THANK YOU
Jimmy Davis Hudson County-Sheriff Elect
HUDSON HAPPENINGS BAYONNE
City of Bayonne Announces Tree Lighting Ceremony and Holiday Events
The annual Bayonne Holiday Tree Lighting kicks off the Bayonne holiday season with community engagement and awareness of our amazing businesses. Bayonne is a wonderful place to shop and work.
Located at Lance Corporal Stanley Kopcinski Park and on Broadway from 19th to 21st Streets, this year’s tree lighting will begin at 5:30pm with live musical performances from The Artists’ Avenue, Bayonne High School Jazz Band, Kids’ Piano Studio, and the Robinson School Band. The concert will culminate with the arrival of Santa to light the tree. Free photos with Santa by Stephanie Petersen Photography (196 Broadway) will be taken until 7pm.
The photos will be made available on the Bayonne UEZ Facebook page for retrieval. Santa will provide each child with a gift, thanks to the generosity of Second Ward Councilwoman Jacqueline Weimmer.
The UEZ will provide Free cocoa and cookies from Double Batch Bakery (1102 Avenue C) throughout, while supplies last, as well as Free trackless train rides and rides on a mechanical reindeer.
Make sure to pick up the Bayonne UEZ’s 2025 Holiday Gift Guide to help you find the perfect present for everyone on your list, right here in Bayonne. The UEZ is honored and delighted to provide this tradition year after year.
New Bayonne
Municipal Judge
Chistopher Patella:
New Judge Chistopher Patella takes the oath of office, which was administered by Hudson County Superior Court Presiding Judge David Katz. Pictured left to right: Lisa McMurray (holding the Bible), Judge Patella, Harley Brook Patella, and Judge Katz. The ceremony took place in Bayonne Municipal court.
On November 3, Christopher Patella took the oath of office as a Bayonne Municipal Court Judge, a position he held earlier in his career from 1987 to 1989. Mayor Jimmy Davis said the occasion was “a great day for Bayonne.” The oath was administered by Hudson County Presiding Judge David Katz. Judge Katz described Bayonne as having one of the top ten busiest municipal courts in New Jersey. In his remarks, Judge Patella recalled being a student at St. Henry’s School in the 1960’s, across the street from what is now City Hall. He said it was “a very long journey to go 100 yards.”
He thanked the City of Bayonne for his service as a judge, which he called “a privilege.” Judge Patella pointed out that 86% of
people who experience a court experience a municipal court. He said that the people have a right to “a fair, courteous, respectful judge.”
Having spent much of his career doing criminal defense work, Judge Patella said that many people come to court about mental health issues. He pointed to Jersey City’s mental health court as an example that Bayonne should follow. Judge Patella also suggested that many family issues should go to mediation. His personal philosophy tells him that punishment does not resolve problems, and that if there is punishment, “temper it with kindness.”
Recalling his own childhood, Judge Patella recalled the importance of multiple parents taking responsibility for children in the community. His mother served as a volunteer librarian at St. Henry’s School. His father, a member of the Teamsters’ Union, handled mediations and arbitrations for union members.
Judge Patella said that he resolved to become a lawyer following the killing of students at Kent State University in Ohio in 1970 during an anti-war protest. He concluded his remarks by saying, “I will not wear a badge. I will wear a heart.”
Bayonne Councilman at Large Loyad Booker Announces Run for Bayonne Mayor
In front of a packed room on Thursday, November 13th, Bayonne Councilman at Large Loyad Booker announced his run for Mayor in 2026.
The Mayor’s spot is up for grabs in 2026 when Mayor Jimmy Davis steps down to becomes Hudson County’s new Sheriff, a position he won on November 4th.
Booker, when first taking the podium, Thanked God and
his family and those in attendance.
He stated “We all know why we are here, I am a life long resident of Bayonne, I’ve lived here my entire life, I was raised here,educated here, I love Bayonne, from the bottom of my heart.”
He talked about his military service and his taking part in Desert Storm and his 25 years as a public servant.”
He stated he wants to keep Bayonne growing. his love for Bayonne, and its people.
As of this writing Booker is the only person to announce his run for Mayor.
Hoboken Public Library Hosts
Author Ryan Goldberg for Bird City Conversation with Local Activist and Birder Jeffrey Train
Hoboken Public Library will welcome journalist and author Ryan Goldberg for a
new book Bird City on Thursday, November 20, 6:00–7:30 p.m. in the Main Library, Large Program Room. Goldberg will be joined by Jeffrey Train, Hoboken environmental activist, birder, and co-founder of Our Tern, a local group working to protect nesting Common Terns on the Hoboken waterfront.
