07030 v2 n2 web sm

HOBOKEN’S LEGENDARY AUTEUR

John Sayles

STOP! CROSSWALK CRISIS SUPER BOWL HERO FROZEN HOBOKEN BINGO! INSIDE ERIE LACKAWANNA

FALL/WINTER 2013/14

HOBOKEN

Intelligent & sophisticated real estate services

From uptown to downtown, we

know your neighborhoods. For

over 30 years, Hudson Place

Realty has been helping local

buyers, sellers and investors

across Hudson County realize

their goals.

We remain a community-based

boutique firm and our first

priority, now as then, is to build

strong relationships with our

clients and to continue fostering

the neighborhoods we serve. No

one can match the personalized

service we provide to our clients.

We’re your agents and neighbors.

But we’re not resting on our

success. From cutting-edge

technology to enhanced marketing

strategies, Hudson Place Realty is

looking toward the future with the

same sophisticated and intelligent

professionalism you’ve come to

trust.

1230 GARDEN STREET SOLD

established 1979

132 WASHINGTON STREET HOBOKEN, NJ 07030

201.420.7393hudsonplacerealty.com

51-53 14TH STREET #3CPENDING

1425 GARDEN STREET #506GARDEN STREET LOFTS

FOR SALE

1223 GARDEN STREET FOR SALE

201-533-8989skylarkonthehudson.com

201-533-8888komegashi.com

201-626-6646bocagrandenj.com

201-626-6660dorrians.com

201-963-4900loradellas.com

201-386-8898confucius558.com

201-798-1798michaelanthonynj.com

201-610-9610fireandoak.com

201-222-8088bertuccis.com

201-963-0533cosi.com

201-626-6006 201-533-0111raaz.us

RESTAURANTS AT NEWPORT

From casual to fine dining—café latte on the run to cocktails under the stars—Jersey City’s Hudson River Waterfront is the perfect setting to ignite your senses and satisfy your palette. Conveniently situated close to the Newport PATH and several New Jersey Light Rail stops, this picturesque promenade offers a tempting array of culinary delights, many with equally enticing views of the Manhattan skyline. If life is meant to be savored, the Restaurants at Newport is a great place to start.

Pho

to: A

lan

Sch

ind

ler

Savor the Waterfront

newportnj.com

6 • 07030 HOBOKEN — FALL & WINTER 2013/14

CONTENTS 07030

COVER16 LEGENDARY AUTEURDirector John Sayles

Cover photo by Ric Kallaher

22 ERIE LACKAWANNASights unseen

28 STOP!Crosswalk crisis

30 SUPER BOWL VETERANCarlos Perez

32 SPORTS GEARThe place to go

36 BINGO!Gen Y scores

DEPARTMENTS

10 CONTRIBUTORS

12 EDITOR’S LETTER

35 DATESWhat’s goin’ on

40 WORKING OUT WITH—Mari Rivera

44 ARCHIVES AND ARTIFACTSFrozen Hoboken

46 WEST SIDE STORYVolunteer Ambulance Corps

52 HOW WE LIVEHouse Proud

64 EMERGING HOBOKENStay Puft Marshmallow Man

66 HOW WE WORKSmall businesses

71 VANISHING HOBOKENA look at a Hoboken institution

72 WATERING HOLESLouise and Jerry’s

74 EATERIESCourt Street

78 07030 DISHRestaurant listings

FEATURES

22

16

MOVING TONEW

HEIGHTS

After five years of success at 79 Hudson Street, Halstead Property moving to a new space three times its previous size and ideally located on the bustling corner of 2nd and Washington Street. With over 3800 square feet, this location will be completely renovated as a state-of-the-art real estate office featuring room for 50 agents and a storefront entrance consisting of the most innovative brokerage tools available.

Learn more at halstead.com

New State-of-the-Art Hoboken Office at 200 Washington Street

Stay Tuned For Our Grand Opening

All information is from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, prior sale or withdrawal without notice. No representation is made as to the accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate and all information should be confirmed by customer. All rights to content, photographs and graphics reserved to Broker.

Halstead Property New Jersey, LLC79 Hudson Street, Hoboken, NJ t: 201.478.6700

MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING

MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING

MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING TOTOTOTOTOTOTOTOTOTOTOTOTOTOTOMOVING

HHHHH

MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING

EHN

MOVING

HWWWWWWWWW

MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING EEEEEEEEEEEE

IIINNNNNNNNNNN

MOVING MOVING MOVING MOVING N

HGGIEEWEEN

MOVING MOVING

WWWWWWWWWWWWTTTTT

TOTOTOTOTO

STHW

TOMOVING

SSt

HHHHHHHHHette

EEEEEEEEEeew

EHettatSSweeNN

trt

Heee

GGGGGGGGGIIII HGGIEEHtrrAAehhtfo

oob

HHHHHHHHHfkke

TTTTTTTTTOOOOO

SSSSSSSSSSTHffOnekkobooH

cce e cci

i ve ieeferauqsuovveeerrpp

esti

evviiffrreetfA

edd a

a 22220

77ei

sra

SSSSt eteeew0022ta-ettaatSSweeNN

oceblliwnoitacolsihttedettaaccooll

9ylleeddid

snaeeiziss

ssu

uH77taasseeccccuussfosrrraaaeey

eer

ggtssssh

il,tt

gel e

oo S

trtrtee-WWWWWWW otggnnihssaaW00

HtrrAA-eehht-fo

sasadetavoneryletteellpmm2foreennrr

docgnnlilttss

Hubehtno

orPdaaeettsslaHt,teeeeertSnnoossddu

nn S

dre

np

ss i

e t

Sn

r

oob kkkke OOfteerrttSnnoo

ffOOnekkobooHH

etatselaertraehtfoetatteerttSSnnoo

wtgnhhssaaaWW

gdnaaddnn22

y psswennaotgnnvivoomytrreepo

s WWWW t

te8

cccce e cci

g nirutaefeciffoe0 0833rreeovo

mhtiWW.tt

e s emitteeeerhteccaapp

5rofmooreeferauqs

tay tay tay tay tay tay tay

rfrf oegeg n

Ttay SSSSS

Learn more at

tnrrffefeeerrotsadnastneeggaga005oceblliwnoitacolsiht,te

halstead.comhalstead.com

rand Openinguned For Our uned For Our uned For Our uned For Our uned For Our uned For Our uned For Our

nono i

Learn more at Learn more at Learn more at

uned For Our uned For Our uned For Our uned For Our uned For Our

rrrrel

n

rand OpeningGGuned For Our uned For Our

halstead.com

TT

halstead.comLearn more at

ehtfognitsisnooccecnaatrtttnee sasadetavoneryleteplmm

rand Openingrand Openingrand Openingrand Openingrand Openingrand Openingrand Opening

soso t

halstead.com

rand Openingrand Openingrand Opening

koko e

rand Opening

halstead.comhalstead.com

egarkkoorbbevitavonnitssoomometatselaertra-eht-fo-etat

ai ai b .elbaalliliaavvaslooteg nirutaefeciffoe

Sn Sn

rPt ,reeSSpe

o Su9H

sp

9tty

etSoo

nossoo

da

Hea

7H trrteppooPrPPdaaetlsla

12 12 4

Jw Jw004 6teke

rJ

CN

w2t

LLC4

Lo

JJ r LN,n

LkoboH,J

: 4LLL,J yesrew

7eNy

0776.8877.11000t

information all information all

from from from from

information

All All without

should should all approximate approximate approximate approximate information information without approximate

All All without approximate

representation information representation representation representation

all representation

and and representation representation notice. without notice. notice. without without

sources deemed sources o o

sources Nnotice. is information information information from information information All All from information

reliable deemed reliable deemed as

customercustomercustomercustomer

subject subject subject subject

All

omissions, omissions, omissions, omissions, All photographs

description. to

description. content,

omissions, description.

content,

omissions, omissions, description.

All accuracy

customercustomercustomer

subject subject

All customercustomer to

omissions, omissions, omissions, omissions,

by

subject

confirmed by customerAll

customer

subject

confirmed confirmed

deemed deemed is

should made be

deemed deemed

photographs measurements

be to description. description. description.

rights description. of of

. customeraccuracy accuracy accuracy accuracy accuracy accuracy accuracy accuracy accuracy the

confirmed to the

be as

should All is made All changes omissions,

made omissions, omissions, omissions, omissions, omissions, omissions,

any errors, to to subject to subject subject subject subject is but

made made reliable reliable

is is omissions, deemed

representation deemed deemed deemed subject subject is deemed but reliable deemed

and and

price, price, price, price,

graphics

withdrawal withdrawal withdrawal withdrawal footages

Brokerare

.footages

Brokerfootages

graphics and and and

graphics photographs and and and and photographs photographs

price, price, measurements

reserved Brokerfootages are

to reserved footages

graphics and measurements square square measurements measurements footages footages

withdrawal withdrawal withdrawal withdrawal square

withdrawal and measurements measurements measurements measurements prior prior in price, prior sale or or prior price, price,


Since 2010rankings based on mls statistics

#

Corporate Center 1 marine View Plaza, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 201.610.1010

PUBLISHERSLucha Malato, David Unger

EDITOR IN CHIEFKate Rounds

GRAPHICS STAFFTerri Saulino BishLisa M. Cuthbert Alyssa BredinMike Mitolo

Pasquale Spina Patricia Verano

COPYEDITINGChristopher Zinsli

ADVERTISING MANAGERTish Kraszyk

SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVESToni Anne Calderone

Ron Kraszyk

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVESJoseph Calderone

Jay Slansky

CIRCULATION MANAGERRoberto Lopez

CIRCULATIONLuis Vasquez

ACCOUNTINGChristine Caraballo

FALL & WINTER 2013/14Volume 2 • Number 2

Published every Spring & Fall

A Publication of The Hudson Reporter

07030 Hoboken is published by the Hudson ReporterAssociates, L.P., 1400 Washington St., Hoboken, New Jersey

07030, (201) 798-7800, Fax (201) 798-0018. Email [email protected] are $10 per year, $25 for overseas,

single copies are $7.50 each, multiple copy discounts areavailable. VISA/MC/AMEX accepted. Subscription

information should be sent to 07030 Hoboken Subscriptions, 1400 Washington St., Hoboken, NJ 07030. Not responsible for

unsolicited manuscripts or other unsolicited materials. Copyright©2013/14, Hudson Reporter Associates L.P. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part

without written permission is prohibited.

07030 Hoboken 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: [email protected]

HOBOKEN


CONTRIBUTORS 07030

ARLENE PHALON BALDASSARIhas worked as an actress, for a literary agency and book publisher,and in the restaurant industry. Shelives in Hoboken with her husbandMike and daughter Sophie.

TERRI SAULINO BISHIs a graphic designer, digital artist,and photographer. Her work hasappeared in many publications,including Best of Photography. Her artcurrently includes digital paintingsand photos that can be viewed attbishphoto.com.

ALYSSA BREDIN is a graphic artist and photographerwho graduated from Saint Peter’sUniversity in Jersey City with a degreein graphic arts. Her work can be seenat tbishphoto.com.

DEAN DeCHIARO is a Hudson County native who covers Hoboken for the HudsonReporter Association. He became ajournalist because his friends all wentinto law and business, and he figuredthey’d be worth keeping an eye on.

LANA ROSE DIAZis a freelance writer, Jersey girl, andparamour of concrete and trees. Agraduate of Lehigh University and for-mer staff writer for The HudsonReporter, she lives, works, and plays inher beloved Jersey City. For moreinfo, visit lanarosediaz.com.

JIM HAGUEis a Jersey City native, who landed ajob with the Hudson Dispatch in 1986.He has been the sports columnist forthe Hudson Reporter Associates forthe last 21 years.

VICTOR M. RODRIGUEZhas studied publication design, photography, and graphic design.“I’ve been fascinated by photo-graphy for 18 years,” he says. One ofhis jobs as a construction project manager is to photograph job sites.

