Drones. Development. Development. Drones.
Order them either way. They top Morristown Green’s list of the biggest local stories of 2024.
Here is a chronological look back at the Greater Morristown news, arts and obituaries that commanded our attention over the last 12 months.
NEWS
JANUARY:
The Morristown Housing Authority director bolts in the midst of a rocky privatization of the town’s seniors and public housing.
FEBRUARY:
Citing a lack of space, a citizens advisory board recommends against allowing any cannabis dispensaries in Morris Township.
Sophie the Hot Dog Lady marks four decades of franks on the Green.
APRIL:
After the mayor and business administrator take the witness stand, Morristown agrees to pay $5.5 million to a developer who alleged the officials soured his South Street deal with Big Four accounting firm Deloitte. The town maintains it’s innocent of improper behavior.
MAY:
The Morristown council approves “M Lofts,” 150 units of luxury apartments on Spring Street, near the new M Station office complex; council members assure tenants of a 19th-century tenement that they won’t be displaced.
JUNE:
One month after a young woman’s leg is severed by a NJ Transit train, she vows to press on and encourages others to surmount setbacks.
The Morristown zoning board approves a major expansion of the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC).
The Morristown council snuffs out a cannabis dispensary under construction; a judge later upholds the town’s action.
AUGUST:
The Morristown zoning board shoots down a proposed self-storage/ Morris Arts office near the train station; it’s the second failed self-storage project in town.
The state champion Morristown Area Little League all-stars advance to the regional finals.
Morris Township’s Nic Fink and Delbarton grad Jack Alexy excel in Paris, bringing home Olympic medals in swimming for Team USA.
SEPTEMBER:
Former Morristown councilman and youth sports coach William “Butchie” Barber, 82, has a road renamed in his honor.
Morris Township announces state transportation grants totaling $600,000, for roadwork, freeing up municipal funds for design of a new Township community center, and purchase of a seniors bus.
Tom Ross, superintendent of the Morristown and Thomas Edison national historical parks for 11 years, leaves to take a Park Service position at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
“I think the (Morristown) park is in great shape to receive increased visitation” for America’s 250th anniversary celebration in 2026, Ross told Morristown Green, adding he is proud of forging strong community partnerships “which make most of the work happen.”
On his watch in Morristown, the Park Service completed the Discover History Museum, posted new signage, enhanced the Jockey Hollow Visitor Center, and spent more than $5M on roadway improvements, including pedestrian safety improvements at Fort Nonsense.
Leslie Bensley, executive director of the Friends of Jockey Hollow and former Morris County tourism director, hailed Ross as patient, “very hard working…and a deeply collaborative partner.
Darren Boch, superintendent of the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park is serving as Acting Superintendent while the Park Service recruits Ross’ successor.
OCTOBER:
A year after its expansion plans garnered public attention, Morristown Medical Center revives its plans, in bifurcated form this time. Neighbors raise concerns at meetings in October and November.
Morris Township says it may challenge its new affordable housing quota from the state Department of Community Affairs, which released figures for the entire state.
MorristownGreen.com’s founding editor receives the Local Impact in New Jersey Journalism Award.
NOVEMBER:
Greater Morristown votes to return Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-11th Dist.) to a fourth term in Congress. Republican incumbents are returned to Morris County government. Democrats Bill Houston and Tyler Pontier flip the Morris Plains council. In Morris Township, Mayor Donna Guariglia and Committeeman Mark Gyorfy are re-elected.
A developer presents plans to redevelop North Park Place, a premier Morristown location with numerous long-vacant storefronts.
Morristown High School holds a 5 a.m. pep rally, as the star of CBS2 New York’s morning news show.
Mysterious drones spark an intense investigation in Morris Township—and unease that spreads across New Jersey amidst numerous reported sightings.
The Table of Hope closes its Morristown soup kitchen, which serves weeknight suppers to hundreds of disadvantaged people, after a sewer pump failure shuts down its church dining area. The soup kitchen reopens weeks later, just before Christmas, thanks in part to a generous contractor.
The Morristown Unitarian Fellowship in Morris Township opens a 9,000-square-foot expansion, dubbed the Gateway Center.
DECEMBER:
Bucking intense public opposition spanning seven meetings and more than 25 hours of testimony, the former and present mayors of Morris Plains cast the deciding votes for a McDonald’s drive-through.
After years of legal limbo and a pandemic, plans finally proceed for 89 housing units behind the Morristown train station.
‘The Metro,’ a massive mixed-used project is proposed for the Staples strip mall in Morristown.
