6-20 TD

DOWNTOWNER JUNE 2020 |

TRENTON’S CITY PAPER

COMMUNITYNEWS.ORG

Keeping the Faith Westminster Presbyterian pastor Karen HernandezGranzen marks 25 years of spirited service.

Page 10

City Beef adapts to the times, page 3; Remembering jazz legend Richie Cole, 9.

Ready for Change S

ummer’s coming, and we’re ready for the change that brings. Warmer weather and longer days are good for the soul. The season brings us out more, wearing our masks but not hiding behind them. We are proud.

The sacrifices we have made the last two months have brought us closer to the reopening of downtown Trenton. Little by little, some of our favorite spots are beginning to return, including Arlee’s, Starbucks, and Delia’s Empanadas.

Yet, it remains uncertain if large-scale events can safely occur this summer, which is why we made the difficult decision to postpone the Levitt AMP Trenton live music series until next summer. Alternative arts programming is coming soon!

Trenton Downtown Association is here for you, with initiatives to support small businesses and arts programming to keep us united in spirit.

May 14-June 20, 2020

here we are ONLINE ART EXHIBITION Wonder Woman Selfie (Detail), 2017, Theda Sandiford

BSB Gallery offers a variety of online programs to meet the needs of our artist community! Visit Bsbgallery.com FREE ADMISSION OPEN TO ALL

143 East State Street Suite 4, Trenton, NJ 08608 bsbgallery.com

BSB Gallery is operated by the Trenton Downtown Association

Business Spotlight

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Trenton’s City Beef delivers — despite shortages By ricHarD D. SMitH

W

here’s the beef?

That indignant complaintas-question was voiced by 81-year-old actress Clara Peller in a classic 1984 Wendy’s television commercial.

Ironically, “Where’s the beef?” is now a painful question for Wendy’s and other franchise restaurants.

As part of the widespread collateral damage from the coronavirus pandemic, fast food restaurants (indeed, all non-vegetarian restaurants) are scrambling to obtain meat, especially at prices that customers can afford.

How it came to this is no mystery: Meat processing plants — where line workers labor elbow to elbow at conveyor belts and safe distancing is essentially impossible — have been at risk of becoming coronavirus hot spots. Some did and have closed down.

But what’s come as a raw surprise to most citizens is that only a comparatively few huge plants service America’s entire food industry. So when some went offline, nothing took up the slack.

And that collateral damage is being felt from farms to food stores and restaurant counters to home tables.

So, in the midst of this crisis — economically and meat producing — where’s City Beef?

City Beef & Provisions, at 246 Willow Street, is a survivor and even a legend in what was historically the city’s meat district. And as good luck would have it, in the midst of all the bad, just prior to the pandemic City Beef was reinventing itself.

Although calf-sized compared to national meat wholesalers, it had aimed to be as solid as any Angus bull. Now its survival and prosperity seem a matter of being as nimble as a deer.

Co-owner Jim Nelson candidly reports that with area restaurants only open for takeout and corporations and schools, with their cafeterias, closed, “our business went down 50 percent.”

But there’s been an upside: City Beef had maintained its traditional individual and family “walk-in” consumer business. It had provided a minority of revenues. But with immensely more people now cooking at home — and with word-of-mouth recommendations from longtime customers — “that mix has changed,” Nelson says.

Walk-ins have become ascendant, helping City Beef reclaim nearly half its lost revenues. Not surprisingly, it’s offering new small sales-friendly products, such as the “Trenton Meat Packs,” a build-your-own mix-andmatch that offers 15 percent basic savings plus an additional $10 off for orders worth $60 or more.

At a time when the environmental costs of meat production are being strongly criticized and vegan substi-

tutes are making real sales inroads, City Beef’s unabashed slogan is “It’s Good To Be Carnivorous.

“We’re also offering cooked and frozen meals,” Nelson adds. These feature 18-ounce portions, with a protein of meat or chicken, vegetables, a starch such as rice or potato, and a sauce, at a basic $10 price per product. This price can of course decrease, Nelson adds, if customers buy in higher quantities.

Thanks to its history, City Beef was well prepared to make the most of this increased walk-in trade.

“We speak English, Spanish, and Polish,” Nelson says proudly, explaining that Polish-Americans — for whom sausage is a treat and homemaking it a satisfying ritual — continue to be among the company’s most loyal customers through generations.

And responding to evolving regional demographics, City Beef can also of-

City Beef & Provisions is a survivor and even a legend in what was historically the city’s meat district. fer Muslim customers beef, lamb, and chicken from halal-observing slaughterhouses.

Of course, Nelson is making a priority of updating the website (www. citybeef.com) to make it as up-to-date on menu items and consumer-friendly as possible.

In January, 2014, Jim Nelson purchased the City Beef business and its 4,400-square-foot building in partnership with Rich Tarantino, a celebrity chef within food shopping TV networks and websites as well as food product development circles.

The seller, Pete Diaz, had come to work at the company in the early 1960s, eventually owning it. Nelson and Tarantino knew that Diaz was not only handing over a firm but a great deal of history.

