HI there. Just wanted to respond about Heights day care and schools. We are in the Heights and send our 1 year old Hank to Baby Einstein Learning Center on Webster and Ferry and are happy with it. I know other parents (with toddlers) have had some issues with staff there but we like the place. It seems to be far superior to the other day care centers I have checked out in the neighborhood.

There is a new pre-school that just opened on Central across from Washington Park called Park Prep or something like that. The space is great, curriculum/activities seem awesome and the two women that run it are recent Bank Street graduates. They mentioned that they plan to open a (private) elementary school in three years.

I also know a few Heights parents who are really happy with St. Anns for k-12.

We would prefer to send our son to public school in the Heights when he reaches school age but it's nice to know there might be options if the public schools aren't promising.

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Pretty sure it had to do with the gift, or cheap price of the building they are currently housed in.

Just a quick aside - anyone know why the JC Museum wasn't moved to the PAD when it left the library?

Many of us have probably taken effective listening techniques classes as part of some management development series. In JC the important course is effective seeing techniques. Ignore what they say, watch what they do.

Couldn't have said it better, JaneGeorge.

I take issue with the amount of contribution. The not for profit sector, and arts sector in general are riddled with less-than-actually-needed gifts. If you've ever worked one of these orgs, you'd see that $330,000 is actually chump change in the big picture.

For a developer reputed to be a billionaire or darn close, the city really dorked out by accepting a million as settlement. Who was the negotiator on that one?

Given my opinions of politicians you can imagine my surprise when I learned of this presentation being a part of the program Linda and I were offering that afternoon. I remarked to Sandy that I appreciated the advance time to prepare for my meeting both Mayor Healy and Council President Vega. The last thing I wanted was to create a scene during this important time for Jersey City?s often financially neglected museum, which by the way of charter was founded to support and promote the Arts with-in the city. When I was introduced to City Council President Mariano Vega I courteously responded that when it comes to politicians I am from Missouri.

I know the 111 First Street scenario strikes hard at the community of artists that once occupied this beautiful building. I played at the Awareness Event held there a few years back. As a matter of fact I was singing Stephen Foster?s ?Hard Times? when Senator Menendez came by the studio in which we were performing, rather apropos I thought.

The reality that I witnessed during the presentation of this check to the museum was that of jubilation on the part of the trustees and staff of the museum. I know this is not the optimum solution to creating a vibrant art community in Jersey City but given the fact that the 111 building is lost permanently to the broad spectrum of art that once was represented there I certainly think it a step in the right direction insofar as the arts in Jersey City is concerned. I can only hope that the city council continues on the path, which of course remains to be seen.

I can say that Council President Mariano Vega stated to me personally that the city council is taking up the Cabaret Licensing Ordinances on the books with the goal of revamping them to foster more live music in the city. Again, as I am from Missouri as it relates to these types of statements from our politicians, I can only hope that he and the whole city council hold true to this statement and in fact revamp these archaic ordinances so as to foster a vibrant live music scene in the city.

As to Mayor Healy?s singing, his choice was fine with me but I would have much preferred to have had him belt out a great Republican song. Maybe one night in one of the pubs in town next month I?ll have the opportunity to raise a jar and song with him.

Peace,
Ed

SWEET! The city is better than ever! I feel at ease now!

Between the lines It's war!

Political Column Hudson Reporter:
By Al Sullivan -- 02/20/2007

A lot of what is transpiring in Hudson County politics over the last few weeks may revolve around how uncomfortable the old political guard is with the growing power of state Assemblyman and Union City Mayor Brian Stack.

Although wary of Stack for several years, some traditional power brokers have raised alarm at Stack's move to unseat state Senator Bernard Kenny.

This alarm has more to do with Stack's amazing popularity with the North Hudson voters and his lack of reliance on the more traditional power grid.

Politics in Hudson County can be viewed as something of series of pyramids with those holding higher office standing on the shoulders of those who make up the organization. A powerful person is somewhat controlled by a network of mutual obligations.

While some political powerbrokers such as state Senator and North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco have built solid organizations in their own districts, much of their power comes through forming alliances with other powerful leaders.

Some political forces have no political base and rely entirely on such negotiations. Former County Executive Robert Janiszewski often maintained his power by playing one powerful group off another.

Less confrontational, Kenny has also managed to build coalitions among Hudson County's mayors for his support. Kenny was able to defeat the powerful Hoboken Mayor Anthony Russo by cobbling together a combination of reformers and political forces from around the county. As chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization, Kenny's sole defeat as party leader came from grass roots supported Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham in the 2003 primary.

As with Cunningham, Stack scares some powerful politicos because of his deep roots in his community, a powerful vote-getting machine that does not rely on other powerbrokers, but threatens to steam roll over Kenny and the rest of the county unless stopped now.

