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SCOREBOARD Anderson returns to courts where he once played

Jim Hague, Sports Columnist
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SCOREBOARD Anderson returns to courts where he once played

It didn’t take long for Kyle Anderson to remember the first time he was interviewed after playing basketball on the courts inside North Hudson Braddock Park in his native North Bergen.
Kyle was all of 12 years old, when he was first featured in these very column pages, when he was listed as the top 12-year-old prospect in the country – and the absurdity that came with ranking seventh graders.
“I remember that well,” said Anderson, now 23 years old and just completing his third season with the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA. “It’s definitely a special place. I loved being out here all the time.”
Anderson is now a professional basketball standout, 11 years removed from being a kid from North Bergen. He’s gone from leading St. Anthony to two straight undefeated seasons and one national championship to playing for UCLA for two years to the pinnacle, the league where you play for pay.
That’s why it meant so much to Anderson to come home last Saturday to the North Bergen courts he once played on. It was Anderson’s “Celebrate Life Day,” a day filled with basketball clinics and games and raffles and question and answer sessions. It marked the third straight year that Anderson has held the day in his home state, but the first in his hometown of North Bergen.
The idea for the day came when Anderson’s friend and basketball comrade Paul Kim of Cliffside Park took his own life suddenly. Anderson wanted to do something to remember and honor Kim and to aid the cause of suicide prevention.
So hundreds of youngsters of all ages converged on Braddock Park last weekend to get a glimpse of a hometown boy done good.
“Seeing these local kids out here and playing, perhaps following in my footsteps, means a lot to me,” said Anderson, who helped the clinics run smoothly with the assistance of his father, also named Kyle Anderson, who was a long-time basketball coach and once led Ferris to a Hudson County championship when “Lil’ Kyle” was just a toddler.
“I’m excited to have it here,” Anderson said of his North Bergen roots. “Growing up in this neighborhood, we never had anything like this. So I’m glad to be in the position to do something like this.”
Anderson was amazed at the turnout.
“I credit my older brothers and friends for getting the word out on Facebook and social media,” Anderson said. “They were the ones to get it done.”
After learning a ton of skills from the elder Anderson and his crack staff of coaches that included local coaches like Kevin Bianco of North Bergen and Alex Mirabel of St. Peter’s Prep, Anderson brought the youngsters together at center court to answer any questions they might have of their hero.
“What’s it like in the NBA?” was the first question.
“It’s pretty cool,” Anderson laughed.
“What happens when someone talks trash to you?” was another.
“I have to respect the game that I’m playing at all times,” Anderson said. “Most of the time, I walk away and let things take care of itself.”
“How did you react when St. Anthony closed?” was a great question.
“I was sad,” Anderson said. “It was hard. I couldn’t believe it happened. Now I don’t have a place to come home to get my number retired. I don’t have a high school.”
Anderson already had to endure one of his school’s closing. It was the demise of Paterson Catholic a little less than a decade ago that brought Anderson to St. Anthony for his junior year.
“I was super upset,” Anderson said. “I knew what it was like already to close a school.”
“Where do you want to play next?” was another great question. Anderson’s contract is up after next year and he can become a free agent.
“Where do you want me to play? Do you want me to come here? The Knicks?” Anderson replied, drawing a loud cheer.
“How many hours a day did you play?” was the question that brought out Anderson’s longest and most thought out reply.
“I played every single day,” Anderson said. “I spent seven, eight hours a day playing right here on these courts. My Dad was a high school coach, so I went to the gym with him and his team. There wasn’t a day where I wasn’t playing. Christmas, my birthday, whenever. I never took a day off. It was a lot of practice and a lot of hours.”
“Do you live in a mansion?” was the last question that just drew a wide smile on the face of the guy nicknamed “Slo Mo,” because Anderson always looks like he’s moving in slow motion.
Needless to say, Anderson made a positive impression on the youngsters who attended the clinic.
“I learned how to have mental toughness,” said 9-year-old Eddie Ortiz. “I was excited to come here. I knew who Kyle was and I’ve watched him play on television. It made me feel good to be a part of this.”
Ortiz, whose family is originally from Union City, but now resides in Scranton, Pa., came with his father, also named Eddie, to participate in the day.
“It encourages me to play basketball more,” young Eddie said.
Jennie Carmona is a 9-year-old girl whose uncle is a friend of Anderson.
“I love basketball and love getting the chance to be here,” Carmona said.
Carmona said that she learned how to slide her feet while moving on the court.
“It was a lot of fun,” Carmona said. “It was pretty cool to learn from an NBA player.”
Gia Quintero is an 11-year-old girl from nearby Fairview.
“I have a lot of friends here, so I wanted to come,” Quintero said. “I was very excited to be here.”
Quintero said that she learned to keep her guide hand (her left hand) and shoot more with her power hand (her right).
Jordani Varela is an 11-year-old from Union City and a student at Emerson Middle School.
“I learned how to bring the ball up the right way,” Varela said. “I’m a big fan of Kyle’s and I was excited to get the chance to meet him. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Christian Chavis is a 12-year-old who now lives in Maryland.
“I learned how to follow through on my shot,” Chavis said.
Luke Baldwin is 11 years old and from Cliffside Park. He attended the clinic last year and wanted to come this year as well.
“I learned how to cross over with the dribble,” Baldwin said. “I also learned that if someone wants to talk trash, just walk away like Kyle does.”
Obviously, a message was heard.
“It’s always cool to come back home, even if it’s only for a little while,” said Anderson, who enlisted the services of both parents and his brothers and sisters to help run the clinic. “I definitely want to keep it going.”
Anderson received a ton of assistance from the North Bergen Police Department, who volunteered their services to help with crowd control and also played in a charity game later in the day. There was a tournament for high school age kids and which team won? None other than North Bergen. Needless to say, it was a great day all around and great to see a local kid giving back to the community where he grew up. It’s amazing how fast 11 years goes by.

To read the article written about Kyle when he was just 12 years old, click this link: http://www.hudsonreporter.com/view/full_story/2409362/article.

Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com. You can also read Jim’s blog at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com.

SCOREBOARD

Jim Hague, Sports Columnist
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SCOREBOARD

For as long as she can remember, Tori Bravo has been a baseball player.

“I’ve always loved playing baseball,” said the Hoboken High School senior. “I loved being around the ballparks. I loved going to CitiField [the home of her beloved New York Mets]. I live close to the Hoboken Little League field and I was one of the first people on the field. Baseball is such a challenging sport. What other sport can you make an out in seven of 10 at-bats and still be successful? It’s a mental game. It’s a smart person’s game. You have to always focus. That all definitely stuck with me. I liked the challenge.”

So sure enough, when the time came for Bravo to play organized sports, she elected to play Little League baseball with and against the boys, and not play softball with the rest of the girls.

After all, Hoboken is historic for girls playing Little League. The first-ever girl to play Little League baseball anywhere was Maria Pepe, who in 1972 went all the way to the New Jersey Supreme Court to receive the right to play Little League for the Young Dems.

Bravo played baseball through Little League into Babe Ruth for players ages 13-through-15.

When the time came to attend Hoboken High School, she was faced with a dilemma. Should Bravo continue to try to play baseball or give softball a try?

“I didn’t play baseball,” Bravo said. “I don’t know. I was a little intimidated. I didn’t know the coaching staff. I didn’t have confidence. I knew I was going to be the first to play baseball at Hoboken, but I just didn’t do it.”

So Bravo went to play softball.

“I thought it was too easy,” Bravo said. “I really didn’t like it.”

At the same time, Bravo was attending USA Baseball events around the country, events strictly for girls who play baseball.

“I found out that there are girls who play,” Bravo said. “I made a lot of friendships at those USA Baseball events. It instilled confidence in me. I knew that I never wanted to look back and regret the chance to play baseball. I’ve always been a baseball player. I played softball one year and I didn’t like it. I was happy to try out for baseball.”

In fact, there’s another girl from northern New Jersey, Alexia Jorge of Lyndhurst, who played varsity baseball with and against the boys.

“We became good friends,” Bravo said of Jorge.

So Bravo wanted to get the chance to try out for the baseball team.

“The one thing I learned at a young age was to respect coaching decisions,” Bravo said. “So whatever the coaches said, I listened to. I knew that I had a lot of catching up to do, because I’m not the biggest girl in the world.”

No, quite the contrary. Bravo stands about 5-foot-1 and weighs about 100 pounds. The boys who play baseball are all quite bigger and stronger. Bravo had to overcome that obstacle.

“But my favorite people in the world have been on a baseball field,” Bravo said. “Baseball has always been a lot of fun for me.”

Hoboken head coach Jack Baker had no qualms whatsoever in giving Bravo a shot to make the squad.

“I’ve always said that the best athletes play,” Baker said. “No matter if they’re a boy or a girl. I think it’s admirable that Tori wanted to play baseball. Tori’s work ethic is unbelievable. She’s the first one at practice and the last one to leave. She wants to make herself better every day. She makes everyone else on the team accountable and creates a competitive atmosphere.”

