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INSIDE: Taking Off District Musical Mile Square Mutz
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CoNtENts 07030
DEPARTMENTS 18 PEOPLE POWER Lina Podles
26 THE ARTS District Musical
30 CITY CRITTERS Urban Wildlife
41 HOW WE WORK Small Business
42 HOW WE LIVE Monroe Street
26
46 SPORTS Hoboken Coach
COVER 14 CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN Master Tailor Cover Image by Alyssa Bredin Quiros TBishPhoto
fEATURES 22 JUNIOR JOURNALISTS Mustard Seed School
34 SYMPOSIA Secret to Survival
38 RESILIENCE ADVENTURES Hoboken Paddle Sports
38
56 ROCKET CLUB
50 EMERGING
Fueling the Future
Veteran Residences
52 ON THE JOB Fiore’s Secrets
55 POINT & SHOOT Art and Industry
58 MEMORIES Leo’s Grandevous
60 HELPING HANDS Easter Seals
62 EATERY Dolce & Salato
42 4 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
New Construction Duplex | Hoboken, NJ
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200 Washington Street, Hoboken, NJ | 201.478.6700 635 Valley Road, Upper Montclair, NJ | 973.744.6033 Halstead New Jersey, LLC All information is from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, prior sale or withdrawal without notice. No representation is made as to the accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate and all information should be confirmed by customer. All rights to content, photographs and graphics reserved to Broker.
Spring | Summer 2019 Volume 8 • Number 1 Published twice annually A Publication of Newspaper Media Group
PUBLISHER Perry Corsetti DEPARTMENT EDITOR Bruce Moran EDITOR IN CHIEF Kate Rounds GRAPHICS STAFF Terri Saulino Bish lisa M. Cuthbert Alyssa Bredin Quiros ADVERTISING MANAGER Tish Kraszyk SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Toni Anne Calderone-Caracappa Ron Kraszyk
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07030 HOBOKEN is published by the Newspaper Media Group, 447 Broadway, Bayonne, New Jersey 07002, (201) 798-7800, fax (201) 798-0018. Email 07030ag@hudson reporter.com. Subscriptions are $10 per year, $25 for overseas, single copies are $7.50 each, multiple copy discounts are available. VISA/MC/ AMEx accepted. Subscription information should be sent to 07030 HOBOKEN Subscriptions, 447 Broadway, Bayonne, NJ 07002. Not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or other unsolicited materials. Copyright ©2019, Newspaper Media Group .All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.
07030 HOBOKEN is a publication of Newspaper Media Group 447 Broadway, Bayonne, New Jersey 07002 phone 201.798.7800 fax 201.798.0018
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by tbishphoto
Lisa M. Cuthbert Pat Bonner
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MARILYN BAER
Jim Hague Alyssa Bredin Quiros
RORY PASQUARIELLO
by tbishphoto
Delfin Ganapan
Victor M. Rodriguez
Maxim Ryazansky
contributors
07030
MARILYN BAER
grew up in Hoboken and currently lives in Jersey City. She studied journalism at Ohio Wesleyan University and is now a staff writer for the Hoboken Reporter.
TERRI SAULINO BISH
is an award-winning graphic designer, digital artist, and photographer, capturing many of the iconic images featured in print and online publications across Hudson County. You can view more of her work at tbishphoto.com.
Pat Bonner
is a Navy veteran and one of the Bayonne’s 45th Street Bonners.
LISA CUTHBERT
Is a multi-award winning senior graphic designer with more than 15 years of art and design experience. Passionate about and dedicated to the profession, “I do not think out of the box. I redesign the box itself.”
8 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
Tara Ryazansky
DELFIN GANAPIN
is an editorial assistant at the Hudson Reporter. In his spare time, he is immersed in contemporary geek and pop culture and has contributed to a small geek culture blog called We Are Geeking Out.
JIM HAGUE
is a Jersey City native, who landed a job with the Hudson Dispatch in 1986. He has been the sports columnist for the Hudson Reporter Associates for the last 22 years.
ALYSSA BREDIN QUIRoS
is an award-winning designer and photographer. Her work is featured in numerous publications, including Hoboken 07030 and 07030 HOBOKEN. You can see her full portfolio at tbishphoto.com.
RORY PASQUARIELLO
is a local journalist living in the Jersey City Heights. He grew up in Morris County, went to school in the Hudson Valley, and now his writing appears every week on his neighbors’ doorsteps.
DIANA SCHWAEBLE
VICTOR M. RODRIGUEZ
has studied publication design, photography, and graphic arts. “I’ve been fascinated by photography for almost 20 years,” he says.
MAX RYAZANSKY
is a photographer whose work has been exhibited in galleries and published worldwide. A recent transplant to Bayonne, he spends his spare time trying to figure out the best pizza place in town.
TARA RYAZANSKY
is a writer who moved from Brooklyn to Bayonne. She works as a blogger for Nameberry.com and spends her spare time fixing up her new (to her) 100-year-old home.
Diana Schwaeble
Is an award-winning reporter and former editor of hMAG. She has covered Hudson County for more than a decade, writing about the arts, music, and celebs.
AT THE HOBOKEN PUBLIC LIBRARY Countdown to Summer Reading! A great summer’s in store at Hoboken’s Public Library! From June through
August, HPL’s Summer Reading is the ideal program to help readers of all ages learn new things and have fun with friends. Go to www.hobokenlibrary.org/src2019 to find out about the events, live concerts, and activities for kids, teens and adults, too. We offer so much more than books.
Look what else is taking off! HPL’s Learning Center at the Hoboken Housing Authority, next to the Mama Johnson Field. Please visit this new literacy corner, get some books, use our free WiFi, and find out what else you can do there.
Renovated Youth Rooms on the third floor. It’s going to take just over a year, but when this third-floor renovation is done, young readers and their caregivers will have a bright and airy space to read and relax. Main Branch 500 Park Ave, Hoboken NJ 07030 Pop Up Library: 124 Grand Street HPL’s Learning Center located at HHA - 401 Harrison Street Main Branch Tel: 201-420-2346
Editor’s Letter 07030
Cool Customers here’s a lot going on in Hoboken. Just ask our Hoboken Reporter staff writer, Marilyn Baer, who writes ongoing stories on hot-button issues such as the budget, Union Dry Dock, scooter rules, green space, you name it. In Hoboken 07030, we cover cool-button issues: cool people to know, cool things to look at, and cool stuff to do in the beautiful spring and summer season. Speaking of seasonal fun, in this issue, Marilyn takes a look at Resilience Adventures. This great organization combines fun paddle sports with environmental awareness. On the Hudson River, right off the boat house, folks can learn to use paddle boards and kayaks, and search for sea life along the shoreline. Pat Bonner gets down and dirty with some cheese. In our “On the Job With” segment, Pat heads down to Fiore’s to find out just how they make their famous mutz. Don’t try this at home! We welcome Diana Schwaeble back to the Hudson Reporter family. Diana talks suits and pocket squares with Joseph Genuardi, tailor to the stars. Tucked away in the Neumann
Photo by Marie Papp
T
see page 36
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Clothes Make the Man A MASTER TAILOR FITS THE BILL
Photo by Alyssa Bredin Quiros (tbishphoto)
BY DIANA SCHWAEBlE
T
ucked inside the Neumann Leather Building is Genuardi’s tailor shop. Joseph Genuardi is known to some by reputation and to others only when they see his work, like a beautifully crafted suit that invites comment. He calls what he does an “applied art business.” The business of building a wardrobe from scratch takes time. It also requires a certain level of success from the buyer. A handmade suit is an investment. But what better way to bespeak success than through clothing? So much of what we convey to the world is through our appearance. How we look, how we carry ourselves, the clothes we choose, all give messages. Joe realized early the power of clothes that fit. “My entire young adult life I never had clothes that fit me right,” he says. “When I found the beauty of well-fitting clothing it really had a transformative effect on me, physically and emotionally. You feel the difference. You feel it physically, 14 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
and you look so much better. It really does have an impact on a person. It impacts the way they carry themselves, the way other people see them. In the grand scheme of things, it is a small part of life, but I think it is an important part. I really love when guys discover that.”
SMAll WONDER Joe acknowledges that he is a small guy, which may have something to do with his memory of ill-fitting clothes. In person, Joe doesn’t come across as small. Perhaps it’s the assured way he moves or the cut of his clothes. Even in jeans, he manages to look like he’d be comfortable leading a meeting. Unflappable is a word that comes to mind. And calm is the way you feel in his presence. Surely, good qualities when getting up close and personal measuring clients. There’s something genteel in the notion of a tailor laboring away at his craft. You might picture an old man, needle in hand, thimble on thumb, burning up the hours as he makes
arts 07030
alterations. That picture isn’t far off. Tailoring is hard work. It’s an old-world skill, and making anything from scratch requires time. Joe believes that some things are better when you wait for them. He could tell you something about waiting and striving for a goal. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, he decided to ditch his education and embark on a new career as a tailor. He had some ideas about that. The first was to move to Italy and learn the art of tailoring from a master tailor— undaunted by the fact he doesn’t speak Italian.
Making the Cut But it wasn’t Italy but Pennsylvania, where Joe worked for five years under the tutelage of tailor Joe Centofanti. When he met Centofanti, Joe says the story took a turn: “He was unbelievably interesting as a person. I was mystified and amazed by these old guys who were in this little shop making these amazingly beautiful clothes.” During the first four months, he received only a travel stipend of $30. “I couldn’t think about money when I started because I would have stopped in six months. I had to focus on the work. There are sacrifices. Big sacrifices. Your social life goes out the door. You aren’t living any kind of high-class lifestyle, and you are in the shop Monday through Saturday. And to make money I used to work two nights a week. It was at a department store. That’s not glamorous work, you know? Someone is throwing a pair of pants at you. But I had to do it, and that got me through the early stages, and then you just build and build and build.”
