Food court coming to Hoboken Terminal
HOBOKEN — The New Jersey Transit Board of Directors approved a lease for retail space at Hoboken Terminal on Sept. 10, which will result in the development of a 3,800-square-foot food court.
The new food court will feature Subway, Sbarro, Cinnabon, Carvel, and Einstein Bros. Bagels, and a satellite snack bar, according to a press release from NJ Transit.
According to New Jersey Transit spokesperson Courtney Carroll, the food court is anticipated to be open by late spring 2011.
“The new food court will be in the same location as the existing food court,” Carroll said in a phone interview on Friday. “It will be a consolidation of the spaces near the PATH entrance, by tracks one through four.”
The board authorized a 10-year lease with Gateway Foods, LLC, for operation of the 3,800 foot food court. The annual base rent for the area is $759,000, or a mixed percentage rent between 16.5 and 18 percent of annual gross sales – whichever amount is greater. In addition, Gateway Foods will invest $1.2 million in capital improvements to the leased premises, according to a press release.
Bayonne Town Center to host 3rd Annual Art Show
BAYONNE — On Saturday, Sept. 25, the Bayonne Town Center will host the 3rd Annual Outdoor Art Show on 23rd Street between Broadway and Church Lane. Local artists as well as the Hudson Artists of NJ will display their work from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. If you would like to display your art work, please submit the following information to the Bayonne Town Center at 8 East 22nd St., Bayonne, NJ 07002: Name, Address, Type of Artwork, Telephone number and if you need a table to set up your work. Also submit a refundable deposit of $10. Please register before Sept. 20. In case of rain, the art show will be held in St. Michael’s Parish Hall. For more info, please call the Bayonne Town Center at (201)-339-9409.
Hispanic community wants a say in who replaces Vega
JERSEY CITY — The city’s Hispanic community will closely watch the process by which a replacement for City Councilman Mariano Vega is chosen, hoping a Hispanic will be appointed to the seat. A number of sources said the candidates under consideration are from both the Puerto Rican and Dominican sectors. One of the people being touted by local political observers is Vega’s aide, Hilario Nunez, a Dominican.
Vega, once the council president, resigned his seat on Monday, submitting an official resignation letter to the city’s Law Department on Monday morning, according to city spokesperson Jennifer Morrill.
Vega, who won reelection to a fourth term on the council in last year’s municipal election, was arrested in a July 2009 corruption sting along with 46 religious and political officials, including former Jersey City Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini and former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell.
On Tuesday, Vega pleaded guilty to accepting bribes. His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 2, 2011.
Had Vega resigned as of last Friday, it would have been in enough time for a special election to be held this coming November. Now his at-large council seat will have to be filled by appointment until a special election is held in November 2011.
Some observers say there could be an uproar if a Dominican is named, since much of the city’s Hispanic political power base is Puerto Rican.
Morrill said a date has not been set as to when a replacement will be appointed to Vega’s council seat.
JCMC to dedicate breast cancer screening center
JERSEY CITY — Jersey City Medical Center will formally dedicate the Cristie Kerr Women’s Health Center and Radiology Center on Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 11 a.m.
Named after the world’s number one women’s golfer (according to 2010 rankings), the Cristie Kerr Women’s Health Center offers breast cancer screening programs including free mammograms and education to women with or without insurance.
The state of the art center is housed in the ground floor of a new five-story medical office building. The building was constructed without cost to taxpayers by Jersey City Medical Center in partnership with a private developer.
Joseph F. Scott, president and chief executive officer of LibertyHealth, which owns and operates Jersey City Medical Center, Cristie Kerr, and numerous dignitaries will be on-hand for the ribbon cutting.
Equipped with state-of-the-art digital mammography equipment, The Cristie Kerr Women’s Health Center marks the first full-service facility in the Hudson County area providing detection, healing, support, and recovery services.
Kerr is a passionate breast cancer activist, having witnessed her mother, aunt, and godmother battle the disease. In 2004, she founded the non-profit organization Birdies for Breast Cancer with a mission to raise funds and awareness.
