Food pantry to hold benefit concert and dinner Sunday Oct. 26
In Jesus Name, a faith-based food pantry in Hoboken, will hold a benefit concert this Sunday, Oct. 26 at 5 p.m. at St. Matthew Trinity Church, located at Eighth and Hudson streets. The performers all hail from Redeemer Hoboken, a local independent Presbyterian church, and have backgrounds in Broadway and Lincoln Center, jazz clubs, rock clubs, and recording studios. The concert will be followed by a dinner at 6 p.m., and childcare will be provided.
No tickets are necessary, but donations will be accepted, with all proceeds going to In Jesus Name. The organization was founded in 1981 when the Hoboken Clergy Coalition formed to respond to the various needs of the poor of Hoboken. It is located in Our Lady of Grace Church at Fourth and Willow streets.
Waltz through movements and mediums at the Hoboken Artists’ Studio Tour Nov. 9
On Sun. Nov. 9 from noon until 6 p.m., the city of Hoboken will host a free city-wide self-guided walking tour of artists’ studios, galleries and group exhibitions featuring the work of over 100 local artists. Free tour maps will be available at City Hall at 94 Washington St. on the day of the tour. Even though there are many locations, the tour is designed so that you can easily walk from studio to studio, gallery to gallery. The tour will display the work of artists from both inside Hoboken and farther afield. Visitors will see art in many forms, representing a large variety of mediums. They will have a chance to meet the artists, photographers, sculptors and artisans and witness the creative process at work. Even poets, musicians and performance artists will be on hand to make your day a memorable one.
One of the stops is the Hudson School at 601 Park Ave., which will host artwork by students, alumni, faculty and friends from noon to 6 p.m.
For further information, call Geri Fallo at (201) 420-2207 or email her at gfallo@hobokennj.org
Four men indicted for carjacking murder of Hoboken lawyer plead not guilty
Four men pleaded not guilty on Wednesday, Oct. 22 to felony murder charges in connection with the carjacking and slaying of a lawyer and Hoboken resident outside The Mall at Short Hills last December, according to an NJ.com report.
According to the Associated Press, Hanif Thompson of Irvington, and Karif Ford, Basim Henry and Kevin Roberts of Newark were indicted on murder, carjacking, conspiracy and weapons charges by an Essex County grand jury last month.
The men are accused of confronting Dustin Friedland, a 30-year-old Hoboken lawyer, and shooting him in the head as he returned to his Range Rover in the Short Hills Mall parking garage after a shopping trip on Dec. 15. Authorities say the men stole the Range Rover but did not harm Friedland’s wife Jamie Schare Friedland, who was with him at the time.
The young couple were married in October of 2011 and lived in a Park Avenue condo. According to Friedland’s Facebook page, he was a member of the Hoboken Harriers running club and grew up in Toms River.
Ralph Amirata, director of homicide for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, would not comment on who had fired the ultimately fatal shot at a press conference on Oct. 22.
“All four right now are considered equally culpable and are all facing the same sentences and the same charges,” said Amirata, the prosecutor in the case. “The four were working together and the four were targeting that specific vehicle, that type of vehicle.”
Authorities said Friedland’s Range Rover was found the morning after the carjacking behind a vacant house in Newark.
Monarch development hearing moves to Hoboken; will be held Oct. 28
This coming Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 6 p.m., the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders will meet to decide whether to allow a controversial plan to build residential towers on a pier in northern Hoboken to go forward.
Instead of its typical home in the Administration Building Annex in Jersey City, the board will meet in the gymnasium of Wallace Elementary School at 1100 Willow Ave. in Hoboken, according to the freeholders’ clerk’s office.
Shipyard Associates LP is required to secure approval at the city, county, and state level before it can move ahead with a development featuring two 11-story towers on the empty pier adjacent to Weehawken Cove and Fifteenth Street. The project has seen significant public opposition, particularly after the developers elected to place a second building where they had previously agreed to build tennis courts.