PETER TEHOMILIC is a photographer who works in the tri-state area. He lives in Queens andloves to come to the Jersey side tobike the riverside trails with his family.PETER TEHOMILIC

LANA ROSE DIAZ

VICTOR M. RODRIGUEZ

JIM HAGUE

DEAN DeCHIARO

ALYSSA BREDIN

TERRI SAULINO BISH

ARLENE PHALON BALDASSARI

I have a successful career

I’m in a loving relationship

I have financial stability

I contribute to my community

I feel satisfied

Are you satisfi ed? Outwardly, it often appears people have accomplished goals and achievements in life. We can examine the fruit of their hard work and ambition and conclude that they have everything they need to be satisfi ed. But often times they are void of feeling satisfi ed, and that is what continually drives them to achieve more. Satisfaction in life is always just out of reach no matter how hard they work, or how successful they become. No longer driven by success, there is a new goal…to feel complete. So the question remains. Are you satisfi ed? Stop spinning your wheels and come fi nd out the truth about the only one who satisfi es.

“A man may have enough of the world to sink him, but he can never have enough to satisfy him.” -Thomas Brooks

CityBaptist.com

Sundays @10am & 12pm Bible Preaching

Thursdays @7pm Bible Study & Prayer

726 Je� erson Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030

Pastor Rizzo & family

I contribute to my community

I feel satisfied

Are you satisfi ed? Outwardly, it often appears people have accomplished goals and achievements in life. We can examine the fruit of their hard work and ambition and conclude that they have everything they need to be satisfi ed. But often times they are void of feeling satisfi ed, and that is what continually drives them to achieve more. Satisfaction in life is always just out of reach no matter how hard they work, or

cbc_2013sept_ad.indd 1 9/24/13 2:10 PM


Unless you’ve been living in that burrowright along with the groundhogs, you knowthat February 2, 2014, is a lot more thanGroundhog Day. That, of course, is the daythat the Super Bowl will be played righthere at the Meadowlands.

Hoboken has some celebrations planned,including a curling demonstration. And inthis issue sports writer Jim Hague profilesCarlos Perez, a Hoboken native who playedin Super Bowl XXXIX.

In “Working Out With,” we chat withMaricela Rivera—the woman who isbehind the wheel of the snowplow thatkeeps our Hoboken streets snow-free.

In other winter news, according to theFarmers’ Almanac it will be very cold andsnowy this year from early to mid-December and early to mid-February,which of course includes the Super Bowl.But if you want to see some really coldweather, take a look at the pictures in thisissue, which show Hoboken winters in themid-1800s.

I am thrilled that we were finally able toland an interview with the great film direc-tor John Sayles, who has been living inHoboken since the 1970s. Don’t missArlene Phalon Baldassari’s in-depth coverstory.

Lifestyle magazines are all about themany great things that are happening in anygiven town. But in this issue we offer a cau-tionary tale. Drivers and pedestrians in ourcity are at an angry impasse that could turntragic. Read Dean DeChiaro’s observationson our dangerous crosswalks.

Bingo is making a comeback. Lana RoseDiaz takes a look at the younger crowd whoare enjoying bar bingo around the city—nota bad thing to do on a chilly winter evening.

There’s much more in this issue, and wealso want to hear from you. Email us [email protected] or find us onFacebook and help us cover our town.

EDITOR'S LETTER 07030

PHO

TO B

Y M

ARI

E PA

PP

COLD COMFORT

07030 HOBOKEN — FALL & WINTER 2013/14 • 13

MEN�S & WOMEN�SDESIGNER CLOTHING BOUTIQUE

257 FIRST STREETHOBOKEN

201-795-4189

stateboutique.com

www.hccc.edu

2 CONVENIENT LOCATIONS

Journal Square70 Sip AvenueJersey City, NJ

North Hudson Higher Education Center4800 Kennedy BoulevardUnion City, NJ


World-class healthcare. Right here in Hudson County

CarePoint Health is bringing world-class, aordable healthcare to

Hudson County. You’ll experience our unique brand of caring at

Bayonne Medical Center, Christ Hospital and Hoboken University

Medical Center. And you’ll see it on the faces of the thousands of local

medical professionals committed to treating you.

carepointhealth.org

That’s the point.



BY ARLENE PHALONBALDASSARI

Way back, when Itold a hipsterfriend that I was

moving to Hoboken, heraised an eyebrow and said,

“Well, they have good Italiandelis. And I hear John Sayleslives there.” This was in thepre-Google days, and theidea that the iconic filmdirector would choose to livein the mile-square city

across the river sounded likean urban legend which lentHoboken an air of pioneer-ing bohemianism and artis-tic street cred. Even beforeindependent film was con-sidered a genre, Sayles’s

movies such as Eight MenOut, Matewan, and TheBrother from Another Planetgarnered high praise fromcritics and raked in awards, ifnot blockbuster grosses. Asthe genre picked up steam,

John Sayles—Our Auteur Next Door

No voice in film has been more unremittingly committed totelling intimate, character-driven stories about people thanthat of John Sayles


Sayles led the way with suchfilms as City of Hope, LoneStar, Passion Fish, andAmigo.

Hardly reclusive and hard to miss at six-foot-four,Sayles isn’t about Hollywood-style self-promotion. Rather,he focuses on telling storiesthat interest him. We caughtup with him as he was pro-moting his latest feature, Gofor Sisters, which will pre-miere in New York and LosAngeles this November. Themovie, shot in L.A. andMexico, features twoestranged childhood friendswhose lives intersect againas recovering addict andparole officer.

Anyone with a browserknows that the original inde-pendent auteur has been liv-ing and working in the same

Hoboken rowhouse that heand his partner, MaggieRenzi, bought in 1979, whileworking on their first movie,Return of the SecaucusSeven.

“We’ve been here since,God, I think we’ve ownedthis house for 35 years,”Sayles says. “Right aroundwhen we were making ourfirst movie, we moved intoHoboken. The waterfrontwas a mess, but the rest ofthe city was nice. It was oldItalian families and PuertoRican neighborhoods andsome people from India, avery livable kind of city.”

It was a fertile time forSayles. His first novel, Prideof the Bimbos, about a dwarfwho is a traveling baseballplayer dressed in drag, hadbeen published in 1975

when he was only 25. “Yeah,I didn’t know at the time howlucky I was, but I’d beenworking in factories andhospitals and just kind ofminimum-wage jobs and Igot a union job as a meat-packer in a sausage factoryin Boston. I had been send-ing short stories out to mag-azines and … the AtlanticMonthly also had a bookpublishing arm, and some-

one called me and said youshould take this long shortstory and make it into anovel and we’ll at least readit.”

Sayles was laid off from the

sausage factory and got $85 aweek for 21 weeks on unem-ployment, his first and onlygrant for the arts. Duringthat time, he wrote his firstnovel. Despite critical suc-cess, the book didn’t makehim rich. “I once figured out,with the typing, I was stillmaking minimum wage,” hesays. “It was an advance of$2,500—that was about$1.10 an hour.”

WRITER/DIRECTOR JOHN SAYLES ON LOCATION IN BOHOL, PHILI PPINES FILMING AMIGO.PHOTOS BY MARY CYBULSKI

“Right around when we were makingour first movie, we moved into Hoboken.”– John Sayles


His second book, UnionDues, followed in 1975.Sayles was acting in a theatercompany in New Hampshire

and needed someone to sellthe book. “A friend of mineplayed poker with this guyJohn Sterling, an author’s

agent. Basically, he called meup and said, ‘Hey do youwant an agent?’ And he said,‘The deal is, my agency has a

deal with a Hollywoodagency so that, if I sell it,your book will automaticallybe a property that those peo-ple will try to sell as a movie.’I said, ‘It won’t make a movie,it would make a terriblemovie … but go ahead.’”

That connection startedSayles’s screenwriting career,notably for Roger Cormanon such genre movies asPiranha and The Howling.“When people say, ‘How do Iget into the movie business?’I say, ‘I wrote two novels anda short-story collection andgot them published,’ andtheir hearts kind of fall. Itseems kind of daunting to dothat. It’s so much harder toget something publishedtoday. This was 1975.”

The settings, characters,and themes of Sayles’smovies are wildly different—from colonialism in thePhilippines and an ancientIrish folktale to coming-of-age and coming-out stories.“I think a lot of that justcomes out of interest,” hesays. “Different things inter-est me, and people say, ‘Oh,why don’t you make anotherbaseball movie?’ and I say,‘Well maybe in 10 years orsomething like that, butonce you’ve made a baseballmovie I feel like I’ve donethat, for awhile anyway, andwhat else am I interested in,what haven’t I done? Whathaven’t I seen onscreen? I’vealways thought, ‘What do Isee around me in the world,what story that I know isworth telling that I haven’tseen before?’”

Sayles has been praised forhis “ability to slip deeply intoeach culture” he portraysand for his impeccable earfor dialog. Many thoughtthat much of SecaucusSeven—which refers to the Chicago Seven and wasshot in one weekend at ahouse in New Hampshire—was improvised, but it wasmeticulously scripted. Thestory of how Sayles made themovie as an audition piece,using $60,000 of his earningsfrom the genre scripts, is the

Go for SistersVillage East Cinema • 189 Second Ave. (12th Street) • New York

(212) 529-6998


stuff of cinematic legend. Thismay be Sayles’s best-knownmovie. The star-studdedHollywood film The Big Chillhas long been rumored to bebased on Secaucus Seven.

As a writer of novels, films,and plays, Sayles says, “I usu-ally have a feeling of, this isthe perfect medium to dosomething in, but sometimesit changes.” Most peoplethink of Sayles as a director.

But, he says, “I think ‘story-teller’ finally is the way I feelabout it. In movies, the way Imake a living to this day is asa screenwriter for hire. Oftenmy movies are self-financedfrom the money I make as ascreenwriter. When you’rewriting a screenplay, you’rejust writing the blueprint, butyou’re not the guy who finish-es the story. … It’s a very col-laborative medium … and if

07030: Have you shot any of your films in NewJersey?

JS: We shot most of Baby It’s You in NewJersey; it was set in Trenton. Our office wasactually in Hoboken, down on ObserverHighway in an old meatpacking plant that’sbeen turned into offices and condos sincethen.

07030: You can’t get away from themeatpacking…

JS: Yeah, exactly! We shot out at UpsalaCollege in East Orange. Ninety percent of thatmovie was shot in Jersey. And we shot over atStevens College a little bit. It was a fraternityhouse and the floor was warped from beer.There were so many standing puddles of beerthere that the floor had warped.

07030: Another one, shot in Fort Lee andHoboken, is Lianna. Kate, the editor of 07030,told me that Lianna is one of her favoritemovies of all time. She cannot get over how astraight man could intuit that moment when awoman looks in the mirror and acknowledgesto herself, “I am a lesbian.” She says that justabout everyone she knows has experiencedthat moment.

JS: You know, it’s interesting, I think I was ableto do it because it’s about a woman having herfirst experience. And I felt that that’s as far as Ican imagine, and at the time there wasn’t real-ly queer cinema. There were very few gaywomen who were able to make movies abouttheir own lives. And so I think directors whohave come after me, who are gay women, havebeen able to go deeper into the community,like The L Word and stuff like that. I could basi-cally kind of talk about couples I knew whowere breaking up, so this is as much about thatphenomenon of all of a sudden being 36 andback on the relationship market and trying tofind a job. And how it would be that a womanwouldn’t get custody of her kids. What wouldcause that? And at the time, announcing thatyou were gay might make a judge say, “Wellyou’re an unfit mother so your husband getsthe kids.”

07030: You shot the Springsteen video, GloryDays, partly at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, and yougot permission from a reluctant Springsteen touse his songs in Baby It’s You.

JS: We shot two rock videos for BruceSpringsteen here. Born in the USA, we shotmost of that in Jersey as well. —07030

John Shoots New Jersey

JOHN SAYLES WITH DANNY GLOVER IN HONEYDRIPPER.TOP: DANNY GLOVER. PHOTOS BY JIM SHELDON


you’re the writer/director/editor,which is what I am on my own features,you’re much more the author than youare if you’re just the screenwriter.”

Sayles’s work as a screenwriter for hireis sometimes credited (The SpiderwickChronicles) and sometimes not (Apollo13). An early Sayles script titled NightSkies was the basis for what eventuallybecame Steven Spielberg’s E.T. theExtraterrestrial.