Photos courtesy of Joseph Genuardi
07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019 • 15
One of Genuardi’s most famous customers
fITTING THE fAMOUS That focus helped hone his skills in everything from drafting and cutting to hand-sewing and fitting. It paid off. His training enabled him to land a job at one of the most famous custom clothing makers, Martin Greenfield Clothiers in New York City. For five years, he managed the custom-made division, fitting clothes for the rich and famous, including President Barack Obama, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Donald Trump before he was president. “I dressed a couple of people that are presidents,” Joe says. “I’m very proud of that. I love all my customers. I don’t do anything different for somebody that is famous. It’s all the same. Every suit is the best we can do.” While he loved his job, he wanted to do more, and decided to open his own shop in Hoboken. “I’ll tell you, it was probably the scariest thing I ever did,” he says. “When I put in my resignation at my old job, my second son was about to be born. Living in Hoboken, it’s not cheap. I was really fortunate. People came, and we’ve been busy ever since. I couldn’t have asked for a better start.”
SUIT YOURSElf His Hoboken office, which opened in 2016, is strictly modern. With high ceilings, a large drafting table that takes up much of the space, and suit jackets hung on garment racks, at first glance it could be a studio apartment for a wellto-do bachelor. It’s a masculine space. The artistic flourishes come from the lighting and large canvases of urban spaces by local artist Tim Daly, who also works in the Neumann Leather Building. When a client enters his studio, Joe first talks to him to get a sense of who he is before a single measurement is made. This is an important step, he says. “We usually start with people who have been to other tailors, and they aren’t too happy, or they bought off the rack, and it’s subpar,” he says. “Maybe they were OK, but now they want true bespoke, where it’s made from scratch. They want the quality. They want the beautiful cloth.” 16 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
Joe is as precise with his words as he is with his measurements. He notes that the word “bespoke” is now used to describe far more than custom clothing. There are bespoke pizza, restaurants, and even water. While some have misappropriated the word, Joe’s tailoring is truly custommade.
NO AVERAGE JOE Before he opened his shop, Joe spent two years developing his own drafting process. “We make a paper pattern for every customer we have here,” he says. “There is no standard sizing. Everything is drafted on paper from scratch for each customer. I know how guys are built because I’ve fitted and delivered thousands of suits for the past 15 years. So I made a system that is really modern and refined and relevant.” Joe’s sincerity is appealing. Asked where he draws his inspiration, his answer is detailed and intelligent. It also reveals much about a work ethic that demands hours of time. He cites architecture, which makes sense. Design, structure, and balance are necessary when crafting a suit that’s not only functional, but visually stunning. He channels the master painters of the Renaissance. “These guys would spend a lifetime just refining their craft, just day in and day out,” he says. “Just painting, painting, painting. Their whole career was this process of development. That sort of is the beauty of what we do. It’s this continuous process of design, refinement, and reinventing things. I think that is true for any crafts person.” It’s not the technical aspects of building a suit, but the artistry that renders it beautiful, he says. Each customer presents different design challenges. Joe’s understanding of proportion makes tailoring an art form. “What I really love is when the cloth and the cut and the customer all come into harmony,” he says. “That’s the perfect equation.”—07030 Genuardi is at 300 Observer Highway. For more information, visit: genuarditailor.com or Instagram @genuarditailor.
Book Worm Library Director Lina Podles is living her life’s dream Beyond the Building
By Tara Ryazansky
T
he Hoboken Public Library, at Fifth Street and Park Avenue, is a stately, century-old building. The stacks hold classics as well as new releases, but beyond the aisles of books the library is a part of the Hoboken community. Library Director Lina Podles is in charge. Podles began working as Director of the Hoboken Public Library in 2001. She started her career in New York in 1991. “I first thought of becoming a librarian, had always loved libraries, loved reading,” Podles says. But she first imagined herself working behind the scenes in technical services or cataloging. “When I applied for the position at the New York Public Library, they recognized me as a people person and persuaded me to take a career path in public service.” She took the job, working her way up the New York Public Library’s ladder. That prepared her to assume the director title in Hoboken. “I had great mentors who encouraged me to grow, to think big, and to believe in myself,” she says. Library Director is a perfect fit. “Being a leader gives me a great opportunity to form a vision, to design, to interact with the community, and to inspire staff. It is also very inspiring to be able to see how the library is changing, how the community loves their library, and how we are able to change and to grow with time.”
The library has seen plenty of change during Podles’s tenure as director. “The library has grown tremendously,” she says. “Our circulation has quadrupled, we brought many programs, opened a branch in the multi service center. We expanded the hours and now are open every day of the week. We have truly become a community hub, established a great relationship with many community organizations.” The library has expanded its presence in the community by creating new spaces outside the main building. This gives access to library books and services for those who might struggle to get to the main branch. “I am very proud of our relationship with the Hoboken Housing Authority, as we have library corners in several senior buildings and most recently opened a learning center,” Podles says. “Our motto is to go out to the community, to partner with other organizations, and to look for alternative ways to deliver library services.”
Moving on Up Next on the agenda is finding a suitable location for an uptown library space, which patrons have been requesting for quite a while. Last year, the Hoboken Public Library acquired two townhouses next to the main branch.
18 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
“Eventually, I would like to see a new library annex connected to the main building, with greater space for large programming, more smaller self-study spaces for tutoring and small business meetings,” Podles says. “I also would like to see those spaces equipped with modern technology, so our residents are able to feel connected to the world.” Work is also underway in the main building. The plan is to improve and preserve the space with a complete renovation of the third floor and replacement of the HVAC system. “The library building is beautiful, but it is also 125 years old, Podles says. “It had many years of deferred maintenance, which we are trying to address now. We also have a responsibility to preserve its historical significance, but also make it attractive and responsive to the twenty-first century.”
Keeping Up The library has to keep pace with Hoboken and all its changes. “Hoboken definitely grew, became even more beautiful,” she says. “I really like the mix of the old historical building and the growth of the city with modern buildings. There is a great emphasis on quality of life, which is especially appealing to me, as the library plays a crucial role in the quality of life of the city’s residents. I enjoy the diversity of people and their interests, which is especially appealing and challenging for the wide areas of services I feel we need to provide.”
PEoPLE PoWEr 07030
Photo by Max Ryazansky
Photos by Victor M. Rodriguez
Those services are for everyone in Hoboken, which means that ongoing library programs include everything from story time for preschoolers and senior library card signup events to ESL and literacy programs. The library also includes a Makerspace with a variety of digital resources. “We have a very robust Wi-Fi, offer laptops and e-readers, IPads, mobile printing, and great acoustical equipment for programs,” Podles says. This makes the library a popular hangout for teenagers who enjoy programs like Girls Who Code and use the Makerspace’s 3D printer. “The beauty and the special value of library services lies in the fact that we are serving everyone,” Podles says. “Seniors, babies, young people, and those in the middle.”—07030
Photo by Max Ryazansky
07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019 • 19
delivering At CarePoint Health, we believe every mom deserves the best care in her journey through pregnancy—and close support in the months after.
That’s why Hoboken University Medical Center is committed to delivering joy by providing: • Personal pregnancy coach to support you before, during, and after pregnancy
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Childbirth options include natural delivery, pain management during labor (including nitrous oxide), water labor/birth, and more. Doulas and midwives are welcome.
To schedule a tour or speak with a pregnancy coach, call 201-821-8819.
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MAKING AN IMPACT
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401 WASHINGTON STREET SECOND LOCATION COMING SUMMER 2019 - 1100 WASHINGTON STREET
STOP BY A LOCATION NEAREST YOU AND ASK ABOUT OUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. SAVINGS ACCOUNTS ◊ CHECKING ACCOUNTS ◊ CDs ◊ BUSINESS LOANS RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGES ◊ SMALL BUSINESS LENDING ◊ LINES OF CREDIT ◊ AND MORE! WALK IN OR LOG ON - THE CHOICE IS YOURS! HOWEVER YOU LIKE TO BANK, BCB HAS A PRODUCT FOR YOU! VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR A FULL LIST OF OUR CONVENIENTLY LOCATED BRANCHES. www.BCB.Bank l 1.800.680.6872
Junior Journalists MUSTARD SEED KIDS SOAK IT All IN BY KATE ROUNDS PHOTOS BY EMMA HEAlEY
W
hen Emma Healy emailed me about bringing her fourth and fifth graders to the Hudson Reporter to learn about journalism, I was thrilled. We never pass up an opportunity to teach kids about the very rewarding—and increasingly necessary—career of journalism. “Our students are beginning to learn about newspapers and how to write articles,” Ms. Healey wrote. “We’d like a tour of the inner workings of a how a newspaper is made and written.” She went on to say, “We are ending our Expository Writing Unit by writing a newspaper article about a notable New Jersey subject, which they are researching in STEAM. This is the first time our students are writing their own articles, as we usually end with an expository essay. Some students are writing their own newspaper articles during their own free time.” I asked Ms. Healey how many kids would be coming. Fiftysix? Yikes, there is no way our small staff could handle such a big crowd on a day when we are producing our newspapers, so I offered to visit her class. Am I glad I did. What an experience. We’re at the Mustard Seed School, where words like planting, sprouting, blossoming, and growing describe how teacher/gardeners cultivate a love of learning. Ms. Healy was joined by two other teachers and their 22 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
students, Ms. Kat Jonker and Ms. Melissa McCallahan. All the students were ages 10 and 11. We had a lively discussion about what news is, how you find it, who produces it, the difference between newspapers and magazines; fact and opinion. They asked about people who are near and dear to their hearts like athletes and musicians. Sports, of course, is an important entrée into the news, which is why in the old days, it was usually on the back page, so folks in subway cars could read the latest scores on the paper of the straphanger sitting across from them. Musicians and celebrities represent a sizeable sector of the news business. One student asked me if I know Ariana Grande. Sadly, I had to admit that I did not but that she would make a great interview. She was in the headlines two years ago with the awful shooting at her concert in Manchester, England. Lately in the news we’ve seen how celebrity, crime, and politics often intersect. (College-entrance scandal, anyone?) These students had obviously been following the news on one of the many platforms available to twenty-first century citizens. A recurring topic among the kids was so-called “fake news.” When journalists are doing the important job of being journalists, there is no such thing as fake news. We certainly don’t practice it here. In fact, the Hudson Reporter recently won the top award from the Garden State Journalists Association for our story, “The Truth About Fake News.”