So sure enough, Baker gave Bravo a spot on the team. There was no guarantee of playing time, just a spot on the Redwings’ roster.

“Her competitiveness and her intestinal fortitude is an inspiration to everyone on the team,” Baker said. “She’s not afraid to get in the batter’s box and face pitching. What I admire the most about her is that she’s persistent. She’s always working.”

Lo and behold, Bravo, now a senior, has helped the Redwings to one of their best seasons in recent memory. They won their first 16 games of the season and were the last undefeated team in New Jersey before falling to Ferris in the Ed “Faa” Ford Memorial Hudson County Tournament quarterfinals recently.

“It’s crazy to think we’re having an undefeated season,” Bravo said before the setback to Ferris. “It’s going out with a bang. It’s really special. It’s the best thing that anyone could ask for. After the first win, then we had five wins, then 10, it was crazy. I think we have great chemistry. We all played Little League together. I think because of it, we’re one step ahead of everyone else.”

Bravo’s future is also set. She will eventually head to the United States Naval Academy, but will first go to the U.S. Naval Academy’s Preparatory School in Newport, Rhode Island, for the first 10 months of her collegiate life. Bravo arrives in Newport in July.

So how did Bravo arrive on the idea of a life in the Navy?

“My Mom [Barbara] is a big role model to me and she’s always been a big influence,” Bravo said. “When I was eight years old, my Mom went to help the people in Haiti after the earthquake and was there for two weeks. The idea of giving back and being of service always stuck with me and service to my country at the highest level.”

A family friend, Robin Erichsen, the mother of former Hoboken two-sport standout Jasmin Erichsen, who now plays soccer and basketball at Rutgers-Newark, has spent more than 20 years in the U.S. Navy.

“Robin and a friend came over to my house and talked to me about what the Naval Academy could do for me,” Bravo said. “They told me about what it had to offer. So after that, I watched a lot of Naval Academy videos and old Army-Navy football games. I became obsessed. I was hooked. I knew that it was something I wanted to do.”

Bravo attended a candidates’ weekend at Annapolis.

“I followed a plebe around for two days,” Bravo said. “I just loved the atmosphere. Everyone was so helpful. I knew that this place was meant for me.”

Bravo then attended another summer seminar last June at Annapolis and realized that she had to go.

“It’s where I wanted to be,” Bravo said.

She did her community service commitments with the Hoboken Hawks’ Special Olympics basketball program and worked the Hoboken Bike Camp to teach youngsters how to properly ride bicycles.

Bravo received her nomination to the Naval Academy from Congressman Albio Sires.

“When I received the letter, I broke down crying,” Bravo said. “It was a dream come true.”

So here’s a young lady who did what she wanted to do, play the sport that she loved, got accepted to the school of her choice and is on one of the best Hoboken teams in recent memory.

“I think it’s amazing,” Bravo said. “I think it’s great. I also played soccer and basketball, but baseball is my sport. This is the best season I’ve ever had. I’ve always believed that it’s not where you start, it’s how you finish. It’s fitting for me and my boys to represent Hoboken this way.”

Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com. You can also read Jim’s blog at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com and follow Jim on Twitter @ogsmar.

HOBOKEN BRIEFS

Submitted Content
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HOBOKEN BRIEFS

HoLa charter school gets to keep its eighth grade

The HoLa charter school can keep its eighth grade class, the state Superior Court has ruled. The appellate division ruled in favor of the New Jersey State Department of Education and the school on Thursday in response to an appeal brought by the Hoboken Board of Education. The board had appealed the state commissioners’ earlier ruling that HoLa could expand to seventh and eighth grades in April of 2015.
The board majority argued that the charter schools siphon too much money and resources from the other public schools and that the state ignored alleged racial socioeconomic segregation created by the school.
The school board relied on private donations to fund part of the proceedings, after initially spending budget money. Board members who dipped into their pockets included Jennifer Evans, Irene Sobolov, and former trustees Jean Marie Mitchell and Leon Gold.
“HoLa provides quality education to a cross section of Hoboken’s children,” states the court’s opinion. “As a dual language charter school, HoLa allows students to become bilingual in a curriculum with a multi-cultural content and thus advances public policy and goals. Hoboken has not shown that the commissioner’s decision to allow HoLA to expand was arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable.”
The court also found no evidence of an economic or racial segregative impact. The school holds a lottery among applicants.
“We’re so grateful that this case is finally over,” said Executive Director of HoLa Jennifer Sargent in a press release. “We’re proud that our diverse school is an important part of the educational landscape of Hoboken. I look forward to continuing to work with the district to serve all of Hoboken’s children.”

Life sentence for getaway driver in case of slain Hoboken lawyer

Basim Henry was sentenced to life in prison last Monday for the murder of Hoboken resident Dustin Friedland, an attorney.
Friedland was fatally shot at the Mall At Short Hills during a carjacking in 2013.
In March, Henry, of South Orange, was found guilty by a jury for murder, weapons possession, and carjacking.
Authorities stated that Friedland’s Range Rover was the intended target of the incident and not Friedland himself.
Authorities have also charged three other Essex County men in connection with the shooting; 29-year-old Hanif Thompson of Irvington, 32-year-old Karif Ford of Newark, and 35-year-old Kevin Roberts of Newark. Henry was the first to be tried.

Family of Hoboken train crash victim files wrongful death suit

The family of Fabiola Bittar de Kroon, the 34-year-old attorney killed last September when a commuter train crashed into the Hoboken Terminal platform, has filed a wrongful death and survival action in N.J. Superior Court in Hudson County against NJ Transit. “This tragedy was easily preventable, however, NJ Transit failed to utilize the readily available and life-saving technology of Positive Train Control (PTC)”, according to the multi-count complaint.
The action was filed on behalf of Mrs. de Kroon’s husband, Adrianus, and their toddler daughter, by the law firms of Kline & Specter, Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendesky, P.C., and Sherman Wells Sylvester & Stamelman.
De Kroon was the sole fatality when the Pascack Valley Train No. 1614 crashed into the Hoboken train platform traveling at more than twice the 10 mph speed limit, last September. She was on the platform heading to take a different train, and was hit by debris. Over 100 other people were injured.
The NTSB is still investigating the crash and has not yet released a cause.
The complaint asserts that NJT is legally responsible for several failures including the failure of the NJT engineer who they say caused the speeding train to slam into the crowded terminal, for the failure to ensure that only properly trained and unqualified personnel operated the train, a failure to take all necessary steps to protect passengers and commuters on its train cars and on the platform while waiting for trains and a failure to require more than one crew member in a driving cab or locomotive during a train’s entry into the Hoboken Terminal.
The two-crew member requirement has since been implemented by the agency, and the train’s engineer Thomas Gallagher has since been diagnosed with sleep apnea.
“We now know that not only was this tragedy completely preventable, it was a horrific accident just waiting to happen on so many levels,” stated attorney Tom Kline of Kline & Specter in a press release. “It is a classic case of a passenger rail operator living in a state of denial, and taking necessary, life-saving precautions only after a catastrophe. They must and will be held accountable.”
Anthony Sylvester of SWS&S said “It has now been more than six months since the Hoboken disaster and death of Mrs. de Kroon. Her family is convinced that the citizens of New Jersey deserve to know all the facts about what happened, why it happened, and that a similar catastrophe cannot reoccur. Only then will there be justice for Fabiola.”

Hoboken police warn residents of potential scam

According to a press release from the Hoboken Police Department, they are currently investigating a suspicious incident and potential scam that took place on Wednesday June 14 at about 9:45 a.m. in the area of Seventh and Hudson streets.
The caller stated two “well spoken Hispanic males” rang her doorbell and advised her that they were present to fix the washer and dryer. The caller advised them that she didn’t own a washer and dryer and they left. The caller observed the males entering a white pickup truck possible a Ford F150 with a metallic type storage box in the bed of the pick up attached to the rear cab. The men did not approach any other buildings in search of the washer or dryer.
The caller described the males as wearing dark blue shirts, cargo shorts and both clean shaven.
If you have information, contact the Hoboken Police Department’s Investigations Division Detective Anthony Olivera at (201)420-3051, (201) 420 2100, or email at Oliveraa@hobokenpd.org.
The police department is “investigating the incident which may or may not be criminal in nature, however please be aware of this incident in the event you are approached in the same manner.”

Local Girl Scout troop urges residents to help save the bees

Hoboken Girl Scout Troop 12032 educated community members about the importance of bees and how to help sustain the bee population at Rummage and Ruffage last Saturday.
Part of their outreach efforts as they work to earn their Girl Scout Bronze Award, the girls researched the issue, wrote informational flyers, and produced and distributed seed bombs.
Seed bombs are hardy, pebble-sized nuggets of dirt, clay and organic seeds for local flowers that will attract bees and promote pollination.
On Saturday the girls also had children’s activities including seed planting.
“The bee population has been in decline in recent years. If this continues unchecked, crops including coffee and many fruits and vegetables would be negatively impacted,” according to the release.