Sayles has about four unproducedscreenplays and a few ideas for futureprojects. “It took me 11 years to get

Eight Men Out made,” he says. “Youstart saying, ‘Oh, 11 to 15 years, I’mgoing to be really old if it takes thatlong.’ So I’m a little less ambitious withthe things I write now, if they seem likethey’re totally un-fundable. With thisnew one, Go for Sisters that’s going tocome out in November, that’s very, verylow budget, under a million. That wasone where—it’s never really happenedto me before—I wrote basicallybecause I knew three actors I was dyingto work with, Edward Olmos, YolandaRoss, and LisaGay Hamilton, who wasthe only one I’d worked with before.”

Sayles’s director’s eye and instinct forstorytelling make him a great observerof the changes in Hoboken over theyears. He reflects, “Well, now we have

BABY IT’S YOU.


The Mitchells Celebrating Thanksgiving

Set the Table, Carve a Turkey,Make a Memory.

#makeamemory carlosbakery.com

RIDGEWOOD12 Wilsey Square

WESTFIELD21 East Broad St.

GREENWICH20 East Elm St.

COMING SOON!

HOBOKEN95 Washington St.

two or three Starbucks and all of thosecondos going up. …. Most old Hobokenpeople just kind of shake their heads. Ithink a lot of them actually like thechanges, truly. I think the only thing thathas gotten worse about Hoboken hasbeen the parking. It was always bad, butnow it’s close to impossible. At one time,I think it was the most densely populat-ed city in America because it’s only amile square, and when buildings go up,and they used to be rowhouses—whichwere one family—and now they’re threeapartments, and when each one of

those have a car—there is just notenough room.”

But he also sees positive changes: “Thenice thing is that the river has beenreclaimed. I run on that river road,Frank Sinatra Drive they call it, some-times, and it used to be Bethlehem Steelthat was defunct and I think there wastoxic waste there, and you know, basi-cally ruins. Now they’ve really made itkind of park-like and people really usethe river. The ferries weren’t workingwhen I first came here; that’s been agreat thing. At rush hour last night, wetook the ferry in. In the summer it’s real-ly beautiful.”—07030

BABY IT’S YOU.

“©PPC,” COURTESY OF PARAMOUNT PICTURES


In the 20th century, before the Holland Tunnel and the PATH trains dominated trans-Hudson travel, ferries ruled,

and the architectural grandeur of the Erie Lackawanna Terminal is proof. Today, large sections of the terminal are

long abandoned. Though the paint is chipped and the floors are dusty, their sheer majesty remains.

r u i n sHO BO K E N ’ S H A L L OW E D

MAIN HALLWAY


BY DEAN DeCHIARO

Thousands of commuters pass through HobokenTerminal every day. For a long time, I was one ofthem. I’d walk from the light rail station on the south

end, past the 17 train tracks of New Jersey Transit, stairwellsleading to the PATH, and out onto River Street. For most peo-ple, in 2013, those are the elements that make up “HobokenTerminal.”

But that’s a relatively new way of thinking about it. For along time it was the Erie Lackawanna Railroad and FerryTerminal. As you walk along the river toward the terminal,

you can’t help but wonder what’s in all those areas closed offto the public, and what’s up in the balcony overlooking thenewly refurbished ferry slips.

Recently, I got a chance to tour sections of the terminal thatwere closed off to the public years ago, including the gargan-tuan old ferry terminal waiting room and some of the oldticketing rooms. Bill Smith, a senior spokesman for NJTransit, was my guide, and told me that in the mid-20th cen-tury, the terminal saw about twice as much traffic as it doestoday. The majority of those people took the ferry, whichmakes sense, though today ferries are the odd man out.

PHOTOS BY TBISHPHOTO

What we now think of as Hoboken Terminal is really just a small sliver of theentire structure, and much of it, like the PATH and the light rail, are additions.

The old terminal’s main concourse, directly above and behind the New JerseyTransit waiting room, looks to be the length of two football fields with ceilingsthat are easily 50 feet tall. There are three sets of enormous skylights—one hasthe original stained glass—and remnants of chandeliers that hung from above.The floor, covered in a layer of thick dust, is a geometric mosaic of myriadsmall tiles.

The gorgeous masonry is in chunks, many of the windows are broken, andthe intricate molding is damaged. But the place has a beautiful vagrant feelthat might be lost in a restoration, no matter how faithful that restorationmight be.

In one sense, the waiting room is already a restoration. Built in 1907, today’sterminal, officially called the Erie Lackawanna Railroad and Ferry Terminal bythe New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places, replaced one thatburned to the ground between Aug. 8 and 10, 1905. The fire also claimed twoferries and the famous Duke’s House tavern and restaurant. The 1907 terminalwas built with more fire-resistant materials. In rebuilding the terminal, thepeople at the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, whichowned the site, made it stronger and more stunning than its weaker predeces-sor, with molded copper decorations, Tiffany skylights, and a gilded clock.

Like many of the transportation hubs built around the same time, such asGrand Central Terminal across the river, it was designed in the Beaux-arts stylesynonymous with 19th century Paris. And that’s not the terminal’s only Frenchconnection. Its bronze facade is clothed in the same copper used on the Statueof Liberty.

The train station’s waiting room, which has been majestically renovated,transports you to another era. In fact, parts of Julie and Julia were shot here,with Meryl Streep and Jane Lynch waiting in their 1940s outfits for a train tocome in.

FERRY SLIPS


OFFICE ABOVE PATH

WAITING ROOM

LONG HALLWAY

On the eastern side of the concourse, you canstep out on the balcony above the terminal’soriginal ferry slips and watch thousands of ferryriders on their rush-hour commute. Ferry serv-ice was suspended sometime in the mid-20thcentury, and while service was restored in 1989,these original slips didn’t reopen until 2011, thefirst time in recent history that the old and newsections of the terminal were in operation at thesame time.

You have to wonder what the future of the con-course will be. It’s too spectacular a treasure toignore, but plans are still in the idea phase. JohnLeon, NJ Transit’s senior director for govern-ment and community relations, has said there’sbeen discussion about using it as a communityspace in conjunction with NJT’s massiveObserver Highway Redevelopment Plan. But theplan isn’t finalized and talks with the city areongoing.

New York City has its abandoned but beauti-fully adorned subway stations. Detroit hasentire neighborhoods of forgotten theaters andhotels. Hoboken Terminal is in better shapethan these. But it will take a massive restorationto return it to its former glory.—07030


EXIT


Drivers and pedestrians do a dance of death on the crosswalk

I WAS WAITING TO CROSS THE STREET…

STOPor Go?

BY DEAN DeCHIARO


The octagonal red STOP signs atintersections in the United States

conform to the Vienna Convention onRoad Signs and Signals. We share thesame design with a number of nations,including Argentina, Belarus, China,Iran, and Mongolia: On foot or on fuel,you STOP. But what about those wobblysigns in the middle of the crosswalk thatsay, “State Law, Stop for (the patheticlittle stick figure) on crosswalk”? Hoboken pedestrians claim that driv-

ers just blow through without evenstopping, and Hoboken drivers claim

that pedestrians do the same, textingand talking with an outsized sense ofentitlement and an undersized sense ofmortality.

There are around 40 of these signs—known as stop-for-pedestrian signs—inHoboken, and they began popping upin 2010.

Pedestrians crossing Hoboken streetswith these special stop signs didn’t mindtalking about their experiences.“Sometimes I will stand at the corner asthree or four cars pass, and none ofthem stop to let me go,” said a nannycrossing First Street at the intersectionwith Jackson Street—one of the busiestcross-town corridors. She didn’t want to

give her name because of her employ-ment, but she said that drivers, espe-cially during rush hour, seem to take lit-tle notice of the signs.

“I guess they’re not really stop signs, soit’s OK?” she asked.

The point of the signs, according to thehead of Hoboken Department ofParking and Transportation, JohnMorgan, is to alert motorists that theymust stop for people in the crosswalk,as opposed to a traditional stop sign,which simply tells the driver they muststop before entering the intersection.

There are fines of up to $230 for bothmotorists and pedestrians guilty ofignoring these signs and barreling into


the crosswalk, which shows that lawmakers are as concernedwith pedestrians breaking the law as they are with motorists.In an admittedly unscientific survey I conducted, motoristsusually stop only for the “real” stop signs that adhere to theVienna Convention.

Do the stop-for-pedestrian signs work? In a 15-minute peri-od on a late-summer Thursday morning, at the crosswalk onHudson Street, across from Hoboken Terminal, a little fewerthan 100 pedestrians crossed the street. About 50 crossed withno cars in sight, and close to 25 crossed when a car stoppedfor them, but the remainder either waited for one or multiplecars to pass, or ran across the street ahead of oncoming traf-fic. The terminal area sees more foot traffic than any otherpart of town, but the proportions were about the sameuptown, on the west side, and near Hoboken High School, allareas of heavy pedestrian traffic.

At Third and Jackson, there’s a pedestrian sign smack dab inthe middle of high-density apartment buildings and a popu-lar mini strip mall across the street. The signs are there, atleast partially, to keep pedestrian traffic moving. But duringrush hour, is it more dangerous having the signs than not hav-ing them?

There’s one of these signs outside the Hudson Tea Buildingon Washington Street, where residents must cross in order toaccess the rest of town. You hear plenty of horns onWashington. Sometimes drivers are honking at one brazenguy who’s late for a meeting who has rushed into the cross-walk without looking. But all too often it’s texters, runners,and readers simply not paying attention.

Not surprisingly, Hoboken drivers who have just broken thelaw aren’t interested in giving interviews. They have no ideathat the person waving them down like a lunatic is a journal-ist, and they’re not slowing down for anyone who doesn’t have lights and a siren. But one motorist, who did notwant his name used, did agree to talk. He called the relation-ship between Hoboken’s drivers and walkers “adversarial.”

“I think pedestrians have become a bit obnoxious, to behonest,” he said. “They take the signs for granted and assume

everyone’s going to stop, but that’s not how it works. I could be10 feet away from the intersection, going the speed limit, witha car behind me so I can’t stop quickly enough, and they thinkjust because that sign’s there, they can go.”

Originally from out of town, the driver said he’d never seenanything like Hoboken before.

“My whole life, I’ve never felt like, as a driver, it’s me againstthe pedestrians,” he said. “But that’s kind of how it feels here.”

As a kid, I walked from Hoboken Terminal to my elementaryschool on Third and Garden Streets every day, and often in ahurry. I rarely waited for the light, often ignored the crosswalk,and when I got a cell phone, I probably didn’t look up to seewhere I was going all that often. As an adult, I commute toHoboken every day by car, driving from the southern end tomy office on 14th Street. I use Jackson Street, then Clinton,and then Bloomfield to get uptown, a route specially designedto bypass as much pedestrian traffic as possible. I’m as guiltyas the next guy of blowing through the “pedestrian-friendly”stop signs from time to time, but I find it useful to think aboutthe type of pedestrian I used to be, and the grief I probablycaused hundreds of drivers over the years.

The saga of the “pedestrian-friendly” stop signs points upthe potentially dangerous divide between those who drive inHoboken, and those who walk.

At the end of the day, drivers should probably deal with thefact that pedestrians often do not abide by the rules of theroad—if only because it’s not the pedestrians who are drivingthe Escalades.—07030

STORY AND PHOTOSBY JIM HAGUE

To the students at P.S.24 in Jersey City, he’sknown as Mr. Perez,

the strict dean of discipline.The rest of the time, he’s

recognized as Pastor Perez,the ecumenical and inspira-tional lead minister of theChurch of God of Prophecyin Newark.

But to sports fans in thearea, he’s still Carlos Perez,the Hoboken High Schoolgraduate who went on to be astar wide receiver at the

University of Florida andeventually was part of thePhiladelphia Eagles teamthat lost in Super Bowl XXXIXto the New England Patriots,24-21, on Feb. 6, 2005.

When Perez arrived inHoboken from his nativeDominican Republic at theage of 9, he didn’t have a cluewhat the sport of footballwas.

“I was a baseball player inthe Dominican, like everyoneelse,” Perez said. “I didn’teven know what a footballwas. Baseball was all that weplayed.”

