April 2011 Newsletter

Hamilton Park Neighborhood Association Newsletter

Volume 2011 – April

Student Spring Clean Up Was A Success!!!

On March 18^th, we had over 150 kids from pre-K to 8^th graders show up and clean up the park! Golden Door Charter School, Cordero Elementary School, Hamilton Park Montessori School, Scandinavian School of Jersey City all participated. We pulled over 20 big bags of leaves, twigs, and trash from the park. They didn’t get the whole park raked but they did a great job and want to do it again! HPNA is looking to coordinate another one in May. Jersey Journal showed and took pictures. Keep an eye out for pictures in the paper!

Three of our Neighbors are Women In Action !!!

Jan Nordland, HPNA Vice President and JC City Watch, Cara Birnbaum, Make My City, and Leda Duif-Shumbris, Harismus Cove Treasurer, received Women In Action awards from City for Ward E in conjunction with Women’s History Month on March 24^th. When you see them in the Neighborhood, please Congratulate them!

Have Questions about the Upcoming City-wide Property Tax Assessment?

Come to April’s Meeting! Ed Toloza, city tax assessor, and Steven Fulop, Councilperson Ward E will speak. Ed will give an informative presentation about how the process will work. There will be a question and answer period as well. Coffee and munchies are sponsored by a HPNA member, Faith Luby, Senior Loan Officer with Investor Savings Bank. April 6^th, 7:45 pm at Cordero Elementary School, 9^th and Erie Streets

Heard of the The Great Pumpkin Patch, Charlie Brown?

Well, Hamilton Park has its own take on it. The Great Egg Hunt in Hamilton Park on April 9^th 10am -12 pm

Not only will we have an egg hunt and games for children under 8 but also a free performance by the Jersey City’s Children’s Theatre and egg related children’s games. One of JC’s Children’s Theatre’s founders is a neighbor and HPNA member, Ann Antoshak.

Traffic Updates

*50 Summonses have been issued between March 19-22 for speeding and not stopping at crosswalks in the areas of Cordero and HPMS Schools.

*In the East District in the last month (2-13 to3-12) the police issued 1,338 traffic summonses.

*Funding has been approved for a new traffic light at 9^th and Marin.

*The Police Captain is working with the Port Authority on new signage on Manila to divert traffic from our neighborhood as you can no longer turn left from Grove/Manila unto 12^th Street for the Holland tunnel.

*Paving projects will be starting on Columbus and Newark Streets which will increase traffic in the neighborhood.

NEW MEMBERSHIP CARD!!!!

JOIN the HPNA to support your community! We are creating a new membership card with local business discounts. We have over 15 different businesses participating. To name just a few: Tailor’s Touch, Madame Claude’s Wine Shop, Delenio’s, Parkside Bistro, White Star, Salon X, Smith and Chang’s General Goods, Mastrolia Pharmacy, Holmes Outfitters, Monmouth Street Deli, and Christos. It is only $10 a year per household and you can join for multiple years! Support your neighbors, friends, parks, and community!

Water in the Park

The water will be turned on June 15^th for Splash Pad, water fountain and drinking fountains.

Upcoming Events

April 6th – City Wide Tax Assessment Information Meeting – General Meeting

7:45 pm at Cordero Elementary School

April 9^th – 10am – 12 pm The Great Hamilton Egg Hunt in the Park

May 4th -General Meeting - Park Issues (weather permitting in the park)

May 7th – Mother’s Day Event – Bagel Breakfast and plant sale 10am- 12 pm

May 18th – Farmer’s Market Begins 4-8 pm every Wednesday

June 1^st – General Meeting in the park

June 4^th (rain date June 5^th) LCCS June-A-Polooza

June 11^th (rain date June 12^th) - Parkfest

Useful Numbers for the JC Dept. of Health and Human Services

Director’s Office - 547-6800; Fiscal Office - 547-5945 and 547-6823

Health Education - 547-5583 and 547-4578; Immunization/ Lead Prevention - 547-6800

Senior Affairs - 547-4777 and 547-4361;Meals on Wheels - 547-6809

WIC Program - 547-4587, 547-5682 or 547-4697

On-going Issues/Committees

Greens Committee – If you are interested in weeding and keeping the greens areas clean and pretty, the committee will begin in April. Please email Jan at jnord5852@aol.com for more information.

Trash Pick-Up – If you are interested in reducing the trash in the HP, currently the pick-up is twice a week until the warm weather truly starts. Please email Diane at diwebber@verizon.net if you are interested in helping.

Dog Run. We are looking to start a dog run maintenance group. If you interested, email Jan, jnord5852@aol.com.

