality of the men and women that, that serves this community. My other concern is extended stay early in my tenure here at Piscataway Police Department, there was a meth lab found in extended stay. Think about that for a second. A meth lab, a fully operational meth lab found in extended stay.  
Speaker 7     00:23:36    I will argue that this meth lab was constructed without IOL isolation. Meaning that people knew that that meth lab was in that hotel. And that's a problem here. It's a public safety issue. So I come here tonight and, and, and I will say that it's very important that we move forward with the ordinance that was set forth by the mayor. I think it would, it would help the police department out tremendously. It would definitely address some of our public safety issues here that we have in town. So thank you.  
Speaker 1     00:24:16    Thank you for that. Any other council people have any comments?  
Speaker 4     00:24:28    None at this time. For me,  
Speaker 1     00:24:31    My biggest concern is for the safety of our police department. My biggest fear is that one day something will happen and one of them will be harmed. So I wholeheartedly feel that this is the right move and in the favor of our safety of our police department. I believe this is necessary to implement fines so that we can start implementing fines to these businesses so that once their pocketbook gets hit, things might start to change. So you have to implement these things so that you can start to implement change. So do I have an offer for this  
Speaker 5     00:25:13    Offer? Councilman Uhrin,  
Speaker 0     00:25:15    Second Espinosa  
Speaker 1     00:25:17    Cedar, can you please call the role  
Speaker 2     00:25:20    Council member Cahill? Yes. Council member Espinosa? Yes. Council member Lebowitz? Yes. Council member Rashid? Yes. Council member Rin? Yes. Council President Lombardi?  
Speaker 1     00:25:36    Yes. And first reading passes on that ordinance. We're now gonna move to number 15, which are the consent agenda. Items for efficiency items have been consolidated into a consent agenda to be voted on together. And the materials for these items have been distributed to the council in advance of the meeting. Do I have a motion to accept the consent agenda items?  
Speaker 4     00:26:02    Motion Councilwoman Cahill.  
Speaker 1     00:26:04    Do I have a second?  
Speaker 0     00:26:08    Second.  
Speaker 5     00:26:08    Councilman Owen.  
Speaker 1     00:26:11    Thank you. Ms. Cedar, can you please call the roll  
Speaker 2     00:26:15    Council member Cahill?  
Speaker 4     00:26:17    Yes.  
Speaker 2     00:26:17    Council member Espinosa? Yes. Council member Liebowitz? Yes. Council member Rashid? Yes. Council member rn? Yes. Council President Lombardi?  
Speaker 1     00:26:28    Yes. And the consent agenda. Items pass Number 16 is announcements and comments from officials. So I will now ask for the council members to give any announcements or comments they may have. Gabriel Cahill.  
Speaker 4     00:26:45    Wow, Michelle. That's a first. Yeah. So I wanna thank all the folks who are coming out here tonight to the council meeting. It's a cold frigid night tonight. I appreciate my council mates taking our ordinances seriously and also working behind the scenes for you, the residents of Piscataway. That said, I will make my comments about the ordinance that we passed on First reading that pertains to changing our regulations regarding hotels and motels. I can, I think I speak for most of the council members here, is that our North Star is you, the residents of Piscataway. Also our small business owners who've chosen to have their businesses here and our larger ones. And then also too, for people who come and visit our great town, who might inadvertently stay at Motel six or potentially the extended stay. And we just heard from our public safety director, Keith Stiff, that you know, we would not want people who inadvertently stay at a place come to any undue harm.  
Speaker 4     00:27:55    Nor would we want to anyone else who might be staying there for other reasons and to no fault of their own be subject to someone who is going to that, where that person might become a victim to an unlawful act. So our North Star is public safety. That is the number one concern of all residents, right? And that includes our, our residents who are business owners here. Number two is to make sure that our small businesses and large businesses find Piscataway a welcoming place where they want to do business, where they can continue to do business without, you know, interruptions of that business by, by people who are, are not doing good things in the town. And of course, number three, to protect anyone who does come into our town and stay. So I wanna thank you for all for being here. I wanna thank the council mates for reading through the ordinance that I do know went through multiple changes, was amended multiple times.  
Speaker 4     00:28:57    Voices were heard from everyone on this council. Our neighbors in East Brunswick actually voted on a similar ordinance in their town. But believe me, their stay is for a lot less. We offer three times the amount of time for people to stay at one of these hotels, give them reasonable ways to find alternate housing. The this ordinance was changed. And I'm speaking now off the cuff. I didn't mean to go this long, sorry, counsel, but as I read it and re-read it and, and listened to some comments online and, and read what other townships did, I can tell you that this council took into a lot of consideration voices from different places, including the council and elsewhere, and made a very good revision of it. Now, that's not to say that somewhere down the line we won't make another change. Amendments come. But I do want to say to the Piscataway residents and to business owners who are here in the audience, and we would like to hear from you as well, is that I believe that the, the, obviously our police department, first and foremost, who are on the front lines, the mayor, administration and the board that votes on these has your best interest in mind. That our North star is your public safety and for the wellbeing of everyone who is living in Piscataway and visiting Piscataway. And that is all I have to say. And it wasn't  
Speaker 1     00:30:29    Was that was very well said.  
Speaker 4     00:30:31    I didn't mean to say all of that. Thank you so much from the heart.  
Speaker 1     00:30:38    Dennis Espinoza.  
Speaker 6     00:30:41    Thank you president. Well, this past weekend we had the, we had the MLK event, which is great. It was attended by many people. We had our mayor and council there. We had our police officials board of ed was there a lot. Our a lot of our residents were there. So the county was there as well. State assemblyman. State, that's right. There was, there was, again, talk about unity in one place and, and hearing these speeches, it was, it was great. I wanted to give a special thanks to the Piscataway Civil Rights Advisory Commission and also Ms. Jasmine Carmichael Whoe and also Sharon Carmichael, a Ward three council woman that currently is not here, but would like to give a great thanks. And thank you for coming out. Also, I would like to remind everyone that there is a clinic coming up, which is January 31st at from nine to 12, a nine to 12 noon. And it starts from A through K. And then again February 7th at nine through noon with last name is beginning with EL through Z. So again, this is a free rabies clinic. It's  
Speaker 4     00:31:49    Free and it's awesome. And it's drive through exactly. So you get through fast.  
Speaker 6     00:31:53    So for those who have not gone there, you just, you stay in your car. It's, it's a drive through. Make sure that your pets are, are leashed and they'll come, they'll come right to your car, give 'em the shot and away you go. If you have a cat, have them LEED or in in a, in a, a crate I believe. And they'll bring 'em in. Be in the crate. Yeah, they have to be in the crate and then they'll bring 'em right in and then they'll have their vaccinations and then that's it. So it's just, it's again free. So hope to see you there. Thank you. Council president,  
Speaker 2     00:32:25    Before I make my remarks, I wanna hand out some things to the people.  
Speaker 0     00:32:41    So for the first time, Piscataway is  
Speaker 1     00:32:45    What Susan, can we, can we just leave those Autism  
Speaker 0     00:32:48    Fair? I'm gonna give you to the first row and you guys can  
Speaker 1     00:32:51    Pass them around. Councilwoman,  
Speaker 2     00:32:53    Thank you so much.  
