The Jersey City Independent "

“Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” Roman gladiators once uttered the phrase that today is spoken at opening ceremonies of Special Olympics competitions. After the national anthem is played, an athlete reads the oath as a call and response pledge. On this February morning, Hudson County’s own Angel Torres, 20, had the honor. He stood at the microphone and led as the crowd respectfully contained their excitement.

Mayor-elect Steve Fulop will have seven Council members on his side when he takes office in 18 days, a position that he says is necessary to help get “off and running” as he transitions into a City Hall that will soon be absent of any Team Healy elected officials. Tuesday’s runoff election, which settled the [...]

The drummer’s always that poor guy in the back who gets blocked by the vocalists and guitarists running around on stage or whose face is obscured by his own cymbals. But Jersey City musician Stephen Chopek, who is best known for his work as a drummer for acts like the Everymen and the Backyard Committee, isn’t hiding behind his kit anymore. He’s traded in his drumsticks for a guitar and a mic for his solo debut “See Through” and nationwide tour.

When tidal surges from Sandy poured into the Golden Cicada Tavern, located on the corner of Grand Street and Marin Boulevard, owner Cheng “Terry” Tan was flooded out — the surge water hit the six-foot mark and Tan was forced to evacuate his bar and wade across Grand Street towards higher ground. It was a [...]

Miguel Cardenas digitally creates assemblages that merges anywhere from 60 to 100 iconic, images, often totally disparate, to make new icons. His work brings together Barbie doll faces and the stop, play and pause symbols found on everyday recording devices; recycling guides and barcodes; “American Gothic” and the Home Depot logo. “It’s about looking at the in-between space, the intersection of binary opposites,” he says.

During the Memorial Day weekend, I visited my mother in my childhood turf, the suburbs of Maywood, NJ. As a bonus, she gifted me with a dented lampshade she was getting rid of. The idea for a bird feeder came to me while birds chirped outside the bedroom window the following morning.

While some businesses bounced back after one or two months or even just one or two weeks after Sandy, others haven’t been as lucky. About half a year since the storm, Taqueria and Edward’s Steakhouse, both located in an area of Downtown Jersey City that was heavily flooded, have just started to get back on their feet.

As economies stay depressed and budgetary priorities tend towards safety concerns, cities elsewhere in the country have begun to consider privatization plans to offset the costs of park upkeep. In fact, as nearby as New York City, the Hudson River Park Trust briefly floated the idea of letting a developer build a hotel on the [...]

When there’s nothing to do or the weather outside in unpleasant, Anthony Scutro breaks out the ink pens. He sketches a range of things like animals, tributes to his friends or whatever pops into his mind. At first glance, his works seem like straightforward nature drawings inspired from his childhood collection of pocketsized Peterson’s First Guides. The longer you stare, however, the more you find.

Fashion is riveting because of its rapid pace, cutting edge technology and unending evolution. Hot today is throw-away tomorrow, checks are in, then stripes; prints replace solids and color blocking falls somewhere in between. Preppy never really goes out of style while vintage and retro fight tooth and nail against new designs. Old is almost always new again – albeit a decade or two later. Somehow, we keep up.