General Meeting April 18th, 7pm

In person: Barrow Mansion. 83 Wayne Street.

Zoom: with the Meeting ID: 851 7077 0500 and passcode: VVPA. https://zoom.us/j/85170770500

AGENDA:

7:00 Welcome from Craig Zehms, VVNA President

7:15 Tenant's Right to Council with Issac Smith, aide to Councilman James Solomon

7:30 Michael Manzella, Director of Traffic

7:45. County Commissioner Candidates Bill O'dea and Adrian Ghainda and County Executive Candidate Elena Little (all candidates were invited.)

In & Around the Park,
A letter from VVNA President Craig Zehms

Dear Neighbors,

Spring has finally sprung and the park is in glorious bloom! So do yourself a favor, find yourself a park bench, and revel in the bounty that surrounds you.

Board Member Jim Moore and myself attended a meeting with Richard Haytas, the Chief Engineer for the MUA, and his associate Brian Messler to discuss our concerns about the ongoing sewer project on York Street. We addressed the lack of communication, outdated "No Parking" signs and MUA website, and the function of the “flaggers” that monitor the street. It was a positive meeting and we have already seen some improvement. They hope to be through the intersection of York and Varick by July 1st. May I remind you that Patience is a Virtue? Personally, I need to purchase a lot more patience to get me through the next 2 1/2 months. FYI - the sewer pipe was installed between 1880-85. Which is actually before I was born.

I encourage you to peruse the newsletter for announcements about events and activities. Among them are a Book Swap on Saturday, April 29 and a Plant Party at the Barrow Mansion on Sunday, May 7.

As always, thanks for being active participants in our neighborhood.

Onward!

Craig Zehms
VVNA President

Reminder!

The VVNA has a new email address and website that reflect our new name; the Van Vorst Neighborhood Association (VVNA).

Please reach out to us at vvnajc.org and welcome@vvnajc.org

Jersey City Marathon

The Jersey City Marathon is next weekend! Cheer on the runners if you’re not running yourself!

MUA Meeting Notes

Craig Zehms and Jim Moore met with Richard Haytas and Brian Messler. Key discussion points:

• They (MUA) acknowledge that communication with residents is their main challenge and they need to do better. They are supposed to provide a written notice to residents about timing and scope of a project but often these notices do not reach their targets for various reasons.

• They agreed that their web page could help with the communications but were not aware of it being out of date. Richard said they recently hired someone to deal with the website full time and he said he would follow up with them.

• The MUA employees (flaggers) that we see are mostly part-time and are not trained. Their main role is to prevent people from walking into the job site and to move cones as needed. Cops are required for any job site that has a traffic light where traffic control is needed.

• Richard said they have received $2 billion from a consent decree to replace aging pipes and to separate sewage from storm water whenever possible. They are also supposed to be inspecting pipes proactively with cameras so they are not just responding to emergencies.

• They are also investing a lot of effort in upgrading catch basins and removing debris from them and from pipes where it can settle and reduce capacity causing water and sewage to enter buildings during high rain storms.

• They need to allow time for a streetscape to "settle" before repaving and replacing sidewalks. He said they are supposed to restore a worksite to the way it was before, including blue stone sidewalks. He gave Pacific Avenue as an example of how they restore (and improve) a street.

• When they do replace pipe they are going with a larger size including replacing 3" pipes with 5" and 6" pipes with 12".

• We are looking to bring them into a future VVNA meeting.

Are you creative?
Do you love bringing people together?
Do you enjoy organizing and have a pulse on the Van Vorst Park Neighborhood?

We need YOU!

We looking for a new Events Chair to join the Board of the VVNA. Time required is a few hours per month for board meetings plus time for events/planning as needed. Reach out to us if you're interested welcome@vvnajc.org

Plant Party at the Barrow Mansion

Sunday, May 7
2:00-4:30pm

$15 Tickets

Put on your favorite florals and join us at the Barrow Mansion for a plantastic party!

We’ll have a plant swap, plant parenting clinic, a cultivation class and pot decorating for kids.

Prizes for festive attire so get creative!

Community Book Swap

Thanks to Our Generous Sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors: Barrow Mansion Development Corporation, Brightside Tavern, Jersey Wine & Spirits, Two Boots Pizza, Space Unlimited, and the Friends of Van Vorst Park!

The VVNA depends on fundraising and sponsorships from local businesses and community members. Interested in becoming a sponsor? Email welcome@vvnajc.org.