SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
NEW PRESIDENT TAKES HELM AT JCLANDMARKS!
John J. Hallanan III
The Board of Directors has unanimously elected life-long Jersey City resident John Hallanan as president of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy.
Hallanan is a graduate of Saint Peter's Prep and a 2003 graduate of Saint Peter's College where he studied History and Political Science. After college, he joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corp. (JVC) and spent a year working as a volunteer organizer at a food bank outside Oakland, California.
After his term in the JVC, Hallanan enrolled in the Cities Programme at the London School of Economics (LSE) where he earned a Master's degree in City Design & Social Science. After graduating LSE, Hallanan returned to the United States and worked in public relations.
He joined the JCLC Board of Directors in 2006 and was elected vice-president in 2008. In addition to his work with JC Landmarks, Hallanan serves as vice-chairman of the Jersey City Historic Preservation Commission and is a law student at Rutgers School of Law-Newark.
"This year marks the tenth anniversary of the JCLC's incorporation, and I realize that there is much to be done and I have some very big shoes to fill. However, I look forward to working with community leaders, developers and public officials to ensure that the best aspects of this City's past are preserved for future generations."
Hallanan's goals include launching a capital campaign to raise money for historic preservation grants and educational outreach.
"It is truly an honor to serve Jersey City as its chief citizen-spokesman for historic preservation," says Hallanan. "And I'm looking forward to the challenges ahead."
CHANGING JERSEY CITY: A HISTORY IN PHOTOGRAPHS
New Pictorial Book by Historian Cynthia Harris and Architectural Photographer Leon Yost - Book Talks & Signings To Be Held
Changing Jersey City: A History in Photographs. Schiffer Books. Paperback, 144 pages + 350 color images. Authored by Cynthia Harris and Leon Yost with a foreword by JC Landmarks founder John Gomez.
From the editors:
"Lusciously illustrated with more than 350 color images, Changing Jersey City: A History in Photographs presents New Jersey’s oldest city with all her hidden quirks and secrets. Urban legends are uncovered and unique views revealed in this irresistibly compelling portrait. Sequential photographs document the ever-changing skyline while personal vignettes portray the lives of pivotal people - from pioneers to politicians - who walked its storied streets. Carefully researched, urban legends become fact - or fiction - through exhaustive reading of dusty files in the expansive New Jersey Room of the Jersey City Free Public Library. Previously unpublished vintage photographs printed from original 4x5-inch negatives juxtapose with modern views of the same locations to convincingly document this vibrant city’s neighborhoods reaching from Downtown to Greenville to Journal Square to the Heights. Written by the New Jersey Room’s manager, Cynthia Harris, and documentary photographer, Leon Yost, with a foreword by JC Landmarks founder, John Gomez, the book is both authoritative and entertaining, filled with hard-to-find facts, compelling photographs, and intriguing Jersey City stories."
Order with authors Leon Yost at (201) 320-1556, ermaleon@gmail.com and Cynthia Harris at (732) 221-8406, cravioloti@aol.com; or order directly from Schiffer Books >. Also available online at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
Read The Jersey Journal Article >
Read the Q&A with Authors Cynthia Harris and Leon Yost >
Read the Jersey City Independent Article >
Above photos by David Jolkovski for The Jersey Journal
AVAILABLE NOW! STAINED GLASS MASTERWORKS 2010 CALENDAR
Only $12.99 + $2.00 Shipping - Special Senior Citizen & Student Discounting - Bulk Order Rates Available
Photography: Leon Yost
Historical Images: The Yost Collection
Historical Text: John Gomez, M.S. Historic Preservation, Columbia University, Founder & President, JC Landmarks; Dennis Doran, Historian; Ulana Zakalak, President, Zakalak Restoration Arts
Editors: Leon Yost & John Gomez
Design: Jeff Spangler, admin@jeffspangler.net
Publisher's Price: $12.99
January: The Muted Angels of Grace Church Van Vorst
February: The Lost Tiffanys of Saint John’s Episcopal Church
March: Saint Patrick’s Sermons in Light
April: The Art Nouveau Windows of Saint Joseph’s Church
May: The Richly Decorated Saint Michael’s Church
June: The Rare Von Gerichten Windows at All Saints’ Church
July: The Virtuoso Windows of Saint Anne’s Church
August: Wright Goodhue, the Shakespeare of American Stained Glass
September: The Glamorous Peacocks of Saint Aedan’s Church
October: The Concertinaed Chancel Window of Bethany Lutheran Church
November: The Stained Glass Abstractions of Simon Berasaluce
December: The Persian Palette of Saint Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church
On the Cover: The stained glass dome inside City Hall’s Anna R. Cucci Memorial Council Chambers was installed in 1917, one year after the chandelier-centered ceiling had been destroyed by the infamous Black Tom munitions explosion in what is now the southern quadrant of Liberty State Park. “The old chandelier, hanging like the sword of Damocles, always a source of fear lest at any time it might fall,” wrote The Jersey Journal, “has been eliminated and a metal dome constructed, surmounted
with a beautiful stained glass skylight.” - John Gomez
DESIGN FIRM CHOSEN FOR FIRST STREET PARK IN JERSEY CITY
Transformation of 1974 "Legacy of Parks" Site in Old Italian Village Set To Begin; Phase One Construction Under Way; JC Landmarks Plays Pivotal Role
Above: The winning vision for the transformation of the long-abandoned, locked and neglected First Street Park in the old Italian Village section of Jersey City, New Jersey by Future Green Studio.
