August 18 to august 31 pdfs of river view observer

Volume 18, No. 8

August 18th - August 31st 2014 FREE PUBLICATION

riverviewobserver.net

201-349-4336

Pg. 2

Ricardo Kaulessar

Pg. 3

Memories of Cuba

Pg. 5

On the cover

Indiegrove in Jersey City Offers Entrepreneurs a Professional Space to Grow Pg. 13 Kelsey Muller Pg. 15 Andrew's Cafe

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By Sally Deering

verybody needs their workspace – a desk, a chair, a corner of the world where they can conduct business and succeed, Ever since the economic downturn of 2008, more and more Americans have changed from corporate team-players to entrepreneurial renegades out to make a living on their terms. Ask any freelancer or small business owner and they’ll probably say their car is their office – or the bedroom, kitchen, even the basement laundry room.

Some entrepreneurs need professional office digs beyond the bedroom or even Starbucks, where the sounds of grinding coffee beans and calls for lattes may be too much for a client meeting.

In Hudson, Indiegrove on Newark Avenue & Grove Street in Downtown Jersey City has just what the entrepreneur needs to conduct business: modern, contemporary office space with Wi-Fi, copier, meeting rooms, and a cool, professional vibe.

It takes an entrepreneur to understand other entrepreneurs and that’s just what Zahra Amanpour of Jersey City brought to the table when she founded Indiegrove in January 2013.

Amanpour, took her experiences at WIBO – Workshops in Business Opportunities – discovered a grimy, rundown, former fitness club in Jersey City and turned it into beautiful modern offices – both private and communal – with meeting rooms, a kitchen and that professional vibe. With a client list of members, Indiegrove allows entrepreneurs to run their businesses and workshops in style, and with support from other entrepreneurs. cont’d pg. 5

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LOCAL POSTAL CUSTOMER

Not Just Talking the Talk but Walking the Walk...

By Ricardo Kaulessar Jersey City can sometimes be two Jersey Cities – the city with the tony reputation of being a mini-Manhattan and the city where people are overlooked and living in desperation on the margins.

The second Jersey City is those areas are usually seen as crime ridden and to be avoided as much as possible. However, there have been reminders recently by residents that those sections of New Jersey’s second largest city are deserving of respect and attention.

In July, a group of artists and activists called the JC Peace Traveling Crew did a “peace walk” in the city’s Bergen Lafayette

Participants in “peace walk” along Martin Luther King Drive in Jersey City on July 19. and Greenville sections at the end of a difficult week following the shooting death of Jersey City Police Officer Melvin Santiago to engage fellow citizens to be part of the solution to stop the violence affecting

where they live.

In June, members of a neighborhood association took a city official on a tour of several blocks spanning across Ocean Avenue in the Greenville section to point Cont’d on page 4

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MEMORIES OF CUBA

Fermin Mendoza’s WIRED PAINTINGS, a Journey of Conflict and Wonder

By Sally Deering

T

o some, a painting of a red tricycle is just that, plain and simple, but to local artist Fermin Mendoza the painting of a child’s three-wheeler packs a whole lot of meaning. iconic images that represent vivid memories of Cuba and Mendoza’s conflicting identity as a Cuban in America. After the show’s recent opening, Mendoza took time out of his busy schedule to talk about this very personal exhibit.

Me Voy “ I’m Leaving” Artist Fermin Mendoza Mendoza has several pieces like the red tricycle (titled: “I’m Leaving”) in his new show WIRED PAINTINGS at Two Boots Pizzeria in Downtown Jersey City, an exhibit of small paintings that reveal a big part of Mendoza’s childhood. They reflect the years he spent growing up in Cuba and, at 3, uprooting to Union City, New Jersey – two very different places that shaped Mendoza’s view of the world and himself in it.

