National Night Out, which celebrates its 28th year this week, encourages neighbors to come together, get acquainted, and have a fun-filled safe night to foster neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships. Here in Jersey City, the events will feature games, refreshments, entertainment and activities, and giveaways, as well as representatives from various community service organizations, who will be on hand to provide information to the public.

“The work of the Police Department is enhanced when collaborating with residents,” Healy says in a statement. “Events such as these not only help bring the community closer, but are a great way for residents to familiarize themselves with the police department, provide important information to our police officers and obtain information on city services.”

THE DETAILS

National Night Out; Tuesday, August 2 from 6:30 to 9:30 pm; at Pershing Field and Audubon Park.

The annual national event encourages neighbors to come together, get acquainted, and have a safe night to foster neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships.

Sponsored by Target, National Night Out’s national sponsor, the Jersey City Police Officers Benevolent Association and PFS Logistics, the Jersey City events will feature entertainment from the Hope Center, Family Fitness martial arts, the Red Bull Soccer Street Team, Alfred’s Party Time, Salsa Fever on 2, Au Capoeira School and more.

“Police and residents need to work together to protect the community and form a friendlier environment for the children of Jersey City,” Mayor Jerramiah Healy says in a statement. “Events such as these not only help bring the community closer, but are a great way for residents to familiarize themselves with the police department, and obtain information on city services.”

The local National Night Out events are slated for Tuesday, August 3, from 6:30 to 9:30 pm, at both Pershing Field and Arlington Park. For more info, call 201-547-5682.

Hello. My name is Melissa Surach and I am a writer/comedian/model/actress/filmmaker/artist/philosopher and waitress. A few weeks ago, I publicly threatened to hold a rally at City Hall to protest Not Having an Award. Sadly, no one would heed my badgering and give me one, so last Tuesday, I woke up around 5 am to make signs and paint my face gold.

My original idea of tapping on the mayor’s window with post-it notes on a broomstick was over budget (I couldn’t afford a broom). I would have to use my fists and dog. I shoved him into a sandwich board that said, “Give Melissa Surach an award … or I’ll give you fleas!” but he could just as easily threaten ringworm, mange and canine herpes. He is very sick puppy, and I should get another award just for loving him.

I asked Ward E councilman Steven Fulop to meet me there “for an interview for a newspaper,” but I was just going to demand an award in person.

He emailed back: “Anything for you Melissa,” adding: “Let’s do it naturally.”

“Oh great,” I sighed, “he’s in love with me.” I didn’t blame him, and it might make kidnapping him if my award was denied easier, but I worried about the media coverage we’d receive, and sometimes I get tired of everyone being in love with me.

I applied gold paint to my face as an emulation of the award I’d like to receive — one with my visage on it. The fumes from the gold spray paint I put on my hair made me cough and depleted some ozone, but it was worth it. I sparkled like a goddess or piece of jewelry.

When I arrived at City Hall, I was greeted by hundreds of my supporters. I smiled like the laureate I was about to become. My fans had started without me, and were shouting for Mayor Healy, council president Vega* and councilwoman Lopez to resign, probably because they hadn’t given me an award yet. All the love and support the townspeople showed for me melted my heart and the hatred I usually reserve for them disappeared, briefly.

My dog and I stood around chanting, “Hey! Hey! Ho! Ho! Give Melissa an award you monsters!” for a while with the crowd. But after a few minutes, I noticed that they weren’t following my lead very well and insisted on shouting out names that weren’t mine. “You’re all doing it wrong!” I screamed, “Idiots!”

Apparently, there was some sort of corruption scandal with bribes that broke out the week before, and some opportunistic beasts with their own political agendas tried to steal on my protest and brought their ugly “National Night Out Against Crime” banners. Some people brought brooms but they weren’t banging them against the windows like I ordered them to. Instead, they were “sweeping out corruption” when they should’ve been “sweeping in my award.” My hatred for everyone slowly crept out of me once again.

I accosted a WASPy woman with a baby and asked her to sign my petition.

“What’s wrong with your face?” she asked. She was wearing a shirt that read, “Get drunk. Get naked. Get elected.”

