Stevens Students Volunteer Throughout Hoboken - Class of 2016

Here is a feel good story about Stevens college students getting a good start as freshmen by helping out the local community in cooperation with the City if Hoboken. You may recall that Stevens Institute students played a large role in helping spread the word on evacuations with respect to hurricane Irene last year. Here is the recap of their August 25th efforts...

STEVENS CLASS OF 2016 FRESHMEN

VOLUNTEER THROUGHOUT HOBOKEN

As part of the Stevens Institute of Technology’s Class of 2016 orientation to Stevens and the City of Hoboken, approximately 100 freshmen fanned out across Hoboken on Saturday, August 25 to participate in community service activities.

“The generosity of the Stevens community is amazing,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “One year ago, students who had been in Hoboken just a few days were going door-to-door to get the word out about Hurricane Irene, and we are so thankful to the Class of 2016 for continuing in that proud tradition of service to our community.”

Freshmen worked to clean up Stevens Park, Church Square Park and Maxwell Park. Students assisted the Department of Transportation and Parking by painting curb corners red to improve pedestrian and traffic safety. They also volunteered at the Hoboken Shelter, In Jesus’ Name Food Pantry and helped clean the facility for the FAITH Services-Ryan White Programs at Hoboken University Medical Center.

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Stevens Students Volunteer Throughout Hoboken - Class of 2016

City of Hoboken Announces Free Seasonal Flu Vaccine Schedule

The latest health news from the City of Hoboken....

CITY OF HOBOKEN ANNOUNCES FREE SEASONAL FLU VACCINE SCHEDULE

The City of Hoboken, in conjunction with Hoboken University Medical Center, will be providing free seasonal flu vaccines on a first come, first served basis for adult Hoboken residents on Thursday, September 27, 2012 from 12pm to 6pm in Assumption Hall at Hoboken University Medical Center. Proof of residency is required.

In conjunction with Walgreens, the City of Hoboken will also provide free flu vaccines to senior citizens on the following dates and times:

• Wednesday, September 19, 10:00am-11:00am, 400 1st Street
• Wednesday, September 19, 11:30am-12:30pm, 221 Jackson Street
• Wednesday, September 19, 2:00pm-3:00pm, 220 Adams Street
• Thursday, September 20, 10:00am-11:00am, 76 Bloomfield Street
• Thursday, September 20, 11:30am-12:30pm, 514 Madison Street
• Thursday, September 20, 2:00pm-3:00pm, 311 13th Street

Free seasonal flu vaccines for senior citizens with Medicare and/or New Jersey Medicaid will be given in the Community Room of each residential building. Please bring your Medicare or New Jersey Medicaid card with you as well as a valid photo ID on the day of the clinic. Pneumonia vaccines are also free with Medicare. Vaccines are also covered under Cigna medical and United Healthcare medical.

For more information, please contact the Hoboken Health Department at (201) 420-2375.

Hoboken Flu Vaccines Adults Fall 2012 Flier: Hoboken Flu Vaccines Adults Fall 2012

Hoboken Flu Vaccines Seniors Fall 2012 Flier: Hoboken Flu Vaccines Seniors Fall 2012 ◦

City of Hoboken Announces Free Seasonal Flu Vaccine Schedule

Hoboken Issues Bid for Construction of 1st Phase of 1600 Park and Hoboken Cove

The latest on 1600 Park and Hoboken Cove coming soon to Hoboken ....

HOBOKEN ISSUES BID FOR CONSTRUCTION OF 1^ST PHASE OF 1600 PARK AND HOBOKEN COVE

Bid Also Issued for Construction of 9/11 Memorial

The City of Hoboken has advertised a bid for the construction of the first phase of 1600 Park and Hoboken Cove. The work will involve the construction of a multi-use field with lighting as well as bleachers and leaning rails along the Park Avenue service road. In addition, the park will feature a rest room, dog run, sliding hill, picnic benches, trees and bike racks. The conceptual master plan for the full park development is available at www.hobokennj.org/1600park.

Hudson County is expected to install a new traffic signal with pedestrian countdown timers at 16^th Street and Park Avenue in the fall. For safety reasons, the signal is an essential element prior to the opening of the park. The construction of Hoboken Cove, to the east of 1600 Park will be part of Phase 2 of construction, which is expected to take place in the spring of 2013. Additional phases of work, including the boat house and improvements to the waterfront, will require additional fundraising.

The City also advertised a bid for the construction of the Hoboken 9/11 Memorial. A rendering of the memorial is available at http://www.hobokennj.org/departments/community-development/open-space-acquisition-and-development/9-11-memorial/. Depending on the bid responses received, additional fundraising may be needed.