City Beef was founded in 1955, but its building has an even more aged and seasoned history. It had housed a meat packing operation as early as 1903, when North Willow Street and environs were home to numerous such firms.

Although slimmed by the merciless diet of time and shifting economic trends, the Trenton meat tradition proudly persists. Just as Philadelphia can boast of being the city of true cheese steaks, Trenton is the home of pork roll, with rival producers Case’s and Taylor having heritages from companies founded in the 19th century.

City Beef is stoutly part of that. To-

day, from its exterior, it might look like a particularly well-stocked and customer-friendly auto parts store, with its white walls and a fenced in parking lot. But the City Beef & Provisions sign is displayed on the building as proudly as the white face and chest of a prize Hereford cow.

Their new venture enjoyed great initial success. But today’s fraught situation has changed many things, and Nelson comes across as a clear-eyed realist in discussing them.

“In general, we’re having difficulty procuring meat, especially beef,” says Nelson frankly. “The prices have skyrocketed in the last two weeks.”

Neither does he try to spin ground chuck into sirloin when asked about City Beef’s business. Wholesale beef prices for vendors like himself have doubled, and chicken has gone up 50 to 60 percent.

“We’re trying to keep it as low as we can,” Nelson says somberly. “But it’s hurting our ability to even quote [prices] to our current restaurant and institutional customers.”

Yet a small pilot flame of hope burns. Says Nelson, “Some people are still buying what we can get.”

Inside, it’s clearly a destination for both retail vendors and citizencustomers seeking beef, pork, veal, and chicken in all their permutations.

There is a loading dock whose interior space doubles as a sales point for walk-up customers as well as big bulk purchasers, overseen by the busy and appropriately cluttered office. In the back of the building, cool work rooms, walk-in refrigerators and freezers, and a room-temperature kitchen are ar-

Jim Nelson, above, purchased City Beef with Rich Tarantino in 2014. ranged in a simple and efficient layout.

“This is the heart of the traditional City Beef,” says Nelson with affection, opening the door to a space off the loading dock and across from the office. A rack and rail system, securely bolted into the ceiling, rings the room.

This is where, for decades, countless tons of beef were delivered, hung up, and then moved around before being sliced by City Beef butchers into the company’s multitudinous products.

The basic beef no longer arrives in See CITY BEEF, Page 4

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CITY BEEF, continued from page 3

heavy sides, but Nelson clearly has no plans to remove these direct tracks to the past. “Well, I like ’em,” he says with a smile.

The smile may have also been connected with a transaction earlier that day. City Beef had just filled a contract for 68,000 cheese steak sandwiches.

(Yes, that many.) The order was from a vendor with hearty sales on the QVC shopping channel. City Beef created the entire combination, hard-froze the items, then shipped them to the client for eventual distribution to end consumers. “And they sold out!” Nelson exclaims.

Another potential retail client approached City Beef earlier this year, saying, “I make a really good meatball.

Help me make it on a product basis.”

How many businesses can boast of taking up the challenge — serious but savory — of building the better meatball?

The path of individual customers to City Beef’s loading dock has been kept clear and well used, even widened, by a steady pilgrimage of valued “walk-ins.”

“When Rick and I bought the business, we put in this production room,” says Nelson, leading the way into an expansive space in the center back. A commercial kitchen was also added, allowing City Beef to create platters and ready meals with vegetables and a starch (rice or potatoes) along with

the meat protein — another product that is proving perfect for the ramped up individual customer and family trade.

The meat cutters are certified butchers. City Beef & Provisions is fully licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and given a close examination — each and every working day — by a USDA inspector (with one instantly spotted in a preparation room, clipboard in hand, looking over an employee and his work area). “If they didn’t come in here, we couldn’t be open,” Nelson says. The Mercer County Department of Health also makes inspections.

Songs Songs T That hat Will Will Make Make Cas Cassettes ssettes and 8-Tracks 8-Tracks Popular Popular Again!

Again! and

Enjoy Enj n oy a summer playlist we can all roll down nj the windows and sing-along to.

Listen daily On-Air @107.7 FM Online: @1077TheBronc.com On App: @WRRC on Google Play and the Apple App store 4Trenton Downtowner June 2020

Above left, Jim Nelson with office manager Angie Cook, a 12-year employee of City Beef. Above, Carlos Nazzario, left, and Jim Nelson discuss pre-packaged meat products.

J

im Nelson was born in Lansdown, Pennsylvania, in 1959. His father was a teacher and, later, elementary school principal. His mother had also taught but later devoted herself to homemaking.

Before City Beef, Nelson worked for 22 years in finance at General Electric Health Care, the last six as a finance manager executive. He retired at age 45.

Then, by serendipity, he advised a relative on the financial aspects of a food business. Advising on the culinary side was Chef Tarantino. Both were looking for new entrepreneurial opportunities, and word came through food industry contacts that City Beef & Provisions could be for sale at the right price.

Over the years City Beef’s main customers have been restaurants, small food stores such as bodegas, nonprofit community and faith groups holding fundraisers or other events, and some institutional clients (such as school and corporate cafeterias). Most have been within a 25-mile radius of City Beef itself. Nelson says that City Beef has regular customers among the churches of Princeton and Trenton, for whom he always arranges deliveries.

