Child fatally struck by car in Jersey City, sources say

Updated on October 28, 2017 at 7:07 PM Posted on October 28, 2017 at 6:55 PM

By Caitlin Mota
The Jersey Journal

JERSEY CITY - A child about 8 years old was fatally struck by a vehicle at one of Downtown's busiest intersections on Saturday evening, sources with knowledge of the investigation said.

City officials confirmed a child was struck near Grove Street and Christopher Columbus Drive at about 4:30 p.m. The child was rushed to Jersey City Medical Center in serious condition.

Sources told The Jersey Journal the child died at the hospital a short time later.

It's unclear if the child was a boy or a girl, but witnesses say a group of mostly girls were walking together at the time of the crash.

Paul Ferreira was working at a nearby store when he heard commotion. Ferreira walked out by Columbus Drive and saw a child who he believed was a girl lying in the middle of the intersection.

A grandfather of a 7-year-old girl, Ferreira said he was shaken up by the crash.

"I saw (the child)," he said. "It's sad."

The driver drove about 100 feet up the roadway before stopping. Ferreira said the driver didn't realize he had hit a child.

Officials are not classifying the crash as a hit-and-run and said the driver is cooperating with the investigation. About an hour after the crash, the driver could be seen still sitting in his car.


Another witness, who only identified himself as Moe, said the children were all wearing the same color.

"The child was just laying there, kind of lifeless," he said.

Additional information was not immediately available.

This crash marks ninth person to be killed in crashed in Hudson County since Sept. 1. Ten days ago to Dickinson High School students were fatally struck in a hit-and-run in the Heights.

Pedestrians have complained for years about the intersection of Grove Street and Columbus Drive. City officials in recent years have re-timed when pedestrians are permitted to cross Columbus Drive to make the intersection safer.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... it.html#incart_river_home

New Amazon Key lets the delivery driver leave packages inside the front door

Elizabeth Weise, USATODAY Published 7:00 a.m. ET Oct. 25, 2017 | Updated 10:23 a.m. ET Oct. 25, 2017

SAN FRANCISCO ? No more getting packages stolen. No more worries about being there to receive them. Starting next month, people in 37 U.S. cities can have Amazon drop their package inside their front door, without ever giving anyone a key.

On Nov. 8, Amazon will begin offering a secure-lock service, called Amazon Key, that will give Amazon Logistics delivery personnel permission to unlock a customer's door for 5 minutes. Using a new Amazon device, the Cloud Cam, the entire delivery will be live-streamed to the customer's devices and also sent as a video snippet.

The service is an effort to thwart one of the problems of Amazon's popular package delivery service ? package theft ? as well as give users "choice, peace of mind and convenience," in the words of Peter Larsen, Amazon's vice president for delivery technology.

The company has been testing Amazon Key for several months at various sites around the country and thinks it's going to be a game-changer.

"This is not a trial. This is the fundamental way we think customers are going to order and receive their goods," Larsen said.

The new service could represent a shift in how consumers think of Amazon. Not just as the source of packages left on their porch, but as an entity they're comfortable letting into their homes. Available only to Prime customers, it's also another way to knit them more tightly into the ever-growing Amazon ecosystem.

How it works

The company demonstrated the service to reporters at a rental house in San Francisco on Tuesday.

The customer first buys a smart lock and the Cloud Cam camera. The starting price is $249 for the camera and smart lock. The Cloud Cam is also available for purchase as a stand-alone security camera for $119.99. Both will be available for purchase beginning Wednesday and can be installed by the customer or for free by a professional Amazon technician.


The camera is set up to show the front door from inside the house, allowing the customer to watch on the Amazon Key app to see whoever opens it. The smart locks, from Yale and Kwikset, come in several colors, variations and price points.

Once signed up for the free program, when customers go to purchase something on Amazon, they will see all items available for Key delivery marked with the designation "In-home delivery."

The day the ordered item is set to arrive, a customer gets a note on her phone, saying an in-home delivery will come that day and a time window during which to expect it.

When the delivery person arrives, the app sends the customer another note saying the delivery person is at the door.

Using a list that appears on the app, the delivery person is first instructed to knock on the door or ring the doorbell.

If no one answers, the delivery person swipes a button in the app that sends a message up to the cloud, which sends a message down to the customer's Amazon-enabled smart lock. This allows the delivery person to swipe a button on the app that unlocks the door.

"Note that the delivery person never touches the lock and doesn't have a key or a code," said Larsen.

The delivery person opens the door "just a crack," puts the package inside the door and then closes the door, he said. The worker then swipes another button on the app that automatically locks the smart lock. He must confirm that the door is closed and locked before leaving.

The code the system sends to the lock is for one time only, and is only valid for five minutes after the delivery person first arrives at the door. Via the app and the lock, the system even knows how close he is to the door and may prompt him to step closer to the door before sending the signal to unlock the door.

After five minutes the door automatically locks itself even if the delivery person hasn't locked it. If there is any problem with the lock or the service, the app instructs him to stay at the doorway and call Amazon customer service to ensure that the door is closed and locked before leaving, said Larsen.

The customer can watch the entire delivery in real time on a phone, via the Cloud Cam that is aimed at the door. He or she is also sent a time-stamped video delivery snippet on the phone to watch it later, as well as a message when the package is delivered and the door re-locked.

The video can also be watched live or later on an Amazon Echo Show, Echo Spot or Fire TV.

Amazon Key deliveries will only come through Amazon Logistics, not via UPS, FedEx or the U.S. Postal System, all of which also deliver Amazon packages.

The Amazon Logistics drivers who will have access to the Amazon Key Service all work for local delivery services that have contracted with Amazon and have been "thoroughly vetted and background-checked," said Larsen. They will not come from Amazon Flex, which allows individuals to sign up to deliver packages in their free time.

