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Calling Embankment Supporters! |
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Do you have accounting, financial, or legal skills that you'd be willing to share with the Coalition?
We'd like to hear from you!
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Didn't make the Coalition's June event?
There's another opportunity to join us at our
information tent at the historic Holy Rosary Festival
No special skills required, just a desire to meet your neighbors
For more information, please contact Dinah:
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Coalition Dinner The Place to Be!
 The
Coalition evening at The Embankment Restaurant on June 12 was
a resounding success, attracting more than 170 attendees from all
over the City and region who are eager to see a park and greenway
realized on this National Register-eligible historic site.
We added many new members to the Coalition, and, after expenses, more than $3000 to our treasury.
Thanks for staging the event go to Dinah Bolivar,
Chair, and the Events Committee; Membership Committee Chair Christina
Donnelly; restaurant owners David and Rose-Marie O'Brien; Lee Sims
Chocolates; and, most of all, the overwhelming response from the public
to our invitation - so great that we had to close our online
reservation system early.See the Coalition President's thank you to all.
Among the participants were
seven elected officials and candidates for local and state office,
noted below. The Coalition is a nonpartisan nonprofit
organization and does not endorse any candidate for office. We are
gratified, however, by all expressions and, especially, actions in
support of Embankment preservation.
 Mayor Jerramiah Healy
is heading the City's effort to secure the Embankment for public use -
light rail, park, and greenway. The City challenged Conrail's
sale of the property to a developer. It led a petition to the federal
Surface Transportation Board, which agreed that the rail line is under
its exclusive jurisdiction. The City is also challenging state court
rulings that allow Conrail's partner developer to seek local land-use
permissions before Conrail has sought or obtained a required rail
abandonment permit.
The Mayor, whose busy schedule
prevented him from attending, nevertheless contributed to the June 12
event. He is shown here at the Coalition's October meeting.
 New Jersey Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith
towers above the crowd. As former interim Mayor of Jersey
City and former City Council President, Smith championed many
Embankment preservation initiatives, including Municipal Landmark
designation. He recently announced a mayoral run.
In the foreground is Laura Skolar, president of Pershing Field Garden Friends in Jersey City Heights.
 Former NJ Assemblyman Louis Manzo
(center) is running for Mayor. He joined the City, Coalition, and
Rails-to-Trails in requesting that the federal Surface Transportation
Board exercise its jurisdiction over the Embankment property. He and Councilman-at Large Peter Brennan
(right), who has repeatedly voted for Embankment preservation
ordinances and resolutions, chat with Tom Gibbons of Hamilton Park. Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop has been an Embankment preservation supporter since assuming office in 2005.
He may be a mayoral candidate or run again for the City Council in October, and is exploring his options.
 Shelley Skinner, a Downtown resident and founder of Jersey City Families for Better Schools, is throwing her hat into the ring for Ward E Councilwoman. Shelley has stated her support for the Embankment park and greenway.
Behind her in the photo is Althea Bernheim, who is Council Aide to current Ward E Councilman Fulop.
 When last in office, Former Mayor Bret Schundler
(center) planned to tear down most of the Embankment and turn it over
to a townhome developer. He is running again for Mayor
and recently told us city conditions have changed and he now
supports preservation. He said, "As Mayor, I will work with
the Embankment Coalition hand in glove to gain city
ownership of the Embankment so that it can be turned into a municipal
park, and will invest the city capital dollars and aggressively
seek the grants necessary to make this new park a first-class public
amenity."
Along with these officials and candidates, nonprofit
organization leaders from all over Jersey City and places farther
afield were on hand. A few are shown arriving below.
From left to right around the sign-in table are Jennifer Greely, President, Hamilton Park Neighborhood Association; Dennis Doran, Secretary, Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy; Elizabeth Brody, Trustee, East Coast Greenway Alliance; Joanne Gucciardo, Member, Embankment Preservation Coalition Advisory Board; and Christina Donnelly, Coalition Secretary and Membership Committee Chair.
Our unofficial prize for extreme dedication to the
Embankment goes to Claire Perrault (left, below), who, despite a broken
foot, hobbled in on crutches. She is shown with two fellow
decade-long Embankment supporters, Bob Perrault and
Charles Kessler.
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