Community & Public Policy

MAPLEWOOD,  NJ -- Dickens Village, an annual Maplewood NJ tradition, returns to Ricalton Square this week and will be open to the public from 1pm - 4pm on December 4th, 11th and 18th.

In celebration of the yearly event, TAPintoTV takes a look back at Stephanie Willoughby's visit to Dickens Village in 2019, and the community tradition of re-creating the village from ...

WEST CALDWELL, NJ -- Joseph DalBon, DMD, owner of New Jersey Center for Laser and Cosmetic Dentistry, spoke with TAPintoTV about his strong connection to the community and local organizations.

“I’m really proud to serve our community,” DalBon explained. “I grew up in Caldwell. I went to high school here.” DalBon attended the University of Pennsylvania ...

MONTCLAIR, NJ -- Brian Brodeur, executive producer of East Main Media and TAPintoTV, spoke with Regina Egea, President of the Garden State Initiative (GSI), to discuss GSI's report entitled, Toward a Fiscally Sustainable New Jersey: Analysis and Recommendations.

Co-authored by Thad D. Calabrese and Thomas J. Healey, the new research report looks back at the 2012 State Budget Crisis ...

MONTCLAIR, NJ -- TAPintoTV Executive Producer Brian Brodeur spoke with comedian John Poveromo about vaccinations and their role in stand-up comedy venues. Vaccine mandates have been making headlines recently in the stand-up comedy world, with Saturday Night Live alumni Jim Breuer making a statement against vaccine mandates at performance spaces. But Poveromo takes the opposite ...

NEWARK, NJ---TAPintoTV spoke with Jared Taillefer, the Executive Director of Great Oaks Legacy Charter School, Rev David Jefferson of Metropolitan Baptist Church, and Destiny McFarlane, the Tutorial Manager of the Newark Unites Program, about the Newark Unites Tutoring Program which launches this week.

The Newark Unites Tutoring Center provides free, high dosage tutoring and academic support ...

NEW JERSEY -- Although recently ranked as the number one state in the nation in which to live, New Jersey also ranked next-to-last for cost of living and affordability. Economists say that nearly 37% of New Jersey residents are living paycheck to paycheck. TAPintoTV spoke with community leaders and experts to explain and highlight the financial challenges many New Jerseyans face every ...

SPRINGFIELD, NJ -- Why do I need a power of attorney? All of my assets are in joint names. Are they? What about the car? Is that in joint names? Your IRAs are definitely not in Joint names.

Click HERE to learn more about establishing your own Power of Attorney.

Someone may be named as beneficiary, but if you're disabled and money needs to be withdrawn from your IRA, only you can do ...

TAPintoTV spoke with Suzy Minken of Compass about a new home in Chatham, NJ and why she hosted an Appreciation Day event for the local neighborhood.

After nine months of construction, 94 Elmwood Avenue is completed and open on Appreciation Day. “I wanted people in the neighborhood and the community to come and see how gorgeous this house is,” Minken explained. “I wanted ...

SPRINGFIELD, NJ -- Bob Bernstein, an attorney specializing in Estate Planning and Elder Law, spoke about the importance of having accurate and up-to-date legal documents in light of the coronavirus pandemic. 

“One of the things that this pandemic has brought to light is the importance of the alternate that is named,” Bernstein cautioned. COVID-19 has proven to be highly ...

NEW JERSEY -- TAPintoTV Executive Producer Brian Brodeur recently spoke with Janellen Duffy, Senior Advisor of JerseyCAN, a nonprofit organization supporting and advocating for every student in New Jersey to have access to a high-quality education. JerseyCAN recently launched an online multimedia platform to help assist local school districts and educators to create new strategies and programs to ...

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- Executive Producer of East Main Media and TAPintoTV, Brian Brodeur, hosted a panel discussion to celebrate Passaic Valley Regional High School’s 80 Years of Excellence.

The panel was moderated by Alexandra Paese, Passaic Valley Class of 2021, and consisted of Totowa Mayor, John Coiro, Passaic Valley Class of 1977, Little Falls Mayor James Damiano, Passaic Valley Class ...

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- The average New Jersey resident pays $931,698 in taxes over his or her lifetime, ranking New Jersey number one in the nation for highest state property taxes, according to a recent article from the Wall Street Journal.

So what should residents expect to get for paying such high property taxes? Why do people stay in New Jersey? TAPintoTV’s Executive Producer, Brian ...

WEST CALDWELL, NJ -- While Joseph DalBon, DMD, may be best known as a top-notch local dentist at the New Jersey Center for Laser and Cosmetic Dentistry, he is also the proud owner of a therapy dog. Dr. DalBon spoke with TAPintoTV about his Pit Bull puppy, Olivia, the services she provides to others in the community, and how he came to recognize her unique talents.

DalBon realized Olivia was ...

