Chris Bernardo

Bayonne: Dennis P. Collins Skate Park

 

Visitors can learn about Perth Amboy's history, culture, food at new center

Huge crowds were in the Perth Amboy on a recent weekend, participating in a regatta, fluke tournament, attending a blueberry and jazz festival and an outdoor concert.

But, there is more in the city to experience than just the waterfront attractions, according to Robert McCoy, chief administrator of Perth Amboy's Urban Enterprise Zone.

To help acquaint visitors with all Perth Amboy has to offer, a new Welcome Center has opened. It will distribute information and directions to the city's many events, historic destinations and restaurants — including one that serves quail.

The nearby Ferry Slip Museum will also give visitors a look back at the boats and ferry service that had been offered between Perth Amboy and Tottenville, Staten Island.

Possible skate park could have skaters shredding in Cranford

CRANFORD -- Skaters in the township could have a place to practice their sport, now that the Township Committee agreed this week on two possible sites for a skate park.

At the same meeting, the committee also made plans to deter skaters from using a Centennial Avenue sidewalk for stunts.

The idea of a skate park was first introduced in February 2005, when the Police Athletic League proposed raising funds for a facility on municipal property to accommodate what the organization called "a growing skater population." The plans for the park were dropped after neighbors opposed the proposals to add skating to Adams Avenue and Orange Avenue recreation areas and the league withdrew from the project.

Dignitaries will ride first train to Meadowlands sports complex

NEWARK -- Officials are set to cut the ribbon today on train service to the Meadowlands sports and entertainment complex.

Gov. Jon Corzine will join Jets owner Robert Wood Johnson IV and Giants owner John Mara for the inaugural ride. The service will link the Meadowlands with Hoboken and Secaucus.

The public can begin using it on Sunday for the CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer title match at Giants Stadium.

Initially, trains will operate for stadium events that figure to draw more than 50,000 people. These include Giants and Jets preseason and regular season games.

Trains will run every 10 to 20 minutes from Hoboken and Secaucus beginning 3 1/2 hours before events and up to two hours afterward.

Clinton Township police officer Chris Weaver pulls an ambulance

Chelsea Piers/ Kayaking in NYC

The Chelsea Piers project, which was completed in different stages throughout the 90's, represented the beginning of a new way of thinking about the Hudson River Waterfront and its' utilization as a viable public space...today the waterfront is a first-class destination for residents and visitors.

The Manhattan Kayak Club is a tenant at Pier 66. They provide Kayak tours and training for individuals and groups. In the video below Eric Stiller, the company founder, talks about kayaking on the Hudson:

Eric Stiller talks about Kayaking in NYC | How-to videos at MindBites

Loew's-Down Blues Concert Series

New Jersey League of Municipalities Conference

Police try crackdown on illegal vendors at Ground Zero

BY MARIA ALVAREZ (Newsday)

Sidewalks and streets at Ground Zero were, at least temporarily, free of illegal vendors and hawkers yesterday afternoon after city officials demanded a crackdown on the selling of illegal 9/11 memorabilia, knockoff designer handbags and watches.

"You can't hawk at Ground Zero. It's distasteful and it's illegal," said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. "It gives Ground Zero a carnival atmosphere. It's inappropriate, especially for the families that go there to pay their respects."

Scores of 9/11 hawkers have become a mainstay at Ground Zero. They flash illegal photographs of exploding debris and images of the Twin Towers crumbling in the faces of tourists and passersby at the Liberty Street FDNY firehouse, and in front of the Tribute Center, the official World Trade Center museum.

Some hawkers even sell the illegal pictures at the fence where tourists gather to view the site by a Port Authority sign saying it is "prohibited" for vendors to sell there.

The sign asks tourists to "refrain" from buying items. It also suggests tourists buy their collectibles at the Tribute Center gift shop, which "offers authorized commemorative WTC items."

Proceeds are donated to the September 11th Families Association.

Rethinking Urban Environments

 Biederman Redevelopment Ventures Corporation (BRV), founded by Daniel A. Biederman in 1998, uses the techniques of private management and private funding to turn around troubled parks, streets, and neighborhoods. BRV’s clients include city and county governments, downtown development agencies, private developers and property owners, non-profit redevelopment groups, universities, and cultural centers.

BRV emerged from the work led by Mr. Biederman in New York, where his complex of three privately financed redevelopment groups solved the numerous problems of midtown Manhattan’s public realm from 1989 through today. Crime in his districts was cut by 75% (and eliminated entirely in one formerly troubled park), street litter disappeared as an eyesore, all traces of graffiti were removed, $75 million of capital improvements were built on Midtown’s sidewalks and parks (paid for with A-rated bonds floated by the districts), thousands of homeless persons were provided with food, lodging, and job counseling off the streets, and millions of tourists were assisted each year in finding attractions and retail offerings.