Issue 210: PATH Summer of Hell
Plus: Story Time at the West Bergen Branch, NJCU's new prez, a sheriff switcheroo and more!
Good morning! Amy Wilson’s wagons are packed, her horses are watered and she’s headed west into America. We will not pretend this is not a challenging time. Change is as tricky as it is inevitable. It’s not just that a lot of us are losing a good personal friend, but this wild town we call home is also losing a good friend. Here at Neighborhood Character we’re scared and excited to keep this project going in the Wilsonite tradition. (We’ll also include regular updates from Amy on life in Illinois.)
We also want this to be a place where other people can contribute and take part. If you have ideas, gossip, games, questions, complaints, listings, photos, drawings, cartoons, videos, tips, vendettas, potions and/or spells, please email us at neighborhoodcharacter@gmail.com or reach out on Instagram.
We want it all. The best part of local news is that it can be a community and that’s our main goal here.
–Katie and David
Neighborhood Character: Sheena Henry
Know someone who’s got a cool story or is having a big impact in the community? Please email us at neighborhoodcharacter@gmail.com.
This week we caught up with Sheena Henry who leads the wonderful weekly program “Story Time with Miss Sheena” at the West Bergen Branch of the Jersey City Free Public Library (546 West Side Avenue at the corner of Lexington Ave) on Wednesdays at 10 a.m.
When she’s not reading aloud, singing songs or building Lego towers with her adoring toddler fans, you can find Miss Sheena behind the front desk helping library patrons of all ages.
Born and raised in Jersey City, Miss Sheena went to summer programs at the Main Branch of the JCFPL on the corner of Jersey Avenue and Montgomery Street. She also remembers checking out books from the library’s Bookmobile, which would stop near her home at the Booker T. Washington Apartments on Grand Street. Miss Sheena first started working for the library eleven years ago. “I was shelving books, answering phones, checking books out,” she said. At the urging of her manager Miss Debbie, she took on Story Hour around three years ago.
Describe Story Hour for someone who has never been: “Story Hour is a learning experience,” said Miss Sheena. “I believe all children are capable of learning with the correct support, such as visual aids, hands-on activities and supportive instruction.”
Each Story Hour is unique but incorporates similar elements: Miss Sheena reads books aloud, leads sing-alongs and dancing, teaches new concepts, like days of the week or seasons, and then incorporates free play with Legos and other toys. It’s primarily geared towards children ages 6 months to five years old.
“I pay attention to my Story Hour babies,” said Miss Sheena. “I make sure I greet them as they enter by their names. We celebrate birthdays. It's very personal to me to make them feel comfortable and in a safe environment.”
Does that tie back to your own experience at the library as a kid? “That and my own experience as a mother as well.” Miss Sheena has a daughter and now a three-year-old grandson. “Everything that I do here at Story Time, I do it at home with him.”
What other programs does the library offer for older kids? All of the libraries offer a Summer Learning Program for school-aged kids and teens. This year’s theme is “Color Our World.” Kids are encouraged to “read books, you can visit your library, participate in activities, or you can even give a book review,” said Miss Sheena.
Participation and progress is tracked via an app called Beanstack. At the end of August, the top five participants in each age group win a day trip to Liberty Science Center (elementary-aged) or American Dream Mall (teenagers).
And don’t forget the adults! Miss Sheena said the library holds yoga classes for adults on Tuesdays at 10am. Plus, other events, like cake decorating and arts and crafts, throughout the year.
I hear the library is going to be extending its hours? The West Bergen Branch is currently open Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. “Starting this September, we will be opening on Saturdays from 9am to 5pm, and Thursdays will be our late nights from 12pm to 8pm,” said Miss Sheena. “I'm excited about that because on a Saturday we can do more programs.” She’s also looking forward to making the library more accessible to adult patrons by offering a late night so they are able to come by after work.
The new hours go into effect in September, which is also library card sign-up month! “The theme for this year is ‘One Card, Endless Possibilities,” said Miss Sheena.
What’s your favorite part of working for the library? “Helping people. I just love what I do, and I love children.”
Any book recommendations? “Any Llama Llama book.” (This is a series by Anna Dewdney that starts with Llama Llama Red Pajama.) “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” (By Eric Carle.) “We love a Leo book.” (This is a series by Anna McQuinn about a baby named Leo.)
PATH Fail
The Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation is having its own Summer of Hell.
For those who haven’t noticed, PATH service has sucked this summer especially for our Hoboken brothers and sisters. And while usually we don’t care about Hobokeners or their problems, this is a regional issue that affects us all.
There was a PATH meltdown two weekends ago and the meeting last week where people took turns yelling at authority board members.
PATH service is pretty good during the weekday rush hours but at most other times, specifically weekends, you’re better off taking a canoe to and from Manhattan. Weekend service on the 33rd St PATH line has been abbreviated and routed through Hoboken at least since Hurricane Sandy on the weekends. It’s not uncommon to wait 20 minutes for a train and a weekend trip on the PATH is easily twice as long as the same trip during rush hours.
The Port shut down the Hoboken PATH station for pretty much all of February this year and said it was because they could get a year’s worth of work done in a month. Within 4 months, the work had become undone somehow.
Two weekends ago the s–t hit the fan. From Gothamist:
A switch problem just before noon on Saturday cut off service between the Hoboken, Journal Square and 33rd Street, according to PATH officials. Delays were made worse after a train broke down at the World Trade Center station later in the evening. And the problems continued Sunday morning, when signal and track problems at the Newport and Hoboken stations caused further outages.
Gothamist also reported that Port Authority leadership got an earful during their Thursday meeting.
