North Bergen residents flood Board of Commissioners meeting

September 10, 2021

09nbida16 — Due to Ida, cars were stranded in flood waters in North Bergen. Photo via North Bergen Police Department

Following Hurricane Ida, North Bergen residents poured into the virtual Board of Commissioners meeting calling for solutions to prevent the massive flooding caused by the storm.

North Bergen resident Roger Kasada said flooding is an “enormous problem” and called for resiliency projects to mitigate flooding.

“We’re past the prevention of climate change,” Kasada said. “It’s already here. These floods are going to continue to get worse. My basement was flooded with almost three feet of water. I’ve lost all my appliances and everything that I had in the basement. My neighbors have also lost a lot of what they own in their basement. Many of us are not in the financial position to take on a catastrophe like that.”

Kasada acknowledged that there are relief funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), but encouraged spending on township projects to prevent flooding in the first place.

“We need to talk about investments into resiliency, we can’t keep ignoring these problems,” Kasada said. “We need to address these problems right now as in planning for what North Bergen is going to do to mitigate these flooding scenarios. It’s all over town.”

Calls for resiliency projects

A representative of North Bergen Earth Talks who asked only to be referred to as “Ms. Sustainability,” echoed calls for resiliency projects and green infrastructure.

“I know the Green Team’s proposed mitigation tactic to flooding specifically is to dig retention tanks in the old High Tech parking lot,” they said. “This method is already implemented in Hoboken, and there is still massive flooding in the streets… [Trees] are fundamental in absorbing mass amounts of water during flash floods. All the pavement is what prevents our stormwater from draining properly all over New Jersey. Biodiversity is the most cost effective solution to help mitigate the outdated combined sewer system that we have in place… We do not have time to put off these solutions any longer… The more we delay, the more sewage water enters our homes.”

Resident Stephanie Martinez agreed.

“Mitigating flooding looks like reforestation and separating the sewer lines,” Martinez said. “We have to do so now. There’s going to be another storm coming, and even more storms because of climate change.”

Neighborhood flooding

Other residents said that they witnessed terrible flooding from the storm, but added that flooding in their neighborhood has been persistent for years.

“I’m reaching out on behalf of the community between Hudson and Broadway, 72nd to 79th Street,” resident Samir Patel said. “We’ve been enduring a sewer backup into our homes for at least five years. I’ve been living here two years, and I’ve had four floods with minimal rainfall. I spoke with my neighbors, and we all connected the dots that this issue has been persistent for a number of years and has been progressively getting worse. Some of us have individually invested into our homes trying to tactically fix the problem, not realizing our neighbor has the same issue, and this issue is confined to the Hudson and Broadway area.”

“We are pretty much in a dire situation between Hudson and Broadway,” resident Gabby Costello said. “There has been heavy duty flooding throughout the years… I have two kids. They’ve been traumatized by the situation time and time again. My basement is pretty much done with. I’m a single parent so I can’t afford to be paying so much into this… When you have sewage backing up, that’s an infrastructure issue. Why is this happening?”

“My house itself, every time it rains, just gets flooded,” resident Claudia Mendoza said. “I had a lot of damage because of this flooding… I’ve lived in this house for the past six to seven years, and there are two times this year that were horrendous. I’ve never experienced something like this.”

Engineers weigh in

Mayor Nicholas Sacco questioned why the neighborhood is waiting until now to report the flooding and urged them to do so every time it happens. He said that the township would send engineers to monitor the houses when it rains regularly to see “how deep the problem really goes.”

In response to the neighborhood’s pleas, Township Administrator Janet Castro said she would follow up with Mendoza, Costello, and Patel regarding the issues in the neighborhood.

“Our systems are just unable to handle the amount of water of the surge,” Castro said. “Unfortunately we’ve got so many instances where people have these issues, countless number of residents with flooding.”

Meanwhile, the township is seeking FEMA relief funds for drainage-related upgrades. Castro said it is also looking for other funding and resources to address the problems.

Sewer overhaul

Sacco said that the township is working with the Passaic Valley Sewer Commission (PVSC) on addressing the township’s antiquated combined sewer system.

“They’re trying to separate the sanitary sewers from the rain water,” Sacco said. “That’s I think a $50 million project. [PVSC] is taking the lead on it. We did meet in North Bergen, and we had most of the towns around here as far as Newark. We talked with Passaic Valley because we need their help. No town can afford the cost of what the mandate would be. So we’re trying to work together with them to see how much they can pick up, and the rest the town will of course have to do. But that would do a great deal toward alleviating flooding.”

