buzzworthy
Wayne
ANONPROFIT EXPANDSBEYOND BORDERS
When Wayne Magazine interviewed BRIAN SCHWARTZ for the Fall 2021 Neighbors column , the Wayne resident was hearing from fans all over the country who had seen him on CBS News or The Drew Barrymore Show , orread about him in The Record , Southern Living and other outlets . His story of creating IWantToMowYourLawn . com , for which volunteers are matched with people in need of lawn-trimming , was aviral sensation .
Two years later , his purview is international . It includes amilitary base in South Korea , where aretired Marine has proudly taken upthe cause to help widows of fallen soldiers , and greater Toronto , where six recruits are fulfilling free lawn care chores for the elderly . After three years , the organization has grown to 475 volunteers who have logged more than 2,000 lawn visits in 46 states plus the two other countries . People can request no-cost lawn service by filling out aregistration form on Iwanttomowyourlawn . com ; that information is used to prioritize requests that pour in through various platforms at arate of up to 20 per day , Schwartz says .
— PHILIP DEVENCENTIS
Hawthorne
TIME FOR ENHANCEMENTS
Tall , dark and handsome . Always on schedule . Highly dependable . This may read like apersonal ad , but it is also the best way to describe the new fixture at the southeast corner of Diamond Bridge and Lafayette avenues . A 16-FOOT-7-INCH STREET CLOCK was posted there , in the center of apocket park , and unveiled in mid-August .
In March 2022 , officials launched afive-year plan to rejuvenate what they call the Gateway District , which encompasses 64 storefronts and the surrounding neighborhood . The clock is akey aspect of Hawthorne ’ splan because officials say it anchors the downtown . Other improvements within the district include freshly painted crosswalks and amural by graffiti artist Carmelo “ Snow ” Sigona atthe municipal pool on May Street .
— PHILIP DEVENCENTIS
Wayne
OFFICIALLYANOPEN SPACE
WAYNE TOWNSHIP has rezoned avast expanse of trees and wetlands off Route 23 north as open space , amaneuver that officials say will forever shield the sensitive tract from threats of development . The government-owned property , encompassing eight lots and 113 acres , will “ never be built on ,” says mayor Christopher Vergano . “ There ’ s nothing that has ever been built there before , and there never will be .” The property is referred to as the Urban Renewal tract — aname that derives from the 1960s highway beautification program spearheaded by first lady Lady Bird Johnson . It is north ofthe spaghetti junction where Interstate 80 meets Routes 23 and 46 , with most of the land lying south of West Belt Parkway .
— PHILIP DEVENCENTIS
LAWN : CHRIS PEDOTA ; CLOCK : PHILIP DEVENCENTIS ; RT . 23 : TARIQ ZEHAWI AND JOHN MEORE / USA TODAY NETWORK
6 FALL 2023 WAYNE MAGAZINE