Early holiday deadlines
The Reporter’s office in Bayonne office will be closed Friday, Dec. 23, Monday, Dec. 26, and also on Monday, Jan. 2. Display ad deadline for the Jan. 1 edition is Tuesday, Dec. 27 at noon. Display ad reservations may be sent via email to tishk@hudsonreporter.com or ronk@hudsonreporter.com during the days the offices are closed. Voicemail messages related to display advertising only can be left at(201) 798-7800, ext. 603.
Weehawken partners with Foundation for Teaching Economics for teacher training
Weehawken Township School District has formed a partnership with The Foundation for Teaching Economics (FTE) to train educators on best practices for teaching about environmental economics. On Dec. 13 FTE facilitated a professional development workshop to familiarize middle and high school teachers with unbiased strategies to engage students in the basics of environmental economics. Teachers role-played and practiced effective classroom simulations to introduce the concepts to their students.
The workshop held at Weehawken High School and was taught by Professor Donald G. Fell. Fell is past president of the National Association of Economic Educators and has taught college economics for over 35 years at The Ohio State University and University of South Florida. In addition to the participating Weehawken teachers, educators from high schools in Bergen, Middlesex, Monmouth, Hudson, and Union counties were also in attendance.
Weehawken Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert R. Zywicki said, “This dynamic seminar provided our teachers with rigorous and relevant strategies for addressing crucial topics with students such as water scarcity, the tragedy of the commons, and climate change. We are very grateful to Foundation for Teaching Economics for this unique opportunity.”
The mission of the Foundation for Teaching Economics is to introduce young individuals to an economic way of thinking about national and international issues and to promote excellence in economic education by helping teachers of economics become more effective educators.
NY Waterway returns ferries to single ownership
Port Imperial Ferry Corp., doing business as NY Waterway, has entered into an agreement to acquire Billybey Ferry Co., which owns 11 commuter ferries and the rights to operate on routes between Hoboken and Jersey City and Manhattan, NY Waterway President & Founder Arthur E. Imperatore has announced in a letter to employees.
The combined NY Waterway fleet of 31 ferries and 80 buses is the largest privately-owned and operated commuter ferry network in the nation, serving a total of 20 trans-Hudson routes and carrying more than 30,000 passengers per day. The company began operations Dec. 3, 1986, and has about 400 employees today.
“You and all the good people of NY Waterway should feel proud of this achievement,” Imperatore said in his letter to employees. “We intend to continue to operate all routes, boats and equipment at our high standards so that we may continue our quest to serve our loyal riders with the best service possible. We will continue to grow the company so we can become better and better, even though I truly believe we are the ‘World’s Best Ferry.’ Thank you for all your efforts to have made this possible.”
Since 2005, Port Imperial Ferry Corp. has provided all boat crews and maintenance to the ferries, as well as ticketing and customer service staff, so customers should expect to see little change because of the acquisition.
NY Waterway also will continue to operate two additional ferries chartered by Billybey that operate between the Paulus Hook Ferry Terminal in Jersey City and the World Financial Center Ferry Terminal in Lower Manhattan.
The combined entity is owned by Imperatore, his stepson Armand Pohan, who serves as chairman, Arthur E. Imperatore Jr. and other family members. Headquarters are in the Port Imperial Ferry Terminal in Weehawken.
Teen wants public donations after he allegedly broke law climbing on tall buildings
On Kickstarter and other fundraising pages, people seek funds for their sick children, charity endeavors, and sometimes, artistic projects. But one local teenager is looking for funds for his legal fees after he’s been caught posting photos of dangerous climbs on skyscrapers.
The local teen was recently charged with reckless endangerment and trespassing after he and friends posted videos on social media of themselves climbing high atop buildings and scaffolding near Central Park.
He’s also infamous for his death defying climbing in the tri-state area, including 1 World Trade Center in 2014 when it was still under construction. At that time, he was given a community service sentence and had to meet with a therapist.
After the latest charges, he said he’s doing a “film series” and has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $25,000 for both the project and legal fees.
On his Kickstarter page, he writes that the money will be used to document and travel his journey through the continental United States and Hawaii “through dozens of 7-14 minute shorts for as long as we can sustain them.”
He also states that the first $10,000 will be used to pay back legal fees.
“Because of the art I have recently shared, I had to borrow thousands of dollars to help pay for my legal defense and bail,” says the webpage. “The first ten thousand dollars of your donations will go straight to that. Once, that’s all settled, my team and I will focus on sharing our positive message of living life to the fullest with the rest of the world.”
“It is my mission to inspire others to let go of fear and ultimately connect with whatever and whomever they love,” he wrote on the page. “After coming under fire by a lot of New York media and receiving praise by most of New York’s citizens I have decided to ask for the worlds help with empowering myself to serve this world by making more moving films with the people I love.”
But New York City emergency responders don’t feel the same way. One told the media that had the teen fallen during his stunts, emergency workers would have been tied up instead of tending to other people in need.
As of Tuesday Dec. 13 the Kickstarter page had raised $628.