Sacco said the failed proposal for the PSE&G power plant in North Bergen would have paid for floodgates.

“The floodgates would have prevented the flooding from Bellman Creek, which overflowed and affected our schools,” Sacco said.

Looking for a developer

According to Sacco, the township is still pursuing a developer to redevelop the land, which would include the floodgates.

“We have to somehow get a developer in there who will pick up the cost of the floodgates for the Army Corps of Engineers,” Sacco said. “We did make that an area in need of redevelopment, but we’re not getting much help on it.”

Sacco said that while North Bergen was hit hard by Ida, so was the rest of the state. He added that the township wasn’t to blame for the historic flooding, which affected nearly every resident.

“I know [Commissioner] Allen Pascual got water,” Sacco said. “I’m on the tenth floor of an apartment building, and we got water through our roof. This was a one in 500-year storm.”

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].

Secaucus offers third doses to immunocompromised residents

Hudson Reporter

September 10, 2021

09secvaccine16 — Getting vaccinated is the best way to prevent serious illness or death from COVID-19.

Immunocompromised Secaucus residents can now get their third doses of the vaccine.

While third doses were not immediately available to residents when the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) first made the announcement in late August, eligible residents can now get their third booster doses.

Only those who are moderately to severely immunocompromised are approved to receive a third dose at this time. For a full list of eligible conditions, go to www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/immuno.html.

Contact the health department

To get a third dose, schedule an appointment with the Health Department at 201-330-2031. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are available.

For first and second doses, walk-ins are welcome, and no appointments are necessary. Pfizer vaccines are given.

The town administers vaccines at popup clinics at Town Hall at 1203 Paterson Plank Rd., Thursdays, 4 to 5:30 p.m.

No health insurance is required. Must live or work in Secaucus. Parental consent forms are available at the site for 12- to 17-year-olds.

According to Town Administrator Gary Jeffas, 88 percent of adult residents are fully vaccinated, and 96 percent have had at least one dose as of Sept. 7.

For more information, go to secaucusnj.gov/vaccine.

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].

Jersey City adopts 2021 budget

Hudson Reporter

September 9, 2021

09jcbudget16 — The Jersey City council approved a $612 million budget for 2021.

The Jersey City Council has adopted a $626 million budget for 2021, but two council members opposed the adoption over concerns about a controversial fee to homeowners tying the cost of their waste removal to their water bills.

The council voted 6-2 in favor; one council member was absent.

The budget is a 4.9 percent decrease from last year’s $658 million budget. The taxy levy for this year, the amount to be raised through property taxes, is about $207 million, about $65 million less than the $267 million levy from last year.

Councilman Daniel Rivera was absent from the budget vote.

Waste fee concerns

Council members James Solomon and Rolando Lavarro, who voted against the budget, opposed the city’s controversial waste fee.

The fee, which pays for garbage and recycling disposal based on residents’ water usage, received backlash from residents for being quietly put in, and for increasing their costs. It was suspended by Mayor Steven Fulop in July. Solomon and Lavarro have called for a full refund and repeal of the fee.

Solomon cited the uncertainty of the fee as the reason for his vote against the budget. “It is not clear the budget anticipates a full refund, so I voted against it,” he said in an email.

Lavarro said that there were a number of unanswered questions about the budget and the waste fee. He said that the contract for the solid waste collection with Regional Industries was not incorporated with the budget. With the suspension of the waste fee, he said that there is no revenue at the agency to pay for the contract.

“The question that remains is who is paying for the contract, and with what money,” he said.

For updates on this and other stories, follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Mark Koosau can be reached at [email protected] or his Twitter @snivyTsutarja.

Weehawken bonds $2,500,000 for repairs in wake of Ida

Hudson Reporter

September 9, 2021

09weemudslides16 — The aftermath of one of the mudslides in Weehawken. Photos via the Township's Facebook page

The Weehawken Township Council has adopted two resolutions to help deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. The resolutions awarded contracts to various emergency firms for storm related damage and bonded $2,500,000 to cover the costs.

“We had a tremendous rainstorm with Ida,” Mayor Richard Turner said at the council’s Sept. 8 meeting. “We’ve had an unprecedented amount of issues.”