The upcoming Democratic primary in June will determine if Stack can be stopped, and has resulted in a series of interesting alliances.

Rep. Albio Sires, Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner, and Jersey City Assemblyman Louis Manzo are seen as Stack supporters. By default, Jersey City state Senate candidate Sandra Cunningham, Bayonne Councilman and Assembly candidate Anthony Chiappone and possible Assembly candidate former Jersey City Council President L. Harvey Smith may be on Stack's side if only for their opposition of the HCDO.

Equally bizarre is the anti Stack alliance that seems to have Sacco, West New York Mayor and state Assemblyman Sal Vega, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, Hoboken Mayor Dave Roberts working for Kenny's reelection.

A meeting between Healy and Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise appears to line DeGise up with the anti-Stack forces. This has led to the rumor that Freeholder Bill O'Dea will join the Stack ticket to oppose DeGise in the primary.

Bayonne Mayor Joseph Doria is caught in a strange position since his own reelection as state Senator depends upon the support of the HCDO.

Doria could lose the state senate

In the 31st district, Doria is leading an as yet unnamed ticket in opposition to Sandra Cunningham's ticket.

While Manzo was supposed to be with Doria, reports conflict as to why he is not.

Doria supporters claim Manzo has pulled his own name off the HCDO ticket, partly because Manzo does not want to run on a ticket that would be in opposition to Stack.

Manzo people claim Doria has been ill-advised by close associates of Healy and dumped Manzo.

Manzo and Smith are seen as contenders for Healy's mayoral slot in 2009. Some Healy supporters mistakenly believe that Cunningham will be satisfied with retaking the state Senate seat from Doria which her husband, Glenn, possessed until his untimely death in 2004. Some critics claim a state Senate victory for Cunningham is the first step to her unseating Healy as mayor. Some Healy people may already be jumping ship to the Cunningham camp in anticipation of her eventually becoming mayor.

Doria may be struggling because for the first time in his political career, he cannot count on the solid advice of former Bayonne Mayor Dennis Collins - who recently retired due to illness. Collins has been a master of political maneuvering since the 1960s, leaving a huge gap in Doria's campaign staff.

If Manzo is off the Doria ticket, who is on?

Reports vary, although Healy people apparently like Freeholder Jeff Dublin because he has the roots in the African-American community to cut into Cunningham's base. Other names have surfaced including Hudson County Sheriff Joe Cassidy and Hudson Reporter columnist Mat Amato as Doria running mates.

Doria is vulnerable because he could be blamed for an expected tax increase in Bayonne if Chiappone succeeds in blocking the passing of a budget balancing bond. More importantly, the selection of Dublin may backfire. African American voters in Jersey City may split the ticket voting for Dublin and Cunningham, instead of Doria.

Kenny may field a ticket

In the 33 rd District, Kenny is expected to put together a ticket of candidates in opposition to Stack.

Mayor Vega - currently the sitting Assemblyman - could be on that ticket as well as a candidate from Union City.

Reports suggest that Kenny and Vega will have the support of U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, who apparently feels the same heat from Stack's popular appeal as other traditional Democrats.

Menendez, who saw a similar quick rise in power in the 1990s, may be looking over his own shoulder at Stack - believing Stack may be seeking to continue his rise up through the levels of government as Menendez did.

Healy: City's better than ever

Thursday, February 22, 2007
By COTTON DELO
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Speaking in a packed auditorium at Middle School 4 Tuesday evening, Mayor Jerramiah Healy painted a rosy picture of life in Jersey City during his State of the City address.

Citing reductions in crime and the continued Downtown development boom in the course of his 45-minute speech, Healy contended that "Jersey City is better now than it has ever been."

Healy named an expanded police force, his gun buyback program and the utilization of CompStat - a computerized crime tracking system - as factors contributing to the reduction of crime, including homicide, which he says dropped 39 percent in 2006.

The mayor maintains, however, that more police must still be hired.

Focusing heavily on development in the latter half of his speech, Healy said his "administration will continue to be business friendly."

"I have rejected calls to implement a payroll tax or an affordable housing fee on commercial development because such initiatives, in my opinion, would be a disincentive to move to Jersey City," he said.

Healy staunchly defended the practice of using tax abatements to lure developers to the city but advocated extending the policy to areas beyond the waterfront.

He praised the City Council for approving "unusual" 30-year abatements on condo developments like the Beacon and the American Can Co. in McGinley Square and alongside the Pulaski Skyway, respectively - areas formerly not on developers' radar.

Winning applause from the audience, Healy referred to his proposal earlier this month to require "that Jersey City residents be used as apprentices in union training programs on public construction contracts and certain large tax-abated projects."

