Excellent info. If you keep this up, you will be able to add it to your resume!

The following media release from Jersey City Museum is to inform the local community about the new exhibitions. We at the museum hope that this message forum could be a place to discuss the work of the artists represented, as well as the exhibitions themselves. An additional message forum thread will alert the community to upcoming events in our auditorium, and discussion of those gatherings is also greatly encouraged.
- John Catania, Communications Manager

JERSEY CITY MUSEUM ANNOUNCES THE NEW EXHIBITIONS

Fantastical landscapes, battered and burned pianos and sofas, and utopia are all part of Jersey City Museum?s new exhibitions, now on view through summer 2007.

EXHIBITION SCHEDULE:
Exhibition Gallery ? Unmaking: the Work of Raphael Monta?ez Ortiz (thru 8/26/07)

Downstairs Project Gallery ? Jon Rappleye: Out of the Silent Planet (thru 8/19/07)

Permanent Collection Galleries -- Perspectives II: Then & Now. Guest Artist to Permanent Collection: Emma Wilcox: Forensic Landscapes (thru 8/19/07)

1 x1 Series of Contemporary Art, including:
- Lizzie Scott: Window/Wall (thru 8/12/07)
- Iv?n Navarro: Large Wall Hole (thru 8/26/07)
- Micah Silver: Be Still, Take Up as Much Space as Possible (thru 9/16/07)
- Kayt Hester Lent: Black Tape (thru 8/12/07)
- JCM Media Zone (video on 4 screens ) ? Barbara Bickart: Careful (thru 5/13/07)

INTRO TO THE NEW EXHIBITIONS:

Art historian and archaeologist George Kubler once noted that a work of art is as useless as a tool is useful. This question of the functional aspect of objects and art is an essential part the new exhibition, "Unmaking: The Work of Raphael Monta?ez Ortiz." For the first two decades of his long and prolific career, Ortiz rendered useful things like mattresses, sofas, chairs, shoes, and even paper towels useless, transforming them into ?destructive? works of sculpture that addressed the wrenching debates of the period, such as war and an increase in violence worldwide.
In addition to sculpture, "Unmaking" features Ortiz?s earliest video works from the late 1950s, his computer generated videos of the 1980s, and his most recent vinyl digital paintings. Also included is an early abstract painting by the artist that has not been seen publicly since the 1960s.

Raphael Monta?ez Ortiz is currently a professor at Mason Gross School of the Arts of Rutgers University, and Unmaking is a tribute to his life?s work and his significance to the region and in the history of American art.

In the first floor Project Gallery you will enter a whole new world created by Jersey City artist Jon Rappleye. For "Out of the Silent Planet," a title borrowed from a book by C.S. Lewis, Rappleye?s large-scale landscape paintings express the artist?s sheer awe of nature in scenes reminiscent of science fiction art, with exotic creatures and mystical trees populating craggy lands. Add to the experience sculpted trees inspired by the paintings, and, for the first time ever, sound designed by the artist?s brother, Austin Rappleye.

In the continuing series of 1 x 1 exhibitions, Jersey City artist Kayt Hester Lent greets you on our front window with a large-scale work made entirely of an everyday office tool?masking tape. In the atrium lobby, Barbara Bickart?s work Careful occupies all four video screens, and Bickart, also a Jersey City artist, adds to this a sculptural work featured nearby. Replacing Bickart?s videos May 16 will be Lili White?s The Balloon Garden on our large screen, and URBAN IMAGE: Truth, Lies, and Secrets in our three-screen Media Zone. Under the museum?s grand staircase?a wall space dedicated to art for the first time?is a new fabric work by Lizzie Scott titled Window/Wall.

The second floor Sound Station features a retrospective of experimental recordings by Micah Silver, Curator of Music at the Experimental Media & Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. And on the second floor Iv?n Navarro presents Large Wall Hole, a sculpture that gives the impression of an endless, vacant space in the middle of a museum wall.