In WIRED PAINTINGS, Mendoza chronicles his early years in 1950s Cuba when Fidel Castro was leading a grassroots revolution village-by-village. Mendoza’s paintings show certain objects – a child’s tricycle, an old pipe, a cowboy hat, a machete –

Cielito -Cube in the Sky

Te Doy “I’ll Give You” RVO: Can you share with our readers the meaning behind WIRED PAINTINGS? FM: These pieces deal with identity, my identity. There are two parts to my story.

The Cuban journey begins with an image of a childhood toy, a red tricycle, and then evolves into images of Cont’d on page 8

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Not Just Talking the Talk but Walking the Walk...

Cont’d from page 2 how this neighborhood is thriving but needs some help from the city to continue in that direction.

‘We Want Peace’ The afternoon of July 19 in Arlington Park at the corner of Ocean and Arlington avenues saw the kind of sight that would not be completely out of place in any other Jersey City park.

Adults and children gathering in the gazebo to create signs with color markers and imagination, playing and talking, and getting out into the fresh air.

However, there was a purpose amongst the participants as they were preparing for a two-mile plus walk taking them through areas that on initial glance would be shunned by many only aware of Jersey City as the site of hip new restaurants, home to a young, energetic mayor whose political star is on the rise, and location of some of the tri-state area’s most expensive real estate.

Celeste Ragland, one of the organizers of the walk, spoke about the goal of their movement.

“This is a peaceful movement and that we are not just a presence that [residents] saw and it’s out of mind,” Ragland said.

What the group of over 20 individuals, who encompassed various age groups, nationalities and sensibilities, did turned out to be memorable as they carried banners with slogans such as “SPEAK LOVE.

South Greenville Neighborhood Association members were joined by Brian Platt, an aide to Jersey City BE LOVE. SPREAD Mayor Steven Fulop, as LOVE,” shouted “STOP they toured several blocks THE VIOLENCE, JOIN THE MARCH, WE WANT of Ocean Avenue from Cator Avenue to Gates Avenue PEACE,” and stopped at pointing out the various various spots to perform storefronts and residential spoken word poetry. buildings that have seen 19-year-old Rashad Wright performed his piece, better days, some of which are being refurbished.

“Generation Degenerate,” Larkins, one of the at the HUB Plaza on Martin founders of the association, Luther King Drive. Wright saw his involvement in the spelled out during the tour: “One of the things we want walk as a way of giving the city to help us with is back to his hometown. to actually engage with the “This is my city, I’ve businesses, we could get a lived here my whole life, letter to them saying that and I have never had a we are undertaking this, we chance to make change,” Wright said. “I am thinking would like your participaabout all the lives we could tion.” be saving now.”

Making Ocean Avenue Better “This area is not as bad as some areas north of here.

There are a lot of things that can be done here.”

Martha Larkins addressed members of the South Greenville Neighborhood Association on June 13 as they gathered at the corner of Ocean and Cator avenues for a walking tour of Ocean Avenue.

The neighborhood group, which formed in the summer of 2013, has made it its mission to address issues in their area that have included bringing about a revitalization plan for a section of Ocean Avenue, one of the city’s main thoroughfares that runs from Merritt Street near the Jersey CityBayonne border to Bramhall Avenue in the city’s Bergen-Lafayette section.

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During the tour, Platt said Mayor Fulop has his eye on Greenville but did not offer specifics. However, Platt did say that the city is looking to get absentee landlords to maintain their rundown properties, with several of them seen on the tour.

Taking part in the tour was Army Staff Sgt. Ralph Cordero, an 11-year veteran who works as an recruiter, hoped that the revitalization plan would help make this area more eco-friendly, thus putting the “green” in Greenville.

River View Observer Serving Hudson County Since 1998 For Rates & Information 201-349-4336

NoHu International Short Film Festival Seeking Entries for 2014 The Seventh Annual NoHu Int’l Short Film Festival is now accepting submissions in all categories. The Festival will be held on October 14 to 18 Union City.