Until the moment the door is unlocked, the customer always has the option of hitting a "Block Access" button on the app that immediately changes it to traditional delivery, with the driver ringing the bell and then leaving the package outside the door.

The system can also be set up to grant a one-time access code to friends or family, or give them ongoing access should the user choose to. Customers will also be able to set up access for workers from its Amazon Home Services program, as well as Rover.com, a dog-walking service, and Merry Maids, a house cleaning service.

"We will be adding more later," said Larsen.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/ne ... ide-front-door/796780001/

Nonprofit offers free IT training to these tech-savvy New Yorkers

By John Aidan Byrne
October 22, 2017 | 3:50am

Jason Vega, a former low-income worker, is living proof of a new America Dream thrusting hundreds of once-struggling tech-savvy New York residents into the ranks of the middle class.

And it doesn?t demand four years of expensive college and a lifetime of crippling student debt.

Actually, it?s free to qualified students.

Vega is a graduate of NPower, a nationwide nonprofit offering a free 22-week IT training program, from tech networking to Web design, and with some 530 students currently enrolled at classes in Brooklyn, Harlem and Jersey City.

Now Vega, 27, of South Brooklyn, is a skilled cyber-security operations engineer, who works for Morgan Stanley in downtown Manhattan, earning great benefits and a salary that will help finance his plans for a spanking new condo. He recently bought his first car.

It?s a long way from his former life.

The high cost of college was too much for Vega to bare, and his ailing grandmother and family needed him at home.

?It?s amazing, how my quality of life has skyrocketed, and my income has more than quintupled since then,? Vega told The Post, noting how this more than five-fold growth from his last salary as a service rep, still makes him smile.

Vega, who?s single, went from $14 an hour as a customer service rep to a well-paid member of a crack-troop IT team on Wall Street.

Vega is not the only one. He?s one of a growing number of young professionals (and even military vets) landing well-paid tech careers, thanks to unconventional programs, many serving poor neighborhoods like Vega?s. And many are sponsored by Wall Street and big-business tycoons, who keep close contact with professionals like Vega in these programs, and open their doors to them after graduation.

NPower was officially launched in the early part of the century. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Dell Technologies are among the prominent underwriters and partners.

The real push to recruit and train IT workers, however, has come through corporate funding in the past 12 months as US companies scramble to fill open jobs, according to an NPower spokesman.

New programs recently started in Harlem and Jersey City to complement existing programs out of the Metrotech Center in Brooklyn. They have an acceptance rate of 50 percent, with an age limit of 25 (but no age limit for military veterans).

The only educational requirements to apply are a high-school diploma or GED ? and, of course, an aptitude for technology. More than 80 percent of graduates find work after graduation or move on to higher education.

The program is free, including mentoring by experienced IT pros from the industry.

The program targets lower-income inner city kids as a great demographic to fill vacant IT jobs, and at the same time the program provides a boost to inner city economies.

It?s well known that more than half of all US jobs call for some tech and digital skills. But there will be only a pool of 3.3 million domestic workers to fill the 6 million jobs that require some level of technology and digital abilities in the coming years, according to the US Department of Labor.

?It can be really frustrating to try to find a large enough pool of qualified technology talent in the US,? said recruiter Hetal Parikh, president of Rangam Consultants in Somerset, NJ. ?The challenge we have is to match the right talent, with the right skills, with the employer.?

NPower aims to have graduated 15,000 students within the next five years.

?I would not be in the same position I am today financially, emotionally or mentally without the blessings I received from NPower,? said Vega, who sailed into the program partly because of his natural talent for technology.

When Vega officially started work at Morgan Stanley last November, after a paid internship, he was dizzy with excitement. He had successfully completed his intensive IT training at NPower, and had all his certifications.

His rags-to-riches story is a familiar one at the program. Single mother Ateika Samuel worked as a waitress before she enrolled in NPower. Today, she?s an IT professional at Bank of America, making $50,000 a year.

Vega has no regrets about dropping out of college. ?I wouldn?t have done this in any other way,? he said. ?Sadly, college grads are a dime a dozen, trying without success to get in the front door at firms on Wall Street.?

http://nypost.com/2017/10/22/nonprofi ... to-lower-income-students/

Would You Buy a Condo From the Trumps?

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD OCT. 5, 2017

Until their father?s personal lawyer intervened, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. were under criminal investigation by Manhattan prosecutors for possibly defrauding buyers of units in the Trump SoHo development, according to an investigation by ProPublica, WNYC and The New Yorker. An email showed the siblings ?discussed how to coordinate false information they had given to prospective buyers,? according to the report.

The Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., acknowledged that he dropped the case after a visit from President Trump?s lawyer Marc Kasowitz, who has contributed to Mr. Vance?s political campaign, but said he did so because it was the right thing to do.

Perhaps it was, and perhaps the president?s son and daughter did nothing criminal. But the deceptive behavior at the heart of the case would be familiar to anyone who?s observed Mr. Trump?s business career. The hustler is in the White House now, and the young members of the Trump family, with the cloud of suspicion that now constantly surrounds them, are top advisers.

It?s recently come to light that Ms. Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, both top administration officials, have been using at least three different personal email accounts for some government business, in potential violation of federal records acts.

Mr. Kushner didn?t reveal his use of private email in a lengthy interview with Senate investigators who are looking into the possibility of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government in undermining the 2016 election. USA Today revealed on Wednesday that shortly after Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating those possible ties, asked for related White House records, the couple rerouted personal email accounts to Trump Organization servers.

The White House levied small fines on both Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump in late August for filing late updates to their financial disclosures, McClatchy reported this week. Such fines are rare, but this was a second fine for late filing by Mr. Kushner.

Mr. Kushner has repeatedly botched legally required disclosures of his business assets, and omitted Russian contacts on his security clearance form, asserting that despite the assistance of a cadre of experienced lawyers, he just can?t seem to get the paperwork right. Some national security experts have said that if he weren?t the president?s son-in-law, Mr. Kushner would have been denied clearance under such circumstances.