Speaker 1     00:32:55    Can we leave Lombardi? Okay, cut. Thank you.  
Speaker 0     00:33:00    But I do have a remark. So  
Speaker 1     00:33:03    Do thank you  
Speaker 0     00:33:03    So much.  
Speaker 2     00:33:10    I would like to let our residents and this council know that our first autism celebration and resource fair will be held on March 22nd at our community center at the YI look forward to the same level of engaged support that each of my fellow council member initiatives have received. And my final point is to let you all know that our outreach for gifts and donations to our local DC CCP and P was highly successful. The toy drive at the Y was so successful that we needed to make several pickups of donations this year. The gifts went to Perham Boy and I'm currently in discussion with our Piscataway DCP and P office to direct gifts towards them next year. So our town is very generous town and I know our Y is very busy. So thank you to those that participated and I look forward to seeing so many of you on March 22nd. Feel free to reach out with any questions.  
Speaker 1     00:34:09    Thank you Sarah. Rasheed.  
Speaker 8     00:34:13    Good evening everyone. I came dressed today in my traditional garb in honor of Muslim heritage month. I know. Thank you to the mayor for the proclamation. A little early notice would've been nice to have some community members here. This is something that's very important to us. It's a time when we are honoring the diverse cultures and all the positive impact that we bring to the community and we would love to be part of it. I also wanted to reflect and honor MLK that we celebrated yesterday. And I just wanted to read a coat. Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that. And I hope it's not only a one day that we reflect on his words, but we live through it the whole year round. Thank you.  
Speaker 1     00:35:09    Thank you. Frank Uhrin?  
Speaker 5     00:35:13    Yes. I just want to say Gabrielle cao, that was very well said. What you said. I really appreciate it. Also, I wanna wish our cheerleaders luck again. They're going to globals in February. Hope they bring home a trophy.  
Speaker 1     00:35:30    Mayor Brian Wahler,  
Speaker 3     00:35:32    Very briefly, I just wanna update the council assault. We're not the only town, almost every town in the state of New Jersey and the county governments are outta salt. So hits we have just a little bit left will not mean it's not for lack of trying to get in. We haven't received a assault shipment in three weeks.  
Speaker 1     00:35:58    Well, are we gonna get assault shipment?  
Speaker 3     00:35:59    Well see. For those folks to know it comes down from upstate New York via the Hudson and then goes to the port. And we can't send our trucks up to the port 'cause we don't have security clearance and it's only private contractors that can go in on the port to get the salt. But we're trying to work on it. We're trying to go to another distributor. But the problem is those distri distributors use the same truckers to, to get to bring the salt. So we're hoping by, by Saturday we'll have some salt deliveries. Anybody could see through our salt. She, I mean this is the first time and you could see the back concrete walls,  
Speaker 1     00:36:38    You know, that's, how are we on the brine?  
Speaker 3     00:36:41    That's another thing. The the brine we're okay. We'll be b brining heavily this weekend. The liquid calcium chloride we're also running short on, that's another short product that e every, every town's going through right now. And  
Speaker 4     00:36:55    So Mr. Mayor, does it county have  
Speaker 3     00:36:58    No, they're out. They're totally out. Oh wow. So it, it's, it's the pecking order. The way Sal Getss delivered the state comes first state, DOT comes first, then the counties, and then the municipalities. That's the pecking order for salt. Thank you. So we're hoping,  
Speaker 1     00:37:15    Can't we just order it on Amazon?  
Speaker 3     00:37:21    2000 tons worth.  
Speaker 4     00:37:24    Mr. Mayor, are we planning what, what is the plan to let Rick,  
Speaker 3     00:37:28    We have enough to do key intersections but we're gonna spratly, that's why we're gonna brine really heavy Friday and Saturday.  
Speaker 1     00:37:36    And for those of you who don't know, the brine is beet root juice. Correct?  
Speaker 3     00:37:39    It's environmentally friendly.  
Speaker 9     00:37:41    Yes, it works too.  
Speaker 1     00:37:42    Beet root juice. Let's  
Speaker 3     00:37:44    Just, let's just keep our fingers crossed. We get some deliveries between now and Saturday.  
Speaker 1     00:37:48    Thank you. Thank you Mayor. Business Administrator Paula Elli.  
Speaker 9     00:37:52    Thank you Council President Lombardi, I just would like to tee off what the mayor was saying and one thing, and I don't want to be a doom and gloom or an ad, but I'm going to, the temperatures are supposed to be very cold. So road salt is not effective below 18 degrees. So that is another challenge. So we are going to work our snowplow operations diligently to ensure that our roadways are safe for passage. You know, during the event of the storm, we're gonna ask people, please keep your cars. It is, it is a township law. Cars should not be parked on snow covered roads. It's a danger to our staff. It also is a problem with your property. You know, plows are not immune to the slippery conditions either. So please keep your cars off the roadways for their safety and we will be diligent about those operations.  
Speaker 9     00:38:49    I did speak to DPW and as the mayor said, we are working diligently with other towns to see, I know they called the county today asking for salt. So we are diligently looking for resources, but as I said, temperatures are supposed to be very, very cold and salt at that point is ineffective. So we're gonna really beef up our snowplow operations there. I also had mentioned, and I've been mentioning throughout grants to clean up the ecological park. So although we got good word, oh we're gonna put you through, I finally got the letter for the remaining part of the grant for the $2.9 million. Now for this year, the reason why they parse it off in trenches is because the EDA cannot give more than $3 million in one year. So we received 289,000 for last year and we're going to get the 2.9 for this year.  
Speaker 1     00:39:45    Yes.  
Speaker 9     00:39:45    So that's good news. I did submit for reimbursement for the 2 89 so I'm waiting to hear about that and then we'll move forward with this. I also just wanna let you know that we're getting ready counsel to start making appointments with you to discuss the 2026 budget. We've been working diligent, we had a staff meeting. So all of our capital and I had mentioned this before, I want to thank the mayor and the council for being so financially conservative with how we budget here because most of our capital is being paid for by monies that we have saved. So that's great. So we're gonna start rolling out our capital budget items very soon and please be safe. Thank you.  
Speaker 1     00:40:30    Thank you for that $2.9 million grant. Thank you. Our attorney Raj Kumar,  
Speaker 10    00:40:37    No comments. Thank you.  
Speaker 1     00:40:39    Okay, that leaves it to me. Not much to say but I do wanna thank the Civil Rights Advisory Commission for the amazing MLK breakfast the other morning. It's very, very inspirational. I wanna continue to thank our DPW for all of the hard work that they have been doing. And I would also like to thank all of our volunteer fire departments. This is the month that they all install all of their new line officers and I would like to thank all of them and congratulate any of the new officers from our volunteer fire departments. Thank you. We'll now move to number 17, which is the agenda session for the February 10th, 2026 reorganization. It's not a reorganization. It's not a reorganization. I'm not sure why it says that  
Speaker 2     00:41:35    A copy.  
