North New Jersey

Breaking news and local stories from Bergen, Passaic and Sussex Counties, NJ

A Sussex County Community College professor is suing the school, claiming she was sexually harassed by a superior who retaliated against her when she rejected his advances, and that she was improperly denied a promotion.

The professor, Darla Silverman, is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, fees and costs from the college. The civil suit, made public today in Superior Court in Newton, names as defendants the college, its president, Constance Mierendorf, vice president Harry Damato and associate professor of psychology Richard Linden.

Kathleen Scott, a spokeswoman for the college, declined comment on the lawsuit.

Seventeen towns in the Highlands have approved resolutions stating they plan to follow the regional master plan, a set of policies that would restrict new development in their communities, the executive director of the Highlands Council said today.

Those towns, under an agreement between the Highlands Council and state Council on Affordable Housing, will likely see affordable housing numbers adjusted downward, and get an additional year to show how they will meet those affordable housing obligations.

None of the towns are bound by the resolution; they can pull out of the process at any time.

The ramp linking the northbound New Jersey Turnpike to Route 3 was closed for hours today after a fuel tanker overturned and burst into flames shortly after 3 p.m., authorities said.

The tanker driver suffered second- and third-degree burns over 40 percent of his body, and was in critical but stable condition at University Hospital in Newark, according to State Police Sgt. Stephen Jones.

In its heyday, some 60 Benedictine monks called the monastery at St. Paul's Abbey their home during the mid-1950s and early'60s.

Along with a smaller number of seminarians and farm workers, the monks toiled the 500 acres on the Newton-Andover Township border, living off the land and devoting themselves to God's work.

They had a small cattle operation, with bees, honey, fruit and milk. Today, the Abbey is boarded up, a relic of better times.

The building, however, may not remain empty. Andover Township officials have plans to resurrect the two-story stone structure and use it to fulfill the township's affordable housing obligation.

Under a 45-year lease signed last week, the township will build about 24 two- and three-bedroom units in the landmark building, as well as about 17 more units in a smaller, new facility that will be constructed behind the shuttered monastery, on 8 acres leased from the abbey.

Hundreds of North Jersey police officers marched through Cresskill in Bergen County today to protest the suspension of two police officers who responded to a crash in nearby New Milford in which a 10-year-old was killed by the driver of a stolen car.

Officers Matthew Banta and Brad Levitzki have been suspended with pay since Oct. 22.

Police Chief Stephen Lillis has declined to comment on the suspensions, but Levitzki's lawyer said the chief has proposed a six-month suspension without pay. Attorney Albert Wunsch said both officers plan to reject the offer and will seek a public hearing instead.

Wanaque's school board Tuesday approved cutting 8 and one-half custodial positions and soliciting bids for private custodial services, according to a report in the Record.

The report said Superintendent Richard Weisenfeld told the 80 or so attendees that the changes, although unfortunate, are needed to pay for unexpected and unbudgeted costs. Linda Marton, president of the 133-member Wanaque Borough Education Association, the employee union, said the district was putting savings over children's safety, because it would be relying on strangers.

Police plan to rally today on behalf of two Cresskill officers who responded to a crash in New Milford in which a 10-year-old was killed by the driver of a stolen car.

Officers Matthew Banta and Brad Levitzki have been suspended with pay since Oct. 22.

The $650 million, 45-mile power line proposed for North Jersey will cut through some of the state's most environmentally sensitive lands and will need careful state scrutiny, environmental groups said today.

The organizations called on the state Department of Environmental Protection to ensure that the project meets the requirements of the 2004 Highlands Act, which aims to protect the vast, environmentally-sensitive region.