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Student Injured in After School Group Assault
Greenville, 04/01/25
Police were called to MLK Drive and Grant Avenue this afternoon at approximately 3:20 upon reports of fighting in the street. At least seven police units and three EMS vehicles responded to the scene and traffic was tied up for at least a half hour as police secured the scene.
A worker at a business on that corner, who declined to give her name, witnessed the incident and said a group of students had attacked a single individual and added that, “it’s always like this when they come out of school.”
A responding police officer confirmed that it had been students involved, indicated that someone may have sustained serious injury but did not elaborate further.
Sitting in one of the police cruisers was someone who seemed to be refusing medical attention despite urging from EMS personnel, police officers and a person apparently familiar with the victim.
Jersey City Live Wire has reached out to Jersey City Police South District and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office for more information and is awaiting their response.
Figurative Constructs
Feminine Perspectives at Mana Contemporary
Figurative Constructs – a group exhibition featuring Kristian Battell, Angela China, MJ King,
Gabriella Imperatori-Penn, Verdiana Patacchini, Yuli Aloni Primor, and Shuli Sade
Marion, 01/23/25 – Refreshingly not promoted as an all-woman show, the all-woman show, in large part curated by a man (gasp!), delivered a knockout exhibit of bold feminist works and ideas, new takes on traditional methods, delightfully deceptive classically styled paintings and drawings.
This past Thursday night, the gallery hosted an artist talk with five of the seven participating artists and moderated by artist Amanda Millet-Sorsa, who expertly guided an avid discussion of the female figure, its history in human civilization, mythology, of course, and depictions in ancient and modern art.
The talk included explorations of man-made constructs, of objectification, and of demands (both self-inflicted and societal) for perfection.
Mana Contemporary Director Kele McComsey deftly arranged the widely different pieces into a cohesive, unified symphony of statement. From sketchbook pages to 3-D printing, the goddess was celebrated in all of her glory, and all of her agonies, including some beautiful works that could not be shared here.
Big shout out to Director of Community Outreach and Visitor Experience Kristin DeAngelis and Director McComsey for taking the time to talk about the show and introducing some of the artists.
JCAST Casts Off Without a Captain
Arts 14C Organization Cedes Leadership Role
Greenville, 01/18/25 –The 2025 Jersey City Art and Studio Tour has set sail into the new year without anyone at the wheel. Apparently, the Arts 14C organization and its CEO Robinson Holloway, who sustained the annual citywide event in 2023 and 2024, have relinquished control of operations to pave the way for the next administrators.
At a public meeting held today at the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center on MLK Drive to discuss the 36th edition of the trademark art festival, Jersey City Arts Council Chair Amy Elise de Jong took pains to explain that the Council was only co-hosting the meeting with City Hall’s Office of Cultural Affairs and to “make absolutely clear” that the Arts Council was not taking the reins of the 3-to-4-day event.
“We don’t know who will be running [JCAST] this year,” she stated.
Arts Council member Lexie Levin read a statement from art and studio tour co-founder Charles Kessler. Attendees were then gathered into smaller breakout work groups where they were encouraged to write comments on Post It notes and affix them to whiteboard easels headed with questions such as “What are some favorite memories from past JCASTs?” and “What would you like to hear people say after this year’s JCAST?”
Results from today’s workshop sessions are to be forwarded to the Office of Cultural Affairs for consideration. It is unclear whether the City Hall department is assuming any measure of involvement with JCAST operations beyond today’s meeting.
The Mary Mcleod Bethune Life Center on MLK Drive
Working to End Human Trafficking
Victims Are Not Always Easy to Spot
January 16th, 2025 – It isn’t always as obvious as movie footage of migrants packed inhumanely into shipping containers or stories of slavery sales in faraway places. In fact, human trafficking, the coerced or forced exploitation of people into sex work, forced labor, and other forms of modern slavery, can often be hard to detect.
Among the most egregious of human rights violations, human trafficking also takes many forms and is carried out in myriad ways.
