News & Press Releases
Oritani Bank Foundation Donates $10,000 to CASID at November 15th Grand Opening
November 17, 2008 
Oritani Bank, a 97-year old community bank serving Bergen, Hudson and Passaic Counties, celebrated the grand opening of a new branch office located at 348 Central Avenue in the Heights section of Jersey City on Saturday November 15, 2008.
The Oritani Bank Charitable Foundation also make a $10,000 donation to the Central Avenue Special Improvement District Management Corporation (CASID) to further the CASID's mission to guide and promote positive social growth and economic revitalization in Jersey City by providing supplemental management, maintenance, and improvements to the Central Avenue business district. The grand opening was open to the public, with fun for the whole family!
Click for event times and more info.
Members Renew Central Avenue SID Program by Overwhelming Margin
November 12, 2008The CASID Board of Trustees is proud to announce that at a Meeting of the Corporation that took place on November 10, 2008, the majority of votes submitted by CASID members (owners of commercial properties and businesses on Central Avenue between Manhattan Avenue and North Street) were in support of continuing the Management Corporation and the Special Improvement District on Central Avenue for an additional two years (December 2008 to December 2010).
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Veteran's Day Rededication of Pershing Field's "America Triumphant" Monument
November 12, 2008
On Veteran's Day, veterans, families, students, community leaders and elected officials gathered at Pershing Field for a special rededication of the "America Triumphant" monument in front of the Vietnam Veterans Community Center.
Full Story and Photo Slideshow >
Halloween 2008
November 3, 2008
Halloween 2008 was a success - beautiful weather, outlandish costumes and thousands of trick-or-treaters and their families on Central Avenue!
Jersey Journal - Art work is big and shiny, and takes a place of pride in park
October 16, 2008
A crowd of curious onlookers gathered this morning at Washington Park in Jersey City to check out what was underneath a giant piece of blue tarp.
An avalanche of "oohs" and "aahs" burst through the park after workers removed the tarp to unveil "Wave," the first-ever county-funded piece of public art.
Created by noted artist Chakaia Booker, a Jersey native, the brushed stainless steel sculpture piece -- 14 feet high and 35 feet wide -- represents the first effort to install public art in Hudson's parks through funding from 1 percent of the county's capital budget. In all, the county spent about $175,000 to commission the art piece.
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Heights News - Fall 2008
Inside the Fall 2008 issue of the Heights News:
- Seasonal Decorations and Year-Round Banners Promote Central Avenue
- Hope in the Heights: New Community Center
- New Central Avenue Business Owner Nominated for NJSBDC Award
- Business Spotlight: Stanley's Prime Meat Market
- ...and much more!
Jersey City Reporter - New arts center brings 'Hope'
October 10, 2008 
Since it opened in 1996, the Hope Center has been primarily known as a church on Charles Street in the Jersey City Heights section. But since 2000, it also has served as an arts academy, and now it contains a new arts center as well.
On Thursday, Oct. 2, the Hope Center took the next step in establishing their arts-influenced ministry with the grand opening of The Hope Center for Visual and Performing Arts, a 10,000 sq. ft. building that includes a 5,000 sq. ft. gallery and theater space. The facility, which was once a warehouse, now can hold music and dance concerts, art exhibitions, and visual presentations.
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Tree Pruning Improves Security on Central Avenue
September 30, 2008 
During recent weeks, Central Avenue patrons may have seen CASID's Street Maintenance Operation (SMO) staff on the Avenue pruning street trees. No worries - nobody is cutting down or harming any trees!
The pruning was part of a joint effort by the CASID and the Jersey City Division of Parks and Forestry to remove branches blocking CCTV cameras on the Avenue.
For the Dogs: "Dodger Stadium" Opens in Washington Park
September 19, 2008 
A new county-funded barking lot has come to Washington Park, which straddles the border between Union City and Jersey City.
The 80-by-120-foot gated area, which cost the county $160,000, includes sand, benches, and water fountains for humans and dogs alike. There is also a new walkway leading to the run.
Read the full Jersey Journal article.
Read the Hudson Reporter article.
CCTV Control Room Dedicated to Memory of Robert Hennigar
August 21, 2008Friends and family gathered with Mayor Jerramiah Healy and members of the Municipal Council on August 12 to dedicate the Jersey City Police Department's CCTV Control Room to the memory of Robert Hennigar. Hennigar played an instrumental role in planning and implementing Jersey City's pioneering CCTV system, which has become a model for cities around the US.
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New Banner System Installed on Central Avenue
July 17, 2008 
As part of an ongoing effort to highlight the unique character of the Heights and its main street, the Central Avenue SID (CASID) has installed a new street banner system on 45 lamp posts within the district.
The new banners capture the variety of amenities available on or near Central Avenue with the words "Live! Shop! Dine! Work!" and corresponding graphics.
Jersey Journal - Two schools, not supermart slated for Heights lot
July 14, 2008
Bolstered by renewed state funding for building schools in poor, urban districts, the site of an old turf battle
in the Heights is set to be transformed into two new schools.
The 2.2-acre plot of land at Laidlaw and Summit avenues is to be shared by a 22-room early childhood center for 324 tots and an elementary school for 469 students, kindergarten through grade 5.
The Jersey City Board of Education had been in a tug-of-war over the land with local residents, many of whom preferred having a new Stop & Shop supermarket built on the property. Stop & Shop's developer had purchased the land.
But store owners along Central Avenue contended that the Stop & Shop mega-store would kill off
mom-and-pop businesses along the avenue.
