Jersey City’s Newly Appointed Assembly Officials Assigned to Committees: Hudson County’s newest state Assembly representatives have committee assignments.

Hudson County Sheriff’s Office Saved More Than $300,000 in Overtime Costs Last Year, Officials Say: The Hudson County Sheriff’s Office saved more than $300,000 in overtime costs, and was able to provide more aid to several municipalities, thanks to its implementation of a new, 24-hour-a-day patrol schedule, the sheriff announced at a press conference yesterday.

Hoboken Releases Southwest Redevelopment Study: The city of Hoboken released the Southwest Area Redevelopment Study last week, which states that parts of the area bordering Jersey City in the southwest part of Hoboken qualify to be designated as “in need of redevelopment.”

On 4th & Brunswick, There is the Newest Mural in our Fair City: Dislocations has a preview of a new mural painted by Isaac Fortoul.

Officials Break Ground on $3 Million Park that will Straddle North Bergen-Guttenberg Border: A $3 million, 1.5-acre park on River Road, straddling the border of North Bergen and Guttenberg, is slated to open this fall, and will include an amphitheater, a playground and unobstructed views of the Manhattan skyline.

Crime Blotter: In the early morning hours of Wednesday, a total of $661 in cash was taken during two armed robberies that occurred within two hours at Jersey City gas stations within two miles of each other, according to police.

Today’s Best Bets:

You should probably start off tonight at Barcade’s Winter Beer Night. Heavy, highly alcoholic seasonal beers, limited releases and vintage kegs will be on draft–including this year’s Jersey City debut of our local brewery’s winter seasonal–New Jersey Beer Co.’s Weehawken Wee Heavy, which clocks in at almost 10% ABV this year (4 pm). Or you could combine your love of beer with your love of singing at Zeppelin Hall for Karaoke with Live Backing Band (8:30 pm, free). For rock and roll, head to Lamp Post, where Black Water, Invisible Lines and Lady in the Radiator will play a free show (9:30 pm).

In Statewide News:

Gov. Chris Christie Starts Selling 10-Percent Income Tax Cut Plan to New Jersey and Nation: The Governor hit the road and the airwaves yesterday to sell his proposed across-the-board 10 percent income tax cut to the people, both at home and around the country — and perhaps, position himself for a 2016 presidential bid.

New Jersey Tax Collections Fall $325M Short for First Half of 2011-12 Fiscal Year: The state government’s tax revenue collections, which are a major indicator of a state’s economic health, have fallen 3.2 percent short of expectations for the first six months of the 2011-12 fiscal year.

Sentencing of Convicted Former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell is Postponed Again: The sentencing of former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, convicted on corruption charges in July, has been postponed for the second time, officials said today.

State Employees’ Paid Leave Days can Roll Over from Year to Year Indefinitely, Court Rules: Days off that state employees negotiated with former Gov. Jon Corzine in return for pay raise deferral and furloughs are not like unused vacation time and can be carried from year to year indefinitely, a state appellate court panel ruled yesterday.

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Dave Stanley and AJ Houston stop by tonight’s JC Slam at Grassroots Community Space. The open mic list starts at 9 pm sharp ($5).

The ’80s tribute show — with 10 costume changes, White Wedding returns to Zeppelin Hall (9 pm, free).

TOMORROW:

The Museum of Russian Art celebrates the New Year with the Red Carnival Ball and the RED Exhibition featuring art demonstrating various application of the color red. Wear red as creatively as you can! The $49 admission goes toward a Russian buffet, drinks and entertainment (7 pm).

German-American festival band Alpine Squeeze oompahs their way back to Zeppelin Hall for a free show (9 pm), while at the Lamp Post, The Band Called FUSE and Silent Knight play a free show (10 pm).

SUNDAY:

We can’t think of better winter comfort food than meatloaf, and today you can get your fill at the Meatloaf-A-Thon, a charity cook-off at Barcade. A $10 donation gets you all you can eat meatloaf — while supplies last, of course. The festivities begin at 4 pm, but if you want to be a judge, sign up by 3:30.