The five day festival will include 4 evenings of screenings of the finalist films, and a red carpet event awards ceremony.

Interested filmmakers should submit a DVD no longer than 15 minutes along with a cover letter, synopsis, film credits, awards if any , and contact information to Commissioner Lucio P Fernandez Department of Public Affairs 3715 Palisades Avenue, Union City , NJ 07087. Attn. Film Entry Important to note in the cover letter that the entry is being submitted by the property owner or licensee, and allowing the City of Union City to publicly screen the film as part of the NoHu International Film Festival. DVDs will not be returned Deadline to enter a film is October 1st. There is no fee and no application form is required.

This is a juried festival, foreign language films are accepted. Important to include if this is a world premiere, USA premiere, New Jersey premiere or Union City premiere.

All finalists will be notified by e-mail.

On the DVD cover please include contact name, email address and genre of the film.

WORK PODS

Indiegrove in Jersey City Offers Entrepreneurs a Professioal Space to Grow

Cont’d from Cover “I had been working with entrepreneurs in the nonprofit sector at WIBO in New York City,” Amanpour says. “That’s when I fell in love with entrepreneurs.

They’re all a little crazy and I love that about them.”

Indiegrove offers individual and company memberships with access to communal and office spaces, meeting rooms and all the amenities of a corporate headquarters, and it rents those spaces to lawyers, therapists, videographers, fitness consultants, arts groups, spoken word slams, writers and parenting groups, tech groups – the individuals and groups using Indiegrove are vast.

A new initiative “After Hours” by the Freelancers Union begins in September, and on Fridays, there’s “Free Coworking Fridays @ Indiegrove” where those curious about Indiegrove can visit and see this new trend in communal work spaces.

“Entrepreneurs and independent professionals do not conform to one way of thinking, nor should the space they work in,” Amanpour states on Indiegrove’s website. “Indiegrove is a community of individuals committed to hard work, collaboration and business sustainability. The coworking space, resources and events are designed to provide your business the credibility and access to be successful and the environment you need to be happy.”

WHEN THE BANKS SAID NO; HER NETWORK SAID YES This past January, Amanpour celebrated Indiegrove’s first anniversary.

An entrepreneur herself, Amanpour got the idea to open Indiegrove after working several years helping other entrepreneurs

start their own businesses.

Opening Indiegrove was naturally the next step, but no bank she went to would give her a loan.

“Every bank told me no,” Amanpour says, “and I have a great credit score.

“They wouldn’t give me a business loan because I was a start-up. So I tapped into

my network .”

Amanpour secured the money she needed, and went searching for a space.

She liked the energy and the location of Downtown Jersey City and when she saw the space she would eventually take over, it didn’t take long for her to make up her mind. ‘‘This was an old grimy gym,” Amanpour says.

“Then I saw these beautiful windows and I thought, this could work.”

After a 3-month renovation, Amanpour opened Indiegrove in January 2013, and then the real work began, marketing and getting members to believe in her idea. She talked to other local business owners, attended networking events,

placed ads in the PATH station, handed out fliers – did guerilla networking to get the word out. Carlos Niera, owner of Iris Cinematics in Jersey City (www.iriscinematics.com) was one of the first entrepreneurs to join Indiegrove. A wedding videographer, Niera says once he got into Indiegrove business picked up right away.

“The location was better than where I was, and then that conference room,” Niera says. “I use it as a screening room. Customers really like to experience things on a bigger screen.

That conference room has been magic for me.”

Cont’d on page 7

Ricardo Kaulessar

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WORK PODS

Indiegrove in Jersey City Offers Entrepreneurs a Professioal Space to Grow

Cont’d from page 5 Niera also credits Amanpour for her entrepreneurial know-how.

“If I need advice, she’s there and very willing to help you,” Niera says. “I do love the space, the people, and the atmosphere. And what it’s done to my business is awesome.”