Additionally, even large food trade purveyors like Sisco and U.S. Foods, plus emerging regional outlets like Restaurant Depot in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, have become City Beef clients. “Sisco doesn’t cut meat, for example,” says Nelson. “We’ve always had that service available.”

Of course, Nelson and Tarantino have been keen to sell well beyond Bucks and Mercer counties. Their initial expansion was largely driven by retail clients who need a specialized product. For example, one food industry entrepreneur wanted to sell beef

jerky dog chewy treats. But he needed to partner with a food production facility. Calculating the expenses versus the potential gains, City Beef won the contract and invested in the necessary specialized equipment.

What does the future hold for the food industry overall? Nelson says it might be grimmer before it gets brighter.

One reason is connected to the news reports that many USDA meat inspectors, although not worried about checking small operations like City Beef, are concerned about contracting the coronavirus while working inside huge meatpacking plants.

Should their concerns become justified, they may start refusing to inspect any such facilities. (Nelson says he has personally heard such rumblings “from informed industry sources.”)

But, for now, there is hopeful news on North Willow Street. Between office staff and product handlers, City Beef has a total of 15 employees. Of these, Nelson says, he has only had to lay off two.

Nelson freely acknowledges that for a compact operation like City Beef, the ongoing epidemic could still prove disastrous.

“If someone on staff gets the coronavirus, we’re in trouble.” But, he adds, “We’ve had no cases of coronavirus with customers or employees.”

That may bring a future for City Beef & Provisions as hopeful as a wellmarbled steak is delicious.

Says Nelson, “We’re just trying to be inventive and do the best we can.”

City Beef & Provisions, 246 North Willow Street, Trenton. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, 7 a.m. to noon. 609392-1492 or www.citybeef.com.

HEALTH @capitalhealthnj

JUNE 2020

HEADLINES

B I - M O N T H LY N E W S F R O M C A P I TA L H E A LT H

CAPITAL HEALTH READY FOR SAFE POST-PEAK REOPENING OF SERVICES

In uncertain times, people often look to their community institutions for a sense of stability and comfort. For many residents in Mercer, Bucks, and Burlington counties during the ongoing health crisis, Capital Health is that institution. As the region’s leader in providing progressive, quality patient care, Capital Health has been taking an organized approach to meeting the needs of the community during the COVID-19 crisis and going forward as restrictions start to ease.

Now it prepares to welcome patients back and schedule elective procedures in a safe, healthy environment.

Health continues to practice all precautionary measures for safety.

Patients who test positive for COVID-19 continue to be treated in a highly secure area that keeps patients in a safe environment while making sure all visitors and staff are protected.

RESUMING ELECTIVE SURGERIES During his daily COVID-19 media briefing on May 15, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced that hospitals in New Jersey will be permitted to resume elective surgeries starting Tuesday, May 26.

Through intensive planning and implementation of processes that assure the highest level of patient and visitor safety, the health care professionals at Capital Health have a system of care that responds to all requirements for great services provided in a safe environment.

“There’s an old saying that describes how difficult challenges reveal who your true friends are,” said Sam Plumeri, Jr., chairman of the Capital Healthcare, Inc. Board of Trustees. “The outpouring of support we’ve seen shows that Capital Health has no shortage of friends in Mercer, Bucks, and Burlington counties. It also reaffirms our dedication to the safety of our community, now and in the future. It’s important for everyone to know that they can always rely on us to provide the safe care they need.”

“As we welcome more patients back in to our facilities, we are continuing to take necessary precautions to make sure the health and safety of our community and our staff remain the highest priority,” said Al Maghazehe, president and CEO of Capital Health. “We continue to practice social distancing, require visitors and staff to wear face mask and are fully operational.”

SAFETY FIRST Bolstered by the support of its community, Capital Health emergency departments and medical offices continue to take all the necessary precautions to keep patients safe on the front lines and across all service lines. Capital Health is now providing a broader range of inpatient and outpatient care that its neighbors can rely on as the pandemic evolves. This gradual reopening balances Capital Health’s patient-focused approach to care with best practices in infection prevention for our patients, visitors and staff.

CONTINUING VIDEO VISITS Capital Health will continue to offer video visits for both primary care and behavioral health through secure connections on patients’ computers or smart devices. New and established patients can schedule appointments with the same providers they see at Capital Health.

The community is encouraged to maintain good health by scheduling appointments with their primary care and specialty physicians. Capital

A GRATEFUL COMMUNITY PARTNER Capital Health continues to be grateful for the wonderful community support it has experienced during the pandemic, having received generous donations for its front-line staff including PPE, hand sanitizer and other necessary supplies.

If you or your loved ones are experiencing a medical emergency, the patient care teams at Capital Health urge you to seek care immediately at their hospitals as they have safety procedures in place to protect you from infection. They look forward to seeing you and your family again at Capital Health.

Health Headlines by Capital Health | Trenton Downtowner 5

UNDERSTANDING BRAIN TUMOR SYMPTOMS signs to guide you to the right plan for care Brain tumors, while relatively rare, do not discriminate, affecting men, women, and children across all age groups and ethnicities.