The latest installment of Ladies on the Mic at Made With Love features Stephanie Thornton Bryant, Susan Justinano, Apere Osunniyi, Wendy Weber Eaton and Jennifer Minaya. Hosted by Beth Achenbach (3:30 pm, free).

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Danielle Fotopoulos and Nancy Ghani try to capture the movement and detail found in the architecture, landscape and people of the places they have visited in Postcards from aBroad, a photo essay opening tonight at _gaia (6 pm, free).

Students from St. Peter’s Prep and St. Dominic’s Academy star all weekend in Barefoot in the Park, the 1963 romantic comedy by Neil Simon (8 pm, $10).

Holiday Road plays a free show at Zeppelin Hall (9 pm).

TOMORROW:

Celebrate the grand opening of Hound About Town at Hamilton Square today with raffle prizes from local vendors, gift bags for first 50 attendees, pet service providers on hand to answer questions and special discounts (12 pm, free).

Oliver Stone’s 2009 documentary about Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, South of the Border, screens tonight at NJ Action 21 (8:30, donations).

Let out your inner gypsy at the Lamp Post’s Gypsy Night, featuring Balkan fusion, jazz and gypsy punk with Stomping Ground, Amour Obscur and Wakah Chan (9 pm, free).

Amp’d stops by Zeppelin Hall for a free show (9:30 pm).

SUNDAY:

Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer star in Beginners, the acclaimed 2011 film about a father’s late-in-life journey to becoming a fulfilled gay man. The film screens as part of Chillfest, the LGBT film festival at LITM (4 pm, $7–$10).

The St. Michael Singers celebrate the Epiphany in This Hallowed Season: Celebrating Christ’s Birth in Word and Music (4 pm, free).

Bar Majestic is offering a $25 open bar from 8-10 pm, a $35 open bar from 8 pm-midnight and a no-cover, pay-as-you-go option, plus champagne and prosecco specials and the chance to watch the ball drop on a big screen. 275 Grove Street, barmajesticjc.com.

At Boca Grande, the Fusion Fridays Group hosts a New Year’s Bollywood Dhol Party with drink specials throughout the night. The event starts at 9:30 pm. Early-bird discount entry is $20 per person with a $5 discount for couples. 564 Washington Boulevard, bocagrandenj.com.

The Brightside Tavern for $99 has a buffet with carving station, open bar til 1 am, hors d’oeuvres, three rooms of music and a dance floor, plus a champagne toast and free shuttle service, starting at 9 pm. The bar will stay open til 4 am. 141 Bright Street, brightsidetavern.com.

Casa Dante‘s New Year’s Eve Bash starts at 8:30 pm and includes live music with Julian & Dominique, dinner, dancing, party favors, hors d’oeuvres, and a champagne toast for $175 per person plus gratuity and tax. Reservations are required (only the early dinner seatings are still available); call (201) 795-2750. 737 Newark Ave, casadante.com.

The Hamilton Inn has three seatings for dinner at 5, 7 and 9 pm, plus a $75 open bar from 9 pm to 2 am that includes passed hors d’oeuvres and a champagne toast at midnight. 708 Jersey Avenue, hamiltoninnjc.com.

The Iron Monkey is hosting a masquerade party with a prize for best mask, games and contests and live music by DJ MC and DJ Cool Kid. The party runs from 8:30 pm to 1 am and the bar stays open till 4 am. $40 includes a buffet and rooftop champagne toast; $110 includes the buffet, 5 hours premium open bar, and the midnight toast; $130 includes all that plus a craft beer station; and $200 is a couple’s package with the buffet, 5 hours open premium bar, craft beer station and midnight toast for two. Reservations are required for the $110 and $130 packages. For more information or reservations, email alex@ironmonkey.com or cindy@ironmonkey.com or call (201) 435-5756. 97 Greene Street, ironmonkey.com.

