If you didn’t get to see the Pushin’ Up The Daisies music festival benefiting the Historic Jersey City and Harsimus Cemetery, check out this video by journalist Joseph Galbo featuring music by one of the event’s performers, Bob Parins.

The festival, which was held Saturday, featured ten local bands and aimed to help the struggling cemetery stay on its feet. The cemetery barely managed to squeak through its worst winter ever, according to Eileen Markenstein, the Jersey City native who’s been leading the volunteer effort to restore and maintain the historic memorial park.

“We’ve had no income this winter other than a few individual contributions,” Markenstein told JCI. “We’ve been stretching the funds through the winter.”



The cemetery, whose centuries-old headstones and monuments can be seen by the thousands who drive past it daily on Newark Avenue, is the only park in Jersey City that receives no government funding. Everything from maintaining the grounds to stoking the furnace to keeping the lights on is paid for by contributions, and that money came perilously close to running out this winter.

The $3,500 raised by this event – which featured musical acts like Wyldlife, Cicada Radio, The Nico Blues, The Gully Hubbards, The United States of Bugaloo, The Winner Takes All Collective and others – will hopefully ease the cemetery’s troubles for the time being.

The concert transformed the solemn memorial park into a joyous festival with music, food, and dancing, as a multi-generational crowd of hundreds enjoyed a picture perfect Spring day. “This is the way this place should feel,” Markenstein told the crowd. “Cemeteries are for living!”

In Galbo’s video, Markenstein discusses the cemetery’s history and the importance of its preservation. The clip also features JCI‘s Mamarama blogger Jayne Freeman who praises the cemetery for its natural beauty.

Writers Matt Hunger and Jim Testa contributed to this report.

This letter is in reference to the swearing in of former At-Large Councilman Ray Velazquez as a deputy mayor.

To the Editor:

First, I need to point out a few lies in this article, such as when former At-Large Councilman Ray Velazquez said, “I’ve always been someone involved with public service, particularly here in Jersey City.” If he were Pinocchio, his nose would be taller than the Empire State Building. Velazquez’s dedication to public service couldn’t be farther from the truth.

During his time when he took up residence on my block — I believe it was 6 months — he never made his presence known to the people he claimed to call his constituents. In fact, the only reason people knew he lived on the block was because I had told them.

Next, with the statement that “I’ll make myself available for whatever’s necessary,” I am amazed he can look at himself in the mirror. Back in the summer of 2011, when the McGinley Square Rehabilitation Plan was called a plan of redevelopment, I had asked to meet with him to discuss in-depth his stance on this plan. What did I get? Crickets. Nothing. “I’ll make myself available for whatever’s necessary?” Bull.

And the one time I did manage to have a 3-minute conversation with him while I was walking my dog, I wanted to discuss how there are respectable residents in that neighborhood who do not want to leave. But all he did was interrupt me multiple times by saying that, “They will do well” — essentially, he was perfectly fine with letting these people get kicked out of their homes by means of eminent domain.

So Velazquez being “a man of character,” as Mayor Healy put it, begs the question: What kind of character? Jersey City certainly does not need characters like this anywhere near Jersey City government.

And to the mayor’s statement about the “commitment” he showed while he was on the Council: I believe I have done more as a committee representative all across the city in my tenure than he accomplished in as Councilman, so spare me the supposed accomplishments.

Which leads to my next point: Appointing Velazquez to any city position, when the message was quite clear from residents in the most recent At-Large election, screams of a smack in the face to all Jersey City residents. We have already made it clear we don’t want him. Don’t force him down our throats.

So why the appointment at all? Hmmm. Let’s look at a few things. Vega resigned his post after the deadline for an election to be held for his position. No doubt he was told to do this because if he wasn’t smart enough to be an honest politician, he surely didn’t come up with this himself. This was clearly to appoint someone with the intention of the appointee to have the incumbent-like advantage in the next election. Hmm. The 2013 election is coming up. Is Healy appointing deputy mayors in the hope of these individuals running in the At-Large seats next year? As the song says, “Things that make you go Hmm.”