The new Permanent Collection exhibition for 2006-2007 is Perspectives II: Then & Now. As a new curatorial twist, the Jersey City Museum?s education department selected works to tell a whole new story about the collection. Chosen themes for the exhibition are People, Home Life, the City and Industry, Nature, and Utopia. Historic and contemporary works juxtaposed illustrate how the same idea unites works of art over various time periods.

I was hoping to get some views on Liberty Harbor North - pros, cons etc.

Thanks.

The 1st phase will be around the area of 2nd and Merseles, The property is what is now owned by The Home Laundry consisting of the buildings on both 1st & 2nd st (south side). I saw the drawings and they looked good.

Later the laundry buildings on 2nd st. (north side) & 3rd st. should be a phase 2 later on.

From Marketwatch:

New-home sales plunged 16.6% to 937,000 in January

Sales of new homes plunged 16.6% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 937,000, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. It was the lowest sales pace in four years, and was the biggest percentage decline in 13 years. Sales are down 20.1% compared with January 2006. The decline in sales was much sharper than expected. The inventory of unsold homes dipped to 536,000 from 537,000, representing a 6.8-month supply at the January sales pace, the most since a 7.2-month supply in October. The median price of a new home was down 2.1% year-over-year at $239,800.

New Jersey police departments and prosecutors? offices are entitled to keep money and property confiscated through the state?s civil forfeiture law, thus giving them a direct financial stake in these forfeitures.


The caveat here is that if it can be proven that the property wasn't acquired through the drug sales or illegal activity it could be returned to the owner. She (Willie Flood) wouldn't have a hard time proving that she was able to purchase a 99 Benz. On the other hand, if it was a 07 Benz or if the car was in the son's name it might be a different story.

Either way, I agree with another post that questioned how she didn't know her son was selling weed. At 28 years old he doesn't have his own car? Does he have a job? Did he use the car every evening? Did he tell her he was going to work? Did he get busted before and perhaps when the officer found out who he was, let him go?

I have many more questions but I won't even go into them. I'm just having a hard time believing that she wasn't aware of his activities. That's my story and I'm stickin to it!!!

Bless you Kindelan and Ambush Bug - I haven't wanted to bear the brunt of the make my park supporters by being the first nay sayer. Some English country houses have intentional ruins called Follies - the embankment could be our neighborhood folly.

I love the idea of the embankment remaining as it is - no park, no housing, maybe a light rail line at street level along sixth street (narrow the roadway, if necessary).

I also have had a real concern: safety. In a neighborhood where people are still getting mugged at street level would you really be comfortable up there? Are the stay at home moms going to feel comfortable up there airing out the kids and reading a book? (Sorry if I offend anyone by my assumption that they would be the prime users of the space, at least during the week). I'm happy to leave the space for butterflies and whatever other wildlife have found a habitat up there.

I know someone's inevitably going to call me a romantic or a luddite for saying this, but I agree with Kindelan.

What I want more than anything is for the embankment to stay as it is: A big, hulking relic with no real purpose or explanation.

With that description, you'd think the JC politicos would be sympathetic to its plight.

This is over by Mary Benson Field and in the shadow of the NJTP Extension. You would think they would spell Merseles St. correctly on the web site (Merceles).

Did anyone know anything about this? Merseles is the street sort of "under" the Turnpike isn't it?


http://mmhomes.com/Home/NJ/294/_Prope ... roductType=Townhome/Condo

One of the few reasons to read the JJ.



Oh, and see my sig line.

Quote:

What a great column. Renshaw really is trying to write about stuff that matters.

I've already recycled my Journal and don't remember the name of the op-ed political columnist, but I thought that column was an example of what, technically, might have been perfectly good column but was bad for people who want Jersey City to be better. It was all horse race stuff about the HCDO and Healy, Doria, Stack, Fulop, et al.

For someone who started the column not knowing who those people were, it would look like an incomprehensible mass of names. For someone who knows the names, it might make sense, but it didn't give even the most general idea about how or whether the results of the horse races might actually affect public policy.

