Business & Finance
By MATT KADOSH
May 27, 2020
WESTFIELD, NJ — Under a proposed local law intended to incentive development, property owners in the downtown who substantially improve their infrastructure would not immediately see the resulting property tax increases that typically come with higher property values. The town council on Tuesday ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Decisions for reopening the town will rest in the hands of a 16-member task force comprised of municipal officials and business leaders. Mayor Shelley Brindle on Wednesday announced the formation of the commission to determine best steps in support of public health and meeting ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — These days they’re behind plexiglass windows, scanning shoppers’ grocery purchases, stocking shelves and delivering news about toilet paper supplies. Town officials in Westfield recently honored the front-line employees at Stop & Shop and Trader Joe’s for their work during ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Property owners could soon have another reason to improve their properties in Downtown Westfield. The town council is poised to vote on a measure Tuesday that, if approved, would designate Westfield’s special improvement district an “area in need of rehabilitation” and therefore ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — The pandemic may be accelerating the demise of an expansive department store on North Avenue. Mayor Shelley Brindle said she has long prepared for the closure of Lord & Taylor’s store on North Avenue so when Reuters broke the news Tuesday that the retailer plans to liquidate ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — When the coronavirus pandemic slowed business for photographer Ken Cavanagh, he didn’t take it lying down. Instead, he got to work helping other small businesses in town, creating a photographic series of places in Westfield that are still operating, though mostly at a limited ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Let’s face reality: America’s collective balloon has popped. Yet, in this suburb, the endless void of newfound nothingness is being momentarily filled, as air rushes into colorful tubes of all shapes and sizes. Dante Longhi, owner of Kenilworth-based Dream Factory Balloons, had ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — (Updated at 9:56 p.m.) The plot on which Lord & Taylor rests, the Rialto Theatre and municipal parking lots are among the properties that could be considered for potential tax breaks under a measure the Town Council has passed to the Planning Board for consideration. The Town ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Has your small business been impacted by coronavirus? Downtown Westfield Corporation, the government entity managing the town’s special improvement district, will host a virtual town hall meeting Thursday to discuss government assistance for small businesses impacted by ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — The Town Bookstore’s owner, Anne Laird, has been at the shop for 13 years. “We’ve seen a lot of ups and downs and worries in all that time,” Laird said between taking phone orders. “Just never in a million years would I have put a pandemic on the list.” Laird is not the only ...
Updated March 3. WESTFIELD, NJ — Food establishments in Downtown Westfield are expanding offerings of specialty grocery items, including those that are hard to find during the coronavirus pandemic. Businesses are making such items — including toilet paper, flour, milk, fresh bread and produce ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Minuteman Press in Westfield is giving away 50 “Show Our Local Businesses Some Love” lawn signs in conjunction with the Greater Westfield Area Chamber of Commerce in response to the economic stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Owner Jim Mooney said he got the idea from a ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Employment attorney Fred Shahrooz-Scampato has been chosen for the seventh year in a row to receive the honor of Employment Litigation: Plaintiff by Super Lawyers Magazine. Each year, no more than five percent of New Jersey lawyers receive inclusion into this state's Super ...
If you are a business or employee impacted by COVID-19 there are a number of government programs that can benefit you. Assemblyman Jon Bramnick, R-Westfield, and Sen. Joe Cryan, D-Union, discuss these in this short video: Sign up for email news alerts and Download the TAPinto mobile app ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — As the number of COVID-19 cases grow, the mayor continues to urge residents to practice social distancing. In an announcement Thursday night, Mayor Shelley Brindle said that Westfield school resource officers who have been redeployed as community service officers will conduct ...
GARWOOD, NJ — (Updated at 10:42 p.m.) The borough on Tuesday walked back portions of a local state of emergency order that would have placed limitations on shopping at grocery stores. The shops, however, are voluntarily maintaining a portion of the mayor’s request. Mayor Sara Todisco in a ...
Editor's Note: Our reporter practiced social distancing during the making of this story. WESTFIELD, NJ — As Westfield announced its second case of COVID-19 on Monday, life around the town and state had seemingly come to a grinding halt — at least in public spaces. From empty playgrounds to ...
Updated at 8:30 p.m. WESTFIELD, NJ — The town has asked its supermarkets to limit crowd capacity to 50%, Mayor Shelley Brindle announced Monday night. “We are prepared to implement voluntary crowd management protocols if crowds continue,” Brindle said. The two supermarkets in town had both ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Beginning Tuesday, all “non-essential businesses” in the town’s special improvement district will be closed to foot traffic in an effort to mitigate the spread of coronavirus, the mayor said Sunday night. Mayor Shelley Brindle announced what she described as the “unprecedented ...
Updated at 8:28 p.m. Feb. 28 WESTFIELD, NJ — Downtown Westfield Corporation has named a new executive director. Robert Zuckerman, who previously headed up the South Orange Village Center Alliance and serves as president of Downtown New Jersey, a statewide group advocating for downtowns, ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — The government entity managing the town’s special improvement district is set to name a new and permanent executive director, Downtown Westfield Corp’s top official said Tuesday. Kathleen Miller Prunty, the interim executive director of Downtown Westfield Corp., said board ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — A forensic investigation into the alleged partisan political tweet from the official account of the Downtown Westfield Corporation clears employees of the quasi-governmental agency of wrongdoing, records released Thursday show. The investigation conducted by the firm Charles ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Both the municipality and the owner of a 97-year-old movie theater, which closed abruptly six months ago, are working to convert the landmark location into a performing arts center. The town had sought a grant to hire a consultant to study what the best use for the theater space ...
Updated at 12:31 p.m. Feb. 5 WESTFIELD, NJ — The town intends to expand the government entity managing its special improvement district to better represent a municipality of its size, officials said. The measure introduced by the town council last week would increase the board of the Downtown ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Plants block the entryway of the restaurant’s doors, and more greenery in the window is turning brown. A sign on the door states that InnovAsian Taco at 106 Quimby St. is “closed.” And while a logo on the door indicates the eatery participates in the online food delivery service ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — A piece of information that a government agency mistakenly released revealed a horrifying situation: babies were dying in a certain type of infant sleeper and nobody had told the public. The information obtained from the Consumer Products Safety Commission led Rachel Rabkin ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — An investigation into a controversial tweet from the official twitter account of the government entity managing the downtown business district has found that the widely circulated social media posting was “fabricated,” the mayor said. At Tuesday’s council meeting, Mayor Shelley ...
JERSEY CITY, NJ — Downtown consultant and Westfield resident Sherry Cronin is the new secretary of the board for Downtown New Jersey, a non-profit membership organization of individuals, businesses, developers, government agencies and local and regional entities that provides advocacy, education ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — Businesses come. Businesses go. Here’s a roundup of some of the top business openings and closings to happen in town in 2019 and others anticipated to happen in 2020. Top Openings (and openings anticipated) Microbrewery in Westfield: 5 Questions with Lions Roar ...
WESTFIELD, NJ — The online polls are open in the town’s second annual contest of gingerbread building. Eight gingerbread structures are on display at shop fronts throughout the downtown, including a replica of Lion’s Roar Brewery, the Rialto Theatre and one showing a British soldier aiming a ...