The Light Horse Tavern is offering a special holiday menu from 5 to 8 pm for $55, vegetarian menu $45, with piano music from 7 to 9 pm. At 9:45 pm, the tasting dinner ($85, with a vegetarian option for $65) includes live jazz music, a midnight champagne toast, a cash bar after midnight and dancing into the early morning hours. Black tie optional. To make reservations, call (201) 946-2028. 199 Washington Street, lighthorsetavern.com.

LITM‘s 2012 Mayan Apocalypse Party includes Mayan-inspired cocktails, a special dinner menu and DJ Kevlove spinning from 9 pm to 3 am, plus themed movies, noisemakers and more. Early dinner seatings from 5 to 7:30 pm with a 2 and a half hour table limit and no reserved seatings after 10:30. Reservations are a must for dinner before midnight; call (201) 536-5557. 140 Newark Avenue, litm.com.

Lucky 7′s has an all-night dance party with DJ Leonard Smalls, drink specials and a complimentary champagne toast at midnight. The festivities start at 8 pm. 322 2nd Street, lucky7tavern.com.

Maritime Parc is offering two menus from chef Chris Siverson and a late-night party. At the first dinner seating (6:30-7 pm), $75 per person includes a 3-course prix fixe menu and a glass of bubbly; at the second seating (9:30-10 pm), $125 per person includes a 5-course prix fixe menu and a glass of bubbly; and the special New Year’s party (9:30 pm to 2 am), $150 per person, includes a full premium open bar, DJ and dancing all night, dinner buffet until 11 pm, cocktail buffet until 11 pm and a midnight toast with views of the New York skyline. For reservations, call (201) 413-0050. 84 Audrey Zapp Drive, maritimeparc.com.

Michael Anthony’s is offering a five-hour premium open bar from 8 pm to 1 am and a Neapolitan Hot & Cold Holiday Buffet from 9 pm to 11 pm with views of the New York skyline. $125 in advance, $160 at the door. The party is hosted by 20 Pack from VH1 with music in the Waterfront Room by DJ Alex Perez and Alpha Mix and live music by the Eamonn Ryan Band in the Bayview Room. The winners of the King & Queen of 2012 Contest will be announced at midnight and the best new year’s kiss will receive a complimentary hotel room and a bottle of champagne. Doors open at 8 pm. For reservations, email chris@michaelanthonynj.com or call (201) 798-1798. 502 Washington Boulevard, michaelanthonynj.com.

The Morelli Gallery, one of Jersey City’s newest gallery and event spaces, is hosting a party at its three-floor digs at 165 Belmont Avenue starting at 8 pm. Music by DJ Neva & Music for the Masses. $10 admission with part of the proceeds going to benefit Ed’s Salvage Co. GIVES.

O’Connell’s Restaurant has a three-course dinner menu for $40 from 6-8:30 pm and $45 from 9-11 pm. There will be a DJ, an open bar from 9:30 pm to 1:30 am and a champagne toast at midnight. 111 Montgomery Street, oconnellsbarandgrill.com.

Pint Bar is offering a free New Year’s Eve party complete with hats, noisemakers, music by VJ Wildcard and a midnight toast. The bar will be open from 5 pm to 4 am with happy hour specials from 5-8 pm. 34 Wayne Street, pintbar.com.

At Port-O Lounge, $90 gets you a three-course dinner, champagne toast at midnight and open bar from 8 pm-midnight. 286 1st Street, portolounge.com.

At Satis Bistro, food will be served from 8 pm to 2 am ($95), and house music will play until 2:30 am. BYO. 212 Washington St., satisbistro.com.

Instigatorzine, an indie literature and art magazine based in Jersey City and Bayonne, is throwing a New Year’s Eve bash at Tommy 2 Scoops. Dress is formal — “you should dress like you’re going to a wedding or your prom,” according to the Facebook invite. The party runs from 10 pm to 3 am and is BYO. 177 York Street, tommy2scoops.com.

