Issue 197: JCAST needs a new organizer
Plus: Ward B gets a new council member, NYC helicopter relief on its way (eventually???), and more.
Good morning everyone! Spring is definitely in the air, and I’m off to install the senior show at my job this morning. Here is your newsletter for the day, and I hope you have an amazing weekend! — Amy
The Ward B council saga
Well, if you want the super short version of what happened with this, it was no surprise: the City Council voted to approve Maureen Hulings as the new Ward B council member on Wednesday with a vote of 6-2 in favor (the two “no” votes were, as always, Solomon and Gilmore).
But meanwhile, here’s the rest of the story.
All week, activists in B were speaking up, saying that they objected to the process that was being used to replace Mira Prinz-Arey in the position. Kayla Burrell, one of the people who applied for the position and also the Vice-President of the Lincoln Park North Neighborhood Association wrote to Hudson County View, saying in part:
Given how unclear, rushed, and closed-off this process has been, can we assume no serious vetting was done to assess whether the Mayor’s nominee has any serious conflicts of interest?
Specifically, does working for a law firm that represents multiple developers in Jersey City—with frequent matters before the Council—require the nominee to abstain from important Council votes impacting the future of Ward B?
Would she abstain on matters where her firm’s clients are interested parties? Is that what’s best for Ward B? Similarly, would her service on the MUA Board present conflicts requiring her to abstain from votes on MUA bonding used to cover City shortfalls?
Would the people of Ward B have a voice that actually represents them when decisions are made on key issues like PILOTs and redevelopment plans if their Council representative must recuse herself due to ethical concerns?
Resident Adrian Ghainda also wrote a letter:
While I can’t speak on behalf of everyone, I would like to think we’ve moved passed rewarding cronyism.
What we should be welcoming is a process that educates the residents of Ward B on what their representative aims to do in the remainder of this term and what could be possible if their interim representative uses their office to fight for their residents.
We should be welcoming this opportunity to create more civic engagement, more local education on what a city government should look like that’s focused on passing meaningful legislation around affordability, infrastructure, quality of life, and safety instead of rewarding a placeholder who’s vested interests may not be in our ward.
…as did longtime Ward B activist Charlene Burke:
As the President of the largest neighborhood organization on the West Side [WSCA], I am dismayed by the lack of engagement by the Administration of any community group that has been active for years in Ward B neighborhood improvement initiatives.
As a longtime resident and activist in Ward B, I respectfully ask that the council slow the process down and interview those who may express an interest in the appointment as to their qualifications and possible conflicts of interest.
In the absence of the Jersey Journal, many residents still have not heard about Prinz-Arey’s departure, and there may still be others interested in being considered for the position.
I have no particular objection to Ms. Hulings as a candidate, but I would like to see the city approach this decision in a way that is more equitable, transparent, and respectful of our community.
I ask that the vote be postponed to at least the next meeting to allow extra time for people to submit resumes and ask that top candidates be considered.
I don’t think anyone was especially against Hulings personally, but between questions about her various apparent conflicts of interest and also the way in which she seems to have been handpicked by the mayor with no second thought to anyone else who might be in the mix, was troubling to quite a few people.
On Wednesday, the city council meeting public comments section was dominated by protesters angry about the city announcing that the flag of Israel is going to be raised over City Hall on April 30th (the city announced this on Instagram earlier in the week, got 500+ almost entirely negative comments on the post in under two hours, and then just deleted all the comments without further addressing anything), eventually culminating in a protester being arrested and dragged out of chambers by the police. Burrell and others made statements about the Ward B seat, but in the hectic backdrop of everything else going on, it doesn’t really sound like it made much of a difference — and to be fair, I really don’t think it would have made any difference anyway (although I appreciate everyone who spoke up and tried their best to slow all this down). Hulings was approved.
