UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS Business Administration (BSBA) Accounting, Marketing, Management or Healthcare Management Criminal Justice (BA) Elementary Education (BA) Professional Studies (BPS) Nursing (RN to BSN) Englewood Cliffs campus Public Policy (BS in Urban Studies or / AAS in Public Policy)
GRADUATE BUSINESS Master of Business Administration (MBA) Master of Science in Accountancy Dual MBA/MS in Accountancy
GRADUATE EDUCATION Doctor of Education: Educational Leadership Master of Arts in Education: Educational Leadership, Reading, Special Education, School Counseling, Teaching Professional Education Certifications: Supervisor, Teaching, School Business Administrator, Middle School Mathematics, Teacher of Students with Disabilities, Director of School Counseling Services, Professional/Associate Counselor
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Undergraduate and Graduate degree programs for busy adults. Business, Education, Criminal Justice, Nursing, Professional Studies and Public Policy programs offered on convenient schedules with classroom and online learning available. Campuses in Jersey City and Englewood Cliffs with satellite NJ locations.
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GRADUATE NURSING Englewood Cliffs Campus Doctor of Nursing Practice: Advance Practice Role (Direct or Clinical), Nurse Executive/Administrative Role (Indirect or Non-Clinical) Master of Science in Nursing: Adult Nurse Practitioner, Case Management/Nurse Administration Post Master's Certificate: Adult Nurse Practitioner RN to MSN Bridge Program
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CONTENTS JCM
FEATURES 19 NEWARK AVENUE Is this the hottest street in town?
22 LOUNGE LIZARDS Hum a few bars
26 HOW WE LIVE House Proud
COVER
40 HOW WE WORK Small businesses: the city’s lifeblood COVER PHOTO BY JOSH GERRITSEN
60 THE STANLEY THEATER That other Journal Square landmark
64 MOVEABLE FEAT Art that comes to you
22
DEPARTMENTS 11 CONTRIBUTORS 12 EDITOR’S LETTER 14 PEOPLE POWER Cheerleader for artists
17 EMERGING JERSEY CITY 46 EDUCTATION Two Saint Pete’s
53 NICHE Winter birds
54 DANCING BOYS 56 SPORTS CORNER
58
Gym classes
58 THE HOOD Newport
62 HIDDEN JERSEY CITY Buried in the backyard
66 THE STUDIO Bonnie Gloris
68 DATES 70 THE ARTS 71 VANISHING JERSEY CITY DINING OUT 72 Komegashi too 74 Restaurant listings 6 • Jersey CITY Magazine ~ FALL & WINTER 2011/12
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Jersey MAGAZINE
CITY
FA L L & W I N T E R 2 0 1 1 / 1 2 Vo l u m e 8 • N u m b e r 2 Published every Spring & Fall A Publication of The Hudson Reporter
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“The Gift of Time” Jersey City Magazine is published two times a year by the Hudson Reporter Associates, L.P., 1400 Washington St., Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (201) 798-7800, Fax (201) 798-0018. Email jcmag@hudsonreporter.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 JCMagazine Subscriptions, 1400 Washington St., Hoboken, NJ 07030. Not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or other unsolicited materials. Copyright ©2011/12, Hudson Reporter Associates L.P. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without written permission is prohibited.
Jersey City Magazine is a publication of The Hudson Reporter Associates, L.P. 1400 Washington Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 phone 201.798.7800 • fax 201.798.0018 e-mail: jcmag@hudsonreporter.com jerseycitymagazine.com
Are you feeling stressed from day-in, day-out, round the clock care and supervision of and elderly relative? Respite care allows caretakers to have temporary or occasional time off to recoup emotionally, handle other family tasks or just get away for a while. Respite strengthens the ability of families and primary caregivers to continue to provide care in the home.
For more information or to schedule a tour please call Marianne Alfano 201-716-8000 330 Ninth Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302 • 201-716-8000 Facility Licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health & Senior Services
Jersey CITY Magazine ~ FALL & WINTER 2011/12 •
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BEN AHHI is a web and graphic designer and photographer with a degree in graphic design: visual communications. He is cofounder of Buko Media, a group of diverse New Jersey photographers serving New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Buko Media shoots destination weddings, outdoor or on location advertising campaigns, family portraits, and event photography, including sweet 16 parties, anniversaries, engagement parties, and birthday parties. www.bukomedia.com.
STEFANIE JACKOWITZ is a Hoboken writer whose work has appeared in AM New York, Millburn-Short Hills Magazine, Suburban Essex magazine, and online at Glide Magazine and Cinema Blend. You can follow her at www.stefanie jackowitz.wordpress.com.
SHANNON MCCOOK
is a freelance writer. Since 2008, she’s lived in Hamilton Park with her husband Vassily, her daughter Carolena, and her cat, Webster. She can be reached at lcbarbagallo@yahoo.com.
is an award-winning portrait and scientific photographer whose work has been exhibited in galleries worldwide, Her work alongside renowned photographers has taken her to Angola Prison, to a basketball court with Lebron James, and into Barack Obama’s oval office. A graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, she lives in Hoboken.
JOSH GERRITSEN
DIANA SCHWAEBLE
LAUREN BARBAGALLO
is a portrait and editorial photographer. Since graduating from Skidmore College, he’s photographed across Southeast Asia, Mongolia, and Russia. He’s lived on a sailboat at Liberty Landing and currently lives in the Bergen Square area. joshgerritsen.com
CAMILO GODOY lives in Jersey City. He is the artist-in-residence for Jersey City’s Lenapeeps Gallery. Currently he studies photography at Parsons the New School for Design in New York City. camilogodoy.com
ANDREW HANENBERG began documenting his rock climbing trips throughout the country while in college. After a residence at the Maine Media Workshop, he worked with the industries’ top photographers. He is dedicated to creating inspiring portraits that depict real-life stories. Find more at www.awhphoto.com.
is an award-winning reporter and the former managing editor for the Hudson Reporter Newspaper Group. Her series of stories, “Home Sweet Hoboken,” won second place for feature writing in 2006 in the competitive New Jersey Press Association statewide contest. She is currently working on her first collection of short stories.
TRICIA TIRELLA is a freelance writer and Jersey City native. A former award-winning staff writer for The Hudson Reporter, her story “Hudson County Built Out” received 2nd place in the N.J. chapter of The Society of Professional Journalist’s Wilson Barto Award for First-Year Reporters. She enjoys photography and ski patrolling.
JENNIFER MERRICK MARTIAK is art director for the Hudson Reporter Newspapers, which includes Jersey City Magazine. She has worked for the company for 16 years. Her work has won annual awards for the past ten years. Though her design credits are eclectic, fashion print is her passion.
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Plan a ‘Staycation’ Here in Your Own Backyard ... Shop, Dine, Stay and Enjoy Jersey City! ,UQV` HSS [OL LHZ` HMMVYKHISL M\U ÄSSLK [OPUNZ [OH[ OH]L THKL 1LYZL` *P[` [OL WYLTPLY KLZ[PUH[PVU MVY ]PZP[VYZ MYVT HSS HYV\UK [OL ^VYSK
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PHOTO BY MARIE PAPP
EDITOR'S LETTER JCM
JC Stor i es The best way to find a story is to go about your business in Jersey City and just let it find you. That’s what happened to me when I was at a restaurant one night and found myself as intent on the entertainment as I was on the food. In “Lounge Lizards,” we take a look at the musicians who are JC’s piano men and women. The same thing happened when I was walking down Newark Avenue one day and couldn’t help but notice all the vibrant new shops and bars and restaurants. We decided to find out if Newark Avenue is indeed the hottest street in town. Some folks love being outside in winter, and for you we have a story on winter birding, so pull on your mukluks, grab your binoculars, and go find those snowy owls. For the rest of you who would rather be in a warm gym, we’ve done the work for you. Don’t know what body sculpting is? Check out Tricia Tirella’s story on deconstructing gym classes, and just do it! Stefanie Jackowitz profiles a Jersey City couple who has launched a mobile art space made from two shipping containers. And we take a look at the lady whose job it is to protect the interests of artists— Jersey City Director of Cultural Affairs Maryanne Kelleher. Saint Peter has a sandal hold in Jersey City, and the two educational institutions named for him are undergoing major renovations. In our Education Department, we check out Saint Peter’s College and Saint Peter’s Prep. Find us on Facebook and give us your feedback!
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PEOPLE POWER JCM
MARYANNE KELLEHER
A
Fine
Line
How a public servant protects citizens’ freedom of expression PHOTO BY ANDREW HANENBERG
If you’re planning to paint a huge blue whale on the side of a big brick building downtown, chances are Maryanne Kelleher will be holding the paint pot. As director of the Jersey City Division of Cultural Affairs, her job is to oversee all things cultural in the city—from flag raisings and festivals to murals and musical events. Let’s face it: the public usually sees government as a big, cumbersome bureaucracy that at worst is corrupt and at best just gets in the way. Kelleher sees herself as a facilitator. When she first came on board in 1996 at age 24, she was an event planner in the mayor’s office. “It was difficult for private citizens to get permits,” she says. “I would help anyone who wanted a private event. If they wanted to run a parade, I was the liaison between the people and city agencies to help them through the process.”
And we weren’t kidding about that whale. Dylan Evans, founder of the Jersey City Mural Arts Program, ran into a bit of a snag when he tried to get Moby Blue onto a downtown building and tangled with the Planning Board over some bureaucratic mumbo jumbo. At the time, Kelleher said, “There were definitely concerns about freedom of expression.” The technicalities were addressed and freedom of expression won the day. Kelleher finds herself all over town putting out similar fires. Take the issue of noise pollution, or in this case, “entertainment licensing laws.” Anyone who’s been in Jersey City even a minute knows that little establishments of all kinds, from bakeries and hair salons to bars, storefronts, and churches love to showcase local entertainment. The problem? Loud music that threatens residential tranquility. Jersey CITY Magazine ~ FALL & WINTER 2011/12•
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PEOPLE POWER JCM Kelleher supports a practical approach. How about decibel meters? Her goal is to deal “singularly” with each incident so that “problem establishments” aren’t ruining it for an “arts community looking to create and entertain.” The issue is still in the talking stage. “My concern,” she says, “is sensitive enforcement.” IT’S REMARKABLE HOW MANY ISSUES COME UNDER the Cultural Affairs umbrella. Last spring when restoration of the historic Apple Tree House was up for discussion, Kelleher was again front and center, making the case that the house did indeed have a “public purpose.” It’s astonishing to think that anyone would want to abandon a Revolutionary War-era house that can prove its George Washington chops. But some city council members wondered whether Urban Enterprise Zone money should be used for the restoration, further angsting about the costs of maintaining historic sites long term. Historic preservationists were probably having ghostly visions of the old Penn Station and other irreplaceable landmarks lost to the wrecking ball. Kelleher, meanwhile, had been making the case that the house could be used for a municipal visitors’ center for tourists and a history museum. Phew! Not only that, after the restoration is complete, the Division of Cultural Affairs, now housed in City Hall, is expected to move to the Apple Tree House at 298 Academy St., also known as the Van Wagenen House. NOT SO LUCKY WAS THE JERSEY CITY MUSEUM, which closed its doors at the end of last year due to fiscal woes.
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That left Jersey City without one of its most prized cultural institutions and a trove of valuable artworks that had been stored and displayed in the museum. Again Cultural Affairs stepped in. The department was tapped to lead an ad-hoc committee to catalog and safeguard the inventory. Kelleher is a “Jersey City kid,” and the daughter of one. Her father, who grew up here, laid track for the Port Authority, and her mother, a native of Ireland, is a bookkeeper. Kelleher still lives in her parents’ house in the McGinley Square section. “The greatest education is living and breathing here,” Kelleher says. Prior to working for the city, she worked for a big advertising agency in New York City. “But I wasn’t touching people and making a difference,” she says. In the beginning Cultural Affairs was housed in a trailer on Caven Point, and Kelleher remembers going across the street to the recreation building to use the bathroom. “But with more artists living here there was a bigger need” for an entity to oversee what the Star-Ledger has called “the art market of New Jersey.” Kelleher likes to use words like “arts destination” in characterizing our city and sees part of her mission as keeping culture lovers from “going over to New York.” Though many mourn the loss of the famed 111First St. artist enclave, which was torn down in 2007, Kelleher takes pride in art being “accessible in every neighborhood” and “does cartwheels” for Christine Goodman and her JC Fridays, Uta Brauser and her Creative Grove, and Trish Szymanski and her Uptown Crew. She also gives a nod to The Hudson Reporter for its support of the Jersey City Artists’ Studio Tour.