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Jersey Journal - Jersey City hires 30 new cops
July 11, 2008Jersey City has hired 30 police officers, who will begin patroling in January after graduating from the police academy, the city announced. The money to hire the cops comes largely through the state Urban Enterprise Zone program, which granted the city $1.7 million. Jersey City will come up with $532,000, according to a press release from Mayor Jerramiah Healy's office.
"This is one of the most effective ways that our Urban Enterprise Zone dollars can be used," Healy said in a statement. The new cops will be assigned within UEZ areas, including Central Avenue, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Exchange Place, Monticello Avenue and other locations.
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Swift Action Protects Pedestrians on Central Avenue
July 10, 2008
Pedestrians walking on Central Avenue near Lincoln Street on Saturday, July 5 at 1:30 PM may not have noticed the hazard above. But an observant Jersey City Parking Authority (JCPA) employee did. A glass bulb on a light pole had come loose during recent thunderstorms and leaned at a precarious angle more than 12 feet above the sidewalk.
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Jersey Journal - Saving the House Syrup Built
June 26, 2008Some works of architecture are merely remembered, eventually forgotten - others are etched and burned in our memory, taken with us wherever we go.
At the northeast corner of Summit and Manhattan avenues in the Jersey City Heights across from Pershing Field Park, the Joseph H. Rudiger Mansion has made itself known to citizens and passersby for well over a century. If you are from Hudson County, you might even know it as well as you know the Loew's Jersey Theatre in Journal Square or the old Jersey City Medical Center in Bergen Hill.
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Jersey Journal - STREETS COME ALIVE: A fest for a diverse community
May 19, 2008
The vibrant and diverse community of the Jersey City Heights came alive Saturday for the Everything Jersey City Festival. Central Avenue was packed with street vendors, musicians, food stands and families.
Full Story >
See the Jersey Journal's photo coverage of the festival.
Jersey Journal - SAFETY FIRST: Tow 16 Jitneys in Inspection Blitz
April 15, 2008
It was commuter chaos in the Jersey City Heights yesterday morning when dozens of commuter vans pulled over at an inspection checkpoint were impounded for safety violations.
Passengers on the impounded vehicles waited for more vans or got on NJ Transit buses, said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward De Fazio, whose office has been coordinating a series of surprise inspections.
Officials stopped the vans at Summit and Jefferson avenues and waved them onto Jefferson, where they queued up in a line as much as 18 vans long awaiting their turn at a state Department of Transportation mobile inspection station.
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No. 10/ 99s Round Trip to NYC PABT Now Only $4.50 from Heights
April 3, 2008Jersey City, NJ – Coach USA bus routes 10 and 99s have been operating on Central Avenue in Jersey City since August 2007, offering Heights residents a convenient one-seat ride to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City. While ridership is increasing along the centrally-located route, Coach USA is working in partnership with the Central Avenue SID (CASID) to improve the accessibility and affordability of the local transit infrastructure even further.
To entice new riders and improve the overall viability of the 10 and 99s routes, which are the only routes to service Central Avenue, Coach USA Red & Tan in Hudson County has announced plans to offer a promotional fare to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City. The new fare, which will be available only to riders boarding north of Journal Square on the 10 and 99s bus routes starting April 7, will be $4.50 round-trip, a 44% discount off the previous round-trip fare of $8.
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New Jersey Transit Extends 123 Bus Line to Jersey City
February 14, 2008
Residents in the Heights will soon have their Palisade Avenue bus back, sort of. NJ Transit's No. 123, which connects Union City with Port Authority, will soon continue an extra 1.1 miles down Palisade Avenue to Christ Hospital, officials announced.
Jersey Journal Full Story >
With all the problems regarding cutbacks in bus service across Jersey City, last week brought good news on the mass transit front. NJ Transit will extend the number 123 Bus so that it runs further down Palisade Avenue, making up for the change in route of a different company's 99S bus.
Jersey City Reporter Full Story >
State Approves UEZ Extension for Jersey City
January 2008Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy recently announced that the State of New Jersey Commerce Commission has approved the extension of Jersey City's Urban Enterprise Zone program for another fifteen years. "We appreciate the vote of confidence we received from the New Jersey Commerce Commission with this renewal, and look forward to continuing our partnership with them in making Jersey City New Jersey's premier city," Mayor Healy said.
Full Story >
Jersey City's Supplement in NJBIZ
January 2008 
Read about the CASID in Jersey City's Supplement featured in NJBIZ.
As you explore the pages, you will recognize many visible signs of Jersey City's economic and physical rebirth and the evidence of its cultural renaissance. It’s no surprise that Jersey City has become the top city in the state to work, live and do business.With Fortune 500 companies and small and mid-size businesses and residential developers flocking to Jersey City, great things are happening.
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Watch "Discover the Jersey City Heights!"
November 2007The CASID is proud to present its TV commercial, "Discover the Jersey City Heights." The ad promotes the many reasons to live, work and play in the Heights and is the first of its kind to be produced by a local Jersey City organization. Look for it on Comcast cable channels this fall.
Read the Jersey Journal's coverage of the commercial here.
URGENT NOTICE: Counterfeit Bills Circulating the Jersey City Area
October 2007Several Central Avenue merchants have recently reported receiving counterfeit $50 & $20 bills. The bills are very hard to distinguish from real bills because they have accurate coloring, watermarks and security lines, and they cannot be identified by counterfeit detection pens. However, they are slightly thicker than normal bills.
Central Avenue businesses and patrons are advised to take great care when accepting large bills. Visit the United State Secret Service website for tips on identifying counterfeit bills and what to do if you receive one.
Read the Jersey Journal's coverage of the counterfeit bills here.
Model of urban future: Jersey City?
April 15, 2007 
Jersey City made news in USA Today. Rick Hampson takes a closer look at what Jersey City has become and what it could potentially be.
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