The International Labor Organizationestimates that 25 million people are in forced labor globally and that 75% of human trafficking victims are women and children. Every year in the United States, a quarter million girls and women are reported missing. In 2019, 11,500 human trafficking cases were reported in the US to the National Hotline. In 2020, the last year of pre-pandemic records, there were 209,375 cases of teenage girls going missing.
What does human trafficking look like here in New Jersey? It is the extorted work from underpaid and fearful migrant workers at construction sites and warehouses. It is the neighborhood drug kingpin employing minors as runners. It is the use of threats to subjugate undocumented workers in wealthy households. And it is the family members and guardians who pimp out the children under their care.
The United States Institute Against Human Trafficking asserts that the United States is one of the largest consumers of commercial sex worldwide and estimates that here approximately 90% of trafficking is familial and that up to 70% of trafficked children in the U.S. come from child social services/foster care. Further, it estimates that 85% of those sold in sex slavery were abused as children.
In New Jersey, The New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking was formed in December 2011 to raise awareness of the crisis, affect government policy, and to work toward an eventual end of human trafficking. The organization, a fully volunteer-run network, produces speaking events, educational and outreach programs, and policy advocacy initiatives.
January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month and New Jersey Transit has launched a public information campaign through print and media ads that direct riders to a page on their website with useful links, resources, and tools to help combat human trafficking. Among these is a concise guide to spotting possible victims of trafficking in the public sphere:
Recognizing the Signs
It’s important to be aware of the signs that may indicate someone is a victim of human trafficking:
Physical Indicators:
Appears malnourished or shows signs of physical abuse.
Has unexplained injuries or signs of physical restraint.
Behavioral Indicators:
Avoids eye contact and seems fearful or anxious.
Is not in control of their own identification documents.
Exhibits overly submissive or fearful behavior.
Situational Indicators:
Is accompanied by someone who insists on speaking for them.
Shows signs of living at their place of employment.
Has inconsistent stories or is unable to provide details about their whereabouts.
WELCOME HOME
The Jersey City Non-Profit Keeping the Lamp Lit for Refugees
In 2016, just before the shocking results of the US presidential election, activists in Jersey City formed an organization to receive and assist asylees, asylum seekers, and refugees from catastrophe or civil strife in their transition and successful integration into the communities of their new home in the Jersey City area.
Welcome Home Jersey City provides the educational and employment resources and material assistance necessary for our new arrivals to know America’s kindness and to make a better life for themselves and their families.
In this mission, the group operates and partners with resettlement agencies, local businesses and government offices, and other similarly tasked non-profits such as the Elizabeth office of the International Rescue Committee.
Currently, the organization is seeking volunteers for a variety of activities and functions including delivery drivers, fundraising, grant writing, translations, tutoring, and urgent client support.
Welcome Home Jersey City is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service and registered as a 501(c)(3) Public Charity eligible to receive 50% tax deductible contributions. This organization is rated as ‘Candid’ by the GuideStar Charity Check.
Their website: Welcome Home Jersey City
Star-Powered Jazz at NJCU
Big Names Support Student Musicians
Westside - It may have been overcast and drizzly Monday night but the stars burned bright inside the restored 1931 Margaret Williams Theatre at New Jersey City University.
None other than author and Newark Jazz Radio 88.3fm WBGO host Sheila Anderson was in the house as Mistress of Ceremonies to introduce the members of the rising generation of New Jersey jazz faith keepers as well as welcome five-time Grammy nominated NYC saxophonist, arranger, composer, and educator Lakecia Benjamin, who was the feature and who graciously played both the opening set with the Elizabeth High School Jazz Ensemble and the main set with NJCU’s student-built Jazz Ensemble.
When I tell you that the kids from New Jersey’s fourth largest city came in swinging I do not use the term lightly. Guided by educator Meredith Foreman, herself a musician, the high schoolers played like pros on everything from Bebop classics to compelling modern jazz compositions. For a lifelong jazz head such as myself, it was immensely heartening and inspiring to see such talented students keeping the tradition alive and well. Mark my word, in a few years each and every one of those young Elizabethans on that stage Monday will be a musical force to be reckoned with. Ms. Benjamin was the indulgent big sister on the night’s escapade, helping to guide the band through the more complicated arrangements and at times tenderly adjusting the microphone for the younger soloists.