Perez played baseball whenhe came to the United Statesand didn’t play organizedfootball until he enrolled atHoboken, where he wasintroduced to the sport byanother Red Wing legend,Tyrell Dortch, the eventualMichigan State player who isperhaps the best runningback to ever play at Hoboken.

“Tyrell was the one whotaught me the game,” Perezsaid. “I didn’t understand it atall. I just liked to run, so Iused to get the ball and run.Tyrell would tell me not to letanyone catch me.”

Hoboken’s

Hero

CARLOS PEREZ

From the Dominican Republic toHoboken to living the dream



The two friends were the most fleet offoot of the Red Wings.

“I used to race Tyrell and I beat him allthe time,” Perez laughed.

While Perez didn’t become a runningback like his buddy, then-coach EdStinson felt that playing wide receiverwould be more beneficial to Perez andthe team.

“At first, I wanted to be a runningback,” Perez said. “I used to watch BarrySanders and Emmitt Smith and want tobe like them. But I had no concept ofhitting the hole. A lot of what I did wasjust raw and wild. But I could catch theball. I did a lot of body catching backthen. Coach Stinson was running work-outs on Saturday mornings and he sin-gled me out as someone who couldcatch the ball.”

On their own, the coach and playerworked on developing Perez as a receiv-er.

“He would stand five yards away fromme and launch the ball right at me,”Perez said. “That’s how I learned tocatch with my hands. I started the nextseason as a receiver. I was upset whenCoach Stinson moved me from runningback, but I guess he saw something inme.”

Perez helped Hoboken win two NJSI-AA Group III state championships, in1998 and 1999, earning All-State honorsin the process. He signed a national let-ter of intent to go to the University ofFlorida.

“To be honest, I appreciate that all alot more now,” Perez said. “I didn’t real-ize the significance of winning statechampionships, being All-State andgoing to a big school like Florida. Until Igot to Florida, I didn’t realize how greatit was. I realized it was a privilege andan honor. I was still learning the gamein college.”

Perez had a fine career at Florida,catching 108 passes for more than 1,000yards and scoring 11 touchdowns. Hehelped the Gators to two SoutheastConference championships and a winin the Orange Bowl.

After Florida, Perez thought he wasgoing to be drafted by an NFL team.

“During the draft, I was getting a lot ofcalls from teams, but I didn’t under-stand the process,” Perez said. “I got acall the second day of the draft from the[Washington] Redskins saying that theywere going to take me in the fifthround.”

But that didn’t happen. Perez wasslowed by a quad injury during the NFLDraft Combine, so that may have hurthis chances of being selected.

“I was so upset about not gettingdrafted,” Perez said. “I cried all day.”

His emotions changed a day later.“The day after the draft, I got a phone

call from the Eagles, saying that theywanted to sign me,” Perez said. “I driedmy tears, went to church and said toGod, ‘Maybe this is the way life is sup-posed to be.’ I thought maybe this iswhat God wanted.”

Perez signed with the Eagles in April2004 and went to training camp withthe club. He was among the samereceiving corps as Terrell Owens,

Freddie Mitchell, and Todd Pinkston.Eventually, Perez was placed on thepractice squad, but remained an activemember of the team in practices andworkouts.

“I learned a lot from those guys andgained a lot of respect,” Perez said.

Sure enough, in his first year in theNFL, Perez was able to go to the SuperBowl against the Patriots inJacksonville.

“It was an amazing experience,” Perezsaid. “I was in awe. There were so manyfamous people around. I met Will Smithand Alicia Keys. It was surreal. I remem-ber being on the field and hearing theNational Anthem. I remember thinkingthat people never get a chance to be onthe field, and here I am, a little guy fromthe Dominican Republic and Hoboken,on the field for the Super Bowl. I wassuper blessed. Now, I can appreciatethat more.”

Perez still has the ID tags he wore dur-ing Super Bowl week and treasures thejersey he wore.

“There was nothing like it,” Perez said.“Much like my entire football life, Godput me in position to win a champi-onship. I never knew what it was like tobe on a losing team. I went fromHoboken and winning state champi-onships to Florida and winning the SECand the Orange Bowl. Now, I go to theNFL and my team goes to the SuperBowl. That’s a blessing.”

Although the Eagles lost, Perez cher-ishes those days.

After the Super Bowl, the Eagles sentPerez to Amsterdam to play in the now-defunct World League. Sure enough,Amsterdam won the World Bowl, withPerez a key figure in the win. He earned

yet another championship ring.“Two from Hoboken, two from

Florida, the Orange Bowl, the NFCChampionship with the Eagles and theWorld Bowl,” Perez said.

In 2005, Perez went to training campwith the idea of earning a spot on theEagles’ roster.

“I was in the best shape ever, workingout with my personal trainer LouieTurso,” Perez said. “I led the team inreceptions in the preseason. I caught a33-yard touchdown pass against theRavens. I thought I was locked in, but

after the preseason, the Eagles releasedme.”

Perez tried to catch on with the NewYork Jets and Buffalo Bills, but to noavail. He ended up playing for thePhiladelphia Soul of the Arena FootballLeague, the team owned by rocker JonBon Jovi, but retired after one season.

Perez returned to Hoboken, got theteaching gig in Jersey City, and becamean assistant coach at Ferris and laterUnion City High School for seven years.

“Coaching did a lot for me,” Perezsaid. “I figured it was God’s will for meto give back, and I accepted his will.”

Perez had to resign his coaching posi-tion because of his commitments as apastor. He’s held the position of Pastorat the Church of God of Prophecy sinceMarch.

“I learned that you have to enjoy themoment in everything in life,” Perezsaid. “You don’t think about it much atthe time, but you have to remembereverything about the moment, becauseyou never know. I had a dream and wasable to live it out. There are a lot of kidsfrom Hoboken, from Jersey City, fromHudson County who have thosedreams. Every kid who puts on a uni-form has that dream of being in a SuperBowl. I was blessed to be there.”

Perez was asked if he is excited thatthe upcoming Super Bowl will beplayed six miles away from his home-town in MetLife Stadium in February.

“It’s going to be amazing,” Perez said.“When I experienced the Super Bowl,there was a lot of excitement inJacksonville. I can’t imagine the buzz itwill have here. It’s going to be amazing,and if the Giants make it, it will be total-ly bananas. I can’t wait.”—07030

Perez helped Hoboken win twoNJSIAA Group III state championships, in 1998

and 1999, earning All-State honorsin the process.


BY LANA ROSE DIAZPHOTOS BY TBISHPHOTO

Basketball shorts? Football helmet? Hockey stick? It’s thattime of year. At the start of every new sports season, you can

find kids, parents, and coaches at the go-to spot in Hudson Countyfor all your sporting needs—uniforms, sportswear, sneakers, cleats,balls, bats, gloves, pucks, rackets, protective gear, and equipmentof all kinds. And it’s not Modell’s.

It’s a family tradition and a mile-square institution

SPORTS GEAR

EVAN & DAN

The Go-to Spot for


This nearly 70-year-old Hoboken institu-tion is a kaleidoscope of high-school colors,smelling of new leather, and smacking ofold-school.

Started in 1946 by two brothers-in-law,Pete Stanich and Ray Cerrito, Stan’s SportsCenter was their joint venture when theycame home from military service. Stanichused the first four letters of his last name tochristen the business, and a Hoboken insti-tution was born.

As a child growing up in Hoboken, DanDeCongelio hung out at Stan’s onWashington Street—“the avenue”—wherekids picked up a new baseball glove orchecked out the latest matchbox cars.

But by the age of 15, Dan was no longerjust hanging out. Recruited by Ray Cerrito,he began laying the foundation for whatwould one day be part of his own family’slegacy as well.

Young Dan became part of the Stan’s fam-ily in the early 1970s. A couple of years laterhe would graduate from Hoboken HighSchool and go on to college at Jersey CityState College, now NJCU, but he still came

back to Stan’s every Saturday to do the pay-roll.

“I loved it,” Dan says. “It was a part ofme.”

Even when he earned his accountingdegree and landed a job, Saturdays werereserved for his “family” at Stan’s.

Ray Cerrito eventually took over the busi-ness from Pete Stanich, and what Ray reallywanted was for Dan to work fulltime, anarrangement Dan said he would be interest-ed in only if he could have a stake in thebusiness when Ray retired. Ray struck thedeal in the way most deals were struck inthose times.

“I left my job on a handshake,” Dan says.“I took my chances, but he was the type ofguy that a handshake went a long way.”

Just a few years later, the time came topass the baton. In 1996, Dan became theowner of the institution that gave him hisstart.

And his beloved mentor? He became hisemployee for the hefty price of $1 per yearor a hot dog from Biggie’s.

Until his death, Ray was a true mentor toDan DeCongelio.

Soon another young man could be foundhanging out at Stan’s: Dan’s son. When DanJr. was off from school, he was shootingbaskets in the basement of the sports centeror playing wiffle ball with the workers.

He followed a similar path as that of hisfather—working weekends at Stan’s evenafter he had gone away to college and towork at a bank.

Two years later he invited his father to dinner to have a conversation not much different than the one Ray and Dan Sr. hadyears earlier.

“I’d been around it for so long growingup,” Dan Jr. says. “I just knew that this wasthe right fit for me.”

The father-and-son duo has maintainedexemplary customer service while stockinga diverse inventory that rivals—or in somecases exceeds—that in the big chain stores.

Within four months of returning to Stan’swith his newfound experience in the bank-ing business, Dan Jr. revamped the store’s

DANDeCONGELIO

website, created a social-mediacampaign, and instituted onlineshopping.

“We’ve got all these likes all of asudden,” Dan Sr. says.

Indeed, Stan’s had a lot of“likes,” long before the advent ofFacebook.

Outfitting recreation and high-school teams from Hoboken toHarrison, Stan’s has a longstand-ing connection with many commu-nities in Hudson and Bergen coun-ties.

If you walk into the store now—which is bedecked in Hoboken redand white—you won’t find match-box cars and boxes of sportsequipment strewn about as in ear-lier times.

As Hoboken has evolved, so hasStan’s. It now carries a lot of“Hoboken” products like hoodiesand t-shirts. And though the aisleshave been made baby-strollerfriendly, you can still come in andpick up a baseball glove—just likein the good ol’ days.

“Everything changes over theyears,” Dan Sr. says, “But you stillhave your sense of community.”—07030

Stan’s Sports Center

528 Washington St.

(201)798-4466

stanssportsctr.com


DAN, TODD, EVAN, AND LOU

ONGOING

Downtown Farmer’sMarket, Washington St.b/w Newark St. andObserver Hwy, 3 p.m. –7:30 p.m. Tuesdaysthrough November 19.

Hoboken Ski ClubMeetings, Willie McBride’sPub, 616 Grand St., hobokenskiclub.com. Heldevery Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.All are welcome.

UndergroundComedy Club, Room 84,84 Washington St.,room84hoboken.com. 8 p.m. Local, NJ, and NYCcomics as seen onLetterman, Conan, Comedy Central, MTV and more. Hosted byCraig Mahoney. Free.

Hoboken Gallery Walk, various locations,hobokengallerywalk.com.2 p.m. – 6 p.m. ThirdSunday of every month.Galleries and art spaces

around Hoboken partici-pate with special eventsand receptions highlightingthe work of local, regional,and international artists.

Uptown Storytime at the Museum, HobokenHistorical Museum, 1301 Hudson St., (201)656-2240, hobokenmuseum.org. First andThird Thursdays at 10 a.m.Librarian Penny Metschshares stories with children ages 2 to 5 yearsand their caregivers.

Thursday Guitar Circle,Symposia Bookstore, 510Washington St., (201) 963-0909, symposia.us.8:30 p.m. Beginners welcome.

Art Along the Fence, 11th & Hudson headingeast along Sinatra Dr. andWashington St. b/w 14thand 15th, hobokennj.org. 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. Outdoormural project featuringwork from 20 local artists.

Hoboken: One Year AfterSandy, Hoboken HistoricalMuseum, 1301 Hudson St.,(201) 656-2240, hobokenuseum.org. A wide rangeof content from oral histo-ries to videos will be onexhibit through July 6.

