A&P files for bankruptcy; five Hudson markets could be sold to Acme
Five supermarkets in Hudson County are slated to be sold and two more could close after A&P filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this past Sunday. The grocery retailer, which operates 296 stores in the Mid-Atlantic region under six banners, has struggled financially and was never able to rebound fully after an earlier bankruptcy filing in 2010.
Twenty-five stores are slated to close within the next 60 days “due to lack of interest and significant ongoing store operating losses,” according to an A&P press release. The company will operate the remainder as normal while it seeks to sell them to new operators.
On Monday, A&P announced that it had received bids totaling $600 million for around 120 stores.
In Hudson County, five stores were included in an asset purchase agreement with Acme Markets, Inc.: three A&P stores in Jersey City, Hoboken, and West New York and two Pathmark stores in Jersey City and Weehawken.
The Jersey City stores slated to be sold to Acme include the A&P at 125 18th Street and the Pathmark supermarket at 321 Stadium Plaza. The Pathmark store at 420 Grand St., Jersey City is also up for sale but a buyer hasn’t been identified yet.
An additional Pathmark in Jersey City and a Food Basics in North Bergen were not included in the agreements, but are not among those stores closing in the short-term.
The sales must be approved by the bankruptcy court, and higher bids are possible. A&P hopes to complete the process by October.
Based in Montvale, A&P is the oldest grocery chain in the United States. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company’s mid-tier grocery chains have struggled in recent decades to compete against big box hypermarket stores like WalMart, specialty grocers like Whole Foods, and discount chains like Aldi.
City provides 1,300 kids with free recreation for summer
Mayor Steven M. Fulop and the Department of Recreation announced that Jersey City’s Summer Fun Camps program has provided free recreational and education activities to more than 1.300 kids during July and August. These events are taking place at 13 sites throughout the city. The program is also part of an expanded Summer Works program, providing employment for nearly 200 high school and college students.
Each Summer Fun campsite hosts up to 100 local youth, and will be under the supervision of twelve youth camp counselors, two college counselors, and one adult supervisor. Youth camp counselors assist in directing all camp activities with the support and leadership of adult supervisors and serve as role models for the younger participants.
The program’s mission and goal is to provide a safe environment for all campers and staff, while providing children with a structured and supervised day of recreational activities that will contribute to their intellectual, social, emotional and physical growth. The program also aims to create experiences that will increase self-esteem, improve self-confidence and build new friendships.
With the support of local organizations, youth campers are also be able to participate in additional activities provided by our local Girl Scouts, music teacher Beth Cohen, gymnastics lessons by Liberty Cheer Academy, break dancing classes by Cuda Culture, and comedy shows presented by the Grand Falloons.
Also available this summer for Jersey City residents is Project G.L.A.D., for special needs students between the ages of seven to 22. This program operates Monday through Friday throughout July and August. Project G.L.A.D. provides summer recreational activities for special education students, who classify as cognitively impaired (mild or moderate) or orthopedically impaired. While attending the program, breakfast and lunch will be provided for each child, as well as free transportation if needed.
Nation’s oldest private bank relocates its Jersey City offices
Brown Brothers Harriman, is moving its offices on Washington Boulevard to Harborside Plaza 5. The company operates from 18 locations worldwide, and is considered the nation’s oldest privately owned bank. Globally, Brown Brothers manages $4 trillion in assets under custody and administration. The company is expected to move its 500 employees into 114,798 square foot space with an 11-year lease.
Jersey City man gets 10 years for selling weapons
Bernardo Guzman, 26, of Jersey City, was sentenced last week to 120 months in prison for selling 33 firearms to a confidential informant, said U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman.
Guzman, according to Fishman, had previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to one count of possessing firearms while being a previously convicted felon.
Guzman, according to a release issued by Fishman, admitted that on Nov. 14, 2013, he met with an individual in the parking lot of a grocery store in Fort Lee to illegally sell three handguns. Guzman also admitted that from June 2013 through February 2014, he sold approximately 33 firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition to a confidential informant. The firearms sold by Guzman consisted of semiautomatic weapons, sawed-off shotguns, assault-style rifles and firearms with high-capacity magazines. Some of the firearms had obliterated serial numbers. All of the weapons and ammunition are now in the custody of law enforcement.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Arleo sentenced Guzman to serve three years of supervised release.
Jersey City affordable housing stock rises
Mayor Steven M. Fulop announced on July 23 that 285 units of new affordable housing have been approved over the past three months and nearly $6 million of Affordable Housing Trust Fund dollars have been invested in projects citywide as the administration forges a state model on how to create affordable housing alongside market rate development.
Included in this was creation of 165 units of affordable housing in two separate high rise projects.
These are the first downtown projects in 30 years to provide 20 percent of the total units as affordable housing.
“When we look at development and housing and the future of our city, our vision includes bringing affordable housing to all areas,” said Mayor Fulop. “We’ve been strategic and aggressive in our approach, using innovative tools and resources, and we are seeing the results.
This is the first time in decades there’s been this type of investment in affordable housing in Jersey City in so many diverse communities, including downtown and the waterfront.”