When the graduates and undergraduates of NJCU’s Jazz Department strode on stage they were cool and collected, though a discernible healthy nervous energy among the players belied the hugeness of the scheduled program. That was because for the season opener the players and director Nathan Eklund had evidently chosen to go BIG, really big. They would be playing big works from the big names in the canon of big bands, and that ain’t easy, to say the least. Yet they managed to make it look easy, at least to the more novice eye.
From Basie to Ellington to Gershwin, to acolytes of their respective schools like Terry Gibbs and Thad Jones, the ensemble filled the theatre with the grand songs of the great composers and the might of a full orchestra. Ms. Benjamin as the seasoned pro, director Eklund like a light breeze, and all the truly outstanding soloists of the band (like a jazz smorgasbord, it was!) deftly traversed the trickiest of the intricate passages and took the audience all the way from skid row lows to majestic, dizzying heights.
If this first among the school year’s student performances is any indication, 2025 promises to be a fantastic year for jazz in Jersey City and North Jersey.
McCall Makes Americana Groovy Again
New Music and Collection of Short Stories Released
by Charley Cano
Downtown - Author, critic, musician, songwriter and freshly minted curator Tris McCall brought down the (art) house this past Friday night with a raucous and spirited full hour performance of newly released original music backed by a simultaneously tight and loose five-piece band.
Not by coincidence, the musicians bounded onto the stage to “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover”, the Paul Simon classic, as McCall sauntered out like a man newly released of some unspoken heavy burden, diving immediately into a reading of one of the short stories collected in ‘McCall’s Almanac’.
The new book served as the basis of the evening’s show and began as an online project of songs and tales written during the troubadour’s 2015-16 pilgrimage across the heartland. The band then jumped up with the corresponding music to the humorous story and a Jerseyfied Greek chorus of “Oh, Miami!”
Judging by their energy and air of comradery, one thing became instantly clear: the boys had come to play. Violinist Jacob Lawson bounced on the balls of his feet throughout the set as Michael Flannery opened up shop at the edge of the stage strumming an acoustic guitar and gamely belting out backing vocals. So packed was the theatre space that behind the wall where I was stuck in place I could only feel and not see Max Adolf’s electric guitar strokes. Bassist Jon McElroy and drummer Victor Montanaro kept everything rock steady as McCall tapped, teased, and banged the keys euphorically.
A little bit Boss, a little bit Dead, and plenty of Green River, the band delivered one after another song of undiluted roots rock and pure grain Americana made groovy again by the modern New Jersey urban experience and McCall’s unique repository of musical knowledge. Maybe by chance or by shamanic prowess, McCall a couple of times even channeled The Wild One Jerry Lee Lewis.
In between, we heard the voices of a dozen narrators as they told of life in this strange land, poked fun at politicians and wealthy elites, and sang of all the miscellaneous things large and small, like slightly rusted ice cream signs above old storefronts and high school marching bands at Memorial Day parades, that still make many of us quietly proud and happy to be American, despite the worst efforts of fraudulent, felonious, and orally flatulent snake oil salesmen elected to national office by millions of fearful, credulous, and easily conned red-hatted xenophobes.
Such was the transporting power of the music and words that we were no longer in the ground level of a luxury condo building in a major metropolitan city but elsewhere in the country. We were at the county fair in the summertime, or in a roadhouse proper. We were in the neighborhood bar or down on the corner with the poor boys. And we were also in a quiet, near empty open mic at a café as a nervous young poet clutched a few sheets of notebook paper and said to himself, Hell with it, I’m going up on stage tonight.
In a 2005 New York Times ‘Our Towns’ profile, reporter and editor Peter Applebome referred to Mr. McCall as “the plugged-in, Internet-era muse of Jersey City”, and he was not wrong. And with his scholarly good looks, McCall might also qualify as our contemporary local heartthrob.
In his daytime professional persona, Mr. McCall is straightforward though soft-spoken and politely deferential. And so, for those of us who previously knew him only in this capacity, it was an absolute delight to watch the artist unleashed and in full form.
