Hoboken firemen wear purple to promote Alzheimer’s research
Members of the Hoboken Fire Department and Mayor Dawn Zimmer kicked off a month-long event to raise money and awareness about Alzheimer’s disease on Thursday. During the month of September, firefighters will be wearing and selling purple shirts in support of the Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s, which takes place in Jersey City’s Liberty State Park in Sept. 20.
The Hoboken Fire Department will also be hosting a boot camp with children that day.
The walk is one of 650 organized nationwide by the Alzheimer’s Association this year, and one of four that will be held in New Jersey.
The shirts were designed by first-year firefighter Orlando Lanzo, for whom Alzheimer’s is an issue of personal importance. His mother Rosa was diagnosed with the disease at the age of 48, and has been living with it for the past twelve years.
Lanzo’s mother is just one of the more than 170,000 people in the state of New Jersey who live with Alzheimer’s. Nationwide, more than five million people suffer from Alzheimer’s, which is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States.
The shirts are being sold for $10 at City Paint & Ace Hardware at 130 Washington St. and Albini Pharmacy at 401 Adams St.
Hosts going all out for fifth annual Novel Night to benefit library
Novel Night, Hoboken’s renowned literary dining event to benefit the Hoboken Public Library, returns this year for its fifth edition on Saturday, Oct. 18. Attendees are invited into the homes of one of 21 Hoboken hosts – equal to the record number set in past years – to eat a multi-course meal inspired by a novel or work of non-fiction.
Organized by the Friends of the Hoboken Library, this signature fundraising event will help to fund the library’s ongoing renovation project. Past year’s events paid for a new door for the library.
Friends of the Hoboken Library board member Melanie Best recalled a past event based on “The Judgment of Paris,” which chronicles a blind taste test between French and California wines that took place in 1976. The dinner featured American dishes followed by French re-interpretations of them, and of course, lots of wine.
This year, books on which dinners will be based include “Eat, Pray, Love,” “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish,” and “The Sun Also Rises.” Best said a number of dinners involve novels set in India.
Reservations will open this week. Interested parties must download a form from www.hobokenfol.org/novelnight.html and select their top five choices from the list of options.
Tickets cost $100 and are tax-deductible. Reservations are due on Sept. 25. For more information, call 201-618-7849 or email novelnight@gmail.com
Mayor Zimmer says she’s in favor of changing state law to allow Uber; city ordinance change could follow
Mayor Dawn Zimmer has announced her support for a bill that would permit the use of ridesharing services like Uber in New Jersey. Her statement followed some criticism of city police for stopping Uber from picking up customers in the city.
On Tuesday, Zimmer released a statement calling on the state legislature to pass a bill that would create a licensing system for the taxi alternatives, including required background checks and insurance for drivers. Uber currently operates illegally in New Jersey. In the statement, Zimmer said she has supported the change since April.
Under Hoboken city laws, only licensed taxis may pick up passengers. Zimmer’s spokesperson said Tuesday that the municipal code can only be changed after state laws are corrected.
“Uber and similar companies offer a valuable transportation option that we want to make available to Hoboken residents and visitors,” said Zimmer in the statement. “Since April, I have been advocating to our state elected officials to ensure that this transportation option can operate safely and lawfully in our community.”
A bill introduced by State Sen. and Union City Mayor Brian Stack (D-33) on June 26 would create a new licensing system for ridesharing services, requiring each company to hold an insurance policy with $1 million of uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage for each incident involving a driver. Drivers offering their cars for ridesharing would be required to pass a driver license record check, criminal background check, and safety inspection.
In April, Zimmer wrote a letter to Stack and State Assemblymen Raj Mukherji and Carmelo Garcia (D-33) asking them to support legislation that would allow rideshare vehicles to be licensed in the state and operate legally.
Uber and its competitor Lyft “are using technology to create new transportation options,” wrote Zimmer in the letter, “and it is important that legislation adapt to these new technologies.”
Zimmer added that ridesharing “can facilitate car-free living and provide the ‘last mile’ of connectivity between public transportation and our homes and businesses.”
Uber is a service that riders can use via an application on their cell phones. A driver often responds within minutes and takes riders to their destination, with the fare paid automatically from their credit card. The fares are often (but not always) similar to cab fares, and passengers don’t usually tip. Drivers often work for Uber as a second job and must own a car that is only a few years old.
Hoboken’s municipal code currently allows only licensed taxi drivers to operate vehicles for hire. It also bans unlicensed taxicabs from picking up passengers “for a destination within the city limits.”
Melli said Hoboken will be “preparing legislation to accommodate these new transportation models so that we are ready to act if and when the state adopts their legislation.”
According to drivers and riders interviewed by NJ.com, the Hoboken Police Department has been vigilant about stopping suspected Uber vehicles and forcing passengers to leave, sometimes writing tickets for drivers carrying heavy fines.
But taxi drivers in Hoboken say ridesharing is destroying their business, and the city isn’t doing enough to stop it.
Hoboken taxi driver Julio Cruz told NJ.com, “The city of Hoboken needs to send an email to the company Uber, [saying] ‘Don’t send your cars over here.’”
Hoboken Finance Director to resign at end of August; Comptroller will serve as acting director
Solomon Steplight will resign as Hoboken Finance Director at the end of this month to accept a position at a national non-profit organization advocating for girls in computer science, the city of Hoboken announced Monday. Comptroller Chris Baldwin will step in as acting director and Steplight will continue to assist on a consultant basis until a new finance director is found.