“What’s wrong with your shirt?” I asked her. Why wasn’t my face on it? I was about to admonish her when I looked down and saw my dog eating his sign.

“BAD DOG!” I shouted. As I bent down to slap him, I accidentally hit the woman’s baby in the head with my sign.

“I’m so sorry!” I licked my lips, “Would you like me to kiss it?”

“Please leave us alone!” she shrieked and moved towards a police officer.

“What about my petition?” I shouted … along with several profanities.

A bunch of old people hissed at me and told me to be quiet because some nobody was giving a speech — the first of about a thousand boring, stupid speeches. “Shut up!” I yelled.

I started to think that maybe this rally wasn’t about me at all. The speakers did not mention my name or how stunning I am. I fell asleep waiting for someone to call me up to the podium, until I was woken up by all the applause and cheering as Fulop took the stage. This would surely be the time to present me with my award and I prepared to mount the stage. I eased my nerves by glaring at his pants, when my mom, who lives down the street, interrupted my ogling.

“Did you get your award yet?” she asked.

“Not yet. Sign my petition,” I said, passing the clipboard without breaking my gaze.

“Oh, and Grandpa would’ve wanted me to get an award. You should sign his name too. So would Lala,” I said, remembering her pug. “And I forgot my camera. Take pictures for my article.”

“I’m not signing dead people’s or animal’s names. That’s illegal and corrupt — and isn’t that what this protest is about?”

I rolled my eyes and walked away, grumbling, “Don’t tell me what to do.”

I stalked around for Steve after his speech, but I couldn’t get near him because he was being bombarded by old people. I swallowed my rage as another golden girl cut me in line. Every time I tried to approach him another geezer would pop up, and what’s worse, Steve seemed to enjoy it. He laughed and shook hands. It was gross, and I felt betrayed. Not only was he stealing my crowd, but he was also delaying my award by tolerating the crowd of people who were wasting everyone’s time by asking him for stupid things. I moped around stamping my feet waiting to ask him for my award.

“Hi Steve,” I took his hand in mine and all of my anger subsided as I looked into his dreamy brown eyes, “Do you have something for me?”

“Look Melissa, I don’t know if I can get the council to agree on this, but we can probably give you some sort of recognition,” he took his hand away from me, and my outrage flooded back.

“Well then who do I have to bribe to get an award? Because I’m unemployed, so I can’t,” I said as my eyes welled up and my voice affected an embarrassing high note. I braced myself to reject him as he asked me out to dinner, but he walked away.

After the speeches, most of the crowd dispersed without shaking my hand for organizing everything. I cried the entire walk home, and gold tears streamed down my face and onto my dog. Despite the fact that Steven Fulop tried to steal my rally, I’ll forgive him because he was the only one there who can give me an award — or was he? Maybe you can help. Feel free to write to your local government officials and nag. I will also accept awards from any and all other organizations. You’re welcome!

Disclaimer: Most of the events described in this essay did not happen.

- David Cruz is back from a two-month hiatus with a series of posts concerning the big corruption scandal: a little limerick about L. Harvey Smith’s involvement in the corruption scandal starts things off. He also takes issue with the “fashionabl[e] outrage” of “hipster-looking … newcomers” of the kind that he says were to be found at the July 29 anti-corruption rally at City Hall, and with Fulop’s National Night Out rally a few days later. And he wonders about the future of Latino representation on the City Council.

- And another blogger returns, this one from an eight-month absence, to comment on the corruption. Kevin Canessa at Hudson Line calls L. Harvey Smith “the most arrogant politician in New Jersey.”

- Marie Javins tells us how she really feels about the corruption arrests.

- New York’s Sixth reports on a major street widening project being planned for Columbus Drive.

- Dan Dickinson takes us on a multimedia journey of his experience of All Points West. Pity some of the links now appear to be missing, but still a great read.

- Dislocations continues its ongoing ethnic festival coverage with the “single continuous burst of celebration” that was the West Indian/Caribbean Parade & Carnival as well as the Bolivian Parade. No Hurry in J.C. also has photos and video of the Bolivian Parade.

