Democrats endorse Chaparro for state Assembly, replacing Carmelo Garcia
Annette Chaparro will run for state Assembly in the 33rd District, representing Hoboken, Union City, Weehawken, and some of Jersey City, on a ticket backed by State Sen. Brian Stack. She was publicly given support from the Hudson County Democratic Organization as well as the Hoboken Democratic Committee for the upcoming Democratic Primary in June. Each state legislative district has two Assembly representatives and one state senator.
Chaparro replaces incumbent Carmelo Garcia as the Democratic Party candidate on the Stack ticket.
Chaparro currently works in the office of the Hoboken City Clerk, and has held a number of previous positions in Hoboken’s municipal administration, such as Planning Board secretary and chair of the Division of Taxi & Limousine Licensing.
Chaparro is also the fiancée of Hoboken Police Chief Kenneth Ferrante.
“As Chairman of the Hoboken Democrats, I will be enthusiastically supporting Annette Chaparro for State Assembly in the upcoming primary election,” said Hoboken Democratic Chairman Jamie Cryan. “Annette has deep roots in Hoboken, has been involved in politics and community organizations here for many years, and she will be an excellent representative for Hoboken at the state level. In addition, I am very excited to see the Hudson County Democratic Organization supporting both a woman and a Hispanic for the seat in Annette, and she will be a great addition to our diverse and effective legislative delegation.”
The price of St. Patrick’s Day fun? 11 arrests, 39 hospital trips, $94,000 in overtime
Law enforcement officials reported the lowest number of arrests and ambulance calls resulting from Hoboken’s St. Patrick’s Day pub crawl since similar events were inaugurated in 2012. However, the heightened security did not come without a cost. According to an NJ.com report, the force of around 200 officers who blanketed southern Hoboken on Saturday, March 7 incurred an estimated $94,000 in city overtime.
Hoboken’s longstanding St. Patrick’s Day parade was cancelled by its independent organizers in 2012 after Mayor Dawn Zimmer pushed them to reschedule the event from Saturday to Wednesday to cut down on an ambience of debauchery. An annual pub crawl has been held in the city on the first Saturday in March ever since, but the incidence of crime associated with the bash has yet to match the levels seen during past parades.
Police made 11 arrests this year, compared to 34 in 2011, the last year of the parade, according to an NJ.com report. Thirty-nine individuals were transported to local hospitals, compared to 136 in 2011. Summonses for violating city ordinances were also down by two-thirds compared to 2011, from 292 to 95, although this year’s tally was the highest since the pub crawl began.
Five bars received “tavern sheets,” two for assaults, two for overcrowding, and one for a medical issue. Those police reports can sometimes result in fines or penalties levied against bars by the city’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer credited the end of the St. Patrick’s Parade and the hard work of the Hoboken Police Department and its new chief Kenneth Ferrante with keeping crime down for another year.
“There has been a huge drop in crime and quality of life issues and a reduction in public safety costs since the last year of the parade in 2011,” she said. “In addition, the Police Department received only three calls regarding house parties this year. I especially want to thank Chief Ferrante for his proactive and cost-effective policing approach.”
Ferrante called the record low arrests and ambulance calls “strong indications that instances of major fights and dangerous intoxication are greatly reduced.”
“There were no reported sexual offenses, only three aggravated assaults (two were St. Patrick’s related), and no incidents which caused life threatening conditions,” he added.
Two weeks ago, Ferrante noted that several bars in Manhattan were holding their own “LepreCon” St. Patrick’s-themed pub crawl on March 7, and speculated that the competition would reduce the crowds in Hoboken, if not the rate of crime.
As in past years, the Hoboken Police Department instituted a zero tolerance policy for quality-of-life violations like urinating in public and carrying an open alcoholic container on the day of the event, meaning that any reported violation received a guaranteed summons.
In addition to deploying every uniformed officer from the Hoboken Police Department, Ferrante received mutual assistance from NJ Transit Police, Port Authority Police, and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Rapid Deployment Force. A mobile command center was lent to the city by the Union City Police Department.
City spokesman Juan Melli told NJ.com that the police overtime incurred on March 7 would be included in Hoboken’s 2015-16 municipal budget.
Police save homeless man who set himself on fire
Mayor Dawn Zimmer credited two Hoboken police officers with saving the life of a homeless man who tried to commit suicide by setting himself on fire on the evening of Saturday, March 7. The incident took place while Hoboken bars were hosting their annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration, formerly known as the Hoboken LepreCon. Police said the events were not related.
According to a police report, Lt. Michael DeTrizio and Sgt. Steven Aguiar responded to a call of a man attempting to set himself on fire at around 11 p.m. on March 7. They found a man lying on the sidewalk in front of the A. J. Demarest School at Fourth and Bloomfield streets with his jacket partially engulfed in flames, according to the report.
Along with Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps members, the officers were able to remove the jacket and extinguish the fire, police said. According to the police report, the man sustained a “minor burn injury” on the side of his rib cage and was transported to Hoboken University Medical Center for treatment.
In a press release covering the police response to the St. Patrick’s pub crawl, Zimmer thanked DeTrizio and Aguiar “for their quick action that saved a man’s life in an unrelated suicide attempt.”
According to police, the man started with fire with a lighter and paper.
