Tag Archives: Newark

If You Live in These Cities You May Find this Very Interesting-Study Names and Shames New Jersey’s ‘Most Entitled’ Drivers.

Do you agree or disagree?

Some drivers seem to treat road rules less as rules and more as suggestions, whether that means double-parking “for five minutes,” using the shoulder to skip traffic, blocking a bike lane, cutting across a turn-only lane, making an illegal U-turn, or stopping wherever their hazard lights happen to be flashing.

New Jersey-based criminal defense firm Brett Rosen Law surveyed 3,056 motorists across major U.S. cities to identify America’s Most Entitled Drivers, revealing where drivers are most willing to bend or ignore everyday traffic laws when those laws become inconvenient.

The top 5 in New Jersey were as follows:

#1. Jersey City
In Jersey City, the “quick stop” is one of the most common ways drivers bend the rules. The city’s dense neighborhoods and shopping streets sit beside major routes to the Holland Tunnel and the Hudson waterfront, creating a constant mix of local traffic, commuters and vehicles heading into Manhattan. Double-parking or blocking a bike lane may seem harmless if the driver expects to be gone in a minute. For the people behind them, it means braking, waiting or changing course. The rule is clear. The driver just decided it could wait.

#2. Newark
Where an airport, major highways and a busy city center share one road network, Newark drivers have plenty of chances to break the rules, and some take them. The city connects to I-78 and the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95), and local streets also carry traffic to Newark Liberty International Airport and downtown. A late lane change or a cut into line can quickly set off a chain of braking. On surface streets, it’s double-parking or stopping in a live lane with the flashers on. Whatever the road, the driver assumes the traffic around them will work around it.

#3. Trenton
New Jersey’s capital is an important crossroads, and some of its drivers treat the rules there as optional. U.S. 1 and Route 29 carry traffic through and around Trenton, while local streets handle commuters, government workers and neighborhood trips. An illegal U-turn or a quick stop in a travel lane can seem like a minor shortcut when the legal alternative takes longer. But the time one driver saves usually comes out of someone else’s. It’s routine rule-bending, and it adds up.

#4. Paterson
Busy main roads, dense neighborhoods and highway access make rule-bending easy to spot in Paterson. I-80 runs through the city, while Route 19 and other local roads carry traffic between neighborhoods and nearby towns. A driver who squeezes into a line at the last moment, or makes an illegal maneuver rather than going on to the next legal option, may see it as practical. But it only works if other road users slow down or make room. Handing the inconvenience to someone else is what turns impatience into entitlement.

#5. Elizabeth
Traffic around Elizabeth is about much more than local trips, and the pressure brings out drivers who ignore the rules. The New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) runs through the eastern part of the city, while roads serving Newark Liberty International Airport, Port Newark and surrounding industrial areas add cars, trucks and through-traffic. In that mix, some drivers force into a line or cut across lanes to recover a missed turn. It feels like a small adjustment to the driver, but it’s still breaking the law, and the trucks and cars around them have to deal with it.

Infographic: America’s Most Entitled Drivers

When annoyance gets a response
The survey asked motorists how they had reacted when another driver annoyed or angered them. Repeated honking was the most common answer (22%), followed by an angry gesture and shouting from the vehicle (17% each).

Library Gives Patrons 2 Weeks in December for Fine Amnesty

library-logo-jcMonday, December 7 – Saturday, December 12, 2009

 Monday, December 14 – Saturday, December 19, 2009

 Feeling that pinch, from lack of funds? In mid-December, the Jersey City Free Public Library will offer a break in the form of Fine Amnesty to all Library users.   

For only two weeks – Monday, December 7th through Saturday, December 12th AND Monday, December 14th through Saturday, December 19th  – all fees and fines will be forgiven when the library system receives all library books, CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes and other library materials. Continue reading Library Gives Patrons 2 Weeks in December for Fine Amnesty →

Little Kids Rock Raises over $160,000 to Put Music Education Back in

clarance-and-jadeClarence Clemons of the E Street Band Draws Large Crowd at “Right to Rock” Fundraising Event at B.B. King Blues Club New York

Pictured with Clarence  Clemons is Jersey City student, Jade Adams of P.S. 29, recently performed with legendary E Street Band member Clarence Clemons at a fundraiser held by Little Kids Rock on Oct. 22 at B.B King Blues Club in New York City. The “Right to Rock” benefit raised over $160,000 to restore and revitalize music education in public schools nationwide.  
Adams, 12, performed Jailhouse Rock with Clarence Clemons and a student band from the Bronx. She also performed her original song, Change, with the student band, whom she met that evening. Adams’ song was selected as a grand prize winner in the 2009 Little Kids Rock songwriting contest.
Little Kids Rock currently reaches nearly 2500 underserved students in Jersey City and Newark, and over 42,000 nationwide. Here is a high-reolution photograph of Jade and Clarence at the event:

Continue reading Little Kids Rock Raises over $160,000 to Put Music Education Back in →

Govenor Corzine Takes a Jump Shot

RCDCCHappenings A long the Campaign Trial

[From A Governor’s Journey] Governor Jon Corzine goes for three points while visiting a street festival in Newark. Governor Corzine attended Taylorville High School, where he was the captain of his basketball team. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana, where he also played basketball. “I was a walk-on in college,” he remembers. “They gave me some minutes on the freshman squad, but my varsity career was at the far end of the bench. There’s wasn’t much need for a 6’2” forward at a Big Ten school.” By the way – he made the basket.

Hudson County Community College to Hold Graduation May 20th

hill-harperCSI: NY Actor and Author Hill Harper to Deliver Keynote Address

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Hudson County Community College President Dr. Glen Gabert announced that the College will hold its 31st annual Commencement Ceremonies on Wednesday, May 20 in Prudential Hall at New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ. The College expects to confer Associate degrees to more than 700 students from the Journal Square and North Hudson Center campuses that evening. Continue reading Hudson County Community College to Hold Graduation May 20th →