Name: Tension at Hasbrouck Heights meeting over mayor not quarantining after Arizona trip
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Tension at Hasbrouck Heights meeting over mayor not quarantining after Arizona trip

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NorthJersey.comView CommentsThe exchange at the Hasbrouck Heights council meeting was brief, but pointed.A maskless Mayor&nbsp;John “Jack” DeLorenzo&nbsp;said from the dais that he had recently returned from Arizona. That is one of the states under the announced by Gov. Phil Murphy on June 24 to prevent&nbsp;the spread of COVID-19.&nbsp;&nbsp;When questioned&nbsp;by&nbsp;Councilman Christopher Hillmann about his out-of-state travels, DeLorenzo said he “drove through those states” and told Hillmann that Hillmann could have called in to the meeting if he was concerned.Hillmann noted the quarantine advisory, and countered&nbsp;that DeLorenzo should be&nbsp;at home, to which DeLorenzo responded, “That’s debatable.”The scene in Hasbrouck Heights illustrated&nbsp;a possible friction point for some governing bodies throughout the region as they debate&nbsp;whether it is time to&nbsp;resume in-person municipal meetings.&nbsp;In Hasbrouck Heights, precautions are taken at Borough Council meetings, such as&nbsp;checking temperatures and promoting social distancing, but borough officials spend much of the meeting with their masks off.“Forget the laws&nbsp;— the science is clear: Masks prevent the transmission of COVID-19,” Hillmann said. “Why doesn’t Mayor DeLorenzo care about keeping his fellow members of the council and borough employees safe?”TRENDING:FEEL-GOOD NEWS:DeLorenzo had no comment regarding his decision to attend the meeting.Meanwhile, in Englewood Cliffs an in-person&nbsp;meeting was attempted, but a quorum was not present because Republican Mayor Mario Kranjac and the Democratic Borough Council majority were at odds.Kranjac said he told the council earlier in the&nbsp;week that the&nbsp;meeting would be held both in person and on Zoom.“Many of our residents want to participate in democracy as it was intended — in vivo&nbsp;— and I found a safe way to accommodate them and others,” Kranjac said. “The four Democrats on the council boycotted the meeting, and no borough business was accomplished.”Councilman Ed Aversa called the decision to meet in person “irresponsible and unnecessary.” He said that until the virus is under control he doesn’t think it is “safe, wise or necessary.”Aversa is a dentist by trade and said he doesn’t want to risk getting a patient sick or getting sick himself.“I don’t see why we need to meet in person if Zoom meetings have been sufficient so far,” Aversa said. “I don’t want to deal with , either, but we have to be safe,”&nbsp;he added, referring to a recent meeting where tempers flared and an attorney was ejected.&nbsp;In Clifton, the city has been using Zoom since the beginning of the pandemic but recently retrofitted the courtroom with plexiglass partitions to allow officials to be together for the meeting, said City Manager Dominick Villano.“Moving forward, we are preparing our facilities to allow the public back into the meetings; however, we must comply with the restrictions imposed under the governor’s executive orders as to the number of people that can be accommodated inside the courtroom,” he said.Katie&nbsp;Sobko&nbsp;is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community,&nbsp;.Email:&nbsp;&nbsp; Twitter:&nbsp;View Comments

NorthJersey.comView CommentsThe exchange at the Hasbrouck Heights council meeting was brief, but pointed.A maskless Mayor&nbsp;John “Jack” DeLorenzo&nbsp;said from the dais that he had recently returned from Arizona. That is one of the states under the announced by Gov. Phil Murphy on June 24 to prevent&nbsp;the spread of COVID-19.&nbsp;&nbsp;When questioned&nbsp;by&nbsp;Councilman Christopher Hillmann about his out-of-state travels, DeLorenzo said he “drove through those states” and told Hillmann that Hillmann could have called in to the meeting if he was concerned.Hillmann noted the...

Tension at Hasbrouck Heights meeting over mayor not quarantining after Arizona trip

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