“We are extremely honored to receive this prestigious award and recognition,” said Mayor Healy. “Make A Difference Day, and particularly the ‘BIG DIG†project, illustrated the immense value of public-private partnerships and what a positive impact volunteerism can have on a community.”

Thirteen volunteer initiatives will be recognized with the 2012 Make A Difference Day Awards at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on April 19. Make A Difference Day, the nation’s largest day of service, was created in 1992 by Gannett Co., Inc.â€s

USA WEEKEND Magazine along with partners, Newmanâ€s Own®, Inc. and Points of Light. Newmanâ€s Own will donate a total of $130,000, awarding ten volunteer initiatives $10,000 each and presenting three cities $10,000 each for their local projects.

According to a press release from

USA WEEKEND, the winners were chosen from thousands of grassroots volunteer efforts that took place on Oct. 22, 2011, Make A Difference Day. Millions of Americans served their communities and made positive changes as a result of the volunteer action encouraged by the nationwide annual event.

Jersey Cityâ€s the BIG DIG, was supported by an army of more than 600 volunteers from across the city, as well as the Mayorâ€s Office, the Division of Parks & Forestry and the Division of Cultural Affairs.

Dozens of city parks, select open spaces, schools, libraries, historic cemeteries and gateways to the city are now blooming in yellows, oranges and reds as the bulbs that were planted have now blossomed.

“From the outset, this was a winning partnership and illustrated perfectly how public-private partnerships and volunteerism are key for governments at all levels to succeed,” said

Mayor Healy. “For the past few years, my office has been involved in recognizing Make A Difference Day with events in Jersey City, however, this was the first time we had one, overarching event for the entire city. We thank the Jersey City Parks Coalition for this concept of coordinated bulb planting throughout the city and for all of their hard work to get this project off the ground.”

The Parks Coalition volunteers handled fundraising by reaching out to Jersey Cityâ€s vast corporate community, raising nearly $15,000 to help cover the cost of the bulbs and gardening supplies. The City identified the parks, prepared some sites for digging, and began promotion of the event through press releases, on our website and Facebook page, and through other media. More than 600 volunteers participated in the planting, including members from other non-profits, school teachers and students, scouts, members of civic organizations and representatives from the corporate community.

In addition to sponsorship from the City of Jersey City, the BIG DIG was sponsored by Century 21 Plaza Realty, the Hudson County Improvement Authority, the Liberty Science Center, the West Side Community Alliance/Honeywell, the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority, Liberty State Park, PSE&G, United Water, and The Westin Jersey City, as well as many other local businesses, organizations, and residents.

This was the first citywide event for the Jersey City Parks Coalition although the Coalition has established Community Gardens in 10 of their 14 member parks groups. Since 2004, spring plantings and fall bulbs have been making a difference in parks such as Pershing Field, Van Vorst Park, Riverview-Fisk Park, Sgt. Anthony Park, Ercel Webb Park, as well as Washington Park and Lincoln Park.

“This event was a great way to really make a difference in the community and now that the bulbs are in bloom, we are seeing the impact this project had on neighborhoods throughout the City,” said

Charlene Burke, project manager for the BIG DIG. “Many of the participants have provided us with photos from the 80 planting sites, which we have posted on The Jersey City Parks Coalition facebook page. We hope that everyone involved will look forward to BIG DIG 2012.”
The ten 2012 Make A Difference Day Award honorees are:

Summer Search North Bay, Petaluma, Calif.

The United Way of Lake County, Waukegan, Ill.

The Marys & Marthas and the people of Clarion, Iowa

Girl Scouts of Madisonville Housing Authority Troop 333, Madisonville, Ky.

Mary Vail, Las Vegas, Nev.

Victory Christian Church, Albany, N.Y.

Joyce and John Jackson, Delaware, Ohio

Neha Gupta, Yardley, Penn.

Eleanor Schoenbrun, El Paso, Texas

The Ellis Family, Rhinelander, Wis.
The three 2012 City Award honorees are:

The Jersey City Parks Coalition and Jersey City, N.J.

City of Salisbury, N.C.

Strong Neighborhoods Program, San Jose, Calif.

The All-Star Award goes to:

Lucas Metropolis, Boca Raton, Fla. and Durham, N.C.

“This event goes to the heart of Gannettâ€s purpose to serve the greater good of our nation and the communities we serve. Every year, millions act upon our invitation to reach out to others in their community. Itâ€s inspiring to see how our audience responds and the good that comes out of this one day,” said Heather Frank, editor-in-chief of

USA WEEKEND.

