Blaze destroys hundreds of apartments in Edgewater
Two engine companies and one ladder from North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue (NHRFR) rushed to assist in fighting a multi-alarm blaze that consumed much of the 400-unit Avalon at Edgewater apartment complex last night.
No major injuries or loss of life were reported. About 175 units were destroyed and between 350 and 400 people were displaced, according to CBS News. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
The fire broke out about 4:20 p.m. and spread throughout the four-story, $75 million complex. By that night, embers rose to 500 feet and the fire could be seen from Manhattan. Firefighters from numerous towns collaborated to battle the blaze, including fire boats from New York and Jersey City.
NHRFR dispatched about a dozen firefighters, along with a safety officer and a battalion chief at about 5 p.m. “When we got there the department was looking to go to a defensive operation,” said NHRFR Department Chief Frank Montagne. “When it gets too large you have to pull back and try to prevent the fire from spreading.”
Firefighters from the department were on site until about 4 a.m. “We rotated our personnel every three to four hours,” he said.
A state of local emergency was declared for the municipality according to Edgewater Mayor Michael McPartland. Local schools were closed on Thursday and road access will be restricted until further notice.
North Bergen Basketball Clinic Awards upcoming
The North Bergen Basketball Clinic Awards will be held on Saturday, Feb. 14 at the North Bergen Recreation Center, 6300 Meadowview Ave., at 12:30 p.m.
Free citizenship application help available on Jan. 31
We Are One New Jersey will host a Citizenship/DACA clinic on Saturday, Jan. 31, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 830 Bergen Ave. Jersey City. They will provide pro-bono lawyers to assist people with their citizenship and deferred action applications at no cost.
Priority will be given to those with an appointment. To reserve your spot now, call (201) 209-2839 or email info@weareonenj.org.
Documents you must bring with you, if you have them, include:
• Legal Permanent Resident card (Green Card)
• Driver’s license or other identification with photo
• Social Security card
• List of all your places of residency over the past five years and the dates you lived in each place of residency
• List of all employers and their addresses over the last five years and the dates of employment
• List of all travel outside the U.S. since the date you obtained your Green Card, including destinations and dates of travel
• Current and expired passports, and travel itineraries/boarding passes (if you have them)
• List with the complete names, dates of birth, home addresses, and Alien Number (if applicable) of all children
• Copy of each child’s birth certificate (if available)
• Certified court disposition and arrest report from police (if applicable)
• Most recent tax return
If you are seeking U.S. citizenship based on marriage, please bring:
• All marriage and divorce certificates
• Proof that your spouse has been a Legal Permanent Resident for at least three years
• Proof that you and your spouse share the same address (bank statements, etc.)
• Lease agreements or mortgages and tax returns of the past three years
• Court order authorizing name change (if you have changed your name through the courts)
Free cervical cancer screenings
There will be free cervical cancer screening for uninsured and under-insured women, age 21 and older, on Tuesday, Jan. 27 from 9 to 11 a.m. at Hoboken Family Planning’s West New York Center, 5305 Hudson St., West New York. No appointment is needed, but there are financial restrictions. Call (201) 866-8071for additional information.
Free breast cancer support group for Latina Women
To support Latina patients and survivors with breast cancer, Jersey City Medical Center – Barnabas Health and Curémonos, a community-based organization, will hold a “Let’s Talk/Let’s Learn” support group in Spanish at the Cristie Kerr Women’s Health Center, 377 Jersey Ave. on the Jersey City Medical Center campus from 4 to 5 p.m. on February 12, March 12, April 9, May 14, and June 11.
Attendees will have the opportunity to share information on coping with such issues as treatment side effects, improving communication with doctors and family, and regaining self-esteem, and to meet the hospital’s new bilingual oncology nurse navigator Michelle Ashley.
“A breast cancer diagnosis is an experience that changes your life and fills you with fear. Coping can be especially difficult if doctors don’t speak your language, or you don’t have family nearby to support you,” said Dora E. Arias, founder and executive director of Curémonos, which was created to provide education, support, and advocacy to medically-underserved women with breast health concerns or a breast cancer diagnosis. “With the support of Jersey City Medical Center – Barnabas Health and program sponsor Genentech, we are offering Latina women a setting where they can share their fears, questions, suggestions and successes both during and after treatment.”
“For more than a year, the hospital has held, and will continue to hold, a very successful support group for English-speaking breast cancer patients to share their experiences and feelings,” said Dr. Julie DiGioia, medical director of the Cristie Kerr Women’s Center. “Thanks to our partners, we can now offer a similar opportunity to members of the community who are undergoing many of the same experiences but speak primarily Spanish.”
The English speaking support group will meet from 5 to 6 p.m. on the same dates at the Cristie Kerr Women’s Health Center.
The program is free and refreshments will be served. To register, call Vivian Rohrsetzer at (201) 915-2000 x 4855.
Hackensack Riverkeeper Environmental Scholarship Award accepting nominations
Hackensack Riverkeeper is now accepting applications for the 2015 Ron Vellekamp Environmental Scholarship. Now in its fifteenth year, the program was created in memory of the late science teacher and founding Riverkeeper trustee in order to support college-bound high school seniors who excel academically and who maintain a strong commitment to environmental protection.
Teachers and guidance counselors are invited to submit applications on behalf of deserving students. Each school may nominate one senior. A panel of Hackensack Riverkeeper trustees and staffers led by Captain Bill Sheehan and Program Director Hugh Carola will review each application. The panel will consider the applicant’s academic achievements, environmental extra-curricular activities and future plans. The $1,000 scholarship is unrestricted.
All applicants must live within the 210-square mile Hackensack River Watershed and/or attend a high school located within that region. Seniors at sixty-six high schools in Bergen, Hudson and Rockland Counties are eligible to apply. Full scholarship application criteria are available online at www.hackensackriverkeeper.org or by calling (201) 968-0808. A list of watershed municipalities is available on the links page of the website.
All applications must be postmarked no later than Earth Day, Apr. 22. The winner will be chosen and announced by June 1.
Be part of the second annual EarthFest Overpeck
Hackensack Riverkeeper and the Bergen County Department of Parks have announced the date of the Second Annual EarthFest Overpeck. This year’s event takes place on Saturday, April 25 at Overpeck County Park and will build on its inaugural year, which drew a crowd of thousands. A wide mix of activities is planned including a festival midway featuring environmental nonprofits; green vendors, animal rescue groups and healthy-living advocates; children’s activities; an assemblage of food trucks, each featuring distinct fare; beer garden; live entertainment; free paddling courtesy of Hackensack Riverkeeper, and a Recycled Regatta (featuring boats made from trash).
Hackensack Riverkeeper is seeking sponsors, vendors, and Regatta entrants. Sponsors can expect maximum exposure through a variety of attractive promotional packages, and vendors are projected to see double the foot traffic from last year.
Recycled Regatta participants will compete for prizes in boats constructed completely from recycled materials in an eye-catching competition atop Overpeck Creek, drawing attention to the issue of recycling. For details, e-mail Mary Knight (mary@hackensackriverkeeper.org) or call (201) 968-0808.
Founded in 1997 by Captain Bill Sheehan, Hackensack Riverkeeper is the leading environmental organization working on Hackensack River issues. A founding member of the international Waterkeeper Alliance, the group engages in a four-point clean water strategy (action, advocacy, education, and litigation) in its ongoing work to protect, preserve, and restore the Hackensack River from its headwaters in Rockland County, New York to Newark Bay.