Police seize $250,000 worth of suspected drugs
The North Bergen Police Department Narcotics Unit arrested three alleged drug traffickers and seized approximately $250,000 worth of suspected cocaine, heroin, crystal methamphetamines, and marijuana in a drug bust on June 2, according to Police Chief Robert Dowd.
Working with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents from New Jersey and New York, NBPD officers executed a search warrant and apprehended the alleged dealers at an apartment on the 7400 block of Broadway, Dowd said.
Naisha Correa, 23, of Union City, and Wilken Sanchez, 26, of New York, N.Y., were charged with: possession of a controlled dangerous substance; possession with intent to distribute; conspiracy to distribute narcotics; intent to distribute narcotics within 1,000 feet of a school zone (Robert Fulton); and intent to distribute narcotics within 500 feet of a public park, Dowd said.
A warrant for the arrest of Remy Castillo, 27, of Jersey City for the same five charges has been drawn up, Dowd said, as Castillo is in the custody of the DEA in New York City on alleged gun charges related to this arrest.
“These arrests should send a clear message to criminals looking to cash in on the sale of illegal drugs that North Bergen is the wrong place to set up shop,” Dowd said.
North Bergen library offering amnesty
The North Bergen Public Library is offering its Library Amnesty Days until July 20.
“Return your overdue library items without any fines,” said library spokeswoman Krista Welz. “Start your summer with a clean slate.”
For more information about the program, call (201) 869-4715.
Save the Date for Safe Kids Day
Guttenberg has announced the date for the municipality’s annual Safe Kids Day, according to a town official.
The event will take place on Sat., Sept. 14, from noon to 5 p.m. on Boulevard East, between 68th and 71st streets.
“It’s a day that basically everything’s free,” said Capt. Joel Magenheimer of the Guttenberg Police Department. “Anyone can get involved. There are giveaways, rides, food vendors, karaoke. It’s a fair.”
For more information, contact Magenheimer at (201) 868-2315, ext. 128.
Little Miss Schuetzen beauty pageant applications being accepted
The 47th annual German-American Little Miss Schuetzen Park Beauty Pageant is accepting applications for this year’s contest. The pageant is open to girls 7 though 12 years old, and who are of Germanic or part-Germanic origin.
Contact the senior pageant chairperson at (201) 864-3245 or (201) 867-3585, ext. 249, for a contest application. Pageant details will be sent to the contestant once the application is received.
Contestants will be judged in Schuetzen Park, Bergen Turnpike (32nd Street) and Kennedy Boulevard, North Bergen, on Sun. afternoon, Aug. 18, during the annual Oktoberfest in August Folk Festival.
‘Time Machine’ to play Guttenberg
The Town of Guttenberg will host “Time Machine” as part of its Summer Concerts for residents on Thurs., July 18 at 7 p.m. between 70th and 71st Streets on Boulevard East.
For more information about the concerts, contact Capt. Joel Magenheimer at (201) 868-2315, ext. 128.
Hurricane Sandy grants for homeowners
Homeowner grants are available to assist residents whose homes sustained damage from Hurricane Sandy. Information can be found at www.renewjerseystronger.org.
Menendez: Failure to extend lowered student loan interest rate ‘a slap in the face’
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), an original co-sponsor of legislation that would have extended the 3.4 percent interest rate on federally subsidized student loans for an additional year, released a statement on Wednesday, July 10, after the legislation was blocked by a 51-49 procedural vote in the U.S. Senate:
“The failure to provide a one-year extension of lowered student loan interest rates is nothing short of a slap in the face of students and middle class families who are now carrying an additional $1,000 annual burden since interest rates doubled last week,” said Menendez. “It’s poor economic policy to overburden middle class families, students, and graduates instead of continuing relief for them while we work toward comprehensive ways to address the rising cost of higher education.”
‘American Dream’ developer sues Jets, Giants
The Jets and Giants were sued in state Superior Court on Tues., July 9, by Triple Five, developers of the American Dream project on Route 3, who contend that the football teams are doing what they can to “thwart” the project and prevent it from “ever opening,” according to a report in The Record.
The lawsuit, filed in Bergen County, alleges breach of contract by the National Football League franchises, citing a 2006 agreement in which the Jets and Giants received $15 million for allowing the entertainment and shopping project, then called Xanadu, to be built.
The teams are already in court with a suit of their own, attempting to reverse the N.J. Sports and Exposition Authority’s approval of Triple Five’s addition of amusement and indoor water parks to the project.
The Jets and Giants, who play across the highway in Met Life Stadium, have referred to a stipulation in the agreement that gives them the power to veto changes to the project that would generate “adverse” effects on the game-day activities of their fans.
Triple Five’s stance is that their project would benefit the football fans, giving them recreational activities prior to and following the games.
Supreme Court rebuffs governor’s elimination of affordable housing body
The New Jersey Supreme Court on Wednesday, July 10, rejected Gov. Chris Christie’s attempt to do away with the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), according to njbiz.
The court said Christie does not have the authority to abolish an independent agency like the council.
The Council on Affordable Housing was established in 1985, in response to the Fair Housing Act of that year and a series of New Jersey Supreme Court rulings known as the Mount Laurel decisions, which mandated that municipalities provide low/moderate income housing.
Developers are supposed to include a certain percentage of affordable housing in their projects, or give towns money to make up for it.
Housing advocates welcomed the July 10 ruling, stating New Jersey has a dearth of affordable housing and requires an independent agency to assist in remedying the problem.
The case dates back two years, when the legislature passed a Democrat-sponsored housing measure that included the council’s elimination. The governor vetoed the bill, calling it insufficient, and instead submitted a plan that abolished the council and transferred its duties to a state department.
That prompted a suit, and last year a lower court ruled against Christie. The governor appealed to the state’s highest court, but on Wednesday it upheld the lower court decision.
A lawyer for the Fair Share Housing Center said the court’s decision is important, because it provides for greater transparency when decisions are made about where homes get built.
New Jersey Meadowlands Commission offering pontoon boat cruises
Get an up-close view of the Meadowlands District’s scenic beauty and wildlife with a two-hour, guided pontoon boat cruise of the Hackensack River and its surrounding marshes.
Experienced NJMC staff will discuss the region’s human and environmental history and point out birds and other wildlife along the way.
Cruises are offered on Monday, July 15, and Wednesday, July 17, at 5:30 p.m. They are $15 per person, and for ages 10 and up. Pre-registration is required.
The boats depart from River Barge Park, 260 Outwater Lane in Carlstadt.
For a complete schedule, directions, or to register, visit www.njmeadowlands.gov/environment/tours.html or call 201-460-4640.