Public schools host recipe contest to celebrate ‘Jersey Fresh Farm to School’ Week
In honor of New Jersey’s statewide initiative to promote Garden State agriculture and to forge connections between local farmers, students, and school food service operations, the Jersey City Public School District will hold a local foods recipe contest. On Friday, Sept. 28 at 9:30 a.m., creative cooks from schools throughout the district will create original salad dishes made with Jersey-grown seasonal fruits and vegetables. Each serving must meet the requirements of one lunchtime fruit or vegetable serving, according to the newly instituted Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act. The winning recipe will be incorporated into a future school district lunch menu.
The contest will take place at the Frank R. Conwell Elementary School (PS 3) and will involve food service staff from Conwell, Dickinson High School, Franklin L. Williams Middle School, and PS 4. Student tasters from Conwell will be among the judges.
Plane pull to raise money for Special Olympics of New Jersey
On Saturday, Sept. 29, members of the Jersey City Police Department will participate in a “plane pull” at Newark Liberty International Airport. At the event, which will begin at 8 a.m., teams of police officers from cities across the state will attempt to pull a Boeing 737 jet weighing more than 93,000 pounds across the tarmac.
At the plane pull, each team will compete in two events: Fastest Pull, in which teams attempt to pull the aircraft 12 feet in the least amount of time; and Lowest Combined Weight Pull, in which the team with the lowest total team weight tries to pull the aircraft 12 feet within two minutes. The minimum team donation to participate in the fundraiser is $1,000.
This annual event, hosted by United Airlines and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, is part of Airport Family Day. All proceeds benefit the 22,000 New Jersey athleteswho train and compete year-round throughout the state in Special Olympics competitions. To learn more about the upcoming plane pull, or support the Jersey City Police Dept. team, visit http://www.sonj.org/LawEnforcement/PlanePull/Sponsor.php.
Flea market at Second Reformed Church
The Rainbow Matthew’s Club of Second Reformed Church will hold a flea market on Saturday, Oct. 13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the church hall. The community is welcome.
Second Reformed Church is located at 940 Summit Ave.
Bark in the Park for Liberty Humane Society
On Saturday Sept. 29, Jersey City’s Liberty Humane Society will host Bark in the Park, a fundraising event in Hoboken’s Church Square Park. The event will begin at noon and end at 5 p.m.
Last week it was announced that actors James Roday and Maggie Lawson, stars of the USA Network show “Psych,” will attend and co-host the event, which will begin with a half-mile walk around Hoboken and will conclude with demonstrations and other events in Church Square Park. Liberty Humane Society’s Dog Agility Team, Shira the Pet Psychic, the Yankee Flyers Dog and Disc Club, and the Jersey City K-9 Unit will be participating in the post-walk demonstrations. Participants will also be able to shop at over 50 different pet vendor booths, see the Liberty Humane Society Doggie Couture Fashion Show, receive low-cost micro-chipping for their dogs, and enter dog trick contests for a chance to win prizes.
Also, participants can LHS takes in over 2,500 animals each year from Hoboken and Jersey City. The facility is partially funded by municipal contracts; however, the money generated from these partnerships only funds about a seven-day stay for the animals. Since the vast majority of the adoptable animals reside at the shelter for much longer, the fundraising generated at Bark in the Park is a necessary component to cover the medical expenses, food, and housing required to keep the animals in our care until their adopter comes along.
Bark in the Park 2012 is sponsored by Cornerstone Pets, Hound Around Dog Walking, Liberty Landing Marina, Boca’s Play-N-Stay, Freshpet, Hoboken Dog Wash, and Merck Animal Health.
To participate in the walk, visit http://libertyhumane.org/dogwalk.php. Participants can sign up to walk individually or as a team. The top fundraisers who participate in the walk will have the opportunity to win prizes, including an iPad 2. The first 100 registrants will also receive a special VIP bag.
Jersey City prepares to ‘dig it’ again
For the second year in a row, the Jersey City Parks Coalition is gearing up for Make a Difference Day, with its second annual Big Dig celebration, which will be held on Saturday, Oct. 27.
The non-profit Parks Coalition, which is working closely with the several city departments, is again seeking sponsorship from local businesses, organizations, and private citizens and is actively recruiting volunteers from around the city.
Last year, “USA Weekend Magazine” awarded one of 13 prestigious national Make a Difference Day awards to the Jersey City Parks Coalition and the City of Jersey City for its collaborative Big Dig project, through which residents planted 18,000 tulip and daffodil bulbs throughout the city. The Jersey City Parks Coalition was awarded $10,000 for its efforts.
For the 2012 Big Dig, the Parks Coalition has set an even more ambitious goal for the number of bulbs to be planted. Thus, there is a need for even more community involvement.
“We are asking residents, community groups, civic organizations, and corporate teams to donate toward the bulbs and equipment that are needed and to actually come out on ‘Make A Difference Day’ to plant and be part of this amazing project,” said Big Dig Project Manager Charlene Burke, secretary of the Parks Coalition.
Started in 1990 as a national day dedicated to helping others, Make a Difference Day is an annual event sponsored by USA Weekend Magazine” on the fourth Saturday of every October. Volunteers can join a group project or come up with their own project, like spending the day at a soup kitchen or helping an elderly neighbor around the house.
For more information regarding this year’s Big Dig, or to make a donation or volunteer, please call Laura Skolar at (201) 259-1800 or Charlene Burke at (201) 344-2060. Residents can also visit www.jcparks.org.
Eco-friendly Madox building now accepting names for wait list
The Madox, Jersey City’s first “green” residential rental development, is now accepting the names of prospective tenants interested in moving to the Paulus Hook complex once it is completed.
Designed as the first LEED-certified residential building in Jersey City, the Madox, at 198 Van Vorst St., will include 131 luxury apartments, many with views of the Hudson River and Manhattan skyline beyond.
The new complex is being constructed in accordance with U.S. Green Building Council guidelines for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings which incorporate responsible site development, energy efficient design, and sustainable materials to create environmentally-sensitive urban living environments. Green elements being incorporated into Madox include a PV Solar Array and vegetation on the roof, electric car charging stations, and systems to reduce water consumption by over 45 percent and energy consumption by 14 percent. The building will also be under contract for at least two years to provide 35 percent of its electricity from renewable sources.
Madox will also boast a 100 percent smoke-free environment, a rarity in this area.
Monthly rents will begin at around $1,800 and leasing is expected to officially begin in October. The first new residents to the Madox will be able to move in November.
Interested prospects who add their name to the list will be able to take guided VIP “Hard Hat” tours of the building. These tours will give prospective renters a firsthand look at the units, amenities, and landscaped outdoor spaces at the development. Leasing is expected to officially open at Madox in early October and initial occupancy is scheduled in early November.
For more information regarding the Madox, visit www.madoxapts.com.