Zipcar sets date for takeover of Hoboken Corner Cars program
Car-sharing mogul Zipcar will begin moving its vehicles into the exclusive parking spaces of Hoboken’s Corner Cars program on Wednesday, Sept. 2, according to a city press release. The company said they have placed 30 vehicles in Hoboken, a sum that could jump to 46 as it fully takes over the program.
The program allows local residents to rent cars that are placed on the street at an hourly and daily rate that includes insurance and gas and a certain number of miles per day. The program is an effort to get residents to give up their cars, thus hopefully alleviating the city’s parking crunch.
Hertz has operated the Corner Cars program since 2010, but will remove all of its vehicles from Hoboken streets by Monday, Aug. 31 as part of the phasing out of its Hertz 24/7 car-sharing service nationwide. Aug. 27 was the last day Corner Car members could make reservations for Hertz 24/7 vehicles located in Hoboken.
Current Corner Cars members must sign up for Zipcar to continue using the program, but the company has promised to let these users waive its annual membership fee for the first year through a special promotional deal. To join, visit www.zipcar.com.
Further details on how to transition from Hertz to Zipcar are forthcoming. However, if any Hertz members would like to change their membership to Zipcar immediately, they cam email NYCMarketing@Zipcar.com.
A check of Zipcar’s website showed that on Tuesday, Sept. 1, the cheapest Zipcar vehicle available in Hoboken could be rented for $12.75 per hour or $94 per day. Over the Labor Day weekend, Zipcars in Hoboken will rent for between $159 and $259 per day, starting at $16.75 per hour. The site showed that 12 were available in Hoboken each day, as of Thursday. Others are available in New York City.
In electing to end its car-sharing, Hertz “determined that there is greater return on investment in our core car rental businesses and in European corporate car sharing,” according to a company spokeswoman.
Russo remains unopposed for 3rd Ward; Ramos and Fisher declare
As of Friday, incumbent three-term Councilman Michael Russo was still running unopposed for the 3rd Ward. According to the Hoboken City Clerk’s office, no additional residents took petitions to run for City Council last week.
Two presumptive candidates did officially throw their hats in the ring; former State Assemblyman Ruben Ramos will run for the 4th Ward, and Hoboken Zoning Board Commissioner Tiffanie Fisher will run for the 2nd Ward.
This past Wednesday, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer and City Council President Ravi Bhalla held a $300-a-head fundraiser for the candidates they are backing in the upcoming council election—Zoning Board Commissioner Michael DeFusco in the 1st Ward; Hoboken Housing Authority Board Chairwoman Dana Wefer in the 2nd Ward; and incumbent 5th Ward Councilman Peter Cunningham and 6th Ward Councilwoman Jen Giattino.
The swift organization of a “Team Zimmer” slate makes the lack of a challenger to Russo intriguing. In 2011, Zimmer strongly criticized Russo after it was revealed that he met with FBI informant Solomon Dwek, calling for him to be censured and removed from his position on the Hoboken Housing Authority board.
Asked her feelings about no one running against Russo, Zimmer said Thursday that there is still time for a challenger to show up.
“Since the petitions are not due until the 31st it would be premature to comment on who may or may not be running in any ward,” she wrote in an email. “Neither you or I know with any degree of certainty who will be running and Hoboken has a history of last-minute surprises.”
A&P supermarkets to shed 768 jobs in Hudson County by Thanksgiving
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company will lay off 768 employees at seven Hudson County supermarkets by Thanksgiving Day 2015, according to notices filed with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The grocery giant, which operates supermarkets under the A&P, Pathmark, Superfresh, and Food Basics imprints, filed for federal bankruptcy protection in July. Of its 296 stores in the Mid-Atlantic region, the company plans to close 25 within the next month and sell another 118 to its competitors.
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.
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.
However, all seven Hudson County stores could see significant layoffs, ranging from 87 employees at the West New York A&P to 155 employees at the Old Colony Square Pathmark in Jersey City. The Hoboken A&P is slated to lose 104 employees.
Based in Montvale, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company 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 Trader Joe’s.
The projected layoffs for Hudson County are:
A&P (125 18th Street, Jersey City) — 103
A&P (614 Clinton Street, Hoboken) — 104
A&P (55 Riverwalk Drive, West New York) — 87
Pathmark (321 Stadium Plaza, Jersey City) — 99
Pathmark (4100 Park Avenue, Weehawken) — 124
Food Basics (1425 Kennedy Blvd., North Bergen) — 96
Pathmark (420 Grand St., Jersey City) – 155
Local teacher selected for national workshop on African-American Gullah culture
Joan Litman, a teaching artist-in-residence at the Mustard Seed School in Hoboken, was one of 72 teachers from around the United States selected as a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Scholar. Litman participated in “Gullah Voices: Traditions and Transformations,” a Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop developed by scholars from the University of Connecticut and funded by a grant from the NEH.
