Buzz About East Brunswick: Ep.3 "Monorails & Waterfalls"

Summary

In the third episode of "Buzz About East Brunswick," hosts Greg T. and Mayor Cohen discuss local happenings, including community events and personal anecdotes. Starting with an engaging intro at the East Brunswick Public Library, they delve into topics like the growing popularity of the podcast, the idea of merch, and a humorous take on personal heights. The duo explores community events, their families' festive traditions, and humorous stories about traffic woes and unique travel experiences. The episode also touches upon serious themes like town taxes, redevelopment projects, and community growth.

Highlights

• Greg T. jokes about making bobbleheads and AI figurines of themselves 🖼️.
• They discuss Passover traditions, engaging in a fun debate over personal heights 📏.
• Mayor Cohen recounts a hilarious story of avoiding Hamptons traffic by taking a small plane 🚁.
• Discussion regarding the revitalization of East Brunswick, focusing on modernizing the town for economic growth 🌆.
• The podcast finishes with answering quirky audience emails, showcasing a light-hearted side to civic duties 📧.

Key Takeaways

• The podcast is gaining popularity, and the idea of creating merch like bobbleheads is amusing to both hosts 🎙️.
• The Mayor organizes inclusive Passover seders, emphasizing community participation and understanding across cultures 🙌.
• Greg T. and the Mayor share humorous personal stories, including one about flying to the Hamptons to avoid traffic ✈️.
• Discussion on East Brunswick's development, focusing on community growth and upcoming projects in Brunswick Square Mall 🏗️.
• Emphasis on community involvement and encouraging residents to participate in township activities 🏘️.

Overview

Episode 3 of the 'Buzz About East Brunswick' kicks off with lively music and an upbeat introduction from Greg T. and Mayor Cohen. As they broadcast from the East Brunswick Public Library, they thank their growing listenership and entertain with ideas for podcast merchandise, all while mixing humor about personal quirks into their dialogue.

The hosts dive into personal stories that highlight cultural celebrations, such as Mayor Cohen's traditional and inclusive Passover Seder, engaging listeners with tales of large family gatherings and humorous dynamics. Traffic tribulations over holiday travels lead to a funny recount of escaping the crowded roads by flying to the Hamptons in a small aircraft—an idea sparked by a friendly conversation with a local tradesman.

Transitioning into community-focused discussions, Mayor Cohen elaborates on the redevelopment plans for East Brunswick, specifically targeting Brunswick Square Mall's update. They thoughtfully address the need for modernizing East Brunswick to keep pace with neighboring towns while delving into questions from the community, providing a mix of entertainment and information that captures the essence of local civic engagement.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction The chapter titled 'Introduction' appears to be from a podcast episode recorded at the East Brunswick Public Library. The hosts are Greg T and Mayor Cohen, and they express gratitude to their audience for growing listener numbers. They note the positive reception and 'buzz' surrounding the podcast, highlighting an enthusiastic and optimistic mood.
• 00:31 - 01:30: Contact Information and Platforms The chapter titled 'Contact Information and Platforms' provides details on how to connect with the creators. Listeners are encouraged to email them at [email protected]. They're present on Instagram with the handle @buzzaboute and have also recently launched a website where previous episodes are available at buzzaboute.com. For YouTube viewers, they can find content on the channel EBTV26 by searching for Buzzabout East Brunswick. The chapter essentially guides listeners on multiple platforms to engage with their content.
• 01:31 - 02:30: Discussion on Merchandise and Avatars In this chapter, the discussion revolves around merchandise and avatars. The speakers express the need for creating merchandise, specifically mentioning the idea of bobbleheads featuring a 'Mr. Mayor' design. Additionally, they discuss the popularity of an AI program on social media, which allows users to transform themselves into dolls or figurines, imagining how exciting it would be if such creations could come to life.
• 02:31 - 04:00: Height and Weekend Plans The conversation starts with a playful idea of creating bobblehead figurines or avatars. The speakers humorously imagine what their figurines might look like, with one speaker wishing to appear taller. The discussion light-heartedly explores the novelty of selling such figurines online, hinting at the appeal they might have among followers or fans. There's also a brief exchange about their actual heights, adding a personal and humorous touch to the idea.
• 04:01 - 05:30: Passover Traditions This chapter discusses the personal lives and relationships of the speakers, including a humorous exchange about height differences between one of the speakers and their wife. The conversation then shifts to their Passover celebrations, emphasizing the tradition of observing both nights of Passover.
• 05:31 - 08:30: Travel Experiences The chapter titled 'Travel Experiences' describes the narrator's experience of conducting Passover seders. These gatherings usually start with 20 to 25 people and may include more. The narrator leads the seder, reading parts in English for those who don't understand Hebrew, while keeping certain parts in Hebrew. The narrative emphasizes inclusivity by involving everyone at the table in the reading to foster a homey atmosphere.
• 08:31 - 10:10: Tax Day The chapter titled 'Tax Day' discusses communal traditions and the distribution of roles during the Passover celebration. The narrator describes how each person at the Passover celebration has a role, and this sense of participation gives everyone a feeling of importance and belonging. The narrator's dad takes charge of the readings, but every individual has a part to play, which they do collectively, causing it to be a bit annoying at times. The narrator appreciates the tradition of dividing readings among participants, even though some contributions might be as brief as a couple of sentences, leading to humorous remarks from participants.
• 10:11 - 12:30: Town Taxes and Services The chapter titled 'Town Taxes and Services' appears to discuss a communal effort in understanding or addressing town tax-related issues. The transcript suggests a sense of collaboration among the participants, albeit with some initial confusion or disorganization ('oh my god, so they all work it out'). Ultimately, there’s a sense of collective participation ('Everybody feels they had a part'), likened to everyone singing together ('Everybody sings, right? We all do...'). Despite these efforts, there are still challenges as people might miss a word or be off-track. The act of reading together, though seen as annoying, seems to be a metaphor for the shared responsibility in dealing with town affairs.
• 12:31 - 15:00: Recreation in East Brunswick The chapter titled 'Recreation in East Brunswick' seems to discuss personal traditions and events, focusing on family gatherings like the Passover Seder. Despite the initial misleading impression about it being a recreational activity, the conversation reveals a cultural and religious tradition that is being shared with people who may be unfamiliar with it. References to historical and religious events, such as the Last Supper and the Ten Commandments, highlight the depth and significance of these gatherings beyond mere recreation.
• 15:01 - 16:30: Mayor's Path to Office The chapter titled 'Mayor's Path to Office' delves into the personal reflections of an individual talking about their evolving interest in significant cultural and religious holidays such as Good Friday, Passover, and Easter. They mention incorporating Palm Sunday into their observations. The narrative takes a personal turn with a story about a planned family gathering for the weekend, specifically with the speaker's in-laws. The speaker expresses admiration for their father-in-law, highlighting his skills as a fantastic Italian chef, and recounts an anecdote where the speaker's mother-in-law canceled their weekend visit last minute, citing reluctance to travel. This sudden change in plans is conveyed humorously as part of the chapter's narrative.
• 16:31 - 18:30: Redevelopment of Brunswick Square Mall The chapter discusses the challenges faced when commuting from Jersey to Long Island on Palm Sunday, emphasizing the heavy traffic encountered. The narrator shares personal experiences and rules they usually follow to avoid such situations, but circumstances this time forced the trip. The journey is tied emotionally to a college friend, marking its significance amid the traffic woes.
• 18:31 - 21:00: Future Developments and the "Monorail" The chapter discusses an invitation to the Hamptons for the Fourth of July. The narrator anticipates heavy traffic due to the weekend timing, which would make the commute significantly worse than usual. During this time, the narrator was working on a kitchen project at home, conversing with a marble worker about the dreaded drive on the Long Island Expressway (LIE).
