General

Mayor Fulop Denounces Port Authority Moving Forward With Toll & Fare Increases

Jersey City Mayor  Says Profitable Agency Continues to Punish New Jerseyans During a Time of Economic Hardship

 JERSEY CITY SEAL LOGOJERSEY CITY – Mayor Steven M. Fulop today denounced planned toll increases set to take effect December 1st by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, an agency that continues to enjoy strong profits while New Jerseyans struggle to recover from the recession.

“By moving forward with toll and fare hikes, the Port Authority continues to punish New Jerseyans – and especially Jersey City residents – at a time of continued economic hardship,” said Mayor Fulop.   “The Port Authority dumps a heavy burden on Jersey City taxpayers in three ways — from the costs of municipal services provided to the Port Authority, from the increasing tolls and PATH fares, and from a staggering underpayment by the Port Authority to the City for its property here.” Continue reading Mayor Fulop Denounces Port Authority Moving Forward With Toll & Fare Increases →

Interesting People

Odd Teen Out -Joe Montaperto suffers an Identity Crisis in his new Memoir THE EDGE OF WHITENESS

 

By Sally Deering

 

The_Edge_of_Whitenes_Cover_for_KindleJoe Montaperto grew up in the 1970s, a time of race riots, culture-clashes and mash-ups. Born and raised in an Italian Brooklyn neighborhood, Montaperto’s parents moved him and the family to Roselle, New Jersey, with the hope of getting away from the racially-charged clashes playing out on Brooklyn’s streets. Instead, the teenage Montaperto enrolled in a high school where African-American teenagers were bussed in from the inner-city and Montaperto, who is of Italian dissent, how to find a way to cope in this unexpected and sometimes violent culture clash.

This all happens on the first page of THE EDGE OF WHITENESS, Montaperto’s memoir published by Oak Tree Press and available on Amazon.com and Montaperto’s website (www.JoeMontaperto.com). On Thurs, Jan.9that 6:30 pm, Montaperto will read excerpts of THE EDGE OF WHITENESS at the Heights branch of the Jersey City Free Public Library on Zabriskie Street.

“It was a story I had to tell,” Montaperto says. “I was born in Brooklyn and we moved to Roselle New Jersey. It was an insidious town – it looked pretty nice, but it was kind of a dangerous place. We were from Brooklyn. We lived in an Italian neighborhood and we moved to Roselle. It was very white and the high school was mostly black. It was kind of a weird cultural shock, like Jackie Robinson in reverse. I remember feeling totally on the outside from everybody. It was pretty rough until when I turned 15. I suddenly looked Puerto Rican and I learned how to box and that probably saved me, those two things.”

Continue reading Odd Teen Out -Joe Montaperto suffers an Identity Crisis in his new Memoir THE EDGE OF WHITENESS →

Cover Story

Jersey City’s New Mayor Steven M. Fulop Envisions the City’s Cultural Future

  BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY-

By Sally Deering

Photo By Steve A. Mack

Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop at a recent interview with the River View Observer  Relatively unknown before he took office as the Mayor of Jersey City on July 1, 2013, Steven M. Fulop now has his own page on Wikipedia. Gaining in popularity, a local paper put him 4th on a list of Hudson’s 50 most influential people.

 Mayor Fulop, 36, seems to have a vision for Jersey City’s cultural scene with plans to bring the city to greater heights that reflect its stature as the second largest city in New Jersey. By raising the standards of the arts scene, Fulop envisions Jersey City as an arts mecca similar to New York City that will attract visitors in huge numbers and big name acts to its performance venues while providing public spaces for resident artists, filmmakers, dancers, actors and musicians.

 Moving forward, in the short time he’s been in office, Mayor Fulop has already been in meetings with Cordish Companies of Baltimore, the prospective developers of the Powerhouse building in downtown Jersey City. He has supported legislation to reinstate the tax credits to filmmakers who want to shoot on location in Jersey City; and, he has approved projects by mural artists to paint designated buildings in Jersey City. Mayor Fulop also has plans to turn the old movie palace, the Loew’s Jersey City in Journal Square into a performing arts center like NJPAC.

 On a recent November morning, Mayor Fulop took time out of his busy schedule to speak with Riverview Observer about some of his plans and projects for Jersey City’s cultural scene.

 Mayor Fulop of J.C.,N.J.-ARVO: Mayor Fulop do you have any personal association with the arts – did you play the trumpet in high school, that sort of thing?