“I’m very excited to move these projects forward,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “I thank all the community for their input and working to arrive at consensus on these projects, and I thank County Executive DeGise, his Administration, and Freeholder Romano for working with us on the signal at 16^th and Park.”

Responses for both bids are due by September 11, 2012.

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Hoboken Issues Bid for Construction of 1st Phase of 1600 Park and Hoboken Cove

Governer Christie's Keynote Address Tonight Live at 10pm - NJ News Common

New Jersey Governors Chris Christie will be giving the keynote speech at the GOP Convention in Tampa Florida tonight. The Hoboken Journal will be hosting the live feed as part of the NJ Commons News initiative. Info on the panelists is below....

The show should start around 10pm tonight....



A Big Night for Christie, and a First 
Collaborative Effort for the NJ News Commons

Gov. Christie has been rehearsing for his big moment, and so has NJ News Commons. Last night, the panel for the NJ News Commons' first live Google Plus Hangout on Air, got together online to see what it was like to pull seven people together on Google Plus to create a talk show.

It will be available live on YouTube, and also afterwards. Here are the participants:

John Celock, the state politics reporter and Patch liaison for The Huffington Post. He is based in Washington, and is the author of "The Next Generation: Young Elected Officials and Their Impact on American Politics."

Ryan Dicovitsky, an adjunct professor of public speaking at Seton Hall and head coach of Seton Hall's debate team.

Debbie Galant, the director of the NJ News Commons, founder and former co-editor of Baristanet and former Jersey columnist for The New York Times.

Steve Johnson, a multimedia journalism professor at Montclair State, who has worked at Patch, the AP, MSNBC and Court TV.

John Mooney, a founding editor of NJ Spotlight and a veteran of both the Star Ledger and the Bergen Record.

Fred Tuccillo, the Patch senior regional editor for Central Jersey and the Shore, and a former national editor for Newsday, where he directed coverage of several conventions.

Julie Winokur, independent documentary producer and the founder of Bring it to the Table, a Kickstarter-funded initiative to foster civility in political dialogue. Although she's based in Montclair, she will join us from Tampa.


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Governer Christie's Keynote Address Tonight Live at 10pm - NJ News Common

Petions to Consolidate Elections to November Have Been Certified

Here is the latest update on the citizens movement to move elections to November and consolidate them as well...

Petitions to Consolidate Hoboken Elections are Certified to Appear on November Ballot

Hoboken Voters Will Be Able to Decide Whether to Implement Election Reforms That Will Reduce the Number of Elections, Reduce Taxpayer Costs, and Improve Voter Turnout

On Friday, the Hoboken City Clerk certified over 1,800 petition signatures from Hoboken residents for two ballot questions designed to consolidate Hoboken's Municipal elections.The ballot questions were proposed by the citizens' committee Vote Yes for November, a group of residents looking to reform the electoral system in Hoboken.

Now, the people of Hoboken will officially be able to decide when future municipal elections will be held. If both initiatives are passed by the voters this November, Hoboken’s next municipal elections will be held in November of 2013 instead of in May, with the candidates receiving the most votes being elected to office.

"Thanks to the outpouring of support from 1,800 residents who signed our petitions, Hoboken residents will get an opportunity to be heard on whether they seek to bring election reform to our city. We are confident that Hoboken’s voters will support these initiatives that will consolidate multiple elections, increase voter turnout, save taxpayers money, and reduce voter fatigue," said Vijay Chaudhuri, one of the members of the Vote Yes November citizens' committee.

"I am extremely pleased that Hoboken voters will get the opportunity to vote on these common sense steps for reform. If the two ballot initiatives are passed by voters in November, no longer will Hoboken voters have to suffer through an election year like 2009, when Hoboken voters had to vote in 5 separate elections in a single year. Municipal elections would now be held on a single date in November - the date when voters turn out for the general election,” said Sasha Conroy, another member of the Vote Yes November citizens’ committee.

If voters choose to move the Hoboken Municipal elections to November, all future local elections will be held during November general election dates. Hoboken’s School Board elections have already been consolidated with the upcoming November general election instead of in April as in years past.

Members of the public who support this proposal are encouraged to voice their opinions at the Hoboken City Council meeting on Wednesday, September 5 at 7 pm in City Hall. ◦

Petions to Consolidate Elections to November Have Been Certified

Lackawanna Music Fest August 18 2012 Pier A Park Hoboken - Photo and Video Highlights

hhMag, along with several sponsors hosted their 3rd Annual Lackawanna Music Festival on Saturday August 18. The event was be held at Pier A in Hoboken and featured the headliner band Tokyo Police Club. Other bands included Vacationer, Shinobi Ninja, Body Language, Lights Resolve, We Barbarians, The Nightmare River Band. Pilsener Haus had a Biergarten at the event that was well attended and the last two bands Tokyo Police Club and Vacationer were in particular very impressive both musically and stage wise. Below are some highlights from the event with both photos and videos...





