Medical Weight Loss in Teaneck, NJ

TEANECK — With a second straight North 1, Group 3 girls basketball title on the line, Teaneck was nearly flawless at the line.

The No. 1 seed Highwaywomen made 14-of-16 free throws in the fourth quarter to close out a 59-46 victory over No. 2 Old Tappan in Saturday’s sectional final at Curtis March Court.

Senior Erin Frazier made all 12 of her foul shots, including six in the final period. She and classmate Demi Simpson capped their careers by leading Teaneck (23-7) to its third sectional repeat all-time.

The four-year letter-winners also helped their team finish 3-1 against their Big North National rival, including a Bergen County Tournament semifinal win.

“We were here last year – we knew what the sectional environment was going to be like,” Frazier said. “We’ve seen [Old Tappan], this was the fourth time, and we know how they are. So that’s why we kept we kept our composure.

“We’re not new to this.”

What it means

Teaneck advanced to Wednesday’s 7 p.m. NJSIAA Group 3 semifinal at Ramapo High School. Its opponent will be the winner of North 2, determined Saturday evening between Chatham and Colonia.

Old Tappan (22-7) played in its first sectional final since 2018, when it went on to win Group 3.

“Whenever you play a team four times, the last time is always the hardest, right?” Highwaywomen coach Brad Allen said.

Key sequence

In a 25-all game midway through the third quarter, Teaneck went on a 9-0 run. After Simpson made 1-of-2 at the line, the home team forced a turnover, and Frazier sank a pair of free throws after being fouled.

Less than a minute later, Imani McKenzie set up Simpson for a jumper, and freshman Leayana Dorville stole the ensuing inbounds pass and scored to prompt an Old Tappan time out. The Golden Knights got no closer than 5 the rest of the way.

“In the third quarter, we didn’t allow them across half court until three minutes to go,” Allen said. “Everybody did exactly what we told them to do at halftime, and it worked out really well.”

A lot on the line

In last month’s Bergen County championship final against Saddle River Day, Teaneck made less than 50 percent of its foul shots (10-for-21) in a three-point loss.

“We really beat ourselves that game,” Simpson admitted. “Free throws meant everything.”

Allen responded by having the team shoot “literally 200 a day, every day” at the free-throw line. There, the Highwaywomen finished 30-for-38 (79 percent) in the North 1, Group 3 final.

Game balls

► Frazier and Simpson combined for 29 points and 19 rebounds and made 8 of their team’s 15 steals.

► Teaneck sophomore Jill Carter contributed 14 points and made all four of her foul shots.

► Old Tappan senior Layla Giordano collected 18 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists.

They said it

“She’s amazing to play with. This is what I’m going to cherish.” —Simpson on winning back-to-back sectional titles with her four-year teammate, Frazier

“Amazing. This is my favorite person ever.” —Frazier, on Simpson

“Last year, we were so happy to win the sectional, and we went to overtime [against Sparta]. Then we had a 24-hour turnaround. This time, we have a 72-hour turnaround, so we can get ready a little bit better.” —Allen

New Teaneck football coach Cekuan James doesn’t like the world "rebuild." He does like the word "toughness," though.

“We never want to rebuild, we always want to reload,” James said Thursday night. “We want to build a tough culture here so that after every game we play, the other team walks off saying ‘that Teaneck team played tough'.”

The 29-year-old was approved as the Highwaymen's new head football coach Wednesday night by the district’s board of education. He’s been the team’s defensive coordinator the last two seasons, before that he was an assistant at Don Bosco.

James was born in the Bronx, but his parents moved him and his siblings to Teaneck just before he entered eighth grade. James calls his father, Cedric, a huge influence on his life and aspirations. The James family ran a youth organization in the Bronx and now Cedric oversees the Teaneck Junior Football program.

Cekuan (pronounced Say-kwon) was a two-sport standout at Teaneck, playing linebacker and wrestling before graduating in 2012. He went on to play college football at Kean before getting his bachelor’s degree and masters.

He started coaching in the Teaneck Junior Football program when he was 18 and he’s known some of the players on the 2024 Teaneck team for almost 10 years. James believes that type of consistency and continuity is the key to a program being successful.

“We have a staff that pays attention to details, that coaches hard, and we keep the main thing the main thing,” James said. “You’re the most confident when you’re sure about your assignment and know the right way to do things. Confidence breeds toughness, in my opinion, and the only way to get confidence is by doing the right thing over and over. That’s the bottom line here.”

Teaneck has spent the last two seasons in the Super Football Conference’s Ivy Division, set up for teams trying to grow their programs and stimulate interest. Teaneck went 7-4 each of the last two years under Harold Clark. The program will be back in a regular varsity division in 2024 and James believes the roster will have around 55-60 kids.

“We didn’t really know much about the Ivy Division when we first got to Teaneck, but we just knew we were going to practice hard and scout hard and prepare,” James said. “We knew the league was going to sharpen us and make us ready for the Group 3s, Group 4s and Group 5s of the world.”

James is currently a physical education teacher in the school district and said the plan is to move to a similar position in the high school.

Hackensack and Teaneck are scheduled to meet next Thanksgiving for the 90th time. Hackensack has won the last nine meetings. James notes that he went 3-1 in his career against the Comets as a player and is already looking forward to the day.

“It’s time to put in the work and get back to those numbers [when I played],” he said. “We have so much respect for the rivalry and we want to play our hardest to give the people in Hackensack and Teaneck a great game and come out with a win.”

