While not all of the estimated 1,200 people who turned out in Newark Avenue’s pedestrian plaza in Jersey City on Jan. 29 came to protest Donald Trump’s travel ban, those who supported his initiatives kept to themselves as more vocal critics took the center stage. Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 28 that suddenly limited or halted travel into the United States from seven countries deemed to impose a possible risk of terrorist activity. The countries included Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, Yemen, and Somalia. One Jersey City man said he saw no reason for the protest. His, however, was not the prevailing opinion. People started arriving more than two hours before the scheduled start of the rally to oppose the ban, in twos and threes, carrying pre-printed posters or homemade protest signs, some even using the pedestrian plaza’s tables to write their angry messages to President Trump. Click here for more.
In Hoboken, Mayor Dawn Zimmer gave a State of the City address. Zimmer promised more park space, better flood protection, and no new taxes this year in her seventh State of the City address on Monday night to a full house at DeBaun Auditorium. Zimmer is up for re-election in November. Zimmer noted that the mile-square city has improved on flooding on the west side of Hoboken, beginning with the $11 million investment for the town’s second flood pump through a continued partnership with the North Hudson Sewerage Authority. Click here for more.
The status of each of Hudson County’s most influential people rises and falls from year to year. Influence can mean different things, not only political power. Artists, activists, and not-for-profits influence the lives of the public over the course of the year. Each January, our editorial staff spends several meetings ranking the county’s most influential people. This is our fifth annual list. Last year saw dramatic changes in nearly every way – shifts in influence, scandals, and truces – setting the stage for events that are to unfold in 2017. Click here for more.