Water everywhere

“We had many residents, almost everybody got a little water someplace or another, either through their cellar drains, either through the apartments in the cellar, through toilets or shower drains, or their backyard,” Turner said. “We had 40 inches of rain in August, and the nine inches in eight hours and four inches in one hour overwhelmed the system.”

There was also a small nonstructural destabilization of a bank at the reservoir. Turner said crews have been out all week filling in the culvert that started to developed.

“The reservoir is a dam, so it was nonstructural,” Turner said. “If we ignore it, it will become structural, and then we’ll have a problem with the dam.”

Helping residents

Turner said the flooding has gone down, and the township is now assisting residents in dealing with the damage.

“We’re helping people with their basements,” Turner said. “We’re removing things for those who cannot physically remove their damaged belongings themselves… Most residents are taking care of their own.”

Turner said most of the flooding was clean water, but the township is helping disinfect areas flooded with heavy sewage water.

Currently, five or six families are displaced by the storm, according to Turner. They are being put up in various hotels by the township; the number is down from 12 or so at one point.

Mudslides

Turner said the “big surprise” of the storm was the mudslides off the cliffs.

“We never had mudslides before like this,” Turner said. “We had two on Hackensack Plank Road from upper Gregory Avenue.”

That affected four properties on upper Gregory Avenue and a similar number on lower Gregory Avenue. Gregory Avenue runs largely parallel to Hackensack Plank Road, only at a higher elevation.

“The [flooding] on Upper Gregory created a massive slide on Hackensack Plank Road, forcing the closure of the road,” Turner said. “Tons of mud washed through The Shades.”

The township is cleaning up the mud and debris in the road as well as The Shades neighborhood. Turner said the DPW haa been “doing nothing but removing six to eight inches of mud.”

“It’s a very dangerous situation,” Turner said. “Boulders are exposed, and some of the retaining walls are exposed. Our fear is if any of these boulders come down, they will go right over Hackensack Plank Road to Park Avenue below and affect one of the entrances to the tunnel.”

Another view of the carnage left by mudslides in Weehawken.

Clean up time

On Hackensack Plank Road, four or five other properties were affected after mud fell from above.

“That property was built with all kinds of retaining walls and netting and everything,” Turner said. “No one expected the top to come down, and two or three homes were severely damaged. In one home, the whole back wall was blown out from the impact of the water and the mud. Those individuals are all up in hotels.”

Turner said the cliffs could not take the saturation from the rainfall over the last two months and are now in a “precarious” state. Turner said the township has hired a firm to “shore that up.”

“The emergency firms have put a shore metal mesh over what remains of those areas,” Turner said. “Hopefully that will hold back any more material or anything but major boulders.”

Turner said the firms have also removed mud from the porches, backyards, and interiors of houses on Hackensack Plank Road across from Park Avenue.

Another property on Hackensack Plank Road and the adjacent garage structure have cracked retaining walls. Turner said the township is taking emergency action to shore up that before more rain falls.

Permanent solution

Turner said the township is in the process of hiring a firm to permanently shore up the damaged cliffs. Engineers are currently assessing the damage.

“They might have to do a temporary shoring up and come back and do a permanent shoring up,” Turner said. “So we have a temporary clean- up company, we have a permanent cleanup company, we hired a machine that sucks up as much mud as possible from the homes.”

Turner encouraged residents to take pictures of the damage to submit claims because they may be eligible for assistance once the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declares a Major Disaster Declaration for Hudson County and Weehawken. Turner said that when the agency toured the damage, even “FEMA couldn’t believe it.”

The cliffs “have been here forever, and there’s never been an issue,” Turner said. “FEMA was even stunned. But we will get through all this and we have some resolutions tonight that will start the process. Then we will apply to FEMA for reimbursement.”

Turner said the township was very successful inbeing reimbursed for damages from Hurricane Sandy and expects the same.

Crews are cleaning up the mud and assessing the damage to the cliffs.

Emergency firms hired

The township council adopted two resolutions totaling $2,500,000 to cope with the damage.

“Unfortunately, when you’re dealing with cliff collapse and everything else that’s taking place, we can’t wait for FEMA,” Turner said. “We will do the bond. We will take the money. We will fix it now. Then FEMA will reimburse us similar to what we do with Sandy.”

The first resolution awarded contracts to various emergency firms for storm related damage.

