HILLSDALE, N.J.—During a Zoom meeting on June 15, the mayor established a special committee to help develop a policy to honor current and former residents, including a set of criteria to evaluate candidates, local officials said.
Following the short meeting, Mayor Michael Sheinfield told Pascack Press that the special 2026 committee, officially called the Naming & Recognition Committee, would develop a policy to honor and recognize local individuals.
The committee will be composed of councilors Anthony DeRosa and John Ruocco; Police Lt. Matthew Buesser; Historic Committee member Peter Hard; and representatives from the Planning Board, Parks & Recreation Committee, and Environmental Commission.
Sheinfield said he assigned the committee to examine the questions, concerns, and criteria involved in honoring a current or former resident. He said officials do not want such honors to be viewed as arbitrary, and hope to put guardrails in place for future recognitions.
On June 2, the Borough Council received a letter from Rosemarie D’Alessandro requesting that a local street sign be named in honor of her daughter, Joan, who was murdered by a neighbor in 1973 at age 7 while delivering Girl Scout cookies.
Once a formal application is made to the committee, after it develops its criteria, Sheinfield said the committee will consider specific applications for local honors.
D’Alessandro’s legacy
The borough has dedicated a community garden in Joan D’Alessandro’s name, and her family has established a foundation, Joan’s Joy, to provide child-safety programs, school outreach, and support for children and families affected by trauma.
Moreover, a state law called Joan’s Law was passed in November 2000. It states that a person convicted of murdering a minor under age 18 in the course of committing a sex crime will serve life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
The statute, known as the Justice for Victims Law, was signed by Acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco at Hillsdale Borough Hall on Nov. 17, 2000. It eliminates the statute of limitations for civil actions against individuals convicted of murder, manslaughter, or aggravated manslaughter, allowing victims’ families to pursue wrongful-death damages at any time, even decades after a conviction.
An initial version of Joan’s Law was signed in 1997 by then-Gov. Christine Todd Whitman. That version had a tighter scope, mandating life in prison for those who molest and murder children under age 14.
Council actions for Memorial Park
The council also authorized the purchase and installation of ADA-accessible playground equipment and playground mulch for Memorial Park, in an amount not to exceed $149,800, through Liberty Parks & Playgrounds under Sourcewell Cooperative Pricing System Contract #101625.
Funds for the ADA-accessible playground were donated by a local benefactor, the Gayle and Paul Gross Foundation, the mayor said. The funds will support Phase I of the ADA playground project. It was not clear when Phase I would be completed, he said.
Council also approved a sixth change order, for $26,166, for Applied Landscape Technologies of Montville for Memorial Park improvements, including a guide rail along Washington Avenue and landscaping.
The six change orders total $179,409.75, raising the project price from an initial $5,789,779.34 to an amended contract price of $5,969,189.09, according to the change order resolution.