EdUCAtioN 07030
I asked the students what would happen if there were no reporters, no journalists, no writers, no photographers, no news outlets; in short, no free press. One girl answered, “We wouldn’t know.” Yes, we would be in the dark, which is a dangerous place to be for citizens who want to protect their rights and freedoms in a democratic society. They asked a lot of personal questions: Why did I choose this career? How long have I been a journalist? (You never ask a lady her age.) Do I like my job? Some of the kids said they might want to be journalists. One boy decidedly did not. He thought it was too boring. Which is fine. Journalism isn’t for everyone, just like medicine and the bassoon aren’t for everyone. So let’s be grateful that we have people who love being physicians, and people who love playing the bassoon. So, do I like my job? No, I love my job. Dr. Patricia McGeehan, former superintendent of schools in Bayonne, was fond of saying that if you love your job, you will never work a day in your life. My hope for these bright, eager, joyful kids is that they will never have to work a day in their lives.—07030
07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019 • 23
Ghoulish classic goes modern with immersive animation Images by TBishPhoto
O
ne hundred Hoboken public school students in kindergarten through 12th grade performed in this year’s all-district musical, “The Addams Family,” which debuted in May.
The show is based on Charles Addams’s single-panel cartoons, which depict a spooky American family with an affinity for all things macabre. The comedy follows 18-year-old Wednesday Addams who is about to marry a “normal boy,” Lucas Beineke. His parents are
26 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
meeting the Addamses for the first time at the family dinner table. “What appears to be normal isn’t always normal,” said Director Danielle Miller who heads the district’s theater department. “The family that is so off-put by the Addams family wind up learning
Arts 07030
about real love and themselves through this whole experience.”
A year in the making PJ Benson was assistant director, Kristen Hoyt was music director, and Britteny Schruefer was choreographer. Kimberly Mara directs the K-2nd grade ensemble. “This show is really funny,” Miller said. “It’s like when you watch a good movie, and there is adult humor, and the kids love it too.”
Arts 07030
Miller chose The Addams Family after attending the International Thespian Festival in Nebraska with some of her students last June. One school’s performance used digital graphics in lieu of sets. Miller began brainstorming how the all-district musical could use similar technology. She acquired the rights to perform the show, confident that it could accommodate a cast of 100, as well as digital animation and graphics. They started fundraising and working with California-based Broadway Media to customize the digital animation, including mansion wallpaper, which was projected onto the auditorium’s walls where spiders weaved their webs. Walking suits of armor immersed the audience in the family mansion. After 180 public school students auditioned in March, 100 were cast. Students had a hand in everything from set design and construction to playbill publication.
Playbill Wallace Elementary fifth-grader Lucas Daly, who has been performing 28 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
in district musicals since kindergarten, landed the role of Gomez Addams. He said he enjoys singing and acting and feels it’s a great experience to connect with people older and younger. Mable Blishcke-Villavicencio, a seventh-grader at Hoboken Middle School, played his daughter, Wednesday Addams. It was her first time as a lead in a district musical. “It was exciting and nerve-racking at some points, but throughout the whole thing it was mostly exciting because I got to go out of my comfort zone with certain things, like singing,” she said. Sixth-grader at Wallace Elementary School, Arcadio Torres, who played Mal Beineke, said musicals are fun and allow him to interact with students from all six of the district’s schools. It’s also a hobby he shares with his older sister. Other cast members included Sofia Melfi as Morticia Addams, Miguel Cabelin as Uncle Fester, Charles W. Bird as Pugsley Addams, Riddhi Damani as Grandma, Ethan Ortiz as Lucas Beineke, and Zeniah Edmondson as Alice Beineke. “It’s definitely a don’t-judge-a-bookby-its-cover type story,” Miller said. “It was a labor of love.”—Marilyn Baer
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07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019 • 29
S
eems like our furry and feathered friends love making an appearance in Hoboken. Here are more images of our friendly, non-taxpaying residents. On this spread are some wildlife caught on camera in our Hoboken ecosystem. We will be publishing more wildlife photos in future issues. Send yours to KRounds@hudsonreporter.com. Put “City Critters” in the subject line. Photos by Victor M. Rodriguez
American Toad
Bumblebee
Gull
Canada Go
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Red-tailed Hawk
Black Panther?
g
o French Bulld 30 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
Blue Heron
Bald Eagle
Opossum
r Swallowtail
Eastern Tige
Canada Goslin
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Hairy Woodp
ecker
Hairless Woodpecker? 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019 • 31
D a T E S 0 7 0 3 0 Want your event listed? Please email us at 07030@hudsonreporter.com and put “07030 calendar listings” in the subject line.
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The Mile Square Toastmasters Club Meetings, Hudson School, 601 Park Ave., milesquare.org. Mondays,7:30 p.m. Develop public speaking skills and leadership skills in a safe and supportive space. Guitar Circle, Symposia Bookstore, 510 Washington St., chaase@chdesignsolutions.com, symposia. us. Thursdays, 8:30-9:30 p.m. Come jam with local guitar players in a casual, friendly atmosphere. Share your favorite songs and learn new ones. All playing levels and styles are welcome. Penny’s Storytime at the Museum, Hoboken Historical Museum, 1301 Hudson St., (201) 6562240, hobokenmuseum.org. Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. Education Curator Maria Lara and other guest readers share stories with children ages 2 to 5 and their caregivers. Registration required. See webpage for link, posted at 10 a.m. on the day before each session. Storytime at the Fire Department Museum, 213 Bloomfield, Sundays at 12:30 p.m. The Museum host a weekly Storytime program for children between the ages of 2 and 5. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Free.
(201) 659-3900 | www.LSFCU.org
32 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
Lunchtime Yoga Basics and Meditation at the Museum, Hoboken Historical Museum, 1301 Hudson St., Tuesdays from 12-1 p.m. Restore your bliss with our weekly hour-long Basic Yoga class. Bring your own mat and towel, and wear comfortable clothing. $10 per session. Advanced reservations required. Register at hobokenmuseum.org.
DATES 07030 Tai Chi at the Museum, Hoboken Historical Museum, 1301 Hudson St., Wednesdays from 10-11 a.m. Tai Chi is a Chinese form of exercise: a series of movements practiced in a slow and focused manner, coordinated with breathing. $10 per class. Open Makerspace Time, Hoboken Public Library, 500 Park Ave., Mondays from 1-7 p.m. Come have fun and learn how to make buttons, key chains, magnets and lots more. We have a virtual reality headset, 3D printer and a variety of other creative activities. Ages 5 and up. Morning Art with Liz Ndoye, Hoboken Public Library, 500 Park Ave., Wednesdays from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. These art classes will accommodate beginners as well as more experienced artist. Artists will go from their first triumphs of drawing the human face to drawing the entire human figure. A live clothed professional model will pose for the students. First come, first serve. Afternoon Art with Liz Ndoye, Hoboken Public Library, 500 Park Ave., Wednesdays from 1-3 p.m. Due to enthusiastic enrollment of Morning Art with Liz Ndoye, these classes will be a repeat of the morning classes. First come, first served with priority to students who did not attend the morning class.
JUNE 2 Hoboken Secret Gardens Tour 2019, Hoboken Historical Museum, 1301 Hudson St., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Hidden behind the row of homes and rehabbed factories lining Hoboken’s streets are surprisingly lush green spaces. This self-guided tour is $35 and tour booklets are available at the museum or the Fire Department Museum, 213 Bloomfield St.
3 Hoboken Flavor: Arts Gala, Food, Beer & Wine Tasting, Maxwell Place, Sinatra Dr. between 11th & 12th St., 5-8 p.m. A unique, tasting event, featuring culinary delights from local restaurants. Artwork displays by local artists and galleries. Tickets are $100 and can be purchased at hobokennj.gov/register. Proceeds support the Hoboken City Cultural Affairs Trust which sponsors The City of Hoboken’s free outdoor concerts and movies in the park, family fun nights, Harvest Festival, performance by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and more. For more information or to become a sponsor email gfallo@hobokennj.gov. 4
The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11, Hoboken Public Library, 500 Park Ave., 3:30-5 p.m. The Hoboken Public Library presents Space Program Historian Joe Lennox who will describe and explain all the amazing and exhilarating details of Apollo 11 in a multimedia presentation that includes the sights and sounds of the first moon landing, highly detailed scale models, actual spacecraft hardware, authentic flight documentation, and a medallion that contains metal that actually went to the moon on this historic mission. This program is designed for 4th grade and up plus any and all adults. Space is limited so arrive early!
12 Movies Under the Stars - Crazy Rich Asians, Pier A Park, 1st St. & Sinatra Dr., 9 p.m. Bring a blanket or Low Back Chair & Picnic basket. This romcom follows Rachel Chu as she travels to meet her boyfriend’s family and discovers that they are one of the richest families in Singapore.
see page 37
Symposia’s Secrets of Survival Hoboken bibliophiles beat the odds By Tara Ryazansky Photos by Victor M. Rodriguez
U
sually when a big-box chain store comes to town, its mom-and-pop equivalent gets nervous. Maybe they even start thinking of a plan B. But Symposia Bookstore and Community Center is the exception. The small, indie bookstore survived in Hoboken when Barnes and Noble could not. The place is a treasure trove of affordable used books. The variety is impressive. It has everything from fiction and biographies to bestsellers, self-help, art books, and kids’ books. In fair weather, passersby can stop and peruse tables with a myriad of book selections on view. “You can see what Hoboken has been reading when you stop in,” says Manager Carmen Rusu, who runs the shop with her husband, Director Corneliu Rusu. A nonprofit, its merchandise is donated by area residents. The shelves thus become a window into the mind of the average Hobokenite. (There’s a sizable self-help section.) “People read a lot, and apartments are small,” Carmen says. That means that the shop, which is always looking for new books and offers tax-deductible receipts, has a wide selection. Symposia also sells books online in its Amazon store, which is accessible through the website.
