CARTERET, NJ — They’re going to uncork many of New Jersey’s best wines for people to sample as the URSB Carteret Performing Arts & Events Center hosts its first indoor wine and food event.

“UNCORK Spring!” is to debut on Saturday, March 23, at the Carteret Performing Arts Center (CPAC), 46 Washington Ave., from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

CPAC Director Diana St. John and Mayor Daniel J. Reiman say they hope it becomes an annual local attraction, bringing more visitors to the borough.

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Before the COVID-19 pandemic, “UNCORK Spring!” was customarily an annual outdoor event. “(Those) were very successful but, obviously, a different type of event,” said Kathy Bullock, consultant for the Garden State Wine Growers, who organized the upcoming Carteret event with Diana St. John.

“When the opportunity was presented to host a spring event at an indoor location, it seemed a natural transition to bring back UNCORK Spring! in a new exciting way,” said Bullock, from New Egypt-based GPS Inc., an event producer for more than 20 years, including more than 150 wine-related festivals.

For a $35 advance admission price, or $40 at the door, people can sample and buy roughly 125 wines; meet many Garden State’s winemakers; and learn about their wineries. There will also be a variety of artisans on hand whose products go well with wine, organizers said.

Wines will be paired with delicious samples of sweet & savory mini-meatballs; Thai Chicken Satay on skewers; Mojo-marinated grilled shrimp; roasted red grapes on herb-ricotta Crostini; dessert sample and more.

“Most (wineries) will bring wines and styles that represent their unique product lines,” Bullock said. “You can count on many (to) unveil new product and seasonal offerings. Often times, wineries will bring new releases to events as a means to create awareness and market their new product.”

Participating wineries include:

● Angelico Winery; Lambertville, NJ

● Autumn Lake Winery; Williamstown, NJ

● Bellview Winery; Landisville, NJ

● DiMatteo Vineyards; Hammonton, NJ

● Plagido’s Winery: Hammonton, NJ

● Salem Oak Vineyard; Pedricktown, NJ

● Tomasello Winery; Hammonton, NJ

● Valenzano Family Winery; Shamong, NJ

● Villari Vineyards; Sewell, NJ

● The Vintner’s Wife; Swedesboro, NJ

● Wagonhouse Winery; Swedesboro, NJ

Most participating wineries are among New Jersey’s “Top 14,” according to Tasting Table magazine. Many of their 125 wines are recognized nationally and internationally for quality, flavor, and have won awards in prestigious wine competitions, organizers said.

Due to the different growing conditions in the state, New Jersey offers a diverse group of wines for every palate from its different wine regions, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

New Jersey wineries annually produce almost 2 million gallons of wine with a retail value of almost $30 million, the Department of Agriculture said. There are more than 50 licensed wineries in New Jersey.

“Supporting the New Jersey wine industry is extremely important to our state’s vibrant agri-tourism industry, Bullock said.

For more information, visit the URSB Carteret Performing Arts Center event page, or call the CPAC box office at (877) 849-2722, weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

An artist’s rendering of Carteret’s new Pershing Estates, with 78 one-and two-bedroom luxury apartments, upscale amenities, and ground-floor medical office space.Photo Credit: BOROUGH OF CARTERET

Last UpdatedFebruary 15, 2024 at 7:37 AM

CARTERET, NJ — It’s official: A luxury apartment complex is to be built along Pershing Avenue near Borough Hall, the community center and public library, and a short walk to Noe Street Park.

The Planning Board has given Pershing Estates Urban Renewal LLC approval to build “Pershing Estates,” with 78 one-and two-bedroom apartments, upscale amenities, and ground-floor medical offices or other ancillary health services.

Pershing Estates will replace four vacant, older Pershing Avenue homes that Carteret acquired between 2017 and 2019, making them into revenue-generating assets for the borough.

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It is too soon to say when Pershing Estate’s construction will begin, a borough spokesman said.

“Carteret is booming with progress, rebuilding block by block,” Mayor Daniel J. Reiman said in a prepared statement as he announced Dec. 13th's approval for the mixed-use redevelopment project. Pershing Estates will feature:

● 35 one-bedroom and 43 two-bedroom apartments.

● Upscale amenities include a rooftop garden terrace.

● 95 parking spaces in an onsite garage and a surface lot.

Vehicles leaving its parking area will be restricted to right-turns only onto Blanchard Street, where more on-street parking is to be available, according to public documents.