“What exactly was fixed and why are switch failures still plaguing service? More importantly, why isn't the Port Authority treating this as an emergency?” said Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla. “These breakdowns are not isolated incidents. They're symptomatic of systemic infrastructure failures that demand urgent action.”
Hudson County View reported JC Councilmember and mayoral candidate James Solomon asked board members for firm commitments on headway times – 10 to 12 minutes on weekends and off peak hours.
HudCo Commish and JC mayoral candidate Bill O’Dea also voiced his displeasure:
“ The truth is, the PATH system is poorly run,” said O’Dea. “PATH is not an accessory to our region's economy. It's the backbone.”
We may not be ‘the’ backbone but we’re definitely ‘a’ backbone. Imagine what happens when 200,000 people can’t get to and from work everyday. New York City retail loses its day trade and NYC businesses lose us, their smartest and best-looking workers.
Local leaders pointed to La Guardia Airport as an example of what the Port Authority can do when it really puts its back into something. The Port built a whole new $8 billion airport between 2016 and 2024, turning a national joke into an award-winning transit hub.
Commuters have been told in the 13 years since Sandy that PATH is doing important track repairs and maintenance on the weekends and that’s why service is so lousy. Now, in April 2024, there’s a $430 million “PATH Forward” initiative to redo the system’s century-old infrastructure, including track repair and signal upgrades. This is the new reason for the abysmal weekend service which leads one to wonder what all that other work was in the 12 years prior.
Look, New Jerseyans are sensitive to any notion that we’re being treated differently than our cross-Hudson cousins. And yes, the fancy airports help subsidize a relatively cheap fare to go from Newark to Midtown. But O’Dea is not wrong: the regional economy relies on our workforce and our money. Authorities exist for two reasons: to issue bonds for capital projects and to shield leadership from the direct voting public. A bistate authority is even less accountable. But the good news is they’re not immune to public pressure, nor are the lawmakers who are ultimately accountable.
Economics aside, Jersey City residents deserve better as people than being on dangerously overcrowded platforms and being packed like sardines into tin cans (twitter warning).
Odds and Ends
Fatal Shooting: A 56-year-old man named Joey Richburg was killed in Greenville on Friday morning around 9am in the area of Neptune and Garfield Avenues, according to John Heinis at Hudson County View. The cause of death is still under investigation. This is the ninth homicide recorded in Jersey City in 2025.
Hit-and-Run: Patch’s Caren Lissner reported police are investigating a hit-and-run on Monday evening at Kennedy Blvd. near Claremont Avenue around 10 p.m. Three vehicles collided and five people were injured, including one seriously. The driver of an Infinity G37 fled on foot.
Schillarious: Hudson County View reported last week that Sheriff Frank Schillari, first elected as a Democrat in 2010, is changing parties. He told HCV the Democratic party no longer reflects his principles: “After decades of service, I’ve come to understand that leadership isn’t about party lines, it’s about standing up for what’s right, even if it’s not popular,” he said. This apostasy seems to coincide with Mayor Jimmy Davis of Bayonne handing him a Schillacking in last month’s primary.
John Heinis also reported on Hudson County Democratic Organization Chair Craig Guy’s response: “Frank and his handlers can lob out press releases praising Jack and the Donald while County residents suffer under the Trump regime and national Republicans scurry back home to try and defend the indefensible.”
Lucky 13: The New Jersey City University Board of Trustees appointed Andrés Acebo as the school’s 13th President. Acebo had been serving as interim president since January 2023, following the resignation of former President Sue Henderson as the school faced a “financial emergency” running a tens of millions of dollar deficit, according to The Jersey Journal.
Acebo, grew up in Union City as the first-generation son of Cuban exiles, according to an NJCU press release, which also calls him the “youngest known president to ever lead a public university in New Jersey.”
“Acebo has led the university through the most critical period in its 98-year history and orchestrating a remarkable financial and academic recovery. Marking the next chapter in delivering accessible public higher education to the Jersey City and Hudson County communities, Acebo signed a letter of intent in May to advance a historic merger to integrate NJCU into Kean University, two mission-aligned institutions, which once completed will create Kean Jersey City.
No-Kill Designation: Jersey City’s Animal Care and Control has been officially recognized as a No-Kill Shelter, according to a press release from the City: “Since the city took over operations at the animal shelter in January, over 1,000 animals surrendered by owners. This year, Animal Care and Control successfully saved over 90% of the dogs and cats under their care.”
Ras is coming: Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is joining Solomon and Councilman Frank Gilmore for a fundraiser Tuesday night at The Factory at 451 Communipaw Ave. Let’s hope Baraka comes able to answer questions about whether MLK and Ocean should be one-way streets …
Want to help clean up Orchard Park? There’s an event August 9.
Lincoln Park’s ‘Music at the (Still Non-functional) Fountain’: Ted Chubb and his quintet go on at 7pm Wednesday night.
Liberty State Summer Fest: Tuesday evening at 6:30pm @acuteinflections delivers some jazzy R&B. On Sunday Aug. 3, @epicsoulband funks it up at 6pm.
New Museum Exhibition: The Museum of Jersey City at 298 Academy Street is kicking off an exhibition on 25 years of LGBTQIA+ pride on August 5 at 10 a.m. The Museum is also hosting a conversation on ‘Voices of the Indian Diaspora’ on Wednesday July 30, at 7:30 p.m.
Artists! Tuesday, July 29 is the deadline to submit for the Newark Liberty Airport Digital Art Exhibition. More on that here.
Feral of the Week
This little guy was spotted hopping around in Liberty State Park!