Soldier who died at Fort Hood was from Jersey City
Tysheena James, 21, a 2012 graduate of Dickinson High School, was among the soldiers who perished near Fort Hood, Texas, this week, when the vehicle she was travelling in overturned while fording a flooded creek. James took the ROTC program at the high school that led to her enlistment.
PATH to suspend weekend 33rd Street service in August through December
Want to get to that weekend party in Manhattan? Starting in August, you may have to take a different route.
The Port Authority will suspend train service from 12:01 a.m. on Saturdays until 5 a.m. on Mondays on most weekends in August through December – but they will increase trips on their World Trade Center lines on weekends and add shuttle buses, so you can take the WTC train and then take the subway or a bus once in Manhattan.
“Weekend PATH service on the 33rd Street line in Manhattan will be suspended starting in early August,” the authority announced, “as part of a comprehensive, federally-mandated safety initiative to install a new computerized signal system designed to improve passenger service and safety.
“Service on the 33rd Street line will be suspended from approximately 12:01 a.m. on Saturdays until 5 a.m. on Mondays, a schedule that is set to continue most weekends through December 2016, with the exception of major holidays. Regular weekend service will continue on the Newark-World Trade Center (WTC) line and between Journal Square and Hoboken.
“Direct service between Hoboken and WTC, normally not available on weekends, also will be introduced.
“PATH riders affected by the closures may travel to the WTC station, which offers easy and accessible New York City subway service to uptown destinations. Shuttle buses will be provided, making stops between the WTC and 29th Street along Sixth and Seventh avenues.
“Further updates, bus maps and details will be provided as available through the Port Authority’s website, www.panynj.gov/PATH.”
Taste local food and help homeless women and kids
York Street Project with hold its 6th Annual “Evening under the Stars – A taste of Jersey City” a fundraiser to support homeless and low-income women and children of Jersey City on Thursday, June 23.
The festival aims to raise funds to help keep its doors open and programs running. This event is just one of the various community events designed to aid in the fight to break the cycle of poverty among women and children in the Jersey City area. The event will take place on York Street between Greene and Washington. The streets will be closed and several of Jersey City delights will be available for unlimited tasting. Some of the participating restaurants/establishments include Emerald Seafood, Boulevard Five72, Eema’s Cuisine, The Iron Monkey, Hamilton Pork, Quisqueya Restaurant, Sam A.M., and HopsScotch. Alongside these establishments guests can expect to also indulge in specialty cocktails, beer, and wine while listening to live entertainment.
The event will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $75 at-the-door and $60 with advance purchase through our website www.yorkstreetproject.org. Patrons also have the opportunity to sponsor the event, for more information, please contact Kyle O’Neill at (201) 451-8225 or koneill@yorkstreetproject.org.
Sailing away
A tourist attempting to take a picture of sunrise from a wooden pier in Jersey City found himself afloat when the pier broke away from shore at the Liberty Harbor Marina on June 9.
The currents took the plywood pier across New York Harbor near Governor’s Island before the tourist managed to get the attention of a police boat.
Although the tourist had a cellular phone, moisture made it in operative, and he was forced to wave his arms at passing harbor traffic.
Bayonne man shot dead in Jersey City
Davon Gordon, 25, of Bayonne, was pronounced dead as a result of a shooting on West Side Avenue in Jersey City. Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said Jersey City police were dispatched to West Side and Fairview Avenues at about 2:45 a.m. on June 4 on the report of gunfire.
Upon arrival, officers found two individuals who had been shot. Gordon sustained gunshot wounds to his torso and was transported to the Jersey City Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 9:15 a.m. The other man, also 25, was also transported to the Jersey City Medical Center for a gunshot wound to a lower extremity and was treated and released from the hospital.
Thus far, no arrests have been made in connection with the shootings. The prosecutor’s Homicide Unit is actively investigating the case with assistance from the Jersey City Police Department. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office at (201) 915-1345 or by leaving an anonymous tip on the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office official website at: http://www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/. All information will be kept confidential.
Former Head Start director admits $250,000 theft
Robert E. Mays, 38, of Jersey City, admitted stealing more than $250,000 from the Jersey City Child Development Centers Inc. (JCCDC), an organization that provided early childhood development services and education to under-privileged children, said U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman last week.
Mays pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to one count of wire fraud.
According to the court documents Mays was the executive director of JCCDC from Sept. 2013 to May 2014. Mays admitted that he stole more than $250,000 from JCCDC by unilaterally increasing his annual salary from $96,500 to $155,000 after being employed by JCCDC for only two months. He also admitted that he created false board of director’s minutes to give the impression JCCDC authorized the salary increase.
In addition, Mays admitted he withdrew funds from a JCCDC bank account to pay for unauthorized personal expenses, including a 2007 Maserati Quattroporte and a fur coat worth thousands of dollars.
