Montclair Mayor Sean M. Spiller Announces the Formation of the Mayor’s COVID-19 Recovery Task Force

Montclair, NJ – Today, Mayor Sean M. Spiller and the Township of Montclair are announcing the formation of the Mayor’s COVID-19 Recovery Task Force.

The Coronavirus pandemic has created an unprecedented public health and economic crises for communities throughout the United States and around the world. The Mayor’s COVID-19 Recovery Task Force will be charged with working alongside community stakeholders and liaisons from all levels of government to identify and implement innovative solutions to help Montclair residents, small businesses and nonprofits get back on their feet.

The 25-member Mayor’s COVID-19 Recovery Task Force will be co-chaired by Montclair residents David Pascrell and Shante Palmer.

Mr. Pascrell is an attorney and co-chair of the Government and Regulatory Affairs department at Gibbons P.C.

“I am honored Mayor Spiller has asked me to serve on the COVID-19 Recovery Task Force. I look forward to working with the Mayor, fellow task force members and residents to help jumpstart our recovery in Montclair,” said Mr. Pascrell.

Ms. Palmer is the Director of Government Relations at Montclair State University.

“The Mayor’s COVID-19 Recovery Task Force will bring to bear the enormous talent, spirit and creativity of our community as we continue to combat the most pressing public health and economic crises of our time,” said Ms. Palmer.

Mayor Sean M. Spiller said the ongoing and unprecedented nature of the Coronavirus pandemic led him to the creation of a specialized task force that will add to actions already taken including the awarding of $150,000 in small business grants, a $60,000 grant to Toni’s Kitchen to help meet demand, parking fee suspensions, deferral of property tax payments, an extensive contact tracing program administered by the Montclair Department of Health and Human Services, increased testing capacity in partnership with Essex County, and a new partnership with Governor Murphy’s office to provide more pre and post-holiday testing.

“The Coronavirus has upended virtually every aspect of our society. In the face of this unprecedented challenge, Montclair has answered with the compassion, ingenuity and resilience our township is known for. The COVID-19 Task Force will be laser-focused on identifying needs in our community, cultivating public/private partnerships, and reviewing the whole-of-government response to the Coronavirus pandemic to help Montclair robustly address this and prepare for future public health crises.”

The Mayor’s COVID-19 Recovery Task Force will hold its first meeting on Tuesday, November 17th.

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About the Mayor’s COVID-19 Recovery Task Force

Shante Palmer, Co-Chair

David Pascrell, Co-Chair

Small Business

Lead – Raj Amin (Founder/Managing Director Teem Ventures)

Lynette Brubaker (Founder/CEO LHB Group)

Jonathan Echeverry (Owner Paper Plane Coffee Company)

Eliot Mosby (Owner Montclair Diner)

Maureen Parker (Director Equity Finance Division – Bank of America)

Nonprofit

Lead – Ed Remsen (Former Mayor of Montclair)

Anne Mernin (Executive Director of Toni’s Kitchen)

Jeff Plaut (Partner Global Strategy Group)

Albert Pelham (President Montclair NAACP)

Rev. Ann Ralosky (First Congregational Church)

Community Stakeholders

Lead – Roger Terry (Former Montclair Deputy Chief of Police)

David Placek (Managing Partner BDP Holdings, LLC)

Reginald Jenkins, Jr. (Partner Chasan, Lamparello, Mallon & Cappuzzo)

Don Zief (Former Montclair Third Ward Councilor)

Liaisons

Deb Cornavaca (Deputy Chief of Staff – Governor Murphy)

Ira Karasick & Brian P. Scantlebury (Montclair Township Representatives)

Damen Cooper (Montclair Public Schools Representative)

Jason Gleason (Montclair Business Improvement District)

Zina Floyd (South End) & Paul Giordano (Upper Montclair) (Business District Leaders)

Representatives from Rep. Payne & Rep. Sherrill’s Offices