All of the award recipients will be featured in this weekendâ€s edition of USA WEEKEND.

Make A Difference Day 2012 will be held on Saturday, Oct. 27. For more information, please go to www.makeadifferenceday.com.

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The post Jersey City & Parks Coalition Win One of Three National Make A Difference Day Awards for Municipalities for “BIG DIG” Planting Project first appeared on River View Observer.

All-Volunteer Home Rehabilitation Organization Set to Improve

3 Jersey City Homes and 5 Community Facilities

21 Years in Jersey City – More Than 302 Homes Renewed!

 JERSEY CITY, NJ   April 6, 2012 – Commencing the week of April 9^th, Dr. Lena Edwards Academic Charter School cafeteria in Jersey City will be transformed into “Command Central” as Rebuilding Together Jersey City gets ready to improve the lives of three Jersey City homeowners and five not-for-profit organizations being refurbished on Saturday, April 14, 2012.  On that day, the Bramhall Street cafeteria that is usually filled with school children will instead be filled with lumber, ladders, paint, and all the tools and materials needed to save the Jersey City homes of people unable to make repairs for themselves.

 The Jersey City Chapter of Rebuilding Together Jersey City is one of more than 200 nation-wide affiliates of the largest, nonsectarian, nonprofit, home rehabilitation organization in the United States who are working to preserve affordable home ownership and revitalize communities.  Rebuilding Together works in collaboration with communities and local businesses to provide free rehabilitation and critical repairs to the homes of low-income Americans!

 Since the Jersey City chapter began in 1991, Rebuilding Together Jersey City has made more than $2.9 million dollars worth of improvements to more than 313 homes and community facilities.  Rebuilding Together’s mission is to bring volunteers and communities together to improve the homes and lives of homeowners in need, and the organization’s ultimate goal is to provide a safe and healthy home for every person. The Jersey City chapter helps homeowners continue living in the homes they worked their whole lives to own by mending those things that add to their quality-of-life.

 In a unique partnership, more than 500 skilled and unskilled volunteers of all ages will gather at 7:00 AM at the school before being dispatched to the 8 Jersey sites, including the Dr. Lena Edwards Academic Charter School, the organization’s host.  Skilled labor comes from the Hudson County Carpenters Local #6, IBEW Electricians LU #164, Hudson County Plumbers Local #24, Bricklayers and Allied Craftsman Local #4, Northern Jersey Plasterers & Cement Masons Local #29, Building Trades Laborers Local #21 and Local #325, and Heavy Construction Laborers Local #472.  Volunteers from dozens of local businesses and service organizations such as The Provident Bank, Honeywell Employee Group, United Water, Pershing Securities, Inc., Connell Foley LLP, St. Peter’s College, St. Peter’s Prep, the Jerramiah T. Healy Foundation, and the City of Jersey City provide the supplemental unskilled labor.

 The City of Jersey City is a major partner in the Rebuilding Together effort, contributing a Community Development Block Grant, the Parking Authority’s cooperation for container placement, and the Jersey City Police Department’s help with traffic control.

 Anyone over 18 years old can volunteer!  Interested parties may either call (201) 222-2636 prior to the April 14, 2012 event, or can register in person on Rebuilding Day at the school cafeteria between 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM.  Assignments will be given at that time.  Volunteers should plan to spend the entire day and are urged to wear work clothes and sturdy shoes.  All volunteers will receive a Rebuilding Day T-shirt and will be treated to a light breakfast, lunch, and a celebratory barbeque at the end of the day.

 You can also join us at our 14th Annual Fundraiser and Awards Dinner on Friday May 4, 2012 at 6:00pm at Puccini’s Restaurant, 1064 Westside Avenue, Jersey City.  The event will feature a four hour open bar, a gourmet buffet dinner, and music.  Journal advertisements are available as well.  For tickets or ad rates please call (201) 222-2636

The post REBUILDING TOGETHER JERSEY CITY first appeared on River View Observer.

The Everything Jersey City Festival will Celebrate Community Pride and UEZ Support at a Time when Budget Cuts Loom

By Sally Deering

 If you don’t know by now, one-third of Jersey City is a designated Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ\) a designation that offers local businesses tax and other financial incentives to help grow their businesses and stimulate local economy.  Sale tax revenues generated by UEZ businesses go for economic development and neighborhood improvements like street lights, paving, flowerboxes — and other programs that give constituents a feeling of pride in their community.