Since Ms. Trump entered the White House, her apparel brand has benefited or sought to benefit from trademark decisions in China, Japan, Kuwait, Qatar, Panama, Brazil and elsewhere.

Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner like to be seen as moderating influences in the chaos of the Trump White House. John Kelly, the president?s chief of staff, appears to recognize that Mr. Kushner and Ms. Trump are a drag on a White House already plagued by problems. Let?s also hope that he can persuade the Trump family members to deal more forthrightly with the American public than they did with their investors.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/opi ... ld-trump-condo-fraud.html

A condo requires a fire extinguisher. I don't know about a house.

Jersey City donations stuck in United States with no way to Puerto Rico

By Darla Miles

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (WABC) -- There is an outpouring of generosity from people in the tristate to their fellow Americans in Puerto Rico.

But sadly, folks are being turned away with their goods because there's no way to get the donations to the island.

Donated goods sit at the San Juan Airport because there are no trucks to deliver them to the people.

It is a tragedy what's happening there.

"We were all systems go for Friday to have our shipment go to Kennedy Airport via FEMA and they just canceled on us and we're on hold," said Daniel Rivera, Jersey City Council Member At Large.

On hold in Jersey City are two 53-foot trailers with more than 100,000 pounds of water and supplies.

"Completely unacceptable. I mean there are people in Puerto Rico that are in trouble, they are devastated, and they need these resources ASAP," Rivera said.

This is the tip of the iceberg for the handful of non-profit organizations and regular old New Jersey residents who have been laboring to try to fill every single need of Puerto Ricans who lost every single thing in Hurricane Maria.

"We've been here for the past four days, 18-hour days, 16-hour days, we have been religiously here," Rivera said.

Gathering donations isn't the problem, but getting them there is.

In Brooklyn Wednesday afternoon, activists practically begged the U.S. government move supplies just sitting at airports and port.

"What we've learned, as predicted, the situation is worsening. It's already bad enough that a week later," a volunteer said.

"You have a family-owned trucking company and you are volunteering your trucks to take it to Puerto Rico and they are still not getting it," Eyewitness News Reporter Darla Miles asked.

100 percent accurate," said Bryan Hermann, of Hermann Transportation.

Hermann, who is also a Jersey City firefighter, wants the U.S. to issue a cargo waiver to the Jones Act, so he can transport donations like he did after hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

"The federal government relaxed some of the DOT laws for relief aid going to the affected areas," Hermann said.

"I'm very optimistic that this is going to go out, and when it goes out we're just going to send it out, we're not going to stop," Rivera said.

They're not stopping. Even late into Wednesday night, the sorting will continue until they get the greenlight from FEMA or they are able to put these supplies on a cargo ship.


http://abc7ny.com/weather/jersey-city ... y-to-puerto-rico/2462126/

There used to be a ferry terminal there after 9/11.

http://library.rpa.org/pdf/RPA-Ferrie ... ges-and-Opportunities.pdf

Looks like Janam Indian Tea, formally of 353 Grove St, made it to the Big Apple.

--------------------------------------------------------

High Tea on the Lower East Side

Neighborhood Joint
By LISA M. COLLINS SEPT. 26, 2017

Above a burger place, brassy swing tunes filled a private room located behind a vault door and up an old staircase, left over from when the building was a bank.

Along the bar, in front of the booze, sat a line of orange ceramic teapots and jars of dark leaves.

?This is from the highest-altitude tea garden in north India,? said Amy Dubin, 44, as she grabbed one of the jars from the bar to show a group of men in golf shirts and button-downs. ?These are handpicked leaves.? Tea is different every year and every season, she explained.

?It smells delicious! Look at the color!? said Alex Chan, a teacher from Queens ?in his 40s? and a member of the New York Tea Society, which meets here on a semiregular basis.

By night, this parlor, Victorian in d?cor with gold wallpaper, purple velvet benches and a stately little library, is Garfunkel?s, a speakeasy-style cocktail lounge at 67 Clinton Street on the Lower East Side. By day, it is the home of Janam Tea, which is run by Ms. Dubin and offers a proper tea service with cucumber sandwiches, scones, clotted cream and unlimited tea.

Ms. Dubin visits India regularly to select tea from private growers. Janam serves Indian tea exclusively.

It?s a favorite spot for the Tea Society, which until recently was called the Men?s Tea Social. The group changed its name to welcome all tea lovers.

?Gay men who are into tea, that?s kind of huge,? said the group?s founder, Roy Lamberty, 49, the executive chef of Fatty Fish, a restaurant on the Upper East Side.

Afternoon tea is dismissed as a ladies? thing, Mr. Lamberty said. ?I don?t feel we should stick to stereotypes.?

Nearby, a group of women in satin dresses sat against the windows, chatting in Russian at their bridal shower. They watched the bride-to-be, Alexsandra Lerner, 24, of Manhattan Beach, as she pulled a lace-trimmed short silk kimono from a box.

Reading a card, tears fell down her cheeks. ?I should get married every year,? Ms. Lerner said.

Back at Mr. Lamberty?s table, Mr. Chan inquired about the provenance of the green tea.

?The state of West Bengal is basically shaped like Idaho. At the very top is Darjeeling,? Ms. Dubin said. ?Due to some, let?s say, civil unrest, to get tea from this area is very difficult.?

The bridal shower selected the unlimited Champagne option, an add-on to the regular tea service, which costs $35 per person and includes the delivery of a tiered tray stocked with treats like smoked-salmon sandwiches, buttermilk cupcakes and blood-orange frozen yogurt.

?Besides the jam and scones, I made it all myself,? said Ms. Dubin, originally from Cleveland.

When it comes to clotted cream, she instructed, ?Don?t dab; be decadent.?

