The Place for Jersey City News
Aleyna Kilic Jersey City
Rania Dadlani

McNair Junior Organizes Local Protest on Oct. 3 Against Texas Abortion Law

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Aleyna Kilic, a junior at Jersey City’s McNair Academic High School, will be leading a rally Sunday, Oct. 3 at city hall to protest the recent passage of the Texas Heartbeat Act, which went into effect Sept. 1. Inspired by the Women’s March, which is sponsoring rallies nationwide on Saturday, Oct. 2, the Jersey City event will take place one day before the Supreme Court reconvenes October 4.

“We must demonstrate to the Supreme Court that we will fight back and will continue to protest, rally, and march throughout all fifty states in order to protect our choice,” Kilic said, referring to Roe v. Wade. “As long as the message gets across to one person, that’s one life that you’ll change forever.”

Senate Bill 8 (SB8), often known as the “heartbeat bill,” is one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the United States. Signed into law on May 19, 2021, the bill outlaws abortion in Texas after six weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape, sexual abuse, incest, or fetal anomaly diagnosis. The law’s criminal penalties apply to anybody who performs or induces a prohibited abortion, anyone who “knowingly” “aides or abets” the performance or inducement of a prohibited abortion, and even anyone who “intends” to conduct or help in the performance or inducement of a prohibited abortion. Furthermore, rather than relying on the executive branch of the state to enforce the law, as is the norm in Texas and elsewhere, the state has deputized ordinary citizens to serve as bounty hunters authorized to recover at least $10,000 per claim.

The rally will feature a variety of speakers, including McNair students Zoe Van Gelder, Tara Pathak, Madison O’Neill, Al Macaraeg, and Gwendolyn Chung and Jersey City Municipal Council President Joyce Watterman.

Councilman-at-large Daniel Rivera helped Kilic plan the protest. “For an event to be spearheaded by young women in high school, it is important to engage into that mindset as an advocate or to show support and solidarity.”

Mayor Steven Fulop Jersey City
Aaron Morrill

Mayor Calls Refund of Property Tax Overcharge a “Tax Reduction”

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As the saying goes, when life delivers you lemons, make lemonade.

In a Facebook post this morning, Mayor Fulop announced some “good news” for taxpayers.  As part of the administration’s ongoing efforts to “lower taxes & of course our public facing city services,” the city would be giving the average homeowner an “$88 further reduction in their taxes” on their fourth quarter property tax bill.

In fact, some residents are arguing that the mayor should have called it what it is, a tax refund. In the post, the mayor, it seems, described a refund made necessary by an overcharge on third quarter property tax bills as a tax cut. Said Maria Ross in response to the mayor’s post, “what a whopper of a story from Fulop!”

The overcharge was first picked up by John Ross on nextdoor.com.

“Hey fellow JC home owners, so no new taxes if you look top right of your recent RE tax bill you will see you are being charged a art & culture Tax. While this was being pushed for I asked repeatedly How much! All of city hall and prominent members of the art community all said don’t worry it will be in line with the open space tax, they would only offer reassurance without facts. Looking at my tax bill I see I’m paying $12 for open space & $250 for Art Tax Even in simple math not Comparable.”

Robinson Holloway, one of the architects of the Arts Trust Fund, then confirmed Ross’s suspicion. “It looks like there was a mistake in the Arts Tax – that they assessed the maximum possible amount, 2 pennies, instead of the 1/4 penny amount that the City Council approved earlier this year. The City is aware and looking into it. So your actual Arts & Culture tax should be what was promised – about $25/year for property worth $1million.”

In November of last year, 64% of Jersey City residents voted in favor of the creation of the Arts Trust Fund. Similar to the Open Space Trust Fund, money for the fund would was to come from a new tax on property owners. In March, the city council agreed upon a tax assessment of a quarter of a cent per $100 of assessed value, approximately one eighth the amount charged on the third quarter property tax bills. That assessment was to raise approximately $1 million to support local artists and arts education.

This is the second time in three months that the administration was compelled to undo a charge to Jersey City residents. In July, the mayor was forced to rescind the unpopular “water tax.”

 

 

 

Vaccination
Jersey City Times Staff

Hudson County Announces Vaccine Distribution Center Will Begin Distributing Pfizer Booster Shots  

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Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise has announced that anyone eligible to receive a booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine will be able to do so at the Hudson County Vaccine Distribution Center starting Monday, free of charge with no appointment necessary.