To celebrate the UEZ’s success revitalizing the Heights section of Jersey City – the neighborhood nestled on the cliff above Hoboken – the Central Avenue Special Improvement District (CASID) Management Corporation presents the Everything Jersey City Festival which takes place Sat., May 21st from 11 am-to-6 pm along Central Avenue from Congress to Hutton Streets.

The Festival will feature four stages with live entertainment including Queen of Freestyle Judy Torres who has made Jersey City her home for the past 16 years, has recorded numerous CDs and is an on-air personality on WKTU radio. Torres sings Freestyle, a form of dance music with a Latin influence that became popular in the late 1980s and early 90s and her hits include “No Reason to Cry,” and “Come into my Arms.” Torres performs nation-wide and just returned from a show at the Continental Airlines Arena in Miami. She has a huge local fan base and she’s excited to be bringing her show live to her Jersey City fans for a second year.

 “This is home,” Torres says. “Two weeks ago I performed at Michael Anthony’s on the waterfront; I performed at Pershing Field. There aren’t too many places in Jersey City to perform. When I did the Everything Jersey City Festival two years ago, we had a great crowd. It was a lot of fun It’s very nice to see people in the area coming out to have a good time. It’s a wonderful community celebration.”

Central Avenue will be lined with tables and tents featuring local artists showing (and selling) their work, vendors selling foods and crafts and of course, goodies from the eateries and stores that line Central Avenue. Arts groups like Pro Arts Jersey City, a non-profit community arts group that sponsors the annual Jersey City Studio Tour and Art House Productions, a 2,000-member multi-arts non-profit group are participating and several community organizations will present interactive demonstrations. Activities for kids will include a rock climbing wall, petting zoo, obstacle course, moonwalk and super slide. And for bargain-hunters, CASID has something very special planned: a huge one day sale among Central Avenue businesses (jewelry, clothing, shoes, furniture,) on the day of the Everything Jersey City Festival. Sales will offer 10% to 50% off select merchandise and festival-goers will find great bargains when business owners sell their wares at the Sidewalk Sales.

 “One of the reasons for the Everything Jersey City Festival is to show how great Central Avenue is,” William Clarke, Director of CASID says. “We try to involve our business owners as much as possible. It becomes a true community event. We focus on Jersey City-Hudson County based artists and we try to focus on the creative aspects of Jersey City. You’ll see things here you won’t see anywhere else. We try to make it as unique event as possible.”

The Festival’s mission is to prove the UEZ Program builds and sustains communities, but on July 1^st when the New Jersey State Budget is finalized and approved, community activities like the Everything Street Festival and many local non-profits may no longer receive UEZ funding.

“The status of the UEZ remains iffy,” Clarke says. “We won’t know for sure until the New Jersey State budget is finalized. But even if it ends in July, our organization will continue to exist. Sure it will change things, but it’s not the sole source of our organization. We’re an autonomous agency. We’ll exist no matter what.”

 When Governor Chris Christie released his budget, it called for no administrative or project funding for the cities, Steve Lipski, CEO of the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation says. That means there will still be a UEZ program, but no monies will be turned over to municipalities or the zones to administer programs. Businesses will still realize tax benefits but they won’t receive assistance from the zone leaders and municipalities through the monies that were collected from the UEZ and returned to the cities.

 But the fight to restore funding isn’t over, Lipski says.

 “We stand squarely with Mayor Healy in the fight to restore UEZ funds which are absolutely essential to help small businesses and fund essential projects critical to the city,” Lipski says. “Governor Christie sent in his version of the budget and the State Legislators are reviewing it to make their necessary input. There are budget hearings going on as we speak.”

 The end of UEZ funding would have a negative impact on community organizations like Washington Park Association (WPA), says President Mory Thomas.

 “The UEZ funding allows for festivals like these which brings thousands of people to the Heights and unites the community in a way that hasn’t happened for years,” Thomas says. “At the first Everything Festival, it was the first time I’d seen the community come out and be engaged in an event. For people to come out and enjoy being on the street, talking to each other and hanging out as a community, that’s something you can’t put a dollar amount to. What I would like to see from the UEZ money is more community-engagement activities.”