Correction to “Hoboken election shakeup”

Last week The Reporter incorrectly stated that the lawsuit brought against the city by David Liebler, against the Hoboken City Council, had been settled. It was actually the lawsuit brought by Perry Belfiore, a mayoral critic and former Board of Education member, who was also ejected at the same council meeting in 2015 after he began to also speak out about Mayor Dawn Zimmer’s husband Stan Grossbard, and was removed.
Liebler’s case is still ongoing, according to Liebler.
When Liebler started to speak out, then-Council President Ravi Bhalla tried to shut down his remarks.

Learn to be a pirate

On July 8 at 2 p.m. at Elysian Park Hoboken and Tempest production will present storybook theater. Children are invited to join the magical world where stories come to life with favorite storybook characters.
During this free interactive journey, children can learn what its like to be a pirate by searching for treasure, walking the “plank,” and singing sea shanties as they read pirate folklore. For more info more information go to www.tempestproductions.org or call 1-866 248-5091.

City bike auction ends July 17

Hoboken will auction off abandoned bicycles online this month. Bikes can be viewed at www.govdeals.com by clicking on searches, then location search, entering 07030 and clicking the seller name “Hoboken, NJ.”

BAYONNE BRIEFS

Rory Pasquariello, Staff Writer
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BAYONNE BRIEFS

9/11 first responder saves teen from jumping off bridge

A 19-year-old from Tottenville apparently ready to jump off the Outerbridge Crossing decided to back away when retired FDNY paramedic Gary Smiley, driving from Staten Island to his home in New Jersey, stopped to talk the teen down, according to PIX11.

“I knew exactly what he was doing, I mean, there is no other reason for you to stop in the middle of the bridge,” he told PIX 11. “I screamed, probably, ‘What the F are you doing,’ and I think I startled him, and he put his foot back down. He then jumped at me, and I grabbed him, and I just held onto him, and he just started crying.”

Smiley, whose mother died days earlier, was a paramedic on 9/11 and was caught under rubble from the fallen towers. The teenager, meanwhile, underwent psychological evaluation at Richmond University Medical Center.

Bayonne man charged with alleged sexual assault in Jersey City

A 28-year-old Bayonne man was charged last week with two counts of sexual assault of a 25-year-old Jersey City woman that happened in June, according to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office. The man drove the victim home in his car from Hoboken, and the woman reported that the man allegedly assaulted her on 16th Street at 7:15 a.m. on June 29.

Family survives but loses everything in 16th Street house fire

A fire tore through a 16th Street home on July 10, displacing a family of nine, three of whom are infants. The family recently moved into the building.

“Yesterday we had a tragic loss that none of us ever could have been prepared for,” wrote Faith Garcia on a GoFundMe page for the family. “Our home went on fire, and we lost everything we had, including the medication for the baby.”

The GoFunMe page has a $10,000 goal, more than $3,000 of which has already been donated. The website URL is https://www.gofundme.com/f/cz2zqw-garcia-family.

Kearny chlorine plant ignites for a second time since May

Another fire broke out on the Kearny industrial waterfront on Wednesday, July 10, at the Alden Leeds, which manufactures chlorine for swimming pools. A May fire at the same plant resulted in an air-quality warning to area residents, and the closure of the Pulaski Skyway.

The fire was extinguished more quickly than the last and did not ignite again. The Sierra Club, the state’s most prominent environmental group, is calling for an investigation.

“This terrible situation in Kearny is getting worse, with two fires in two months at a dangerous chlorine plant,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “There needs to be an investigation into why these fires are happening, putting people and communities at risk. The larger blaze in May was even more threatening and could have been much worse. We were somewhat lucky again that damage from the latest blaze was minimized, but these fires have to stop. Chlorine gas is poisonous and can burn the eyes, nose, and skin and make it difficult to breathe. We have seen problems with the Alden Leeds plant before when there was a huge fire there back in the ’70s. What’s even worse is that New Jersey has hundreds of facilities with even more hazardous chemicals. We need to hold the Alden Leeds plant accountable and make sure these fires don’t keep happening. It is too important for the safety and health of the community.”

Solid chlorine is highly reactive and easily ignites. When burned, chlorine can pose serious health hazards to the respiratory system, eyes, and skin.

CubeSmart opens on 22nd Street

CubeSmart Self Storage is the latest new property to open on the west side of Route 440. The self-storage facility opened a 120,000-square-foot storage facility last week on East 22nd Street, bordering IMTT. The seven-story building was developed by NYC-based Storage Deluxe. The opening comes after the opening of Costco, QuickChek, and a retail strip mall off Route 440. The self-storage facility is the area’s second. The company’s competitor, Delta Self Storage, has a facility on the other side of the shopping center on New Hook Road.

According to SpareFoot, a company that tracks the self-storage industry, the U.S. has more than 50,000 self-storage facilities and roughly 2.3 billion square feet of space, enough to fill the Hoover Dam 26 times. The self-storage industry took in $32.7 billion in 2016, according to Bloomberg, a 7.7 percent annual growth since 2012.

NJ Transit emerges from budget battle unscathed

In January 2018, Gov. Phil Murphy ordered a full audit of NJ Transit. When it surfaced in October, the 166-page report called NJ Transit’s funding model “inadequate, uncertain, and unsustainable.”

Now, as lawmakers gear up to put the budget Murphy recently signed into motion, NJ Transit appears to be on stronger footing. The original 2020 budget set aside $25 million more for NJ Transit than it was allocated last year. The state legislature added $50 million on top of that, according to NJ Spotlight.

Murphy signs legislation empowering municipalities to create “land banks”

Gov. Phil Murphy visited a vacant, fenced-off strip mall in Newark’s West Ward last week to announce details about new legislation he has signed into law.

The legislation empowers towns and cities to recognize nonprofits, redevelopment entities, county improvement authorities, and municipal departments and agencies as “land banks” that can take over vacant properties quicker than the long-held patchwork system that left many downtown areas without a sense of forward momentum.

“Where some see blight, we see promise,” the governor said at the event. State lawmakers had proposed land bank legislation a decade ago, but it was vetoed twice by previous governors.

Land banks can acquire properties and act as the municipality’s agent to buy liens at a tax sale, carry out lien foreclosures, and take the properties. Properties without legal occupants for six months are considered vacant. Properties in need of rehabilitation, behind on property taxes, or threatening community safety are defined as abandoned.

A look at solitary confinement bill on Murphy’s desk

On June 20, lawmakers passed a bill that would require correctional facilities to restrict the use of solitary confinement under certain conditions. If signed by the governor, the bill would limit the amount of time an inmate could be placed in solitary to no more than 20 consecutive days, and no more than 30 days during any 60-day period. It would give incarcerated people the right to a hearing within 72 hours and a review after every 15-day period, with an independent hearing officer and a written explanation of the placement decision. The legislation would also exempt certain populations from solitary confinement, including inmates age 21 or younger or age 65 and older, among other criteria.

At first, the bill called for restricting solitary confinement to a maximum of 15 days. The limit was set due to research showing anything beyond 15 days could cause irreversible psychological damage, according to United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan Méndez. Despite the compromise, the bill is a symbolic win, especially for those who are still in solitary confinement.

State targets employers who misclassify workers

A Murphy administration-led task force released a major audit report last week. Of the one percent of businesses across New Jersey that it examined, it found that over 12,000 workers lost more than $462 million in under-reported wages and $14 million in benefits last year, such as contributions to disability and family leave, due to a practice called misclassification.

The strategy, which increased by 40 percent over the last decade, is used by employers who pay workers as independent contractors, rather than employees, to save on labor costs. “It’s a practice that this administration wants to see stopped,” said Murphy in a statement.

The report says, “This increase can be attributable to the ‘fissured workplace,’ where firms distribute activities through an extensive network of contracting, outsourcing, franchising, and ownership in an effort to limit legal exposure and increase profits; and is marked by declining wages, eroding benefits, inadequate health and safety conditions, and ever-widening income inequality.”

SCOREBOARD

Jim Hague, Sports Columnist
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SCOREBOARD

The Bayonne High School girls’ basketball team enjoyed a spectacular campaign a year ago, posting a 24-5 record, just one season after being a miserable 9-16.

It was a great turnaround year for veteran head coach James Turner, who remarkably is in his 13th season after Hudson County Hall of Fame coach Jeff Stabile retired.

But there was a sense of disappointment in the Bees’ hive. Even with the stellar record, Bayonne had nothing to show for their hoop prowess.

“There are no second place trophies,” said Turner, whose team lost to Hudson Catholic in the Hudson County Tournament finals and fell to Franklin Township in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group IV finale. “We don’t want a pat on the back, with people saying, ‘Nice job.’ No, that’s not what we want.”