John Hanussak
Highland Ave Neighborhood Association

Jersey City Slam (“JC Slam” for short) is gearing up for the National Poetry Slam in Charlotte, N.C., where they hope to put last year’s loss in Denver behind them.

In 2011, the team made their nationals debut and turned heads with their poetry, winning the first two bouts before being disqualified on a rules technicality, The Jersey City Independent reported.

Poet Justin Woo, a member of both last year and this year’s slam teams, told JCI that they have “something to prove.”

“We want to come back and kick a metric ton of ass, to prove that [our success] last year was not a fluke,” said Woo.

Poet Rico Frederick – best known as Rico Fdk – emerged victorious at the May 4th finals at Sushi Tango. Along with team members Woo, Sean Van Kleeff, Robert “Quote” Rosa, and Jaime Martin, Frederick hopes to give the 71 other teams at the 23rd annual National Poetry Slam a run for their money.

The nationals team will hold their first meeting tomorrow, where they’ll work on new and old material.

“We brainstorm group poem ideas because at nationals you can perform with as many as five poets at once on stage,” said JC Slam Founder Ben Figueroa.

“We see what works and what doesn’t. We also go over individual poems and do a lot of editing as far as the text goes. Once the words are edited, we do a lot of performance work. We rehearse, we may change things, we may add to the performance or add levels of emotion.”

Figueroa – who was recently named Union City’s Poet Laureate, an honor he called “another opportunity to do poetry and share it with people” – has high hopes for this year’s diverse group.

“I’m expecting a lot of good stuff. I think they’re going to do really well this time,” he said. “For a few members, it’s their first time out, but we also have people like (JC Slam Champion) Rico Frederick who’s been on a bunch of teams and has a lot of experience.”

As for the regular JC Slam meetings, they aren’t withering away now that the team is formed. On Friday, the group plans to host a writing circle at their usual spot, Grassroots Community Space, 54 Coles St., followed by the second edition of “Lyrics Slam,” which will feature poems inspired by song lyrics. This time, they say, points may not be up for grabs, but bragging rights definitely are.

The participation list for Friday’s event 9 pm with the show starting at 9:45 pm. Poets and musicians can perform one piece per slot, comedians get five minutes per slot. Admission is $5, $3 with student ID. Proceeds will go toward sending the JC Slam team to Nationals. For more information, visit Facebook.com/JerseyCitySlam.

Boca Grande is looking for artwork that pays tribute to 90′s pop culture – everything from Nickelodeon to grunge to Furby toys to boy bands.

Works can be any medium and size but must be able to hang on a wall for the exhibit, “Heart Shaped Box,” which will be a JC Fridays event.

Artists should send JPGs or links to their images to Luca Cusolito at luca@creativeenabler.com before May 25. Accepted submissions will be hung May 31. Artists will receive 75 percent of sale price for works sold.

The exhibit’s opening event on June 1 will feature music by DJ Pastiche and Pet Virus. There will be a $5 cover charge after 11 pm. There will be free tapas complimentary of Boca Grande and drink specials all night.

Most everyone has already heard once or twice about how the internet killed the record, the record label, distribution methods, and the order of the music industry’s once-monopolized hierarchy of seemingly interchangeable major and “indie” record labels. In the time since, music — as an industry, as commercial viability — has since splintered into fragmented bits of “free” information floating around the nether-y space of extra-legal websites where albums are downloaded at increasingly fast speeds. It’s a problem for the labels, it’s a problem for the periphery “industry” people, and, to some extent, it’s a problem for the artist.

