Hoboken Shops Act Hospitably; Plus, City Meetings and Speed Dating

With the gift-giving holidays approaching, Tuesday night is the first of two Hoboken Hospitality Nights. For the third autumn in a row local shops will welcome customers with special deals for goods and services between 6 and 10 p.m. Many will also offer refreshments and entertainment while they stay open longer than usual.

Tuesday is "uptown night," and Wednesday is "downtown night." Just a few of the participating retailers include Baskets of Distinction, Fleet Feet, The Hoboken Man, Rubee's Closet, Bella Ro, Empire Coffee, the W Hotel Store and W. Kodak Jewelers, plus almost forty others.

In addition to the uptown Hospitality Night, this is a very busy evening in Hoboken. The city administration is hosting a meeting about the installation of a new 9/11 memorial on the north side of Pier A Park.

Residents are encouraged to attend and offer their comments and questions. The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in the City Hall basement conference room.

Conceptualare available on the city website (scroll down the bottom of the page to access the blueprints).

The city is also hosting a makeshift public information center for residents interested in increasing their options for walking and riding bicycles on Hoboken streets.

The center intends to provide information about the city's Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan. It will be open from 4:30-7:30 at the Multi-Service Community Center, 124 Grand Street. Check out this online pdf from the city for more details.

The Hoboken Public Library is hosting two events today. From 2 to 3:30 artist and educator Jamie Ross will teach a class on wire sculpting. Students of all ages can come and learn how to create their own wire bookmark sculpture. Here's an example of what those look like. Sounds like a good gift idea.

Then, at 6pm the Library will sponsor a very important discussion, "Why Couldn't Haiti Be Rescued," which will focus on the impoverished Caribbean nation that has been beset by problems, including political violence and an earthquake in January that devastated the capital Port-au-Prince and killed an estimated 230,000 people.

Wale Ajibade, of the non-profit organization African Issues and Haitian born educator James Dorcely will lead the discussion.

About Town is a quick look at the not-quite-news but still-neat happenings that occur in Hoboken all the time. Seen something wacky, wild, cute, cuddly, funny or fun? Got an incidental observation or a minor celebration? Shoot it to alanskontra@hotmail.com. We want pictures too.

The New Jersey Young Professionals are hosting another one of their events for the well-witted lovelorn Tuesday night at Oddfellows, 80 River Street, from 7 to 9 p.m. Speed dating is far more fun than online dating, or not dating at all.

The Young Professionals group hosts a speed dating event for a different age range each month. This one is for singles between 25 and 35. Like a major league club scouting a foreign-born shortstop, they ask that anyone who wishes to attend prove their correct age by bringing a photo ID. Tickets at the door cost $20, and there is a ten-drink minimum. Actually it's only a two-drink minimum, but we're planting that idea on behalf of those daters who need help, because we know from our own appearance the benefits of being graded on a booze soaked curve.

Speed daters will meet in pairings for four minutes, or one minute more than a boxing round, and each participant will have the option of circling yes or no on a card if they do or don't want to pursue the other person (advice, strike a wide net unless you meet someone really weird who mentions they save their nailclippings or has only one nostril or something). The Young Professionals will then collect the results and contact people about the potential hook-ups, enabling any couples who want to explore things on their own to do so.

Visit the New Jersey Young Professionals website and the Oddfellows website for more information. Good luck!

Be sure to catch Today Show co-host and Hobokenite Natalie Morales as she hosts the annual Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony on NBC tonight at 8pm (the broadcast actually begins at 7pm for those of us in the local New York City market).

Morales will co-host with the always entertaining Al Roker. Special guests include Susan Boyle, Mariah Carey, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, Jessica Simpson, Annie Lennox, Kylie Minogue, a couple of names we omitted because we have no idea who they are, and of course, the lovely, leggy Radio City Rockettes.

Here's more information for anyone who wants to attend in person.

Happy Birthday to former Richard Nixon aide, Fordham grad, U.S. Army veteran, Watergate burglar, radio personality, gold selling spokesman and eminently mustachioed G. Gordon Liddy, who was born in Hoboken 80 years ago today, and didn't start subverting the democratic process until many years after leaving the Mile Square.

So what are we missing? Openings, closings, winners, losers or just plain strange, drop us a note, alanskontra@hotmail.com. And check back often.