Saturday, March 22, 2014

SUSTAINABLE JERSEY CITY

I had the pleasure of attending a fun fundraising event for SustainableJC, a group dedicated to improving the very urban landscape of Jersey City.  It was held in a nice little Philippines restaurant called Pal Inasal Resto Grill on Newark Avenue.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pal-Inasal-Resto-Grill-663-Newark-Avenue-Jersey-City-NJ-07306/532522983495400

A principal thrust of the evening was an eclectic mix of spoken word artists, with an emphasis on feminine dialog with the tag line 'floetic sounds by women about women'.  Here are Brienne, Lana, and Rachel giving their performances.


I believe these two are Tawana and Sean.  Beautiful stuff.



Finally, I'm sorry not to have identified these two, but their contribution was no less forceful.  I do know that Jordan is playing the drum accompaniment.



The evening was also punctuated with some great rock by Polina and the Pyramids.

https://www.facebook.com/polinaandthepyramids

Polina Kourakina and Susan Lutin really rocked the house, with and without their drummer (whose name I also didn't catch).  I should explain that I wasn't entirely sober, and was more interested in the beauty and power of the evening than taking notes.





Of course, it was not all fun and frolic.  There is a serious side to this, as SJC is attempting to help deal with Jersey City's ageing and poorly-designed storm-water system.  Because this is linked with the sewer system, a large rainstorm creates havoc and sewerage backups into the natural environment and into homes as well.  They propose reducing rain runoff by planting what are known as 'rain gardens'.  You can read about these here.

http://sustainablejc.org/wordpress/projects/green-infrastructure-rain-gardens/

This is only one of their projects designed to make Jersey City a more livable place, and you should explore their website to see if there's anything else in which you are interested.  And this is part of a much larger movement around the state, as they are part of Sustainable Jersey.  This group, supported by PSE&G, gives grants to communities around the state to support sustainable projects.  Visit their website here.

http://www.sustainablejersey.com/

You can check on activity in your community and others in your area.  Get involved to make Jersey a better place.

Finally, a shout-out to Debra Italiano, whose organizational skills made the evening, indeed all of SJC, possible.

2 comments:

  1. Sorry I missed it. Excellent continuing work, Sustainable Jersey City!

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    Replies
    1. Well, now. I have been indulging in this sop to my ego for some months now, and you are the first one to notice. Thank you.

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