Hoboken’s newest independent bookstore launches fundraising campaign
Hoboken is about to get its first new bookstore since Barnes & Noble closed four years ago, and on Tuesday the business launched an Indiegogo campaign aiming to raise $22,000 for fixtures like shelves, computers, and chairs.
Hoboken already has an independent used bookstore, Symposia Books on Washington Street. The new venture, Little City Books, will be located at the corner of Bloomfield and First streets. It aims to sell new and used books, host community events and classes, and serve as a place for writers, readers, and local folks to gather.
The store will debut May 2, Independent Bookstore Day. Kate Jacobs, a local singer/songwriter, is starting the venture with Donna Garban, a former investment banker at Goldman Sachs, and Stonesong literary agent Emmanuelle Morgen.
The Indiegogo campaign offers various prizes for different levels of contribution, including writing classes and consultations with agents. The campaign can be found online at www.indiegogo.com/projects/little-city-books-hoboken-s-bookshop.
Report: Stevens ranked third nationwide for return on investment
At $44,210 a year, tuition at Stevens Institute of Technology is far from cheap, but according to a recent report, it is well worth the investment. Stevens was ranked third out of 1,223 colleges nationwide for its 20-year return on investment by PayScale, an online salary database.
According to the 2015 PayScale College ROI Report, the average Stevens bachelor’s degree holder will earn $841,000 more than a high school graduate over twenty years, less the cost of his degree. Last year, Stevens’ 20-year ROI was ranked fifth among U.S. colleges.
Stevens beat out New Jersey rivals Princeton (ranked ninth for ROI) and the New Jersey Institute of Technology (ranked 26th for in-state students, 36th for out-of-state). The highest-ranked school in the nation was Harvey Mudd College, followed by Caltech.
Edward Stukane, vice president of communications and marketing at Stevens, told NJBIZ that the majority of Stevens students get job offers as seniors.
“These companies have learned that when [they hire our graduates] they get employees who are ready to contribute day one,” he said. “There were 350 companies that came to our campus last year to meet with our graduating class, and more than 1,000 companies hired last year’s graduates. That shows a real demand.”
According to the PayScale report, the typical early career salary of Stevens graduates is $65,300.
Elysian Charter School to consolidate in new uptown development
Elysian Charter School has signed a thirty-year lease for 32,000 feet of educational space at Park & Garden, a mixed use development currently under construction at 1415 Park Avenue, according to a press release from the school. The 212-unit luxury rental building is being developed by Bijou Properties and is expected to be completed in May 2015.
The deal should bring the Elysian’s 278 students between kindergarten and eighth grade together in one building in time for the 2015-2016 school year. Currently, the charter school rents space in the Rue Building at 301 Garden St. and the Demarest School at 158 4th St.
“We are looking forward to having all of our students, teachers and classrooms under one roof,” said Elysian school director Harry Laub. “Our philosophy, which is centered in the tradition of hands-on and cooperative learning, emphasizes community and collaboration and, by bringing the school together, we will create an even better environment for our students to learn.”
The Elysian Charter School Board of Trustees voted to sign the lease agreement with BIT Investment 61, LLC on Feb. 23, and board president Eduardo Gonzalez officially signed the document on Feb. 25.
In an email to The Hoboken Reporter, Laub said Elysian Charter School would pay the same rent at Park & Garden that it pays cumulatively now, but expects to see its utility costs rise. Elysian spent $327,341 on rent of land and buildings in its most recent budget.
Laub thanked “Larry Bijou and David Gaber of Bijou Properties for supporting charter school education and helping us come to an affordable agreement” in a statement on the school’s website.
“Elysian Charter School has just crossed an exciting milestone and, with this new home, our future as a positively different public school is brighter than ever,” said Gonzalez.
As a charter school, Elysian receives less funding for infrastructure and facilities than traditional public schools. Laub said the Friends of Elysian Charter School have been raising money for a new home since 2007, and implored supporters to donate to the Friends’ 2015 Capital Appeal Campaign “to helping close the funding gap and[ move] forward.”
Park & Garden was conceived and designed by Bijou and Hoboken architectural firm Marchetto Higgins Stieve as a state-of-the-art green structure, only the second in town to achieve LEED Gold certified status. The building will feature a vegetated, water-absorbent roof and a gas turbine that cogenerates electric power.
April show at Maxwell’s to benefit Global Fund for Women
The Seventh Annual Global Fund for Women Benefit will be held on Saturday, April 11 at the newly renovated Maxwell’s Tavern in Hoboken. The show will feature performances by Valerie Reaper & The Keepers, clueLess, Sylvana Joyce & The Moment, and The Back Room Deal. There will also be a raffle for prizes donated by local Hoboken businesses.
Hosted by Stephen Bailey, founded by Nelson Pla and presented by Clueless Events, the GFW Benefit Concert Series continues to raise money and awareness for the work of Global Fund for Women in a fun, entertaining way.
Global Fund for Women is an international network committed to a world of equality and social justice. Founded in 1987, this nonprofit organization defends women’s rights by making grants to support women’s groups. They promote the economic security, health, safety, education and leadership of women and girls worldwide.
The event will begin at 8 p.m. on April 11. Cover is $10.
Find out more at cluelessevents.org.