Month: January 2020

News

Historian Dylan Gottlieb presentation on the Hoboken Fires this Sunday

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

Historian Dylan Gottlieb featured in an article last fall in the Washington Post, “How gentrification caused America’s cities to burn” is scheduled to speak on the tragic impact in Hoboken at the Hoboken Historical Museum this Sunday at 4:00 pm.

Last month, Gottlieb did an interview with the Journal of American History discussing his research specific to Hoboken and its residents in the late ’70s and early ’80s, where 55 residents perished and thousands more were displaced during the period known as the Hoboken Fires. Read More...

News

“Hoboken is Burning: Gentrification, Arson, and Displacement in the 1970s.” – Historian discussion at the Hoboken Historical Museum

by SmartyJones4 Min Reading

Official release:

The Hoboken Historical Museum Revisits Hoboken’s Struggles with Gentrification and Displacement, February 1, 2

February is packed with special events: “Delivered Vacant,” “Hoboken is Burning” talk, Black History Month talk on Paul Robeson, 39th Annual Black Maria Film Festival, and more The Hoboken Historical Museum sheds light this weekend on a dark chapter in Hoboken history with a pair of events on the topic of gentrification and displacement.  Nora Jacobson’s award-winning documentary about Hoboken’s struggles with gentrification and displacement in the late 1980s-early 1990s, “Delivered Vacant,” will be screened Saturday, February 1, at 7 pm at the Hoboken Historical Museum, 1301 Hudson St. Admission is $10 per person ($5 for Museum members & students). Seating is limited, so early arrival is recommended. Learn more> On Sunday, February 2, at 4 pm the Museum welcomes Dylan Gottlieb, a Princeton scholar, to give a talk titled, “Hoboken is Burning: Gentrification, Arson, and Displacement in the 1970s.” Gottlieb is working on his PhD in history at Princeton, and has researched the rash of fires and other tactics that displaced tenants in urban areas so that developers could convert buildings to condos. Admission is $5 per person (free for Museum members & students). Learn more>

=&5=& On Sunday, February 9, at 4 pm, the Museum observes Black History month by presenting a multimedia event about the remarkable life New Jersey native Paul Robeson. Learn about the great American actor and activist from actor Grant Cooper and Stevens Institute of Technology professor and author, Dr. Lindsey Swindall. Learn more> =&7=& The jury of the 39th Annual Thomas Edison Black Maria Film Festival has made its selections for 2020 and 11 of this year’s award-winning short films will be screened at the Festival’s Hudson County premiere on Saturday, February 15, starting at 7:30 pm. Admission is $10 in advance, and $15 day of the event. (Note: this event often sells out in advance.) Link to tickets. Festival Director Jane Steuerwald will present a mix of genres and subjects: “Medium Rare” by Luca Cioci of Pavia, Italy; “Faithy, hey” by Emily Hubley of East Orange, NJ; “Movement in Structure” by Shaun Clarke of Boston, MA; “Box of Memories” by Felicitas Yang of Heidelberg, Germany; “DONT KNOW WHAT” by Thomas Renoldner of Vienna, Austria; “Take Off Your Skin” by Luke Jaeger of Northampton, MA; “Code Ruth” by Caroline Voagen Nelson of Astoria, NY; “They Say I’m Your Teacher” by Catherine Murphy of Portola Valley, CA; “Freeze Frame” by Soetkin Verstegen of Brussels, Belgium; “Thin Places Iceland” by Michael Chaney of Savannah, GA; and “Cold Storage” by Thomas Freundlich of Helsinki, Finland.  Filmmakers will be present for Q&A, and light refreshments will be served. Up to 3 hours of free parking may be available with ticket validation at Littleman Parking-Independence Garage (Shipyard Lane, at 12th St). =&9=& The Hoboken Museum is joining in the commemoration of the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, passed in 1920, which granted women nationwide the right to vote. A lecture series by distinguished authors and historians will highlight the achievements of several famous New Jersey women. Kicking off the series will be a talk by Carmela Karnoutsos, historian and professor emerita of NJCU, on Sunday, February 23, at 4 pm. Admission is $5, free for Museum members & students. Karnoutsos’ presentation, titled “Women’s Suffrage, 1920:  New Jersey Women Regain the Right to Vote,” will feature prominent New Jersey women including Lucy Stone, Mary Philbrook, Alice Paul (pictured) and Caroline Stevens Wittpenn, among others. =&11=& “Greetings from Hudson County: A Postcard History Then and Now” comprises over 700 historic postcards from all 12 cities and towns of Hudson County. Most of the postcards date from the Golden Age of postcards, the 1900s – 1920s, showing parks, street scenes, scenic views and important municipal buildings, churches, schools and factories, when they were brand new and the pride of Hudson County. Bringing the exhibit into the present is an augmented reality (AR) app that will enable visitors to compare current views to the historic images. A companion lecture series has featured historians from the various municipalities. Visit the website to learn about upcoming talks and walking tours. =&12=&
News