 The Washington Park Association along with the Riverview Neighborhood Association, the Jersey City Parks Coalition and St. Anne’s School will host a special “green” event in the heart of the Everything Jersey City Festival. Amid the urban landscape of storefronts, in the middle of Central Avenue, they will create a green “Open Space” – a little park with trees and plants and benches. And there’ll be a “greening” workshop for festival-goers, too.

 “During last year’s Everything Jersey City Festival, we decided that this year we would create an open space on the streets where the festival is,” Thomas says. “It will be a nice little breather in this concrete jungle we live in and bring people awareness to the issue of open space especially in Hudson County which is one of the most densely populated in the country.”

Along with headliners Judy Torres and The Black Hollies, CASID has lined up more great entertainment:  Celtic Cross, Celtic folk-rockers performing classic Irish music; Rumba Con Son, Central New Jersey’s hottest salsa band; Woodfish, a funk-rock band from the Jersey Shore; Ray Rodriguez y Swing Sabroso, a salsa swing band; Ed Solomon & Go Falcon!, poppy punk rockers; Lea Le Grace, pop-rocker; Stephie Coplan & the Pedestrians, a piano-driven pop-rock trio; and Catch Wild, alternative rockers from Jersey City.

 The Actor’s Shakespeare Company at NJCU and the Hope Center Dancers will perform and Family Fitness Martial Arts and Jang Star Tae Kwon Do will present demonstrations.

 The Black Hollies, a Jersey City-based rock band with psychedelic influences has several hit songs out in the mainstream. “Can’t Stop These Tears (From Falling)” was featured on an episode of “The Vampire Diaries,” and “Tell Me What You Want” was picked up by the NFL which used it for an ad campaign. The band features Jon Gonnelli, guitar and organ; Herbert Wiley, lead guitar; Nick Serrante, drummer and Justin Angelo Morey, lead singer and bass guitar. Several members reside in Jersey City, including Morey, who says the band has lots of fans, but may be more well known in other big cities like Austin, Texas, thanks to iTunes and YouTube.  “The song we did for ‘Vampire Diaries’ became one of the most downloaded songs on iTunes and YouTube,” Morey says.

 Art House Productions will be at the Festival to talk about their programs and Pro Arts Jersey City will be featuring several artist-members who will be on hand to discuss their work – always a fun thing to do at a festival. Who doesn’t enjoy talking to artists about their inspirations? Artists exhibiting for Pro Arts Jersey City will be Ibou Ndoye, Deirdre Kennedy, Christina Soto, Sharon Harvey and Holly Williams.

 Art House Productions, a 2,000-member multi-arts organization that produces visual arts programs for more than a decade in Jersey City produces on average one community-art event a week including JC Fridays – a city-wide happening held four times a year that presents art programming at approximately 40 venues. It’s a way to introduce people to the arts in Jersey City, Christine Goodman, Founder and Executive Director says, and each event attracts 3-5,000 people. But if the UEZ funding is cut in July, JC Fridays may not go on.

 “If UEZ funding is cut, it will have a huge impact on our decision to continue JC Fridays,” Goodman says. “We’d like to keep it going. We’ve faced this problem in the past, but it’s going to be a challenge. The future of JC Fridays is a little uncertain at this point.”

Designed to stimulate the local economy, the Everything Jersey City Festival is sponsored by corporations, local businesses, government officials, city agencies and non-profit community groups serving the Jersey City area including Capital One Bank, Christ Hospital, LibertyHealth/Jersey City Medical Center, Metro Honda, City of Jersey City, City of Jersey City Division of Cultural Affairs, County of Hudson, County of Hudson Cultural Affairs and Tourism, C-Town Supermarkt, El Sabroso Restaurant, Footprints Realty, Goehrig’s Bakery, Hauptman Carpets, Hudson County Community College, Infinite Print, Jersey City Incinerator Authority, Jersey City Independent, Jersey City Parking Authority, Milrose Consultants Inc, Panepinto Properties, PSE&G, Spectra Energy, State Farm Insurance, Stop & Shop Supermarkets, Susan Newman Design, Inc., The American Flag Company, the Hudson Reporter, Jersey Journal, Jersey City UEZ Program/EDC, U.S. Representative Steve Rothman, United Water and Wells Fargo Bank.

Things may change after July, but for now, the Everything Jersey City Festival, paid for in part by the Jersey City UEZ Program promises to be a great event that celebrates community spirit and pride.

 And with a little luck come July, let’s hope it won’t be the last.

