Issue 179: UFOs over New Jersey

Plus: the Immigration resource fair, a feminist bird count, campaign for better PATH service, poster contest winners, and more!

Good morning everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Here is your newsletter for this week! — Amy

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Immigration resource fair

Today (Sunday, Dec 8th) from 12:30-2:30pm, JCMAS is hosting an Immigration Resource Fair at Halftime Bar & Grill, 746 West Side Avenue. If you, or a family member or friend, have any questions or concerns about immigration status (and related issues like working papers and the like), please come by. We’ll have non-profits that advocate for immigrant rights ready to meet you and go over all your options. There will also be some representatives of elected officials there in case you feel comfortable going straight to talk with them, but they will be clearly marked and labelled so you can also opt not to talk to them if you prefer.

This has been a project that I’ve been involved in putting together because I know there’s a lot of uncertainty in the immigrant community right now with the upcoming change in administration. People who work in and around the issue of immigration are scrambling to figure out their next steps, and no one knows what the future will bring. But at the very least, if people who are concerned about this issue can learn who their advocates are and what their rights are, only good things can come of that. So please, if you or someone in your life has concerns, come by and meet the people who can help you sort this all out.

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Bird count

This sounds really fun. It combines some of my favorite things: cold weather, being outdoors, and cemeteries. Also, birds!! which are cool too!! The Feminist Bird Club is seeking volunteers to come count the various bird species and check what their numbers are on Sunday, December 15th from 10am-2pm at the Harsimus Cemetery. This sounds lovely and the Feminist Bird Club is a wholesome group of good JC people who really seem great. As their post says, “dress cozy, bring a warm drink, and get ready to meet some of your feathered neighbors.” Read the post here, and RSVP to Bitasaha@gmail.com.

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UFOs over NJ!

This has been unfolding over the last few weeks, but basically: a lot of people in northern NJ have been reporting seeing strange lights in the sky and it’s actually gotten so widespread that several news sites have picked up on it. This hasn’t been a one-time thing; it’s been evolving over the last few weeks with numerous sightings, and it’s showing no signs of stopping.

This has led to some amazing headlines like FBI BAFFLED BY MYSTERIOUS "CAR-SIZED DRONES" CIRCLING OVER NEW JERSEY: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? as baffled onlookers have shared their stories online. The FBI, along with the NJ State Police have put out a statement saying, “There continues to be no known threat to public safety” and at the same time encouraging the public to call the FBI if you see one (which is kind of a mixed message, but I get it — anyway, that number is 1-800-CALL-FBI if you want to talk to them). The governor has also commented on the situation.

I haven’t heard of anyone in JC seeing them, but in nearby Bayonne, I have one person who was an eye-witness multiple times:

I'm approaching the Walmart exit and there's a gigantic aircraft in the sky. I'm like, WTF? As I approached the turn, it crossed 440 from the left, went over Walmart, the storage depot building across the street from Walmart and then out of my view in the direction of the shipping container ships on the waterfront. I could see the whole undercarriage, lit up with various lights, as it passed over the highway. It was moving slowly and lower than anything I'd ever seen so far. It absolutely was not an airplane or a helicopter. But it was HUGE, whatever it was. And whoever was operating it didn't gaf about it being spotted or photographed or anything, because it was just mosying along not even trying to be discreet. There is no way in hell the FBI doesn't know what these things are or who is behind them. They are HUGE and they've been spotted all over, pretty much nightly, for at least two weeks now. They have to be military. Bayonne's dry dock and all those container ships... The US military is everywhere on the waterfront and there is just no way they don't know exactly what these things are.

And then later:

Btw, I see them between 7pm to 9:30pm most nights. If it's cloudy or rainy, which isn't often lately, I don't see them up there. This video is exactly what it looks like when they're further away, but double the number. Easily, I can count eight while driving most nights. Some just sit there, so you're not really certain if it's maybe just a star or an airplane flying toward or way from you at first. Some move and stop move and stop. Sometimes they're all just sitting there in single file evenly spaced out like this video shows. Sometimes, they move in the same formation in one uniform direction.