The White Star Bar is offering an open bar, buffet and champagne toast at midnight for $40. 230 Brunswick Street, whitestarbar.com.

Zeppelin Hall is offering a no-cover, no-reservations event with a DJ and dancing, plus the chance to watch the ball drop on the bar’s high-def screens. 88 Liberty View Drive, zeppelinhall.com.

School reform is a hot topic in New Jersey politics right now with five bills addressing that issue pending in the Statehouse.

The statewide organization Better Education for Kids (B4K) held its first community meeting in Jersey City last month, gathering a small group in the back room at Zeppelin Hall in Downtown Jersey City Nov. 21 to discuss reform issues.

Founded and funded by hedge fund managers David Tepper and Alan Fournier earlier this year, B4K has been holding meetings across New Jersey with parents, teachers and others with a stake in New Jersey public school education. Among the organization’s goals are to tie tenure to teacher evaluations and eliminate seniority in teacher hiring decisions in New Jersey public schools.

However, the organization is trying to accomplish these goals with some bold moves that include a media campaign aligning with Gov. Chris Christie’s education reform agenda, while at the same time attacking the state’s teachers union, the New Jersey Education Association.

The group also backed four candidates running for State Assembly this month, with two of them winning seats.

B4K is especially focused on urging state representatives to pass one of two dueling bills by Republicans and Democrats to change the rules of how teachers receive tenure, which is automatic after three years working in a district.

Other legislation is being considered that would allow failing public schools to be converted into charter schools, to have public money used to fund scholarships or vouchers for children to go to private schools, and to have private management companies step in to operate failing schools. B4K supports trying vouchers in a limited number of districts via a pilot program and has not publicly supported other bills not pertaining to tenure.

The organization’s ideas on tenure have made it a target of criticism.

The day after the meeting at Zeppelin Hall, B4K was mentioned at a public forum held at PS 30 in Greenville that was centered on the selection of the new Jersey City superintendent. University of North Carolina professor Walter Farrell, an expert in educational administration, called out the group for its role in the nationwide movement to privatize education as well as, he said, destroy public school education.

Steve Wollmer, spokesman for the NJEA, told the Associated Press last month that B4K was “all about throwing money at people and buying their support or buying their opinions,” taking issue with its handing out of backpacks at back-to-school events this summer in Jersey City and other urban school districts.

But Derrell Bradford, the executive director of B4K’s political advocacy arm, told JCI in an interview at the Zeppelin Hall gathering that the organization makes no apologies for its efforts.

“People of good faith and goodwill who have time and passion are going to be involved in this,” Bradford said. “And those people are myself, and [B4K deputy director Shelley Skinner] and David Tepper and Alan Fournier, and moms and dads who have kids in schools right now whose futures are at stake.”

Bradford, who does not have kids, said his “passion” comes from growing up in inner-city Baltimore, where he was given a scholarship to attend a private school and ended up in the ivy league at the University of Pennsylvania, which he described as life-changing. Now he wants to change the lives of countless children in similar ways.

He also sees B4K developing a presence in the ongoing debate over how public school education should operate in the Garden State. The group also plans to hold more community meetings in Jersey City, where he and Skinner both reside.

Skinner, a former employee and now a board member at Learning Community Charter School on John F. Kennedy Boulevard, said at least 4,000 to 5,000 people from Jersey City support B4K’s initiatives, with many becoming familiar with the group both through its association with her and through StudentsFirst, the political advocacy organization formed by controversial former Washington D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee.

Skinner, along with Bradford, agreed that Jersey City was one of the key locations for the group to target because of the spotlight on the school district due to the ongoing superintendent search, as well as its status as the second largest school system in the state. The district is also a magnet for charter schools, home to 10 of the 13 charter schools in operation in all of Hudson County.