The wire fraud count to which Mays pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss resulting from the scheme, as well as mandatory restitution in the full amount of the loss to JCCDC. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 20.
Jersey City to provide LGBT training for new police officers
The Jersey City Police Department announced that as part of the department’s ongoing effort to expand and diversify the department, all new officers will undergo LGBT training through a partnership with the NYPD and GOALny, the Gay Officers Action League of New York.
On June 16, the newest graduates of the police academy will receive a comprehensive training in LGBT sensitivity as part of their departmental training. The partnership with GOALny was launched in May of 2015. Since then, every officer graduating from the academy has gone through the training. After the training on the 16th, 90 newly sworn officers will have received the sensitivity training, with the Police Department planning to expand to cover all officers in the department.
The training is carried out by NYPD officers with GOALny, an affiliation of uniformed and civilian LGBT members of the law enforcement community in New York City. The training is designed to convey an increased awareness of the challenges faced by the LGBT community, highlight and counteract inherent biases in the way that community is treated by law enforcement and other institutions, and teach appropriate terminology.
GOAL’s LGBTQ Workshop is an interactive presentation, which allows participants to examine their belief systems in regards to gay, lesbian and transgender peoples. Topics covered included: internalized homophobia, coming out, institutionalized homophobia, gender identity, gender expression and policing with unconscious bias.
Freeholders approve $500,000 for mural restoration
The Hudson County Board of Freeholders has allocated $500,000 for Hudson County William J. Brennan Courthouse Mural Restoration.
The County of Hudson applied for and received a Level II Capital Preservation Grant for Mural Restoration, interior mural restoration and associated work that will be administered by the New Jersey Historic Trust.
EverGreene Architectural Arts, one of the largest architectural arts studios in the United States, with extensive experience preserving murals, artwork, historic finishes, undertook the mural and decorative painting investigation. They determined the type and extent of restoration that was needed.
These funds will undertake the conservation and restoration of these murals by in house expert conservators and technicians.
The Hudson County Courthouse ornate decoration includes extensive murals and artwork by significant American Renaissance artists such as Edwin Blashfield, Kenyon Cox, Charles Yardley Turner, Howard Pyle and Francis D. Millet throughout the second, third, and fourth floor corridors and within the second floor “Freeholders Courtroom,” the rotunda dome ceiling and four pendatives below the dome.
Chairman Tilo Rivas and the Board of Chosen Freeholders said they are committed to providing the necessary resources needed to conserve, restore and preserve murals, artworks and historic finishes in Hudson County.
Liberty State Park to hold 40th birthday party
The Friends of Liberty State Park invites the public to celebrate the park’s 40th birthday on Tuesday, June 14 at 5 to 8 p.m. at a “bring your own picnic” behind Lady Liberty. Cake will be served and Flag Day flags will be given out. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and others will make brief remarks starting at 6 p.m. Event takes place at LSP’s southeastern area’s picnic area and field. The family-oriented upbeat Rockasorri music duo will be playing songs, including “This Land is Your Land.” All are invited to bring their own picnic baskets, coolers, grills (though picnic area has a few), blankets, chairs, frisbees, balls, kites, etc. Alcohol is prohibited in state parks. Feel free to come earlier and stay until LSP closes at 10 p.m. Two shuttle buses will be running from the cul-de-sac south of the Jersey Ave. footbridge until 8 p.m. (Rain date Friday, June 17 at same time.) For more info, please check www.folsp.org or call (201) 792-1993.
You can borrow a tie for job interviews at Jersey City Library
Have you ever heard of a ‘tiebrary’? Neither did the Jersey City Free Public Library until Jersey City School Board Member Lorenzo Richardson emailed Library Director Priscilla Gardner an article about this special program at the Free Public Library of Philadelphia.
The tiebrary, in fulfilling an important community need, exists to support someone who lacks the funds to purchase a necktie for a crucial job interview by offering an assortment of ties for borrowing.
“The Miller Branch is our first pilot,” stated Gardner. “If this is successful, we will ask Five Corners, Greenville and the Cunningham Branches to introduce the tiebrary.”
The Miller Branch Library was first selected because Jason Sanders, assistant branch head, introduced a similar project about two years ago, whereas he gave the neckties away, instead of loaning them to Miller patrons.
Miller Branch has 178 ties to start the tiebrary, which is located on the first floor near the Circulation Desk, and will keep inventory on all ties. The ties have barcodes, as all library materials, for inventory. The ties may be checked out for three days, and if more time is needed, patrons may ask for extensions. Staff will also make notes in Workflows on the patron’s library card.
“This total will increase, because I am donating 10 new neckties. The Board President is donating neckties to Miller Branch as well,” added the library director. Curt Harris is the president of the Jersey City Free Public Library Board of Trustees.