Two arrested in attack and robbery of woman on upper Bloomfield St.

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

The savage mace-like chemical attack and robbery earlier this month of a woman on upper Bloomfield St. in Hoboken has led to the surprising arrests of two Plainfield men.

The two are facing robbery charges as a third suspect is being pursued, a report on NJ.com reported yesterday:

On Jan. 15, a woman was walking on Bloomfield Avenue just after 9 p.m. when she was ambushed from behind by two men, and one of them spraying her face with a chemical irritant. The two men grabbed her backpack and left the woman bleeding from her head. =&0=&
News

Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher: ‘January 2020 in Hoboken’

by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

Official release:

  Dear friends and neighbors,   My apologies that it has been a while since I provided an update on Hoboken happenings.  Like many, I battled a prolonged flu over the holidays and then shortly after have been in Rochester helping my mom through a lengthy hospital stay (just out yesterday and expected to fully recover).  Please know that I have been working hard to still respond to your emails and questions (although have a few more to go) and have been working with my colleagues on many of the issues that our Hoboken is currently facing.    The list is long and the issues are pretty big… As they say “if it’s not one thing its another…”  I am not going to be able to hit all of them here, but let’s get started… 
  • Municipal Budget Deficit – a decade of zero tax increases, rising costs, increased debt and not enough expansion of sustainable revenues…
  • Repricing Parking – one of Hoboken’s most valuable assets – in 2020

  • Hoboken Railyards (LCOR) Project – up for vote again, this time all commercial 
    • Read More...

    News

    Peter Cunningham earns the “Key to the City” for 12 years of distinguished council service

    by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

    City Council President Jen Giattino did the honors, and an honor it was at the last regular City Council meeting awarding Peter Cunningham a three-term councilman the key to the City of Hoboken.

    Director Leo Pellegrini also attended the preliminaries to share in an award to the 12-year councilman who was known as the rock-solid voice for Reform and much needed financial leadership and expertise.

    He blew the whistle and loudly on the million-dollar quarter’s scandal disappearing out of the Parking Utility, refused to surrender on political cynicism trying to see the local hospital destroyed and bankrupting the City in the process. Read More...

    News

    Massive Rail Yard Redevelopment vote halted until February 5th

    by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

    In a surprising development, the vote anticipated tonight by a Special City Council meeting on the controversial Rail Yard redevelopment will not take place after all.

    According to an email released earlier today, Councilman Mike DeFusco requested changes to the plan addressing the traffic impact in downtown Hoboken.

    He submitted a complaint, however, over the lack of transparency in a holiday weekend notification of the pending vote by Mayor Ravi Bhalla noting his administration had done the exact same thing last year. Read More...

    News

    Mayor’s Office back to setting Hoboken up on massive redevelopment downtown

    by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

    Here’s the very late notice that comes only a day before the Wednesday night meeting where a City Council vote will be held on the controversial Hoboken Yard Redevelopment.

    The warning has been sounded last years and years ago and local activists surrounding the decades-long battle over development are stunned at how this massive redevelopment is being shoveled at Hoboken residents.

    There are some changes since the public backlash against Mayor Ravi Bhalla and the non-transparent efforts he attempted in passing the amendments. He would later point at and attempt to blame the council for his efforts with the well-connected statewide big construction special interests. Read More...

    News

    Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher: ‘Uptown mugging’

    by SmartyJones1 Min Reading

    Official release:

      Dear friends and neighbors,     A number of you have reached out to me about the frightening incident that happened last night

    .  If you were not aware, one of our neighbors was mugged while walking on the 1200 block of Bloomfield St. at approximately 9:06 pm last night.  There were two attackers who sprayed her with pepper spray and then stole her back pack.  She was taken to the hospital and released. Read More...