• 21:01 - 24:30: Town Hall Meeting This chapter titled 'Town Hall Meeting' discusses a conversation where someone expresses a desire to live like the rich, being able to conveniently fly out with a plane or helicopter. During the conversation, one participant mentions a friend who used to be a pilot and offers to arrange a flight. They successfully contact the pilot, and a flight on a four-seater plane is arranged for $400. However, the speaker's son is unavailable that weekend, so the flight is set for the speaker and possibly other companions.
• 24:41 - 30:50: Questions for the Mayor This chapter titled 'Questions for the Mayor' involves a conversation about arranging a trip using a private plane. A man discusses his decision-making process regarding this opportunity, contemplating the cost and the novelty of the experience. He mentions needing to assure his wife about the flight by having her take Xanax to relax during the trip. The conversation highlights the excitement of flying past landmarks like New York City and avoiding road traffic, thus underscoring the allure of the private flight.
• 30:51 - 32:00: Wrap-up The chapter "Wrap-up" describes a pleasant flight experience and a memorable weekend trip. The author reminisces about how a friend arranged a plane for travel, enhancing the experience with the ability to see the city from above on a beautiful day. This trip takes place over the Fourth of July holiday, a tradition where the author travels to South Hold every year. The author expresses eagerness to repeat such an experience.

Buzz About East Brunswick: Ep.3 "Monorails & Waterfalls" Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] All right, guys. It is episode three on a Tuesday morning, 11:00 a.m. and we are live at the East Brunswick Public Library. I'm Greg T. This is Mayor Cohen. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to the buzz about East Brunswick. We really want to say thank you very much for uh listening to it. The numbers are growing, which is great. That's great. Yeah, that's positive. So, we we know that there is a positive, you know, climb vibe. Have a positive vibe, right? A positive buzz. Very nice job.
• 00:30 - 01:00 Positive buzz. All right, listen. You can drop us an email. We are uh you can email us at bae ebuzzaboute.com. We're on Instagram at buzzaboute. We have a website now. We launched that this week. You can check us out and all the prior episodes are listed on the website at buzzaboute.com. Or if you're watching us on YouTube, hello everybody on YouTube. We're at EBTV26. And then you search us at Buzzabout East Brunswick. And of course, you can hear
• 01:00 - 01:30 us on Apple, Apple Podcast, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and Amazon Music. I think we need merch. You know what? We do need merch. You know, I didn't I didn't bobbleheads. That would be Mr. Mayor. I love that. I think that that's really good. And you know, all this week, I've been noticing all over social media there's been this AI program where you can actually make yourself into a like a doll, like a like a figurine. That would be so cool if those things came to life. But the closest thing we have would be a
• 01:30 - 02:00 bobblehead. A bobblehead or making avatars out of it. St. I would think that'd be I've never been in a uh figurine. That'd be kind of cool to be a figurine. We should do it. I bet you people would want to buy it for sure. We could sell it right there on uh on eB.com. That would be great. What would you be? Um for myself, I don't know. I'd have to think about it. What I mean I a guy with a microphone obviously, you know, uh headphones. Um, I would definitely make myself taller. Oh, please. I'm right with How tall are you? I say I'm 5'6 on a good day. Okay,
• 02:00 - 02:30 then I'm 5'7. There you go. So, we're about the same size. So, yeah, we're both We're not very tall. Now, is your wife taller than you? No. No, my wife is. Is she? Yeah, my wife's two inches taller. Yeah. Even on our wedding day was tough. She couldn't even wear like real high heels. She would have been skying over me. So, forget about that. Hey, how was your weekend? It was great. Yeah. Did you have a Passover? Yeah. Yes. How was the Passover? It was big, was it? Yes. We we we do both nights. It's always been a tradition that we
• 02:30 - 03:00 have uh these uh Passover seders. They almost always start out at about 20 to 25 people and goes up from there. Wow. Wow. Not bad. Now, do you read or does somebody else read? I lead the seder, but partly uh English cuz a lot of people don't understand Hebrew. Hebrew, right? And um and then the Hebrew parts that should be done in Hebrew, of course, we do. Nice. And uh but we we have everybody around the table participate by doing some part of the reading and it makes it uh more homey
• 03:00 - 03:30 and everyone feels like they've got uh a a place and an importance and they're part of it. I like that. I like that. You know, so what we do is we so we do Passover and then I also do uh Palm Sunday as well. So at our p at our Passover, so my dad, he does all the reading, and then when we all have to be do our part, we all do it together, and it's so annoying. And that's a great idea to actually take little pieces, pass it around the table, and everybody gets a chance to do some reading. Yeah, it's kind of funny. Sometimes you get a paragraph, it's basically two sentences, and someone's like, "Oh, is is that all
• 03:30 - 04:00 I get, or should I take the next one?" But but and the clarity, oh my god, so they all work it out. It gets done. Everybody feels they had a part. Um, everybody sings, right? We all do, right? Hard God. We do it at the very end. All that singing, we do it all. Yeah. You Yeah. I just for I agree. I think I don't know why we never thought about that and why we've continuously we all sit there on the table and we all read at the same time and it's so annoying and it's like somebody might be off or somebody does misses a word or
• 04:00 - 04:30 something like that and it throws everybody off. You can't think of it that way. You just have to It's a family event. It's a tradition that's gone on for thousands of years. I always try to make a point of inviting people that may never have been at a sed strange that they don't really understand. It's a I mean, look, uh, Passover seder was basically the last supper. Yeah. No, I you're right. I I actually I was telling the guys earlier before they got here, I was watching the Ten Commandments over the weekend. It's
• 04:30 - 05:00 I'm tell I don't know what it is. Maybe as I get more as I get older, I guess I want to do a little bit more research around the holidays, you know, around Good Friday and around Passover and Easter and everything, you know. And then uh for us, we c we did uh Palm Sunday as well. This is the worst, I'll tell you. So, we were supposed to have my in-laws come over for the weekend, which is great. My my father-in-law is a fantastic Italian chef. We got a phone call on Friday. Hey, she he says to his daughter, he says, "Hey, Trish, uh your mother doesn't want to make the drive to
• 05:00 - 05:30 Jersey. We're going to do Palm Sunday on Long Island. Oh my god. So, my wife is from Long Island, so we had to do the drive on a Sunday back and forth to Long Island on Palm Sunday. Traffic, tremendous. Tremendous. Tremendous. I'd want to pop my eyeballs out. I don't I don't do not want to I can't stand traffic. Oh my god. To go from Jersey out to Long Island, it is so tough. And we always make a rule of not going out to Long Island on a Sunday, but we just had no choice. I had a really good friend of mine. We all graduated college together and he at a time had a place
• 05:30 - 06:00 out in the Hamptons and invited us for Fourth of July to go out to the Hamptons and of course happened to fall on a weekend which meant traffic was going to be 10 times worse than it would have ordinarily been if it was in the middle of the week. Yes. So I happened to at the time be doing some work at the house in the kitchen. And this dude that's doing all the uh marble work I I was chatting with him. I said, "Oh my god, next weekend I got to go out to Long Island. The thought of actually sitting on the LIE in traffic is going to make me just I I don't even want to do it. I
• 06:00 - 06:30 know it's going to be fun when we get there." I said, "Wouldn't it be nice to be like the rich people that can get a plane, just takes you out or a little helicopter just like you?" He says to me, "One of my best friends used to be a pilot for Eastern Airlines years ago, and he actually flies planes. Would you like me to call him?" Oh my gosh. So, before I could even think about it, he had the guy on the phone. Yes. for $400. I It was a It was a four-seater. For some reason, my son had something going on that weekend. So, it was for me, my
• 06:30 - 07:00 wife, and and my daughter and the guy 400. I said, "Is that per person or is that the Hees?" No, the for the use of the plane, and I'll pick you up and and on on the at one of the weekends over and bring you back. You're kidding. So, I said, "Sign me up." I I didn't even know how to break it to my wife. So, I had to make sure that I put in a prescription for Xanax first would be prepared, you know, in the little airplane. Just take your medicine and sit in the back of the plane and enjoy. But what amazing view cuz you're going to fly right past New York City right the traffic on the LIE. That was worth
• 07:00 - 07:30 the whole thing down at that. Yes, it was. I'm sure it was great. And we land in this airport. My friend picks us up and said, "When would you like your plane ready when when when the weekend's over?" I said, "Oh, what a way to travel." Tell you the the weekend was great. But I remember the flight and the guys pointing out all of these things in the city and it was a beautiful day. Um I would do it again in a heartbeat. Please. I need a name for this year. We always go every Fourth of July we head out uh to South Hold out of