Outlasting Goliath So how did this small shop outlive Barnes and Noble? The book chain closed its Hoboken location in 2010, citing high rent as a major reason. Carmen says that they’ve gotten lucky when it comes to the rent for their location on Washington Street. 34 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
Photo courtesy of Carmen and Corneliu Rusu
The couple first opened Symposia on Willow Street in 2002. Carmen says that the store was off the beaten track, and they struggled to find a regular customer base. One night, at their monthly conversation group, an event that they still regularly hold, a friend mentioned that she knew of a space for rent. The friend knew Dave Roberts who was mayor at that time. Roberts had an empty store that was formerly a political office. Carmen and Corneliu spoke to Roberts. “He liked what we were doing,” Carmen says. Symposia moved into the Washington Street store in 2004. “He allows us to stay here for a fraction of the market value,” she says. The move to a more visible location helped the bookstore find new customers. But there’s another reason that Symposia is thriving. “We are being creative,” Carmen says. “We try to see what the community needs, and we adjust.”
The Community Component One way Symposia serves the community is with events like yoga classes and guitar circle. “Our mission is to empower the community,” Carmen says. That means that they offer their space, for a small donation or in some cases for free, to community members looking for a place where they can do something positive in Hoboken. “We had one woman who had a passion to teach young women and girls how to be assertive through drama,” Carmen recalls. The woman used Symposia to hold meetings and a performance. “It was very moving.” Another event that’s in the rotation is Puppetonia, in-
teractive puppet shows for babies and children. Puppetonia is a business that the couple created. “We have over a hundred shows, all original scripts,” Carmen says. They noticed that the store was pretty quiet in the morning, so they created Puppetonia in 2006 to appeal to young children and parents. The musicals are educational. “We have generations of kids now,” Carmen says. “We have teenagers stopping in to tell us that they have fond memories.” Symposia seeks volunteers, who are given a chance to play to their strengths. Jobs include stocking shelves, sorting through donations, assisting customers, and organizing events. Their hours depend on their availability. Plus, the position comes with some pretty cool perks. “We give free books to our volunteers,” Carmen says. “It’s a great opportunity for bookworms.”—07030 Symposia Bookstore 510 Washington St. (201) 963-0909 info@symposia.us symposia.us
07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019 • 35
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Leathers Building, he custommakes suits for the likes of Barack Obama, and, yes, that other guy who currently occupies the White House. Diana also gets the lowdown on Hoboken’s Rocket Club. Tara Ryazansky hits the stacks to get the full story on Hoboken Public Library Director Lina Podles. Meanwhile, I had a blast talking journalism with kids at the Mustard Seed School. I was poking around in the dictionary the other day and discovered that the word “magazine” is derived from the word “storehouse.” In each issue we strive to offer you a storehouse of information. Email me at krounds@hudsonreporter.com and let me know what you would like to see in our storehouse.
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15 Gazebo Mic Club Concert: Taulant Mehmeti Group, Church Square Park, 2-4 p.m. Come join your local community for an afternoon of free Jazz music with the Taulant Mehmeti Group and experience the great outdoors for National Great Outdoors Month.
19 Movies Under the Stars - The Greatest Showman, Pier A Park, 1st St. & Sinatra Dr., 9 p.m. Bring a blanket or Low Back Chair & Picnic basket. Come enjoy this sing along version of this musical drama inspired by the life of P.T. Barnum.
22 173rd Anniversary of Hoboken Baseball Game, Stevens Institute of Technology Dobbelaar Field, 1-3 p.m. One of Hoboken’s “100 Firsts” is hosting the first officially recorded, organized baseball game played under Alexander Joy Cartwright
see page 41
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Mind, Body, and Soul Hoboken’s Resilience Paddle Sports offers more than a physical workout Story and photos by Marilyn Baer
T
hose of us living in urban areas are faced with an enormous amount of stress. Every day we juggle work, jampacked schedules, deadlines, financial and family pressures, and social responsibilities. Even young adults and school kids struggle to find the mythical work/life balance talked about so often but rarely achieved. Amid the quotidian chaos of working, working out, and eating right, who has time for nature and the great outdoors? Enter Resilience Paddle Sports, a small business launched in 2013 with the goal of getting people outside, active, and on the water. It offers guided lessons in a number of human-powered water sports for adults and children at Pier 13 and the Hoboken Cove. A wide variety of choices include kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding programs all on our beautiful Hudson River. Guided paddling programs can be designed for fitness
38 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
and wellness—kayaking and stand-up paddling provide an excellent full-body workout—or for progressive skill development for those who want to take up racing, touring, or solo paddling. Classes and tours also promote boating safety and the pure joy of being on the river, without a motor. There’s nothing more peaceful and relaxing than getting out of the city and paddling on the open water on a hot day at the end of a hectic work week.
Paddling for the Planet Resilience Paddle Sports is not only good for the body and the mind but also for the planet. Its mission is to raise environmental awareness through educational programs focused on the Hudson River Estuary. The organization believes that paddling on the river and in the harbor can lead to a better understanding and stronger commitment to the stewardship of the planet, particularly local ecosystems.
“Historically for people who live in urban areas, nature was thought of as being somewhere else, and conservation work took place outside cities,” said Noelle Thurlow of Resilience Paddle Sports. “Now people are realizing the robust ecosystems that are in urban areas and how incredibly important it is to take care of these natural areas within urban environments.” The group hosts a variety of educational workshops throughout the year, including bioblitzes during which participants get up-close and personal with wildlife and the increasing number of marine species that now call the Hudson River home. According to Thurlow, Hoboken Cove is a good location for finding various species because it’s part of the Hudson River Estuary. Despite its urban location, it has a rich and beautiful ecosystem. Thurlow has documented much of the sea life in the area with local school children and college students. Here you can find ribbed mussels, diamond-backed terrapins, eels, and sturgeon. “The nature of the Hoboken Cove is that it is protected from stronger river currants,” Thurlow said. “So it is a protected cove that is the perfect spot for juvenile species like fin fish or other organisms such as birds which nest along the waterway. Even though it looks urban on the surface there is a robust ecosystem there.” Resilience Paddle Sports also does its part to help protect the local environment. It hosts waterfront cleanup days to help pick up trash left behind by irresponsible visitors and
conducts water tests to ensure the water is clean. So get out from behind your computer screen, turn your phone on airplane mode, and get out on the river. The Resilience Paddle Sports program operates in conjunction with the Shipyard Marina, The Hoboken Sailing Club, and Pier 13. Affiliates also include Classic Harbor Lines and the Hoboken Cove Boathouse. For more information or to sign up for a class or event, visit https://resilienceadventures.org/ — 07030
07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019 • 39
B U S I N E S S M a k es H o b o k en W o r k Interview and Photos by Alyssa Bredin Quiros (TBishPhoto)
Jose and Cassy
Unique Flowers
636 Washington St. (201) 683-6931 Uniqueflowersnj.com
I
visited Unique Flowers on a sunny May afternoon, the perfect time to think about flowers. May is of course to florists what April is to accountants. Mother’s Day, weddings, proms, graduations are all spring occasions that have become synonymous with flowers of all kinds. Cassy Var-
40 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
gas is carefully arranging corsage boxes in the refrigerator when I arrive. With over 30 years in the industry, her father Jose Vargas knows how to handle the busy season. A native of New York City’s Lower East Side, Jose’s interest in flowers began while working at a local florist as a teenager. He now specializes in events and has handled a number of New York City weddings and corporate functions at upscale venues like Cipriani and Mr. Chow. His daughter eagerly joined the business she grew up around. “I love working with my dad,” Cassy says. “My father has such a passion and talent for what he does.” In 2014, the father-daughter duo opened their first storefront on our side of the river. “The retail aspect is something new to us,” Jose says. Though any business that lasts five years on Washington Street is doing something right. I grew up in Hoboken and can remember when this location was Hobo’s ice cream store in the ‘90s. “A lot of people have told me that,” Cassy says. “It must have been popular.” What makes Unique Flowers unique is its artistry. The interior is set up like a gallery. Each floral arrangement is a work of art. A “graffiti wall” with inspirational words adds to the ambience. Modest rose and carnation arrangements are displayed in mason jars on pedestals and floating shelves throughout the store. Elegant peonies and orchards are also on display. For that special someone, the duo sells their own brand of preserved Forever roses. And if flowers are not your thing? They also carry an assortment of succulents and cacti in stylish glass and ceramic containers. A woman comes and purchases a large cactus she saw in the window display. “Plenty of sunlight and not too much water,” Jose tells her. Good advice for a cactus; not so much for a human. Jose and Cassy plan to continue growing their business. They’ve definitely put down roots in the Mile Square. “Hoboken has really become a second home to us” Cassy says. “We are blessed to have the support of our customers here.”—07030
Hoboken’s Top Medical Aesthetic Practice
DATES 07030 from page 37
Provided by Dr. Walter M.D.
Jr.’s rules, on June 19, 1846. The Museum will commemorate the event again this year. The 1859 Hoboken Base Ball Club (formerly the Hoboken Nine) will host the the New Brunswick Liberty for a game played by Cartwright’s rules in a competitive match. The public is invited to come root, root, root for the home team! All ages are welcome. Admission is free.
23 Spring Family Fun Day, Hoboken Historical Museum, 1301 Hudson St., 12-4 p.m. Filled with hands-on activities that stretch the imagination and encourage creativity, the afternoon offers DIY crafts and games designed to engage the whole family in a shared activity. At 2 and 3 pm, local singer and guitar player, Corey Feldman, will entertain with family-friendly songs and everyone is invited to sing along. Free.