STARBUCKS – COFFEE YES, MEETINGS NO Lidia Arshavsky joined Indiegrove in the summer of 2013 where she runs a

resume-writing and career advising service for ex-pats (www.expatresume.com) and new moms heading back to the workforce.

“It’s primarily resume writing and career advising, helping moms who are entering the workforce and helping ex-pats navigate the American job market,” Arshavsky says. “Business has been growing great. Indiegrove has been extremely helpful and it’s been great being surrounded by other entrepreneurs.”

Indiegrove provides Arshavsky a space to work and hold meetings with her clients and run workshops without the noise that comes from trying to meet with clients at a restaurant or coffee shop.

“I cannot work at Starbucks,” Arshavsky says.

“The conversations and the coffee machines, it’s just too social. At Indiegrove, being surrounded by other people who are also working, you have a work-like atmosphere. Being here

makes me more productive.”

It’s physically appealing, too, with beautiful views of Jersey City, she says. At Indiegrove, Arshavksky also receives referrals from other entrepreneurs: on Wednesdays, there’s a community lunch where she has gotten tips on marketing and resources for legal assistance.

“There’s also the Indiegrove women’s group that meets every couple of months and that’s also been a great resource,” Arshavsky says.

Arshavksy believes communal work spaces like Indiegrove are a new trend for business entrepreneurs who want to get ahead and do it on their terms.

“This is where a lot of types of jobs are headed,” Arshavsky says. “A lot of people are contracting. It gives people opportunities to choose their working hours. I’ve noticed it’s a trend from working with people in other industries.”

Like Niera, Arshavsky also has high praise for Amanpour’s resourcefulness. Any time she was overheard complaining about a problem, Arshavsky says Amanpour would offer her help. That’s just what entrepreneurship is all about, Amanpour says.

“The community, the collaboration, we support each other,” Amanpour says. “It’s about how we grow together and have a richer experience as entrepreneurs. And if we make money, that’s a good thing, too.”

Indiegrove 121 Newark Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07302 (201) 589-2068 www.indiegrovejc.com Receive Our River View App for Free Visit:

http://mippin.com/app/ riverviewobserver Enter the above address on your phone

Page 7 -August 18th -August 31st, 2014 River View Observer

Memories of Cuba Cont’d from page 5

a childhood toy, a red tricycle, and then evolves into images of agricultural tools, the hoe, the machete, that speak not only to Cuba’s agrarian history but also to my search for my roots, and lingering regrets of a life in exile.

The second part, American Dream, is exemplified by the painting “E Pluribus Unum”

and it shows icons of the good and bad aspects of our culture. My intent was to embrace and understand these images as part of my identity.

I was not just an immigrant to this country, I was an immigrant back in my country, too.

I experienced culture shock twice. That’s the struggle of being an exile. You’re torn between the country you were

born in and the country that you live in.

RVO: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE? FM: The style that I use for this series is influenced

by Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte; he was a big influence on me in my early years.

Dreams are a big part of surrealism, and that style attracted me, that dreamy effect.

Dreams are very creative.

One of the pieces, the painting of an old style pipe is a tribute to Magritte’s style. I like the simplicity of it.

RVO: CAN YOU SHARE THE MEANING BEHIND THE TRICYCLE PIECE? FM: The red tricycle painting is about a traumatic experience I had. My grandmother gave me the tricycle and I was riding it in the backyard. I had it for 3 days when I was told we were going to the U.S. I had to leave the tricycle behind. It was also a pivotal point between Cuba and the U.S. and being part of the revolution and having to leave that behind, was also traumatic. Some of the other pieces, the machete image, for example, expresses my feelings for not being there. I think the barbed wire in the paintings represents being prevented from being in my

Page 8 -August 18th -August 31st, 2014 River View Observer

homeland. One particular piece, a barbed wire cube in the sky represents what I really loved about my country, the freedom and the beautiful sky of the tropics.