Also: the column goes on to talk about the school board candidates but doesn't really give me a clue about what those people stand for. And the Journal had an article about McCann running for school board that said absolutely nothing about how he would go about improving the schools (or keeping them the same, if he thinks they're fine as is).

I think the reporters there who cover crime do a much better of reporting. Maybe it would be good if they could send out the political columnist to chase the police cars and have the police reporters go cover the schools and City Hall.

The Mayor's idea to route Light Rail via the Sixth St Embankment seems to have been developed over the last year. It is important to remember that the process of landmarking the site and the subsequent community minded efforts to save the Embankment for a city park has spanned a decade. As development in the downtown area has accelerated over the past few years, it is more important than ever that all residents of the city voice their concern to the Mayor and City Council members about the future of the Embankment. To help, please see the links posted previously on this thread.
If the Mayor's plan is genuinely helpful to environmental concerns then that is in line with many peoples idea of a healthy direction for the city to maintain. The site currently sustains migratory Monarch butterflies on their long journey from Canada to Mexico, due to the milkweed abundant on the Embankment. Predatory raptors like medium sized hawks could also maintain roosts there and help keep down the rodent population. Let's make sure that the primary purpose of preserving the Embankment is to retain a linear park which will benefit both the cities residents- and its plant and animal life.

Their bottom line: Mustn't stop those tax abatements
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
JARRETT RENSHAW'S LOCATION COLUMN

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy recently assembled a brain trust to diagnose the city's economic future. The six-member commission of business professionals released their results this week and some of their findings and recommendations may come as a surprise.

The authors say overspending is not the cause of Jersey City's annual structural budget deficit. So we can stop worrying about the countless number of patronage jobs in City Hall and elsewhere that place obvious strain on the budget and represent a slap in the face to hard-working taxpayers.

No, the authors claim, the problem is the city's reluctance to raise property taxes, and its reliance on one-shot revenue deals to avoid raising taxes.

While true, it's clearly a narrow take on a much broader problem that needs to be addressed.

The 33-page report spends considerable time lauding the benefits of the city's aggressive tax abatement policy, saying it has been at the heart of the city's renaissance.

Furthermore, the authors say, tax abatements should be continued on the waterfront - since "eliminating tax abatements Downtown now would likely impede any further development due to competition against existing developments that have tax abatements and the New York City market."

This despite the fact that the authors (accurately) acknowledge the fact that city officials are not currently using any measurable criteria to evaluate and review the merits of tax abatement proposals. They suggest the city "better articulate the statutory criteria" in the future to combat the growing anger from city residents who fear they may pay the ultimate price.

To this point, the report fails to address the potential impacts of the proliferation of tax abatements on residents across the city. The current policy exposes those without the coveted tax abatements to hikes in taxes, shielding others from such spikes and raising questions about exactly who benefits from the policy.

To their credit, the authors don't ignore the obvious failure to include the city's minorities in the renaissance, urging city officials to adopt a policy that would link job creation to tax abatements, a move the city is already pursuing.

"Unfortunately, specific segments of our population have benefited disproportionately from this development, as poverty and unemployment remain substantial problems," the authors wrote.

I do not question the expertise of the authors, but it was disappointing to see language in the report that suggests they were also playing the role as cheerleader.

For example, the report describes the mayor's call for more police as "admirable." While it may be, such comments only serve to discredit the legitimacy of the authors and are better left to the people who funded the report to decide: the taxpayers.

Here's a summary of some of their other recommendations:

[] The city should seek to extend the residency requirement for new police and firefighters beyond one year. In addition, the city should consider allocating a portion of affordable housing for these groups.

[] The Port Authority owns "substantial" amounts of property in Jersey City, yet the city only receives $776,305 in taxes on the property. The city should seek to change this arrangement.

[] Designate a high-level economic development executive to centralize coordination of all city economic development functions, including job creation and the marketing of the city.

[] Add more police officers, demolish blighted buildings, and convert brownfields and vacant lots to new buildings and parks.

[] Create more recurring revenue through a billboard tax and a realty transfer fee.

