Residents’ Health and Safety Remains Top Priority, includes Mental and Physical Wellbeing amid Quarantine
Berry Lane Park, Jersey City
As of Monday, April 27th, the following five parks spanning the city will reopen with restrictions:
Enos Jones Park
Berry Lane Park
Audubon Park
Leonard Gordon Park
Pershing Field
JERSEY CITY – Mayor Steven M. Fulop announces the reopening of five major parks throughout Jersey City as a first step to safely help residents restore their routines through outdoor exercise and recreational activities while adhering to social distancing measures. The parks will be open for residents to enjoy the fresh air from dawn to dusk for jogging, walking, and all non-contact activities following the health and safety protocols in place.
Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis announced
that the City of Bayonne will have an Earth Day Clean-Up At Home on Saturday,
April 25, with a rain date of Sunday, April 26.
Mayor Davis said, “Earlier this year, we had big plans for a citywide
Earth Day clean-up that would have involved groups of people working together,
followed by a major celebration. Due to
the Coronavirus, those plans had to be cancelled.†Mayor Davis continued, “We can still honor
Earth Day. Although we cancelled plans
for doing something big leading to a party at DiDomenico-16th Street
Park, we can still do something local and effective. Put on a face mask and gloves, step outside,
and clean up around your own home or business.
Let’s try to keep at least the front of our properties tidy. This can
make a big difference for our neighborhoods.â€
April 25, 2020, Jersey City, NJ – Hudson
County Community College’s (HCCC) Division of Continuing Education and
Workforce Development (CEWD) is offering a roster of online enrichment
workshops and classes during the COVID-19 pandemic pause. Topics range from
brand management to e-commerce, social media, and retirement planning;
mastering Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint; and much more.
HCCC
Dean of Continuing Education and Workforce Development, Lori Margolin, said
that the College is committed to ensuring these offerings are provided with the
same high quality and support that students receive at HCCC in-person workshops
and classes. To assist “Learn from Home†students, the College has established
a guide to accessing remote CEWD services, complete with contact information
for assistance.
Hudson County actress Tammy Blanchard was nominated on April 21, 2020 for a Drama Desk Award for her performance as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors.
Blanchard has received many excellent reviews for her portrayl of Audrey since the official opening in October 2019.
The Drama Desk Awards were begun in 1955. The members of the Drama Desk are almost all theater critics and journalists. The Drama Desk Awards are the only awards that consider Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-off-Broadway shows together in the same competitive categories.
According to Wikipedia- An Off-Broadway reviva of Little Shop of Horrors at the Westside Theatre began previews on September 17, 2019, with an official opening on October 17, 2019. The cast starred Jonathan Groff as Seymour (Gideon Glick replaced him from November 5–17 and from January 21 to March 11, 2020), Tammy Blanchard as Audrey, Christian Borle as Orin and Tom Alan Robbins as Mr. Mushnik. Michael Mayer directs with choreography by Ellenore Scott. The lighting designer is Bradley King.[44][45]
LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS suspended all performances on March 11, 2020 through June 7, 2020 due to the Coronavirus Pandemic
JERSEY CITY –Mayor Steven M. Fulop announces today he
will propose at the next council meeting the withdrawal of the Arts Referendum
planned for the November ballot to allow voters to decide on the establishment
of an Arts and Culture Trust Fund. The proposal to implement the special
levy was announced in February,
following years of working alongside local arts organizations to lobby state
legislators to implement the mechanisms that would allow for long-term arts
funding.
“We were the first to put out an actionable plan supporting
sustainable funding to benefit our burgeoning arts industry and our
residents, but the world is changed today and we want to minimize the impact on
our taxpayers as much as possible,†said Mayor Fulop. “There
is a lot of uncertainty between now and November, so we want to do the
responsible thing and start making the tough decisions now so that we can
better plan as we come to realize the full magnitude of the pandemic’s economic
impacts.”
Freeze
applies to this year’s Summer and Fall semester sessions
and 2021 Winter, Spring and First Summer sessions.
April 21, 2020, Jersey City, NJ –Hudson
County Community College (HCCC) President
Dr. Chris Reber announced that the College’s Board of Trustees unanimously
voted to maintain the current cost of tuition and fees for the 2021 fiscal year
with no increases.
“Our
students are experiencing significant economic pressure as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic. All of us at HCCC are dedicated to doing everything we can to ensure
their health and safety, and to assist them in realizing their academic goals,â€
stated HCCC Board Chair William J. Netchert, Esq.
First Phase of Program Targets Local Small Businesses; City will Match NJEDA Grants, Doubling Financial Assistance for Local Small Businesses Amid Crisis
JERSEY CITY – Following Mayor Steven Fulop’s announcement that he will introduce an ordinance with the Jersey City Municipal Council to freeze rent increases within rent controlled buildings, Mayor Fulop is unveiling a program of local grants to support small businesses that are facing financial hardships due to the current Covid-19 crisis.
The small business grant program will entail the City of Jersey City matching 100% of any state grants awarded to Jersey City applicants of the NJ Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) Small Business Emergency Assistance Grant Program, which goes live from Friday, April 3rd to April 10th. The local Jersey City program will be administered through the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation (JCEDC), a 501c3 nonprofit.
“We’ve been working to stay ahead of the curve by anticipating our residents’ and business owners’ needs to survive this pandemic not only from a health standpoint, but also economically which could further devastate our community,†said Mayor Fulop. “We decided to structure local programs that fully complement the state and federal program so that our local businesses can get a much needed advantage. We are achieving that here with short term grants up to $10,000 per business.â€
The Administration will use available CDBG funds to match the $1,000 to $5,000 in state funding being made available to small businesses and nonprofits with a physical storefront.
