COVID, BLM, Police Haircuts: Woodbridge's Top Stories Of 2020

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — We are all still grappling to make sense of the year 2020, 365 days that saw death, illness, job loss, forced shutdowns of private business and Woodbridge's 13,000 school children stuck at home, learning by laptop.

But 2020 also saw Woodbridge taking care of its own, with donations pouring in to the We Feed Woodbridge food drive, and a local pizzeria (Brooklyn Pizza in Fords) giving away free food to customers who could not pay.

Here are the top five stories that defined Woodbridge Township in 2020:

1. Coronavirus

To date, Woodbridge has had 6,565 COVID cases and 172 deaths of Township residents due to COVID, according to the Middlesex County dashboard. Many of those deaths occurred in local nursing homes, but coronavirus also claimed regular Woodbridge citizens, some of them in their 50s and 60s.

Woodbridge schools were shut down in the spring and operated on a hybrid schedule this fall. However, when the full brunt of the second wave hit in November, the school district reverted to all-virtual, and will remain that way until January 19. Unlike other districts, Woodbridge did allow school sports to continue in the fall, so graduating student-athletes were able to finish their senior year on the field.

2. County Prosecutor Looking Into Woodbridge Police Haircuts (June)

How can we forget when it was revealed that the Woodbridge police department had been quietly giving haircuts to officers at police HQ all throughout March, April and May, in violation of Gov. Murphy's shutdown of barbershops and salons?

The Middlesex County prosecutor even got involved, and looked into whether it was proper for the Woodbridge PD to pay the barber $1,605 in federal CARES Act funding. Woodbridge police maintained their officers had to adhere to strict grooming requirements, and that barber operated with the full blessing of the town health department.

3. Black Lives Matter March in Woodbridge; Woodbridge residents of color speak out (July)

Hundreds marched in Woodbridge in June in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, rallying in front of Woodbridge town hall and the Community Center. More than 1,000 people also signed this petition to remove the thin blue line that runs down the center of Main Street.

The BLM march then prompted the formation of the Woodbridge Youth for Liberation and Equity, a group of about 40 young people — nearly all of whom grew up here and attended Woodbridge public schools — who are advocating for racial change in the Woodbridge police department and school district.

Meshaal Bannerman, a 21-year-old Avenel resident, is a founding member. Bannerman was born and raised in Avenel, graduated from Colonia High School and is currently in his senior year at Harvard University.

"I'm a product of Woodbridge Township; this town is my home and it means a lot to me," said Bannerman. "I was in seventh grade when Trayvon Martin happened. And then after the George Floyd incident, it just reignited a fire in me. I feel I have a personal responsibility now to speak out."

4. Turnpike Authority Suspends Flag Ban On Woodbridge Overpass (September)

In September, hundreds of Woodbridge residents were dismayed when the state Turnpike Authority said no flags, including American flags, could fly on the Port Reading/Sewaren bridge over the Turnpike.

It was Woodbridge residents like local veteran Mark Tolley who started placing the flags on the bridge in the days immediately following Sept. 11, 2001. The collection of about 60 flags are mostly American and POW flags, but in the past they have also included the yellow "Don't Tread On Me" flag and the "Thin Blue Line" flag that shows support for police officers.

When he found out, Gov. Phil Murphy intervened and called the Turnpike Authority. The flags are now allowed to remain.

5. County to open vaccine distribution site in Edison (December)

And there is some light at the end of the tunnel, as coronavirus vaccines are being given out now and the county is prepared to open the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Edison, one of six vaccine "mega sites." The expo center is expected to open by early January.

The state also designated the Woodbridge Health Department as a point of distribution for the Moderna vaccine.