The much-anticipated opening of a new McDonald’s restaurant at Rutgers Plaza in Franklin Township has arrived, adding a modern and convenient dining option to the Easton Avenue shopping center and its neighborhood.
The highly visible, 4,500-square-foot establishment – featuring dual side-by-side drive-thrus – was developed on a principal pad site at the property.
Levin Management Corp. serves as leasing and managing agent for the 268,000-square-foot Somerset County retail property.
LMC’s Sidney Singer, vice president of leasing, arranged the McDonald’s lease on behalf of property ownership; Chuck Lanyard and Marc Palestina of The Goldstein Group represented the tenant. Levin’s in-house construction team secured approvals for the McDonald’s building.
“Quick-serve and fast-casual dining options are welcome additions to any shopping center, driving consistent traffic, elevating the shopping experience and encouraging customers to spend more time during their visit,” Singer said. “McDonald’s is a global leader in the fast-food segment and a high-quality enhancement for Rutgers Plaza. As a brand, McDonald’s is evolving; everything at this new location is state-of-the-art.”
McDonald’s relocated locally, from an older building to its new prototype restaurant at Rutgers Plaza. The location is open 24/7 and features a modern and comfortable dining area for up to 62 patrons, self-order kiosks with interactive touchscreens, and a dedicated mobile pickup area. An electric car charging station supports sustainable travel while customers enjoy their meals.
Silhouettes of students Celebration Education Graduation Student Success Learning Concept ceremony at university
Georgian Court University will soon offer a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership as its proposal to do so was approved by the State of New Jersey’s Office of the Secretary of Higher Education. GCU anticipates launching the program in Fall 2025.
This milestone represents the final step in the university’s journey to establish the program, which is designed to prepare leaders in PreK–12 education, higher education administration, and education policy.
Graduates will be equipped for positions such as school principals, superintendents, deans, provosts and policy advocates.
The 54-credit, cohort-based program can be completed in three years. Designed for both novice and experienced leaders, the program emphasizes practical leadership development, educational management and rigorous research training.
“The approval of our second doctoral program marks an exciting chapter for the university,” Joseph Marbach, president of Georgian Court said. “The Ed.D. in Educational Leadership reflects our commitment to academic excellence and preparing leaders to make a profound impact in their fields. We look forward to welcoming the first cohort of students in Fall 2025.”
Program highlights include:
● Cohort model and small class sizes: Students can develop meaningful professional connections while expanding their networks.
● Flexible online learning with on-campus and international experiences: Students will engage in convenient online coursework, field experiences, a weekend residency, a weeklong residency on campus, and a weeklong international study experience.
● Comprehensive dissertation support: From day one, students are paired with faculty advisors and receive access to methodological resources to ensure a successful dissertation process.
● Field-relevant instruction: The coursework is applicable to public and private education, higher education, government, and business leadership.
● Experienced faculty mentors: Students will benefit from the guidance of faculty with real-world experience and a passion for mentoring future education leaders.
“This program equips leaders to create inclusive and effective educational environments to address the current challenges. Students will be challenged to reflect and apply theory to practice,” Amuhelang (Amu) Magaya, an associate professor in the School of Arts, Sciences, and Education, and the program’s director, said. “Students will start to work on their dissertation in the first semester. This will ensure that they finish their coursework and dissertation in a timely manner.”
Prospective students can learn more about the program, admission requirements, and application deadlines by clicking here.
Philip Sellinger, the former U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, will rejoin Greenberg Traurig LLP as co-chair of the firm’s global litigation practice, the firm announced Friday afternoon.
The move is effective Feb. 1.
Sellinger, who began serving as U.S. Attorney in 2021, formally resigned from the position on Jan. 8 – a standard and expected move before a new presidential administration.
Sellinger was the founding chair of Greenberg Traurig’s New Jersey office in 2002 and served as co-chair of the firm’s global litigation practice before taking the position.