Speaker 1     00:41:38    Okay, I I was like questioning. Right. We have an ordinance second reading amending chapter seven traffic section 14. Parking prohibited at all times on certain streets. It will be open to the public. It's a resolution adopting ordinance. Any questions from council members? Nope. An ordinance Second reading, vacating all the right title and interest of the township public Piscataway in the entirety of road place. It will be open to the public and it's a resolution adopting ordinance that will be on the next meeting. Any questions or concerns from council members? Ordinance Second reading, adding chapter four, licensing and business regulations section 16 hotels and motels. It will be a resolution adopting ordinance that will be on for second reading at next, the next meeting of February 10th. A resolution authorizing the change order number 1 20 25 26 sidewalk repair program to include curbs, driveways, and handicap ramps me cola excavating not to exceed $43,760 in a resolution authorizing purchases from various New Jersey State contract and approved cooperative vendors. Do we have any questions or concerns? And now we will open to the public for our remote attendees for any item on this agenda for our remote attendees only.  
Speaker 2     00:43:11    Council president, I'm asking the first individual with their hand raised to unmute themself. Go ahead.  
Speaker 11    00:43:21    Hello, Brian Wrack Toll 47 Brookside Road. I'm wondering how long has it been planned that this hotel agenda is gonna be voted on at this meeting?  
Speaker 1     00:43:38    Only the first reading was voted on. Is that your only question?  
Speaker 11    00:43:41    No, I had a couple more, but so  
Speaker 1     00:43:43    Please ask all of your questions.  
Speaker 11    00:43:45    Okay. The Open Public Meetings Act, as you read at the beginning requires advance notice where, let's see, to the extent known the agenda, the town has been putting out videos about this ordinance being voted on for several weeks now. But the agenda only started showing it about 4:00 PM today. So to me that seems pretty clearly that you knew it was gonna be voted on today, but didn't bother to put it on the agenda. I'd also like to say that, well I don't have a year's worth of CAD records. I have three months now and four, Carlton Club Drive has 40 more calls per in that three month period than the hotels. So if the call volume is really an issue, it seems like that should be a concern too. The number two by call volume is actually where you're sitting right now. 5 5 5 Sydney Road. And I'm kind of disappointed that the police, sorry not captain or the public safety director left. 'cause I would've liked to ask him about the police officer that was arrested last year for following young girls around a store in South Plainfield who I don't think we've ever heard if he's still on duty or anything else. Or maybe the six lawsuits against the police department totaling over $1 million in settlements by, for misconduct by the previous police chief. That was all I had. Thanks.  
Speaker 1     00:45:05    Thank you.  
Speaker 3     00:45:07    Oh, don't bother asking. He's part of the defund the police crowd.  
Speaker 10    00:45:11    I I  
Speaker 3     00:45:12    And plus he has a pending lawsuit against the town.  
Speaker 10    00:45:15    Yeah, I I was gonna say counsel don't make any comments 'cause he does pending lawsuit against the town. I can make comments to the public at least to correct some of the facts statements. The reason I wasn't why is my, this one Yeah, that's, hello. I'm just lucky with  
Speaker 1     00:45:38    Hello.  
Speaker 10    00:45:39    Hello. Anyway, so one, the ordinance was still being worked on till late this afternoon. So that was why we weren't sure it was gonna be on a, a feedback from the council, other attorneys, et cetera. So to the reason why this law states to the states, to the extent known is exactly for that reason, as for the police officer that that was, that had that incident, he was immediately suspended and terminated within probably a few days. So that, you know, unfortunately that occurred. But we have a great, great police department and that is not an example of our police department.  
Speaker 1     00:46:27    Thank you much. Do you have anyone else?  
Speaker 2     00:46:35    Council, president? We don't have any additional members of the public with their hand raised. Mr. Rec did raise Oh, his hand again. He already spoke. I'm sorry. I do, have I scrolled down? There's two more. So hold on one moment. I'm asking the next one to unmute.  
Speaker 1     00:46:58    Go ahead. Hello.  
Speaker 12    00:47:06    Hi, this is Jessica Cville, 1247 Brookside Road. Can you hear me?  
Speaker 1     00:47:11    Yes, we can.  
Speaker 12    00:47:14    Excellent. I just, I had a couple of questions. I am going to assume that the, the form of the ordinance has been changed. You all mentioned you were working on it a lot and I'm very hopeful that that means that it is, it is no longer unconstitutional. Right. You, you guys took out the part where the police can turn up and must be presented the hotel register without a warrant, right?  
Speaker 1     00:47:47    Is that your only question?  
Speaker 12    00:47:53    Well, I, I had some comments, but I was going to  
Speaker 1     00:47:57    Your  
Speaker 12    00:47:57    Question depend on the answer.  
Speaker 1     00:47:58    Please list your questions and then we'll have the attorney answer.  
Speaker 12    00:48:04    Okay. So, well I just wanted to say that I, I think that the township has been making a lot of videos and even taking some other members of the public's comments out of context and including them in the video, which I think is really not a classy move. And I think that I, there's probably a a, a good way to solve this and the way that some of the members of the council seem to be behaving and the, the information that's being publicized is not, not putting your best foot forward. And I just wanna say I, I look forward to reading it because it'd be wonderful if it was published so that members of the public could read the ordinance in the intervening time, you know, when it comes up here and we can talk about it and then you could go back and work on it. But I see that that's not possible and I would love an answer to my question. My comments are,  
Speaker 1     00:49:10    Thank you. Just so you know that, that will be available tomorrow to read. That will be open free to the public.  
Speaker 10    00:49:20    And in regard to the constitution of the ordinance, I will tell you that at least four attorneys have thoroughly looked at this ordinance, including attorneys that are actually currently in litigation and another municipality on a more restrictive ordinance. So I am comfortable with how the, the ordinance is as written.  
Speaker 1     00:49:39    Thank you Council  
Speaker 2     00:49:40    President. I'm asking the next individual with their hand raised to unmute themself.  
Speaker 1     00:49:47    Welcome to the council meeting.  
Speaker 13    00:49:52    Yeah. Hello, can you hear me?  
Speaker 1     00:49:54    Yes, we can.  
Speaker 13    00:49:56    Okay. I have a couple concerns about this. Is this the time for questions or the three minute speech?  
Speaker 1     00:50:04    Three minutes to ask your questions.  
Speaker 13    00:50:07    When can I give my  
Speaker 1     00:50:08    Speech? Please ask all, give your speech. You have three minutes.  
Speaker 13    00:50:12    Well my first question is there not can  
Speaker 1     00:50:14    I have your name  
Speaker 13    00:50:15    Was there, was there not a moment for a public comment before the vote for the hotels and motels as you did for all the or all the other ordinances is my first question because  
Speaker 1     00:50:25    The first reading, that's a a first reading. We have pub, we open it to the public on second readings. You please ask all your questions. Please  
Speaker 6     00:50:35    State your name, a address.  
Speaker 13    00:50:37    My name is Rena. My second concern is that you,  
Speaker 6     00:50:40    I'm sorry, St. First and last name and your address please.  
