The extent to which trees were cleared at Middlebush Park sparked some comments from two Environmental Commission members at the Dec. 2 meeting. Commission vice-chair Arnold Schmidt and member David Triggs voiced some concern over the number of trees that were cleared for the park, and over the lack of a buffer between the park and nearby residents. “It looks …

The township’s efforts in shielding Gauguin Way residents from noise and other nuisances of Middlebush Park’s sports complex aren’t sitting well with at least one resident. The 70-acre park, accessible off of DeMott Lane, is home to the township’s Pop Warner football program. With 300 players, Franklin’s Pop Warner program is considered to be the largest in Central New Jersey. …

Middlebush Park was hopping Sept. 15 as the township’s Pop Warner Football teams played their first games on the parks turf fields. Mayor Brian Levine conducted the coin toss for the 11:30 a.m. Midget game, in which Franklin’s Warriors faced the Piscataway Chiefs. More than 300 children participate in the township’s Pop Warner program, making it the largest such program …

The new Middlebush skate park is open. The new Middlebush Park skate park is already garnering attention. The new park, located next to the basketball courts, is smaller than the one it replaced, but is considered by skaters as an upgrade. The $309,000 skate park is made entirely of poured concrete, vastly different than the metal ramps that were placed …

An artist’s rendering of the proposed skate park replacement for Middlebush Park. Rather than replace the skate park at Middlebush Park, members of the Open Space Advisory Committee said July 20 that they would prefer a spray park in its place. Some Committee members contended that the skate park was rarely used, and that a spray park would be a …

A 47-year-old Franklin Park man was killed Nov. 12 when his car was struck by a garbage truck that had crossed the center line on South Middlebush Road. William H. Herman was driving his 2014 Hyundai Elantra south on South Middlebush, exiting the curve after the the Amwell Road intersection, when his car was struck head-on by a truck driven …

Louise H. Ericksen, a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, passed away peacefully on September 12 at the age of 90, at Parker at Somerset in Somerset.  Born on April 6, 1934, in New Brunswick, to the late Louis and Jennie Olah, Louise was raised in New Brunswick, found the love of her life, and settled in the Middlebush …

NEW OWNERS – A YouTube fundraising video in Arabic describes the Center’s plans for the South Middlebush Road site. Plans for a $15 million, 60,000-square-foot Islamic center – including a mosque, a boarding school, and a state-of-the-art gym – with 400 parking spaces are being laid by the new owners of a 16-acre tract on South Middlebush Road. The land, …

NEW BRANCH IS OPEN – Manisha Makwana, Branch Manager Amanda Decker, Library Executive Director January Adams, and Paul Doherty in the new Franklin Park library branch which had a “soft opening” on September 12. The new Franklin Park branch of the township library silently opened its doors on September 12, and the reviews were good. The 5,500-square-foot building sits within …

NEW LIBRARY BRANCH – Library officials expect the current Franklin Park Branch to close around March 21, with this new branch opening several weeks later. The new Franklin Park branch of the Public Library should be opening around the middle of April, a library official recently said. The “tentative” date for a temporary certificate of occupancy for the branch, located …