Teaneck’s so-called Peace and Unity resolution — which the township council passed unanimously Monday night — recognizes grievances on both sides of the Israel-Hamas war. It also aims to heal deep cultural divisions that have torn this diverse township apart.

“Two things can be true at the same time. I have compassion for the Israeli mother praying for the return of her family. I have compassion for the Palestinian mother who is trying to keep her child alive,” said Councilwoman Denise Belcher.

Protesters demonstrated Oct. 17 when the council voted to denounce Hamas and support Israel’s right to defend itself but postponed a vote on the “Peace and Unity” measure, angering the town’s Palestinian and Muslim community. Council members assured residents they know the entire town is hurting. Councilman Elie Katz said, “I recognize there are many residents in the community who don’t feel this council cares about them. This resolution, while it may not be perfect, will hopefully start that healing process.”

The resolution seeks to mend the rift by declaring zero tolerance for terrorism and hate crimes, supporting a humanitarian solution to the Israel-Hamas war to minimize the loss of innocent lives and calling for the safe return of all hostages. It also promises to keep residents safe in the wake of increased hate crimes.

But the resolution’s failure to note the number of lives lost in Gaza drew angry public comments.

“Frankly this is disgusting, shocking and humiliating, You are directly giving a message that Palestinian lives do not matter and as elected officials you are in breach of your duty,” said resident M. Arif Khan.

“As elected officials, you had one job to do — one — for all the people of Teaneck. And you refused to pass both resolutions at the same time,” resident Judy Ramos told the council.

Several speakers via Zoom described their heightened fears and refused to turn on cameras or give their addresses. “Last week in Englewood we saw six people arrested from four different towns that weren’t from Englewood but came to demonstrate and cause violence and destruction,” said resident Jesse Leon.

In response, Teaneck closed its library and parking lot, asked people to stay home and conducted the Monday night meeting via Zoom. A small group of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the council meeting but dispersed after about an hour.

“Tonight I want to thank everyone who stayed home. I know it felt a little bit like our town was under siege,” said Councilwoman Karen Orgen. “I hope this will lead to the end of outside agitators coming into our town and drowning out our voices with their chants.”

But sharp disagreements remain among Teaneck residents. Resident Rena Saadeh said, “I condemn Zionism. I can say that. And there always will be a free Palestine — and from the river to the sea.” The saying means from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean. Israel is between the two.

The statement elicited condemnation from Councilwoman Hillary Goldberg. “Let me unequivocally say, my opinion as an individual is that ‘from river to sea’ is hate speech. As we talk about peace and unity, genocide has no place under peace.”

Several people observed that it will take more than local resolutions to mend this conflict.

Bischoff's, the homey, old-school, near-90-year-old ice cream shop in Teaneck, is closing permanently — again.

After giving the five-generation-long family-owned soda fountain, which closed at the end of last year only to reopen four months later, a second chance, owner Steve Mather and his mother, Anita, decided to close the shop for good.

The shop announced the closing on its Instagram and Facebook pages Tuesday.

"We can't begin to express how painful this decision was for us," the post said. "Five generations of our family have treasured our role in the community. Bischoff's has been everything to us. YOU have been everything to us. — every kid who first tasted ice cream in our shop, every couple on a first date, everyone who came here for a celebration, or because they needed something sweet in a painful time."

Bischoff's was reborn on Memorial Day, this time as a summer pop-up, with the help of Rony Alvarado, chef of Rony's Rockin' Grill in Bergenfield, TJ Quinn and Edward Pierce, all Teaneck residents. They, avid fans of the ice cream shop, came up with the pop-up idea. Alvarado also served as Bischoff's new chef, offering sliders, fries and onion rings, all firsts for Bischoff's, because for the first time it had a fryer. The shop will stay open until Sept. 3.

The long-term plan was to launch a completely remodeled, full-service restaurant, sometime next spring, that would not only serve homemade ice cream and hot dogs but be a community space with local artwork, a stage for performances by local artists and more. The group set up a GoFundMe account to help raise funds to make their dream come true — and took donations at the store.

As of Tuesday morning, Quinn said, all the GoFundMe money raised — around $15,000 — was returned. As for the money raised in the shop? "Every penny will go to something in the community," Quinn said. "No one in the shop is going to profit from it."

"It’s really sad," Quinn continued. "We really thought it would work. It was a brutal decision. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy."

When Mather originally closed the store, he said the finances just weren't working. The shop implemented changes in hopes of improving business. It even began accepting credit cards in 2019. And then COVID-19 hit.

Mather could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.

When he announced the first closing weeks in advance, he was taken aback by the outpouring of love the shop received.

"I always knew people loved it, but maybe I didn’t understand just how much," he told The Record. "I mean I didn't think that people would wait three hours in line for two pints of ice cream — and do that in the rain."

The people came out again when the shop reopened, Quinn said, but it just wasn't enough to sustain a business long term.

"There was great support," Quinn said. "But ice cream is not a cheap thing to make, not when you are trying to do it right and not when you want to pay your employees a decent rate."

"People love Bischoff’s," Alvarado said. "We wanted to do something totally different. We wanted to build a community center. We were going to have a coffee shop, do lots of work. We were going to have pastries. That involves a lot of money. It didn’t make sense money-wise." He added that the Mather family does not own the Cedar Lane building, making rent another expense.

The original Bischoff's was founded in Manhattan by Mather's great-grandfather, Albert Bischoff, in the 1890s. It moved to Teaneck 89 years ago and has been a cherished part of Teaneck ever since.

"There was always a sense of responsibility to the community," Quinn said. "It really is not just about the people in the store. Everyone knows what Bischoff's has meant to the town, and this is the hardest part."

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