http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/realestate/05njzo.html

Newport is getting a 30,000 sq ft Morton Williams Grocery.

http://www.mortonwilliams.com/

You might want to ask Fasteddie, he lives in/on the "island". He was even renting out a place but that might have been over in the Heights and I think he said he was looking for a hot female tenant but maybe he has become more realistic ....

Click here...

Hey Jimmoe,

I'm thinking of moving to the Island Section. I've walked back and forth from the PATH during the day and at night, but haven't been out walking during the wee hours or on really quiet nights. Any personal or anecdotal perspective to offer?

i finally went to this place after reading all the positive things about it here on jcl. i went earlier this week with my gf about lunchtime.. we both had enchiladas, and they were decent. i came back today with my mom + family to give it another shot. they had the brunch menu which was new to me, but i had the chilaquiles, and it was pretty damn good. definitely will be coming back for round 3 in the near future

If Dawn only had the resources to dig into Campos's campaign the way they've thrown money into digging into hers. Can you imagine the graveyard vote and vote buying that went on in those projects of his?

Brewster you make a good point...

( Click any image to make it large )

Today I was driving up north on the NJ Turnpike and I went right by the Pulaski Skyway -- it is striking how it rests on little points as seen in this tacky stain glass image...



You can just imagine what would happen if any one of them, or if a set of them ever failed...







Click the link below to see a really large image of these little points.

Hard to believe, but they have pins in them so they kind of look like hinges! I wonder about the metal fatigue after all these years ( since 1932 when it opened ) I think we are just lucky that NJ doesn't use the amount of road salt that they use in MN and in Canada where bridges have collapsed -- but I am aware that the the Pulaski is a heck of a lot older than the bridge that just failed.

Click this link to see a really large image of these little points:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia ... aski_Skyway_full_view.jpg

Here also is Wiki --

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ima ... aski_Skyway_full_view.jpg

There are plans for a replacement -- see this tread on JCLIST

Click here for jclist thread

Wonder if it and all the other bridges will be fixed in time -- Christians can always get something for the dashboard but what about the rest of us?



Quote:

Although the Brooklyn Bridge's walkways got to shaking violently (wave like) with the mobs crossing it on 9/11 that they had to close the bridge -- those who were on it thought they were all going to die in the East River...

JC and NJ administators are 'mentally deficient' - that's the real problem.

These are no longer kids or boys when they use guns and knifes - this is not child behavior and they should be viewed as adults with all the consequences.
I'd even suggest that the parents be reviewed on whether or not they retain custody of them.

Note my use of the word 'REVIEWED'.

The board voted unanimously (7-0) to allow the rest of the project to go forward, but added some conditions, including creating access to the nearby Marin Boulevard entrance to the PATH and ensuring a dog run is built at the 50 Columbus site.


GP - the Marin Blvd entrance refers to Grove Street. Maybe he does that to remind us that the JC Reporter is not The New Yorker.

Quote:

Yeah but he said it a few times in the article.

Planning board - what about stipulating via contract, that the dog run MUST accomodate 'x' amount of dogs, the dimensions - length and minimum size, the soil type, the necessary add-on like water, shade etc. (they should contact parkman)

If the planning board don't pull their 'finger out' the developers will have a dog run the size of 2 parking bays on concrete with no public access and HP / VVP will be swamped with new dog owners.

This better get sorted out fast, otherwise it will be a never ending topic on JClist in months to come, when the building is complete and residents move in.

It is getting to the stage where every new building complex should be required to have a dog run like parking!

Didn't you see the plans - a five block overhead people mover is being built - tentatively called the Fulopian tube - to get people to Exchange Place. No, wait, that was a dream I had. I think it's a typo.