From the tween girl stomping her feet up front, to the twenty-something young woman shaking her hips near me, to my elder peeps rockin’ in their seats, the music reached and resonated with everyone and was in turn renewed by them, a tentless revival of distinctly American sounds.
Perhaps in mock reflection of the politicians that fascinate him, as he alluded to in a momentary comparison of the two occupations, Mr. McCall as a musical performer is quite the consummate showman, at times conducting the band like an early twentieth century black-and-white jazz orchestra leader sans the tux, or at other times flailing like a 50’s crooner. As one clearly impressed audience member who was apparently only hitherto familiar with the critic’s reviews remarked, “Who knew?”
Only one song in the night’s set list was entrusted with any emotional gravity and McCall set it gently before his listeners with clear-eyed resolve and note perfect honesty.
Though he keeps it private, in April of 2022, Mr. McCall lost his lifelong love and longtime partner Dr. Hilary Englert, Associate Professor of English at New Jersey City University, after a four-year battle with cancer. Known universally as an ardent lover of life and of the arts, Dr. Englert surely would have been proud to see her favorite muse overcome a time of immeasurable grief to once again do what he does best, and to shine on brilliantly.
The players weren’t even afforded the customary 2-minute backstage break before the audience hungrily demanded more and were rewarded with an encore consisting of another original as well as a reportedly rare cover by McCall of “(What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding?” more akin to the rambunctious Elvis Costello version than the warm and fuzzy Nick Lowe original.
Having fulfilled the holy assignment of ensuring that a good time was had by all, the minstrels triumphantly left the stage to a seemingly innocuous pop hit. But it was the song that followed and that the spectators walked out to, Stevie Wonder’s ‘Superstition’, that gave away the game. (“Very superstitious, the writing’s on the wall.”)
Earlier in the evening, McCall, like a stage conjurer announcing the next trick, had hinted at events and music to come, so hopefully we can expect more of this hot magic soon from these exceptional players.
And even if what the world needs now is not another folk singer, it could most certainly benefit from more folk-rock bands fronted by eclectic downtown intellectuals, amply armed with their fascist-killing machines.
JC Print Room Takes You Back to the Old School
Shop is Open at Elevator
Hamilton Park - JC Print Room stretches comfortably into its fourth year at the arts collective honeycomb known as elevator at 135 Erie Street. In a large, airy room with a wall of schoolroom windows there float subtly the old familiar scents of an assortment of inks, roller cleaners and a delicious variety of thick, quality paper. For someone who grew up working in a print shop after school, it’s like the odors of home cooking.https://hub.godaddy.com/
Founder and managing director Bruno Nadalin has a shop keep’s never-ending list of chores and to-do’s. Naturally, he is constantly in motion. An accomplished artist himself, two or three of his excellent prints hang in different places but most of the wall space is dedicated to the works of others.
On the wall nearest the entrance is an exhibit entitled ‘PrisMetallic: Etchings by Rainbow Thursdays Artists’, part of Nadalin’s advocacy work with The Windmill Alliance, Inc., a Bayonne and Hudson County based non-profit organization whose art program (initiated by Drawing Rooms’ Jill and Jim Pustorino) pairs developmentally disabled adults with professional artists to help them explore self-expression through art.
Continuing with its traditions of printmaking classes, workshops, figure drawing sessions, exhibits and the bimonthly Drink and Draw and the Print Party, the print room looks to enhance and expand upon its programming as it completes its second year as an independent non-profit.
This Saturday, the 21st, from 1 to 6pm, they’ll be hosting an open house and fundraiser that includes an affordable art exhibition, print making demonstrations, class time raffles and more.
Their website: www.jcprintroom.com
Mr. Nadalin kindly took the time to talk shop during the recent downtown art crawl. Replying to a follow-up query, he answers five pressing questions.
LW: When did you first discover that a print room was your natural habitat?
