Hoboken Fire Chief Richard Blohm to retire Monday, June 1
Fire Chief Richard Blohm has indicated his plans to retire on Monday, June 1, according to a press release issued by the city of Hoboken on May 28. The administration of Mayor Dawn Zimmer will soon appoint a provisional fire chief to lead the department while a full search for Blohm’s permanent replacement takes place.
This full process entails administering a Civil Service Chief’s test to Fire Department officers and conducting a series of interviews with the highest scoring candidates. The mayor will then select a chief and the City Council will approve their contract.
“I extend my sincere gratitude to Chief Blohm for his 38 years of service to the City of Hoboken,” said Zimmer. “I am confident the Fire Department will build on the progress of Chief Blohm’s tenure and continue to respond to the needs of our community.”
The press release indicated that “the Fire Department has been operating with an officer in charge over the past few weeks and will continue to do so until a Provisional Chief is named,” which would suggest that Blohm has been functionally retired for some time.
As of the week of May 2, Fire Department employees indicated to The Hoboken Reporter that Blohm was on vacation.
City spokesman Juan Melli said the officer in charge in Blohm’s absence has been a battalion chief, of which the Hoboken Fire Department has seven.
Blohm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Democrats, Republicans run unopposed in 33rd District primaries
Democrats and Republicans will go to the polls this coming Tuesday, June 2, to pick their nominees for Hudson County executive and state assemblymen for the 33rd Legislative District in the November election, though they won’t have much choice in the matter. For each of the positions, the parties have unopposed candidates.
The winners of the primaries in the 33rd District will face Republicans in November. There are two Assembly seats in each district. The 33rd District includes Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City, and part of Jersey City.
For the Hudson County executive seat, the incumbent executive Thomas DeGise of Jersey City is running for the Democratic nomination, and Ivan Sutherland of North Bergen is running for the Republican nomination. For the two state Assembly seats up for election for the 33rd District, the Democratic candidates are Raj Mukherji of Jersey City, an incumbent, and Annette Chaparro of Hoboken. The Republican candidates are Garrett Simulcik, Jr. of Jersey City and Javier Sosa of Union City.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on June 2. Polling locations can be found online at https://voter.njsvrs.com/elections/polling-lookup.html. For more information, contact the Hudson County Board of Elections at 201-369-3435.
CUNY Urban Studies prof to give lecture on gentrification and public schools in Hoboken
This Sunday, May 31, at 4 p.m., the Hoboken Historical Museum is pleased to host a talk by Dr. Molly Vollman Makris, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies at Guttman Community College, City University of New York, who has just published a book, “Public Housing and School Choice in a Gentrified City.” The book is based on in-depth research into education and housing policies that influence the lives of low-income youth, using Hoboken as a microcosm of issues affecting cities across the country. Her multi-method study draws on interviews, youth research, and in-depth case studies to examine the influence of school choice and charter schools on the education of youth in public housing, as well as the environmental experiences of low-income youth in a gentrified community.
With a background as a public school teacher in New York City, and a PhD in Urban Systems, Dr. Makris takes an academic approach to studying the real-world impact of gentrification and school choice on the children of varying economic backgrounds. The event is free and open to all.
Stevens, Hoboken Family Alliance and 11 Hoboken Schools to hold STEM-a-thon on June 2
More than 300 Grade 6 students from all 11 of Hoboken’s public, private, and charter schools will participate in a day of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning, teamwork, and innovation at STEM-a-thon: A Day of Innovation for Hoboken’s sixth grade students, to be held on June 2 at Stevens Institute of Technology. This inaugural event is being sponsored by Stevens in partnership with the Hoboken Family Alliance.
Activities will inspire students to collaborate, create, and innovate to complete a variety of challenges successfully.
“One of the key goals of this event is to engage and inspire Hoboken’s budding scientists and engineers in the fun and excitement of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,” said Dr. Nariman Farvardin, president of Stevens Institute of Technology. “STEM is everywhere, in iPhones and video games, in medical advances and in innovations that make our City more secure and resilient in future storms like Hurricane Sandy. We hope that many of the students who attend the STEM-a-thon will consider pursuing STEM degrees and careers.”
Hoboken Family Alliance is a co-sponsor of this event.
The event will begin at 9 a.m. in the Canavan Arena on the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology. Stevens student and faculty volunteers will guide sixth graders through several activities, culminating with a closing ceremony at approximately 1:30 p.m. where each school will receive a STEM experience and a sixth grade class party donated by Hoboken Family Alliance and many area businesses.