PEOPLE POWER JCM One of the biggest blows to Kelleher and her team came last May when City Councilman and mayor hopeful Steven Fulop proposed consolidating the Jersey City Department of Cultural Affairs with the Hudson County Cultural Affairs department, as a money-saving measure. Kelleher vigorously fought the move, defending her 10-member team. “The staff lives in Jersey City, and half of them own homes here,” she says. “They cut the arts first,” she says, whenever there is a money crunch. “I was stunned by it, but after the shock wore off, we were uplifted by residents who spoke on our behalf. Jersey City comes first. We don’t want to merge with anybody.” Kelleher grew up in an artistic environment. Her sister is involved in community theater, and her father sings. “For every kid who wants to play basketball, there is one who wants to paint,” she says. “For every kid who wants to play soccer there is one who wants to be a ballerina or in the theater.” She herself is interested in theater, writing, reporting, and photography. Still, she says, “I’m more of a crusader.” “My job is to work for artists,” she says. “We do the mechanics, so that they can think about the next sculpture and not worry about street closures or busing. “Artists always make a city better.” —Kate Rounds Jersey City Division of Cultural Affairs (201) 547-6921
EMERGING JC JCM
The High and the Holy
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSELAND PROPERTY COMPANY
In Jersey City, “emerging” can mean brand new as well as something old that might be headed for a new life. In this story we look at both. The Monaco is allegedly the tallest residential building in New Jersey. We’re hedging our bets just a bit because we don’t want to tangle with Mr. Trump. Though not wanting to engage in “ego sizing,” Ron Simoncini, spokesman for Roseland Property Company, one of the Monaco developers, says that Trump Plaza is 532 feet, and the Monaco is 536. OK, moving right along. Rising on the waterfront at 475 Washington Blvd., the Monaco features 523 luxury rentals, ground-level retail space, a 545-space garage, and two 50-story towers above a 14-story base. Developed jointly by Roseland Property Company, Garden State Properties, and Hartz Mountain Industries, the project features myriad amenities, including a clubroom with billiard table, a theater, and a heated outdoor pool. Carl Goldberg of Roseland says they were securing financing in the fall of 2008 at the height of the financial crisis. “It was a herculean effort,” he says, “but when it opened in the spring of 2011, there was very little competition from new properties on the Jersey City waterfront. Now it’s become a very integral part of the Jersey CITY Magazine ~ FALL & WINTER 2011/12•
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EMERGING JC JCM
PHOTO BY KATE ROUNDS
signature Jersey City skyline, which has been developing very quickly.”
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On the other extreme is the Central Baptist Church at 304-308 Pavonia Ave., which was built in the late 1800s. Realtor Paul DelForno bought it with his partner after his nephews brought it to his attention. “We thought it was a beautiful space, but we did not have a definitive plan for it,” DelForno says. After buying it, they focused on making essential repairs. It’s still pretty dilapidated but you can see its potential. Downstairs is about 5,000 feet of open space with bright stained-glass windows that turn brilliant blue in the late afternoon sun. DelForno is working with the Jersey City Historic Preservation Commission to ensure that the renovations are done properly. He says he is looking for a buyer who will not “chop it into condos.” He has in mind a single palatial home, day care center, or music or language school. “On any given day there are a lot of children running around Hamilton Park,” he says. “The area has changed dramatically over the last 25 years. Back then there weren’t a lot of children playing in the park.” Any takers, folks?—Kate Rounds
S
t r e et mart
How Newark Avenue has evolved into one of JC’s most happening thoroughfares PHOTOS BY CAMILO GODOY
YOU CAN LIVE IN A TOWN FOR YEARS, WALK ITS downtown streets zillions of times, and then all of a sudden you notice a change, and you wonder, hey, what’s going on here? That’s what’s happening to Newark Avenue. It used to smack of 14th Street in New York—a succession of forgettable retail outlets, many with yellow cellophane in the windows, protecting merchandise from fading in the sun. Now there’s trendy shopping by day and lively restaurants and bars by night. For some time, LITM has been the go-to restaurant and bar for the artsy crowd. That’s just what owner and Jersey City native Jelynne Jardinino had in mind. “Absolutely” there are changes, Jardinino says. “More restaurants are opening and facades are being renovated.” She also points to the renovation of the nearby Grove Street PATH station and the farmers market and festivals on the plaza. “More restaurants and bars opening is a great thing,” she says. “One successful business is good for another. You might not get them for dinner one night but you might get them for drinks later that same evening.” Echoing the opinion of others on the avenue, she says, “BARCADE has helped us all,” referring to the very popular hangout for craft beers and arcade games. “Having more foot traffic is beneficial to everyone,” she says. Jardinino remembers when the street was “desolate, women hesitated going down Newark Avenue at night, and there was nothing exciting about the shops.” She recalls a succession of
“huge furniture stores and discount shoe outlets.” “LITM is a neighborhood place that has art openings and art-related events, American food, and fun cocktails,” Jardinino says. She wanted an alternative to the “pubs and dive bars” and also an “alternative to going to New York City.” When she opened, “it was post 9/11,” she says. “The feeling had changed. People wanted to be closer to home but to feel as if they were away for the evening. I knew there was a need, and I knew it would be successful. I was confident in the support I would get from friends and family.” She benefitted from a change in a city law that allowed bars and restaurants to stay open until 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends. Formerly, the bar had to close at midnight on weekends. She says weekend crowds sometimes don’t start “shuffling in” until 10 p.m. A FEW YEARS AGO ALAN LAU OPENED SAWADEE, A Thai restaurant right across the avenue from LITM. “We’re going in the right direction,” he says, citing a diverse lineup of establishments, including K-9, a doggie daycare center, the restaurants BOX, GARDEN, and GYPSY GRILL, and a doctor’s office that was about to open at press time. “I’d love to see even more restaurants coming to the avenue,” he says. “It’s not competition because it brings more people and more exposure. It helps everybody.”
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And why is there more traffic? “More and more young professionals are moving into the area,” he says, “and more and more people are coming this way to hang around because of the new additions. Young people in high rises are willing to spend money, and street improvements have a lot to do with it.” New people are coming he says, because “New York is getting too crowded, and this is a nice neighborhood close to the city with the convenience of the PATH train.” MORLEES HAS BEEN A FIXTURE ON NEWARK AVENUE since 1965. This family-owned clothing and shoe store has been changing with the times for the past 46 years. “At night the avenue has become a destination, especially on weekends,” says Robyn Schneider, a member of the family that owns Morlees. “During the day it’s still a local hangout where people who live in the area go to shop.” She welcomes the shifting cityscape. “It’s great that things have changed,” she says. “When you have a business you want to evolve and grow.” Back in the ’70s the store sold leisure suits. As they moved into the ’80s the fitness trend brought in brands like Nike, Adidas, and Reebok. “We have a very eclectic customer base in Jersey City,” Schneider says. “We still have old customers—grandparents, parents, and grandkids shop in our store. New customers moved in five or ten years ago, and our merchandise responded to the change. We now have Crocs.” She remembers when Newark Avenue was more of a shopping than an eating destination. Now it reminds her of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. “It’s a lot safer than it was in the ’80s,” she says. “Artists, young families, the original urban population, they all converge in one place,” she says. “It’s an interesting dynamic.” She belongs to the Moms meetup group, which has some 500 members. One thing she thinks the avenue needs is an “anchor store like a Panera.” And she’s keeping her eye on the vacant buildings on the street. She says, “It’s going to be interesting to see how it evolves from here.”
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MAGGIE VECCA OPENED SKINNER’S LOFT ON Newark Avenue in 2007 after a very successful run with the Hamilton Park Ale House in, you guessed it, Hamilton Park. “It’s starting to happen slowly but surely,” she says of her new location. “It’s not going to be a deserted avenue anymore. There’s foot traffic, and it’s not the block to avoid.” Vecca, a Jersey City native, has seen it all. “Years ago it sort of had a ’70s landscape to it,” she says. Her mother considered Newark Avenue a big shopping area for shoes and kids’ clothes. She remembers curtain stores and butcher shops. “It’s coming back since the ’70s,” she says. “There’s a different feel to it. It seems to be educated people and art people coming into the area looking to develop a community.” She says there’s been talk of closing the avenue to cars from Grove to Erie, and she likes the idea. “A walking streetscape would be pretty cool,” she says. “It did wonders for the area around Duane Reade. Tons of people gather there and do things.” BARS AND RESTAURANTS ARE A MUST FOR ANY LIVELY street, but what about tattoo parlors? Adam Paterson has been operating JERSEY CITY TATTOO CO. on Newark Avenue since 2007. He says that he was told he could not open a tattoo shop on Jersey Avenue. “Now there’s one there,” he says, mystified by the sometimes-byzantine laws that get shoehorned into the books. Paterson credits LITM’s Jardinino for being a pioneer. “She blazed the trail for Newark Avenue,” he says. “It wasn’t just a dollar store or fast food joint. She really did what she had to do, and for the first year or two she couldn’t be open past midnight. “Honestly I’m thrilled that Newark Avenue is becoming better.” Paterson wasn’t the only Newark Avenue shop owner who said he’d run into critics who feared that the avenue would become like Washington Street in Hoboken. “There’s nothing bad about Washington,” he says. “There’s a fear that Newark will become too much, too crowded, too crazy, too loud, too little-New-Orleans-of-the-Northeast on Friday and Saturday nights.”
“THAT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN,” HE SAYS, “BUT THE alternative would be a burned out, unattractive place with no businesses. Every bar that comes helps other bars. If it’s a little bit of a strip it’s better for all the businesses on the block.” When Paterson first opened his business on Newark Avenue, he says, “Just a little tiny café seemed exciting. There were not a lot of places to hang out. Uncle Joe’s had closed.” “Everything’s been on the upswing in the past couple of years,” he says, but he mourns the passing of the “cool boutiques” and “little clothing stores,” cafés, and restaurants that were casualties of the economic downturn. “It’s now starting to come the other way again,” he says. “I’m really happy. It’s positive for the neighborhood.” One thing that does bother him are the so-called entertainment licensing laws, which interfere with live entertainment at places like nearby Gallery 58 [not on Newark], which have been charged
with noise pollution. “They’re bringing so much to the community,” he says. “Some people just like quiet. There are plenty of places that are quiet all the time. No one is forcing people to live here.” Paterson has his picks and pans when it comes to JC businesses. “I don’t want to live around here if it’s just Starbucks and Trump Towers,” he says. He gives a thumbs up to the vintage store Another Man’s Treasure, Made with Love, and the Lamp Post. Of the last, he says, “That guy bought the Lamp Post, cleaned that place up, believed in it and his neighborhood, and kept running it.” None of these establishments are actually on Newark Avenue, but they are close and represent the kinds of businesses Paterson would like to see on Newark. “A lot of people are doing a lot of cool stuff here,” he says, “and they don’t see it as a stepping stone to New York.”—Kate Rounds
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Lounge Lizards
Entertainers shine on JC’s restaurant circuit PHOTOS BY ANDREW HANENBERG
DANNY BACHER
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AND THEY SIT AT THE BAR AND PUT BREAD IN MY JAR AND SAY, MAN WHAT ARE YOU DOIN’ HERE?— “PIANO MAN,” BILLY JOEL
JULIAN AND DOMINIQUE
ONE SATURDAY NIGHT I FOUND MYSELF AT THE POINTE with a friend. It was late spring, and it looked like a typhoon was blowing up from the harbor. The wind was wild and the surf came up over the seawall. But inside, all was cozy, and two women serenaded us from a corner of the room. They sang beautiful harmony, covering songs that everyone in the room seemed to know. “Don’t it make by brown eyes blue” sticks in my mind. Listening to them got me thinking, who are these entertainers, and how did they find themselves in some of our finest Jersey City eateries? This particular duo is called SWEET and is made up of Shannon Rae and Maria Umbach. Rae is a fulltime performer, who also writes jingles, the most famous being the Klein’s Sleep commercial—“Have more fun in bed.” “Everybody at The Pointe is into the music,” she says. “They are so receptive to what we do.” What they do are standards, jazz standards, adult contemporary, and tunes from the ’40s through today, including covers of songs by the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, America, Etta James, and Joanie Mitchell. Because Umbach plays base flute, they get requests for Jethro Tull as well. “It’s unusual to have two women,” Rae says. “People love the girl power thing.” Umbach, who is a fulltime consultant in the insurance industry, lives right next door in Port Liberté. She remembers one night when a young boy in the audience raised his hand as if he were in school and asked, “Why are you
guys here?” As in Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” he wanted to know why they weren’t in a bigger venue. “Even if there are just two people in the place, I sing my heart out for those two people,” Rae says. “I’m flattered to be singing in public at all and am not above any gig or any person.” That sentiment seems to be shared by most of the lounge lizards we talked to. DANNY BACHER HOLDS FORTH AT EDWARD’S STEAKHOUSE, wowing the crowd with his soprano sax and jazz vocals. He says he’s worked hard to get a “great sound” out of his soprano sax, which sets him apart from the more popular alto and tenor saxes. Though Bacher is only 33, he loves the American Songbook, which includes standards by Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin. He works in the mode of Bucky and John Pizzarelli, John Feinstein, Ella Fitzgerald, and Michael Buble. “Edward’s has a supper club kind of feel, and there are sophisticated vibes,” both of which fit well with his style of music. “Edward’s has a 1940s feel with banquettes,” he says. “I play in front of a big red curtain, and there are pictures of great musicians like Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin.” Bacher says that on any given night, he’ll play to 20 somethings and 60 somethings. “The music I do is very much appreciated by all ages,” he says. “It’s timeless.” “What’s so intriguing about music of that caliber are the wonderful lyrics and positive message,” he says. He gets requests
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for “Misty,” “Girl from Ipanema,” but he balks at Sinatra’s “My Way.” “I’m a young guy,” he says, “and that should be sung by someone in the twilight of his years.” Bacher, who is from Wayne, N.J., has been making a living as a musician since college. When he was growing up in the 1980s he couldn’t get into Def Leppard and heavy metal like Black Sabbath. He was listening to Cab Calloway. “The jazz idiom, that’s what interests me,” he says. “Edward’s is unique,” he says. “It has great atmosphere, great food, and great music if I do say so myself. I feel lucky and proud to be able to express myself on a nightly basis as an artist.” FARTHER UPTOWN YOU CAN CATCH JULIAN AND DOMINIQUE at Casa Dante. Julian Hernandez has made a name for himself, not just covering famous singers, but imitating them. They include Louis Armstrong, Andrea Bocelli, Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley, Barry White, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Lou Rawls, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Nat King Cole, and Joe Cocker. “We do strictly covers, no original stuff,” he says. Which is exactly what the audience wants. “We go out and talk to people on breaks,” he says. “They love it. It’s wonderful when they react, and are touched by what we are singing.” Popular numbers are “Unforgettable” by Nat King Cole and “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. “People sometimes say, ‘you’re lip syncing,’ and then they take the mike out of my hand, and I’m really singing,” Hernandez says. “The Casa Dante audience is very well versed,” he says. “They know their music. I can’t say enough about Casa Dante. They treat us like family. In other venues they make you come through the kitchen.”