Philco Industries was hired for the cliff work. The contract awards an initial $355,000 for temporary shoring up of the cliffs and an additional amount not to exceed $2 million for the eventual rebuilding and permanent restoration of the cliffs.

J. Fletcher, Creamer and Son was contracted for roadway cleanup not to exceed $150,000. Montana Construction was contracted to secure the reservoir not to exceed $100,000. SERVPRO was contracted for water cleanup and remediation not to exceed $75,000. JZN Engineering was contracted for the design of the permanent cliff structure not to exceed $45,500.

Reimbursement expected

The second resolution issued a bond for $2,500,000. According to Turner, the township will have to pay five percent down, so the issue will be $2,380,000. The rest will come from the township’s capital reserve. Turner reiterated he expected FEMA to cover most if not the entire cost.

The council voted unanimously to approve both resolutions.

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].

North Bergen breaks ground on new affordable housing complex

Hudson Reporter

September 9, 2021

09nbhousing16 — A rendering of the completed Meadow Hill complex

The North Bergen Housing Authority has broken ground on a new affordable housing building, home to 61 one-bedroom units.

Meadow Hill is on the 6700 block of Columbia Avenue, adjacent to Terrace Apartments, senior housing authority building at 6800 Columbia Avenue.

This building will be reserved for section 8-eligible tenants, those age 55 and over, and physically disabled adults. Section 8 residents would pay 30 percent of their income for rent.

The $20 million complex will be constructed through a New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency loan, with nearly $2 million coming from the county’s community development budget.

The building will be constructed by the Alpert Group, which previously built the Theresa Ferraro Senior Housing Complex, also known as Renaissance 1, at 6201 Grand Avenue next to the Lawler Towers.

Officials put shovels in the ground on Sept. 8.

Construction begins

North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco, North Bergen Housing Authority Executive Director Gerald Sanzari, Hudson County Commissioner Anthony Vainieri, and North Bergen Commissioners Hugo Cabrera and Allen Pascual as well as other dignitaries were on site to mark the start of construction.

“Today’s groundbreaking is a continuation of our commitment in North Bergen to build affordable housing for our residents,” Sacco said in a statement. “This could not have been possible without the dedication and assistance of the county, state and our NBHA team. I am glad that we have begun building this, and I cannot wait to see this project completed.”

The building will be a “state of the art” complex with parking onsite for residents. A doctor’s office is on the premises.

“The concept of Meadow Hill has been years in the making, and we expect that it will be completed within two years,” Sanzari said in a statement. “I would like to thank Mayor Sacco along with all of our partners that have made this project possible. This building, when completed, will house section 8 seniors, senior veterans and disabled persons. It will be a state of the art housing authority complex that will be a great boost to our community.”

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].

Weehawken School District opens wellness centers

Hudson Reporter

September 8, 2021

09weepaper16 — The Wellness Center at Weehawken High School. Photos via Weehawken School District

The Weehawken School District is supporting mental health at schools by going paperless, according to Superintendent of Schools Eric Crespo.

The paperless concept came about while Crespo and Jenna Wendolowski, Supervisor of Counseling Services, were seeking to open a Wellness Center at Weehawken High School.

“We were running out of space, so we went into our guidance suite and looked, and there was this huge counter with multitudes of paper and files,” Crespo said. “Some of it was ten years old. We knew there has to be a better way to do this.”

That’s where a partnership with company FileBank came into play. FileBank digitized the paper files.

“We still have access to the files at our fingertips,” Crespo said. “But this opened up a whole new world.”

Shared database

The files are accessible on demand in a digital database hosted by FileBank.

“We request it, and it just comes to us as a PDF,” Crespo said. “If we need a hard copy, or whatever the case may be, their turnaround time is within 24 hours. So it’s really accessible to us.”

Soon digitization spread to classrooms to help teachers make the most of their limited space amid social distancing guidelines, as well as other rooms that have been underused due to paper files.

A serene mural covers one wall of the center.

“We started maximizing spaces in other places,” Crespo said. “Now, we’re going into different rooms, doing more work with [FileBank]. Those rooms in the near future are going to become other things for students for telemedicine, a student store, etcetera. It all came because we’re now able to put these paper files somewhere secure and also have them at our fingertips.”

Crespo said this effort was part of many green initiatives the district is currently undertaking.

Wellness Center

Getting rid of the paper files storage area allowed for the Wellness Center to open in its place.

