Cranford: Observe Social Distancing During Bunny Event Saturday!

CRANFORD, NJ — The Easter bunny will hop a ride through Cranford on Saturday morning to bring Easter joy to watching children — and officials are encouraging parents to strictly observe social distancing recomendations when it happens, to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The Chamber of Commerce, one of the sponsors of the event, posted the rabbit's route on Friday, which can be viewed here.

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While talk of such an event is often a fluffy tail, this year's ride caused a bit of controversy.

That's because state officials have been encouraging everyone to stay inside their homes amid the coronavirus crisis, and if they must go outside, to maintain social distancing from others outside their immediate family. Some residents have been concerned that crowds could form during the event.

So Mayor Patrick Giblin addressed the issue in a video on Friday morning.

He said there will be two bunnies on the rabbit trail, heading around from 10 a.m. until 1 or 2, and people can track the route via Virtual Cranford so they're not waiting for hours.

"The bunny is going to be coming through town, not going to be stopping, not throwing out candy," he said. "You can simply wave from the window or stand on your front porch step. They do ask you avoid having the kids come up to the street, and don't invite your out-of-town friends to come. This is put together just for Cranford residents to have some normalcy in all of this."

Giblin said that the bunny will have escorts from law enforcement. He stressed that its as a well-intentioned event, and that people should not cause problems for first responders.

"Our first responders are pretty stretched," he said. "I'm hearing stories about the backlog at Overlook Hospital [in Summit]. If an EMT takes someone there, they're waiting now up to two hours because there's a different procedure, for something that would take 10 or 15 minutes to drop a patient off. They're stretched thin. We're looking forward to a fun, safe Easter event."

He also mentioned that the conversation center will be open Saturday, and stressed social distancing there too. He said if it gets crowded, police may have to monitor it.

He also talked about a live event with local clergy for the holidays, and said people can post lights outside their house or make noise at 8 or 8:30 to express support for front-line workers. "Please, no car alarms," he said. "911 was inundated with calls."

A Facebook post by the Chamber of Commerce about the bunny earlier this week encouraged people to step outside their doors to watch. It drew largely positive comments, but some expressed concerns.

By Thursday night, a new post encouraged people to "Wave to the bunny (from your window) as he passes by your house." The post added, "SPECIAL NOTE Please avoid congregating since we need to adhere to proper social distancing. Thank you in advance for your cooperation!"

Last week, a similar issue arose in Westfield. One of the town's elementary schools ran a car parade of teachers, encouraging families to wave from porches. But the next day, Mayor Shelley Brindle wrote, "I received several comments from residents who were concerned about the lack of social distance compliance, in spite of best efforts by most families to maintain appropriate distancing. While I can appreciate the good intentions of the organizers to bring a smile to the faces of these now remote students, I certainly would have discouraged the parade if asked."

Saturday's event will be sponsored by the Cranford Area Chamber of Commerce, Cranford Community Connection, and CWM Tribe. With assistance from Cranford Police Department and Cranford Fire Department.

Here are additional statewide coronavirus resources:

• NJ COVID-19 Information Hub: https://covid19.nj.gov/
• General COVID-19 questions: 2-1-1
• NJ COVID-19 hotline: (800) 222-1222

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