Hoboken named a Top City to Shop Local for the Holidays
New York City may have Fifth Avenue and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but when it comes to small local businesses with great holiday gifts, it has nothing on Hoboken. The mile-square city is 10th on Yelp’s ranking of the Top 20 Cities to Shop Local for the Holidays.
Yelp’s new ranking highlights “U.S. cities with the largest concentration of highly-rated, local businesses where holiday shoppers can find great gifts.” The top ranked city is Portland, Maine, and the list spans regions and sizes from Bend, Oregon to New Orleans, Louisiana.
Early morning two-alarm fire displaces four
Four occupants of an apartment building on Garden Street were displaced by a two-alarm fire early this past Monday morning, according to Hoboken Fire Chief Richard Blohm.
The Fire Department responded an alarm from 843 Garden St. at 2:27 a.m. Monday morning, according to Blohm. The initial report from the battalion chief indicated that the fire began in a bathroom on the third floor, said Blohm, although the cause is not known and remains under investigation.
The four occupants were evacuated, along with those present in the adjoining rowhouses, he said. The neighbors were subsequently allowed to return home, although 841 Garden St. sustained minor damage and firemen had to force entry to its roof, according to Blohm.
The fire department cut a hole in the roof of 843 Garden St. to allow the smoke to escape, he said. As a result, he said, the fire department determined that the building’s residents must stay out for the time being.
Blohm said the residents were offered help from the Red Cross but declined, electing to stay with family or friends.
22 personnel responded to the fire, and mutual aid personnel from other municipalities manned Hoboken fire stations, said Blohm. The fire was extinguished and firemen cleared the scene by 4:59 a.m.
One more week to see Russian artists in Hoboken
Hobokenites have one more week to see “9,” a group exhibition featuring paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints, photography, and video installations by nine Russian artists at Barsky Gallery. The show is part of the Russian Art Pavilion, an exhibition that showcases emerging and established artists from Russia, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Baltic regions at leading international fairs of contemporary and modern art in the USA, Europe, and Asia.
The exhibition, which runs until Nov. 30, offers a diverse look into the current scope of the art world from the Eastern European perspective and the legacy it has left on our shared history. The artists range widely in age and region of origin, and cover several generations of Nonconformist and contemporary artists.
Barsky Gallery is located at 49 Harrison St. in the Chambord Place building, and is open to the public from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday or by appointment.
Hoboken Quality of Life Coalition Thanksgiving Awards honor local volunteers
On Tuesday, Nov. 25, starting at 7 p.m., the Hoboken Quality of Life Coalition will, for the first time since 2011, present five Thanksgiving Awards at St. Matthew Trinity Lutheran Parish Hall, on Eighth Street between Washington and Hudson Streets. These honors will be presented to citizens and groups that have freely given of their time and talent to make Hoboken a better place in which to live and work.
The 2014 recipients include Hoboken Grace Community Church, David Calamoneri and the Uptown Farmer’s Market Committee and the Alpha Phi Omega Fraternity at Stevens.
The general public is encouraged to attend. Admission is free.
For more info, contact Helen Manogue at 201-963-3511.
Join in Hoboken’s First Annual Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning
The First Annual Hoboken Turkey Trot will take place along Hoboken’s historic waterfront on the morning of Thanksgiving, Nov. 27. There will be a 1 mile fun run at 8 a.m. and a 5-kilometer run at 8:30 a.m. All proceeds will benefit local charities in the city of Hoboken, and food donations for The Hoboken Shelter will be collected on race day. The first 100 to register will receive a free t-shirt. The race begins and ends at Pier A Park in Hoboken.
The registration fee is $25 online or $30 same day for the 5K Run and $15 online or $20 same day for the 1 Mile Fun Run. Register online at www.active.com/hoboken-nj/running/distance-running-races/hoboken-turkey-trot-2014.
USA Today: Hoboken has largest disparity in black/non-black arrest rates in Hudson County
In the mile-square city, black residents are over 11 times as likely as non-black residents to be arrested, according to a USA TODAY analysis of FBI arrest data. In 2012, 389.9 black individuals were arrested per every 1,000 black residents, compared to 34.7 non-black arrests per every 1,000 non-black residents.
Hoboken had the highest disparity in arrest rates among the 10 Hudson County municipal police departments listed in the USA TODAY data (Harrison and East Newark were not included). In neighboring Jersey City, the ratio of black and non-black arrest rates in 2012 was 5.76.
Countywide, eight municipalities had higher arrest rates for blacks than for non-blacks. Two towns, West New York and Guttenberg, had higher arrest rates for non-blacks than for blacks. In Newark, blacks were 3.57 times as likely to be arrested as non-blacks.
