A great way to vent proactively is by volunteering to be on the PATH Patron Advisory Committee. They meet a few times a year--I've done it and it was very informative and offered a few perks....

Pathnynj.gov

Check it out!!

This may help (they attended a VVPA meeting)

The Medical Concierge Program is a Complimentary Service of JCMC for Jersey City residents. We help you navigate through healthcare by offering;

Physician referrals
Facilitated Scheduling
Expedited radiology results
Patient focused healthcare
Emergency Liaison
A personal concierge to answer your healthcare needs

We can be reached at 201-915-2815 or 201-915-2897

We've lived on Bright Street for some 10 years and the flooding is continually getting worse with each year. Basement flooded in the past but now its raw sewage pouring in the last few bad storms. Really disgusting.

Downtown flooding is going to continue until there are changes to our ancient sewage system. It doesn't help that our city keeps giving the green light to developers that put yet more stress on an already burdened system citywide.

But that being said...I love Bright Street and I have some of the best neighbors in this town!!

I second Cohens--I was there yesterday and the doctor was great. You pay extra for retina test --but you can option out. The appointment which was for contacts was $99. Call for an appointment.

Hi

We had EMT's at one of our VVPA meetings and they mentioned first aid classes.

Try to contact Mario Pozo at EMS. (201) 547-6126. He would be able to help you.

Good Luck!!

The ordinance for the amendments to the Bright Street Redevelopment plan was tabled last night. We are hoping to have some dialogue with the Planning Board and developers soon....

If anyone has a question they would liked asked to any of our candidates feel free to email vvpanews@gmail.com. Include your first name and street address and we'll try to get an answer for you!

We hope to see many of our neighbors tomorrow night--We will be there at 7:15 if you care to come early and have a glass of wine beforehand!

Thanks!!
VVPA

VVPA Meeting this Tuesday April 16th 7:30 pm Barrow Mansion 83 Wayne Street.

We've extended invitations to our Mayoral and Ward E & F candidates. Joining us Tuesday are :
For Council:
Fletcher Gensamer- Ward E
Dan Levin- Ward E
Candice Osborne-Ward E
Diane Coleman-Ward F
Chantel Snow-Ward F

For Mayor:
Steve Fulop

Each will be given a few minutes to tell us about themselves and then we open it to the floor to ask questions. An informal non-debate way to get to know who to vote for come May 14th. Wine and snacks will be served.

Reminder tonite-March 19th-VVPA Meeting 7:30 Barrow Mansion 83 Wayne street

Your basement or basement apartment flood during Sandy? How about everytime it seems to rain? Well tonite we welcome city officials to our meeting so we can ask what can be done to fix this ongoing flooding issue in our neighborhood. They'll let us know what, if anything, is being done in preparation for the next big storm. Tell your neighbors to come if they haven't heard--

Also -- Cake Lush owner Greggy Soriano joins us to tell us about a new bakery/cafe on Jersey & Bright and has promised some samples of his delicious work!

Next month--meet and greet candidates--stay tuned for the full list of who's coming!! email vvpanews@gmail to stay in touch.

March Meeting tomorrow March 19th at 7:30pm at the Barrow Mansion-83 Wayne Street. All are welcome and snacks served (including samples from Cake Lush!!) Join our email list at vvpanews@gmail.com. Hope to see you tomorrow.

Meeting Agenda:

City Officials to discuss Future Flood Preparations!!
Last month, reps from FEMA told us to ask more questions of our city officials regarding infrastructure flooding issues and building code requirements as we repair and go forward. We reached out to the Mayors Office and at our request:
Jeff Wenger-Senior planner with City Planning, Doug Greenfield the supervising planner with the mayor's office and Ray Meyer, a construction code official will discuss the initiatives the city is taking to address/mitigate flood concerns and to discuss what the city has done, what the plan is going forward and hopefully present us with their biannual report that the city supposedly files to FEMA.