Added Turner, “It burned in me for a long time. We had to play Hudson Catholic a third time last year. We beat them the first two times, but then we lost in the county finals. It’s hard to beat a good team three times in a season. I always believed that. And then in the state finals, I felt the girls were ready. We put together a good game plan. But coming off the bus, I knew that we weren’t ready and that they were going to take advantage of our weaknesses.”

The end result was a 32-point loss to Franklin Township. End of season, time to go home. The 24 wins were nice, but it basically got the Bees nothing.

“It is what it is,” Turner said.

Turner decided that he had to work a little harder. He went to coaching clinics galore and studied others’ mannerisms.

“We had to get a new style,” Turner said. “It keeps coaching fun. It made things interesting.”

But Turner felt that his team still didn’t get any love from opposing coaches, no attention from the statewide media, no admiration from other players. Yes, dare say, the Bees were getting no respect, no respect at all, becoming the regular Rodney Dangerfields of New Jersey girls’ high school basketball.

“Every year, Hudson County doesn’t get the respect from the rest of the state,” Turner said. “I don’t know why, but that’s the way it is every year. We don’t get the respect we deserve.”

So this year, Turner devised a much tougher independent schedule before the Bees faced their familiar Hudson County foes. Turner booked games against prep schools like Pingry and Gill St. Bernards, faced off with Newark Collegiate and went to the Len Sepanak Tournament at Westfield, knocking off Ridge and the host school in the process.

All totaled, the Bees won their first 10 games of the 2019-2020 season. They moved all the way up to No. 14 in the entire state. Respect was being restored.

“We had this stigma that the players in Bayonne and in Hudson County just weren’t that good,” Turner said. “We had to change that a little.”

And the change came from within. The Bees had to take care of their own business.

“We just needed to come to play every night,” Turner said. “Each girl had to do their job. We have a great group of girls. Each one brings a certain set of values. We have a good defense and force teams to take bad shots. We also do a great job of rebounding. The girls have bought into the defensive scheme. I think it helped having a veteran team as we do.”

Leading the veterans is senior forward Makoye Diawara. The 6-foot-1 Diawara earned Hudson Reporter All-Area First Team last year, when she averaged 17 points and 16 rebounds per game. Diawara, already committed to play at NCAA Division I Norfolk State next season, is rapidly approaching the 1,000th point and the 1,000th rebound of her brilliant career.

“She has turned up her game about two notches,” Turner said of Diawara. “She has aspirations to be the Player of the Year. She also wants to win every game and will do whatever she needs to do. She really has become a better player than last year. She’s worked on not picking up sloppy fouls. She’s really concerned about leaving her legacy and whether she will be remembered with the all-time greats here. She’s putting in the extra work and has excellent work ethic. I’m really impressed with what she’s done.”

Diawara is averaging 23.3 points and 18.8 rebounds per game this season. She had 19 points and 19 rebounds in a 57-37 win over Kearny last week. Diawara chose Norfolk State, because she wants to enter the medical field and the school offers a special five-year program.

The other super Bee is 5-foot-6 sophomore point guard Eniya Scott. The brilliant Scott also earned Reporter All-Area First Team honors last season as a freshman. She has picked up right where she left off, filling up the statistic sheet every night. Scott is averaging 17.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 9.4 assists, 5.5 steals and even one block per contest.

“One of the points of her game is finding people in transition,” Turner said of Scott. “She’s pushing the ball up the floor and she’s really strong, so she’s making a lot of plays.”

Scott is also an honor student and she’s giving back to Bayonne, coaching a Pee-Wee co-ed team.

“I think that’s helped her a lot,” Turner said of Scott. “I think she’s able to see the game in a different way.”

Having two All-Area First Team players is a gigantic advantage, especially in Hudson County. Diawara and Scott make a deadly 1-2 punch.

“I’m very blessed,” Turner said. “Eniya came in last year and she brought a star-studded skill package. Makoye once had no footwork, but we worked with her and the maturation process was remarkable. You really don’t get to see two kids of this talent, especially in a public school. We also have good players around them.”

Mary Grace Lavin is a 5-foot-8 senior who once played at St. Dominic Academy. But Lavin is fitting in nicely in Bayonne.

“She’s come in and she helps Makoye on the boards,” Turner said of Lavin, who is averaging 8.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. “She’s been a really good addition.”

Senior Jada Phillips is a 5-foot-9 forward.

“She is a solid outside shooter and brings defensive toughness every game,” Turner said. “She puts pressure on the other team’s wing players. We’re happy to have her.”

Jolyssa Moody is a 5-foot-7 sophomore who once starred in the Bayonne Recreation league.

“She has a nice outside shot and helps Eniya with her ball handling,” Turner said.

Freshman Christina Centeno is a 5-foot-6 guard who also can stick the outside shot with her left-handed form. Junior Logine Moustafa is a 5-foot-10 forward who was from Bayonne, moved to Chicago and then came back again.

Junior Tamia Phillips is a 5-foot-9 defensive stopper who proves that having two sisters are better than one. Junior Sam Galano is a 5-foot-10 forward who improves daily.

And the Bees have 11 wins in 12 games and a state ranking. Respect may come in the form of county and/or state championships.

“When you do things to your capability, then good things can happen,” Turner said. “I’d much rather lose now than later on.”

The Bees may not lose again all season. Things can happen.

Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com. You can also read Jim’s blog about the Mets’ mess at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com, follow Jim on Twitter @ogsmar and tune into the Hudson County Sports podcast on YouTube. This week’s guest is Hudson County’s all-time leading scorer boys’ and girls’ basketball in former St. Peter’s College standout Kim McDonough Huaranga, the current athletic director at Harrison High School.

SCOREBOARD

Jim Hague, Sports Columnist
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SCOREBOARD

St. Peter’s Prep won the boys’ basketball Hudson County Tournament last year for the first time in nine years, and although this year’s tournament will be more of a HCIAL get-together than the full county because of the pandemic shortened season, the Marauders have to be considered the front runners to win the tourney once again in 2021.

The reason for the Marauders being considered the preseason favorite has to be the Marauders’ brilliant backcourt of senior Ray Ford and junior Mark Armstrong.

Simply put, Ford and Armstrong together form the best backcourt in all of New Jersey. They are both NCAA Division I products. Ford has already signed his letter of intent to play for Prep grad and North Bergen native Greg Herenda at Fairleigh Dickinson.

Armstrong, a junior, has more scholarship offers than Kim Kardashian has wedding proposals. Armstrong can write his ticket to practically any college basketball program he wants. He has yet to make his decision official, but you can be rest assured that the college recruiters are all lined up with letters in hand, hoping and praying that the talented guard signs with his school.

“The great thing is that they like to play with each other,” said Prep head coach Alex Mirabel, who is entering his fifth season as the Marauders’ head coach. “They challenge each other on and off the court. They both rise to the occasion. They are two mentally tough kids. They finished off last season strong. When you have two leaders like that, it’s good for the team.”

Let’s start with Armstrong. The 6-foot-3 junior averaged a tick under 20 points per game last season as a sophomore, earning the Hudson County Player of the Year honors, leading the Marauders to a 25-4 record. A First Team All-Hudson County selection two straight years, Armstrong is also a 1,000-point scorer already in just two years of high school and he’s on track to become the school’s all-time leading scorer – and that’s nothing to sneeze at.

Armstrong is also on pace to become a 2,000-point scorer, which is something that was once totally unthinkable at Grand and Warren, even going back to the days when Mark’s father, Mark, Sr., was a standout player for the Marauders in the 1980s.

“He’s a great scorer and a great shooter,” Mirabel said. “The biggest thing with Mark is his leadership. We’re working on the mental aspect of the game and make sure he gets everyone to play at a high level. We also want Mark to be more vocal. We want Mark to understand what it takes to play at that high level. He’s pretty good with that concept. He’s focused and locked in, but obviously, the expectations for him are higher.”

Ford is also a 6-foot-3 guard who signed early with FDU, a total get for Herenda and the Knights.

“He’s happy with his selection,” Mirabel said of Ford’s choice of FDU. “I think he also has a bit of a chip on his shoulder because of it. He wants to keep things rolling. He has the same mindset as last year. He’s a catalyst on this team. He wants to make sure that he finishes strong. He’s pretty level-headed and wants to end on a good note.”

Ford averaged close to 14 points per game last season, earning Second Team All-County honors.

Senior Gavin O’Farrell is another key returnee. The 6-foot-6 forward is headed to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, one of the top scholastic institutions in the nation.

“Whatever you need him to do, he’ll do it,” Mirabel said. “He’s strong close to the basket, but has a nice little jump shot. He does all the little things you need.”

Junior Alif Bass is a 5-foot-10 point guard.

“He’s a scoring point guard,” Mirabel says of Bass. “He’s aggressive off the dribble. He’s a good pass-and-catch shooter. He’s a glue guy to Mark and Ray. He’s becoming like Will White.”

Mirabel is referring to White, last year’s third guard, who made a lot of key shots down the stretch last season. Mirabel is hopeful that Bass can fill White’s shoes.

