Zabrina Stoffel and Regina Gannon were enjoying a day in Liberty State Park when the two Hoboken residents, appreciating the beauty of the Jersey City park, thought, “Why doesn’t Hoboken have something like this?”
And the idea for Hoboken Project Play was born. The organization is now raising money to improve conditions at Church Square Park, located on Garden Street between Fifth and Sixth streets. The group hopes to enhance the urban space so that residents of the city have a park they can be proud of and enjoy.
“This is something that we’re doing to also bring the community together. We’ll create something special while we also generate more business in Hoboken.” – David Liebler, founder of EatDrinkHoboken.com
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Working together
David Liebler, founder of EatDrinkHoboken, partnered with Project Play a year ago when he became intrigued by their cause.
“I promised them [a year ago] that I would find a way to help them,” Liebler said. “I decided to help because of their passion for the project. These are two Hoboken women who decided to help the city out, so I said, ‘Let’s do something.’”
In the beginning, the only assistance Liebler could offer was to introduce them to potential investors or politicians in town. A year later, Liebler thought of a way that his website could help Project Play attain their lofty financial goal.
EatDrinkHoboken announced on Tuesday that VIP Cards will be sold throughout the city at EDH partnered restaurants and establishments for $5 beginning on October 1. The VIP cards provide discounts at establishments throughout the city. The cards are valid from October 1 through December 31. All proceeds will go to Hoboken Project Play. Only 10,000 cards will be sold, and Liebler is hoping to raise $50,000 toward Project Play’s $100,000 goal. The group is expecting to cover another $25,000 through the “HoBOOken Halloween 5K” presented by the Hoboken Elysianettes Running Society, which will be held on Oct. 30.
Helping out the city
The entire project to upgrade Church Square Park could cost up to $400,000, depending on the size of the renovation and materials chosen. According to Project Play, the group is trying to subsidize a large percentage and get the issue on the city’s agenda. Some of the materials being replaced are up to 20 years old.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer pledged support for the project at the fundraiser on Tuesday morning.
“We’re going to be doing a site remediation,” Zimmer said at the Elysian Café event. “We want to make sure that the park is safe for everyone. We look forward to working with you [Project Play] to get this done.”
Liebler believes it is plausible that Project Play could reach their $100,000 goal by Nov. 1.
There are at least 150 businesses that have given to Project Play in some way, according to Stoffel.
“We’ve even had businesses reach out to us,” Stoffel said. “We’ve had great outreach from residents.”
One resident who was acknowledged for assisting Project Play is Alicia Warburton, who organized a “Spin-a-Thon” in March at Club H Fitness, located in downtown Hoboken.
“We had three spin classes which were $25 each to participate in,” Warburton said. “Everyone got a t-shirt and also helped out Project Play.”
Problems of the park
In a video shown to the guests at Elysian Cafe, Stoffel said some of the problems include inaccessibility to handicap children who want to use the park, and a lack of swings, and said she hopes more picnic tables for all of Hoboken to enjoy will be part of the plan.
Liebler is not only trying to use the EatDrinkHoboken website launch to tell Hoboken residents where to grab a bite to eat or a quick drink, but also to help Hoboken Project Play and their cause.
Liebler sees the partnership between EatDrinkHoboken and Hoboken Project Play as something that will strengthen Hoboken.
“This is something that we’re doing to also bring the community together,” Liebler said. “We’ll create something special while we also generate more business in Hoboken.”