Link to Renshaw's column on the NJ.com site

Fireworks likely tonight at City Council's hearing on local hiring initiative
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A public hearing is scheduled tonight on Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy's proposed "project labor agreement" aimed at getting more local residents work at construction sites in the city.

The City Council hearing will be held at City Hall, 280 Grove St., as part of the council's 6 p.m. meeting.

Healy's proposal calls for an apprentice program to be established with labor unions. On projects that cost $15 million or more, 20 percent of the workforce would have to be members of the apprentice program, according to the proposal.

Led by Downtown Councilman Steven Fulop, several council members questioned at Monday's council caucus how certain aspects of the proposal would be monitored and carried out.

Fulop questioned the ability of the city to hold developers accountable for what would be essentially a union program.

Fulop and other council members said job fairs - one of the duties assigned the developers - should be carried out by the city, and room should be made for non-union workers as well.

Ward F Councilwoman Viola Richardson objected to language in the agreement requiring developers to make a "good faith effort." She wanted stronger wording, she said.

But "at the end of the day," said City Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis, all that could be legally required of developers is their "best effort."

Link to JJ article on NJ.com

Waiting on Embankment ruling
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
By COTTON DELO
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The fate of Downtown Jersey City's Sixth Street Embankment continues to hang in the balance, pending a decision by the federal Surface Transportation Board that had been expected by the end of last year.

Long coveted by local activists for open space, the half-mile-long elevated stone structure and former rail freightway was sold by Conrail to developer Steve Hyman - who reportedly wants to raze it to build two-family houses - for $3 million in 2005.

The STB will rule on whether the property was "legally abandoned" prior to the sale, and if not, the title would revert to Conrail, and Jersey City would get another crack at purchasing it.

In an earlier step in the city's protracted legal battle to acquire the Embankment, state Superior Court Judge Maurice Gallipoli essentially upheld the sale while ruling with the developer in a case brought against him by the city in July.

The STB decision would take precedence, however.

According to Jennifer Meyer, president of the Embankment Preservation Coalition - the group that petitioned the STB in February 2006, along with the national Rails-to-Trails conservancy and Assemblyman Lou Manzo - a decision had been expected in late 2006.

She expects the city to try to acquire the property through eminent domain if the decision goes against it.

"We feel the city should be able to buy it whether the STB rules favorably or unfavorably," explained Meyer, who said her group's priority is to have the city acquire the site as quickly as possible.

The coalition has conducted extensive fundraising of monies earmarked for open space, she said.

But there's another potential use for the landmarked historic site.

Mayor Jerramiah Healy laid out his vision for a new Light Rail spur connecting Secaucus Junction and Newport via the Bergen Arches and the Sixth Street Embankment in his State of the City address last week.

The Light Rail spur is conceived as a complement to the creation of open space at the site, according to Jersey City Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis.

"In my view, such a plan would be the winner for everyone because you'd have park space plus the addition of mass transit that would take away the reliance on cars in the region," he said.

In the event of an undesirable ruling by the STB, the mayor and the City Council would need to evaluate whether to pursue eminent domain, Matsikoudis said. Another recourse would be an appeal to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

COTTON DELO can be reached at cdelo@jjournal.com

Link to article on NJ.com

Before JC could even think about raising taxes. They better read through that audit that was done to the school district. The things that were found were ridiculous. Children being on the payroll, people over 100 years old being paid, OT being paid out everywhere. There are leaks of money all over the place in this school district. The state is probably telling the city to clean up their act. If the school district follows the audit's advice, the $3.2m cut won't make a difference and its probably money better spent elsewhere.

Note that JC is paying only about 10% of the tab for their local education. The state is paying the rest. This reduction is aid is going to continue to decrease until we pay 100% of our tab. Taxes will increase.

Time is now to reform on our local school board. Epps makes up to $300,000 a year, the place is full of political cronies, maintenance workers are pulling in $200,000 through overtime abuse. School board members, who oversee this criminal enterprices, are:

William DeRosa, Chairperson
Franklin L. Williams, Vice Chairperson
Ed Cheatam
Anthony Cruz
Anthony R. Cucci
Dr. Peter J. Donnelly
Jeffrey Dublin
Suzanne T. Mack
Angel L. Valentin

I guess it's a case on who 'barks' the loudest get the most money. JC must bark like a scared whippet!