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Though Hernandez studied commercial art at New Jersey City University, music was his first love. “I’m happy,” he says. “I feel fortunate doing something we love in our hearts. What could be better? A doctor operates and saves a life, but is there a standing ovation when he walks out the front door?” The other half of the duo is Dominique Carmen, who is a technology project manager by day. A native of Quebec, she is a huge fan of Celine Dion. But Carmen is quick to point out that she does not mimic singers the way Hernandez does. “I don’t change my voice,” she says. “Celine is my favorite singer, and I have some of her inflections. I do try to pause in the same areas as she does for breathing. You can hear her breathing, and then she emphasizes emotions, and I try to mimic that.” When she does a song by Cher, Sarah Brightman, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, or Natalie Cole, “I try to do interpretations,” Carmen says. “I try to grab the elements that are distinct to that singer and incorporate them.” She also sings some Celia Cruz numbers in Spanish. Because they have fans that come time and again to hear them, Hernandez and Carmen have to vary their program. “People tend to like the spectrum of the music we cover in terms of style,” she says, “but we have a consistent impact on the audience. We have a beautiful response throughout the entire show.” She loves the venue. “Casa Dante enables us to perform in an intimate atmosphere,” she says. “We love the flexibility it offers us. On a bigger stage we would not be able to do old standards.” THE CINTRON BROTHERS, CHRIS AND RAPHAEL, hail from Salamanca, Spain, but were raised in the United States and play at the Pointe. They come from a family of musicians,
SHANNON RAE (L) AND MARIA UMBACH OF SWEET
including vocalists and drummers, and they stay close to their musical roots of rumba and flamenco. They liken themselves to the Gipsy Kings. All the lounge lizards agree that it is good to start off with softer music so that diners can enjoy their dinners and conversing with their friends. After that, the music might get louder, there could be dancing, and audience participation. “When they get toasted they get rowdy, sing along, or request songs,” Chris Cintron says. Audience favorites include “Guantanamera,” “Sweet Caroline,” and “Bamboleo.” Fulltime musicians, the Cintron Brothers have played in big venues all over the world, including in Moscow, London, Rome, Santiago, and in cities in Spain and Canada. And they’ve played for celebrities such as Oscar de la Renta and Anthony Quinn. “We have been on big stages,” Chris says, “but for us playing is playing regardless of whether it is a restaurant or college arena.” At their restaurant gigs, they sometimes make up to $400 a night in tips. “We can take the dining experience to a whole new level,” Chris says. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” ALAN QUINN ALSO PLAYS AT THE POINTE. HE GREW up in Jersey City, attending grammar school, high school, and college right here in JC. He also does church gigs, playing the organ at St. Aloysius on West Side Avenue and St. Paul’s in the Greenville section. Quinn plays trumpet, keyboard, flugelhorn, and does vocals. Also on board are a woman vocalist and upright bass player and vocalist.
ALAN QUINN (R)
He and his group have developed a following at the Pointe. The audience requests Frank Sinatra songs, Broadway show tunes, jazz classics, and the Beatles. “Summer Wind” is a big hit with the crowd. They also play Phoebe Snow’s “Poetry Man,” James Taylor and Carol King favorites such as “Up on the Roof.” Other standbys include the Carpenters’ “Close to You,” Norah Jones’s “Don’t Know Why” and “Come Away with Me.” Occasionally, Quinn will let an audience member join in. “If it seems reasonable and not over the top, I will allow that,” he says. Basically, though, the folks come to hear him and his group. “They know there’s entertainment at the Pointe, and they can get a great meal at a great price,” he says.
RESOURCES Casa Dante 737 Newark Ave. (201) 795-2750 casadante.com Edward’s Steakhouse 239 Marin Blvd. (201) 761-0000 edwardsteakhouse.com
The Pointe 2 Chapel Ave. (201) 985-9854 thepointerestaurant.com
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live HOW WE
PHOTOS BY SHANNON MCCOOK
BEACON When it comes to housing, Aidan McManus and Gloria Gussie think of themselves as a lucky couple—often in the fortuitous pathway of happy accidents. The first came in 2001. On August 28 of that year they decided to move out of their place two blocks south of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, just two weeks before the towers fell. “It was badly damaged,” McManus says. “We moved just in time.” They had “looked all over Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, and Bayonne,” McManus says. “We wanted to live relatively close to the water. After two months we found a newly redeveloped condo loft that had everything—tons of space, split level, 4,000 square feet, fireplace, outdoor space, balcony, parking.” McManus and Gussie, both IT executives, were happily living in this beautiful old warehouse in the Heights. But then an offer came in that these two fanatical art deco lovers just couldn’t resist.
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“After six years, out of the blue, we were approached by a realtor who had a client who wanted a house just like ours,” McManus says. But what really got McManus’s attention was the phrase “money is no object.” Talk about an offer too good to refuse. Long story short, they sold their beautiful loft at a “fabulous profit” and rented a place at Portside downtown until they made their next move. Within 18 months, they’d hit pay dirt. The housing market was overheated. They had sold high and now could buy low. Enter the Beacon. They fell in love with this art deco legend, which used to be the Jersey City Medical Center. “We are both big fans of all things art deco,” McManus says. “We have a big collection of art deco stuff.”
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HOW WE LIVE JCM
BOB PAULDING
This space also had everything they wanted—views of Manhattan, terrace, private parking, a doorman, beauty salon, gym, swimming pool. Not to mention that it is in Jersey City, a town they have grown to appreciate. “It’s the sixth borough,” McManus says. “Nicer than most of the Bronx and Staten Island, and a 30-minute commute to New York.” A shuttle goes to both the Grove and Exchange Place PATH stations. Will there be any more happy accidents for these two? Ensconced at the Beacon with their bulldogs Homer and Lily, they may have had all the happy accidents they need.
GROVE STREET LOFT Bob Paulding owns an architectural, engineering, and design firm based in Jersey City and Beverly Hills. Given those credentials he and his wife could live anywhere but have chosen to live in a renovated bank on Grove Street. “It has everything we were looking for in a live/work space,” Paulding says. “Volume of space, 20-foot ceilings, an immense amount of natural light with windows close to ten feet tall.”
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HOW WE LIVE JCM
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JENNIFER (L) AND ALEXANDRA PERLAKI
A loft layout, the kitchen, living area, dining area, entryway, and work space “all flow into one another,” he says. “I enjoy classical architecture,” Paulding says. “I like classical things. I don’t like gimmicks, and they were able to reclaim parts and pieces of the bank in the public area. That appealed to me. There was a sense of tradition here, though everything has been updated. Those pieces continue the legacy of the bank.” The penthouse loft has views to the south all the way to the end of Grove Street, past the Girls’ and Boys’ Club. They have an unobstructed western view, and can see the elevated spur of the Turnpike to the south. The couple moved out of Manhattan recently because they find Jersey City to be a much more hospitable town. “New York City is the most expensive place in the United States to live,” Paulding says. “There’s more value here.” Before he moved here, Paulding had done work in Jersey City: “I was able to experience all of Jersey City on the business side and the public side and the governmental side.” And they like the amenities in JC. “The place has a lot to offer,” Paulding says. “We frequent restaurants and bars, and we love
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HOW WE LIVE JCM
the parks, like Hamilton Park, and the farmers markets.” Their favorite restaurant? La Conguita.
GROVE STREET ONE BEDROOM At first blush, it looks as if the Perlaki girls might be too young to be living alone in a city apartment. The sisters, both in their early twenties, are living in the same bank building as Bob Paulding. Their father is in the real estate business in Jersey City, which is how they were able to find the place. Jennifer, 24, is an event planner in New York, and Alexandra, 22, is a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. The all-rental building features 12 units. The Perlaki unit was designed as a one bedroom, but the sisters had the single room divided in two. “We wanted to live close to the city but without the Manhattan prices,” Jennifer says. It’s also just minutes from the Grove Street PATH. “It’s very new and clean with a unique presence,” Jennifer says. “All those high rises look like cookie cutters.” The sisters grew up in Wayne but knew Jersey City because of their father’s
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business. “We love Skinner’s Loft and the Merchant,” she says. “There are a lot of young people here commuting to and from the city. It’s a 16-minute commute.” She says they love the fairs and farmers market on Grove Street. “It’s a smaller-knit community with a city atmosphere,” she says. Alexandra echoes her sister’s sentiments. As the fashion maven in the family, she was in charge of décor: “The apartment has very modern fixtures, black granite, white tile, and modern, geometric lines.” The space is very spare, and both sisters are neatniks. “There’s nothing ornate,” Alexandra says. “Everything is black, with blue and green pillows adding a little color.” They got most of the furniture from IKEA, and Alexandra painted a piece of art to match the carpet. “We’re on a budget,” Jennifer says, “so we bring cool, fun things in like mason jars and egg crates.” Fishs Eddy in New York is one of their favorite places to find cool, fun stuff for the apartment. Both are well aware that they are not in Wayne any more. “It’s much more lively,” Alexandra says.
HOW WE LIVE JCM
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HOW WE LIVE JCM
automotive service, muffler, and brake shop.” In June 2002 they heard that the owner of the garage was in financial difficulty and wanted to sell the building, and the two couples purchased it. “We worked together as friends and co-owners,” Levine says. “It didn’t seem like a difficult thing to accomplish.” Especially for Levine, who is president of Lee Levine Architects in Hoboken.
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Levine says living in a renovated gas station is an “homage to Jersey City.” The old “garage” was a vestige of a bygone era when every neighborhood had a local mechanic where you could go to get your tires and oil changed. There was actually an old Esso pump out front. Levine cites “environmental issues,” which of course meant getting rid of any hint of leaking gas. The house is an airy, modern triumph of the old and the new, with lots of original art, some created by the Levine family. If it were open to the public you would say that this fabulous former gas station is a “must see.”
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“It was essentially a 50-by-100-foot brick box with 16 feet of head room, no interior columns, and big steel girders from side to side,” Levine says. They envisioned two homes that mirrored one another divided by an interior court yard. “They were similar in size and shape, and layout, and they had to work for all of us,” Levine says. Each house has a small second floor, one-car garage, and separate entrance. “It’s like two private homes, even though it’s one,” Levine says. “We were used to loft style rather than formal rooms and wanted a large living and dining area and eat-in kitchen as one space.” Each house has a master bedroom on the ground floor with bath and laundry. On the second floor are two bedrooms, a den, and another bath. The Levines’ two college-age daughters occupy the upstairs bedrooms.
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MIKE AND BARBARA EDEN
PORT LIBERTÉ Barbara Eden is a Jersey City realtor who found her dream house at Port Liberté, the waterfront enclave rising majestically between Liberty National Golf Course and the Bayonne border. To the south you can see the cruise ships of the Bayonne Cruise Terminal and just about everywhere, breathtaking, unobstructed views of New York Harbor and the downtown Manhattan skyline. Eden, who was in the children’s apparel business, had lived in New York City for more than two decades. She was living in a one-bedroom on the Upper East Side when she met her future husband on match.com, and it was time to make a move. She thought she would need to be dragged “kicking and screaming” from the city until she and her husband ventured to New Jersey on a nice day.