• 07:30 - 08:00 Long Island which is like so you go one direction is the Hampton's, the other direction is the other portion closer to like uh you know Connecticut looking at that area. And that's where South hold is and that's where we go every single uh Fourth of July. And I'm with you. We I make I make sure that my wife and I we leave a whole day ahead of time because I'm not doing it. We used to do that sitting that traffic and it's for those of us for those of you that don't know. I mean going from here to it is nightmare. Oh, for all you complain about Route 18 and some of the other
• 08:00 - 08:30 things that happen here is nothing compared to that. Long Island and Lie, forget it. You can't move. I agree. H Well, that's awesome, man. 400 bucks for a little plane ride. Yeah, I'm sure that it is not that anymore, but my god, can you sign me up? I would take that every weekend. That would be amazing. Hey, today is also uh tax day, April the 15th. So, um now are you an extension or are you on time? I already got my refund. You did? You really? You're kidding me. Really? So, you're that
• 08:30 - 09:00 much? Wow. See, I'm I'm an extension guy. I I don't know why I've always been lazy. So, I had to drop everything off yesterday at my accountant's house. So, I did that and then uh it's a nuisance. I just want it done. Yeah, I never do. I'm lazy to get all the paperwork and that's I'm just like h I hate gathering it. I don't know why, but that's great. I I just take some pointers from you and be right on time. It is nice to get a return. It really is. Yeah. So, uh No. So, we get it done early. We And uh and uh it's out, the money's in. I'm already into this year. I don't have to think
• 09:00 - 09:30 about it. So, I see all these people running to the post office to get their stuff at the last minute. But, uh I Does anybody really do that more? I think mostly it's filed electronically. You can do it online now for sure. I wish I for me I still have an old school accountant where I actually go and I drop it off uh at his house and I do that. So he's in East Brunswick. He has an office in Miltown as well, but uh so on the way I just dropped it off, called it a day yesterday and we're done. Um so wait, what about East Brunswick? Does East Brunswick pay taxes? I was always
• 09:30 - 10:00 curious like does the town pay taxes to the United States government? Is that is that a thing? No. So we don't. So East Brunswick just collects taxes. We don't pay the taxes. Correct. Gotcha. Gotcha. I didn't know if every single city had to pay tax to the state and then if the state pays like I just I didn't understand exactly how everything works when it comes to taxes. Well, I can assure you that there's a bunch of people that all have their hands in your pockets. I'm sure. I'm sure. I'm sure. The federal government has their hand in
• 10:00 - 10:30 your pocket. The state has your hand in your pocket. The township which has to collect for the schools and the county. Of course, you know, we have and then every time you go to the store, you're taxed on something. So, you know, think about it. You're you're it almost doesn't matter what pocket it's coming out of, but it's coming out. Yeah, I get you. I get you. I get you. Yeah. No, you know, now you're making more sense out of it. I didn't think about that is there's just things that that we require to um to to get by on a regular basis that uh we have to pay for. Uh, and if
• 10:30 - 11:00 we didn't have people to do that for us, you'd be paying for that yourself, right? So, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just on our example as a township, if we didn't provide garbage service for us, you would be paying for itself, which I I live I live in Marorrow and that's what I have to do. I have to pay for many towns because it's gotten so expensive, right? So, um, you pay for the services and the and most of what we're providing is done by people. So, close to 60 70% of our expenses is just the people,
• 11:00 - 11:30 right? They got to get paid that get paid. Right. You remember episode one when we're like when I when I I I made a mistake and I'm like the East Brunswick people don't get paid around here. Like no no no had to correct that. That is not what we meant. It's not what we met. You know over the weekend something really big happened was uh Rory Mroy run won the Masters. Do you watch golf? I don't watch. You don't watch golf. You don't pay attention to it at all? No. Okay. Well well it brings me to this one point though. So when he did win, what happens is after the whole thing is all over, they all go inside and sit in his
• 11:30 - 12:00 studio and there's Jim Nance and he kind of, you know, says, "Rory, what's going through your mind right now? Congratulations. You know, you've now you're going to be honored in the so-called golf ring of honor, you know." And then they have the older golfer that won prior to him, right, which was this man, Scotty Sheffler. So Scotty Sheffller won it last year. And what they do is they stand up and they pass the green jacket on to the next one. You've seen that, right? Okay. So, then every single year, the next one, so Rory Mroy will pass the green jacket on to
• 12:00 - 12:30 whomever unless he wins it again next year. Like the, you know, the um uh Miss America, right? They put the crown the crown. That's right. It goes from That's right. Exactly. from year to year. So, it just it made me want to think. So, as the president of the United States, which I didn't know of, but now I' I I've been made aware of it, that every president handwrits a letter and sticks it in the drawer in the Oval Office, and the next president opens it up on day one, and he gets a letter, and he can share it or not share it or whatever. It's it's done in private, but as the mayor, do you get something passed down
• 12:30 - 13:00 from other mayors? So, I did a little research for so for instance, it went, let's say, William Neri to David Stall to Kevin Makavoy, then to you. So, does somebody pass something down and one day when you are no longer the mayor, will you pass it down to someone else? And what is it? Yeah, we don't really have anything like that here. We already wrote to one another. But I think that uh one of the big things that I did when I took office was actually meet with the pri prior mayors, okay? and get their opinion about the things that they
• 13:00 - 13:30 thought were important and and their perspective cuz it's totally different than what you might have had running for the office versus actually talking to someone who's done the job. Right. Right. Right. There's no like secret handshake, no like East Brunswick mayor handshake. They pass the password, you know. No, but go Bears could always start a new tradition. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because that even like we listen if you think about fraternities, sorarities, there's always the the pass down of a a handshake or secret. We did start a new tradition. We now have a whole um series
• 13:30 - 14:00 of pictures that are uniform in the court office of all of the prior mayors. That's great. And the current mayor has his or her picture in the entrance way to the town municipal building. Great. And when I'm no longer mayor, then my picture will be hung in the courtroom and the new mayor, whoever takes over after me, will be there. So, we did actually start a new tradition. Oh, so that's great. So, that's So, there is the tradition of that then, I guess. All right, that's great. I think that's that's fantastic. I was just I was just always curious as to like, you know, if
• 14:00 - 14:30 they give you any heads up like, hey, you know, get ready for, you know, this section or this department or blah blah blah, you know, or, you know, you're going to get a lot of complaints from this area of the town that wants to get this fixed or blah blah blah. Just something like that. You know, you never know. No, it you each person handles it their own way. But, if you're out there in the community, which is the job, right? or you should be out there on a regular basis talking to people then I almost don't really need somebody else to tell you what's on their mind. You should know that. Yeah. No, you're right. You're you know one of my questions I think you know I feel like sometimes I
• 14:30 - 15:00 interview you cuz I don't get a chance to really you know I mean like I I like that we're doing this podcast but I just have so many questions about being a mayor, you know, living in town. You know I I see them giving me the signs. So we do have to take a break. When we get back, I'm going to ask you a couple of questions and there's a lot that's going on with uh the Brunswick Square Mall and then tomorrow night you have your town hall. So, we have so much still to discuss in today's podcast. There's a lot going on. There's a lot going on in East Brunswick. I love it. I love it. All right, guys. We You want to know what's going what's going on in and around East Brunswick? This is where
• 15:00 - 15:30 you're going to find out. We'll be right back with more. Mayor Cohen, myself, Greg T. This is the buzz about East Brunswick. Hey everybody, what are you doing this Saturday at 12 noon? We interrupt this program to bring you an important message. Hey Brunswick, unfortunately the Easter egg hunt that was to take place has been postponed due to weather. Hey folks, the East Brunswick egg hunt is back on Saturday, May 19th. We are in. It's going to be a lot of fun and Easter Bunny is still on its way.