BN: I kind of fell into printmaking in an indirect way, coming at it from very much a drawing background. I still do a lot of pen and ink drawing (or try to, at least; it’s hard to find the time lately). I was lucky to have access to an old etching press through a studio I worked at, so I was able to experiment a lot on my own and try new things before working more intensely at printmaking studios. Two studios, Guttenberg Arts in Guttenberg, NJ, and Manhattan Graphics Center in NYC, were crucial in my development as a printmaker.
LW: Why is it important to keep the art and tradition of hand printing alive in a digital world?
BN: I think people crave the opportunity for a tactile experience and the chance to get their hands dirty. I don’t have anything against digital art, but there are many things that happen in the process of working with a physical medium that result in unpredictable and surprising outcomes, and this is always the most satisfying part of printmaking for me, both as an artist and as a teacher.
LW: What was the coolest experience you’ve had thus far as an adult printer?
BN: Many things come to mind, but a recent one was a group printmaking event at Print Room earlier this year. We had about 80 people come through and work on blocks that were then printed on a large sheet of paper mounted to the wall. It was really cool to see people interact with one another’s work, and to work with so many participants and the volunteers to make this one unified piece of art.
LW: What are some ecologically conscious (read: less toxic) materials and methods available today that weren’t around when some of us might also have been attending wood shop and auto shop?
BN: I’ve been meaning to transition Print Room to a greener/less toxic shop, but it’s a work in progress. Many shops are moving towards replacing solvents such as mineral spirits and alcohol with less toxic alternatives, and the trend is towards greener alternatives, though the old ways die hard. For etching, the more toxic chemicals have been replaced with ferric chloride or copper sulfate, which is a very good thing.
LW: Reveal three new things you see happening with or at JC Print Room in the next six months or so:
BN: I’d like to expand the variety of our programming to include more drawing and animation. I’m currently working with fellow elevator artist Ben Fine on an animation festival to take place at Print Room in the next six months. We’ve also got an exhibition of work by the models who pose for our bi-weekly figure drawing sessions coming up during the JC Art and Studio Tour. And I hope to get our scholarship program, which will provide free shop time and instruction to emerging artists, started by the end of this year.
Private Label Trio Is a Public Treasure
by Beata Kozuch
In the heart of Jersey City, amidst the echo of practice rooms at NJCU and the hum of creative energy, Private Label Trio was born. Formed by three passionate musicians, two from NJCU’s Jazz Performance Program, Peter Roefaro on drums and Gustavo Caraballo on guitar, and a third, Federico Foli, on upright bass, the trio embodies the vibrant jazz community and programs of NJCU.
The threesome shares a deep-rooted love for Jazz and a reverence for the great trios of the genre, such as Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans and Brad Mehldau. Their musical influences extend beyond Jazz, embracing the innovative spirit of Bill Frisell, Julian Lage, and the experimental sounds of Scandinavian Jazz.
Their music is a rich tapestry, woven with threads of their diverse cultural backgrounds, much like the soul of Jersey City and its diverse background. Their cultural amalgamation of Polish, Venezuelan, and Italian influences infuses their performances with dynamic energy. Their music is a blend of traditional standards and contemporary twists on familiar tunes.
The trio debuted as a jazz band in February of 2023. Since then, Private Label Trio has graced various stages, bringing their sound to diverse audiences. Recent performances include notable venues in Harlem, upcoming Room 623, Harlem’s Speakeasy, Brush Culture in New Jersey, and the Path Plaza stage at Journal Square for PATH Performs.
What sets Private Label Trio apart is their unyielding love for live music. They strive to share this electrifying experience with audiences, creating an immersive atmosphere where the art of Jazz comes alive. Private Label Trio beckons its audience to experience Jazz in a new light, celebrating its rich tradition while pushing the boundaries of its contemporary possibilities.
Private Label Trio grew out of the heart and soul of Jersey City and NJCU. Their mission, simply stated, is to inspire and connect communities through engaging live music.
The trio performs regularly at Harlem venues such as Shrine and Silvana. September 20th they'll be playing at Room 623. The trio is available for booking through their website: www.privatelabeltrio.com
Beata Kozuch grew up in Jersey City and is always drawn to the diverse cultural roots that make up this city. Over the years, she has watched the melting pot of cultures become even richer and enjoys visiting frequently to explore all the nuances that Jersey City has to offer. Occasionally she writes about it.