“We are fully prepared to begin administering booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine at the Hudson County Vaccine Distribution Center and we encourage anyone who is eligible to get their vaccine today and do their part to keep our communities safe,” said County Executive Tom DeGise. “Just as we have been since our vaccine program began late last year, our team is working cooperatively with municipal health officers, state and federal government and all other stakeholders to ensure an efficient, equitable distribution of vaccines.”

The CDC announced new guidance with regard to booster shots, recommending that anyone who got their first two Pfizer vaccines, and meets the specified criteria, get a booster dose. The CDC recommends booster doses for anyone 65 and over, and people 50-64 with underlying medical conditions. Those 18-49 with underlying medical conditions and anyone who is at increased risk for transmission, including healthcare workers, may also receive a booster dose.

This guidance does not apply to those who received Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines and additional information will be released regarding those varieties when it becomes available.

Vaccines are available for free at the Hudson County Vaccine Distribution Center in Kearny with no appointment necessary. More information about the County Distribution Center’s hours is available at their website.

In addition to booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine, Hudson County is also offering third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine to immunocompromised people as per guidance from the CDC, and encourages anyone who is eligible to get their third dose at the County Vaccine Distribution Center. The county’s Vaccine Task Force is preparing to offer third doses to the general public at the direction of the State of New Jersey once the additional doses receive FDA approval.

The Hudson County Vaccine Distribution Center is located at the USS Juneau Center at 110 Hackensack in Kearny.

I May Bend But I Will Not Break 1411
Tris McCall

“Body Language” at Hamilton Square Condominiums

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How much torsion can the human body take?  More than we thought, perhaps. These last two brutal years have tested the limits of our emotional and physical strength and flexibility. If you’re feeling stretched, and bent out of shape, and buffeted by fate — and who isn’t? — you might sympathize with the spindly characters who populate the canvases of “Body Language,” which is now on view in the first floor gallery of the Hamilton Square Condominiums (232 Pavonia Avenue). There, an artist going by the heady name of Occipital has mounted a show that feels simultaneously timeless and very much of the moment: an examination of the human form under stress, bending like a bough in a gale.

Occipital’s figures don’t have faces.  Though they strongly suggest female identity, they don’t exactly possess gendered characteristics, either.  They don’t even have context: the white ones are painted on solid black backgrounds, and the black ones are painted on bright white. (One canvas displays a black-outlined figure in white on a white background, but that’s about as far from her own formula as the artist goes). Occipital’s best images are studies of the expressive power of human posture — body position as a kind of poetry, stark and plain, pared-back, bluntly eloquent.

These postures suggest acquiescence to the reality of mighty forces. In a series of acrylic paintings on canvas titled “I Will Bend But I Will Not Break,” Occipital’s figures are stretched and twisted, their thin arms crossed like wheat-stalks in the wind, their torsos folded back at angles that would concern an orthopedist, their thin oval heads attached to shoulders by little wisps of neck. Slight variations in tone and texture in their black-and-white backgrounds suggest movement, and broad and visible brushstrokes connote troubled emotional weather. Yet no matter how contorted the bodies get, Occipital has managed to preserve these characters’ sense of poise. These are portraits of dignity amidst difficulty, and if you can’t identify with them at all, I reckon you missed 2020-2021.

It all may seem a little too familiar, though. Occipital’s figures have many antecedents in the battery of popular images — most notably Giacometti, whose sculpted walkers with blank faces and elongated, twiglike limbs speak so passionately about determination amidst the unbearable pressures of modern life. Giacometti drew inspiration from African and Oceanic art, and it’s likely that Occipital does, too. But her work may also remind you of vintage American fashion illustrations and clothing designers’ sketches: faceless female bodies in silhouette, arms and legs like rails, heads tilted, shoulders provocatively angled, their bearings at once alluring and vulnerable.

Occipital’s figures aren’t explicitly eroticized; they aren’t explicitly anything at all.  Yet when two or more of her characters share a frame, the ambiguity is often multiplied — and this leads to the most intriguing work in the “Body Language” show. What, for instance, are the two figures, conjoined at the hand, doing in “Perspective 3672”?  One stands, poised and receptive, while the other, with a shoulder pitched forward and a knee bent, leans in. It could be the prelude to a kiss, it could be an argument, it could be an act of teaching or a solicitation to dance. What’s unmissable is the sense of tenderness that radiates from the acrylic: the intimacy of two humans in a tight space, arranging their bodies in a manner that complements their partner.