Parkfest – We need volunteers!!!! Please email Amy at hpnajc@gmail.com for everything from vendor registration and publicity to day of logistics. Registration forms will be available this month.

Coming Soon – new website – keep your eyes peeled!!!

Feb/March Newsletter

.

Hamilton Park Newsletter

Volume 2011 – Winter

Happy 2011!

January Happenings

Elections for Board of Trustees

Here’s a list of the new officers and trustees:

President – Amy Ertel

1^st Vice President – Jan A. Nordland

2^nd Vice President – Jon Gellman

Treasurer – Olu Howard

Secretary – Elna Mukaida

Trustees –Ann Antoshak (new 2013)

Beth Smith-Moncrief (new 2013)

Joan Koehler (new 2013)

Robin Tew (returning 2012)

Duncan King (returning 2012)

Trustees serve 2 years while officers serve 1 year terms and need to be a prior trustee. To become a trustee you need to be a member of the organization for 1 year and be nominated to run. You may nominate yourself.

Gift of Blood Drive

For a snow-bound workday afternoon, January 26^th, the Gift of Life Blood Drive co-sponsored by the HPNA & Hamilton Park Condominiums on 9th Street was a success. Out of 21 presenters, we collected 15 units of blood.

Because of the extreme weather conditions this winter, many blood drives had been cancelled and there was a critical shortage of supplies to local hospitals.

We thank all those who came out for this event.

Upcoming Events

March 2^nd – Gift of Giving – General Meeting

7:45 pm at Cordero Elementary School

March 11^th (Raindate March 18^th) – Student Spring Clean Up

12-4 pm Local Schools and Neighborhood Kids to clean up

Hamilton and Enos Jones Parks

April 6th -Property Tax Assessment General Meeting

7:45 pm Cordero Elementary School

Speakers: Ed Toloza, Tax Assessor; Steve Fulop, Ward E Councilman

April 9^th – 2-4 pm- Egg Hunt

May 4th -General Meeting - Park Issues (weather permitting in the park)

May 7th – Mother’s Day Event – Bagel Breakfast 10am- 12 pm

May 18th – Farmer’s Market Begins 4-8 pm every Wednesday

June 1^st – General Meeting in the park

June 5^th – LCCS June Lalapaloosa

June 11^th (Raindate 12^th) - Parkfest

The Police Captain's Meeting is held every 4th Tuesday of the month, 7pm at MS4, on Bright St/Varick Street. Crime statistics of the East District are discussed and residents are able to raise their concerns to our East District Captain Joseph Connors and Community Relations Officer Dina Reilly.

The HPNA's representative to the Capt's. meeting reports back to the community at our monthly HPNA gathering. Please come to the Captain's meetings or e-mail your concerns to the HPNA hpnajc@gmail.com

On-going Issues/Committees

Greens Committee – If you are interested in weeding and keeping the greens areas clean and pretty, the committee will begin in April. Please email Jan at jnord5852@aol.com for more information.

Trash Pick-Up – If you are interested in reducing the trash in the HP, the daily trash pick up volunteers will be starting soon. Please email Diane at diwebber@verizon.net

Traffic - We are working on traffic issues such as the speeding on Erie and 8^th Streets. The little electronic speed sign will be rotating around the neighborhood. Additionally, we are going to make a list of crosswalks that need repainted. Please email hpnajc@gmail.com with crosswalks needing painted and/or traffic issues. There are 2 ongoing traffic studies on Monmouth and Marin streets. Updates from Fulop at April’s meeting.

Parkfest – We need volunteers!!!! Please email Amy at hpnajc@gmail.com for everything from vendor registration and publicity to day of logistics. Registration forms will be available this month.

Coming Soon – new website – keep your eyes peeled!!!

HPNA Parkfest June 12, 2010

25th ANNIVERSARY HAMILTON PARK FESTIVAL

& Park Re-opening Ceremony

Sign-up form:

HPNA Parkfest Vendor Form

Saturday, June 12, 2010 (10:00 am to 6:00 pm)
Rain date: Sunday, June 13th
Set-up time: 7:00 am to 10:00 am Clean-up: 6:00 p m – 8:00 pm

REGISTRATION FORM
COST: $10 current HPNA member; $20 non-member; $25 Day of Festival

MAIL form and check made out to:
Hamilton Park Neighborhood Assoc.
PMB #166,
344 Grove Street,
Jersey City, NJ. 07302

Advance Registration Deadline: Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Morning of the Park Festival - $25 -- CASH ONLY

Food Vendors: $75.00 -- Food vendors must pre-register
Commercial Businesses: $75.00 (includes Real Estate agencies) Please contact us if you’d like to be a sponsor and donate prizes for the raffle.

