UCC
Upcoming
Events
2026 Completed Events
Attended “Meet the Roselle Park Mayor” – April 11th
UCC Vice President, Jonathan Phillips, attended the first event as a member of the Union Township Chamber of Commerce. We were able to meet other business leaders and also hear from Roselle Park Mayor Signorello about his plans and approach to leadership.
Check out the host’s Facebook post -> https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AEep5AaN3
Joined the Union Township Chamber of Commerce – April 8th
UCC was invited to become part of the Union Township Chamber of Commerce so we could work with other businesses in the area to share our vision for a more walking/biking accessible community. It has been proven that greenways strengthen local economies by spurring local economic development, creating construction, maintenance, and recreation-based jobs, and by providing cost-effective transportation alternatives.
NJBWC Summit – March 7th
UCC attended the15th annual #njbwc Summit 2026. We networked, talked, learned and advocated. Our mission -> Safer streets, dedicated trails!
Microforests & Community Resilience Talk – February 11th
UCC attended and engaged with GreenThumbGardenClub of Cranford, NJ to discuss the benefits of microforests. We learned how these dense, fast-growing native forests restore ecosystems, strengthen neighborhoods, and build climate resistance.
Visit to learn more -> UCC Facebook Post – Microforest Talk
2025 Completed Events
World Day Remembrance Road Traffic Victims – Nov 16th
On Sunday Nov 16th, many groups gathered at the Elizabeth River Trail to honor every life lost on our roads. We listened to deeply moving stories from families, survivors and legislators, each one a reminder that behind every statistic is a person whose future was cut short.
We raised awareness for the laws, investments and programs that make our streets safer. Progress is being made, but there is still so much more to do & that’s why we are committed to expanding greenways and creating safer places for our kids, our students, pedestrians, cyclists, transit users, and everyone who walks in our neighboring communities.
The Nikhil Badlani Foundation | NJ Bike & Walk Coalition | Union County Connects
RailstoTrails Trail Network Summit – October 27-29, 2025
What an amazing experience! Union County Connects attended the 2-day immersive convention and appreciated the work and effort by the Rails to Trails Conservancy to host such a premiere event in Cleveland. There were 400 people in attendance representing 40 states. We learned about the efforts to have the Great American Rail-Trail completed – it spans the entire nation from Washington DC to Washington State. Throughout the convention, we gained skills and connections needed to accelerate our trail network developments. There was a decent amount of us from New Jersey – we gathered for a photo opt to show our comradery.
North Jersey Trail Network Workshop – October 22, 2025
North Jersey Trail Network hosted a Workshop with various trail organizations to discuss the goals and possibilities of building a regionally connected trail network within northern New Jersey. This was a great opportunity for UCC to meet and brainstorm with like-minded people about the shared goal of building safe trails for alternative transportation. After the workshop, UCC led a 1-mile walking tour to explore the nearby East Coast Greenway and then meander through downtown Rahway where we admired several traffic calming features. We also passed the NJ State Assemblyman James Kennedy’s office – he is an elected official who supports community development. We really enjoyed collaborating and meeting everyone!
Multicultural & Heritage Music Fest – September 27, 2025
There were food trucks, an exhibit highlighting Roselle Park’s historic railroad system, Jin Won doing Kahtak dancing and four bands celebrating diverse styles of music.
Union County Connects was excited to provide a drawing contest for children who colored artwork similar to the Rail-Trail Mural on Son-Rise Documents in Roselle Park. The winner received a Best Buy gift card valued at $250! We had Doug Auld, who is a local artist from Hoboken, visit and display his “Soccer Player” artwork which is dimorphic realism. This means it is two different objects that create the illusion of another image.
STOP for Nikhil 5K Race – September 21, 2025
The only race in NJ about traffic safety! Stephen Dunn from Union County Connects ran the 5K Run/Bike (or 3K Walk) to support traffic safety improvements in NJ. There was Music, Food, Prizes and a Bollywood Warmup to get the racers prepared at West Orange High School. UCC is proud to partner with Sangeeta Badlani, the Nikhil Foundation founder, to support safer roads.
NJDOT Commissioner Fran O’Connor attended demonstrating his commitment to New Jersey’s Target Zero program. NJBWC Executive Director Debra Kagan and West Orange Principal Mr. Oscar Guerrero joined elected officials including Congresswoman LaMonica McIver, Senator John McKeon, Assemblywoman Alixon Collazos-Gill (not pictured), Essex County Commissioner Leonard Luciano, US Rep Sherrill’s office Melanie Holmes and West Orange Mayor Susan McCartney, who welcomed participants.
