What a week for Hoboken and Jersey City! The City of Hoboken announced its plans to repave over 100 blocks of road throughout 2019 and a new pizza place opened up near the PATH Station. Jersey City has a new food hall opening at the end of the month — where patrons can choose from more than 10 different eateries, plus Governor Murphy received legislation to approve the use of e-bikes in JC. And so much more! Read on to find out what you missed in Hoboken + Jersey City this week:
Hoboken Plans to Repave 100 Blocks of Road This Year
{Photo: Twitter}
Hallelujah — the City of Hoboken has revealed its plans to repave 100 blocks of roads throughout the Mile Square City in 2019.
“This year, Hoboken will be paving 100 blocks of road/over 9 miles,” the official City of Hoboken Twitter account wrote. “In addition to repaving of City/County streets, PSE&G is repaving up to 3 miles as a part of the sub-station project. Paving of remainder of Washington Street {sic} to be completed in spring.”
Hoboken has a total of 36 miles of roadway; with 100 blocks of road being paved, that accounts for 25% of Hoboken’s roads being repaved this year.
“Improving our infrastructure is a major priority for my administration, and our aggressive repaving schedule will help maintain Hoboken’s streets for years to come,” said Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla. “Thank you to Hudson County, PSE&G and North Hudson Sewerage Authority for working with my administration as we continue to upgrade our roads.”
As the City’s tweet states, the remainder of Washington Street that still needs to be repaved should be finished by spring. The City also announced in the same statement that they plan to replace $4 million in water mains.
To check out the full repaving schedule for Hoboken roads in 2019, click here. If your road isn’t listed and you feel it should be, email your councilperson to request.
Choc O Pain Offering Purple Cookie in Honor of Women’s Month
{Photo: Instagram}
You know what they say: There’s a special place in Heaven for women who help other women. Or, as we like to say, for women who create a cookie in support of other women.
Choc O Pain is celebrating Women’s History Month by making herstory with the first ever special chocolate cookie with purple ganache {made from natural coloring}. The purple ganache cookie is a collaboration with other pastry chefs as part of the “Empower Through Flour” campaign — plus, 30% of the proceeds support I Am That Girl, a nonprofit that provides leadership, social, and personal development programming to girls in high schools and colleges across the U.S.
Choc O Pain locations in both Hoboken and Jersey City are participating. Clemence Danko, Choc O Pain owner said, “As the owner of Choc O Pain French Bakery and Café, I am proud to be participating in the Empower Through Flour nationwide charity promotion alongside my fellow female industry colleagues during Women’s History Month.”
“Our team is 100% behind supporting I Am That Girl’s efforts to further the leadership, social and personal development of female high school and college students,” Danko also said.
Pop Up Pizza Crops up in Hoboken
In case you needed more pizza opportunities in Hoboken, Pop Up Pizza just opened up on 20 Hudson Place. Located across from the Hoboken PATH Station, you can dine in, take out, or get free delivery every day. Pop Up Pizza is open super late {4AM to be exact!} — so even if you’re craving pizza after midnight, Pop Up is a viable option. Friday and Saturdays, Pop Up is open from 4:00PM to 4:00AM and can be reached at 201-683-4160 for orders.
New Coffee Shop Setting up Shop on Adams Street
A new coffee shop is coming to Adams Street in West Hoboken. The Little Local is a start-up coffee and pastry bakery setting up shop on 517 Adams Street, the former site of a dry cleaner. The City of Hoboken approved a D3 variance and application from The Little Local LLC late last year, and while TLL has made an official Instagram account, the business hasn’t posted anything yet {other than its logo as the profile picture, of course}.
Not much information is known yet but it looks like Hoboken resident Peter Malkmus is the owner of the shop, which will be little as the bakery name suggests. Plans reveal The Little Local will be about 365 square feet. More details to come!
Proposals for Northwest Hoboken Include 200+ Residences, Another Hotel, and Possibly a Bowling Alley
{Design rendering by Minervini Vandermark}
Hoboken could be getting another hotel. New proposals for Northwest Hoboken shared via Jersey Digs by Mark Villamar and Henry Ahmed — the duo responsible for restoring the Pilsner Haus Biergarten on Grand Street include more than 200 new residences, another hotel, and perhaps a bowling alley.
But the future of the project is a bit unclear. Back in 2016, when plans for the reconstruction were initially submitted, three new buildings were proposed. The latest version of the proposal features only two, which has our friends over at Jersey Digs thinking that “Hoboken Bowl” was scrapped before it ever came to fruition.
As it currently stands, the plan mentions two new structures — the first of which is a 207-unit residential space that includes nearly 20,000 square feet of retail space. The new building would include 270 parking spaces, 51 of which would be self-park. The rest would be mechanical and function under a stacking system.
