Issue 180: Extremely weird NJ
Plus an extended ICYMI, Jack Miller's Pub update, and Feral of the Week!
Good morning! Hope you’re doing well and here is your newsletter for the week! — Amy
ICYMI
(Usually I end the newsletter with a roundup of different articles that I have don’t have a ton of commentary about, but this time I’m starting it with ICYMI because this is honestly some of the more serious things to happen this week. Everything after this section is silly, but this part is pretty serious.)
Councilman Frank Gilmore had a scorching op ed where he calls out Mayor Fulop for trying to run statewide as a reformer and anti-machine politician when (quite obviously) we know him here locally as something different. If you haven’t been paying attention, what Gilmore is referring to is very much real — Fulop has somehow duped an awful lot of people outside of Jersey City into thinking that he opposes the line and believes in a transparent, democratic process, when — obviously — we have all seen and lived through the exact opposite experience. Honestly, I’ve been feeling so gaslit by the last few weeks of statewide media coverage of Fulop that I was deeply grateful for this commentary. It’s about time someone said something.
Meanwhile, the Jersey City Times has a good article on Fulop and his financial connections to the now bankrupt CarePoint Health (which operates Christ Hospital) and its CEO, who has donated plenty to Fulop’s PAC.
James Solomon added Eleana Little to his campaign slate for Ward E. He also added Michael Griffin for Council at Large last week, and I might have forgotten to note that? (Sorry about that! I’m going to do a recap of who’s on what slate in the coming weeks because it’s getting very confusing and there’s a lot of people running, and I’m sure I’ve missed quite a few candidates along the way.)
There was a fatal shooting on Fairmount Ave, about which we know very, very little, even though it happened last Sunday evening. Residents report hearing 10-15 shots fired, and one man is dead. Beyond that, no information has been officially shared with the public.
Weird NJ: Drone update
Oh my god! Over the last week, we’ve gone from the strange lights in the sky being a niche little thing that I heard from a few people to being the biggest story in the country. I really don’t know how we got here, but we’re here. Let’s recap.
Earlier this week, New Jersey Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim, along with NY Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, sent a letter Thursday to the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and Federal Aviation Administration demanding a briefing on what the hell is going on, which only added credibility to the idea that something is happening and we’re all not imagining things. There was also a briefing of 500 NJ mayors to talk about the latest about what we know (ok so just the fact that a state the size of New Jersey would even have 500 mayors is nuts, but also objectively the idea of what I assume was world’s most cursed zoom call had all of them on the line talking about lights in the sky is an image I can’t shake and is absolutely ridiculous to consider). Senator Andy Kim actually went out with a NJ police officer to investigate the whole thing by himself — again, just a wild thing to picture. If this is nothing — and it still may be — this is getting incredibly weird.
The sightings have now spread all over the country and even internationally, although NJ still seems to be getting the brunt of it. It’s probably not helped by the fact that local officials have tried flying drones into what are assumed to be the drones already there (guys! who thought this was a good idea?!), which I can only imagine is leading to yet more confusion and more weird sightings. NJ.com put out a cute video pointing out that many of the pics they’d been sent are clearly airplanes, but the people in their comments section weren’t having it. And then they turned around and ran a story under the headline, N.J. drone sightings rejected by the feds. Are they gaslighting us?, which like, what? Way to send a mixed message.
I put out the call to readers last week to see if you’d seen anything and boy, have you. I heard from a ton of people that they’d seen something strange at some point over the last week in the skies over Jersey City — orbs, flashing lights, strangely moving aircraft, everything. I checked in with a number of elected officials and they all reported to me that they had not heard from their constituents about the issue (well, each said they’d heard a bit here and there, but nothing overwhelming or notable), but I can only image that this is more of a reflection of our collective lack of faith in our system than anything else. Look, if SeeClickFix doesn’t work for my litter complaints, I doubt I’d reach out to my councilman if I thought I was being invaded by either aliens or a hostile government. (This would seem to change just an hour or two after I started writing this post when Bill O’Dea put out a statement after hearing from constituents — see below.)