Photos from hMag Music Fest at Pier A Park Hoboken August 18,2012:

Video - Your English is Good - Tokyo Police Club - Hoboken Music Fest 8-18-2012: Video hMag Music Fest August 18 2012 Pier A Park Hoboken Featured Bands: ◦

Lackawanna Music Fest August 18 2012 Pier A Park Hoboken - Photo and Video Highlights

Lackawanna Music Festival in Hoboken August 18 2012 at Pier A Park - Featuring Tokyo Police Club!

hMag, which is another good community resource for Hoboken information in a positive light, is hosting the Lackawanna Music Festival tomorrow Saturday August 18. The event will be held at Pier A in Hoboken. The event will be hosted by MTV's Matt Pinfield and will feature the headliner band Tokyo Police Club. Other bands will include Vacationer, Shinobi Ninja, Body Language, Lights Resolve, We Barbarians, The Nightmare, River Band. Pilsener Haus will also be providing a Biergarten at the event, and there will be other vendors as well. The music portion of the event is free but peopleshould RSVP at the following website:

Event Website: http://www.lackawannamusicfestival.com/

Facebook Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/lackawannamusicfestival

The band lineup is as follows:

• 12:45 - 1:45 - The Nightmare River Band
• 2:00 - 3:00 - We Barbarians
• 3:15 - 4:15 - Lights Resolve
• 4:30 - 5:15 - Body Language
• 5:45 - 6:45 - Shinobi Ninja
• 7:15 - 8:00 - Vacationer
• 8:30 - 10:00 - Tokyo Police Club

Below is a diagram of the setup for tomorrow's event including the stage, the beer garden and the vendors at Pier A Park:

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Lackawanna Music Festival in Hoboken August 18 2012 at Pier A Park - Featuring Tokyo Police Club!

Hoboken City Council Meeting Recap- Parks Progress but Old Guard Stops Street Improvements

Predictably last night, The City Council Minority of Councilwoman Castellano, Councilwoman Mason, Councilman Occhipinti, and Councilman Russo failed to generate the 6th vote needed to support a bond to put a plan in place to redesign critical roads in Hoboken including Washington Street and Observer Highway. With Anthony Romano our Freeholder willing to nothing with respect to the County helping repave Washington Street, the Old Guard wants to have it both ways: moan about crumbling infrastructure but do nothing about it.

HOBOKEN CITY COUNCIL MEETING RECAP: 

PARKS PROGRESS, STREETSCAPE SETBACKS

Setback for all streets improvements. The Council voted 5 to 4 for the redesign of Washington Street, Sinatra Drive, Observer Highway and Newark Street; however six votes were needed to approve the bond. Council Members in opposition, Councilwoman Castellano, Councilwoman Mason, Councilman Occhipinti, and Councilman Russo, expressed concerns about the City taking on new debt in terms of its impact on the City’s bonding capacity. In fact, the City has excellent capacity for bonding and has used well below 1/3 of its $360 million bonding capacity.

“Bonding is the fiscally prudent and fair way to pay for long-lasting improvements to our neglected infrastructure,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “Residents today shouldn’t bear the full cost for benefits that future residents will reap from these investments. We’re seeing progress on parks because the Council approved bonding for those improvements. But just like our parks, our streets, waterfront, garages, police headquarters, and other infrastructure have been neglected for too long.”

Next Steps: The City thanks all who supported and advocated for these measures. The streets improvements will be reintroduced separately and the Administration will continue to work to help the Council and public understand the importance of these infrastructure investments to safety, quality of life, and economic development, as well as why bonding is the fiscally responsible way to make these investments.

Parks Progress

Southwest Park purchase moves forward. The Council approved payment for land for a Southwest Park in Block 12 which is bounded by Harrison Street, Jackson Street, Observer Highway and Paterson Avenue. The $2.35 million comes from a Hudson County Open Space grant. The final purchase price will be decided by a court.

Church Square Park renovations approved. The Council unanimously approved Phase 1 of improvements to Church Square Park, which will be paid for through a bond approved last year. This work will include renovations to two playground areas, the basketball courts, and the restroom. To view the plan, visit www.hobokennj.org/churchsquarepark. The City will be going out to bid for construction shortly. Future phases will be completed as additional funding is secured.

1600 Park plans approved. Yesterday evening, The Hudson County Planning Board approved the City’s plans for 1600 Park. To view the plan, visit www.hobokennj.org/1600park.  The City will now be completing bid specifications and going out to bid for construction shortly. The City is coordinating with the County and thanks them for moving ahead with the installation of a traffic signal at 16^th Street and Park Avenue this fall.