AND---Cake Lush! Greggy Soriano, the "Faboo" Cake designer extraordinaire from TLC's The Cake Boss:The Next Great Baker will join us and present his plans to open a Bakery/Cafe at 437 Jersey Ave. He will field questions and bring us a few samples of his delicious work.

I've enjoyed Taqueria over the years and am sad to see the destruction caused by Sandy to so many businesses. There is however another Taqueria that my husband and I found a few weeks back on Morris Street btw Van Vorst & Warren called Viva Mexico Kitchen Cafe. Small place, byob- we really enjoyed our food--if you're having a craving...check them out. I do not in any way, shape or form know them or work for them! Just really liked what we had and liked the family run aspect of it--enjoy!!

FYI--we recently had a representative from the JCMC speak at our VVPA January meeting regarding their new medical concierge service...you can reach out to Tom Shields...perhaps he can answer any questions you may have...this is from our newsletter this month:

Tom Shields spoke with us at our last meeting regarding a new service offered at the Jersey City Medical Center--Here's a little more about the program!!

The Medical Concierge Program is a Complimentary Service offered to the residents of Van Vorst Neighborhood. We help you navigate through healthcare by offering;

Physician referrals
Facilitated Scheduling
Expedited radiology results
Patient focused healthcare
Emergency Liaison
A personal concierge to answer your healthcare needs

We can be reached at 201-915-2815 or 201-915-2897

The Van Vorst Park Association will be having our monthly meeting tomorrow (1/15) at 7:30pm at the Barrow Mansion.

Will be having an open discussion regarding the Footbridge, specifically what the past meetings with neighborhood associations, concerned citizens & some city officials have been about. If any of our neighbors would like to voice their thoughts/ideas/concerns before we make a potential formal written plea to the city, we encourage you to come tomorrow evening.

As always our meetings are free, open to everyone and light snacks are served.

You can meet Diane Coleman this Tuesday at 7:30 at the Barrow Mansion. She is on the agenda for the VVPA's monthly meeting--she asked to meet us and get to know the newest Ward F constituents.
Meeting is free, open to all and snacks are served!!

Tuesday October 16th @ 7:30pm Barrow Mansion 83 Wayne Street.

Thanks to all of you who came and enjoyed with us an amazing summer of free movies and popcorn. We had scheduled a movie for the 19th but have decided to save the $$ since our turnout was very low last week...and well, happily, i guess, summer is over! There may be one more movie up our sleeve, if your are on our email list you will hear about it...join our list at vvpanews@gmail.com.

Thanks to all the volunteers, your neighbors, that came early to set up and stayed late to clean up. Thanks to Marc Wesson and Friends of Van Vorst Park for setting up and donating the popcorn this summer. Thank you to the City of Jersey City for giving us permission and insurance to use the park. And a special special thanks to JERSEY CITY MEDICAL CENTER and SILVERMAN-BUILDING NEIGHBORHOODS. Their generous donations were the reason you all enjoyed free films all summer long...

We look forward to our 9th season next summer...

Roll credits.....

The End.

The new owner was at our Van Vorst Park Association meeting last night. He is very enthusiastic about food and making this new restaurant a positive addition to the neighborhood. His wife is from Jersey City--and now they both live here...

Come to our next meeting! It's where you get all the inside scoop!!

We also have just confirmed that 2 new Detectives from the East District will join us as well--If you have questions or concerns that the JCPD should know about, now is the time to let your voice be heard.

TUESDAY March 20th @ 7:30pm--Barrow Mansion 83 Wayne Street. All are welcome!

Tuesday March 20th 7:30pm
Barrow Mansion 83 Wayne Street

March VVPA Meeting
Steve Fulop, Me Casa Restaurant,
East District Police Reps

We are very excited to welcome our Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop to this months meeting. He will be updating us on all the City Council happenings including his thoughts on the upcoming Board Of Education elections, reval process and much more.

ME CASA is a new restaurant on Varick Street. It is taking over the old Hernandez space near the corner of Christopher Columbus. The new owner would like to meet with his neighbors to discuss his plans and get any feedback.

