Hoboken YMCA to hold fundraiser
As the Hoboken/North Hudson YMCA works on its first phase of renovations and plans for the second, they are holding a fundraising buffet dinner to kick off spring. You can dance to the tunes of “Swingadelic” at the Liberty House Restaurant at Liberty State Park, with its easy parking and amazing views (libertyhouserestaurant.com).
Tickets are $150 each ($1,250 for a table of 10) and may be purchased online through: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/224671 ($59.76 is tax deductible if purchased at full price). Those who cannot attend can still make a contribution.
The YMCA closed temporarily in 2010 due to a lack of funding, but finally received new funding on Nov. 7, 2011. At the time, they issued a press release: “After years of intense planning and perseverance, the Hoboken North Hudson YMCA successfully completed a complex financing transaction resulting in grants from the State of New Jersey and Hudson County as well as Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits in excess of $14 million in the aggregate. The critical funds, extremely difficult to obtain given sharp declines in government revenue and the depressed economic environment, are being used to renovate and expand residential units at the Y’s historic 1927 building.”
The Y plans to renovate their existing 96 units of low-income housing. Right now, approximately 20 men are living in the units.
The first phase of work is to be completed by December 2012. After that, they hope to raise funds so they can return to providing recreational services to the general public.
“Through fundraising efforts, we intend to segue into the second phase of our renovation including the pool and fitness spaces so that this community center can be placed back in service for all of Hoboken and Hudson County,” said Suzy Walsh, CEO of the Hoboken-North Hudson YMCA, in a release in November.
Brandt School, others to get renovations
State School Development Authority (SDA) officials announced Monday that 21 school districts, including four in Hudson County, will receive funding for repairs and construction, according to NJ.com.
The SDA and the Department of Education (DOE) reviewed the needs of facilities across 31 districts and prioritized the most critical.
The funding is part of the SDA’s Emergent Projects Program and will include repairs at two West New York Schools: P.S. 1 and P.S. 5.
Jersey City’s A. H. Moore School and School 30 will have exterior masonry work done, as well as work on the roofs of Ferris High School and School 25. School 25 will receive new windows and School 23 will receive a new boiler.
Harrison’s Hamilton Intermediate School will receive a roof and Washington Middle School will receive structural repairs.
Hoboken’s Joseph F. Brandt Primary School and Early Childhood Education will have exterior masonry work done. – Gennarose Pope
Man struck by hit-and-run driver while getting out of taxi
According to media reports, a man was getting out of a cab in Hoboken at 2:40 a.m. Saturday morning at 12th and Washington streets when he was struck and seriously injured by an alleged hit-and-run driver.
The 24-year-old Hoboken man had been in the cab with a 21-year-old woman from Livingston.
The car that was involved was described in a report as a beige Nissan Altima.
The back door of the taxi was also damaged.
The injured man was taken to Jersey City Medical Center.
Two Hoboken police promoted
Police Sgt. John T. Orrico was promoted to the rank of police lieutenant and Police Officer Steven Aguiar was promoted to sergeant at a ceremony last week. Both men took the oath of office in Hoboken City Hall on Thursday.
Director says bed bug problem in senior building has been cleaned up
The head of Hoboken’s federally funded public housing projects said Tuesday that a potential bed bug problem in a senior citizen/disabled building at 221 Jackson St. has been taken care of.
Hoboken Housing Authority Executive Director Carmelo Garcia said that a bed bug problem cropped up in one unit in the building. He said that the unit was treated twice and then a third time for good measure, and that the unit on top, the unit below, and all neighboring units were treated.
He said that on Thursday, March 8, the city’s Health Department inspected the unit and found it clear of the bugs.
A local resident wrote a letter to the Reporter and several other media outlets this week complaining that the senior citizen in the unit was not treated fairly, and was blamed for the incident, causing severe health problems.
