Editor’s Letter JCMJC Hits the Big Time

Increasingly, Jersey City is making a name for itself on the national stage.
In late summer, I was riding my bike past Liberty National and was excited to see all the preparations for the The Barclays. It’s fun to know that our town is host to such a prestigious golf event and, I should add, in an incomparably beautiful spot with the Manhattan skyline in full view and Lady Liberty nearby.
And of course the Super Bowl is going to be on everybody’s mind this winter, as MetLife Stadium—home of Eli Manning and the Giants—hosts the first outdoor, cold-weather Super Bowl. In this issue, sports writer Jim Hague profiles Jersey City native Dwayne Sabb, who played in Super Bowl XXXI in 1997.
A lot of folks start thinking about buying, renting, or renovating at this time of year. If that’s your mindset—or even if it’s not—you’ll want to check out our story, “Homegrown Builders,” about a Jersey City family who made it big on national TV. Anthony Carrino and his cousin, John Colaneri, are renovation fiends on three popular home makeover shows.
Jersey City was even the subject of an Emmy-winning episode of Re-Invention TV’s “Best Places to Live in New Jersey.” Its Gold Coast episode featured both Jersey City and Hoboken.
I was really moved by Melissa Andersen’s first-person account of donating a kidney—not to a family member or friend—but to a woman she’d never met. This JC resident gives new meaning to the term “model citizen.”
We always knew that a music-industry legend was in our midst, but we were never able to land an interview. Sadly, Richie Havens died on April 22, 2013. But Lauren Barbagallo was able to track down his lead guitarist. Walter Parks still lives and works in Jersey City. He and his wife Margo are great boosters of the Jersey City arts scene. Mr. Parks graces our cover.
And speaking of world-class talents, we were lucky enough to meet Jules Allen whose striking photographs grace pages TK of this issue.
As the end of October rolls around, all of us will be having recovered memories of Hurricane Sandy and the devastation she wrought on Hudson County. Michael Callaghan offers a pictorial remembrance of how he spent that day.
E-mail me at jcmag@hudsonreporter.com or find us on facebook. Help us cover our town.