Just curious - are there building specs for dog runs. Are these places really for exercising dogs or just dog toilets? That's a lot of apartments plus maybe some of the Grove Pointers will try to use it too. Can too many dogs become a health hazard? Will children's play areas also be required?

jersey city is "not a safe" place to raise a family anymore

I'm lost, 50 Columbus Drive, where these two 48-story towers and the new Hotel will be build is half less than a block from the Grove PATH Station & the beginning of Newark Avenue -- how is it close to Exchange place? Sure they are only 3 or 4 blocks from the Exchange Place PATH Station but the Grove PATH Station's new entrence is almost under them -- and you can get both trains -- one to the WTC or the other to Midtown unlike just the WTC train at Exchange Place.

Quote:

Two 48-story buildings a go

Planning Board demands dog run for phase II of Columbus Towers

Ricardo Kaulessar -- Hudson Reporter -- 08/03/2007

The Jersey City Planning Board approved the second phase of 50 Columbus Drive at their meeting on July 24. While the first phase, a 35-story tower, is near completion, the second phase will include two 48-story towers and a hotel.

The project, also known as Columbus Towers, is located on a long stretch of Christopher Columbus Drive between Marin Boulevard and Warren Street, in the Exchange Place area.

The site is being developed by PKG Associates, a company operated by local attorney and builder Joseph Panepinto in partnership with Hoboken-based Applied Companies.

Upon completion, 50 Columbus Drive's three towers will house 942 rental units, a 144-room hotel, 1120 parking spaces, and over 12,000 square feet of ground floor retail.

The first phase of the project, a 35-story tower with 392 units and 804 parking spaces, is near completion. Rentals are scheduled to start this month.

The second phase will be two 48-story towers with a total of 550 units, the hotel, retail and 316 parking spaces.

The board voted unanimously (7-0) to allow the rest of the project to go forward, but added some conditions, including creating access to the nearby Marin Boulevard entrance to the PATH and ensuring a dog run is built at the 50 Columbus site.

Where's the dog run?

At the meeting, several representatives for the project made a presentation of the 50 Columbus preliminary site plan to the Planning Board.

A preliminary site plan is used for new construction and additions located on land zoned for commercial and residential use. Any project built in a redevelopment area, as is the case with 50 Columbus Drive (in Exchange Place North), usually gets first approval and later comes back in front of the board for final approval.

After the presentation, the board approved the project with six conditions that have to be met by the developers.

Among them was putting in a dog run.

Board Commissioner Roseanne Petruzelli pointed out there was no place within the site plan for a dog run. Board Chairman Michael Ryan said there is supposed to be at least one dog run on the premises.

At the meeting, the developers' attorney Nevis McCann claimed 50 Columbus will be "pet friendly," when asked whether or not pets will be allowed.

But McCann said there was no room for dog run.

"The dogs will have to walk the streets like everyone else," he said. And another of the developers' attorneys, Francis Schiller, said a surface parking lot designed for the second phase of the project would be built in the location where the dog run was to be placed.

But the developers' representatives later agreed they will look for space on the site for a dog run.

Also, the board insisted upon an entrance from the lobby of the hotel that will allow guests and residents of 50 Columbus to gain easier access to the Exchange Place PATH station.

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

Seize 4 armed kids in Bayonne: cops
Saturday, August 04, 2007

Three Jersey City boys took turns brandishing handguns and a fourth pulled a knife Thursday night during a dispute with two Bayonne adults, police said yesterday.

A 13-year-old Ocean Avenue resident, a 12-year-old Clerk Street resident, a 15-year-old from Myrtle Avenue, and an Arlington Avenue boy, 13, were taken into custody on weapons and aggravated assault charges after one of them brandished a knife and others pointed handguns at the adults, 19 and 26, police said.

The 19-year-old who was targeted told cops the Ocean Avenue teen seemed to think he was looking at the boy's girlfriend as he was walking down Avenue F, police said. At the time of the incident, the two adults told cops, the teen brandished a knife, made threats, and impugned their manhood.

The teen's knife and his aggressive behavior made the victims fear for their safety, they told police, so when he approached them a second time, they charged at him before he could pull out the knife again, reports said.

