General, Our Community

Bayonne’s Third Ward Councilman Raymond W. Greaves Chosen as Bayonne’s Sicilian Clubs “Man of the Year”

Joe DeMarco, Chairman of the Bayonne  Sicilian Club  announced recently  that Bayonne  3rd Ward Councilman Ray Greaves will be this year’s  “Man of the Year”.

A Ceremony will be held on Saturday, October 26, 2013 at the elegant banquet hall, Ravello, located at 138 Eagle Rock Avenue, East Hanover, NJ 07936. Cocktail hour will begin at 6:30PM with a main course beginning at 7:30PM and a Venetian hour to follow.

Ray Greaves is a labor leader and Bayonne’s Third Ward Council Member. He serves as State Business Agent and Chairman of the New Jersey State Council of the Amalgamated Transit Union and Vice President to the New Jersey State AFL-CIO’s Executive Board and an affiliate to the Essex West-Hudson Labor Council. His previous leadership positions with the union included Recording Secretary, Legislative Director, Treasurer/Executive Officer of Division 819 Transit Employees Credit Union, and Shop Steward. He became a member of the Amalgamated Transit Union in 1985, when he went to work as a mechanic for NJ Transit. 

Bayonne Councilman Ray Greaves
Bayonne 3rd Ward Councilman Chosen as “Man of the Year.”

As a union leader, Greaves has fought for legislation favorable to working families at both the state and federal levels. He is proud of his role in passing anti-crime legislation that that increased the penalty for assaults on bus operators.

A former resident of Jersey City, Greaves attended Saint Nicholas Roman Catholic Grammar School and Dickinson High School. He received steward leadership and grievance procedure training at Rutgers University, and studied contract negotiations at the George Meany Labor College. While he was a credit union officer, he gained his knowledge of Credit Unions and finances through financial strategy courses sponsored by the Empire Corporate Federal Credit Union and NJ Credit Union League.

Greaves is a former Commissioner of Bayonne’s Zoning Board of Adjustment. He was elected Third Ward Council Member in 2010. As a City Council Member, he serves on the Board of School Estimate and the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority.

 

Continue reading Bayonne’s Third Ward Councilman Raymond W. Greaves Chosen as Bayonne’s Sicilian Clubs “Man of the Year” →

General, In the clubs

In the Clubs: Chic and Craft-y 5 West Supper Club in Hoboken Serves Craft Beers and Tasty Apps in Upsale Digs

5 WEST SUPER CLUB 2Our newest feature looks at the Club scene in Hudson County 

 

By Martin Ramone Delossantos

Photos by Martin Ramone Delossantos

5 WEST SUPER CLUB 1 Five West Supper Club is one of Hoboken’s most chic nightspots.  It is on Fifth and Madison Street exactly nine blocks down from Washington Street.  They have a free shuttle you can call for pick up, and ride home for one to fifteen people!

The club used to be known as BARNONE, and reopened as 5 WEST SUPPER CLUB in 2010.  The interior is tastefully decorated with dark, tri-colored, wood flooring, tall booths, a large dance space with a great sound system, and energetic lighting.

“The real bonus is the service,” General Manager Chris Lowther said.

Continue reading In the Clubs: Chic and Craft-y 5 West Supper Club in Hoboken Serves Craft Beers and Tasty Apps in Upsale Digs →

Cover Story, Sports Limited

COVER STORY-Gentlemen’s Baseball: Hoboken Nine Vintage Baseball Team Plays by the (Old) Rules

By Sally Deering

Vintage baseball team Hoboken Nine play by gentlemen rules
Hoboken Nine

Hoboken gave birth to baseball? That’s right. Just take a stroll over to 11th and Washington Streets and you’ll be standing where Elysian Field used to be and where first, second, third and home bases were designated on June 19, 1846. That’s the day the first game was ever played and its cemented in Hoboken’s history and as well as those street corners – just read the plaques in the sidewalk.

