Weehawken seniors invited to Irish Festival at the Brownstone
The Weehawken Weekenders are planning a day trip to the Brownstone on Wed., March 13 for an Irish Festival featuring “The Irish Tenor” Dan Yates. It will be an afternoon of food, music , and entertainment. The price of the trip is $45 per person, which includes everything plus two complimentary drinks, transportation, and gratuities. Please call the Weekenders Office at 201-319-6059 to sign up or for more information.
Meadowlands mayors refuse to offer police, other services for Super Bowl 2014
Secaucus Mayor Michael Gonnelli and four other mayors from the Meadowlands region are refusing to offer municipal services during the Super Bowl 2014 and will not provide any police, fire, or any other municipal services, they have said.
This stance comes after a meeting on Feb. 6 between mayors from Carlstadt, Little Ferry, Moonachie, Secaucus, and South Hackensack – all payers into a state Meadowlands tax sharing municipal pool, which was developed in the 1970s as a way to offset the loss of tax ratables for towns that can’t develop due to environmental reasons. There are 14 towns in the Meadowlands District. The mayors from paying municipalities have long battled to change the formula and have pressed the state to find other sources of revenue to compensate the towns.
The Giants and Jets have rejected proposals to require a surcharge on tickets or parking in order to offset the costs incurred by municipalities as a result of the stadium according to the statement.
In a written press statement, Gonnelli “made it clear that he would lead a concerted effort to make sure the region’s towns do not participate in any Super Bowl planning or activity that will require the towns to pick up any costs.” He called the lease signed between Acting Governor Dick Cody and the New York Jets and New York Giants “a slap in the face to each and every taxpayer in the state of New Jersey.”
According to the statement, the NFL teams reportedly receive $425 million, pay $6 million for 75 acres of property, and keep all parking revenue.
“How do you give away state assets and property without proper compensation?” said Gonnelli.
According to the statement, the state was left with $230 million in stranded debt from the old stadium that is being paid for by tax dollars.
“The teams have never been good corporate neighbors to the region,” said Mayor William Roseman of Carlstadt. “Every football game, every concert is nothing more than a nightmare to the towns that are either next to the stadium or towns that endure the event day traffic congestion.” According to Roseman each event requires overtime expenses for the police department, which is funded through taxpayers.
Union City Chamber Players to hold Valentine’s Day concert Sunday
The Union City Chamber Players recently announced that their next concert, celebrating the many varieties of love (spiritual, earthly, requited and not), will take place on Feb. 10 at 3 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 1506 Palisade Ave. in Union City.
Charles Gounod’s fervent “Ave Maria” will open the program, followed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s intimate and virtuosic “Violin sonata K. 526.”
French songs of love found and lost by Faure and Massenet follow, along with Richard Strauss’s haunting “Stiller Gang” and Rachmaninoff’s reverie “In the Silence of the Secret Night.”
Wine and cheese will follow the concert. There is a suggested donation of $8 (children free).
World Heritage International seeking host families in North Hudson
World Heritage International, a non-profit organization, is seeking local host families for high school boys and girls from Scandinavia, France, Germany, Italy, Thailand, China, South Korea, and other countries. Students are already awaiting word on their host families for the 2013-2014 academic school year or semester. Host families provide room, board, and guidance for a teenager living thousands of miles from home. Couples, single parents, and families with or without children are all encouraged to apply.
The exchange students arrive from their home country shortly before the school year begins and each student is fully insured, brings his/her own spending money and expects to bear his/her share of household responsibilities, as well as being included in normal family activities and lifestyles.
If you are interested in opening your home and sharing your family life with one of the students, call the local area representative Joanna Metelitsa at (212) 696-1976 or 1-(800)-888-9040 (toll free). Please visit the website at www.whhosts.com.