  Everything Jersey City Festival

Sat, May 21,

Central Avenue between Congress and Hutton Streets

Jersey City

For more information, call CASID at 201-656-1366,or visit its website, www.centralavesid.org

 

For more information on the sources included in this story visit:

www.judytorres.com

www.theblackhollies.com

www.arthouseproductions.org

www.proartsjerseycity.org

www.wpanj.org

www.jcedc.org

The post Jersey City’s Got Everything -For Now first appeared on River View Observer.

On Saturday, April 14th, hundreds of caring citizens and employees of companies in Hudson County and elsewhere will volunteer their time to do much needed repairs on other homes in Jersey City. Rebuilding Together Jersey City is part of a national program, Rebuilding Together, the nationâ€s largest volunteer-based provider of home-repair services. For over a decade their mission has been to rehabilitate the homes of low-income, elderly or disabled persons, or families with children, at no cost to them, so they may live in safety, warmth and independence. This year itâ€s marking the rehabilitation of its 100,000th house with a six-month-plus celebration that highlights rebuilding events in cities and communities throughout America.

The “100,000th House Celebration,” which involves the participation of affiliates across the nation, was launched Oct. 14, 2006, the celebration will culminate with media events across the country on National Rebuilding Day, April 28, 2007. The goal is to focus attention on the work done by more than 3 million volunteers and the delivery of approximately $1 billion in home rehabilitation services since the creation of Rebuilding Together 18 years ago.

Joan Kowalski, the co-president of Rebuilding Together Jersey City, has been involved with the program for eleven years, along with her husband. This year, Ms. Kowalski expects at least five hundred or more volunteers, which has been the average for the past five years. “We get the local unions, businesses, law firms, developers, banks, and financial firms. And of course we get individual volunteers from around the area. We are very grateful for the support from companies and individuals.” The staging area where volunteers meet is St. Patrickâ€s School on Bramhall Avenue in Jersey City. “They allow us to store our supplies there as well as allow us to use the school as a staging area for our volunteers. And, we actually do work on the school as well,” Ms. Kowalski said.

When it comes to why people and companies do volunteer work like this in their own community Ms. Kowalski believes itâ€s just being good neighbors. “Itâ€s great team building. Itâ€s a way to see no matter what kind of projects you are working on that you need to come together as a team to complete the project and itâ€s truly helping your neighbor. I think people really learn to take stock and appreciate what they have when they go into the homes they are working on and see how some people are living.”

There is a pre-screening application each year available to Jersey City homeowners who are interested in being considered for the program. “We look at the financials and make sure they fit our mission and then we go to the house and create a wish list. As people age we really like to keep them in their homes so we try to fix their houses for both comfort and safety,” Ms. Kowalski explained. This year Rebuilding Together Jersey City received thirty-four applications. They expect to repair eleven homes and three or four not-for profits.

Rebuilding Together Jersey City would not be possible without the financial help of a number of local and national businesses and organizations like the Jerramiah T. Healy Charitable Foundation for a Better Jersey City. The foundation is a non-profit with the mission to help needy individuals and causes within the city limits. True to that mission, the foundation recently gave Rebuilding Together Jersey City, a generous grant.

Provident Bank, a responsible business neighbor in Hudson County for years has also been a sponsor in supporting Rebuilding Together Jersey City for about ten years. Mike Parcell, a vice president at Provident Bank in Jersey City has been involved in the program with other Provident employees. “Each year Provident donates money to Rebuilding Together Jersey City. We also have employees of Provident who give their time and work on renovating one of the homes. Itâ€s a great cause, and it just makes people feel good.”

One of the most generous grants (30,000 dollars) came from the Jersey City Division of Community Development. Ms. Darice Toon-Bell, its director, believes that Rebuilding Together Jersey City is a very worthwhile program. “This program helps low income families, disabled people and senior citizens to make critical repairs to their homes and without this assistance these homeowners would probably not be able to bring their properties up to code.” JC Division of Community Development which handles both federal and state entitlement grants has been helping this program for a number of years. “We give them money to help purchase supplies for repairs, and the wonderful thing about this is that we get a lot of bang for the buck. We give them what I would consider a small amount of money but they are able to leverage this money with sweat equity, which is the bottom line. Itâ€s a perfect marriage.”

Some of the other local institutions that volunteer their time and donate money are United Water, Morgan Stanley, Pershing, Honeywell and others.

If you are interested in volunteering your time or donating money for Rebuilding Together Jersey City please call 201-222-2636 for more information

The post Rebuilding Together Jersey City first appeared on River View Observer.