As the two men struggled with the teen, popping and clicking sounds alerted them that his friends had pulled out guns, later identified as a .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol and a Daisy Powerline BB gun, police said.

The men told police that cops arrived just after they heard the sound of guns being drawn. Later, the Clerk Street juvenile showed cops where he had stashed the guns in a nearby garbage can, police said. Police said the knife was never found.
The four boys were taken to the county Youth House in Secaucus.

N. CLARK JUDD

Cops: Heroin mill enough for 100,000 fixes

Saturday, August 04, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Eleven pounds of heroin worth $1.75 million were seized in a Jersey City apartment and five New York men were arrested in a raid by New Jersey State Police on Thursday morning, officials said yesterday.

Busting up the heroin mill at Clinton Avenue at Sackett Street resulted in the arrest of Jose Agromonte, 29; Rafael Richiez, 27; Lenin Torres, 23; Pedro Torres, 21; and Rudy Torres, whose age was not available, officials said.

They are charged with maintaining a drug production facility and related drug possession and distribution charges, officials said. Agromonte was also wanted on federal charges for drug distribution and attempted kidnapping, officials said.

On Thursday morning, investigators spotted a stolen SUV associated with prior drug activity outside the Clinton Avenue location, officials said. Richiez and Lenin Torres were arrested when they left the building and tried to leave in the vehicle, officials said. A short time later the other three men left the apartment and police grabbed them, officials said.

Inside the apartment police found "a large-scale heroin mill" with enough of the drug on hand to put out 100,000 individual doses, officials said.

Police found thousands of packs of packaged heroin with the logo "DOA," on them, and chemicals and other items used to process the drug, officials said.

Agromonte was held without bail and the others were sent to Hudson County jail in Kearny with bails set at $250,000, officials said.

Billions needed to repair Jersey spans

Saturday, August 04, 2007

Billions of dollars are needed to repair or replace more than 700 bridges in New Jersey that are rated structurally deficient, a sum that dwarfs the current amount budgeted, officials said yesterday.

Many of those bridges carry some of the state's busiest roads, raising concerns of a catastrophic collapse like the one that sent Interstate 35 into the Mississippi River in Minnesota on Wednesday. That bridge had been rated structurally deficient since 1990.

In addition, New Jersey contains more than 1,000 bridges considered obsolete, many of which are reduced to carrying minimal loads and face replacement or closure because they don't meet current standards for lane width or other factors.

Together, those categories account for over one-fourth of the 6,400 bridges in New Jersey that are at least 20 feet long. In addition, hundreds of the 4,500 tiny spans need work.

State officials and outside experts said that while the needs are great, safety has not been compromised. One engineer working in the state since the 1950s could not recall any bridge collapse in New Jersey.

"If there's a scintilla of evidence that a bridge is unsafe, we will shut it down," Department of Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri said yesterday.

The cost of tending to the more than 700 structurally deficient bridges is among the data that is being collected under a directive issued Thursday by Gov. Jon S. Corzine. But Kolluri already knows the figure will be huge.

"The amount of money in the long term that we need to fix them is enormous," Kolluri said.

It would cost $2 billion just for the planned repair or replacement of the eight top priority state-owned bridges, including repairs to the 75-year-old Pulaski Skyway that crosses two rivers between Jersey City and Kearny, Kolluri said.

Replacing the Pulaski Skyway alone would cost $1 billion. Until then, tens of millions of dollars are budgeted for repairs.

Some 423,000 vehicles cross those eight bridges each day, Kolluri said, with nearly one-fourth of them on the Pulaski Skyway.

The budget for the current fiscal year allots $509 million for bridge repair, replacement and inspection, he said, up 2.6 percent from $496 million last year. Repairing or replacing the nearly 500 county-owned bridges that are structurally deficient would cost over $1 billion.

======================================================
8 'top priority' bridges for NJ8/3/2007, 5:19 p.m. EDT
By The Associated Press
The Associated Press


(AP) — Of the 6,400 bridges longer than 20 feet in New Jersey, eight aging spans are considered top priority for repair or replacement by the state Department of Transportation (from oldest to youngest):

_The Route 139 viaduct to the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City, built in 1927.