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“We just fell in love with Port Liberté,” she says. “It looks like Disneyland. The Pointe had just opened down the road, and we met a lot of people in the community.” They eventually found a unit in what is known as the octagon building. “It was just what we wanted,” Eden says. “It had views of the statue and New York City, swimming pools, and tennis. It felt like Florida or the Caribbean.” They love the infinity pool by the waterfront. They bought a two-bedroom condo with parking. Her husband opened an office at Port Liberté so that he no longer has to commute to his IT job in the city. “It’s bright and full of windows,” Eden says. “It’s an unusual shape that feels like a loft. It’s very open, and our cats, Max, Chelsea, and Jake sit by the window in the sunshine.” Though they appreciate the privacy and security of Port Liberté, Eden and her husband Mike also enjoy hanging out in downtown JC. “We love the theater,” Eden says.
HOW WE LIVE JCM
“We go to the Attic Ensemble in the Barrow Mansion. We go to Art House Productions in Hamilton Park.” Their favorite restaurants include the Embankment, the Merchant, the Hamilton Park Inn, and especially Porto
Leggero, where Port Liberté resident Angela Stella is the chef. “The people we’ve met here feel like lifelong friends,” Eden says. “We’ve met new and wonderful people. The sense of community is very special.” Interviews by Kate Rounds
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work HOW WE
CHANDA GIBSON
Creating community Health and wellness build a strong foundation BY DIANA SCHWAEBLE PHOTOS BY JOSH GERRITSEN
What is community but like-minded people working together to meet the needs of the whole? Building trust and listening to concerns are how these local businesses thrive. This season we look at people who make a difference by getting to know their neighbors.
GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO. 30 Hudson St. (212) 902-5075 “Providing opportunity” is what Chanda Gibson, vice president of Corporate Services and Real Estate, says is necessary for engaging local interest. “You can’t do everything, but you can build trust with people,” she says. Goldman Sachs’s ongoing outreach programs continue to grow as it partners with local
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groups striving to make a difference. It has dozens of worthy programs, including Big Brother, Big Sister mentoring, student art projects, and the Auburn affordable housing development, which provided 21 units of affordable housing on MLK Drive, to name a few. “We want to do more than just write a check for people,” she says. HCCC’s Culinary Arts Institute students intern at the company’s café, gaining valuable hands-on experience. Gibson is personally grateful for the chance to make a difference in people’s lives. “I love having a job that allows me to do that,” she says.
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others. Kids come in looking for guidance, he says. “It’s a personal shopping experience.” Russo brings his 20-plus years of experience in retail to the store and his passion for people. He believes it’s important to build local community and give mall-quality clothes and goods for men, women and children who don’t have cars. “Generations of people shop here. They came as little kids and are still shopping here,” he says.
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MY TOUSLED HAIR 500 Jersey Ave. Suite A (201) 309-1200 The close-knit stylists strive to give everyone a good hair experience, says owner and stylist Rita Sanders. “I want someone to walk in and feel like they are known,” she says. Seeing someone’s total transformation is what is rewarding for her. “Not just their hair, but their inner beauty,” she says. From blow outs, to cuts and care, and hair coloring, this salon will pamper you no matter what kind of hair you have. “I like that we resemble Jersey City,” says Sanders about the four different stylists. “We are in a diverse neighborhood. People can walk in and identify with someone here.”
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HOW WE WORK JCM
HUGO STEINER
PECORARO BAKERY 279 Newark Ave. (201) 798-0111 What’s better than the smell of fresh baked bread? How about the smell of a dozen loafs made with care! For owner Hugo Steiner nothing says home like bakery smells. “I love the bread. It reminds
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me of my homeland,” he says. While famous for delicious stuffed breads like spinach, ham and cheese, sausage and pepperoni, and others, the bakery makes every kind you can imagine. Croissants, flat bread, and even pizza dough. His secret to great bread? “It’s the brick oven that makes the difference,” he says.
HOW WE WORK JCM
MARIA SMITH
WILD AT PLAY 125 River Drive (201) 333-4244 Keeping things fresh is how creative director Maria Smith appeals to kids of all ages. This unique indoor playground changes at the start of every season. “In the summer, it looks like you are
at the beach. In the fall, you’ll see a school bus,” she says. “It’s wonderful when you come in and everything is new.” The supervised playground is decorated for every holiday. Her creative knack was developed from watching her own children play. “They are able to release and climb and scream—the things kids love to do,” she says.—JCM
Jersey CITY Magazine ~ FALL & WINTER 2011/12•
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EDUCATION JCM
H eaven Can ’ t Wait Expansions at two Jesuit institutions is good news for educators and students Being named after the Apostle Peter must be a good omen here in JC. Both Saint Peter’s College and Saint Peter’s Prep are expanding, a sign of good fiscal health at two venerable schools. Peter, a fisherman, the “rock” of the early church, and holder of the keys of heaven must be an auspicious guy to name a school after. Consider: Saint Peter’s College has launched a $62 million capital campaign as it eyes its first student center. Despite its saintly chops, the college is very much of this world—a black tie fundraiser in early May featuring American Idol star Taylor Hicks kicked off the public phase of the campaign. The new student center will be a sixstory 90,000-square-foot facility stretching from Montgomery Street to Glenwood Avenue. The site is now a parking lot between Kennedy Boulevard and Bergen Avenue. Construction is expected to take 18 months. The facility will be a dining, fitness, and learning center. The Duncan Family Sky Room on the top floor will serve the local community, featuring a space for special events and community meetings that accommodates 450. “We’re concerned, not only about serving our internal population but also the neighborhood and larger community,” says Saint Peter’s College President Eugene J. Cornacchia, Ph.D.
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EDUCATION JCM PHOTO BY JEFF VOLK
The center will be a state-of-the-art green building, constructed with recycled materials, featuring a green roof and elevators powered by technology similar to the Toyota Prius. “The student center is so important,” says Cornacchia. “Other schools are competing with us for the top students, who ask us, ‘Where do I go for socializing, for recreation, for studying?’ We didn’t have the answer to that. We pointed to five or six places around the campus.”
He refers to the new student center as the “town square” that serves today’s student population. The college takes to heart the teachings of Jesuit founder Saint Ignatius Loyola, whose “guiding principle was to reach the people in their own environments,” Cornacchia says. “We want to fit into the community. Any school or college is embedded in the community and shouldn’t separate itself. Our plans over the years to improve the physical landscape involve no huge walls or fences.”
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Jersey CITY Magazine ~ FALL & WINTER 2011/12 •
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EDUCATION JCM
ST. AEDAN’S CHURCH PHOTO BY JEFF VOLK
SAINT PETER’S COLLEGE STUDENT CENTER PHOTO COURTESY OF SHEPLY BULFINCH
In late March, the college announced that it was taking over historic St. Aedan’s church, a Romanesque treasure at the corner of Bergen Avenue and Mercer Street, minutes from Saint Peter’s campus. The addition solidifies the school’s emphasis on ministry and mission.
Saint Aedan’s will be a college church staffed by Jesuit members of the school. But, as with the student center, the church will serve the Jersey City community as well. Saint Aedan’s comprises a church, convent, rectory, parking lot, and private
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48 • Jersey CITY Magazine ~ FALL & WINTER 2011/12
elementary school, all of which will be incorporated into the Saint Peter’s College campus. In addition to standard church fare, the college plans to host community gatherings, musical performances, and festivals at the church. Saint Aedan’s historic credentials go back to 1912 when trolley motormen and conductors needed a place to worship. As a nod to its Irish American congregants, the parish was named in honor of Saint Aedan, an Irish bishop who died in 632 AD. The current church was built in 1930. Famed Jersey City Mayor Frank Hague was a parishioner. Saint Peter is depicted above the exterior doors, and two peacocks, Saint Peter’s College mascot, are perched above the altar. “This fills a gap for the college and expands its physical footprint,” says Cornacchia. “We’d outgrown a small chapel and were doing large masses in the gymnasium and theater. It was not the quality space needed here. We saw it as an opportunity to connect with the community in a way we haven’t been able to do thus far.” Cornacchia points to one more project that will add not only to the college’s footprint but to its attractiveness to students. The college controls a large tract of land in the McGinley Square area and is in partnership with a private developer to create a mixed-use facility with parking, retail, residential, and an entertainment facility, including a cinema, bowling alley, and restaurants. “The developer has an amazing vision of what the square could be,” Cornacchia
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EDUCATION JCM
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50 • Jersey CITY Magazine ~ FALL & WINTER 2011/12
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says, “a college neighborhood with little parks and walking areas.” The project will be bankrolled by large investment banking firms and is awaiting city approval. Downtown, meanwhile, Saint Peter’s Prep, the highly acclaimed Jesuit high school on Grand Street, is also in the process of expanding. When the school reopened this fall, students were greeted with a new entrance on Warren Street, ten state-of-the art science labs, a campus shop, and small chapel. It’s all part of an extensive renovation targeted for completion in two or three decades at a cost of $85 million to $100 million. Phase One, a $13.5 million outlay, was completed this fall. Prep acquired and renovated the former Saint Peter’s Church, christening the multi-purpose space O’Keefe Commons, a cafeteria and event venue. Three new classrooms replaced locker rooms in the basement of Hogan Hall. Burke Hall was gutted so that it can be fully dedicated to science education. At a cost of $10 million, this is the major component of Phase One. “It will have brand new wireless technology,” says James Horan, vice president for Jersey CITY Magazine ~ FALL & WINTER 2011/12 •
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EDUCATION JCM PHOTO BY KATE ROUNDS
planning and principal giving. “The previous science facility had five labs and was built in 1966, designed for teaching in the mid-1960s. Teaching methods have changed, equipment has changed, and approaches have changed, not to mention increased use of technology.” The master plan for expansion and renovation was initiated in 2006. The five-phase plan includes renovation of Shalloe Hall, Prep’s oldest building. The school was founded in 1872. All projects are being funded by Imagine: The Fund for Saint Peter’s Prep, a major gifts initiative launched in 2006. “In this day and age, like any school we don’t want to incur debt,” Horan says. “We do not build buildings based on tuition income. We have separate fundraising, and we are proud of that.” The capital campaign was launched after careful study. “In 2006 the school completed its first-ever strategic plan, a 100-page blueprint to move us forward in improving every aspect of the school,” says Horan. “The internal research showed that the physical plant was in need of an upgrade, which didn’t surprise us. The school is more than a century old with seven buildings of different pedigrees and generations on both sides of Warren Street.” All improvements bolster the school’s profile. “We have a strong reputation statewide,” Horan says. “As a Jesuit high school we are values based with a tremendous academic environment and traditions of success.” —Kate Rounds
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NICHE JCM
Winging
It
WINTER BIRDERS BRAVE THE URBAN FLYWAY It’s pretty common during the warmer months to see birders—binoculars raised—searching for that elusive whatever. (You have to be an aficionado to know all the ins and outs of this avian obsession.) But what about in winter? Are there birds still hanging out here, and birders stalwart enough to stalk them? Mike Britt says yes. Britt, a Bayonne resident, spends a lot of time in Liberty State Park pursuing his passion. When he worked at nearby Liberty Science Center as a docent, he was a frequent visitor to the park. “I would go every day at lunch,” he says. “I was addicted to it.” He’s a member of the Urner Ornithological Club, named after Charles Urner, a New Jersey ornithologist who lived in the early part of the 1900s. Britt says birding is good in Liberty State Park, Hackensack, and the Meadowlands. Most people think of birders as retirees with nothing else to do, but Britt is only 32. “It’s one of the fastest growing hobbies,” he says, “and most people into birding have at least a Bachelor’s degree—it’s a more educated crowd and young people are starting to get into it. It’s becoming very popular.” He was bitten by the bird bug at age 12. “I was a young kid into dinosaurs,” he recalls, “and then I guess I realized that they were extinct and I would never be able to study them in the wild.” He has an interest in wildlife in general but puts birds at the top of the list. “They’re number one in my book,” he says.