Richard Rosenbaum, the firm’s executive chairman, was thrilled to make the announcement regarding his return.
“It is an honor and pleasure to welcome Philip home to Greenberg Traurig, where his leadership in our global litigation practice and New Jersey office over the years prior to his becoming U.S. Attorney was always profoundly appreciated,” he said.
“He is a distinguished attorney and a pillar in both the U.S. litigation bar and the New Jersey community, having always maintained the highest standards of quality and integrity. His experience, energy, collaborative nature, and servant style of leadership will once again be of significant value to his colleagues and the firm’s clients, particularly in our global litigation practice, and to the further strategic growth of our New Jersey office.”
Greenberg Traurig CEO Brian Duffy was equally enthused.
“Philip’s return to help lead our global litigation practice is a strong addition to our robust team of 800 litigators, of whom more than 60 are former federal and state prosecutors, including eight former U.S. Attorneys,” he said. “This team continues to grow from strength to strength, providing clients with representation at the highest level including real trial experience wherever and whenever needed worldwide.”
As U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Sellinger was the presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed chief federal law enforcement officer in the state. He oversaw a wide range of important federal criminal prosecutions and civil litigation for the state and managed 165 prosecutors and 120 staff members.
Under Sellinger’s direction, the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office achieved international prominence in fighting cybercrime; reached landmark corporate criminal and civil resolutions; and aggressively prosecuted securities fraud, insider trading and market manipulation, public corruption, money laundering, fraud against government and private health care plans, government contract and customs fraud, unlawful kickback schemes, violent crime, and civil rights violations. He created the first standalone Civil Rights Division at any U.S. Attorneys’ Office and created a Bank Integrity, Money Laundering, and Recovery Unit.
Sellinger also served as chair of the Department of Justice’s E-Litigation Advisory Council, vice chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee’s Civil Rights Subcommittee, and a member of both the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee’s White Collar Crime Committee and Corporate Criminal Enforcement Working Group, which authored a voluntary self-disclosure policy that set a nationwide standard detailing the circumstances under which a company will receive credit for disclosing misconduct.
Sellinger said he is thrilled to return to the firm.
“Serving as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey has been the privilege of a lifetime,” he said. “I am now thrilled to return home to Greenberg Traurig, an exceptionally dynamic law firm that truly embodies my commitment to legal excellence and the highest level of client service. Certainly, the firm’s presence in most major financial centers across the globe and vast array of practice expertise provides a platform that will greatly benefit the clients I expect to serve.”
At Greenberg Traurig, Sellinger will focus on high stakes complex trials and litigation in a wide array of areas, including government and internal investigations, white collar, class action defense, financial services, and technology litigation.
Lori Cohen and Masoud Zabeti, co-chairs of the practice group, welcomed him back.
“We are thrilled to once again be able to benefit from Philip’s considerable knowledge and skill as both an extraordinary litigator and leader,” they said in a joint comment. “We look forward to working closely with him to continue to grow our award-winning global litigation practice around the world.”
The Aerospace Innovation Center, a state-of-the-art aerospace research space that will include co-working and studio spaces that are ideal for collaboration and innovation, is coming to Egg Harbor Township.
The facility, to be located in the National Aerospace Research & Technology Park and will have high-speed connectivity to the FAA William J. Hughes Center for Advanced Aerospace data systems and laboratories, recently was approved for an $8.6 million investment by the board of the N.J. Economic Development Authority.
In addition to the EDA’s investment, the ACIA, NARTP and the Atlantic County Economic Alliance will contribute $10.5 million dollars in funding to construct the innovation center. Construction for the innovation center is underway and is expected to be completed in October 2025.
The center is expected to be fully operational in January 2026. ACIA is managing the construction of the facility and NARTP will manage the AIC’s operations.
The AIC will be the fifth Strategic Innovation Center in the state – and the first with a focus on innovation in aviation.