• 15:30 - 16:00 Sponsored by the East Brunswick PBA local number 145 and East Brunswick SOA Local 145A. It's the annual Easter egg hunt. Who's going to find that golden egg and then win a grand prize? And kids, I'm also hearing there's going to be a special appearance by the Easter Bunny. You're all going to want to be there. It's happening this Saturday at 12:00 noon at the East Brunswick Community Arts Center. Happy Easter, everybody. Hey, East Brunswick. Did you know that the East Brunswick Public Library is a vibrant community hub offering a wide range of services and
• 16:00 - 16:30 programs for residents of all ages? There's a lot going on in the East Brunswick Library. The East Brunswick Public Library is an official passport acceptance facility. It also hosts a diverse array of events, including author talks, craft workshops, and educational sessions. You're in the library. Open 7 days a week. Visit ebpl.org. There's a lot going on at the public library and unlock your next East Brunswick
• 16:30 - 17:00 adventure. All right, guys. So, we are back. I'm Greg T. This is Mayor Cohen. Of course, you guys know him. This is the Buzzabout East Brunswick. And if you want to reach us, email us at bae [email protected]. Instagram at buuzzaboute. And we all we do have a website now buzzaboute.com. And you can also get us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and Amazon Music. Wow, we're growing. I we really are. You know, we started the first time out. We had nothing. Look,
• 17:00 - 17:30 look, we even have like microphone flags now. And we talked about maybe getting some bobbleheads, which would be great. So, we can have some merch, maybe a t-shirt or two, buzz about EB. I think that's a great idea. I think people would love that. You know what? We can get these shirts made. I I don't I'm not going to rush you, but I wonder if we can get them made and then give them away, let's say, at the uh at the county fair. We could do that. We could do it at East Brunswick Day. We have like tons of events in town that we can give them away for a fishing derby coming up this uh Wait, I don't know anything about a fishing derby. Tell me about fishing derby. What's fishing derby? parks and
• 17:30 - 18:00 wreck department puts on fishing derby. Usually it's I think it's in a couple weeks. Usually around May, the the lake gets stocked and it's right near where Crystal Springs is in Den Lake. And uh we have kids come up there with their fishing rods. Oh, that's cute. Township provides some for them and there's all different prizes for the girls, the boys, the age groups they're in, the size fish they get. It's all It's great. I love that idea. I had I didn't know and a lot of people don't even know that
• 18:00 - 18:30 Dolan Bach Park is just a massive park that we have in town. It's beautiful trails. Yeah. See, I didn't know that either. I grew up going there. That was my swim club. Dolan Bach's Lake was my swim club. Like so my when my family moved here in the ' 70s, that's where you went. Like you were the cool kid if you were going to Dan back swimming in the Nobody today would know that, right? You wouldn't even know. But that's what it was. We had I didn't have like a real like a like a very nice swim club. My swim club was the Dallback Lake. That was a swim club. The as you walk through
• 18:30 - 19:00 the park, it's nice and quiet and serene. Every once in a while, depending upon where in the park you are, you hear the which is all the noise from the pickle ball courts which are on the other side of the lake. Really? And it is amazing how loud that is. But you don't want to mess with pickle ball. No, no, no, no. That that sport like we talked about last week, it has just absolutely exploded. And uh yeah, the pickle ball is amazing. But that's so that I didn't I didn't even know there was a trail there at Dal Backs. I guess
• 19:00 - 19:30 I just kind of just forgot about it that it existed because now I just think about it as going to a different, you know, swim club or whatnot or having your own pool in the back. I didn't even think about it. Right. Well, I think a lot of people just think about things that are going on in East Brunswick and they think about the stuff going on on Route 18. Right. Right. Right. And but there's also it's a 23 24 square mile town. There's lots of areas with parks that have been preserved that really are beautiful and and many many many people don't even know about. I that's that's
• 19:30 - 20:00 ex what you just said there. They don't even know about it. I think when I first got a chance to meet you, I think that you and I were talking about the things that are going on in East Brunswick that people just don't know about and that that was one of the things we wanted to cover and uh shine some, you know, shine a spotlight on some of those things. And you had mentioned that there were several parks and trails, places to go and walk around. Yeah. Yeah, I got to I got to check that out. I still haven't even I'm going to do it. I'm I'm going to do it. Listen, I've only been here about a month and a half. I'm I'm still going to do it. I'm still going to do it. I'm still going to do it. All right. I have a couple of questions to ask you. So, this was so funny. So, my wife and I
• 20:00 - 20:30 were in the car. We had a long drive back and forth to Long Island. Yes. We just went over that. Right. Right. Right. And we were talking and uh so she says, "How does somebody become a mayor of a town?" And I'm like, "You know what, Trish? I never even asked him. I have no idea." So, Mr. mayor. How does someone just all of a sudden wake up and go, I want to be the mayor of a town? Like, how does that all happen? How did it happen for you? What do you do? Well, I think it's different for each person. It evolves. And there's reasons that that you may provide service to the
• 20:30 - 21:00 public in a lot of different ways besides being mayor. I actually started out on the township's board of education. Okay. And that came at a time when there was massive cuts from the state to dissimilar to what we're seeing now. And and I felt that my kids who had already finished the school district, I wanted to make sure that my the next group of kids have the same benefit that my kids did. Sure. Sure. And when people are in a mode where they have to cut Yeah. Uh often you end up cutting things
• 21:00 - 21:30 that are critical that really have distinguished East Brunswick. I just wanted to make sure that didn't happen. Got So, I ran for the school board. I didn't really even think I'd be elected. Uh, but I think having been a physician in the area for a long time and uh known in different communities, you never you just don't know how many people know who you are. Uh, and and I did end up winning. Okay. And served on that board for about six and a half years and and then recognized that uh that the help
• 21:30 - 22:00 that was needed most was more on the town side. Gotcha. and and it revolved mostly around people who at that time were really really angry at the condition of Route 18 when they saw other commercial corridors growing and ours really dissipating. So it's one thing to say oh it was the recession that took place and but the recession didn't happen on just East Brunswick. No, no, it happened everywhere. Of course, the Route 9 corridor grew and yet we saw businesses leave. So, you
• 22:00 - 22:30 can't say that it was just the recession. Right. Right. No, no, I understand that. It's not a concerted effort to be on top of what was happening and so some of our better businesses left. Listen, you're doing a lot of work around here. I'll be honest with you. You know, you really are. I'm we're all pretty impressed with everything that's going on. Um, look, you're not going to have not everybody's going to be thrilled about it. Uh, but the thing is that, you know, where do you expect, you know, East Bruns to go? you can't just sit back and just let the let the world go around in East Brunsw not not do these things which by the way
• 22:30 - 23:00 brings me to this next thing. Uh so now the planning board has gotten together and now you are going to be doing some I guess remodelization or rem uh what would you call it at the Brunsw Square Mall? Well that's part of a whole procing most of the areas on Route 18 that have fallen into greatest disrepair. Um, I always say that a lot of uh folks should really talk to their kids and look at the type of communities that their maybe adult kids have moved to. Right. Exactly. Where are a lot of
• 23:00 - 23:30 the adult kids moving to? New York, Jersey City. Oh, I lived in Jersey City for a while myself. Field, uh, Matuchen. Oh, yeah. That's They're all exploding those towns. What do all of them have? They have a vibe. They have a a combination of living space, work space, community space, recreational space, all within a walkable distance. Yeah. Know, you get those really nice little boutiquey restaurants and things. That's what we're trying to create in a town that was never created and built for
• 23:30 - 24:00 that. It was originally built as an area where people just had residential homes. They didn't want the businesses. They didn't want the factories. They didn't want any of that. I I understand. Well, but that means that when expenses go up, it's going to be borne by those people and you don't have all of those other things to spread those expenses. You're right. You're right. So, we're trying to correct some of it in a much needed area of of town that we just said fell into disrepair and try to put a vibe to that.