The second structure looks like it’s still set to be a hotel with 281 rooms and 18 valet parking spaces for guests. It features 18,213 square feet of commercial space and an additional 4,625 square feet for retail.
Each of these structures is currently planned for Jefferson Street. Initially, Hoboken Bowl was supposed to go in at 1300 Jefferson Street, which is currently occupied by a warehouse, but if that concept truly has been dropped, it might just stay a warehouse for a while.
Lawmakers Greenlight E-Bikes in Jersey
Jersey City is getting closer and closer to having accessible e-bikes become a legal reality. Low-speed electric bikes — which go no higher than 19 miles per hour — have been approved by New Jersey lawmakers. Both houses passed the measure unanimously; the Senate gave the bill final passage in a vote that ended in 30-1. Now, it’s up to Governor Phil Murphy.
Bill S-731 would allow the operation of e-bikes and scooters in the state of New Jersey. Bicycles with an assistive motor of 750 watts, that travel no faster than 20mph, can be operated without license or registration. The legislature has sent Governor Murphy the measure; now, we await his response.
Currently, New Jersey is one of 16 states with laws that constitute e-bikes as motorcycles or mopeds. Or, have laws that are so ambiguous, police departments have a difficult time classifying them as one thing. If S-731 passes, then e-bikes with assistive motors would be regulated as regular bikes, so long as they couldn’t exceed 20pmh.
District Kitchen Coming Soon to Jersey City
{Photo: Instagram}
After days of teasing its followers on Instagram, District Kitchen has officially begun the countdown until its opening in Harborside, Jersey City. Earlier this week, the official District Kitchen Instagram posted a seven, leading followers to believe that it will open in a week on March 25th.
According to the District Kitchen’s official website, a past warehouse at 210 Hudson Street was converted into the now shiny, new food hall where patrons can find everything from beer and wine to ramen or poké. Businesses participating at District Kitchen include Salt + Seed, The Belgian Plate by Waffle It Co, Angry Archie’s, Canteen to Go, Pizza Vita, Kimchi Grill, Enfes, Tidal Poké, Modcup, Little Sushi Shop, #Baonanas, Left Bank Burger, and Ani Ramen. Read more here.
Volunteers Clean Up Beach in Hoboken
{Photo: Instagram}
It doesn’t have to be Earth Month for environmentally-friendly people to do some good. In fact, volunteers from the Hoboken Boathouse — yes, the waterfront company that offers free kayaking to all in the summer — spent hours earlier this week cleaning up the beach.
“Yesterday 11 of our volunteers did this AMAZING beach clean up. Mahalo,” the Hoboken Boathouse official Instagram wrote.
Other Hoboken residents were beyond thankful in the comments section. In fact, many were looking for more info as to how to be apart of a local beach clean-up in the future.
“My daughter and I were walking this weekend and she asked if we could just start cleaning up. Thank you for an amazing job!” one user wrote. Another wrote, “Awesome!! How can I find out about something like this happening again in the future?!? I’m part of the Hoboken Green Team and we would have loved to help!”
It’s so amazing to see members of our community caring about the space we live in. Thanks, Hoboken Boathouse!
Get Ready for the Jersey City Jazz Festival
Mark your calendar! The Jersey City Jazz Festival is coming to town from May 31st to June 9th.
The opening party is presented by the Exchange Place Alliance and will feature over 20 events throughout Exchange Place, Jersey City Heights, Greenville, Downtown Jersey City, Journal Square, the West Side, and McGinley Square. Not all the artists and locations have been announced yet, so stay tuned for more information.
Cre8s Art School Offering Free Trial at New Location
Cre8s Art School, which was founded in Fort Lee in 2012 by artists, has a new Hoboken location. And that’s not all — Cre8 is offering a free trial class.
It won’t be open until April 1st, but you can schedule your free trial class now by calling 201-370-3468 or visiting them online here.
Mayor Bhalla Offers Update on Dynamic Parking
Hoboken recently introduced several new parking initiatives with the goal of creating more available parking spaces and encouraging more residents to take transportation. Such initiatives included reduced short term garage parking, free HOP bus service for all, reduced parking for Hoboken business employees in garages, and dynamic pricing, which constitutes modified meter rates.
“We all know parking in Hoboken can be challenging,” Mayor Bhalla said in a recent update to residents. “The modified meter rates were intended to increase parking turnover throughout our city, but especially in commercial areas. Since this started, I’ve heard from many residents, business owners and visitors alike about the financial hardship this has caused. As Mayor, I take these concerns very seriously. I believe it’s critical to consider feedback, both good and bad, as we enact public policy.”
Bhalla continued, “While the policies were introduced with the best intentions, it is evident that further consideration is required. Yesterday, I met with Councilman Michael Russo, who chairs the City Council sub-committee on parking and transportation. He also had expressed the same concerns as I had and reiterated to me the feedback from our community. We agreed to support immediate legislation addressing these concerns.”
