New Fair Lawn mayor's goals include a greener town and healthier Broadway district

Bringing more trees to the borough, expanding and introducing new community events and continuing to invest in the restoration of historic sites in town are among the priorities that Fair Lawn’s new mayor hopes to focus on.

Gail Rottenstrich, who has served the town as a councilwoman since 2017, was officially sworn in last week as mayor, filling a vacancy left when her predecessor was hired as borough manager in February.

In a recent interview, Rottenstrich — a Democrat, like the rest of the five-member Borough Council — said her priorities as mayor will include many of the goals she pursued on the council, many of them following the theme of sustainability.

“In the business sense, it’s people, planet, profit," said Rottenstrich, who is also the CEO of a Newark-based manufacturing company. "But for municipalities, it’s also people, planet and fiscal responsibility, keeping Fair Lawn’s budget sustainable."

Seeking sustainability − and shade

The borough has grant applications in the works that would help it invest in green infrastructure and be more energy-efficient. A main goal is to help restore the borough's tree canopy.

“Ideally, you want at least a 25% tree canopy, and right now we don’t have any area of Fair Lawn that has that,” Rottenstrich said. “There are some areas that have as low as 10% or 11%. We’re focusing on encouraging planting trees in those areas first.”

The borough will focus first on neighborhoods with low tree counts, such as the areas west of River Road and north of Fair Lawn Avenue, said Rottenstrich. Everett Park, which is north of Fair Lawn Avenue, has no trees right now because much of its greenery had to be removed after damage from the emerald ash borer.

The council introduced an ordinance at its latest meeting to update Fair Lawn's tree removal and replacement guidelines. Residents need to file permits to remove healthy trees and must pay a $50 fine per tree if it is not replaced.

The budget this year has $100,000 allocated for the borough’s residential tree program, which Rottenstrich said was a big increase from prior years. Fair Lawn also has a $50,000 state grant to plant trees in parks.

Reviving Broadway business district

Rottenstrich said the borough will continue working with Fair Lawn Main Street Inc., which administers two special improvement districts in town, to promote local businesses and let them know about grants and other resources available to them.

One of the most recent initiatives tapped a federal program to hire a full-time employee focused on revitalizing the Broadway business district.

“That’s really critical to reviving Broadway,” the mayor said.

Historic preservation

Historic preservation will be another focus. The borough is submitting a grant application for $750,000 to the New Jersey State Historic Trust for the second restoration phase of the historic Naugle House, a Dutch Colonial structure on Dunkerhook Road that was built between 1740 and 1750.

Renovations to the exterior of the home, which had been sitting vacant and in disrepair for many years, began in 2018, the first part of a three-phase plan for renovating the property.

The first phase of the project, which was funded by county grant money, is nearing completion, and the borough is applying for another grant to work on a second stage, which would renovate and restore the building’s interior. The final phase would involve restoration and landscaping of the site. Once it is completed, Rottenstrich imagines the site becoming a community gathering spot as people walk through nearby Saddle River County Park.

“What we envision is to have a beautiful outdoor area with a very rustic, open-air performance space with some kind of concession for people riding and walking through the park,” Rottenstrich said. “We would also have an exhibit area in the Naugle House that focuses on underrepresented communities, such as Black and Native American history in Fair Lawn.”

The borough also will work with William Paterson University to find interns to catalog historical artifacts from around the borough, which currently are stored in the Cadmus House Historical Museum, the mayor said.

More: Fair Lawn picks new mayor and council member, breaking ground for inclusion

More community events

She's also focused on encouraging the growth of community events in town, such as Fair Lawn's celebration of Holi, the Hindu festival; more than 3,000 people have signed up to attend the April 7 festivities. Rottenstrich is also looking forward to an Arbor Day event on April 21 that will include activities for kids; Fair Lawn will celebrate two tree donations from the local Columbia Bank.

On May 11, the borough’s Green Team and members of its Indian community will team up for a workshop at Berdan Grove Park to plant herbs used in Indian cuisine, she said.

“If we can get all of that done, we’ll be in really good shape,” Rottenstrich said of the borough's agenda.

Stephanie Noda is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: noda@northjersey.com

Twitter: @snoda11

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Fair Lawn NJ mayor focused on sustainability, downtown revamp