A public darkroom, Obscura Darkroom, will open in Newark, NJ in January 2019. Located in the University Heights neighborhood, Obscura will provide open darkroom hours, memberships for unlimited facilities usage, and classes for both adults and teens. In addition to being a darkroom, Obscura will also offer a photographic arts gallery to showcase work by facility and community members.
Union City Boxing TeamInside an old municipal building and up a steep flight of wooden stairs is a world of sweat and hope, a cavernous space filled young men and women who bring their dreams of championship titles and Olympic gold medals into the four-sided ring of the Union City Boxing Club. Joe Botti, a Union City Police Lieutenant and former amateur boxer has been running the Union City Boxing Club for 23 years and on a recent March evening, the gym is filled to capacity as Botti and his team of volunteer trainers help young boxers train for the 2012 New Jersey Golden Gloves. “We’ve had 29 Golden Gloves Champs,” Botti says, lacing up a young hopeful’s shiny red gloves, “and hopefully this year we’ll have our 30th. We have five team trophies.” Two boxers who train there are Juan Rodriguez, who won the Golden Gloves in 2009 in the Open Class and Jason Escalera, who won Open Class in 2008; now they’re both professionals. A young fighter being coached by Joe Botti
“They used Golden Gloves as a jumpstart to professional careers,” Botti says.
Herkin DeLaRosa, 20, of Union City, has 26 fights under his belt and sees a Golden Gloves title as his opportunity to go pro.
“Everybody wants to be a Golden Gloves champion,” DeLaRosa says. “It means a lot of hard work. It’s like a goal to me. I get to compete in the Nationals.”
DeLaRosa is one of ten boxers at the Union City Gym who will be competing in the 2012 New Jersey Golden Gloves amateur boxing championship’s preliminaries for a shot at the nationals.
The team also includes Felix Tejada, Jose Aviles and Johnny Hernandez of Union City; William Arevalo, Anthony Valentini, Jarrett Blair and Gino Montero of Jersey City; Carlos Lopez of North Bergen; and Hector Melendez of Hoboken.
Melendez, 17, has won 20 fights and two Diamond Glove championships. He also takes AP classes at Hoboken High School and plans to major in economics in college.
“I want 70 amateur fights before I go pro,” Melendez says. “I want to travel, spar in different places. I’m trying to get experience. I only lost one fight. I think boxing will open doors for me.”
Melendez also has high praises for his trainer.
“Joe Botti, he’s great,” Melendez says. “It’s not about money; he does this for free. He cares about his fighters. He does a lot for us and we do for him. I fight hard in the ring. It’s my way of paying him back. It’s not always about boxing. It’s about family. He’s like a dad.”
Hoboken Film Festival Saturday, May 30th at 12:00 PM
Cedar Lake Cinemas
503 Cedar Lane
Teanek, NJ 07666
New Jersey Film Festival Sunday, June 7th at 7:00 PM
Milledoler Hall #100
(Near the corner of College Avenue and Hamilton Street)
College Avenue Campus, Rutgers University
New Brunswick, New Jersey
Director & Producer: Beth Toni Kruvant 2008
Executive Producer: Paul Bartick Composer: Ben Decter
Editor: Anand Kamalakar Director of Photography: David Harges
Good Footage Productions
Running time: 84 minutes
Heart of Stone – an inspirational documentary film by independent film producer and director Beth Toni Kruvant – documents the challenges of an inner city high school in the Weequahic section of Newark, NJ and the workings of its devoted principal Ron Stone, ambitious Jewish and African American alumni, students, and even gang members, to restore the school’s safety and past glory. Continue reading Heart of Stone -Being Shown May 30th Hoboken Int’l Film Festival→
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The team also includes Felix Tejada, Jose Aviles and Johnny Hernandez of Union City; William Arevalo, Anthony Valentini, Jarrett Blair and Gino Montero of Jersey City; Carlos Lopez of North Bergen; and Hector Melendez of Hoboken.