Sinatra Idol contest on Thursday
The annual Sinatra Idol Contest will occur on Thursday, June 14 at 6:30 p.m. at Sinatra Park.
This year 15 people from all over the world including England, New Jersey, and Indiana will compete in front of five judges and numerous residents in the contest in hopes to win prizes awarded to the best Sinatra Style Singers. The event is free and all are welcome.
Watch for coverage in the Reporter and on hudsonreporter.com.
World’s largest free-flying flag to fly June 14
On June 14 the world’s largest free flying flag, a balloon, will rise at Stevens Institute of Technology in the Castle Point area of Hoboken. It will fly from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the 225th Anniversary of the first hot air balloon flight in America.
The flag is 5 stories tall and will be inflated over the DeBaun Athletic Field.
The American flag balloon was created following the attacks of 9/11 by pilot Barry DiLibero of Chester Springs, Pa. and has flown in the New York City area every year since then, courtesy of the QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning in Association with PNC Bank.
Hoboken student allegedly involved in school sex assault to be sentenced Thursday
One of the four students charged in connection to last November’s alleged sexual assault at Hoboken High School is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday, June 14.
Hoboken resident Amir Goodwin, age 18, pleaded guilty to the accusation for Invasion of Privacy in violation of N.J.S. 2C:14-9(b) on April 11, according to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s spokesperson Ray Worrall.
Four teens were charged on Nov. 30 for involvement in an incident that day in which some or all of them allegedly forced a 17-year-old girl into a room at the school, and allegedly forced her to perform a sex act. The incident was reportedly caught on school videotape and on a student’s cell phone.
Investigators did not release the names of the other students because they are under 18. A 17-year-old juvenile was charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault, aggravated criminal sexual contact and kidnapping.
The two 16-year-old juveniles were charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit aggravated sexual assault, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and aggravated criminal sexual contact.
Last week, Superintendent of Schools Christine Johnson said she could not comment on the case or the students allegedly involved. When asked if the students are still receiving home instruction, including the victim, Johnson said, “Because they are students, the district cannot violate their privacy by discussing their educational program.”
At the time of the incident in November, a source close to the administration said the students were receiving home instruction.
Hoboken resident Artie Lange sentenced to probation
According to multiple news reports, resident and comedian Artie Lange was sentenced to four-year probation on Friday, June 1 in State Superior Court.
Multiple news outlets also reported that Lange pleaded guilty to possession of heroin in December after he was arrested the previous May in his parking garage in Hoboken.
According to the Essex County Sheriff’s Department, the former Howard Stern regular was arrested on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 6:45 p.m. for failing to appear in Essex County Superior Court after he was charged in May with possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The comedian has written about drug use before and was hospitalized in 2010 after apparently attempting to commit suicide in his condo at the Shipyard complex in Hoboken.
High school students win community service scholarship
Hoboken High School students Hannah Mack and Ivelisse Lorenzo were each awarded $2,000 Community Service Merit Scholarships from Hackensack Meridian Health Palisades Medical Center.
The students earned the scholarships as part of the hospital’s Community Service Merit Scholarship Program that recognizes and rewards high school seniors from eight local high schools who have demonstrated significant accomplishments in community service while maintaining academic success. The online application process was conducted in February and March. Recommendations were made by high school guidance counselors and scholarship applications were reviewed by a committee of community volunteers.
Hoboken development wins smart growth award
New Jersey Future, a statewide planning and smart growth advocacy group, has awarded top honors to Hoboken’s 700 Jackson St. development.
The project was a collaboration between the developer, Bijou Properties, and Marchetto Higgins Stieve Architects. They worked with the City of Hoboken’s Director of Community Development Brandy Forbes to create a community-based plan that includes two new parks, a gymnasium, and an underground stormwater management system to reduce flooding in western Hoboken.
The plan calls for a new 14-story mixed-use residential building with 26,000 sqft of retail space on the ground floor. There are 424 residential units of which 10 percent will be affordable. The building will front onto one of the new parks. The building will have a green planted roof to collect and hold water that will minimize flooding during rain events. The 1-acre park in front of the building includes a large, programmable plaza designed to accommodate vendors and seasonal markets, tiered seating, and a tilted lawn.
DeGise announces $6.83M in Trust Fund recommendations
Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise has announced $6.83 million in recommendations from the Hudson County Open Space trust to increase and improve parks and open space and preserve historic sites throughout the county.
His recommendations, based on the annual evaluation of applications conducted by the Open Space & Historic Preservation Trust Advisory Board, will now go to the Board of Freeholders for a public hearing and eventual vote, likely to be held in September.
The grants, if approved by the freeholders, will finance enhancements to sites in Bayonne, Guttenberg, Hoboken, Jersey City, North Bergen, Union City, Secaucus, West New York, county parks in Mercer Hill and Laurel Hill, and the Weehawken Recreational Pier B in the Hudson River.
Pier B is a recreational pier just north of the Chart House pier that stretches nearly 500 feet into the Hudson River,.
