This Post is currently under new construction
It’s a moving target – with changes and lateness that in Voices view invalidate the Introduced Ordinance 20-2025 version to amend the Special Events Town Code that appears on the Town website’s agenda for adoption at the Tuesday April 22 Council meeting.

This Post will first provide readers with the latest documents JUST made publicly available. We will then back track to review for our readers the crazy process that has led us to the current impasse. 

For readers who have been tracking this story,

Click Below for the brand new draft ordinance version up for adoption by Council on 4/22:

Revised Ord 20-2025 as of 4-18-2024 Full Ag

You can also Click Below for a version with red underlining that identifies the various changes made 3 times to this draft ordinance since the original of 2/25/2025

4-18 Redlined version of 20-2025 with changes since 2q-25 proposed

And Click Below where after much BACK & FORTH, the public finally has access to one (perhaps the final) version of the Constitutional Expert’s Memo evaluating the constitutionality of our proposed ordinance 20-2025.

Scarinci Memo from 2025-04-22 Council – Full Ag

What’s the Story?

in website’s agenda packet for Teaneck Council’s 4/22/2025 meeting is, again, the third iteration of NEW language to Amend the current Teaneck Code regulating the Time, Place and Manner of Special Events in the Township. The changes from the prior version that was Included in the Town website’s agenda packet for Teaneck Council’s 4/8/2025 meeting was, again, language to Amend the current Teaneck Code regulating the Time, Place and Manner of Special Events in the Township.  This is a second effort to amend the current 31B of the Code and add a new Section 31B-10 to the Code. It was added to the Council agenda within 24 hours of the meeting – which violates Council agenda posting policy. No information has even now been provided to the public as to who authored this second version and whether questions about the constitutionality of the first version have been satisfied.  The first version was proposed on 2/25/2025 by Council Members Schwartz, Orgen & Katz. Many residents question that version’s constitutionality. When questioned, Township Attorney Scott Salmon acknowledged that he had written only some of the first version’s amendment’s language and did not opine of its constitutionality.  Since only 3 of the 7 members of Council agreed to have that first version proposed for introduction, the Special Events amendment temporarily died.

However Council then, in a roll call vote, agreed unanimously (Click Here and move cursor to min51) to have the Township attorney propose a professional services contract with an independent constitutional authority review to this proposed amendment for its constitutionality. And Attorney Salmon returned with a recommendation that Donald Scarinci of the firm of Scarinci and Hollenbeck LLC be contracted to carry out that constitutional analysis.  The Special Counsel contract with Scarinci was actually signed more than a month ago and Voices has finally been able to obtain a copy of it (Click Here  Scarinci Contract – 3-12-2025to review it).  Absolutely nothing about that Scarinci review has been made available to the public – Voices believes nothing in the contract would preclude a public presentation of the Scarinci findings and such a presentation is imperative – see related Voices story. Whether the new version now Special Events ordinance introduced by Council would meet tests of complete constitutionality has neither been claimed nor denied by the attorney or any member of Council. 

Meanwhile readers who want to be able to review the newly introduced proposed ordinance will face an unusual challenge.  There is no ordinance 30-2025 included in the Town’s Website’s Ordinance archive. Instead there is only a misleading and sophomoric title:  “Protesting Ordinance: [Really Super Duper Final”}. 

So where next to look? in the draft minute of the 4/8 Council meeting. Whoops. The red underlining which allows residents to see what is being amended in the Code IS NOT THERE. 

So far as Voices can determine, the only place to review the redlined version this important proposed ordinance is on pages 249-254 of the agenda packet for the 4/8 meeting. That is why we have finally been able to extract the proposed introduced Special Events ordinance

Click Here to read the ordinance: Pages from Proposed Ordinance 20-2025 – 4-8-2025

Voices has created this Post to enable its readers to have better access to this proposed resolution.

Click Here for a copy of the original proposed “Special Events” amended ordinance:
Proposed Protests Ordinance – Schwartz, Orgen, Katz 2-25

For readers who want to compare the February 25, 2025 proposed amended Special Events Ordinance with the Townships current Special Events Ordinance, Voices has scanned the current Code’s “Special Events” section.  (Town Code Chapter 31B. Special Events)

Click Here: Existing Special Events Ord – Feb 25-25

Clearly the question of whether and if so how to amend this section of the Township code will again be addressed by this Council At issue, obviously, is whether the proposed amendment is consistent with the 1st amendment to the Constitution. 

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.