Some folks disagree with baseball’s Hoboken origins, especially those affiliated with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, which throws its own  curveball claiming the first game was played in Cooperstown in 1839. To most Hudsonites, though, Hoboken is the birthplace of baseball. The city even has its own vintage baseball team.

They call themselves the Hoboken Nine Vintage Base Ball Club and they play baseball the way it was originally played – by 19th century rules. They wear uniforms designed like the ones worn in 1846 and their balls and bats are replicated from that period, too. The Hoboken Nine competes against other vintage teams to promote the history of baseball and for the sheer pleasure of playing baseball as a gentleman’s sport.

Continue reading COVER STORY-Gentlemen’s Baseball: Hoboken Nine Vintage Baseball Team Plays by the (Old) Rules →

Business Views

No Cry Zone: Kids (and Adults) are All Smiles at Bayonne Family Dental

 

By Sally Deering     Photo by Sally Deering 

Bayonne Family Dental's Dr. Peter Fuentes
Dr. Peter Fuentes treats
patient Aneglina Moore,
8, of Bayonne

When  you walk into Bayonne Family Dental – one of five dentist offices in Hudson under the umbrella Dental Groups of New Jersey – don’t be surprised to see smiling kids looking forward to seeing their dentist. That’s right. Kids who want to see the dentist are not a rare sighting at Bayonne Family Dental. That’s because Dr. Peter Fuentes and Dr. Salvatore Pavone, the two partners overseeing the dental practice, aim to keep their offices a no cry zone. They want children – and adults – to feel as comfortable as possible in their spacious offices.

The expansive Bayonne office on the corner of 55th Street and Kennedy Boulevard features 10 treatment rooms and offices for seven dentists on rotating schedules. The multi-specialty dental practice provides orthodontics (braces) sedation dentistry, implant dentistry, cosmetic dentistry and its specialty – pediatric dentistry.  Dr. Fuentes and Dr. Pavone previously practiced in Bayonne on 43rd Street and Avenue “B” when they took over for Dr. Morton Berenbaum, who retired after 35 years of specializing in pediatric dentistry. Continue reading No Cry Zone: Kids (and Adults) are All Smiles at Bayonne Family Dental →

Business Views

Business Views: Puppy Popsicles – Frosty Pooch Ice Cream Truck Goes to the Dogs

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

 By Sally Deering

FrostyPoochregularsWallyandNormanatthewindow
Frosty Pooch regulars Wally and Norman at the window waiting for their ice cream

 If you’re in Hoboken and an ice cream truck pulls up, don’t be surprised if a furry canine tries to cut in line for a Peanut Butter Puppsicle. That’s just one of the items sold at the Frosty Pooch ice cream truck where owners Angela and Raymond Meyers bring ice cream to the dogs.

Frosty Pooch's Angela Meyer
Frosty Pooch owner Angela Meyer with Joey, a beagle and on of the regulars
Raymond Meyer Frosty Pooch
Frosty Pooch owner Raymond Meyer gives a pupsicle to a German Shepherd rescue

 

It’s easy to spot the Frosty Pooch truck. It has a big dog face painted on the back and a line of pups wagging their tails while waiting their turns. When an owner makes a transaction, their dog can usually be seen with its front paws propped up on the counter waiting impatiently for their Frosty Pooch ice cream.

And what dog wouldn’t love Frosty Pooch’s menu of ice cream flavors like Bacon and Peanut Butter? There’s also Bacon Peanut Butter, Banana Peanut Butter and Apple Pumpkin, which happens to be good for doggie digestion. Angela makes her home-made doggie ice cream free of additives and uses only pure ingredients and lactose-free milk.

“Ice cream has lactose which is a problem for dogs,” Angela says. “If they have lactose, they’re gonna have the ‘runs’.