Teen Events at the Library,Hoboken Library, 500 ParkAve., (201) 420-2348,hoboken.bccls.org. Digitalphotography on Mondays,Dungeons and Dragons on Tuesdays, MixedMedia/Collage Workshop


Want your event listed? Please email us [email protected] and put “07030calendar listings” in the subject line.

D A T E S

see page 51


BY LANA ROSE DIAZPHOTOS BY KATE ROUNDS

Over the rallying cry of “Blitzkrieg Bop” and the undeni-able crunch of cheesy nachos, the call is made:

“B9…B9.” At Black Bear Bar & Grill, patrons are enjoying a pint of their

favorite brew with one hand and clutching a bingo boardwith the other. It’s Wednesday night in Hoboken. And thatmeans bingo.

But while there’s a spinning wheel of balls and plenty ofprizes to be had, it’s certainly not your grandma’s bingo.

The atmosphere is cacophonous—you won’t hear any“hushing” from your fellow players here—and the only blue-haired gals to be found in the joint are sporting a mohawk.

For 29-year-old Jodi Hart, bingo at the Black Bear has beena tradition since she moved to Hoboken a few months ago.

And, she says, it’s a great opportunity to shake up the typi-cal week of barhopping and billiards.

“It’s a fun thing to do on a Wednesday night,” she says. She stumbled on the event by chance after walking into

Black Bear one night for a drink, but after a round of bingowith the bartender, she was hooked. Good music and a win-ning board on her first try didn’t hurt either.

She now comes back weekly, eagerly recruiting friends tocome out with her for a chance at the “big” prizes and auniquely enjoyable night out.

And she’s not alone. A young Hoboken clientele has caughton to the idea and breathed new life into the concept of“bingo nights.”

The classic game of chance has changed

NOT JUST YOUR GRANDMA’S BINGO ANYMORE

Other bingo venues have come and gone, but Black Bear issaid to be the most popular and longest-running bingojoint—it’s been going strong for more than five years withHoboken resident Joe Testa at the helm of bingomania.

Joe, a professionally trained actor, spends the rest of hisweek as an employee of Black Bear serving tables. But onWednesday nights he is part bingo caller, part DJ, and all-around party starter.

He attributes the success of bingo night at the bar and grillto the great vibe, great food, and great specials that areoffered on those nights (you can get a 25-ounce mug of Stellaand five sliders of your choice for just $9.99).

Aside from the gastronomical benefits, there’s perhaps a bitof other magic at work too. That booming radio-announcervoice over the loudspeaker is, quite literally, “theatricallytrained.”

Joe went to school for theater, and the pizzazz he bringsfrom that experience is undeniable. He sets the stage for thenight with music (mostly classic rock and memorable ’90stunes) and as the night goes on, his lively attitude helps morecustomers loosen up and get in the game.

When asked if he may be part of the reason bingo has beenso successful at Black Bear, he replies with a smile, “I hope I bring a little something to it.”

Biggies has been hosting bingo night for about a year—onTuesdays from 8-11 p.m. Manager Michael Ferrante says theystarted it based on the success of bingo night at the Biggieson Route 17. “There was a good turnout of young kids in theirtwenties,” he says.

Which is exactly what they are attracting at the Hobokenlocation—well-known for occupying the site of the legendaryClam Broth House.

On a good night, about 20 young men and women try theirhand at bingo. “It’s guys and gals, friends hanging out,”Ferrante says. “They sit at the bar, watch sports, and join inbingo or they sit at the tables. Other bars have trivia. We havebingo.”

Manager Steve Ranuro says that the $5 martinis are alwaysa draw. They also have $3 Blue Moons, $2 drafts, $4 housewines, and a happy hour at 10 p.m.

A DJ plays music and an mc announces the games. Patronsplay for t-shirts, Biggies gift cards, and grand prizes with bas-kets of martini glasses and shakers.

At the Black Bear, patrons also play for prizes, but if youwant to rack up the big bucks, do it the old-fashioned way—at church. Hoboken’s Our Lady of Grace Church, for example,hosts bingo games and a lunch cafe every Saturday at noonin its school hall. Apparently you can pocket hundreds of dol-lars on a Saturday afternoon.

But at the Black Bear, plenty of other valuable treasures canbe had, and it gets better as the night goes on—everythingfrom gift cards and restaurant gift certificates to sportsequipment and tickets to various events, including Yankeesgames.

But don’t let what seems like Black Bear’s lackadaisicalapproach to bingo fool you. According to Jodi, the nights canget competitive, especially among the regulars. On one bingo



night, she was found jokingly seething ather barstool neighbor, Dan, for quicklywinning twice in a row.

Dan Di Iorio, 28, is a resident of JerseyCity and comes to bingo nights once ortwice a month to relax after work. In onenight alone he racked up a fun little prizepackage, which included sunglasses,beads, a beer glass, a $25 gift certificateto Black Bear, and other loot.

It’s always free to play at Black Bear,where the festivities start around 7:30p.m. and the games and drink specialscontinue throughout the night. But ifyou can’t show up at 7:30 on the dot,never fear. There’s always plenty of timebetween games to grab a beer and abingo card.—07030

RESOURCES

Black Bear Bar & Grill205 Washington St.(201) 656-5511

Our Lady of Grace Church400 Willow Ave. (bingo games heldat school hall on 5th and Willow)(201) 659-0369

Biggies36-42 Newark St.(201) 710-5520


SPRING 2014

AD

VER

TIS

E H

ERE

AD

VER

TIS

E H

ERE

HN


If we have a snowy winter, chances are Maricela (Mari) Rivera will be behind the wheel of the snow plow. Rivera is fleetmanager for all city vehicles and works in the Parking Utilities Department. She is uniquely qualified for the job. She

started out in Parking Enforcement, moved up to motor-broom operator and street-sweeper driver, and finally fleet manag-er. Her duties include scheduling vehicle maintenance and supervising the mechanics. One of those mechanics is her father.“I learned how to fix cars from my dad,” Rivera says.

Rivera is a Hoboken native. She and her husband have two children, a boy and girl, ages 12 and 14. Rivera likes being out on the snowy Hoboken streets. “Out there you’re your own boss,” she says. “I love the snow plow. A lot

of people think it’s a man’s job, and when they see a female, they’re in shock. Sometimes it’s hard when cars are parkedimproperly, and you use judgment to make sure you don’t hit the car. Other than that it’s not hard to drive a little Ford F-350 pickup.”

W o r k i n g O u t W i t h —Maricela Rivera

KATE (LEFT) AND MARI




When I talked to Rivera, snow was the last thing on her mind. It was the tail end of summer, and she was revving up for herfavorite workout: softball. The season for the Hoboken City Divas starts in September, after the kids relinquish the LittleLeague field.Rivera, who has been playing softball since she was seven and coaches her own kids, attended NJCU for a year and a half on

a softball scholarship. She generally pitches but has also caught and played short and second. She’s played for Jersey City’s Benito’s Gals, which is part of the fast-pitch Jersey City Women’s League. In the Hoboken

Women’s League for Recreation, Rivera pitches “arch” style. Rivera is no slouch at the plate either. She’s been doing cardio and strength workouts and has been hitting doubles and

triples in practices. At five-foot-six, she is powerfully built and has a lot of power at the plate.Whether it’s plowing or playing, Rivera loves what she’s doing. “I have fun playing sports,” she says. “It’s not about winning

or losing. It’s about having fun and getting a workout at the same time.”—Kate Rounds


121 RIVER DRIVE SOUTH201.626.2026G

iova

nni D

�1ta

lia

SHOE REPAIR

giovannishoerepair.com

266 7TH STREETCORNER OF 7TH & WILLOW AVE

“A WORK OF ART IN EACH PAIR”


These photographs from the Hoboken Public Library Historic Photography Collection were taken in the 1880s. Some ofthe photos were donated to the Free Public Library by the Elysian Camera Club 1933. If you’re thinking that things looked

snowier, colder, and icier back then, you’re right. Dr. Alan Blumberg, director of the Center for Maritime Systems at StevensInstitute of Technology, says, “There is a lot of evidence that the climate is getting warmer and warmer.” If you believe in climate change, that’s no surprise. “The snow and coldness were normal back then,” he says. “And now the warmth is abnor-mal. There are fewer cold days, and winters will get milder in the future.” The river itself, he says, which is saltier downriverthan upriver, may never have frozen completely. “It freezes near the banks first because the river moves faster in the middle,”Blumberg says, “and there is more freezing as you go upriver because it’s harder to freeze salt water than fresh water.”—Kate Rounds

One hundred and twenty-five years ago, Hoboken was a colder town

FIRST AND BLOOMFIELD STREETS, SOUTHWEST CORNER, 1888

VIEW FROM THE RIVER SHOWING CASTLE POINT, RIVERWALK NEAR THE FOOT OF 10TH STREET, C. 1880s

BLIZZARD OF 1888, WASHINGTON STREET, LOOKING NORTH FROM FOURTH STREET

DOWNTOWN HOBOKEN, POSSIBLY LOOKING NORTH FROM THIRD STREET, LIKELYAFTER THE BLIZZARD OF 1888

ARCHIVES AND ARTIFACTS 07030

FIRST AND BLOOMFIELD STREETS, SOUTHWEST CORNER, BEHIND CITY HALL, 1888BLIZZARD OF 1888, WASHINGTON STREET, LOOKING NORTH FROM FOURTH STREET

STEVENS INSTITUTE, HUDSON SQUARE PARK, FIFTH AND HUDSON, LOOKING NORTH FROM FOURTH STREET, BLIZZARD OF 1888

RIVER WALK CLINTON STREET BETWEEN THIRD AND FOURTH STREETS, FEB. 9, 1899



The VolunteerAmbulance Corps...


THOMAS MOLTA

The VolunteerAmbulance Corps... TO THE RESCUE!

WEST SIDE STORY 07030


JUST $79993 ANYTIME VISITS!

mountaincreek.com/tripleplay

S!!

com////ttttrrrriiiiiiippppppllllllleeeeeeppppplllllaaay

MAKES A GREAT HOLIDAY GIFT!

THRU DEC 1ST

New Jersey’s Winter Playground

DON’T MISS OUT ON THE AREA’S

BEST DEAL OF THE SEASON!


STORY AND PHOTOSBY KATE ROUNDS

When Hoboken HighSchool’s EmergencyResponse Team course

was disbanded at the beginning of theschool year, it shed light on the workof one of Hoboken’s most importantinstitutions: the Hoboken VolunteerAmbulance Corps. These studentswere certified as first responders andemergency medical technicians(EMTs), who assisted the corps inanswering 911 calls around the city.While the loss of the program was

heartbreaking for the studentsinvolved, nothing can dim the bril-liant work of our ambulance corps. Ambulances—like fire trucks—are

probably the most valued vehicles intown, but a lot of folks may not knowthat that ambulance speedingthrough the Hoboken streets to save acardiac-arrest victim is staffed entire-ly by volunteers.While the Hoboken Volunteer Am-

bulance Corps, which was establishedin February of 1971, provides theemergency medical services for thecity of Hoboken. “We don’t get paid,and we don’t bill,” says ThomasMolta, president of the corps. “We area volunteer organization that pro-vides to the city for free.” Molta, whohas been president for 21 years,joined the corps when he was only 16.The corps has 188 members and

three life-support ambulances. Becoming an EMT who rides in the

ambulance is a rigorous process.Applicants take a 220-hour course tobe certified for hands-on patient care.A minimum of two and a maximum offour ride in the ambulance. The driv-er needs specialized defensive-driv-ing instruction to become a CertifiedEmergency Vehicle Operator.Molta has spent his working life in

the business of helping people. Heretired from the Hoboken FireDepartment as a captain.

Those bravefirst respondersaren’t in it for

the money


Ambulance corps volunteers are adiverse group. “They come from alldifferent walks of life,” Molta says.“Doctors, nurses, electricians, WallStreet lawyers…”

The age range is 16 to the early 70s;they are required to work four shiftsper month. The ratio of male tofemale is two to one male, and youhave to be able to lift a 165-poundperson onto a stretcher.