Hassan Jackson is a 6-foot-4 forward who transferred to St. Peter’s from the now-closed Marist.

“He’s athletic,” Mirabel said of Jackson. “He has a big body. He finishes around the basket. He hustles a lot and brings a lot of leadership.”

Matt Kinzler is a 6-foot-6 sophomore with a ton of promise.

“He’s a good shooter with a nice touch,” Mirabel said. “He knows all the fundamentals and knows how to play the game.”

Football star Kenny Soares is a 6-foot-2 junior who will see a ton of action on the hardwood.

“He’s an athletic kid who is tough,” Mirabel said. “He’s similar to [2019 Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Year] Shayne Simon. He’s a good shooter who brings that football mentality.”

Soares earned All-Hudson Reporter honors as a tight end for the football team.

Jackson Tindall is a 6-foot-6 sophomore forward.

“He can put the ball on the floor and go to the basket,” Mirabel said. “He’s a good physical player.”

Zion Fowler is a 6-foot sophomore guard who is another football player.

“He might be the most athletic kid we have,” Mirabel said. “He jumps out of the gym and plays hard. He’s a Jersey City kid, so it means he’s tough.”

Tyler Lingham is a 6-foot-3 junior off-guard/small forward.

“He reminds me of Ray [Ford], just not as aggressive,” Mirabel said. “He’s a good driver who goes to the basket well. He’s always around the ball. He can shoot.”

Sophomore DeAndre Singson is a 5-foot-8 guard that Mirabel found while eating at a downtown Jersey City restaurant.

“He said he went to Prep, so we brought him on,” Mirabel said. “He’s quick. He’s a typical Jersey City guard. He knows how to play. He fits in with whatever we have going on. He’s going to be pretty good.”

The pandemic proved to be a major hurdle for the Marauders.

“We did all the Zoom calls and workouts,” Mirabel said. “We basically told them that it’s a challenge that should make you tougher. It’s a mental challenge for them. They can’t take anything for granted. It’s a quick turnaround. We only have a month and a half to play this season. We don’t have a lot of time to expand what we do. We have to be precise with everything. The good thing is that we’ll be playing all our games in the county. We all know what we can do and the tendencies we have.”

And Mirabel was asked if the Marauders are wearing the bulls’ eye, being the defending county champ.

“As far as the bulls’ eye goes, we always have that,” Mirabel said. “Everyone wants to beat St. Peter’s. I’ve noticed that. People are always coming after us, so we can never let down. We just have to continue to get better and rise to the challenge. We just have to be ready.”

The Marauders begin play Jan. 28 against Lincoln.

“We have a good back court and we have to hope that everything is going well with them,” Mirabel said of Armstrong and Ford. “But we’re excited to be playing. We hope to be playing our best basketball at the end of the year.”

Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com. You can also read Jim’s blog at www.jimhaguesports.blogspot.com, follow Jim on Twitter @ogsmar and listen to the Hudson County Sports Podcast, brought to you weekly by Stan’s Sports Center, 528 Washington Street in Hoboken, on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Listen to this week’s guest, namely former Snyder High School and Purdue University basketball standout Roy “Pooh” Hairston.

Jersey City Girls Triumph

Jim Hague, Sports Columnist
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Jersey City Girls Triumph

Athletic scholarships for Jersey City athletes—especially young women—are few and far between.

Contributing factors include athletic ability, academic achievement in high school, and getting recognized by major colleges. Jersey City has often fallen short on the first two counts, which leads to a shortfall on the third.

But in the past year, three athletes from Jersey City have signed National Letters of Intent with major NCAA Division I colleges, shattering the myth that Jersey City girls don’t get a chance to play Division I sports.

Jaylene Sierra, a recent Ferris High School grad, is off to Coppin State in Baltimore to play softball.

Jillian Ward, a Hudson Catholic grad, is headed to Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck also to play softball.

And basketball star Breyanna Frazier of Marist will attend the University of Central Florida when her playing days at Marist are done in 2019.

It’s rare to have one Jersey City girl receive a Division I scholarship. Having three in the same calendar year is almost as exceptional as Halley’s Comet.

Hurler and Hitter

Sierra is the first girl from Ferris ever to earn a softball scholarship and the first former Bulldog to receive a Division I scholarship in almost 20 years, when a handful of basketball players moved on to big-time schools.

Over her career, Sierra, a pitcher by trade, helped the Bulldogs win 53 games, including a berth in the Hudson County Tournament championship game for the very first time. She had 579 career strikeouts and posted a 2.77 career earned run average.

As a hitter, Sierra had a career batting average of .500 with 138 hits, 126 runs scored, 66 RBI, and 28 hits for extra bases.

A four-time honoree on the Hudson Reporter All-Area team, Sierra was twice named the Reporter’s Pitcher of the Year.

As a senior, Sierra batted an astounding .700 with 45 runs scored, 33 RBI, and 15 extra-base hits. She pitched to a 20-3 record with a 1.39 ERA and 207 strikeouts. All told, it’s a career that likely will never be duplicated in Ferris softball annals.

“I just wanted to play softball in college,” Sierra said. “Going Division I is great, but it wasn’t really a goal.”

Sierra got her start playing Little League baseball with her father, Ben, as her coach. But she soon recognized that baseball didn’t offer a future.

“I thought softball was just the same as baseball,” Sierra said. “It was just that the ball was bigger. When I got a little older, I began pitching softball and got good at it. I worked very hard every day to get where I am now”
Sierra works out daily with her mother, Jacqueline.

“We do a lot with weights, doing bench presses,” Sierra said. “I know college is going to be a lot more of what I do with my Mom.”

Eyes on the Prize

Ward got a taste of what it was like to become a Division I scholarship athlete when her older brother T.J. was recruited out of St. Peter’s Prep to first go to Temple University and finally the University of Hartford before heading on to professional baseball.

“I wouldn’t admit it, but I wanted to be like him,” Ward said. “I looked up to him 100 percent.”

Ward, who also played volleyball at Hudson Catholic, realized her future was in softball. But getting a scholarship was a big obstacle.

“I always wanted to get recruited to play softball,” Ward said. “It was a goal of mine since I was about 10 years old. I wanted to be the first girl from Hudson Catholic to get a scholarship.”
Ward saw the window of opportunity closing when there weren’t a lot of offers coming her way.

“There were times that I was a little worried,” Ward said. “But I wasn’t going to let my dream die. I really had to get that D-I scholarship. I wasn’t going to settle for anything less.”

Ward also had to overcome the obstacle of injuring her right shoulder during her junior year. “I knew I might not pitch again,” Ward said. “Sometimes it gets sore, but I just ignore that. I’m 100 percent healthy. I worked hard to make myself a better position player.”
Though Ward pitched as a senior, she was recruited as a second baseman at FDU.

As a senior, Ward batted .544 with five home runs and 32 RBI. Of her 36 hits, 19 went for extra bases. She also scored 39 runs.

For her career, Ward recorded 94 career hits and would have eclipsed the 100-hit plateau if not for the injury. She also had a stellar 22-6 pitching record over her career and helped to lead Hudson Catholic to the school’s first-ever Hudson County Tournament championship in 2017.

She also earned Hudson Reporter All-Area honors four times during her brilliant career.

Ward, who likes the idea of going to college close to home, will major in education at FDU with the hope of becoming a teacher and a coach. “Everything about this fits. I can’t wait to get it started. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Sunshine State

Frazier got recognized playing summer AAU basketball for the Books & Basketball Academy, an organization spearheaded by former Louisville All-American Pervis Ellison, who was the No. 1 draft pick overall in 1989 by the Sacramento Kings.

While playing for the Books & Basketball Academy, Frazier caught the eye of Central Florida coaches.

“I always kept the faith,” Frazier said. “I’m also very religious, so I prayed to God for the chance. I knew how much I wanted it. Getting recruited was a very humbling experience. I set goals for myself, and my goal was always to go D-I.”

Frazier is a three-time Hudson Reporter All-Area First Team honoree. She has already scored 1,205 career points, grabbed 458 career rebounds, registered 204 assists and collected 144 steals.

As a junior, Frazier averaged almost 18 points per game and reached double figures in every game the Lady Knights played last season. She also averaged 6.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.3 steals per game, leading the Knights to a spot in the Hudson County Tournament semifinals.

The recruiting process can be brutal.

“It can be overwhelming with all the phone calls and speaking to other coaches every day,” Frazier said. “I didn’t want to worry about all that. I just wanted to worry about getting better. I have to keep working.”

After Central Florida began the recruiting process, and she visited the campus in Orlando, it was a no-brainer.

“I knew I wanted to go there,” said Frazier, who was also considering offers from schools like Kentucky and Nebraska. “It was a beautiful campus, like nothing I’ve ever seen. The coaches made me feel at home. Before I even got there, the coaches said to me that this would be the best decision I ever made in my life, and they were right. I got there, and I didn’t want to go home.”

The UCF coaching staff was relentless.

