Lines outside food stores, rationing give us frightening glimpse of coronavirus' impact

SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 2020: At the Super H Mart Shopping Center in Ridgefield, N.J., an employee of the Korean supermarket wiped down the handles of shopping carts as customers applied hand sanitizer or put on gloves. Free weekend food samples were suspended indefinitely.

Gas falls below $2 a gallon,

 but many people stay home

TODAY, MARCH 24, 2020: At the ALDI in Hackensack, N.J., customers lined up before the supermarket opened at 9 a.m., as an employee wiped down the handles of shopping carts in an enclosure, below.

NO DELIVERY: But customers who were told on Monday the store gets a shipment of toilet paper at 6 a.m. every day were disappointed to find the delivery wasn't made and no toilet paper was available.

WAWA ON ESSEX: Many stations along Essex Street in Hackensack, near Route 80, were selling regular gas for about $1.95 a gallon, but there were no customers at those stations or at the Wawa, above, where the price was about $2.05 a gallon.

COSTCO WHOLESALE IN TETERBORO: This afternoon, the parking lot of the Costco Wholesale warehouse in Teterboro, N.J., had plenty of room for members' cars.

POLICE ON HAND: Although police were on duty outside the entrance, the number of shoppers entering the warehouse wasn't being controlled. Employees were wiping down the handles of shopping carts and there were other measures inside to maintain social distancing.

TOILET PAPER: There was a limited supply of toilet paper for sale, and plenty of bottled water, below. I don't know whether Costco had more toilet paper than what was on display.

PLENTY OF FAVORITES: I filled my cart with organic brown eggs, bottom right; Chobani Less Sugar Greek Yogurt, frozen Wild Gulf Shrimp, the Ultimate Fish Stick, made from wild-caught Pollock; Maine Lobster Ravioli, organic agave syrup and Organic No-Salt Seasoning. Other items included Jarlsberg Lite Swiss Cheese, a 3-pound bag of raw California almonds; and 2 hand-crafted soups. A package of toilet paper was below the basket.

SOCIAL DISTANCING: A clear plexiglass barrier has been erected between employees at the register and Costco members, above and below.

CHECKING YOUR RECEIPT: At the exit, the Costco employee didn't take and mark my receipt, as is usually done, but just glanced at my cart and then at the receipt I held out, and nodded for me to leave.

Hackensack school board attorney has meltdown after he is accused of a conflict

Work on a 14-story apartment and retail building at Main and Mercer streets in Hackensack was halted last July after a pile-driving rig damaged a two-story building next to the site, below. 

An arbitrator will decide how much the apartment developer, Alkova Cos. of Edison, will pay the owner of the boarded-up building, which housed Rainbow Castle Preschool.

PLUS: HACKENSACK IS GETTING

NEW, EXPANDED FOOD MARKETS

--HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

A video shows Richard Salkin, the attorney for the Hackensack Board of Education, lashing out at Mayor John Labrosse at Tuesday's meeting, and talking over school board President Jason Nunnermacker, who advised him not to comment.

Labrosse went to the meeting to discuss a teacher "who appears to have distributed campaign material on school time, which is a potential violation of school policy," The Record reported on Thursday.

A photo of an angry, finger-pointing Salkin ran with the story in the Local news section.

The Record has identified both Salkin and Nunnermacker as attorneys for Hackensack United for Progress, a slate backed by the Zisa family political dynasty in the upcoming City Council election.

And school board Vice President Lara L. Rodriguez heads the slate. 

They are seeking to defeat the Labrosse slate of reformers, who were elected in May 2013, defeating another slate of Zisa allies, including Nunnermacker.

At the school board meeting, Labrosse asked Superintendent Joseph Ciccelli whether Salkin disclosed that he represented the Hackensack United for Progress slate and by extension, high school teacher Caseen Gaines, its campaign manager.

Labrosse also wanted to know whether Salkin had offered a legal opinion on whether Gaines should be disciplined.

Ciccelli declined to answer, but Salkin denounced the mayor, despite Nunnermacker's attempts to silence him.

Video: Mayor alleges 'breach of professional ethics'

The Zisas, who ruled Hackensack for decades, signaled their intent to run candidates in the May 9 City Council election when they formed Team Hackensack early last year.

See: A power grab with meatballs on the side

A new 17,000-square-foot ALDI Supermarket is under construction at 480-92 Main St. in Hackensack, on land leased from Sears.

The Giant Farmers Market at 324 Main St. is expected to look like this after completion of an expansion to 17,300 square feet and renovations to the facade.

New food options

ALDI hasn't announced a grand opening date for its new supermarket, which is under construction on land leased from Sears in Hackensack.

Also underway is the expansion of the Giant Farmers Market, including renovation of the facade and upgrades to the parking lot.

Both will serve hundreds of apartment dwellers, whose only option within walking distance now is the grocery section in Target.

Meanwhile, the Hackensack City Council is moving to redevelop the site of the building at 142-48 Main St. that was damaged last July by construction of a 14-story apartment and retail project at Main and Mercer streets.

An arbitrator is hearing the claim of the building owner, Fairway Terrace Corp. of Norwood, which is seeking millions of dollars in compensation from the construction company, Alkova Cos.

See: Construction closes day care center building

Also: Construction driving everyone bananas

Work on the ALDI Food Market, above, and Giant Farmers Market, below, on March 22.

A new structure, left, will allow expansion of the Giant Farmers Market.

On March 17, snow covered the idle site of a 14-story apartment and retail building at Main and Mercer streets, the biggest project so far in Hackensack's ambitious downtown rehabilitation plan.