“This investment from the NJEDA builds upon New Jersey’s reputation as a leader in cultivating an innovation economy by expanding opportunities for aerospace research in our state,” Gov. Phil Murphy said. “As our fifth Strategic Innovation Center, it will drive economic growth, create jobs, and continue to attract entrepreneurs to New Jersey.”
The AIC will be a 40,000-square-foot, two-story facility containing office and studios dedicated to research and development, innovation, and commercialization of emerging aerospace and aviation technologies. The innovation center will create hundreds of local, good-paying jobs in Atlantic County, including 130 permanent jobs and 114 construction jobs.
EDA CEO Tim Sullivan said its potential impact is huge.
“Atlantic County’s deep roots in the aerospace industry makes it a prime location for the Aerospace Innovation Center, where companies can test and further their products, while students and entrepreneurs make discoveries and create new technologies to help move the industry forward,” he said.
“The NJEDA, under Gov. Murphy’s leadership, has developed programs and initiatives to drive innovation, create jobs, and support sustainable long-term economic growth. Strategic Innovation Centers, like the AIC, is helping unlock opportunities for innovators to pursue research, testing, and development of cutting-edge technologies.”
State Sen. Vince Polistina (R-Egg Harbor Twp.) obviously was thrilled.
“The Aerospace Innovation Center is an incredible addition to the William J. Hughes FAA Technical Center and National Aerospace Research and Technology Park was made possible through the leadership of Gov. Murphy and perseverance of New Jersey Economic Development Authority CEO Tim Sullivan,” he said. “Atlantic County is finally forging a path where people can be educated here, trained here, and have excellent opportunities for permanent employment in high-paying technical jobs.”
The North Brunswick Train Station is advancing under the management of Middlesex County Improvement Authority (MCIA) with a recent announcement of 30% design approval and funding agreement with NJ TRANSIT for the final design phase of the project.
The project now is moving towards 60% design completion with the construction drawings covering items such as passenger platform, the overhead pedestrian bridges, foundation elements, steel connections, methods of structural support and DEP approval process.
“These milestones are important as the design phase now moves from the conceptual stage to actual construction drawings,” Executive Director James Polos, said. “We are eagerly completing the necessary foundational work to move full steam ahead with construction of the new train station in the very near future.”
Under a unique partnership established in 2020 with NJ TRANSIT, the MCIA is managing the North Brunswick Train Station project. The agreement permits the MCIA to serve as the project manager overseeing the design and construction of the project. Under the agreement, the MCIA coordinates input from NJ TRANSIT, AMTRAK, New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT), the township of North Brunswick, and Middlesex County.
“The MCIA has streamlined what is normally a cumbersome process,” Middlesex County Commissioner Director Ronald Rios, said. “Collaboration amongst all agencies through regular design team meetings has been a major benefit in moving this project forward expeditiously.”
“The North Brunswick Train Station is a vital component of Middlesex County’s Destination 2040 strategic economic plan which will make Middlesex County a thriving, attractive destination to live, work, and play for generations to come,” Chairman of the MCIA James Nolan, said. “Additionally, we expect the station to help manage traffic congestion along the Route 1 corridor and provide a more sustainable way to travel and commute.”
Funding for the project has been provided by the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund (NJTTF) in the amount of $50 million. WSP USA is the contracted design and engineering firm managed by MCIA. The MCIA will also manage the design and construction of the New Brunswick Train Station renovations performed by AECOM.
Princeton-based Astound Broadband, a provider of Internet, Mobile, and TV services, recently announced that it received the Community Champions Award from America’s Communications Association (ACA) for the company’s Astound Community Connects initiative.
Featured in the December issue of Independent Communications News, this recognition cites Astound’s impactful partnership with Habitat for Humanity and its commitment to fostering equitable homeownership and building inclusive communities across the United States.
Astound broadband joined forces with Habitat for Humanity in April 2024 through the Home is the Key campaign, a nationwide initiative focused on increasing access to affordable housing.
