Nutley Mayor, Commissioners Reflect on "Traumatic" Year

The Nutley Mayor and Board of Commissioners looked back on the many traumatic events of 2012 and lauded the township as a safe and happy place to live.

The remarks came at an early morning meeting on the Monday of New Year's Eve, where no major issues were taken up at the 9 a.m. meeting.

Mayor Alphonse Petracco said in an interview after the meeting, "We are lucky in Nutley to be free of the tragic events that have affected so many across America and throughout the world this year."

"You look back at the movie theater shooting in Colorado, and the Sandy Hook massacre of children, and that what happened to our shore area and the New York area, and how traumatic 2012 was," he said. "As a father of three, and for all of us raising our children, we now have to think twice about sending our children to school or to the mall."

For that reason, Petracco said, he said he and all Nutley residents are fortunate to live where they do.

"We truly have a little slice of heaven here in Nutley, and I appreciate that now more than ever," he said.

The mayor reiterated the words of the other commissioners at the earlier meeting.

"From all of the commissioners, our best wishes for a healthy, happy and especially for a safe new year," Petracco said.