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Editorial: Jersey City Makes Us Stronger

December 12, 2019/in header, Latest News, Opinion /by Aaron Morrill

On Tuesday afternoon I was scheduled to meet my friend Steve Cunningham in a Downtown Café.   Uncharacteristically, he arrived late.   As he took off his bike helmet, he explained that along with his students at the Jersey City high school where he teaches, he had been locked in, unsure of when they would be free to leave.  The shocking events of that afternoon that kept Steve and his students sequestered in their classroom are now well known.

I was there to hear about Team Wilderness, an after school program Steve founded which takes Jersey City kids on hiking trips to nearby forests and mountains.  There they learn to use a compass, rappell down cliffs and learn the value of teamwork.    Eighty percent of the kids in his program are eligible for free or reduced lunches, meaning they are poor.   Many of the kids have never been out in the woods on a hike, let alone bounced down the face of a cliff, secured only by ropes.   Steve takes them out of their comfort zone and introduces them to a new world where they are challenged.   They come back changed for the better.

As I thought about Tuesday’s tragic events, I realized how Jersey City functions much the same way for so many of us.   Wallet Hub has crowned Jersey City the most culturally diverse city in the United States.  We are home to a dizzying mix of peoples from around the world, be they Philippine, Pakistani, Korean, Ecuadorean or Egyptian.  The nationalities and cultures are endless.  Fully fifty-three percent of Jersey City families speak a language other than English at home.

We who are lucky to live in Jersey City are like Steve’s teenagers in the woods.  Whether we like it or not, every day we are dragged out of our comfort zone and must engage with people from cultures that seem strange and different from our own.  And, yes, sometimes, like staring down the face of a cliff, we feel scared and threatened.  We are human.  But then we strike up a conversation with that scary and threatening person and realize that they are just like us.  It’s these countless human interactions between people of different backgrounds every day in Jersey City that make it such a special and wonderful place.   Like Steve’s teenagers, we all emerge changed for the better.    In the wake of these terrible events, let’s not forget that.

Header:  Christopher Columbus Drive mural, artist: Gaia Street Art.   Jersey City Times file photo.

News Briefs

Hudson County Community College has been named the recipient of a one-year, $850,000 investment from the JPMorgan Chase. The investment will be utilized for a program the College developed to address the challenges of the economic crisis in Hudson County that were brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is designed to provide lasting improvement in the County’s workforce ecosystem.

Mayor Steven Fulop and the Jersey City Economic Development Corporation (JCEDC) have launched the latest round of emergency funding to provide over $2.5 million in direct aid and support to Jersey City’s neediest residents, regardless of immigration status. The city will partner with  York Street, Women Rising, United Way, and Puertorriqueños Asociados for Community Organization (PACO). 

Darius Evans, age 45, of Jersey City was arrested  on Monday by The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office in connection with the stabbing death of 39-year-old Tyrone Haskins early New Year’s morning. The charges include Murder and two counts of Possession of a Weapon for Unlawful Purposes.

Mayor Steven Fulop is joining forces with Uber to announce a new agreement that will expand residents’ access to COVID-19 vaccinations with free Uber rides to and from Jersey City vaccination sites. Phase 1B includes essential frontline workers and seniors 75 years old and over.

According to a report in the Jersey Journal, Jersey City received its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines Monday and plans to begin vaccinating eligible residents later this week at the Mary McLeod Bethune Center.

The federal Paycheck Protection Program, which offers businesses loans that can be forgivable, reopened on January 11th. The revised program focuses first on underserved borrowers – minority- and women-owned businesses.

Jersey Art Exchange (JAX) has merged with Art House Productions effective January 2021 to help improve and expand arts education and opportunities for the Jersey City community. JAX Founder Jacqueline Arias will remain Director of the program at Art House.

Christmas trees will be collected citywide every Wednesday night throughout the month of January. Pickup resumes this Wednesday January 13th.

Keep abreast of Jersey City Covid-19 statistics here.

Governor Murphy has launched a “Covid Transparency Website” where New Jerseyans can track state expenditures related to Covid.  Go here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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