_St. Paul's Bridge, which carries Routes 1 and 9 over railroad tracks in Jersey City, built in 1928.

_The Whitpenn Bridge, which carries Route 7 over the Hackensack River in Jersey City, built in 1930.

_The Pulaski Skyway, which takes Routes 1 and 9 over two rivers between Jersey City and Kearny in Hudson County, built in 1932.

_The Route 52 causeway over Great Egg Harbor Bay between Somers Point and Ocean City in Cape May County, built in 1933.

_The Highlands Bridge, which carries Route 36 over an inlet to Sandy Hook Bay between Highlands and Sea Bright in Monmouth County, built in 1941.

_The Route 3 bridge over the Passaic River in Rutherford in Bergen County, built in 1949.

_The Dorland J. "Don" Henderson Bridge, which carries Route 72 over Manahawkin Bay to Long Beach Island in Ocean County, built in 1959.

___

Source: New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Nil on rally, but Hil still showed up

Many people attend Clinton's private Newport fundraiser

Ricardo Kaulessar -- Hudson Reporter -- 08/03/2007

While a public rally by presidential candidate and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton was canceled last week, many people attended a $1,000-per-plate private fundraiser for her at the Newport Financial Center.

Among the invited guests at the fundraiser were Gov. Jon Corzine, U.S. Congressman and former West New York Mayor Albio Sires, and City Councilpersons Michael Sottolano and Mary Spinello. There was a cross section of local developers and businesspeople that also showed up for the event.

The event was organized by the Lefrak family, who are the builders of the Newport developments, and downtown City Councilman Steven Fulop.

Even though the public rally was canceled only three days before her scheduled Monday appearance, many residents came out to try to catch a glimpse of the former First Lady.

One was a Korean woman, a resident of Newport for the past five years.

"It was really exciting to see her," said the woman, who declined to give her name. "I hope she comes back again."

According to the organizers of the fundraiser, Clinton raised over $150,000 for her campaign.

The impression of Hillary

Corzine, Fulop and Sires all praised Clinton before she spoke. Corzine commented that it was "time for a woman president."

Among those impressed with Clinton was James Carroll, a Jersey City attorney and former police officer. He is also considered an ally of Fulop and a future candidate for City Council.

"I like what she had to say about wanting to improve health care in this country," Carroll said. "I think she's great and she's my choice for president, and I hope she does become president."

Clinton's campaign website (www.HillaryClinton.com) states her seven-point plan for improving this country's healthcare system, including a prevention initiative to reduce the costly illnesses such as diabetes and cancer, and a new "paperless" technology system for tracking healthcare data.

Spinello was convinced that she heard the next president of the United States speaking.

"She presented a real plan on how she will run this country," Spinello said. "And based on her past experience, she will be an asset in the White House."

Developer Paul Silverman and his brother Eric head Jersey City-based Exeter Properties, builders of such projects as the Majestic Condominiums on Montgomery Street and the current Hamilton Square Condos next to Hamilton Park.

Silverman said he wasn't sure he was allowed to comment since it was a private fundraiser. He also would not commit yet to endorsing Clinton for president. "I donate to everyone, like I did with Barack Obama," Silverman said.

Candidate and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama came to Jersey City in May for a fundraiser at the Liberty House Restaurant near Liberty State Park. He has been endorsed by Mayor Jerramiah Healy and Newark Mayor Cory Booker.

Not everyone was supportive


It was estimated by organizers that over 500 people waited behind barricades for Clinton to step outside.

Once she came out of the Newport Financial Center, there was applause followed by spectators holding up their digital cameras and camera phones.

But amidst the hoopla and good feelings, a loud voice cut through with: "BRING THE TROOPS HOME!"

The chant continued until Clinton was escorted by Security Service agents into a black, tinted van and whisked away to a fundraiser in Bergen County.

