Chiropractor in Port Reading, NJ

Fallout from today's announcement that Hess will permanently close its Woodbridge petroleum refinery by the end of next month was swift: Gas prices rose to their highest levels since October and Hess said it will lay off 170 of 217 employees, exit the refinery business and seek a buyer for its 19 storage terminals. It will focus on exploration and production, the company said.

The news was a surprise to local officials but industry analysts saw it coming. The 55-year-old refinery in the Port Reading section had lost money in two of the past three years and Hess had cited a weak outlook for gasoline refining margins. The announcement also came a week after billionaire Paul Singer’s Elliott Associates fund said it may buy more than $800 million in Hess shares and seek board seats.

Perhaps the strongest indicator of potential trouble came last April, after Hess agreed to a settlement with federal and state regulators to spend $45 million on pollution controls at the plant over hazardous emissions. It paid a civil penalty of $850,000 at the time of the settlement.

By closing down, Hess avoids having to pay for the controls.

"People in the industry were saying the plant was the walking dead after that," said Beth Heinsohn, senior news editor at Oil Price Information Service in Wall, referring to the agreement. With a capacity of about 70,000-barrels of gasoline a day, Port Reading "isn’t a great refinery because it’s kind of small and has no crude oil unit," she said.

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The closure shook an already volatile oil market, sending gasoline prices inching up, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. Prices at the pump could continue to rise into the spring and summer "when there is a noticeable supply disruption," said AAA spokeswoman Tracy Noble.

The news also surprised Woodbridge Mayor John McCormac, who got the news at 8:30 a.m. today. The mayor said he was disappointed with the layoffs but glad Hess' corporate office there will remain. The company recently invested millions into that office, he said.

Hess said the refinery’s remaining 47 employees will work at the facility’s oil storage terminal. The refinery will eventually be converted to a terminal to store and distribute gasoline, biofuels and fuel oil.

A spokesman, Jon Pepper, said the company was "making every effort to provide as much support as possible for all involved."

New York-based Hess said it will retain its gas station business, which includes more than 1,350 sites in 16 states along the East Coast.

With the closure, Hess lawfully accepted a provision in last year’s agreement with state and federal regulators to permanently close the refinery and avoid the $45 million in upgrades, the federal Environmental Protection Agency said.

But Jeff Tittel, executive director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, said the delayed environmental enforcement "benefited Hess at the expense of cleaner air in New Jersey. We see a lot of that happening through the country, where older facilities are closing because they are not as effective, and they don’t have to pay for their pollution."

Bloomberg News contributed to this report.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Jaffe

Photo Credit: Jonathan Jaffe

Photo Credit: Jonathan Jaffe

Photo Credit: Jonathan Jaffe

(L-R) Jeff Kondas, Sam Delgado, Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez, Stanislava Yushyna, her daughter, Emiliia, and Dan Nimetz, at the Perth Amboy waterfront.Photo Credit: Jonathan Jaffe

Last UpdatedAugust 19, 2022 at 11:20 PM

WOODBRIDGE - For Stanislava Yushyna and her 11-year-old daughter, Emiliia, life in Ukraine was idyllic. They lived on the 21^st floor of a gleaming, new apartment building in Odessa, a city brimming with life, art, commerce and community.

For Yushyna, a psychologist who dabbled in a side career as an interior decorator, she could not be happier as the calendar flipped from 2021 to 2022.

But then with so many rumors of a Russian attack in January, as troops built up near the border, Yushyna wondered if this nightmare could actually become true. And, if so, what would it mean for life in Odessa? What if they would have to flee?

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And where would they go?

The harsh reality crashed Feb. 24, when Russian soldiers attacked near Kyiv and seized control of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the north. Life immediately changed.

“I was sleeping and there was a very loud knock at my door,” Yushyna recalled. “Drowsy, I opened the door; it was my neighbor from another floor. She said, `Wake up! The war started!’ I looked at my phone; there were six messages and people kept calling me. We were all trying to understand what was happening.

“What are we supposed to do?”

Living so high on a 24-story-high building, Yushyna was frantic with worry for her daughter. Her home was such a large potential target for a missile attack. And when she went out to the street, she saw lines at the banks and the supermarkets, with people eager to grab what they could. Yet, eerily there was no morning traffic on the street, nor emergency sirens, nor military to protect her.

She quickly surmised that it was time to flee Ukraine.

