Drayage Brokersin Newark, NJ

NEWARK — Something packed with flavor has arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey wanted to enhance the food and dining options at the airport's year-old Terminal A with the addition of Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Kitchen + Bar, operated by SSP America.

Fieri is one of the most recognizable celebrity chefs in the world, and his restaurant, which opened at the airport in December, adds to the terminal’s diverse dining options and one-of-a-kind sense of place, according to Port Authority officials.

“We’ve welcomed countless dignitaries through our world-class airports, but nothing compares to the arrival of the Mayor of Flavortown himself, Guy Fieri,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole.

Fieri’s Flavortown Kitchen + Bar is derived from a well-known Fieri reference to a place that doesn’t exist, Flavortown, which came about on Food Network’s hugely popular, “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” television show hosted by Fieri.

The menu features Fieri favorites such as Trash Can Nachos, Ain’t No Thing Butta Chicken Wing, and Motley Que Pulled Pork Sandwich.

“I’m very proud to have partnered with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and SSP America to bring Flavortown Kitchen + Bar to the bar-raising new Terminal A at Newark Airport. This makes EWR our official hub and we are ready and welcoming all passengers on their trip to Flavortown,” said Fieri.

The restaurant features a space that unfolds around a large bar, surrounded by seating areas, and bordered by elements reminiscent of shipping containers covered with Fieri’s signature graphics. There is also an oversized Flavortown illuminated sign visible throughout the terminal.

Fieri’s restaurant is one of Terminal A’s 54 unique and diverse dining options that also includes six locally owned and operated concessionaries from the nearby communities of Newark, Elizabeth, and Jersey City.

“Guy’s bold and hearty offerings pair perfectly with Terminal A, as we dish up a streamlined, state-of-the-art traveling experience with a side of distinctive architecture, diverse dining, and magnificent local art,” Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said.

Fieri is one of the most recognizable celebrity chefs in the world with a long list of restaurants, cookbooks, and TV shows to his credit.

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ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of Jewish Family Service of MetroWest NJ. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

Rachel Coalition, the domestic violence division of Jewish Family Service of MetroWest NJ (JFS), is seeking volunteers for its Court Advocate Program. This 40-hour hands-on training program educates participants to assist domestic violence victims with emotional and administrative support as they await their restraining order hearings in Essex Family Court in Newark.

Training sessions will be held on Wednesdays from 6 to 9 p.m. beginning March 13, 2024. No formal legal experience or education is required for this volunteer position. Volunteers will have an opportunity to observe Family Court proceedings. Volunteers who have already taken a 40-hour domestic violence training class in the last five years may qualify for an abbreviated training. For further information on the Court Advocate Program and to schedule an interview, contact Tia-lee Dawson, tdawson@jfsmetrowest.org.

Each year, the Essex Family Court Domestic Violence Unit in Newark presides over more than 6,000 cases of domestic violence. Since 2006, Rachel Coalition has placed trained Court Advocate volunteers in the Essex County Family Court waiting room to explain the restraining order process to victims, assist with the initial application, provide information about community services such as legal, counseling, shelters, as well as offer unconditional emotional support.

Rachel Coalition, a division of Jewish Family Service of MetroWest NJ (JFS), provides services to assist victims of domestic violence and intimate partner violence as well as individuals living in high-conflict relationships. JFS is a comprehensive social service agency providing mental health counseling and support services on a non-discriminatory basis. With a presence in the community since 1861, JFS today delivers an expanding number of programs to increasing numbers of people. For children and families, JFS provides individual, couple, child and family counseling, play therapy, support groups, school and synagogue-based social work services, and other assistance needed to support healthy families. JFS also offers a wide range of services for older adults and their families including case management services, counseling, caregiver education, volunteer-friendly visitors, and specialized programs for Holocaust survivors. For more information, call (973) 765-9050 or visit www.jfsmetrowest.org.

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Thursday's contest between the NJIT Highlanders (7-19, 3-11 America East) and the UMBC Retrievers (10-19, 5-9 America East) at NJIT Wellness and Events Center is expected to be a close matchup, as our computer prediction projects a final score of 76-75, with NJIT taking home the win. Tipoff is at 7:00 PM ET on February 29.

Based on our computer prediction, NJIT is projected to cover the spread (2) versus UMBC. The two sides are expected to come in below the 154.5 total.

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A Newark Board of Education member is pushing school officials for an explanation about what she said was the district’s failure to publicly bid out a contract to convert a defunct school building into a museum of the school district’s history.

It follows the revelation earlier this month that the “contract price” of the project for the conversion of what was the district’s first school for children of color is $4.5 million — a figure that became publicly known after a judge, ruling on a lawsuit filed by TAPinto Newark, ordered the district to remove significant redactions made to the settlement agreement of a lawsuit in which the district sought to reclaim the building. A prior administration had sold the school for $650,000 over six years ago.

“If it’s part of the settlement, were we not supposed to put out bids for a person to redo this building?” member Crystal Williams asked at the school board’s Tuesday, Feb. 27, meeting. “So, I would like clarification on that.”