According to USA TODAY, Hoboken is one of 70 police departments nationwide with a black arrest rate at least ten times higher than their non-black arrest rate.
A disparity in arrest rates “does not mean police are discriminating,” University of Pittsburgh law professor and racial profiling expert David Harris told USA TODAY. “But it does mean it’s worth looking at. It means you might have a problem, and you need to pay attention.”
The Hoboken Police Department has weathered accusations of racial discrimination in the past. In November 2013, the city granted a $99,000 settlement to a black police officer who said he had been victimized by racist treatment and passed over for promotion, according to an NJ.com report.
Edelmiro Garcia, who is Hispanic, was appointed interim chief of the police department in June, but will be replaced by Kenneth Ferrante as the permanent chief in December.
Black people made up 3.5 percent of Hoboken’s population in the 2010 U.S. Census.
“It is absolutely critical that Police departments everywhere treat all of their citizens fairly,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer and Ferrante in a joint statement. “We have agreed that one of our highest priorities is to ensure that everyone in Hoboken is treated equally and fairly no matter the color of their skin, their ethnic or religious background, their gender, their sexual orientation, or whether they lived here all their lives or just moved here last week.”
Chief Garcia did not respond to a request for comment.
Community invited to Chief of Police swearing-in ceremony Dec. 1
All members of the community are invited to the swearing-in ceremony for Hoboken’s next Chief of Police, Kenneth F. Ferrante. The ceremony will take place at noon on Monday, Dec. 1 in the Bissinger Room, located on the fourth floor of the Howe Center on the Stevens Institute of Technology campus. Light refreshments will be served following the ceremony.
The community is also invited to attend a police promotion ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 1:00 p.m. in the City Council chambers of City Hall at 94 Washington Street. Police Officers William Montanez, William Vera, and Cesar Olavarria will be promoted to the rank of sergeant, and retiring members of the department will be recognized for their service.
Finally, the community is invited to a swearing-in ceremony for two new firefighters, Eugene B. Turonis and Domenico Camporeale, which will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 26 in the City Council chambers of City Hall.
Have you seen your Updated Flood Hazard Maps?
Join Hudson County, New Jersey DEP, and FEMA to have your questions answered about how you are affected by the updated flood hazard maps, your flood risk, flood insurance, and flood risk mitigation.
The Flood Risk Open House will be held on Dec. 3, 2014 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Franklin L. Williams School at 222 Laidlaw Avenue in Jersey City. Parking is available.
For more information, visit www.region2coastal.com.
Hoboken Police Department will try to “fill the bus” with holiday toy drive
The Hoboken Police Department has teamed up with the Hoboken Fire Department, the Hoboken Motorcycle Club, the Hoboken Special Needs Parent Group, and the Wallace School Peer Leadership to host a toy drive on Thursday, Dec. 4 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Hoboken Police Department will attempt to fill their police bus to the top with donations.
If you are interested in donating, bring unwrapped gifts outside the department headquarters at 106 Hudson Street.
They will also be offering cups of hot chocolate and pictures with Santa Claus.
If you are a family in need or know a family in need, please contact the Hoboken Police Department at (201) 420-2100.
Come to City Hall for the Holiday Crafts Fair Dec. 6 and 7
Mayor Dawn Zimmer and the City of Hoboken invite you to the Hoboken City Hall Holiday Crafts Fair on Dec. 6 & 7 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event will take place on all three floors of City Hall, featuring artwork & unique handcrafted gift items by local crafters & artisans including scarves, candles, holiday ornaments, stuffed animals, art from recycled license plates, essential oils, floral arrangements and much more. A selected list of merchants can be found online at www.hobokennj.org/departments/human-services/cultural-affairs/holiday-craft-fair.
For more info, call 201-420-2207 or email gfallo@hobokennj.org.
Donate your cellphone to provide free calls for the troops at Mile Square Early Learning Center
Mile Square Early Learning Center and nonprofit Cell Phones For Soldiers Inc. are asking Hoboken residents to help troops call home by donating gently-used cellular phones. By donating to Cell Phones For Soldiers, Hoboken residents can provide troops with that precious connection to loved ones back home.
Residents can donate their phones at any of Hoboken’s three Mile Square Early Learning Centers, located at 310 Jefferson St., 301 Garden St., and 158 Fourth St.
Donated phones are sent to Mindful eCycling for recycling. For every donated phone valued at $5, Cell Phones For Soldiers is able to provide two and a half hours of free talk time to deployed troops.
Approximately half of the phones Mindful eCycling processes are reconditioned and reused. Phones and components that cannot be refurbished are dismantled and responsibly recycled to reclaim materials.
For more information, please contact cdiaz@mselc1979.org or visit www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com.