Issue 78: The issue that saves you money (no, really!)
ANCHOR rebate, Art Fair 14C (including a coupon!), more JCBOE election stuff, Right to Counsel, and more!
Hello and good morning! I hope your Sunday is off to a great start. As always, thanks for reading, and let’s get right into it! — Amy
ANCHOR info ←you should definitely read this even though I know this part looks really boring, and it is, but it will get you $$ if you were living here in 2019
There’s a program through the state of NJ to offer tax rebates to people who were living in the state in 2019, as either home-owners or renters, with certain income restrictions. It’s called ANCHOR (Affordable NJ Communities for Homeowners and Renters — someone worked very hard to make that acronym come together), and you have until the end of December to apply for it.
From their official FAQ, ANCHOR will give homeowners with an income of $150k or less $1,500. Earn between $150k and $250k? You can receive $1,000. For renters earning $150k and under, you can receive $450. Money will be distributed to the public in the spring.
It seems like a lot of the notifications around this program were distributed in 2019 or early 2020, and uh, directly after that time is when the whole world went crazy with COVID and so forth. Lord knows, if I ever got a mailer telling me about this thing, I probably immediately tossed it and got back to the business of fearing that I and everyone I knew was going to die and all memory of every receiving anything just instantly left my brain. But! Here we are, and we’re coming up to the filing date, so go get your money! [A brief note: I was by the mailboxes in our building yesterday after I wrote this and noticed a recent mailer about ANCHOR which was intended for a neighbor of mine who moved out several years ago. So maybe they are still sending out info to people, but seems like not everyone is getting it. Anyway, go get that $!]
More on the school board election
I cannot tell you how thrilled I was to accidentally click on HummusJC’s Linktree list and find a link to a Google Doc with a TON of information on the JCBOE election. It’s everything I could have wished for — loads of information on every single candidate, including even very basic info like what ward they live in and what their occupation is. It also digs in and asks candidates really important questions like, “The district has not had drinkable water in all schools for many years. Approximately half of the schools now have drinkable water - what do you believe is the largest impediment to ensuring all schools have access to drinkable water and what are your plans to ensure that all schools have drinkable water in the near future?” This is an incredibly helpful document!
One more article to take into consideration (it’s not included in the Google Doc above, because it’s more recent), is this write-up on the JCBOE debate from Hudson County View. I also found this really helpful.
Also, while we’re on the subject of Hudson County View, can we please take a moment to reflect upon the owner/editor/publisher of that site John Heinis showing up dressed as Captain America for his interview with Councilman James Solomon? (Yes, it was taped on Halloween — this isn’t something he just did randomly although that would have been awesome too.) Amazing!
Art Fair 14c is next week
Next weekend marks the return of Art Fair 14c, that veritable Art Basel: Jersey City of events. This time it will take place at the JC Armory (678 Montgomery Street), which I’m very curious to see how that works out for everyone. The space is enormous, and they don’t have events of this scale there too often… let’s just say I’m nervous for everyone involved, but hopeful that it works out well for everyone participating. If they can make the armory work and that becomes a viable space to have large events again, that would be a real plus for this city.
The list of exhibitors is a mix of individual artists showing their own work, and galleries/non-profits bringing a selection of the artists they work with. What’s nice about fairs is that you can see a bunch of exhibitors all at one place, so for instance while I am a big fan of Guttenberg Arts, how often do I really get over to Guttenberg these days? Well, now I don’t have to — I am really looking forward to seeing their booth and some of the cool things they do at the fair this weekend.
What’s not so great about art fairs is the absolute sensory overload. Fairs can be overwhelming to viewers, with all the work vying for wall space and eyes, sometimes clashing with their neighbors. I mention this because, if this is your first art fair, go slow. Pace yourself. Bring some water, possibly some snacks. Allow yourself a few hours to get through the show if you actually want to see all of it.
There is a phenomenon called the Photo-Taking-Impairment Effect, which I often tell my classes about. In a study that piqued a lot of interest, participants were brought to a museum exhibition and divided into two categories: one had full usage of whatever electronic devices they wanted to use, and the others were barred from taking any pictures or notes. Psychologists found that when the study was complete, the viewers who saw the show without any devices were much more able to easily recall and talk about what they had just seen. For those who were relying on taking pictures, somehow in the act of taking the picture they kind of skipped over actually looking at the work, and those participants struggled to remember what they had just seen in the show, minutes earlier.
Ok, that’s a nice story I like to tell my students when we’re headed to the Met, and I think it does track pretty well for museum visits. But if there’s one place where your phone or tablet is your friend, it’s in an art fair. Because there’s just so much to look at and such wild variety of styles, quality, and ideas, I find it absolutely crucial to take pics both of the work and also the gallery name or wall tag of things that interest me, or it’s just too much. My ability to remember something I liked at the beginning by the time I’m done with the show starts to dwindle at the 500th piece I’ve seen in a short period of time, so I really do recommend using your devices to help.
Lastly, if you’re not often in the area of the Armory, Cafe Alyce is right there and they’re your best bet for breakfast or lunch (they sadly close at 2:45pm). A few blocks away on Bergen are a bunch of restaurants in McGinley Square (including but not limited to Carvao, Ita, and Krewe) and 3 Coffee Beans restaurant is nearby on Montgomery as well. I’m sure the fair will have food trucks as well.
Artfair 14c is free on Friday, or if you want to go on the weekend, readers of this newsletter will get 50% off the ticket price (you must purchase ahead of time!) by using code NEIGHBORHOOD CHARACTER.
Right to Counsel update
Annoyed that there’s not too much to vote for this Tuesday? (I mean, we have the school board, which is important to show up to and vote for, but basically every other position on the ballot is running unchallenged.) Well, you could always write your favorite folks in — I came in third for Sheriff some years ago — or our local DSA chapter reached out with an alternative of what to do with your nervous energy while waiting for the rest of the country to cast their ballots.
Organizer Joel Brooks told me about an election night canvassing project they’re doing for their Right to Counsel campaign. (Read more about RTC in this earlier issue of the newsletter.) He also sent this statement:
Hudson County DSA is an all volunteer group working to win tenants' right to counsel. We have subcommittees that work on communications, policy and research, and field work (talking to residents by phone and doorknocking).
Are you part of an organization that would like to join our coalition of progressive community partners to help us get RTC passed? Please reach out! righttocounseljc@gmail.com
Hanging out with a nice group of people, trying to make the world better sounds like a lot more fun than my current election night plans, which involve staring at my computer, getting drunk, and probably crying. Don’t be like me! Go hang out with the cool people and help protect tenant rights!
ICYMI
Ok in this case, I missed it, not you — as many of you wrote in to point out, I completely flaked on the Amy DeGise Halloween house last week. Newsweek, did not miss it, however, which is pretty incredible. Truly wild to see a mainstream, national magazine cover this story in full, just a few days ago. This is not a story that’s gonna die anytime soon.
Also! I have a ton of new subscribers, which I think is likely connected to Twitter’s implosion. So welcome, to all of you, and if you are with a business or an org that would like to get your information written about in this newsletter, please reach out by hitting “reply” to this email. I don’t hype things like real estate open houses, and I have a few other exceptions that I won’t include, but if you’re having a neighborhood meeting or a bake sale or anything like that, please reach out and I’d love to include you.