When asked if B4K plans to be involved in Jersey City finding a new school superintendent, Skinner said B4K was not actively involved in the search but plans to be involved in other local education issues.

She and Bradford spoke to those in attendance at Zeppelin Hall about what they can do to convince local state legislators to pass the tenure reform legislation, which may not get passed in the last few weeks before the lame-duck winter session ends on Jan. 9.

“It is certainly an opportunity to reach out and make your views known,” Skinner said. “It is really important to let them know that this [legislation] is important to you.”

Peter O’Reilly, the father of two young children enrolled in Jersey City public schools, has known about B4K since it first started. He calls the organization’s positions “sensible” and “pragmatic.”

O’Reilly said he is particularly interested in B4K’s challenge to the current tenure system for public employees.

“[Tenure] doesn’t really meet the needs of modern-day education,” O’Reilly said at the meeting.

A longtime district employee who asked not to be named because she was concerned about backlash from the district said she went to the B4K event because she wanted to have an “open mind” about the issues they were advocating.

She also wants to see tenure done away with, to allow for teachers who are not teaching to be fired, she said. But she parts ways with B4K as she believes administrators should not have so much power to fire, and that there should be due process before it happens.

“How fair is it if someone just walks in and because they don’t click, a good employee could be gone?” she said.

Some parents of children enrolled in local public schools are even more skeptical of B4K’s intentions.

Felicia Noth, Public School 5′s parent council president, has a son enrolled at the school. Noth has grown familiar with B4K’s agenda after receiving a flyer this summer and then doing research on the group. She is opposed to B4K’s support of a pilot program for vouchers, having seen a voucher program fail in her native Milwaukee.

“I oppose vouchers strongly so I basically don’t agree with this organization,” Noth said. “I have seen the negative impact that vouchers have on public education.”

Photos of a recent “Backpacks 4 Kids” event courtesy of B4K

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Ease yourself away from the cutthroat intensity of Black Friday with some soothing live music. At Boca Grande, jazz pro Don Carter plays his weekly show (7 pm, free). And Holiday Road stops by Zeppelin Hall (9 pm, free).

If the family drove you nuts, what better way to let off some steam than at the JC Slam, a weekly poetry slam at Grassroots Community Space that starts out with an open mic (9 pm, $3–$5).

TOMORROW:

Dust off your dirndl and get ready to oom-pah with the Norbert Ludwig Band at Zeppelin Hall (9 pm, free).

Kids are in for a treat at Liberty Science Center, with two programs today: At 11 am, meet the most brilliant mathematician of the ancient world, Archimedes, in a rare post-mortem appearance. Then at noon, Kenny Stier of “Obsessed with Science” leads an afternoon of math games (free with admission).

SUNDAY:

Kittens found as a result of a large-scale Trap Neuter Return project in the Greenville neighborhood of Country Village will be available for adoption during the Autumn Harvest adoption event at Grace Church Van Vorst (12:30 pm, free). The first three adopters get a free lint roller.

Showing their faces in the downtown Jersey City beer hall were North Bergen mayor and state Sen. Nicholas Sacco, Hudson County Freeholder Bill O’Dea and Jersey City Board of Education member Marvin Adames, who introduced Fulop as his mentor. Current and former city employees were out mingling as well.

Also working the room were at least four candidates running in the Nov. 8 special City Council election – Rich Boggiano, Rolando Lavarro, Dan Levin and Viola Richardson.

But Fulop was the star of the evening, starting his six-minute speech by acknowledging Sacco, whose presence raised some eyebrows since Fulop’s political guru Tom Bertoli and Sacco are longtime political rivals. After the event, Fulop, responding to questions via email, said that he and Sacco have a “good relationship” and was happy that Sacco came to his fundraiser.

Fulop then spoke of everything from his various legislative, good-government efforts while on the council to helping get Board of Education members elected who had a part in ousting Jersey City Schools Superintendent Charles Epps from his post.