The Trust’s funding is drawn from a 1 cent per $100 of assessed value micro-tax of all property throughout the county. DeGise recommend a total of $6,830,488.45 in funding awards to the freeholders for the following projects: Bayonne, $500,000 for Neil A. DeSena Park; Guttenberg, $335,463.45 for Veterans Park (Phase II); Hoboken, $500,000 for Madison Street Park Playground; Jersey City, $500,000 for Berry Lane Park Skate Park, $500,000 for Riverview Fisk Park rehabilitation, and $100,000 for Old Bergen Church Cemetery Open Space Project; North Bergen, $500,000 for Policemen’s Memorial Park; Secaucus, $500,000 for Meadowlands Parkways Indoor Sports Facility; Union City, $187,025 for 38th Street Playground and $308,000 for Washington Park Improvements; Weehawken, $500,000 for Weehawken Pier B; West New York, $500,000 for Patricia McEldowney Field; Hudson County Division of Parks, $500,000 for Mercer Park and $450,000 for Laurel Hill Park Shoreline Improvements
The freeholders will host the annual open public hearing on the recommendations later this summer. At that time the public will have a right to comment.
Fundraiser for art camp scholarships announced
On June 23 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Art Is Love & Action will host a fundraiser at CycleBar in the Monroe Center which will provide scholarships for 20 camp participants.
Art Is Love & Action summer camp begins in August and brings professional artists to teach young people to express themselves through poetry, acting, movement, mixed media, photography and holistic wellness.
This year, the camp is partnering again with Hoboken Housing Authority as well as other community institutions like the Hoboken Public Library and the Mason Civic League. The camp is for children age 12-16 years old.
Tickets for the fundraiser can be purchased online at https://hoboken.cyclebar.com/class-detail/?apptid=7939159.
Summer Solstice event announced
On Saturday, June 23 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Green Pear Cafe at 93 Grand St will host an Annual Summer Solstice Block Party.
The party is intended to “give back to the community and spread the positive vibe beyond its four walls.” It will allow residents and other community members to sell or trade goods. To reserve a selling spot message the Green Pear Cafe on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/greenpearcafe/.
8th Annual New Jersey One-Minute Play Festival coming to Hoboken
The New Jersey One-Minute Play Festival (#1MPF) is the country’s largest and longest continually running community-engaged theatre project, aimed at exploring local topics, ideas, trends, and seeding conversations for, by, and about artists and citizens of New Jersey. The marathon evening of one-minute plays by some of New Jersey’s established and emerging playwrights and directors will have three performances: Saturday, June 30 at 8 p.m., Sunday, July 1 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. All Performances at Mile Square Theatre (1400 Clinton St., Hoboken).
For Tickets Visit www.milesquaretheatre.org.
City announces inaugural Waterfront Arts Gala
Mayor Ravi Bhalla on Wednesday announced Hoboken’s inaugural Waterfront Arts Gala to benefit the city’s Cultural Affairs trust and support the arts community in Hoboken.
The gala will take place on Monday, June 25 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. along the waterfront walkway on Sinatra Drive between 11th and 12th streets.
“I am personally excited about this event and look forward to it taking place year after year,” said Bhalla. “Art is sadly not given the support it deserves, considering the role it plays in enriching our lives. I’m especially glad that this event will show off our beautiful waterfront while supporting public arts initiatives.”
Tickets to the gala are $100 and can be purchased at www.hobokennj.gov/register.
Each ticket comes with a VIP seat to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s concert in Maxwell Place Park on June 28.
The first 100 tickets sold also come with a voucher for two free tickets to a New Jersey Symphony Orchestra concert for the 2018/2019 season.
The event includes a 50/50 raffle and a silent auction.
Cultural Affairs is not funded through the city budget and depends on events like the Gala to finance events like the annual Harvest Festival and Movies Under the Stars.
The Gala will be cocktail-style, with various sponsors providing food and beer, wine, and liquor tastings and art from local galleries will also be on display.
Movie based on Reporter editor’s novel to debut in Japan
“Carrie Pilby,” a comedy movie starring Nathan Lane that can currently be seen on Netflix, will open in theaters in Japan in October. It’s based on the humorous 2002 novel of the same name written by Hoboken novelist and Reporter newspaper group Editor-in-Chief Caren Lissner.
The novel and movie center on Carrie, a 19-year-old nerdy genius who graduates from college three years early and moves to New York City, unsure how to make friends and date in the real world. She buries herself in books until her wryt therapist (played by Lane) gives her a list of tasks to force her to meet people. Which tradeoffs should she make to fit in?
In Japan, the movie will be called “My Precious List.”
The novel is available on Amazon and more information is available at carenlissner.com.
The indie film premiered in North America as a special presentation at the Toronto Film Festival in 2016 and began its current run on Netflix starting last September. It also stars Bel Powley, Gabriel Byrne, Vanessa Bayer, Colin O’Donoghue, Jason Ritter, and William Moseley.
The film was directed by Susan Johnson, who also directs the forthcoming film adaptation of the novel “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” to premiere in August.
The movie has local color in another way — Lane grew up in Jersey City and graduated from St. Peter’s Prep.