This wordless conversation becomes a silent chorus on “Perspective 2448 (a-e)”, a five-panel painting that finds room for fifty of Occipital’s figures in various states of motion.  Without showing any faces, the artist captures profound interpersonal ambivalence — people tugged in inviting directions by the magnetic fields generated by other bodies.

So successful is Occipital at communicating complicated feelings through proxemics alone that you might wonder why she bothers to include written words in some of her less successful paintings. Her “During Q” series, mostly done in gouache, write emotional states directly into the pictures: “thankful,” “confused,” “wild,” etcetera. Coming from a woman who understands the force of body language, these captions feel redundant. The crossed arms, antenna-thin legs, and angled heads of her characters have already had their say — and they’ve said plenty.

 

“Body Language” will be on view in the Hamilton Square Condominium lobby until December 27, 2021.  Occipital will be present during Jersey City Art & Studio Tour dates and hours: Friday, Oct. 1 from 4-6 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 2 from 12-4 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 3 from 12-4 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NJCU Jersey City
Ron Leir

NJCU Faculty Look to Topple President

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On the surface, things appear to be humming along at New Jersey City University: Students and teachers are back in class after a year of remote learning; an ambitious expansion featuring a state-of-the-art performing arts center is proceeding apace.

But simmering below is a cauldron of dissatisfaction that could come to a boil as legions of faculty are collecting signatures to have the university’s senate support a resolution of no confidence in the school’s president, a resolution that could be voted on as early as Monday, Sept. 27.

NJCU enrolls approximately 6,000 undergraduates who pay in-state tuition and fees of $13,168 and out-of-state costs of $23,449. The school boasts 1,500 graduate students.

The resolution takes President Sue Henderson to task for questionable fiscal management that, it says, has contributed to a nearly $170 million decline in the school’s net financial position over a seven-year period. (It also says that decreased state funding, declining student enrollment, and employee pension adjustments have contributed to its financial weakening).

The decline, documented on the school’s website, also shows dramatic losses in the school’s net income, from $101.8 million in 2013, when Henderson first took office, to a loss of 67.4 million in 2020.

Accompanying that slide, the president’s detractors note, is a downgrading of the school’s bond rating to BBB, the lowest rating an “investment grade” can have.

According to Investopedia.com, such a rating indicates that the bond issuer “has an adequate capacity to meet its obligations, but it can be subject to adverse economic conditions and changes in financial circumstances.”

During that same seven-year downward spiral, the petition says, NJCU proceeded on an ambitious building, expansion program and real estate investment program in Jersey City and in Monmouth County, all with questionable fiscal returns. It also says NJCU undertook efforts to set up academic programs in Egypt and China without consulting the university senate.

At the same time, the petition says, NJCU created a “top-heavy and expensive” staff, increasing the number of administrators from 11 to 16 with a $1 million hike in additional pay.

It further stipulates that NJCU’s hiring a consultant for $350,000 to evaluate only the academic part of campus finances and not the school’s operations in full will likely result in “deep cuts into the academic side.” This, it says, will not solve the school’s fiscal dilemma.

An expansion program involving development of luxury apartments that few NJCU students can afford while increasing tuition is contrary to the university’s mission to foster a climate for “the improvement of the educational, intellectual, cultural, socioeconomic and physical environment of the surrounding urban region and beyond,” the petition says.

In conclusion, the petition says that the university senate “will welcome a new president who embraces shared governance in deed as well as in word, transparency, and mutual trust and respect.”

Marc Wesson Jersey City
Elizabeth Morrill

Snazzy New Turf Coming to Van Vorst, Hamilton Park Dog Runs

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But dog owners will have to shampoo the poo

 

After fielding complaints for years, Jersey City is finally renovating the dog runs in Hamilton and Van Vorst Parks this fall in order to eliminate the formation of huge puddles after rain. Given the original composition of the runs and the fact that regularly occurring puddles of rainwater were not drained as needed, veritable mini-lakes formed on them that took days to evaporate. The puddles were rife with dog waste, which occasionally sickened some dogs. To make matters worse, the exercise outlets, used by hundreds within each community, were rendered unusable for days at a time.

But all that is about to change according to Marc Wesson, founder of Friends of Van Vorst Park and the park’s unofficial visionary and chief caretaker for 21 years.

“We’ve had issues with the dog run draining for years and the city came up with some money to be able to renovate the surface, which will be now turf instead of crushed granite. It’ll have proper drainage, new bench[es] … they’re removing the gazebo to give more running area for the dogs, new water, drinking fountains, trash cans, hose bibs so you can wash down the new surface,” he explained.