That’s why when John Terry, formerly of New Brunswick and one of the biggest punk rock show promoters in the state, came to Jersey City, it was a pretty big deal for punk’s roots that he kept alive I Love To Hate (ILTH) Records, a label started by a good friend of his, John Cole. The label, explained Terry, was initially meant to give Cole’s solo musical projects a little bit more respectability. After all, having a made-up label sounds a lot better than ‘unsigned’ on the once-ubiquitous myspace band pages. Now it’s a vehicle for Terry to bring to attention music that might otherwise get lost in the shuffle of internet-only releases.

These days, Terry is at the helm of ILTH Records, and in the spirit of punk rock and the not-quite-dead Do-It-Yourself mentality, he’s bringing German band mOck’s latest record to the States in a joint venture with a German-based record label.

“We pressed 500 records,” said Terry, 400 of which are back in Europe. The rest went to Terry, who has a little over half remaining.

Although mOck hasn’t played in the U.S. since they toured with Terry’s old band, Rapid Cities, (more of which here) in 2010, Terry says it’s a band he “believes in.”

“From a business stand point, this wasn’t an incredible gamble for me becuase we’re getting support from another label in Berlin called Coraille,” he explained, noting the German label did most of investing. But record labels are a labor of love — and by saying it wasn’t an “incredible gamble,” Terry meant he just wouldn’t lose too much money on the deal. There is little profit in the “do it because you believe in it” entrepreneurship of music labels that is m.o. for ILTH Records.

“I honestly believe in them, and this was a risk I felt was worth taking,” he went on. “I felt a strong connection with them, and if I didn’t [put out the album here], I don’t think anyone else would do it in the US.”

To celebrate the release, Terry is holding a record listening party at Lamppost Bar and Grille (382 2nd Street) on Thursday, May 17th, at 10pm. The listening party will be run by recent DJs GREGORIOUS and Borne, both of whom will be cutting in songs from the new mOck record as they DJ. The listening party is free, and all of ILTH Records catalog will available. More on that here: lovetohaterecords.bandcamp.com

Here is what some folks have to say about the mOck self-titled LP:
“mOck is an album of uncompromising creativity and rigorous artistic integrity, but it’s also a very listenable and appealing slab of contemporary rock music.” – Oliver Aditi

“mOck is one of those good, old-fashioned awesomely impressive debut works. It balances math and post-rock superbly and has that sheen, fresh, new car smell. For a year that has been pretty barren as far as noteworthy music is involved, these guys have proved otherwise, which is why they have earned a nomination for album of the year.” – 402 Productions

“This is a most accomplished debut album and very much worth checking out.” – Collective Zine

NY Waterway is offering free commuter service for all active duty military personnel in uniform from any nation and American veterans during Fleet Week from May 23 through 30.

Service men and women must present ID showing their active duty or veteran status to ride free on ferries departing from New Jersey terminals in Edgewater, Port Imperial and Lincoln Harbor in Weehawken, 14th Street in Hoboken and Belford in Monmouth County.

Docking locations and tour times for the modern military vessels and historic tall ships visiting New York are available at NYWaterway.com/FleetWeek2012.aspx. For schedules, prices and additional information call 1-800-533-3779, visit NYWaterway.com or Facebook.com/nywaterway.

Art and pizza – which may be two of the greatest things ever created – will unite at one of the many art events in the upcoming JC Fridays, a citywide art festival.

Pizza party art show “I Want to Eat Myself” will feature the work of British artist Jon Burgerman, who is famed for taking the doodle to a higher level. His colorful, often downright silly work has been featured in installations and exhibits around the world and can also be found on t-shirts, snowboards, books, toys and more.

At the show, which will be held at Carmine’s Pizza Factory, Burgerman will become a “pizzaman” for a day. He will create special pizza pies, chat with customers and doodle on just about everything.

The event will also feature an 8 pm performance by Michael Testa, the seven-year-old pizza-tossing prodigy who rose to fame after a YouTube video of him spinning and performing tricks using practice dough went viral. Today, the video – which also features his father, restaurant owner Carmine Testa – has almost 350,000 views.

