Heeding the calls of angry Jersey City 911 emergency dispatchers, the City Council has backed off—at least for now—from a city administration proposal to rehire Princeton-based IXP Corp. to complete “initial workshops, technology assessment and gap analysis” at a cost of $213,085. At Thursday night’s meeting, the council voted to withdraw a resolution that would […]
Ron Leir
Ron Leir has been a journalist since 1972. That includes a 37-year stint as a reporter, copy reader and assistant editor with The Jersey Journal, followed by a decade as a reporter with The Observer in Kearny. He has also pursued his avocation of acting, appearing mostly on small stages in NYC and New Jersey and several independent films.
Posted inLatest News
Jersey City’s Liberal Cannabis Policy Meets Resistance in the Heights
Jersey City’s the sky’s the limit policy on marijuana dispensaries is suddenly meeting with resistance in the Heights, where residents are concerned about issues ranging from teen smoking to aesthetics. As of March 13, the city’s Cannabis Control Board has approved 44 marijuana dispensaries including a disproportionate number — 14 — in Ward D. In […]
Posted inNews
St. Paul’s Ave. Traffic and Tonnele Ave. Parking on for Tonight’s Council Meeting
Will Jersey City’s lawmakers detour a proposed traffic change along a heavily-traveled Journal Square artery that many call a menace to the safety of area residents? This puzzler will be parsed at tonight’s City Council session, which begins at 6 p.m. in the Council chambers at City Hall, 280 Grove St. On the first matter, […]
Posted inEducation
Faculty Union Rallies to Press State for Additional Aid for NJCU
They all came: students, teachers, union leaders, politicians from across the board, and, of course, the interim president of New Jersey City University. All of them came Monday to a union-sponsored “Fund NJCU” campus rally to plead the case for the survival of NJCU, to demand that Gov. Phil Murphy and state legislators come to […]
Posted inNews
Council Revisits Cannabis Rules, Portside Tenants Plead for Help
With Jersey City’s Cannabis Control Board having already endorsed 41 applicants looking to set up shop as retailers, city lawmakers are now considering revising the procedures it set two years ago and then modified last year. That prospect emerged as the City Council voted Wednesday to support two applications for the operation of cannabis businesses […]
Posted inNews
Clerk Gets Tenure, Rec Head Gets a Grand Sendoff and Ferry Bids Are Nixed by Council
One Jersey City civil servant received plaudits and earned tenure while another veteran worker bade farewell at the City Council session last Thursday, Feb. 23. The council voted 8-0, with Ward C Councilmember Richard Boggiano absent, to reappoint Sean J. Gallagher, municipal clerk and local registrar of vital records, to a second three-year term through […]
Posted inNews
Lecture Highlights Role of Black Soldiers in American Revolution
Jersey City’s Muriel “Didi” Roberts belongs to the DAR—Daughters of the American Revolution. She was admitted for membership because her fifth great grandfather, eight generations removed, Plato Turner, served with distinction in the 2nd and 3rd Massachusetts Regiments fighting the British during the War for Independence. Roberts was researching her family tree, primarily through Ancestry.com, when she […]
Posted inWestside
Forestry Standards, Lead Pipes and West Side Development on Council’s Docket
At tonight’s City Council meeting, the council will finally be asked to vote on passage of the city’s revised forestry standards, guidelines that were initially adopted in 2018 and that have been undergoing hotly debated revisions for over a year. According to Tuesday night’s council caucus meeting, the lawmakers will also discuss issues involving residential […]
Posted inHeights
Skaters Decry Ice Rink Closure
To the consternation of hundreds of local skaters, Jersey City has shut down the Charlie Heger Municipal Ice Rink at Pershing Field due to repeated failures of the ice-making machinery. In a February 10 posting, the city announced that, “After decades of countless repairs and various attempts to fix the 20- to 30-year-old equipment, it […]
Posted inLatest News
Residents Await Explanation for JFK Wall Collapse
A week after a partial collapse of a wall of a bridge supporting JFK Boulevard where it crosses state highway Rt. 139 in Jersey City, traffic patterns are nearly back to normal. But a full explanation for the mishap—which, luckily, caused no injuries or deaths—and the prospects for completion of a high-rise residential development at […]