It turns out there was a person behind those words.

Eric Anders-Nilsson, Jersey City resident and activist featured in the documentary "Confessions of a liberal actor-vist" (see recent article in the Hudson Current at www.hudsoncurrent.com). Founder of the Jersey City Peace Movement, an anti-war activist group, Nilsson came to the impromptu rally to join a small group of fellow activists expressing their disapproval of Clinton's support of funding of the war in Iraq.

"Democrats who were supposed to have ended this war, and they could have if they brought the troops home," Nilsson said. "And for Hillary Clinton to plead naivet? about how it would turn out in Iraq when she voted to give George Bush authority is just insulting."

Nilsson said while he was disappointed only seven came out in a show of dissent "instead of 700," he was thankful for the response they got after the crowd dispersed.

"About 20 or more people came up to us and shook our hands and thanked us for telling the truth," Nilsson said. "They wanted to take pictures with us."

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.

Gerry McCann's 'Excellent Hoboken Adventure'
by Margaret -- Hoboken NOW

http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ss ... ellent_hoboken_adven.html

Saturday August 04, 2007, 12:15 PM

The Jersey Journal's Political Insider spends much of his time in Bayonne today but visits Hoboken a) for some crystal ball predictions on what will happen should state Sen. Bernie Kenny not be able to return to Trenton because of his trip-and-fall/hit-and-run accident and b) to go behind the scenes of Councilman Chris Campos' court campaign to keep his seat from Dawn Zimmer.

Behind the curtain, PI tells us, is former Jersey City Mayor Gerald McCann.

Among PI's more entertaining observations: "Putting McCann in among Zimmer's reformer friends is a bit like dropping a boa constrictor in a warren of bunnies.''

See more
======================================

Politicial Insider

Expect Doria announcement after Labor Day
Saturday, August 04, 2007

T here are questions about whether Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny of Hoboken will be able to finish out his term in office as a result of injuries he received last month in a jogging/hit-and-run accident. It turns out that the lame duck senator from Hudson County who is more likely to leave office early is from Bayonne.

Bayonne Mayor and Sen. Joseph Doria is expected to be New Jersey's next state commissioner of Community Affairs, according to several state legislative and Hudson County sources.

Doria received a telephone call from Gov. Jon Corzine Thursday morning, the sources said. They added that State Police are expected to officially begin a four-way background check of Doria on Tuesday, a process that takes about two weeks, but some preliminary screening work has already started in the Peninsula City.

The state post is presently being held in an acting capacity by Community Affairs Deputy Commissioner Charles A. Richman, who last month replaced former Commissioner Susan Bass Levin, who left after July 1 to become the $250,000-a-year deputy director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Doria could not be reached for comment. He took off for vacation again following the Corzine call. How many times can you go to Hershey Park?

The mayor is doing an amazing job of keeping this secret. Almost all his close Bayonne political confidants say they have not heard a thing about the appointment.

A state government appointment has been rumored for months, and has been stronger the past few weeks. Most people are wondering if what they are hearing is another cycle of the same rumor. The confusion could be because a week ago Doria was still giving people the impression that there was no way in hell he was leaving the Mayor's Office and that he would fight for re-election.

Naturally, this writer's sources swear that the governor's offer is authentic. What does the governor say?

"It is too early to make any announcement of a new commissioner of Community Affairs," said the governor's spokeswoman when specifically asked whether Corzine asked Doria this week to take the job. Did you hear the word "no?"

Key to any appointment is that Doria is not expected to step down as mayor and senator until after Labor Day.



This will give the Bayonne City Council 30 days to decide whether an interim mayor should be appointed. In the meantime, Council President Vincent Lo Re would immediately become both council member and acting mayor. When the council takes no action, as expected, Lo Re remains as acting mayor.

By the end of this drawn out process, it will be too late to file petitions for a special election for mayor that would be held in the November general election. A special mayoral election will have to be scheduled in the 2008 November general election.