Speaker 13    00:50:44    Rena Patel. And I'm from Middlesex County. My second concern is that you've been putting out there that it's social services that are sending people that have criminal backgrounds and causing all these issues for you and you've been labeling them as bad apples. How do we know that it's social services that's sending these individuals?  
Speaker 1     00:51:07    Is that your final question  
Speaker 13    00:51:10    For now? I have a lot more to say.  
Speaker 1     00:51:14    Please re please say all that you wanna say. Well, I have one minute left.  
Speaker 13    00:51:20    More than three minutes. Well  
Speaker 1     00:51:22    I'm one minute  
Speaker 13    00:51:23    Until the end. I'm gonna wait till the end when I get three minutes to speak about it.  
Speaker 1     00:51:27    This is your three minutes. You have one minute left.  
Speaker 13    00:51:31    Well first of all, I'm offended by the language that you all have been using. I have handouts to give. Unfortunately I'm five minutes away so I don't know if I'll make it to the end. But saying that everyone's criminals and drug addicts that's offensive. The language that you've been sending and putting out there to the public is offensive. You should be using person first language as people that are sitting on the council. Thank you to the two women who have been pursuing that and advocating for that. Second of all, you're blaming everybody and considering everyone as that they're bad apples when they're not. There's several people that are reintegrating into society. And I know this 'cause I work for New Jersey Reentry Corp that are here, that are actually trying to get back on their feet. And you by saying that in 31 days they have to be kicked out 'cause they're bad apples is wrong.  
Speaker 13    00:52:14    It's absolutely wrong because there are people that are now making over a hundred KA year as a project construction manager and someone that's hosting AA meetings as a woman who ha who was formerly incarcerated. So there are people that are doing good who are who, who have, or who are reintegrating back into society. So I don't know why you're, you're saying that everybody's social services is sending, are all these bad apples because it's absolutely not true. And the sick person's offenses that you have listed, those are people who have overdose. Those individuals need substance use treatment. They don't need to be sent back to jail. And there were multiple of those offenses. There's a difference between there being a drug charge and a sick person's charge. That's an issue that you're having and you need to help those people go get treatment services, not be sent back to prison.  
Speaker 13    00:53:02    And they're obvi hotels and motels are obviously not meant to be permanent housing, as you're describing in your video, social services are trying to help assist these individuals. Fine, fine permanent housing. And now you're just contributing to the already the big mental health substance use and homeless crisis that we're having. And I can confidently say this 'cause I'm working in that and you're just making it worse by passing these ordinances, ordinances. Like these are the reasons why these issues get worse. So yes, the people who are committing the crimes or who are engaging those behaviors, yes, okay, send them to send them to prison. But those who are left out there who are dealing with substance use or who are people who are coming back from prison trying to reintegrate into society, don't deserve to be thrown back out on the streets and struggling for their lives.  
Speaker 1     00:53:51    Thank you Rena. Thank you for your comments. And it is not a blanket ordinance for all people. We are only targeting those people that are bad people. Okay? It's not a blanket, it doesn't pertain to everyone. Thank you for your comments.  
Speaker 2     00:54:14    Council president. I'm asking the next individual with their hand raised to unmute themself.  
Speaker 1     00:54:18    Welcome to the meeting.  
Speaker 14    00:54:22    Hello, my name is Allie Brockman. I live at 2 41 Vassar Drive in Piscataway. I just would like to say that I am disappointed in the council's lack of transparency about these ordinances. There has been a lot of taxpayer money spent on these fear mongering propaganda, tough on crime videos without ever actually saying how this ordinance would address the issues you say are such a problem. I am tired of this tough on crime shtick because it's been, we've been hearing it from politicians since before I was even born. And it does not work to prevent crime. But my bigger concern really is how not transparent the council has been about this ordinance specifically. Because if it is not going to actually address the crime you say is such a problem, I wonder what the actual motives are for putting this ordinance in place because that is the part that's not clear. And I just wish that you would be more forthcoming with your residents. Thank you.  
Speaker 1     00:55:48    I believe we've been very transparent. Thank you for your comments.  
Speaker 4     00:55:54    Council president, I'd also like to know, I some of the residents who called in haven't seen the updated one. And I believe there was a section that one of the callers just before this caller mentioned there's no targeting of of, of, of people in this ordinance in this current version.  
Speaker 1     00:56:12    Thank you  
Speaker 2     00:56:13    Council president. I'm asking the next individual with our hand raised to unmute themself.  
Speaker 1     00:56:20    Welcome. Welcome. Hello?  
Speaker 15    00:56:27    Yeah. Hi. Craig. Mack, three Lake Park Drive. How do we identify the bad people?  
Speaker 1     00:56:38    Is that your only question?  
Speaker 15    00:56:41    Well, it's one of my questions. Yeah. Well we just mentioned that this ordinance is only for the bad people. Which, which people are those? Exactly. I know in the videos that the township promoted, we talked about sick people and the number of calls we have for sick people, which the mayor indicated in one of those videos, that's code for overdose. But it's not code for overdose, it's code for sick people. How do I know that? I've been responding to Motel six for 30 years as an EMT. I know that I've been there personally for diabetic people. People choking people with mental illness episodes, overdoses, yes. Part of it. But you know, you're kinda lumping everything together. So how exactly do I identify the bad people? Is it people that are overdosing? Are they bad? Is it people that have a diabetic foot ulcer that have been living in Motel six? Because that's where they're put by Middlesex County Social Services. Are they bad? I I I'm unclear about where we draw the bad people in. If maybe council person Lombardi could enlighten us. I, I would appreciate anything you could do to clear that up for me. Thanks.  
Speaker 1     00:58:03    You're very welcome.  
Speaker 2     00:58:10    Council president. There are no other individuals with their hand raised regarding this agenda item.  
Speaker 1     00:58:15    We're now closing the remote portion of the meeting. Now we will open it to the public for the people that are here this evening for each public comment portion for the person that are the persons that are the in-person attendees. If you wish to speak at this time, please come to the podium, state your name, address, and know that you have three minutes in which to make your comments. You may take a seat after the completion of your comments or questions and the council and administration will then respond if necessary. So anyone wishing to speak now is the time.  
Speaker 0     00:58:58    You can go first. Thats fine.  
Speaker 16    00:58:59    You are here longer. No, I  
Speaker 0     00:59:00    Don't mind. It's fine. You go first. Okay.  
Speaker 1     00:59:03    Wow.  
Speaker 16    00:59:04    She, she offered me to go first, so I will. Thank you so much. Hi, my name is Nancy Salgado. Cowan. Do you need me to spell that? Yes or no? SAL  
Speaker 1     00:59:13    We don't. Okay. Name and address. That's all we need. And please be advised you have three minutes.  
Speaker 16    00:59:18    1, 2, 4 Stanton Avenue, Piscataway, New Jersey. First I'm speaking as the school board president. I wanted to thank Mayor Wahler for the event on Saturday. Making sure that he acknowledged the school board persons that were there. I think that was definitely my first time that I was acknowledged by the mayor at a public event. So thank you very much Mayor Wahler. And I also wanted Mayor Wahler to know as well as all of the council to know that as the president of the school board, we do wanna work on the relationship here with our, you know, town council, with our new superintendent as well. So what we have done is with our new year in 2026, we have selected one member of our board to sit here every meeting that the council has, just to report back to the school board on whatever happenings is happening in the town.  
