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Lead teacher Mark Buttner holding up the new PS #3 school garden sign, with preK students looking on. Frank Conwell Public School (PS) #3 is a school committed to sustainability; they now have a sign to prove it.  And it’s ...

Open Letter to City Council - Ordinance 14.136: Why Should Taxpayers Take on Variable Interest Rates?‏

I sent this letter to the City Council members this morning.  If you live in Jersey City and have similar concerns about funding variable interest rates, please feel free to copy/paste this letter and send from your own email account, or call ...

City Hall Annex Map

Jersey City currently rents office space at several locations other than City Hall for a total of about $2.7 million per year.  To cut costs and give residents a single location (other than City Hall) to access services, the City wants to create a City Hall Annex (“the ...

Schools Map

This week marks the conclusion of the 2013-14 year for Jersey City Public Schools.  The last week of school is an opportunity to pause, reflect upon, and celebrate some of the highlights from the past ten months. JCPS serves nearly ...

Cordero - Building Profile Facts

On Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at 7:30pm, the Hamilton Park Neighborhood Association (HPNA) will host Mayor Steven Fulop for Q&A during their monthly meeting.  One issue likely to be discussed is the community building at 180 9th Street — aka “the Cordero Annex” or “the former Golden ...

The 5th floor layout of the micro-unit building on Bright & Varick. Each unit measures approx. 11' x 29', or 319 square feet.

The post below – originally published in November 2013 on my other blog – is a primer for an upcoming article that will show how the “Bright & Varick micro units” are now sitting squarely at the intersection of public schools, taxes, and abatements ...

CorderoAnnex

The letter below was read into the City Council record on March 26, 2014 by Sarah Welt, a downtown mom with a child who is eligible for public pre-K this coming fall.  Sarah has been instrumental in informing many parents in downtown ...

CivicParentLogo_Small

A Jersey City parent who reviewed the Board of Education’s (BOE) two demographic studies asked that I share pertinent information from the studies as it relates to the pre-K facility issue.  If you’re unfamiliar with that issue, this article in ...

JCPS 2-Volume Demographic Study (Published in 2014)

Below are links to the 2-volume demographic study published by the Jersey City Public Schools district in 2013 and 2014. These documents are an extensive analysis of Jersey City’s city-driven development (Volume 1) and the capacity outlined in each school ...

/ Civics in Action

News Flash: JCPS is now on Twitter!  (@jcps_district)

I’m a big believer in getting civic, and a big part of getting civic is tuning-in to your local community.  Once you start tuning in, your confidence to provide feedback and become part of the conversation grows, and then a virtuous ...

JCPS artwork winner

Last night at 6pm, inside Martin Luther King, Jr. (PS 11) school on Bergen Avenue, three new members of Jersey City’s Board of Education (“BOE”) and one incumbent member were sworn into office.  The Board of Education is the governing ...

An Open Letter to Mayor Fulop and the City Council of Jersey City Regarding Basic Life Support ("BLS") EMS Contract

This letter was emailed to the Mayor and all nine City Council members on December 26, 2013 at 11:04am.   Date:        December 26, 2013 From:       Brigid D’Souza, Yoo Lee, Matt Schoenfeld Subject:  Concerns Regarding Basic Life ...

EMS & Ambulance Gap Analysis

The Jersey Journal reported on Friday, December 13, 2013 that Mayor Fulop and his administration want to  change Jersey City’s EMS provider.  I wrote a separate blog post here that goes into more background about both providers.   The Jersey City Medical ...

Ambulances, Politics, and Money

What defines a best-in-class ambulance and EMT service?  The Journal of Emergency Medical Services (JEMS) has an answer: the Jersey City Medical Center (JCMC).   What is the most expensive hospital in the United States?  The NY Times has an answer: ...

Why Use Twitter?  To Follow Your Local Reporter, of Course

I often hear friends say “I don’t understand Twitter…” and then list a litany of reasons of why Twitter stinks.  But if you live in Jersey City, then here is one reason you should use Twitter: to follow Jersey Journal reporter ...

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