Yushyna packed whatever money she had, as well as clothes for Emiliia and her for a very long journey, and she drove her car in the direction of Turkey, with no particular place to go. Yet, she held tightly her U.S. visa, with dreams of eventually reaching New York with her little girl.

It was a slow, four-day slog from Ukraine to Turkey, sleeping and eating wherever possible, as Yushyna navigated westward around the Black Sea, moving through border crossings in Muldova, Romania and Bulgaria before finally reaching Turkey.

“While we were in the car one of my friends called to ask where I was,” Yushyna said. “I said that Emiliia and I had left Ukraine and we were going to Turkey, but that we didn’t know where we were going. She gave me a contact in Turkey, who gave me another contact in Turkey, for a hotel we can stay because it was off-season for tourists. I was so grateful.”

Safe for the moment in Turkey, with a roof over their heads, the attention quickly focused back to what was happening in their homeland. The mother and daughter were glued to the news, watching in horror as Russian tanks and bomb systematically dismantled entire towns and cities.

Unclear of what to do next, they were able to live in Turkey for two months, as they tried to secure an appointment in the American embassy to secure a second visa; this one for Emiliia. There was some outreach to a U.S. embassy in Slovakia. But nothing seemed to be working, as millions fled Ukraine.

But there was unexpected saving grace, and it came from Port Reading, N.J.

There is a distant cousin, Dan Nimetz, a former firefighter with Port Reading Fire Co. 1, and another relative, Jeff Kondas. Both heard about Yushyna’s plight and became determined to bring them safely to the United States.

For direction, they turned to Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez (D-19^th Dist.) and her husband, Sam Delgado, both of whom have relationships and resources to help.

The trick was getting an American visa for an 11-year-old girl, when no one was offering them.

Delgado, a retired U.S. Marine Corps Officer made calls to Marine detachments stationed at the embassy in Turkey and other countries in Eastern Europe. He hoped his Marine contacts could assist in expediting a request. But extending such a courtesy was difficult, if not impossible, as so many fleeing families were seeking visas.

Delgado, who spent many years living in the North Ward of Newark, contacted the office of Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), a former mayor of Newark who had worked with Delgado on various public policy issues over the years. He was quickly connected with Leslie Tejada, a Projects Specialist on Booker’s staff, who had the solution everyone was hoping for.

While there was plenty of phone calls, Zoom meetings and emails back and forth between those eager to help, time was moving slowly for Yushyna. After two months in Turkey, the late spring tourism season kicked in and she needed to leave the hotel. She packed her things once again and then drove with her daughter to Germany, to stay with other friends, as she eagerly awaited news from “Uncle Dan” in Port Reading.

One day, she got the call from New Jersey. It was the one she was praying for.

Tejada had passed along information about America’s new “Uniting for Ukraine” program, launched April 21 to welcome Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion. The program provided a direct pathway for Yushyna and her daughter to come to the United States and stay temporarily in a two-year period of parole. Ukrainians participating in Uniting for Ukraine must have a sponsor.

For Yushyna, her saviors would be Dan Nimetz and Jeff Kondas.

On July 31, the mother and daughter flew into Newark Liberty International Airport, where family members were eagerly waiting. The pair now live in Uncle Dan’s house, while Yushyna looks for work and Emiliia has been enrolled in a summer camp at the YMCA in Perth Amboy.

While many things remain unsettled, one important decision has been made: Emiliia will enroll in school this fall at the Ukrainian Catholic Church of Assumption in Perth Amboy.

“Like they say, `God Bless America.’ And to all the beautiful people who have been so friendly and supportive of me,” Yushyna said. “To my native country, I don’t know if it is possible for me to go back. I’m trying not to make long-term plans. The sun is shining; the sky is bright. And I am in America.”

Lopez says a big focus is Emiliia and making sure she is comfortable and prepared to enter school this fall. “She isn’t confident in her English yet, so it is really important that the community join together in providing all the supports she needs,” the assemblywoman said.

Lopez expressed appreciation to Steve Jobin, president/CEO at the Raritan Bay Area YMCA, for hosting Emiliia in summer camp. In addition, she said, there has been tremendous support from the Ukrainian Catholic Church of Assumption in Perth Amboy.

Another key support came Aug. 18, when Lopez held her fifth-annual school supply drive on the Raritan Bay waterfront. There were backpacks and school supplies for more than 250 students, as part of the free, community-wide festival. Emiliia, meeting Lopez and Delgado for the first time, was provided with donated items for her first school year in America.

And she also enjoyed a signature American tradition: ice cream at the nearby Bayside Creamery on Front Street.