Speaker 16    01:00:26    So that this way we can be well informed on any events, any situations that might be going on here in the town that might be affecting the school board. And that person is going to be Mr. Amp Patel. He's here gonna be as our representative, officially as our school board representative. We also, I also selected a person that will be attending your meetings for both zoning and planning. And that person will be Ms. Loretta Rivers. So, just so you know, we are really willing and able to work on our relationships as school boards since we are all here as elected officials. I do appreciate that. I do appreciate when we are acknowledge, 'cause we always do acknowledge the town council, the mayor, and all of you guys when you attend our events. Thank you so much.  
Speaker 1     01:01:17    Thank you Ms. Salgado.  
Speaker 3     01:01:18    Council president, if I may I miss the, the president of the board's here. Can you ask the superintendent if he could work with us? And you guys are not gonna let us have three election districts at Fellowship Farms, so we need to get that resolved. I don't, people know that, that we're not, they're not gonna be able to vote over a fellowship farm school. So that needs to get resolved.  
Speaker 16    01:01:38    Yes, we're working on that.  
Speaker 1     01:01:41    Thank you. Go ahead, please state your name and address. Sure.  
Speaker 17    01:01:48    My name is Dana Gabriel. My business address is 1351 Centennial Ave. I am one of the owners of Gabriel's Bar and Grill for the past nine years, but I have been working on the property for about 29 years. I first like to say thank you to everybody here listening and giving us the opportunity to hear our voices on this matter. I'm gonna start with some dates and some situations just so people know exactly what's going on. May 6th, 2023, a car that was visiting the motel. Two individuals were in the car. They were not staying at the motel, they were just running into a room. They came back into the car. 10 minutes later they crashed into a pole and hit my employee's car.  
Speaker 17    01:02:39    We went to the hotel, asked for the cameras or any, any information. They were unable to help us. Well, they, they would not help us or the police, they wouldn't give any video. A week later, the same car came back, make and model. We seen the dent in the front of it. Two people in the car running into another room. I said, I'm gonna call the police. I called the police. It turns out the lady had a warrant for her arrest. Unfortunately, she had no car insurance, so my employee had to pay all of the expenses for her vehicle to be fixed.  
Speaker 17    01:03:12    July 25th, 2024, my employee called me from the employee where our employees park and said, Hey, I'm gonna be a little late. I'm scared to get outta the car. There's a shirtless young gentleman beating up on a car in the Burger King parking lot. It turns out the young gentleman was having a mental breakdown. He was someone staying at the hotel. That affected me because my employee was scared to get out of the car. December 6th, it was a Saturday night, about seven o'clock. I had about five to six tables eating on the dining room floor. I had been in the back room decorating for a brunch for my a, a Christmas brunch for my daughter. My manager on the floor was a, a young lady that just started managing A young woman in her thirties ran into the restaurant running for, for shelter. She was held captive in one of the hotel rooms from her boyfriend that just got out of county jail that was being put up at the hotel. Her face was beaten in and we called 9 1 1. We gave her ice. We gave her water. We put her at a table so she wasn't gonna be embarrassed. But this was Saturday night at 7:00 PM So that video that Mr. Kas was saying, that actually is a real story. I would never put that video on Facebook 'cause that's illegal. I would never wanna embarrass the lady. But that really happens.  
Speaker 17    01:04:35    December 12th Friday my manager called me and said, A gentleman is walking through the restaurant looking for a man that just, he just witnessed allegedly raping another woman. He told us that he was looking for a guy in a white sweatshirt. He witnessed a raping at the hotel. This was at like 1130 in the afternoon. Sorry, so nervous. December 16th. Tuesday, 7 0 7 0 5. A text went out to Piscataway residence and my family and my employee's parents started texting them. The, the text that went out said, please avoid area Lowe's, Gabriel's Barn Grill, burger King and Dunking Donuts police activity. My employee's parents were saying, are you safe at work right now? I had a Christmas party going on in the back room. You could see the, the lights from the police. I wasn't sure if we were getting shut down. It turns out that there was a hostage situation. I don't know the exact details. I wasn't, I would never ask all those details. I just called to find out if we were safe in the building. This is how this is affecting my business.  
Speaker 17    01:05:45    In 2021, there was an ownership change of the motel. It was no longer motel six it is now Piscataway Enterprise LLC. In 2022 when we started to notice a change in the business model, we reached out to our lawyer, Mr. Schmitt's office and he set up a meeting between the hotel Gabriel's Barn Grill, which we are also the property owners of, of the lands where Motel six is and there was a no-show from the new owner. So we were just told from who was the acting chief at the time, I don't, I don't wanna mess her name up Michelle Channels, that they would send over some more police cars and you know, the meeting was just to see what can we do to work together to make it a safer property. Nothing ever came  
Speaker 1     01:06:29    Out of it. Can you, can you wrap it up 'cause Okay. Sorry. You've exceeded the three minutes at this point.  
Speaker 17    01:06:35    December 9th, 2024 we, it was a nuisance to the property. It's a public safety issue for our business, for our employees, for our valued customers and and for the police. 'cause the police always ask us, why is this going on here? How come no one's doing anything? It's not safe there. It would be crazy to think that you can put people unfortunately that are down on their luck with criminals that are now being dropped off from other counties and you have children there. It's just not safe.  
Speaker 1     01:07:05    Thank you so much.  
Speaker 17    01:07:07    I also have the CAD reports if anybody needs copies of them. Okay. Sorry. Thank you.  
Speaker 0     01:07:12    No worries.  
Speaker 16    01:07:18    Hi, good evening everyone. I'm from Berg. My name is Tina Rohe. I'm from Burger King 10 14 Stelton Road. Thank you. And I'm running the Burger King restaurant manager like 25 years in the same place. And from the Mortal six, the customer, like one of my employees, he parked the her car in the back of the Burger King parking lot and suddenly the one boy came out from the Mortal six and he with the rock, he just destroy hold the car, see has total car. But he was so scared if he's inside the car, what's gonna be happen and it's no safety for us. One time the guy came that was drunk, we called the police and the officer, the guy fight with the officer and he break his ankle officer break his ankle. So it is not safe for the police officer either. And they have like lot of bed bugs in their motel and the people sitting down all day in the restaurant, we have to sanitize all day.  