The next municipal election is not until 2010, when the administration would probably throw its support to Nicholas A. Chiaravalloti, a former executive director of the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority who was district director for Robert Menendez when he was a congressman.

With the Doria appointment, state and Hudson sources said you have to give former Gov. Jim Florio credit for an assist. It was Florio, a South Jersey guy, who met with those South Jersey powerbrokers like George Norcross and Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr., who are not Doria fans. Florio worked hard to convince them to go along with the idea, or at least cushion the blow.

Guess we'll have to wait for the announcement from Doria when he gets back to say he is not interested, or after Labor Day, when it becomes an "official" declaration.

Let's get back to Kenny and whether he will be ready for the next, and his last, session in Trenton.

Kenny will have until after the November election to complete his physical rehab and return to legislative work when the Senate returns to session. Usually, a member of the Legislature who misses two voting sessions may face the prospect of being replaced. In Kenny's case, one doubts that Senate President Richard Codey will go out of his way to entertain a replacement for the Hoboken senator.

If he can, Kenny will no doubt try his best to get back for his lame duck session rather than turn the reins over to say - Union City Mayor and Assemblyman Brian P. Stack, who won the Democratic primary for Kenny's seat. No one on either side of the Hudson County civil war are projecting what is ahead. Politicians for both sides all say they hope Kenny recovers quickly, for his health's sake.

We are looking forward to the September Superior Court trial where the Hoboken 4th Ward runoff election is expected to come under a microscope. Chris Campos, who held the council seat, is trying to reverse Dawn Zimmer's slim-margin victory.

It will be up to Assignment Judge Maurice Gallipoli how the trial progresses. The more witnesses and evidence he allows, the better the autopsy of an emotional and heated campaign. The municipal election was seen as a surrogate battle between the HCDO and the rival Democrats for Hudson County of Union City Mayor Brian P. Stack, Sires, Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner and a majority of Hoboken City Council members.

The entertainment factor in this Campos/Zimmer litigation comes mainly from former Jersey City Mayor and (evil to some) Puck extraordinaire Gerry McCann, who heads up the investigation for Campos. Putting McCann in among Zimmer's reformer friends is a bit like dropping a boa constrictor in a warren of bunnies.

McCann has not been shy about his findings. He has even been on the www.nj.com forum in "colorful" debate with some of the Hobokenites about the merits of the case. McCann admits taking part in the online debate, but he adds that it is not always him behind the forum name and that he lets two others use his "nom de plume," but he does type in when it is "himself."

"It helps shake the trees for useful information." McCann said.

Some of the accusations in this trial are not just about mishandling of absentee votes, but McCann is not shy about personally letting Zimmer people - the neophytes and Wall Street types and not HCDO workers - know that the allegations are also of knowingly violating election law - also known as criminal conduct.

His excellent Hoboken adventure comes on the heels of a failed attempt to reverse McCann's victory in the Jersey City school board election. The legal challenge whimpered to a halt for various unconvincing reasons, but one suspects that the challengers really did not want to go toe-to-toe with the brawler.

Subpoenas have been gleefully issued by McCann "himself" to some of Zimmer's people for the trial. The psychological pressure in Hoboken must be enormous. As the trial gets closer, it will seem less like an exercise in democracy and justice and more like a garden party scene from the "Manchurian Candidate."

Zimmer was expected to have filed yesterday in Superior Court answers to Campos's charges, which she has called accusations that are unsupported and untrue, and charges him with a whispering campaign in an attempt to intimidate voters.

What is he whispering? Is it "McCann"?

INSIDER NOTES:

- Sidebar to the Doria story is that by ending his Senate career early, does that mean there is a good chance that Sandra Bolden Cunningham, the Democratic nominee for the seat in the 31st District, will get the nod to step in? This would probably depend on the mood of the chairman of the HCDO, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy.

Does Healy try to look good in the city black community and push for her, or does he see Cunningham as an eventual rival in the 2009 municipal election and bypass her?