• 24:00 - 24:30 And I think we're going to get there. We've already started on the north end of Route 18. and now Vermela and the legacy projects and how they build there's going to be a little bit of that vibe. That's the north end part of the highway. The south end part of the highway is primarily Brunswick Square Mall. Right. No, it's humongous. And if we could bookend nicer retail, nicer living space, it the type of area that people are excited to becomes a destination, right? It puts
• 24:30 - 25:00 pressure on all of the uh businesses that are in between to step it up a little bit. Absolutely. It does. And I don't think the town will have to offer the many tax incentive to do it because the market takes you're going to want to right. You're going to want to be a part of that, right? Of everything or or the better businesses are going to move to the places where more people are going. Y either you invest in your own properties or you or you peril. I agree. And I don't think we're going to have to offer them tax incentives to do that because it's a matter of survival. So,
• 25:00 - 25:30 but we but to get this off the ground, you do need to do that. Okay. And that's what we're doing at the Brunswick Square Mall. going to look at um allowing our redevelopment agency to take a look at that property and find some developer which may be the owners of some of the properties themselves or we may go out entirely to somebody different. Um give us as many ideas as you can how that could be a better more functioning property. Listen, I agree and we we
• 25:30 - 26:00 we've discussed it you and I you know uh that people aren't shopping in malls like that anymore. you know, they're not they're finding they're everything buying it online. They're going to little boutique places. They're not. But all of the retail hasn't gone. It just needs to be work reworked in a way that makes it more attractive and allows people to see most of the stores from the road. Right. Malls today suffer from the fact that you drive by it and you don't know what's in it. Right. You're right. Exactly. Right. So now today, as
• 26:00 - 26:30 opposed to 50 years ago when everybody was taking outdoor shopping and moving it all indoors, now there's a move to to to go back to having it outdoor and walkable and Right. Right. Right. Right. Those outdoor malls, people love them. Yeah. They love the outdoor shopping around. You go through the mall park. I mean, it's just a vast amount of parking space. It's such wasted area and it's a stormwater nightmare. And so I think there's a lot of things that uh could be
• 26:30 - 27:00 done that's better. We don't need to have every idea, but we are willing as a town through redevelopment to allow a developer a tax advantage to invest in that property and turn it into something that really is um an eyepopping. I love that. I I really I I love the idea. I really do. You know, you're you're right. I I haven't even been to a mall. I can't even remember the last time I do all my shopping online or I will go to other towns that has like an outdoor market. You know, I even drop my kids
• 27:00 - 27:30 off and they do some outdoor shopping. You're right. And that's a very good point. You want to drive by and be able to see it and it feels inviting. You know, you want to be a part of it. Maybe you sit outside, have have a lunch, a brunch outside with some friends. I like that idea. Also, the idea that there's a combination of people living in an area that brings it alive. brings an incentive to the people that are in retail to actually open up there. If there's people that are in walkable distance um that they could use to hire
• 27:30 - 28:00 to work for them, it all becomes an economic driver and we need to think about how we're going to survive in the 21st century. And to have people get stuck in, oh, this is not how the town looked 50, 60, 70 years ago. I can't do it anymore. There's no town that looks the way it did. And if you'd kept it that way, all they would be doing is complaining about how you've done nothing to this town but but but let it rot. I agree. I don't know how you know, right? All the naysayers. It it just drives me nuts in every single town,
• 28:00 - 28:30 right? You cannot be stuck in like quicksand. You're going to die. You're going to you need to refurbish the town and move it into that into the the future. Exactly. And and and their children talk to them. That's what they want. I agree. And listen, I'm so excited that we're also going to have that Montreal because we're putting the Montreal, right? Isn't that what we're doing? We're putting the Montreal in on routine, right? Absolutely. That's what we thought. Everybody's building the Montreal and it's going to end all the way down by uh Palmer's over there, right? I thought it's going to go all the way down to to Manalapin and Marboro
• 28:30 - 29:00 and go into New Brun. There is no Montreal coming. But it's so funny that still in chat rooms today, people are still thinking that there's a Montreal coming to East. It's very funny because a couple of uh months ago we were at the county and they were talking about how they really need to get people in and out of New Brunswick with all of the building that's going on, the helix and all this stuff. And they realized that one of the biggest problems in New Brunswick is traffic and no parking. So, they were talking to us about maybe borrowing or uh renting part of our
• 29:00 - 29:30 decks. Yeah. And and using a shuttle that would take people in and out of New Brunswick with maybe a dedicated lane. So, well, you know what? If you're going to do that already, I think we could extend that along Route 18 cuz there's a lot of people that will be living in some of these complexes and I'm sure many of them would prefer not to use the car. We would prefer for them not to use the car. And I have the perfect name for whatever that shuttle's called and it's called the Montreal and then it just people just ran with it. They said, "I thought this guy was
• 29:30 - 30:00 joking, but actually they're going to wake up one day and see something named the Montreal." Could you imagine? you know, here we are today. We're just joking about it, you know, but like let's say 30 40 years from now, you know, there there's a new mayor in town and he's like, "We're going to put the Montreal in. Look at these two jokessters thinking it was a it was funny back then, and now we're actually doing it." I I just Well, I just I thought I'd bring that little funny up cuz I happened to see it in a couple of uh different uh Facebook p uh posts that people think that there's a Montreal coming and I did my due diligence and I'm like, there's no Montreal. There's no Montreal coming. Anyway, all right.
• 30:00 - 30:30 Listen, so I love that we're talking about all of these things. We do have to take another break. I'm getting a high sign from some of the camera guys here. Uh we take another break and when we get back we're going to dive into it. So tonight you are doing your second town hall at the community arts center. So we're going to jump into that and find out exactly what you want to talk about, what people are going to talk about and uh we're going to dive into that call coming up next. Plus we still have your email to get to. We have an email. You want to email us? You can email the mayor and myself at baeb buzzabouteb.com. We've got some funny
• 30:30 - 31:00 questions uh in this one email. So, I think you're going to have a lot of fun with it as well. All right, guys. This is what's going on in and around East Brunswick. All right, hit the music. Oh, sorry. As we play it out. We're playing it out. He loves the theme song. [Music] Yo, what are you guys doing? Get up here. This place is awesome. Are you looking for something fun to do with the kids? This is entertainment. Come on.