RVO: WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST ABOUT YOUR CHILDHOOD IN CUBA? FM: The Cuban revolution was an historic revolution, a part of history, and I was there at the beginning. This was before the Cuban Missile Crisis, before the embargo, and there were a lot of high hopes for socialism, an idealism for a better Cuba. But the promise was never fulfilled.

RVO: YOU ALWAYS WEAR HATS, WHY? FM: I wear different hats, for different days, for different moods, and also as a creative outlet. And it has to do, again, with my past and coming from a tropical country where hats are worn all the time. My father was a country farmer, we weren’t cosmopolitan, and we were from way out in the hills, and the hat is my connection.

RVO: WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON THESE DAYS? FM: I’m working on a series called “Souls in the City,” a portrait series that basically talks to or deals with how people are connected to their

homeland, city, town, or area.

RVO: DO YOU HAVE A PHILOSOPHY ABOUT ART, YOUR ART IN PARTICULAR? FM: One of the things I draw from in my art is my childhood. I try to paint with that wonderment and basically how a child perceives things.

When I have a brush in my hand and a canvas in front of me, I want to discover things, and create things. Picasso said everyone is born an artist and somewhere along the line society beats it out of you. By creating things, I try to hold on to that. I know it’s a new age thing to say, but the expression of the inner being, whether it’s in a pizza parlor or a gallery I need to get it out. It’s part of the

journey, and completing the cycle is having people see your work. If people get it through the images, or not, I’m telling my story.

If you go: Wired Paintings by Fermin Mendoza At Two Boots Pizzeria (through Sept. 5) 133 Newark Ave JC Hours: Sun, Mon, Tues: 11:30 am-10 pm Wed, Thurs: 11:30 am - Midnight Fri, Sat: 11:30 am - 3:30 am

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Bayonne Author Patty Blanchard’s New Book

This is the memoir of Patty Blanchard, one of 14 children raised in a tough Jersey City family during the 1950s.

Patty survived many things during her childhood, but it was the attempted murder she experienced as a mother-of-three that helped her discover what courage, faith and the love of family is really all about.

Now on Amazon.com

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INSURING A DAUGHTER’S SUCCESS

Kelsey Muller, Daughter of Muller Insurance Owner Roger J. Muller, Jr. graduates Harvard with Honors

In September 2014, Kelsey Muller joins Deutsche Bank in New York City Kelsey Muller grew up playing under her dad’s desk at Muller Insurance in Hoboken, the company her great-grandfather John Muller founded in the waterfront town back in 1906. More than a hundred years later, Muller’s legacy lives on. The business, run by Muller’s grandchildren Roger J. Muller, Jr. and Erika Muller is thriving, and on May 29th, his great-granddaughter Kelsey Muller earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and graduated Cum Laude from Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During her four years at the Ivy League school, Kelsey Muller maintained a 3.8 average and graduated with honors.

Founded in 1636, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. Class of 2014 Kelsey Muller resided on campus in the Mather

Kelsey Muller House, and in the summer of her junior year she accepted an offer from Deutsche Bank to join their ranks as an Investment Banker. Starting a career on Wall Street could be tough for a newbie, but Muller attributes the classes she took at Harvard for her sense of preparedness.

“By senior year we were studying industrial organization which focuses on the structure of industries whether it’s a monopoly or competitive market,” Kelsey says. “I took the Sophomore Seminar which covers the intersection of law and economics. One really cool class, American Economic Policy was taught

by Jeffrey Liebman, Lawrence H. Summers and Martin Feldstein, who was an advisor to President Ronald Reagan.”

A course that had a deep effect on Muller was an African American Studies class; a

small group of 15 students discussing issues Muller had never really talked about before.

“It was so interesting because I had never talked to people who viewed Harvard differently than I did,” Kelsey says. “There are so many things going on at Harvard.

The people you are exposed to change the way you think about things. There are people there from all over the world, a lot are well-traveled, wellread, and have a lot of professional and personal experiences.”