“They’re so accessible. You can go outside anywhere and see birds. In more wild places there’s more diversity, but you can even see them in city parks, which surprises people.” He says that more than 250 species of birds have been recorded in Liberty State Park. Here’s what you can spot in winter: water fowl, such as buffleheads, red-breasted mergansers, canvasbacks, and ruddy ducks. You’ll also see great cormorants, barn owls, short-eared owls, and long-eared owls. In the hawk family, look for red-tailed hawks, marsh hawks, and coopers’ hawks. Also spending the winter are falcons, such as kestrels, marlins, and peregrines. Judging by their name, snowy owls seem like they would be winter regulars, but Britt says they show up every four years and are expected again in the winter of 2012-2013. They frequent the arctic tundra type of terrain in Scandinavia, northern Russia, Alaska, and Canada. “In summer they breed in open vast treeless habitats,” Britt says. “Then they come down due to food shortages and look for areas that superficially resemble tundra, such as airports.” He says they are frequent flyers at Boston Logan International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York but have been sighted at Newark Liberty International Airport as well. They also like beaches, which means you might find them on the harbor side of Liberty State Park, where the New Jersey Audubon Society (njaudubon.org) takes fall and winter trips.—Kate Rounds
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G o A h e a d, Jump! Boys take the leap into dancing classes—and in some cases, dancing careers BY LAUREN BARBAGALLO PHOTOS COURTESY OF JERSEY CITY DANCE ACADEMY
It’s a beautiful, breezy evening in early June—the kind of night that’s made for hitting one of Jersey’s City’s basketball courts and showing off your moves. But the 20-plus boys gathered at Jersey City Dance Academy (JCDA) are focused on a different type of move: plies, tendus, and passes. They’re intently studying the reflection in the mirror of ballet instructor Christopher Liddell as he leads them through a series of basic ballet positions and combinations, ones that most of the boys are seeing for the first time. Eventually, Liddell asks them to dance across the long, narrow room in pairs so he and the other JCDA instructors can assess their talents. The boys, while eager, also seem intimidated. Liddell is quick to offer encouragement. He’s not looking for perfection, or even experience, he says, just potential. That, and the desire to work. The boys are here to audition for The JCDA Boys Training Program, a tuition-free course for students age 9-16 that started last September. Seventeen boys from the initial audition were accepted into the program, with remaining slots filled in a follow-up audition. Robert Brown, JCDA’s business manager, decided to launch the program so that boys could freely explore just how rigorous dance really
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is. It’s not just an art form but a physical discipline that requires strength and athletic ability. By making the classes boys-only and exposing them to mentors like Liddell, Brown hopes to help boys overcome the discouragement of signing up for a class, only to find they are the only male in a sea of girls. Boys, like all of us, need peers to keep motivated. Otherwise, Brown says, “you deal with a lot of attrition.” The program divides the students into two age groups. Both study hip hop and dance technique, while the older boys will also try their hand at Dance For Athletes. There will be opportunities to study with guest teaching artists like Samuel Pott, founder/artistic director of Jersey City’s Nimbus Dance Works and a dancer with The Martha Graham Dance Company. For now, though, what the boys really want to do is jump. “That looks really fun!” one student says as he watches Liddell sail through the air. “Jumps and turns are a male dancer’s bread and butter,” says Liddell. They also give the male dancer his moment to steal the spotlight. “It’s all about power,” Liddell tells the boys. “All about athleticism. Jump as high as you can. Go as far as you can go.”
SO YOU KNOW YOU CAN DANCE Jersey City Dance Academy 107 West Side Ave. (201) 435-8943 jerseycitydanceacademy.com Kennedy Dancers 79 Central Ave. (201) 659-2190 kennedydancers.org
Brown hopes the program, and the exposure to professional male dancers, will help kids let go of any preconceived ideas they may have about dance being somehow unmasculine.
dance programs. She also says that the job market for boys in the Northeast is significantly more open than it is for girls—a benefit of being so outnumbered in classes.
Diane Dragone has been disabusing boys of that notion and guiding their professional careers since founding Kennedy Dancers in 1976. A non-profit organization, Kennedy Dancers is a professional dance company, a community dance school, and home to the Inner-City Youth Junior Dance Company (ICY), a rigorous pre-professional program for kids and teens. Students are trained in tap, ballet, jazz, modern, gymnastics, hip hop, and ethnic dance. Dragone has been a pioneer in bringing concert dance to underserved members of the community, including seniors, the disabled, and at-risk kids. She’s been honored by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for bringing dance classes to youth at the Hudson County Juvenile Detention Center in Secaucus. The kids are allowed to take free classes at the center upon release, if they keep up their good behavior. Since starting Kennedy Dancers, Dragone has offered scholarships to deserving boys who are willing and able to meet the demands of the program. ICY students are expected to pursue careers in the arts, and many have found great success. ICY alumni are everywhere—dancing in music videos, on Broadway in “Spiderman,” in London’s West End in “Buddy,” in Julie Taymor’s film “Across the Universe,” and in Vegas revues. Still, with all these success stories, Dragone concedes that teaching and training boys is a challenge. “You need tenacity,” she says. “They leave.” She cites a host of reasons, including pressure from friends and girlfriends, resistance from parents, and cultural misconceptions about dance. But for the boys who stay, the rewards are great. Dragone helps college-bound kids audition for
Back at JCDA, instructor Nicole Beerman runs the boys through a routine. The excitement is apparent when Beerman tells them to “Put your shoes back on. We’re doing hip hop.” As she walks them through a number, she urges the boys to let loose, that this is the time to really let their personalities come through. As the music begins, the boys warm up and into the music. Taking her advice, they infuse her movements with their own. Beerman ends the audition with an open freestyle circle, allowing the boys to enter the circle and do whatever they like. It soon becomes abundantly clear there is no shortage of raw, natural talent in Jersey City. These same boys who tentatively took their first ballet steps explode in an awesome spectacle of hip hop and break dancing prowess—spinning on their heads, doing back flips, and popping and locking with the best of them. As Robert Brown says, all dance genres are interwoven, connected forms of self expression. It will be exciting to see where this new program will take these boys. Here’s hoping the boys heed those wise words of Liddell and jump as high as they can, and go as far as they can go.—JCM
Next Step Broadway 233 9th St. (201) 706-3025 nextstepbroadway.com Salsa Fever On2 Dance Academy 83 Franklin St. (201) 792-1616 salsafeveron2.com
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SPORTS CORNER JCM
Deconstructing Gym Classes As winter hits, Jersey Cityites hit the fitness clubs, but those classes can be mystifying BY TRICIA TIRELLA
Living on the Hudson gives health-conscious residents plenty of options, like running and biking along the waterfront. But don’t give up those good workout regimens as the temperature plummets this winter. There are still plenty of ways to continue your good habits, and maybe even kick them up to the next level. Jersey City gyms, like Hamilton Health & Fitness and Club H Fitness, offer a plethora of classes that range from belly dancing to weight workouts. Sometimes they can be intimidating, with titles that begin with “Xtreme” or classes you haven’t even heard of. Jersey City resident Jessaline Fiore, a member of Hamilton Health & Fitness, wasn’t sure about taking
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intenSati, a class that combines high-intensity aerobics, martial arts, dance, and yoga along with affirming exclamations. She found the affirmations a bit “trepidatious,” but she has now added intenSati to her weekly workout. “I think more and more different practices, whether it be martial arts and yoga or Pilates and boxing are merging,” she said. “There’s got to be a reason why yogis look so amazing and why aerobics instructors look so amazing.”
SPORTS CORNER JCM
PHOTOS BY MICHAEL MARMORA
IntenSati instructor Sarah Guffey of Jersey City said that during the winter, city dwellers tend to become reclusive. Making the jump into a new class may be a way of “reminding yourself that you have the self control, that you can be determined in achieving the goals that you set for yourself.” Want to take the leap? Below is a cheat sheet that will help you find the right class for your fitness needs. — JCM
GYM CLASSES 101 Barre fitness—Sculpt and stretch using a ballet barre to perform small isometric movements, combined with yoga and Pilates. Belly dancing—Strengthen balance and confidence, tone hips, lower back, arms, glutes, legs, and abs while dancing. Body sculpt—A non-aerobics class focused on strength training through the use of hand weights. Boot camp—Often held outside, a fitness class that mixes running, pushups, and interval training mimicking military boot camp, offering the benefits of weight loss, toning, and endurance. Cardio kickboxing—Tones muscles through a combination of aerobics, boxing, and martial arts. Unlike traditional boxing, it does not involve physical contact. Core conditioning—Similar to body sculpt, but instead of working the entire body, it focuses on the “core,” or abdominal muscles. IntenSati—High-intensity cardio which mixes aerobics, martial arts, dance, and yoga with the shouting of positive affirmations. Interval training—Usually a 60-minute class in which treadmills, weights, and other exercise equipment are used at various levels of intensity for increased calorie burning. Kettle bells—Sculpt muscles through swinging weights, using every muscle in the body to counteract momentum. Pilates—Mat classes that promote good posture while strengthening and stretching the spine, hips, abs, and back, focusing on breathing and balance. Tower and Reformer classes focus on the same benefits as Pilates but are taught on a Pilates Tower, a tall wooden frame with an assortment of levers, springs, and straps, and the
Reformer, a moveable table-like resistance machine. Often both are attached, with the instructor leading the workout on the attached apparatus. Power blast—Emphasis on endurance, speed, and stamina in a high-intensity circuit class. Power pump—This class works every muscle group through lifting weights for a specific number of reps, with minimal rest in between. Spinning—Cardio workout on stationary bikes that simulates cycling. An instructor takes the class for an imaginary ride up hills and on flat roads, standing and sitting. A tension rod allows various speeds and resistance. The exercise burns calories and builds muscle. It’s done to music which determines pedal speed. Step it up—Step aerobics which often combines a cardio workout and strength training, through the use of a step or bench. Stretch and release—Gentle stretches and slow movements address tension and enhance coordination. Super sculpt—Similar to power pump, but many gyms combine traditional muscle sculpting using Pilates, ballet, or weights with resistance bands. Total body conditioning—A sculpt class that works on both the upper and lower body’s muscle groups with platforms and free weights. Ultimate sculpt—Sometimes known by other names such as Club H’s “Hard Bodies,” it builds strength and endurance with weights, bars, and steps. Water workout—An aerobic workout that uses the water’s resistance. The pool offers less strain on muscles and joints. Knowing how to swim is not always a requirement. Yoga—Through deep breathing and a sequence of poses, yoga improves the mind and body while strengthening muscles and increasing flexibility. There are many types, including hatha, which is typically a basic class, power, often called vinyasa or flow; and bikram, which features poses in a 105-degree sauna-like room to promote weight loss and stamina. While styles may differ, the focus is on fitness. Zumba—Centered on Latin and international music, it includes dance and aerobic interval training, which tones and sculpts. Jersey CITY Magazine ~ FALL & WINTER 2011/12 •
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HOODS JCM
Razzle Dazzle Newport
In 1986, when construction began on the Newport Centre Mall, the Jersey City waterfront was a desolate landscape of derelict tracks, piers, and pilings and a ghostly remnant of a once thriving industrial port. The thought of a fancy “enclosed three-story shopping facility” was hard for most folks to envision. Not to mention the glass-andsteel forest of high-rise condos and commercial spaces that would take root around it. Over the last quarter century, many Jersey City residents viewed the area as a fabulous shopping Mecca, a great place to buy your digital device or designer handbag and then head back “home” to downtown or the Heights, or wherever. But the people who live in those high rises were busy creating a community, a vibrant waterfront enclave with parks and neighborhood haunts and everything else that makes your own patch of real estate feel like home. Sonia Maldonato is president of the Newport Waterfront Association. The group has been pushing for a park across from Target. “It should be completed in October,” Maldonato says. “From a community standpoint we wanted to see it happen for years and years.”
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HOODS JCM
Maldonato has lived in the Newport area since 1996 when she crossed the river from Manhattan. “The idea was to move somewhere in inner New Jersey, but we loved it so much we stayed.” What does she love? “It is very convenient to New York. Another major concern was safety. Bad things don’t seem to happen in Newport. It’s not a big crime area.” Maldonato has huge bay windows overlooking the harbor. “The waterfront walkway is beautiful,” she says. She points to the retail shops, skating rink, mall, movies, marina, and restaurants as advantages to living in the Newport area. She likes to eat at the Fire and Oak in the Westin Hotel. “Newport is and it isn’t commercial and ritzy,” she says. “It seems to appeal to people from very different backgrounds and economic scales.” And not just people. “We have a family of mallards here,” Maldonato says. “Cars stop for them. Newport still has that quality, the coming together of the big city with high rises and the country with mallards.” Jamie LeFrak is a principal in the LeFrak Organization which, with the Simon Property Group, developed the Newport area. “The urban understanding of a neighborhood is a place where people congregate or go to frequently,” he says, a definition that clearly applies to Newport. “The defining characteristic is the PATH station, which was the original draw,” he says. “It was the primary point of interac-
tion for most people coming and going every day. That’s why the neighborhood includes so many people from Hamilton Park.” He talks about developing the area between Newport and Hoboken into a “very pleasant pedestrian street that will one day be the quintessential high street.” Once the office buildings started to go up in Newport, LeFrak says, “We made a concerted effort to get restaurants into the
buildings. All those community facilities make for happy and satisfied residents.” The collective “Restaurants at Newport” include Starbucks, Boca Grande, Fire and Oak, Confucius, Cosi, Dorian’s, Raaz, Michael Anthony’s, Bertucci’s, Azucar, Babo, Hudson Café, and Komegashi (See p. 83). The marina at Michael Anthony’s, he says, “creates a beautiful centerpiece for a waterfront community.”—Kate Rounds
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That Other Journal Square Theater THE STANLEY IS A LEGENDARY GEM THAT RIVALS THE ONE THAT BEGINS WITH “L” PHOTOS BY BEN AHHI AND MARVIN ORENDAIN If you’re walking north on JFK Boulevard in Journal Square, you’d have to be pretty oblivious not to notice the beautiful Italian copper façade of the Stanley Theater. This venerable Jersey City landmark was opened on March 22, 1928. That first performance, attended by Mayor Frank Hague, included the movie The Dove with Norma Talmadge, an orchestral
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performance, a stage show called “Sky Blues,” a newsreel, and a Wurlitzer organ performance. When the 4,300-seat theater opened, the only larger East Coast theater was Radio City Music Hall. As late as the 1960s it was a popular venue, hosting such luminaries as the Three Stooges, Jimmy Durante, Tony Bennett, Janis
Joplin, Dolly Parton, and the Grateful Dead. Falling on hard times, it closed as a movie theater in 1978. It fell into disrepair, the interior metalwork was painted blue, and the Wurlitzer organ removed. Enter the Jehovah’s Witnesses. In 1983, the group purchased the building for use as an assembly hall, renovating and cleaning the façade and the interior. They removed years of paint, dust, and grime, repairing the seats and the chandeliers until the historic structure was returned to its original splendor. The first assembly was held in August 1985. “We turned it back to what it is now, as close as we could to the natural colors,” says
Charles Gramkow, a member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses lay operating committee. “A lot of chandelier companies said we should buy new chandeliers, but we dismantled them offsite, and brought them back.” And they are quite spectacular. Gramkow gave me a private guided tour of this enormous structure. Details like rare marble, copper doors, stained glass, huge mirrors, and colorful mosaic tiles combine to bring back the look and feel of the original building. The cavernous assembly hall was built to look like an outdoor Italian courtyard, replete with a Venetian Rialto bridge.