• 31:00 - 31:30 Do you want to make a difference in your community? Are you curious what's inside Palmra's Entertainment? Now's your chance to do all three. Join us April 27th from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. This is going to be a great night for your family, for your friends, and for your colleagues. Your ticket includes food, beverages, arcade, bowling, DJ, karaoke, and this 7D theater. Plus, every dollar raised
• 31:30 - 32:00 goes directly to helping those in need in our community. So, come out, give back, and enjoy an unforgettable evening. Click the link below to get your tickets now. Woohoo! Yeah, baby. We'll see you April 27th at Palmer's. This place is awesome. I'm coming [Music] back. As ready for the summer, Crystal
• 32:00 - 32:30 Springs Family Water Park has been named one of the best pools in the state of New Jersey. Offering day passes and seasonal memberships, it's a summer water attraction you're not going to want to miss. the recreation pool, the lap pool, relaxed by the lazy river even, and your children are always safe in the shallow kiddie pool. But for the really, really little little one, Crystal Springs even has its own splash patio. You want to talk about summer fun? Well, how about those three awesome water slides that only Crystal Springs
• 32:30 - 33:00 has? And don't worry about lunch, the concession stand is fully stocked with snacks and grilled meals. So, let's all beat the heat this summer, East Brunswick, at the Crystal Springs Family Water [Music] Park. All right, so that is in and around East Brunswick. As you can tell, there's a lot going on in East Brunswick. I'm Greg T. This is Mayor Cohen. We are the buzz about East
• 33:00 - 33:30 Brunswick. And you can always reach out to us and email us, which we're going to get you an email today. It's B Abbuzzabout Ebie.com. Instagram is buzzabout eb. And of course, we now have a website, buzzabouteb.com. And if you're watching us on YouTube, hello everybody on YouTube. It's at EBTV26. And search for us at buzzabout east Brunswick. All right. So, tomorrow night is the big night. Tomorrow night is your town hall over at the uh community arts center. Gorgeous place, by the way. Uh I was just there, matter
• 33:30 - 34:00 of fact, with Cheryl Brass. We uh did a little little symphony video. So that really well worked out well because they're doing May the Fourth be with us, right? Yeah. And so uh I I dressed up like a Stormtrooper. You'll see the video. It's kind of funny. Tra your assistant Tracy thought it was very funny. Is that your favorite character from Star Wars? I just thought it stood out. You know, I'm like if I if I come in as like a Stormtrooper, I guess, you know, that's a good question. Who was your favorite character in Star Wars? Right. Yeah. So, who's yours? Well, I like Yoda. I think he's just wise. Yoda is wise, right? And then I and then
• 34:00 - 34:30 there's the other side of me, the the evil emperor. You know, that thing he does with the hands. So cool. Yes. Um, so, uh, I, you know, I don't want to make Darth Vader the guy that I love the most, even though he he's, you know, such so iconic and the whole thing's about him and Luke, but I guess I don't know. I I, you know, maybe the Stormtroopers are so cool. Maybe the Stormtroopers are my favorite part of Star Wars. Maybe they really are. You made me really think about it. The library has a program. I don't know if they did it last night or they're doing it trivia night for for Star Wars and
• 34:30 - 35:00 there's a ton of people in this community that know the the most interesting little tidbits about each one of the nine episodes of it. Uh, but I do remember taking my kids out of uh, school. Yeah. When the second set of three episodes came out, cuz they were little in elementary age at the time. It was a big deal. And we were all into Star Wars and I took them out for the midnight showing and it was really great. They still remember me taking them out of school. Wow. Great memories.
• 35:00 - 35:30 Yeah. I mean, that's Listen, I I agree. I think that back back then, you know, you didn't have these movie theaters that have, you know, a tremendous amount of theater space. So, you really had to go early or, you know, get to see it even late late at night. Sometimes the movies ran midnight. There was a midnight showing. The the the opening was midnight and people came dressed up in different stores. They came dressed up. That's right. I I remember all of this. I I guess we are similar in age, similar in height. There's a there's a lot going on here. All right. So, Mr. Mayor, so tomorrow night is the big town
• 35:30 - 36:00 hall. So, you're going to have people are going to be asking you questions because you're open to a question and answer, but you're also going to be able to address uh a lot of the residents that are going to come out. So, what are some of those points that you're going to be talking to and you're going to be addressing at tomorrow night's town hall? So, the the the big ones that I want to make sure we get to are the things that people talk about, the buzz, right? The buzz about there's always a buzz about something. That's right. So, issues about what we're doing with redevelopment and, you know, squashing some rumors that just are not true. No
• 36:00 - 36:30 Montreal. No. Right. Right. No Montreal. Um, people ask about what's going on with Route 18 and the work that's being done there in that schedule. So, we'll touch on that a little bit about the reevaluation that needs to be done over the next couple of years. So, there's a lot of topics that I know people generally ask about. Those are the ones that I want to make sure that I hit after those are done. Um, I'd rather spend the rest of the time having people ask me questions about things that are important to them and and they can come
• 36:30 - 37:00 from everywhere. People often ask about um a a perennial favorite is cable. You know, why is it that we can only get Comcast? And you know, there's a simple answer to that which most people don't like, but there is a simple answer to that. And um so those are questions that I think uh if anybody and sometimes that's one out of left field that nobody really um cares about other than a handful of people, but they deserve the answer to this. No, I got it. Yep. You know, last week I think we just kind of
• 37:00 - 37:30 teased it that maybe you guys were thinking about uh opening up a a pickle ball uh I guess an indoor place. Is that still on the table? Are you guys considering a pickle ball sort of like a gymnasium or arena kind of thing? I think that uh the township shouldn't always feel obligated to do things that the market may be able to bring to you. Gotcha. So, there's spots on Route 18 in some of the bigger places we've been talking about where um we might be able to encourage um and attract companies to
• 37:30 - 38:00 come in to come in and and build one of those. Yeah, that would be really really great. Yeah. And I think you know what also you know this it's a perfect opportunity for you to plug our podcast and say hey listen guys you know what all of this that's one of my topics marketing. That's right. It is it's all about marketing. You're you're right and I think that you should actually turn one of the questions on to some of the people that may be disappointed that um East Brunswick is you know trying to go forward by saying you know what would you have wanted us to do with East
• 38:00 - 38:30 Brunswick when you see some of the other towns around us growing? What would you have us do? almost put it back out there to them. Well, that's true with almost anything, right? A lot of times people have criticisms, but they don't really have answers, right? We've had people that criticized um work that's being done in the town, and then I said, "Well, you know what? You had a lot of good ideas. Would you like to be on one of our committees that really does this type of work every day, every once in a while, most of the time, you'll find people that take you up on that?" And they're immense value to the township
• 38:30 - 39:00 because they really do care, right? And then there's the others that unfort fortunately are not as many, but you offer them the opportunity to come back and make a difference and oh no, I'd rather just be a critic. Correct. Correct. And yeah, I understand that. You know, so far uh so you've been here the mayor has it been 10 years now or eight years. So this is the beginning of my uh third term. So I'm in the ninth year. Ninth year. Okay. I'm sorry. So nine years. So in the nine years that you've been the mayor, what has been like your biggest accomplishment? So
• 39:00 - 39:30 right now, what is the one thing that you could say, "Man, I'm so proud that I made that happen." What What is it? I think that the There's a couple, but clearly there's a a generational change in Route 18, right? It had to happen. That's correct. So, um, and that's a really, really difficult thing to do because you're dealing with land use and you're starting with someone who had zero experience in development, land use law. I don't know none of that. Sure. So, you got to learn that first. You have to find the people who are going to
• 39:30 - 40:00 give you the best advice. You've surrounded yourself with a very great group and then do it. A lot of people talk about it, but but actually do it. Um, so that's one that I'm really proud of. And I think that even for those that are critics, when it's finally done, I think they'll look back and they'll say, "Wow, this really is really nice." Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The other thing that I think is important is that we've always relished the fact that we're a diverse township. Okay. and agreed. I've always
