Sunday sails

It's the wind kids, not the lack of sun that makes for good sailing on the Hudson River...

Luckily for you Jersey City, Johnny and his dire wolf scared the pirates over to the NYC side

You didn't think the people in the Biergarten were going to do it did you?

You'd think less helicopter traffic on the Hudson River would make almost everyone happy

But it seems like most people aren't. Tour operators are upset for the obvious reasons, they feel the 50% cut in sightseeing helicopter traffic is far too limiting. Citizen groups who said despite claims to the opposite they weren't included in the negotiations as they want it all stopped. An interesting read on helicopter tours and limiting them assured to rankle you on one level or another.

Imagine of you will, a pedestrian bridge linking Jersey City to lower Manhattan

Now, make it cool. Make it start at the 6th Street Embankment and slowly rise up and make the Hudson River walkable with elevator access and stunning views all the way into lower Manhattan.

Wanna see it put into action? Sure it's a pipe dream right now but Jersey City resident Kevin Shane and Jersey City architect Jeff Jordan the drawing and concept are VERY real. Head on over to Jersey City Digs and read the rest of the idea and see the amazing images of what could be.

Never hurts to dream big Jersey City, Chris Christie and Steve Fulop aren't gonna be around to hold us back forever.

PATH is back up on the 33rd St. line

You may now feel free to move about the Hudson.

Down to the river at once!

Johnny just saw that Jersey City Jazz series has Carolyn Light gracing J. Owen Grundy Pier this afternoon starting at 12 bells and running until 2pm. It's a gorgeous day, there's a delightful breeze and it just feels like jazz by the river today.

Did you know then (most likely you did if Johnny is just seeing this on the Twitter) this jazz series goes on all the way through August. There's a poster and everything, right there.

Fleet Week kicking off any minute down by the river

The tall ships and military ships and aeroplanes and all sorts of cool stuff are going to start working their way into New York Harbor and up the Hudson River any minute now. This is your five minute warning.

A lone spring flower

Just the one. Perhaps enjoying the same view everyone else was.

Macy's is moving the fireworks show back to the East River this year...*yawn*

All the caterwauling and sniveling from New York City residents about the 4th of July Macy's fireworks show over the Hudson River couldn't move old mayor Montgomery Burns to move it back to the East River near the Brooklyn Bridge. However Brooklyn resident and NYC mayor Bill deBlasio leaned on Macy's to move it back. So back it goes to NYC for this year anyway and we're not expecting a great outcry from New Jersey residents over the decision, certainly not the screeching like barn owls shown by New Yorkers back in 2009. New Jersey residents don't get that jacked up over something lasting forty five minutes. The last time that happened was a couple years back when the Devils eliminated the Rangers with a strong third period and an even better one minute overtime:

Dear NYC, we'll be at the beach,

Peace out,

NJ

Cell phone camera apps, which ones do you like best?

Like the ad says, more pictures are taken on iPhones than any other "camera" on earth. As you have seen here hundreds of times Johnny always carries his camera around because, well, you just never know what you may come across. But what of the apps that allow one to take stylized pictures? They can do so many things to spruce up a regular image. Case in point here are two pictures Johnny took today down on the river:

So dear readers, which filter or filters do you like using? The ones above were taken using the Lo-mob filter but Johnny also loves working with Photo Toaster and a Fisheye camera app. Feel free to share your ideas and links to pictures iffen you'd like to in comments.

WOW, just WOW

The World Trade Center seems to be having self-guided tours to the top of the new WTC anymore, just sneak in through a hole in the fence and enjoy your day, or in this case, your evening.

Three guys clambered up top in September and they had GoPro cameras and they B.A.S.E. jumped OFF the WTC! A MUST see video if ever there was one. Some rough language means headphones for work.

Spring tease

What a badly needed glorious day. A tease of spring on the late afternoon air. Of course it all goes back to crap late next week but for today anyway, brilliant!