CNBC: Hoboken top-10 city in America for ‘happy hour’
HOBOKEN — Looking for a great place to wind down or rile up after a long day at the office? Look no further than in your own backyard.
Hoboken has been named the ninth best city in America for happy hour by CNBC.
“Although it’s one of the smallest locales in this list, Hoboken, New Jersey – an up-and-coming town situated across the Hudson River from New York City – has perhaps the densest concentration of happy hours in the country,” according to the report on CNBC.
The report states that Hoboken offers 63 “happy hours” in the city.
HCCC previews new campus in Union City
HUDSON COUNTY — On Monday, officials from throughout Hudson County joined administrators from Hudson County Community College (HCCC) at the corner of 49th Street and Kennedy Boulevard in Union City to give the first “official” glimpse of the new HCCC North Hudson Higher Education Center – a new HCCC campus scheduled to be open for Fall 2011 classes, which is being billed as a “complete campus under one roof.”
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, Rep. Albio Sires, and Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise were in attendance, as were local mayors Dawn Zimmer (Hoboken) and Richard Turner (Weehawken). Union City Commissioner Christopher Irizarry attended in place of Union City Mayor and State Senator Brian Stack, who Irizarry said was at a budget committee hearing in Trenton.
Irizarry said Union City was proud to host the institution of higher learning, which sits just a few blocks from the brand new Union City High School which opened last year.
At seven stories and 92,250 square feet, the new North Hudson Center is the largest construction effort ever undertaken by HCCC and will provide several services, programs, and events for both the college and the community.
Sen. Menendez called the $28,165,000 project an “engine of opportunity for our citizens.”
Construction on the steel-frame structure began in spring of 2009 and is anticipated to be competed by June 2011 with many “green” features, including rainwater harvesting tanks and low-flow fixtures.
The center is located just around the corner from the light rail station at 49th and Bergenline. Officials said a glass-enclosed pedestrian bridge (scheduled to be built in “Phase Two” of the project) will eventually connect the building with the neighboring NJ Transit station.
The new addition comes at a time when enrollment in community college is dramatically on the rise. According to a released statement from the college, last year the school’s enrollment skyrocketed to 8,900 students, and over the past 16 years, enrollment has increased by 143 percent.
Read the full article about the campus preview in the upcoming edition of The Reporter for more details.
County to forgo Open Space tax this year
HUDSON COUNTY — Local residents will see a small tax break this year, thanks to a decision by Hudson County not to assess most of the tax normally collected for Open Space grants.
Municipalities were still being notified of the tax break Monday and several didn’t yet know how the county’s decision would affect their residents.
However, Secaucus expects to see a 10-cent reduction in county taxes for every $1,000 of assessed property owned.
“Because of the tax burden, a decision was made this year not to assess the open space tax, other than to service existing debt, which is a very small amount,” said Al Santos, the Hudson County Freeholders clerk.
Each year, the county normally awards grants to municipalities for land acquisition, historic preservation, park improvement, and open space planning on a competitive basis. Tax money collected and designated for open space grants is used to fund these projects.
The decision not to collect the Open Space tax this year won’t affect municipal projects that are currently under consideration, and which will be the subject of a public hearing on Oct. 28, according Santos.
“Even though the tax isn’t being collected [this year], there will be funding allocations made this year to municipalities because that money comes from last year’s tax,” Santos noted. “So, what’s in the hopper now has already been weighed and considered by the county executive and the Open Space Advisory Board, and recommendations have been made. Those projects will be the subject of a public hearing on Oct. 28. And then awards will be made [on those applications].”
There are 17 grants under consideration, totaling more than $6 million.
The decision not to collect the Open Space tax will, however, affect the county’s ability to fund park and historic preservation projects next year.
CORRECTION
HOBOKEN – Last week’s front page photo was not of Carroll Jones III, but rather of Barry Bruckner, a friend of Carroll Jones III who attended the event at Schnackenberg’s Luncheonette.