New 'Mayoral Wall' Unveiled In East Brunswick

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — During the Council meeting on Monday, Mayor Brad Cohen and three former mayors unveiled the new Mayoral Wall. The wall will feature portraits of mayors who served the township.

Although the main meeting room in East Brunswick has portraits of former mayors, they were scattered across the room and don’t have a uniform portrait size. Cohen said he felt that it did a disservice to those who spent their time contributing to the community.

“We worked to realign all the pictures, to bring them back to life and have the same size, frame and tags that commemorate the years they served,” Cohen said

The first picture on the wall is that of Aleck Borman who was the first elected mayor of East Brunswick in 1965. Prior to that, the township had a committee form of government, where individuals elected a mayor among themselves.

Former Mayors Ira Oskowsky (1991-1996), William P. Neary (1997-2008) and Council President Kevin T. McEvoy who served as Mayor in 2016, joined Cohen for the unveiling of the wall.

“One of the things I’m most proud of is when I drive around East Brunswick and I see the things that I’m responsible for,” Oskowsky said.

Oskowsky’s portrait is from when he was 34 years old. “I took my earring out just to take the portrait, I wanted to look more mayoral,” the former mayor said. “I remember spending so much time in this room and I’m so proud to have served East Brunswick.”

Neary thanked Council for the honor. “Serving as mayor is probably the most rewarding time any of us have had in our lives. You look at this town, the foundation that was built and how it has grown to become a better town than before,” Neary said.

Neary noted that during his first term as mayor, the township first started televising council meetings.

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