Mr. Lamberty said he hopes for a tea revolution. He does not drink coffee or alcohol. ?Tea gives you that clearheaded awareness, without the jitters,? he said.

Benjamin Wagstaff, 25, was seated nearby. He wore orange leather slip-on shoes and an open shirt. He lives down the street and visits often.

Touching a silver necklace, a gift from his British grandmother, Mr. Wagstaff, a tech entrepreneur, reminisced about afternoon tea with her. ?It was definitely something to look forward to,? he said.

?I like the idea of stopping what you are doing and having conversation,? Mr. Wagstaff said. ?There?s a brunch culture in New York. Why can?t there be an afternoon tea culture? It?s not easy to find somewhere comfortable that wouldn?t rush the process.?

It was 3:30 p.m. and Mr. Lamberty?s group, having arrived at 1, was preparing to leave.

?The greatest thing about tea is that I can drink a lot of it, and drive,? said Mr. Chan. ?And not get arrested.?


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/nyr ... -east-side-speakeasy.html

I saw a sign at Trump Bay Street that says that a CVS Pharmacy is coming.

Trump Bay Street
65 Bay St
Jersey City, NJ 07302

PATH wants to hear from riders like you!


PATH riders have a lot of great suggestions to share. The PATH Riders? Council (PRC) is a standing advocacy group that meets with PATH management year-round to ensure PATH riders have a voice in system design and operations decision-making.

PATH is currently accepting applications to fill six PRC vacancies to supplement the existing Council membership.

Eligibility Requirements

Must use the PATH system regularly
Must reside/travel within the PATH service area
Must be 18 years of age or older
Port Authority of NY & NJ employees (PANYNJ), PATH employees, and PANYNJ and/or PATH contractors are not eligible to apply for PRC membership.

How will PRC members be selected?

PATH, along with the existing Rider's Council, will appoint candidates in the PATH service area representing a cross section of riders from different geographic locations and demographics. Due to the limited number of PRC seats, not every applicant can be accepted.

Why should I participate?

If selected, you will be provided opportunities to recommend ways to improve PATH service. Serving on the PRC is a volunteer (unpaid) role. However, you will have the chance to help make a difference in the way PATH serves the region.

How do I apply?

Fill out the Application Form and send to PATH by mail, email, or fax:

Mail:
PATH Riders? Council
PATH Marketing & Customer Services
One PATH Plaza - 10th Floor
Jersey City, NJ 07306

Email: PATHcommunity@panynj.gov

Fax: 201 595-4001

All applications, must be received by 8 P.M. Friday, September 29, 2017.


http://www.panynj.gov/path/prc-application.html

Justin Pugh helps Jersey City cops nab thief who stole packages from Giants O-lineman?s front door

BY
PAT LEONARD
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Thursday, September 7, 2017, 4:44 PM

Justin Pugh?s latest law enforcement work in Jersey City deserves its own reality show.

He could call it ?JCPD Pugh.? Or ?Law & Order: Special Lineman?s Unit.?

?I?m like CSI,? Pugh, 27, the Giants? starting left guard, joked with a smile on Wednesday. ?I?m starting the community watch. In five days, I helped catch a guy who?s been stealing stuff for the past six months.?

It?s a true story. Pugh really did flex his muscles as an investigator the past few weeks.

Pugh, a Jersey City resident, started his sleuthing by posting several videos on Twitter of a man brazenly stealing packages from Pugh?s front door. Pugh said the man stole approximately $3,000 of merchandise, including one package with two of Pugh?s custom suits shipped from California and another package containing cast-iron pots.

?He stole my stuff twice,? Pugh said. ?I have him on camera. He walked up, looks right at the camera, and steals it.?

Pugh?s hope was that he could crowdsource the man?s identity to help police catch him, and that?s exactly what happened: Pugh filed a report and gave a statement at the Jersey City North District police station last Friday. And by this Tuesday, with the help of information gathered by Pugh, a Jersey City officer had recognized the suspect while patrolling and arrested him on burglary charges.

?I?ve had Justin join me at youth football camps in Jersey City and now he is catching bad guys and pretty soon he will run for elected office,? Jersey City mayor Steven Fulop told the Daily News on Thursday. ?All joking aside it is great to have him as a resident and so involved in the community.?

Pugh said when he posted the first video of the man brazenly snatching his stuff from the front stoop, ?someone else on Twitter said ?the same guy got me last week in Hoboken.?? All told, Pugh was able to identify four houses the man had burglarized, which led the Giants lineman and his next-door neighbor to begin walking the neighborhood at points, trying to find him.

Pugh joked that his girlfriend must have thought he was crazy, driving around Jersey City with his eyes peeled and his head on a swivel. But in the end Pugh enlisted the help of the JCPD and together they solved the crime.

That?s Big Blue for you, alright.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/foo ... e-thief-article-1.3478177

Speaking of hurricanes:

Rockport mayor pro tem: Those who don't evacuate should mark Social Security number on their arm

The mayor pro tem in the coastal city of Rockport, Texas had a grim message for residents in his city ahead of Hurricane Harvey?s arrival:

Those who don?t evacuate the city should prepare for the worst by writing their name and social security number on their arm.

?Those that are going to stay -- it?s unfortunate -- but they should make some type of preparation to mark their arm with a Sharpie Pen,? said Rockport Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Rios. ?Put their social security number on it, and their name.?


http://www.wfaa.com/weather/rockport- ... er-on-their-arm/467378851

Jared Kushner's White House role complicates family business

by Cristina Alesci and Curt Devine @CNNMoney
August 25, 2017: 6:33 PM ET

Jared Kushner's role in the West Wing is complicating his family company's attempts to get real estate deals done.

Scrutiny from government watchdogs and lawmakers has ensnarled at least two of the company's key projects, according to people with knowledge of the developments.

White House adviser Jared Kushner stepped down as CEO of the company in January and recused himself from certain policy issues. But those measures haven't fully shielded his family's namesake business from allegations of conflicts of interest and criticism from political foes.

