Garbage pickup is being cancelled for this Thursday & Friday December 1st & 2nd. The DPW will use this time to continue leaf & branch pickup. It is anticipated that leaf collection will take until mid-December.

Leaf collection is currently progressing through Quadrant # 1. The DPW will be working southbound from the Quadrant # 1 to Quadrant # 3 (now through December 2nd), then across the railroad tracks to Quadrant # 4 and finish in Quadrant # 2 (December 5th through December 16th). DPW crews removing leaves will make their way through the Borough at least once before going back to an area already cleaned. Residents are requested to try and get their leaves out to the curb before the DPW makes it first pass.

Regular Street Sweeping has been temporarily cancelled as the one driver has been re-assigned to a bucket loader to assist with the storm debris cleanup and the other driver, and street sweeper, is re-assigned to work with a leaf pickup crew. Normal Street Sweeping operations will not resume until the roadways have been cleared of both storm-related debris and leaves.

The Borough wishes to thank all of our residents for their patience as we continue to work hard to clear the roads of branched and other debris and falling leaves.

Information on any additional garbage collection cancellations will be posted in separate press releases on our website, Nixle, Twitter and Reverse 911 calls. Please check our website frequently for additional updates.

With the cancellation of garbage pickup last Thursday & Friday November 17th & 18th the DPW concentrated on cleaning up branches and other storm-related debris. They have now removed much of the debris from approximately 95% of the Borough’s streets.

For the remainder of November the DPW, in addition to its normally scheduled garbage co-mingle/recycling pickup, and newspaper/cardboard pickup, will have two crews assigned to storm debris cleanup and they are expected to finish the remaining 5% of the Borough Streets by the middle of next week (Wednesday, November 30th). These crews will also be working to open several of our parks that have been closed due to the continued danger of falling branches.

On November 17th the DPW also began its seasonal leaf collection. It is anticipated that leaf collection will take longer this year than in the past due to the continued re-assignment of personnel to the storm cleanup activities. It is highly anticipated that additional garbage collection dates will be cancelled in November and early December to facilitate the removal of fallen leaves from the Borough’s roadways. Information on any additional garbage collection cancellations will be posted in separate press releases on our website, Nixle, Twitter and Reverse 911 calls.

A recent press release from FEMA:

NEPTUNE, N.J. – In the past, enduring a power outage was as simple as starting the fireplace. Not anymore. Fewer and fewer homes have either fireplaces or access to an alternate method of heating and cooking. New Jersey residents affected by the storms of 2011 may want to consider purchasing an emergency generator.

Co-mingle recycling will be collected in the fourth quadrant (SW Sector) on Wednesday, November 16th, 2011. This date has been added to the recycling schedule to prevent the residents of the fourth quadrant from going the entire month without a co-mingle pickup.

Residents of the fourth quadrant are asked to place their recycling containers at the curb by 7:00 am on Wednesday November 16th for pickup.

All other quadrants remain on the same schedule.

Please direct any questions to the DPW at 201 387-4055 ext. 3.

The Halloween snow storm has left thousands of tree limbs and branches on the Borough’s streets. While Borough DPW employees we have made progress in removing this debris from many areas, the sheer volume of branches and limbs has prevented the DPW from getting to all of the Borough’s streets as quickly as we had planned. It has also hindered the DPW’s ability to adhere to its normal leaf removal schedule.

To quicken the removal of both storm debris and leaves, the Borough of Bergenfield has cancelled its regularly scheduled garbage pickups for residents in all sectors for Thursday & Friday, November 17rd & 18th.  All of our available DPW crews will be assigned to removing tree branches and leaves from borough streets.

We thank you for your cooperation and apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.

On Wednesday, November 9, at 2:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, the first ever nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) will be conducted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The Borough of Bergenfield has cancelled its regularly scheduled garbage pickups for residents in all sectors for Thursday & Friday, November 3rd & 4th.  All available DPW crews will be assigned to removing debris from public roadways caused by the fallen branches and trees as a result of this past weekend’s snow storm.

Normal garbage pickups will resume on Monday, Nov. 7.

Do not place your garbage cans at the curb until normal pickups resume. We thank you for your cooperation and apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause.

Safety First:

Whether you call it Mischief Night, Goosey Night or Cabbage Night, tonight is a dangerous night for children to engage in this pre-Halloween ritual. There are many downed wires that may not be visible at night. Children and teens should stay in tonight for their safety, and parents should ensure they do so.

Downed wires should always be considered “live.”  STAY AWAY FROM ALL DOWNED LINES.  Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything that it might be in contact with.  To report a downed wire and other visible equipment damage, call 1-800-436-PSEG and tell PSE&G the nearest cross street.

Veterans Day Ceremonies will begin at 11:00 a.m. at Bergenfield Borough Hall on November 11, 2011. Rededication of monument at Veterans Memorial Park to follow.

The Borough of Bergenfield is looking for a person to serve as an Alternate Tenant Representative to the Rent Leveling Board which meets on the first Wednesday Night of each month at 7:00 pm in the Civic Room at Borough Hall. Anyone who is interested should contact the Mayor’s office at Borough Hall.