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- TAPintoTV’s Executive Producer Brian Brodeur spoke with Vivian Cox Fraser, President & CEO of the Urban League of Essex County, about high rates of learning loss faced by K-12 students in New Jersey as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“A Time to Act,” sponsored by JerseyCAN, is a unique, statewide report on elementary-level student achievement ...

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- Patricia Morgan, Executive Director of JerseyCan, a company focused on creating lasting changes for New Jersey students, spoke with TAPinto TV’s Brian Brodeur about the academic slide brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey. 

JerseyCan’s study, “A Time to Act,” examined diagnostic fall assessments of 18,000 students across fifteen ...

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- TAPintoTV’s Brian Brodeur spoke with Patrick Kelly, the Executive Vice President of Government Affairs for the Healthcare Distribution Alliance, about COVID-19 vaccine distribution both across the country and in New Jersey, including the recently-approved Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine.

The Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) is the ...

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- TAPintoTV’s Brian Brodeur spoke with NJ CannaBusiness Association President, Edmund Deveaux, in a wide-ranging conversation in December 2020. Today, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation to formally legalize marijuana in the state.

The NJ CannaBusiness Association was started by Deveaux and his colleagues at Burton Trent Public Affairs based in ...

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- Comedian John Poveromo recently broke a Guinness World Record and spoke to TAPintoTV’s Executive Producer Brian Brodeur to explain how it all went down. 

Poveromo and his comedic colleagues recently produced a live show on Twitch, a popular streaming platform, and broke the Guinness World Record for the longest live-streamed comedy event, which “clocked in ...

WAYNE, NJ -- Commemorating Presidents' Day 2021, TAPintoTV revisits the Dey Mansion, one of several locations in New Jersey which served as General George Washington’s Headquarters during the Revolutionary War. 

The Dey Mansion was the home of Theunis and Hester Dey, and was built around 1770. Ten years later, Theunis, who was the Colonel of the Bergen County Militia ...

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- TAPintoTV’s Executive Producer, Brian Brodeur, was recently joined by Joe Roth, President & CEO of the NJ Sharing Network, a non-profit organization which promotes and procures organ donation across the state of New Jersey and beyond. 

February 14th, besides being Valentines Day, is also National Organ Donor Day. Organ donation is crucial “to save ...

HUDSON VALLEY, NY -- Janet Irizarry, the founder of Hudson Valley Eats, spoke with Brian Brodeur about her latest initiative, “Cooking For A Cause”. Irizarry started Hudson Valley Eats, whose main goal is to “make sure that everyone in the Hudson Valley eats, not just those who can afford it.” 

During the pandemic, it is hard for people to afford their basic ...

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- Julian Leshay, an independent photojournalist, spoke with Executive Producer Brian Brodeur about his experiences taking photos at the recent Capitol Hill riot on January 6. Leshay gives viewers his insight into the scenes he witnessed and the images he captured on that fateful day. 

Leshay arrived in Washington, D.C. the day before, “to get the environment, to ...

BLOOMFIELD, NJ -- Small Business Saturday, which fell on November 28th, was celebrated with local festivities in downtown Bloomfield, New Jersey. The Bloomfield Center Alliance sponsored activities such as holiday caroling, ice sculpting and a “Holiday Hunt,” where shoppers searched for deals and prizes at local retailers.

The day’s events were organized “not only to ...

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- TAPintoTV’s Brian Brodeur spoke with NJ CannaBusiness Association President, Edmund Deveaux, in a wide-ranging conversation following the passage of a recent ballot measure legalizing marijuana in New Jersey.

The NJ CannaBusiness Association was started by Deveaux and his colleagues at Burton Trent Public Affairs based in Trenton, NJ following an information gathering ...

TINTON FALLS, NJ -- TAPintoTV’s Brian Brodeur speaks with Kevin Watson, Manager at AJ Perri, to learn about the company’s new indoor air scrubbers proven to kill the virus that causes COVID-19 and which are now available for home installation. 

AJ Perri is a major provider of heating, air conditioning, and plumbing services to households across New Jersey.

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- TAPintoTV Executive Producer, Brian Brodeur, was joined by Janellen Duffy, Senior Advisor with JerseyCan, and Vivian Cox Fraser, President and CEO of the Urban League of Essex County, to discuss a recent report released by the Global Strategy Group and the New Jersey Children’s Foundation examining parents’ perspectives on remote learning during the 2020-21 school ...

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- TAPintoTV Executive Producer, Brian Brodeur, spoke with Kyle Rosenkrans, Executive Director of the New Jersey Children's Foundation. Rosenkrans joined Brodeur to discuss their recently-released survey of parents of New Jersey public school students, the first such survey conducted during the start of the 2020-21 school year. 

The New Jersey Children's ...

LONG ISLAND, NY -- Ellen Volpe, President of American Business Associates, spoke with David Faverio, CEO of Pupfish Sustainability Solutions, on a recent episode of Opportunity Calls with Ellen Volpe.

Pupfish Sustainability Solutions, based in Hauppauge, New York, offers data destruction, electronics recycling and IT asset liquidation services to organizations throughout the New York tri-state ...