I was in NYC in the middle of my last art history class of the semester on Thursday evening when I started getting texts from local residents. They’re all over Jersey City! a friend wrote, and since I couldn’t go running from my job back home at that exact moment, I texted my husband who was at home and asked him to go out and see if he saw anything of note. He didn’t — or rather, he saw a few things (a couple of far-off lights in Lincoln Park darting around in ways that seemed odd, but they sounded like the kind of thing he never would have noticed had someone not drawn his attention to them and he spent a significant amount of time staring up at the sky looking for something to see) but nothing too exciting. On my way home an hour and a half later, I was staring up the entire walk home and… nothing. Lots of planes headed to Newark airport. Maybe a few flashing lights, but over the Hackensack River where there are guide lights, so nothing too weird. We both saw something from the bedroom of our apartment that we explained away as being either the reflections of some Christmas lights or maybe a lost strand of some battery-powered ones. Why can’t I see them??? I want to believe!!!
Congressman Jeff Van Drew made a bizarre statement saying they were coming from Iran via a mothership parked nearby (the Pentagon denies this), which made me wonder if he had misheard the term “alien” and in a Freudian leap took that to mean “Iranian.” I don’t know! Seems to me that it’s highly irresponsible of a sitting congressman to make statements that could potentially lead us to World War III without any kind of basis or repercussions, but what do I know. Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia (which, that is one hell of a name!) from Sussex County has basically dedicated her entire X/Twitter feed to ranting about the whole situation. Meanwhile, coverage online seemed to break into camps — either the group of people who thought this was very much the biggest deal ever, or those who thought anyone seeing anything weird was completely insane. Either pole seems off to me.
I have no explanation for what is going on. I don’t think the entire state of NJ has lost its collective mind and that nothing is going on at all. I also don’t think all our elected officials and mainstream press making seriously contradictory (or in Van Drew’s case, downright inflammatory) statements helps our sanity either. I wish for just one moment everyone would calm down and think about what they’re saying and what info is being put out to the public. We’re in a moment when we need people to trust elected officials and the mainstream press more than ever, and somehow an awful lot of people are fumbling it and sowing more and more misinformation and panic.
Just as I was wrapping this post up on Saturday night, I was tagged on an IG post by Bill O’Dea, Hudson County Commissioner and Jersey City mayoral candidate, where he wrote:
As a Commissioner of Hudson County, I am deeply concerned about the recent #dronesightings in our airspace, particularly in Jersey City, given the close proximity to Newark Airport. These unauthorized drones not only pose a serious threat to public safety and security but also create significant risks to air traffic, potentially leading to dangerous situations. I urge GovMurphy to act swiftly and decisively to address this issue before it escalates further. In the meantime, I have directed the Hudson County Office of Emergency Services to collaborate closely with local law enforcement agencies to monitor the situation and ensure the safety of our residents. Protecting our communities and preventing potential harm is our top priority, and we must take immediate action to safeguard the well-being of all residents.
I chatted with him briefly, and it sounds like he’s heard from some people on Saturday night that they were concerned. Overall, I think this is a pretty reasonable statement — clear that we don’t know what’s happening but that people in power are listening, and officials are taking note. More than that, I don’t know what anyone can do. I mean, we don’t know what they are — I don’t know what more a local official can offer. But people want to be heard and it makes sense for politicians and elected officials to let them know they are. As long as we’re not immediately jumping to things being a vast conspiracy, I think most electeds (I would also put Kim into this category) are just trying to calm everyone. If we could just stop it with the “it’s Iran” or “the White House is covering things up,” that would be helpful.
So, this just leads me to return to something I’ve learned over the years. Just from a personal POV, here’s how I always judge a crisis situation:
Do I have to go to work tomorrow?
Listen, it’s a simple rule, but it has served me well.