Muller, too, has worldly experiences. A certified PADI Master Scuba Diver – she earned her certification when she was 10 and by her sixth dive, she was diving in shark habitats. She has traveled to the Bahamas, Italy, Thailand and Mexico to scuba dive, and when she was 19, Muller dived in steel cages to observe Great Whites in Guadalupe.

“Diving is about getting a different perspective,” Muller says. “The ocean is like my lens and you see things differently as you travel down the depths of the water. The way you see the wildlife, the fish, the organisms that are living down there you’re seeing what not too many people have seen. It gives you a deeper understanding of the underwater environment

and a real appreciation for the beauty of life.”

Muller’s dad holds 84 scuba diving certifications and introduced her to scuba diving when she was a little girl.

Kelsey has always been bright and full of wonder about the world, Roger Muller says.

She breezed through tests and loved trying new adventures.

“She’s smart and she’s fearless,” he says. “I’m extremely proud of her.

She’s highly intelligent and a great person.”

When she was a little girl Kelsey Muller spent lots of time at her dad’s insurance office playing with her younger sister and finding jobs to do like taking a magnet and picking up loose paperclips and staples that fell on the floor.

Being around her dad’s business had a positive effect on her, she says.

“I was inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit, owning something and making it your own,” Muller says.

“My father has a strong sense of responsibility to the business and his clients.

I saw that if your customers are happy and successful and get what they want, you’ll reach your goals too.”

On Sept 18th, Muller

will be heading to Wall Street. She’s ready, she says, to put in the time to get the job done, and done well.

“No one is successful just working 9-to-5, you have to put in the hours, especially when you’re starting out,” Muller says. “Sometimes when I call my dad after 7 or 8 pm, he’s still at the office working. I’m just starting out and I should be working that hard, too. I‘m always trying to find ways to educate myself, develop my skills further.

Going to Harvard was a really unique experience. I’m sad to leave but I’m ready for the next big challenge. I’m not the same person I was when I started college four years ago.”

For more info: Muller Insurance 930 Washington Street Hoboken 201-659-2403. www.mullerinsurance.com info@mullerinsurance.com

River View Observer Since 1998 For Rates & Information 201-349-4336

Page 13- August 18th -August 31st, 2014 River View Observer

Happenings:

Spaghetti Dinner Block Party Presented by Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer and the City of Hoboken Thursday, August 28th, 5pm to 8pm Takes place along the walkway on Sinatra Drive between 1st and 2nd Street.

Dinner includes: 4 types of pasta, salad, meatballs, sausage, eggplant, assorted breads, Italian pastries

Summer Sounds Concert Features T-Bone Shuffle and Jazzique On Wednesday, August 27

& cookies.

Seating is limited Tickets must be purchaded

by Friday, August 22nd Available at the Hoboken Cultural Affairs Office 94 Washington Street, Hoboken, 2nd floor Call 201-420-2207 for information or gfallo@ hobokennj.gov Tickets: Individual $20 To reserve a table of 10= $200 Children, ages 12 & under $10 Tickets for Seniors $12 Beer, Wine, Soda will be available for an extra charge

Mayor Jimmy Davis announced that two groups, T-Bone Shuffle and Jazzique, will be performing in the Summer Sounds by the Bay Concert scheduled for Wednesday, August 27, at 7:00 p.m., weather permitting.

The concert will be held at the amphitheater on the lower level of DiDomenico-16th Street Park, which is located between Avenue A and Newark Bay. The concert series concludes with a double bill featuring the blues artistry of the TBone Shuffle Band, followed by the pop music stylings of Jazzique, as they return to our stage. Both bands are comprised of local talent and promise to present a great show wrapping up this year’s Summer Sounds concert please call 201-471-7590, or visit www.bayonnerec.com, to check on the status of that night’s concert.

