National Night Out is Aug. 5
Neighbors throughout North Bergen are invited to join forces with thousands of communities nationwide for the 31st annual National Night Out crime prevention event on Tuesday, Aug. 5. From 6 to 10 p.m. residents in neighborhoods throughout North Bergen and across the nation are asked to lock their doors, turn on their outside lights, and spend the evening outside with neighbors and the police.
Neighborhoods throughout North Bergen will be hosting block parties, distributing crime prevention information, glow sticks, t-shirts, food, and other giveaways. Each neighborhood will be visited by Mayor Nicholas Sacco, Public Safety Commissioner Theresa Ferraro, Chief of Police Robert Dowd, and many members of the North Bergen Police Department. The block parties will be held at the following locations:
• 1210 -11th St. at the John F. Kennedy School Yard
• 6121-31 Grand Ave. in front of Lawler Towers
• Broadway between 73rd and 76th Streets
National Night Out is designed to heighten crime prevention awareness; generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime efforts; strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods in North Bergen are organized and have a heightened sense of awareness.
Free Latin concert on Aug. 2
Guttenberg Mayor Gerald Drasheff and the Town Council invited all residents to attend the second Guttenberg summer concert on Saturday, Aug. 2 on Boulevard East between 70th and 71st Streets. This free outdoor event was slated to feature Rene D’Leon and his Latin Review. Preliminary entertainment was scheduled for 6 p.m. and the concert at 7 p.m.
No parking will be allowed on Boulevard East from noon until 10 p.m. that day. Residents of the Galaxy will be able to access the parking garage area from both the Boulevard and Ferry Road.
Tax Collector’s office announces extended hours on Aug. 8
For the convenience of residents paying property taxes this quarter, the Tax Collectors office will be open for extended hours on Friday, Aug. 8 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Hoboken cops smash car window to save…a doll
The tragic phenomenon of parents accidentally leaving their children in cars during the summer – causing their child to die of heatstroke in a short time – has gotten a lot of publicity this year. Cars can heat up very quickly, even with open windows, so law enforcement is trying to get the word out that parents have to remember not to leave their kids in the car seat when they go to work, and they should not leave their children in the car to go shopping or for any other reason.
As of mid-July, more than 16 kids in the U.S. had already died this summer from heatstroke because they were left inside hot cars, according to a release from Jersey City Medical Center. It’s not only negligent parents who do this; parents of all types – sometimes overtired, sometimes just with a lot on their mind – have forgotten their infant in a rear-facing car seat on the way to work.
An average of 38 children die per year from being left in hot cars, and any bystanders are encouraged to alert police if they see a child in a car.
Apparently, the Hoboken police are following a similar policy. But a worker in town got an unexpected surprise on Wednesday when she found out that the cops had smashed her window to save…a doll.
According to the woman’s boss, who owns a small business in the mile-square city, the woman was working when a friend called her to tell her that her car had been broken into. When she called the police, they explained the situation.
The doll had been sitting in a seat.
“All they had to do was look in the window,” the woman’s boss, who wanted to stay anonymous, told the Hoboken Reporter on Thursday morning. “It was broad daylight. I can understand if it was the middle of the night, but it wasn’t.”
For more, see hudsonreporter.com.
Tropical Storm Bertha forming in Atlantic Ocean
The National Weather Service said on Thursday that a stormy area in the Atlantic Ocean was expected to form into Tropical Storm Bertha in the next few days. To track the storm, watch hudsonreporter.com or http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/.
American Dream transformation to begin
The long-awaited facelift of the American Dream megamall in East Rutherford is finally about to begin.
The re-imagined mall will have a white and gray exterior, with work scheduled to begin imminently, according to The Record. Preparations for further construction have already begun, with four radio towers removed in April. Dirt will be hauled to the site to compact the ground until next spring.
Widely criticized as an eyesore for its current colors of dull green, blue, and earth tones, the mall, once known as Xanadu, was never completed after the original developer and then a second developer both ceased production on the project. More recently, lawsuits between new owners the Triple Five Group and the NY Giants and Jets were settled by an agreement between the involved parties, clearing the way for Triple Five to move forward. They expect to spend almost $2 billion more to complete the project, which will include an amusement park and an indoor ski slope and water park.
First Sunday-of-the-Month Bird Walk is Aug. 3
Enjoy summer nature by joining this free two-hour guided nature walk in DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst. Participants will walk around parts of the park, looking for shore birds, raptors, and other birds. The walk, sponsored by the N.J. Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) and the Bergen County Audubon Society (BCAS), starts at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 3 outside the Meadowlands Environment Center. Check meadowblog.net for last-minute weather updates. Participants will have to sign a standard liability release that is good for NJMC/BCAS events throughout the year. To RSVP, call (201) 230-4983.