And because the brain is the critical organ that controls all others, it’s important to recognize the signs that may suggest a brain tumor and discuss them with your health care team.

“The many parts of the brain control different body functions, so symptoms will vary depending on tumor location, type, and size,” said DR. NAVID REDJAL, director of Neurosurgical Oncology at the Capital Health Center for Neuro-Oncology. “However, there are some common symptoms to watch for which, if ongoing, may indicate the presence of a brain tumor. Anyone experiencing one or more of them over an extended period of time should see their doctor to get an accurate diagnosis.”

“At the Center for Neuro-Oncology, our advanced technological resources and multidisciplinary approach to diagnosis and treatment are just as important as the compassionate and individualized care we provide,” said Dr. Redjal. “If a person experiences new symptoms or changes to existing ones, talking to your doctor is an important first step.”

The Center for Neuro-Oncology, part of Capital Institute for Neurosciences and Capital Health Cancer Center, is a referral center for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer involving the brain and spine. The Center is housed in state-of-the-art facilities where patients have access to an experienced and caring team of physicians, nurses and staff who work closely with referring physicians to facilitate rapid and thorough evaluations and

COMMON BRAIN TUMOR SYMPTOMS INCLUDE: HEADACHES: A persistent, progressive pain that is different from a migraine, does not respond to over-the-counter pain medication (like aspirin or ibuprofen), gets worse when laying down, and may be accompanied by vomiting or changes in vision.

SEIZURES: In some cases, a seizure may be the first indication that a person has a brain tumor.

FOCAL PROGRESSIVE SYMPTOMS: Localized symptoms— such as hearing problems, difficulty walking or speaking, or feeling clumsy—can often help identify the location of the tumor.

MASS EFFECT: Occurs when a brain tumor presses on surrounding normal tissue, causing nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, vision problems, headaches, and behavior changes.

SUDDEN PERSONALITY CHANGES/COGNITIVE CHANGES/ MEMORY LOSS: A tumor may cause disruptions in normal brain function that lead to changes in a patient’s behavior and ability to reason, remember, and learn. recommendations for patients and their families. In addition to providing advanced, neuro-oncologic and neuroscience care, the Center participates in clinical trials to help fight and find cures for cancer.

To learn more about Capital Health’s Center for Neuro-Oncology, visit capitalneuro.org.

Nationally Recognized Trauma Center Ready to Help Treat Severe Injuries While the number of cars on the road has decreased with stay-at-home orders, severe injuries can still take place in and around homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The experts at the Bristol Myers Squibb Trauma Center at Capital Health Regional Medical Center would like to remind everyone that safety measures are in place to protect you from infection if you need immediate, lifesaving care for a severe injury.

“Our trauma center has been certified eight times as a Level II Trauma Center by the Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons [ACS]. This means that when residents of our community need us most, we are ready to meet the highest quality standards for safely treating severe injuries,” said DR. DOMINICK EBOLI, director of the Bristol Myers Squibb Trauma Center at Capital Health Regional Medical Center.

The Full Spectrum of Care According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, injury is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Care provided in a trauma center decreases the chance of death following injury by 25 percent compared to care in general hospitals.

6Trenton Downtowner | Health Headlines by Capital Health

In addition to providing the necessary resources for trauma care, ACS level II verification also means that centers like the Bristol Myers Squibb Trauma Center address the needs of injured patients across the entire spectrum of care, providing patients at Capital Health Regional Medical Center with access to important injury prevention programs, pre-hospital care and transportation, acute hospital care, rehabilitation, and research.

“Through programs and resources not available in most general hospitals—including 24-hour immediate access to trauma surgeons and other specialists—we are able to provide comprehensive care for severe injuries. The key is to call 911 as soon as the injury occurs so that we can treat the injury as soon as possible,” said DR. DENNIS QUINLAN, associate medical director of the Bristol Myers Squibb Trauma Center.

To learn more about the Bristol Myers Squibb Trauma Center at Capital Health Regional Medical Center, visit capitalhealth.org/trauma.

DON’T DELAY: Call 911 If You Suspect a Stroke While the fear of contracting COVID-19 has encouraged compliance with stay-at-home orders and social distancing, front-line employees at Capital Health and across the country are seeing an alarming trend of people hesitating to call 911 and delay necessary treatment for time-sensitive emergencies like stroke.

“When it comes to treating stroke, we always say ‘time is brain,’ which means that the sooner we can treat you, the better chance we have at a successful outcome,” said DR. CHRISTIAN SCHUMACHER, medical director of the Capital Health Stroke Program and a board certified stroke neurologist at Capital Health. “At Capital Health, we have safety procedures in place to protect you from infection, while making sure you get the immediate, lifesaving stroke care that you need.”

The Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center at the Capital Institute for Neurosciences is a major referral center for the treatment of all types of neurovascular diseases, including cerebral aneurysms, strokes, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs), cavernous malformations, carotid artery and vertebral artery atherosclerotic disease, intracranial stenosis as well as Moyamoya disease.

The only Joint Commission certified Advanced Comprehensive Stroke Center in the region, located at Capital Health Regional Medical Center (RMC) in Trenton, continues to provide safe emergency stroke and neurovascular services 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week during the current health crisis.

