Park Life
Lincoln Park gets some love at In the Wind; spotlight on Pershing Field Park; clean out your closets; feral of the week
In the Wind, a new public art installation from Art House Productions, is now up at Lincoln Park. As part of Arthouse’s JC ACCESS Fridays, Art House held an opening reception at the View where the artists, staff of Art House, and various pols showed up to celebrate.
The Art
The installation consists of ninety 36” x 48” flags that circle Edgewater Lake (TIL that the turtle pond is called Edgewater Lake), featuring work by Hudson County artists.
The artists were chosen through an open call process, said Tina Maneca, a sculptor and installation artist who curated the project. “But I personally ensured as many artists as possible had access to this opportunity.” The show features Hudson County artists at different stages in their careers, from emerging to established. “That diversity creates something very special; it builds connections and opens dialogue among artists who might never otherwise cross paths.”
“The primary consideration when choosing the art was visual impact,” said Maneca. “How the images would look on a flag 13 feet in the air and in motion. We also wanted to showcase the range of mediums, and included painters, illustrators, sculptors, collagists, ceramicists, stained glass artists, photographers, and digital artists.”
“I love Lincoln Park,” said Meredith Burns, executive artistic director of Art House Productions. “So the idea of having something in Lincoln Park was always central to what we wanted to do.” She was inspired by visiting Cristo’s Gates installation in Central Park as a child. (Cristo’s Gates was 7,503 metal gates from which hung saffron-colored flags. It ran along 23 miles of paths and cost either $21 million or $5-10 million depending who you ask; either way, Art House Productions doesn’t have Gates money. Jersey City doesn’t have Cristo’s money, for that matter.)
Burns added that none of this would have been possible without approval from Hudson County, who run the park (it’s not a JC concern.) “My first call was to Bill O’Dea and Craig Guy, who helped with the permitting process and have really been great partners in the whole enterprise.”
The installation is funded in part by a large grant from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s (NJEDA) A.R.T. Program, another first. A.R.T. stands for Activation, Revitalization and Transformation, and is a result of the Biden-era American Rescue Plan. The A.R.T. program issued grants to nonprofits who would create public art installations and performances that would be “public space activation initiatives” — in short, art that gets people to a public space and supports the surrounding community .
“In the Wind is a kinetic and serene public art installation that stimulates learning and reflection about art, society, our interconnected lives, and the social sphere as a whole,” said Maneca.
The Park of It All
The location of this installation was meaningful to some of the artists as well. “When I first moved to Jersey City, I lived a few blocks away and Lincoln Park kind of became my stomping ground,” said Tolu Olasoji, a photographer who has a work in the installation. “I would come here on Fridays to play soccer, I invited my work friends to hang out, when I wanted to think I would just walk around the water. The park is part of my formative years in Jersey City, so having a piece of work here is something I’m really proud of.”
“I grew up here,” said Joe Velez, another artist featured in the installation. “When I was first accepted into the show I posted a picture of me in Lincoln Park as a little kid because we were just here all the time. So it kind of feels like a full circle for me.”
“Anything that lowers barriers to art I’m all for,” added Olasoji. “Most people encounter art in a museum or a gallery but that’s not what this is. Right now, there are people — kids, families — walking by, looking at a flag, taking it in, taking a moment. It’s beautiful.”
The installation runs through the end of November. Art House plans to have a full list of artists and their pieces up on their website soon. But meanwhile, go view it in person, since the interplay of the flags within the landscape of the park is all part of the experience.
For the non-West Siders, or those who are just not that familiar with the park, the turtle pond (fine, Edgewater Lake) is to the left of the fountain and in front of The View. While you’re there, you could also: count the red-eared sliders basking in the sun on the edge of the pond, watch a cricket match, sit under a London plane tree and read, bring your kids to splash in the water playground, hang out in a gazebo, watch some little league, jog around the runners track, admire tennis/pickleball matches, grill in the picnic area, test your skills at the basketball courts, or head over the bridge and do a little bird-watching in the trails and around the pond at Lincoln Park West. Lincoln Park is a prime example of a well-balanced mixed-use park and is a thing of ever-changing beauty. And now it has art!
Black Comic-Con
The Bethune Center will be holding the 3rd annual Black Comic-Con on June 13 & 14th. Tickets are free, and it looks like a pretty fun event celebrating Black comics and creativity. Cosplay is encouraged! More here.
Sell Your Stuff!
On Saturday, June 20th, there will be a West Side neighborhood-wide stoop sale from 11am-5:00pm. Clean out your closets, set up outside your residence, and prepare to unload those treasures on to someone else. Participation is free, but if you sign up, you’ll be added to the Stoop Sale map. (We’ll post a link to the map when it’s available.) Sign up here.
Spotlight on Pershing Field
Most of JC’s parks and public gardens rely on committed volunteers and park groups who help maintain, restore, and beautify those green spaces. Seriously, volunteer park groups do so much heavy lifting with local parks. Peri Meyers, board member and regular gardener with Friends of Riverview Fisk Park, will help NC showcase some of those here, starting with Pershing Field, which has a pollinator garden ribbon cutting this Saturday, June 13th.