The Village Neighborhood Association (VNA), in collaboration with Gotham West Development, JC Landmarks, Jersey City Parks Coalition, the City of Jersey City, and Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop, is proud to announce the designation of Future Green Studio of Brooklyn as landscape architects of First Street Park in the Italian Village section of Jersey City.
Above: Entry view of the winning concept rendering for First Street Park, which will be renamed "The Village Park" in order to reflect and serve the entire Italian Village neighborhood.
David Seiter is founding Principal of Future Green Studio – a design-build firm in Brooklyn, New York specializing in landscape architecture and green roof design. His portfolio includes international, high-profile, large-scale urban parks and waterfronts, high-end residential garden and estate planning for celebrity clients, and green roof design and implementation. He also owns and operates New York City’s first green roof plant nursery – Gotham Green Roof Nursery – in Gowanus, Brooklyn. In addition to designing and building, David also teaches “An Introduction to Green Roofs and Living Walls” at CUNY Citytech and will be teaching at Pratt Institute of Design in the fall. He authors a widely-read green roof blog on the popular Brooklyn website, Brownstoner. David is in the process of designing an interpretive solar panel/art walls project for Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken.
For nearly four years the VNA and historic Village community have worked toward transforming the long-closed, abandoned and neglected pocket park into a reinvented open space that will be unlike any Jersey City has ever seen. A competitive and exciting pro-bono design competition was recently conducted via a Request for Proposal and called for feedback and suggestions from Village residents. At the October VNA meeting, over 60 attendees viewed four amazing visions for First Street Park and overwhelmingly selected Future Green Studio for an imaginative modern design that uses recycled and sustainable materials; provides playful passive sections for children; features restive, meditative elements like a central lawn, gravel walking paths and reflecting pool; and pays respect and homage to the neighborhood’s Italian-American heritage.
Future Green Studio has formed a unique creative partnership with Gotham West Development, the developers of a residential lot that flanks the park. Gotham West Development has raised the developer-community relationship bar by jumpstarting the first phase of the project with a generous donation of $50,000. The City of Jersey City has committed to assist with initial construction, and future, phase costs; contributions from preservation-minded developers, corporations, institutions and citizens are anticipated and will bring the circa-1974 park back to life for the Village and entire City’s use and enjoyment.
Above: First Street Park, Summer 2009. This photo shows the original circa-1974 rainbow climbing arc, metal and concrete benches, light poles, green rubberized asphalt carpet, and bocce ball court walls.
As the design phase continues, keep up-to-date with the latest design revisions and park news by entering your email address under the eNews and Updates section. With the expected completion of the adjacent building to the park slated for Spring 2011, the First Street Park redevelopment project is expected to be completed by Fall 2011. To participate in the rebirth of First Street Park, please contact the Village Neighborhood Association.
Above: First Street Park, October 2009, Phase One Construction. Some original circa-1974 park furniture has been removed for reuse in a nearby historic cemetery memorial park; remaining items will be sustainably reused in Future Green Studio's new design.
JERSEY CITY POWERHOUSE TO UNDERGO FIRST PHASE OF LONG-AWAITED RESTORATION
City of Jersey City and Port Authority of NY & NJ Hold Press Conference on Thursday, June 11, 2009 to Announce Stabilization and Remediation of the National Register Site - JC Landmarks in Attendance
HISTORIC PRESERVATION CAMPAIGN TAKES NEW TURN
JC Landmarks Calls On Public to Get Involved in Fight To Preserve Neglected Historic Church
The time has come to rally and save St. John's Episcopal Church, one of Hudson County's great architectural monuments...
HEROES OF PRESERVATION FETED AT 2009 AWARDS CEREMONY
Learn More About the 2009 Awardees >
REVIEW OUR SCHEDULE OF PRESERVATION MONTH 2009 EVENTS >