The mayor's mood has been a bit sour lately. Just ask Chief of Staff Carl Czaplicki, suddenly a good candidate for director of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce. In other words, the mayor may be looking for a new chief of staff. One of the reasons may be that he was not happy with Czaplicki's advice to support Cunningham in the primary. Anyway, that's the mayor's feelings this week, say several administration hangers-on.

Two burglars roaming around & quickly "trying doors" in Hamilton Park!
date Aug 4, 2007 4:02 AM
from: [redacted]

Attention All Hamilton Park Residents:

Please be advised that there were two males walking around and trying to break in to several homes on 8th, Monmouth, and 7th Street Friday morning, August 3, 2007 at approximately 8:30 a.m. They were in their early twenties and carrying a black bag.

Two neighbors who live on 8th Street saw suspicious behavior by the two males. The burglars appeared to be watching people leave in their cars for work. As the neighbors followed them in their car, the neighbors saw the two burglars trying to gain entry into several homes. They immediately called the police.

The burglars were quickly moving around house to house trying doors. The "black bag" they carried most likely had burglary tools in it. As the burglars moved through the streets, the neighbors followed them and repeatedly called the police to let them know where the burglars were.

The burglars moved from 8th, to Monmouth, to 7th, and then were apprehended on Monmouth between 6th and 5th Street.

Thank you neighbors for staying with the burglars so the police could catch them! Great job East District!

Please remain vigilant! These two burglars were watching and waiting for neighbors to leave for work, then trying the doors of those houses.

If anyone witnesses a burglary in progress, please call the East District immediately : 201-547-5477.

Jan
Hamilton Park

I can't believe there is an official song about Healy - who would have thought! [img][/img]

Actually, Healy may hate the lyrics but the visual of everone on the street greeting you with a smile so gay has never been truer in my opinion

08/03/2007

Singing the praises of Jersey City

NJ second largest city has an official song - who knew?

Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter staff writer

Is there an official song for Jersey City? And what would that song sound like?

Isn't there some tune with the words, "Jersey City is my kind of town" or "Smells like Jersey City"?

The second largest city in New Jersey has been called "Wall Street West" and "New York's Sixth Borough" due to development that has brought Goldman Sachs and Donald Trump. Such accomplishments may be music to the ears of some residents, but what most of them don't know is that the city has an official song.

Commissioners named it in 1947

Just as New York City has "New York, New York" as its official tune, Jersey City has "Jersey City, N.J." (See sidebar for lyrics.)

It was made the official song of Jersey City when the Board of Commissioners of Jersey City (a forerunner of the present-day City Council) adopted the song at their April 1, 1947 meeting. A resolution states, "The words and music...have caught and given expression to the pride and spirit of this community."

And it all sprang from the mind of a Pennsylvania coal miner.

In the winter of 1946, the city was under the rule of legendary Mayor Frank "Boss" Hague in what would his next to last year in office. The song began as an effort by the operators of the old State Theater in Journal Square, the semi-pro Jersey City Giants football team, and a local daily newspaper to foster civic pride and to be performed at all official functions.

The triumvirate came up with a song contest. The grand prize was that the song would be performed before a live audience, and would be recorded on vinyl. There was also a cash prize.

By late March 1947, the contest ended with 293 entries from as far away as the West Indies.

On March 24, the winning song was chosen from 20 finalists by a panel of judges that included comedian and composer Morey Amsterdam, who achieved fame later on "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

37-year-old supported 'invalid brother'

"Jersey City, N.J." was submitted by then 37-year old Ted Lovick, a coal miner and amateur songwriter from Starford, Pa. In the March 25 edition of the Jersey Journal, he was described as the "young man from the 'sticks'" supporting his sister and invalid brother.

That edition also reported that there was to be a live performance at the State Theater by local singers Marion Sharkey and Kerwin McMahon accompanied by Joel Herron and his orchestra, to be aired on radio station WHN.