“Gullah Voices” was a week-long workshop for K-12 teachers in Savannah, Ga. The curriculum provided historic insight into the Gullah community in the corridor between North Carolina and Florida, where people from West Africa, many from Sierra Leone, were enslaved to work on rice plantations.
Throughout the workshop, teachers experienced Gullah culture directly. They attended performances by groups and participated in traditional activities. They visited sites such as Hog Hammock, Sapelo Island, Ga., the last Gullah community on the Sea Islands.
“The experience of standing inside a sweltering brick structure in Savannah where African families were broken up and sold was unsettling and emotional,” said Litman. “It was an honor to stand among living descendants of the enslaved in places like to Sapelo Island, where a remnant of Gullah people still live on an island that was once their own, but has been increasingly claimed by the state and sold to developers.”
Ms. Litman will offer a workshop on children’s songs and singing games of the Gullah cultures during the school year. The program Gullah Voices will be offered again in 2016.
Joan Litman has been a music educator for over forty years. A specialist in world music, she is passionate about furthering the education of music teachers around the world. Most recently, she has taught and learned from students and teachers in Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Japan, Hong Kong, Spain, and Syria.
Hoboken property owners invited to request street trees for their block
In preparation for the fall 2015 tree planting, the city of Hoboken’s Shade Tree Commission is seeking property owners who would like a tree planted in the sidewalk adjacent to their building and who will agree to care for and water the tree. Qualifying property owners can have a street tree planted in exchange for a suggested $100 contribution towards planting costs and a pledge to keep the tree well-watered.
Property owners who would like a tree planted in a sidewalk tree well in front of their home should complete the online request form at www.hobokennj.org/boards/stc/treerequest. Requests will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to available funding.
Each location requested will be surveyed by a professional from the Department of Environmental Services to ensure there are no conflicts with the surrounding infrastructure and that the site is a suitable one for a tree to grow and thrive.
Requests can be made for existing empty tree beds as well as paved sidewalk locations. If a tree well does not exist, one will be opened. Trees will not be planted on private property; only in sidewalk tree wells.
Trees are only planted during our two planting seasons: Spring (March 1 to May 31) and fall (Oct. 1 to Dec. 31). The next anticipated planting will take place in October or November, 2015.
Heirloom Tomato-Tasting Festival arrives Aug. 30
Love tomatoes? Mark your calendar for the Hoboken Historical Museum’s 13th Annual Heirloom Tomato-Tasting Festival on Sunday, Aug. 30, from 1 to 5 p.m. in the breezeway outside the Museum’s entrance at 1301 Hudson St. New Jersey farmers Rich and Sue Sisti of Catalpa Ridge Farm in rural Wantage Township will be back with over a dozen varieties of heirloom tomatoes, freshly picked and ready for sampling. The event, as always, is free.
Heirlooms are varieties that gardeners have saved by passing down seeds from one generation to the next. They’re usually the most flavorful varieties and oft en come in unusual colors and shapes — they hardly resemble the typical round, red tomato sitting in a plastic tray in the supermarket. The colors range from white to yellow to purple, and sometimes even red. Favorites over the years have included the tart “Aunt Ruby’s German Green,” the flavorful “Brandywine Pink,” and the ever-popular “Radiator Charlie’s Mortgage Lifter.” New varieties are grown every year, so if you were at the tasting in years past, you’ll find new tomatoes for sampling this year.
The Museum provides slices of authentic Hoboken coal-fired-oven bread to hold all those delicious juices, or to dip into salsas, dips, and pestos made from Catalpa Ridge Farm’s produce by LaStrada Gourmet Deli. The Sistis also bring a selection of farm-fresh produce including garlic, herbs, peppers, onions, eggplant, summer squash and more, available for purchase.
Free course on coping with family mental illness begins in September
The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Hudson County (NAMI Hudson) will offer the acclaimed NAMI Family-to-Family education program consisting of twelve 2-½ hour classes for families and close friends of adults living with a mental illness beginning in mid-September. The classes will focus on schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, clinical depression, panic disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
The course will be given by family members of individuals with a mental illness and have been trained by NAMI as educators of the Family-to-Family Program. The leaders truly understand what you are going through and know how to help you to learn about and cope with mental illness.