Anticipating more pedestrians in the area, Carteret is requiring that sidewalks be handicapped-accessible at Pershing Avenue and Blanchard Street. Pershing Estates will also have structural accommodations for people with disabilities.

The four properties to be redeveloped are 235, 237, 241 and 243 Pershing Avenue. They will combine into one lot, designated as 237 Pershing Ave.

Deeds on file in Middlesex County show Carteret acquired:

● 235 Pershing Ave., in 2017, for $301,000

● 243 Pershing Ave., in 2017, for $255,000

● 237 Pershing Ave., in 2018, for $1

● 241 Pershing Ave., in 2019, for $1

A preliminary site assessment is underway, a step toward demolition of those homes and the eventual redevelopment.

The older houses are in the “Hilltop II Redevelopment Zone,” designated in 2019 by the Borough Council, as an area in need of redevelopment.

Photo Credit: COURTESY OF SANTHOSH JANARDHANAN

The proposed Carteret Avenue Extension through the Meridian Square Apartment complex.Photo Credit: CARTERET BOROUGH

The entrance to the 190-unit Meridian Square Apartment complex in Carteret, NJ. Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO

Meridian Square tenant Wayne Johnson addresses Carteret Mayor Daniel J. Reiman at a Feb. 22nd Borough Council meeting.Photo Credit: COURTESY OF SANTHOSH JANARDHANAN

Last UpdatedMarch 2, 2024 at 7:07 AM

CARTERET, NJ — Carteret Avenue extension opponents got what they wanted: A public meeting with Mayor Daniel J. Reiman and the Borough Council.

But, they are unhappy with the outcome of that Feb. 22nd in-person session where Mayor Reiman asked municipal consultants to outline the project’s genesis and lay out details for the upcoming roadwork.

Upset opponents issued a prepared statement saying officials heard, but did not appear to listen, to their safety and quality-of-life concerns.

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They fear the borough will not alter its plan to cut a Carteret Avenue extension through Meridian Square’s 190-unit apartment complex, a move they claim may also affect people in Meridian Terrace and the Lexington apartment complexes, plus other nearby condo residents.

Frank Bellino, the mayor’s chief-of-staff, described the Feb. 22nd public meeting as “an opportunity for the borough to present facts and the (project’s) history with professional planners, engineers and other experts.”

“As always, we welcome any residents’ comments or concerns in regard to this or any matter,” Bellino said, pledging that “any recommendations to improve safety or efficiency will be taken into consideration.”

The road extension construction is to begin, in phases, this spring, Bellino said. He explained federal, state, county and local agencies approved it years ago, and construction was awarded nearly three years ago.

Not good enough, adversaries say.

So, they are redoubling an effort to get 19th District lawmakers – state Sen. Joseph Vitale, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez – along with Rep. Frank Pallone and Middesex County Commission Director Ronald G. Rios to accompany them on site visits.

“(These) representatives should see firsthand how (state and federal) funds they provided are being used, and may adversely impact people in Carteret,” said Thom Ammarato, spokesperson for the opponents.

Federal, state and county officials have helped Carteret accrue tens of millions of dollars in public grants and other financing for the road extension and Carteret’s sweeping redevelopment along its Arthur Kill waterfront.

Nearly two dozen Carteret residents, including parents of local school-age children, showed up at the public meeting to voice concerns about Carteret Avenue Extension, citing safety, noise, and other disruptions to their quiet neighborhood.

“The mayor did not listen to us. He did not address our concerns about safety, or traffic, or noise, or exhaust pollution,” said Wayne Johnson, a Meridian Square tenant spearheading opposition to the road extension. “The meeting lacked any meaningful give and take. That was not the kind of meeting we wanted.”

Floria Butts, another Meridian Square tenant, said she is “disappointed that borough officials did not show any concern for how the increased traffic in the neighborhood will affect children at Columbus School (or) the middle school.”

Among the speakers at the public meeting was Talisa Andrews – pastor of Carteret Revival Church and a local Redevelopment Agency commissioner – who expressed concerns, and said she did not recall that commission being consulted about the road extension.

Addressing pedestrian safety, Bellino said the road extension plan includes “two signalized intersections (with) raised pedestrian crosswalks, crosswalk signals and state (Department of Transportation) safety signage.”

“(These) will provide safe, controlled access, and certainly provide effective traffic-calming along the extension while significantly improving safety over current levels,” Bellino said.