MSF: I have a great appreciation for music and I have friends in the arts community, thus I’ve been engaged in it. I took piano lessons during my childhood and up until last year. I play classical music and I started studying Jazz. Classical is straight-forward, you’re reading notes and I could do that very well, but I couldn’t improvise. It’s a totally different skillset. My piano teacher moved, though, and now I’m looking for a new one, so if you know anybody,..

 RVO: Do you have any interest in a specific area of the arts in Jersey City?

MSF: I’ve realized in order to make Jersey City really shine it needs a thriving arts community. That’s what attracts people here. Transportation won’t just do it, you need culture and art.  We’re working with Senator (Steve) Lesniak to reinstate the film tax credit; legislation will be introduced next week. We’re looking to see how to put more money into the Loew’s and bring in professional management. You’ll see that on the Council agenda coming forward. That’s a big step. From a city standpoint, I can’t put $10-$15 million dollars into something that has the “potential” for success. The Loew’s is the size of NJPAC and across from the Journal Square PATH. You could get big names, and people coming from all over for art, music, restaurants.  The Loew’s is really a key component of what we’re trying to do.

   Continue reading Jersey City’s New Mayor Steven M. Fulop Envisions the City’s Cultural Future →

Music Views

GRAMMY NOMINATED SALSA SENSATION AND JERSEY BOY FRANKIE NEGRON RETURNS TO NJ

 TO  PERFORM LIVE AT THE BLUE MOON CAFÉ

 

frankie_negron_copy_rev1 (2)New Jersey’s own Grammy nominated Salsa singing sensation, Frankie Negron, is returning to New Jersey on Nov. 22, 2013 to perform live at Jersey City’s Blue Moon Café, 117 Montgomery St.

Raised in Newark, NJ, Negron has had Gold albums; numerous #one hits and remains a dominant figure in the world of Latin music in America and around the world.

Negron will arrive in Jersey City Friday, Nov 22, after performing at the Maya in Las Vegas.

The Blue Moon Café promises to be the number one spot in Jersey City for live celebrity performances, and being a Jersey Boy, Frankie was asked to be the first artist in what is expected to be monthly stellar line-ups.

Doors will open for the performance at 10pm. Four hours free parking with validation is available. For ticket information or, a reservation call 201-779-0700. Seating is limited so get on board quick. Lunch and dinner will be served as normal throughout the day and early evening.

 

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General

A Military & Musical Veteran’s Day Tribute Photos from Monday, November 11th Jerey City & Harsimus Memorial Park

On Monday, November 11th the Sixth Annual “Honoring Our Heroes” Veterans Ceremony was held at the Historic Jersey City & Harsimus Memorial Park. The Historic Jrsey City & Harsimus Cemetery  & Memorial Park is a National Treasure that represents 350 years of Jersey City. Hudson County,  New Jersey and American history and nature.

This 6-acre site is a Sanctuary, rich with history & historic momunments, small wildlife, ancient wildflowers and mysterious underground crypts and tunnels.

This cemetery was sadly abandoned 7 years ago and for five years now volunteeers have operated the Cemetery, made major repairs and contiune its transformationn into a beautiful Memorial Park & Center  for Hiostory , offering Jersey City and Hudson County  green open space, and historical, educational and cultural events and programs for children and adults

At the Miltary Musical Veterans Day Tribute was our photographer Steve A. Mack  and took these photos

We will be posting more photos soon and a video


 

 

General

Hudson Riverkeeper Paul Gallay will be the featured speaker at Take Me to the River, the Fund for a Better Waterfront’s Annual Fundraising Party.

Help fulfill The Vision for a Continuous, Public Waterfront

The event will be held at the Hoboken Elks Club on November 21, 2013 to raise funds for FBW’s mission, finishing a waterfront park along Hoboken’s Hudson River coastline that is both continuous and unquestionably public.

 

 Hudson_river_from_bear_mountain_bridgeThe Hudson Riverkeeper has a remarkable story to tell going after polluters of the Hudson River and sparking a movement to clean up rivers across the nation. Paul Gallay, the Hudson Riverkeeper, will relate this remarkable tale on Thursday night, November 21 at the Fund for a Better Waterfront’s (FBW) Annual Fundraising Party. The story echoes a similar grass roots effort in Hoboken to preserve its waterfront for the public’s use for generation to come, led by the advocacy efforts of FBW.