"This is the most cutting-edge piece of architecture I have seen in my career," said Bob Cotter, the city's planning czar. "I would hope this type of project would lead other developers to come into the city with unique plans."

Wow, does this statement piss me off - Cotter has been running the planning office for years - apparently as a rather passive bureaucrat in the city's development. Why hasn't he and the rest of his staff been more active in improving the architectural quality of what gets built? As the person who, I believe, stated his wish to make JC more like Paris, Koolhaas as a non-contextual starchitect is just weird. Paging Jean Nouvel, paging H and De M........, M. Portzamparc where are you?

Anyone know who chose Koolhaas - the city or the developer?

Jersey City takes hit in state educational aid - will receive $3.2 million less

Tuesday, February 27, 2007
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City appears to be Hudson County's biggest loser when it comes to state school aid, according to figures released yesterday by the state Department of Education.

The state-run district will receive $3.2 million less for the upcoming school year than it received this year, according to the released numbers - $425.3 compared to $428.5 million.

But just because its state aid is cut doesn't mean the district won't get the money, state and local officials said - by state law, city property taxpayers are required to pay the difference.

The $3.2 million deficit translates to an $87-per-year hike on the school tax bill for a homeowner whose property is assessed at $100,000, city Business Administrator Brian O'Reilly said.

"The district is disappointed that the state DOE's budget has not considered the rise of health benefits and energy costs that universally affect school districts statewide," said Deputy Superintendent Francis X. Dooley.

"Of course we will be closely examining all departments to identify cost savings that will have the least negative impact on our students in classroom instruction," he added.

The struggle over a final state aid figure isn't over, all sides said.

That number will be determined by DOE "in the Abbott budget review process," state Commissioner of Education Lucille E. Davy said yesterday in a conference call with reporters.

Jersey City is one of 31 so-called "Abbott" districts that receives an enormous amount of state aid. Union City, West New York, Hoboken and Harrison are also Abbott districts.

Davy said Jersey City's reduction was based on the fact local residents pay far below the state average to support their school system. The current school tax levy raises roughly $79.6 million of the district's $600 million budget. The $3.2 million cut would push the amount raised by the local school tax levy up to $82.8 million.

Overall, Hudson County school districts will receive about $15 million more in state aid - a 1.9 percent increase, state officials said.

Based on the figures released yesterday, Weehawken and the one-school district town of Guttenberg were the biggest winners in Hudson County, each scoring 12.9 percent hikes in state aid.

These 3 city blocks go straight up
Architect Koolhaas is bringing his unorthodox style to Jersey City

Tuesday, February 27, 2007
BY RUSSELL BEN-ALI
Star-Ledger Staff

The planned demolition of an abandoned tobacco warehouse, focus of a bitter dispute involving developers, Jersey City officials and artists who moved in, was likely to anger preservationists bent on saving the city's industrial district.

So city officials called on a big name yesterday, Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, to unveil plans for a 52-story "vertical city" of condos and art studios that will dramatically change the city skyline as it replaces the warehouse.

The $400 million project at 111 First St. calls for a mix of apartments, living and work condominium studios for artists, a hotel, stores, parking and a gallery. It's the first large-scale residential project in the United States for the Dutch-born architect's firm, the Office of Metropolitan Architecture. Koolhaas, internationally known for designs of striking, practical buildings from Beijing to Seattle, said the new building would blend with the historic warehouse district surrounding it.

"Although the shape is different from what is happening in New Jersey, we think the facade will not be so (overpowering) and will merge with the environment," Koolhaas said during a 20-minute slide show at the Jersey City Museum.

The two-acre project, which would replace the P. Lorillard Co. tobacco warehouse, involves a tower of three stacked buildings at First and Washington streets, the Dutch-born architect said. The lower level will include entertainment businesses, retail space, parking and condominium lofts and galleries for artists. A hotel and market-rate condo apartments will be built above those.