• 40:00 - 40:30 said this to people that diversity should not be an adjective. It should be a verb. And so it's one thing to look at a piece of paper and see, oh, there's x percentage of white people and x percentage of of Asian and x percentage and in your town and oh, you must be diverse, right? That is just a piece of paper with numbers, right? Unless you engage with groups and invite them to be participating with boards, commissions, um, right, leadership, right? Uh, that
• 40:30 - 41:00 that's what brings people together. I really care more about the groups interacting and learning from one another, which is an amazing lesson for our children because the world that they're going to inherit is a global economy. It's a global world that you're working in. So to have that experience at home means that you're not learning it at a point in time when you really need to have those skills. It just needs to be part of your DNA. Yeah, I'd follow I agree. Yeah, you're right. That's a good point. Right. It's only numbers,
• 41:00 - 41:30 but when you have so many different diverse people getting involved in so many different groups and departments, then you really are establishing, you know, that multicultural feeling of a town. And that is is just great. It's what brings it. That's what makes a town a town of having everybody from different areas all be a part of one. I love that. I love the mission that you're on. I like that. So So those are the two things that I mean I could give you lots of littleer things that I think are important. But uh but those are the those are ones that are going to last forever. Gotcha. I like it, Mr. Mayor. I
• 41:30 - 42:00 like it. I like it. I like it a lot. I do. I like I You know what? I I'm telling you, man. I I'm really really This is pretty great. It's pretty great what you're doing here. I I see your vision. I'm feeling it now. And um I also think that the biggest thing that people are upset about right now, if you talk to almost anybody, they're stressed. Their economy, personal economy, whether it's uh what they could afford, the the energy bill just went up. The insurance bill just went up. The health care costs are skyrocketing. This
• 42:00 - 42:30 isn't covered any longer. And I thought that it was. They're all feeling incredibly stressed. Yep. I get that. I think what we're trying to create here are opportunities for the economy to grow. So, take a little thing like the ice rink. Yeah. Right. Right. Right. Which isn't really a little thing. No, it's huge. It's going to be great. Two NHLsiz uh rinks are. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's a massive uh improvement for things that kids could do in town. So, your kids aren't interested. I can assure you
• 42:30 - 43:00 there's going to be others that will. So, it brings in activities. It brings in jobs for people that will work there. brings jobs for people who are going to have to build it. It brings uh tournaments and people coming out for weekend type of events that are here around that which means your hotels and your restaurants. They're all going to flourish. Absolutely. So, it becomes an economic driver. This one thing. And now you start multiplying that times several others, you really now become a
• 43:00 - 43:30 destination on the map. And that's I like it. Yeah, mayor. I like it. Yes, we like it. I love it. All right, so listen. Let's take a break on that note. All right, when we get back, we got some really funny questions and their email to get to, but I love what you're talking about. I'm feeling it. I love, as they say, I love what you're throwing down. I'm picking it up. It's a buzz there. You are creating a massive buzz about East Brunswick. You really are. No doubt. All right, guys. We're taking our last and final break and then when we get back, some really funny questions, all coming from one of the emails from one of you guys out there. So, thank you
• 43:30 - 44:00 so much. And this is what's going on in and around East Brunswick. The East Brunswick Police Department is currently accepting applications for the annual Junior Police Academy. The Junior Police Academy is being held this year at the East Brunswick High School between July 7th and July 11th. To be eligible to attend, individuals must be between the ages of 13 and 17 and reside in East Brunswick or attend the school within the township of East Brunswick. This oneweek program provides an
• 44:00 - 44:30 excellent opportunity for young members of the community to get a better understanding of how the East Brunswick Police Department operates and how police officers serve and protect our community. Registration is now open on the East Brunswick Parks and Recreation website. The deadline for registrations this year will be Sunday, May 11th. Due to the high number of anticipated applicants, we recommend you submit your applications as soon as possible as the class size is limited to 30 spots. If you have any questions, you can contact the East Bruntton Police Department's Community Policing Unit at
• 44:30 - 45:00 [Music] 732-39-6938 or via email at community policing evpd.net. Thank you, and we hope to see you there. I'm with the director of planning and engineering here in East Brunswick, Keith Kip. 90,000 ft ice arena. It's got two NHL size rinks inside. We designed in the load for solar panels on the roof, team lockers and guest lockers, TV
• 45:00 - 45:30 screen to announce who's playing on what ice, 10-ft viewing area where you can view the play on the ice. I'm very proud of this project. It's been a great conglomeration between the township, the council, and the contracting and design team of the next and the music. You love it. I love it. I love that you love it. All right, guys. I'm Greg T. This is Mayor Cohen. Welcome back again to uh Buzz About East Brunswick, our podcast. This is only episode number three. And uh this is a time where now we are going to stop down
• 45:30 - 46:00 and read a little bit of email. If you'd like to email us next week, it's b a eb buzzabout eb. You can always follow us on Instagram. Message us there on Instagram as well at buzzaboute and on our website now at buzzabouteb.com. And again, if you're on YouTube, hello everybody on YouTube. All right, you ready, Mr. Mayor? I got some uh got some email to get to. We do have an email here. Mail time. We got mail. Not the slow Pony Express.
• 46:00 - 46:30 No, no, no. We got real email. Real email. I do. I do. Slow. No. This is defin This is rapid. This is rapid. All right. So, Mr. Mayor, here is our email today. Okay. It says, "Hi. Hi, everyone. My name is Amy. I've been a resident of East Brunswick for 14 years. I live off of Cranberry Road near Warrenorf for school. You've said residents can email, so I'm taking a chance. I enjoy the banter between the two of you. And since I'm a bit nutty myself, I'm throwing these fun questions out to you to have
• 46:30 - 47:00 fun with. I've been listening. I'll be listening next week to see if you read my email. Thanks so much. And I just wanted to say I love this town. Your resident Amy, no, no last name, no address. Thank you, Amy. There you go. So Amy, Amy's very first question is this. You only get one song to listen to for the rest of your life, Mr. Mayor. What song is that? I picked and my wife agreed to our wedding song, which was We've only just begun from the Carpenters. And I think you always are
• 47:00 - 47:30 beginning something new. Don't be afraid to start something new. I'm smitten. I'm smitten. I Doesn't that is really, really nice. That is really, really nice. That is I What a sweetheart you are. All right. You for me, I wasn't thinking about my wife. Or maybe I was. She's a big Bon Joy fan. I chose Wanted, Dead or Alive. I thought that would be a great That's a great great song. Well, he's he grew up in Right. Right down the street. Exactly. So, you know, so I guess I I kind of uh I guess I I kind of
• 47:30 - 48:00 brought my wife into it, but without even thinking about it, but I saw Bon Joy wanted Dead or Alive. All right. Second question Amy has. This is a really funny one. Okay. All right. You ready for this one? If aliens landed in East Brunswick, what? Amy, honestly, Amy, if aliens landed in East Brunswick, what local spot would you, Mr. Mayor, take them to first to impress the aliens? Amy, I can't believe I'm reading this email. Go ahead. Well, we were talking earlier about some of our park land that nobody really even knows about. That's true. Yeah. So, there's a
• 48:00 - 48:30 spot right off of Reva Avenue, not far from where I live, right? There's a uh that the town owns about 26 acres of land that most people don't know. It's old photo. Trying to think about that area. Okay. Old Foder Farm right before you get to Miltown, right? Um there's a small little convenience store. Oh, I know exactly what you're talking about. I know the area. Yes, I know the area. Once you get past the tree line, again, this is all township property, which we will eventually turn into something uh that's more of like walk trails. Right.
• 48:30 - 49:00 Right. Right. Um but if you get past the tree line, you're basically right on top of Lake Farington. That's exact. I was just trying to think that's exactly where that is over there. There is a beautiful waterfall that nobody knows is even here in town. I don't think I even knew about this. And I know Farington uh Lake. I know Farington Manor, all that. I I didn't even think about where is the uh the waterfall. I'm trying to think for real. It's behind um literally very close to the Miltown border, but it's right past the tree line. You have to get past the You have to go down that little street by Ven Manor. Yeah. Yeah.
