Mahwah – Bergen County’s Biggest Small Town is Still a Small Town at Heart

Bergen County’s Biggest Small Town is Still a Small Town at Heart

Frank T Pallotta

With more than 26,000 residents, and 26 square miles, Mahwah, New Jersey is one of Bergen County’s largest municipalities both in population and in area. We also play host some of the country’s largest corporate headquarters, regionals offices and distribution centers including Sharp, Dial-America, the NYSE, Jaguar, Stryker, UPS and more.

The other striking characteristic about Mahwah is that for as big as we are, we’ve never lost the “small-town charm” that so many towns tend to lose as they grow. If you blink twice while driving through the town center, you might miss it and if your vehicle is too tall or too wide, you might not make it under the railroad overpass at the bottom of Airmount Avenue. 15 houses of worship that cater to Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Lutheran and non-Denominational residents; and 9 schools from kindergarten through college, call Mahwah home. Every restaurant, bar, delicatessen, gas station (except maybe one), firehouse, pharmacy and coffee shop are filled to the brim with Mahwah residents who care about the well-being of the town and the people who work and visit here. The look of concern on nearly every face when we hear a fire alarm or police siren speaks to how much we care about our residents our business owners and the people who make their way in and around Mahwah on a daily basis.

The past 24 – 30 months were difficult for this town. False accusations, political infighting, lawsuits, mayoral recalls and a legal settlement have kept Mahwah on the front pages – for all the wrong reasons. Still, we never lost the charm that made us all who we are. When Corey Booker and Josh Gottheimer attacked Mahwah High School for their own political gain, it wasn’t the Mayor who defended the good people of Mahwah; it was our residents. Parents and grandparents of every student who ever attended any of the nine schools in this town, spoke out against the Senator and Congressman when the Mayor refused.

We’re now hearing that Anthony Cureton is running for the vacated position of Bergen County Sheriff left open when disgraced sheriff Michael Saudino was forced to resign last month after some racist recordings were released. This is the same Anthony Cureton who showed up at a Mahwah Town Council meeting in September 2017 to proclaim “as a black man driving in Mahwah, should I be concerned?” This is yet another politician looking to launch or further their political career on the backs of the good people of Mahwah.

In recent years Mahwah has been used as an “ATM” for special interests whose only interest happens to be their own wallet. We’ve also been used by politicians looking to push unsubstantiated lies and accusations from their own tiny, insignificant soapbox, in an effort to further their own twisted political agendas.

Thankfully, help is on the way and hope is on the horizon. Mayoral candidate John Roth is a man of integrity who cares for Mahwah and for maintaining the character of our “small town” community. He is also a man who will work tirelessly to insure that we are never again taken advantage of by politicians and special interests both within and outside of the Township.