Meaning, if we’re not at the level of panic and chaos that, say, a simple semi-serious snowfall will instill, I’ve decided it’s not really that worth being too worried about. When I get the call that I get to skip work and stay home in my comfy pajamas and overly hot apartment all day as opposed to going to work, that’s when I’ll know it’s real and should panic. When capitalism comes to a screeching halt, that’s when I worry. Or rather, this is real — just like ongoing COVID and the impending Trump presidency and a half dozen other troubling things are all real — but it’s just not real enough to actually allow me to sleep in on my comfy, comfy bed an extra hour or two, and in return I’m not going to be captivated with worry about it. Again, this isn’t to say it’s all fake or BS or that I’m not concerned (because I am — and I also do very much believe that something is happening, just that we don’t have any info just yet), but I’m also not wandering around thinking the world is ending, nor am I running around with a gun shooting out into the sky (which apparently this guy definitely was not). Gotta cancel work in order for me to escalate things to that level. For now, it’s just lurking in my subconscious and I’m keeping an eye on it. It’s weird, is what I’m saying.
Keep letting me know if you see stuff. Please do not shoot at the lights in the sky. Please do not shine lasers at them. Don’t panic, because it doesn’t help things at all. Remember that there’s still time for this to all turn out to be some weird guerrilla marketing campaign for a Christmas movie launch or, as several people have pointed out, Santa. (Not Santa. To recap: I’m on board with aliens being real, but I draw the line with it being Iran buzzing us or Santa.) Anyway, whatever is going to happen, whatever these things turn out to be, we’re gonna survive. In fact, I even made a t-shirt about it:
(Not available for sale since it won’t arrive before Xmas and I don’t want the grief of people complaining. Plus what if we don’t survive?? Probably best to wait til Jan 1 to release it.)
Jack Miller’s Pub to become a kettlebell studio
Ah!! I felt so many different ways about this when I first saw it (it’s been on my phone for a few weeks to add to the newsletter). Jack Miller’s Pub — one of the last of the old man bars in Journal Square (maybe Grapevine is the last one now?) — now has a picture in its window advertising that it’s about to become a kettlebell studio.
Jack Miller’s was a true old school haunt, closed since at least the pandemic, but in its golden years a haven for the true alcoholics of the neighborhood, including at least one divorce attorney (that’s how he identified himself) who always sat at the edge of the bar and occasionally bought me drinks. The walls were adorned with memorabilia from old fighting matches, and Jack’s son (I think?) was the bartender and Jeopardy! or Wheel of Fortune was always on the tv. It was warm and quaint, but with a slight air of menace, as all old man bars are. I had heard that they sold off their liquor license some years ago, but they still maintained a pretty prime spot, so I’d hoped for something interesting to open in the space.
Well, it’s now gonna be a kettlebell studio and… I hate to say this but, I kind of love throwing around kettlebells (I know — that’s the twist you weren’t expecting). Seriously, I’ve been doing it for some time at fancy gyms in NYC and it’s pretty much cleared up some chronic shoulder/neck issues I’ve been dealing with. It’s fun, sort of. Imagine you had a bowling ball with a handle on it and you just got to toss it around — I mean, to do it right, your posture and everything has to be just perfect, but it’s still pretty fun. And even if you don’t do it right, it still makes a pretty satisfying clunk sound when it hits the ground, which it’s not supposed to do too often (you’re really just supposed to swing them) but somehow does. Trainers yell out all these little stupid catchphrases like bells up! and clean that bell! all of which is ridiculous but I swear after a few sessions, your shoulders feel really great.
So, this is bittersweet for me. On one hand, I’d really like to take a kettlebell class in my neighborhood. On the other, it’ll probably cost a fortune and I kind of miss $5 drinks at Jack Miller’s, not to mention their incredible decor. Also, I really hope that divorce attorney is ok. This is yet another sign of how much Jersey City has changed, maybe not so much for the better, but changed all the same. I don’t know — I was pretty happy with the healthy side of me being in NYC with my $14 salads and boutique gyms, and then being able to come on home and ruin myself with places like Jack Miller’s. But, I suppose, things change. Blah.
Feral of the week
This guy’s face is incredible — this is the face of a cat that has seen some things!! He has greeted me on my walks to and from work several times, but this is the only moment I was able to capture him, with the help of my neighbor. Here, he’s looking like one of the tough weathered characters of Jack Miller’s Pub, back in the day. Here’s to you, Mr. Cat: the cat that is older than any of us will ever be.