The assembly hall is used for religious meetings and other conventions, holding as many as 3,800 at a time. Conventioneers come from all over the Northeast. “Journal Square merchants get a lot of business,” Gramkow says. When the Jehovah’s Witnesses aren’t at their beautiful assembly hall, they’re going door to door on Jersey City streets, spreading the good news. Gramkow says they live by the words of Matthew 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Keep preaching, guys. — Kate Rounds
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HIDDEN JERSEY CITY JCM
APPLE TREE HOUSE. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NEW JERSEY ROOM
Underground Jersey City SCRATCH THE SURFACE, AND YOU MAY UNEARTH AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURE—OR SOMETHING It all started when a friend mentioned that “potsherds” had been discovered on the site of a demolished building on her block. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we all know what potsherds are, but just to be sure I headed for merriam-webster.com: “A pottery fragment usually unearthed as an archaeological relic.” Just as I thought. The building in question had been at 210-212 Fourth St. According to a report commissioned by architect Peter Jensen, the rear portions of the site reveal the presence of such things as privies, a brick wall, and a possible cistern dating from the mid- to late 19th century.
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Jensen, who designed a new condo building for that lot, says, “You would expect to find fragments. The original house was 1830-1840 in the Greek Revival vernacular style.” The new house bears a distinct resemblance to the original. “It’s supposed to speak to it or relate to it, but not be a copy of it,” Jensen says. “The new one has no pretty name, but it responds to what had previously been there and the historic buildings on the block.” Downtown resident Scott Mittman also owns a Greek Revival row house, at 137 Sussex St., dating to 1837. Mittman says he’s unearthed medicine bottles, tea glasses, a container for charcoal
HIDDEN JERSEY CITY JCM
210-212 FOURTH ST. PHOTO COURTESY OF JERSEY CITY TAX ASSESSOR 137 SUSSEX ST. AND GLASS BOTLLES, PHOTOS COURTESY OF SCOTT AND CHRISTINE MITTMAN
toothpaste, a purple Solon Palmer perfume bottle, a window etched with an advertisement for an elixir, and other items, but nothing as awesome as the Colt revolver that he’d heard another home owner had found. He’s also heard that people knock on doors asking to dig up your backyard and keep whatever they find. “They leave a mess in the backyard,” he says, and then take away anything of historic value. The Apple Tree House at 298 Academy St. is probably Jersey City’s most famous historic house, dating from the 17th century and legendary as the spot where Generals Washington and Lafayette reportedly chatted under an apple tree. The house and grounds are currently being restored. Chris Charas, project coordinator for construction in the city’s division of architecture, says close to 600 fragments have been unearthed at the site, including cow bones, pottery, and pipes. “In the back were a privy, a barn, and orchards,” Charas says. He’s excited about the third phase of restoration which will excavate under the parking lot in back: “It will give a great look into the original town of Bergen at the time of Peter Stuyvesant.”
PHOTO BY KATE ROUNDS
The Jersey City Museum also has a collection of documented and undocumented archaeological finds, among them “remnants of the Morris Canal structure” found on Jersey Avenue, and a number of “beverage” bottles, including those from McDonough and Company, Albert Krumenaker, Alderney Dairy, and the Lembec and Betz Eagle Brewing Company, which once occupied the area bordered by Ninth, 10th, Grove, and Henderson.
As Jersey Cityites poke around for relics of our rich history, across the river, spectacular finds are coming to light at the site of the new World Trade Center. The husk of an 18th century wooden ship made headlines recently, a subterranean relic of the complex society that once flourished overhead. From the Lenni Lanape and colonial times to the Revolution, Civil War, and beyond, there is much to appreciate and preserve. Dig baby dig.—Kate Rounds
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PHOTOS BY TIM STEELE DESIGN
Art On the Go JERSEY CITY COUPLE CREATES MOBILE ART SPACE FROM RECYCLED SHIPPING CONTAINERS BY STEFANIE JACKOWITZ
Who says a work of art has to be hung on a museum wall accompanied by a hefty price tag? Certainly not Jersey City residents Angus Vail and his wife Julie Daugherty, who together have launched an eco-friendly project dubbed ArtBloc, a moveable and ever-changing installation and performance space created from two 20-foot metal shipping containers. “We’ve cut them, framed them, and have windows that pop in and out,” says Vail describing the versatility of the cargo contain-
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ers. “We can clip wheels onto the bottom and move them around, we can stick them on their ends, or stack them up,” he says, adding “They’re strong, but the whole point is that they are supposed to be flexible.” Vail and Daugherty have only one mission: to bring art to the people in an eco-friendly and cost effective way. “We’re not curators and we’re not promoters,” says Vail, who like Daugherty has always appreciated the arts. Vail is the business manager for KISS and previously INXS, and Daugherty is a physical therapist for the American Ballet Theatre. “We’re not going to make a career change into running a gallery,” says Daugherty. “We want ArtBloc to be fun.” The project is still taking shape and gaining a healthy momentum. Vail and Daugherty are proud to have debuted ArtBloc in late July, collaborating with New York City-based arts nonprofit Flux Factory and its MarinArt exhibit at Far Rockaway’s Marina 59. Vail dubs it the new “Hipster Hamptons.” Summer visitors took the A train to Beach Channel Drive to view works focused on the geography, history, and culture of the Rockaways, all housed in ArtBloc’s recycled and refurbished steel shipping containers. The success of the ArtBloc initiative can be partially credited to the nearly 200 supportive fans who have donated to the project on its KickStarter.com web page, but Vail and Daugherty also attribute their success to luck and being in the right place at the right time. “We’re learning as we go,” says Daugherty, who along with Vail seems confident that the future of ArtBloc resides in building connections within the art world. “It’s been really by chance, a series of meeting people to see what they are doing and what we’re doing,” she says.
we can show videos on the inside. We can treat them as art objects.” So what’s next for ArtBloc and its husband-and-wife team? Solar panels and “green” roofing. Plus a built-in stage for performances, working electricity, and events on the Jersey side of the river. “When the weather gets colder, we’d love to come back to Jersey City,” says Daugherty. “We’ve lived here a long time.” The art scene, she says, “is not as concentrated as it once was, but there are still a lot of artists. We want to continue building on that.” For more information on the future of the ArtBloc project, updates, and videos, visit artbloc.net or kickstarter.com/profile/artbloc. —JCM Although the concept of ArtBloc is simple in nature, the possibilities are ongoing and endless in scope. “Who knows what could happen? We might purchase another container and have two installations opened at once, “says Vail. “Or we may be able to have three lined up and set in a nice “L” shape.” And even though each container was originally intended to house art, the couple envisions them as art in themselves. Vail says: “We can get people to do graffiti work on them and because they have floor-to-ceiling windows,
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THE STUDIO JCM
Bonnie Gloris CELEBRATING THE FEMININE BY DIANA SCHWAEBLE
Crafting a realistic figure is a lifelong goal for many artists. Whether a piece is sketched in stark black and white or rendered with layers of color, an artist attempts to breathe life into the work. For Bonnie Gloris, the mission is harder; she wants to express the inherent duality of women, not the archetypes of saint or sinner so often depicted. Gloris is obsessed with creating balanced portraits of women. “The good and the bad, black and white, the duality of women,” she says is what she tries to convey in her work.
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Her recent work, which was selected for a solo show at the Boca Grande restaurant in Jersey City, explores those themes. The largest piece in the exhibit, “Sisters,” is a portrait of the artist and her sister. In it, the sisters are pictured from an aerial view sitting on a flowered orange blanket. It focuses tight on the pair with their gazes boldly looking back at the viewer. Grass peeks out along the edges of the picture, and their clothes suggest summer. The women could be in a park or a forest depending on where the viewer envisions the cozy scene. “I like to let people make their own interpretations,” she says. “I try not to over analyze it.” Gloris began with the feminine and classic when painting the piece, yet wanted the viewer to see the women as a whole. The picture could be pastoral, evoking an escape from the city to the perceived innocence of the country, except for the knowing look in both women’s eyes. Yet her sister doesn’t think it looks like her, she says: “I think people have a certain idea of what they look like but it isn’t necessarily how other people see them.” Growing up in upstate New York near Albany, Gloris says there wasn’t much to do. You had to find ways to occupy the time.
THE STUDIO JCM
PHOTO OF THE ARTIST BY DIANA SCHWAEBLE
Gloris happily immersed herself in art. While she was busy making plans to escape and study art, her older sister took the traditional route and married, settling close to their hometown. Gloris has painted herself realistically in “Sisters” and in other self portraits titled “Vamp” and “Vamp II,” unlike some artists whose self portraits seem abstract or skewed in some way. Yet her image in oil is softer than the polished finish in the flesh. Gloris is also a runner. She looks tiny in person, with the muscles of her arms and legs clearly defined from all the running. There is a quiet focus about her, whether walking or describing her future plans. You notice her manicured hands, which remain mostly folded on her chiseled knee. Poised is a word that springs to mind and not one usually associated with a young artist. And she should be content at 27 having established herself enough to get portrait commissions and illustration gigs. She graduated from Parsons, the New School for Design in 2006 and began working immediately. No small feat for an emerging artist. She has exhibited her work in dozens of group shows and her illustration clients include Cassinelli Winery, Quincy Films, notable medical journals and Disney.
ARTWORK COURTESY OF BONNIE GLORIS. CLOCKWISE: BENEATH THE SURFACE, OPRAH, VAMP II, SISTERS, BETWEEN THE LINES.
“Everyone says you go to school for connections, and I found that the professors were very helpful,” she says. For all of her recent success, Gloris remains realistic about the future;
she’s contemplating going back to school for a master’s degree on the business side of art. “I want to be in the art field, but I also have to be practical,” she says. —JCM
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ARTWORK BY MICHAEL DUBOSE: WHERE I WANT TO BE
Want your event listed? Please email us at jcmag@hudsonreporter.com and put “calendar listings” in the subject line.
ONGOING I c e S k a t i n g, Pershing Field Skating Rink, Summit Avenue and Pershing Plaza, (201) 5474392. Dec.-Feb. Public skate begins at 3:30 p.m. weekdays. $5 adults, $3 children. Skate rental and sharpening. N e w p o r t S k a t e s, 95 River Dr., (201) 626-RINK, newportskates.com. Weekdays, $6 admission/$6 rental; weekends/holidays, $7 admission/$6 rental; season pass, $120. Weekdays 4-9 p.m., Saturdays and
holidays 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Sundays 11a.m.-7 p.m. Friends of LSP’s Volunteer Garden P r o g r a m, Liberty State Park, (201) 915-3418, folsp.org. Saturdays, 8 -11 a.m., throughout the year except holidays. A r t m a r k e t, Grove Street PATH plaza, Jersey City, (201) 547-6921, cityofjerseycity.com. Local artists display goods. Fridays 2-7 p.m. JC Fridays, Citywide, (201) 915-9911, jcfridays.com. Seasonal
GOING UP
citywide series with art, music, film, and JC Friday’s business discounts. Free. First Friday of Dec. and March. Fa r m e r s M a r k e t, Van Vorst Park, Jersey Ave. and Montgomery St. Saturdays through Nov. 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Loew’s Jersey Theatre C l e a n u p, 54 Journal Square, (201) 798-6055, loewsjersey.org. Most Saturdays, 11:30 a.m.5:30 p.m. Refreshments. Saturday tours. S p a n i s h m a d e s i m p l e, Miller Branch Library, 489 Bergen Ave., (201) 547-4551, jclibrary.org. Lessons in Spanish by Mrs. Gomez, Wednesdays, 4-6 p.m.
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OCTOBER 20-22 “ R a c e ,” J City Theater, St. Michael’s Church, 252 Ninth St., jcity.org. Dramatic play by David Mamet. 8 p.m.