Many family members describe this experience as life changing. You will learn about family responses to the trauma of mental illness, symptoms, medications and side effects; practice problem solving skills and communication techniques; develop strategies for handling crisis and relapse; and focus on self-care and coping with stress.
The course schedule is Wednesday evenings, Sept. 16 through Dec. 2, from 7 to 9:30 p.m., at Jose Marti Freshman Academy, 1800 Summit Ave., Union City. The course is free but registration is required. For more information please call or email Carmen at (201) 310-5828 or garciacarmen524@gmail.com.
Glen Oaks Club to host The Barclays in 2017
The Barclays will add a new venue to its rotation of courses in the greater metropolitan New York/New Jersey area in 2017, Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury, N.Y, on Long Island. On Thursday, tournament officials for The Barclays at Plainfield Country Club also announced the future course rotation for the tournament through 2022. The Barclays is the first event of the FedExCup Playoffs and features the top 125 in the FedExCup Standings. This year’s event began on Thursday, Aug. 27.
“The Glen Oaks Club is a fantastic addition to a rotation of some of the best courses in the metropolitan New York/New Jersey area,” PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem said. “The Barclays has a proud tradition of visiting the very best golf courses in the area, and Glen Oaks fits perfectly with the other tremendous sites in the rotation. We look forward to heading there for the first time in 2017 for an exciting event to kick off the FedExCup Playoffs.”
The Glen Oaks Club was formed in 1924 south of Lake Success on land purchased from the estate of William K. Vanderbilt, and later moved to the current site in Old Westbury. The course was designed by Joe Finger and opened for play in 1971. The 27 holes at Glen Oaks were largely unchanged until 2011, when Joel Weiman and Craig Currier, the superintendent of the club, led a renovation that was completed in 2014. Glen Oaks was named the 2015 Club of the Year by the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association.
In addition to naming Glen Oaks to the rotation, The Barclays also announced the course rotation through 2022, which includes some of the best courses in the greater New York area. The rotation includes:
2016 Black Course at Bethpage State Park, Farmingdale (LI), N.Y.
2017 Glen Oaks Club – Old Westbury (LI), N.Y.
2018 The Ridgewood Country Club, Paramus
2019 Liberty National Golf Club, Jersey City.
2020 Plainfield Country Club, Edison
2021 Black Course at Bethpage State Park, Farmingdale (LI), N.Y.
2022 Liberty National Golf Club, Jersey City
Daily and practice round ticket offers are available at thebarclaysgolf.com. Fans are reminded that each year, up to three youth 18 and younger are admitted free of charge to The Barclays when accompanied by a ticketed adult.
For additional ticket options, please call (844) 868-7465.
City encourages Hoboken residents to file insurance claims review before Sept. 15
The city of Hoboken reminds Hoboken policyholders with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) who filed a claim due to Hurricane Sandy that they have until September 15, 2015 to register to have their claim files reviewed if they believe they were underpaid. In May of 2015, Mayor Zimmer joined Senators Cory Booker and Bob Menendez in Hoboken to announce this review process to the public.
To be eligible for the review, policyholders must have experienced flood damage between October 27, 2012 and November 6, 2012 as a result of Hurricane Sandy. For more information, see www.fema.gov/sandyclaims.
PSE&G milling and paving work continues through Sept. 3
PSE&G has begun the second phase of milling and paving work to repair trenches created during the installation of new gas mains as part of the Energy Strong program. The project is replacing 31,000 linear feet of low pressure old cast iron mains in or near flood areas with new plastic pipe which operate at a higher pressure that prevents water from entering mains, increasing the reliability of gas service.
Parking will be prohibited on both sides of the street during milling and paving work. Please note that the following schedule is weather-permitting and subject to change:
Monday, Aug. 31
Milling
Park Avenue (11th St. to 14th St.)
Monroe St (6th St. to 8th St.)
Tuesday, Sept. 1
Paving
Monroe St. (6th St. to 8th St.)
6th St. (Jackson St. to Willow Ave.)
6th St. (Hudson St. to Bloomfield St.)
Wednesday, Sept. 2
Paving
6th St. (Bloomfield St. to Willow Ave.)
Willow Ave. (6th St. to 11th St.)
12th St. (Bloomfield St. to Willow Ave.)
Thursday, Sept. 3
Paving
Park Ave. (11th St. to 14th St.)
Garden St. (11th St. to 14th St.)
13th St. (Bloomfield St. to Willow Ave.)
14th St. (Washington St. to Willow Ave.)