In Jersey City, New Jersey, Kushner Companies had sought to use local tax breaks, a high-profile tenant and a controversial government program called EB-5 to develop a luxury project.

Kushner Companies and its partner are for now ditching efforts to partially finance the project, One Journal Square, with EB-5 money, said Kenneth Pasternak, chairman of KABR Group. Pasternak's firm is partnering with Kushner Companies on the development.

The EB-5 program offers foreigners a path to a green card if they invest at least $500,000 in a U.S. project that creates jobs.

Reversing course on the use of EB-5 funding has led the real estate developers to seek capital elsewhere.

"We're currently doing an evaluation for alternatives," Pasternak said.

The shift comes after Jared Kushner's sister Nicole Meyer faced blowback for referencing her brother's White House position during a presentation in May to potential EB-5 investors in China.

The controversy prompted Democratic lawmakers to question whether Meyer crossed ethical lines. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, citing Meyer's comments, requested that the Department of Homeland Security expedite reforms targeting abuses of the EB-5 program.

In addition, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who had touted a "terrific friendship" with Jared Kushner in 2014, announced on Facebook that he would not support a tax break for One Journal Square. His post included a link to an article that mentioned criticism of Meyer's EB-5 presentation in China.

Following Fulop's statement, One Journal Square withdrew an application for the tax break, according to a letter sent to the city in May. A city official told CNN the request included two things: a 30-year tax abatement and $30 million in city-issued bonds.

Fulop is a Democrat, and his political rival says the mayor didn't support the tax break because of the political risk he faced for aligning himself with the Kushners in the past.

"This pivot away was clearly based upon Fulop's identification of a shift in the political winds and recognition that Trump and Kushner are toxic in Jersey City," said Bill Matsikoudis, a Democrat, who is running against Fulop in the city's mayoral race.

Fulop did not respond to CNN's request for comment.

Problems with a potential tenant, co working space company WeWork, also began surfacing in May.

WeWork was considering renting space in the building and committed to investing in the project as a development partner.

But WeWork decided against renting space and is now seeking to unwind its development stake, according to a person familiar with the situation.

One observer said she wasn't surprised.

"Like it or not Kushner Companies have become politicized, and in some ways that may benefit them and in others it might not," said Brigid Callahan Harrison, professor of political science and law at Montclair State University in New Jersey.

The crown jewel of Kusher Companies' portfolio -- the skyscraper at 666 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan -- faces a similar predicament.

In 2007, Kushner Companies solidified the family's status as a serious contender in New York real estate with a $1.8 billion deal for the building -- a record purchase price at the time.

Kushner Companies overpaid for the asset with the assumption rents would increase in the building, according to analysts. But the financial crisis struck shortly after the purchase, and Manhattan rents took a nosedive.

The property hasn't generated enough revenue to cover its debt payments, according to 2016 data from analytics company Trepp, which tracks real estate debt.

Kushner Companies has been seeking a partner who can afford an expensive redevelopment plan that would transform the building's tower from prime office space to luxury condominiums and hotel space. The projected cost of that plan is $7.5 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

China's Anbang Insurance Group was weighing an investment in the project, but talks between the two companies collapsed in March. The same month, five Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to a White House lawyer describing the potential deal as a "highly troubling transaction" that could present a conflict of interest for Jared Kushner.

Analysts say 666 Fifth Avenue could produce enough cash to cover its debt payments if it fills empty space in the building. The office portion of the building is 70% occupied, according to Trepp.

"Under current market conditions a massive redevelopment plan for 666 Fifth Avenue seems unlikely, but there is still time to lease the office space and return value to the property before the loan comes due," said Thomas Fink, a senior vice president at Trepp.

Kushner Companies sold part of the building to Vornado Realty Trust in 2011. Today, the office tower shoulders more than $1.4 billion in debt, according to a report by Vornado released in March.

Kushner Companies is still seeking deep pocketed investors for 666 Fifth Avenue. Interest on a large portion of the debt, $1.1 billion, will jump from about 5.5% to 6.35% by next year, according to Trepp. The full balance on the loan comes due in 2019.

In response to CNN's questions about the property, a Kushner Companies spokesperson said, "We're pleased with the progress of exploratory discussions for a range of options for the future of 666 Fifth Avenue."

As with the One Journal Square project, reputational concerns arising from Jared's role in the Trump administration may be undermining the family's ambitious plans for the tower.

Jed Reagan, an analyst with real estate research firm Green Street Advisors, said the building's political associations could "thin the field" of potential investors.

"There are likely a number of domestic and overseas investors [who] just wouldn't want the publicity surrounding this, to see their names in headlines for months," Reagan said.

In fact, some prospective partners in the property could use the political scrutiny associated with the Kushner family as leverage to extract better terms in negotiations due to a perceived "headline risk," according to three people familiar with the building's finances.

CNNMoney (Washington)
First published August 25, 2017: 6:33 PM ET

http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/25/news/ ... te-white-house/index.html

More information on the Eclipse Glasses Donation Program! What to do, ,where to send them, and more FAQs.

http://www.astronomerswithoutborders. ... ses-donation-program.html

Eclipse Glasses Redistribution Program

Astronomers Without Borders will be announcing a program to collect eclipse glasses for distribution to other countries for future eclipses. Hold on to your glasses! Ask the company or organization you got them from if they will be taking part. We will announce details soon after the eclipse. We have corporate partners who will be receiving and processing them for us. Please DO NOT send them to AWB! Sign up for our newsletter for more details or follow us on Facebook.

Astronomers Without Borders:
http://astronomerswithoutborders.org/

The solar eclipse: Where you can safely watch it and get free viewing glasses

Wednesday, August 16, 2017 04:11PM

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (WABC) -- "It's the first one in a hundred years that's gone from West Coast to East Coast," said Patrick McQuillan who works at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. "It will be the most viewed solar eclipse ever."