The tower takes its unusual shape by facing the middle section at a 90-degree angle from those above and below it. This unique configuration will allow for gardens, open terrace areas for residents, a wading pool and outdoor spaces.

It also will preserve some unobstructed views of Manhattan from elsewhere despite the tower's height, Mayor Jerramiah Healy said.

"This structure is going to be different from anything that we have seen here ... or in the state of New Jersey," Healy said.

Many of Koolhaas' works are controversial, and Healy acknowledged this project will not be an exception.

"There's going to be a divergence of opinion," Healy said. "For better or worse, the city is taken up by a lot of tall buildings. That's the way we're going to have to go."

Calling in Koolhaas, 62, was a strategy that may have helped get potential critics onboard with the project.

"I think it's an exciting, brilliant design," said John Gomez, founder of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, the historic area's main proponent. "Rem Koolhaas is one of the world's great architects. It's different, but I think Jersey City needs something different like this. It's a bold statement."

Gomez also said the Koolhaas building represents a departure from the usual uninspiring office and apartment towers found on the city's Gold Coast. He cited as other examples of good architecture Cesar Pelli's 781-foot Goldman Sachs office firm at 30 Hudson St. -- the tallest building in the state -- and a Michael Graves-designed building on the campus of New Jersey City University.

Still, there are some who don't want to see the tobacco warehouse disappear.

"What we were hoping for is that this one bit of industrial history in Jersey City could have remained intact," said Joshua Parkhurst, the conservancy's current president. "Our feeling is it's an interesting building in the wrong location."

Koolhaas, the 2000 winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, is co-founder of OMA, whose projects include the China Central Television Headquarters in Beijing, the Illinois Institute of Technology's McCormick Tribune Campus Center in Chicago and the Seattle Public Library.

Developers for the 1.2 million-square-foot project in Jersey City are the Athena Group and BLDG Management Co., two Manhattan firms. It's a mixed-use project that could take about four years to complete, with 12 to 14 months to obtain permits and approvals and three years for construction, said John Smallwood of BLDG Management.

Prices for condominium apartments, most built at 800 or 900 square feet, would range from $600 to $800 per square foot at today's prices, BLDG officials said. About 415,000 square feet will be set aside for apartments, 210,000 square feet for the hotel and 160,000 square feet for studios.

William Matsikoudis, corporation counsel for Jersey City, said the building will include about 117 units of housing for lower- and moderate-income families. Most-affordable housing units would be built on site, he said, but some would be constructed off site.

Two years ago, the city evicted artists and others who had moved into the abandoned warehouse. It was unclear yesterday whether any of those artists would be given priority to buy units.

Looks like a game of Jenga gone horribly wrong. I'm kidding, sort of....

As other people said, I think it will be interesting to see this as it develops to see a) if this is actually what we get, and b) if so, how the renderings and models actually look when they go up.

It is my understanding that the lower floor will be more "public space" with retail as well as some publicly accessible space in the first ten stories. The boutique hotel and the condos are then stacked over that.

Again, interesting. Maybe it will work. It could have worked just as well a couple of blocks away, where they didn't have to demolish a landmark.

I've also been told that at the unveiling, the owner of one of the other large warehouses in the district was there, excitedly taking pictures, and telling everyone that he could that he wanted to do something similar (replace the old warehouse with another skyscraper).

We'll see if the city was honest when it said the settlement of 111 was based on "special circumstances" that wouldn't effect the rest of the district.

PS 3 does have a good reputation and there are a few others around that do also, but it is not enough. As for PS 3, this is from the mouth of one of our member parents:

"I did not go to the open house for PS3, but I met with the principal last year. She is very aware of the changes that Jersey City is going through and was very encouraging for our group of educated parents to get involved in
the school and their PTA. She said that the parents that are there are already VERY involved and that is why the school even survived let alone got a beautiful new building."

I'm in a strange spot as I have always planned to homeschool (specifically, unschool) my kids. However, one never knows what turn of events may occur and as suggested in the letter I forwarded, property values on homes might very well benefit from a good school system.

