Activities

The LLCOA Board meets monthly on the 2nd Tuesday at 7:30pm. The meetings are held remotely. Members will be sent an invitation prior to each meeting.

The Annual LLCOA Members Meeting — The annual meeting was held on June 26, 2021 at 10am in Freddie’s Field.

In June and July a variety of social events are scheduled including Bingo, Docktail Hour, Trivia Night and a Yard/Flea/Art Sale.

The Annual Movie — We will be making a movie this year. Production will begin in late August or early September.

The Annual Dinner Dance will be held on September 18, at an off-site restaurant. We begin the evening with a cocktail hour and appetizers, followed by a buffet dinner and lots of dancing.

The Habitat Improvement Plan is designed to improve the natural habitat on our property for various birds and other wildlife, including the golden winged warbler, other songbirds, and game birds, such as the American woodcock and the wild turkey.  The proposed Plan identifies two “target areas” on our property, designated as Target Area 1 and Target Area 2.

Tree Farm — The LLCOA operates a tree farm on about 600 of our 660 acres. This allows us to keep this acreage in a more-or-less wild state while lowering our property tax liability dramatically, compared to what we would be paying if it were assessed as residential or commercial property. We have to show “active devotion to agriculture.” This means we can’t just leave the woods alone to grow, but must do things a farmer would do, including harvesting and weeding.

Dam Stewardship — Longwood Lake exists because a dam was built blocking the Rockaway River, around 1900. Compared to many dams in New Jersey, it’s very solid, since it’s locked between two outcroppings of bedrock. We don’t own the dam – it’s not on LLCOA property. Rather, Jersey City owns it, as a result of condemnations years ago aimed at ensuring their water supply. They have done almost no maintenance in the past thirty years, but have funded several engineering reports on what should be done to maintain the dam. The LLCOA has a deep interest in ensuring that the dam is repaired and that the lake level stays where it is. One way to accomplish this would be to take ownership of the dam, but that could be hazardous, since the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection has issued orders to make repairs several times and we could find ourselves responsible for them. Another option is to work more closely with Jersey City than we have been able to in the past. The Dam Committee is studying these and other possibilities and will keep Association members informed.