Reps may visit model town seeking ways to get along
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer



FREEHOLD — Borough representatives may soon be taking a trip to Maplewood to see how another town dealing with diversity has made it work to the benefit of all residents.

Borough Councilman Marc Le Vine brought the proposal for a visit to Maplewood to a Human Relations Committee meeting on Dec. 5. Le Vine said he had already discussed the idea with Mayor Michael Wilson and members of the Borough Council. He said Wilson suggested that other municipal committees be involved in a discussion as to whether to follow through on the idea.

Le Vine said the idea of visiting Maplewood — a town with similar demographics to Freehold — to determine how officials have dealt with a diverse population was brought to his attention by Matthew Weismantel, a former member of the Freehold Borough Board of Education who presently sits on the Planning Board.

The councilman said Maplewood’s success is due in part to an organization called Fund for an Open Society (OPEN). He contacted Barbara Heisler Williams, the executive director of OPEN, about setting up a meeting to discuss things Maplewood officials were doing in regard to making diversity work for the community. In addition to her position with OPEN, Heisler Williams also handles publicity for the South Orange-Maplewood Community Coalition on Race.

According to an Internet Web site Le Vine provided for Human Relations Committee members, OPEN is America’s only national nonprofit agency whose sole purpose is working to promote thriving racially and ethnically inclusive communities. The organization believes that “inclusive communities create equity, breaking down the structures which have created and sustained inequality for people of color,” and that inclusive communities benefit everyone. “By living in community together, people can take full advantage of the power inherent in America’s rich diversity,” the organization states.

OPEN envisions people of different racial and ethnic groups “not only living near one another, but living in open communities where people interact and form friendships, support and/or become elected officials, participate in schools and religious congregations and generally have a wide range of experiences across racial and ethnic lines.”

The organization helps community leaders by gauging the community’s changing ethnicity; assessing a community’s assets and creating a plan to market the community to potential residents; working with community leaders and citizens; galvanizing support from key constituencies such as business owners, Realtors and community leaders; and linking community leaders with resources and information.

According to Le Vine, the residents of Maplewood came together and now the town is booming, property values are on the rise and businesses are setting up shop.

Le Vine said he wants Freehold Borough representatives to be able to ask questions of OPEN’s directors.

“Regardless of what happens in Washington, we have to realize there is going to be a significant Latino immigrant population in our country,” the councilman said. “There are two issues here; the issue against illegal immigration because it’s wrong, and the fact that we must understand that this population will play a large role in the future of Freehold Borough.”

Human Relations Committee members seemed receptive to the idea of taking a trip to the Essex County municipality. Committee member Frank Argote-Freyre asked Le Vine if Maplewood had issues with undocumented immigrants in the community.

Le Vine said he was not sure about that, but said he knows there is a large African-American population in Maplewood. He said the goal of the trip to Maplewood would be to find ways to live and do business together in Freehold Borough.

He noted the recent settlement of a federal lawsuit that pitted Freehold Borough against advocates for the town’s immigrant population. He said Freehold needs to do some public relations now to make things better.

“We need to stop the bickering. That belongs in Washington and Trenton,” Le Vine said. “This plan could be a very positive thing for our town.”

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