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Starting on Friday, November 1st, South Orange residents can take advantage of two Zipcars stationed in the downtown! We welcomed Zipcar to our community, cutting the ribbon officially on Friday.  Read the press release from the Village below with more information: Zipcar comes to South Orange Village! Beginning on Friday, November 1st, residents and community members will be able to take advantage of two Zipcars located conveniently in downtown South Orange, Village officials announced on Wednesday. Zipcar, which operates the largest car-sharing service in the world, will be placing two vehicles in downtown South Orange – a Toyota Prius named “Picabo” and a Ford Focus named “Slovak.” The cars can be found across the street from the highly trafficked NJ Transit station in the Firehouse Lot off of Sloan Street and First Street. South Orange has won numerous awards and certifications for its green initiatives, largely driven by the protection of local natural resources, use of alternative fuels and transportations, eco-friendly redevelopment projects and the promotion of a truly walkable transit-oriented urban suburb. Village President Alex Torpey, who connected with Zipcar President Mark Norman while both were participating in a panel in Washington, D.C. in September expressed excitement at the...

This morning, just before midnight, I re-opened Village Hall for a historic occasion - Having one of the first same-sex marriages in the state of New Jersey's history take place here in South Orange.  Read more on the Village's website: http://southorange.org/notices.asp?guid=7affa8a2 In the news: www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/A-Couple-Fulfills-an-Old-Vow-as-Gay-Marriages-Begin-in-New-Jersey-228575951.html Congratulations all of the couples who are now allowed to marry! If you'd like to fill out an application, please contact the Village's Clerk's Office at 973 378 7715 or [email protected].    

Thursday, October 17th will be out first Board of Trustees meeting in our new temporary space while Village Hall is being renovated. We'll be meeting in the Main Stage at the South Orange Performing Arts Center for the next two years, and welcome all to come to our meetings, which will typically be on the same schedule on Monday night at 8pm. You can see the Village Calendar here with all of the dates. And don't forget that all offices in Village Hall are now located at 76 South Orange Ave (The PNC Bank building right across the street from Village Hall) on the third floor for the duration of the renovation as well.  For any more information visit http://southorange.org!

Check out this interview from KRUU FM, where we discuss issues facing millennial civic leaders. Enjoy! http://kruufm.com/node/16594  

As the summer begins to wind down (a frightening thought!) I hope you'll take a moment to read about some very exciting updates in town. Budget & Taxes Our 2013 municipal budget has been adopted with the lowest tax rate increase in over 15 years. Our aim is to bring the budget in as low as possible while still providing the services that all of you expect in South Orange. Each year, we continue to make more progress towards yearly stabilization at the same time that we explore larger long-term ways to actually reduce taxes. You won't see the kinds of year to year increases that used to happen, even as we're being responsible about investing in long-ignored deferred maintenance projects and maintaing the quality of services everyone has come to expect in South Orange. Visit us online to download our budget or find more information. We have some very exciting transparency/participation tools in the pipeline for the 2014 budget building on our record of making our budget the most accessible in the state, so keep your eyes open!SOPAC & Grant FundingThe New Jersey State Council on the Arts awarded SOPAC with a three-year $30,000 per year grant. This grant represents a tremendous step forward...

Read more about the budget.

On Wednesday morning, elected officials, Village staff, and most importantly, the team putting together the new Gateway projected, headed by Ed Ayusso, gathered to formally break ground on the Gateway project, which will bring 57 luxury apartments and 9,000 square feet of prime retail space into downtown South Orange, adjacent to the South Orange train station. The project is set to be completed in 2014. Read more: http://thealternativepress.com/towns/south-orange/articles/south-orange-celebrates-ground-breaking-for-the http://southorange.patch.com/articles/south-orange-breaks-ground-on-former-beifus-site  

This is one of the most exciting projets in recent history of the Village. Along with the new Gateway project on South Orange Avenue, this will bring in much-needed dense residential, commercial space and structured parking, all while generating over a half million dollars a year in revenue to the Village, and providing the Rescue Squad with a new and upgraded facility. Check out the powerpoint below to learn a little more about the project. (some of the details in the presentation will change as the project moves along)