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New Jersey Native Lilly
Jersey City Times Staff

Canco Park to Host Native Plant Sale and Gardening Event

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Who knew the birds and the bees wasn’t just about sex? This reporter didn’t until she learned all about native plants from The Hudson County Chapter of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey, which  is having its first native plant sale right here in Jersey City Sunday, Sept 26 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Canco Park.

Some of the dozens of varieties sold will include Cypripedium acaule (Pink Lady’s Slipper), Aronia melanocarpa`Viking’ (‘Viking’ Aronia Berry), Sarracenia leucophylla (‘White Trumpet’ Pitcher Plant),  Allium tricoccum (Ramps), and Comptonia peregrina (Sweet Fern). And the event will feature gardening lectures, discussions with birders, and kids’ activities.

Native plants are so much more beneficial than non-native species, said Lorraine Freeney, one of three co-founders of the Hudson County chapter. “They’re easier to care for, because they’re adapted to the climate. They require less water and are hardier. But their biggest benefit, according to Freeney, “is that they support  a healthy ecosystem in a way that non-native plants can’t. Native plants evolved alongside our insects, birds and other animals in mutually beneficial relationships. They provide food (pollen, nectar, seeds, fruit) and habitat for those creatures, and in turn, insects and birds pollinate the plants and help them spread.”

Or as co-founder Dawn Giambalvo put it, “When all of those neighbors link up and share food and water, it’s like the best block party you’ve ever been to; everyone grows.”

Giambalvo said native plants also inhibit the growth of weeds.

Well-Sweep Herb Farm, which boasts one of the largest collections of herbs and perennials in the country, will provide the plants available for purchase, some of which would be considered rare, according to nursery owner David Hyde. Hyde will be one of two featured lecturers at the event, sharing information on natives’ benefits, and proper plant installation and care. Hoboken author Marnie Fylling will be on hand to sign copies of Fylling’s Illustrated Guide to Your Neighborhood, and kids can learn how to make seed “bombs,” tag monarch butterflies, and make nature-based origami.

Many people associate springtime with plants, but event co-leader Kim Correro explained why the event is taking place in the fall.

“We’ve learned planting in the fall rather than the spring gives the plant’s root system time to establish itself and the plant a better chance of thriving in spring,” she said.

The Native Plant Society of New Jersey conducts regular lectures, presentations, and webinars, organizes nature walks and garden tours, and dispenses advice on design and maintenance of native gardens and landscapes. More information on the organization and on its upcoming webinar “Nature and Gardeners,” featuring renowned birder Julie Zickefoose, can be found on the organization’s website. Those with questions about the Hudson County chapter of NPSNJ can contact hudson@npsnj.org.

"Little Sister" of Statue of Liberty
Jersey City Times Staff

Statue of Liberty’s “Little Sister” to Arrive from France Wednesday

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New Jersey’s French connection continues to strengthen. Just weeks after the announcement that Paris’s Centre Pompidou will open a branch in Jersey City’s Journal Square, a nine foot tall bronze replica of the Statue of Liberty, produced from the 1878 plaster original by Auguste Bartholdi, has departed Le Havre in France en route to the Garden State.

Truck carrying mini statue of liberty

Container for “Little Sister”

Said the shipper, CMA CGM Group, “this symbolic journey represents the friendship between the U.S. and France.”

The 1,000 pound statue will arrive in Elizabeth on Wednesday aboard the 985-foot CMA CGM NERVAL. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, French Ambassador Philippe Etienne and Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Chairman Kevin O’Toole will be in attendance to see the statue offloaded.

The statue will then be installed on Ellis Island, opposite her big sister, where she will be on public display for Independence Day on July 4. She will then be taken overland by CEVA Logistics to her final destination, the Residence of the French Ambassador to Washington, D.C., where she will be unveiled and put on public display on July 14th for Bastille Day.

According to CMA, the statue was housed in a specially designed plexiglass case and placed in a specially decorated 20-foot container. Art transportation specialists worked alongside the shipper.