Fulop thanked the supporters in the room for packing the house — over 730 tickets were sold, raising over $24,000; 640 people showed up — and playing a role in getting him into the mayor’s office in 2013.

“The key word is ‘us’,” Fulop said. “A team of like-minded, goal-oriented people that believes Jersey City can be a terrific, wonderful place to live, one of the best in the country.”

He was especially in campaign mode, saying that whoever becomes Jersey City mayor should provide the best city services to ensure the municipality is livable not only in the downtown area but throughout for “one city, one community.”

Fulop then sent a strong message to the current administration of Mayor Jerramiah Healy and those backing him. Healy is considered a potential opponent for Fulop, along with State Sen. Sandra Bolden Cunningham, although neither Healy nor Cunningham have announced their plans to run for mayor.

“They know that when we win in 18 months, the party that we collectively have been paying for, the no-show jobs, the patronage, that party is over,” Fulop said to loud applause.

Yet Fulop during his speech admitted that it will be a “tough road” leading up to the May 2013 election because of the opposition that will probably mount against his run.

The question that then comes up is whether he has made that road easier to navigate by already starting to put together a team of council candidates.

He said he is not worried since he has “a lot of time.”

“We want to have the same bottom-up approach of community feedback in the ward selecting the candidates that we do for the Board of Education process,” Fulop said by email.

In the meantime, he can court potential voters like one longtime Jersey City resident who came Tuesday at the behest of her friend and said it was her first political fundraiser.

“I always admired him because it seems like he is for the people,” said the resident, who declined to give her name. “It’s good that Fulop is running because two terms is enough for Mayor Healy and it’s time for fresh blood.”

Resident Robert Napiorski also sees Fulop’s youth and his energetic work in the local political arena as pluses for attaining the city’s top post.

“I know people [saw] him as an outsider when he got into office, saying he was from Edison,” Napiorski said. “But he has seized the mantle in this city as well as anyone I have ever seen.”

The 200-year old festival, widely considered the biggest beer festival in the world, starts in mid-September in Munich and lasts until the first weekend in October. The beer served there is traditionally called Bavarian Märzenbier and is brewed according to strict German recipe laws. The taste is mildly hoppy, copper and usually less than 6 percent alcohol-by-volume (ABV).

According to Oktoberfest’s official website, nearly 7 million people visited Munich this year. While Jersey City won’t see that many people, thousands have already arrived to celebrate Oktoberfest. John Argento, an owner of Zeppelin Hall, says that 2,700 people guests came through the beer garden last Friday.

In New Jersey, Oktoberfest is typically less traditional and showcases people drinking 1-liter mugs of German beer, listening to a German Oompa band, and blonde girls wearing ridiculously slutty dirndls. Pumpkin beer is a seasonal favorite that has become a standard at Oktoberfest events in American craft beer bars like Pint, which hosted a Harpoon event to celebrate last Friday. Zeppelin Hall (88 Liberty View Drive) is also holding weekly events throughout October, according to Argento.

“My vision for Oktoberfest is to impart a feeling of Gemutlichkeit to our guests,” he says. “Gemutlichkeit is a German word that connotes the notion of belonging, social acceptance, cheerfulness, the absence of anything hectic and the opportunity to spend quality time with old and new friends.”

Zeppelin Hall’s Oktoberfest features German bands, Bavarian comfort foods and 50 draft beers. The event has been so successful its been extended until Halloween, and will culminate in a final party called “Shocktoberfest,” during which they will serve a limited edition of Sam Adams Pumpkin and have a costume contest.

While events in town are getting into the swing of things, the season is almost over, and a lot of places already sold out of fall seasonals like Marzen and pumpkin beers last week. Zeppelin Hall has already run out of a few brands and liquor stores like Jersey Wine and Spirits are all out.

Barcade — as a strictly American craft beer bar — is not having an Oktoberfest event, but Maine’s Allagash Brewing Co. is having an event there on October 27.

