Whole Mess: Parking Palaver Peeves Patrons
Whole Foods' whole mess of drama, pool bubble update, our mayor does a 5k and more!
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Welcome! Before we jump into all the news, thought you’d like a peek behind the scenes. Since our unannounced, unfunded start in April 2024, the Weehawken Gazette has had almost 50,000 page views. And just yesterday, a new pottery studio in Union City said someone came in because they read about it here, first.
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Exclusive: Pool Bubble Up & Swimming Soon To Go Down
In February 2025, the Weehawken pool bubble construction began. We wrote about it here, along with some dopey AI-assisted pics of what it might look like.
Well now it’s up, and everyone wants to know when we can dive in. In an exclusive interview with the mayor and township manager** we learned that it’s delayed because the pool’s water heater is broken. The pool was to open Monday, but due to the lack of heat, the water is currently 50 degrees. First they’ve got to fix the heater and then test the water once it’s up to speed.
So the official answer is, soon-ish? But there’s no date yet. And how much will it cost? Again, that’s not been determined at this time. But stay tuned, and as soon as we know, we’ll let you know. In fact, we will probably finally turn on the Weehawken Gazette subscriber chat for breaking updates like these, so that’s one more reason to subscribe now.
Gate-gate Scandal Rocks Weehawken
Last month the word got out that parking at Whole Foods in Weehawken had changed. Previously free, the gate was now down, and the cost unclear.
Then, rumors flew: some people said you had to pay $15 just to enter the garage. Some said no, there was now a minimum spend to park, but people had different ideas about how much that was. That’s when I went down to Whole Foods this week to investigate, and this happened:
Yes, the gate to the garage was down, the sign said it was $15 for a minimum 3 hours of parking, and the guy in front of us made everyone back up as he decided to opt out of the garage.
I decided to press on. I figured the worst case was they’d charge me $15 to pick up a few things, I’d kvetch about it here, and never go back.
I got my parking garage ticket and, once inside, asked customer service about the parking. They said it was now a $10 minimum spend, and to leave the garage you needed to scan your parking ticket and scan your receipt. They also said lots of people were mad about this.
I also asked why there was no sign up. He said, “nobody reads signs.” He was kind of joking, but then I added, “But what if you just want to pick up milk? Even here, milk isn’t $10.” And then another customer service guy said, “Actually, you get 20 minutes free… so you can go to Cafe Grumpy or whatever.”
OK that’s different. Free for 20 minutes? But again, there was no sign, so there’s no way you’d know this when you just see the gate is down, and the only sign there says the cheapest parking is $15.
Anyway, I left, scanned my receipt and ticket, and the gate finally came up — because there was an “error” at first and it didn’t work, so I thought I was trapped in that charming garage forever. Trapped with a baguette and rotisserie chicken, but still…
And talking to neighbors we did find people who admitted parking there — not for Whole Foods. And someone said they knew on good authority that Blu on the Hudson wedding guests have been known to park there. Someone also said they had a friend from out of town who’d park there and then take the ferry into the city. At this point we were starting to see the garage owner’s POV.
But then…
Flash forward to the next day, and suddenly my Weehawken Gazette informants — including some who lived in Hoboken and Jersey City — started sending in pictures that the gate was up again. So I went back, it was indeed up, and the same customer service guy was there. Asked about it he said, “Too many people complained… it was a mess.” So our long national nightmare is over. And by “national,” I mean local. And by long I mean less than a month. Stay tuned, but for now, it’s free at last — again!
1st Food Justice 5K? Verdict: Success
On Saturday, November 15th Weehawken hosted their first waterfront 5k, a massive effort spearheaded by the locally-founded Food Justice For All 501c3 charity. The group is run by Weehawken High School students, and they managed to rally approximately 50 volunteers, plus the police and the town, who all supported the race.
At 8:30am there was a 1-mile fun run for kids, then fast runners at 9:30am, followed by slower runners and walkers around 10am. There were 154 adult runners and at least 20 kids in the 1-mile race.
There were chipped bibs, activities for kids, and a DJ who kept the crowd dancing. They had bagels from Bagels On Park, bananas and coffee for participants, and t-shirts for registered runners. Oh and pizza, for volunteers, provided by Alessio’s.
Other sponsors included The Declan, Urban Taqueria, Fleet Feet & Crossfit Hoboken. Because of these excellent sponsors, the runners who paid entry, and “one large donor who wishes to remain anonymous,” the 5k managed to raise approximately $15,000, according to Weehawken Board of Ed member and Food Justice mamma bear Marissa Dennis. All proceeds from this year’s race will go to benefit the PERC shelter in Union City. Here’s some video of the slower runner and walker group taking off:
🏁 Race results
Mayor Richard Turner did the 5K and he came in first — for all mayors.
SFX: rimshot
The actual first-place winner? Local high school student Youssef Idrissi, who crossed the finish line with a blazing fast time. Second place went to Leonard Garcia, and 3rd went to Jacopo Palma. See pictures of the top three and more on the Weehawken Gazette Instagram.
We seriously hope this was the 1st annual edition of this excellent event and big props to the businesses who sponsored.
UCMP Gala Shows Off Musical Talent & Passion For Education
Almost 14 years ago Melina Garcia was a young mom who couldn’t find anything nearby where her kids could learn, create, and find something positive to do after school. That’s when she decided to found the United Children’s Music Project, a non-profit providing low-cost music education and performance opportunities to children in Hudson County, NJ. When Garcia started she had 54 kids who were 3-5 years old, and the instruments were made of cardboard. Today, 1300 children have attended the UCMP school, they have a new home in a bank at 4710 Park Avenue in Weehawken, and it was recently named the non-profit of the year by the Hudson Chamber of Commerce.
At the “A Night On The Hudson” fundraising gala that took place last Wednesday, she was emotional describing all of this, adding, “each and every one of us has a duty to give back, to make things better, if we can.”
The night included many student performances, plus special musical guest Thierry de Lucas Neves of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra on violin. Also in attendance were Terry D. Loftis, President and CEO of the NJ Symphony, Mayor Richard Turner, and tons of neighbors. If you have a child in Hudson County who might want to enroll, or you want to get involved, visit ucmusicproject.org for details.
Note: Weehawken Gazette was invited to the event and received one free ticket.
ICYMI Water Tower Theater Video
TBH we try to keep the Weehawken Gazette Instagram boring because we prefer readers to look-ers. But we made a video about our recent trip to see a Hudson Theater Works production in the water tower — and at 4k views — people seem to like it. So check it out if you have not:
That’s A Wrap, People!
Many thanks to Hugo Holland, our unpaid copyeditor, for looking over this newsletter in between taking exams and sampling Parisian kebabs.
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Susie
PS Subscribers get this newsletter first AND they can laugh at exclusive errors that are later corrected in the archive version.
*These statements have not been evaluated or approved by the FDA — or anyone.
**The exclusive interview was conducted by pestering them (nicely) for answers at the Food Justice 5K.
$15 for parking? Scandalous! Theatre in the water tower looks cool, but I always thought it would make an interesting coffee house.