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Keeping Parsippany Green

Joseph Jannarone Sr.

remembers a day in 1987 when then-Parsippany Mayor Frank Priore told him that he was sending a local woman to Jannarone's office who wanted to talk about the township's parks.It turned out that the resident, Ann Nonio, simply wanted to ask why there were no handicapped-accessible playgrounds in the area. Nonio's son, Michael Jr., had been born with severe disabilities and could only sit on her lap in a traditional swing -- which he absolutely loved doing, Jannarone recalls Nonio saying.

But -- and rightly so -- she wanted more for her beloved son.Sensitive to the issue, Jannarone told Nonio that he would immediately work to rectify the problem. He called several sellers of playground equipment but came up empty, time and again."What do you mean there isn't anything for handicapped kids?" Jannarone said, astonished.

Undaunted, Jannarone finally located what he needed. And by 1988, what had once been a small tract of green space with a pavilion in the middle had been transformed into Parsippany's -- and without doubt, the region's -- first disability-friendly playground. The site, at the entrance to Knoll Country Club, now bears a symbolic placard: "Knoll Park -- Accessible to all Children."It is for work like that, and for countless other unsung acts, that Jannarone's name was submitted for a Morris MVP award.

Jack Conway, another former Parsippany mayor, penned the nomination."He does what he does not because it's his job, but because he believes it's the right thing to do," Conway said."He loves that town. He's understated, but he's just a wonderful human being.

"I'm going to guess he's close to 70 years old, but he acts 50," Conway said.Actually, Jannarone is a vigorous 69-year-old. Currently director of the township's parks, forestry and recreation department, his first job was municipal forester in 1972 (the three departments weren't combined until 1986).It is an understatement to say that Parsippany wasn't quite as sylvan 30 years ago.

"This is the gospel truth," Jannarone said."When I started, there were no forestry policies established at all. Everything that was done was all emergency work with outside contractors."Running a one-man show can be hard, especially on a zero budget and just one (broken) chainsaw.

That first year, Jannarone recruited a forestry student from Rutgers University to help him take inventory of all the trees on all township-owned property. Each was catalogued by species, size and condition. The results uncovered some 450 dead trees lining roadways and sidewalks.Two options were put before the township council: spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a private contractor to remove the deceased conifers, or buy a used bucket truck and hire two more people to help Jannarone get the problem under control.

Wisdom prevailed, and Jannarone found himself driving back from Pennsylvania in a used cherry-picker for which he paid about $5,000. The township used that truck for another 12 years, Jannarone said.These days, the three departments Jannarone oversees jointly boast 33 employees -- plus another 150 workers to run summer recreation programs -- two bucket trucks, three wood chippers, a stump grinder and all manner of working chainsaws and other essential equipment."We can handle just about every tree problem that arises," said Jannarone, a past president of both the Arborists Association of New Jersey and the New Jersey Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture.

Jannarone has occupied the role through six mayors, but does not seek the spotlight. At a conference in southern New Jersey attended by officials from 14 states, he once spoke about combating the enormous gypsy moth problem of the late-1970s.Thanks to an effective suppression program, many residents don't know that the prevailing winds bring hordes of the caterpillars nearby every spring. Last year, the bugs grazed the northwest corner of Parsippany near Route 287 and became a problem in the Pompton Plains area of Pequannock.

Two decades ago, the destructive defoliators killed hundreds of trees along the Puddingstone Ridge near Denville.Jannarone also has played an instrumental, behind-the-scenes role in nearly every park placement in Parsippany in the last 20-odd years.Since 1986, 11 new parks have been created in Parsippany, and plans are under way for another on 16 acres off Route 46. The land, known as the Brookwood Lakes Club, once was used as a campground for travelers and temporary residents.

With $1.8 million worth of help from the Morris County Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, the park is to be renamed Veterans Memorial Park.Jannarone also is excited about plans to build a new roller-hockey rink in the township and turn a hilly tract of land below Rainbow Lakes, known as the Cranberry site, into an area for football and soccer games."There's no more flatland left in Parsippany," he said.

"I envy all the municipalities west of here that are taking their farmland and turning it into parkland."Through his work, the township has been a Tree City USA honoree for more than two decades. In 2002, Parsippany celebrated its 26th year as a Tree City, joining Paramus as the only two New Jersey municipalities to hold the distinction for so many years in succession. Just 16 other towns or cities nationwide can claim the same.

To be eligible for the honor, given annually by the Arbor Day Foundation in Nebraska City, Neb., municipalities must spend at least $1 per capita on tree maintenance a year, have a tree ordinance in place and have their governing bodies issue proclamations stating their dedication to the effort.But even before the Tree City USA program began in 1976, Parsippany celebrated Arbor Day -- and continues to do so annually at well-publicized events -- by giving a small spruce tree to each third-grader in town -- some 2,000 trees a year."They treat it like it was gold," Jannarone said.

"They plead with their parents, 'Please, we've got to put it somewhere safe.' To me, it's almost like the Fourth of July."Sitting before Jannarone at his desk, one can sense his passion about helping people, especially the young and sometimes helpless.From his office window, Jannarone can see the playground he had built in 1988 for Michael Nonio Jr.

-- who died at 8 years old -- and children like him. The historic unveiling of the site that year made the Associated Press news wires, and the story was reprinted far and wide.As a result, two similar playgrounds were constructed in New York City. Chicago officials, who traveled to Parsippany to view Jannarone's work, built five handicapped-accessible parks.

Previously, none of the Windy City's 600 parks were geared toward children of all abilities, Jannarone said.Also in the weeks following, a well-dressed Bergen County man driving a black Jaguar pulled into the parking lot of Jannarone's office. He looked at the play equipment and ended up giving $25,000 to the Bergen County Park Commission so that agency could build its own, similar park."He said (his daughter) had no place to play," Jannarone said.

Jannarone speaks with as much fervor about the work he does in his free time as the work he conducts on taxpayer time.He has long been active with the Shriners, which raises money solely to support 18 orthopedic hospitals, three burn centers and one orthopedic, burn and spinal-cord injury-care center. Each center treats children who suffer from orthopedic deformities, bone diseases, club feet, burn scars, cleft palates and other birth anomalies. Shriners hospitals perform surgery on the children at no charge.

"They were, at a time, forgotten," Jannarone said of children with disabilities. "But I think they're special people. Also, their parents are special people. I have a soft spot for children in some degree, and it only gets stronger when they've got a disability or are handicapped.

"I have four kids and they're healthy," he added, rapping his knuckles twice on his wood desk. "But that doesn't happen for everyone all the time."By James A. DuffyDaily Record - 12/29/2002Topic: Activism
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