The evening will feature
an author talk, audience Q&A, and a book sale. Copies of Bird City will be available for purchase beginning at 6:00 p.m., courtesy of Little City Books.
If You Go:
Bird City by Ryan Goldberg, in conversation with Jeffrey Train Thursday, November 20, 6:00–7:30 p.m.
Hoboken Public Library, Main Library, Large Program Room Free and open to the public Books: Available for purchase on site starting at 6:00 p.m. (thank you, Little City Books)
Jersey City Mayor’s Race Leaves Solomon and McGreevey in Run-Off December 2nd, 2025
The Jersey City mayoral race became a run-off between James Solomon and Jim McGreevey on Election night, November 4, 2025, when no single candidate received more than 50% of the vote which is a requirement under New Jersey law to win the seat outright.
Hoping to replace outgoing Mayor Fulop Seven candidates were on the ballot, City Councilman James Solomon received the most votes (approximately 29.2%), while former Governor Jim McGreevey finished second (approximately 25.1%). The vote splitting among the large field of candidates, which included other notable contenders like Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea and former Board of Education President Mussab Ali,
Christina Freeman (Jersey City police officer)
Kalki Jayne-Rose (musician)
Joyce Watterman (Jersey City Council President) made it nearly impossible for any one candidate to cross the 50% threshold.
The runoff election is scheduled for December 2, 2025, to determine the winner between the top two finishers.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT THE RIVER VIEW OBSERVER
James Solomon
Jim McGreevey
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ART HOUSE PRODUCTIONS ANNOUNCES 2025-2026
INKUBATOR PLAYWRIGHTS COHORT
Art House Productions is proud to announce the 2025-2026 cohort of its INKubator New Play Program. INKubator is a year-long generative process for a select group of six playwrights in residence at Art House Productions. This year’s playwrights are Allyson Dwyer, Oded Gross, Cristina Luzárraga, Erin Mallon, Kyle Mazer, and Ferdinand Moscat.
Playwrights will meet monthly alongside program director Alex Tobey to share new work, receive feedback, and develop a first draft of a new play. In the spring, each writer will team up with a director and actors to present a public reading as a part of the 8th Annual INKubator New Play Festival in May 2026. Audiences who attend the festival will have the opportunity to participate in conversations with the writers, directors, and actors following each performance.
Submissions were evaluated through a process coordinated by INKubator Program
Director Alex Tobey in partnership with INKubator alumni playwrights Neil Levi and M. D. Schaffer, Art House Productions
Executive Artistic Director Meredith Burns, and Art House Productions Producing Director Joshua Feder. Meredith Burns, Executive Artistic Director of Art House
Productions, shared, “We are delighted to welcome this exceptional group of playwrights into the 2025–2026 INKubator program. INKubator has become known for the meaningful support it provides and for offering a unique generative space for new work. Playwrights, even when working independently, benefit from being in community with their peers during the earliest stages of a play’s development. This year’s cohort reflects the imagination and ambition that make New Jersey’s theater community both distinct and forward-looking.”
“We were overwhelmed by both the quantity and quality of the applications this year, which made the selection process especially challenging,” says program director Alex Tobey. “This year’s cohort promises to be a diverse and exciting group of writers, each with strong roots in the great state of New Jersey, and I can’t wait to spend the year with them developing brand new plays.”
The following finalists were also honored in this year’s submission process:
Kimberly Bollard, Aliyah Curry, Emily Dzioba, Andrew Martini, Matt Minnicino, and Christopher Lysik. 2025-2026 INKubator
Writers
A theater artist from New Jersey, Allyson Dwyer’s work has been supported by or seen at The Brick, The Exponential Festival, Clubbed Thumb, Lucille Lortel Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Workshop Theater, The Road Theatre Company, Theater Accident, and more. Finalist: Soho Rep Writer Director Lab, New Jersey State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship, Alpine Fellowship, Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival. Semi-finalist: Ars Nova Play Group, Pipeline PlayLab, Colt Coeur Artist Residency, Princess Grace Award. She is the founder of mind dream theater, an experimental new theater where the venue is your mind.