“The greatest thing about Prep is that I’m preparing for my place in the world, with my brothers by my side.”
– Mason Holland, ’19
Sip and Paint: Great Outdoors, Hoboken Public Library, 500 Park Ave., 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Come to the library’s popular Sip (coffee and tea) and Paint Canvas Art Class. All supplies are included and no experience is necessary. Come and paint a scene on National Great Outdoors Month. First come, first served. Max 30 people.
27 Movies Under the Stars - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Pier A Park, 1st St. & Sinatra Dr., 9 p.m. Bring a blanket or Low Back Chair & Picnic basket. This animated superhero film follows Miles Morales as he tries to save New York with the help of his fellow spider powered heroes from various dimensions.
That’s why it’s
29 Drag Queen Story Hour - Harmonica Sunbeam, Hoboken Public Library, 500 Park Ave., 1-2 p.m. This is a special family program, open to children 3-8 and their families. Harmonica Sunbeam is a drag queen who goes into libraries, bookstores, festivals and other events to read books to kids.
see page 65
Take a virtual tour and discover our downtown campus!
spprep.org/Tour
Saint Peter’s Prep New Jersey’s Jesuit High School Since 1872
144 Grand Street | Jersey City, NJ 07302 | spprep.org
07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019 • 41
h o w we LIVE Monroe Street By Alyssa Bredin Quiros Photos courtesy of Corporate Realty
A
t first glance, 711 Monroe Street may look like a typical Hoboken brownstone, but what typical family has a 5,000- square-foot house? The property, which is on the site of a former glassblowing company, was transformed into a 42 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
dream home for the family who purchased it more than 15 years ago. This remarkable home boasts four levels of living space, seven bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, separate studio apartment, and a three-car, heated garage. Yes, you read that right—in Hoboken no less. The enormous “great” room on the first level is a completely open space for working, playing, and relaxing. This level has heated floors, a gym, pool table, conference table with whiteboard, living room, and entertainment center. Posters of classic ‘80s and ‘90s movies like The Breakfast Club (a personal favorite) and Edward Scissorhands hang next to a large flat-screen TV. No movie night would be complete without a vintage popcorn machine. The style is eclectic with a red, 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019 • 43
yellow, and black color palette contrasting well with wooden details. De rigueur in a great room is the proverbial longhorn steer skull. Upstairs, the mezzanine level overlooks the great room. A chef-worthy kitchen boasts two ovens, two dishwashers, an enormous kitchen island with seating for seven, and an impressive collection of cookware. The light oak cabinets pair nicely with dark wood flooring. Next to the kitchen is a dining table, fully stocked bar, and a second sitting room. The décor is vintage- homey featuring sofas and chairs with floral and striped patterns, Oriental rugs, wood ceilings, and chandeliers. Each level has its own outdoor space. The third floor’s is the largest with a 16-foot deck, two patio sofa sets, a table for eight, and a charming trellis with hanging flower baskets. For cooler weather there’s an indoor deck on the top level with sliding glass doors leading to the bedrooms. A wood-burning fireplace is tucked in a cozy nook on the third floor. I could picture myself choosing one of the many 44 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
books from the library on the fourth floor and spending a winter evening there. In a city where one-bedroom condos are the norm, 711 Monroe offers urban living on a grand scale with all the best features of a suburban home: backyard, deck, garage and driveway right here in the mile square. But what stands out about this property more than its grandeur is its warmth and hominess. This is a place where a large family could comfortably gather, yet still find privacy for solitude or quiet conversations. Basil from Corporate Realty tells me that this home was intended to be a place where “extended family and friends could not only visit but be able to stay over. It was not unusual for them to have office parties for 100 people.” Indeed, the owners made sure that everyone in the family felt at home. I’m told that the elevator was designed for grandparents who were frequent visitors. A large bathroom with three sinks and three vanities was custom-made for the family’s three daughters. If the walls could talk at 711 Monroe, they’d have wonderful memories to share. —07030
2019 Dining Guide
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The Legendary Life of Ed Stinson Hoboken’s coach extraordinaire
Photo by Victor M. Rodriguez
Hoboken Roots
By Jim Hague
H
e may no longer live in Hoboken or coach football in the Mile Square. But make no mistake, Ed Stinson is Hoboken through and through, like homemade mutz, Sinatra, and the St. Ann’s Festival. The most famous and respected football coach in Hoboken history, Stinson will begin his 50th season coaching football this fall. “My addiction is a positive one,” Stinson said. “It’s coaching football. I don’t see the end happening soon. Other professions are great, but they can’t have the emotional component that coaching football has.” Stinson currently serves as the defensive coordinator at Seton Hall Prep, working with people who have Hoboken connections like Seton Hall’s young and energetic head coach Billy Fitzgerald and assistant John Peluso, who worked with Stinson at Hoboken High for decades. In his Hall of Fame career, Stinson will forever be remembered as the architect of the Hoboken High School dynasty of the 1990s, known as “The Team of the Decade.” It won five NJSIAA state championships in the ‘90s, a record that will never be duplicated in New Jersey high school football history.
Stinson was born and raised in Hoboken, growing up in the 1950s on Second and Hudson Streets. “There were 19 bars on my block alone,” Stinson said. “I think that’s why they called Hoboken the Barbary Coast.” While Stinson could easily have fallen prey to street life in the ‘50s, he found his safe haven in sports. “We had a lot of kids living in Hoboken back then and playing ball is what you did,” said Stinson, who was a letter winner in three sports at Hoboken High, graduating in 1965. “Baseball was my first love. I was a big [Brooklyn] Dodgers fan. Back when we had the Dodgers, Yankees and Giants, I loved Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella, Duke Snider, Carl Furillo. I played shortstop, so I wanted to be like Pee Wee Reese.” He played Little League baseball and CYO Biddy basketball for his parish team, St. Peter and Paul. “I didn’t get into football until the eighth grade,” Stinson said. “I played basketball and baseball for fun. I played football for the competition and the emotion.”
Football Bug In 1962, Stinson was first introduced to the new head football coach at Hoboken High, a 24-yearold fiery inspiration by the name of Vince Ascolese, who would go
46 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
Photo from The Hoboken Reporter March 29, 2005
sPorts 07030
Photo by Jim Hague
Reporter Photo from The Hoboken 9 199 October 24,
Reporter The Hoboken , 1996 20 er ob ct O
Photo by Jim Hague
on to become one of the most successful head coaches in New Jersey gridiron history. Ascolese, who died in 2014, left Hoboken for North Bergen in 1973 and retired in 2011 with 359 career victories, 13 Hudson County titles, and seven NJSIAA state championships. “He was so young,” Stinson said of Ascolese. “He was a physical coach. He was a major force in my life. I had a father at home, but Coach Ascolese was like a father figure who I looked up to. He taught me to play with no fear.” Stinson became a standout wide receiver for Ascolese, earning AllHudson County honors in 1964.
After graduation, Stinson didn’t initially attend college. He worked for the shipping company Seatrain in Edgewater. His life could have been totally different, if not for some words of encouragement from his mother. “My mother told me that I had to go to college and had to find a way to get a college degree,” Stinson said. He enrolled at Jersey City State College (now New Jersey City University) and attended classes at night. Football wasn’t even top of mind.
The Hoboke n Reporter October 20 , 1996
Photo by Victor M. Rodriguez 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019 • 47
The Hoboken Reporter December 25, 2016
rter Hoboken Repo Photo from The 16 December 25, 20
Life-Altering Influences At Jersey City State, a second young, inspiring coach appeared, Jack Stephans, who would later coach at Fordham, William Paterson, and Weehawken High. “He named me the team captain, the first one they ever had there,” Stinson said. “I think it helped me with leadership.” Stinson was selected to the AllNew Jersey Athletic Conference First Team in 1969. “Right after that season, Jack offered me a job as the secondary coach at Jersey City State,” Stinson said. “That’s what sealed the deal for me. Coaching was the closest thing to playing. It’s why I still do it, the passion, the adrenaline, the ups and downs.” A career was born. Stinson remained an assistant to Stephans at Jersey City State for four years, working his way up to becoming the defensive coordinator. He eventually went to William Paterson to work with Stephans, remaining there until 1977, when the ultimate position opened up.
Photo by Jim Hague
Stinson was going home to be head coach at his alma mater. “It was as big of a thrill as anyone could have,” Stinson said. “To coach at the school that I went to and loved.” It was a gigantic challenge for Stinson, who was taking over a program that had won just one game in the prior two seasons. He also took over in the middle of a contentious teachers’ strike. “It was hard to get a staff together,” Stinson said. Before the start of the season, “We went away
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to camp in Pennsylvania and six kids ran away. They didn’t want to play.”
Home to Hoboken In 1979, the Hoboken Redwings won their first 10 games before losing in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group III championship game. A year later, the Redwings won it all. Stinson got a ton of help. “That’s what made it a program,” Stinson said. “We had study halls, team meetings, and a Saturday
sPorts 07030
End Zone
Photo from The Hobo
ken Reporter October 12, 1997
breakfast club. Having the ability to have that kind of help was essential.” But Stinson didn’t stay long. A year later, he took a teaching and coaching position at Park Ridge High School in Bergen County. “In 1981, I had four kids, and I had to do what was right for my family,” Stinson said. “It was a logical move for me.” Stinson posted a 32-7 record over four seasons and went to the state championship game in 1981. He then took a job at Pascack Hills, where he stayed for two seasons. “I just wasn’t happy there,” Stinson said. “I had to do something different.” Stinson’s brother, Joe, who was head coach at Hoboken, resigned after the 1986 season. Stinson went back home again.
