Photo of the Day: James Street Redevelopment, Englewood NJ

I took the image accompanying this post last weekend. It documents a major change in James Street, a neighborhood only a couple of blocks from where I live in Englewood, NJ. My cousins lived on this street in my childhood, and a number of friends resided in homes either here or one of the side streets.

In my nearly 60 years in the community, Englewood—very much including James Street—has undergone many changes. Across the street from where this picture was taken once stood Von Roth’s, a nursery that was a local fixture for many years. 

What you see in this picture is the result of a bigger change: an ordinance producing a rezoning a half-dozen years ago. To secure the city of Englewood’s agreement to expand the local ShopRite and its parking lot, the supermarket’s owner agreed to raze blighted homes on the east side of James Street running from the central business district to Tallman Place at the north end of the store, and build eight new single-family residences.

With the supermarket and parking lot now enlarged, building on the James Street single-family homes has proceeded in the last few months, to the store seen in my photo. As I witnessed as a child in my own neighborhood, redevelopment can inflame residents’ passions, particularly if done without concern for the rights of homeowners. James Street had its share of these, as the City Council rejected the developer’s earlier proposals to build even more residential properties than the eight going up now.

Eight, as they say, is enough. Nothing stays the same. In the meantime, I hope this neighborhood I’ve passed through countless times in my life may revive and achieve prolonged stability for its residents.

Photo of the Day: Early-Evening, Late-Year Radiance

In the past few weeks, I’ve been struck by the sight of a tree on Van Brunt Street, just off the major commercial street in my hometown of Englewood, NJ—and, specifically, how the tree not only has kept its leaves so late in the year, but how the leaves appear in the light. They lend something bright and special to nights even as we slip in earnest into winter, convincing me that light exists even in deep darkness.

Not a bad thought to end the year. May each of you reading this find your own radiance in 2019!

Photo of the Day: Teeming Stream

About 40 years ago, in order to build a housing project across the street from me, my town rechanneled and tamed a longtime floodplain, scooping out hundreds of the rocks and pebbles I had loved to step across as a child as it built the stream's surrounding walls higher and erected a fence. Ever since then, the current in that creek has become almost constantly placid. 

You can imagine my surprise Friday morning, then, on my way to the bus stop for my morning commute into New York, to see that same stream suddenly reverting to something like the churning brown torrent I recalled as a child. The wind from a storm had been enough to wake me overnight, but nothing brought home the change in the weather so much as the dark, violent waters I photographed in the hours after the palest of daybreaks.

Photo of the Day: Gatehouse, Mackay Park, Englewood NJ

Earlier today, walking slightly south of the main commercial district of my hometown, I came upon Mackay Park, which I had not visited since I was a freshman in high school. 

The park has undergone a number of changes over the years—nearly all, I would say, for the better—but it is good to see that one landmark hasn’t altered much, if at all: the gatehouse, which I photographed here in late afternoon.

This is one of the few structures left from the estate of 19^th-century banker, politician and art collector Walter W. Phelps. In 1888, his mansion—one of the most famous in the country at the time—was utterly gutted by fire.

Most of the 4,000 acres from the estate were sold and converted to other uses in modern Englewood and Teaneck. But early in the 20^th century, the present Mackay Park was donated to the city of Englewood by Mayor Donald Mackay.It remains a welcome link to the area's past.

Photo of the Day: Immigrant Family Prayer Vigil, Englewood NJ

Passing through Depot Square Park in my hometown of Englewood NJ, I saw, out in the humid noonday air, about 100 people carrying signs and listening to a set of speakers. One was introduced as the pastor of a local church. I was a bit surprised, as ministers in the past have tended to appear in the park on Sunday rather than Saturday. 

But, as if answering my inner question, the minister said those there had come together to this prayer vigil for uniting immigrant families—part of an entire nationwide group of events protesting the Trump Administration’s decision to split children from their undocumented immigrant parents.

The Englewood gathering was a modest affair, particularly compared with the Families Belong Together march taking place in DC on this same day. But not everyone can travel to DC for such events, and it is as important to press for change where one lives as in conventional political and media centers. Roughly a dozen of these rallies were planned for New Jersey on this day, and I’m glad that my town was one of them.

When I passed through the park again an hour later, the crowd was still there. Just before snapping this picture, I noticed tables where people could sign petitions to local elected officials. In the case of mine, who are all liberal Democrats, I wondered about the efficacy of this, as these officeholders are all inclined to protest the policy anyway.

But in the end, I decided to sign one of the letters. Better to take a small stand like this than to sit at home, raging impotently at  this most recent of the President’s daily outrages that begin a cycle of protest, reaction and fresh offense against law, civility, common sense and reason.

Besides, I think it’s important, in chronicling events such as this, that Trump partisans realize that protests against his policies are not the exclusive domain of celebrities who let his bullying get the better of them, but rather are more likely to feature those I saw today who argued calmly and forcefully that the administration’s immigration policies violate Americans’ best, most moral instincts.