But all this spiffy stuff will come at a price. Users will be expected to flush the spot where Spot did his (or her or their) business to prevent remnants of waste from accumulating and sickening any pet who licked or nibbled the blades. City workers, too, will be required to hose down the areas daily and purify them with disinfectant every few months.

While this will require getting used to, Wesson said he and neighborhood resident Christina Stanfield have already started spreading the word. Once the renovation is complete, the runs will also feature signage with maintenance instructions.

Similar changes are coming to Hamilton Park. According to Hamilton Park Neighborhood Association Trustee Diane Atwell, each of Hamilton Park’s two dogs runs will be getting two new benches (one to replace an existing bench), “real boulders” and agility apparatus.

Atwell was part of a group that circulated a petition in the community to ascertain which amenities to add. Be on the lookout for those changes to appear along with the new turf once work in Van Vorst Park is complete.

Andrea Crowley-Hughes

School Board Candidate Forum Goes Ahead without “Change for Children” Slate

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Only four of nine school board candidates showed up for Tuesday night’s forum sponsored by the Van Vorst Park Association (VVPA).  Notably absent were all three candidates on the Change for Children slate who said they never received invitations despite VVPA claims to the contrary.

The forum went ahead as planned with Education Matters candidates Younass Mohamed Barkouch, Natalia Ioffe and Paula Jones Watson and independent candidate Afaf Muhammad, opining on school finance matters, special education issues, bullying, and other concerns.

Younass Mohamed Barkouch

Younass Mohamed Barkouch

Muhammad introduced herself as a lifelong resident of Jersey City who is serving her third term as a committee person for the Jersey City Democratic Organization in Ward B, District 8. She is also a mental health first aid instructor.

“My focus as trustee will be to support students, parents and teachers, administrators, and staff to reform Jersey City schools to be a place where education is priority by addressing issues that have been neglected,” Muhammad said. 

Jones Watson, also a lifelong resident of the city and a Hudson County Community College instructor, said she has taught at the elementary and high school levels in the Jersey City Public Schools, including as head teacher at Lincoln High School and as an “inclusion specialist.” 

Afaf Muhammad

Afaf Muhammad

“One of my main priorities when hopefully becoming a board member is to embellish some of the things that are going on in special ed classes,” Jones Watson said.

Natalia Ioffe, a parent volunteer in the district, said that over the past seven years she has “had the opportunity to develop multiple successful models,” such as a “foundation, meaning a nonprofit arm for public schools” that would provide financial support in addition to tax revenue. 

Barkouch is an alumnus of McNair Academic High School and graduate of Rutgers University’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and School of Arts and Sciences. He said he would focus on college readiness. Despite McNair’s high college readiness score, Barkouch believes improvements can be made by exposing students to career opportunities and internships.

Natalia Ioffe

Natalia Ioffe

“If I were elected, the goal would be to introduce my own mentorship initiative to provide academic support as well as professional development,” he said.

Ioffe said she would equip and engage parent councils across the city and create a unified support system for these groups. She noted there is inequity in the way services are distributed to parent councils. 

As part of her intended focus on special education, Jones Watson said she would work on expanding vocational programs for students with a range of learning challenges. 

Bullying is a personal concern for Muhammad, who said her daughter was bullied in school and that “there are children on the brink of suicide” in the district. 

Upon hearing about the missed forum, Change for Children communication director, Ivette Almeida, said “[Neither] the Change for Children campaign office, nor any of our candidates, received an invitation by the Van Vorst Park Association to participate in the forum. We have always participated in all previous meetings and would have welcomed the opportunity to speak with the Van Vorst Park Association community.” VVPA President Benjamin Bernouy said that emails had been sent to each candidate.

Paula Jones Watson

Paula Jones Watson

Rebecca Missel of the Van Vorst Park Association reminded voters that Board of Education candidates will be listed on the back of their ballots for the Nov. 2 general election. 

New Jersey voters can vote by mail, in person, or leave their ballots in secure drop boxes for the upcoming election. There will also be early voting from Saturday, Oct. 23 through Sunday, Oct. 31 from at least 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from at least 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

Oct. 12 is the deadline to register to vote in the election.

 

Jersey City Municipal Council
Jersey City Times Staff

Council Votes Down Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance Amid Allegations of Hissy Fits and Election Year Politicking

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At last night’s meeting, the City Council rejected Councilperson-at-large Lavarro’s inclusionary zoning ordinance 6–3, approved an ad hoc committee to address Suez Water’s future handling of storms, and heard complaints of shoddy developers defrauding homeowners.

