Jersey City council members say summer events should be spread throughout the city

By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
June 09, 2014 at 8:45 PM

At tonight?s Jersey City City Council caucus, two council members were not pleased with resolutions to hire entertainment for four public concert and dance performances this summer and wanted to know why none were scheduled in their wards.

?We shouldn?t have to meet with the director, the director should split these things up equally,? said Councilman Richard Boggiano who represents residents in the Journal Square area.

Councilman Michael Yun from the Heights also wanted to know ?do we have plans to spread out all these dollars to other areas??

The Jazz for Lunch Concert Series will have eight performances at Owen Grundy Pier Downtown and will cost the city about $6,000. The Summer Dance Festival will also be at Owen Grundy Pier and will include five two-hour dance lessons at a cost of $3,500.

The Summerfest Concert Series will include 20 performances behind the Liberty House Restaurant in Liberty State Park at a cost of about $20,000. And finally, the MLK HUB Concert Series in Greenville will include 14 concerts at a cost of more than $7,000.

Downtown Councilwoman Candice Osborn replied, saying ?These programs have been around a long time and that is the only reason they are where they are. We all agree with you.?

A number of council members agree with Boggiano and Yun?s request to spread the events around the city and City Corporation Council Jeremy Farrell said he would discuss the issue with city officials and said, ?We would like to have more events across the city.?

Boggiano said prior council members did not open their mouths but ?We are opening our mouths.?

Boggiano was also critical of Osborne?s plan to close Newark Avenue from Grove Street to Barrow Street during business hours to allow for a pedestrian plaza with outdoor seating at restaurants and open-air events.

?I think this is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard,? Boggiano said. ?Traffic Downtown is a nightmare. The other day you couldn?t even get down Newark Avenue.?

Boggiano said he wants a full traffic survey conducted before a vote on the ordinance and said implementation should wait until work on Route 139 and the Pulaski Skyway is completed.

Osborne noted that the plan has the support of the Downtown Special Improvement District, Downtown neighborhood organizations and that the ordinance would only put in place a one-year pilot program which includes criteria for judging if closing the section of the roadway has a positive or negative impact.

The ordinance would close the section of Newark Avenue between the hours of 10 a.m. to midnight Monday to Friday and from noon to midnight Saturday and Sunday. It would prohibit amplified sound or music and it includes regulations on when deliveries can be made and garbage can be picked.

The ordinance closing the portion of Newark Avenue was to face a vote for final adoption on Wednesday but Osborne said tonight that she intends to tweak portions of the plan. That makes it likely the current ordinance will be voted down on Wednesday and the new, amended ordinance, will be introduced for a first reading that night.

A separate proposed ordinance would change traffic patterns in the area to facilitate the one-block stretch of closed roadway. This ordinance was tabled after its first reading and will be untabled for a final vote when the sister ordinance has its final vote.

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