Bhalla went on to include a list of the new addendums to the policy:
• A policy allowing any Hoboken resident with a residential parking permit to park for up to four hours in a metered location for free, without paying at the meter.
• Returning metered parking rates back to $1 per hour.
“Given the substantial feedback, I strongly urge the City Council to adopt this legislation,” Bhalla added.
Easter Seals HQ Opens Latest Location in Hoboken
{Photo courtesy of City of Hoboken}
Easterseals — a nationwide nonprofit organization that helps children and adults with disabilities and special needs — has opened its latest HQ location right in Hoboken. Easterseals has programs for children, adults, and seniors and strives to help people with disabilities and special needs live better lives. Nationally, Easterseals serves over 9,000 individuals at over 100 sites with direct services, advocacy, and education.
Mayor Bhalla and Easterseals CEO Brian Fitzgerald were both on site to celebrate the grand opening of the HQ facility. Councilwoman Emily Jabbour was also in attendance.
“As elected officials, we have an obligation to lend a helping hand to at-risk populations,” Mayor Bhalla said in a statement. “I’m very pleased that Easterseals has worked with our Homelessness Task Force to open up a new location here in our City. This new location will help ensure our seniors and those with disabilities have job training and employment opportunities so they too can succeed.”
According to a press release about the grand opening, trained staff at the Hoboken location will offer services like the Easterseals Senior Community Service Employment program {a work-based program for seniors} and the Supported Employment program {job training and employment for people with disabilities}. Both of the programs will use the Hoboken location as the point place for meetings with program participants and other administrative tasks.
“Easterseals believes everyone has an inalienable right to live life the way they envision it,” said CEO Fitzgerald said. “We believe employment is crucial to an individual’s livelihood and wellbeing and are very happy and proud to be able to expand our employment services to this area.”
The Hoboken location is now open Monday through Friday from 8:00AM to 5:00PM.
Hoboken Shelter Is Seeking Toilet Paper Donations
Hoboken City Councilperson Emily Jabbour announced on Twitter that the Hoboken Shelter is currently seeking toilet paper donations.
“The @hobokenshelter needs toilet paper – please help spread the word by sharing,” Jabbour wrote to her followers. “You can drop off or order online and have delivered to 300 Bloomfield Street. Thank you in advance!”
Anyone interested in donating toilet paper to the shelter can either drop off or have the paper delivered on site at 300 Bloomfield Street.
Puppy Laundering Ring Uncovered in New Jersey
A puppy ring has been busted after illegally selling designer puppies to New Jersey shelters {and shelters in other states}, marketing them as rescue dogs. Iowa is another state affected by the illegal ring and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller has filed a lawsuit seeking to dissolve Hobo K9 Rescue of Britt, Iowa, Rescue Pets Iowa, and J.A.K’s Puppies, a for-profit breeder in Britt.
The lawsuit alleges that Hobo K9 Rescue sold nearly 2,000 puppies to eight different shelters throughout New Jersey, California, Illinois, and Florida from 2016 to 2018. The puppy breeds included Pomeranians, Shar-Pies, Alaskan Malamutes, Poodle-Yorkies, and others. The suit alleges these dogs were sold for a total of $714,510.
“No matter where they live, consumers should not be misled about the source of the pets they buy,” Miller said in the release. “Puppy laundering obscures the identity of breeders who may have animal welfare violations or other problems.”
Puppy laundering refers to using rescue groups as a way to hide the true source of puppies; it deceives customers into thinking they are participating in rescues. But more explicitly, puppy laundering is a great way to get around legislation banning puppy mills, commercial dog breeding facilities that are illegal in many states.
Twenty-five dogs were sent to Shake a Paw Center for Rescue and Adoption sites, which has two New Jersey locations: Green Brook and Union Township. The Iowa Attorney General’s office is looking for civil penalties of $40,000 for each violation; the lawsuit also stipulates that customers who purchased a dog they thought was a rescue animal should be reimbursed the full amount they paid for the pet.
Mango Mango Dessert Shop from Manhattan Opening at 620 Washington Street
{Photo: Instagram}
Hoboken has officially said goodbye to former boutique Town House Clothing and in its wake, dessert is coming. Mango Mango Desserts — an Asian-style dessert place popular in Manhattan — will be taking over the location at 620 Washington Street. No opening date has been released yet but the Site Committee oversaw Mango Mango‘s application on March 13th.
New Boutique a X d is Coming to Hoboken
{Photo: Google Maps}
A new boutique called a X d is coming to Mile Square {a sister store of alba boutique}. The shop will take over the space that was previously Dear Hannah {503 Washington Street}. From the looks of its Instagram account, a X d will likely be selling trendy yet simple pieces under $100. More info coming soon.
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