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Hoboken City Council Meeting Recap- Parks Progress but Old Guard Stops Street Improvements

City Council Meeting Tonight at 7 pm - Live Feed

Tonight's City Council Meeting features a second reading on the ordinance to bond for a plan to improve various streets in Hoboken including Washington Street and Observer Highway. There is also a captial equipment bond for City Garages over $5 million. On first reading there are competing ordinances on sidewalk cafes as sponsored by Occhipinti and Giattino respectively.

Agenda:http://www.hobokennj.org/docs/council/agenda12/revised-ccm-8-15-12.pdf
Resolution Pack:http://www.hobokennj.org/docs/council/respack12/8.15.12.agenda.resolution.packet.revised.as.of.8.11.12.pdf

Live video by Ustream

Below is a note from Hoboken Residents for a Public Waterfront...

Hoboken Residents for a Public Waterfront announces:

We encourage residents to attend tonight's City Council meeting.  The Council will be debating and voting on a $1 million bond ordinance with the proceeds to go towards work on Observer Highway, Washington Street, and Sinatra Drive.  The Sinatra Drive aspect of this project is to hire engineers to prepare plans to continue the bike path from 4th Street to 11th Street, add more parkland and make the area more pedestrian friendly.  Once these plans are in place the City can apply for State and Federal grants to help alleviate costs of the renovations.

Second, the Council will be asked to approve an emergency appropriation of $150,000 to fund legal bills for the fight against the Monarch project.

Obviously we believe these are two very important steps for the City to take to increase the public park space along our waterfront.  Both of these items will require 6 votes from the City Council.  Please let us know if you have any questions.

The meeting is held in Council Chambers at City Hall tonight at 7pm.

-Hoboken Residents for a Public Waterfront

Facebook: www.facebook.com/HobokenRPW

iPetitions: Link: www.ipetitions.com/petition/hoboken-public-waterfront/

Twitter:@HobokenRPW 

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City Council Meeting Tonight at 7 pm - Live Feed

Vote Yes For November Gathers over 1800 Signatures For Petition to Consolidate Elections

For those that did not not know there has been an effort to create a petition drive to 1) move the municipal elections to November and 2) eliminate the runoff. A grassroots movement of registered voters and taxpayers in Hoboken have now collected well over the number of signatures required to get these two initiatives on the ballot and "Let the People Decide" if elections for our municipal government should be moved back to Election Day

Eric Kurta, of of the named petitioners is down in the City of Hoboken's Clerk's Office submitting the petitions this afternoon. Here is the press release on their great efforts in the dog days of August when people are away.....

1,800 Hoboken Residents Petition 

To Consolidate Local Elections

August 15, 2012- (Hoboken, NJ) This afternoon, the Vote Yes For November citizens’ committee successfully submitted to the city clerk approximately 1,800 petition signatures from local residents to consolidate municipal elections in Hoboken. When certified, the petitions will allow the people of Hoboken to decide this November when future municipal elections will be held. If the two ballot questions proposed to residents are approved, Hoboken’s municipal elections will move to Election Day in November, with the candidate for each office receiving the most votes on Election Day being elected to serve.

“Consolidating the municipal elections to when voters are already voting in November would not only result in greater voter participation and less hassle for voters, but also save taxpayers over $100,000 for each election saved," said Vijay Chaudhuri, a member of the citizens' committee. Any way to make it more convenient for residents to vote and save hundreds of thousands of dollars over the next several years is a win-win situation for everyone involved."

Sasha Conroy, another member of the Committee, noted that in 2009 Hoboken held a total of five elections in eight months costing Hoboken taxpayers over half a million dollars and forcing citizens to endure round after round of nasty campaign literature, attack advertisements, and constant phone calls to influence the course of yet another municipal election.

“This year, the Board of Education took the common sense first step by moving the School Board elections to Election Day,” Ms. Conroy explained. “Elections should be held on Election Day in November. These initiatives will allow the people to decide whether they should vote once and for all on Election Day in November, or whether they prefer to vote numerous times throughout the year.”

After the petitions are certified, two initiatives will be placed on the ballot in November when residents vote in the Presidential election. The first question will move the municipal elections to November, while the second question will consolidate the municipal elections to a winner take all system, similar to the process of electing federal and state office holders. The two petition questions required approximately 640 signatures to reach the ballot, an amount nearly tripled by the committee’s efforts.

If a majority of Hoboken residents vote yes on the two propositions, Hoboken’s next municipal election would be held in November of 2013.


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Vote Yes For November Gathers over 1800 Signatures For Petition to Consolidate Elections