Ok, WTF? I can tell you that the person who told me all this — who doesn’t want to be identified, which I get — isn’t crazy and is generally an all around reasonable person who has lived in the area for a long time and doesn’t get all weird about the tiniest little thing.

From that same person, who messaged me Friday night:

So um those lights are everywhere tonight. I saw them in Jersey City. Over Liberty State Park. Over the Statue of Liberty. They're all over Bayonne. One just flew low […], then over the IMTT tanks, towards 5th St. It was HUGE. What in the world is going on? This is nuts.

As much as I really hope this is aliens coming to save us from ourselves, that’s probably not it. But then, what is it? I don’t believe there’s suddenly people who can’t identify a nighttime airplane after living in this area for a long time, so what is going on?

One possible theory from NJ.com:

Pramod Abichandani, a professor who directs the Advanced Air Mobility Lab at New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, doesn’t buy those theories.

“To me,” he said, “the simplest explanation is the correct explanation.”

Well pfft, Mr. Abichandani, where is the fun in that? He continues:

He believes the drones probably belong to commercial or U.S. military operators. Whatever entity owns the drones would likely have significant money and staff to fly so many drones for many hours for many days, he said.

That’s especially true when flying drones in groups, known as swarms, which is technically challenging.

“There are companies in New Jersey that are defense contractors that do swarming of drones,” said Abichandani, who teaches a “Drone Science Fundamentals” class at NJIT. “There are enough smart people now in the world, in the U.S. and New Jersey, that if they really want to, they can start experimenting with swarms of drones.”

Well, great. That doesn’t make me feel any better. But the NJ.com story probably has more on the topic than is available in one place anywhere else, and it also includes helpful information like encouraging people not to shoot down the aircraft or to try and capture them, which I can’t believe we have to have this conversation but fair enough, we probably do.

Anyway — have you seen these things over Hudson County? If one person has seen them, I’d imagine there should be plenty more so if you’ve seen it, let me know! (And uh, probably call the FBI too? If that’s your thing?)

[Postscript: On Saturday night, there were numerous accounts on X/Twitter saying that one of the aircraft had somehow come down out of the sky. From user ElGriego007:

The situation with the “drones” in NJ is getting very strange. One went down in Lebanon, NJ, this evening in or around Round Valley State Park. According to an eyewitness I spoke to that watched it go down, it was quite large. At least the size of a small plane. Local and NJ State Police were called and searched for it and I got pictures of the NJSP helicopter. Police were scrambling around the state park area and eventually told us to leave. Updates were not given when asked if something was found. I fear that something was found and a coverup is in progress. I cannot prove that, but from the several locals I’ve spoken to, they all feel the same.

I was hoping there’d be some reasonable update by Sunday morning but so far I can’t find anything. So for now, all I’ve seen about this latest wrinkle is people posting on social media — I haven’t seen anything official from law enforcement or anyone else.]

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Safe Streets PATH campaign

Safe StreetsJC has started a campaign to improve PATH service:

Riders call for PATH improvements: frequent off-peak service & extension to Newark Airport

A coalition of transit advocates has launched a public advocacy campaign, with over 200 letters written to date, calling for increased off-peak service frequency and expansion of the PATH system to Newark Airport. The campaign contributes to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s 2025 budget planning process.

The PATH is a critical transportation link in the region, but faces key challenges:

• Infrequent Off-Peak Service: The PATH runs as rarely as every 20-40 minutes on weekends, weeknights and even midday weekdays, leading to overcrowding, delays, and missed connections.

• Limited Network: The PATH's network has not been expanded for decades, and is missing a direct link to Newark Airport, leaving riders to choose from costly taxis or autos or multiple lengthy transit transfers.

PATH riders are asking for two key improvements:

1. Increase Off-Peak Service Frequency: Run trains every 5 minutes during off-peak hours to improve reliability and reduce overcrowding.

2. Expand the Network: Extend the PATH directly to Newark Airport to provide a fast, convenient, and affordable one-seat travel option for residents, commuters and travelers.