1 Adam-12, 1 Adam-12, we have a helicopter down in the Hudson River

Five people were onboard what is being called a private helicopter (earlier reports said it was a FOX-5 news chopper) that landed in the Hudson River today near the Upper West Side (Think 79th St.). All five were rescued and the investigation continues. It's another Sully miracle!

For more follow the magic link.

You can't beat free and that's just what NJ owned commuter ferries hitting Jersey City and Weehawken are

Free ferry service, the best kind short of a ferry with a cash bar, will begin running from Liberty State Park in Jersey City to lower Manhattan and from Weehawken headed to Pier 79 at West 39th St. in midtown. Thank you state of New Jersey. What a great area to live in. You can show up, get a free ferry ride to New York City, drink a cup of Good Morning America after baiting your hook and fishing your way across the Hudson. Bully!

The ferries will operate weekdays between 6 and 10 a.m. for riders headed into New York, and from 4 to 8 p.m. for riders headed back across the Hudson River.

We could live with a compromise...

...Many New Yorkers aren't quite over the fact Macy's has blown up their fireworks show every year since 2009 on the Hudson River and want back what they call their birthright (OK, maybe not birthright). Agitators NY State Senator Daniel Squadron and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio are hot and heavy after Macy's to move the fireworks back to the East River where only New Yorkers can see them. They actually have a petition (which we feel no obligation to link to) to get the Macy's Fireworks moved back exclusively to the East River site.

When someone asked if alternating between the two sites would be acceptable they said only "That'd be better than what we've got now."

Johnny could get behind an alternating schedule. It certainly wouldn't be the worst thing. It would allow New Yorkers, so put upon, to feel extra special like they deep down know they are once every two years. Then the rest of us *rabble would get our shot in the off years.

*Rabble -- The Hoboken waterfront on July 4

Fleet Week next week!

Not to be missed around these parts, Fleet Week with the Parade of Tall Ships floats off (stepping off might be risky) next Wednesday at 8:10 am from the Verrazano Narrows bridge and heads up the Hudson River north of the George Washington Bridge.

The Parade of Sail and The Military Parade of Ships which again starts just after 8 am is followed at 10 am by the The Military Parade of Ships. Both will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of Francis Scott Key penning 'The Star Spangled Banner'.

You can find out more on the event by clicking here.

Get your cameras and head to the river on Wednesday

The piggy-back space shuttle Enterprise's trip has been rescheduled for Wednesday morning. Beginning at 9:30 the shuttle will be flown at heights of only 1500 feet at times as it 'poses' for pictures around Jersey City's Statue of Liberty, the George Washington Bridge and other landmarks.

The flight is expected to last around two hours before the flight ends at JFK.

Our neighbors to the north have built a bridge to somewhere

Hoboken and Weehawken have torn down the wall separating the two neighbors and a walkway along the Hudson River has been finished connecting the two bergs.

Said Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer of the project "This is an absolutely gorgeous connection between Hoboken and Weehawken." We find ourselves in an agreeable mood with local mayors this morning.

Now, you may be waiting for the usual snarky jokes about our neighbors whom we kid because we love. You'd think we'd talk about immigration from one to the other and poking fun at Fuho. Not the case here today.




Of course we do worry about the violence escalating between Weehawken's big gang "The Jets" and Hoboken's biggest gang "The Sharks" as they will have an easy place to rumble and settle things with singing and slick dance moves. But that's just us...

While July may seem like a long way off...

It is always best to plan ahead. While we're not saying go line the river up in FuHo just yet, Macy's announced the July 4th fireworks will once again be held on the Hudson River, eschewing those with properties on the East River. While we're sure there will be plenty of whining and gnashing of teeth over the Hudson River choice by some New Yorkers, we think it is the correct call. As a consolation perhaps they will have fireworks at another New Jersey landmark visible from Brooklyn, the Statue of Liberty.

Just in time for another hot weekend, the Hudson River is open for recreational use once again

So head on down to the river with a view and jump on in. The NYC waste plant sewage has dissipated. No, really, jump on in. What are you waiting for, a gold ticket? Go head, jump in and paddle around and cool off.

Oh nevermind...