The event will take place on Friday, June 1 as part of JC Fridays from 6 pm to 9 pm at Carmine’s Pizza Factory, located at 366 Eighth St. For more information, visit Facebook.com/madmadmedia.

Participants from the state, Jersey City, and other districts, representing administrators and teachers, met at a public forum at City Hall to discuss the ramifications of pending state-mandated teacher evaluation changes that would be more closely linked to student achievement.

During the two-and-a-half hour session, “Teacher Evaluation In the Classroom,” attended by about 200 people, stakeholders affected by the ongoing reform effort shared their perspectives with the audience while answering questions from both moderator John Mooney, education writer and co-founder of New Jersey Spotlight magazine, and audience members comprised largely of concerned parents and educators.

Sponsors of this regional summit were the local group, Parents for Progress, the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), New Jersey Principals and Supervisors Association and the statewide parents’ advocacy group, Better Education for New Jersey Kids, Inc.

Roundtable participants were, from Jersey City, Diane Torman, school improvement supervisor, and Carolyn DelPlano, Henry Snyder High School special education teacher. Joining the Jersey City representatives were Tanya Tenturier, an Elizabeth fourth-grade teacher, principal Genar Mills of Newark’s Malcolm X. Shabazz High School, and Bob Fisicaro, coordinator of the statewide pilot evaluation program, Excellent Education New Jersey (EENJ). Fisicaro, working for the state Department of Education (DOE), is a former elementary school principal in Logan Township in Gloucester County.

Ten districts as a whole (though not Jersey City) are participating in the pilot. Yet 19 separate schools, including those in Jersey City accepting federally-funded School Improvement Grants, are required to take part.

Mooney, a former education writer for The Star Ledger and The Record before launching the magazine, described the effort to enact a markedly different statewide evaluation program, where at least 50-percent of the rating criteria must be based on student performance. This effort, which he called “a long process,” started when the EENJ pilot program launched for the 2011-12 school year.

He noted that much of the criteria need to be ironed out among the players, including Gov. Chris Christie, state legislators, and the NJEA, even as all sides agree that fundamental changes in the process are needed in the 21st Century. Major sticking points included evaluating how much weight should be given to scores attained from language arts and math tests on the state’s Assessment of Skills and Knowledge for fourth through eighth grades, and the High School Proficiency Assessment. Similarly, assuring a fair and equitable rating system for all teachers was cited as a challenge, as is whether ratings should be kept confidential or made available to the public.

“The basic issue is how do you generate the highest quality of teachers in the schools,” Mooney said, noting that many of the adopted program’s key components will not be enacted until after the issue “plays out in the legislature and the political sphere.”

Still, even the NJEA has acknowledged the need to change current evaluation methods. In a handout issued at the meeting, titled, “Education reform, done right, done now,” the group maintained that “the centerpiece of NJEA’s reform agenda is a proposal to revolutionize evaluations and to tie those evaluations to a better, more efficient tenure system.” This tenure system, according to the handout, should also address “the mistaken notion that tenure ‘is a job for life’ while keeping protections in place to ensure members’ jobs are not threatened for inappropriate personal or political reasons that have nothing to do with classroom effectiveness.”

Under the general proposal, teachers would either be rewarded with better job security, or penalized to the point of termination, depending on how well they score over consecutive evaluations using a defined scale.

According to EENJ’s “Core Principles,” any implemented program should feature a rating system on a scale ranging from “ineffective, partially effective, effective, and highly effective.” Other stated principles include keeping “personnel consequences” resulting from sustained poor evaluations under local school board control; evaluating “on the basis of multiple measures that include both teaching outcomes (outputs) and effective teaching practice (inputs)”; and evaluation components based on learning outcomes, which “should include progress or growth on objective assessments that take into consideration starting and ending points of student achievement.” These, they say, would be “most fair to teachers of high-need students where absolute performance may not be an accurate reflection of growth during the year.”