Gallery 14C Goes 'Slant'
Hosting International Sculpture Center's Juried Member Show
You are whisked inside by some kind of centrifugal force and by the forces of nature itself. On your right, wind, rain, and the ocean wash you ashore and you are the driftwood that has floated along for a thousand years to arrive here now. It is t.a. hahn’s tempest caught on canvas and an entire continent adrift on the remains of a centenarian tree, a ‘Violet-green Swallow’.
Turning to your left, you see an alien, illogical and mysterious structure seemingly holding together the two planes it touches gingerly with the tips of its probing four legs, glowing from within its sail-like skin as it guards the quarters it occupies. This is Susan Ferrari Rowley’s ‘Multiple Posture’.
In front of you, John Wittenberg tears a ‘Fault Line’ through the fabric of existence with his work on cotton pulp, a gash right through time and space itself.
Nearby, through flashes of video stills you see a forest of alpine trees sliced through by gigantic red metal beams, angled at a perfect slant to irrevocably alter the area you see and the space you’re in. It is only a glimpse of ‘Dance of Flames’, site installations by Yoshitada Ihara.
Behind you, one of Charles Stinson’s bronze Yogis, ‘Ganda Bherundasana’, sublimely, almost gleefully, accomplishes the humanly impossible, making it look easy.
You walk forward and before you like a ton of bricks, like sudden truths and reality checks, Amarachi Okafor’s two solidified paper bags of concrete land on the floor with a loud boom, dust and all. A ‘Couple’ and part of her ‘Bag Explorations’ series, they stand imperfectly but imposing, haughty reminders of our impermanence, like so many twin tower luxury residential developments are naught but mounds of rock.
Then out of the side of your eye a figure beckons, swaying in a late summer breeze. It is namely Hugh Lassen’s ‘Figure’, a primal and lyrical testament to the reason hand carves stone.
You are returned to the world of the everyday by the mundanity of household chores like having to pick up those towels off the floor. But they’re not washrags at all are they? No, they’re brain synapses, or nagging worries, or great ideas or simply other tasks you neglected to write down. They’re Lisa Walcott’s ‘Tight Spots’, tied cloths holding unknown somethings that are wriggling and alive, trying ceaselessly and sleeplessly, and wanting out.
This waking dream continues as you find what must surely be the creation of a mad genius alchemist, a large, misshapen yet somehow uniform work of metallurgy encased in glass or fiberglass (you mustn’t step too close) and emitting electric energy. It is Vadim Kondakov’s ‘New Layer’. Of armor for a fantastic giant beast or warrior? Is it the leaf of a magical tree you are climbing?
Indeed, in the distance there is a shimmering blue city made entirely of absurd dreams, of ‘Retrospective Perspectives’ as recalled by Eden Bender. The iridescence of the hue makes this city seem at once at arm’s length and eternally out of reach on the horizon.
As you are making your way out of this nether realm you encounter Stinson’s African Ife Buddha, a bronze manifestation of an Earth goddess, who has been sustaining the very ground you’ve been walking on this whole time.
But she is uninterested in your presence, unmoved by human affairs entirely, and unconcerned with our temporal constructs.
Outside you find the only other human around, Matt, an architecture student as it were, quietly reading a yellowed sci-fi paperback while he gallery sits for ISC. You want to tell him the entire universe has been tilted slightly in the room behind him but you can see he already knows.
‘Slant: Perspectives on Sculpture’ is the 2024 juried member show for International Sculpture Center, which publishes Sculpture magazine. After joint participation at last year’s JCAST, ISC and Art Fair 14C have teamed up again to present this exhibit through September 13th.
In response to an e-mail query, curators Arianna Stenson, Associate Publisher at ISC, and Robinson Holloway, Executive Director of the gallery’s parent organization, Art 14C, answered Live Wire’s lingering questions.
LW: Was the title the original theme of the juried exhibition or did it come about after the final selections were made?
AS: The title of the exhibition was finalized after the works were selected by our jurors. We noticed a theme of angles and curves throughout the selected pieces, which directed us toward the title Slant.