“As a city, we believe in small businesses and their contribution to the economy, which is why providing a matching grant program is essential,†said Council President Joyce Watterman. “Small businesses are the backbone of our city, and are among those who need financial help the most right now. This financial boost will really help businesses get back on their feet.â€
The JCEDC is already working with local community partners to highlight this opportunity for small businesses and nonprofits, which is the latest step towards providing financial relief to those who need it most during this crisis.
“The money we match will be used to help with payroll and provide working capital with the goal of retaining employees,†said Vivian Brady-Phillips, Vice Chair of the JCEDC. “The business owner must certify as to the COVID-19 related need for financial support and be committed to retaining employees. This is key for both businesses and the workers who also live in our community.â€
The application for the NJEDA Small Business Grant program will be available on https://cv.business.nj.gov beginning at 9 a.m. tomorrow.
The pandemic we are facing has brought challenges to nearly every aspect of our community. We continue to see the number of positive cases rise. As of today, April 2nd, we have 902 cases and 26 fatalities – both of which are the highest in New Jersey. Our thoughts continue to be with those families that are dealing firsthand with someone that has the virus or a family member that has been lost due to the virus.
You should know that as a City, we are focused very much on the here and now with regards to making sure people are safe – that is our number one priority – but we must also plan for tomorrow, for how our Jersey City community will recover months from now. While we continue to stay home and continue to practice social distancing, we know that many of the small businesses that are the fabric of our community are suffering. From closing their doors indefinitely to having the lay off staff, we know that they have already made challenging business decisions, with a long road ahead. We are now seeing some relief programs in place at the federal and state levels for small businesses. I know for many this will not be enough and for that reason, we are launching some local initiatives to help small businesses and their employees. For those businesses in Jersey City that use the state grant program, we will match at the local level every dollar of the state grant they receive to enhance the help for our small businesses. We will literally double the grant you receive from the state and all you have to do is apply. Our goal with local programs like this is to think strategically on how we can leverage existing programs at the state or federal level and enhance them so that Jersey City businesses gain an advantage. With this program we are launching tomorrow, small businesses and nonprofits with a storefront can receive up to $10,000 as a grant.
I know these times are tough, but you should know that we will continue to work at the local level to confront the challenges together and we will get through this.
March 16, 2020 As Mayor, I am charged with looking out for the safety and well-being of all the residents of this city. The Coronavirus has been declared a worldwide pandemic, the President has declared a national emergency and we have declared a State of Emergency in Bayonne to help stop the spread of this virus.
As more and more people in neighboring towns are contracting this illness, my goal is to ensure we are all doing what we can to inhibit its spread within our community. A few weeks ago, I created the COVID-19 Task Force, which is made up of numerous professionals across various disciplines to ensure our preparedness posture and ability to react if/when this virus presents in Bayonne.
Every resident of Bayonne needs to use a common-sense approach to this health crisis. Please practice safe hygiene by washing your hands often, cough/sneeze into your sleeve, avoid touching your face and avoid touching other people. I am asking that everyone practice a high level of social distancing during this time. A void going out, as much as possible, to reduce the amount of person to person contact. The schools, are closed BUT the learning has not stopped. Parents should ensure that all students are completing their assignments and limiting their time outdoors. Effective immediately, I have ordered the Mayor’s office to remain open 24 hours a day and we have installed two hotlines for our residents to use in connection with Coronavirus issues. The Senior COVID-19 Hotline is 201-858-6105, the General COVID-19 Hotline is 201- 858-6705. Both of these are for Bayonne residents who need assistance with questions related to this emergency.
The Governor of the State of New Jersey has mandated the following effective 8pm tonight:
• All bars and restaurants are to be closed for in-house seating. They can be open for takeÂout and delivery only. Waivers will be granted for take-out alcohol • All gyms/health spas, movie theaters, and casinos are to be closed • All recreational and social gatherings will be limited to no more than 50 people
The Bayonne Office of Emergency Management has issued several directives to take effect immediately and these directives will remain in place until further notice. These directives include:
All retail commercial establishments in Bayonne will be limited to no more than 25 patrons at any time, this includes shops, salons, department stores, etc, not covered by the Governor’s Directive. THIS DIRECTIVE DOES NOT INCLUDE SUPERMARKETS AND PHARMACIES.
• All Day-Care/Child-Care facilities are to be closed. • The Bayonne Public Library is to be closed. • ALL municipal playgrounds are to be closed. • All social clubs, religious houses of worship, and non-profit organizations are to be closed for any gathering.
I am aware that these measures may seem drastic, but I have a commitment to each citizen of this city to ensure that we do everything in our power to protect the health and well-being of everybody. These directives have been put in place to help stop the transmission of this illness. In order for all of these initiatives to work, I am asking that every resident abide by these initiatives.
Our city is strong. Bayonne has endured numerous difficult times over our history and I am certain we will get through this emergency TOGETHER. Please continue to follow my
Face book page and Twitter feed as well as the feeds of OEM and City of Bayonne. Please sign up for the Swift91 l Notification System in order to receive important messages from the city related to this emergency. You can sign up by going to the city website at www.bayonnenj.org and clicking the Swift911 Banner, or by downloading the Swift911 Public App to your mobile device. God Bless our beautiful city and each and every one of you.
JERSEY CITY – Mayor Steven M. Fulop declared a state of emergency today due to the threat of spreading the deadly Covid-19 (coronavirus), closing most commercial businesses except food providers and trimming down the government workforce to minimal staffing levels.
In an Executive Orders signed just before noon, Mayor Fulop declared the emergency a week after Jersey City took the national lead in mandating preventive measures to combat the spread of the pandemic Coronavirus by evoking a curfew on liquor establishments and requiring businesses with more than 25 persons keep records that identified each patron.
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