“They were at every single one of my summer games,” Frazier said. “I just kept praying to God, and everything worked out. It’s really been a blessing.”

Frazier has a message for other young girls from Jersey City.

“I feel like anyone can do it from Jersey City,” Frazier said. “If you put your mind to it and work hard. I know not a lot of people get the chance, but I want to be the one that others look up to. I want to be inspiring. I feel very proud. Words can’t explain how grateful I am.”

Frazier also thanked her uncle, head coach Reggie Quinn.

“Reggie is the one who stayed on me,” Frazier said. “Also my AAU coaches helped me.”

Friends Face Off

Ward and Sierra, who were former teammates on a summer travel team, are scheduled to face each other during the 2019 season, when Coppin State visits FDU in April.

“We play Jay in Teaneck,” Ward said. “That’s going to be pretty cool. I think it’s great for Jersey City softball that both of us are playing D-I. No one looks at Jersey City for softball.”

“It’s almost surreal that this has happened to me,” Sierra said. “It felt funny moving out of my house and on to college. But I’m always ready for a challenge. I think I know what it takes, and I’m going to be prepared.”

“It’s hard to believe that nobody from Jersey City got a chance to go D-I except us three girls,” Sierra said. “It’s going to be a fun experience for all of us.”—JCM

BAYONNE BRIEFS

Rory Pasquariello, Staff Writer
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BAYONNE BRIEFS

Bayonne Hometown Fair set for June 8-9

The fifth annual Bayonne Hometown Fair will take place from June 8-9 on Broadway from 21st and 25th Streets and along 23rd Street from DelMonte Drive to Church Lane. On Saturday, the fair’s hours will be from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. Like every year, the fair will feature food, games, rides, vendors, and musical entertainment.

Amusements will include a 55-foot Ferris wheel, mechanical rides, and inflatable rides. Tickets must be purchased for mechanical rides, while inflatable rides, sponsored by the Bayonne Urban Enterprise Zone, will be free. The fair will also feature a skate demonstration, live art installations, Captain Bayonne, and a beer garden on 23rd Street hosted by Vic Tavern. A second performance space, the community stage, will be set up on Broadway by McDonald’s.

Various games will be set up to raise funds for local nonprofit organizations. For example, several nonprofit groups will use a dunk tank as a fundraiser. Interested organizations should contact the Bayonne Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) at (201) 858-6357 to find out whether any time slots are still available for the dunk tank. Judicke’s Bakery will host a donut-eating contest and will award the winner a trophy.

There is no rain date for the fair. In the event of rain, every effort will be made to continue or resume the fair on the scheduled days, as circumstances permit.

Farmers Market in full swing

May 28 was the official start of the Bayonne Farmers Market at Fitzpatrick Park on 27th Street and Avenue C. The market will be open on Tuesdays from 2 to 7 p.m. through November 26. The market will close only during periods of heavy rain.

Vendors include Alstede Farms; Doctor Pickle; The Empanada Lady; Gourmet Fruits and Nuts; Paolo’s Kitchen; Just Delicious Kettle Corn; Satori Unlimited (fresh baked bread and prepared foods); Sassy Sweets Kitchen (cookies, bars, scones,  jarred desserts, and coffee cake); Just Like Mom’s (prepared foods); Our Woods Maple Syrup; and Velobar CBD (protein Bars). More vendors are expected to be added as the season progresses.  New vendors will be profiled on Facebook and Instagram.

Produce vouchers issued by the State of New Jersey can be used to purchase fruits and vegetables at the Bayonne Farmers Market.

As was the case in previous years, the Bayonne Farmers Market offers a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. In 2019, Alstede Farms replaced Ort Farms as the vendor for the CSA program. CSA programs allow residents to have direct access to high-quality, fresh produce grown nearby by regional farmers. As a member of CSA, you’re purchasing a “share” of vegetables. Weekly, from now until the autumn, farmers will deliver that share of produce to the Bayonne Farmers Market for pick up. CSA members pay for an entire season of produce upfront. Early bulk payment enables the farmer to plan for the season, purchase new seed, make equipment repairs, and more. Registration is ongoing.

Bayonne man arrested for alleged animal cruelty

An investigation into allegations of animal cruelty led to the arrest of a Bayonne man last week, according to police.

The investigation came from a citizen report of a 23-year-old man allegedly holding down his dog by the neck, a Husky named Brinks, and “repeatedly punch[ing] him about the head and face area,” while in the area of 20th Street and Newark Bay on May 28. The man was said to have allegedly carried the dog away by the neck and collar, with the dog’s legs suspended in the air, while again punching him in the face. The man dismissed the observer, who documented the incident on a video and sent it to the police. The suspect was arrested and the dog is now under the care of the Liberty Humane Society.

Man allegedly tries selling stolen car back to woman he stole it from

A Jersey City man was charged with allegedly trying to sell a Bayonne woman her own stolen vehicle for $1,200, according to police.

On the morning of Saturday, May 25, Bayonne police responded to Lexington Avenue on a report of a dispute and found the 23-year-old woman and the man charged with fencing and receiving stolen property. The woman told police that her vehicle had been stolen in Hoboken on Friday night.

The woman said the man called her earlier on Saturday and told her he had her vehicle and wanted to meet. When he arrived, he allegedly asked for $1,200 in cash.  The woman then called police, the car was returned to her, and the man was taken to the Hudson County jail.

Murphy stands pat on higher marginal tax rate for the wealthy

At a news conference at Rowan University on community college funding last week, Gov. Phil Murphy offered remarks on the state budget. After the effort to legalize marijuana failed in the state legislature, which would have raised millions of dollars in revenue, Murphy is re-focusing his budgetary effort on those with the most money. Murphy’s proposed “millionaire’s tax” would raise income taxes of more than $1 million to 10.75 percent, up from the current rate of 8.97 percent. Many legislators, Hudson County Democrats included, disagreed with the governor last year and offered a counter proposal that would extend those rates only to people with incomes more than $5 million.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat, opposes the tax. He instead wants to “reform” healthcare and pensions for public workers, such as teachers and firefighters, by offering lower quality healthcare plans and cutting pensions. Meanwhile, Murphy said he would veto any budget that would not raise marginal tax rates on millionaires.

Three plans for Port Authority Bus Terminal overhaul

Long-awaited plans to overhaul the 70-year-old Port Authority Bus Terminal were advanced at a Port Authority board meeting last week. The plans, which are now public, will be up for environmental review and public comment. The number of daily passengers at the bus terminal is projected to rise by 30 percent by 2040, while the interstate agency has earmarked $3.5 billion to capital improvements in its most recent 10-year plan.

One of the plans calls for a total rebuild of the existing site, which would require the construction of a new underpass connecting Ninth Avenue and the Lincoln Tunnel, a new ramp to connect additional floors, eliminating entrances on West 40th and 41st streets, and creating a new entrance at Dyer Avenue.

The second plan, proposed in a 2017 report by the Regional Plan Association, which studies urban issues in the greater NY region, proposes using the basement of the nearby Jacob Javitz Center for intercity buses coming from places like Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. The plan would reserve bus terminal space for commuter buses, such as those coming from Hudson County.

The third plan would transfer both intercity and commuter buses to the Javitz Center, using additional space from a nearby pier. Permitting and construction would be more complicated under this plan. The Port Authority Bus Terminal would then become available for private development.

At this point, anything to reduce the headache of commuting into Manhattan would be a welcome change.

Feds order NJ to figure out how to fix special ed-disputes

This month, the federal Department of Education ordered New Jersey to quickly become compliant with the 45-day rule: that is, to devise a plan to efficiently process special education legal disputes. The state has until August to meet the new deadline. The Murphy administration says it has been working on one plan that would employ independent hearing officers to adjudicate cases, and another that would move proposed legislation to install more judges, according to NJ Spotlight.

Public officials who commit sex offenses will have pensions removed

The state Senate unanimously passed a bill recently that would remove pensions from elected officials and public workers who have been convicted of sexual assault, sexual contact, and lewdness. There’s one other offense that would force public officials to relinquish their pensions: corruption of public resources to the tune of $500,000 or more. The bill now heads to Gov. Murphy’s desk to be signed.

3 of 4 NJ hospitals perform unnecessary C-sections

C-section surgery can be a risky procedure. For the woman, complications can include deep vein thrombosis, infection, and even death; for newborns, there’s an increased risk of asthma and breast-feeding issues. Last Wednesday, the Leapfrog Group released a nationwide maternity care report. Most hospitals in New Jersey did not meet its 23.9 percent C-section cutoff safety guideline. Only 11 did. The hospital that reported the lowest rate of C-sections compared to vaginal births was Cooper University Hospital in Camden, at 12.8 percent. The highest on record was reported by Hudson Regional Hospital in Secaucus, at 55 percent.