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restaurant Views

Andrew’s Café and Restaurant

Vegan, Vegetarian and Gluten-Free Dishes Fit for a President

By Sally Deering

Andrew Perera

opened his café and restaurant in Bayonne in August 2009, ten years after he met and designed a vegan menu for President Bill Clinton. At Andrew’s in Bayonne, Perera serves his customers the same fare he designed for the former president -- vegan soups, salads, sandwiches, entrees and desserts.

He serves a few meat dishes too.

“Andrew’s is the only restaurant serving organically healthy cuisine in this Bayonne area,” Perera says, sitting outside his café on a sunny weekday afternoon. “A lot of people come from Staten Island, East Rutherford, Linden, Queens – I have people coming here because the food is healthy. Soups, appetizers, entrees, desserts,

Andrew Perera, owner of Andrew’s Cafe and restaurant in Bayonne and his picture with President Bill Clinton

our customers are crazy for everything vegan, especially the desserts and the soups.”

The Vegan Chili is also very popular, Perera says.

“It’s made with 12 different fresh vegetables and enriched with vegetable protein.”

The menu has 21

Inside Andrew’s Cafe and Restaurant in Bayonne $7.50). Hot soups include different soups, mostly Chicken Vegetable, Manvegan, made with no hattan and New England butter, no rarified sugar, Clam Chowders, Seafood, no flour, and gluten-free.

Broccoli, Five Onion, Perera says the Butternut Green Lentil, Split Pea, Squash, Leeks with Spinand Watercress (Cup: ach, and Asparagus soups are extremely popular with $5-$7; Bowl: $7.50-$10).

The menu features customers. Cold soups on “Healthy, Organic, Gourthe menu are Avocado & met World Sandwiches” Veggie, Gazpacho, Leeks including Avocado & with Spinach, Leek and Shrimp; British, Filet of Potato and Tropical Mixed Sole with avocado, tomato, Fruit (Cup: $6; Bowl:

mixed greens on a roll; Chicken Caesar, Vegan Burger, and Rainforest with mixed greens, garden veggies, pineapple and fresh tofu in a wrap ($10$12).

Salads are made fresh to order using all organic ingredients and include the Avocado & Shrimp salad; Caesar, Fresh Fruit, Greek, Grilled Portobello Mushroom, Spinach, and Hawaiian Salad with mixed greens, garden veggies, chicken, pineapple, onion, tomato & sweet peppers ($10-$12).

Appetizers include Andrew’s Fried Shrimp, Baked Falafel Platter, Fresh Mozzarella Platter, Greek Wine Leaves Platter, Stuffed Portobello, the Shrimp & Crab Cocktail, and the Vegan Platter served with hummus, wine leaves, falafel, garden Cont’d on page 16

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restaurant Views Andrew’s Cafe Cont’d from page 15 veggies and multi-grain pita bread ($10-$14).

Entrees include Cheese Ravioli, Crab Cake, Filet of Salmon, Chilean Sea Bass, Chicken Curry and Vodka Shrimp ($18-$30).

All desserts are glutenfree and made without refined sugar. There are vegan desserts, too; they include Chocolate Mouse, German Chocolate Cake, Key Lime Cheesecake and Cannoli ($4-$6).

Andrew’s has 25 seats and a couple of tables outside to eat al fresco. A former corporate executive chef, Perera has helped open 97 restaurants in cities all over the world including St. Petersburg, Paris, and Rome. A graduate of the International College of Hospitality Administration in Bridge, Switzerland, Perera earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Hotel Management along with a Master’s Degree in Food and Beverage Technology.

“I worked for Dubai Hilton, Berlin Hilton, Zurich Hilton,” Perera says. “I was their executive chef for seven years, but I got tired of traveling and decided to settle down.”

It was in 1998 when Perera was training staff at the Washington Hilton in D.C. when President Bill Clinton brought his chef to meet with Perera and share his expertise in vegan cooking. Since that fateful meeting, Clinton has lost 80 pounds, Perera says.