McQuillan sounds a little star struck when he talks about the upcoming solar eclipse. That's because he's helping to plan a big viewing event at the science center.

From Jersey City, about 71 percent of the sun will be covered up by the moon. In other parts of the United States, the eclipse will be total. Everything will go dark and people will be able to see the sun's corona.

But, no matter where you are, you need to protect your eyes. Never rely on your naked eye or even sunglasses to look at the sun.

"Sunglasses are not safe ever," McQuillan said. "If you put 70 glasses on top of each other it's still not safe, you'll damage your eyes. You don't want to see this once and then never see anything again."

But, you can wear a pair of eclipse shades to view the solar eclipse safely. The Liberty Science Center is giving them out for free. You won't be able to see anything out of them other than the sun.

Of course a large telescope with a protective lens could also do the trick. You won't need one as large as the one at Columbia University.

Professor Joe Patterson will be setting up a few telescopes on the Columbia library steps. The eclipse will be on display from about 1:23 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on August 21st.

"It's like going to a world series game," McQuillan said. "It's different than any old baseball game."

The solar eclipse is sure to be an event that's a home run in the world of astronomy.


http://abc7ny.com/weather/get-free-vi ... he-solar-eclipse/2294679/

I think he wants fried rice made with soy sauce instead of yellow food coloring.


I find Satay Malaysian Cuisine authentic.

Satay Malaysian Cuisine
99 Washington St hoboken, NJ 07030
Tel: (201) 386-8688

http://www.sataymalaysian.com/

https://www.yelp.com/biz/satay-malaysian-cuisine-hoboken-2

Nomorobo blocked a call from 201-547-4900. The city has to register any numbers used for robo calls especially for emergencies such as hurricanes. I did get an email from Jersey City OEM about it. ---------------------------- From: Jersey City OEM <no-reply@njjcps.org> Sent: Monday, August 7, 2017, 10:38:02 AM EDT Subject: City of Jersey City - Delayed Tax Bills The 2017 final tax bill has not yet been mailed. Due to changes made by the State of New Jersey to the awarding of State Aid to the school districts statewide, the City of Jersey City Board of Education has had to revise its budget. The revised budget was adopted by the Board of Education on July 27th, and forwarded to the State of New Jersey for approval. Once the State of New Jersey approves the revised budget the County Tax Administrator will be able to certify the tax rate that will be used to create the tax bills. When the bills are mailed there will be a notice included that will let you know when the extended grace period ends. It will be at least 25 days from the date that the bills are mailed. ---------------------------- It was in the Jersey Journal: http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... _jersey_city_hoboken.html

By the way, this is the real "1 Journal Square Plaza, Jersey City, NJ 07306".

https://goo.gl/maps/CA5WD4GeBps

Good luck with the Post Office if you are planning to rent at "One Journal Square".

-----------------------------------------

US attorney subpoenas Kushner Companies over EB-5
https://therealdeal.com/2017/08/02/u-s ... er-cos-over-eb-5-program/

Trumpites? terribly tangled web: Connecting dots between Kushner, Giuliani, Mukasey and assorted other characters
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/tr ... led-web-article-1.3385158

Someone updated the calendar.

http://jerseycityculture.org/events/


Bolivian Parade & Festival

August 5 @ 12:00 pm - 7:00 pm

One of the liveliest and most colorful events in Jersey City, the much-anticipated Bolivian Parade & Festival is taking place

Saturday, August 5, 2017
PARADE: 12-2 PM
FESTIVAL: 12-7 PM

Watch amazing, eye-popping costumes make their way from Brunswick Street over to Christopher Columbus to City Hall Plaza. At the finish, there will be tons of food, drink and even more dancing!

How do we find out about these things? It's not in the fancy schmancy new and improved Jersey City calendar.

http://jerseycityculture.org/events/

I am aware of it. Thank you.

Kushner Companies subpoenaed over use of visa program: report

BY MAX GREENWOOD - 08/02/17 08:53 PM EDT

New York federal prosecutors subpoenaed Kushner Companies, the real estate development company owned by the family of President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, over its use of a visa program that offers green cards to wealthy foreign investors.

The subpoena was received by Kushner Companies in May, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, and regards the company's use of the EB-5 visa program to finance a development in Jersey City, N.J. called One Journal Square.

It isn't clear what potential violations the Brooklyn U.S. attorney's office is looking into.

The EB-5 visa program offers green cards to foreigners who invest at least $500,000 in U.S. businesses that would create at least 10 permanent, full-time jobs for American workers.

The company launched a marketing campaign in Beijing and Shanghai in May seeking Chinese investors. That campaign promised green cards for as many as 300 people who invested the requisite $500,000 in One Journal Square.

Kushner Companies came under fire in May after Kushner's sister Nicole Meyer, a principal at the company, mentioned her brother's service in the Trump administration during a pitch to investors in Beijing.

The company later apologized for the remarks and said that Meyer's statement was not intended to use Kushner's work in the Trump administration to attract investors.


http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefin ... -of-the-eb-5-visa-program

Uneasy Welcome as Ultra-Orthodox Jews Extend Beyond New York


By JOSEPH BERGERAUG. 2, 2017

JERSEY CITY ? To the gentrifying stew of bankers, artists and college graduates who are transforming this once blue-collar city across the Hudson River from Manhattan, add an unexpected flavor.

In a heavily African-American neighborhood, 62 families from a number of Hasidic sects based in Brooklyn and rarely seen here have bought a scattering of faded but roomy wood-frame rowhouses whose prices are less than half what homes of similar size would cost in New York ? roughly $300,000 compared with $800,000.

These families are pioneers in a demographic and religious shift that is reshaping communities throughout the region. Skyrocketing real estate prices in Brooklyn and Queens are forcing out young ultra-Orthodox families, which are establishing outposts in unexpected places, like Toms River and Jackson Township in New Jersey, the Willowbrook neighborhood on Staten Island and in Bloomingburg, N.Y., in the foothills of the Catskills.

The influx, however, has provoked tensions with long-established residents, as the ultra-Orthodox seek to establish a larger footprint for their surging population. Residents complain that investors or real estate agents representing the ultra-Orthodox community have been ringing doorbells persistently, offering to buy properties at ?Brooklyn prices.? Jersey City, Toms River and Jackson have all passed no-knock ordinances barring such inquiries under the threat of fines or have banned solicitations altogether.

The mayor of Jersey City, Steven Fulop, said his town took pride in its diversity but had been concerned about ?very aggressive solicitation.?

?They literally go door to door and can be very pushy trying to purchase someone?s house,? Mr. Fulop, a grandson of Holocaust survivors and a graduate of yeshivas, said in an interview. ?It?s not the best way to endear yourself to the community, and there?s been a lot of pushback.?

New York City and the surrounding suburbs are home to the largest concentration of Jews in the country and because of their high birthrate ? five or six children are common ? Hasidic and other ultra-Orthodox Jews represent the fastest-growing subset. They are now estimated to number about 330,000 in New York City alone ? one-third of the city?s overall Jewish population.

They have become a more muscular political and social force and have turned the generally liberal profile of the area?s Jews more observant and conservative. Lakewood Township, near the Jersey Shore, voted for Donald J. Trump last year by the largest margin ? 50 percentage points over Hillary Clinton ? of any New Jersey community, according to an analysis by NJ Advance Media.

Squeezed out of their traditional neighborhoods, ultra-Orthodox Jews have taken steps that have raised concerns as they settle into new communities.

Michele Massey, a former Jersey City councilwoman who is the executive director of an organization that oversees a commercial corridor along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, said Hasidim had opened a synagogue on the avenue despite a recent zoning change forbidding new houses of worship.

?It?s not because they?re Jewish,? Ms. Massey said of her opposition. ?It could have been any other religion or group. It was simply the zoning law. I?m a person of color. Obviously I don?t care who lives where.?

The Hasidim contend that they have been primarily buying boarded-up or vacant homes and that solicitations have come from outside investors, not from the families that have moved in. They support the city?s no-knock law and point out that the Hasidic families that have moved into the Greenville neighborhood are a minuscule fraction of the area?s 47,000 people, half of whom are black.

?We?re not looking to push out anybody,? said Mordecha Feuerstein, a volunteer for a Hasidic organization that helps people find new homes in affordable places like Jersey City.

What Hasidim have opened in a boarded-up dry cleaner on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, he said, is not a synagogue but a small community center that, like many Jewish institutional buildings, is also used for prayer and study. Next to it is a narrow grocery stocked with kosher foods and Yiddish newspapers. Some Hasidim point out that within a few blocks along the avenue are a Catholic church, a mosque and a storefront church called the Sanctified Church of Jesus Christ. Those were grandfathered in under zoning rules and officials are weighing whether the community center violates the rules.

Underlying the objections of many municipalities is an often unspoken worry that ultra-Orthodox Jews will transform the character of their communities. The ultra-Orthodox may not explicitly raise the specter of anti-Semitism, but they do see a bias against their unconventional lifestyle, modest dress and customs. Orthodox Jews, in general, live in tight-knit communities because of their need to cluster around an infrastructure that includes a synagogue within walking distance, kosher butchers, yeshivas for boys and girls, and ritual baths.

One community that is rapidly changing is Bloomingburg, on the edge of Sullivan County. A developer, Shalom Lamm, started building a complex of 396 townhouses that he marketed to Hasidim. Opponents claimed the development would quadruple the village?s population of 420 and significantly alter its tranquil, rustic ambience. Thirty homes are occupied and another 70 or so are in various stages of building. Vacant homes nearby have been bought for Hasidic tenants, while a boys? yeshiva, a ritual bath and a kosher store have opened.

What the village will look like is in limbo, however, because Mr. Lamm pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to corrupt the electoral process by signing up ineligible voters to elect a village government friendly to his project. He will face sentencing in September.

Lakewood is also feeling the impact of a fast-growing minority group. Decades ago the area was rural, filled with hardscrabble egg-raising farms owned by Jewish Holocaust refugees, a few grand hotels and an estate that had once been owned by John D. Rockefeller.

But a yeshiva for post-high-school students, Beth Medrash Govoha, which opened in 1943, began drawing scores of ultra-Orthodox Jews. It became the largest yeshiva in the United States, with 6,500 students, and a community swelled around it.

Lakewood?s population is soaring, increasing to nearly 101,000 residents in 2016 ? two-thirds of whom are Jewish ? from 45,000 in 1990. The township is soon expected to become New Jersey?s fourth largest municipality, bigger than Trenton and Camden, and eclipsed only by Newark, Jersey City and Paterson.

With adequate homes hard to come by in Lakewood, Orthodox and Hasidic families have been buying properties in nearby Toms River and Jackson. Complaints of aggressive solicitation have followed.

?They were ringing doorbells, telling people, ?We want to buy your house,?? Toms River?s mayor, Thomas F. Kelaher, said. ??You won?t have to pay a commission, and if you don?t sell to us you won?t get the Brooklyn price, you?ll get the Lakewood price.??

Feelings were so intense that 1,400 people showed up at one hearing on a proposed solicitation ban that eventually passed.

?People felt threatened,? Mr. Kelaher said. ?This has nothing to do with anti-Semitism. This is strictly based on the type of behavior. We welcome people to move in legitimately.?

In March, Jackson adopted an ordinance banning school dormitories, which seemed aimed at yeshivas that draw students from afar. Agudath Israel of America, an umbrella group for ultra-Orthodox and Hasidic organizations, filed a federal suit in May arguing that the ordinance violated federal land-use laws intended to protect religious groups against burdensome local restrictions.