You know, I hope when we have a new mayor, whoever it is, we’re going to start handling these things better. Just a little bit of extra time spent putting a better basic system in place to replace a council member — and remember, this is now the third time this has happened just during the last ten years — would create so much more trust and respect for the system. That’s not a crazy thing to ask for.
In fact, why wait for a new mayor at all? Now that we’ve all gone through this yet again, why don’t some of our council members put together a resolution clarifying how this is going to be handled next time? There may not be a next time for years, which means this is the perfect time to do it — do it now, while we’re not facing a 30-day deadline to put someone in that position, and while it’s not going to feel personally directed towards anyone in particular. Extend the cycle to 45 days, say that resumes will be accepted for X number of days after the vacancy is announced — I don’t know, I’m not on the city council. But there’s a way to make this run better and more fairly and transparently so that we can just skip all this unpleasantness next time.
Or, you know, we can just wait until the problem pops up again, which it eventually will, and just wing it, like we seem determined to do with just about everything. I know which option I’d prefer.
JCAST looking for a new organizer
JCAST — the Jersey City Artist Studio Tour, a beloved open studio event that has taken place in the city for over thirty years — is looking for a new person or organization to run it after bouncing around between a few different organizers in recent years. From a post by the Jersey City Arts Council:
The Jersey City Art and Studio Tour (JCAST) Advisory Committee seeks Letters of Interest from experienced arts organizations and event producers to manage and produce the 2025 Jersey City Art and Studio Tour, a citywide event held annually each October. For over 35 years, JCAST has been a cornerstone arts festival, providing both residents and visitors with the opportunity to explore local creative spaces and artist studios across Jersey City.
JCAST, which began in 1990, has evolved over the years and continues to be an important cultural fixture in the city. This year, the Advisory Committee invites proposals from qualified organizations to take on the responsibility of organizing and executing JCAST 2025. The Committee will review all submissions, engage in discussions with potential producers, and collaborate to ensure the festival continues to meet the needs of the arts community in alignment with JCAST’s long-term vision.
We encourage proposals from creative, experienced, and community-driven producers who will champion the spirit of collaboration, unity and innovation in the arts. The producer will be responsible for organizing all aspects of JCAST 2025, ensuring the festival is accessible, well-promoted, and reflective of Jersey City’s diverse arts landscape.
Running this event is a massive undertaking — the job description includes: event logistics, artist and venue coordination, mapping and online presence, marketing strategy, event staffing, volunteer management, sponsorship and fundraising, budget management, accessibility communication, and organizing a kickoff event among other tasks — and it’s unclear what the position pays the organizer (if anything at all) or what the budget for the event is.
I’d like to make something clear since quite a few people forwarded me the listing: You could not make me apply for this. Like seriously, if you put a gun to my head and said you were going to pull the trigger if I didn’t apply for it, I’d take my chances that the gun would jam or that the sweet release of death would be better than taking this thing on. Organize a massive event with a storied history that means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, over the whole of Jersey City which means working with both the city and county governments as well as dozens of local businesses/individuals, and there’s not any kind of indication of what it pays if it even pays at all? Absolutely not. (To be fair, I felt the same way about the Ward B vacancy; luckily in that case there were others willing to step up.)
But maybe this sounds fun to you! It would certainly be a shame if JCAST didn’t exist anymore, and it would be wonderful if someone stepped up to help. If this is you:
Please include the following:
The name of the organization and lead organizers.
A summary of previous experience in producing arts events.
A statement explaining why the applicant is interested in producing JCAST 2025.
An outline of the applicant's fundraising strategy for JCAST.
A plan for uniting artists from all neighborhoods, mediums, and spaces.
If applicable, please outline any new or unique elements the applicant plans to introduce to the 2025 festival. The Committee would like to understand any significant changes in advance.
Please limit the letter to 5 pages or less.
You’ll need to submit all of this by May 5th, which is a pretty fast turnaround for such a thing, but hey — I suppose if you’re open to applying for it, you like challenges. Go to this page for info on where to send it, and more.