For the Record Books Stinson remained Red Wings head coach from 1987 through 2004. Under Stinson’s guidance, the Redwings won 10 HCIAA championships and five NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group III state titles. His record during those
18 years was an incredible 158-361. The Redwings had two lengthy winning streaks of 38 and 29 games. Those streaks were sandwiched around just one loss in the state title game of 1997 against Ramapo, led by former NFL quarterback Chris Simms, son of Giants Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms. The Redwings were 67-1 over a six-year span. “Looking back on it, I think about if we won that game, that we would have won 68 in a row,” Stinson said. “We were just in the right place at the right time with the right people. We had the ability to do things because the weight room was open and a safe haven for the kids to show up all the time and be with their friends.” Hoboken’s legendary players during that stretch include AllState performers Ravon Anderson, Rashard Casey, Keeon Walker (the current Hoboken head coach), Wilber Valdez (the head coach at Union City) and Tyrell Dortch. All were NCAA Division I scholarship players.
In 2004, Stinson resigned as head coach. “It was time,” said Stinson, who went on to be an assistant coach at William Paterson and head coach at Queen of Peace in North Arlington and St. Anthony (two schools that have since closed), as well as assistant stints at Hackensack and Bergen Catholic. Two years ago, Stinson received a phone call from Billy Fitzgerald, who had just taken the head coaching job at Seton Hall Prep. “I was asking around for a defensive coordinator, and I was in touch with Zach Naszimento [former Weehawken head coach],” Fitzgerald said. “We were talking about people, and he mentioned Ed. I thought it would be a great thing for me to have him with us.” Fitzgerald had no problems having a legend on his staff. “Some people might have been intimidated,” Fitzgerald said. “But he’s always been so supportive of me. He’s given me more credibility as a head coach.” “A young guy like Billy asks you to take a job,” Stinson said. “I coached against him when he played at St. Peter’s Prep and coached against him when he coached at Prep. After taking the job, Billy asked if there were any others who I wanted to bring with me. So, Peluso came with us.” Fitzgerald has been impressed. “He’s been terrific,” Fitzgerald said. “He put a system in place, and the kids are getting more and more used to it. The first thing that comes to mind with Ed Stinson is that he’s a professional.” Stinson lives in Secaucus with his wife, Marie. They’ve raised four daughters, Stacy, Marie, Kristen, and Erin. A family man and a coaching lifer for five decades—that’s hard to beat. “I’d have to say it’s been a fabulous run,” Stinson said. “And never to be duplicated ever again—07030
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Thank You for Your Service On the homefront without a home Photos by Victor M. Rodriguez
O
n a Saturday evening in May, American Legion Post 107 hosted “In the Trenches: A Hale & Hardy Cocktail Party and Fundraiser” to raise money for housing homeless veterans. Since 2017, the post has been constructing a new facility, which will include residential units for homeless vets. Almost 40,000 veterans are homeless in America and another 1.4 million are at risk of having no place of their own. More than two dozen of these homeless vets can be found in
Hoboken, according to Post 107. Tickets for the fundraiser were $100 a pop, which is not a high price to pay to put a roof over the heads of those who served their country. When we caught up with Post Commander John Carey, he said that construction was slated to be done by the end of June, and they hoped to hit the one million mark in funding. “We’ll all be blessed to open six apartments for our American Legion,” Carey said.
Not Our Proudest Moment One of the most shameful blights on the American character is that we often don’t adequately care for
50 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
the men and women who fight for our nation. Among the most disgraceful is the prevalence of homelessness among veterans. Hoboken is attempting to remedy the situation with the new home for the 92-year-old post, which will house six homeless veterans. The new construction will replace the single-story, garage-like post at 308 Second St., with a modern five-story building. The new post will be on the second floor. The housing units above will feature full kitchens and baths. It will be the only post in New Jersey with affordable housing for veterans in the same building.
EMERGING 07030
The new home for the veterans will feature bedrooms, full kitchen, and bath.
Unit Cohesion The project is a collaborative effort among the American Legion, Hudson County, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Hoboken Rotary, Monarch Housing Associates, and The Hoboken Shelter, among many others, including post commanders who donated to the project. On Oct. 10, 2018, Hoboken held a ceremonial groundbreaking. “Today we aren’t just saying thank you, we are taking real action to support our veterans,” said then Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “The project we are breaking ground on today will provide a flood-resistant new meeting hall on the second floor as well as six units of housing for homeless veterans on three additional
floors. And we have partnered with the Hoboken Shelter, which has committed to providing support service to the veterans living here.” At the ceremony, several post commanders and state representatives expressed pride that Post 107 valiantly overcame being devastated by Superstorm Sandy, which closed the lodge for more than a year. “The county a few years ago took a vow that we would end veterans’ homelessness in Hudson County,” Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise said at the time. “Over 100 veterans have come and used our services to find housing during that period of time. We won’t stop until all American service people can live a life of dignity in Hudson County and in Hoboken.”—07030 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019 • 51
John Amato Jr.
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Mozzarella
MADNESS Fiore’s reveals its family secrets
STORY AND PHOTOS BY PAT BONNER
M
y introduction to Fiore’s came after years of eating supermarket string cheese and those lead balls in the refrigerator section some call mozzarella. When John Amato, Jr. gave me a slice of his fresh “mutz,” it was a wow moment. Whatever I had been eating all those years was not mozzarella. It was nothing like the fresh, soft, almost milky slice John gave me. How could it be so good? John told me to come the next morning at 8 a.m. when he would be making
his first batch of the day, and he would show me. I could also talk to his father, John, Sr. The next morning at 8, John Sr. and Jr. were at work ready to go. Fiore’s opened in 1913. John, Sr. started working there as a delivery boy in 1950. He took over the business in 1965 from the original owner’s son, Joe Fiore. John is from Adams Street and lived at 327, just down the block from the deli, at 401 Adams. He’s been making mutz for almost 70 years and told me, “The whole secret is in the cooking.” The cooking temperature should be around 160 degrees. “It can’t be too
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on the job 07030
John Amato Sr.
Dominich “Doc” Vitolo
“Mozzarella makes everything it touches a little better.” — John Amato Jr.
hot or too cold.” Also, timing is important. “You cook by feeling the curd.” John’s family is originally from Molfetta, Bari, Italy but he said his mozzarella is a Neapolitan version he calls “vico equienza.” Whether it is Bari or Neapolitan, to me it’s simply delicious. John, Jr. was making the mutz that day. Though he’s been making it for 25-plus years, he’s the junior man. His father’s brother-in-law, Dom Vitolo, also known as “Doc,” makes mozzarella many days. Doc has been making it for 50-plus years. He also has a feel for the curd.
The curds start to come together as John stirs and adjusts the water. At some point, when the curds start to look smooth, John wants to slow the cooking process, so he starts to remove the water. He continues to stir and form it as it starts to look silky. He now wants to stop the cooking, so he takes handfuls and puts them in cold water. This cools it and makes it firmer. After it cools, he either rolls it into ropes or makes little balls for salad.
Demystifying the Mutz
He makes one little golf ball, throws it in salt water, and then gives it to me. Man! What taste-perfection! The mozzarella at Fiore’s is always fresh. It’s not refrigerated. Refrigeration makes it hard and dry. They make it throughout the day “according to need.” If you see a lot of cars in the lot and a line out front, you know they are making multiple batches that day. Fiore’s has daily sandwich specials using the fresh mozzarella, and cooks its own roast beef, brisket, and other customer favorites onsite. We had a small debate about what goes best with the mozzarella, roasted peppers, roast beef and gravy, Italian combo, prosciutto, and on and on. John, Jr. summed it up best when he said, “Mozzarella makes everything it touches a little better.” This is especially true of Fiore’s mozzarella.—07030
The curds are delivered from Long Island in 42-pound sacks. The family used roughly half a sack per batch. After cooking, the finished mutz weighs around 17 pounds, so some of the weight goes down the drain with the water. To start, John heats a big vat of water to around 160 degrees. After gauging the temperature by sight, he takes half a sack of the curds and puts it through the “guitar” to cut it up as it goes into the water. He then uses his wooden shovel to further stir and break up the curds. He says you want the curds to cook individually, and every curd is different. The secret seems to be in the water temperature, as John adds either hot or cold water while he stirs to keep the temperature just right. 54 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
Fiore Fresh
POINT &
SHOOT SEND YOUR HOBOKEN PHOTOS TO 07030@ HUDSONREPORTER.COM. BE SURE TO WRITE “POINT & SHOOT” IN THE SUBJECT LINE.
Art & Industry PHOTOS BY VICTOR M. RODRIGUEZ
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Hoboken Club
Photos courtesy of Rocket Club
Fueling the dreams of the next generation By Diana Schwaeble
O
ne thing is certain at Hoboken’s Rocket Club: Every child who participates will gain valuable skills for any STEM related job, says Director Paulo Nunes. He has big hopes and even bigger ambitions for the next generation. It’s all about making a better world, he says. The club, which opened in February at the Monroe Center, teaches real-world skills to kids ages 9-14. Each student will learn about robotics, coding, and entrepreneurship, all necessary to be successful in the tech market. Nunez believes that the changes in robotics and coding can be compared to the changes when we went from stone tools to steel tools. “It’s not going to change some things,” he says. “It probably is going to change everything. So we want to get ahead of that. We want to equip the next generation with the knowhow, the business skills, and the people skills.”
Equipping the Next Gen Nunes says the club wouldn’t be anything without founder Alex Hodara, who was named by Forbes as a “30 Under 30.” He com56 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
pletely funded the club and established connections with other Forbes members, who help mentor the kids. The pair spent a lot of time thinking about the curriculum and studying other business models to develop a program that was relevant, would add value, and perhaps most important, hold the attention of the kids. Club members have their own stations and follow a self-based curriculum. Nunes is passionate when describing the program, particularly when showing off the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Education Kit that each member uses to build robotics. Nunes explains: “The metrics are there. If we were to do a presentation, not everyone will have the confidence to ask a question. And then they fall behind.” Their goal is to equip the next generation with the skills and confidence to see a project through to completion. “The average adult has been told no so many times that we have this invisible shelf of what we think we are capable of,” Nunes says. “Kids don’t have that. You set kids down with a set of skills, they will see how far they can go. It is also in part why we picked that age group. Before that, the coding and the lessons would be too hard. And after that, I think you are a little too busy and maybe you become a little too cool.”