NJ sues oxycontin makers for role in opioid crisis

Last week, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced he has filed suit against the founders of Purdue Pharma, which launched OxyContin in 1996 and later admitted in federal court that the company understated the opioid drug’s profound risk of addiction. In February, STAT and ProPublica obtained a sealed court document from a 2015 deposition that revealed the extent of the deception. HBO’s John Oliver also did a segment on the Sacklers, who own Purdue. The show created a video series of celebrities bringing the deposition to life.

In April, Hudson County filed a lawsuit in state Superior Court against the makers and distributors of synthetic opioids like Oxycontin and Subsys.

In 2016, the most recent year in which data is available, 127 people died of opioid overdoses in Hudson County, including 77 from heroin and 32 from fentanyl (which is much more potent), according to the New Jersey Office of the State Medical Examiner. The county rate of 1.87 overdose deaths per 1,000 persons was an increase of 18.7 percent from 2015.

Rules to cover NJ first responder 9/11 volunteers

Less than 1,000 first responders who served at the World Trade Center site on September 11, 2001, were New Jerseyans, a researcher told a state committee this year, according to NJ Spotlight. A bill that cleared the state Assembly last week would enable these brave volunteers to be covered by the state’s police and firefighters retirement plans under “accidental disability,” which is more generous “than an ordinary disability,” since most were technically volunteering when they were assisting at the WTC site. It has bipartisan support.

Four new measures could tighten state’s gun laws

Four bills are under consideration by the New Jersey legislature.

One bill would criminalize acting as a straw purchaser as well as selling, possessing, or transporting a gun without a federal serial number.

A second bill would expand the crimes to carjacking and making terroristic threats. If someone is found guilty of these crimes, it would also be illegal for them to buy a gun in the state.

A third bill would require renewal of firearm identification licenses every four years, with proof of graduation from a gun safety course every time.

A fourth bill would formalize the tracking of ammunition sales, with reports to the state police. Ammunition sellers would be responsible for confirming purchasers are 21 years old or over, the same legal age for handguns.

 

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Jim Hague, Sports Columnist
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ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

The date: June 1, 2019.

Alicia Campbell, at the time a junior at Snyder High School, was competing in the triple jump at the NJSIAA Group III state championships at Central Regional High School in Bayville.

Campbell was enjoying the best track and field season of her young life, coming off the heels of four Hudson County Track Coaches Association gold medals just two weeks prior at Secaucus High School, then earning Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week honors.

A week earlier, Campbell won the gold medal in the discus and silver medals in the long jump and triple jump at the North Jersey Section 2, Group III championships at Middletown North High School. So it was already a dream season before the Group championship meet.

Campbell remembers vividly what happened at Central Regional.

“It was my third jump of the prelims,” Campbell explained. “And I landed in the sand, in a divot of the sand. My left ankle went into the sand. I tried to get up, but I then felt this wave of pain.”

Snyder head coach Robert Arena also remembers the fateful jump.

“She had already qualified for the [NJSIAA] Meet of Champions,” Arena said. “She didn’t need it. She had qualified for the Meet of Champs in two events. An official radioed us and we got to her and she was already laughing. She wanted to jump through it.  She wanted to keep going.”

Campbell had managed to reach 37 feet, two inches, which was already good enough to receive the silver medal in Group III. But what most people didn’t realize is that the fateful leap would result in a broken fibula in Campbell’s ankle, a break that would require surgery to repair and immediately ended Campbell’s dream season.

“When I heard she broke her ankle, I immediately thought that I screwed up as a coach,” Arena said. “I thought I pushed this girl too much. I thought she would never be able to jump in the sand ever again.”

About a week after the jump, Campbell had surgery to repair the break. She was placed in a hard cast for a month, then a compression boot for another.

“It was really tough,” Campbell said. “I had qualified for the Meet of Champions in more than one event. I had the nationals as well that I lost.”

But Campbell was determined to make a full comeback.

“The day after I got the cast off, I went straight to physical therapy,” Campbell said. “I was able to do some basic exercises. I started to rotate my ankle a little, just trying to get some strength back. When I was in physical therapy, I was ready to do so much more, but I was told to take it easy.”

There was a sad thing that occurred while Campbell was rehabilitating the injury.

“All of the offers from colleges dried up,” Arena said. “They usually do.”

After rehabbing throughout the summer, Campbell was determined to play volleyball in the fall.

“That was against my will,” Arena said. “But she wanted to do so.”

“When school started [in September], I wasn’t cleared yet,” Campbell said. “It was only a couple of days, like Sept. 10 or so. I was able to play volleyball.”

Campbell had a fine volleyball season for the Tigers, earning All-Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic League honors as a middle hitter, but she rolled her right ankle in one of the last matches. Luckily, it was only a sprain, but she was still a little hobbled, now with two ankles to worry about.

When the indoor track season began in December, Arena had no idea what Campbell was going to be able to do.

“We started with Alicia throwing the shot put,” Arena said. “And she threw 35 feet right away. She was having a little trouble with the long jump.”

But Campbell was determined.

“It felt a little weird,” Campbell said. “I was so ready. I wasn’t focused on breaking any PRs [personal records]. I just had to get back to where I was. I was confident I could do that. I set high expectations of myself. I was a little frustrated for a while, but then I had to make sure that I realized that indoor track was for getting back to where I was.”

Campbell made sure that she got her surgically repaired ankle taped properly before she did anything. In fact, she became so accustomed to the preparations that she was able to tape the rehabbed ankle herself.

“Before I do anything, I make sure I get my ankle taped,” Campbell said. “And after every practice, I go to ice it.”

Still, there had to be some apprehension before Campbell could realize if she was really ready.

“I’m not going to lie, but I was a little worried,” Campbell said.

Last week, Campbell made sure everyone knew that she was back and ready for action.

At the Hudson County Track Coaches Association’s championships at the New York Armory, Campbell proved that she had indeed returned.

She won the gold medal in the shot put with a throw of 39 feet, six and ½ inches, finished third in the hurdles and fourth in the high jump.

But more importantly, Campbell went right back to the long jump pit and jumped an astounding 17 feet, 11 inches, which won the gold medal and placed her fourth currently in the state overall.

And for her efforts, Campbell has once again been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week.

Campbell knows she’s not all the way back. But she’s back enough to make her mark.

“I feel that there are going to be times when I’m still a little shaky,” Campbell said. “But I feel like I’m getting back up there.”

Arena was obviously pleased.

“I said, ‘Alright, we’re back in this,’” Arena said. “I think she’s ready. I went up to her and said, ‘Do you understand what just happened? You jumped up 18 spots in the state, from No. 22 to No. 4.’ She also qualified for the indoor nationals in the shot put. I mean, when she broke the ankle and was lying in the hospital bed, I told her that she could become the best comeback athlete ever or just let it all go. And you saw what she did.”

Arena added, “Not many athletes can come back from such a bad break like the one she had. She had six screws and six pins put in. I don’t remember anyone having such a bad break and coming back. Usually, they don’t come back. You don’t expect that from a 17-year-old girl. You see that maybe in the movies. It’s like when Rocky was down and out and he was getting beat up by Clubber Lang and he came back. She wants to be the best comeback athlete ever. She’s something else.”

More importantly, the colleges have returned. Campbell has multiple NCAA Division I scholarship offers.

“I’m real close to making a decision,” Campbell said. “I was a little skeptical, but that’s what pushed me harder. Every athlete has those moments of doubt, but you have to overcome those. The only thing that really matters is the comeback. There are better things to come.”

Arena said that there are two different sides to Campbell.

“There’s the one side where she’s very respectful, very polite and courteous,” Arena said. “And then there’s the other side, where she becomes the Hulk. She has this ‘let’s go’ mechanism and is ready to go. It’s like she has tunnel vision. She gets on that line and she’s there to win. She’s an animal.”

The polite Campbell said that she was happy to be back.

“I still know I can do better,” Campbell said. “But it’s real good to be back. I’m grateful for it. I thank my trainer in school, my coach, my mother [Alexandra Jerez, herself a former Reporter Athlete of the Week], my teammates, they all pushed me. This is just the start.” – Jim Hague

Jim Hague can be reached via e-mail at OGSMAR@aol.com

Their boots were made for marching

Marilyn Baer, Staff Writer
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Their boots were made for marching

Since taking the office of president on Friday, Jan. 20, Donald Trump has signed 12 executive orders, including one that weakens the reach of the Affordable Care Act and one that says federal dollars may not go to organizations that provide abortion services (including some that provide contraception and counseling). Also during his first week, he has said he’d investigate what he believes to be up to 5 million illegal votes in his election and has said he’ll build a wall on the border with Mexico.
Dozens of women and a handful of men from Hoboken, Jersey City, and other local towns took 14 buses from Hudson County to Washington, D.C. on Saturday, Jan. 21 to march for women’s rights and for civil rights for disadvantaged groups. Similar protests were held in New York, Toronto, and London.
Hoisting signs such as “Nasty woman in training,” “These boobs were made for marching,” “My body my choice,” “Women’s rights are human rights,” “Dump Trump,” “Don’t tread on me,” “Men of quality do not fear equality,” and “Keep your tiny hands off my rights,” the women and men spent six hours in the nation’s capital before heading home.
The protest was said to be the largest in U.S. history.
“I hope today is the beginning of a movement to keep the next four years moving forward and not allow this administration to pull us back,” said Hoboken resident Liz Cohen on one of the buses, as the group rolled down to D.C. Participants had to be at the buses by 4:30 a.m.
Cohen, one of the trip’s organizers, said 206 local people made the trip to D.C. after months of planning. Only six dropped out.
“Some people were ill, others decided to attend the march in New York City instead, and we had one family who decided not to go because of the violence in D.C. the day of the inauguration, which is understandable,” said Cohen.

