Irvington’s Mayor Tony Vauss and approximately 200 other Township employees and youth joined communities worldwide by accepting the Running Man Challenge. The participants included: police officers, firemen, youth, Departments of Public Works (DPW) and Housing staff, members of the Board of Education, township department directors and Housing Authority staff and administration.
“Irvington has now joined the many towns throughout the world that have accepted the Running Man Challenge,” said Mayor Vauss. “This activity brings the members of the police and fire together with other segments of the community, in an act of fun and positive interaction. With all that is happening today, the Running Man Challenge becomes even more important as it is a small but impactful way of lowering some of the barriers that often exist between the police and the community. They get to see each other as human beings, even more.”
The Running Man dance was created by two high school students from Hillside, New Jersey, Kevin Vincent and Jeremiah Hall. It went viral when two Maryland basketball players, Jared Nickens and Jaylen Brantley, performed the dance in locker rooms, streets, and other places, and posted on Instagram. Municipalities in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Texas, and even South Korea and New Zealand, as well as professional sports players, have posted their moves on YouTube and other social media sites.
“We now challenge Newark, East Orange and Orange to do the Running Man Challenge, “said Mayor Vauss at the end of the film as he threw his bull horn to the ground.
The Irvington Running Man Challenge can be viewed on YouTube.com at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJbBM_pAPYcc_FkbD484p-A and will be appearing on the local access television channels.