Becoming a Member The design for the room is simple. They wanted the place to look like a garage similar to the workshop spaces of Apple and Microsoft, pictures of which are on the clean, white walls. A bicycle hangs from a hook in the ceiling, and pictures of space line the wall in the hallway. Nunes says they want the afterschool program to be immersive. Rocket Club, Rocket Fuel, Mission Control, all intrinsic parts of the whole. Each member gets a Rocket Club jacket, which mimics an old NASA bomber jacket. Members get to be a part of something bigger than themselves and yet find common interests. In the Rocket Fuel system, students earn “fuel” in a variety of ways that they can spend to purchase games. They are awarded fuel for attendance, robotic challenges, consultations, and moral objectivism. The moral objectives are hidden, so the kids don’t know what it is they are earning fuel for. For example, if a student works on a consultation for free, he or she is rewarded for generosity. The aim isn’t just to help the students get smarter. The goal is to make them better people. Nunes wishes there was a program like this when he was a kid. Gone are the days where you work 20 or 30 years for the same corporation, he says. You have to find a way to amass skills and produce results. One way they prepare students is through the Business Competition, which is held at the end of each semester. The competition, called Mission Control, is similar to Shark Tank. Students present their business plans to three judges. “They will be competing for $10,000 in real money,” Nunes says. “When each kid leaves Rocket Club, we want them to have a game or an app, or a business on Kickstarter. We want them to walk away having achieved something.”
hold first, second, and third place. “They are kicking butt,” Nunes says. “The people who win in 2019 are incrementally better,” he says. “Even in sports there are no more blowouts. It’s all about inches. The more we can get them thinking about the small things that can give them an advantage, we can help them make a difference.” Nunes believes that any success he’s had in life was because someone took an interest in him and encouraged him to do better. He’s inspired by people with an ironclad will, who have climbed Mount Everest and don’t let environmental situations deter them from their goals. “The best thing we can do is give people the courage and the confidence to move forward with what they care about,” Nunes says. “The person who skips meals or loses sleep, it’s not because they are getting paid. It’s because they care so much about it that that drive and that ambition and that enjoyment fuel them.”— 07030 Rocket Club is at 720 Monroe Street. For more information, visit www.OfficialRocketClub.com.
Building a Better future The inaugural semester was limited to 30 participants in twohour weekly sessions per group on Monday, Wednesday or Friday. In the fall, they plan to hold sessions on weekends to meet the demand. Seventy kids are on the waiting list for the fall semester. The current group has about 40 percent girls. Three girls currently
This space is similar to those of Apple and Microsoft. 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019 • 57
Photos courtesy of leo’s Grandevous
LEO
Photos by Victor M. Rodriguez
Eighty Years and Counting leo’s Grandevous marks a milestone
U
nder a red tiled awning on the corner of Second and Grand streets sits a Hoboken institution, which is celebrating 80 years of good food, good beer, and good cheer. Leo’s Grandevous opened in 1939 when Leo and Tessie DiTerlizzi turned a bar into a restaurant. Since then, generations of families and first-time visitors have become regulars, returning again and again for home-cooked Italian specialties, Frank Sinatra memorabilia, and a legendary jukebox, with one of the largest selections of Sinatra songs. In April, Mayor Ravi Bhalla and the city of Hoboken celebrated the contributions of the storied restaurant with a street renaming. The sign “Leo’s Way” was unveiled. Leo’s grandchildren, owner Nick De Palma and his sister, general manager Grace Sciancalepore were on hand. The ceremony took place during a block party to mark its anniversary. Grace says it was important to celebrate the milestone with the entire community, noting that Hoboken isn’t just where she 58 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
TESSIE
works but were she and her family live. “Over the past 80 years, many things have changed in our Mile Square, but one has remained the same, the family tradition of Hoboken’s oldest restaurant, Leo’s Grandevous,” said Bhalla. “No restaurant embodies the Hoboken spirit more than Leo’s.” “We are extremely proud to have been part of the Hoboken community for these 80 years,” Grace said. “We are so happy to be a source of Hoboken tradition, and we are resolved to work just as hard as the mayor to keep Hoboken a great place to live.”
In the Beginning … The landmark has been family owned and operated for all eight decades. When the former owner moved back to Italy, he sold the bar for $500 to Leo, one of his employees. Leo worked part-time at the bar after his shifts in
the Neumann Leathers building, which really was a leather factory before it became a hub for Hoboken’s art scene. “It was every immigrant’s dream or desire to live the American dream,” Nick says. Back then, it was just a bar, where men gathered to shoot pool or play cards. It morphed into a restaurant when Leo’s wife Tessie began cooking meals upstairs in their apartment and bringing them down for the bar patrons and pool players. “She would make steamed mussels or marinara sauce and meatballs, and people would come in and ask my grandfather what his wife was making that day, so he decided to scrap the pool tables and build a kitchen,” Nick says. When the Western Union Telegraph business closed next door, Leo bought the property turning it into a kitchen so Tessie wouldn’t have to keep going up and down stairs.
Total Recall Grace and Nick were pretty much raised at Leo’s. “I think my fondest memory of Grandpa Leo is he had this tradition on Friday nights before we opened for dinner, he went up and would dance with all the waitresses,” Grace relates. “I remember that vividly.”
“I’ve been involved in the restaurant for 32 years, and all the memories seem to melt together,” Nick says. “We have people celebrating birthdays, getting engaged, having weddings here; we’ve had wakes here, and that to us is so special, but for our customers it’s monumental. It’s just fun to look out when the restaurant is packed on a Friday night, and you see everyone enjoying themselves. It’s been going on since 1939. It makes you feel like you are part of something bigger.”
Frank Who? Leo’s boasts one of the largest collections of Frank Sinatra memorabilia. The walls are covered with photographs, and there’s even a surfboard which pays him homage. Somehow, surfing and Sinatra don’t exactly track. “Not many people have that,” Nick jokes. He said his favorite picture is one of Sinatra given to him by his father-in-law that hangs in a back corner in the dining room. It’s framed along with a Frank Sinatra autograph signed during Sinatra’s visit to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
Good Neighbors Another is a painting of Sinatra, which hangs near the jukebox. “It’s a painting of Sinatra with a green background that has been here a long time, since the early ‘70s, which was given to my uncle when he was running Leo’s,” Nick says. “It was in lieu of payment. There was a guy here who didn’t have any money and said ‘You know, I’m hungry, and I am an artist,’ and he painted a portrait and brought it in the next day to pay for his dinner.” “We hear that Grandpa fed a lot of people in the ’70s when people were hard on their luck,” Grace says. “We had people come in and say the economy was bad, and they just wanted a beer and a meal, and that our grandfather didn’t charge them, and they will always remember that,” Nick says. “Sinatra’s music and the growth and experiences of the people who come to Leo’s mirror one another,” Nick says. “It is the perfect marriage. You have love, you have heartbreak, like in the song ‘A Very Good Year,’ he talks about his life, and it mirrors the lives of people coming in here.” —Marilyn Baer
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HELPING Easterseals skills coach, Adrien Pender, congratulates an employment services program participant on a job well done at the Easterseals training center in Millville, NJ. Photo by Burt Brooks
A Century of Caring Easterseals debuts in Hoboken By Tara Ryazansky
T
his March, Easterseals, which has locations all across New Jersey, opened its first Hoboken office in the Harlow building on Clinton Street. Mayor Ravi Bhalla and the city of Hoboken offered the space to Easterseals for a $1 per year lease. Just about everybody has heard of Easterseals. It’s not a little nonprofit serving a local niche. Indeed, it was founded in 1919 as the National Society for Crippled Children, hardly an apt or acceptable title in the twenty-first century. It later became Easter Seals and now goes by its modern, one-word moniker. It also expanded its mission, serving veterans, military families, seniors, and caregivers. The services provided by Easterseals are meant for two groups: senior citizens, 55 and over, who have to return to the workforce due to a financial hardship, and anyone with a documented disability. Seniors seeking Easterseals services have to meet a list of requirements and must have first sought employment through the American Job Center, part of the Department of Labor. When qualifying new clients come to Easterseals they are assessed and empowered by the organization, which prepares them for employment.
Getting a Gig Job hunting is always tough, but it can be especially difficult for older people and those with disabilities. It’s hard to get a 60 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
foot in the door when employers might have misconceptions about someone’s abilities in the workforce. Easterseals helps to fight those misconceptions by providing job training and placement. “This employment base is one of the very best that you can get,” Barbara Armstrong, director of senior community service employment programs, says of her clients at Easterseals. She says that her clients’ work ethic, paired with the training that they receive at Easterseals, makes them ideal employees. Easterseals aims to help make connections between potential employers and Easterseals clients so that future employment is a great fit for everyone involved. “The jobs are any competitive job that you or I could have,” says Christine Dante, assistant vice president of employment services of Easterseals New Jersey. “We go and build relationships with the employers, basically like a sales team. Our job coaches are out there pounding the pavement and looking for new places for clients to work.” But Easterseals is more than just a job placement agency. It stresses the wellbeing and independence of the two populations it serves.
Home Run Easterseals’s mission is especially important because gainful employment is a crucial part of fighting homelessness for those at risk. That’s why the organization teamed up with Mayor Bhalla’s Hoboken Homelessness Task Force which launched last year.
Hoboken mayor, Ravi Bhalla, poses with Easterseals New Jersey CEO, Brian Fitzgerald, at the new Easterseals employment services office in Hoboken. Photo by Anysa Holder
After a productive day of work at the Easterseals employment training center in New Brunswick, NJ, an Easterseals employment services program participant expresses how happy he is for the opportunity to earn a paycheck. Photo by Burt Brooks
An Easterseals Employment Services program participant proudly poses for Diane Nunez (left) Larry Huntley (center) Myrleen Hopa photo in front of his work station at the Easterseals employment training pin (right) are employees of the Easterseals New Jersey Senior Community Employment Service Program center in Millville, NJ. Photo credit: Photo by Burt Brooks (SCSEP) enjoying a holiday party at their main office.
