Fulop resigns his day job
In a letter to supporters and constituents, Councilman Steven Fulop announced on March 29 that he has resigned his position – from his full-time finance industry job, that is. The Ward E city councilman and 2013 mayoral candidate said he plans to spend the next 14 months working full-time on his campaign.
“I am sure we agree that life presents us with both risks and opportunities, and that there are moments that simply have to be seized,” Fulop wrote. “That’s why I’m taking the scary and important step of going all-in on this campaign.”
Fulop will face tough opposition from incumbent Jerramiah T. Healy, who announced in February that he will seek a third term as mayor. Richard Boggiano, who last year ran for city council, and community activist Dwayne Baskerville have also announced their candidacies for mayor. While other candidate could still enter the race, it appears the real contest will be between Fulop and Healy.
“The mayoral election is in May 2013 and I know history is littered with well intentioned campaigns that started too late and that were ultimately crushed by the Jersey City political machine. I don’t intend on letting that happen,” Fulop wrote. “We are in a very good position, but I know that we face a deeply entrenched political machine.”
The councilman said he has set a goal “to walk every last block in Jersey City” before the end of the mayoral campaign.
Jersey City Moms to host school board ‘meet & greet’
In preparation for the upcoming Board of Education election later this month, Jersey City Moms will host a “meet and greet” with the candidates in this year’s race. The “get to know you gathering” will be held on Tuesday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Matthew’s Church, 83 Wayne St.
Jersey City Moms is a community of almost 600 mothers and their partners, representing at least 1,000 constituents from throughout Jersey City with great interest and stake in the public schools.
The organization asks that those who wish to attend the meet and greet RSVP to jcmom.schools@gmail.com.
Attendance is free, but guests are asked to bring a non-perishable food item that can be donated to the St. Matthews Food Pantry to show appreciation to the church for the use of its space.
Congressman Rothman announces $1.7M in housing, support for homeless NJ vets
U.S. Congressman Steve Rothman (D-NJ), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, announced last week that $1.7 million in federal funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been set aside for housing and other support services for homeless veterans in New Jersey. This money includes $220,904 in funding for military veterans in Jersey City.
Beer tasting, brewing demo to benefit Riverview Farmers Market
There will be a beer tasting and home-brewing demonstration on Sunday, April 1 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Distillery Gallery and Artspace, at 7 Hutton Street.
The afternoon will feature a home-brewing demonstration by a Jersey City Heights resident who will explain all the stages of making beer, from the husk to the bottle. The tasting portion of the event will focus on beers from New Jersey-based breweries and will include a special presentation from Hunterdon Brewing Company, New Jersey’s top craft beer distributor. Live entertainment will be provided by the Benson Ridge Project, a grassroots music organization.
Admission is $20 per person at the door.
The tasting will benefit the 2012 season of the Riverview Farmers Market which is held in Riverview-Fisk Park from May through October. The market is an initiative of Farms in the Heights and receives additional sponsorship from the Riverview Neighborhood Association.
For more information, or to RSVP, e-mail farmsintheheights@gmail.com.
Citizen Journalism workshop planned
Sustainable Jersey City will host a Citizen Journalism workshop led by Lauren Sjowronski from the Citizen’s Campaign organization and Debra Italiano from Sustainable Jersey City on Monday, April 9 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Culinary Conference Center in Hudson Community College.
Participants will explore and discuss Green Complete Streets as a way to understand how to use various media tools to support implementation of neighborhood plans that provide pedestrians, bikers, and vehicles balanced access and safe passage, while also integrating healthier green infrastructure into our streetscapes. Wendy Brawer from Green Map System, Adriana Rambay Fernandez from The Secaucus Reporter, and Sjowronski will be on hand for additional Q&A after the program.
For more info, contact Sustainable Jersey City at info@sustainablejc.com.
200 Club of Hudson County announces 2012 Valor winners
The 200 Club of Hudson County will hold its annual Valor Awards Luncheon on Saturday, April 28 at the Liberty House in Jersey City. The 200 Club recognizes outstanding acts of heroism performed by Hudson County’s uniformed personnel and awards scholarships to their dependants each year.
Among this year’s award recipients are Thomas Facciola and Thomas Hayes of the Jersey City Fire Department, in addition to the following members of the Jersey City Police Department: Sgt. Michael McKerry, Sgt. Thomas McVicar, Sgt.Anthony Tedesco and police officers John Antman, John Curios, Christopher LeFafante, John Traynor, Steven Collier, Wayne Zachowski, Nicholas Gerardi, Peter Hilburn, Dwayne Dowell, Gregory Yurchak, George Nisbett, Thomas O’Connor, Paul Fennel, and Robert Triano Jr.
For additional information about the awards luncheon, call (201) 858-4925.