Ellen Volpe, President of American Business Associates, spoke with Shannon Boyle, Executive Director of New Ground, on her new television program, Opportunity Calls with Ellen Volpe.

Volpe introduced the New Ground organization, which was founded in 1991. “It has been providing support to homeless veterans and families on Long Island in a very local and palpable way,” she said.

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- Dan Gasby, partner and husband of B. (Barbara) Smith and CEO of B. Smith Enterprises, spoke with TAPintoTV’s Stephanie Willoughby about why the Aunt Jemima brand was finally dropped by Quaker Oats after years of controversy. Gasby also shared how he and Barbara had previously petitioned to abolish the Aunt Jemima brand, though at the time the two were met with ...

ESSEX COUNTY NJ -- TAPintoTV takes a look back to Executive Producer Brian Brodeur's conversation with activist and community leader, Bill Edge. Speaking at the 2016 Meet The Mayors event, Edge represented the NJ League of Women Voters, a sponsor of the annual chamber of commerce function.

Edge spoke about the connection among Essex County municipalities in past years. "What we've ...

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- Cathy Keenan, Executive Director of Volunteer Lawyers for Justice (VLJ), joined TAPintoTV’s Brian Brodeur to discuss the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund's Housing Stability Project Grant.

Keenan described the work of the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund (NJPRF), which was established after the COVID-19 pandemic, and which has raised over $37 million from over ...

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- Along with the presidential race coming up on November 3, there is also a mayoral race here in Little Falls and TAPintoTV recently spoke with both candidates. Donald Radcliffe, running on the Republican ticket, shared his point-of-view and outlook for the community with Executive Producer Brian Brodeur.

A resident of Little Falls for nearly 40 years, Radcliffe worked as a ...

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- Ahead of the upcoming mayoral contest here in Little Falls, TAPintoTV recently spoke with both candidates running for office. James Damiano, the incumbent mayor on the Democratic ticket, shared his perspective and vision for the community with Executive Producer Brian Brodeur.

Damiano is a lifelong resident of Little Falls and has served as mayor since January of 2017.

Staci Berger, CEO of the Housing & Community Development Network of New Jersey, joined Brian Brodeur, TAPintoTV's Executive Producer, at East Main Media Studios, to discuss the state's current housing situation and in particular, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Berger, New Jersey has had a "very strong" housing crisis even prior to the pandemic.

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- Mayor James Damiano of Little Falls, NJ joined Brian Brodeur, TAPintoTV’s Executive Producer at East Main Media Studios, to have a wide-ranging conversation about local development, the success of the town farmers market, and ways to vote during the upcoming election. 

Damiano, who is running for re-election this year, was born and raised in Little Falls, ...

LITTLE FALLS, NJ -- Tami Bowling, Co-founder of Metavivors of New Jersey, spoke with TAPintoTV’s Executive Producer, Brian Brodeur, about the upcoming “Light Up MBC” event, which takes place virtually and in-person on Tuesday, October 13, 8pm EST. Bowling also spoke about her own personal history and struggle with metastatic breast cancer.

Metastatic breast cancer (MBC), ...

Tami Bowling of METAvivors of NJ joined TAPintoTV Executive Producer, Brian Brodeur, via Zoom video conference to discuss their upcoming “Light Up MBC” event on October 13 at 8pm. 

METAvivors of NJ is a local chapter of the national organization, METAvivors Research and Support, which raises funding and awareness around research of Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer, or ...

MAPLEWOOD, NJ -- Maplewood’s oldest business, Woolley Home Solutions, spoke with TAPintoTV about their long history in town and how they've been able to maintain their success for 95 years. 

“It’s a lot to live up to,” said Norman E. Woolley. “It’s important to support the town that’s allowed you to thrive and be able to be successful for that ...

PORT MURRAY, NJ -- Tree-licious Orchards has a great reputation for their varieties of apples, fruits and vegetables, but it’s also known as a foster home for rescue husky dogs. “Our huskies just love life at the orchard,” said Tree-licious partner, Ginger Kesler.

Housing huskies at the farm started as a way to help rid the orchard of critters and provide a better life ...

Saratoga Automobile Museum Communication Director, Dustin Lanterman, joins TAPintoTV Executive Producer, Brian Brodeur, to discuss the museum's diverse collection of vehicles and upcoming annual auction.

The Saratoga Auto Museum can be found in the former Bottling Plant of Saratoga Spa State Park. The Bottling Plant building size and location provided the perfect venue to establish the ...

CEDAR GROVE, NJ — Commemorating the 19th anniversary of the September 11th attacks, TAPintoTV takes a look back at our 2018 coverage of Cedar Grove Waves:

Cedar Grove Waves honors the victims of terrorism, remembers the lives lost, and educates students with a heartfelt 9-11 tribute on the front lawn of Cedar Grove High School.  

“I was a little over a year old when 9-11 ...