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set for June 22
(by Howard Prosnitz - February 26, 2008)
Unity Day to start off summer
Ethnic food, sports and carnival rides will be available
The township is moving closer to Unity Day, the town-wide event planned to bring Teaneck’s diverse communities together.
Unity Day is scheduled for June 22 at Votee Park and the adjacent Richard Rodda Center.
"The planning is progressing very well and the amount of people involved is growing," said Mayor Elie Y. Katz, who noted that more than 40 residents attended the planning meeting on Feb. 24 as opposed to about a dozen at the initial session in November 2007.
The idea for Unity Day was inspired by the successful Islamic fairs in Votee Park given by the Eid Committee of Bergen County. "We decided to put together an event that would welcome and encourage the entire community. We super-sized the Eid Committee event," Katz said.
In the late 1990s the township sponsored Diversity Day in Votee Park, but there has not been anything similar in more than 15 years.
Katz said that virtually all township organizations, houses of worships, schools, and scout troops have been invited to participate. Ethnic food, sports and carnival rides will be available in the park while a full day of informational seminars will be conducted in the Rodda Center.
The event will be supervised by a salaried director, who is yet to be hired, said Katz.
"We don’t just want this to be a one day event," he said.
Unity Day sponsors include the township, the Eid Committee and the Puffin Foundation. The Puffin Foundation will fund the director’s salary and monitor all funds raised for the event, said Puffin Executive Director Perry Rosenstein.
Kimberly Attles, a member of the planning committee, noted that the NBA will be sending a representative from Read to a Chief, a reading program sponsored by the league.
According to the Unity Day Mission Statement, the purpose of the event is "to promote unity amongst the Teaneck community embracing social, economic, racial, ethnic and gender differences in order to promote a more harmonious community."
In conjunction with the event, the sponsors intend to publish a Unity Day journal, which will become a reference for information about the township and its organizations and activities.
Katz dismissed suggestions that the event has political ramifications and is being planned specifically during an election campaign.
"Every year is an election campaign in Teaneck," he said.
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