LW: How was curating this exhibit different from any previous curation you've done
AS: This is the first ISC member exhibition we’ve done in quite a few years, aside from our annual little SCULPTURE Shows. Removing the size restriction from this exhibition allowed us to display unique perspectives from our members.
LW: In one word, how do you want a visitor to feel when they walk in the door of this show?
AS: “Open” or open-minded
LW: Are any of the artists in the show entirely new to you?
AS: While all the artists included are ISC members, Lisa Walcott and Vadim Kondakov are relatively new members, joining the ISC within the past year. Vadim was selected for this exhibition, as well as an ISC @ SAW residency program our organization established with Salem Art Works this summer.
LW: Will International Sculpture Center be on the Jersey City scene in the coming months?
AS: We’ll be hosting Artist Talks and a Closing Reception on Friday, September 13th, with the talks beginning at 7:30pm, and hope to do more work in Jersey City in future!
6. Can we look forward to more collabs between ISC and 14C?
RH: I certainly hope so - the ISC has been a great partner for 14C and we are looking forward to many years of collaboration and partnership.
LW: (For Robinson) Care to give Live Wire readers any teasers for the upcoming 'War and Peace' exhibit at Gallery 14C?
RH: I will have to answer that one after tonight's deadline - work is still being submitted and I don't know exactly what story the artwork will lead me to tell. But having taken a few peeks, there are a lot of really strong submissions!
Gallery 14C is open by appointment and on Saturdays and Sundays from 1pm to 4pm.
'Multiple Posture' by Susan Ferrari Rowley
Native Plant Society Wins Local Ordinance
Hudson Chapter Worked for Months for New Law
In a quiet but highly significant victory, the Hudson County chapter of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey and its allies have successfully secured a municipal ordinance providing for the protection of local native plants. Though it went largely unnoticed, the new law encompasses the whole of Jersey City and will have far-reaching effects from one end to the other.
After months of diligence, footwork, and elbow grease, the efforts led by the chapter’s founder Lorraine Freeney, community activist Carol McNichol, and the Wild Ones natural landscaping advocacy non-profit finally paid off as the Jersey City Municipal Council and Mayor Fulop signed into law AN ORDINANCE TO CODIFY THE PLANTING OF NATIVE PLANTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF JERSEY CITY (Ord. 24-015).
Jersey City Live Wire highlights the sections that follow and read:
WHEREAS, native plants enhance the beauty of the landscape, maintain and restore biodiversity, and support native pollinators, butterflies, and birds, who use the plants for food, cover and rearing their young.
WHEREAS, native plants improve water quality and protects [sic] local ecosystems and environmental health. Native plants allow rain to percolate through their root systems, and thereby, [sic] reduce erosion while filtering storm water runoff.
WHEREAS, on May 1, 2017, then Governor Chris Christie signed into law bill S-227/A-963 which requires the NJ Dept. of Transportation, the NJ Turnpike Authority, and the South Jersey Transportation Authority to use solely native vegetation for landscaping, land management, reforestation efforts, and habitat restoration.
Sec. 2. PURPOSE AND INTENT.
The purpose of these regulations is to establish minimum standards for the design, installation, and maintenance use of native vegetation by the City, to promote the preservation of native plant communities.
It is the intent of this ordinance to maximize the use of appropriate native plants on municipal properties to help mitigate the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation from development, and in order to combat the climate crisis, stormwater overflow, species extinction, global warming[,] to promote the public health, safety, and welfare by:
c) doing our part to reverse the massive decline in native pollinator populations from loss of habitat due to development, widespread use of pesticides, and from our insistence on using non-native plants in landscaping;
f) educating residents on the importance of native plant species and native pollinators to the ecosystem.
Sec. 6. NATIVE PLANTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In the first year, a minimum of 50% of new plantings [with a subsequent increase to 70% in the third year] of (shrubs, groundcovers, and flowers) installed by the City in parks, public lands, and other municipal properties shall be native…
Sec. 8. COMMUNITY EDUCATION.