Speaker 16    01:08:20    I need one person all the time to sanitize the restaurant. And people are now cus customer is like scared they don't wanna come with their kids because all the time this kind of people sitting in the dining room and they're going in the bathroom, they throw the ceilings in the toilet and we have to repair the toilet is like $550 every time. It's like almost every month it's happening And the guy just broke the, my door glass. We have to fix that $2,500 right away my window, they broke. So basically from the Mortal six is a big nuisance for our business and we are day by day we losing our business because this news is coming on the TV and everywhere so people don't save to come in the Burger King and eat. So I think they have to take any step for the Mortal six because they are getting money from the government $900 and that's why the Mortal six is getting money and they're just staying all the time over there and they are having lot of problem in our restaurant. Thank you. Thank you for your  
Speaker 18    01:09:28    Comments. Thank you  
Speaker 18    01:09:37    Colleen at Newburg 48 Wagner Avenue. Good evening Mayor Wahler and township council members. Good evening. My family and I have resided in Piscataway for 45 years. It's been a safe family friendly community to live in and that's why we purchased our home back in 1981. However, I recently learned of these horrible criminal activities occurring in our town committed by individuals staying in the motel. Six individuals that have been previously incarcerated now released and accepted into our town. Numerous crimes such as aggravated assault, drug dealing, rape, shoplifting, and handgun issues have been reported in the vicinity of Motel six. And there has also been the report of a recent hostage situation and a man that was splashing gasoline around the premises of Dunking Donuts. And not to mention the meth lab that was found at the extended stay constant emergency and 9 1 1 calls for police assistance at Motel Six places a strain on our police department, our first responders and can cause delays in responding time to other emergencies in our town.  
Speaker 18    01:10:53    Should there be my family Patronizes. Many of the stores including Gabrielle's, dunking Donuts, burger King, we spend a lot of money in Piscataway, Lowe's, Walmart, and this all happens in the vicinity of Motel six now. We even need to be more alert and aware of our surroundings when we shop and when we dine. The safety of our community, which we ideally hold close to us, has been compromised and it doesn't have to be this way. The situation places our neighbors, police officers, first responders, and our businesses in the area at serious risk. I request that the township council maybe consider passing an amendment that prohibits the acceptance in housing of these incarcerated individuals and people causing problems in Piscataway. Thank you very much.  
Speaker 1     01:11:48    Thank you. Very well said. Anyone else?  
Speaker 19    01:12:07    Michelle Calon. Business address is 1351. Continue Ave. So I've been working at Gabriel's for about a year and a half. I started off as a host and I worked my way up to manager. I'm currently in my second year of college, a part of my school's nursing program. While working one night we had a woman run into a restaurant for rescue. She was running away from her ex-partner who recently got outta jail as she was viewing held hostage that night. I was glad my owner Dana was there to help the situation as she attended the woman and I called 9 1 1 trying my best to give a description and a glimpse as to what was happening. I was also very glad that our security that day arrived right on time to work as he stopped a man from entering our busy restaurant. There are multiple occasions as there are multiple occasions where we are walking into work and we have to hear Toms from people at the motel or after a long day of work we're getting into our cars and we turn to the side and see a man staring out the motel window.  
Speaker 19    01:13:01    It is nothing new when we hear see sirens heading towards the motel after such frequency or mind shift into thinking what happened now rather than a shock and a worrisome feeling. On another occasion I was, as I was heading home after work, I saw a man standing in the middle, in the middle of the street. It was late at night and the guy seemed to not be aware of his behavior. Another time I was heading into work as I passed the Burger King parking lot, I saw someone on the phone and they were standing outside their car. The car, the car sadly was completely ruined as all the windows were completely shattered, they were smashed with the rock from someone from the motel. I always thought to myself, is it safe here? But it wasn't until that day that I began to think to myself, is my car even safe here?  
Speaker 19    01:13:46    On multiple occasions I had family members ask me if it's safe and sadly I can. I never answer that question with full confidence. My mother always tells me to never walk out alone no matter what. And that's something I'm always gonna make sure I abide by. As closing weekend manager, I always make sure as I turn my back to chain up our gate. I'm still aware of my surroundings as part of Gabriel's staff. We all come here to work and make a living and not to be scared for our safety or be scared that things we work very hard for are going to get ruined. Thank you.  
Speaker 1     01:14:17    Thank you.  
Speaker 20    01:14:27    Hi, my name is Nicole Bara and I am referring to the business address 1351 Centennial. I have Gabriel's, okay, I do work there from time to time to help out. I'm a family member of the owners and I did work there in the past. So I'm speaking from personal experience when I say it's, it's scary and it's unfortunate what we experience when we're leaving late at night. But I think what comes to my mind now more so especially now that I'm a mother, is I can remember back in summer days seeing unsupervised toddlers in the middle of the Motel six parking lot that created swimming pools out of little plastic buckets and they were really enjoying themselves. And I think now about how those kids are still there and all of the other criminal activity going on at the same time. And that's the part that really scares me is I think there's a lack of accountability for whose job it is to supervise the motel.  
Speaker 20    01:15:33    I think the lack of accountability comes from the business owner and I appreciate the fact that the council members are going to look into an ordinance or a fine, something to potentially hold somebody accountable to bring safety for the members. In addition, I am now a local real estate expert here. My husband grew up in Piscataway and I have to say that interested buyers who are typically looking to flock to Piscataway, they're seeing this, they're informed buyers, they're going on the internet, they're looking up the crime rates and seeing what is currently happening. And I promise you this is at the top of the list and it used to not be that way. So I just wanted to inform everybody that that is certainly something that we should be thinking about as well for the town. Thank you.  
Speaker 1     01:16:28    Thank you very much.  
Speaker 21    01:16:38    Okay. Hi, I'm Lisa. My business address is 1351 Santana Ave. Gabriel's. I have been working at Gabriel's for close to 17 years and in those 17 years I have many stories, but however I wanna get three minutes tonight. I started off as a waitress but have gradually woke, worked up to assistant gm. I should not feel scared, anxious, or uneasy just by walking into my place of work. However, that has not been the case, especially in the last four to five years because of the things that I have seen and witnessed all at the hand of the interview individuals that reside at the Motel six. I now have an uneasy feeling every time I begin a shift. In one case, on Sunday, January 5th, 2025, I had a holiday event in which the customers were unloading gifts and decorations from their vehicle, which was parked by the low side of, of the Motel six.  
Speaker 21    01:17:34    And they were unloading into our event room when the primary guest informs me that the vehicle was robbed in the process. All of the envelopes, all her laptop, her phone, her pocketbook were all taken out of her vehicle. In the process of her unloading into Gabriel's, the police were called. And it turns out the individual was residing at the Motel six and was watching her as she was unloading her vehicle. And unfortunately that event did not book again this year. Friday, December 12th, 2025. I was preparing for a large corporate event when I had just unlocked the front doors at 11:30 AM an individual burst through the front door looking for a man wearing a white sweatshirt and jean jacket, claiming the man he just witnessed the man rape a woman in Motel six. Fortunately the perpetrator did not travel into our establishment. However, now my mind is at ease throughout the rest of the day thinking that this perpetrator could enter at any time.  
Speaker 21    01:18:30    In another event, on Thursday, May 16th, 2024, I was working a lunch shift when an individual, I noticed an individual running up to our side patio doors when two other males knock him to the ground and start kicking him right in front of our doors. The individual then gets up and runs into our establishment when the other two men chase him in and then proceed to have a verbal confrontation right there in front of our customers. Later, later, when I checked back the security videos, you could clearly see all three individuals coming from Motel six running through our parking onto our patio. My family and friends are constantly concerned for my wellbeing. Knowing how bad Motel six has gotten over the years. My boyfriend, a retired, this getaway police officer does not like me when I close the restaurant. Knowing some of the things that have, that have he has personally seen and witnessed over the years. But it clearly does not matter what time of day it is. I hear and see the police responding there all hours of the day. This daily uneasy feeling is not necessary. Nor should any individual have to feel that by just going to their place of work on a daily basis, something needs to be done about the criminal residents that are residing at Motel six and are affecting all the local surrounding businesses. Thank you.  