During the forum, teacher and administrator representatives agreed that improving quality instruction for students should be the top priority of the evaluation initiative, though DelPlano and Tenturier conceded they were apprehensive over how any implemented program might impact their ultimate ratings, particularly using student performance as a criteria.

“The higher call of this work is to help guide teachers in their professional practice,” said Fisicaro, downplaying the penalty aspects of poor ratings throughout the forum. “Because that’s really the only way the quality of learning will improve. Districts don’t provide nearly enough feedback to guide their growth.”

Mills added that there has not been much in the way of early reactions to the pilot project from his faculty, though he acknowledged they will need to embrace change and understand the ramifications for their careers very soon.

“Thus far, it hasn’t really hit them,” he told Mooney. “They really don’t understand how serious this will be.”

DelPlano assured the audience she has taken the upcoming reforms very seriously. The Snyder math teacher, tasked with teaching geometry to special ed students, commended Torman’s guidance for helping her cope with her apprehensions entering into the pilot project, which, she said, encourages more self-analysis than before. “It’s more involved than in the past,” the teacher said of the new model. “It’s the first time it’s most reflective for teachers.”

“In years past, they just did this review,” DelPlano said. “It’s a little inclusive for teachers in the classroom.”

Torman explained the pilot involves her holding more “detailed meetings with teachers” throughout the process.

“I think the most rewarding part [is that] it gives [teachers] the opportunity to reflect,” said the evaluator, who noted the process also promotes peer support. “The last piece is professional development, and we’re building that collectively, as there is a process where the teachers will come together and share their evaluation of the classroom.”

DelPlano, however, conceded the idea of placing heavy weight on test scores to measure her effectiveness “makes me nervous” because there are variables in different classrooms across New Jersey.

“One of the concerns I have is your environment is not the same,” she told Mooney.

Though she later told JCI she was sympathetic to the idea of the state’s need to take additional measures to help teachers rated in less affluent, urban districts such as Jersey City, which tend to have tougher classroom environments, parent Gina Po told the round-table it really can’t let them off the hook.

“I’m sick and tired of hearing that Jersey City and New Jersey are different,” insisted Po. “We’re not.”

Po also expressed concern that the revised evaluation program could still be tailored to shielding incompetent teachers from accountability based on the discussions.

James R. Johnson, executive director of the College Preparatory Incentive Program, Inc. of Jersey City, which works with district students, criticized the Christie administration for seemingly trying to put all the blame on teachers based on test scores. Johnson, whose program has helped 30 city students gain admission to colleges this coming school year, maintained that a good part of the problem for poorly performing students stems from apathetic parents.

“I think teachers are really being made scapegoats,” he told the panel, while conceding “some need to go” if they aren’t doing their job. “There are parents who cannot control their own kids.”

Justin Barra, a DOE spokesman who attended the meeting representing acting commissioner Christopher Cerf, told JCI that any final evaluation program will not simply judge student performance based on test scores between rich and poor districts across the board.

“The final program would evaluate academic performance by tracking student progress and growth among students in other districts with similar socioeconomic backgrounds,” he explained.

The program takes effect in 2013-14 school year, though the evaluations could tart in 2012-13. The Jersey City pilot is based on former New Jersey teacher Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching, one of four nationally-identified models the participating districts could select.

Several Jersey City public schools will be getting new principals – at least for a day.

Principal For a Day, a program sponsored by the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce, Jersey City Public Schools and developers Silverman Building, will allow local business owners, community leaders and decision-makers to get a behind-the-scenes look at how the city’s 39 schools operate.

“Our hope is that by investing your time in our schools, you will…learn first-hand about the challenges our schools face and help to develop long-term, productive relationships that will support enhanced student achievement,” said organizers.

