I think that as the JSQ developes and more classier restaurants open up, then people will want to stay in JSQ as well as JC instead of always going to Manhattan. But there are options in JSQ now.

City should let go of Loew's funding
Earl Morgan -- Friday, November 10, 2006

Throngs of costumed youngsters filled the Landmark Loew's Jersey Theater on Journal Square last week for the sixth annual Halloween party hosted by local radio and cable television personality Pat O'Melia.

The evening was big fun. A trove of prizes were awarded for the best costume. Microwave ovens and vacuum cleaners were raffled off to lucky winners.

The audience also was treated to a display of martial arts techniques by students of the New Jersey Tae kwon do Youth Foundation, located on Jersey City's Martin Luther King Jr. Drive; a spirited saber fencing demonstration by Steve Kaplan and Rosa Cartegena of Jersey City's Cobra Fencing Club; and a magic show by Luis Montenegro.

Going by the grins on their faces, real estate developer Joe Panepinto, Ward B Councilwoman Mary Spinello and Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise - who acted as judges for the costume contest - enjoyed themselves as much as the kids.

O'Melia's annual Halloween bash explodes the myth that no one cares. He's been able to get Panepinto, along with other developers, including Steve Hyman, owner of the Flintkote property; George Filopoulos, who is redeveloping the former Jersey City Medical Center; and waterfront developer Dean Geibel, as well as local businesses such as the DiFeo Auto Group and Home Depot to donate the costumes and raffles prizes.

And a group of Dickinson High School students volunteered their time to work as stage hands and help clean the theater after the party.

Who says nobody cares? O'Melia's party reaffirms just how the Loew's can act as a catalyst to pull a deteriorating Journal Square out of its doldrums.

Once a bustling, 24 hour-a-day commerce destination, Journal Square offered restaurants and chain stores, not to mention its three movie theaters - the State, the Stanley and, of course, the Loew's.

As things stand now, often by 9 p.m., the Square is virtually deserted. What with the advent of cable TV, shopping malls and the Internet, the Square may never return to the glory days of yesteryear - but at the very least it can, and should, be commercially viable.

"What's the plan for Journal Square?" a merchant who is struggling to survive in the area asked me several days ago. It's a good question.

The only thing we know that's in its future is the residential towers development slated for the old Hotel on the Square site. But it will, in all likelihood, be filled with people who will do nothing but sleep on this side of the Hudson. They will do their working, eating and shopping in Manhattan and its environs.

But looking back at the last few weeks, when we had the Halloween party, three concerts and a program of Halloween movies, all bringing thousands to the Square, and we see the potential. The throngs of the hungry and the thirsty leaving the concert meant big bucks for Boulevard Drinks and the Journal Square Pub as well as a bonanza of sales for other business in the Square.

If proof is still needed to demonstrate the potential viability of the Loew's, attendance at those events should cinch it. If a theater that is only partially restored can generate that kind of attendance, imagine what will happen once the Loew's seating, air conditioning, balcony, lights and stage improvements are completed?

Funds to cover some of the work is currently in the hands of City Hall. That includes a $50,000 donation the city got as part of a deal to extend a tax exemption on the ADP Building in Journal Square for another 20 years.

Another $165,000 earmarked for the Loew's that is part of another settlement involving 111 First St. is in the city's hands. DeGise has committed $750,000 for a modern air conditioning system for the theater.

Whether or not there are plans for resurrecting Journal Square as a commercial hub, restoring the Loew's, enabling it to become a venue able to host productions - and therefore bringing five or six thousand people to the Square, five or six days a week - will go a long way to giving the area a needed boost.

Hopefully, the administration, which for some reason continues to drag its heels, will finally see the light and release the funds it's holding for the theater.