Founder of New Jersey town ‘Beltley’ hands $1,000 check to Belleville mayor

Last month, John "Cozz" Cozzarelli made the bold move to add a new town to New Jersey's anemic list of 564 municipalities. He spotted a patch of land between a "Welcome to Belleville" sign and a "Welcome to Nutley" one, saw it was good, and stuck a handwritten "Welcome to Beltley" placard there.

"Beltley is more than a town. It's really an idea of two things coming together and becoming one — similar to a belt. It holds everything up," Cozzarelli said. "It's just an idea of unity. That's what Beltley is about."

The result was a viral social media phenomenon that bled over into real life.

Somebody dropped off a bin with books to establish Beltley's library. Another person stuck a dog crate next to it as Beltley's small dog park, promising the big dog park was coming soon.

Watch: How Beltley, NJ Was 'Founded'

Others took issue with the decidedly Belleville lean in the new town's moniker, advocating for the name Nutville. When Cozzarelli, who owns and operates Cozz Coffee, had his coffee truck stationed at the Nutley Farmers Market, a masked man came up, raised a fist and shouted, "Nutville forever!" before running off.

Cozzarelli decided to put all the attention around the invented town to good use. He came up with a line of "Welcome to Beltley" merchandise on his company's website with the promise to donate all profits to the Belleville Recreation Department.

Watch: John Cozzarelli Unicycles $1,000 Check to Belleville Mayor

On Thursday, he made good on that promise. Cozzarelli hopped on his unicycle and rode to the Belleville Municipal Building, where he dropped off a check for $1,000 to Mayor Frank Velez III.