Tag Archives: Historic Downtown Jersey City

Dining Out – The Embankment Restaurant in Jersey City

River View Observer -Restaurant Views -Elegant Dining and a Sexxy Upstaris Lounge at the Embankment

by Sally Deering

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Dave  and his sister Anne Marie carved a niche on Grove Street with their handsome little restaurant, The Merchant, where the bar is cozy, the drinks are yummy and the food is All-American delish! It’s a great place to go for a business luncheon, watch a game or hang out with your friends and talk about life.

 Dave and Anne Marie decided to try something a little more upscale and 2-1/2 years ago they opened The Embankment, a beautiful fine-dining restaurant nestled in the heart of 10th Street in the Hamilton Park neighborhood, where friendly neighbors drop by for brunch, dinner and drinks with friends.

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The 2nd Annual Village Art & Flea Market Held on Saturday May 15th Brings Out Huge Crowd

River View Observer Photographer Captures the Event on Cameramay-2010-4th-st-festivalmay-2010-4th-st-festival-7may-2010-4th-st-festival-8-painer

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On Saturday, May 15th The Village Neighborhood Association, with the support of 4th Street Arts,  hosted The 2nd Annual Village Art & Flea Market. A few thousand people came out to shop and mingle…

Taking place at the crossroads of 4th Street, Newark Avenue and Brunswick Street, the event featured an array of local artists’ works, the finest up-and-coming bands New Jersey has to offer, and delicious food from local vendors.

See more photos of the day… Continue reading The 2nd Annual Village Art & Flea Market Held on Saturday May 15th Brings Out Huge Crowd

POWERHOUSE ARTS FESTIVAL-September 12th

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 The 4th  Annual Powerhouse Arts Festival

 11:00am to 6:00pm.

The annual Powerhouse Arts District Neighborhood Association’s barbeque and crafts fair will have all the fine arts, nifty crafts, music, cheap beer and block-partying good times of last year, this year PDNA is adding a bunch more vendor spaces and hopefully some live art this year.

PDNA is seeking VOLUNTEERS for the day of the event. They will need people to help with set up, grill-manning (or woman-ing), beer pouring, etc. There will be free food and drink for all who volunteer, plus that special warm and fuzzy feeling that comes with contributing to a good cause. For more information or to sign up, email Jessica.

The festival is also a fundraiser for the Association. Much of our operating income for the year comes from the Fest – so tell your friends and come eat, drink, and be merry in service of the neighborhood.

La Festa Italiana – The Tradition Lives On at Holy Rosary Church in Downtown Jersey City

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Tradition…a concept that is certainly not unique to the Italian and Italian American culture, but which is almost universally mentioned when telling the story of those who are of Italian heritage.  Nevertheless, one is tempted to wonder if the paesani who immigrated to the United States from Morrone del Sannio, Campobasso (Region of Molise), Italy, in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, and who settled in the ethnic enclave that would become a vibrant “Little Italy” in downtown Jersey City, could have foreseen that their grandchildren and great grandchildren would, more than a century later, still be carrying on one of their grandest traditions.  Probably not!  Yet, that is exactly what is happening, as the third and fourth generation members of the Maria S.S. Dell’Assunta Society, founded by their Morronese ancestors in 1902, are now preparing for the 98th annual Feast of the Assumption, at Holy Rosary Church in historic downtown Jersey City. 

La Festa Italiana, which now encompasses the feast of St. Rocco, in addition to the Assumption feast of old, includes both elements of the traditional Italian feast, combining spirituality with the typical Italian street festival.  The religious celebration begins with a Novena in honor of Our Lady of the Assumption (Thursday, August 6th, to Friday, August 14th, at 7:00 p.m., with a candlelight procession through the streets of downtown Jersey City on la vigilia di festa August 14th) and culminates in the Assumption Feast Day Mass, to be celebrated by Most Rev. Thomas A. Donato, Aux. Bishop of Newark and Regional Bishop for Hudson County (11:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 15th), and the St. Rocco Feast Day Mass, to be celebrated by Most Rev. Dominic A. Marconi, Ret. Aux. Bishop of Newark (11:30 a.m. on Sunday, August 16th). 

The old-world style street festival will include deliziosi Italian food, full service bar, outdoor cafe, rides, games, and live entertainment.  A highlight for many is the wine and peaches stand, proudly called “A Taste of Campobasso”, which is still operated by the Society and staffed by the descendants of its original founders, including the popular “Wine Girls”, who will be happy to serve you some of the best wine and peaches around! 

YOU’RE INVITED TO JOIN US!  On August 15th at 9:00 p.m., in front of the Campobasso wine stand, a special “toast” will be offered to honor all feast workers and Society members (including the memory of those who are no longer with us) who have worked hard to preserve Italian culture and the beautiful traditions that our ancestors carried with them from the old country.  Don’t forget to wear your feast shirts, as we gather together for this unique display of unity, love, and respect!  The festival will take place on 6th Street, between Brunswick and Monmouth Streets, in the Downtown section of Jersey City, and will run from Wednesday, August 12th, through Sunday, August 16th, 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m..  For more details, call 201-795-0120 Ext. 103, or Carmine Colasurdo at 201-966-7745.  Buona Festa a Tutti

Good Times in Bad Times-July 09

When the Yellow Brick Road Hits a Speed-bump,these seven Hudsonities follow their hearts

By Sally Deering

Most folks weren’t around to witness The Great Depression of 1929 cover-photo-2-monya-mccarty-nurse2when the stock market crashed and people lost their savings, their jobs and sometimes their lives. But many of us do remember the Dotcom crash of 1987 that caused the stock market to nosedive and Internet entrepreneurs to lose their cybershirts. Well, here we are again, folks, rafting through the troubled waters of another photo-6-laura-schaffnit-of-another-mans-treasures-vintage-shop3recession in a yellow rubber dingy without a paddle.
Uncle Sam is up to his red, white and blues in I.O.U.’s. We owe a trillion and change to to China and according to CreditCard.com, every household in America has more than $8 grand in credit card debt with no end in sight. But Americans are a rugged bunch. When all we have are lemons in the fridge, we thumb our nose at the bad times and toast to better days with a swig of lemonade. 
It’s the American Way and it’s the Hudson way, too.

Continue reading Good Times in Bad Times-July 09