Frosty Pooch ice cream comes in two-ounce cups for $2 a serving. The Peanut Butter Puppsicles shaped like a dog bone sell for $2.50 and the “Woofle Bowl” which features the Frosty Pooch ice cream topped with a biscuit sells for $6. Continue reading Business Views: Puppy Popsicles – Frosty Pooch Ice Cream Truck Goes to the Dogs →

Dining, General

Some Like it Hot! Azúcar Cuban Cuisine and Cigars: Tasty Cuban Dishes and a Smokin’ Cigar Room

Restaurant Views

By Sally Deering

 

Azucar restaurant manager Lauren Vazquez
Lauren Vazquez, Manager Azu’car Restaurant

Inside Azucar restaurant Azúcar Cuban Cuisine & Cigars’ owner and Executive Chef Nick Vazquez was just a kid when his family moved to the states in 1960 and settled in Hudson. Vasquez attended local schools, but learned he had a passion for cooking while watching his mom create traditional Cuban dishes in the family kitchen. Years later, Vazquez rekindled his passion and in 1995 opened Azúcar, his first restaurant in Edgewater. He closed the business ten years later and opened Azúcar Cuban Cuisine & Cigars in Jersey City, where his mother’s recipes highlight the menu.

Azucar has a cigar room for their patrons
Azucar Cigar Room

Step inside Azúcar and it’s like a step back in time to a 1950s Cuban bistro where above the reception area a huge “Cuba” poster showing a Latina dressed in a 1950s cabaret costume catches your eye. Stroll to the right and you’re in the bar, an inviting, low-lit atmosphere with black tables and chairs upholstered in faux leopard. The room is cozy and cool especially with the large overhead fan that creates wafting breezes below. To the left, there are two dining rooms that seat 120 comfortably.

Continue reading Some Like it Hot! Azúcar Cuban Cuisine and Cigars: Tasty Cuban Dishes and a Smokin’ Cigar Room →

Our Community

Riverwalk Outdoor Market at Port Imperial Outlet and Bazaar Open this Weekend

RIVERWALK_WKLY_FLYER2_copy (2)

The word is out about the new Riverwalk Outdoor Market at Port Imperial and folks who love a bargain are discovering this “All in One” waterfront market.

If you live in Hudson County or the surrounding communities visit Riverwalk and discover what others have-there are plenty of vendors with all kinds of merchandise and it really is a nice way to spend an afternoon

General, Our Community

Grants and Loans Available for Bayonne Businesses, Non-Profits Damaged by Sandy

             

CITY OF BAYONNE SEALMayor Mark A. Smith announced that grants and loans are available for qualified businesses and non-profit organizations that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy.  Mayor Smith said, “I urge businesses and non-profits that qualify for these programs to apply, so that they can continue to rebuild and recover from Hurricane Sandy.  The City of Bayonne would like everyone eligible in our community to benefit from these helpful grants and loans.”

            The first program is called Stronger NJ Business Grants.  This $260 million program is available to help small businesses and non-profits that were damaged by Hurricane Sandy.  Under this program, grants and forgivable loans of up to $50,000 per impacted location are available.  Businesses with multiple impacted locations may be eligible for an award of up to $250,000.  Eligible costs for reimbursement under this program may include: working capital (operating expenses), inventory, equipment, machinery, furnishings, and prospective construction. 

            To be eligible for a Stronger NJ Business Grant, a business must meet at least the following conditions: 1.) It must have been in existence on the date of Sandy in New Jersey, October 29, 2012. 2.) It must have at least one location in New Jersey and be registered to do business in New Jersey.  3.) The business must have less than $1 million in liquid assets.  4) It must be a small business with annual revenues of at least $25,000.  5) The business must have sustained a minimum of $5,000 in Sandy-related physical damage per location seeking assistance, which may include damage to real property or non-perishable, non-consumable inventory. 

            The second program is called Stronger NJ Business Loans.  This $100 million program is available to help small businesses and non-profits that were impacted by Sandy, as well as businesses looking to expand within storm-impacted communities.  Low-cost loans up to $5 million per eligible location, with 0% interest for the first 24 months and no principal payments for up to two years, are available for renovation, new construction, or equipment. Loans up to $500,000 are available to support working capital needs for eligible businesses.