Council at Odds Over Fair Housing Ordinance

 

Councilperson-at-large Lavarro’s inclusionary zoning ordinance was voted down 6–3, with Lavarro, Solomon, and Prinz-Arey voting yes. This is the latest chapter in an ongoing dispute amongst the City Council over how to create an inclusionary zoning ordinance for Jersey City.

The previous ordinance of 2019, which Lavarro and Solomon voted against, was successfully challenged in court this August by the Fair Share Housing Center for because it had not been referred to the city’s planning board.

For the last few weeks, Fair Share Housing has been working with the planning board and with some members of the city council on a revised ordinance.

Lavarro’s proposed ordinance, would have required developers to designate 20% percent of their units as affordable housing, without the controversial “community benefits” outs afforded by the prior law.

Council members who voted down Lavarro’s ordinance cited concerns about his work being done in parallel with Fair Share Housing.

Lavarro contends that his ordinance meets the standards of the court and is the best way to move forward.

Councilwoman Ridley implied there was no need for Councilman’s Lavarro’s ordinance.

“Why are we asking the planning board to do double or triple work? … Lavarro has his version. Solomon has been talking about one. I don’t know where we are with moving forward on one resolution that we can all support, “ she said.

After accusing Lavarro of having thrown a “hissy fit” on social media the previous night, Ridley and Lavarro traded barbs.

“Lavarro, you’ve been on the council the longest, at least 10 years, and in that time, there’s been little affordable housing … You’ve voted for multiple abatements … you asked us to look at Fair Share Housing, and now that they’re at the table, you’re going ahead of them to try and push your agenda … Councilman [Lavarro], don’t tell lies about me … I won’t tell the truth about you.”

Lavarro responded, “Let’s start with some truth. The reality is that this ordinance is stronger than the one that was struck down by the courts. My ordinance calls for 20 percent across the board city wide. Reality is, there is an election and people are trying to play politics with it. I want to move this process forward. We tried to have a process in 2019. We established a committee … The work was hijacked by Fulop’s sham ordinance that was adopted by the city council with myself and Solomon voting against it. So, don’t be fooled by this. Election day is coming. If you check the record on tax abatements, yes, I voted for tax abatements, but you’ve just condemned your two at-large running mates. One of them voted for every abatement. I want the people of Jersey City to know that I am going to continue the fight until we have a more fair and equitable Jersey City.”

Councilperson Prinz-Arey said she was voting ‘yes’ “for the process, not the ordinance.”

But it was the other process taking place — trying to salvage the 2019 ordinance that was recently thrown out by the court — that Council President Joyce Watterman said she supports.

“We are sitting down with Planning and Fair Share Housing … I know Lavarro is suspicious of it. That’s his right, but that don’t mean I have to be suspicious. I trust the process.”

Council to Investigate Suez Water following Grilling on Inadequate Response to Ida

 

The city council passed an ordinance put forth by Councilman Solomon to create an ad hoc committee to propose recommendations to improve Jersey City and SUEZ’s emergency response to storms. This comes after the Caucus castigated Suez officials on September 7 for its handling of Tropical Storm Ida, citing Suez’s delayed boil water advisory and its failure to distribute potable water to residents in a timely and effectual manner.

The committee will be made up of three council members, yet to be named, and has up to 180 days to report its findings to the council.

 

Allegations of Rash of Shoddy Developers Defrauding Homeowners

 

Sarah Howland, an attorney and resident of Ward B, alleged that there are “dozens of fly-by-night real estate developers [in Jersey City] who buy up distressed properties, often at sheriff auctions, conduct shoddy and superficial renovations without permits, and then flip the houses.”

Howland said, “For context, this happened to me two years ago. I bought my house from an LLC, which is owned by an individual named Maurice Wolf. He’s based in Brooklyn, but he owns more than 600 LLCs that basically operate as shell companies through which he runs these illegal house flips. It didn’t take me very long to discover all this info through public records, so I can’t imagine that it’s not on the radar of the city officials or someone’s radar. He was convicted of criminal fraud for real estate rigging.”

Howland said she had “spoken to many Jersey City residents who all have eerily the same stories that almost always involve faulty plumbing and defective roofs. [The houses] always have the same fixtures. Often there are illegally finished basements. I think these developers are engaging in criminal activity by hiding behind these shell companies.”

Ward B Councilperson Myra Prinz-Arey, who said another Ward B resident had contacted her with a similar story, said she would reach out to Ms. Howland about the matter.

