Home Events + News All The Hoboken + Jersey City News You Missed {Dec 24th Update}

All The Hoboken + Jersey City News You Missed {Dec 24th Update}

by Nicole
Attain Medspa
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Gooood morning Hoboken {and Merry Christmas Eve}! Based purely on the fact that it was 1000% easier to find street parking this weekend, we assume many of you are already out of town celebrating the holidays. In case you missed it, this week had some very high highs and very low lows. Hoboken Girl’s Holiday Market raised over $5,000 for charity and CarePoint Health volunteers donated 1,000 pies and visited with local seniors. On a more somber note, a local business was burglarized and lost $70K worth of merchandise, and a few other very disturbing news stories surfaced. Take a {much needed} break from the family time and get ready to scroll; here are the top Hoboken + Jersey City news stories of the week!

Hoboken Girl’s Holiday Market Raises $5,000

Photo: Will Ferman

Vepo Clean

Hoboken Girl is proud to announce that last week’s holiday market raised over $5,000 Dustin and Daniel Friedland Scholarship Foundation. The Dustin and Daniel Friedland Scholarship Foundation is run by their surviving sister, and helps Hoboken High School students go on to higher education. Over 500 people came out to celebrate and peruse the goods from local vendors, all of which have local boutiques and/or Etsy shops. Thanks again to our sponsors W Hoboken, CarePoint Health, and La Marca Prosecco and to all of our readers and friends who came to shop.

Harborside Sport + Spine

SantaCon Fallout Has Local Officials Contemplating Cancellation

Hobbs Inc

As reported by NJ.com last Monday, Chief Ferrante issued a press release detailing the weekend’s SantaCon-related statistics including: 289 police calls, 32 motor vehicle summonses and 51 summonses for violations of Hoboken’s local ordinance. Ferrante also said 55 people were hospitalized. In response to Chief Ferrante’s reports, Mayor-elect Bhalla tweeted, “Thank you to @HobokenPD for maintaining order and keeping our City safe. SantaCon is not welcome in Hoboken. It’s a shame some of our bar owners enable disorderly conduct.” While some barkeeps, such as Natalie Janecek, the manager of the Victor Hotel Bar & Grill, call SantaCon a “necessary evil for establishments that want to survive in Hoboken’s fiercely competitive bar scene,” other cite that the event causes lost sales, empty tables, and filthy bathrooms all due to patrons avoiding the city restaurants altogether. This will surely be a topic of discussion continuing in 2018.

CarePoint Delivers Holiday Goods to Local Seniors

CarePoint Health, in partnership with Mt. Olive Baptist Church, local elected officials, police officers, and teen volunteers, spread holiday cheer to senior citizens in Jersey City and Bayonne. The volunteers delivered 1,000 pies and spent time visiting with the seniors  – many of whom do not get to interact with local community members on a daily basis due to mobility restrictions during the cold winter months.

AXIS School of Dance

Stevens Student Falls Off Deck of Fraternity House

A Stevens Institute at Technology students was found semiconscious and suffering from the cold in an alleyway near his fraternity house last weekend according to Patch. The student was discovered by a neighborhood resident who heard what sounded like a hurt animal moaning while she was out walking her dog. The student was treated for over-intoxication and hypothermia at a local hospital where he was released after 12 hours. According to reports, the student fell six feet from his fraternity house’s deck into the snow where he remained until his was found around 6AM.

Mayoral Inauguration Scheduled for January 1st

Mayor-elect Bhalla’s inauguration has been scheduled for January 1st at 2PM. The ceremony will be held at the Hoboken High School and is open to the public. Free tickets can be reserved here and are being issued due to space restrictions in the school {word on the street is that they are sold out already though, FYI}. Bhalla will be sworn in as Mayor along with Jim Doyle, Vanessa Falco and Emily Jabbour who will be sworn into the City Council. Senator Cory Booker, among other noted guests, will deliver remarks. Questions can be directed to inauguration co-chair, Jason Freeman at jrf5053@gmail.com.

First Street Park Opens in Jersey City

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and Lloyd Goldman, the principal of BLDG Management Co., Inc., participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the city’s newest park, First Street Park. The park is located at 108 First Street in the Powerhouse Arts District {hence the name}. The 8,000 square foot space is open to the public and features fountains, outdoor seating, as well as outdoor games like hopscotch, backgammon, and chess and checkers tables. The park also has two fully-enclosed dog run areas, including pet-friendly water fountains. BLDG Management Co., Inc., developers of The One, with Jersey City leadership collaborated to revitalize the park and bring another outdoor space to community.

Hoboken Leather & Shearling Lose $70K of Inventory in Robbery

Hoboken Leather & Shearling sadly lost nearly $70,000 worth of merchandise after their shop was robbed last weekend, reports Hmag. The luxury leather, fur, and shearling outerwear and accessory warehouse is located at 49 Harrison Street and has been a part of the Hoboken community for more than 40 years. The robbery was carefully carried out by the culprits who removed an adjacent wall to grab the merchandise, as opposed to breaking the shop’s windows. The burglary was reported 9AM on Sunday, December 17th—meaning the act was likely carried out sometime Saturday night/early Sunday morning of last weekend.

Choc O Pain Adds Baking Classes

Choc O Pain’s downtown Hoboken shop, located at 157 First Street, is now offering baking classes. Class offerings include macaron, bread, and croissant-making and are $90 per person. Bakers-to-be can sign up here for the three-four hour classes available on both weekdays and weekend afternoons. Interested in hosting a private in-home baking class? The Choc O Pain chefs can join you and a minimum of 4 guests in your home for party, starting at $100 per person.