Contributions from area residents have been the most important source of support, sustaining the nonprofit Fund for a Better Waterfront (FBW) for the past 23 years. And the public is being asked to renew their  support by attending this   festive Annual Fundraising Party: Take Me to the River on November 21. The event will take place at the historic Hoboken Elks Club, 1005 Washington Street, Hoboken, New Jersey. Continue reading Hudson Riverkeeper Paul Gallay will be the featured speaker at Take Me to the River, the Fund for a Better Waterfront’s Annual Fundraising Party. →

Local Live Theater

ATTIC TREASURES Jersey City Theater Company Attic Ensemble Raises the Curtain on its 43rd Season

 By Sally Deering

ae-sand  Tucked away in the back of Barrow Mansion, a beautiful old building on Wayne Street in Jersey City, men and women dressed in 1940s costumes roam the rooms like ghosts waiting for their guests to arrive.

And arrive they will as The Attic Ensemble prepares for the first show of its 43rd season with the 1949 police drama DETECTIVE STORY by Sidney Kingsley. It opens Fri, Nov. 8th and runs the next couple of weekends. Directed by Attic’s Executive Director Billy Mitchell, DETECTIVE STORY features 22 actors who play 34 shady and not-so-shady characters who come through the doors of a New York City police station.

It’s a Sunday evening just five days before the show opens and actors are rehearsing in their costumes – designed  by Yolanda Keahey of Jersey City – while Mitchell keeps things moving, correcting lighting cues and coaching actors in their scenes. The stage is set with old, worn-out  desks and chairs, period typewriters and telephones which ring constantly throughout the play. Think TVs “Barney Miller” only set in the 1940s instead of the ‘70s.

There’s a certain charm about The Attic Ensemble even though there’s an underlying uncertainty about its future. For the past 42 years Attic has presented contemporary plays and musicals in Jersey City and after 42 years of struggling to make ends meet, the company’s future is as wobbly as a backstage prop table. Continue reading ATTIC TREASURES Jersey City Theater Company Attic Ensemble Raises the Curtain on its 43rd Season →

General

Historic Downtown Jersey City’s 3rd Annual Holiday Lighting Ceremony

Monday, November 18, 2013 from 5pm to 6pm

At the Grove PATH Plaza

The Historic Downtown Special Improvement District (HDSID) has partnered with SILVERMAN to bring back our 3rd Annual Holiday Lighting Ceremony.  Thanks to our generous donors, SILVERMAN, the Historic Downtown will be sparkling with lights for this holiday season again.

As many of you know, the Silvermans have been a huge supporter of the HDSID and were able to help make our downtown twinkle for this upcoming holiday season.

Please join the HDSID and SILVERMAN at our 3rd Annual Tree & Menorah lighting ceremony with Mayor Steven Fulop and Rabbi Debra Hachen on Monday, November 18, 2013 at 5pm during the HDSID’s regularly scheduled farmers’ market and 2nd Annual Holiday Market.

Continue reading Historic Downtown Jersey City’s 3rd Annual Holiday Lighting Ceremony →

General

Jersey City to Sue Port Authority for $400 Million for Missed Tax Payments & Undue Economic Harm;

Agency Has been Completely Unresponsive to City Requests

 

JERSEY CITY SEAL LOGOJERSEY CITY – Mayor Steven M. Fulop announced today that the city will file suit against the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for $400 million for missed tax payments and undue economic harm caused to the taxpayers of Jersey City by the bi-state transportation agency.

“This legal action is the result of economic damages caused by the Port Authority’s unfair and outdated tax agreements with the City that has resulted in the loss of hundreds of millions of tax dollars over several decades,” said Mayor Fulop. “The Port Authority has repeatedly failed to fulfill their legal obligations which has caused a severe negative impact on the Jersey City taxpayers.” Continue reading Jersey City to Sue Port Authority for $400 Million for Missed Tax Payments & Undue Economic Harm; →

Bayonne Observer insidebayonne.com

Bayonne Bridge to Have One Travel Lane Overnight From November 11 Through December 20

Work Begins on Bayonne Bridge

 

          BAYONNE BRIDGE  The Port Authority advises beginning Monday night, November 11, 2013, on a temporary basis, the Bayonne Bridge will have only one travel lane overnight. The single travel lane will be in effect through Friday, December 20, 2013, to help accommodate construction activities on the bridge.  A police officer will direct vehicles to advance or halt through the single travel lane at night and in the early morning.  The traffic will alternate between hold and pull cycles in each direction for fifteen minutes from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m., Mondays through Thursdays, and from 12:00 midnight Fridays through 8:00 a.m. Saturdays.   If there is an opportunity for police officers to use shorter time intervals, they will do so. Variable message signs will be posted to advise motorists of the single travel lane.

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