Non-Profit/Community Service Groups are invited to exhibit at no charge, but registration is required.

SPACES: 8 ft. wide by 4 ft. deep. BRING YOUR OWN TABLES. Tables are not provided. Space filled on first-come, first served basis the morning of the Festival. No motor vehicles are allowed in the Park. Please park in authorized parking spaces. JCPD will ticket any illegally parked vehicles.
HPNA membership is open to local residents. Annual fee is $10.00 per household, per calendar (Jan - Dec) year. Members enjoy a discount off their table space. You may include the membership fee with the table space reservation. Please fill out a membership form at the HPNA table the day of the Festival.

HPNA Bylaws - Updated!

As mentioned in this month's newsletter, the HPNA board has been working over the past few months to update our bylaws. Below are the current bylaws and the set of bylaws proposed by the board. The changes are highlighted in red. Please take a chance to review the changes; we plan to discuss these in the December meeting (with follow-ups during the January meeting). If you have revisions you would like the board to consider before the December General Meeting please email using the contact us link on this page.

In February we will vote on both these new bylaws and conduct the elections for the 2010 board.

Speaking of Elections two friendly reminders:

1. We will be taking officer & trustee nominations in the December General Meeting as well. The nomination period will be open from the December meeting until the opening of the February meeting. Any HPNA member who is eligible to vote may run for a Trustee position. Any person who has served on the HPNA Board for a year or more is eligible to run as an Officer. Since we will be voting in the bylaws FIRST, you should be prepared to uphold both the current and proposed bylaws should you choose to run.
2. In order to vote on the bylaws & in the elections you will need to be a current member for at least the past 90 days. this means if you haven't done so you must become a 2009 HPNA member no later than the November General Meeting. Also since ALL memberships renew each January you will need to renew your membership in January in order to vote at the February meeting!
   

Thanks!
Olu

Current HPNA Bylaws

Proposed HPNA Bylaws - 2009 Rev 3

HPNA General Meeting Follow-up

Attached are the meeting minutes and the maps with the contaminated areas, specific chemicals, and concentrations which were displayed & discussed during the September HPNA Meeting on the Soil Contamination issues in Hamilton Park.

You can click on each map image for a larger version. Anyone looking for background information should click here: Hamilton Park Renovation Update

Thanks,
Olu
090902 HPNA Sept Mtg Notes

Hamilton Park Renovation Update

Last week, members of the HPNA met with the Division of Architecture to review overall progress for the Hamilton Park renovation. Soil contamination notwithstanding, the renovation of the park appears to be going well. A great deal of progress has been made and the renovation is on schedule to complete by late fall (although the schedule may be impacted by the contamination clean-up).

The following tasks have been completed:

• Tree removal
• Underground flood basins
• Curb and Sidewalks on 8th, 9th & West Hamilton
• Water & Sewer work on 8th Street
• Underground Electrical Work
• Drainage & Inlet work
• Light pole foundations
• Sanitary Sewer lines
• Wet taps & Water lines
  

Which leaves:

• Fountain (partially complete)
• Spray Park (partially complete)
• Light poles (partially complete)
• Dog Runs (partially complete)
• Basketball & Tennis courts (soil contaminants need to be addressed first)
• Playgrounds (soil contaminants need to be addressed first)
• Amphitheater (soil contaminants need to be addressed first)
• Gazebo & Community Garden (partially complete)
• Fencing
• Interior sidewalks
• Fine grading
• Landscaping & cleanup
  

During our meeting we were shown the construction samples of the walkways as well as the plans for both the fountain and community billboards which will be at each corner of the park.







Trees:
One item of concern which came out of the meeting involves a few trees which are either diseased, at the end of their natural lives, or severely damaged in the thunderstorms we had a couple of weeks ago. Two of the trees are on the path leading in from the southeast corner of the park (on the right), one is in the large dog run, one is near the gazebo (directly to the west of it), and the remaining two near the center of the park. The City has reiterated their commitment save trees wherever possible and will replace each of the trees which must be removed. A full copy of the Arborist's reports can be found at the bottom of this post.





Soil Contamination:

The other, more pressing, issue is the soil contamination. Results indicate several areas of concern which contain elevated levels of lead, arsenic and hydrocarbons (which are most likely due to the combustion of organic fuels).

There are several options for addressing the contaminants which range from capping to full remediation (removal). Each method has its own cost and impact ranging from $75k for capping to $500 - $750k for full removal. Capping will have with no impact to trees or the park renovation time line, while full remediation will cause the loss of approximately 24 trees, and a delay on the completion of park renovation.

