Overcast 50°
Lifestyle
Coats From Cullen: Nonprofit Keeps Bergen County Man's Name Alive Coats From Cullen: Nonprofit Keeps Bergen County Man's Name Alive
Coats From Cullen: Nonprofit Keeps Bergen County Man's Name Alive Passing homeless people on New York City's streets never got easier for Allendale's Cullen McCann. He's taken his own shoes off for the people living on the street. Left family gatherings with Tupperware containers full of food for them. McCann, formerly of Ridgefield Park, wished he could do more to help. On Nov. 12, the 41-year-old died unexpectedly. In an effort to carry on his humanitarian efforts, McCann's family has founded a nonprofit organization in his name -- Coats from Cullen -- distributing coats to the homeless. More than $1,200 had been raised on a GoFundMe as of Sunday even…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
Neighbors
Lyndhurst Fitness Guru Brings Christmas To North Jersey Homeless, Volunteers Sought Lyndhurst Fitness Guru Brings Christmas To North Jersey Homeless, Volunteers Sought
Lyndhurst Fitness Guru Brings Christmas To North Jersey Homeless, Volunteers Sought Leah Fairchild of Lyndhurst had just given Christmas bags to a dozen homeless people on the streets of Manhattan when she began to cry. She wanted to do more. Since that Christmas four years ago, she has. “Each year I vow to do it bigger and better,” said Fairchild, who, with help from a team of volunteers, will distribute 275 bags Monday morning to those living on the streets and in shelters in Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex counties. Fairchild, a single mom of three who owns and operates Train on Purpose (TOP) Hybrid Fitness Studio in Lyndhurst, launched her “Christmas Miracle Projec…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Schools
Lodi Schoolchildren Help Homeless Through 'Blessings In A Backpack' Lodi Schoolchildren Help Homeless Through 'Blessings In A Backpack'
Lodi Schoolchildren Help Homeless Through 'Blessings In A Backpack' Students and staff at Washington Elementary School in Lodi participated in a “Blessings in a Backpack” charitable event to help the homeless. Four dozen backpacks were filled with much-needed supplies. “As always, our students and staff exceeded expectations,” Principal Kevin Dowson said. “They doubled the original goal of 24 backpacks.” School Security Officer Bill Byrnes served as the liaison between the school and charity founder Tony Osso.

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Authorities Try To Reach Kin Of Homeless Man Found Dead In Passaic River In North Arlington Authorities Try To Reach Kin Of Homeless Man Found Dead In Passaic River In North Arlington
Authorities Try To Reach Kin Of Homeless Man Found Dead In Passaic River In North Arlington Authorities on Thursday continued to search for the daughter of a homeless man whose body was found Saturday in the Passaic River in North Arlington so that they may notify her of his death. Until then, they said, the 59-year-old man's identity must be withheld. A medical examiner found no apparent foul play in the death of the man, who was divorced and most recently lived in Wallington. Toxicology results were still pending. The body was discovered off River Road just before 10:30 a.m. Saturday and brought to the Kearny Boathouse deck before being collected by Bergen County authorities. …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Body Of Homeless Man, 59, Pulled From Passaic River In North Arlington Body Of Homeless Man, 59, Pulled From Passaic River In North Arlington
Body Of Homeless Man, 59, Pulled From Passaic River In North Arlington Bergen County prosecutor's investigators were investigating the discovery Saturday of the body of a 59-year-old homeless man pulled from the Passaic River in North Arlington. Initial indications were that the death of the man -- who was divorced and most recently lived in Wallington -- wasn't suspicious, responders said. The body was discovered off River Road just before 10:30 a.m. and brought to the Kearny Boathouse deck before being collected by Bergen County authorities. Notifications were being made to next of kin who live outside the U.S., they said.

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Homeless Man Who Pretended To Defecate On Flag In Library Raises $1,000 Online For Fines Homeless Man Who Pretended To Defecate On Flag In Library Raises $1,000 Online For Fines
Homeless Man Who Pretended To Defecate On Flag In Library Raises $1,000 Online For Fines A homeless man has raised more than $1,000 online to help pay for the expected fines he'll get for taking a photo of himself with his pants down in the Hawthorne public library pretending to defecate on the American flag. A summons accuses Michael Brown of “a flagrantly lewd and offensive act” for “exposing his buttocks and squatting over an American flag,” according to the 56-year-old folk singer, who has a host of social media pages and posts videos singing with his guitar. "I'm a free expression guy," Brown wrote on Facebook. "I don't usually do deliberate provocation but …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Homeless Man Who Pretended To Defecate On Flag In Library Raises $1,000 Online For Fines Homeless Man Who Pretended To Defecate On Flag In Library Raises $1,000 Online For Fines
Homeless Man Who Pretended To Defecate On Flag In Library Raises $1,000 Online For Fines A homeless man has raised more than $1,000 online to help pay for the expected fines he'll get for taking a photo of himself with his pants down in the Hawthorne public library pretending to defecate on the American flag. A summons accuses Michael Brown of “a flagrantly lewd and offensive act” for “exposing his buttocks and squatting over an American flag,” according to the 56-year-old folk singer, who has a host of social media pages and posts videos singing with his guitar. "I'm a free expression guy," Brown wrote on Facebook. "I don't usually do deliberate provocation but …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Fort Lee PD: Homeless Ex-Con Fights Shopper For Purse, Flees In Stolen Car Fort Lee PD: Homeless Ex-Con Fights Shopper For Purse, Flees In Stolen Car
Fort Lee PD: Homeless Ex-Con Fights Shopper For Purse, Flees In Stolen Car A Fort Lee supermarket shopper struggled with a homeless career criminal who police said grabbed her purse before speeding off in a stolen car. Gregory Prior, 52, came up from behind and snatched the purse from a shopping cart full of groceries that the woman was pushing through the parking lot of the ACME on Lemoine Avenue shortly after 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Capt. Matthew Hintze said. The woman fought off Prior, then got the license plate number of the getaway car, which had been reported stolen out of Jersey City earlier in the morning, Hintze said. State Police found the car, parked and un…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Events
Allendale Woman's Club Fashion Show To Help Struggling Moms, Children Allendale Woman's Club Fashion Show To Help Struggling Moms, Children
Allendale Woman's Club Fashion Show To Help Struggling Moms, Children ALLENDALE, N.J. -- Mothers and their children who are struggling with homelessness, hunger and addiction will benefit from a special fashion show coordinated by The Allendale Woman’s Club. The AWC, which supports various charitable initiatives, chose the Hope Residence for Mothers with Children at Eva's Village in Paterson for its 2018 "Ladies Night Out Fashion Show Benefit: Design for Recovery" on April 24 at Seasons restaurant in Washington Township. Guests will be treated to a gourmet cocktail hour, basket raffles, sit-down dinner, fashion show by Fig Leaf Boutique (Maywood) an…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Hospitalized Homeless Man Improving After Hackensack Crash Hospitalized Homeless Man Improving After Hackensack Crash
Hospitalized Homeless Man Improving After Hackensack Crash HACKENSACK, N.J. — A hospitalized homeless man was doing better after being hit by a pickup truck near the Hackensack city shelter, sources said Thursday. Daniel Gallagher, 57, had made it across both southbound lanes and one northbound lane toward the South River Street shelter -- narrowly missing being hit by another vehicle –when he was struck in the middle of the block around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, surveillance video shows. The pickup driver from New Milford, who was headed north in the right lane, “never saw him,” a responder said. The city volunteer ambulance corps took Gallagher to Hack…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco