Riverview Neighborhood Association participated in 2011 and had beautiful daffodils in Riverview Park and tulips in Janet Moore Park this spring as a result. We will definitely be planting again in October. A Big Dig event is up on our Facebook page to help get the word out.

*****************URGENT UPDATE******************
We just got word from the attorney that the cats MUST be out by this FRIDAY. They are scheduled to be boarded at a local animal hospital starting tomorrow night, but we would rather not have to bring them there. These cats have only ever known the house they grew up in, and house cats who get moved to cages (especially older cats) do not fare well. If anyone has been on the fence about fostering, NOW is the time to please step forward. JerseyCats works closely with our fosterers and we will be available to support you while we continue to try and find adopters for these cats. At this point we know the cats? personalities very well and can vouch for how lovely they are. PLEASE give us a call or email us ANYTIME if you can help ? 201.305.3436 or info@jerseycats.org.

Out of step
City lobbying to keep $300K grant for ?100 Steps? project
by E. Assata Wright
Reporter staff writer
Aug 05, 2012

The city held a groundbreaking for the 100 steps project in 2009. But since then no work has been done.

City officials are scrambling to hang on to a $300,000 New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) grant that had been earmarked for a pedestrian walkway from the Jersey City Heights to Hoboken after failing to hire a construction contractor for the project last month. After years of repeated delays, residents are now wondering how much longer they will have to wait for this project to be completed.

The project, known as ?100 Steps,? is supposed to connect the Palisade Cliffs in the Heights to Paterson Plank Road near the Cliffs, a luxury residential loft development in Jersey City located near the Second Street Light Rail Station in Hoboken. This light rail station is just a short ride to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail?s Hoboken terminal, which connects to the PATH train and several NJ Transit rail lines. Residents in the Heights see the completion of these steps as essential to connecting their neighborhood to transit hubs in the area.
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?The city never forces developers to keep their agreements.? ? Becky Hoffman, RNA
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But the ?100 Steps? project has been in the works for eight years and has been plagued by several setbacks and delays, the most recent being just last month.

The city had planned to use the $300,000 NJDOT grant to offset the estimated $700,000 in construction costs to build the steps. To do this, however, the city needed to award a construction contract by July 3, 2012 or risk losing the state money. The City Council last month failed to approve a $1.7 million bid from the only contractor who submitted a bid for the project. The bid was rejected since it was well over the $700,000 construction estimate.

The city now finds itself in the position of having to re-bid the construction contract while lobbying to keep the state grant.

?We are rebidding the contract so we can find a contractor who meets the bid specifications,? said Rosemary McFadden, chief of staff to Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy. ?We?re also in contact with the Department of Transportation and talking to them about keeping the $300,000 grant. We don?t think that will be a problem.?

Residents are, however, frustrated by this latest delay and wonder how much longer they will have to wait for the stairway project to be completed.

?One of the main reasons why people moved to the Heights is because of its proximity to Hoboken and New York,? said Becky Hoffman, president of the Riverview Neighborhood Association. ?The 100 Steps project is essential to people getting to and from work, but also being able to go into Hoboken for restaurants and other activities. So it?s important to our local commerce as well.?

Missteps?

Until the 1920s there was a 100-step stairway that connected Hoboken to the Heights. This stairway was closed in the ?20s after the steps started to crumble and became unsafe. The original ?100 Steps? were later removed in the 1990s.

As Jersey City and Hoboken were redeveloped and began attracting New York City workers and people who wanted to commute easily between the three cities, residents began lobbying for the stairway to be rebuilt.

An opportunity and solution seemed to come along in 2003 when Brass Works Urban Renewal, the developer of the Cliffs, agreed to rebuild the ?100 Steps? as part of its development deal with Jersey City. At the time, residents in the Heights hoped the stairway would be finished by the time the 120-unit development was completed in 2008.