Steplight is leaving to become the COO/CFO at Girls Who Code, which works “to inspire, educate, and equip girls with the computing skills to pursue 21st century opportunities,” according to the organization’s website. Steplight has over 15 years of experience in financial management at educational start-ups and in city government, including three years as a manager and assistant finance director under then-Newark Mayor Cory Booker.
“It was a privilege to work with the citizens, administration and council in Hoboken,” said Steplight. “As someone who has always been passionate about uplifting communities, I’m excited to join Girls Who Code as COO/CFO to create more opportunities for girls to thrive in technology. My experience in Hoboken will be invaluable as I take on this new challenge.”
A press release from the city of Hoboken credited Steplight with helping to improve Hoboken’s credit rating from near junk bond status to the second highest possible rating, AA+. The release also lauded Steplight’s work on Hoboken’s debt restructuring, which it said has saved the city nearly $1.5 million.
“Solomon helped right our fiscal ship and build the strong financial foundation we enjoy today, and I can’t thank him enough for his service to our community,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
Steplight’s eventual replacement will be Hoboken’s third full-time finance director in five years. In January 2009, state-appointed fiscal monitor Judy Tripodi brought in Nick Trasente to manage the city’s finances. In 2010, Trasente resigned to become the chief financial officer of Middletown Township, according to an NJ.com story. At the time, Councilman Michael Russo called for the responsibilities of the finance director position, which had been recreated with Trasente’s hire, to be absorbed by the city business administrator to save money.
The job advertisement for a new Finance Director is available on the City website at www.hobokennj.org/finance-director.
5th Annual Hoboken Comedy Festival looking for comedians
For the third year in a row the Hoboken Comedy Festival will be taking submissions from new and upcoming comedians to showcase their talents. Prospective performers can submit online at www.HobokenFestival.com/Submit to have the opportunity to perform throughout the festival.
Last year winner Pete Bladel closed the festival by opening for Artie Lange to a sold out crowd at Hoboken’s Pilsener Haus & Biergarten on 14th Street. The other performers on the show were Ardie Fuqua, Dan Soder and Jamie Maddog Mattern.
“We really like to have our finger on the pulse of up-and-coming comedians,” says Festival Coordinator Dan Frigolette, “which is why we’ve added the New Talent Performances to the Festival.”
The 5th Annual Hoboken Comedy Festival, which supports the Liberty Humane Society, will take place from Sept. 29 to Oct. 5. The new talent opportunities will come Monday through Thursday for those comedians who have submitted online. Closing each of those performances will be headliners from television and film.
The deadline to submit for new talent is Sept. 15. Submissions must include a 6-minute performance video. Submissions give comedians opportunities to perform Monday through Thursday and each night one winner will be selected to open for the Headliner Shows over the weekend.
For more information, contact Dan Frigolette at (917) 292-5441 or email dfrigolette@gmail.com.
Hoboken residents can now drop off food scraps at local farmer’s markets
The Community Compost Company of New Paltz, N.Y. now offers a service to take food scraps for composting at farmer’s markets in Hoboken. The collection program is currently limited to drop offs at the Downtown Hoboken Farmers’ Markets on Tuesday nights and the Garden Street Farmers’ Market on Saturday mornings, but the long-term goal of the company is to become a residential collection service. Residents are encouraged to sign up for the duration of the program through November, but can also pay per drop.
The cost is $5 per week for unlimited drops for members and $6 per drop for non-members.
The collected food scraps are brought to a local farm, where they are composted and used to fertilize the soil. “We are focused on the larger environmental issues related to food production and waste,” said Community Compost Company Founder Eileen Banyra. She added, “Our company provides the collection service which we also use to educate about the true costs of food waste. We’re offering a Table-to-Farm program that returns your food scraps to the earth by composting.”
The EPA estimates that up to 20 percent of a household’s waste stream is organic material (banana peels, broccoli stalks, leftovers etc). When these materials break down in a landfill they release methane, a potent greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
Currently, Hoboken’s garbage is brought to a landfill in West Virginia, which costs Hoboken an additional $95 in tipping fees for each ton of waste. Signing up to compost with the Community Compost Company is an easy way for those Hoboken residents without access to yard space to divert their waste from the landfill.
To learn more, stop by the Community Compost Company’s booth at one of the two Farmers’ Markets or visit our website at www.communitycompostco.com/why-compost.html.
3 people in Hudson River this week, all saved by Hoboken safety officials
Three people found their way into the Hudson River last week, requiring rescue from Hoboken’s police and fire department, according to an NJ.com report.
On Tuesday morning, the Hoboken firefighters responded to a 911 call and pulled a man out of the water near Pier A, officials said.
Hoboken Fire Department Capt. Michael Stefano said he didn’t know how the man came to be in the water. Other fire department officials suggested to the Hoboken Reporter that he may have been attempting to commit suicide.
On Wednesday morning, a man was found sitting in the rocks under Hoboken’s Fourteenth Street Pier and pulled up by Hoboken police officers via rope, according to officials.
The North Bergen man claimed that he had been thrown into the river by a group of ten youths after they demanded money from him.
On Wednesday evening, police and firemen responded to a 911 call that a man was in the water near Fifteenth Street in northeast Hoboken, according to officials. The individual in question was found on the street, though he admitted to having been in the water, said officials. The rocks in nearby Weehawken Cove Park allow entry and exit from the water.
In all three instances, Hoboken firemen used Marine 1, the Fire Department’s 33-foot rescue boat, which is docked at Weehawken’s marina. According to Stefano, the boat features infrared technology that can spot people in the water based on their body heat.