• 49:00 - 49:30 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then you walk all the way into the woods, past the tree line, which takes you out to basically the lake. And then you'll see it's beautiful parkland. Um hilly. Okay. Um which I love. And then and then I first time I was there I just hear all this water running. I said where the heck is that coming from? Yeah. And then next thing you know there's this massive um dam and the waterfall coming off of it. It's beautiful. That's you know what? I'm going to check that out. I don't know much I don't know about the dam. I
• 49:30 - 50:00 didn't know about it. Well, I'm going to check it out. All right. Now, last question from Amy. Somebody told us that you enjoy your Chinese food. So, she wants to know, "What is your go-to order at EB Chinese?" Oh, she knows I go to There you go. There you go. Suette. She's the best. Suette. Okay. Yeah. Um, I have a couple of of the go-to ones, but we actually like the uh um the uh either General Chose or the sesame chicken that they make with real white meat chicken, which is really good. Got
• 50:00 - 50:30 it. Okay. Um, so it's not tasting like a whole bunch of breaded uh, you know, breading. So that's our our go-to dish. Um, but there's a bunch of others. I mean, it's to me, Chinese food is like a fourth food group. No, listen, I I I enjoy my my Chinese. We had it uh this past Friday. We knew we were going to be eating uh Passover food for uh on Saturday, and then we knew we were going to have Palm Sunday dinner. So on Friday, we order Chinese. Well, actually, almost every Friday night, that's our go-to. Oh, yeah. You're a Friday night guy. See, for us, Friday night has always been pizza, but I could
• 50:30 - 51:00 see how you could do that. Friday night could be Chinese food. We do a Chinese, I guess, maybe like on a Tuesday, you know, when it's early on in the week still. We don't really know how the rest of the week is shaping up. So, we do that. But you guys are a Friday night uh Chinese guys. Yes. All right. I got you. That's our thing. Now, listen. I've got some funny uh questions to ask. So, thank you, Amy. And again, you guys can always email us at baeb buzzabout uh eBuzz about I'm sorry, buzzabout eb. Drop us an email. So now I've got a couple of questions here that I want to get to. I want to know what is your
• 51:00 - 51:30 favorite sport and I think I know what your favorite sport is. Come on. Is it hockey? Ice hockey. I knew it. So you are a big uh Are you a big Devils fan? Yes. I knew it. So are you excited that they're finally going back going back to the playoffs? Finally. So what do you think? You know what? But the I'm a little disappointed. I'm really upset that you know Jack Hughes got hurt cuz I think our chances in the playoffs would be far better if he was playing. And they're going up against Carolina who booted them back in 2023. Oh, I remember what before that I remember when they we got shut out of the playoffs. They shot
• 51:30 - 52:00 they got two goals literally within the last minute. So that was heartbreer heartbreaker. Um so yeah, no love loss there. How much did you love the '9s when the Devils were just like such a force to be reckoned with. They were like that that they were so strong. They were winning at all time. Broad was Oh my god. Brodor. So, we have season tickets and when he broke the record, they actually took his the the netting and they broke it up into the number of pieces and gave each season ticket holder a little piece of of that netting
• 52:00 - 52:30 from the when he broke the record for the most number. Tell me you got a piece of that, of course. And it's framed and everything. That's awesome. That's great. I listen, I I like the Devils as well. It's been tough the past couple of years, but you know what? They have such a young staff now and they really are pushing it. I think that look I don't know is this the year they're coming in at like their third I think they're the third seed. Third seed in their division. So but look I they got a lot
• 52:30 - 53:00 of young players that are they do they do but yeah Jack Hughes would been much Yeah. It would be great if they go far. I would love to see them get past Carolina. That would be great. Um but there's a lot of really good teams this year. Winnipeg out of nowhere team. What a great year Winnipeg has had, right? What amazing year Washington with the Vetkkins had a phenomenal season just broke the record. He's the man. So look, there's some really stiff competition out there. But you know what it it's any game. Yeah, I got you. You never know. Especially when they're already play like, you know, five, best out of five, best out of seven. Anything could
• 53:00 - 53:30 possibly happen, which is great. All right. Now, yesterday a lot of ladies, they went up in the uh Jeff Bezos rocket ship. It was what? Katy Perry was there. Um, was it uh Gail King was there was one of them. Anyway, they all went up into the into space or I guess on the cusp of like where the outer space is. Mr. Mayor, would you ever want to be in a Jeff Bezos rocket machine rocket ship going up to outer space? Yeah, I think that would be so cool. Well, I told you I did the skydiving. You did your sky. I
• 53:30 - 54:00 told you today that I went into single engine plane. That's true. So, um, absolutely. You're a lot more daring than I. I swear I'm chicken. I would not. I would. No way. I would love to have that feeling for a couple seconds of total weight loss, which I know a lot of people in this country that love to feel weightless, right? Um but uh I think that'd be cool. Oh my god. And the view has to be just astounding. Well, you're never going to get that view again. I mean, how many times you going to go up into Jeff Basil's rocket? That's for sure, right? Just can't afford that. All right, here we go. Ever received a speeding ticket here in East
• 54:00 - 54:30 Brunswick? Yes, you did in East Brunswick. Before you were mayor, you had it. Right. You can't do it. Could you imagine getting pulled over and they're like, "Oh boy, it's the mayor." No, actually I got pulled over and it was because I if you know where Fern Road intersects by Warren Stfer with Dunham's Corner Road. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, it was night. I was coming home from my medical office and I'm making a right onto Dunham's Corner Road and I had not been living here that long. So, I didn't realize that there
• 54:30 - 55:00 was a stop sign there and and the trees actually kind of covered up some of the sign to be perfectly honest with you. So, and it's at night there wasn't a soul on the road and I just sort of came to a what they call a gliding stop or not a complete stop. Yeah. Uh, but there was nobody at all around. And the police pull me over and they say, "Do you know what you were doing?" I said, "Well, I really didn't think I was speeding." And um and then and and he said, "Well, aren't those numbers English?" I said, "Well, if you really want to be
• 55:00 - 55:30 technical about it, the numbers are Arabic, but um which I don't think was really the smart answer to." And he said, "Well, you you weren't speeding. You didn't come to a complete stop." I'm like, "You really you really have to be kidding me. Well, listen. I guess that it happens to the best of us, doesn't it? You did. And I and I and I fought it. I went to court. You did? I did. Did you win? No. I actually was sat in front of the judge, tried to explain to him what I was doing, made myself my own attorney
• 55:30 - 56:00 cuz I wasn't going to waste money on an attorney. I knew that I probably had no chance of winning, but I tried. And the judge at the end said, "You know, that was really pretty good for someone who's not an attorney." He goes, "But when Steel said steel," cuz I tried to use the doctor excuse. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He goes, "We really don't care who you are. And now here you are as the mayor. There you go. All right, guys. So, listen. That is episode three of uh the buzz about EB and I really hope that you guys enjoyed it. I know I got every single episode I get more and more out of learning much more about you, learning about the town uh meeting. So, we're now
• 56:00 - 56:30 we're getting emails in there and again head over to our website. Make it easy for yourself. Go to buzzabouteb.com and drop us an email right from there. And uh if you are listening to us or you want to take us on the road, Apple podcast, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and Amazon Music, you can listen to the buzz about East Brunswick. Mr. Mayor, I guess I will see you tomorrow night. Or if you're watching it now, I'll be seeing you tonight at your town hall. All right, Zeister, we ready? Team Meister. After you did that, so many other people heard about they started calling me Team Meister in the
• 56:30 - 57:00 building now. Well, I told you I had a nephew, Zachary, and I used to call him Zmeister. So, it's just like the thing. Team Meister. All right, guys. We are out. We'll see you guys here next week. All right. [Music]