20-JAN 31 I M A X f i l m s, Liberty Science Center, 222 Jersey City Blvd., (201) 200-1000, lsc.org. Film on the nation’s largest IMAX screen (88 feet). Featuring “Tornado Alley,” an exploration of tornados and weather. Showtimes: 10:15 a.m., 1:15 p.m., 3:15 p.m.
21 The Brennan C o f f e e h o u s e S e r i e s, The Brennan Gallery, 583 Newark Ave., (800)
542-7894, brennancoffee house.com. Music by Aztec Two-Step. Doors open at 7 p.m., show begins at 7:30 p.m. Free parking.
22 C o o k i n g C l a s s, Culinary Arts Institute, 161 Newkirk Ave., (201) 360-4639. Cooking class teaches fundamentals of brunch preparation. $75. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
22 J a z z, The WAREHOUSE Cafe, 140 Bay St. (201) 420-8882. Free jazz featuring Vanessa Perea. 3-5 p.m.
30 Sunday Night Film F o r u m, Jersey City Art School, 326 5th St., jcartschool.com. Film series featuring unusual
FALLEN ANGEL
films. Hosted by writer Yvonne Vairma. 7:30 p.m. Free.
NOVEMBER 2 M usi c op en mi c, Boca Grande, 564 Washington St., bocagrandenj.com, (201) 626-6646. Musicians and poets welcome. Hosted by Nick Ciavatta. 8:30 p.m.-12 a.m.
3 Pe r f o r m a n c e, Art House Productions, Hamilton Square, 1 McWilliams Place, 6th floor, (201) 915-9911, arthouseproductions.org. Open mic and performance. 8-10 p.m. $5.
4 Open mic: JC Slam, 54 Coles St. Open mic competition for poets. 9-11 p.m. $5.
MS ATTITUDE
5 C o o k i n g C l a s s, Culinary Arts Institute, 161 Newkirk Ave., (201) 360-4639. Cooking class teaches fundamentals of jam preparation. $75. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
5, 6 A r t fa i r, The Museum of Russian Art, 85 Grand St., (818) 642-9225. Local art show and sale. 12-7 p.m.
6 J e f f M a g n u m, Loew’s Landmark Theatre, 54 Journal Square, (201) 798-6055, loewsjersey.org. Concert. 8 p.m.
10-12 Yo u r m o ve, Art House Productions, Hamilton Square, 1 McWilliams Place, 6th floor, (201) 915-9911,
arthouseproductions.org. Dance series. 8 p.m. $10.
11 Veterans Day Memorial Ser v i c e s, (201) 547-5248. Polish Veterans Association Memorial, 6th Street and Jersey Avenue; Sgt. Anthony Memorial, Palisade Avenue; Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Pershing Field and Holy Name Cemetery. Laying of wreaths. Call for details.
11-20 “ N ext Fa l l,” The Attic Ensemble, 83 Wayne St., (201) 413-9200, atticensemble.org. A play examining modern love, by Geoffrey Nauffts. 8 p.m. $20 adults, $15 students.
12, 19 The Attic Junior Series: “Secret Tales of Silent
Trees,” The Attic Ensemble, 83 Wayne St., (201) 413-9200, atticensemble.org, info@atticensemble.org. For children. 1 p.m. $5 for kids, adults free.
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DECEMBER 1 Pe r f o r m a n c e, Art House Productions, Hamilton Square, 1 McWilliams Place, 6th floor, (201) 915-9911, arthouseproductions.org. Open mic performance. 8-10 p.m. $5
The Brennan Coffeehouse Series, The Brennan Gallery, 583 Newark Ave., (800) 542-7894, brennancoffeehouse.com. Music by Jenny Owens Young. Doors open at 7 p.m., Concert begins at 7:30. Free parking.
“A Tu n a C h r i s t m a s ,” J City Theater, St. Michael’s Church, 252 Ninth St., jcity.org. Theater company’s annual Christmas comedy. Times TBA.
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Sunday Night Film F o r u m, Jersey City Art School, 326 5th St., jcartschool.com. Film series featuring unusual films. Hosted by writer Yvonne Vairma. 7:30 p.m. Free.
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“ I t ’s a Wonderful Life,” The Attic Ensemble, 83 Wayne St., (201) 413-9200, atticensemble.org. Christmas classic performed radio style. 8 p.m.
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C o o k i n g C l a s s, Culinary Arts Institute, 161 Newkirk Ave., (201) 360-4639. Cooking class teaches holiday meal preparation. $75. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
C h i l l t o w n O p e n M i c, Hudson Pride Connections Center, 32 Jones St., hudsonpride.org. Open mic performance series. 7:30 p.m.
4 C o o k i n g C l a s s, Culinary Arts Institute, 161 Newkirk Ave., (201) 360-4639. Cooking class teaches easy holiday desserts. $75. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Mu sic o pen m ic, Boca Grande, 564 Washington St., bocagrandenj.com, (201) 626-6646. Musicians and poets welcome. Hosted by Nick Ciavatta. 8:30 p.m.-12 a.m.
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Pearl Harbor Day, foot of Washington St., (201) 547-5248. Laying of a wreath in the river to honor those who died that day. Call for times. A f r i c a n D a n c i n g, 54 Coles St. Traditional African dance class. Wear loose comfortable clothing. $20 drop in. 8-9 p.m.
15 Gypsy Jazz at Madame Claude’s Café, (201) 876-8800, 364 4th St., madameclaudecafe.com. Live jazz series at 8 p.m.
18 Erie Galler y, 18 Erie St., (201) 369-7000, balancehair.com/18_erie_gall ery/18_erie_gallery.htm. 58 galler y, 58 Coles St., fifty8.com. 140 Galler y, 140 Bay St., (908) 296-7679, myspace.com/140gallery. 919 Galler y, 150 Bay St., (201) 779-6929, 919gallery.com. A b a t o n G a r a g e, 100 Gifford Ave., abatongarage.com. By appointment. Actors Shakespeare C o m p a n y, West Side Theater, New Jersey City University, 285 West Side Ave., Box office: (201) 200-2390, ascnj.org.
S w i n g D a n c i n g, 54 Coles St. Dance class taught by Joe Palmer. Dance party to follow. $20 for class, $5 for party only. 7-10 p.m.
JANUARY 1-31 Rotunda Galler y E x h i b i t i o n, City Hall, 280 Grove St., (201) 547-6921. Monthly art exhibit. TBA.
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Place, 6th floor, (201) 915-9911, arthouseproductions.org. Open mic performance. 8-10 p.m. $5.
6 O p e n m i c : J C S l a m, 54 Coles St. Open mic competition for poets. 9-11 p.m. $5.
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featuring Vanessa Perea. 3-5 p.m.
23 G-Tr a c k R a c i n g, Pole Position Raceway, 99 Caven Point Road, 12 -10 p.m.
FEBRUARY 1
Sunday Night Film F o r u m, Jersey City Art School, 326 5th St., jcartschool.com. Film series featuring unusual films. Hosted by writer Yvonne Vairma. 7:30 p.m. Free.
Mu sic o p en mi c, Boca Grande, 564 Washington St., bocagrandenj.com, (201) 626-6646. Musicians and poets welcome. Hosted by Nick Ciavatta. 8:30 p.m. to 12 a.m.
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Black Histor y Month E x h i b i t i o n, Rotunda Gallery, City Hall, 280 Grove St., (201) 547-6921. TBA.
A n n u a l S n o w B a l l, Art House Productions, Hamilton Square, 1 McWilliams Place, 6th floor, (201) 915-9911, arthouseproductions.org. Music, silent auction, food. 8-11 p.m. $65 presale, $75 at door.
Pe r f o r m a n c e, Art House Productions, Hamilton Square, 1 McWilliams
J a z z, The WAREHOUSE Cafe, 140 Bay St. (201) 420-8882. Free jazz
Afro-American Historical S o c i e t y M u s e u m, 1841 Kennedy Blvd., Top floor, (201) 547-5262. A RT B U I L D E R S, 193 Montgomery St., (201) 433-2682. A r t s o n t h e H u d s o n, 282 Barrow St., (201) 451-4862, web spawner.com/users/grigur. The Attic Ensemble, The Barrow Mansion, 83 Wayne St., (201) 4139200, atticensemble.org. Beth DiCara Ceramics Studio, 11 Monitor St., (201) 388-7323, eveningstarstudio.net. The Brennan Galler y, Justice William Brennan Court House, 583 Newark Ave., (800) 542-7894, visithudson.org.
T h e B r u n s w i c k W i n d o w, 158 Brunswick St., (201) 978-8939, brunswickwin dow@rogersayre.com. C u r i o u s M a t t e r, 272 Fifth St., (201) 659-5771, curi ousmatter.blogspot.com F i s h W i t h B r a i d s, 521 Jersey Ave., (201) 451-4294, fishwith braids.blogspot.com. Gallerie Hudson, 197 Newark Ave., (201) 4341010, galleriehudson.net. The Galler y Space at G r a c e C h u r c h V a n Vo r s t , 39 Erie St., (201) 6592211, gracevanvorst.org. Harold B. Lemmerman Ga l l e r y, New Jersey City University, Hepburn Hall, Room 323, 2039 Kennedy Blvd., (201) 200-3246, njcu.edu/dept/art/galleries.
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2 Pe r f o r m a n c e, Art House Productions, Hamilton Square, 1 McWilliams Place, 6th floor, (201) 915-9911, arthouseproductions.org. Open mic performance. 8-10 p.m. $5.
Jersey City Dance A c a d e m y, 107 West Side Ave., (201) 435-8943, jerseycitydanceacademy.com. J e r s e y C i t y M u s e u m, 350 Montgomery St., (201) 413-0303, jersey citymuseum.org. John Meagher Rotunda G a l l e r y, City Hall, 280 Grove St., (201) 547-6921, jcnj.org. Kearon-Hempenstall G a l l e r y, 536 Bergen Ave., (201) 333-8855, khgallery.com. The Kennedy Dancers, I n c ., 79 Central Ave., (201) 659-2190, kennedydancers.org. The Landmark Loew’s J e r s e y T h e a t r e, 54 Journal Square, (201) 798-6055, loewsjersey.org.
18, 25 The Attic Junior Series: The Athlete, Princess, Pirate, Fa i r y, Welder, D e e p - s e a D i v e r C l u b, The Attic Ensemble, 83 Wayne St., (201) 413-9200, atticensemble.org, info@atticensemble.org. For children. 1 p.m. $5 for kids, adults free.
MARCH 1 Pe r f o r m a n c e, Art House Productions, Hamilton Square, 1 McWilliams Place, 6th floor, (201) 915-9911, arthouseproductions.org. Open mic performance. 8-10 p.m. $5.
1-31 Women’s Histor y M o n t h E x h i b i t i o n, Rotunda Gallery, City Hall, 280 Grove St., (201) 547-6921. TBA.
Le x L e o n a r d G a l l e r y , 143 Christopher Columbus Dr., Suite 2, lexleonardgallery.com. Mana Fine Arts Exhibition Space, 227 Coles St., (800) 330-9659, manafinearts.com. NY/NJ Academy of C e r a m i c A r t, 279 Pine St., (201) 432-9315, nynjceramics.com. P r o A r t, 344 Grove St., (201) 736-7057, proartsjerseycity.org. The Upstairs Art Galler y, I n c ., 896 Bergen Ave., (201) 963-6444. Visual Arts Building G a l l e r y, New Jersey City University, 100 Culver Ave., (201) 200-3246, njcu.edu/dept/art/galleries. W i n d o w s o n C o l u m b u s, Christopher Columbus Dr. near Washington St., (201) 736-7057.
VANISHING JC JCM
JERSEY CITY PHOTO BY ROBERT J. FOX A NEW YORK CITY MANHOLE COVER ON HUDSON STREET IN DOWNTOWN JERSEY CITY. SEND US YOUR VANISHING JERSEY CITY PHOTOS TO JCMAG@HUDSONREPORTER.COM. BE SURE TO WRITE “VANISHING J.C.” IN THE SUBJECT LINE.
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DINING OUT JCM
PHOTOS COURTESY OF KOMEGASHI TOO
Komegash i What’s the best thing about Komegashi too? Not a fair question. This Japanese favorite in the Newport section has much to offer— excellent food artfully presented, an attentive wait staff, and views overlooking the Newport marina. Jennifer Merrick Martiak, our art director, was a perfect dining companion: She loves sushi, and I love the cooked food that comes to the table with steaming sauces, pungent and bubbling. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Japanese restaurant without the obligatory bowl of edamame, those miniature sweet soybeans that you suck from the pod. Japanese food goes great with beer. Jennifer had a Corona with a slice of lime and I had a 16-ounce Sapporo, a Japanese standby. We started out with a really large bowl of popcorn shrimp, deep fried with two dipping sauces, jalapeno and spicy mayo. They were very crisp and both sauces were fresh and just the right degree of “spicy.” We had to take this home because if we’d eaten it all, there wouldn’t have been room for the delicacies to follow. The second appetizer was beef negimaki, scallions rolled in thinly sliced beef with teriyaki sauce. The beef was tender, almost delicate—we ate them all.