Molta has an encyclopedic memoryfor fires—even those that occurredbefore his tenure at the corps. “ThePinta Hotel fire on April 30, 1982; welost 14 people in one building,” herecalls. “In January 1979 at 131Clinton St., 21 kids were killed in afire. It was a huge loss of life in a five-story tenement building.”

Since he joined the corps in 1980he’s seen his share of disasters. “All thefatal fires in Hoboken—multiple-fatality fires,” he says. “There was amajor one at 1200 Washington St. in1981 where 12 people died. Therewere multiple injuries and fatalities.These people were on fire and jump-ing out windows.”

He said the corps was on hand forthe first World Trade Center bombingin February of 1993. “We treated 165people in Hoboken who came over onthe ferries and PATH train or onbuses,” he says.

Eight years later, on Sept. 11, 2001,the corps treated more than 2,000people.

The less spectacular events are noless important to the volunteers inthe ambulance corps. Molta says, “Wehave had multiple storms, blizzards,nor’easters, and train derailments.”

The ambulance has been on thescene during hazmat incidents. OnOct. 4, 2002, there was a chemical leakat the Cognis Corporation at 1301Jefferson. “Chemicals were releasingacid, and we stood by on that one,”Molta says.

“For any emergency that occurs inthe city, we are the service provider,”

“We don’t getpaid, and wedon’t bill.”

– Thomas Molta



Unique Phonics Reading Program Hands on Math CurriculumForeign Language/Music Fastrackids taught on Smart Board

Full days 7am-7:00pm 3 or 5 Half Days 6 weeks – 6 years

www.AppleMontessorischools.com201-963-4949

Family Owned & Operated since 1972

DEVELOPING E FOUNDATION FOR A LIFETIME OF SC OOL SUCCESS!

Molta says. “A few years ago a helicop-ter and a plane collided over theHudson, and we were there during thepost- 9-11 blackout in the northeastcorridor.”

Various injuries and disasters affectEMTs in different ways. “For me it’skids,” Molta says. “Personally I hatehearing when it’s kids who get injuredor sick. They have a special place in myheart. For some, it’s the elderly—whenmy mom passed away fromAlzheimer’s, it touched me. Everybody’sdifferent.”

But not everybody is cut out to be anEMT—that man or woman who coura-geously answers the call, not knowingwhat injury, illness, or accident he orshe might have to face.

A person can meet all the qualifica-tions for being an EMT but still not beright for the job. “They might see some-one really banged up or bleeding andfreak out, and say, ‘This isn’t for me,’”Molta says.

There is no dishonor in knowing thatyou can’t hack the work. The importantthing, Molta says, is to acknowledge itand not jeopardize the lives of the crewor the victims.

Molta says that good-hearted peopleare drawn to the work because it isunpaid, and they can give back to thecommunity. “They have to be compas-sionate and willing to learn and adapt,”he says. “A situation can change fromnormal to really bad in a split second.They have to think fast and be quick ontheir feet.—07030

TIME TO ADVERTISE

HO

BO

KE

N



Where FutureScholars HaveBeen Nurtured

Since 2002

Introducing . . .

AFTERSCHOOLENRICHMENT

PRESCHOOL CLASSESSCHOOL BREAK CAMPS

BIRTHDAY PARTIESFIELD TRIPS

www.Bricks4KidzHoboken.com

201-747-7070720 Monroe Street, Floor 5, Suite E505 Hoboken

on Thursdays, and Game Timeon Fridays. For times andmore information, call or visit website.

Yoga Wednesdays, SymposiaBookstore, 510 WashingtonSt., (201) 963-0909, symposia.us. 7 p.m. Weeklyyoga practice taught by certified instructor. Pre-registration required. $5.

NOVEMBER2Robert Rogers Puppet Theater,Hoboken Library, 500 ParkAve., (201) 420-2348, hobo-ken.bccls.org. 1 p.m. and 3p.m. Special presentation ofPennywhistle and the MagicBalloon for the whole family.

13

Senior Day at the Library,Hoboken Library, 500 Park

Ave., (201) 420-2348, hoboken.bccls.org. 11 a.m. –2 p.m. Event includes freelunch, a musical performance,giveaways, and more.

16

Hop Chocolate, various locations, hobokengrace.com.Starting at Choc O Pain, 157First St. at 10:30 a.m. Join a tour of Hoboken’s finest hot chocolate with HobokenGrace.

Parent and Me Mask Making,Hoboken Library, 500 ParkAve., (201) 420-2348, hobo-ken.bccls.org. 2 p.m. 3- and4-year-olds make Africanmasks. Limited space.

DECEMBER

Holiday Banding Concert, Dateand Location TBA, (201) 420-2207, hobokennj.org. Doors

open at 6:30 p.m., music starts at 7 p.m.

3

Holiday Tree Lighting, City Hall,94 Washington St., (201) 420-2207, hobokennj.org.

7

The Gingerbread Boy, HobokenLibrary, 500 Park Ave., (201)420-2348, hoboken.bccls.org.1 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. A won-derful retelling of the old folktale presented by JeanRosolino.

7 & 8

City Hall Holiday Craft Fair, CityHall, 94 Washington St., (201)420-2207, hobokennj.org.

from page 35

see page 62


HOW WE LIVE 07030


J B G

jillbiggsgroup

At the Jill Biggs group we love what we do and it shows! So far this year we have closed 50 million dollars in home sales. Isn’t it time to put us to work for you?

THINKING OF BUYING OR SELLING?Who you work with MATTERS!

mail [email protected] / web thejillbiggsgroup.com

cell 973.495.6038 / office 201.798.3300

direct 201.533.3073

© 2013 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Owned and Operated by NRT LLC.

Jill Biggs, Coldwell Banker

80 PARK STREETBY PETER TRABERMAN

PHOTOS BY VICTOR M. RODRIGUEZ

Iam a real-estate agent with HudsonPlace Realty. I first saw my apartmentwhen showing it to a client who was

looking for an unusual space in Hoboken.While I wasn’t in the market to buy aplace, my first thought when entering theapartment was that it was the perfectspace for my needs. My client passed onthe place. Shortly after that, the owners ofmy ground-floor rental put it up for sale,and I was suddenly in need of a new place.Luckily, the condo at 80 Park was stillavailable, and I made my move.

Many features spoke to me—the highceilings, the south and east exposures thatlet in tons of light, and the wide-open loft-like space. Open and airy, the space con-tains a living room and a dining area, with

RELAXING WITH MY STEINWAY B


HOW WE LIVE 07030


Custom FramingSince 1983

320 WASHINGTON ST., 201.420.8262

DOWNTOWN HOBOKEN

1108 WASHINGTON ST., 201.942.9220

UPTOWN HOBOKEN

www.rightanglehoboken.com

enough room to house the Steinway Bgrand piano, which has been in myfamily for more than 40 years.

When I launch into a BrahmsIntermezzo or a Chopin Nocturne I canfeel the stress of the workaday worldjust melt away. Recently I expandedinto electronic music. Directly off theliving room is a small office area that Ihave converted into my studio, tuckedaway so that the wires and equipmentdon’t take over the living room.

A story is attached to almost every rug,piece of furniture, painting, andtchotchke in the apartment. The Room& Board rug in my living room was aCraigslist find. Other pieces like the din-ing-room mirror and art deco brassfloor lamp are antiques I found on theNorth Fork of Long Island or theHudson Valley. My parents’ Saarinenwomb chair—an original from the’50s—is temporarily covered with afunky patchwork quilt. I have a collec-tion of abstract landscape watercolorsfrom several New Jersey artists. A copyof “Trumpet” by an artist on eBay whorecreates Basquiat paintings by handhangs in the music studio as a source ofinspiration. I also cherish the sensuousIcart print that hung for many yearsabove my Grandmother Henrietta’s


desk and the watercolor of pears thatwas painted by my mother.

I love entertaining in this apartment.An accomplished cook, I like trying outnew recipes. For the traditional Jewishholidays I recreate my GrandmotherGoldie’s recipes. The family agrees that Ihave come as close as possible to thereal thing. I love serving dinner on myparents’ mid-century china pattern(Rosenthal Sunburst designed byRaymond Loewy). I also love to mix inpieces I inherited from both my grand-mother and great Aunt Lorraine’s china.

As a real-estate agent, I try to find justthe right place for each of my clients,and in my case—I think I did a great job.

HUDSON STREET

BY KATE ROUNDS

PHOTOS BY PETER TEHOMILIC

For Chris and Denise Geck, the words “dream house” are nota fantasy. “If I could live anywhere, this would be it,” Chrissays. “This is my pick.” That said, Denise had to drag him

off the couch where he was watching a football game to see it. “We weren’t even looking,” Chris says. “It was a

Sunday, I was watching football. Denisedragged me off the couch and said, ‘Youhave to see this place.’ It was perfect.”

Like a lot of college grads, Chris,who is a Cedar Grove native, land-ed in Hoboken soon after college.This was in the late ’90s. “Imoved to Hoboken with afriend,” Chris says. “Wewere supposed to moveto Manhattan—wewere on the wait-ing list for a rent-controlled apart-ment. But I liked it


so much in Hoboken I decid-ed to stay. I was young. Therewas a lot to do. I could drivedown to the shore. I didn’tfeel trapped here—in the cityyou are confined to a neigh-borhood. But I could go intoManhattan. I felt comfortablein Hoboken. It was the best ofboth worlds.”

Chris and Denise first metat the Shore, and they mar-ried three years ago. At thatpoint, it made sense to buy aplace.

“I like old buildings, I lovedbig old haunted houses,”Chris says.

Right away he saw thecharm of the front steps andthe entryway, which wasupgraded with fresh paint,wood stain, and carpeting.

The four flights of stairshave wide landings. This wasimportant for their coonhound, Leila. “We had to seeif it was doable for her,” Chrissays. “We took her over there,and she was cool with it.”

The most distinctive featureof the large living area is the

CHRIS AND DENISE GECK


Putting It Al l Together For You


original wood horizontalbeams. They had been hid-den by a drop ceiling butnow are beautifully dis-played against the white ofthe cathedral ceiling. “Thearchitect moved them foreffect,” Chris says.

Another distinctive fea-ture is the natural soap-stone sink and soapstonecountertops. “A lot of peo-ple oil it,” Chris says. “Wejust left it alone.” TheGecks completely renovat-ed the old tiled kitchen,opening it up to the mainliving area and to views ofElysian Park.

Being married and ahomeowner has onlyincreased Chris’s love ofHoboken. “We don’t haveto have any plan,” he says.“We go out and take longwalks with the dog. We’reregulars at Leo’s. Hobokenis changing. A lot of peopleare having kids and stick-ing around.” —07030


9 – 24

Through a Child’s Eyes, Issyra Gallery, 313First St., hobokenafricanartgallery.com. Artexhibit featuring work from children ages 3to 18 years old.

JANUARY4

Prokoflev’s Peter and the Wolf, HobokenLibrary, 500 Park Ave., (201) 420-2348,hoboken.bccls.org. 2 p.m. Performed by the Phoenix Woodwind Quintet.

FEBRUARY1

Hang Bang Ya Horse, Hoboken Library, 500Park Ave., (201) 420-2348,hoboken.bccls.org. 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.Special presentation by Chinese TheatreWorks for the Lunar New Year.

MARCH

Hoboken Irish Festival, Details TBA, City Hall,(201) 420-2207, hobokennj.org.

Hoboken Grace Easter Egg Hunt, DetailsTBA, hobokengrace.com.

1

Amazing Eric Magic Show, Hoboken Library, 500 Park Ave., (201) 420-2348,hoboken.bccls.org. 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. A family friendly show to make everyone magically happy.

APRIL5

Nature Show, Hoboken Library, 500 ParkAve., (201) 420-2348, hoboken.bccls.org. 1p.m. and 3 p.m. Naturalist Steve Woycebrings real live turtles and tortoises to teachchildren about habits and habitats.

from page 51


SPRING/SUMMER 2014

ADVERTISE HERE


SEND YOUR VANISHING HOBOKEN PHOTOS TO [email protected].

BE SURE TO WRITE “VANISHING” IN THE SUBJECT LINE.