Speaker 1     01:19:45    Thank you.  
Speaker 0     01:19:53    Good evening.  
Speaker 22    01:19:56    This thing on?  
Speaker 1     01:19:57    Yeah. Name and address please.  
Speaker 22    01:19:59    Jose Medina. 3 21 Bryan Avenue, retired police officer supervisor here in Piscataway. I am not the boyfriend  
Speaker 1     01:20:06    For that clarification. Okay.  
Speaker 22    01:20:09    But I just wanna say first thank you all for putting, trying to put this ordinance in place. Okay. Very important for me. Retiring in this department and then still living in the town, not moving to Florida. I still live here. I still love the town, the, the restaurant, the Burger Kings, the Dunking Donuts, I still go there. I was the supervisor at the extended to stay explosive explosion. I was the commander in that thing. I could tell you I worked in narcotics undercover for about six years with the county, our department, with the feds. And I could tell you honestly, this thing has been going on way too long. So I thank you all for trying to push something forward. It's about the criminal element and it's, it's been there a while. I travel, I train police around the country. I ask the same question since this whole thing started to other departments in different parts of the country, they're dealing with some of the same things.  
Speaker 22    01:21:08    Their, the differences. Our department, before I left in 2020, they disbanded device, narcotics unit. I was part of it and it was very proactive. It really kind of helped reinforce a lot of things. However, you're not gonna stop it, but I, I feel for the owners here, I feel for the, the residents here. 'cause I love going to Gabrielle's for dinner after traveling and coming home with my wife and going there to eat. I don't fear the elements because you know, I know my terrain, right? But I feel sorry for those who have fear. So again, I thank you all for really trying to put this in play. I can tell you some people told stories. I could tell you from the mo extended ex stay explosion, I was at Motel six a few years back when a former blood member was just released outta prison in there about two o'clock in the morning, tried killing his girlfriend and newborn baby held the baby by, its by its neck, blood, everywhere. Very violent scene. And, and I was one of many, many, many, many calls we went on. So again, I I've been there. So again, I thank you all for pushing that through and I hope that it goes through on his second reading because we as Piscataway residents, we deserve it. So thank you. Thank  
Speaker 1     01:22:26    You, thank you for coming out.  
Speaker 23    01:22:33    Hi y'all. My name is Jenna and I'm 1351 Centennial. I'm an employee of Gabriel's. I was lucky enough to be an employee of Gabriel's for almost 10 years now. I have a full-time job so I can't work there, but I just wanna speak on what a personal experience that I had. I believe it was a late night shift. Every single time that we walk out to our cars, it's in the back parking lot near the motel. Anthony or Danner, any one of the management will make sure that we get into our car safely. This one day, unfortunately I got to my car, Anthony made sure, sure I was in my car safely and then I didn't lock my doors immediately, which is not something that I should have to be worried about immediately getting into my car after work, looking at my immediate surroundings. But knowing there, I usually lock my car.  
Speaker 23    01:23:16    That day I was on my phone, I was doing something maybe on a phone call and I didn't, next thing you know, I look out my back rear door and there are two men opening my door, attempting to get into my car. I immediately backed up, screamed, was able to get them out of my car. But obviously I left there completely traumatized. And I had worked there for maybe five years before that. And I've seen a lot of things and I've been scared to walk in and I've been scared who's gonna walk in the door, but I've never had a personal experience like that. So that should just speak to the importance of speaking on this and making it come to light. Thank you.  
Speaker 1     01:23:49    Thank you. Anyone else?  
Speaker 24    01:24:03    I actually have, excuse me, I actually have a couple of audio visual aids. I if I can just hand  
Speaker 0     01:24:10    Pass them around.  
Speaker 24    01:24:16    So, Eric Metis, I'm a resident, six Buckman business owner, four SE 4 7 4 South Washington Avenue. I own the seasonal ice cream store, Petrucci for the last 15 years. And my fam our family has been a long-term resident Piscataway over 65 years. Okay, so I'm here today to address an ongoing issue. I'm not gonna talk about Motel six, but it's, I echo a lot of the issues that they're having. I'm talking about an ongoing, several individuals congregate outside our business causing safety concerns, negative impact to our business and, and, and ultimately a negative impact to our customers and, and my staff On a daily basis, the group of individual occupy the bench, a seating area from approximately seven in the morning till late in the evening, 8, 9, 10 o'clock after I'm closed up and, and getting ready to leave. These benches were built by me. The intent was to provide an area for the customers to sit down, enjoy their ice cream.  
Speaker 24    01:25:27    Yet they're routinely taken over by these individuals throughout the day. Our customers, often with young children coming for ice cream or approached and panhandled for money, these people are constantly drinking on the bench. They're intoxicated. We've had calls to the police to fall down, drunk and disorderly, creating an unsafe, uncomfortable environment for again, the customers and our staff. They've been observed, observed, passed out on the benches. Some of the pictures you got right there, we've been approached by customers where they've fallen off the bench and busted their blip open another one trip and fell off the curb couldn't stand up and the police, they respond, remove, they're, they've been pretty successful in removing them. But that lasts no longer than a day. Sometimes only a couple hours after the police go, they come back. We've been told you can trespass them. But whatever is happening, it's not, it's not working. So knowing that I've called the police on these individuals, they're, they're not very friendly towards me. You know, they've rude gestures, they flip me the finger, they grab their crotch and shake it at me and, you know, almost baiting and taunting me and I just won't engage.  
Speaker 24    01:26:55    It's not an isolated or occasional issue, it's ongoing. I feel it's a quality of life, a safety, an economic. I've got customers who won't come and won't return after all this. And I, I just find it difficult. In the last couple years we've seen a couple of ice cream stores pop up in Dannel, South Plainfield, Middlesex. And I'm not, I'm not worried about the competition. We provide a good product. Our servers are friendly and pleasant, but having people begging for money, harassing our customers, being fall down drunk urinating, you got the picture, urinating on the side of the building and passed out on the bench are obstacles I shouldn't have to deal with. So I'm here asking the township to help address this matter to identify a practical enforceable solution. I don't know what the best path forward is, whether it's through increased patrols, better, better use of ordinances or coordinated outreach. I just want to make it a safe, comfortable area that's welcome, welcome my customers and supports our business.  
Speaker 1     01:28:13    Thank you so much.  