However, a worker strike prevented that from happening.

In April, the show went on. The song was recorded on vinyl. However, the record, like the song, has faded into obscurity, somewhere lurking the recesses of one's memory or basement.

Not music to everyone's ears

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy said he never knew there was an official song. But upon reading a copy of the lyrics provided by the Jersey City Reporter, he didn't sound too impressed.

"I think we can do better if the lyrics are any indication," Healy said.

Healy who is known to belt out a tune or two from time to time said he would like to see a new song along the lines of renowned jazz vocalist and New Jersey native John Pizzarelli's "I Like Jersey Best".

"I know someone who is a friend of a friend of Pizzarelli's and I would love to get [Pizzarelli] to write a new official song about Jersey City," said Healy. He then sang a line in Pizzarelli's song that gives a shout out to the city: "And have no pity, Jersey City/ Once again will shine".

Bayonne resident and Jersey City native Bruce Brandt, works in the New Jersey Room of the Jersey City Public Library, said he only knew Jersey City had an official song because of the information on Jersey City-related songs retained in the New Jersey Room.

"I never heard it performed when I was growing up," Brandt said. "As far as what I think about Jersey City having an official song, I have no feeling one way or the other."

Local resident Cliff Perkins, lead singer with the R&B group Soul Generation and an employee with the city's Division of Cultural Affairs, said he has not heard the song performed in his lifetime and particularly at official functions.

"I think this should be performed before ceremonies in, say, an instrumental form," Perkins said. "But the words need a bit of upgrading for the current day. What the song describes is what Jersey City was in the past."

Besides reactions of curiosity and surprise, there was a lot of laughter from other people interviewed.

Shakimiah Garretson and Desire Marte, receptionists in the City Council office inside City Hall, couldn't hold their amusement at the lyrics of the song.

"'There's a smile on each face...Little friendly words of cheer,' " quoted Garretson, laughing. "That's not the Jersey City I know."

Marte said, "I can't believe this is the official song for the city. I'm going to write my own."

Anyone with suggestions on how to update the city's official song, or a new official song, can send their submissions to rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com and they will be printed in a future issue of the Jersey City Reporter.

Sidebar

Let's all sing 'Jersey City, N.J.'

These are the lyrics of Jersey City's official song, adopted by the City Commissioners in 1947, in case there's the urge to croon:

"I've been around'/And I'm nobody's fool.
I know where folks/Obey the golden rule.
I tell you, friends, It's something nice to see/ And talk about their hospitality.
When you're walking down the street/Everybody that you meet/Greets you with a smile so gay.
It's a friendliest place/'There's a smile on each face/ In Jersey City, N.J.
It will warm your heart to hear/Little friendly words of cheer; Howdy neighbor, happy day.
Hearts are always so light/Skies are always so bright/ In Jersey City, N.J.
And if you're lonely by chance/Whether it be March or June/You're sure of finding romance/Underneath the Jersey moon.
So when you are feeling blue/And you don't know what to do/Take a trip down Jersey Way.
And in just a short while/You'll be wearing a smile/In Jersey City, N.J." - RK

I've been listening to John Hammond since '69 and he's a hell of a guitar player, musician, singer and performer. My fave album of his was this one below with Duane Allman and was made about the time I got to first see him perform.

I think it's great he lives here, now if only we could get someone to book him to perform for all of JC; Liberty Park perhaps?

Quote:

Here is another security tool - having a watchdog without the dog!

http://firsthomesecurity.com/homeprotection/elwatdog.html



Then again the cheapest deterrent would be a sticker like this one in easy view near your front door and on perimeter windows!
Cut, paste, print and laminate - easy as 1, 2, 3!

Any idea how to contact the organization in order to volunteer at the center?

Im doing this for security reasons.
We're moving into a condo and want to change the locks.

Thanks for the responses!

Another security tool for doors to prevent home invasions or to prevent a burglar sneaking in when you're at home or asleep.

http://www.daviebar.com/applications.html