EMERGINGHOBOKEN

PHOTO BY DEAN DeCHIARO

THE STAY PUFT MARSHMALLOW MAN FROMGHOSTBUSTERS ON 8TH AND CLINTON


Vicki Jeweler

201.656.1771

jewelry • accessories • gifts

NEXT ISSUE: SPRING 2014

ADVERTISE WITH US

HOBOKEN

HudsonCakery

The

www.hudsoncakery.com

TM

Pre-order [email protected]

201.319.0363We bake from scratch.Taste The Difference











New dessert-style cakes available!We only need 3 business days notice.







WORKHow We

INTERVIEWS BY KATE ROUNDS

PHOTOS BY ALYSSA BREDIN

B U S I N E S S E S M A K E H O B O K E N W O R K

7 FINE ARTS 922 Bloomfield St.(732) 299-54887FineArts.comPaintwithSheri.com

Sheri Alimonda is the Nike of visual artists. “Just do it” is themotivating force behind her life and work, and she firmlybelieves that everyone else can just do it, too—paint, that is.

After doing time in Brooklyn and central Jersey, Alimondasettled in Hoboken, where’s she’s lived for the last 10 years.

“Hoboken has a community feeling to it that I have neverhad anywhere else,” she says. “This town has so much life toit and is so willing to help and work with people.”

For a number of years Alimonda was bringing up twodaughters on her own, which meant she couldn’t devote hercareer entirely to art.

“Then, I met somebody,” she says, “and we got married theweekend the hurricane blew through. The company I wasworking for blew away with it, and my husband said that this

was a good opportunity for me to go back to doing what I want to do.”

Specifically, painting portraits and murals. But she doesn’tjust paint, she teaches—both commercially and as a volunteer in schools.

“I am thrilled with the level my students have achieved,”she says. “Teaching is a different type of reward from com-mission work. I can share what I love with others.” She alsolectures on art for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, CelebrityCruise Ships, and Oriental Lines, and has painted live at theMuseum of TV and Radio in Beverly Hills. Last summer, shefilmed a segment for the TV show In Her Shoes, in which sheinspires others to paint.

“I don’t consider myself to have a lot of talent,” she says.“I’m a classically trained fine artist who uses the same techniques as the Old Masters, but I’m not Michelangelo.”

She says people look at her work and say that they couldnever do that. “But I challenge them,” she says. “If they arenot thrilled, I’ll give them a money-back guarantee. That’show confident I am.”

SHERI AND ANTHONY ALIMONDA


CLARIOND GALLERYMonroe Center720 Monroe St., C-402(201) 253-0053clariondgallery.com

This unique gallery, which opened in June, specializes inLatin American art. It was founded by Jose Clariond.Though Clariond grew up in Manhattan he was surroundedby the works of Latin American artists—including JoseMaria Velasco, Rufino Tamayo, and Remedios Varo—thanksto his father, a successful steel entrepreneur in Monterrey,Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Gallery Director Norberto Bogard wasborn in Mexico and has been living in Weehawken for sixyears. During a 10-year stint at Bloomberg News, he workedon a show that aired in Latin American countries, but beforethat he edited art and culture magazines in Mexico.

“I was always linked to the art world and always wanted tobe involved with artists,” Bogard says. “When Mr. Clariondoffered me the director position in Hoboken, I acceptedimmediately. It’s the perfect job.”

The first year, the gallery will concentrate on paintingsbefore branching out into sculpture. “We will focus on finding Latin American artists—from Latin America or theUnited States—with talent and originality,” Bogard says.“We will track all the trending styles in art.”

The gallery has six shows planned for the 2013-2014 season, including an exhibit of the work of the Mexicanartist Alejandrina Herrera. “He is an amazing talent,”Bogard says. “We are really proud to showcase his work.”The exhibit will run through Dec. 15.

“When we scouted for places, including Brooklyn andLong Island City, we found that this beautiful, historic citywas the right one,” Bogard says. “We are really proud to bepart of the dynamic Hoboken art force.”

In fact, he connected with Mexican friend and artistSantiago Cohen when he read about him in thespring/summer 2013 issue of 07030. “He’s coming to theopening of our next exhibition,” Bogard says.

It’s all about connecting. “We are working with all the galleries in the city to bring more visitors to all of them,”Bogard says. “Hoboken may be the new Soho or Chelsea—areal art destination.”

NORBERTO BOGARD

HOW WE WORK 07030


PRINCETON STAINED GLASS COMPANY931 Madison St. (201) 217-1771princetonstainedglass.com

We’re not talking Chartres Cathedral here. What we are talking about is modern, relevant custom-made stained glassfor the twenty-first century. The artisan is Zachary Green,who’s been creating beautiful works in Hoboken for about 10years.

Folks either see his stuff online or find their way to his studio. “Ninety-nine percent is custom stained glass,” hesays. “They’re looking for something specific, and I make it to order. I mostly make flat stained-glass windows, two-dimension panels, picture frames, mirrors, glass etchings,and sidelights.” Sidelights are those vertical stained-glasspanels that you often see on either side of the front door on aHoboken brownstone.

And one more thing: funerary boxes. That’s right, the container into which you put Uncle Anthony’s ashes.

“I’ve also framed a lot of wedding invitations,” Greenquickly adds.

I was drawn to a Green piece which had been hanging inJersey City’s Victory Hall during one of the Jersey City StudioTours. It depicted one of my favorite Jersey City landmarks:the Pulaski Skyway. We featured this piece in our spring/sum-mer 2009 Jersey City Magazine story on industrial artistry.

“People seeking stained glass love their spaces,” Green says.“They’re in love with buildings and their homes. They reallylove them. Same with restaurants and offices spaces acrossthe board.”

Green loves Hoboken. “The town has served me well,” hesays. “I love about 50 different restaurants. It’s a world untoitself. Everything you need is here.”

Green has endured a few setbacks to get where he is today.He survived the blizzard of 2003 while living on a chilly boatin Jersey City. He had a studio at 111 First Street in Jersey City,which was torn down in 2007. And his Hoboken studio wasjust about destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.

“I rebuilt here,” he says. “I feel so blessed to still be here.There is something about this year in this town that is nowspecial. It was insanely impactful and devastating. I wasknocked down but not out.”

HOW WE WORK 07030

ZACHARY GREEN


GUITAR BAR160 First St.(201) 222-0915guitarbar.com

GUITAR BAR JR.203 11th St.(201) 222-6877guitarbarjr.com

No, you can’t order a pint at the Guitar Bar, but owner JimMastro says that lots of folks call up to ask if there is a happyhour. No happy hour but plenty of happy hours playing,viewing, and learning about vintage guitars.

Mastro, who first moved to Hoboken in 1980 when he was18, opened the store in 1996. A professional guitarist himself,he’s toured and played in New York and was a member of theBongos Band, a Maxwell’s staple. His was one of the firstbands to play at the legendary music bar.

Like any market, the guitar market ebbs and flows with the

financial tides. The valuable ones? “Electric guitars from the’50s and ’60s,” Mastro says. “In 2008, a 1959 Gibson Les Paulsold for $400,000.” Alas, that was not in the Guitar Bar’sinventory. Many of its instruments sell for $10,000 to $15,000.

The value of an instrument, Mastro says, depends on “howoriginal the piece is. Has it been doctored? It’s like a painting.If it’s been touched up, it affects its value.”

Being owned by a celebrity does not necessarily increasethe value. “Unless Jimi Hendrix played it,” Mastro says. Andthat has to be authenticated.

But most folks are not on musical Mount Olympus. Mastrosays they come in for amplifiers, drum, horn, and woodwindaccessories, violins, mandolins, repairs—and lessons.

“We’re very service oriented,” Mastro says. “Hoboken has alot of young families now. We’re an old-fashioned store, andyou have to be aware of what’s going on and keep up—there’sa nice demand for group lessons for little kids.”

Guitar Bar Jr. is geared to smaller children. “You can tell by the way a kid holds a ukulele if he’s going to

be a little rock and roller,” Mastro says. “The guitar is a great,cool instrument. It’s very portable, and you can accompanyyourself and be a one-man band.”

HOW WE WORK 07030

JIM MASTRO


HOW WE WORK 07030

INFINITY CLINICAL LABORATORIES217 Willow Ave.(201) 710-5155myinfinitylabs.com

Phlebotomists are the vampires of the medical field. Theirjob is to draw blood so that we all can be tested for suchthings as cholesterol levels and anemia. This service is amainstay of Infinity Clinical Laboratories. The company hasa main office in Newark with New Jersey satellite labs inHoboken, Union City, North Bergen, Sewell, Somers Point,Galloway, Kearny, Clifton, and Teaneck, as well as five inPennsylvania and four slated for Maryland.

Phlebotomist Elisa Jimenez is a trained biochemist who hasbeen in the business for 10 years. “We do clinical blood workfor sugar, cholesterol, whole panel lipids, anemia, and kidneyfunction,” she says.

Apparently, a lot of folks in town need clinical tests. “We arevery busy,” she says. “We do very well.”

Jimenez likes the fact that her work is in Hoboken. Herteenage son was born here. “I like the city,” she says, notingthe good medical facilities, including acupuncture, as well as

the fun things. “The town has everything—food, bars, restaurants, the river walk, the marina, and beautiful views ofthe city.”

Infinity is privately owned by Phillip Biondello and twopartners. Biondello says they chose Hoboken because it hada lot of doctors but not many labs. “We are a complete full-service lab,” he says. “We test blood, urine, sputum, and tissue. If we can’t do it in this lab we send it out to a referencelab, but we do 95 percent in-house.”

But Infinity also works with labs that do specialty testingthat deals with the stomach, heart, lungs, and genetics. “Wehave a lot of specialty and esoteric lab partners,” Biondellosays.

Infinity accepts all insurance plans, and patients who donot have insurance get a price break. “We have a very, veryreasonable discounted fee schedule,” he says.

Infinity, because it is small, prides itself on customer service. “We have human beings who answer the phones—no recordings—and electronic health and medical records,”Biondello says. “We can interface with any doctor.”

Among the three of them, the Infinity partners have 60years of lab experience.

ELISA JIMENEZ


SEND YOUR VANISHING HOBOKEN PHOTOS TO [email protected].

BE SURE TO WRITE “VANISHING” IN THE SUBJECT LINE.

VANISHINGHOBOKEN

PHOTO BY DEAN DeCHIARO

A LAST LOOK AT THE OLD MAXWELL’S


Technically, a watering hole is a place you go to drink—not to graze or snack or feast on grass-fed beef. And this

charming, old-style bar is just that—a place to meet old ornew friends for a drink at the bar. You won’t find a menu hereor even a bag of chips. What you will find is a friendly, wel-coming drinking establishment with a much-used pool tablein the back.

I went on a Monday around Happy Hour, and the bar wascomfortably abuzz with a group of regulars who clearly knewand liked one another.

And it’s a surprisingly diverse crowd. There was an advertis-ing executive, an anesthesiologist, and finance folks. Termslike “trading investments” and “hedges” hovered above thebuzz.

The bar is owned by Anthony “Stick” Romano, a retired

police captain and member of the Hudson County Board ofFreeholders. The bar has been in his family for more than fivedecades. The late Louise and Jerry are his aunt and uncle.

Oh, and about that food? Don’t worry. If you want to snackor have a full-fledged dinner, it’s perfectly acceptable to bringfood into the bar. And local eateries will deliver. Romano saysthat Aunt Louise used to cook for her special customers. AndRomano will provide food for charity events and other spe-cial occasions.

The bar is adorned with classic bar paraphernalia, such asbeer and sports logos, movie stills, American flags, 8x10glossies of various celebs, and vintage cigarette ads. ButLouise and Jerry’s has what other bars don’t: wonderful pic-tures of the old bar and members of the Romano family,including Aunt Louise and Uncle Jerry.

ANTHONY ROMANO


WATERING HOLES 07030

Romano says he thinks of the bar as a kind of Cheers“with various backgrounds and ages. Anyone can comehere and feel welcome.” But you can’t take the cop outof the cop. “We serve and protect,” Romano says. “Youstill have to take care of people. No disrespect ofwomen—women don’t have to worry about beinggroped—no fights, no arguments over religion or poli-tics.”

