Dunellen Borough Council Votes in Favor of Reopening Plan for Downtown Businesses

The Dunellen Borough Council voted in favor of the Dunellen Downtown Reopening Plan at their Monday, June 1, 2020 virtual Council meeting. The plan developed by Mayor Cilento in consultation with the Dunellen Office of Emergency Management and Borough Administration, loosens the borough’s outdoor dining ordinance and waives related permit fees, as well as encourages use of parking lots for restaurants and sidewalk retail displays and sales for businesses downtown so long as they do not obstruct pedestrian traffic, violate safe distancing protocols and wear PPE.

On May 31^st, Mayor Cilento implored the passage of the resolution to help Dunellen’s small businesses by saying, “We have to provide our small businesses the opportunity to open up and compete against the big box stores, who many have been able to be open during this entire pandemic.” He noted that almost all of Dunellen’s businesses are independently owned and are generational Mom & Pop Shops and that they needed the support of their local government.

Under the plan, the Borough of Dunellen would formalize a blueprint to close down a section of a public parking at the Dunellen train station to create an outdoor public dining and retail experience during weekends. For this endeavor, Mayor Cilento appointed Council President Kenneth Bayer and Councilwoman Jessica Dunne to operationalize a plan. Stressing the importance of Borough Council support for Dunellen’s businesses, Council President Bayer added, “We want to build on that support to ensure that the residents of Dunellen have a Downtown Business District they can count on being there to serve them.” The measures were developed to provide Dunellen businesses the opportunity to expand beyond their businesses walls and encourage more individuals to patronize their businesses, so long as they follow social distancing and PPE requirements.

The Borough of Dunellen had already taken steps to allow local fitness and wellness businesses the opportunity to hold classes of limited capacity in an open space in one of Dunellen’s parks. “Dunellen is a small, close-knit community and it is important for us to support all members of our community, including our residents and businesses as we begin to re-open.” Councilwoman Dunne said, as she also stressed the importance of keeping everyone safe as we begin to reopen.

Now that Governor Murphy has planned the second stage of reopening for outdoor restaurant dining and non-essential in-person retail to open on June 15, 2020 and salons and barber shops for June 22, 2020; Dunellen businesses will now have the capability to expand their business outdoors. Businesses will be able to complete a hard copy of the Outdoor Dining or Sidewalk Cafes Application and submit it to the Borough Clerk at 355 North Ave, Dunellen, NJ 08812 or a digital application on the borough website at: www.dunellen-nj.gov.