 

Aaron Morrill

Jersey City Golf Tournament Sponsors Honor First Responders

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Standing this morning in front Public Safety Headquarters on Marin Boulevard, Rick Isaacson, chief executive officer of Servpro, announced a “Firefighter Appreciation Program” that will enable firefighters, first responders, and their families to attend a major professional golf tournament at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City this summer free of charge.

The Northern Trust tournament will take place from August 18–22, 2021, and will include 125 of the top-ranked players. It is the only professional golf tournament to be held in the New York City metropolitan area this year.

Isaacson was joined by Mayor Fulop, Northern Trust Executive Director Julie Tyson, Jersey City Fire Chief Steven McGill, and other dignitaries.

Under the program and in recognition of the 20-year anniversary of 9-11, first responders and firefighters will be given complimentary admission to and a dedicated venue at the tournament, the first of three events in the FedExCup Playoffs.

Many of the world’s top players have won The Northern Trust including Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Matt Kuchar, Bryson DeChambeau, and 2020 champion Dustin Johnson, who following a record-setting 11-stroke victory margin at TPC Boston went on to be crowned the season’s FedExCup champion.

Said Isaacson, “When you understand what firefighters do for us and for our communities, it’s just amazing…what they do is just heroic. This is just a small way to say thank you.” Isaacson also announced a $100 thousand donation to the First Responders Children Foundation, started after 9-11 to support the families of fallen first responders.

Mayor Fulop called PGA involvement in Jersey City “an absolute success” and thanked the organization for donating “tens of thousands of dollars to local charities that serve the most vulnerable communities.”

Also in attendance was volunteer Marilyn White, a 9-11 survivor. “I was on the 95th floor of the second tower. As I was fleeing the mayhem, they were going up the staircases with hoses on their shoulders and just trucking up saying, ‘Are there more people above?’ I was in total awe of what they do.”

 

Jersey City Times Staff

Tax Rebates Coming this Summer

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Over 760,000 New Jersey families will receive a tax rebate of up to $500 this summer under a budget deal announced today by Governor Phil Murphy.

The rebate will apply to married couples with an income below $150,000 and at least one dependent child, and single parents with less than $75,000 in income and at least one dependent child.  They will begin going out on July 1.

The tax rebate is just part of the Fiscal Year 2022 budget which Murphy hammered out with Senate President Stephen Sweeney, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, Senate Budget Chair Paul Sarlo, and Assembly Budget Chair Pintor Marin.

The budget contains other tax benefits targeted to New Jerseyans of moderate means. An update to the Homestead program will result in an increase in the average benefit for seniors and disabled homeowners of over $130 and an average increase in the benefit for lower-income homeowners of $145.

The agreement increases the Child and Dependent Care Credit so that it is both available for families making up to $150,000 and refundable. According to the governor, this change will affect over 80,000 more families and increase the average credit for those making under $30,000 to $277.

A property tax deduction for veterans will reportedly increase the average credit for those making under $30,000 to $277.

The Earned Income Tax Credit age of eligibility will be lowered to 18 and expanded to those over 65 with or without dependents. The measure is projected to affect 90,000 residents – roughly 70,000 over 65; and 20,000 between the ages of 18 and 21.

“Tax relief is a critical component of a stronger and fairer New Jersey,” said Murphy. “With each budget I have introduced, we have provided greater relief to those who need it most – through our continued expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit, the establishment and expansion of a Child and Dependent Tax Care Credit, increased tax relief for veterans, middle-class tax rebates, and now the long-overdue expansion of the Homestead Benefit to make sure relief reflects reality. I’m proud to join with my partners in the Legislature to make sure that the best state to live in Americais more affordable for families.”

The tax breaks announced today will cost the state $444 million. Only a short time ago, New Jersey was forecasting a $4.3 billion budget shortfall. However, a combination of increased tax collections and money from the American Rescue Plan has resulted in a $10.1 million projected surplus for the fiscal year ending June 30.