This Friday, Bar Majestic is also hosting its sixth annual Oktoberfest Parade and Block Party outside of 275 Grove Street. The bar will close off the street and feature beers from Hudson County’s local brewery, New Jersey Beer Co., which is based in North Bergen.

“Our Oktoberfest is special because we transform our neighborhood into a one night Bavarian Style Beer Garden, and back to normal the next morning,” says developer Paul Silverman, who has organized the Bar Majestic Oktoberfest since it began. “We started this tradition of parades and parties on Grove Street a couple of years after we built the Majestic Theatre Condominiums to help bring new life and energy to neighborhood.”

Another noteworthy event — though it’s not in Jersey City — is Hudson County CASA’s Oktoberfest Beer Tasting fundraiser at the Turtle Club in Hoboken (936 Park Avenue) this Saturday (2 to 5 pm). This is the second annual event, and they will feature about 40 beers, and have an extensive wine list and artisan pretzels. All of the beers have been donated by the distributors and go to benefit CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children, which pairs fostered, displaced or abused children with trained volunteers to guide them through legal process and help them find permanent homes. It’s a great cause but be careful — I went to the wine tasting last year and the testimonials almost made me cry.

Photo of Oktoberfest at Zeppelin Hall courtesy of Zeppelin Hall

The restaurant, which is also featured on the issue’s cover, is praised for its great location overlooking the Hudson River and its “subtle and classy” interior design, but New Jersey Monthly says Maritime Parc’s appeal goes far beyond that.

The point is, nobody is schlepping out to Liberty State Park just for Maritime Parc’s visuals, special as they are. What’s drawing a crowd is the synergy between the location, the atmosphere, the friendly and capable service and executive chef Christopher Siversen’s engagingly modern food. His seafare is not just fish on a plate with two sides, but bold flavor combinations which, in his words, “are not very complicated but make the plate more alive.”

For much more on Siversen, check out Laryssa Wirstiuk’s profile of him that ran in the Spring 2011 issue of NEW.

Several other Jersey City restaurants got some love from New Jersey Monthly‘s critics, though like last year, none were selected as reader’s choices (the magazine’s readership skews more suburban).

Satis shared Best New Restaurant honors with Montclair’s Costanera; Light Horse Tavern and Zeppelin Hall swept the critics’ picks for Beer Selection for the second straight year; and Edward’s Steakhouse was once again one of the establishments selected by critics in the Steak restaurant category.

For the full list of results, click here.

The theme of Thursday’s Technology Business Networking Event is “Embracing Change,” and it will include a tour of IT company eMazzanti Technologies’ new Hoboken facility on Grand Street, as well as speakers from a number of companies and product demos. It will be held at 701 Grand St. (ground floor) in Hoboken from 4 to 9 pm. For details or to register, click here.

Up next for the chamber is the rescheduled “Grand Opening Business Networking Event” at Liberty State Park’s newest restaurant, Maritime Parc. Attendees will be treated to good food, drinks and a workshop on “The Memory Switch,” a technique devised by consultant Matthew Goerke on remembering client names and information. This event is slated for Monday, September 27 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. For more information, or to register (at a cost of $30 for chamber members/$40 for future members), click here.

Then on Friday, October 1, the chamber brings another “Lunch & Learn Seminar” to Hudson County Community College’s Culinary Conference Center; this one — which, like the Maritime Parc event, has been rescheduled from August — features consultant Karen Gould’s presentation, “Winning Leaders Don’t Miss the First Step: Creating a Compelling Vision.” The cost, which includes lunch, is $30 for members and $45 for others; reservations are required. For more details, or to register, click here.

Rounding out the chamber’s fall schedule is the second-annual Oktoberfest networking event at Zeppelin Hall, slated for Wednesday, October 13 at 5:30 pm. For more details, or to register (at a cost of $25 for members/$35 for future members), click here.