The latest edition of Word on the {Washington} Street- your one stop shop for everything news in Hoboken is here. We have some sad news to report…
507 Washington Street Fire
Image via hmag
Image via Flatbread Grill
It has been reported that firefighters and first responders have been fighting a major blaze at 507 Washington Street. With current temps below 10 degrees and a windchill and wind gusts that are making it hard to be outside {for more than a few minutes}, our hearts go out to every one involved. Preliminary reports share that the roof of the building has collapsed but that all people and animals are safe. Will update as soon as there is more information. Stay safe everyone!
Chili Cook-Off Next Weekend
We reported on this in the last Word on Wash, but it’s for such a good cause we decided to include it again! Plus, who doesn’t love chili? The Hoboken Volunteer Annual Chili Cook-off and Homebrewing Contest is scheduled for February 20th. This year, the event will benefit True Mentors, a local charity dedicated to serving the children in our community. This year, attendees will enjoy live music by Gravy Train, and chili and beer samples throughout the day. For the first time ever, they are including a vegetarian-only category. Tickets are $35 if purchased in advance and $40 at the door. For more information on entering the competition to show of your chili-cooking skills email julieanndevine@gmail.com.
Hoboken’s Healthy Housing Market
New York financial technology company SmartAsset recently conducted their second annual Healthiest Housing Markets Study. The study measures market health by taking into the account the average number of years residents spend in homes, home values, ease of sale, and the costs associated with ownership. Hobokenites will be happy to hear that our mile square city ranked number 1 this year {yay!}, up from the rank of 16 last year. We love hearing good things about Hoboken!
The Inside Scoop on Hoboken’s Drinking Water
Our friends at hMag recently got in touch with Rich Henning, Senior Vice President of Communications for SUEZ, the company in charge of regulating Hoboken’s water supply. This came after reports surfaced that 11 New Jersey cities– Jersey City included– have potentially dangerous amounts of lead in the water supply. Being that Hoboken and Jersey City’s water supply comes from the same place, this is obviously concerning. When directly asked by hMag about whether or not there are dangerous amounts of lead in the water supplied by SUEZ, Henning responded saying, “Jersey City’s water supply has met the New Jersey and federal government standards for lead and copper, and all other water quality parameters, for the past 18 years that we have been operating and maintaining the city’s system. There is no dangerous amount of lead in the water that SUEZ puts into the Jersey City distribution.” He goes on to provide tips and more information about this issues. Head over to hMag online to read the rest.
Man Belly Flops Off of Hudson River Ferry
^image via NYPOST.com
A video and article posted by NY Post shows Alex Vivanco attempting to give a motivational speech by quoting Tony Robbins, before belly flopping off of a commuter ferry boat into the Hudson River. The captain of the boat had to turn the ferry around in order to get Vivanco out of the water. Police were waiting to escort him from the boat where he was charged with disorderly conduct. Truthfully, we didn’t want to even put his name in here since it seems like attention is what he’s looking for. Lame.
Mayor Zimmer’s State of the City Address
^image via City of Hoboken
Mayor Zimmer gave her annual state of the city address on Thursday, February 11th in which she provided updates on progress that has been made over the past year as well as information about what’s to come. A big focused was placed on the efforts being made to help Hoboken “go greener” including three resiliency park projects, the installation of a second flood pump, and the planting of over 200 new street trees. She discussed continued efforts to improve Hoboken’s infrastructure. She noted the continued arts culture in Hoboken mentioning the year-long Sinatra centennial celebrations and the upcoming opening of a new theatre space for the Mile Square Theatre. To read her full address, visit the City of Hoboken’s website.
Hoboken Homeless Woman Given Place to Stay
^image via Hoboken Patch
Hoboken Patch recently shared a heartwarming story about the generosity of the community to help a homeless woman named Joan. After working for 47 years, a turn of events left Joan living on the streets. Recently, the generosity of a wonderful group of women allowed Joan to get off the streets and begin living at an Extended Stay America. This comes just in time as temperatures will turn bitterly cold this weekend. A “Go Fund Me” was started to raise $6,000 to help Joan and her cat, Tux, to continue their stay– $9,000 has since been raised. To help Joan you can donate by clicking here.
Warming Center Opens Due to Freezing Temperatures
As you obviously know, it’s cold. Like really cold. In order to guarantee residents have somewhere safe to retreat to, the City of Hoboken opened the Wallace School as a warming center. The center opened Friday, February 12th at 7:00pm and will remain open through Sunday, February 14th at 12:00PM. The school is located at 1100 Willow Avenue.
Mini-Retreat on Positive Living Rescheduled for Next Weekend
An afternoon mini-retreat meant to help people release anxiety and fear and live more positively was originally scheduled for January 23rd but was postponed due to the blizzard that weekend. The retreat has been rescheduled for February 20th. Hoboken yoga instructors Morgan Gertler-Pirog and Kate Lombardo are teaming up to offer a mini-retreat focused on creating happiness and relieving anxiety. The afternoon will start with a breath-focused yoga practice that is designed to invigorate and calm the body and the mind. Then, the retreat will open up for a discussion on positive and realistic changes that can be made in your life to help combat and relieve stress. Give yourself the chance to unplug and unwind at this relaxing afternoon retreat. This event will be held at ZenSpace studios, located at 7th and Adams in the Citadel. Tickets can be purchased online by clicking here.
Chamber of Commerce Opposes Washington Street Redesign
The redesign of Washington Street has been a hot topic in Hoboken for months now. The City Council will vote to finalize plans on Wednesday, February 17th. The proposed plan includes a variety of updates including the expansion of bike lanes and the installation of pedestrian crossing signs. The Hoboken Chamber of Commerce recently published a letter in the Hudson Reporter asking business owners to join them in opposing the redesign in it’s current state. The letter stated that “while the Chamber welcomes the upgrades to street light illumination, pedestrian crossing signs and traffic light improvements” it opposes other aspects of the plan. The letter goes on to claim that the current plan would interfere with snow removal, jeopardize safety of bus commuters due to intersecting bike lanes, and would negatively impact the response time of emergency vehicles. It will be interesting to see what comes of the vote this week.
. . . . . . .
That’s the latest Word on Wash!
Have any news tips? Email kate@hobokengirl.com and let us know!