In 2012, the Hudson County Planning Board rejected Shipyard Associates’ application. The firm appealed the decision in Hudson County Superior Court, which remanded the appeal to the Board of Freeholders in July.
The freeholders’ hearing on the Monarch appeal was originally scheduled for Sept. 23, but was postponed after the board could not muster a quorum.
Though the upcoming meeting will be held in Hoboken, Anthony Romano, the freeholder who represents Hoboken and Jersey City Heights, will not attend or vote. Along with Freeholder Doreen DiDomenico, Romano has recused himself due to his position as a current member of the Planning Board. Second Ward Councilwoman Beth Mason had pressed for the move to Hoboken, speaking about it at the county freeholder meeting.
The proposed development, known as the Monarch at Shipyard, needs county approval because it abuts county roads and sewers. According to the Fund for a Better Waterfront, an activist group that has been involved in several Monarch-related court cases, Planning Board commissioners at the 2012 hearing questioned why Shipyard had classified the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway as a street.
The 2012 Planning Board ruling is the only standing rejection preventing Shipyard from breaking ground, though its approval by the state Department of Environmental Protection and deemed approval before the Hoboken Planning Board are being challenged in court.
The freeholders can uphold or overturn the 2012 decision, or return it to the planning board to be reconsidered. No matter what happens, though, it seems likely that one party will challenge the ruling, continuing the cycle of legal appeals. Already, Tiffanie Fisher, the president of the Hudson Tea Buildings Condo Association, a party to several of the Monarch-related lawsuits, has said that the freeholders have no legal basis to remand the decision back to the Planning Board based on the interpretation of her organization’s lawyer.
Hoboken ranked second best city for liberals in the U.S.
If Livability.com is to be believed, Hoboken is more than just a long-time Democratic Party stronghold; it is the second best city for liberals in the United States.
Hoboken came in just behind Berkeley, Calif. in Livability.com’s ranking of the 10 best cities for liberals. In doing so, it beat out such progressive bastions as Ann Arbor, Mich., Boulder, Colo., and Somerville, Mass.
According to Livability.com, Hoboken has all the classic signs of a liberal city: “One of the highest proportions of residents between the ages of 24 and 35, a mayor who supports same-sex marriage and a U.S. representative who stays true to traditional Democratic values.”
Livability noted that Hoboken’s Democratic Mayor Dawn Zimmer officiated the first gay marriage in Hoboken in 2013.
The ranking system incorporated the poll results in the 2012 presidential election, the legislative records of Hoboken’s congressional representatives on Govtrack, and data on the self-identified political leanings of residents from Esri.
President Obama won almost 66 percent of the vote in Hoboken in 2012, according to the Hudson County Clerk, down from 73 percent in 2008.
In addition, Livability and Experian Marketing Services found that Hoboken had above average consumption of a set of commodities it selected to represent liberal tastes—specifically Subarus, Qdoba, REI, Time magazine, and HBO’s “The Newsroom.”
Visit 10 magnificent homes on the Hoboken Historical Museum’s Annual House Tour
On Sunday, Oct. 26, the public has a chance to visit ten stunning Hoboken residences and a historic collection of Stevens family artifacts in the annual Hoboken House Tour, a fundraiser for the Hoboken Historical Museum. The tour offers a signature mix of elegant Victorian row houses, contemporary condos, and a few historic buildings, including a grand residence on the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology, and a chance to visit the Mary Stuart Stevens Baird room in the Samuel C. Williams Library on campus.
The self-guided tour takes about two to three hours on foot, with homes opening at 10 a.m. and closing at 4 p.m. For convenience, tour goers may pick up a House Tour booklet and start the tour from either of two locations: The Hoboken Historical Museum, 1301 Hudson St., or the Hoboken Fire Department Museum, 213 Bloomfield St. Tickets are $30 in advance, $40 the day of the tour (Museum members pay $30).
Tour goers can save time and money by buying tickets online, by visiting the Museum’s website, www.hobokenmuseum.org, or by clicking on this link: http://bit.ly/HouseTour2014.