Johnson also took issue with Mayor Reiman’s assertion that Meridian Square’s owners knew about, and approved, the Carteret Avenue extension years ago through the development.

“I checked with our complex’s management. They told me, in no uncertain terms, that they do not want a public street built through their property, and never did,” Johnson said. “If they wanted the road extension, why they (were) in court, fighting the borough’s condemnation of their property?”

Meridian Square’s owners lost their October 2023 court challenge to the road extension.

Superior Court Judge Michael Toto gave Carteret permission to use eminent domain to condemn roughly 800-square-feet of Meridian Square’s property, and 3,000-square-feet of land used as a storm detention basin.

At the heart of this issue: Borough officials say extending Carteret Avenue is crucial for better traffic access to a planned ferry terminal; recreation areas like its marina; and other commercial waterfront redevelopment projects.

“We are not opposed to the waterfront redevelopment. We are opposed to (any) development destroying our, safe, peaceful neighborhood,” said Johnson.

His group also launched a “Save Carteret Avenue” website to keep residents updated.

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — The American-Irish Association will proudly present its 50th annual St. Patrick's Day parade on Sunday, March 10th, coming through downtown to thrill scores of spectators.

Woodbridge’s parade, known as one of New Jersey’s best and biggest, runs from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.

It starts at Woodbridge High School on Samuel Lupo Place. Participants will proceed from Freeman Street and Linden Avenue, along Amboy Avenue to Main Street, where it ends near Woodbridge Brewing Co., 33 Main St.

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Ahead of its parade, the American Irish Association of Woodbridge has announced 2024 honorees:

● George D. Aston, Grand Marshall – A longtime Avenel resident, Aston has a four-decade career with PSE&G, and is a proud member of UA Local 855, the gasfitters union in Somerville. Aston has served his community as a Woodbridge Planning Board and Environmental Committee member, and as a coach for various basketball, baseball, football, and wrestling leagues and teams. As Grand Marshal, Aston is the chief organizer for the St. Patrick’s Day parade lineup and route.

● Ed Wehrenberg, Irish Man of the Year – Raised in Iselin, Wehrenberg and his wife, Sharon, have lived and raised their family in Colonia since the 1970s. An Army veteran, Wehrenberg retired in 2000 after a three-decade career with Shop-Rite.

● Karen McCrory, Irish Lady of the Year – Raised in Iselin and Edison, she majored in theater arts at Upsala College, East Orange. Besides her work in community theater, McCrory had a 34-year career with the U.S. Postal Service in Metuchen and the United Parcel Service. She and her husband, John Marsicano, are very active in American Irish Association projects.

● Brittany Bader, Miss American Irish – A sophomore at the College of New Jersey in Ewing Township.

● Alesandra McFadden, Lady in Waiting – A freshman at Arthur L. Johnson High School, in Clark.

Association President Ben Campbell also credits Woodbridge resident Sean R. Daly, and Keven M. McCreary, from Avenel, for their admirable service as 2024’s parade chair and co-chair, respectively. See more from Ben Campbell and Sean Daily at:

While the American Irish Association is best known for its crowd-pleasing St. Patrick’s Day parades, Mayor John E. McCormac also says this civic organization does much more throughout the sprawling community.

It raises money for local charities and scholarships; supports educational initiatives and other fundraisers; and contributes to the town’s year-round food drives for the needy, McCormac says.

Association members routinely volunteer for neighborhood cleanups, and for the town’s “Tooling Around Town” program that does home renovations for senior citizens, veterans, the disabled, and low-income residents.

TAPinto Woodbridge prominently featured the American Irish Association’s 23-year volunteer effort to build free handicap-accessible ramps at homes throughout Woodbridge for senior citizens and others who are disabled. Read: Woodbridge’s ‘Eddie & The Rampers’ Help Neighbors in Need.

Among its other good works, the association also:

● Contributes to the Justin McCarthy Scholarship Fund.

● Maintains Charles Shaughnessy Park in Colonia.

● Visits and provides services to Menlo Park Veteran Home patients.

● Produces a fun-filled “Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day” event each September.

● Operates the new “Club Pub,” at Acacia Center, 95 Port Reading Ave.

