ExUWSguy,
In the 4 years I've been here (Ravine Ave Near Webster) I feel like the neighborhood has been getting slightly better. Just my opinion, yours may (does) differ.
I have not heard of "Heights Hope". I will also check into it.
So far the neighborhood groups I have seen have not been that effective or active. We certainly could use some focus in that respect.

So that's what was happening! I was waiting for the #123 to NYC for a friends party, and saw ambulances and unmarked cars whizzing to the corner - where Palisades Wine & Liquour is, my favorite store practically.

But I have to ask - WHAT is happening in the Heights!? It seems to be getting scuzzier and scuzzier by the day. And Hutton Street, at least between Palisade and Webster Avenue, always seemed quiet - our only arts venue, The Distillery Gallery is on that block, and the nicest condo loft conversion, too.

What do folks who also live in the area think? I saw there is a community group - "Heights Hope" - that meets at PS8, I wonder if it makes sense to start attending?

Jersey City police say suspect in Heights shooting had large cache of suspected heroin, cocaine and marijuana when arrested

Wednesday, November 23, 2011, 3:00 AM
By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal

A Union City felon charged with shooting a man in Jersey City on Saturday was busted Monday night in possession of suspected cocaine and pot when he was arrested, officials said.

Julio Rodriguez, 30, of Bergenline Avenue, is charged with shooting a 36-year-old New York man at 7 p.m. at Hutton Street and Palisade Avenue and yesterday made his first appearance on the charges in Central Judicial Processing court in Jersey City.

Rodriguez is charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses including possession of a weapon by a felon, the complaint says.

?The victim is expected to recover, but the gunshot caused serious bodily injury,? Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said.

When officers of the Jersey City Police Warrant Squad and U.S. marshals arrested Rodriguez they found 43 bags of suspected marijuana, 10 bags of suspected heroin and two bags of suspected cocaine, the complaint says, adding that nine drug counts were filed.

After the shooting, police found five bags of heroin near where the man was shot and his friends told cops he was possibly shot over drugs, reports said. The victim, whose leg was broken by the bullet, told police he had been trying to break up a fight between two of his friends and the gunman, reports said.

Rodriguez has been arrested 14 times in New Jersey and has a criminal record stretching back a decade, court officials said. He was in state prison from Nov. 9, 2007 to March 13, 2008 and June 25, 2008 to July 30, 2009 for drug crimes, corrections records say.

Rodriguez?s bail was set at $80,000 cash or bond when he appeared in CJP via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny.

New York man shot in leg in Jersey City, possibly over drugs: cops

Sunday, November 20, 2011, 2:18 PM
By Charles Hack/The Jersey Journal

A New York man was shot last night at Hutton Street and Palisade Avenue in Jersey City, possibly over drugs, police say.
A 36-year-old New York man was shot in his right leg last night in the Jersey City Heights, possibly over drugs, police reports said.

Police called to Hutton Street and Palisade Avenue at 7:14 p.m. met the Manhattan resident who said he was shot while trying to break up an argument between two of his friends and another man, reports said.

The shooting victim said he had just come out of a store and tried to intervene when the stranger pulled out a handgun and shot him in the right leg before running away, reports said.

Police found five small bags of heroin with a "rat poison" logo on them lying on the sidewalk near where the Manhattan man was shot and his friends told cops he was possibly shot over drugs, reports said.

The New Yorker sustained a broken leg from the bullet wound and was treated at the Jersey City Medical Center for a non-life threatening gunshot wound, reports said.

Anyone with information about this incident, should call the Jersey City Police Department confidential tip line at (201) 547-JAIL.