In the Jersey City Heights lies a garden about to bloom. A plaque flanked by viburnum and inkberry shrubs tells us this is the Pat Mangini Garden, dedicated in 2018 by the Pershing Field Garden Friends.
Thanks to a generous grant from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions and Jersey City Environmental Commission, this garden has gotten bigger and greener. It’s become home to blazing star, golden alexander, Virginia sweetspire, and other flora native to the eastern U.S.—not to mention the bees and butterflies that keep any garden humming.
Pershing Field Park is east of Summit Ave, west of Central Ave, south of Manhattan Ave, and north of Howie Fink Way. Dedicated in 1923, the park has long been a hub for sports—track, baseball, basketball, tennis, swimming, ice skating, and more.
It’s also rich in military history, with its roots as a training ground and its namesake in General John J. Pershing. The park’s distinctive arch was reconstructed from the once-Fourth Regiment Armory, and plaques remembering Heights residents who served can be found along the walking paths.
More recently, it’s become a site of gardens, thanks to the Pershing Field Garden Friends (PFGF). The group incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 2003, with Eileen Green, Blake Hudson, and Laura Skolar as founding members.
“Eileen Green was the person that conceived of the idea,” says Debby DeVenezia, who has volunteered with PFGF for over 20 years. “A horticulturalist by trade, when walking her dog Daisy in the park, she was mortified that there were garden beds but no plants in them.”
Planting started under the arch. Today, gardens span the park, from the tennis courts to the expanded Pat Mangini Garden. Pat, who passed away in 2013, was a member of the group and dedicated to parks across Jersey City.
“The purpose of Pershing Field Park is as a memorial park,” Debby says. “A lot of our initial gardens were to enhance the memorial areas; Pat was the person that moved us in that direction. We used to call some of the gardens he cared for the “plant orphanage” because he took care of the plants others would have discarded. He believed every plant deserved a chance.”
Gail Bradbury, a PFGF regular since about 2023, sees volunteering here as a great way to get in touch with nature in the city. “I am an environmental engineer for work, and a lifelong environmentalist and nature lover,” she says. “In a time of climate change and ecological disasters, I see native gardening as a way to do some ecological harm reduction. It feels like I’m doing some good to reestablish lost habitat and encourage a healthier ecosystem and community.”
You can catch the renovated Pat Mangini Garden’s ribbon cutting this Saturday, June 13, at 11AM. The garden is located behind the ice rink off Summit Ave.
“The work we do is continuous, not one-and-done,” Debby says. “It is the love of community, the environment, and the volunteers that keep us going. We welcome everyone to join us, and we offer many opportunities to help in different capacities.”
The garden friends typically work on Saturdays, 10AM-1PM, and Tuesdays, 5:30-7:30PM, weather permitting. For regular updates and info on how to volunteer, you can subscribe to their email list here or follow the group on Instagram.
Board of Ed/Emily Pecot Update
Charges against Emily Pecot, the single mom arrested at the May 21st BoE meeting for ‘defiant trespass,’ have not been dropped. At June 9th’s BoE meeting, vice president Dejon Morris insisted that the matter was now in the Court’s hands, and there was nothing the BoE could do to drop the charges. Which is not entirely true, as attendee Noah Navarro — aide to councilperson Mamta Singh—pointed out. He requested that the board issue a statement or write a letter requesting leniency for Pecot. “The president and I will discuss that and take it to the board,” Morris said, and then reiterated that the trustees have the right to call the cops if a person becomes disruptive. Ugh. Emily could use some support—an employment change has left her without health insurance. The GoFundMe supporting Emily is here.
Feral of the Week
Look at that face. That, friends, is the face of a cat who has Seen Some Things. Here’s what Feral Fixers TNR Club has to say:
“This wizened feral was spotted basking in some morning sun next to Lincoln Park. She is one of the last two remaining from what old-timers tell us was a colony of well over 30 cats. Following a wave of trap-neuter-return in the neighborhood in 2016-2017, and then ongoing maintenance TNR and rescue of abandoned pets, we think this kitty and her partner enjoy being the last to supervise the block.”
About Feral Fixers TNR Club: A 501(c)3 nonprofit supporting Jersey City neighborhood street cats through spay/neuter, vaccinations, and medication care/rehabilitation.
@feralfixersclub on Instagram
Bird Corner
June 13th is Pigeon Appreciation Day. That’s reason enough to celebrate one of JC’s most divisive bird residents. This gorgeous photo, taken in JC Heights, is courtesy of Preeti Desai/@preetalina
Really, truly the last thing…
Ward B Clean-up Day is Saturday June 13th. Pick up supplies at 10 am at 546 West Side Ave and drop off around 1pm. Contact Carissa Cunningham for more info at ccunningham@jcnj.org
There will be a second, small clean-up in the afternoon, 2-4pm, organized by Lincoln Park North Neighborhood Association. Pick up supplies at 76 Gautier Ave. RSVP by emailing LPNNAGreenTeam@gmail.com
Stay in touch!
Submit your ferals, feed us story ideas, or just say hi by emailing us at neighbhorhoodcharacter@gmail.com.