“We have a common understanding,” Dante says. “We have missions that are aligned to prevent homelessness. We wouldn’t have been able to expand without Mayor Bhalla and his staff.” Though Easterseals is new to the community, Hoboken’s seniors and disabled people are already benefitting from the new location. Easterseals client Kathy Montano is sharpening her clerical skills by working the front desk of the new Hoboken office. She’s a senior citizen seeking employment and gaining training experience with the organization. She spends her time doing on-the-job training and going on job interviews. She’s waiting to hear back from a few places where she’s interviewed and is hoping for good news. “I was lucky to find Easterseals,” Montano says. She learned about the
group while volunteering for another nonprofit. Easterseals also recruits from senior centers and leaves informational materials at places that seniors frequent, like pharmacies. Easterseals told Montano that she had excellent office skills. She’s bilingual, which was another great addition to her resume. Montano, who continues to train with the organization, says, “My skills are there, and they’re growing.” The office has gotten plenty of clients because of foot traffic in the area. “It’s not just me,” Montano says. “There’s a lot of us within Hudson County that are in my situation. Maybe they’re going through unemployment or maybe they’re changing their marital status. I do advise people that there are people out there helping us. I feel blessed that Easterseals came into my world.”—07030 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019 • 61
Dolce & Salato By Marilyn Baer Photos by Terri Saulino Bish
I
n residential northwest Hoboken sandwiched between two city parks is a new, locally owned café and bakery, Dolce & Salato, that offers authentic Italian cuisine. This already-popular hotspot, at Eleventh and Grand streets, is bright, modern, and flooded with natural light. As soon as you walk in, you’re welcomed with broad smiles by friendly staff. One of the eatery’s three owners, Maurizio Dolce, immediately made us feel at home. This café and Pasticceria, which
takes its name from the Italian words for sweet and salty, was created by Dolce, Michael Nirchio, and Brian Mazzei with help from Frank Krushinski, an executive chef and restaurant consultant who has owned and operated restaurants for several years. Visitors can grab a cozy table for two or a high-top chair facing the windows for quiet contemplation, daydreaming, or some good peoplewatching. You can tell as soon as you enter that the place is quickly becoming an uptown staple for Italian specialties, amazing coffee, or mouthwatering pastries.
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We grabbed a sun-soaked table and chatted about what we couldn’t wait to try. We began with the special, bitesized chicken salad lettuce cups. This is not your mother’s picnic institution but rather a modern take on a familiar classic. A mix of textures and flavors, creamy and crunchy, this chicken salad features seedless grapes and toasted walnuts, served on a crisp romaine lettuce leaf. Next we had the orecchiette pasta served with broccoli rabe, garlic, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, grated parmesan cheese, and Maurizio’s sweet Italian sausage made in- house, no less. The
EAtErY 07030
Dolce & Salato 1101 Grand Street (201) 420-9182 Dolcesalatohoboken.com
sausage is a perfect blend of pork, bell peppers, and fresh herbs, sweet yet spicy with just the right amount of crushed red pepper. An enormous Mediterranean salad followed, made with kale, quinoa, feta cheese, chickpeas, gaeta olives, tomato, fresh herbs, and a homemade lemon vinaigrette. With the first bite, you’re transported to Italy and the shores of the Mediterranean. It was like summer on a fork. The dressing was so good, it was sippable. Next on the Italian tour was Molfetta. The Molfetta Panini is made with prosciutto, salame, roasted red peppers, fresh homemade mozzarella, fresh basil, organic baby arugula, pesto aioli, and a sweet balsamic glaze. It was served, piled high, on an herbed focaccia, made in-house. Though I was way past the point of full, there was no way I could leave a crumb on my plate, or take my eyes off the glass case, which held an assortment of mini pastries, cookies, and cakes. Frank Krushinski (left) and Maurizio Dolce
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EATERY 07030
We decided to try a cannoli, chocolate éclair, fruit tart, and a rainbow cookie. The classic cannoli was crunchy on the outside and sweet and creamy on the inside. The éclair’s custard filling was smooth and velvety, and the rainbow cookie was a treat for the eyes. The fruit tart, living up to its name, was topped with strawberries, blueberries, and kiwi. This once-empty retail space has been transformed into a taste of Italy and a Hoboken favorite.—07030 Martina Chirco (left) and Giuseppina Nirchio
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DATES 07030 from page 41 Drag Queen Story Hour promotes positive LGBTQ role models.
JULY 10 Movies Under the Stars - Bohemian Rhapsody, Pier A Park, 1st St. & Sinatra Dr., 9 p.m. Bring a blanket or Low Back Chair & Picnic basket. Come enjoy this sing along version of the musical biopic charting the life of Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the rock band Queen.
17 Movies Under the Stars - A Star is Born, Pier A Park, 1st St. & Sinatra Dr., 9 p.m. Bring a blanket or Low Back Chair & Picnic basket. This remake follows a hard-drinking musician who discovers and falls in love with a young singer.
24 Wellness Wednesday: Learn to Draw Zendalas, Hoboken Public Library, 500 Park Ave., 6:30-7 p.m.
superhero movie follows the Parr family as they try to restore the public’s trust in superheroes while balancing their family life.
21 Movies Under the Stars - Ralph Breaks the Internet, Pier A Park, 1st St. & Sinatra Dr., 8 p.m. Bring a blanket or Low Back Chair & Picnic basket. This animated comedy follows video game characters Ralph and Vanellope as they discover a wi-fi router that leads them to a new adventure through the internet.
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OCTOBER 19
Wellness Wednesday: Stay Safe with Basic SelfDefense, Hoboken Public Library, 500 Park Ave., 6:30-7 p.m.
SEPTEMBER 25 Wellness Wednesday: 6 Steps to Stress Relief + A Happier Life, Hoboken Public Library, 500 Park Ave., 6:30-7 p.m.
Harvest Festival, Pier A Park, 1st St. & Sinatra Dr., 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Hay rides, a hay maze, pony rides, petting zoo, trackless train, inflatables, moonwalk, face painting, spin art, sand art, pumpkin painting, balloon art, craft activities, soccer, dance & gymnastic demos, live music & dance and much more.
see page 66
Movies Under the Stars - Green Book, Pier A Park, 1st St. & Sinatra Dr., 9 p.m. Bring a blanket or Low Back Chair & Picnic basket. This movie is inspired by the true story of a tour of the deep south by African American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley and his driver and bodyguard, Italian American bouncer Frank Vallelonga.
31 Movies Under the Stars - Black Panther, Mama Johnson Field, 4th & Jackson St., 9 p.m. Bring a blanket or Low Back Chair & Picnic basket. This superhero movie follows T’Challa, the new king of Wakanda and its greatest hero, the Black Panther, as he confronts an adversary who plans to violent global revolution.
AUGUST 7 Movies Under the Stars - Mary Poppins Returns, Pier A Park, 1st St. & Sinatra Dr., 8 p.m. Bring a blanket or Low Back Chair & Picnic basket. This musical fantasy movie sees Mary Poppins return to help the Banks family through a family tragedy.
14 Movies Under the Stars - Incredibles 2, Pier A Park, 1st St. & Sinatra Dr., 8 p.m. Bring a blanket or Low Back Chair & Picnic basket. This animated
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I TA L I A N D E L I
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100 PARK AVE. HOBOKEN, NJ 07030
201-217-9960 Fax: 201-386-0102
WWW.LUCABRASISDELI.COM We’ll make you a Sandwich you can’t refuse!
Leave the gun, take the Mozzarella!
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DAILY HOMEMADE FRESH MOZZARELLA! FUGGEDA’BOUTIT, CATERING FOR ALL OCCASIONS
OPEN 7 DAYS Monday - Friday 7 am - 10 pm Saturday & Sunday 8 am - 9 pm
Hoboken House Tour, Hoboken Historical Museum, 1301 Hudson St., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Historic or mod, Hoboken’s homes have an individual style. See up to 10 beautiful brownstones and condos, plus bonus historic sites, in this annual rite of fall. The self-guided tour takes about 2 to 3 hours on foot. Homes may be visited in any order. A map will be included in the House Tour booklet, available only on the day of the tour at the museum or the Fire Department Museum, 213 Bloomfield. Tickets are $50.
Wellness Wednesday: Ayurveda + Seasonal Wellness, Hoboken Public Library, 500 Park Ave., 6:30-7 p.m.
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We Offer Daily Hot Lunch Specials
Ragamuffin Parade, Washington & 13th St., 3 p.m. Costume contest at Little League Field on 5th St. & River Terrace. Prizes awarded for best costumes.
AMERICAN CRAFT BEER & CLASSIC ARCADE GAMES
Celebrating a 36 Years b 1 6 3 N E WA R K AV E., J E R S E Y C I T Y, N J BROOKLYN, NY
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NEWark, NJ
JERSEY CITy, NJ
PHILADELPHIA, PA
LOS ANGELES, CA
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OPENING SOON!
IN THE WORKS!
B A R C A D E . C O M / B O O K-A -P A RT Y 66 • 07030 HOBOKEN ~ Spring | Summer 2019
912 Washington Street Hoboken NJ 201.653.5319 alibabahoboken.com
We LOVE our customers!
And to prove it we are giving one of them a FREE years’ worth of house cleanings! One customer. One apartment. One year of free cleanings. ONE HELLUVA CLEANING SERVICE. Don’t tell your mother MAID IN HOBOKEN just gave you 1 year of free apartment cleanings. Let her think you’ve changed.
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www.maidinhoboken.com
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RobertGraffeoDDS.com 411 1st Street Hoboken NJ 07030