NYC tourist helicopters update
Jersey City residents looking for a break from tourist helicopters may finally get their wish. In certain neighborhoods in our city, residents have been complaining about incredibly loud, low-flying helicopters for years — it seems to have worsened considerably since the pandemic — and the April 10th crash that killed a family that was on board one of the copters seems to have finally pushed lawmakers to do something. From Gothamist:
New York City lawmakers approved legislation Thursday that would limit helicopter use in the city, including for tourist flights like the one that crashed in the Hudson River two weeks ago.
One bill prohibits “non-essential” flights from city-owned heliports if the helicopters do not meet the most stringent federal noise standards. The restrictions would not apply to aircraft used by law enforcement officials, medical personnel, news agencies, the military and film crews, according to the legislation.
It aims to reduce noise from helicopters used for sightseeing and business travel and follows a massive increase in helicopter-related noise complaints over the past five years. Supporters of the bill say it would improve people’s health and safety by lowering the risk of conditions like high blood pressure and impaired cognitive function — and the risk of crashes. But opponents say it could harm the city’s tourism and aviation industries by removing a longtime attraction.
The NYC city council approving this is a step in the right direction for JC residents desperate for relief, but don’t get your hopes up too high, at least yet. For starters, the new measure won’t go into effect until December 2029, and it’s also a little unclear how many of the flights would be affected by it. I’m not sure any of us really know how many of the current flights “do not meet the most stringent federal noise standards,” and I hope this doesn’t result in people eagerly awaiting silent skies in 2029 only to see/hear only the slightest difference once that time comes. But it’s at least an acknowledgement that these flights have become way too popular at the expense of residents’ ability to just enjoy some peace and quiet in their own homes, and hopefully there can be some sort of solution to calm the situation sooner than that.
Man struck and killed by light rail train
Some very sad news — a man who was struck by a light rail train on Easter Sunday morning has been identified as James Porch of Bayonne.
We knew James a bit — he worked as a contractor and did some work for us around our place. He was a really nice guy and a good worker who was, last time we saw him just a couple of months ago, in the process of assembling a team around him of other skilled workers so that he could provide more general contracting services to his clients. He was also a father of three, and only forty years old when he died. A Gofundme to raise money to cover funeral expenses was launched and quickly reached its goal.
To his friends and family: I am so sorry. I’m glad we got to know James a bit, but this is a terrible loss, and I’m so sorry you have to endure this.
ICYMI
West Side church St. Aloysius (721 West Side Avenue) is having a tricky tray fundraiser on May 3rd at 6pm. For the life of me, I do not understand how a tricky tray works — this thing is the ranked choice voting of church fundraisers, I swear — but St. Al’s is a lovely church and an important presence in our neighborhood. You, however, probably understand how a tricky tray works (honestly, I’ll bet if I put in more than five seconds into reading the description I would too), so if you do, here’s more information.
PATH is looking for performers: has it been your lifelong ambition to perform for free for PATH riders? Look, it’s somebody’s dream, and free concerts are cool, but I have to admit I’m a bit bummed the billion dollar system doesn’t pay its performers anything (like nothing! At all!! Like come on guys, you could cut your performers a check for $100 or something — you’re the Port Authority!! But alas). Anyhoo, it’s still an opportunity for the right person, and if you want to audition, go to this link and fill it out before May 2nd.
No feral of the week, and not for lack of trying. They’re all hiding, or having kittens, or… something? Reminder to check out Feral Fixers who continue to do great work and are very busy right now.
To whom it may concern,
Please accept this text as an expression of my interest in leading JCAST. I like art very much and the people who create it. I’m good at yelling at people who never follow directions and who like to fight amongst themselves. I especially enjoy raising money to keep threadbare non-profit organizations from shutting down. If JCAST is looking for someone to blame for all the things that will go wrong on the organizational and fund-raising fronts I’m your man. Thank you. Thank you very much.