Bayonne man sentenced for role in illegal gambling enterprise
A Bayonne man was sentenced to 15 months in prison for conspiring with a criminal enterprise that engaged in illegal sports betting in New Jersey and elsewhere, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced in a press release on Sept. 11.
Mark A. Sanzo, 57, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to information charging him with one count of racketeering conspiracy. Judge Cecchi imposed the sentence on Friday in Newark federal court.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Sanzo admitted that he conspired to commit racketeering acts in connection with an illegal sports betting operation.
In addition to the prison term, Cecchi ordered Sanzo to serve three years of supervised release and pay a $5,000 fine.
Bayonne pays tribute to victims of terrorist attacks
Dozens of residents remembered those lost or injured in the Sept. 11, 2001 and Feb. 26, 1993 terrorist attacks at the annual Interfaith Memorial Service and Candlelight Vigil held on Friday.
The service honors those at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., and United Air Lines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001 and those at the World Trade Center in 1993.
Mayor James Davis and several members of the Bayonne Interfaith Clergy spoke.
Rev. Dorothy Patterson said the scars still have not healed.
“Fourteen years after the attacks we’re still affected by them,” Patterson said. “We deal with the emotions that flood our minds when we think of 9/11.”
“We remember it every single day,” Davis said.
The event is sponsored by the “September 11 … Bayonne Remembers Committee.”
The memorial is held each year in front of the 9/11 Memorial in Harbor View Park at the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor, which juts out into Upper New York Bay and faces lower Manhattan and the World Trade Center.
New Jersey Sierra Club appeals ExxonMobil decision
The New Jersey Sierra Club has filed to appeal Judge Michael Hogan’s decision on the ExxonMobil Settlement.
“We have taken the first step in the appeal process by filing a motion to intervene to the Appellate Court,” said New Jersey Sierra Club Executive Director Jeff Tittel on Sept. 14. “We believe the people of New Jersey have not been properly represented by the NJDEP in the settlement.”
Moran accepted the $225 million settlement on Aug. 25. The state had originally sought $8.9 billion for damages at the Bayonne and Linden Bayway refineries. As part of the agreement 16 additional contaminated sites, along with over 800 gas stations, were added to the case.
“We are going back to court to stop the biggest sellout of the environment in state history,” Tittel said. “We believe the judge was wrong and the decision is wrong for New Jersey.”
Tittel said he believes the Appellate Court will overturn the settlement because it violates the Spill Act and does not properly compensate for the natural resource damages at the Bayonne and Linden refineries, the 16 other sites, and the 800 gas stations.
He also said that out of the $225 million settlement figure, $50 million will go toward legal fees, and that means no money will go to restoration of the environment and that $175 million will go to the state’s general fund.
“We strongly believe that the people in the communities of New Jersey have been harmed by Exxon’s pollution and need to be made whole again,” Tittel added. “The communities impacted must be compensated for this pollution. We are continuing this fight because we need the people in these communities to get environmental funding that they deserve.”
Bayonne to hold tailgate fundraiser for teams
Mayor James Davis has announced that the first Bayonne High School Varsity Football “Season Opener Tailgate” will be held on Friday, Sept. 18 at 5 p.m. at Don Ahern Veterans Stadium.
The event will take place prior to Bayonne versus Bloomfield, the first home game of the season.
“We’re celebrating a dynamic time in the history of Bayonne athletics,” Davis said. “We now have a brand-new state-of-the-art field, major improvements to our ice rink are underway, and we have capital improvements slated for our parks and recreation facilities throughout the city.”
The tailgate will feature food trucks, shaved ice, and a football toss. There will be a $5 minimum donation for the event.
All proceeds will benefit the Bayonne High School All Sports Booster Club.
“We are excited, the coaches are excited, and the fans are excited,” Davis said. “I hope to see everyone on the 18th as we kick off this season and celebrate the use of our newest facility.”
Community Development invites housing rehab applications
The Bayonne Community Development Block Grant Program is offering applications for $5,000 housing rehabilitation grants.
The funding would enable qualified homeowners to improve their homes, making use of funds from the federal Home and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs.
The rehabilitation grants would be valid for either one year or as long as the grant budget lasts. According to Executive Director Samantha Howard of the Bayonne CDBG program, eligible rehabilitation proposals that are above $5,000 may be also eligible for loans of up to $15,000.
“By combining grants and loans, homeowners would be able to make bigger improvements in their properties,” Howard said. “We would be happy to discuss the possibilities for combined grant and loan packages with eligible applicants.”
The CDBG program will consider applications for new cases filed after September 1, 2015. The office cannot reopen old cases. The application form for the grant program is available on the city of Bayonne’s website. Applicants will need to provide information on such items as household members, income, mortgages, deeds, and property taxes.
The CDBG program now operates out of the Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation (BEOF) office at 555 Kennedy Blvd. Completed applications can be dropped off there. Ashley Lambert, the contact person for the grant program, can be reached at (201) 437-7222.
Bayonne students enter NJIT’s Albert Dorman Honors College
Three students from Bayonne have joined the freshman class of 2019 at the Albert Dorman Honors College at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).
Casey Harrigan, a Bayonne High School graduate, is studying interior design on an advanced level. David Nageh, also from Bayonne High School, plans on studying biology. Jonathan Racki, a graduate of Saint Peters Preparatory School in Jersey City, is majoring in biomedical engineering.
Harrigan, Nageh and Racki have joined more than 700 of the nation’s most academically accomplished students enrolled in the Albert Dorman Honors College.
Each Albert Dorman Honors Scholar receives a number of benefits, including significant, merit-based scholarship packages, opportunities to participate in research, internships, co-ops and study-abroad experiences, and accelerated pathways to higher degrees and professional schools. This summer, the honors college kicked off its 20th anniversary celebration, with alumni returning to the campus to celebrate the school’s success.
Lunar eclipse viewing at Meadowlands observatory
Those interested in viewing the total lunar eclipse on Sunday, Sept. 27, can do so for free at the William D. McDowell Observatory in DeKorte Park, Lyndhurst, from 7:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
The peak of the eclipse, when Earth is positioned completely between the full moon and the sun, will take place at approximately 10:45 p.m.
The event will also include a talk on the history of eclipses and telescope viewing of astronomical objects including Saturn and Neptune.
Attendees must be able to climb 25 steps to reach the telescope.
Registration is not required. For more information, call (201) 460-4623.
Arts and music festival and car show to be held
The Edgewater Arts Council’s 24th Annual Edgewater Arts & Music Festival and the Edgewater Cultural & Historical Committee’s 12th annual Edgewater Ford Assembly Plant Vintage Auto Show will both be held on Sunday, Sept. 20.
The day-long events are a free celebration of the arts, culture, and history of Edgewater and are open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The artists from the tri-state area will compete for the major prizes in the categories of Art, Photography, Crafts, Fiber Arts, Mixed Media and Student. A “Best of Show” award is donated by the Edgewater Borough Council.
More than 4,000 people are expected to attend this annual event, on the section of Edgewater known as Shadyside at the intersections of Old River Road and Thompson Lane.
For more information on the arts and music festival, go to edgewaterartsnj.org.
In addition, visitors can also attend the annual Ford Assembly Plant Vintage Auto Show.
The auto show is at Edgewater Commons, where a complimentary shuttle bus will run all day so that attendees can park free in Edgewater Commons and shuttle to the Arts & Music Festival, several blocks away.
The Auto Show runs from 10 to 4 p.m. and features Fords built in the Edgewater Ford assembly plant from 1930-1954. Other cars are also featured.