The Summit Department of Community Programs is the primary agency for providing recreational and leisure services to Summit residents. The city is fortunate to have a network of local non-profit organizations that enable residents of all ages to participate in various sports, fitness, family fun, cultural, intellectual and healthy leisure pursuits.

In Summit, there is something for everyone. Together these agencies make the City of Summit a wonderful place to live and work. Click on Community Partners to find out more. Summit has numerous community parks, open space, turf and natural grass playing fields, running tracks, a par 3 nine-hole golf course as well as an amazing family aquatic center.

Things to Do

Summit Municipal Golf Course
189 River Rd Summit, NJ 07901 | Get Directions »
908-277-2932

In 1967, the Summit Municipal Golf Course was constructed on 13 acres of land that was previously a private estate. This award-winning golf course is the gem of the Summit Park system. The original design of Par 3, which consists of nine holes, was completed by well-known golf architect Hal Purdy. Summit made history as the first neighborhood in New Jersey to open a municipality-built golf course.

Numerous golf tournaments are held annually. The Youth Golf Tournament for kids ages 8 thorugh15 is held in late September. The Victor H. Picozzi Senior Golf Tournament is held the first Monday after Labor Day. The Liberty Open is the course championship that starts in May and runs until the end of August. The “Muni” is open early April through November.

• Hours: Daily, dawn to dusk from April to November
• Membership info: Memberships are available to Summit residents/taxpayers. A limited number of memberships are reserved for Chatham/Chatham Township and Union County residents.
• Parking: Free lot
• Public/Private: Public
• Number of courses: 1
• Aggregate number of holes: 9
• Par: 3
• Facilities: Putting green
• Services: Equipment rentals, Group clinics, Kids’ classes, Private instruction
• Par 3: Yes
• Tee settings: Men’s, Pro, Women’s, Youth
• Restrictions: No alcohol, outside food, pets or smoking
• Casual attire: Yes

The Community Center
100 Morris Avenue

The Center offers seven acres of parkland with a gymnasium, recreation offices, meeting rooms, soccer/softball/baseball field, a bocce and basketball court.

Summit Family Aquatic Center
100 Ashwood Ave.

The Aquatic Center is set on 11 acres and has a 50 meter pool, a sand volleyball court, two slide towers, leisure pool, bath house, concession stand, picnic grove and basketball courts.

Wilson Park
14 Beekman Terrace

The Park consists of 11 acres and has two lighted paddle tennis courts, baseball/soccer field, basketball court and a playground.

Mabie Playground
30 Summit Avenue

Along with a playground, this two acre space also has two basketball courts.

Soldiers Memorial Field
5 Myrtle Avenue

The Field is comprised of 25 acres of parkland with baseball/softball fields, tennis courts, soccer fields, cinder 1/5 mile track, basketball courts, Cornog Field House and a playground.

Investors Bank Field at Tatlock
26 Butler Parkway

Set on 25 acres of parkland, Investors Bank Field and Upper Tacktlock Field consists of synthetic turf multi-sports fields, grass practice fields, Anderson Field House, a playground and four lighted tennis courts.

Glenside Fields
189 Glenside Avenue

The Fields is comprised of two acres of parkland and has two lighted synthetic turf multi- sports fields. This space is a shared collaboration between the City of Summit and County of Union.

For more information on Summit and other midtown direct communities, please reach out to a member of my team.

There are many hidden gems amongst our Manhattan commuter communities.  For instance, Riker Hill Art Park, once a former US Army Nike Missile Base project, is today a unique public artist haven in Livingston thanks to the help of the National Parks Service Federal Lands to Parks Program.  Together with the Walter Kidde Dinosaur Park and Becker Park, it is part of the Riker Hill Complex.  The Art Park provides studio space for working artists.  There’s also a collection of outdoor sculptures.

Historic profile

Riker Hill is a 204.68-acre complex located off Beaufort Avenue in the western region of Essex County in Livingston. It is comprised of three parts:

1). The Riker Hill Art Park, with 42 acres was acquired in 1977. The former army barracks are now occupied by sculptors, artists and craftsmen.
2). Dinosaur Park, a 16-acre lot acquired in 1970 – known throughout the states as the site of the smallest dinosaur tracks ever found. Though the park is not open to the public.
3). Becker Park, a 147-acre lot of undeveloped parkland acquired in 1969 in part through the Green Acres Program.

Riker Hill Art Park in Livingston was purchased from the federal government for one dollar! It now provides a unique opportunity for local artists to work together in a communal setting and is the only self-supporting park in the park system. The art studios are rented to the artists and the art instruction, the gallery, concerts and special events produce revenues for the county that help support the cost of the park’s operation.