Morristown’s rejected cannabis retailer holds an open house at its completed facility, and applies in a new round of license submissions.
President-elect Trump nominates a Morristown businessman and philanthropist to be Ambassador to Ireland.
ARTS
NEW YEAR’S EVE:
A hypnotist is among the spellbinding stars of First Night Morris County 2024 in Morristown.
FEBRUARY:
A Morristown Medical Center employee, a Morristown Beard sophomore, and a Sussex Avenue School staff member take top honors at Morristown Onstage, in one of the strongest fields in the contest’s 17-year history.
MARCH:
The Irreverent Reverend: A Morristown pastor departs from the sermon circuit for a standup routine unlike anything listeners have heard at Sunday services.
Morristown High’s Mary Poppins marks an uplifting farewell for twins Julia and Charlotte Cama, stars of the school’s award-winning theatre department.
‘Mary Poppins’ at MHS, March 2024. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
MAY:
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison starts a new leadership era with A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, possibly the funniest production we have seen there.
JUNE:
MPAC’s annual community production brings Broadway-style magic with Beauty and the Beast.
Pioneer Productions’ Godspell features a real Morristown pastor and real backstage drama.
Aztec Two-Step 2.0 at the Troubadour: A beloved folk/rock duo gets a reboot worthy of the original.
JULY:
Those Shakespeareans score again with The Book of Will.
SEPTEMBER:
Joanne Shaw Taylor tops a crowd-pleasing bill at the Morristown Jazz & Blues Fest.
Norm Lewis hits all the right notes as the Mayo Performing Arts Center’s 30th season opener.
Shakespeare meets Jane Austen in Madison.
OCTOBER:
‘Reading is not dead’: The 11th annual Morristown Festival of Books draws big crowds of book lovers of all ages.
NOVEMBER:
Mendham’s Mother Teresa, Maggie Doyne, touches hearts and wallets with an MPAC screening of an award-winning documentary about her humanitarian work with orphans in Nepal.
Morristown High’s theater department has presented many entertaining shows over the years; Shakespeare in Love is among the best.
in ‘Shakespeare in Love,’ MHS 2024. Photo by Marion Filler.
Pioneer Productions’ Dinner with Friends gives couples plenty to chew on.
Wacky, weird and wintry, the fifth annual Theatre of Light dazzles Morristown.
DECEMBER:
Multi-talented Morristown High alumna Gloria Bangiola stars in her first feature length film.
No Humbug: The Shakespeare Theatre’s A Christmas Carol imbues a timeless classic with fire and fun.
Johnny Mathis, 89, still can thrill a holiday audience.
It’s a Merry Tuba Christmas to remember – indoors, for once.
R.I.P.
FEBRUARY:
A vintage fire truck takes Glenn Coutts, who died at 94, for a final loop around the historic Morristown Green, which he helped preserve and beautify over decades as president of the Trustees of the Green.
MARCH:
Richard Kreimer, the homeless man who made a career of suing government agencies, starting famously with the Morristown library and police, dies at 75.
APRIL:
Longtime Morris District school board member Lisa Pollak dies from complications of a heart condition.
Former Morristown Councilwoman Sandi Mayer, a Democrat who bucked the town’s Democratic administration, dies just months after open heart surgery.
MAY:
Franklin Corners activist Faith Teeple dies.
JUNE:
Iron Bar owner and former Essex County freeholder Jimmy Cavanaugh, who frequently locked horns with the Morristown mayor and town officials, dies at 80.
JULY:
Iconic Morristown businessman Jim Broome, who sold wigs of every style for every occasion, dies.
Retired Morristown policeman Brendan Briscoe dies from pancreatic cancer.
AUGUST:
Retired cop Carl “Peewee” Cousin, dead at 75, is remembered as a quiet hero.
NOVEMBER:
William Levine, owner of the now-defunct Epstein’s Department store, was an early and important player in the redevelopment that transformed downtown Morristown, longtime Morristown Partnership counsel Robert Goldsmith told Morristown Green.
Levine advocated in the 1990s for creation of the town’s special improvement district.
“His tireless efforts and steadfast belief in Morristown’s potential led the charge that has resulted in the thriving business community we celebrate today,” said Partnership Executive Director Jennifer Wehring.
its first executive director, to Morristown. Behind them is a prototype of Welcome Signs
to be installed by the Partnership at the town’s main entrances. Photo courtesy of the Morristown Partnership.
Norman Block, Morristown mayor from 1990-98, dies at 96. Four-term Mayor Tim Dougherty credits Bloch for his start in government, and praises him as an effective and “forward-thinking” town leader.