The city has asked for community input regarding the clean-up decision. The Division of Architecture along with Councilman Fulop has arranged for an environmental consultant to be present at September’s HPNA meeting to present the findings and discuss the possible solutions.

Please join us this Wednesday, September 2nd at 7:45PM at Cordero Elementary School (located at 158 Erie Street, on the corner of 10th Street) for this very important meeting/update.


Thanks,
Olu
Aug 11, 2009 Hamilton Park - Arborist Update June 18, 2009 Hamilton Park - Arborist Report

Renovation Update: Lead found in Hamilton Park

Hello Everyone,
For those of you who missed yesterday’s HPNA meeting I wanted to bring everyone up-to-date on a development in the Hamilton Park renovation:
In the next day or so Green Construction, the general contractor for the renovation, will erect NJ Department of Environmental Protection mandated environmental testing/cleanup signs around the park. The reason for this is that GC, while testing the soil being removed to accommodate the underground features of the park (water, electrical, etc.), discovered lead contamination in the soil about 20 feet from the gazebo. The Division of Architecture suspects the origin of the lead is either the base material used under concrete in the 1920's (today gravel is used, in the 20's it was cinders left over from steam powered electrical plants) or an old water pipe that ran through the area. Fortunately, the area where the lead was discovered was under the asphalt that surrounded the gazebo so no one was exposed to it.

A preliminary soil report prepared for the Division of Architecture will made available to our group, the Mayor’s office and Councilman Steve Fulop in the next couple of days. Additionally, the Division of Architecture will meet with us next week to go over everything in depth. As mandated by law, the City has notified the NJ DEP and has begun comprehensive testing of the entire park (they are sampling soil in 60+ locations) in order to discover the full extent of contamination within the park. That report should be available in the next 30 days. Soil sampling & testing should not interfere with current construction efforts; however, they will need to remediate whatever contaminants are discovered. The City has proactively committed to cleaning up (rather than capping contamination) as this is a public park. Depending on the full testing results, said cleanup may cause delays or require moving one or more of the retention basins (which could endanger some additional trees in the park). Hopefully this will not be the case.

I’ll update the group as more details emerge. In the meanwhile, I’ve attached the Division of Architecture’s email to the Mayor’s office, Councilman Fulop, and myself. I would like to thank both Glenn Wrigley and Brian Weller in the Division of Architecture. They have done a great job staying contact with us regarding this issue and the park renovation overall.

Thanks,
Olu

Begin forwarded message:
From: "Glenn Wrigley"
Date: June 29, 2009 11:06:36 AM EDT
To: "Brian O'Reilly"
Cc: "Olu Howard" ,"Steve Fulop" , "Brian Weller"
Subject:
Brian,

I want to keep you informed of a situation that has occurred in Hamilton Park late last week. Green CONSTRUCTION, as part of their contractual obligations, did have areas where soil is being excavated tested for contaminants (per NJDEP requirements before soil can be transported off of any site to an accepting landfill). The reason for excavation at all is to install these new underground drainage structures required by the NJMUA. All test results came back with very low or non-existent contamination levels except for one, which is an area about 20 feet West of the gazebo. This one sample came back with a level for lead which is above DEP acceptable residential standards.

We met with the testing company and we are attempting to delineate just how much of an area may be contaminated with this high level of lead. One suspect reason may be the bedding or base material under old concrete walkways, which are described as cinders. It was common back around the turn of the century and up to the 1930's for cinders from power generating plants to be used as a base course for concrete. It is possible that these chips are the source of the lead levels. Much of the old walkways were removed in the 1970's renovation of the park, but some of the chips probably remained in this spot and were covered over with soil. This new renovation proposes to put this old walkway path back, albeit wider (11 to 12 feet) than the old pathways (about 4 feet).

Since tests were performed, and this level has been detected, the NJDEP must be notified. Such notification naturally makes this a public record. In order to assure the public that the extent of this contamination is found and remediated, NJDEP protocol is for additional testing at a rate of 4 samples per acre (or about 24 samples for this 6.0 acre park). These additional tests will take about 2 to 3 weeks to obtain and analyze. Meanwhile, other construction will continue without delay.

Once notification is given to the NJDEP, this project will be assigned a case number. A hotline number to the DEP is also established so that residents have current information on the investigation. There will be some signs posted around the park (A DEP requirement), letting the public know that an investigation is taking place. The hotline number will be clearly listed on these posters. Full transparent disclosure is the objective here. All test results will be sent to the DEP for review, and a Remedial Action Work Plan (RAWP) will be sent to the DEP for their review and approval. Hopefully, this problem will be limited to the one uncovered location.

I will be happy to meet with you, the Mayor's office, Councilman Fulop, and some HPNA representatives if anyone wishes.

Glenn