Distinguishing features

• Art studios – graphic arts/ceramics /painting
• Craft center – sculpturing/woodworking/glass blowing
• Hill crest provides a panoramic view of western Essex County.
• The collection of outdoor sculptures in this Livingston park is spectacular. These pieces, which were donated to the park, have been valued at more than $300,000.

RIKER HILL 
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RIKER HILL 
PRINT Map
To view the park map (pdf), you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. It’s a 100 dpi image and ensures clear printing and a short download time. 
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Another epic celebration of the Summit NJ Downtown Spring Street Fair is only weeks away. Artists and craftsmen who hail from other states will come to display and share their work. There will be music, rides, great street fare and plenty of fun in downtown Summit on April 28.

Event Details

• What: Summit NJ Downtown Spring Street Fair
• When: April 28, 2013, from 11 am to 5 pm
• Where: 374 Springfield Avenue, Summit NJ 07901
• Contact No.: 908-277-6100
• E-mail Address: office@summitdowntown.org
• Parking is available at DeForest Avenue and Board Street Garage.

What to Expect

• Food: Of course, there will be plenty of booths and vendors that will be selling the best foods in Summit. From the cheapest to the most expensive meals, name it, and you’ll find them at the fair. There are a lot of exciting treats for everyone and surely your tummies will be filled by delicious goodies at the end of the fair.
• Games: Whether you’re a child or an adult, you can definitely enjoy the games offered at this festival. Like any other fair, there are lots of fun things in store for the crowd. From the simplest games to the most exciting ones, this fair is anything but boring.
• Music: Is it live entertainment that you crave? Well, the Summit Spring Street Festival offers exactly that. There will be a number of local and some national music artists. So, come one and come all and enjoy the fun.
• And last but not least, the Arts and Crafts: Since the event is named the Spring Street Fair & Craft Show, expect to see stunning works of arts. The event actually showcases art in different forms.  More than 300 artists and crafters will gather and fill your eyes with amazement.

The Summit Downtown

Summit Downtown is a non-profit corporation representing the retailers and businesses in the Special Improvement District. The main purpose of the SDI is to encourage both the development and improvement of the quality of life, especially when it comes to the business community in the downtown Summit area. It is spearheaded by 20 members of the Board of Trustees coming from downtown retailers, property owners, community residents, the Mayor, as well as the City Administrator.

All the earnings or tax revenues are dedicated to the improvement of the downtown and the beautiful City of Summit.

So, this coming April 28, join the Summit NJ Downtown Spring Street Fair and support the community. Have fun during this grand celebration of spring, appreciate the arts and crafts, and best of all, meet and greet friends, old and new.

Short Hills, New Jersey within the township of Millburn is a popular commuter village, and a well conceived planned community with a little more history than your typical “residential development”.  A wealthy manufacturer by the name of Stewart Hartshorn established Short Hills in the 1870s as a “harmonious community for people who appreciated nature… where natural beauty would not be destroyed by real estate developments, and where people of congenial tastes could dwell together.”

Hartshorn appears to have been a humble and gregarious gentleman more concerned with building a community than being a self-aggrandizing land baron.  Legend has it that  when residents suggested the community be named “Hartshornville”, he emphatically refused.  Instead, Hartshorn chose the name Short Hills both because it reflected the topography of the region and because the local Lenape Native Americans also referred to the area with the same description.  Short Hills began with a purchase by Hartshorn of just 13 acres of land.  He later increased his land holdings to 56 acres and parceled out 1/2 acre plots to residential purchasers.

The forethought that went into the community was practical and progressive.  Seeing the need for folks to work in a city, but live in a quiet village, Hartshorn was concerned with convenient commuting as early as 1879.  He used his own money to build the Short Hills train station on the original Morris and Essex Railroad line.  He also convinced the U.S. Postal Service to install a post office within the train station, both of which are still in service today at the original location.  (Hartshorn’s original station was deconstructed and rebuilt in 1907.)  The station received renovations in 2006 to update and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Train service to Hoboken and New York City operates seven days a week.  Annual parking permits are available.  The Kearny Connection direct rail service to Manhattan’s Penn Station has also greatly increased the desirableness of Short Hills.

Keeping with his commitment to create a community existing harmoniously with nature, Hartshorn also had the foresight to preserve strips of land along the railroad line from development.  The only structure to stand directly adjacent to the rail is the station itself.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the current population of Short Hills is 13,165 with 4,146 households and 3,682 families.  The median family income is $200,000. There are six elementary schools, one middle school and one high school.  Single family homes here can be found in a range of $600,000 to $9 Million.

From time to time, the housing market undergoes changes that may affect my clients.  It’s my responsibility to pass along industry news and keep clients informed.

As of April 1, 2013, annual mortgage insurance premiums for most FHA loans will increase by 10 basis points.  The increase is one of a series of changes to be issued to allow the agency to better manage risk and further strengthen the health of the MMI Fund, the FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.  The changes also state that the length of time the borrower is required to pay mortgage insurance will be extended if the loan is applied for on or after June 3, 2013.  At that time, borrowers with a Loan to Value (LTV) that begins above 90% will pay mortgage insurance for the life of the loan.