“As soon as you call 911, our prehospital alert system allows our team in the hospital to prepare for your arrival, saving valuable time to treatment,” said Dr. Schumacher. “Your call could also activate our Mobile Stroke Unit, which can be co-dispatched with basic and advanced life support service to provide safe, immediate care at your location before you even arrive at the hospital.”

CONTROLLABLE RISK FACTORS FOR STROKE There are steps you can take right away to lower your risk. Get started by talking to your primary care doctor to learn about stroke screenings and how you can treat or manage controllable risk factors such as:

… High blood pressure … High cholesterol … Heart/blood vessel disease … Cigarette smoking

… Physical inactivity/ obesity/poor diet … Diabetes mellitus

IF YOU SUSPECT A STROKE,

B-E F-A-S-T B

— Balance

E

— Eyes

F

— Face Drooping

A

— Arm Weakness

S

— Speech Difficulty

T

— Time to call 911

Is the person experiencing a sudden loss of balance?

Has the person lost vision in one or both eyes?

Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the person’s smile uneven?

Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

Is speech slurred? Is the person unable to speak or hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence, like “The sky is blue.” Is the sentence repeated correctly?

If someone shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 911 immediately.

Check the time so you’ll know when the first symptoms appeared.

… Atrial fibrillation … Sickle cell disease

Visit capitalneuro.org to learn more.

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS EXPERIENCING SIGNS OF A STROKE, CALL 911.

Health Headlines by Capital Health | Trenton Downtowner 7

HELPING THE HOMELESS DURING COVID-19 Capital Health Joins Local Agencies to Support Underserved Population

New Jersey is among the states hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, and as one of the most densely populated states in the nation, urban areas like the City of Trenton are at increased risk of becoming hots spots for the disease. To address the needs of all people in this community and help slow the spread of coronavirus, Capital Health is collaborating with the City of Trenton, the Mercer County Human Services Department, the Mercer County Board of Social Services, the Trenton Health Team (THT), and other community partners to implement a multifaceted response.

“For residents, stay-at-home orders and testing are important lines of defense against the spread of COVID-19, but for the city’s homeless population they are virtually impossible,” said Dr. Eric Schwartz, executive director of Capital Health’s Institute for Urban Care. “To help provide Trenton’s homeless with safe options for protecting themselves and the community against the spread of COVID-19, Capital Health is proud to join with the City of Trenton, Mercer County, and all of our partners on the Trenton Health Team in several important initiatives.”

Because the virus can be spread by infected people whether or not they are showing symptoms, testing is an important tool for understanding how and where health care organizations direct their efforts. In Mercer County, Capital Health joined with the county’s Division of Public Health, the City of Trenton, and other health care organizations in the region to organize a drive-through COVID-19 testing center. The center is open by appointment only to Mercer County residents age 18 or older who have an order for testing from their primary health care provider.

“Drive-through testing is an important service for Mercer County residents, but for the city’s homeless population and those without

transportation who have COVID-19 symptoms, a drive-through site is simply not an option,” said Dr. Schwartz.

“To address the needs of this underserved population, Capital Health works with community partners to make walk-up test sites available in each Trenton ward one day a week.”

For most people who test positive for COVID-19, sheltering in place is a common recommendation, but for those who are homeless, self-isolation is virtually impossible. Capital Health worked with its partner agencies and the City of Trenton to help establish an emergency shelter to provide homeless people with a safe space for recovery while not putting others in the community at risk.

Other initiatives to provide support for the Trenton homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic include the coordination of food pantries and meal programs through local churches and community organizations and working with local pharmacies to ensure access to their services.

To learn more about Capital Health Institute for Urban Care and its work in the City of Trenton, visit capitalhealth.org/urbancare.

For more information about Mercer County resources during the COVID-19 pandemic, visit mercercounty.org/covid-19.

VIDEO VISITS FOR PRIMARY CARE AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NOW AVAILABLE Now more than ever, your primary care provider should be your first point of contact if you’re not feeling well. To safely and conveniently provide you with the most appropriate care, Capital Health Medical Group offers video visits with the same great doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants that patients see in our Primary Care Network locations throughout the region.

Available to current and new patients, these appointments are now covered by insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid, and in many cases co-pays will not be charged.

If you are a patient at one of our primary care offices, call your office to schedule your video visit. If you are a new patient, call 1.844.343.2464.

The incredible physical toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on both patients and health care workers is unmistakable, but the crisis is also having a significant impact on the population as a whole that is sometimes less obvious. With more people experiencing feelings of helplessness, loss, and loneliness during the current health crisis, Capital Health – Behavioral Health Specialists offers video visit appointments to help current and new patients process and navigate these challenging times.

8Trenton Downtowner | Health Headlines by Capital Health

Out of an abundance of caution for patients and providers, Capital Health – Behavioral Health Specialists has temporarily switched to video visits only, with limited group support options available as well.

Video visits for behavioral health are now covered by most major insurances, including Medicare, and in many cases co-pays will not be charged. Referrals from primary care providers are not required.