As part of the partnership, Astound organized more than 40 employee volunteer events across the country, in addition to providing significant financial and in-kind support. These events enabled Astound employees to directly participate in building homes and supporting local communities in areas where Astound operates.
“The Community Champions Award is a reflection of our employees’ passionate dedication to the communities we serve,” Jim Holanda, CEO of Astound Broadband, said. “Our partnership with Habitat for Humanity has allowed us to make a real impact—promoting equity and providing more families with access to affordable housing. We’re inspired to continue this important work.”
As part of Astound’s Community Champions Award, ACA has donated $2,500 to Habitat for Humanity. ACA is an advocacy organization for independent broadband, video and communications providers. The ACA Community Champion Awards is an annual competition among ACA members to recognize community initiatives that provide helping hands to their neighbors and friends.
Rabbi Meyer May, standing outside the Statehouse in Trenton and next to the $1.2 million Mobile Museum of Tolerance, a traveling exhibit that the teachings of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles on the road, couldn’t rattle of the numbers fast enough.
Consider:
The center already has ten of these mobile museums going across the country and is looking to get Legislatures to fund 40 more (hence the stop in Trenton);
The mobile museums have an hour-long program that can educate up to 30 students at once;
The mobile museums have proved to be so popular that one (based in Illinois) already has a waiting list that goes into 2027;
And, perhaps the most impressive, the mobile museums are meant to serve the non-Jewish community – and do so in great numbers.
“The Simon Wiesenthal Cener, now in its 47th year, has had more than 8 million visitors since it opened, including 3 million kids in school groups,” he started. “Remarkably, 93% of them are children of color, and 98% total are not Jewish kids.
“We are the largest diversity training program the United States. We’ve trained more than 180,000 frontline criminal justice professionals and almost 90,000 frontline educators in California on the Holocaust and related subjects.”
Rabbi Meyer May
Meyer, however, knows it’s not enough.
“While we do things to great scale, we realize that not everybody can get to a big museum,” he said.
Therein lies the creation of the ten mobile museums, two of which are stationed in New York.
Meyer now spends much of his time traveling around the country, extolling the virtues of an education factory on wheels, trying to get more.
In Trenton, he was able to give Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and other legislatures are tour.
Meyer said they came away impressed. Of course, the true test will come during budget season. The mobile museum not only comes with an initial $1.2 million price tag – he said approximately the same amount of funding is needed for its annual operation.
Meyer said he knows budgets are tight, but he also knows that a wave of antisemitism in this country – unlike anything he has seen in his lifetime – is upon us.
“Oct. 7 unleashed the most illogical and metastasizing antisemitism that any American Jew has seen since the Holocaust,” he said. “And it’s so counterintuitive. Any fair-minded, objective person seemingly should think there’s no place in this world for murdering 12,000 people, including 300 kids, murdering grandmothers, raping women and mutilating them.”
The nonsensical acceptance of hate goes beyond the Jewish community, he said.
“We’re in a world where half the people are lauding what this kid did to the CEO United Healthcare,” he said. “How has that not been universally condemned? There are people who want to make movies about this barbarism.”
That’s why Meyer wants to teach acceptance – and about turning away from hate. He feels he can do it from these mobile museums.
“We can bring our teachings to the people,” he said.
Mobile Museum of Tolerance, a traveling exhibit that the teachings of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Doing it in New Jersey would have special meaning. Meyer moved to Lakewood when he was 10 and graduated high school from a Jewish Day School in the area. And while it has been years since he has lived here, Meyer said he still has extended family in the Garden State.
Now, it’s just a matter of raising funds.
Meyer said the Center will gladly take private donations to help fund the program. But he said he’s learned from experience that a steady budget line from the Legislature is the best way to ensure continuity.
“Hopefully, they’ll find the funding in the budget,” he said. “Antisemitism and hate are percolating. Everyone’s looking for a solution: How do we address it? How do we counteract it? How do we stem the tide?
“Our answer is education, through our Mobile Museum of Tolerance.”