            To be eligible, businesses within the nine most storm-impacted counties (Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Union) must: 1) be a small business with annual revenues of at least $25,000; 2) evidence a minimum of $5,000 in physical damage to real property or non-perishable and non-consumable inventory, and/or 3) positively impact the economy of their community through either capital investment or the creation or retention of jobs. Continue reading Grants and Loans Available for Bayonne Businesses, Non-Profits Damaged by Sandy →

Dining, General

Ten Ingredients: At Casa Dante, Chef Freda Creates Italian Dishes a Traditional Grandmother Would Love

River View Observer: “Your Source for Fine and Casual Dining in Hudson County 

By Sally Deering

 chef freda croppedDuring the summer months, River View Observer likes to slip into the kitchen of some of Hudson’s best restaurants and shine a spotlight on the chefs who create the delicious dishes on their menus. This week, RO visited Casa Dante restaurant a few blocks north of Journal Square on Newark Avenue. Casa Dante opened 40 years ago and changed hands about 8 years ago just around the time Chef Gregg Freda came on board as Executive Chef.

Newark Ave. could use a little fixing-up, that’s for sure, and it appears the street outside Casa Dante will be going through some demo to put in new street lights, but that shouldn’t deter a visit to Casa Dante. Once you step inside the restaurant’s foyer, you are immediately transported to an extremely tranquil setting where a visitor can easily relax and enjoy the traditional Italian cuisine. Another good reason: Casa Dante has its own parking lot, a rarity in Jersey City.

Inside Casa Dante Restaurant in Jersey City Casa Dante’s menu includes Antipasto dishes like Mozzarella in Carrozza, mozzarella, parmigiano encrusted bread, lightly fried; served with a size of the house marinara sauce; Clams Oregnata, Little Neck clams baked with oregano-seasoned bread crumbs; and Fried Calamari, tender fresh calamari lightly fried and served with lemon and a choice of sweet or hot marinara.  Salads feature the Insalada di Avocado, avocado, hearts of palm, fresh mozzarella and diced tomatoes with lemon and olive oil dressing; and Crabmeat Salad, tangy arugula, colossal crabmeat and asparagus in garlic and lemon dressing. And the House Specialty, Seafood Salad ala Dante, chilled shrimp, scungilli, calamari, diced tomato, lemon, garlic and olive oil. There are Pasta, Chicken, Veal, Seafood and Steak entrees, all traditional Italian cuisine.  Chef Freda also creates daily specials, some with a flavorful twist.

Let’s meet Chef Freda!

RVO: Chef Freda, what is your background and how did you get interested in cooking?

CF:  I was born in Newark and raised in Verona. I’m the middle-child. My mother’s side of the family has always been into food. My grandfather Frank Panico was a butcher and had his own shop in Newark. My first job was in King Supermarket where I worked as a cashier while I was still in high school. I was always around food. Then my uncle Frank opened Panico’s restaurant and I started out as a cook, worked my way to sous chef and chef. That was in the 90s. Continue reading Ten Ingredients: At Casa Dante, Chef Freda Creates Italian Dishes a Traditional Grandmother Would Love →

Art Views, Our Community

Artists’ Advocate-Meredith Lippman, Program Development Specialist for Hudson County’s Office of Cultural Affairs Bridges Artists and Community

 By Sally Deering

Meredith Lippman Artists' Advocate  Artist Meredith Lippman seems the perfect fit for her position as Program Development Specialist for the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs/Tourism Development. Lippman empathizes with the artists she advocates for and she works diligently to help them connect with the Hudson community and grow their careers through workshops, newsletters and updates on venues where they can exhibit works.

Hudson’s Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs provides advisory services, technical assistance, grant programs, audience development initiatives, artist round tables and networking events for artists in the community. The Office also hosts tours and lectures on Hudson’s history, promotes historic preservation and presents events that celebrate Hudson’s cultural diversity. Joining Lippman on staff are Eileen Gaughan and Robert Kakolewski, and director William LaRosa. Continue reading Artists’ Advocate-Meredith Lippman, Program Development Specialist for Hudson County’s Office of Cultural Affairs Bridges Artists and Community →

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