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1 week ago | 
jerseydigs.com | Darren Tobia
Perhaps best known for their namesake specialty markets, Newark-born brothers Antonio and Albano Seabra have built a vast empire that includes food stores and real estate holdings. Their latest endeavor could bring something unprecedented to the Ironbound—its first boutique hotel. Last month, the city’s Zoning Board approved their plans for a 153-room, eight-story hotel at 114-126 Monroe Street.
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2 weeks ago | 
jerseydigs.com | Darren Tobia
While waiting on the Princeton Junction platform for the connecting train, I passed the time watching construction cranes on the far side of the parking lot cobbling together an 868-unit development. This is technically in West Windsor, but it was my first taste of the incredible growth happening all around Princeton University. Princeton, with a population of 30,000, is an unusual place with a distinct culture all its own.
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2 weeks ago | 
jerseydigs.com | Darren Tobia
After six books of photography and writing, Wheeler Antabanez has carved out a niche for himself as a career trespasser. One thing his cult following can expect to find in his books is the exploration of hard-to-reach, abandoned, and often dangerous places. There is a thrill surrounding his new releases – where has the 47-year-old dared to go next? “It’s a thrill for me, too,” Antabanez said.
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2 weeks ago | 
jerseydigs.com | Darren Tobia
The Loew’s Theater remains an active construction site, as renovations began in 2021. The auditorium is stripped of seats, and the smell of fresh sawdust fills the air. Yet, those who were invited on a tour of the historic performance hall last month caught a glimpse of what is to come, and there was much to be impressed with.
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1 month ago | 
northjersey.com | Darren Tobia
Doby helped break baseball’s color barrier when he became the first Black player in the American League in 1947He is among the pantheon of Paterson immortals, a seven-time All-Star and member of the National Baseball Hall of FameThe field is the home of the Eastside High School Ghosts. PATERSON — Even though the season is almost over, it felt like Opening Day for the Eastside High School baseball team.
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1 month ago | 
jerseydigs.com | Darren Tobia
A Jersey City preservation group has stirred up a frenzy of criticism over the handling of the city’s ongoing restoration of the Loew’s Theater. Chris Perez, executive director of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, posted pictures of the historic theater’s iconic marquee being “jaggedly torn down,” arguing that it should have been preserved. “We understand that a replica of the original marquee design will be put in its place,” Perez wrote in a social media post.
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1 month ago | 
jerseydigs.com | Darren Tobia
Linda DaRocha, who has spent much of her life in Harrison, was ready to move to the surrounding suburbs to raise her family. But when the historic home at 300 Davis Avenue went on the market, she and her husband, Tom, decided to spend another thirty years in town. “We fell in love with it,” she said. “We drove by and they had a ‘For Sale’ sign on the house,” she said. “I told him, if we can get this house, I’ll stay here.”That was back in 1989.
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1 month ago | 
jerseydigs.com | Darren Tobia
The day was forecast for rain, but I was determined to visit the Laurelwood Arboretum when the rhododendrons were in peak bloom. I feared that Scott Broadfoot, who curates the garden, might begrudge me for a tour on such a gloomy day. But that was furthest from the truth. It turns out that Broadfoot’s first visit to the arboretum was in similar weather, and he fell in love with the park nevertheless.
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1 month ago | 
yahoo.com | Darren Tobia
PATERSON — Salman Chowdhury, a Harvard University-bound teenager from Paterson, knows that much of his academic success came as a result of his parents’ sacrifice. “The reason my parents came to this country is because they wanted their children to have great opportunities,” Chowdhury said.
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1 month ago | 
northjersey.com | Darren Tobia
Chowdhury, a senior at Passaic County Technical Institute in Wayne, is leaning toward getting a degree in applied mathChowdhury’s humble nature comes from his gratitude to his parents. His mother, Fathema, said the family struggled to find work as immigrants in a new land. PATERSON — Salman Chowdhury, a Harvard University-bound teenager from Paterson, knows that much of his academic success came as a result of his parents’ sacrifice.
