Want to know which of the downtown Jersey City families – the Shapiros, the Skinners, or the Rivos – prevailed on HGTV’s “Battle on the Block”? Wait for the season finale of the show, which will air starting this coming Saturday, May 29 at 10 p.m. (with a repeat on May 30 at 1 a.m.) on HGTV.
The premise of the show is that three neighboring families compete to design and build one new room in their house from scratch within a single weekend. The winning family gets $10,000 and “bragging rights in the neighborhood.” The one-hour show is hosted by professional interior designer Genevieve Gorder and airs each Saturday.
“I look at reality TV in a whole new way now.” – Shelley Skinner
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Shelley Skinner, who lives with her husband Travis and their two children, said her family was chosen for the show along with the other families due to Phil Rivo’s acquaintance with an HGTV producer.
The other families were the Rivos – consisting of Phil, a real estate agent, his wife Iris, an artist, and their two children – and the Schapiros, with husband Matt, a public relations specialist, his wife, Marni, a media sales rep, and their 10-month-old son.
Skinner said participating on the show was the “craziest experience” but could not reveal if she won, since the families had to sign a confidentiality agreement.
“I look at reality TV in a whole new way now,” said Skinner, who works at the Learning Community Charter School in Jersey City.
How they became TV stars
Iris Rivo said it was not a surprise that her family would eventually be on the show. “This is what Phil lives for – to be on a reality show,” said Rivo, who had turned down pleas by her husband over the years to appear on several shows.
But this time it was different, Rivo said, because other couples they knew would appear on the show.
First came a casting call. Other couples living in the Hamilton Park area were interviewed and whittled down to the three finalists. They also had to submit a proposal of a project they wanted to pursue.
Skinner said it was a “really interesting opportunity” to carry out a five-year goal of fixing up their family room.
Schapiro said while he and his wife were “excited” about the chance to be on a nationally televised show, it was also “nerve wracking.”
“Both my wife and I work full-time, we have a baby, and we had moved into our house only a week before,” Schapiro said.
Little did they know what was in store.
A three-day push
Each construction day started around 7 a.m. for the couples. And joining them was a general contractor and his crew, along with a “Battle on the Block” production team and host Genevieve Gorder.
Their children had to stay away from the production for safety purposes, which resulted in shared babysitting for both the Skinners’ and Rivos’ kids while the Schapiros’ baby stayed with in-laws.
Once work started, each family found they had to share the services of the contractor.
Rivo thought the contractors would spend more time on the makeover of the family room. But she was happy with the final product.
“The contractors were a big help, since I am not a great house painter, and Phil can’t really do much except he is good at lifting things,” Rivo said. “And the TV people were wonderful to work with.”
Skinner said their family space was made “much more functional” after the work was completed. They also did not have to pay the contractors, although there was still a price. “I think Travis and I got probably a total of seven hours of sleep during that weekend,” Skinner said.
Schapiro had a more daunting task. He and his wife, as part of creating a new family room, had to rip moldy floorboards out of their home. He said it was a stressful but “rewarding” experience.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.