Jersey City, a manufacturing hub well into the 20th century, never had a significant ultra-Orthodox presence. But a few years ago, leaders of Brooklyn?s Hasidic communities, realizing that rising real estate prices were making continued expansion in the borough untenable, began scouting locations outside New York, and Jersey City emerged as an ideal place. It can be reached from Brooklyn by public transportation, and driving is relatively easy outside the rush hours.

An ad hoc organization known as Ya?azoru (Hebrew for ?We will help you?), made up of 60 volunteers from Brooklyn and Jersey City, helped settle the newcomers, even busing men to make a minyan of 10 so prayers could take place.

The other day, a Hasidic woman, Gitti B., was standing on her stoop watching several of her five children play with the children of a neighbor, Chaya H. Gitti said she was able to buy a house with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large dining room and a playroom for the same cost in mortgage, taxes and insurance as her $1,600-a-month, two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn.

She and Chaya both said they had to lean on their Hasidic neighbors because they no longer lived among parents, siblings and cousins. When she had her last baby, Gitti said, her Hasidic neighbors pitched in, taking care of her children and preparing meals. Their non-Jewish neighbors have also been helpful.

?They told us when we have to put out our garbage, and they introduced us to their pets so we shouldn?t be afraid of them,? said Gitti, who, like Chaya, did not want her last name used to protect her privacy. ?They?re nice people.?

Eddie Sumpter, 34, a black neighbor around the corner who was able to buy a bigger house by selling his previous home to a Hasidic family, said he welcomed the newcomers.

?We live among Chinese. We live among Spanish,?? said Mr. Sumpter, who is a cook. ?It don?t matter. People is people. If you?re good people, you?re good people.?


https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/nyr ... s-hasidim-new-jersey.html

Man seriously hurt in fall at World Trade Center Oculus

POSTED 12:49 PM, AUGUST 1, 2017, BY SAMANTHA TATA, UPDATED AT 01:11PM, AUGUST 1, 2017

MANHATTAN ? A man was seriously hurt Tuesday when he fell inside the Oculus at the World Trade Center, FDNY said.

The victim plummeted about 25 to 30 feet inside the transit hub and shopping center, fire officials said. He suffered serious traumatic injury.

FDNY said they received an emergency call shortly after 12 p.m. EMS transported a patient from 185 Greenwich St., the address of Westfield World Trade Center, to the hospital in serious condition.

Additional details were not immediately available.

A witness shared video from inside the Oculus, showing a wide police perimeter set up inside the transit hub around what appears to be a messenger bag.

In February, a woman died after plunging 30 feet off the side of an escalator at the Oculus.

http://pix11.com/2017/08/01/man-serio ... orld-trade-center-oculus/

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/08/01/fall-inside-wtc-oculus/

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/ ... estigation-437893993.html

Pictures:
http://www.fox5ny.com/news/271289805-story

More pictures:
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/m ... nhattan-article-1.3374756

Matsikoudis, who has been assisting Kuzas with her tax appeal of the mayor's home, has hammered Fulop on the campaign trail for delaying the reval.

Isn't Matsikoudis running for mayor? Will he do something about it? Until he buys a house with low taxes.

If I was the neighbor, I would ask for my taxes to be reduced, not ask that my neighbor's taxes be raised.

When we appealed our taxes at my previous condo, we hired a lawyer that specialized in it. The lawyer had to provide examples of taxes of surrounding properties.

Exclusive: Jared Kushner's White House connection still being used to lure Chinese investors

By Drew Griffin and Curt Devine, CNN Investigates
Updated 9:22 PM ET, Thu July 20, 2017

Jared Kushner's status as a top aide to President Donald Trump was used to lure Chinese investors to his family's New Jersey development, even after his family's company apologized for mentioning his name during a sales pitch in May, CNN has found.

References to Kushner are part of online promotions by two businesses that are working with Kushner Companies to find Chinese investors willing to invest in the 1 Journal Square development in exchange for a US visa.

The promotions are posted in Chinese and refer to Kushner Companies as "real estate heavyweights," going on to mention "the celebrity of the family is 30-something 'Mr. Perfect' Jared Kushner, who once served as CEO of Kushner Companies."

More:
http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/20/politic ... -kushner-visas/index.html

Leaky Ceiling Still A Problem At WTC Oculus

July 20, 2017 5:44 PM

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) ? There were sunshine and dry skies Thursday, but, still, water was leaking from the ceiling at the World Trade Center Oculus transportation hub.

It also happened in May, but the Port Authority said the problem had been fixed.

As CBS2?s Tony Aiello reported, a worker mopped up water while buckets collected the stuff dripping from the ceiling.

?It leaks when it rains,? said Oculus visitor Janet Parson. ?No, it?s not raining (Thursday), but it?s worse when it rains. But there?s always a leak, almost always a leak.?

It?s a blemish on what some consider one of the great public spaces in the world.

The leaky ceiling is just down the stairs from the great hall of the Oculus, the soaring space was designed by star architect Santiago Calatrava, which came in seven years late and $2 billion over budget.

One informed estimate has Calatrava collecting more than $50 million for his design work at the site, one of the greatest paydays in the history of architecture.

Critics say his ambitious designs often lead to problems. The facade at a Spanish opera house had to be stripped because tiles kept falling off, while the owner of a winery sued Calatrava over the leaky roof.

?His designs are pretty cool, but he had a lot of problems with overcost, especially like it always costed more than what?s expected,? said Albero Armenbariz, a tourist from Calatrava?s native Spain.

The Oculus was an enormous and complicated project. But the Port Authority says the leaks aren?t a consequence of the design, blaming ?outside third party construction work,? apparently at 3 World Trade Center next door.

The Port Authority says engineers are working on a fix.

Until then, buckets are an unintended addition to the spectacular space.

Video:
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/07/20/wtc-oculus-leaky-ceiling/