Action beats depression

Would YOU jump off a 21-story building for clean water?

I’m not sure I would, but Neill Clark, the mayor of Sparta, N.J., did!

He was the last of five New Jersey mayors to rappel down the side of The Park Hotel at Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J., last Saturday to kick off “Over the Edge for Clean Water,” a fundraising event for the New Jersey Highlands Coalition and the Hackensack Riverkeeper.

“It takes courage to protect our precious natural resources from the threats posed by out-of-scale developments and stand up to the powerful interests that often support them,” Clark said. 

“With my rappel as a small symbolic act of courage, I am honored to pay homage to the valiant voices like the New Jersey Highlands Coalition that rise up with evidence-based facts to challenge these threats and offer sensible sustainable solutions.”

From atop The Park Hotel, which is across from the American Dream Mall and MetLife Stadium along Route 3, you can see the Highlands rising along the western horizon, and to the east and south, the Hackensack River and the extensive Meadowlands against the backdrop of the Manhattan skyline.

Another participant, Nicole Lacz, the mayor of Harding, N.J., was the first to clip in and begin the descent. 

“What an exhilarating experience. Going Over the Edge of a 21-story building was an impressive way to see the landscape of this beautiful state we are trying to protect,” she said.

Thirty more bold environmental enthusiasts rappelled after the mayors, including Julia Somers, the executive director of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition; Capt. Bill Sheehan of the Hackensack Riverkeeper; and employees of The Park Hotel and PS&G. 

The youngest rappeler was a 16-year-old who serves on the Green Team in Watchung. Several of the rappelers were well into their 70s, proving that it is never too early or too late to take bold action for the causes you believe in.

So, readers, I figured we needed some good news!!

But the real world beckons.

In the spirit of activism celebrated in Rutherford, I’m suggesting that you take the time to tell Congress that you don’t want any cuts to public media.

Here’s a note from my local public radio station, WJFF Radio Catskill in Sullivan County, N.Y.:

“The White House issued a memorandum today asking Congress to ‘claw back’ funds that have already been approbated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for Fiscal year 2026 and 2027.

“If approved by Congress, this rescission would remove $770 million intended for the direct support of local, independent noncommercial public media stations across all 50 states and territories. Urge Congress to act in the interest of their constituents and save public broadcasting.”

Here is a neat link that will lead you through a process that will take you directly to the phone numbers of your specific representatives in the House and Senate.

I called on Tuesday and it was so smooth.

If you follow the link, it takes you to a screen where you give your address so that the brains in the machine can find your representatives. 

The first call is made and you say what you want to say — they supply words so you don’t have to stumble. Then once you’re done, it will take you automatically to the next rep and then the next.

Easy!!

Join me!