“The PATH is a vital part of our region’s transportation infrastructure, but it needs significant improvement,” said Johan Andrade, President of Hudson County Complete Streets. “By running trains more often off-peak and extending the network to Newark Airport, we can create a more efficient, reliable, and convenient transit system that benefits everyone.”

The public advocacy campaign is focused on providing public input to the Port Authority’s 2025 budget process before December 9th:

• A public letter campaign at https://actionnetwork.org/letters/port-authority-2025-budget-prioritize-frequency-expansion-and-better-service/

• Riders and campaign organizers will make in-person public statements at the Port Authority’s budget hearings on
  Thursday, December, 5 at 9am at 2 Montgomery Street, 3rd floor
  Thursday, December, 5 at 7pm at 4 World Trade Center, 23rd floor

Ok I crossed out the part on the bottom there because it’s already passed, but they’ll still review letters that are sent at the link above until Monday at midnight.

Interesting to me that there’s no mention of the supposed Marion station stop (I’m guessing we’re no longer pretending that’s gonna happen? I never really believed it was real even when all the politicians were claiming it was) and personally I don’t really care about the extension to the airport, but increasing service is something I’m sure we can all get behind. Off-peak service is a complete misery right now, so it would be great to get more trains running during that time.

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PATH Holiday poster winner

In more PATH news: the system has announced its annual holiday poster winner! From their blog (yes, the PATH system has a blog!):

The competition, as always, was fierce. For hundreds of Jersey City students, the annual PATH holiday poster contest is an opportunity to put their creative spin on a railroad that is part of the lifeblood of their city.

More than 300 posters were submitted from Jersey City School District schools across the city for this year’s artistic theme of “Peace on Earth.” For the 35th year in a row, judges were faced with the challenge of choosing winners in each of the three age categories (K-2, 3-5, and 6-8), and from among them a single grand-prize winner.

The poster contest was introduced 35 years ago when Myron Hurwitz, a Port Authority customer service manager, approached Jersey City school officials with a suggestion. Hurwitz had seen the artwork of Jersey City students at local art exhibitions, and thought they deserved a bigger platform for their talents – and a way to help bring holiday cheer to PATH riders. An annual tradition was born.

Hard for me to put into words how much I love this, but it’s really, really great. If you don’t take the PATH system regularly, just know these posters are all over the place on the trains and stations, and I genuinely look forward to this contest every year.

Here are the three top posters for 2024:

Ahhhhhh they’re all so great!!!! Veronika Charlton from PS 37 is the Grand Prize winner — congratulations Veronika!!!!!

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ICYMI

• Incredibly sad story to wake up to on Sunday morning: a horrible car crash in Newark has left two coaches from Hudson Catholic high school dead, along with four other people. Just an absolutely horrific story, and such a loss to our whole community. Link to the story here.

• Mamta Singh has announced that she is running for Council at Large on James Solomon’s ticket. This marks Solomon’s first official announcement of a slate member. Also I missed it because I took last week off, but James McGreevey has announced his pick for Ward E: Ryan Baylock.

• Robert Sietsema — my favorite local food critic, both because he often wrote about hole-in-the-wall places that made terrific but also cheap food, and also because an awful lot of the places he wrote about were right here in Jersey City, especially in our Indian community on Newark Ave — announced he has been let go by Vox/EaterNY. This is a huge shame and I hope some outlet hires this man immediately.

• HCST’s [that’s Hudson County School of Technology’s] Muniz files suit over suspension, alleges 18-year affair with superintendent. This story is nuts.

• Not JC related at all, but there was a cute story in the New York Times yesterday about a writer attempting to make his own at-home parol, which is one of those star-shaped ornaments you see hanging in Filipino-owned businesses and homes during the holidays. I was never quite sure if they were specifically Filipino (with so many different people living in apartment buildings or multi-family homes, I wasn’t 100% sure who they belonged to), or what they were called, so I enjoyed learning just a little bit about them, even if they seem to be hard to make by hand.

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