People are definitely looking to model LCCS, which by the way, is not in a very good building, and lacks a lunch room and a library. They need and deserve a new building.

There are several movements afoot to start more charter schools, some modeling LCCS and others trying to form from a deferent educational method, such as "ethical culture." As well as there have been efforts to start other private schools, such as one utilizing the Waldorf method, which got as far as having a full time teacher and space in position, but lacked enough students to make it worthwhile.

There are big debates over even starting charter schools when we should be focusing on our already existing public schools and insisting on change. It's a tough call and I would like to see what ideas our mayor and council people come up with.

There is a meeting tonight at 8 pm. at the Garden Preschool Cooperative and here is the email about it:

"Last week I sent out a message to a few .... parents whom I know to be interested in possibly starting up a new charter school in JC.

We recently learned that a group of educators from NYC is already working to open an ethical culture charter school in fall 08. These folks are coming to JC tonight to meet with parents interested in learning more &/or getting involved (I apologize for the last minute notice - I didn't have the Yahoo site info last week when I sent my message and unfortunately it didn't get forwarded as I had hoped it
would).

The meeting is tonight [2/26/07] at 8pm at Garden Preschool Cooperative - so please join us if you can (and we will be sure to send out a report to everyone who
cannot make it).

And for those of you who need clarification, the meeting is at the Garden Preschool's new school, on Erie at the corner of 8th Street (across from Basic). Use the buzzer to get let in, then come to the 2nd floor."

I'll make sure I post the report on JC List.

don't be so quick to paint all jersey city teachers with the same brush. some of us bust our butts day in day out and work in pretty bad conditions (no heat, a/c or fans in 100 degree weather short supplies, lack of professional considerations). i teach at a very good public school in a magnet program (so most of the parents are pretty involved)--and I work with a lot of veteran teachers (some have 30+ years experience) and get there before me and leave after me--and grade papers at night and on the weekends. sure there is a lot of dead weight all over the district, but there's also a lot of teachers doing a lot with a little. if you've never taught you don't know what its like--sure we get summers off as well as other breaks, but i consider them well deserved for a tough job--just my 2 cents.

?NJ.com

NJ.com has photos and this brief on the project.


NJ.com
Famed architect unveils design for 111 First St.

One of the world's leading architects laid out his ambitious designs for the controversial 111 First St. site, prompting officials to label the proposal a turning point in the city's transformation into a internationally recognizable metropolis.

"The time has come to do a building that is less typical," said famed architect Rem Koolhaas, whose award-winning portfolio includes the Seattle Public Library, the Prada stores in New York and Los Angeles and the China Central Television Headquarters in Beijing.

Koolhaas unveiled the design this morning at the Jersey City Museum.

The radical design calls for three blocks stacked on top of each other, with each block rotating 90 degrees to give the building what one official described as a "Rubik's Cube" look.

"This is the most cutting edge piece of architecture I have seen in my career," said Bob Cotter, the city's planning czar.

In a number of ways, the unusual design can be viewed as a visual indictment of the "cookie-cutter" high-rises that are dominating the city's skyline these days, according to some city officials at the press conference.

My daughter attends the free preschool program at PS3, and it is wonderful.

Prior to this school my daughter attended Beyond Basic Learning in Hoboken, a 'high end', and expensive (one of the most expensive in the area), daycare. The programme at PS3 is leagues ahead of Beyond Basic Learning. My daughter's teacher is loving and enthusiastic.

Has your friend who is leaving Jersey City, and the others on your mailing list, actually tried the public shools?

Robin.

A colleague of mine went to the "unveiling" today at the Museum. The building is impressive. What we all would like to see in a skyscraper. It just should have been built a couple of blocks away.

In my colleague's words "Right building, wrong place."

Better schools are critical to JC's future.

I will consider very strongly the mayoral candidate's position on JC schools in 2009. I will give it equal consideration with the candidate's position on further dynamic Real Estate development in JC.

The candidate that convinces me on BOTH counts gets my vote.