Participants will be paired with a school and will spend the morning alongside its principal on May 24. While they have the option of leaving midday, they can also opt to stay at the school until dismissal. They will also be able to join a luncheon for all Principals for a Day – and others interested in helping local schools – on June 26 or 27. While the registration deadline was set yesterday, a few spots in the program are still open.

The program was established in 2008 and held again in 2009, but has not been revived until this year.

Silverman Building Director of Community Relations Susan Firth said Paul Silverman was instrumental in bringing the event back.

“When he heard that the last time it happened was in 2009, Paul decided it was something that needed to happen. We started meeting with (the public schols) and with several members of the Chamber of Commerce,” said Firth, noting that Silverman is a Chamber of Commerce Vice Chair.

Firth said they hope “business people get into the schools, see what is needed and that it gets their juices flowing on how they can help and participate in some way.”

Both Silverman brothers, Paul and Eric, will be participating in the event. Other important figures expected to play principal are Assemblyman Charlie Mainor, Chamber of Commerce President Maria Nieves, Jersey City Medical Center CEO Joe Scott, Liberty Science Center CFO and Vice President Connie Claman, and Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop. Firth noted that while many had no preference as to what school they’d be paired with, some chose schools in their neighborhoods or that they attended as youngsters.

Thomas John Carlson, Founder of Jersey City Arts School, will also be participating. “It’s great because he has a huge network of artists who could go into the schools and create artwork, teach kids, or be artists in residence – we hope something like that will come out of this,” said Firth.

Firth said that the Chamber of Commerce also has other projects in development that aim to link businesspeople and other influential figures to the schools including databases of people willing to speak to kids about their given professions or industries and places open to hosting field trips.

For more information, email Susan@SilvermanBuilding.com.

Former JC Councilman Velazquez is Appointed Deputy Mayor: Radames “Ray” Velazquez, a former appointed Jersey City councilman at large, will be sworn in as the city’s first openly gay deputy mayor tomorrow.

Booker Praises Healy at Mayor’s Fundraiser: Newark Mayor Cory Booker praised Mayor Jerramiah Healy as his friend and a great leader at a fund raiser for Healy last night.

Jersey City Attorney Nominated for Superior Court Seat: Joseph A. Turula of Jersey City is one of three Hudson County lawyers nominated by Gov. Chris Christie to become state Superior Court judges.

Teen Busted in New Gun Incident While Out on Two Bails: For the second time in two weeks, a Jersey City teen has been charged with committing a serious crime while being out of prison on two bails.

Immigrant Aid Group Now Plans to Close: The International Institute of New Jersey (IINJ) said yesterday they will not be moving out of their Jersey City homebase as previously announced – instead, they will be closing by mid-June and declaring bankruptcy.

Liberty State Park to Honor Audrey Zapp: The Friends of Liberty State Park will honor Zapp, one of the park’s earliest advocates, at a memorial celebration this Saturday.

Groove on Grove Presents ‘Shes & Hims Showcase’: Acts like the Vanessa Perea Quintet, Brendan Kibbee, and Dijuana Sharese and The Plush Interior will perform tonight.

Crime Blotter: Police say an Orange resident shot in the leg on Rutgers Avenue could not remember where he was standing or when he was shot and could not describe anyone involved.

In Statewide News:

Democrats Fear Nearly $1 Billion Shortfall: Just one day after Gov. Chris Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) reached apparent agreement on a compromise tax cut proposal, lower-than-expected income and corporate tax collections led legislators to question whether the state should go ahead with any tax cut at all.

For-Profit Hospitals, a Transformative Trend: For-profit organizations have been taking over struggling nonprofits – like Christ Hospital in Jersey City, Bayonne Medical Center and Hoboken University Medical Center – throughout the state.

Christie, Obama Receive Similar Approval Ratings With N.J. Voters: A poll says fifty-three percent of 1,582 registered voters surveyed approve of Christie, a Republican, while 39 percent disapprove. Fifty-four percent approve of Obama, a Democrat, while 41 percent disapprove.