Sponsors for 2024's St. Patrick’s parade includes Woodbridge Brewing Company, San Remo’s, Moby Dicks, Big Shots, Strickland’s Steakhouse, Il Castello, the Reo Diner, The Main Tavern, and other area businesses. All of those, and many more in downtown Woodbridge, will be open on parade day.

CARTERET, NJ — Actress Raven M. Smith, now a first-time filmmaker, will get the spotlight at New Jersey’s largest, internationally-recognized independent film festival.

The pilot for Raven’s original comedic web series, “Quarter Life Crisis,” will premiere at the 22nd annual Garden State Film Festival, that runs from March 21–24th at Asbury Park-area venues with film screenings at The Cranford Theater.

“This is a huge deal, and an incredible thrill,” said the 25-year-old actress, who was raised in Carteret and still lives there. “To premiere my (webisode) pilot at this festival is a dream-come-true.”

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“Quarter Life Crisis” will air at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 23rd, at The Cranford Theater, 25 North Avenue West, in Cranford. Smith hopes this screening will help secure a web host for her comedic series.

Raven wrote the original 24-minute pilot’s script in 2020 at the start of the pandemic, and soon after she earned a bachelor’s in fine arts from Montclair State University. She has already penned scripts for five more webisodes, and has other ideas in the hopper.

“Quarter Life Crisis” centers on two, twenty-something roommates, both Manhattan transplants, trying to make it in the big city, and the funny, poignant, and sobering challenges they face.

“In some way, it is a love letter to people my age,” Smith said. “It’s about all the things today’s 20-somethings deal with as they start out.”

The pilot features a six-person ensemble cast, with Raven in a lead role. The cast includes Irvington actor Joshua T. Crockett; Jesse Castellanos and Bradley Satchell, both from Florida; Gwendolyn Torrence, Washington, D.C.; and Mike Yang from China.

Most of the cast are Smith’s former Montclair State classmates and friends. The pilot’s director is John Caccamo from Wall; and the cinematographer is Dylan Tollefson, is from Medford.

Besides her lead role and script-writing, Smith is the webisodes’ executive producer, promoter, and financed the project out-of-pocket.

ABOUT THE ACTRESS

Raven M. Smith says she “fell in love” with writing as a youngster. She wrote two children’s books before age 11, and she began acting in grade school and in church productions.

She performed as a youngster in Easter and Christmas plays at Agape Family Worship Center in Rahway, and later in Carteret High School drama club productions. Smith is a 2016 Carteret High graduate.

At 17, Smith was among a hundred teenagers nationwide accepted to the 2015 Disney Dreamers Academy in Florida, an intensive four-day conference that enables high school students to explore a host of career options.

Soon after, she landed a four-week stint in the Rutgers Summer Acting Conservatory. “At Rutgers, I realized that acting could be my future, a profession I would love to have,” Smith said.

It’s hard work, and a path Smith is still learning to navigate.

To support herself, she has a full-time job at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, in its ticket & audience services department, and she does freelance voice-over work for a Manhattan production studio.

She is also continuing her education with theater classes at HB Studio in New York, while she continues to write and map out her next moves.

Meanwhile, Raven is building an admirable resumé of film, theater and commercial credits, available on her professional website.

Performing on-stage, Smith says, remains her true passion. “Being on-camera, in film or on TV, is great. But, there’s something lovely about performing in a theater,” Smith said.

“Live theater allows actors to directly connect with an audience, giving people a chance to learn, understand, relate, and identify with a new or a different perspective,” Smith said. “It’s wonderful to give that to an audience.”

Theater – much like “Quarter Life Crisis” – is ensemble-based, something that thrills Smith, who says “there’s so much joy to being part of an ensemble cast as it comes together and works together.”

ABOUT THE FILM FESTIVAL

The Garden State Film Festival celebrates the independent film genre, screening original works by local filmmakers and a host of other worldwide artists.

The 2024 Garden State Film Festival will feature 200 films from 14 countries over four days with screenings, parties, professional panels, special events, and awards, says Lauren Concar Sheehy, the festival’s executive director.

Feature length and short films range from documentaries, comedies, children’s, thrillers, and webcasts; many filmed in New Jersey with local talent.

“Since New Jersey offers so many different kinds of locations and settings; mountains, beaches, cities, farms and more, we see New Jersey appear in so many different films,” Sheehy said in a prepared statement.

For information about the Garden State Film Festival including show times, venues, ticket prices, and its awards dinner on Sunday, March 24th, visit the festival’s website.