Community News
Hudson County To Honor Mayor McDonough
February 13, 2014 (Jersey City, NJ) Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise announced today that the County of Hudson will be flying their flags at half staff to honor Harrison Mayor Raymond McDonough tomorrow.
Mayor McDonough with County Executive Thomas DeGise at Red Bulls Stadium Groundbreaking ceremony . Photograph courtesy of NJ.com
County offices, with exception of emergency personnel, are closed today because of the State of Emergency declaration due to the snow storm hitting New Jersey and the greater northeast.
Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced. KOTW will publish the funeral arrangements as soon as those arrangements are announced.
It is expected that a funeral mass will be held at Holy Cross Church in Harrison NJ where Mayor McDonough was a parishioner. The church is directly across the street from Town Hall in Harrison.
Mayor Raymond McDonough Dies At Harrison Town Hall
February 12, 2014 (Harrison, NJ) Harrison Mayor Raymond McDonough sustained a heart attack this afternoon and died. The Mayor who of late was in the news with respect to his early endorsement of Governor Chris Christie had conducted a meeting with Harrison elected officials this morning and had returned from lunch when he had a heart attack. He was pronounced dead at 2:30 p.m. this afternoon.
Mayor McDonough in his Office at Town Hall. Photograph courtesy of NJ.com
There were only a few employees in the Town Hall of Harrison as today is Lincoln's Birthday when McDonough became ill.
KOTW will provide additional details and funeral arrangements as soon as those are available. The flag in front of Town Hall was lowered by town employee James Geddis upon hearing of the Mayor's passing. Our condolensces to the McDonough family and the great Town of Harrison family.
Leave your rememberance of Mayor McDonough and express your condolences on our Discussion Board.
Here is the full text of the official statement released by the Town of Harrison this afternoon:
MAYOR RAYMOND J. McDONOUGH
(1949-2014)
It is with great sadness that the Harrison Town Council announces that Mayor Raymond J. McDonough died suddenly today at his office in Town Hall. Raymond had just started his 20th year as Mayor of Harrison, the Town that he loved and to which he dedicated his time and talents. Today, Harrison lost a native son, a tireless advocate, and a dear friend. Raymond’s door was always open, and he never passed up an opportunity to talk about Harrison and its residents.
No politician was more caring or generous than Raymond. He would give the shirt off of his back if someone was in need. Countless families had holiday meals, heat, and roofs over their heads because of Raymond’s generosity. He never said “no” to anybody.
Raymond began his political career in 1978, when he was sworn-in as councilman for the 2nd Ward. He continued to represent his 2nd Ward neighbors for 17 years, until he was elected as Mayor. A gifted athlete, Raymond proudly served as the Recreation Chairman for many years, and the youth of Harrison benefitted greatly.
Raymond not only followed in the political footsteps of his father, who was a Harrison Alderman and Hudson County Freeholder, he also followed him professionally, becoming a Master Plumber and later a Foreman for Plumbers Local 24.
As part of his plan to revitalize Harrison, Raymond was in the midst of a massive redevelopment effort designed to replace 250 acres of decaying and contaminated industrial land with residences, business and entertainment facilities, and office space. Under Raymond’s constant direction, the Town saw the rise of Red Bull Arena, the Hampton Inn, Panasonic’s RD center, the River-Park condos, Harrison Station, a 1,400 space parking garage, and many others. After many years of exhausting efforts, Raymond convinced the Port Authority of NY/NJ to re-build the Town’s antiquated and inaccessible PATH station.
Indicative of his devotion to Harrison’s senior residents, Raymond was the driving force behind the new affordable senior apartments being constructed on Harrison Avenue, using entirely grants and fees collected from redevelopers. According to Raymond, nothing was too good for “his” seniors.
As part of his efforts to help Harrison’s underprivileged, Raymond partnered with North Hudson Community Action Corp. to bring a state-of-the-art medical clinic to the Town, so that uninsured families can receive quality healthcare. Construction is scheduled to begin in March.
As devoted as Raymond was to Harrison and its residents, he was more devoted to his family. Raymond leaves behind his beloved wife of over 40 years, Connie, who has been a constant source of support to Raymond throughout his political career. For that, Connie deserves the thanks and admiration of Harrison’s residents. Raymond also left behind his twin brother, Thomas, sisters Maureen, Kathleen, and many in-laws, nieces and nephews.
KMUA Gets Federal Grant
December 12, 2013 (Kearny, NJ) The Kearny Municipal Utilities Authority (KMUA) has been granted a 3 Million Dollar grant to rebuild its facility which was damaged by Hurricane Sandy last year. The KMUA is located in South Kearny and monitors and treats waste water from South Kearny before it is allowed to flow to the Passaic River.
Members of Kearny Municipal Utilities Authority in Front of Jacobus Avenue in South Kearny. Photograph courtesy of Town of Kearny
Responsive KOTW
January 7, 2014 (Kearny, NJ) KOTW is pleased to announce an update to its website. Our content hasn't changed but our website look and feel has changed. The change is not just cosmetic. Our statistic show that increasingly visitors to KearnyOnTheWeb are using their mobile devices to access our articles. Our Discussion Board was already mobile friendly but our main website was not. Both are now mobile responsive and will scale depending upon whether you are using your PC, Iphone, Samsung Galazy, Ipad, Kindle or other tablet.
KOTW acknowledges the assistance of our technical staff in getting this monumental task accomplished. The old articles are all still there and we are continuing to work on fine tuning the website but we are proud to start off 2014 with an improved KOTW. Enjoy.
Kuehne Still Dangerous
August 23, 2013 (Kearny, NJ) Kearny's Kuehne Chemical plant has made the news once again. The picture accompanying the article on the dangers of the Kuehne Chemical Plant and its potential to kill a million people has a bunch of teenagers, probably college students, naively standing across the river from the Kuehne Chemical plant trying to get the attention of the media in their effort to avoid a disaster.
Members of New Jersey Public Interest Research Group stand across the river from the Kuehne Chemical Plant. Photograph courtesy of NJ.com
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