The changes are being made to protect FHA’s single-family insurance programs and to make sure the FHA remains a vital source of affordable mortgage financing for future generations of homebuyers.  Borrowers that have already been preapproved for FHA financing that file their case numbers prior to these changes will not be impacted.  However, buyers in the market now may want to act quickly before the changes take place.  Spring is here and new inventory is cropping up every day.

If you have any questions regarding the HUD changes or other specific financing concerns, please do not hesitate to contact myself or a member of my team.  Whether you are in the market today or in the future, we are always here to lend a hand and continually yours to count on.

Historic Facts About Chatham

When the great Wisconsin Glacier backed away 20,000 years ago, the amazing Watchung Mountains and Lake Passaic were left behind. The lovely town of Chatham was developed in the place of the ancient lake, at approximately 160 ft below the surface. Chatham developed slowly and during the 20^th century, real estate developers purchased the land and started building numerous homes in the area. Today there are a selection of tasteful homes that reflect perfectly the most popular design styles in America from the end of the 19^th to the beginning of the 20^th century. Chatham has a thriving business district located on the Main Street with many tiny retail centers, amazing garden apartment complexes, as well as several industrial areas found on the outskirts of the town. Chatham is not only a wonderful city, but it is also a festive one because of the multitude of events and celebrations that take place here each year. The most popular ones are the Fishawack Festival, the Fishing Derby at Kelley’s Pond, the Green Fair, and the Fourth of July Parade. There’s a nice Farmer’s Market that operates at the Railroad Station yearly from June to November where shoppers can purchase NJ fresh healthy products, baked goods, fish, meat and plenty of other delicious foods.

The Natural Beauties of Chatham

Residents and visitors have a wonderful time exploring Chatham with its many trails and hiking spots showcasing the natural beauty of the community and relating interesting facts about its history. The nearby areas are absolutely amazing and hiking is a must-do activity. The Trailside Nature and Science Center in the Watchung Reservation should definitely be included on your list.

Chatham also places high standards on its education system and features excellent schools including:

• Milton Avenue School
• Washington Avenue School
• Lafayette School
• Southern Boulevard School
• Chatham Middle School
• Chatham High School

Chatham Homes and Real Estate

Chatham offers a high standard of living for its residents. The community is welcoming and peaceful, a great town for families with children. You will have easy access to some of the best schools in the area, and benefit from plenty of recreational activities and entertainment venues. When it comes to the homes, the selection is varied and you’ll find prices to fit your budget and tastes.

Take a look at this community and see for yourself all it has to offer — contact a member of my team – we’d love to show you around.

In 1929, The Summit Historical Society was formed, however, it was not active until the early 1960’s. By the year 1962, the Summit Herald noted that there was no historical society in Summit, only to find out that one already existed. Motivated by the renewed interest in the history of the town, The Summit Historical Society began to actively pursue the preservation of its history, as well as the dissemination of information regarding its past. Currently, there are a large archive of photos, genealogy files, house files, maps, newspapers, postcards and yearbooks on display. This archive also includes city directories which date back to 1890.

Throughout the years, The Summit Historical Society had a number of “homes” before it finally settled at the Carter House located at 90 Butler Parkway in Summit. During the early years of the society, the collection was stored in basements and attics of the founders’ homes, and even in boxes under their beds. Later on, a room in the Wilson School was reconfigured. But by the year 1986, the Society finally moved to the Carter House, the permanent home to materials of Summit’s history.

Volunteers are generally available during Tuesday mornings from 9 am to to noon, Wednesday afternoons from 1pm to 4pm and Thursdays from 3pm to 5pm. All the materials found in the archive of the society is available to the public. The society’s major annual fund raiser event is called as “The Taste of Summit,” a highly anticipated yearly event.

The Carter House

The Carter House is believed to be the oldest existing building in all of Summit. It is a property along the Passaic River, now known as River Road. The land was previously owned by Benjamin Carter in 1740. In the mid-1980s, the home was sold to Glenn Johnson who was approached by historians regarding the preservation of the house. By the year 1986, the home was moved to its current location on Butler Parkway. Johnson did not only donate the house, but also funded  part of the cost of moving it, and for the rest of his life he remained a supporter and friend of The Summit Historical Society.

And today, the home is fully refurbished. The first floor features an exhibit room and  Victorian library lined with local history books. There is also an early 1800s-style dining area, modern kitchen facility and a colonial-era kitchen. The private caretaker’s apartment is on the second floor.