The resident said that the bed bugs probably came from within the building and not from the tenant’s furniture, as the tenant has no new furniture that would have suddenly brought bed bugs. She also said that Garcia should have granted the tenant an apartment transfer.
Garcia said that no one was blaming the tenant. He also said that the tenant’s family was told the rules and procedures for a transfer.
Garcia said that often, tenants who find bed bugs don’t tell officials right away because they are ashamed. He said that bed bugs multiply quickly, so anyone with a problem should report it right away.
Bed bugs can travel through a person’s clothes, furniture, or mattress, and are difficult to eliminate, requiring professional extermination. They also multiply quickly.
Garcia said the HHA picks up the cost of the treatment, not the tenant.
The author of the letter was not moved by the HHA’s response to the problem. She wrote in her letter, “There is no new furniture in this tenant’s apartment. The only outside activity she does on a daily basis is taking the elevator downstairs to get her mail, washes her clothes in the downstairs laundry room and sits in the community room for certain gatherings. Fellow senior citizens in this building has stated that bed bugs can be seen in the hallways and sometimes in the elevators.”
Join Team HobokONE to run the Lincoln Tunnel Challenge
The race is on to be the biggest team to compete in the Lincoln Tunnel Challenge to benefit the Special Olympics. And there’s a special team you can join, sponsored by the Hoboken Family Alliance.
Interested parties can be part of one race, one team, and one community on Sunday April 29 when they run alongside more than 3,500 people through the tunnel and back. Last year Team HobokONE fielded a team of more than 60 people and was the second biggest fund raiser at the event with $4,300.
Register today and help make Team HobokONE, number one! Register at http://bit.ly/GoTeamHobokONE.
Team members will be able to pick up bibs the day before the race and join the team afterward at City Bistro for complimentary fare and cocktails.
Please contact Theresa Howard at thoward315@gmail.com with any questions.
Italian restaurant’s grand opening celebration will raise money for needy
It’s the first annual Hoboken Spring Fete! Enjoy a sampling of some of the finest signature pasta dishes, coal fired pizza, and wings at the new San Giuseppe Restaurant 1320 Adams St., on March 18 from 1 to 5 p.m. The restaurant is located in Peachtree Commons next to Clearview Cinema. Free parking. The suggested donation of $10 per person will go toward a local charity that helps the needy.
In Jesus’ Name Charities in Hoboken is a collective and spiritual response to poverty in the local community, in which people may do small acts of kindness and sharing to comfort and help their neighbors in need. The charity runs a food bank and helps the needy in other ways.
Cash only and no BYOB on this day.
San Giuseppe can be reached at (201) 792-2112.
Get your hair cut and help families displaced by fire
On March 18 from 6 to 8 p.m., Supercuts at Fifth and Washington will hold a cut-a-thon in which all money from haircuts will be donated to families who lost their homes in the fire at 300 Washington St. two weeks ago. Come in to Supercuts to aid the fire victims.
Contact Kara, (201) 653-0400, if you need more information.
Carlo’s bakes purple cupcakes for epilepsy
Carlo’s Bake Shop is baking purple for The Anita Kaufmann Foundation, which promotes epilepsy understanding and attempts to stop the stigma surrounding the brain disorder. The Great Purple Cupcake Project is a sweet epilepsy awareness initiative supporting Purple Day (March 26), the international day of epilepsy awareness. Purple Day was founded in 2008 by 9-year-old Cassidy Megan of Nova Scotia, Canada. Motivated by her own struggles with epilepsy, Cassidy started the day in an effort to educate people about the disorder and reassure those with seizures that they are not alone. She named the day Purple Day after the internationally recognized color for epilepsy, lavender.
Participation is easy. Dessert artistes from all over the United States, including Carlo’s, were asked to simply design and offer their signature purple cupcakes to their customers during the week of March 20. The Anita Kaufmann Foundation is asking that 10 percent of cupcake sales be donated to AKF in order for them to continue educating the public about epilepsy.
For more information, click on http://www.akfus.org/purple-cupcakes.