Food pantry to hold benefit concert and dinner Sunday Oct. 26
In Jesus Name, a faith-based food pantry in Hoboken, will hold a benefit concert this Sunday, Oct. 26 at 5 p.m. at St. Matthew Trinity Church, located at Eighth and Hudson streets. The performers all hail from Redeemer Hoboken, a local independent Presbyterian church, and have backgrounds in Broadway and Lincoln Center, jazz clubs, rock clubs, and recording studios. The concert will be followed by a dinner at 6 p.m., and childcare will be provided.
No tickets are necessary, but donations will be accepted, with all proceeds going to In Jesus Name. The organization was founded in 1981 when the Hoboken Clergy Coalition formed to respond to the various needs of the poor of Hoboken. It is located in Our Lady of Grace Church at Fourth and Willow streets.
All Saints to call for plastic bag ban at Adolescent Leadership Summit
The theme of the 7th Annual Month of the Young Adolescent Summit, scheduled for this coming Thursday, Oct. 30 at 8:30 a.m. at the All Saints Trinity Church at 707 Washington St., is banning the plastic bag in Hoboken. Students in each grade level at the All Saints Episcopal Day School Middle School will focus on this topic in a variety of ways in class and will present their findings and ideas at the summit.
This event is directly tied with the Eco initiative at All Saints, which is the school’s mission of “responsibility for the planet and gratitude for its beauty.” The initiative is billed as an opportunity for the adolescents of Hoboken to think beyond themselves and be citizens of the world.
For more information, contact Laura Coraci at (201) 792-6292 or Ronnie Loving at (201) 792-0736.
Hoboken PD to conduct DWI checkpoint on Halloween night
The Hoboken Police Department will conduct a D.W.I. checkpoint on Saturday, Nov. 1. The location of the checkpoint will be on Observer Highway at Willow Avenue. The approximate hours of operation will be from 12 to 4 a.m.
The goal of the program is to reduce citizen involvement/injury due to D.W.I.-related collisions. Through implementation of this, and similar events, the Hoboken Police Department hopes to significantly reduce accidents, injuries and property damage throughout our city. Informational pamphlets will be handed out on site.
The Hoboken Police Department is committed to working hand in hand with the citizens of Hoboken to provide a safe environment for the motoring public.
For more information contact the Hoboken Police Traffic Bureau at (201) 420-5109.
New Jersey Rabbinical Assembly announces comprehensive Introduction to Judaism Class in Hoboken
The New Jersey Rabbinical Assembly is offering a comprehensive Introduction to Judaism Class, beginning Wednesday, Nov. 5. The course will be of interest to anyone who wants to probe the depths of their Judaism, and will also serve as the educational basis for anyone considering conversion to Judaism. The classes will be held on Wednesday evenings from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at United Synagogue of Hoboken at 115 Park Ave. Learning basic Hebrew reading is part of the course. Classes will be taught by Rabbi Robert Scheinberg in Hoboken. A sample of the topics include the Jewish Calendar, the Jewish Dietary Laws of Kashrut, Passover, Shabbat, and Purim.
Interested parties can find more information about the course or register for classes online at www.IntroJudaismNJ.com. Additional information is also available by contacting the Program Administrator, Ellen Nesson at (973) 285-9772 or ellen.nesson@gmail.com.
Hoboken Public Library holding Local Food Drive until Nov. 14
The Hoboken Public Library is currently holding a local food drive to benefit a local Hoboken Interfaith food pantry. All canned and non-perishable items are welcome. Donations can be dropped off at the first floor circulation desk during normal library hours. The first 40 people who donate five items to the food drive, will receive an invitation to the first ever Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre event “Murder at 500 Park,” presented by the Killing Kompany, to be held on Friday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. Come donate today and get your free ticket.
For further details and questions please ask or call the circulation desk at (201) 420-2280 or visit www.hobokenlibrary.org.