The legislation - pending a hearing by the City Council - was widely perceived as an answer to critics of his tax abatement policy who contend that the Downtown renaissance has done little for the city's workforce.

On Journal Square, Healy spoke about the demolition of blighted structures and the plan being undertaken to build two residential towers with retail space for stores and restaurants as accomplishments.

He capped off his remarks with an allusion to Downtown Councilman Steve Fulop's recent crusade to pass a pay-to-play ordinance - which Healy opposed - that would have banned developers from giving public officials campaign contributions while negotiating for a project.

"We should not adopt legislation that would keep those of moderate means from running viable campaigns and that would limit elected office exclusively to the wealthy," Healy said.

Public officials in attendance included Congressman Albio Sires, D-13, state Assemblyman and Jersey City Schools Superintendent Charles T. Epps, six members of the City Council, and Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise - who introduced Healy.

Although Healy took office in November 2004 following a special election and was elected to a four-year term in 2005, this was the first State of the City address of his City Hall tenure.

COTTON DELO can be reached at cdelo@jjournal.com

Tankstelle,

Tell these fools what time it is.

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It's not the use or sale that causes the impact, it's the prohibition of the use or sale.

David Cruz - lifelong Jersey City resident - anchors the noon news and co-hosts "WBGO Journal" (JAZZ Radio - FM 88.3)

Listeners will soon have a chance to ask questions of Newark Mayor Cory Booker.

The Record and Herald News 2/23

Debuting on March 8, "Newark Today," a live call-in talk show hosted by anchor-reporter David Cruz, will air from 8 to 9 p.m. the second Thursday of every month.

"One of the best things about the show is that we will be taking calls from listeners who will finally have access to one-on-one conversations with the Newark mayor," said Cruz in a statement.

Cruz's five-part series leading up to the Newark mayoral election was recently recognized by the New York Association of Black Journalists. Cruz -- a lifelong Jersey City resident -- anchors the noon news and is a co-host of the "WBGO Journal," which airs 7:30 p.m. Fridays.

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It should have read, Two criminals killed a known drug dealer. It is believed that the criminals aim was to mug the dealer for his money and marijuana.

Who said there was no social impact on the use or sale of marijuana might want to talk to the dead guys family or the people who might have witnessed it and others that had to remove the body and clean the blood off the sidewalk?

I don't know too much about the quality of the public schools, but it seems like most of my neigbors (many are fairly recent transplants from Hoboken) have their kids (elementary school age) in some kind of private or charter school in Hoboken (I THINK JC kids can go to the Hoboken charter schools--someone correct me if I'm wrong). I think this is mostly a perception of the quality of the heights public schools rather than actual knowledge of how good or bad they are. By the same token, the few younger kids I know are in daycares in downtown JC or Hoboken, not the daycares in the heights, even though those may be fine for all I know.

If these families stay in the area until their kids reach high-school age, I think they are hoping for McNair, otherwise they will put the kid in a private or parochial school . . .

2 left him for dead, say cops

Friday, February 23, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Police have charged two criminals with murdering a Jersey City man who was gunned down on a Heights street corner, and investigators say they aimed to rob the victim of drugs and money.

Michael Bonilla, 26, and Roberto Figueroa, 29, who live in the same building on Chestnut Street, were arrested Wednesday night, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said yesterday.

They are charged with the felony murder of Ariel Cruz, 26, of Central Avenue near Congress Street, who was shot once in the hip on Waverly Street just east of Baldwin Avenue, DeFazio said today.

"A meeting was established and apparently it was a robbery that went bad, resulting in the victim being shot toward his posterior (of his hip)," DeFazio said. "He may have turned to run away."

Investigators believe a third man was involved in the crime, and they are working to positively identify him and track him down, DeFazio said.

Cruz, who is formerly of Bayonne, was on probation for a West New York drug conviction at the time of his death, and several bags of suspected marijuana were found on him after the shooting, DeFazio said.

A 9 mm shell casing was found at the crime scene, as was Cruz's cell phone. DeFazio said the cell phone played an important role in the investigation, as did interviews with witnesses and the defendants, DeFazio said. Cruz was rushed to the Jersey City Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead, DeFazio said.

At the time of the shooting Bonilla was out on $65,000 bail following his indictment on the charges of aggravated assault and drug possession with intent to distribute, officials said.

Meanwhile, Figueroa was on probation stemming from a conviction for attempted burglary and eluding police, officials said.

A witness to the aftermath of the shooting told The Jersey Journal that Cruz staggered and fell, got up again, then collapsed against a car and slid down to the ground. The witness said a gray Dodge Durango then traveled east across Baldwin Avenue on Waverly Street to the spot where the victim lay.

"He stopped, rolled down his window and looked at (Cruz), then he drove off fast," the resident said.