Speaker 25    01:28:34    Hi Vincent Awa. I just wanna let you know that I've been a realtor for about 20 years and when I first started being a real estate agent, most of the times when I asked the buyers where they want, where they want to live, they would say Piscataway most of the time. And the one town that I know that they did not want to go to was Plainfield. And when then more got to know why and they said it was because of the crime rate. So now unfortunately I'm starting to hear that Piscataway is one of the towns they don't want to live in. And these are very qualified buyers who can afford the, the tax increase. So you see letting you know, and I, I just wanna let you guys know 'cause I know you guys can do something about it. And I do want, I do love selling homes in Piscataway. It's easy for me to talk about Piscataway and for me to hear that. I'm pretty sad by it. That's all. Thank you.  
Speaker 26    01:29:46    Happy New Year. Good evening, Mr. Mayor and council.  
Speaker 26    01:29:51    My name is Upen Shah, party City, 7,000 head leaders South Plainfield. And as I hear all the issues that having at the Gabrielle's and, but we also facing the same challenge in our stores, including Staples. Like people coming from Motel six still in the merchandise or they come in Unhygienic and they're walking around the stores. Also the standing outside the store pan handling. So I think this is issue, I mean it's a, I mean it's a playing field but I know Picard way, but it's coming from Motel six. So I appreciate that. If Mr. Mayors and Console can take some interactions to it and help support in our local business, I mean that'd be great and I hope that 2026 can be make changes to the, you know, all the issues. Thank you very much. Have a good  
Speaker 25    01:30:45    Evening. Thank you.  
Speaker 27    01:30:57    Good evening everyone. My name Evening Chala and we own this liquor store down the street. It's 1380 Centennial Avenue Piscataway. So I don't wanna take too much time, but I would say like to say like everything they said, I want the same, same thing, but I want to add on or just one thing extra. Even if we like mandate is like they can, they're doing right now a year lease to all these people. Now they're gonna make it shorter like to one month. But the problem is they're gonna send the same people same everything to for even for month one month it's gonna be the same thing. We are already seeing it. Like the new people who coming into the store, the same exact behavior they want to steal, they want to ask money to our customers ladies like who are coming in late night. I have lost so many customers already because they don't want to come in and they only, one thing they said like if this continues outside your store, we are not coming back and everybody's afraid to come. I've lost a lot of business because of all this new sounds going on already. So I don't wanna take too much time, but this is the basic concern we already have and we are already suffering because of this. Thank you so much.  
Speaker 1     01:32:09    Thank you. Anyone else?  
Speaker 0     01:32:17    Everyone else has spoken. I'd like to just take an extra  
Speaker 1     01:32:20    Turn. One shot at the apple. Thank you. I  
Speaker 0     01:32:22    Thought that if everyone's off, you could  
Speaker 1     01:32:23    Do one. Thank you. What? We're good.  
Speaker 13    01:32:34    I just have to give you handouts. I already took my three minutes. I'm not gonna say anything further, but I just want you to be aware that Piscataway is part, part of a county. So everything you do is gonna affect the rest of the county. Just keep that in mind. Who, who can I give the handouts to  
Speaker 1     01:32:52    This officer please? The police officer. To the right. To  
Speaker 0     01:32:59    The right. Can you, can  
Speaker 1     01:33:02    You get that? Can you please take the paperwork from her? Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else?  
Speaker 18    01:33:14    Good evening. My name is Kimberly at Ber. I resided at 48 Wagner Avenue in Piscataway for 25 years. I wanna echo what many people said this evening. Unfortunately, safety has become a real issue. I visit Gabriel's bar and grill often. One evening I left there and I was followed to my vehicle. A man began banging on my window, demanding for me to put down my window screaming that he wanted money. I immediately notified Dana and Anthony what happened in the parking lot. Anthony immediately came out to see what was going on, making sure I was safe. We watched the individual go back to the hotel. This is terrible for our community. I go, I now have children. We dine there often. I don't wanna be scared walking with my five-year-olds back to the car. It's an absolute shame that all these people here tonight are all suffering in the same way. So I hope you guys really put this forward and help the community. Thank you so much.  
Speaker 1     01:34:17    Thank you.  
Speaker 0     01:34:25    Hi.  
Speaker 28    01:34:26    So my name is Christine Theis and I reside at 3 0 9 River Road. And just as I was listening to everybody today, I think our main priority is safety.  
Speaker 1     01:34:34    Absolutely.  
Speaker 28    01:34:35    And when you think about the quality of life that we or don't have anymore, it's deteriorating. It's really, really sad because I sentiment everything that everybody had said and I know that our real estate values are going down. I work in Flo Park and every time I go to work someone says, oh my God, your town was in the news again. Whether it's the murder, which was family oriented or the safety of the neighborhood or the quality of life or the traffic congestion on 2 87, it's really getting bad and it's almost embarrassing. And I've been here almost 30 years, so I really am hoping that you guys take safety as a priority. And when we talk about county, right, someone was mentioning about the impact of county. How could you not impact if it's for safety reasons only, we're not discriminating. I wish that we would rehab the people that are in these hotels, give them a good start, put 'em on a rehab program, get them out so that they can re-engineer and get their life back in order. So I'm not discriminating against helping people, but I think when you're doing it at the cost of your citizens who are paying high taxes for quality and peaceful quality of life, something has to be done about it. So I just wanted to that.  
Speaker 1     01:35:36    Thank you. Thank you.  
Speaker 0     01:35:46    Take your time.  
Speaker 29    01:35:53    Hi, my name is Marsha Silverstein. I live at 27th Seward Avenue. We've been here for at least 48 years. And I love this place and I don't discriminate against anyone. I think everyone should have a fair shot at life. I think if somebody is homeless and they need a place, they need a place to live. I get that. However, there seems to be some dichotomy between the people who actually need this shelter and the people who are put there who probably shouldn't have been there in the first place. These people need other help. They don't need that type of shelter. And that's the problem. It's not that we're you're against people who really need assistance. You're against the people who don't need that kind of assistance. And that's all. That's what I feel.  
Speaker 1     01:36:43    Thank you else.  
Speaker 1     01:36:53    See anyone else. And I do believe that we all agree that we love Piscataway and love living here and we want to live here in a safe environment. And no one wants to fear having to go to work. So this ordinance is the first step in moving forward to try to control what's happening over there. But we hear you this evening. We will be moving forward to get that ordinance through and we will work on this together. And I wanna thank all of you for coming out this evening and sharing your views and telling your views because we are listening. So I wanna thank you all for coming out to any of the other council members of any other questions or comments.  
Speaker 4     01:37:44    I think our second reading is February 10th.  
Speaker 1     01:37:47    I am gonna close the public portion also.  
Speaker 3     01:37:50    Madam Madam, council president, I just want remind the governing body and for the residents out there, this is just the first step. There will be other ordinances to address security purposes that's happening out there. I am a firm believer, I don't care where you live in this town, what neighborhood? Everybody has a right for reasonable expectation of security. If you don't have security within your community, you don't have a community. That's the be all and all. And that is the FI fiduciary responsibility. And these folks up on this table here, including myself, it's called security. And they need to take it seriously. And I'm glad they all voted in firmly. So  
Speaker 1     01:38:36    Thank you for everyone for being here this evening. I'm now gonna close this meeting. Can I have an offer? Offer? Can I have a second? Second. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Aye. You all for coming out? Thank you everyone. Thank you everyone.