As the estimated cost to rebuild the 100-step stairway rose from $250,000 to $700,000, however, Brass Works Urban Renewal told the city it could not afford to take on the project. In 2010, the city agreed to take over the ?100 Steps? project from Brass Works Urban Renewal and planned to use about $144,000 from the developer, plus a $300,000 NJDOT grant, and $256,883 in city funding to get the job done.

Some residents, Hoffman said, opposed this shift in responsibility from the developer to the city.

?The city never forces developers to keep their agreements,? Hoffman stated. ?Developers know they can make an agreement, get what they want out of the city, then renegotiate to get out their commitment later. And this is very frustrating for residents because you know the city will always look out for the developer?s interests. But what about the residents? What about our interests??

Despite opposition, the city last year said it planned to have the steps completed by the spring or summer of 2012.

New bids by fall?

Fall is just two months away and the 100 Steps project has yet to get underway. In addition, the city concedes that a construction contract needed to be awarded by July 3 for it to access the $300,000 NJDOT grant.

McFadden said a new RFP (request for proposals) will be issued later this month and she believes the project can still get started this year.



http://hudsonreporter.com/view/full_s ... ndary_stories_left_column

UPDATE: Another cat has been adopted and JerseyCats has set up a chip-in fund for help with the health care costs of the remaining cats.

http://jerseycats.chipin.com/vet-care-for-nine-rescued-cats

We have been hard at work trying to find forever / foster homes for these amazing cats. So far, we have placed 3 of the cats. As we continue to try to find homes for the remaining 6 cats, we would like to start attending to some of their more long term health issues. Given their ages, most of the cats need dental treatment, blood work ups and medications.

If you are unable to adopt / foster one of these cats, please consider donating to our ChipIn fund we have set up to provide for their health care costs. As a small rescue group, we are unable to absorb all the costs associated with this rescue, and cannot expect potential adopters / fosterers to cover all these costs alone.

But with your help, we can provide these cats with the veterinary care that all cats deserve. Their former guardian, a rescuer herself, looked after her cats very well, as is evident by their amazing dispositions and general (non age related) health conditions.

Let's make sure these guys continue to be looked after in their mid - twilight years.

Thank you very much for your help.

Hi there,

You may be interested in getting involved with the neighborhood associations in the Heights as a way of getting to know your neighbors and community. Riverview Neighborhood Association (RNA) and Washington Park Association (WPA) are both very active and often work together. For example, both groups joined together to organize free movies in Riverview Park (Palisade and Griffith) and Washington Park (Patterson Plank and 2nd). The movies are free (including free popcorn) and are on the first four Fridays in August, around 8pm (sunset). This Fri, Aug 3, we're showing Young Frankenstein at Riverview Park.

You can look up both groups on Facebook or check out their websites: riverviewneighborhood.org or wpanj.org.

Another local event you might be interested in is the farmers market in Riverview Park on Sundays, 9?2pm. Again, its another great way to get to know your neighborhood and others who live in the Heights. A group called Farms in the City Heights organizes the market (you can look them up on Facebook) and RNA sponsors the market.

Hope this helps!

These lovely cats are in urgent need of a new home.

Riverview Neighborhood Association (RNA) of JC Heights is working with JerseyCats, a non-profit organization that helps homeless cats, to find homes for these cats. The guardian of these cats has recently been admitted to a hospital after complications resulting from dementia, and will not be returning to her home.

Their caregiver was a rescuer for many years and we hope the community can step forward to help these cats who are all incredibly friendly and sweet, not a shy or aggressive one in the bunch; a testament to their former guardian?s dedication to them over the years.

The cats are altered and have been vetted; all tested negative for FIV/FeLV and vaccinated. The cats range in age from young adults to seniors, so a peaceful home (foster or forever) where they can live out their lives in peace and comfort is all they need. They are used to living amongst other cats so multiple cat households are OK. They do not need to stay together.

They are currently being cared for by a wonderful neighbor in their home, but time is running out, so please help us help them.

Contact JerseyCats if you can help and please cross post!
info@jerseycats.org
201.305.3436
jerseycats.org