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No answer to that question was provided at the public meeting. State law requires public school districts with a qualified purchasing agent to put out to public bid any contract above $44,000.

Approached by a reporter following the meeting, Superintendent Roger León acknowledged the journalist, then walked away, exiting through a door behind the dais. Board President Hasani Council declined to answer questions concerning the agreement with the real estate developer Hanini Group over the school building at 15 State St.

Addressing León during the meeting, Williams said, she was also surprised to read in the press about the multi-million cost of the project after León had at a school board meeting in June indicated the cost as being $10.

León’s response: “I don’t guide myself by what some in the blog world that pretend to be reporters write. That’s not where I live. I actually live in black and white as it relates to the documents.”

The school board members, he said, saw the settlement agreement before voting on it and so knew its contents.

“The reference I made about $10 is that after everything is done and the State Street building opens, that it is going to be sold to us for $10,” León said. “The specifics with regards to the entire matter now is … available to the public.”

Those specifics became available because of a seven-month-long litigation initiated by Skyway Publishing, the publisher of TAPinto Newark, after the school district denied three records requests and then provided a significantly redacted version of the settlement agree ment between the developer and school district.

The agreement shows the $4.5 million contract price in the third paragraph, details a payment schedule for construction, and stipulates that litigation with the developer over the district’s intent to reclaim the building after selling it off through the Newark Housing Authority be dismissed.

The $10 figure, which was referenced by León, is shown in the agreement under the heading, “Conveyance of Property for Nominal Consideration.”

“Within 10 days of Substantial Completion of the project, and on the same day as payment of the Final Payment (defined above), Hanini shall transfer the title to the Property,” the agreement states.

The district’s online records show the Board of Education approved the settlement agreement with Hanini Group by a vote of 8-1 on March 30, 2023. Williams was the lone school board member to vote against the measure.

As reported, the school district has applied to the state’s Historic Preservation Office for funds for the State Street School project.

While district officials have not commented on the bidding process, the district in response to a July 2023 records request failed to provide documents that show “request for proposals, proposals received and/or selected” concerning the project.

A search of New Jersey Public notices online reveals no notices about the State Street School project.

Michael Yaple, a spokesperson for the state Department of Education, acknowledged a request for comment from TAPinto Newark on Wednesday, Feb. 28, concerning adherence to the public bidding process. A response was not provided by the publication of this article.

Newark has been a center for creativity and innovation in the fashion industry for more than 75 years—and a new show at the Newark Museum of Art is showcasing some of the most pivotal designers from Brick City, including Narciso Rodriguez and Stephen Burrows.

“’The Story of Newark Fashion: Atelier to Runway‘ brings long-overdue attention to the contributions of this creative community, focusing on bold innovators designing for iconic cultural figures, including Rihanna, Michelle Obama and others,” said Linda C. Harrison, Newark Museum director and CEO. “This exhibition shows the adjacency of the Black and Brown fashion community to household names and global brands.”

The exhibit celebrates the city’s deep roots in the garment and jewelry industries, and will be on view through June 2. In development since 2021, this is the museum’s first large-scale exhibition dedicated to contemporary American fashion. Bringing together loans from prestigious public and private collections, “The Story of Newark Fashion” features the work of 11 fashion designers with Newark connections.

Narciso Rodriguez’s designs Photo: Mike Peters Photography/Courtesy of the Newark Museum of Art

At an opening-night celebration last week, many of the designers with work in the new exhibit were present, including Rodriguez, who says he got his start at his mother’s sewing machine while growing up in the Ironbound section of Newark.

“I was always very passionate about fashion—my mom sewed and she loved fashion, and I grew up watching her make things,” says Rodriguez, whose family came to Newark from Cuba. “My dream was to study at the Parsons School of Design and work for Donna Karan, and I was very lucky because I got to do both.”

A selection of his beautiful dresses is on display in the exhibit, along with photos of his early years as a designer.

Newark’s story as an influencer in the fashion industry started in the 1950s and 1960s, when groundbreaking Black designers began working in the ateliers and classrooms of Black fashion designers Wesley Tann and Emily Miles. Both were pivotal mentors for the next generation: Tann designed for Jacqueline Kennedy, and Miles was considered Newark’s “first lady of fashion.”

This history set the stage for the museum’s survey of contemporary designers prominent in the field, including Project Runway finalist Shavi Lewis. Also included in the exhibit are the works of designers Douglas Says and Melody Asherman.

“The Story of Newark Fashion: Atelier to Runway” is guest-curated by Kristen J. Owens, a historian of Black fashion, with Tracey “Africa” Norman serving as a curatorial advisor. An international model and Newark native, Norman has long been both muse and model to several designers featured in the show. To celebrate Norman and the Newark fashion community, the museum commissioned a full-length portrait by Michalene Thomas of Norman wearing a Douglas Says gown.

A catalogue documenting the exhibition and featuring oral histories with the living designers, published by the Newark Museum of Art, is forthcoming.

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