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too
DINING OUT JCM
Jennifer called on Lisa, the manager, to help her pick just the right sushi dish, which turned out to be the “boutique sushi of the day,” called Firework Chirashi, a combination of seasoned sushi rice with a variety of fish and ikura. Ikura is a salmon roe that comes from the Russian “ikra,” meaning caviar. Also known as salmon eggs, they are large reddish-orange individual spheres. “It was a delightful experience of the freshest fish,” Jennifer reports. Here’s where we have to talk about presentation. This dish was a work of art. Atop a square of rice were multicolored slices of fish—orange and red, with white and green accents. On the side were lemon slices, mushrooms, ginger, and wasabi. I went for the salmon teriyaki, predictably steaming with sweet teriyaki sauce, white rice, broccoli, carrots, and potatoes. There were two large pieces of fish, one of which went home with me in a bag. Komegashi too has the perfect ambience. You can go for the dark and cool interior in full view of the sushi chefs, or do what we did—get a seat by the window, where we saw elegant yachts tied to the float and watched geese swimming in the canal. In the mood for Japanese? You know where to go. —Kate Rounds
Komegashi too 99 Town Square Place (201) 533-8888 komegashi.com
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DINING OUT JCM
BAJA/HOBOKEN 104 14th Street (201) 653-0610 www.bajamexicancuisine.com
BAJA/JERSEY CITY 117 Montgomery Street (201) 915-0062 www.bajamexicancuisine.com Baja offers a new experience in charbroiled Tex-Mex specialties. With the best mojitos and margaritas around and happy hour every day, it’s a fun place with a happening bar. Private parties of up to 60 can be accommodated in Jersey City.
BOX ASIAN BISTRO 176 Newark Avenue (201) 432-1670 www.boxjc.com Come and experience the finest Japanese-Thai fusion cuisine in the downtown Jersey City neighborhood. Box offers a wide array of Japanese-Thai cuisine from Japanese miso soup, tempura and yaki soba to Thai kar-hhee curry, chu-chee curry and pad thai. Box provides each and every customer with a comfortable and inviting environment and savory meals.
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DINING OUT JCM
CONFUCIUS ASIAN BISTRO 558 Washington Boulevard (201) 386-8898 www.abcpos.com/confuciusbistro/ Confucius Asian Bistro is a perfect mix of ambiance, excellence, friendly service, delicious food served with an attractive presentation, large portions, and affordability. Stop in for lunch and take advantage of the specials or for dinner to experience a tasty meal in a serene environment.
THE CULINARY CONFERENCE CENTER at Hudson County Community College 161 Newkirk Street (201) 360-5300 www.culinaryconferencecenter.com Located in the heart of historic Journal Square and on the campus of Hudson County Community College, the Culinary Conference Center offers exceptional cuisine and is available for business meetings, culinary team building, weddings, and social events. As a culinary center the food is taken very seriously. You’ll enjoy a unique gourmet experience with emphasis on fresh, local ingredients and seasonal cuisine that is sure to delight even the most discerning food lover. A wide variety of packages are available to meet any budget.
EDWARD’S STEAK HOUSE 239 Marin Boulevard (201) 761-0000 www.edwardssteakhouse.com Edward’s Steak House offers steak, seafood, and other sumptuous fare with an elegant bistro flare. Tucked into a historic townhouse in downtown Jersey City, Edward’s is comfortably upscale. The menu includes all the classic steaks and chops—aged prime sirloin, porterhouse, filet mignon, and more. You’ll enjoy the atmosphere whether you’re celebrating a special occasion or stopping by for a steak sandwich at the bar.
HELEN’S PIZZA 183 Newark Avenue (201) 435-1507 www.helens-pizza.com Helen’s Pizza, a family owned restaurant, has been serving downtown Jersey City since 1968. Using only the finest ingredients they provide customers with the best tasting pizza, dinners, sandwiches, salads, and now a wide selection of homemade desserts. They have earned their reputation for the best pizza in town. Come taste the difference at Helen’s Pizza. Open seven days: Mon. – Sat. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Sun. 3 p.m. - 11 p.m.
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JERSEY CITY’S NEWEST
SALUMERIA ERCOLANO ITALIAN DELI & MARKET
Celebrating 27 Years of fine dining and catering, Puccini's has all the elements to make any celebration, special occasion or social event a spectacular success!
Puccini’s Restaurant & Catering
SANDWICHES • PANINI WRAPS • SALADS FRESH FILLED CANNOLI ESPRESSO • CAPPUCCINO
Fresh and Flavorful Menu Changes Daily
Mouthwatering Mozzarella Made Fresh Daily
CATERING FOR ALL OCCASIONS 1072 WESTSIDE AVENUE (Next to Puccini’s Restaurant) JERSEY CITY (201) 434-4604 FAX: (201) 434-4945 Free Parking • Major Credit Cards Accepted Open Mon.-Fri. 9AM-6PM Sat. 9:30AM-5PM • Sun. Closed Gift Certificates Available
Recognized as one of Hudson County's most illustrious catering facilities with a reputation for Quality, Ambiance & Service.
Noted for it's satisfying traditional Italian cuisine, Puccini's uses only the finest ingredients — many of which are imported from Italy. In addition to our two banquet rooms, Puccini's is open for lunch & dinner Tuesday — Friday and for dinner on Saturday & Sunday.
www.puccinisrestaurant.com 1064 WESTSIDE AVENUE, JERSEY CITY • 201 432-4111 Ample Valet Parking • Gift Certificates Available Major Credit Cards Accepted
CONVENIENTLY LOCATED CLOSE TO NEW YORK CITY AND MAJOR NEW JERSEY HIGHWAYS.
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Asian Bistro . Sushi Bar . Full Bar Service 176 Newark Ave. Downtown Jersey City
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Next to municipal parking 2 blk from Grove St. PATH Station Tel: 201-432-1670
Open 7 days BOXJC.COM
IBBY’S FALAFEL 303 Grove Street (201)432-2400 One of downtown’s most popular eateries, Ibby’s Falafel has been serving Jersey City for many years. The menu consists of original Middle Eastern cuisine along with new and innovative additions. Open seven days. Catering available. Other locations in Freehold and Hoboken.
KOMEGASHI 103 Montgomery Street (201) 433-4567 www.komegashi.com Located in Jersey City’s financial district, Komegashi offers fresh, well-presented sushi along with traditional Japanese favorites and an extensive selection of fresh shellfish. Locals and visitors from around the world find this a perfect spot to dine in casual elegance. Open seven days.
KOMEGASHI TOO 99 Pavonia Ave. Newport Financial Center (201) 533-8888 www.komegashi.com Komegashi too offers an authentic Japanese dining experience with a spectacular view of the New York Skyline. The menu includes perfectly prepared
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DINING OUT JCM sushi and sashimi, kaiseki, teriyaki, and tempura. Located on the river at Newport Financial Center, Komegashi too is open seven days.
LA CONGUITA 351 Grove Street (one block from the Grove Street PATH) (201) 435-6770 www.laconguita.com La Conguita restaurant opened in 1980. The small space held only seven tables and a small counter but soon became a neighborhood favorite with its authentic Latin food. Since then the restaurant has grown and looks a lot different but the food is the same. La Conguita continues to serve good food in big portions for low prices—simple but flavorful.
MICHAEL ANTHONY’S 520 Washington Blvd. (201) 798-1798 www.mar-jc.com From the moment you step into Michael Anthony’s you can’t help but be impressed by the nautically inspired décor. High ceilings, boat-shaped bar, ten-foot sails for the indoor and outdoor bars, and waterfall walls separating the banquet room and restaurant enhance your fine Italian dining
CALL
tel 201 798 1798
Dining Hours OPEN 7 DAYS 11:30AM — CLOSE Sunday Brunch
On Pier Parking Street Parking, Courtesy Validated Parking (in Westin Hotel Garage)
website
Michael Anthony’s
s ’ n e l e H PIZZA
Owned Family 1968 Since
WATERFRONT RESTAURANT Heated Glass Enclosed Patio Spectacular Views of Manhattan Sunday Brunch Late Night Lounge (Friday And Saturday) Live Entertainment Large Banquet Party Hall Can Accomodate all Functions
502 WASHINGTON BLVD., JERSEY CITY (AT THE NEWPORT MARINA PIER)
OPEN 7 DAYS 11AM-11PM SUNDAY 3PM-11PM
www.mar-jc.com
FAST DELIVERY MIN. $1O FOR DELIVERY .75 DELIVERY FEE
183 NEWARK AVENUE, JC CALL OR ORDER ONLINE WWW.HELENSPIZZA.NET
201.435.1507
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experience. Enjoy a cordial on the deck overlooking the spectacular Manhattan skyline. Join us for happy hour, dinner, or a private social event.
MORE 281 Grove Street (201) 309-0571 www.morejc.com Visit the newest addition to the Grove Street scene, offering a wide selection of Thai and Japanese offerings, and more. Whether you stop by for a meal or take one to go, the experience will be satisfying. more is located across the street from City Hall.
THE POINTE AT PORT LIBERTEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; 2 Chapel Avenue (201) 985-9854 www.thepointerestaurant.com Drink up the ambience along with your favorite cocktail while indulging yourself with the great cuisine of this fine waterfront restaurant. This popular Jersey City eatery boasts unobstructed views of downtown Manhattan and The Statue of Liberty and offers outdoor dining in warm weather. Call about our Sunday brunches and private parties. Open seven days for lunch and dinner.
80 â&#x20AC;˘ Jersey CITY Magazine ~ FALL & WINTER 2011/12
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Edward’s S
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LOCATED IN HISTORIC DOWNTOWN
239 MARIN BOULEVARD, JERSEY CITY
PARKING AVAILABLE CALL FOR RESERVATIONS 201.761.0000
www.edwardssteakhouse.com
NJ MONTHLY Top 25 Restaurants in NJ CRITICS CHOICE for Best Steakhouse
PUCCINI’S RESTAURANT AND CATERING 1064 West Side Avenue (201) 432-4111 www.puccinisrestaurant.com Excellent food, gracious service, and the elegant surroundings at Puccini’s are all you need for a perfect evening out. Chef Pasquale Iengo, a Naples native, creates authentic Italian dishes the way they were meant to be served and offers an impressive wine list to complement your meal. Expert catering is also available in two exquisitely appointed and expanded banquet halls, a perfect setting for your wedding or special event. Puccini’s Restaurant is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Friday and for dinner Saturday and Sunday.
THE RESTAURANTS AT NEWPORT J.C. Waterfront District www.newportnj.com Overlooking the Hudson River and the Manhattan skyline is the newest dining destination on the New Jersey Gold Coast—The Restaurants at Newport. Located among the luxury apartments and office towers in the Newport section of Jersey City, The Restaurants at Newport include 14 fine establishments: Komegashi too, Dorrian’s Red Hand, Raaz, Cosi, Starbucks, Hudson Café, Confucius,
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DINING OUT JCM Bertucci’s, Azucar, Babo, Fire and Oak, Boca Grande Cantina, and Michael Anthony’s.
RITA & JOE’S ITALIAN RESTAURANT 142 Broadway (201) 451-3606 www.ritaandjoes.com A Jersey City favorite, Rita and Joe’s is the next best thing to Mama’s Italian cooking. This family-run restaurant serves delectable homemade dishes served in the comfort of a cozy and intimate dining room. On and off premises catering are available.
SALUMERIA ERCOLANO 1072 Westside Avenue (201) 434-4604 Jersey City’s newest and most talked about Italian deli and market is brought to you by Chef Pasquale, who has delivered top quality to Puccini’s for more than 27 years. With a fresh menu that changes daily, Salumeria Ercolano offers delicious sandwiches, panninis, wraps, and salads along with daily, freshly made mozzarella and desserts. Whether you eat in or take it home, you owe it to yourself to make this your next stop for lunch or a take-home dinner. Quality catering for all occasions is available. Open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, from 9:30 a. m. to 5 p.m. Free parking.
SAWADEE 137 Newark Avenue (201) 433-0888 www.sawadeejc.com Offering exceptional Thai cuisine, Sawadee is a dining experience that will please both the eye and palate! Enjoy lunch, dinner, or a refreshing cocktail in an inviting atmosphere. Sawadee is conveniently located just steps from the Grove Street PATH.
SKINNER’S LOFT 146 Newark Avenue (201) 915-0600. www.skinnersloft.com This long-awaited restaurant was created by the former owners of the popular Hamilton Park Ale House. A chic, loft-style eatery, it features a warm, spacious interior with exposed brick walls, high ceilings, and total attention to detail. It’s a perfect spot to enjoy a cocktail and a fine meal.
SKY THAI 62 Morris Street www.skyjc.com This new Jersey City eatery near Exchange Place serves traditional Thai cuisine in a warm and beautiful atmosphere. Enjoy a cocktail before dinner and get ready for an authentic Asian feast.
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