To raise money for the family, a GoFundMe account has been set up at https://gofund.me/2489d429

Editor's Note: Jaffe Communications provided public relations services to the 19th Legislative District when this article was written. The owner is the franchisee of TAPinto Woodbridge/Carteret. The article was independently written.

Photo Credit: MENENDEZ–US SENATE

Photo Credit: MENENDEZ–US SENATE

Photo Credit: MENENDEZ–US SENATE

Sen. Bob Melendez greets Middlesex County Commission Director Ronald G. Rios before Menendez made his public remarks on Monday.Photo Credit: MENENDEZ–US SENATE

Woodbridge Councilman Brian Small, Sen. Cory Booker, Mayor John McCormac, Sen. Bob Menendez and Chief-of-Staff Caroline Ehrlich ‘dig in’ at the Cypress Recreation Center’s groundbreaking.Photo Credit: MENENDEZ–US SENATE

By TONY GALLOTTO

WOODBRIDGE NJ — Federal and state lawmakers joined Mayor John E. McCormac on Monday for a groundbreaking ceremony on the second phase of a Port Reading recreation facility where youngsters and adults with disabilities can safely enjoy sports and fitness programs.

Construction of the Cypress II Recreation Center “will complete our vision for an all-purpose facility that offers vital recreation amenities for people with disabilities of all ages from our community,” Mayor McCormac said, expressing gratitude for federal funding for the Port Reading project.

Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both-D-NJ) secured a $1 million federal Recreational Facilities Special Needs Improvement Grant that is paying for the Cypress Recreational Complex expansion.

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Menendez, Booker, state Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez (D-19), county Commission Director Ronald Rios, Councilman Brian Small, and the town’s Chief-of-Staff Caroline Ehrlich joined McCormac for the groundbreaking. The first phase of the Cypress recreation facility opened in August 2020.

“Not only will children and adults have a safe space to play and participate in organized sports, but they will also have the chance to further their development through training, employment opportunities, and enrichment programs,” Menendez said.

“Everyone deserves an equal opportunity to enjoy the physical and mental benefits of outdoor activities and sports. The new Cypress II site will ensure current and future generations can benefit for years to come,” Menendez added.

The Cypress Park Recreation Complex & Level Playing Field features fully-accessible facilities that accommodate youth-sized baseball, softball and soccer, plus a walking/running track around the entire complex. McCormac explained these give people with disabilities “a way to fully enjoy the mental and physical benefits of participating in sports.”

The custom-designed field and facilities also include wheelchair access ramps and equipment that is fully compliant with federal, state, county, and municipal ADA and safety standards. Sport amenities include volleyball and pickleball courts with high-efficiency LED field lighting for nighttime play, the mayor said.

Senator Booker said he was proud to see grant money he helped secure “used for such an important initiative,” adding that “once complete, this park will be boon for the entire community, offering children, seniors, and people with disabilities, a chance to enjoy newly constructed playgrounds and sports fields.”

Port Reading author Brooke Beyfuss to publish her second novel.Photo Credit: Source Books/Courtesy Photo

By TONY GALLOTTO

Last UpdatedMarch 4, 2023 at 7:27 AM

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Communities as large as this one are often home to so many interesting people doing interesting things. Too often, their stories go unnoticed. Here’s one you shouldn’t miss.

Local writer Brooke Beyfuss is about to publish her second novel, “Before You Found Me,” available Aug. 1 in bookstores.

“It’s pretty thrilling,” says Beyfuss, a Carteret native who now lives in Port Reading with her husband, 17-year-old daughter, “an incredibly hyperactive dog,” and three cats.

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And, there’s an interest story behind her novels.

“My newest novel ‘Before You Found Me,’ is really the first one I wrote, starting it about 12 years ago. Strange as it sounds, the second (novel) that I wrote became my first to get published,” says Beyfuss.

“‘Before You Found Me’ kept getting rejected. I couldn’t sell it,” she recalls.

Moving on, Beyfuss penned another: “After We Were Stolen.” It became a successful debut novel. It was featured in Bustle magazine, presented at the 2022 Kansas Book Festival and selected as a Fall '22 Hoopla Book Club selection.

Her publisher, Source Books, asked if she would write another. She ended up pitching “Before You Found Me,” with obvious success.

● “Before You Found Me,” is an emotionally charged novel that explores an unlikely bond between two abuse survivors. It takes a deep dive into personal sacrifice, morality, healing, and the lengths people will go protect loved ones, even at their own expense.