The Summit Historical Society Details

• Location: 90 Butler Parkway, Summit, NJ 07901
• Contact No.: 908-277-1747
• E-mail Address: president@summitnjhistory.org
• Official Website: http://www.summitnjhistory.org/

As a home buyer or seller, when it comes to your home, you expect your Midtown Direct real estate professional to be up to date on the latest technology. You want us to have an active web presence and list your Midtown Direct home on social media in order to get the most exposure possible.

But are you aware that many single-family home builders and remodeling professionals are tech savvy, too? Do you research the contractors you hire to complete your home renovation projects online before having the work completed? These days you absolutely can.

In a recent study from the National Association of Home Builders, more than 80 percent of construction professionals utilized smart phones and computers and most, over 70 percent, used laptops to conduct business operations and manage projects as well.

Many of these service providers seek ratings and pay attention to client satisfaction, but only about 20 percent allow customers to track project progress through technology. Still, this is one area where technology has experienced huge increases in the last two decades.

As consumers have become more comfortable with their technology, they’ve come to expect it from their construction professionals, many of whom they even connect with on Facebook and LinkedIn. In fact, the study revealed that it may be possible for some remodelers and small builders to double their share of business by using downloadable brochures and sharing new home buying details on their websites.

As a consumer, do you agree? Do you want and need technically proficient builders and remodelers? Do you enjoy looking through website portfolios when deciding on your contractor or do you make your decision on a face-to-face meeting?

I’m sure it’s much the same as being a real estate agent. My clients love searching for homes on my interactive website, doing their own research on my communities and calling me as they have questions or are ready to actively pursue home buying and home selling. Still, nothing beats a face-to-face meeting!  So in today’s world we are lucky to have both.

If you are curious about how technology has changed the construction and home building industry, see the full report here.  And, of course, my team can answer any questions that arise in your search for reputable contractors.

As a potential home buyer, you may have started to wonder how and when you are going to find your Midtown Direct home… your perfect home.

The Midtown Direct home that calls your name and makes you feel like you could never leave. The home that you see in your dreams.

Or perhaps you’ve adjusted your mindset and determined that you don’t need “everything” on your want/need list for your new home. Never give up on your dream — my team is here to make it a reality.

In areas with tight inventory, you just may be having a hard time obtaining that home.  Now’s the time to have a backup plan and consider writing a backup offer for the home(s) that have won your heart.  It just might help you get one step closer to securing the one you want.

A backup offer is an agreement you make with the home seller after they have accepted another offer by a different buyer. A backup offer places you second in line for the property.

If the first offer contains any contingencies requiring sale or appraisal of another home or financing or even an inspection, and they are not met, then you are the next in line and under contract to purchase the home. The offer applies unless or until you find another home that you want to place an offer on. In that case you would need to withdraw your backup offer.

In this day and age, with inventory at all time lows, finding a home, your home, can be difficult. Choosing to submit a backup offer is not easy, but could be worth it.  Contact us to see how we can help you “win” the home of your dreams.

The best annual tasting event in Morris County is coming soon — The Taste of Madison – on the 15^th of April at the Park Avenue Club, 185 Park Avenue, Florham Park. It features the finest dining establishments in the area as well as the best wines gathered from all over the world all in an elegant setting. Its goal is to showcase the best of what Madison offers and continue to make it a thriving community. The event is a major fundraiser for three of Madison’s non-profit volunteer organizations.

The founding Taste sponsor is Gary’s Wine & Marketplace. The combination of Gary’s, along with three other purveyors in Madison, brings about more than 30 wines, beers and spirits to the table. This somehow makes the Taste of Madison not only a grand culinary event, but the best and biggest wine tasting event being celebrated in the state each year.

The Tickets

The VIP admission tickets include an early entry to the event at 6 pm in the evening. After February 17, VIP tickets will be sold for $100/ticket. General admission tickets are sold for $65 each and ticket holders can enter the event at 7 pm that evening. Tickets are available at Gary’s Wine & Marketplace, 121 main Street and online.

Highlights of the Event

The Taste of Madison features a 50/50 raffle, an entire banquet room with tricky-tray and silent auction items being donated by many of Madison’s merchants and friends. The event is expecting more than 450 guests, with over 30 restaurants and merchant stores participating; all promising to provide their best meals and wines.

This annual event is produced through the partnership of the Madison Chamber of Commerce, Madison Downtown Development Commission and the Rotary Club of Madison. During last year’s event, the net proceeds reached $36,000 shared equally by the three organizations, all to serve their respective missions.

Event Details

• What: Taste of Madison
• Where: Park Avenue Club, 184 Park Avenue, Florham Park
• When: April 15, 2013, from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm
• VIP Tickets: $100
• General Admission: $65
• Tickets are available at www.tasteofmadison.org
• Contact No.: 973-377-7830

Join this once a year event in Madison and enjoy good food and the best tasting wines from all over the world. Surely a night to remember when you celebrate with friends and loved ones.