Free movies in county parks available in July and August
Enjoy free family-friendly movies and popcorn on Wednesday and Friday nights this July and August at six different Hudson County parks. Bring your blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy an evening in the park. Movies start at sundown each evening (approximately 8:30 p.m. in July and 8 p.m. in August). Rain dates, if needed, will be the following Monday and Tuesday. All movies are subtitled in Spanish and all events are wheelchair accessible.
The parks and communities included are Stephen R. Gregg Park in Bayonne, West Hudson Park in Kearny, Washington Park in Union City, Columbus Park in Hoboken, Lincoln Park in Jersey City, and JJ Braddock Park in North Bergen. Free popcorn will also be available at all screenings.
Residential street parking or lot parking is available near or in each park. For maps showing the exact movie locations and weather cancellations, “like” Washington Park Association of Hudson County on Facebook, follow @WPAHudsonCounty on Twitter or Instagram, or visit: www.wpanj.org.
Kicking off their third year with the support of Hudson County, the Movies in the Parks series for 2015 is brought to you by the Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise and the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders and produced by the Washington Park Association of Hudson County, Inc. (WPA).
For information on how to volunteer for the Movies in the Parks series, please email Pat Byrne at: emailpatbyrne@gmail.com
For complete, up-to-date information go to http://www.wpanj.org/movies-in-the-parks-2015.html.
High Tech’s Wendy Ide participates in Veterans History Project
Wendy Ide, a senior in the High Tech National Honor Society (NHS) and resident of West New York, under the guidance of veteran instructors David Polito and Joan Marie Bellotti, participated in the Veterans History Project, an enterprise sponsored by the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. High Tech High School, located in North Bergen, accepts students from throughout the county.
The Veterans History Project collects, preserves, and makes accessible accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may better understand the realities of war. Ide participated in this project by interviewing her grandfather, Ernest R. Vierk, a World War II veteran, at High Tech’s radio station. Her interview, recorded over the phone with the assistance of Chris DePierro and Robert Meyer, members of High Tech’s Broadcasting and Video Production Departments, revealed how Vierk served in the 44th Infantry Division and participated in a specialized army German language training program. One of his duties included interviewing prisoners of war.
The interview was a moving experience for Ide and her family, since Vierk had never before shared his World War II experiences with his own family. The recorded log of the interview and personal World War II artifacts donated by Vierk have been sent to the permanent collection of the Library of Congress.
Amtrak chairman says Hudson train tunnel is on track
A new train tunnel linking New York and New Jersey, seen by experts as crucial to relieving the bottleneck under the Hudson River, is on the verge of getting underway, according to a story in Crain’s New York Business.
“We’re doing it,” Amtrak Chairman Anthony Coscia told the Crain’s editorial board Wednesday.
Coscia said Amtrak could begin the environmental review process this fall, and has already spent about $300 million on preparatory work and land acquisition, even though the estimated $15 billion needed for the larger Gateway project, which includes the tunnel, has not been lined up.
By Coscia’s reckoning, a tunnel has to be built sooner or later, and sooner is better. The two heavy-rail tunnels connecting New Jersey and New York are over a century old and outmoded. Officials predict that within 20 years, one or both tunnels will need to be closed for repairs. That would reduce capacity to six trains per hour, down from 24 trains per hour now.
Undersecretary of Transportation Peter Rogoff said recently the Gateway was “the most important rail project in the United States.”
Funding for the project isn’t set yet. Coscia said Amtrak has sketched out a potential financing package that includes federal funds, infrastructure bonds and Amtrak’s own cash. The project’s numerous stakeholders can be expected to chip in, which would include the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New Jersey Transit, New York City, the states of New York and New Jersey, the federal government and of course Amtrak.
The Gateway project was unveiled in February 2011 after New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, citing potential cost overruns, killed another project called Access to the Region’s Core, which was to include a train tunnel under the Hudson.
The new rail lines would boost commuter capacity on New Jersey Transit by 75 percent, relieving what is considered the worst transit bottleneck in the country. Gateway would also allow Amtrak to expand its high-speed Acela service, which is necessary for the development of state-supported high-speed rail in New York.
Sixth Annual Butterfly Day is July 26
The highly-anticipated Butterfly Festival is back. Join a fun-filled day of butterfly walks and identification techniques, plus many free activities for the kids on Sunday, July 26. Children 12 and under can join a butterfly costume contest. Butterfly Day is co-sponsored by the Bergen County Audubon Society and the North American Butterfly Association.
This free event takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Meadowlands Environment Center,
2 DeKorte Park Plaza, Lyndhurst.