Hoboken Historical Museum Secret Garden Tour explores horticultural legacy of Stevens
Tucked away behind Hoboken’s row homes and converted factory buildings is a world of lush gardens and cleverly designed courtyard spaces, as diverse as the city’s residents. Gardeners and non-gardeners alike are invited to indulge their curiosity and pick up urban gardening ideas on the Hoboken Historical Museum’s 18th Annual Secret Garden Tour, Sunday, June 7, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Rain date: June 14). It’s the public’s chance to see how gardeners’ creativity and landscapers’ skill can integrate nature into an urban setting.
The tour was originally inspired by the horticultural prowess of Hoboken’s founder, Col. John Stevens (1749 – 1838), who is credited with importing to America the first camellia, chrysanthemum and peony varieties. His gardens were highly regarded as some of the most elaborate and scientifically cultivated of the day. The “Extraordinary Stevens Family” is the subject of the Museum’s current exhibit, on view through July 5.
On this year’s tour, a total of 9 residential gardens (and a few bonus not-so-secret garden spaces) will welcome tour goers to support the Museum’s fundraising efforts. Guided tours will start from the Museum, 1301 Hudson St., every half-hour, and last about two to two and a half hours. At peak hours in the late morning and early afternoon, extra tours may leave every 15 minutes. Tour groups are limited in size and filled on a first-come, first-served basis. The tour takes place on foot; comfortable shoes and sun protection are advised – most tour stops involve climbing stairs. Tickets are $25 in advance at www.hobokenmuseum.org; or $30 on tour day.
The tour is sponsored by Hufnagel Landscape Design and Construction Group, with support and assistance from the Hoboken Garden Club.
Hoboken-based preservationist Joan Abel passes away
Joan Abel of Monroe Street in Hoboken passed away Tuesday, May 26 surrounded by family at her winter home in West Palm Beach, Fla. She was an architect who chaired Hoboken’s Historic Preservation Commission and had worked to restore the public library.
She was born July 11, 1943 at Margaret Hague Maternity Ward in Jersey City to John Robert Abel and Cecilia Estelle Abel. She grew up in Nutley and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Architecture in 1981 from Pratt Institute. She later studied architecture under Glenn Murcutt at his International Master Class in Sydney, Australia. In 2002 she received her Master’s in Environmental Studies from the University of Pennsylvania.
An art lover and collector, Joan moved to Hoboken in 1980. She practiced architecture at Applied Housing and Lindemon Winkelman Architects; and worked as a planner for Columbia Presbyterian, and as an archivist for Liberty State Park. While living in Annapolis, Maryland she served on its Historic Preservation Commission, and contributed extensively to the restoration of the Charles Carroll House.
Her concern for the built environment caused her in 2010 to create and actively promote a plan to alleviate flooding in Hoboken. Parts of that plan are reflected in Rebuild by Design, a study done in response to the devastating flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy.
Joan was a bicyclist throughout her adult life and as her health declined could often be seen about town on her electric scooter.
She died as a result of a chronic lung condition compounded by lung cancer.
She was married to Hoboken activist Jim Vance.
A celebration of her life will be held at her home Saturday, June 6 beginning at noon. If so inclined, those wishing to donate may make a donation to Pratt Institute at giving.pratt.edu or send a check to the Institute at 200 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205. Designate your donation specifically to “Fund for Pratt – Architecture” in memory of Joan Abel.
She is survived by her second husband, James Davis Vance of Hoboken, two children from her first marriage, Denise Joan Fahmie of Boston, Massachusetts, and Steven Michael Fahmie of Brooklyn, New York, and two sisters, Judith Ann Abel and Joyce Ruth Abel. She was preceded in death by her parents, her firstborn, Thomas Carl Fahmie Jr. and her brother John Robert Abel Jr.
Liberty Humane Society hosts free animal adoption event
Liberty Humane Society will host an adoption promotion event this Saturday and Sunday, May 30-31, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at its 235 Jersey City Blvd. facility. Cats and dogs over four months of age will be available for zero-fee adoption to approved adoptive homes.
These events are crucial to the local non-profit shelter. As the summer season approaches, more cats and dogs will be brought in as stray animals. By hosting large promotional adoption events, the shelter not only provides a great opportunity for the homeless animals currently in its care to find their adoptive forever homes, but also prepares kennels for the those animals incoming.`
Liberty Humane Society focuses its attention on caring for and adopting out the homeless dogs and cats of its community, promoting an “Adopt Local” philosophy encouraging homes considering adopting a pet to look local first, and consider providing homes for dogs and cats found homeless in their own neighborhoods.
Pets under four months of age will be excluded from this promotion.` Please visit the shelter or log onto www.libertyhumane.org for more details.