“The Wellness Center is designed not just for kids who have anxiety or some mental health issues, but really for everyone,” Wendolowski said. “If you’re having a bad day or anything like that, you can have that space to relax and destress. We don’t really like to target a certain student.”

Encouraging signs and posters hang in the center.

“Maybe you left your house and got into an argument with your brother, sister, mother, or father,” Crespo said. “Maybe you’re really stressed, you’re in your AP class, you’re trying to get into college, and you just need somewhere to unwind.”

Teachers also need to unwind.

“Teachers are allowed to get stressed,” Crespo said. “The Wellness Center is there for them too.”

The room is designed to be a calm and inviting space: relaxing murals and inspirational posters cover the walls, and there’s abundant comfortable seating.

Needed now more than ever

Providing additional mental health support is crucial amid the pandemic.

“We saw food insecurity. There’s homelessness. There’s kids that, when it came to coming to school, that was such a big part of social interaction for them,” Crespo said. “School was always a safe place for them, where people care about them and where people believe in them. That got taken away because of the pandemic. So now, as we reintroduce our student body back in, what better place to have this as the district transitions back.”

A closeup of the soothing imagery n the mural at the center

The district began work on centers at two other schools. Crespo said the Wellness Center at Theodore Roosevelt School just finished. In about a year, Crespo said he’d like to have one at Daniel Webster School, so all three schools have a center.

Crespo continued: “We’re excited about the Wellness Center. We think that we are going to see a tremendous amount of foot traffic in it. We know we’re going to see benefits from it when it comes to our social and emotional well being and our mental health. And it’s for everyone.”

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].

Jersey City swears in new firefighters

Hudson Reporter

September 2, 2021

09jcjcfd09 — Firefighters from the 72nd academy class were sworn in on September 1. Photo by Jennifer Brown/City of Jersey City.

Jersey City swore in a new class of firefighters at a City Hall ceremony on September 1. Mayor Steven Fulop, Public Safety Director James Shea, and Fire Chief Steven McGill swore in 25 new recruits from the 72nd academy class.

“We’re extremely grateful to our newest firefighters taking on an awesome responsibility, and also to their families who are constant support systems throughout their careers,” said Mayor Fulop. “You are joining a tremendous fire department. One that is distinguished by always fulfilling the call of duty to our 250,000 residents and doing so in a way that makes Jersey City proud.”

The group is the 23rd class that Fulop has sworn in since taking office in 2013. 316 new firefighters have been sworn in since then, bringing the department to more than 650 firefighters and superiors.

Charles Donaghue, center, was sworn in as the third generation of his family to serve the JCFD. Photo by Jennifer Brown/City of Jersey City.

The new class includes multigenerational firefighters; Charles Donaghue is the third generation in his family to join the JCFD after his father Charles and his grandfather. Four new recruits are following in their fathers’ footsteps, and two recruits are joining their brothers on the job.

“As Emergency Medical Responders, our firefighters are even more prepared and equipped to provide initial emergency care in medical emergencies, providing additional levels of aid in situations where every second counts,” said McGill.

For updates on this and other stories, follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Mark Koosau can be reached at [email protected] or his Twitter @snivyTsutarja.

Weehawken jazz musician auctions off songs from new album

Hudson Reporter

September 1, 2021

09weecharu09 — The cover of "The Book of Ragas: Volume II" by Upasana Asrani

Charu Suri, an Indian jazz musician from Weehawken, has released her latest album, “The Book of Ragas: Volume II,” and is auctioning digital copies of the cover illustration and songs from the album as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

NFTs, according to CNBC, can be bought and sold like physical assets, but blockchain technology allows the ownership and validity of each to be tracked.

Suri is known for blending Sufi music, traditional devotional prayer music based on Sufi Islam and its poems, and jazz to create fusion tunes.

Experimenting with NFTs

NFTs can include videos, digital artwork and more. Suri’s first NFT includes ownership of a digital copy of the fourth song on the album, “Aaj Rang Hai” or “Today There is Color” and a digital copy of the album art. It comes with a private concert and signed copy of the album.

While the song and the art can be copied endlessly, the NFT represents ownership of the original pieces, verifiable by the blockchain. It’s similar to the notion that anyone can buy a print of a famous painting, but only one person owns the original.

Suri said she spent a lot of time designing the concept behind the cover illustration, which was brought to life by Upasana Arsani who also did the cover for the first volume of “The Book of Ragas.”

