Could it be? It is, a Jersey City Desk News Roundup!

Howdy news fans, belly on up to the bar and let your fingers do the walking as you catch-up on news the Jersey City Desk way!

* The Jersey Journal asks if folks are still as enthused for the incoming Phil Murphy administration. Johnny's more excited by the outgoing of the Chris Christie administration.

* Sounds like NJDOT is prepping you for bad news about longer delays on something that was supposed to be done last year. The Pulaski Skyway project, job security for years.

* The Statue of Liberty is dimming her lights this week, raising the chances of a Krampus visit to Jersey City.

* The Islamic Center of Jersey City rightly suspended an imam who said Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque "remains prisoner in the hands of the Jews" and praying for the annihilation of "the plundering oppressors." Johnny's got no time for this nonsense and neither does any thinking person. Maybe suspensions can turn into terminations?

* Here's a nice story. A former Jersey City resident is now mayor of a small town in North Carolina and is trying ti apply lessons he learned here to his new town.

* Here's one for sportsball fans, today is college football recruit signing day. Find out where that guy who ran for 187 yards and 3 TD's and ruined your town's homecoming is going to college.

* Finally, more than you've ever wanted to know about a scrotum attack by a woman who just had charges downgraded in that case.

The Statue of Liberty is closed, moose out front should have told you

Jersey City's own Statue of Liberty was left to fend for herself during superstorm Sandy and while she came through like a champ, her downstairs neighbors not so much. Like much of Jersey City both Liberty and Ellis Island spent some time under the salty brines of the Atlantic Ocean. No exhibits were harmed and no records were lost. However both places are going to be closed for months until the usual inspections, electrical replacements, cleanup of the buildings and the islands, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

A nice story complete with pictures of what officials found when they came back after the storm is just a click away.

Reaching into the Jersey City Desk mailbag this afternoon

Well, into the email bag is more like it. We got an email asking about how the Statue of Liberty was holding up after two hurricanes and two nor'easters in two years. With as bad as Hurricane Sandy was that's a good question. But there is a secret to how the Statue of Liberty rode out the storms most Americans don't know...

Some amazing webcams now running live from the Statue of Liberty

Here's just one shot of our fair city, New York City and a great view of New York Harbor. Follow this link to the rest of the Statue of Liberty live webcams.

HAIL!! The Statue of Liberty is 125 today

Jersey City's own most famousest of monuments, the Statue of Liberty is 125 today (that's a LOT of candles) and plenty of big events are planned for Liberty Island, Ellis Island and fireworks out in New York Harbor tonight by Macy's.

NJ.com helps move things along with their list of todays events:

Kicking off today’s ceremonies at 8:45 a.m. will be the Naturalization Ceremony, which seeks to honor the millions of U.S. immigrants who were first welcomed to America by Lady Liberty.

“Some 125 immigrants from more than 40 nations, including Albania, China, Italy, Haiti, Croatia and the Dominican Republic, will become U.S. citizens in honor of the statue’s symbol of enduring hope since 1886,” Ahern said.

A National Park Service ceremony will begin at 10 a.m., featuring a talk by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and performances by various singers and actors.

At roughly 7:45 p.m., to close the 125th anniversary, Macy’s Fireworks will ignite the autumn skies with shells and umbrellas of light from two barges, as well as from Liberty Island itself, officials said.

The fireworks will be accompanied by the original score, “Gift of Light,” written by Grammy-award-winning composer Doug Katsaros, and Emmy-winning lyricist/Macy’s creative director William Schermerhorn.

A simulcast of the closing ceremony will be carried by 1010 WINS radio.

Now, tomorrow the Statue itself will be closed for up to a year for some badly needed improvements. The Ellis Island and Liberty Island buildings will be open to the public, but not Lady Liberty ("Moose out front should have told you...").

Jersey City, we have a bridge to build

Jersey City is looking to procure some $18.4 million dollars to extend Jersey Avenue, build a bridge across Mill Creek and connect Jersey City's downtown with Liberty State Park.

What a GREAT idea. The part we can't understand is why the city thinks this could take 3 years to build. The first thought Johnny had, as did a commenter on the JJ site was "It took two years to build the Empire State Building and we're talking three years for this smallish bridge?" Come on, we know this idea has been explored before but let's do this thing. Let's give downtown Jersey City access to Liberty State Park where you get one stunning view of Jersey City's Statue of Liberty.

New Jersey's Statue of Liberty to close to the public October 29

The New Jersey landmark will close for what Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says are safety improvements and repairs, on October 29th for a year. Why October 29th you ask? The dedication of the Statue's 125th anniversary is October 28th and the Interior Department didn't want it closed on that particular day. Liberty Island and will remain open, only the interior of the Statue of Liberty is closing.

The National Park Service said the project would involve updating the statue’s mechanical and electrical systems, along with its fire-suppression equipment. The two open staircases will be separated from each other, and one will get walls, a plus for safety. The elevator that runs from the ground floor to the fifth floor will be replaced and will ascend and descend in a new, fire-resistant shaft.

Got that? Good.

A gorgeous Saturday to be out and about with a camera

How about a picture looking south down Warren St. at Jersey City's most famous landmark. This was shot not entirely far from the Harsimus Cove light rail stop. Sometimes when Johnny opens his eyes he sees good things. Big image coming.

Jersey City just missed having it's own Gilligan's Island situation

Well, they would have needed two more castaways and the island they were stranded on would have had slightly more human inhabitation. A small wooden motorboat ran aground yesterday afternoon on a sandbar next to Liberty Island, home of Jersey City's own Statue or Liberty and had to be rescued by the Coast Guard.

No word on if the motorboat was on a three hour tour.

Nice to see the incoming administration won't be cowed by terrorists, they seek to reopen the Statue of Liberty's crown to the public

New Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar visited the Statue of Liberty and said a top priority of his, meaning the Obama Administration, was to reopen the crown to the public. You'll recall it was closed after the 9/11 attacks for some apparent reason. The Bushies said it was out of concern to the safety of the public which still to this day sounds like a red herring. Then why not close the viewing deck on the Empire State Building? Secretary Salazar said "This is an American treasure. . I don't think there is a better symbol of the fact that there is one America than this island."

We here at the Jersey City Desk agree. Sure it's a narrow 168 steps. So? No doubt someone has had a heart attack or fallen ill at some point doing it over the decades it's been open. They didn't close the St. Louis arch after 9/11. We need to get over this innate fear of "the terrorists". Sure it's a possibility. It's a possibility geese will bring down your plane in the Hudson River.

Jersey City's Statue of Liberty is THE greatest symbol of America, but how can it be if it's closed because we're afraid of bad guys? We heartily applaud Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and the Obama Administration for this call.