Meyer has seen the impact the mobile museums can have – see how it extends beyond just the kids taking a tour.
“As we drive through the cities and along the highways of New Jersey, everybody’s going to say, ‘Wow, what’s that: How did I get that to my school?” he said.
It’s a first step. One that is so desperately needed.
NJM Insurance Group is announcing Tuesday that it is making a $100,000 donation to support hunger relief organizations throughout the Mid-Atlantic region this holiday season – including the Community Foodbank of New Jersey.
NJM also is making contributions to organizations based throughout its coverage area, including Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
CEO Mitch Livingston said the company is delighted to help.
“Households across our nation continue struggling to put food on the table,” he said. “NJM is proud to help advance the vital efforts undertaken by non-profits on the frontline making a measurable impact on the lives of people facing hunger.”
Elizabeth McCarthy, the CEO of the CFBNJ, said her group is grateful for the donation.
“Nearly one million New Jersey residents, including more than 260,000 children, face food insecurity. Organizations like the Community Foodbank of New Jersey and so many others are at the forefront of this crisis,” she said. “We are grateful for corporate leaders like NJM and its generous support of our efforts to combat hunger in our communities.”
NJM’s community support efforts are rooted in a culture of purpose-driven service. The company directs charitable contributions throughout the year toward organizations that support arts and culture, health, education, social services, safety, and financial literacy.
NJM’s philanthropic efforts also extend beyond charitable donations. Community service programs offer employees opportunities to attend outreach events and volunteer their time and talents, including membership on multiple non-profit committees and boards. In addition, NJM’s Matching Donation Program provides a dollar-for-dollar match for employee contributions to a variety of organizations.
Andrés Acebo had his contract as interim president at New Jersey City University extended for 18 months by the NJCU Board of Trustees Monday night.
The extension will begin on Jan. 1, taking Acebo through June 30, 2026 – at a minimum. There is a provision for an additional one-year extension at that time.
Financial terms of the extension were not announced. His original two-year contract was scheduled to end in the middle of January of 2025.
Acebo has done an incredible job since being named interim president in January of 2023 in the middle of a financial crisis that was threatening to shut down the school. (He was named No. 1 on the ROI-NJ: Influencers list for higher education in 2024.)
Working with the school’s leadership, faculty and many union partners, he has helped NJCU survive and thrive while creating the school’s Recovery and Revitalization Plan (April 2023), its first Strategic Enrollment Plan (April 2023) and its first Academic Master Plan (February 2024) — as well as introduce a brand refresh that produced the school’s first mission statement.
The school now has a balanced budget less than two years after declaring a financial emergency, helping it get its outlook by Moody’s upgraded from “negative” to “stable.”
NJCU is not out of the financial woods yet, however. Talks on how to strengthen the school continue. Monday night only assured that Acebo will be one of the leaders in those talks.
JLL Capital Markets recently announced it has closed on a $115 million refinancing package for a portfolio of nine Tri-State self-storage facilities owned and operated by Storage Post.
Nuveen Real Estate provided the first mortgage financing for the institutional-quality, Class A assets, which were acquired in 2022 by Storage Post, an industry leading self-storage owner and manager.
Ownership has grown the original 633,364-square-foot portfolio, located in prime regions of New York and New Jersey, to 723,664 rentable square feet across 9,578 units as a supply imbalance within the submarkets has driven strong demand. The New York assets are located in the Bronx, Floral Park, Garden City, Huntington Station and Yorktown Heights. The New Jersey assets are located in Haledon, Elizabeth, Linden and Perth Amboy.
The JLL Capital Markets team that arranged the transaction was led by Senior Managing Director Steven Klein and Director Robert Tonnessen.
“Storage Post’s long history and track record operating self-storage assets in the New York Metro area uniquely positions them to leverage market dynamics, optimize performance and drive growth in this competitive sector,” Klein said. “It was a pleasure to work with Nuveen, further enhancing the potential for success in this venture.”