● “After We Were Stolen” is a suspenseful, thought-provoking tale of a girl who escapes a cult after a deadly fire destroys her family’s compound. Haunted by her past, this coming-of-age story examines the resilience, and lengths a cult survivor goes to be free of a painful past.

Beyfuss, 44, a freelance copywriter by trade, is confident she has more stories to tell and is gearing up for her third novel.

Novelists, she suggests, are either “plotters or panthers.” Plotters map out their novels from start-to-finish. Panthers, she says, come up with an idea and hammer away at it.

“I’m definitely a panther,” says Beyfuss, and a self-professed “night owl.”

“I settle down at 7 p.m. and work away until 1 a.m., going wherever the story takes me,” said Beyfuss.

A Rutgers University graduate, with a BA in psychology and comparative literature, she is founder of the Woodbridge Cultural Arts Commission’s writing group.

“Before You Found Me,” is available for pre-order on Amazon ($16.99), or her publisher’s website, Source Books.

Learn more about Brooke Beyfuss at the author’s website.

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Jules Weber paints what he knows.

This 86-years-old, self-taught artist knows Woodbridge and Carteret as well as he knows his own talented hands. These communities inspire most of his creations.

A hundred of Weber’s paintings are now the featured exhibit at the Barron Art Center, this community’s premiere art venue at 582 Rahway Ave. Weber was recently named Woodbridge’s “Artist-of-the-Year.”

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The exhibit, entitled “Jules Weber: Color My World," is on display until Monday, Oct. 25th, says Cynthia Knight, the Barron Art Center’s director, and a fan of Weber’s work.

Mayor John E. McCormac says Weber’s recent honor “is truly deserved, given Jules’ outstanding portfolio. I especially love that his paintings portray Woodbridge locations that so many people here instantly recognize.”

The new exhibit, and being named Artist-of-the-Year, are “amazing honors,” Weber said.

Weber’s lifetime body of work – which he estimates at nearly 600 paintings – are distinctive for one main reason: Weber does not use brushes.

Instead, he relies on palette-knife techniques to layer oils on canvas to create detailed, realistic and colorful scenes.

“Mostly, I use three (palette) knives – they are like small trowels – to do what I do,” Weber said. “I don’t know many or any other artists who use knives (to paint) with as much detail as I put into my art.”

Most of Weber's paintings capture past and present images from Woodbridge, Carteret, and elsewhere in Central New Jersey. His work includes storefronts, industrial sites, railroads and lighthouses.

A number of his paintings feature nautical themes. “I’ve always loved the waterfront, and spend a lot of time there,” he said, so his body of work highlights waterways and ships of all kinds.

Other paintings feature images from Weber’s occasional travels aboard to places like Italy, Germany and elsewhere.

Weber says many of his paintings are created from a lifetime of photographs he has taken. Others start out as colored pencil sketches he makes to capture a locale’s intricate details.

His painting of the former Hess Oil refinery, for example, took about a hundred hours to complete, and began with pencil sketches and a few photos.

Many of his subjects are places that Weber knows well, like his 2005 painting of the Hollywood Barber Shop, on Fulton Street. “That's where I got my haircut for years,” he said.

PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST

Born and raised in Carteret, and educated in its public schools, Weber has called Port Reading home since the early 1960s, after he returned from serving in an Army artillery unit, in the US and in Germany.

Port Reading is where Weber and his late wife, Joan, raised their three sons: Douglas, now 61; Thomas, 57; and Matthew, 53. Joan Weber, a well-regarded Avenel Middle School teacher for 45 years, passed away in 2007.

Weber said enjoyed watching Woodbridge and Carteret evolve into the communities they are today. Along the way, he took many snapshots, and his memory is full of images from bygone days.

“I paint what I know. I paint what I see. I paint places and things I remember,” said Weber, in an interview with TAPinto Woodbridge-Carteret.

Weber was an interior decorator from the 1970s until he got sidelined by a coronary in 2000. His recuperation, he said, enabled him to focus on his art.

So did Weber’s recuperation from knee replacement surgery, and being homebound during the COVID-19 pandemic. “With nothing better to do, I spent hours and hours painting. It ended up being a very productive time,” Weber recalls.

Asked about retirement, Weber snapped back: "Retire? Retire from what, from painting? Never."

The Barron Arts Center’s exhibit, showcasing Weber’s works, runs until Oct. 25th. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 11 am to 4 pm, and Saturdays & Sundays from 2 pm to 4 pm.