There are 2 new detectives on our East District force, Detectives Doran and Hulings. They will be joining us to take questions and concerns regarding the ongoing issues of safety in our neighboorhood. Now is the time to speak up and be heard!! COME TO THE MEETING!

And...we are now on TWITTER-- @vvpajc Follow Us!!

I was in the car adjacent to the one where the baby was born-- There was a frantic young man running thru our car asking for a doctor nurse ems...soon after we heard the announcement that we were going straight to 33rd street. And believe it or not...a young woman across from me was cursing the fact that we were skipping Christopher Street. I politely told her...you know someone is sick...show a little compassion. She rolled her eyes and kept cursing under her breath. I am so happy it all turned out well! It certainly was an exciting ride into the city for a Monday!!

Had dinner at Abbondanza last night with a group of women. We all agreed it was a really nice evening. Good food, BYOB, great service--and even though we were the last group to leave they graciously waited for us. Will definitely be back--a great addition to our neighborhood!!

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." Ghandi.

Great store!! Really needed in JC--

Their chocolates are fantastic and presented in a lovely box--perfect gift if you need to bring a little something to a party or as a thank you gift.

Dr Spiros Papadatos...on the corner of Bright & Monmouth. The Best.

We as a community can make a difference here in Van Vorst and throughout the city. Anyone taking their time to write in this forum cares about their community and wants to see problems solved. We may disagree about the method but we all want a better place for our families to live in.
Next Tuesday evening community members are gathering in Wayne Street Park at 6:30 and walking as a group to MS4 at Varick and Bright Street to attend the East District Police Captain's Meeting. Anyone who wants to see action on Wayne Street and throughout downtown is encouraged to join us. Captain Gallagher was installed as East District Captain in June so it will help to have a good turnout to reinforce the urgency of the problem and come closer to a solution.

The Van Vorst Park Association would like to formally thank the Parkman for assisting in the renovation of the bulletin boards in Van Vorst Park--and for his years of commitment on a VOLUNTEER basis to making the park a better place for us all to visit, play, walk our dog, watch a film....
FYI--the intent of the enclosed area on the new bulletin boards was to make sure there was always a space provided for public events concerning our neighborhood--

7:30pm at the Barrow Mansion 83 Wayne Street

Over the next few months, candidates will give an introduction to their candidacy and will answer questions from the membership.

We are starting the local election season with The One Jersey City Coalition
Dan Levin candidate for Mayor
Andrew Hubsch candidate for councilperson at large
Emilio Delia candidate for councilperson at large
Check out onejerseycity.org for more info on this slate.

Also at this evenings meeting--

Steven Gucciardo of the Embankment Preservation Coalition
will give an update on recent developments with the Harsimus Stem Embankment and actions required to insure its preservation.

We look forward to seeing you...if you have any questions and for Dan or any of our guests and are unable to make it-- email them to: mail@vvpa.org. We will email you back their response.

Thanks!

City Council postponed voting on the Newark Ave Redevelopment last Wednesday to allow time for a public presentation and discussion. The Van Vorst Park Association has provided this info and a link to download the proposed plan on it's web site, www.vvpa.org --Here is the formal annoucement:

You are invited to an informal presentation and discussion of the proposed Newark Avenue Redevelopment Plan on Wednesday, September 17, 2008. The meeting will convene at 5:30PM, at 30 Montgomery Street, in the 14th Floor Conference Room. Parking is available on Christopher Columbus Drive. A copy of the proposed Newark Avenue Downtown Redevelopment Plan can be downloaded here for your convenience.

The plan reflects the redevelopment goals within the Newark Avenue Study Area. This area is comprised of two blocks bounded by Jersey Avenue, Newark Avenue, Grove Street and Christopher Columbus Drive. A boundary map of the area is provided in the plan.

This informal meeting will provide all interested persons an opportunity to make suggestions and discuss concerns regarding the area and its future development.