The prosecutor said investigators were not yet sure if the vehicle was involved in the shooting but said it's possible it was the getaway vehicle. Investigators are still studying a second cell phone found at the scene of the shooting.

Anyone with information on the murder is asked to call the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's Homicide Squad at 201-915-1345.

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Falcon,

good first effort with the new camera. your exposure choices
worked well and your use of the monopod...was very steady yet hand held enough to draw the audience in.

there are flaws, however....your misuse of the autofocus yields very blurry results especially for the long shot in the first half. once you are in tighter, the focus improves slightly, but we still see tell tale autofocus shifts, which seems somewhat amateurish.

the sound is legible, which is good but there is still room for improvement here: the use of an external shotgun microphone would eliminate much of the peripheral room reflection.

the use of cheesey transitions is expressly prohibited as per course policy. but because this is your first project I will give you a B

The translation of the 'address' is as follows:

State of the City is unclear and we have things happening. I have put money on the bar at the Iron Monkey, so thanks for coming and we will not have question time, so lets make our way there.

CK - obviously i respect your opinion as a generational local, but, my family is from here too (dad born at Christ Hospital) - and they asked "Why?" when my wife and i moved up the hill..... having said that, they were blown away at the improvement of the area (physically and visually) when they've come to visit....

and we haven't had any problems at all, save some noisy kids....


anyhoo -

welcome to the neighborhood! if you like beer and rock and roll, we'll see you around. if not, we'll probably still see you around... funny how small this big town is...

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

He is pitchy, he needs to own the stage, and bores me to death.

Score: -5

then there is revenue from ads

for instance a netflix banner on your site and you could get you as much as 20 bucks a pop for each person that signs up for netflix through your banner

for example....lol

The NNA should have its own website with basic information, by laws, contact info, blah blah....

However, it could have a link to 'forums' in which the link would take you either to the jclist.com Newport sub-forum or the webbie could create a NNA forum to link from.

That is how I would do it anyway.

Websites are cheap, you should have your own.

It would be nice if ALL the neighborhood associations had their own forum subheading here. It would be a great idea to share ideas and keep everyone informed.
It would go along way with being transparent and 'open' to the residents. Nothing like one stop 'shopping'!

It would also give control of deletes, ban etc, to a third party.

should NNA have its own website or.....

should it just use this little corner of jerseycitylist?

Firstly , welcome to the Heights .

I grew in the heights and can say without any doubt that it has changed greatly and not for the better .

I know theres an upswing and a Building boom going on in the Heights, but to compare the element now VS while I was growing up is to compare a Chevy to a ferrari..I.E. NO comparison at all .

Just hope things continue to improve .

Good Luck

ck

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Have you heard anything about P.S. 27, P.S. 28 or the other public schools in the Heights? Do you have any sense that the neighbors who care about education are going to try sending their kids to the public schools up there, or are they all sending their kids to private schools?

Sorry if you know the schools there are great and think this question is hilarious, but I find it's really rare that I meet people who even have a friend of a friend with a kid at any public schools other than P.S. 16 (Bradford, in Paulus Hook) and Learning Community Charter School.

It is block-by-block but you should be fine pretty much anywhere in the heights during the day.

I live in the heights and also have a young baby--when I was on maternity leave I walked to Central Ave. often (I live on Ogden) and never had any problems--except women would stop and ask how much my stroller cost! (It was one of the more expensive-type ones). Now I'm back at work and my nanny goes out every day around the heights.

Welcome to the neighborhood--hope you decided to uphold the contract. It is nice to hear about new moms in the heights--there are a lot of parents on my street but many of their kids are school-age.

My sister and I recently purchased our first home in Jersey City. No more renting! Yeah. I'm wondering if anyone here could recommend a good, reputable home inspector. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Any other suggestions anyone might have regarding Jersey City and our new home would be great. I have lived here since 2000, but as a renter. I don?t know if there are any special interests that I should know about.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated! Thanks.

I'm in, I've got a great leek soup recipe (although I've never frozen it). I'll do a test run beforehand.

I don't know if anyone told the prospective developers that there is something like an underground stream running through the area.I almost bought a below grade condo in that same area but was turned off by the chronic flooding of the place and seemingly all the buildings surrounding it Check out how badly this area floods the next time we get a downpour. The prospect of underground parking seems ludicrous in this area. Also another choke point for downtown traffic.

I was browsing Healy's official bio, because I wanted to find out how long before his term is over, and I found this gem:

"Prior to his tenure as Mayor of Jersey City, Jerramiah Healy has had a lustrous career of public service..."

I guess there are no proofreaders in City Hall. Obviously, the writer meant to write "an illustrious." Now, instead of a distinguished career, Healy has had a shiny career.

BTW, his term doesn't end until 2009. It's seems like it's been so long already.