To schedule a video visit appointment with one of the providers at Capital Health – Behavioral Health Specialists, call 609.689.5725 or visit capitalhealth.org/behavioralhealth for more information.

In memoriam: Remembering jazz legend Richie Cole

play the saxophone; I sing the saxophone. I approach it like a (vocal) solorenton’s alto-sax jazz legend ist. I sing it. I play the melody straight, Richie Cole, who died of natural then I do what I want and improvise, causes on May 2 at the age 72, tell the story, and then come back to liked to say, “I am not from Trenton; I the melody. And there’s the creation,” am Trenton. I was born here. The only he said during an interview in 2014 place I feel comfortable is back in my with U.S. 1 Newspaper.

That success, however, did not hometown: in Trenton.”

His personal and artistic histories shield him from personal pain. He saw two wives die, was involved in a support the claim.

Cole was born in Trenton on Febru- failed relationship with actress Brenda ary 29, 1948. His father was the propri- Vaccaro, witnessed the murder of his etor of two Trenton jazz clubs in the friend and collaborator, jazz vocalist Eddie Jefferson, and struggled with segregated 1940s.

One was the black-patroned Harlem alcoholism.

Despite the wear and tear Cole’s Club on Brunswick Avenue, where noted black musicians from New York music is bright, buoyant, and playful.

Prominent jazz critic Leonard Feathand Philadelphia played. The other, Hubby’s Inn on North Olden Avenue, er noted Cole’s lively and informal was where Las Vegas-type acts per- presentations had a “free-wheeling and sometimes satirical nature” and formed for white audiences.

Cole, who was raised by his sec- the website About Jazz said Cole “is retary mother, Emily, and factory the last of a breed — a fast and comworker stepfather, Thomas Cole, said petitive musical gunslinger acquiring his decision to play alto sax at 10 years legendary status for his willingness to old was a natural one. A hocked alto demonstrate his command of Charlie sax ended up in his house. “I grew Parker’s bebop language by taking on all comers at up with a sax and any speed.” smelled the metal “I like to trick and played with ‘I am not from Trenton; people into the keys. When I liking jazz by went to elemenI am Trenton,’ Cole has keeping things tary school and friendly, upbeat, said. ‘The only place I wanted to be in familiar,” the band, I had the feel comfortable is back and said Cole, who instrument. I was is the musical in my hometown: in blessed to be in an link that runs era when the pubTrenton.’ from bebop’s lic school systems founder Charhad great music lie Parker and departments.

I innovator Phil Woods to the present. had great teachers who really helped me a lot. I was one of the two people in Woods — who married Parker’s widthe world who got a full scholarship,” ow — taught at a summer performing said Cole of his 1966 Downbeat Maga- arts camp in New Hope, where he met zine award that took the Ewing High the young Cole and became his mengraduate to jazz-focused Berklee Col- tor. The two eventually joined in recording an album, “Side by Side.” lege of Music in Boston. “(Bebop) to me is the ultimate exHis college years ended when he pression of jazz,” Cole said about the got an offer to play with famed drummer Buddy Rich’s band in 1969. “I style that he had mastered. It is a style took the place of famed alto-saxophon- that followed swing in the late 1940s, ist Art Pepper. It was the dream job. I employed both traditional and untradiwent around the world. I was with him tional harmonic and rhythm construcfor two-and-a-half years. I have been tions (with an emphasis on the untravery lucky with my career and had a ditional), and stressed playful, fast, and intricate solos that let musicians lot of good breaks.”

Other experiences included joining soar as they explored both sound and bands led by Lionel Hampton and Doc emotion. In addition to Parker, other Severinsen, playing with the Manhat- masters of the style that took its name tan Transfer, and then creating his from nonsense sounds related to scat own group, the Alto Madness Orches- or sound singing include Dizzy Gillespie and Theolonius Monk. tra.

“If serious jazz musicians study Despite an international reputation and living outside the region, Cole their music, they’ll see that it starts found and created opportunities to re- with bebop. You have to master your turn to Trenton to play. One of his first instrument. Anything that comes musical homes was Lanzi’s Lounge on into your head you can play, because Liberty and Dresden Avenue. His last you have mastered your instrument. was the Candle Light Lounge on Pas- Bebop musicians are like classically trained musicians,” said Cole. saic Street.

Another important thing to recall, Cole said his musical success was connected to his approach. “I do not he said, is that bebop performers are not just playing music. “They’re tell-

By Dan Aubrey

T

ing a story off the top of your head; you’re not reading the story.

(Saxophonist) Sonny Rollins is a poet. He’s telling a story. I understand it. Every paragraph he’s talking about. That’s the core of my thing.”

Cole said he got his taste for bebop by staying “up all night listening to the jazz stations. I was attracted to bebop. I understood it. When I was growing up in the ’70s, avant-garde was out, and it looked like I was playing old folks’ music. But I heard it, and I based my career on it.

It wasn’t easy. I was a young white guy playing black bebop music. It was like a contradiction.”

A professional who made his living through concerts, royalties, and as a visiting artist at various jazz institutes, Cole recorded more than 50 albums and CDs, wrote more than 3,000 compositions (including symphonies for 80-piece orchestras), and served on the boards of the National Jazz Service Organization and the National Endowment for the Arts, where he was chairman for one year.