- Life Vicarious reports that Downtown restaurant-to-come Cobblestone appears to have fizzled.

At the Villa Borinquen housing complex on Manila Avenue, Mayor Healy, Freeholder Eliu Rivera, Police Director Sam Jefferson and others remembered Police Officer Marc DiNardo, who was fatally wounded in a shootout on Reed Street last month. DiNardo’s widow Mary accepted an award on his behalf, and three other officers who were wounded in that incident also received awards.

photo by Steve Gold

Meanwhile, just down the street at City Hall, about 300 had gathered at a rally organized by Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop to protest the alleged crimes of more than a dozen city elected officials, employees and their advisors that came to light as part of a massive federal corruption bust less than two weeks ago. Fulop and other speakers at the rally demanded the immediate resignation of Council President Mariano Vega*, and some members of the crowd also called for the resignations of Mayor Healy and Ward C Councilwoman Nidia Rivera Lopez.

Community activist and recent mayoral candidate Dan Levin, whose One Jersey City group staged a similar rally on the steps of City Hall before last Wednesday’s city council meeting, had mixed feelings about Fulop’s rally. Speaking to JCI at the city-sponsored North District event in Pershing Field, Levin said that “while it’s good that people came out, … on this particular night … my personal sentiments are here.” He remarked that particularly on the heels of Officer DiNardo’s death, the “appropriate” way to celebrate NNO is at an event where police and the community can meet and “humanize” their relationship.

Speaking with the press after the ceremony at Villa Borinquen, Mayor Healy had rather harsher words about Fulop’s event. He characterized the rally as an attempt by Fulop to “make political hay” out of NNO: “I don’t have a lot of respect for it,” he said. Ward D Councilman Bill Gaughan, who spoke to JCI at Pershing Field, responded similarly; he called Fulop’s decision to hold the anti-corruption rally on the same night as NNO “unbelievable,” saying Fulop was merely “patting [himself] on the back.”

From Fulop’s perspective, the rally was a success. To loud cheers, he told the crowd that he intends to reintroduce a developer pay-to-play initiative at the next council meeting, saying “we will pass it or we will shame [the administration].”

Former mayor Bret Schundler was among the protesters. “Outraged” by the arrests, he called on Mayor Healy “to say what he did know” about the money that was changing hands and allegedly finding its way into his campaign war chest. Resident Fay Wright called her presence at the rally “an obligation … as a taxpayer.” Allyson Murphy and Tim Catts, recent transplants from Brooklyn to Ward E, had come to support their councilman; Murphy called him “one of the only good guys.” Catts said the matter was “clear-cut … if you’re indicted on federal corruption charges, you ought to resign.”

Fulop also criticized Governor Corzine for not including Jersey City in an executive order issued Monday that halted development approvals in Ridgefield, whose mayor was indicted as part of last month’s federal bust. He accused the governor of applying a “double standard … because Jersey City is politically important” in this year’s gubernatorial race. Healy bristled at the suggestion that Jersey City’s development approvals should come under additional scrutiny, calling the city’s process “open, honest and … very productive.” At last week’s council meeting, the council unanimously approved a resolution to open to the public the committee that oversees tax abatements, which was formerly chaired by Vega*.

A more solemn tone prevailed at Cosmo “Gussy” DiSanto Playground on West Side Avenue, where Miriam Melendez’s son Darius Burgess was shot and killed in June. Melendez and Councilwoman Lopez organized a vigil at the playground to commemorate Burgess’s death, as well as that of Charles Desron Mincey, who was murdered in 1997.

Melendez, who appeared at the city council meeting on July 15 to present petitions for safety improvements to the park, pointed to overgrown trees and a lack of lighting as factors that contribute to crime in the area. She credited Councilwoman Lopez with getting one tree removed, but said that more needed to be done. Charles Mincey’s mother Brenda cited the lack of recreational programs as a reason that some youngsters become involved in gangs. “We don’t get our fair share in this area,” said Rampaul Guyadeen, a neighborhood resident who was at the vigil.