Kids Dream Big Takes 200 Underprivileged Kids on a Christmas Shopping Spree


Last Monday, 200 children at the Boys & Girls Club had the opportunity to participate in Kids Dream Big’s annual Chritsmas shopping spree. The children were partnered with volunteers from the Boys & Girls Clubs and members of Rutgers University’s football team, who helped them make their selections at Bayonne’s Walmart. The children were able to buy anything they wanted within the $75 limit. In a quote released by Patch, Gary Greenberg, executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hudson County, said, “The kids were so excited and cherished all the things they bought. We had more kids than anticipated, but every kid was able to shop which was great.” Kids Dream Big Foundation, Inc. was founded by four exceptional local celebrities including John Palumbo, brother to the owner of Alba boutique in Hoboken {who also was a participant}.

Hoboken HHS Students Charged with Aggravated Criminal Sexual Contact

According to the latest update from NBC, four Hoboken High School students are facing charges of aggravated criminal sexual contact. The attack happened November 30th, when the group of teens allegedly pushed a 17-year-old girl into a room at the school and forced her to perform a sex act on one of them. Surveillance video at the school captured the boys pushing the girl into the room and apparently one of the assailants, 18-year-old Amir Goodwin, recorded the attack on his cellphone. The victim reported the attack immediately afterward, and the first two arrests were made within hours.

Hoboken Voters to Decide Whether to Allow Runoffs in Municipal Elections

Hmag reports that the Hoboken City Council voted 7-2 in favor of an ordinance that will place a referendum on next year’s general election ballot aking Hoboken voters to decide whether or not they want runoffs in municipal elections. This became relevant in the 2017 mayoral election, as Mayor-elect Ravi Bhalla only managed to secure 32.75% of the vote compared to Councilman Michael DeFusco who came in second with 29.6%. Hoboken used to have runoff elections, but they were removed in 2012 when the general election date was changed to November. If the referendum passes, the policy would be implemented in 2019 where no candidate receives a majority of the votes.

In an update on Friday, December 22nd, Zimmer reportedly vetoed the ordinance. In her statement, Zimmer said, “This Ordinance was passed in the immediate aftermath of a hotly contested election, in which Mayor Elect Bhalla won with approximately 33% of the vote. It was sponsored by the candidate who finished 2nd, almost 500 votes behind. It was adopted by a lame duck City Council, in the last City Council meeting of the year. Every single Councilperson who voted in support of this Ordinance was either a losing candidate in the election, or actively supported a losing candidate.

This hurried way this Ordinance was handled reflects the personal frustrations of those dissatisfied with the election result. Indeed, it appears to be an attempt to de-legitimize the election of Mayor Elect Bhalla. I suspect that the losing cand idates would have a far more favorable view of our existing system had they won in November, even if the victory was achieved with as little as 29.5% of the vote, the total received by Councilman DeFusco, who is the sponsor of this Ordinance.”

PR&INCE Has Officially Reopened in Jersey City

PR&INCE, Jersey City’s Thai fusion restaurant, has officially reopened at 80 Wayne Street. PR&INCE was initially located on Baldwin Avenue, but they soon outgrew their small storefront. Known and loved for his unique take on traditional Thai food, chef and owner Yuth, takes great pride in sharing his interpretation of Thai cuisine with the local community. The menu at the new location has expanded from their original offerings and will include a speciality dishes such as pineapple fried rice as well as classics such as pad thai. PR&INCE is BYOB and meals typically run under $20 making this a must visit for 2018.

Alba Boutique and Up and Out Beauty Celebrate Milestone Anniversarys

Alba Boutique {shown above} celebrated its second anniversary in Hoboken this past week. The contemporary women’s fashion store, located at 716 Washington, celebrated with an in-store event. As an added bonus Alba is also hiring store associates and social media interns. Email stylist@albaboutique.com for more info.

Up and Out Beauty, Hoboken first blow-out salon, celebrated its four-year anniversary this week. As a reminder, Up and Out is offering the purchase an unlimited Janaury blowout deal until 12/31 – a tradition they started during their first year of business!

Snopes Debunks Mayor-Elect Ravi Bhalla — He Did Not Ban the Word “Christmas”

Following claims that Mayor-elect Ravi Bhalla banned the use of the word “Christmas,” online debunkers at Snopes sought to set the record straight. According the rumors, Ravi Bhalla was gifted the chance to make one mayoral decree at the annual Christmas gala. Bhalla supposedly shocked attendees with his decree that “the word “Christmas shall not be said at government functions.” Snopes confirmed that not only did Bhalla not ban the word “Christmas,” he used it himself in multiple posts on social media.

PATH Trains Hosts Santa for Event with Local Children

Hoping to bring some holiday cheer to local commuters, the PATH tweeted an invitation for commuters to bring their children to a free photo opportunity with Santa at the Journal Square station. Unfortunately, many riders were less than amused commenting, “How can I do that with all the PATH delays? It’s either bridge lift, mechanical problems, signal issues or something else. Guess Santa will have to wait.” Another even forged a letter from his child where the child asked Santa to fix the signal problems and delays. Its unclear how many children were able to visit with Santa as a result.

 

And that’s the latest Word on Washington Street news roundup for your Sunday.

Have any news tips? Email hello@hobokengirl.com and news.hobokengirl@gmail.com to let us know — we appreciate it!

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