Deputy mayors ready to tackle tasks in town
Larry Rosen and Huimin Shen join Hornik administration
BY REBECCA MORTON Staff Writer

Huimin Shen

MARLBORO- Two newdeputymayors officially received their appointments on Jan. 1.Mayor Jonathan Hornik appointed Larry Rosen asMarlboro's director of economic development and Huimin Shen as Marlboro's director of community relations.

As the director of economic development, Rosen has been given the task of attracting high value commercial ratables toMarlboro. He will also address issues that may arise with businesses that are currently operating in the township, according to Hornik.

Bringing in clean, quality ratables is a key to stabilizing property taxes, the mayor said. Rosen grewup in Marlboro and graduated from Marlboro High School in 1981. Upon entering law school in 1985 he moved to Manhattan. Rosen said he and his wife, Shari, and children, Aaron and Raquel, moved back to Marlboro to livewith hismother on Sept. 12, 2001, after the family lost their home in the terrorist attacks on theWorld Trade Center.

Rosen is a founding partner of Rosen, Greenberg,Blahah, a business-orientedWall Street law firm that specializes in general corporate and business representation, real estate leasing, premises liability defense, construction law, employment law, licensing, commercial litigation and nonprofit law. He said longtime clients include Donald J. Trump, the Trump Organization and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty toAnimals.

Rosen is also a franchisee and the managing general partner of the national restaurant franchise Johnny Rockets. He said he believes it was a combination of his various experiences with law and his part in the restaurant business that led to his selection as the director of economic development.

Since moving back to Marlboro Rosen has been active in coaching youth baseball and he also helped form a teen advisory committee so thatMarlboro teenagers may begin to have a voice in their community.

Giving an overview of what he hopes to accomplish for the township, Rosen said the goal is twofold: a desire to stabilize residential property taxes and to havemoney to invest back into the municipality. To do so moneymust be found fromother sources by bringing in commercial ratables, Rosen said. He said Hornik has established an Economic Development Committee. Rosen said the panelmembers will try to be creative as they attempt to attract good businesses into the town.

"The reconstituted Economic Development Committee is committed to supporting our town's current businesses and also to encouraging new and dynamic businesses to take root inMarlboro," Rosen said.

One part of Hornik's plan for Marlboro is to hold occasional business lunches to be attended by government representatives and local business owners.

"The members of this committee will be encouraged to think out of the box and to adopt a proactive and creative approach toward achieving theHornik administration's goal of stabilizing residential property taxes by stimulating commercial economic development in Marlboro," Rosen said.

He said various informationmust be examined and considered to better market Marlboro to businesses.

"You need to understand what you have to offer," he said.

In the area community relations, Shen will have the task of helping to keep the lines of communication open between the mayor and Marlboro's 43,000 residents.

Shen is a public health epidemiologist at a local health commission who has lived in Marlboro for six years with her husband, Maolong Cai, and their daughter, Lily Cai. Originally from China, Shen said she received her master's degree in the United States and has received additional training at various universities. Prior to moving to Marlboro, Shen and her family lived in Queens, N.Y.

Within the community, Shen is the vice principal of the Huaxia Chinese School South, which holds its classes on Saturdays atMarlboroHigh School, and she is amember of the Monmouth Cancer Coalition, Shen is no stranger to public service. Shen ran for a seat on theMarlboro Board of Education in 2007 although she did not win a seat on the board.

"Mayor Hornik appointed me as his deputymayor in charge of community relations. I have identified many members of the Marlboro community who are eager to serve the township. Our mission is to facilitate the administration's goals through an open, transparent government. In my capacity as deputy mayor I will act as liaison between Mayor Hornik's administration and the public and will work to integrate meaningful public participation into our local government," Shen said.

Shen said she is in the process of organizing the committee members and said they will get to work on ways to be a bridge between the administration and the public.

"I was chosen as deputy mayor because of my personal qualifications and the belief I have in Mayor Hornik's vision for Marlboro's future. As an Asian American, I also serve to help the mayor fulfill his promise to create an administration as diverse as Marlboro's population. (I feel) everyone has a responsibility to make the township a better place to raise their families," she said about her reasons for getting involved with the new administration.