(Screenshot / New Jersey News 12).
As the cold weather continues to hit Hudson County and community members think of ways to help this holiday season, here’s what you’ve missed in this week’s news roundup.
Help A Child This Holiday Season And Donate To The Harrison Christmas Toy Drive
The Centro Romeu Cascaes Portuguese American Community Center is having a Christmas Toy Drive and is now collecting new or unwrapped toys until Dec. 10.
You can drop off your donations to the community center, located at 14 Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard in North Harrison.
They are accepting:
- Board games
- Dolls and action figures
- Building blocks
- Art supplies
- Gift cards
The center asks to avoid donating damaged or incomplete items, stuffed animals and toy guns.
The Jersey City Animal Shelter Needs Your Help With Their Pantry
The Jersey City Animal Shelter is collecting items to support them.
Drop off locations include:
- Hudson DNA & Drug Testing (166 Broadway, Bayonne): Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Jersey City Police Federal Credit Union (161 Sterling Ave, Jersey City): Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
If you need a pick up, call 201-344-2740.
Rapper Albee Al Gives Free Turkeys To His Jersey City Neighborhood
Albee Al, whose real name is Albert Robinson, hosted his annual turkey giveaway which benefitted a number of families in Jersey City’s Marion Gardens neighborhood, which is where the rapper was born and raised.
“Giving back to the hood, giving back to the community. Ya know what we about, man,” Al said in a video recap of the day.
Al is known by many in the Jersey City community. He carries on his father’s rapper name, which was also Albee Al, and part of Sweet, Slick and Sly, a hip-hop group from New Jersey. Al, who is 37, gained popularity in the 2010s with his rhymes and rap style. He’s worked with a number of artists including Fetty Wap and PnB Rock.
Investigation Continues For North Bergen Fire
Officials are still investigating a fire that damaged a home in the early hours of Tuesday, Nov. 25.
The fire reportedly started at 405 71st Street and then spread to the neighboring homes. The smoke and soot was reportedly thick, amidst the cold weather, as police, EMT and fire crews from multiple towns worked to put out the blaze.
Police noted that the windows were blown open and the door and roof were damaged, but the home is intact, structurally from what they could see.
The cause of the fire is still unknown and is currently under investigation.
Jersey City Fire Leaves 79-Year-Old Man In Critical Condition
A 79-year-old man was seriously injured after a fire in Jersey City early last Saturday morning, prosecutors said.
Firefighters found an unconscious man amongst smoke and fire in the basement of 241 Baldwin Avenue at around 1 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, according to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office.
The man, who had “serious bodily injuries,” according to prosecutors, was taken to Jersey City Medical Center. He was then transferred to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston.
As of Sunday, Nov. 23, the man was in critical, but stable condition.
The fire remains under investigation by the Hudson County Regional Arson Task Force and Jersey City Fire Department. Foul play is not suspected, said officials.
Settlement Reached Regarding Two Teenage Brothers Who Drowned In Bayonne Pool
The family of the two teenage brothers who drowned in a public school pool in Bayonne has agreed to a $26 million settlement.
The settlement ended a civil case that uncovered what their attorneys claimed was a mix of lies, coverups and reckless disregard for safety by school district staff.
“Obviously, everything pales in comparison to the loss of these two children,” the family’s attorney, Darryl L. Zaslow, stated. “But they realize the boys are not coming back, and the family has decided to settle.”
The attorneys for the family of 19-year-old Chu Ming Zheng and 16-year-old Jack Jiang stated that the Bayonne Board of Education failed to staff the Lincoln Community School pool appropriately during an open swim session that took place on June 8, 2022, according to surveillance video and witness statements.
Witnesses claimed that the brothers were “clearly learning how to swim.” They drowned after slipping from a shallow 4-foot shelf into the pool’s 13-foot drop-off.
Surveillance footage obtained by the family’s attorneys shows a lifeguard walking away without urgency after spotting the boy’s drowning. According to NJ.com, district policy requires three lifeguards to be on duty, however, attorneys noted that only two were present at the scene when the drownings took place.
Attorneys also stated that the staff at the pool had no on-site training drills to help them manage an emergency.
Zheng was a freshman at the University of Miami and Jiang was a Bayonne High School student.
New Jersey Actor Saves Woman From Reported Attempted Kidnapping
George Pogatsia, an actor best known for his appearances on “The Sopranos” and “Law & Order,” reportedly helped save a young woman from being abducted earlier this month.
Pogtasia told Patch.com about the incident, which happened in The Heights on Nov. 1, and the reason why he stepped in to help.
“I have a daughter, I have a wife,” he said. “I have a couple of sisters. Somebody had to do it. I’m not telling you I wasn’t concerned. [But] I was confident in my ability to make a reasonable decision.”
“I didn’t think the guy was armed. I saw he had the girl over his shoulder, so he couldn’t really fight with me at that point. You don’t know what you’re going to do until you’re in the situation.”
The news came to light after Jersey City Ward D Councilman posted on social media:
“I want to highlight a true Heights Hero,” said Ward D Councilman Yousef J. Saleh in a social media post. “George Pogatsia, a Heights resident and actor. [He] stepped into action and stopped an attempted abduction. Thank you George!”
According to what Pogatsia told other media outlets, he and his wife, who were returning to their home in The Heights, noticed a young woman and a male. Then a different, taller man tried to pull the woman away, which enticed the woman to say to Pogatsia’s wife—in Spanish—that she didn’t know the man.
“I told my wife to go in the house,” Pogatsisa said. “I followed them to next corner. The girl broke free and was trying to run away. He went behind her, threw her on his shoulder, and that’s when I jumped in and told him, ‘Put the f—ing girl down.’”
“If you don’t put that girl down I’m going to f— you up.”
Pogatsia intervened while his wife called the police. The suspect reportedly fled before authorities got there.
Jersey City Spokeswoman Kim Wallace-Scalcione said in a statement the following Friday that:
“A 21-year-old female was seen by her 36-year-old family member being carried over the shoulder of an unknown male. The male fled once he was addressed.
“The caller identified himself … and stated that the intoxicated female was seen being carried by a male.”
It’s unclear if anyone has been arrested in connection to the incident at the time of this writing.
Know any local news we should include? Email Stella Accettola at [email protected]!