Boots in water
Jersey City Times Staff

Flash Flood Watch in Effect Through Tomorrow Morning

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The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Watch for Hudson County running from 4 pm today through early tomorrow morning.

“A period of heavy showers and embedded thunderstorms is expected with the approach of a cold front this afternoon into Friday morning. A widespread 1 to 2 inches of rain are likely with locally higher amounts possible. The rainfall combined with wet antecedent conditions in a short period of time will lead to increased potential for flash flooding. Scattered flash flooding of urban and poor drainage areas is possible. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… You should monitor later forecasts and be prepared to take action should Flash Flood Warnings be issued.”

2021 has been an unusually wet year in Hudson County. As of yesterday, the cumulative precipitation totaled 11.3 inches above average. Last month, Hurricane Ida caused the deaths of 29 New Jerseyans.

 

Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash

Protester at Liberty State Park
Emily Scott

This Weekend

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Summer is officially over, but Jersey City is as busy as ever. There are multiple festival events happening this weekend, like the Jersey City Jazz Festival. There’s also a rally at Liberty State Park in support of the Liberty State Park Protection Act. So, get outside and celebrate the beginning of fall!

Oh, and please remember, this information doesn’t compile itself. Please consider making a donation of $2.99 a month to Jersey City Times here. Thanks.

 

Jersey City Jazz Festival

 

The Jersey City Jazz Festival is back with an all-day lineup of musicians. There will also be food trucks, a beer garden, and more.

 

Nimbus Arts Festival: Música y Ritmos 

 

The final event of this year’s Nimbus Arts Festival, Música y Ritmos is a celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month featuring music, dance, food, and more. 

 

 

Surati Holi Hai Hudson River Color Walk

 

Join Surati Holi Hai for their fall Color Walk and Festival celebration. The Color Walk ends in Hoboken, where the Festival will begin at 12 p.m. Tickets for the Color Walk include free entry to the festival. 

 

Water Lantern Festival

 

Head over to Liberty State Park this weekend for the New York/New Jersey Water Lantern Festival. Tickets include a floating lantern kit and access to the festival, which will have food trucks and music. The event will follow a sustainability plan that includes lantern cleanup by staff and the use of eco-friendly materials. 

 

Rally to Support the Liberty State Park Protection Act

 

Friends of Liberty State Park has organized a rally to support the passage of the Liberty State Park Protection Act, which opposes privatization of the park. 

 

Yo La Tengo at White Eagle Hall

 

Hoboken-founded indie icon Yo La Tengo hits the stage at White Eagle Hall this Friday evening. Note that the venue will require all guests to show proof of COVID vaccination and recommends wearing a mask. 

 

McGinley Square Live Music Series

 

The McGinley Square Special Improvement District presents the final Saturday afternoon installation of its 2021 Live Music Series. Stop by to hear a performance by Mariachi Los Angeles. 

 

 

Golden Door Film Festival Red Carpet Event and Film Screenings

 

The Golden Door Film Festival will be screening a romance dramas at the Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre this Friday night. There will be an open bar.

 

Jersey City Record Riot

 

Record Riot is back at Grove Street this Saturday. Come shop for vinyl from dealers from across the region. 

 

Education Fair 2021

 

JCFamilies presents a Jersey City Education Fair in Hamilton Park this weekend. Attendees can speak to representatives from schools in Jersey City and Hoboken. Check out the event page for a list of participating schools. 

 

“Magicians’ Faceoff” Free Magic Shows

 

Part of the JCFamilies Education Fair, the Magicians’ Faceoff will feature a lineup of magic acts, as well as dance performances. 

 

Liberty State Park Kayak Eco Tour

 

The Liberty State Park Nature Center is hosting a kayak tour of wildlife this Saturday. Pre-registration is required and can be done by calling the Nature Center at (201) 915-3400 x503 or emailing LSPNatureCenter@dep.nj.gov. Participants must be 16 years old or older. 

 

Conundrum: Early 2000s Party 

 

Relive the early 2000s at this party in Porta’s Monk Room basement. Note that early arrival is suggested: Tickets do not guarantee entry if the venue is at capacity.

 

Friends of Lincoln Park Shoreline Clean Up

 

Friends of Lincoln Park is hosting a park cleanup this Sunday. Attendees are asked to register in advance. 

 

Special Bollywood Night: White Night Affair

 

Wear your best white outfit to this Bollywood-themed event, presented by DesiKnots. There will be ice breakers, games, music, and dancing.

 

**If you’d like to tell us about an event for a future issue, please contact emily.scott@jcitytimes.com**