Brick Welcomes New Council Members, Promotes Town Pride

BRICK, NJ -- Mayor John G. Ducey rang in the New Year with a call to action for all the town’s residents: talk about why Brick Township is a great place to live.

“Brick Township is a special place,” Ducey said during the annual reorganization meeting Friday morning, and too often that gets lost in negativit, he said.

To help promote civic pride and a greater sense of community, Ducey is urging all residents to use the hashtag #BrickProud to highlight the positives.

“If you’re eating at a local restaurant, take a photo and share it with the hashtag #BrickProud. At a park? Take a photo,” Ducey said. ”We want people to know why we love Brick Township.”

The council reorganization included the swearing in of returning council members Andrea Zapcic and James Fozman, as well as Lisa Crate and Arthur Halloran, who were newly elected to the council. Zapcic, Crate and Halloran were sworn in by Ducey, while Fozman was sworn in by Assemblyman John Wisniewski from Sayreville.

“He is a great friend and a strong leader,” Fozman said as he thanked Wisniewski for administering the oath.

Ducey recapped 2015 and the previous four years of the council, thanking both Bob Moore and Susan Lydecker for their contributions.

“We accomplished a great deal,” Ducey said, citing a net reduction of $12 million in the township’s overall debt while the township constrained its spending, he said, increasing by $1 million over the last four years, from $68 million in 2011 to $69 million.

Paul Mummolo was re-elected as council president, and Marianna Pontoriero was selected as council vice president.

“I look forward to helping to lead and making better decisions and better choices for Brick, as we have,” she said. “We want the same things you want; our children want the same things your children want.”

Ducey said promoting the good in town will help to counter the negative comments made by people outside of Brick.

“This campaign is about Brick Township and what makes this town great and it is our hope that #BrickProud is everywhere in 2016,” Ducey said.