Cole, who had based himself in Los Angeles for a time relocated to Trenton in 2014. He moved to the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, region in 2015 to be closer to his daughter, Annie Cole, who reported his death by natural causes.

Cole is also survived a daughter from his previous relationship, Amanda Marrazzo, and four grandchildren: Annie’s sons, Ricky and Julian Barajas, and Emily and Abby Marrazzo.

Other survivors also include a great number of Trenton-area musicians that he influenced.

Trenton born jazz pianist and Princeton Public School music instructor Steve Kramer noted on social media,

Richie Cole on the cover of his album ‘Trenton Makes the World Takes.’

“He was always kind and helpful to all of us young cats coming up in the music business. Sensing we needed the experience Richie would ask us up to the stage to sit in with him. This became a tradition with him, and he always welcomed us as we nervously approached the bandstand. He gave us the right amount of encouragement that we needed in our development as budding jazz musicians. What else can I say about a guy I loved and had the good fortune to make music with?”

“Richie Cole lived an amazing life and left this world peacefully in his sleep,” his daughters said in a social media posting to his fans. “The world may not have more time with him, but his legacy is here to be enjoyed for generations to come. In true Richie Cole fashion, put your favorite RC song on, grab your favorite drink and raise your glasses (or beer cans) to keeping Jazz music alive.”

One choice would be Cole’s first album, “Trenton Makes the World Takes.”

A memorial is being planned after the pandemic passes.

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Karen Hernandez-Granzen celebrates 25 years of transformation, spirit

By Dan Aubrey

P

astor Karen Hernandez-Granzen is the welcoming face of Westminster Presbyterian Church on Greenwood Avenue in Trenton.

Celebrating her 25th year as the church’s spiritual leader — and dealing with an unprecedented crisis — she is standing in one of her community rooms to talk about a legacy, changes, and challenges of the church in Trenton’s Wilbur section.

Pastor Karen Hernandez-Granzen says her Westminster Presbyterian Church in Trenton looks to build partnerships beyond the Sunday morning congregation.

In many ways what she has to say touches many urban and suburban churches.

“We’re an intercultural and an affirming interfaith community,” she says.

Quickly moving beyond the generalization of the statement, she says, “To be intercultural means we’re a multicultural congregation. We include black gospel music, Hispanic music, and African music every Sunday. By affirming we’re a church that invites and includes the LGBT community. While some churches celebrate Black History Month, Hispanic History Month, Women’s History Month, we make sure we incorporate this every Sunday. We’re Presbyterian so there are the traditional Eurocentric hymns.”

The path from a congregation rooted to a white Protestant religion born in the British Isles and shaped by Euro-centric attitudes to one led by a Latina made pragmatic sense.

“The church made a decision in the early 1980s when it was primarily a vintage congregation that it needed to change the complexion of the congregation to look like the diverse community Trenton had become,” says Hernandez-Granzen.

“This transformation took decades,” she adds. “And that’s pretty typical of mainline worshipping communities.

This radical transformation into a cultural community takes much patience.”

To illustrate the transformation,

Pastor Karen Hernandez-Granzen is the face of Westminster Presbyterian Church on Greenwood Avenue.

Hernandez-Granzen says when she took stewardship of the church founded in 1898, the congregation was 90 percent white. Now, she says, “We are 60 or so percent African American, 30 percent Euro, and 7 percent Hispanic.”

While the congregation has 100 registered members (others come and go as the spirit moves), HernandezGranzen says that it works to connect the Trenton neighborhood and the greater area.

“I feel that our church is a vital church because we don’t just look at the number of people on a Sunday morning but see our church as a community center,” she says. “One of the strengths of our worshipping community is we have since the 1990s actively created deep relations to the arts community, police department, Princeton University, Princeton Theological Society, and Rider University.”

Westminster sees part of its ministry through programming. “We have a Get Set after school program. We have an ESL school that we’ll kick

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start again in the fall. We’re now the new home of the Trenton Music Makers. We’re a healing community station — what that means is that we’ve been trained to support those who are currently incarcerated and those who are returning citizens. And we’re the home of the Beracah Apostolic Church — a congregation of eight different Latin American countries.”

H

ernandez-Granzen says up until the COVID-19 financial disruption Westminster’s budget had been slightly over $200,000 and supported one full-time individual (her), one parttime assistant (Trenton native Crystal Jordan), and when not on quarantine restrictions, another part-time church employee and two part-time program coordinators.

Support has been from Westminster’s religious partners: Nassau, Dutch Neck, Ewing, and Lawrence­ ville Presbyterian churches.

The after-school program that enrolled 30 children, prior to the quar-

antine, has a low-cost tuition and also partners’ support to make sure “our students are reading at grade level,” she says.

“The sustainability of this church starts with our members,” she says.

“Although they are of the low income bracket, they give with their time and volunteering. So there is a lot of hands-on involvement.”

Self-defined as a person who loves “partnering with people with different backgrounds to work creatively to address the issues of the day,” Hernandez-Granzen also says she’s a Nuyorican — a New Yorker born to Puerto Rican parents.