The march

Eileen Vanderhaden, 74, who has lived in Hoboken for 24 years, was one of the marchers. “I’m no stranger to activism,” she said. “I marched for women’s rights in the ’90s and against the Vietnam and Iraq wars. But this march for some reason, seeing all those women and men with a singular purpose, was so thrilling for me I had a lump in my throat the whole day.”
_____________
“I remember at one point my boss called me in and said, ‘I don’t know why they allow women to be put into important roles.’ ” – Eileen Vanderhaden, 74
____________
Vanderhaden said she has experienced workplace discrimination in the past because of her gender, when she worked in data security.
“I remember at one point my boss called me in and said, ‘I don’t know why they allow women to be put into important roles,’ ” she said. “ ‘All they really want is enough money to buy a good pretty pocketbook. Women do not belong in the workplace. They belong home with their children.’ I was more than happy to testify against him a few years later when he was being sued by a former Hispanic employee.”
Vanderhaden said she was overwhelmed by the love and support of the protestors, even when people who were against the march made their way through the crowd. Those people carried signs against abortion and homosexual rights.
“No one was mean,” she said. “Everyone was kind when those men with the Jesus signs came through. All people did was part and begin chanting, ‘Love trumps hate’.”
Jersey City resident Harriet Taub, 63, said, “There was never a moment from the time I heard about the march that I didn’t want to be a part of it. The tone and tenor of our government is so divisive and mean-spirited that I think it’s important to rally around and be together and say we won’t stand for this.”
Taub said she had marched in D.C for women’s reproductive rights in the 1990s with her then 7-year-old daughter, who was now marching in Toronto with her husband.
She said protesting goes hand in hand with democracy.
“It’s important for anyone and everyone to get together and make a statement and let people know protesting is still a right,” Taub said. “When you take away those rights democracy goes out the window. We have a right to stand together and say, ‘We are watching you and you can’t ignore us.’ I’m hopeful that this march will show the administration and those in political power that we will not accept business as usual, and that they can’t give way to the stroke of a pen and get rid of all the progress this country has made.”
Taub noted, “I have family in Melbourne, Australia, friends marching in Boston, and it’s exciting to see it’s not a localized thing or polarized. Its liberals and conservatives, it’s West Coast and East Coast.”
Thomas Egan, 58, a former Hoboken resident and current Jersey City resident for the past 20 years, felt the march’s positive spirit and enjoyed the creative signs and involvement. He was upset by the election results.
“I felt it would be a historic event if enough people came, and it would become a marker in history,” he said. “Yeah, you could say I was surprised by the election. It was a nightmare. We were looking at the polls thinking it was going to be all right. Then we watched it all fall apart.”
“I went from the despair and depression after the election to absolute joy and a renewal of energy to keep going,” said Cohen after the march. “I remember how horrible I felt. I was literally grieving, thinking the world had come to an end, and now to have been here and think about this today; what a difference. I feel so empowered.”
Hoboken resident Barbara Gambach Weinstein said she thought the march included people from all backgrounds and people with different agendas and some took inspiration from the suffragettes.
“I like the comprehensive nature of the march,” said Weinstein. “This is just the beginning. This is just one part of the strategy. I wore white today because this is what the suffragettes wore to fight and protest before they finally got women the right to vote. They used all the techniques available to them.”
She said, “They marched, they protested, organized, and then went to legislation. This march includes not only women’s rights but movements like Black Lives Matter and women fighting for immigration.”
Jackie Santos, a 26-year-old elementary school teacher from Jersey City, said this was her first march in D.C. She chose to go to D.C. instead of New York. “This is right where all the big decisions are made. Coming here felt more exciting and powerful.”
“There was a lot of positivity and good energy,” she said. “I was a little nervous. Before I came, people were telling me to be careful because it might be dangerous, but it wasn’t at all.”
Santos said she was proud to have been one of the over 1 million people who attended and was comforted by the fact that she wasn’t alone.
The daughter of Hoboken’s late favorite son, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, made it clear on Twitter which side she was on. On Jan. 24 she tweeted “I’ve never been so scared but I will stand up and fight till the end. #Resistance” with an image of an American flag.

Mixed feelings from Republicans

Hudson County Republican Party Chairman Jose Arango did not attend the march, but he said he had neighbors, friends, and employees who did.
“My opinion is, it’s a beautiful thing,” he said. “It’s democracy. I congratulate all the women who marched and expressed their concerns. I give a lot of credit to women who started this movement.”
Arango said he found the timing of the march a little early.
“Donald Trump was sworn in to office on Friday and they were already marching the next day before he even made a decision or took a next step,” said Arango.
Arango also believed Hollywood stars like Madonna should have been more careful in their speeches at the marches, and that some celebrities were “irresponsible.”
“I say you have a constitutional right to express yourself freely without saying you are going to blow up the White House,” said Arango, referring to Madonna’s controversial comments, which were actually: “Yes, I’m angry. Yes, I am outraged. Yes, I have thought an awful lot of blowing up the White House, but I know that this won’t change anything. We cannot fall into despair.”
He added, “She has a lot of youth followers. I think we should have responsible freedom of expression. They criticize Donald Trump for irresponsible speeches, and he has made some mistakes, I agree, but one wrong doesn’t trump another.”
Arango added that speeches like Madonna’s “gave ammunition to our enemies with the way they talk. If I was an enemy of our country I would put Madonna and all these people on a statue. They would be my idol.”

How it began

Cohen decided to get involved after seeing the results of the election in November.
“I was so upset that day,” said Cohen. “I was in mourning literally. I was fully prepared to celebrate the first female president and then it all fell apart.”
Then she heard of the 1 Million Women March, the original title of the Women’s March, and heard of a local meeting of New Jersey Awakens the following week and called the organizer.
“I called her and said I wanted to try and get a bus to go and she said she’d put me on the agenda, and the rest was history.”
Barbara Gross, one of Cohen’s partner organizers, said organizing a project of this magnitude wasn’t easy. There were constant changes, including last-minute bus parking fees, rally point changes, and the weather.
The group paid for the trip using donations and a $50 fee from each participant.
Local businesses and residents donated sunscreen and hand warmers and sponsored seats on the bus for those who would not be able to afford to go otherwise.

What’s next?

Many of the participants in the march felt invigorated after attending. But what is next for the movement?
Several suggested calling their state and local representatives about issues that are important to them. Emailing and on-line petitions don’t make as much of an impact, officials have said.
Scientists around the country have been organizing a march for later this year after Trump supporters have made comments trying to discredit fears of climate change.
Taub said, “Yes, everyone should call their state representatives, or write to them, but we should also call other states’ representatives and talk to them, or research the various national committees to see who serves on them and contact those people as well.”
Taub also called for more education on the fight for gender equality.
“I feel there is an educational gap between women of my generation and millennials or younger,” said Taub. “What you don’t realize is how hard it was to get here. People of your generation grew up with these freedoms and don’t know what it’s like not to have them.”
Among more recent changes in the U.S., the Affordable Care Act ensures that people have health insurance through age 25. Before that, young people often lost their insurance a year or two after college graduation.
Gross said she collected dozens of signs, pins, letters, and emails about the march and donated them to the Hoboken Historical Museum for its archives.
Cohen said she has started contacting her representatives and plans on doing so every Tuesday as part of Take Action Tuesday. She also has begun to take some online tutorials on how to be an effective activist and get others involved.
The group is also planning to meet with other D.C. trip organizers in the area to discuss the next steps.

Woman targeted

Meanwhile, women in other parts of the country have faced blowback for speaking out.
One woman in Mississippi responded on Facebook to some of her state senator, Chris McDaniels’, remarks about the march such as, “So a group of unhappy liberal women march on Washington D.C. We shouldn’t be surprised; almost all liberal women are unhappy. Perhaps there’s a correlation… If they can afford all those piercings, tattoos, body paintings, signs, and plane tickets, then why do they want us to pay for their birth control?” The woman commented that he should be representing everyone, then called him a “f—wit” and asked her friends to call his office and let their voices be heard. In response, he reportedly posted her image and Facebook information, stating “She obviously believes you should be paying for her birth control. Why not let her know how you feel?” She told a reporter that she was harassed in response.

Marilyn Baer can be reached at marilynb@hudsonreporter.com.

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