Oded Gross’s plays have been produced at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Idaho
Shakespeare Festival, Great Lakes Theater Festival, and Boston Court Pasadena. His adaptations include The Imaginary Invalid, The Servant of Two Masters, and The Government Inspector. Among his original plays, Annelies was part of the Great Plains Theatre Commons New Play Conference, Heart Attack With A Knife was produced at Kentucky’s YES Festival, and Dantino’s, an original commedia about gay marriage, was a finalist at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference.
Cristina Luzárraga is a playwright from New Jersey who recently returned home from Minneapolis. She is a current Core Writer at Playwrights’ Center where she was also formerly a Jerome Fellow and McKnight Fellow. She wrote the book for the hit musical I Am Betty about Betty Crocker, and her play Autorefract will be featured this fall at Playwrights’ Center’s PlayLabs Festival. She was recognized last year in American Theatre magazine as a Twin Cities Theatre Artist to Watch.
Erin Mallon is a playwright, USA Today Bestselling Author, and narrator of 800 audiobooks. Her play These Walls Can Talk is an Independent Audiobook
Award Winner for Humor. Some of Erin’s full-length plays include Branched (Original Works Publishing), The Net Will Appear (Broadway Play Publishing), Skin Hungry (Broadway Play Publishing), Pale Blue Dot(s), Come Find Me, Soft Animals, and Out of the Woodwork. Erin lives in Maplewood, NJ with her husband and Three J’s.
Kyle Mazer is a playwright, poet, producer and composer from Millburn, New Jersey. He studied playwriting under Donald Margulies at Yale University where he was awarded the T. Whitney Blake Prize for excellence in English, Music, and Community Building. His writing credits include The S.S. Cancelled, ORCA: A One-Whale Musical, STALLED, KEEP THE CHANGE, Rusty Utopia, The Woman in Green, and Dog Eat Dog. He is a lover of all critters, and most sandwiches.
Ferdinand Moscat is a writer, actor, and director from Vineland, NJ currently based in New York City. Previous plays include Fan Service, Colin/Peter, Abuela Won’t Die, and Paternity. Recent directing credits: RENT, Dog Sees God, and Hypertension. Currently, he is developing a new play about FelixGonzalez Torres with The Cult Collective in New York City. He has ten fingers and ten toes and has had a mustache since the seventh grade.
Page 7 November 15-November 30, 2025 River View Observer
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If You have been thinking about selling a property –this is the ideal time to do it! We have qualified Buyers ready to purchaseJust not enough properties to show them!
Market values are at very favorable levels right now, and our well trained, professional agents are here to help guide you through the process. Let our experience and reputation for success work to your benefit. Call our office for a no-obligation appointment to discuss the possibilities with you. That noise you hear is Opportunity knocking!!
HUDSON HAPPENINGS
Tris McCall
Story Hour
Tris McCall has written about art, architecture, performance, politics, and public culture for many publications, including NJ Arts, The Jersey City Times, the Newark Star-Ledger, Jersey Beat, River View Observer, the Jersey Journal, the Jersey City Independent, and New Jersey dot com.
He also writes about things that have no relevance to New Jersey. Not today, though.
If You Go: Friday, December 5, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Art House Productions 345 Marin Boulevard, Jersey City, NJ 07302
Directions:
https://www.arthouseproductions.org/pages/ directions
Parking Options: Street parking where available.
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Public Transportation: Transitapp.com www.transitapp.com River View Observer Supporting the Arts Since 1998
Mile Square Theatre is rolling out the red carpet for its annual benefit, BROADWAY NIGHT, a glittering one-nightonly performance featuring Broadway luminaries up close and personal in Hoboken’s most intimate theatre space. This year Broadway Night will feature the talents of: Van Hughes (American Idiot, Spring Awakening) Gabrielle McClinton (Pippin, Moulin Rouge) Catherine Fries Vaughn (Cats, Beauty & the Beast) Kimberly JaJuan (Ragtime, Marie Christine) Janet Saia-feld (Phantom of the Opera)
elani Remy (Back to the Future, Ain’t Too Proud)
Josie De Guzman (West Side Story, Guys & Dolls) Petra and Penelope Hinds & Dagmar MarshallMichelson (Local Hoboken Rising Stars)
If You Go: Mile Square Theatre 1400 Clinton Street
Hoboken, NJ
The Studio 420 14th Street
Monday, November 17,2025 7pm
The New Jersey Real Estate laws have recently changed how business is done!
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Happy Thanksgiving!
Especially now, during this holiday season, we remain grateful to our clients, customers & friends. You have helped us grow & prosper for over 20 years. We wish all good things to each of you now and in the coming year!
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