“I did menu prep and shared some of my

knowledge of vegan cooking,” Perera says “I taught his chef the different preparation necessary for vegan cooking and told him different foods to try. President Clinton really liked my veggie burger. He’s now totally vegan.”

Perera says switching to a vegan diet isn’t hard. The challenge is getting people to try things that taste differently than what they’re used to eating. For instance, Instead of using refined sugar, use dates, he says.

“Vegan food is very flavorful if you know how to cook it,” Perera says.

“This is where I apply my knowledge.”

Quick Shots by Photographer Steve A. Mack

Andrew Perera and President Bill Clinton taken when Clinton visited Bayonne If you go: Andrew’s Café & Restaurant 737 Broadway (33rd St & Broadway) Bayonne (201) 339-0033 Hours: Mon-Fri, 11 am - 9 pm; Sat, 11 am - 9 pm; Sun, closed.

Catering For All Ocassions

Call Liz for rates & Information

Several packages to choose from include food, desserts, full open bar or beer/wine/soda packages.

We also have a House DJ- The room holds 100 peiople

Visit us at www.riverviewobserver.net for more stories Page 16-August 18th -August 31st, 2014 River View Observer

Showing Puerto Rican pride at Sunday’s, August 17th Jersey City Puerto Rican Day parade.

To see more photos of the parade by Steve A Mack visit us on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/riverviewobserver

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Art Evolves with New Technology (BPT) - Can you imagine a museum without paintings?

Technology has impacted society in countless ways but many overlook its impact on the arts. The very phrase “the arts” might evoke images of oils, watercolors or sculpture but technology is inspiring a whole new generation of artists who are using new mediums to create their masterpieces.

This growing movement is commonly known as “new media” art. New media artworks, “are those created by incorporating technology into the creative process,” according to artist Mark Tribe.

“They are projects that make

use of emerging media technologies and are concerned with the cultural, political and aesthetic possibilities of these tools.”

There are unlimited forms of new media art. A traditional painting can still be new media as long as some combination of new technologies does the painting. The most popular type of new media, however, is the creation of still and moving images using picture editing software – essentially digital drawing or manipulated photos.

There are new media exhibits and venues popping up around the world including dedicated galleries such as

Zhulong Gallery in Dallas and Furtherfield Gallery in London. One question looms – what’s the best way to display these new artworks?

Advanced software and new techniques have allowed today’s digital artists to achieve new visual heights but these works are only as powerful as the display. Until recently, there have not been many advances in display technology, which has somewhat limited the visual experience digital artists can create, but then new technology arrived.

Advanced software and new techniques have allowed Cont’d on page 18

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Art Evolves with New Technology Cont’d from page 17

today’s digital artists to achieve new visual heights but these works are only as powerful as the display. Until recently, there have not been many advances in display technology, which has somewhat limited the visual experience digital artists can create, but then new technology arrived. which means the finer details of artists’ work come to life with incredible clarity and brilliant detail. Soon after, it introduced OLED (short for organic light emitting diode) TVs, which provide increased color accuracy and an infinite contrast ratio for brighter, more vibrant images on a super-thin curved screen.

This summer, LG launched “The Art of the Pixel,” challenging students at nine of the nation’s top art schools to create still and motion digital artwork for display on the next-generation video screens.

Through this program, LG is providing more than $250,000 in student and university awards as well as Ultra HD

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and OLED TVs for use and display in the schools’ studios and galleries. Students have been submitting their art since June 1, and throughout the month of July, consumers could view and vote for their favorites by visiting www. lgusa.com/LGSupportsTheArts.

“I’m inspired by all kinds of art, and particularly by the advancements in ‘new media’ art made possible by the latest technology,” says awardwinning actor and modern art enthusiast Neil Patrick Harris.

What’s to become of the 21st century museum? There will always be a place for oils and watercolors, but perhaps everyone will be viewing them on a whole new canvas.

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