“On that art cover is myself on the keyboard surrounded by two peacocks with all the beautiful details around it,” Suri said. “I just wanted it to be very symbolic because the peacock, the national bird of India, is very Eastern, while the piano is obviously a Western instrument created in Italy. In one image I wanted to convey what ‘The Book of Ragas: Volume II’ is.”

Winner, winner, chicken dinner

The NFT auction was won by a user known as ‘@Dab’ for approximately .1 Ethers, a digital cryptocurrency that currently equates to approximately $3,279. The user now owns the original digital copy of the song and digital copy of the cover art, both backed by blockchain.

But the original artist maintains the copyright and reproduction rights to both pieces and can arrange to receive a percent of the profit every time the NFT is resold. The winner has not revealed his or her identity yet, leaving the additional prizes of the personal performance and signed album unclaimed.

More NFTs will be auctioned off for the other songs on the album.

“I think NFTs come as close as you can to actually having investors,” Suri said. “If you have people who are interested in your work, you can actually make money for it. It’s still in the infant stages for artists, but I think it can only grow and bring legitimate and regular earnings.”

Pandemic influences

“The Book of Ragas: Volume II” was written during the pandemic.

“This ended up being all morning ragas,” Suri said. A raga is a modal scale, usually played according to the time of day.

“They’re all morning ragas because during the pandemic, everyone in my house was working from home,” Suri said. “I found myself getting up earlier and earlier to just be at peace and have some clarity.”

Suri became fond of mornings because it was the only time when nobody was awake.

“I just needed that quiet time,” Suri said. “So I ended up listening to so many morning ragas to get me through it.”

A shift in pace

“Usually, my work is done at night,” Suri said. “‘The Book of Ragas,’ if you look at it, are all afternoon or evening ragas. Generally, the morning ragas are energizing, they have a sense of more of an urgency to them. Evening ragas are very calming. They almost put your body to a state of rest when you play it. It really does make a difference.”

She went on, “Sankarabaranam, which is track three, is basically the Ionian equivalent to a major scale. They all have that inherent pulse, that energy, that kickstarts the day. I feel they’re really different if you pay attention.”

In the first iteration of “The Book of Ragas,” Suri performed as part of a classical western jazz trio, which includes a piano, a double bass, and drums, as well as vocals. This new EP includes Suri on piano, Jesse Gerbasi on the vibraphone and drums, and Falsa on vocals, also known as Umer Piracha.

“Both of these performers just really shine,” Suri said. “Without them, there is no Book of Ragas. I’ve done piano versions of it in concert, but to get the full experience, you have to listen to the whole thing. They really stepped up to the plate on this.”

In touch with fans

According to Suri, being able to perform in front of a live audience was exhilarating after creating music and performing for fans virtually kept Suri going during the stay-at-home order.

“It wasn’t just good, it was great,” Suri said of reconnecting with fans. “I did a whole Miami tour. We had a full house, and people were wearing masks, some weren’t. We, the whole band, wore masks because I don’t take chances with things like that. But the audience was there, it was real. The audience clapped and cheered. We had conversations. We exchanged contact information. It brought tears to my eyes because I hadn’t had that in so long, neither had my band members.”

And Suri has more performances planned for this year. She will be part of the virtual version of this year’s Southcoast Jazz Festival in Toronto from October 15 to 17. For more information, go to southcoastjazz.com.

She’s also headed back to the stage at Carnegie Hall on November 13. For tickets visit carnegiehall.org/Calendar/2021/11/13/Raga-Jazz-and-the-Art-of-the-Songbook-0800PM.

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].

Secaucus eyes solar panels at rec center

Hudson Reporter

August 31, 2021

09secsolar09 — The Secaucus Recreation Center at 1200 Koelle Boulevard

The Secaucus Town Council has introduced an ordinance that would bond approximately $1.4 million for the purchase of solar panels to be installed at the Recreation Center at 1200 Koelle Boulevard.

The ordinance will be up for public hearing at the council’s next meeting on September 14 at 7 p.m. at the Council Chambers at Town Hall at 1203 Paterson Plank Road. For more information, go to secaucusnj.gov and click on the event on the calendar webpage.

Energy savings

Town Administrator Gary Jeffas said the solar panel project was part of a cost-saving clean energy initiative.