On July 22, the Jersey City Affordable Housing Trust Fund Committee approved funding for two projects. The first, at 105 Old Bergen Road, was awarded $201,000 for the rehab of six affordable housing units and the second, Morris Canal Redevelopment Corp., was awarded $100,000 for predevelopment work at 408-420 Communipaw Avenue, which will include at least 35 units of affordable housing when constructed.
Last week, the City Council approved the latest two projects that call for the creation of 64 new low-income housing units at Ocean Avenue and Dwight Street and the rehabilitation of 131 affordable rental units on Montgomery Street.
The new project, by Genesis Ocean Urban Renewal Associates, increases by 18 percent the number of units originally planned to 64 through a 30-year tax exemption and a city grant of $1.5 million from its Affordable Housing Trust Fund approved last month. The second project, the sale of Brunswick Estates to Roseville Avenue Redevelopment Urban Renewal, extends the affordability period for the remaining 17 years of a previously-approved tax abatement on 131 affordable rental units. Last month, the City Council approved the award of nearly $2.0 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to rehabilitate these buildings.
In May, the city approved $450,000 of AHTF dollars for six units of veterans’ affordable housing being constructed by the United Way Veterans of Hudson County on Bergen Avenue, as well as $1.5 million of AHTF dollars for eight affordable units being developed as part of a mixed-income project on Summit Avenue.
The Excellence in Global Cinema Film Festival to present ‘Black Orpheus’
The 5th installment of the festival presents “Black Orpheus,” a Brazilian classic film that is a retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, set during the time of the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Director Marcel Camus’s colorful and lyrical version of Orpheus stars Breno Mello, Marpessa Dawn, and Lourdes de Oliveira.
The screening will be Monday, July 27, at 5 p.m. sharp, at the Five Corners Branch Library, 78 Newark Ave. (corner of Summit Avenue), Jersey City, in the Mildred Hunke Auditorium. Discussion and Q&A will follow the screening. For more information, call (201) 547-4543. Free and open to the public.
Presented and produced by: the Jersey City Arts and Culture Council; Film Crafting Collaborative’s writer, producer, director, Zenobia Pintora; Subcontinent Peace Foundation’s Imtiaz Syed; Go Pro Radio’s CEO, Tylon Washington; and Jersey City Acting Collective’s CEO, director and actor, Erik-Anders Nilsson.
National night out set for Aug. 4
The Jersey City Public Library Bookmobile will participate in National Night Out, a community-police awareness event held annually on the first Tuesday of August. This year, on Tuesday evening, Aug. 4, the Bookmobile will be stationed at Arlington Park, with Bookmobile staff members Kizzie Rock and Don Taylor welcoming the public, discussing library system programs and offering applications for library cards – “knowledge, for free.”
Each year, the event is usually done in partnership with the mayor’s office, the Jersey City Police Department, the Police Officers’ Benevolent Association (P.O.B.A.), the Jersey City Police Superior Officers’ Association (P.S.O.A.), and the Jersey City Police Foundation. The event takes place at around 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Audubon Park, Pershing Field, Arlington Park and Hamilton Park.
CarePoint Health partners with Reliance Medical Group
CarePoint Health has announced that it has entered into a partnership with South Jersey healthcare leader Reliance Medical Group, effectively strengthening and expanding healthcare options for New Jersey residents. Specifically, the collaboration will directly impact Atlantic City and the South Jersey region by raising the quality of affordable, patient-centered healthcare while stimulating employment and economic development, further enhancing CarePoint Health’s projected contribution of $750 million annually to the New Jersey economy between 2014 and 2017.
“This groundbreaking partnership will bring together two like-minded healthcare providers that are each committed to providing the people they serve with high quality, individualized, and affordable care,” said Dennis Kelly, chief executive officer of CarePoint Health. “CarePoint Health has been wanting to expand its leading brand of healthcare into the South Jersey market. In Reliance Medical Group, we have found a partner that would allow us to instantly do so, while maintaining all of our quality and affordability standards.”
“This alliance is not only great for our organizations, but for the people and communities we serve throughout South Jersey,” said Dr. Jon Regis, president and chief executive officer of Reliance Medical Group. “By partnering with CarePoint Health, we will provide our patients with instant access to a variety of specialists and leading centers for medicine right here in New Jersey. This collaboration will also give us access to medical and business technology that will ensure Reliance Medical Group is providing its patients with the highest quality care.”
Based in Pleasantville, Reliance Medical Group has more than 30 office locations throughout Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Mercer and Ocean Counties, and specializes in OB/GYN Women’s Health, Pediatrics, Family/Internal Medicine, Podiatry, Chiropractic and Geriatric Medicine. Reliance’s 25 physicians, 13 nurse practitioners, five physicians assistants and 150 staff members care for more than 50,000 patients annually.
A North Carolina drug development company relocating to Jersey City
Scynexis Inc., drug development company, has announced that it will move from North Carolina to Jersey City, effective Aug. 1. The company apparently has decided to focus on developing an antifungal drug and has sold off some of its other services. The company currently has about 90 employees.