Councilwoman Lopez said yesterday that while walking past the park around noon, she had been accosted and threatened by a group of men who mistakenly thought she was taking their picture with her cellphone. “There’s a real problem in that park,” she said, adding that she is “hoping” she will be able to make the improvements Melendez and the community are asking for. “I’m not scared of these punks,” she said.

- About 300 people rallied on the steps of City Hall last night to protest alleged corruption in City Hall and demand Council President Mariano Vega*’s resignation. This was the second such rally in two weeks. Last night’s event was organized by Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop as part of the citywide commemoration of National Night Out against crime. Look for JCI’s full report of the events around the city later today.

- In response to rumors that 31st District Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith would resign in the wake of his indictment on corruption charges, Smith’s lawyer announced that he will make a decision by the end of this week.

- The new Ethical Community Charter School on Broadway in the Marion section has received all of its final approvals and will open its doors for the first time next month.

- Liberty Events Management, who produced last weekend’s All Points West music festival in Liberty State Park, says it’s committed to restoring the grounds to their pre-festival condition.

- A study conducted by New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene suggests that as of 2006-2007, members of the World Trade Center Health Registry — made up of those who had “intense exposure” to the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks — still had an elevated risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder.

- Steel workers striking from their jobs at a Quebec company that is partially owned by Jersey City-based Goldman Sachs protested outside Goldman’s office tower yesterday.

In statewide news:

- The state’s public schools added more than 1,200 new positions to the payroll in 2008, resulting in a total payroll increase of nearly $10 billion.

- New Jersey’s murder rate for the first half of the year dropped 24% from the same period last year, according to the state Attorney General’s office.

- Tonight is National Night Out against crime, and there are events planned across the city for 6:30 p.m. at Enos Jones Park, Audubon Park, Pershing Field and Arlington Park. Ward E councilman Steven Fulop is holding a rally on the steps of City Hall to protest corruption in government.

- Jersey City’s Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) team will advance to the league’s World Series in Florida after a nail-biting win yesterday in Yankee Stadium.

In statewide news:

- Environmental groups from all over the state are calling for an investigation of the state Department of Environmental Protection in light of last month’s corruption arrests.

- New Jersey’s Parole Board has received the Innovations Award from the Council of State Governments for an experimental program designed to lower the number of parolees returning to prison.

- Rating agency Moody’s has changed New Jersey’s credit outlook from “stable” to “negative” after reviewing the state’s finances, citing the national recession and “nonrecurring and temporary budgetary solutions” as reasons for the downgrade.

- A new poll conducted by Democratic consulting firm Global Strategy Group shows Chris Christie leading Governor Corzine by seven points among likely voters. The poll also suggested that last month’s corruption bust and the negative ads the Corzine camp has been running against Christie have had little effect on the race.

- New Jersey’s Department of Health and Human Services will receive $10 million in federal funds to help it prepare for a possible swine flu pandemic.

“In light of recent events that have shaken our city to the core, I invite you to save the date of Tuesday, Aug. 4 for a citywide rally on the steps of City Hall itself,” he wrote in an email to supporters today.

“Let your leaders hear your voice and know how you feel about their deception, their lies, their stealing,” the message reads. “We must send a strong message of one city, united in the belief that crime must be stopped wherever it happens.”

When reached this afternoon, Mayor Jerramiah Healy was unsurprisingly cool to Fulop’s proposal.

“The first order of business for any government — whether local, county, state or federal — is the safety of its citizens,” he said. “National Night Out is an annual event that joins law enforcement with the community in an effort to make our streets safer. While no one condones the alleged actions of some officials, the focus of National Night Out should not change.”

But Fulop, who has leveled almost-daily criticism of the mayor and his allies since the arrests on Thursday, says that crime is crime, no matter what kind it is or where it occurs. “That includes the streets and gun violence, as well as City Hall,” he says. “Clearly crime is an issue in City Hall.”

He says he’ll be there on Aug. 4, and hopes the mayor will be as well.

“I’d like to extend an invitation to Mayor Healy,” Fulop says. “He can [come to the event] and talk about corruption in City Hall the same way everybody else can.”

Shane Smith contributed to this report.