The bar has a pool, dart, and softball league, livebands, and a very popular jukebox. Romano says Louiseand Jerry’s has “bit off” business from the old Maxwell’s.Paco, who was the chef at Maxwell’s, is a Louise andJerry’s regular. “I always hang out here,” he says. “It’sbeen home for me since 1991. It’s like family.” He’sdrinking Grey Goose and Budweiser from a can.

Romano says folks come into the bar after church andbefore weddings. “On Christmas Eve, we can’t evenclose,” he says.

The bar has a big TV and a list of “Freaky Beers.”Summing up his beloved family establishment,

Romano says, “It’s an iconic institution.”—Kate Rounds

Louise & Jerry’s

329 Washington St.

(201) 656-9698



Court Street has made a name for itself as the go-toplace for elegant cuisine. This was my first visit, andI hope it will be the first of many. But I won’t always

be eating in the white-tablecloth dining room: The bar isbig and beautiful, and a lot of folks on this early Wednesday

evening were eating there, enjoying an after-work drink,chatting with friends, or watching TV. There were fourflatscreens, one with broadcast news, one with cable news,one with the Yankees and—my favorite—one with theWilliams sisters trouncing their opponents at the U.S.Open.

PHOTOS BY TERRI SAULINO BISH


If you go to the bar, take a minute to look at the pictures onthe walls. There are a lot of black-and-white photos of celebswhen they were young—really young. Could that be BillClinton when he was about 10?

One of the great things that has happened to urban diningis that no matter how pleasant the surroundings or howextraordinary the food, the ambience and attire are oftencasual. A young man stood in the doorway, wearing a T-shirtand shorts. He turned to his girlfriend, who was wearing adress, and said, “I’m not dressed right for this place.” Nottrue. Just about anything goes. The staff was in shorts, onepatron was wearing a red T-shirt with “Coke” emblazoned on

the front, and a guy at the bar was wearing a seersucker suit. We were seated in the dining room with windows that look

out on Court Street, arguably the most charming street intown—a cobblestoned alley with old brownstones, thewhole scene seemingly untouched by the twenty-first centu-ry. It’s a perfect place to take a walk after dinner.

Waiting for us at the table was a small bread basket with afresh, sliced baguette, butter, and an exquisite olive paste.

Our server, Ariel, turned out to be a fantastic artist, in addi-tion to an efficient waiter. Everything at Court Street lookslike a work of art and tastes superb, but she helped us selectthings that were especially colorful.

EATERIES 07030


Take the pomegranate Cosmo, a cocktail made with oceanorganic vodka, pomegranate juice, a splash of Cointreau,and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. It was a subtle pink with aslice of lime gripping the edge of the martini glass. It was adichotomous combination of pretty but robust.

We started with a tri-color salad of endive, arugula, andradicchio with strawberries, figs, mandarin oranges, goatcheese, and raspberry dressing. What’s great about this is thesweet/tart combination of the fruit and the endive.

Other appetizers included oyster Rockefeller, clams casino,and stuffed mushroom with crabmeat; sliced Portobellosautéed with shrimp, red wine, and shallots, topped with

melted mozzarella; fresh peach and avocado salad; and beefcarpaccio.

For the entrée, I chose the filet of halibut from a reallyextensive list of specials. It was sautéed with garlic, toma-toes, green olives, capers, and white wine. I grew up on theMassachusetts coast, and halibut has always been a favorite.This was light and fresh beyond belief. It had no fishy tang,and the sauce enhanced the flavor rather than hiding it. Itcame with zucchini and pureed carrots, and I chose mashedpotatoes, though you could also order almost any other styleof potatoes or wild rice.

EATERIES 07030


Other specials included soft shell crabs, flat iron steak,filet of pork, braised lamb shank, sautéed quail, and grilledswordfish.

Terri ordered from the regular menu. She chose sea scal-lops broiled with lemon. It came with the same vegetablecombo as mine, and she ordered the wild rice, which camemolded like an upside-down cup. She is a sea-scallop afi-cionado and pronounced them exquisite.

Ariel jumped right in when it came to dessert, selectingthe profiterole but suggesting the addition of strawberriesand blueberries to enhance not just the taste, but the color!

For those who are not conversant in profiteroles, they arean absolutely scrumptious combination of cream puffs

with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge sauce, and whippedcream. Wednesday just happened to be Lobsterfest night.All around us were bright red crustaceans, steaming withthe briny scent of the sea. The prices at Court Street are sur-prisingly reasonable. That two-pound lobster will take youfor about $30, but everything else is about $20 and under.Visit Court Street’s website for other special events, such aswine-tastings and Prime Rib Night.

We visited Court Street on the most beautiful late-summerday you can imagine—bright sun, blue skies, perfect fortennis and baseball. But I can also imagine Court Street ona cold winter evening—cozy and inviting with a welcomingstaff and food that warms and satisfies.—Kate Rounds

EATERIES 07030

Court Street

61 Sixth St.

(201) 795-4515

courtstreet.com


Offering a new experience in Charbroiled Tex-Mex specialties...

And with the best Mojitos and Margaritas around and Happy Hour every day, it’s truly a fun place with a happening bar!

Baja 104 Fourteenth Street, Hoboken 201-653-0610

www.bajamexicancuisine.com

DISH07030BAJA104 14th Street(201) 653-0610bajamexicancuisine.comBaja offers a new experiencein char-broiled Tex-Mex specialties. With mojitosand margaritas fin abundanceand Happy Hour every day, it’s a fun place with a happening bar.

BIGGIE’S36-42 Newark St.(201) 710-5520BiggiesClamBar.ComAt the former site of the legendary Clam BrothHouse, just seconds awayfrom the PATH train, Biggie’sbrings its own history and tradition to its newdowntown locale.It has the

same menu that has been enjoyed in ourCarlstadt location, 22 beers on tap and20 televisions. Biggie’s is ready to serve a new set of Hobokenites with a fun, casual, and quality dining experience.

CARPE DIEM1405 Grand St.(201) 792-0050carpediemhoboken.comCarpe Diem offers a relaxedand inviting setting to enjoya choice meal, refreshingbrew, cheer on your favoriteteam, or just catch up withfriends. Cozy on up to thefireplace in our rustic dining

room or enjoy al fresco dining on our sidewalk patio.For special occasions, wehave an upstairs privateparty room. Celtic-inspiredfare, coupled with our wideselection of craft beers andwines makes for a no-ordi-nary-pub experience. Youmay come in as a strangerbut you will leave as a friend.

EDWARD’S STEAKHOUSE 239 Marin Blvd.Jersey City(201) 761-0000edwardssteakhouse.comEdward’s Steak House offerssteak, seafood, and othersumptuous fare with an ele-gant bistro flare. Tucked intoa historic townhouse indowntown Jersey City,Edward’s is comfortablyupscale. The menu includesall the classic steaks andchops—aged prime sirloin,porterhouse, filet mignon,and more. You’ll enjoy theatmosphere whether you’recelebrating a special occa-sion or stopping by for asteak sandwich at the bar.

GANACHE 1500 Hudson St.(201) 792-2003cafeganache.comAt Ganache you’ll finda wide range of coffees—from a hot, fresh Americanbrew to every style and flavor of espresso. Relax with your coffee and a breakfast pastry or bagel,and then come back forlunch and select from ahealthy menu of sandwiches.We also have desserts, gelato, and gift baskets. Best of all, we offer free WiFi if you want to do some work while enjoying a meal or snack at Ganache.

HAVANA CAFÉ ANDLOUNGE 32 Newark St.(201) 216-1766Enjoy authentic Cuban food for lunch, dinner, and brunch Saturdays Sundays. All food is made to order.

HEALTHY FORLIFE GRILL150- 14th Street(201) 683-8554healthyforlifegrill.com Healthy For Life bringshealthy food, reasonableprices and superior servicetogether to provide the totalsolution for the health-con-scious consumer without sac-rificing great taste and fresh-ness. The food is selectedand prepared to include abalance of vitamins, minerals,fiber, fats, and carbohy-drates. A variety of drinks,protein shakes, and juiceblends are offered.

KOMEGASHI103 Montgomery StreetJersey City(201) 433-4567komegashi.com Located in Jersey City’sfinancial district, Komegashioffers fresh, well-presentedsushi along with traditionalJapanese favorites and anextensive selection of freshshellfish. Locals and visitorsfrom around the world find

this a perfect spot to dine in casual elegance. Openseven days.

KOMEGASHI TOO99 Pavonia Ave.Newport Financial CenterJersey City(201) 533-8888komegashi.com Komegashi too offers an authentic Japanese dining experience with aspectacular view of the New York Skyline. The menuincludes perfectly preparedsushi and sashimi, kaiseki,teriyaki, and tempura.Located on the river at Newport Financial Center, Komegashi too is open seven days.


DISH 07030


LEO’S GRANDEVOUS200 Grand St.(201) 659-9467leosgrandevous.comSince 1939, this Hoboken landmark hasbeen tantalizing guests with old schoolItalian standards and contemporaryspecials. A variety of pasta, fresh fish,veal, and chicken dishes keeps theemphasis on great taste and homeycharm. You haven’t been to Hobokenuntil you have eaten at Leo’s!!

MATT & MEERA618 Washington St.(201) 683-9431mattandmeera.comEast meets Hoboken at Matt & Meera,where you’ll find popular cuisine withan Indian flair. BYOBs are welcome. AtMatt & Meera, you can grab a quicklunch in the middle of a busy day, gettogether with friends and unwind overa selection of our small plates, orreconnect with family while enjoying ameal from our Tandoori grill. On theweekend enjoy a leisurely brunch.

THE RESTAURANTS ATNEWPORTJ.C. Waterfront Districtnewportnj.comOverlooking the Hudson River and theManhattan skyline is the most diversedining destination on the New JerseyGold Coast—The Restaurants atNewport. Located among the luxuryapartments and office towers in theNewport section, The Restaurants atNewport include 12 fine establish-ments: Komegashi too, Dorrian’s, Raaz, Cosi, Confucius, Bertucci’s, Babo,Fire and Oak, Boca Grande Cantina,Michael Anthony’s, Skylark on theHudson, and Loradella’s.

DISH 07030


ADVERTISE WITH US

HOBOKEN


SATIS BISTRO212 Washington Street(201) 435.5151satisbistro.comTucked away in the Paulus Hook neighborhood, Satis is Jersey’s City’sbest-kept dining secret. Satis is a foodie haven with a fantastic wine bar that serves dinner daily and brunchon weekends. The cuisine is modernEuropean with an emphasis on French,Italian, and Spanish specialties. Menuchanges are made seasonally, and specials are run weekly. Reservationsare recommended.

SULLIVAN’S600 Washington Street(201) 420-9849Sullivan’s Bar & Grill has a neighborhood-bar vibe and excellent food. These qualities have made it a Hoboken staple. Stop by and enjoy a pint.

WILLIE MCBRIDE’S616 Grand Street(201) 610-1522williemcbrides.comThe front bar is very large with open fireplaces, stone floors, and memorabilia imported from Ireland. A balcony overlooks the front bar. With a stage and sound system, theestablishment hosts bands from all over the tri-state area that performFriday and Saturday nights. 28 HDlarge screens and numerous TVs playsporting events. There are also a pooltable and dart boards. A full menu with Irish and American specialties at reasonable prices is offered. A private-party room is available for gatherings for up to 350, with privatebar. Free shuttle service on Friday and Saturday.

DISH 07030


HOBOKEN


Lunch . Dinner . Brunch . Catering

Sullivan’s

B A R & G R I L L

6 0 0 WA S HING T ON S T REE T2 01. 42 0 .9 8 4 9

like

us

on

face

bo

ok

tod

ay!


We’ve moved!

We recently moved to a new location to better serve you. Come visit us at our new location.

5 Marine View Plaza Suite #402Hoboken, NJ 07030201-714-5640

Information is accurate as of date of printing and is subject to change without notice.Wells Fargo Home Mortgage is a division of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. © 2013 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. NMLSR ID 399801. AS997665 Expires 12/2013

Documents

07030 v2 n2 web sm