New York Giants head to playoffs for first time since 2008
STATEWIDE – The New York Giants, led by quarterback Eli Manning (a resident of Hoboken’s luxury Tea Building), are heading to the NFL playoffs.
After defeating the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night 31-14, they will take on the Atlanta Falcons this coming Sunday at home in the Meadowlands at 1 p.m. The game will be aired on Fox, and you can likely catch it in bars around Hudson County.
Meanwhile, the New York Jets ended their season on Sunday with a loss to the Miami Dolphins.
Toll increases in New Jersey took effect Jan. 1
STATEWIDE – As part of a two-tiered plan that was signed into law in 2008, tolls on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway rose at 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 1.
Tolls increased 53 percent on the Turnpike and 50 percent on the Parkway, according to http://www.state.nj.us/turnpike/documents/njta_toll_incre_2012.pdf. The increase is meant to support capital improvements over 10 years, including Turnpike widening.
To find out more, click the link.
Superior Court judge rules remands Appleview development back to Planning Board
NORTH BERGEN – The proposed Appleview development in North Bergen, near the Guttenberg border, will once again be under review from the North Bergen Planning Board following the decision of Judge Christine Farrington in the Hudson County Superior Court.
The North Bergen Planning Board had approved the project, a 59-unit residential complex at 7009 and 7101 River Rd. in North Bergen, over residents’ protests on March 30, with numerous conditions. The project is near the Galaxy Towers in Guttenberg and 20 feet from a major natural gas pipeline. Residents are concerned that construction would remove too much of the Palisades Cliffs, and that a nearby Transco Williams Gas pipeline could potentially explode.
The court’s decision maintains that the North Bergen Planning Board “…had insufficient evidence to support a finding that the development’s benefits outweigh the detriments.”
Regarding the gas pipeline, the decision claims that the North Bergen Planning Board did not sufficiently determine whether the safety considerations required by town law have been met.
“Without direct testimony from qualified Transco personnel, the Court is unable to find that the safety considerations required by the municipal land use law has been met,” the decision says.
In July, the Hudson County Planning Board also approved the project.
“The township remains confident that the Appleview project will be built,” said North Bergen Town Spokesman Phil Swibinski in an e-mail to the Reporter. Swibinski added that the town feels that Appleview is “completely safe” and will be beneficial to the area. –Stephen LaMarca
St. Augustine School group requests UPC codes for charity
The SAS Peace Makers, a group of fifth through eighth grade students from St. Augustine School in Union City, is collecting UPC codes from ConAgra Foods to donate to Feeding America: a domestic nonprofit organization for hunger relief. Each code helps provide a meal for hungry families. A list of admissible product codes is available on childhungerendshere.com.
The Peace Makers invite residents to drop off their codes at the school office, located at 3920 New York Ave.
The group holds weekly meetings to discuss social issues and plan ways to help their community. Last month they collected 75 bags of food for the St. Augustine Church pantry and sent $650 from donations and cupcake sales to Feeding America, which a charity sponsor matched.
For more information about Peace Makers, contact the group’s moderator, Mr. Horlacher, at horlacher@yourhomework.com. For more information on hunger in America, visit www.feedingamerica.org.
High school bands to rock ‘Live at the Park’
Five of the area’s hottest local youth bands will join forces on Saturday, Jan. 7, at the Park Performing Arts Center in Union City to raise money to support the Center’s community art classes for children. The concert called “Live at the Park” will feature five bands from Hudson County high schools.
The featured bands include Silver Plane Crucifix with Tim Erbach, Johnny Bauers and Rory Bauers; Monster Sludge with Evan Dibbs, Mike Prussack, Louis Garrido, and Nahuel Montilla; The .78 Blanks featuring Conor Brennan; The Cthulu Family Band with Marcel Rudin and Alex Mercuri; and Outtouched with Brandon Gallagher, Konrad Foord, and William Kirchoff.
The Park Performing Arts Center is located at 560 32nd St., Union City, N.J.
“Live at the Park” starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. For tickets visit www.parkpac.org.