New fire chief
Richard Blohm will be sworn in as the city’s Fire Department Chief at a public ceremony to be held on Monday, July 13 at 4:30 p.m. in the City Council chambers on the first floor of City Hall.
Blohm has been serving as acting chief since the retirement of John Cassesa in 2007. “The appointment of Blohm, who scored the top spot in the most recent state Fire Chief test,” the city said in a release, “was authorized earlier this month by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.”
“Richard Blohm has been both an asset to the Fire Department and the community of Hoboken for over 30 years,” said new Mayor Peter Cammarano. “Rich personifies the values and traditions that have shaped the Hoboken Fire Department as one of the finest in the region.”
Blohm, a Hoboken native, joined the Hoboken Fire Department in 1977, and was promoted to deputy chief in 1992. He has served as a tour commander, Special Operations Officer, Chief of Hazmat Team and Chief of Training. He has also been appointed by the past three New Jersey Governors as a Fire Commissioner for the New Jersey Fire Safety Commission. Blohm and his wife, Joyce, reside in Paramus. They have two sons.
Train service to Meadowlands
New Jersey Transit officials will begin rail service from Hoboken and Secaucus Junction to the Meadowlands on July 26, just in time for the Gold Cup soccer title match at Giants Stadium that day.
Officials said trains will operate for stadium events expected to draw more than 50,000 people, including Giants and Jets preseason and regular season games, major concerts, and some soccer matches like the Gold Cup match.
Trains will run every 10 to 20 minutes from Hoboken and Secaucus beginning three and a half hours before events and up to two hours afterward.
Party with a 5K run
Party With Purpose, a local charity group, will host its fifth annual 5K and Kids’ Fun Run on Tuesday, July 14 at Pier A Park.
Kids events begin at 4 p.m. and their Fun Run around Pier A will be held at 5 p.m.
The 5 kilometer run begins at 7 p.m. and the after party at Sinatra Park begins at 8 p.m.
The after party is free to participating runners and $5 for anyone else.
Last year’s event featured 700 runners and organizers said it ranks as one of the best races in or around New York City. The event raises funds for the Hoboken Boys and Girls Club and Jubilee Center.
Online registration ends Monday, July 13 at 12 p.m.
For more information, visit, www.partywithpurpose.org/5k.
Neumann Leather fundraiser
The art show “Neumann: Eureka!” is opening on July 23 to help raise funds for the future of the historic Neumann Leathers buildings. The show is from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Eureka Gallery Theater, 258 Newark St.
Local artists’ works will be on display and for sale to fund a feasibility study for the future of the buildings.
The study is being conducted by Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center, a nonprofit industrial development company which has worked on six Brooklyn industrial buildings similar to the Neumann Leathers buildings along Observer Highway. The Hoboken buildings house over 200 manufacturing and artisanal jobs, according to tenant organizers, and were close to being turned over to a developer last year for demolition and reconstruction of a mixed-used residential building.
For more information, visit the tenants’ association website at www.neumanntenants.org.
Food tour of Hoboken
Mangia Hoboken! is a celebration of the food and culture of Hoboken with guided walking tours exploring the world-class Italian food establishments that have been in business for decades.
“We offer a weekly walking tour for small groups that features a behind-the-scenes look at the world-class food establishments which highlight historic Hoboken’s Italian heritage,” said Tour Director Avi Ohring. “The tour will focus on family-owned businesses, where everything is still made by hand and you have a good chance of running into the owner.”
Highlights of the tour include Carlo’s City Hall Bake Shop and two of Hoboken’s wholesale Italian bread bakeries, as well as a few establishments where fresh mozzarella cheese is handmade daily. There will also be stops at points of local historical interest such as the site of Frank Sinatra’s childhood home.
Tours will depart Saturday afternoon from the Hoboken PATH station. The tour is about three hours in length and the $40 cost includes all food samples. To celebrate the tour kick-off date of Saturday, July 18, an introductory tour price of $20 will be offered.
Ohring is a Hoboken resident since 1986 and, as a lifetime member of the Hoboken Historical Society, he has led numerous Hoboken House and Hoboken Secret Garden Tours.
For more information, visit www.hobokenfoodtour.com.
YMCA event at Maxwell’s
A rock and roll fundraiser for the Hoboken-North Hudson YMCA will be held at Maxwell’s, 1039 Washington St., on Tuesday, July 14 at 8 p.m.
New York City rockers Souled Out will be playing vintage soul, R&B, seventies funk, classic and contemporary rock.
According to a press release, the band consists of consist of “several guys named John, as well as two of New York’s Bravest on drums and bass as well as New York’s Finest on lead vocals, guitar and percussion.”
There is a $30 cover and proceeds will go to the YMCA.