The public shall, though various means, be educated about the importance of native plants to the Jersey City landscape. The City will promote the use of native plants by creating educational information on its website about the importance of native plants, including a list of the keystone plants native to the City ecoregion and the nurseries that sell them. City may also make referrals to local nonprofits for further information and design suggestions.
Sec. 11. NO MOW ZONES
To protect all existing and new community gardens, managed natural landscapes, pollinator gardens, pollinator pathways, rain gardens, on public property, the City shall establish No Mow Zones around these areas to prevent accidental mowing. Official signage shall be used in English and Spanish to declare the area a No Mow Zone. The City will also create a registry of the locations of these gardens to assist in educating park maintenance staff and contractors.
Sec. 15. EFFECTIVE DATE
This article shall take effect 60 days after it is enacted by the City; provided, however, that this article shall not apply to any plantings carried out pursuant to existing contracts, invitations to bid, or designs completed prior to the effective date of this article.
Sec. 16. PENALTY
Any individual or entity found responsible for damaging, destroying, or mowing down any established and City recognized native plant gardens, managed natural landscapes, pollinator gardens, pollinator pathways, or rain gardens on public property will be subject to penalties as outlined in Chapter 1, general Provisions, Article I, Section 1-25… Additionally, the City may pursue all legal remedies in the Hudson County Superior Court for any of the forementioned improvements that are removed, destroyed or damaged in violation of this Chapter.
Having taken effect June 10th, in between the Spring planting season and a hotter-than-ever summer, we will now have to see how the city and the public put the codified words into action.
The ordinance in its entirety can be reviewed below. (Thanks again, Lorraine!):
WFMU Rocks The Nation! (sorta)
Jersey City's Own Station Is Freeform at Its Finest
Now approaching its 56thyear as a freeform pioneer, listener-supported, commercial- and sucka-free radio station, and completing twenty-nine years as its own boss, Jersey City’s own WFMU currently holds the reigning title of America’s longest running freeform radio station.
Though the signal waves are transmitted from a proper radio tower on a hill in West Orange (unobstructed by forty-floor du jour condo high-rises), FMU’s sauces and seasonings are thoroughly cooked in the sixth borough, where it has been headquartered.
But if you’re expecting any “legendary 90’s rockers” or the hottest mumble rap about nothing or this summer’s top bubblegum hit, hoo boy, are you in for a surprise.
To describe the station’s programming as eclectic would be a gross understatement and a huge disservice to its extended family of unique disc jockeys, dedicated staff and lifetime loyal listeners.
You will find everything from the avant-garde to the absurd, this week’s new independent releases to the nineteenth century’s lesser known masterpieces. You will hear music from remote parts of the world and from a Middlesex County college kid’s dorm room. You will songs and words you never knew you needed in your life and you will set your alarm for the middle of the night in the middle of the week to hear that one DJ who only spins for an hour because you want to listen to them live.
And if by chance you do hear a popular and easily-recognizable tune, you can rest assured it’s not being played for ratings and you’ll probably get some curious backstory or tidbit about it. Plus, it’s probably from the 1920’s, or the 50’s, or possibly even from before Bill Kelly or Keith Richards were born.
But you will never hear a commercial.
There are, of course, inevitably it seems, the world famous celebrity DJ’s on the roster like Clay Pigeon, Pseu’s Thing With A Hook, Jeff Sarge, Evan “Funk” Davies, and the old timey Glen Jones Radio Programme, yet beyond the glamour of the prime-time slots and the mandatory Sunday, Sunday, Sunday schoolroom, for fans of freeform radio there is always a bounty of new talents, genres and records to discover and add to your musical treasure chest. And did I mention no commercials?
Current station manager Ken Freedman’s tenure (on the set since ’85) alone could more than likely fill a hefty tome or two and a forthcoming new book by media historian Elena Razlogova cover’s the station’s unruly, early counter culture, genuinely fascinating origin story.
FMU holds live concerts, film screenings, comedy nights and other events at its performance venue ‘Monty Hall’ at 43 Montgomery Street downtown, where they’ll also be holding a fundraiser with experience performance artist Christeene on August 31st.
