JERSEY CITY – Merchants and residents are holding a peace rally this evening near the site of the July 2009 shootout that killed Jersey City Police Officer Marc DiNardo.
The “RALLY TO TAKE BACK BERGEN AVENUE AND REED STREET” is being held at 5:30 p.m. at 673 Bergen Ave., down the block from the Reed Street building where DiNardo was killed while trying to apprehend Hassan Hosendove, a suspect in the near fatal shooting of a garage mechanic days before under the Pulaski Skyway. Hosendove died in the gun battle with police along with his girlfriend, Amanda Anderson.
The rally is being organized by Stephen Cunniff, who owns the Imago beauty salon in the Basilico condominiums, the site of the rally. Cunniff, a lifelong resident of the area, said he and others are holding the rally to take back the neighborhood from criminal activity.
“It is my hope that we can begin to restore and bring pride back to our neighborhood, and encourage families and businesses to invest and live here in an area that is not defined by crime and fear,” Cunniff said.
Expected to attend are City Council members David Donnelly and Viola Richardson as well as other city officials. – Ricardo Kaulessar