“I was born in New York: Brooklyn, Sunset Park, Bay Ridge. I went to Fort Hamilton High School. I got an associate in accounting from New York City Community College–City Tech.

“My dad was a (full time) Pentecostal pastor in the mid-1960s. He left his legacy. He understood the church’s mission wasn’t just about service and Bible studies.”

She says it was also about getting loans to support its members and helping integrate members into the community.

“My mother was a prayer warrior,” she continues. “(My father) died when he was 45, and she had to raise 11 kids at home. The church and social security supported her.”

Hernandez-Granzen then matterof-factly says, “I became a rebellious teenager. And what brought me back to the church fold was an after-school tutoring and mentoring program in Brooklyn, New York. That work got me off the streets.

“The pastor didn’t pressure me to go to church, but by being involved with the after-school program and working with senior citizens and gang members, I became eventually a worshiper of that church.” It was First Hispanic Reform Church of America.

Hernandez-Granzen says she had the opportunity and interest in going to California and lived in Los Angeles for eight years. She got her undergraduate degree in business administration from California State University Los Angeles.

She says she also served in a church for six years and got involved

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The meeting happened five months with youth programs at Los Ranchos into her pastorate when HernandezPresbyterian.

It was then that she says she found Granzen attended a meeting with others pastoring churches in transition her unexpected calling.

“Even though I worked with youth and had to find a place to sit. There as a youth director, I never saw my- was an empty seat, and someone at self as a potential pastor until (Pastor) the table called for Michael Granzen, Hector Delgado asked me when I was her future husband, to join them.

“That was the first time we ate toin California if I had ever thought of gether,” she says. the ordained ministry.

“He is of Irish, Scottish, and Ger“I didn’t see myself as a female pastor because I had never met one. Even man decent. And he is the first white though I got an accounting and busi- man I dated,” she says.

After initially living in the Trenton ness degree and was still actively was involved with the church, I never saw and Ewing area, the couple now lives that my future profession was to be a in Princeton with their two daughters, minister of the word and sacrament. I Mikaella and Olivia, both in their 20s.

She says the move also helped her thought, ‘Why not?’ and realized that this was God’s call for my life. I was in strengthen relationships that have already existed, including engaging my 20s at the time.”

Soon McCormick Theological Sem- Princeton University as a community inary in Chicago was her next stop. “It partner. She is also a Princeton Townhad a Hispanic program. I would be ship Civil Rights Commissioner.

Hernandez-Granzen then turns to able to study with Hispanic scholars in Spanish, and it had an urban empha- the topic of the vital yet semantically tricky support sis. Los Ranchos from outside Presbyterian (in ‘I feel that our church is the city. “Often Los Angeles) suburban-urban provided a schola vital church because partnerships are arship and the not always helpseminary did too. we don’t just look at ful. It’s mostly “I went from the number of people charity given to being a Pentecosthe poor urban tal to part of the on a Sunday morning church.

Even reformed denomthough Westminination and then but see our church as a ster is receiving Presbyterian becommunity center.’ financial support, cause I started we partner toas youth director gether.” and joined the In addition to programs at the church.” church, Hernandez-Granzen mentions Then Trenton called.

“I was studying for my ordination two important community partner proexam in Chicago,” Hernandez-Gran- grams off the church’s grounds. The zen says, “And I got a church informa- first is Bethany House of Hospitality. tion form and read about this church, Located in the Bethany Presbyterian about it being a vintage congregation Church parsonage on Hamilton Avthat knew it needed to change its com- enue, the program provides low-cost plexion. And I felt this overwhelming housing for young adults employed in love for this congregation sight un- jobs that benefit the city through various programs, ranging from Trenton seen.”

Hernandez-Granzen’s sense that gardening projects to low-cost legal she was called to this church was services. And, the second, in 1998, deepened when a former pastor of Westminster started a mission in the Westminster served with Hernandez- Dominican Republic and helped build Granzen on a national committee, a school for more than 400 children, thought it was a good match, and sent pre-k to 12.

Thinking ahead, she says, Trenton’s her church info.

She then met the Rev. Patti Daley, fastest growing population is Hispanthe liaison between Nassau and West- ics, and Westminster is working to adminster Presbyterians, at a national just the after-school program to meet committee on urban ministry in Chi- the needs of such students. Other noticeable populations include Haitians cago.

“I prayed the old guard would get and others of African descent.

Looking at Westminster’s transto see the fruit of their ministry before they died,” Hernandez-Granzen formation and her accomplishment, says when she was appointed to the Hernandez-Granzen says, “Across the church. “They did. There are really nation, churches that are intercultural only two that are here. They still have are small. Martin Luther King said that the most segregated time in the ownership.”

There was another event in Chicago United States is at 11 a.m. on Sunday that changed her life. She met her mornings. The fact is that Westminhusband, pastor of Second Presbyte- ster is intercultural is rare.” rian Church Elizabeth and an associWestminster Presbyterian ate professor at New Brunswick Theo- Church, 1140 Greenwood Avenue, logical Seminary teaching Christian Trenton. www.wpctrenton.com ethics and theology.

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