“This has been a long-term project we’ve been looking at,” said Jeffas. “It’s called an ESIP, an acronym for Energy Savings Improvement Program.”

The ESIP is administered by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) to allow for the improvement and retrofitting of public facilities by local governments and other entities by using the future value of energy savings to finance the upfront investment.

Prequalified energy services companies provide the upfront financing and are paid back from the savings that accrue to the public entity through reduced energy bills.

“It’s run by the BPU where there has to be an analysis,” Jeffas said. “We hire a company. They recommend the solar at one spot, in this case the recreation center. They complete the analysis, and they guarantee the savings will exceed your debt payment over 15 years. So it has to be a zero sum game or better on whatever is borrowed.”

Jeffas said the program is again certified to save money before heading to the BPU for final approval.

“Then we hire a third party that certifies once again the energy savings amount,” Jeffas said. “Then that goes to the BPU, who reviews and certifies that the program meets the requirements.”

Where should they go?

The project is still in the early phases. There is not a design yet.

The town is still working out the number of panels and their exact locations, eyeing the roof or the parking lot.

Currently, the town is analyzing the ground beneath the parking lot to determine if installing the panels would pose any issues. There are pipes and other internal systems beneath, as well as landfill the town wants to make sure is not underneath the parking lot.

The analysis is expected to be complete by the public hearing, officials said.

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].

Compost bin opens at Braddock Park

Hudson Reporter

August 30, 2021

09nbcompost09 — The bin at the garden in Braddock Park. Photos via NB Earth Talks

North Bergen Earth Talks has held a grand opening ceremony at the James J. Braddock Community Garden to celebrate the new public compost drop-off site in partnership with Community Compost Co. and Hudson County.

Partners and community members gathered to cut the ribbon at the garden in Braddock Park on Aug. 29. Attendees were encouraged to bring their own compost to place in the bin after the ribbon cutting.

What to compost

The certified organic compost bin is now open to the public. Residents can collect food scraps in a container or bag and dispose of them in the community compost bin.

Permitted items include fruits; vegetables; meat; bones; dairy; seafood; grains; eggs and shells; coffee grounds; flowers; and some paper, including coffee filters, napkins, paper towels, uncoated paper plates, and teabags.

Prohibited items include plastic; metal; glass; chemicals; Styrofoam; liquids; grease; produce stickers; staples in teabags; compostable “plastics;” coated paper and molded fiber; diapers; tissues; menstrual products; and pet waste.

Protecting the Earth

Composting is a necessary step in preserving the environment, according to NB Earth Talks.

Approximately 22 percent of solid waste in New Jersey consists of food waste, some of which was edible at the time of disposal, according to nj.gov. Food waste disposed in landfills contributes to the release of greenhouse gases and also wastes natural resources and money.

By implementing compost through a community-based approach, NB Earth Talks aims to help protect the atmosphere, regulating temperatures and raising the incentive to value natural resources.

Involving the community

The bins are part of NB Earth Talks’ plan to get the community involved in protecting the environment.

“We have prioritized making the Braddock Park Public Compost Bin a reality to uplift the community in becoming an active part of restoring our local environment,” said a cofounder of North Bergen Earth Talks in a statement, asked to be identified only as ‘SexySustainability.’

“Most residents in Hudson County do not have the yard space to host a personal compost bin. Our community deserves to have access to divert their food waste through this community funded project.”

The bin is under a pilot program with Community Compost Co. until January, when the Hudson County Board of Commissioners will decide whether or not to continue the partnership. The more often the bin is used under the proper guidelines the better chance there is of getting more bins throughout the community, according to NB Earth Talks.

Making it happen

This project was completed in collaboration with NB Earth Talks, Community Compost Co., and the Hudson County Improvement Authority, including Amanda Nesheiwat, Tom Stampe, and Jonathan DeFilippio. NB Earth Talks worked with with Nesheiwat, Head of Food Waste Management in Hudson County, to generate the funding as well as Stampe and DeFilippio to contact Hudson County officials and create adequate signage.

They worked closely with compost collector and distributor, Community Compost Co., to bring the project to fruition. Community Compost Co. is a women-owned business founded by Eileen Banyra based in the Hudson Valley of NY and Northern New Jersey.

For help starting a community compost project, email NB Earth Talks at [email protected].

For updates on this and other stories, check www.hudsonreporter.com and follow us on Twitter @hudson_reporter. Daniel Israel can be reached at [email protected].