Plainfield Trail Planning Ride – August 26, 2025
Stephen Dunn orchestrated a Plainfield Trail Planning Ride with 3 local bicycling organizations – Bike 4 Life, All On Cycling, Ride Pedal Movement, along with Union County Connects to show the potential trail that could exists with the right support. The group spoke about the importance of having a safe corridor to ride from Cranford through Westfield, then Fanwood and finally to Plainfield (the last section would be along the Green Brook river). We all held a moment of silence to honor Wajih and consider how this trail could be a way to help future cyclists to ride safely through the central and southwest side of Union County.
Wajih Abdul-Haqq Memorial – August 7, 2025
On August 4th, 2025, Wajih Abdul-Haqq was doing something he loved – riding his bike – when his life was tragically cut short in Westfield.
On August 7th, a “ghost bike” was secured to a tree near where the crash happened and more than 100 people gathered at the memorial service to honor him. This is a stark reminder that our streets are not safe for those who walk and bike.
Stephen Dunn, a firefighter, EMT in Elizabeth and president of Union County Connects, oversaw the ceremony and installation of the ghost bike. Dunn, who noted that he himself had been injured in a bicycle crash involving an auto, spoke to the enormity of the safety issue facing cyclists and pedestrians on the roads.
The memorial event for Wajih was put together by several organizations, including Families for Safe Streets NJ, Union County Connects, Nikhil BadlaniFoundation, Bike4 Life, Ride and Pedal Movement and Vision Zero NJAlliance.
Every ghost bike tells a story – and every story is a call to action. We should not have to lose more lives before change happens.
See articles about memorial event Wajih Abdul-Haqq Memorial and tragic story Cyclist killed in a crash.
Garwood Rocks – June 1, 2025
Union County Connects participated at Garwood Rocks 2025 and it was fantastic! The weather was beautiful and the atmosphere was fun and energetic. We met a lot of great people and expanded our mailing list. We even got some donations! It was inspiring to talk to so many residents about our progress and future plans.
Thank you for your support and donations!
A special thank you to Garwood Mayor Jennifer Blumenstock for welcoming and supporting us! We look forward to being there next year.
Celebrate Trails Day – April 26, 2025
Union County Connects’ 4th annual Celebrate Trails Day 2025 event was a wonderful success despite the weather! It was a great turnout and everyone who attended helped clean up litter along the RVRR!
We are so grateful to have Councilman Jay Robaina attend and provide the cleanup supplies – the pickers, gloves and bags were essential! We had a considerable number of trash bags collected at Boy Scout Park – it is sad to see so much litter, but we are happy to have it in the trash rather than on land.
The walk raised awareness about the features being installed or planned to implement for walking/biking safety -> crossing lights installed on Westfield Ave, Mural on Son-Rise Documents building, potential conversion of the RVRR, speeds bumps and sidewalks on Valley Road and improvements done at Boy Scouts Park. All these features were advocated by Councilman Jay Robaina – he is a fierce advocate for walking/biking safety.
We appreciate the two mayors who attended – Mayor Joe Signorello of Roselle Park spoke about recognizing our community’s interest in converting the rails to trails and Mayor Jennifer Blumenstock of Garwood joined us to support our cause!
Mike Dury presented the timeline for the conversion of the RVRR into a trail which is not too far away as projected completion is 2032 – this gives us hope our goal is realistic!
We are always honored to have civic groups support our cause –
Freewalkers and Roselle Park Girl Scouts.
Thank you to the Elizabeth FMBA Local 9 and West End Club for their generous donations to help make this event possible!
We all enjoyed the delicious food from local restaurants and fantastic music from Richie Ranno’s All Stars band!
A special thank you to Frank from Frenchy’s for hosting the event and being so great to work with!
NJ Bike & Walk Coalition Summit – March 29th
UCC was excited to be at the 14th annual NJ Bike & Walk Coalition Summit at Princeton University talking about how safe streets, trails, and biking infrastructure not only improve mobility — they fuel local economies!
A huge milestone happened, UCC was awarded the Marty Epstein Advocates of the Year Award – we are so grateful and honored to be acknowledged by our bike and walk community.
