New York
How St. Peter’s Became the Belle of the March Madness Ball
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — In 1872, 4 years earlier than building started on the Statue of Liberty, St. Peter’s College welcomed its top quality, all male and primarily sons of Irish immigrants. As soon as the statue was full, the elegant embodiment of the American dream stood along with her again to Jersey Metropolis, a snub deeply ingrained within the gritty ethos of town and the small liberal arts college that old-timers nonetheless confer with solely as “the faculty.”
Practically 150 years later, the scholar Jesuit college continues to teach first-generation strivers. About 48 p.c of its 2,134 undergraduates are Latino; 18 p.c are Black; and eight p.c are Asian. College students converse practically 40 languages and are available from households with a median earnings of $55,300.
Most commute to and from the college each day. The others, roughly 25 p.c of undergraduates, stay on a two-block-square campus that’s anchored by a brick-and-stone quad and straddles one of many busiest visitors arteries of town, New Jersey’s second largest.
That is what makes the glass-slipper journey of the No. 15-seeded St. Peter’s basketball staff on this 12 months’s N.C.A.A. males’s basketball event notably compelling.
“It’s not only a Cinderella story,” stated Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, a son of Cuban immigrants and the primary particular person in his household to earn a university diploma (from St. Peter’s) in 1976. “It’s David versus Goliath.”
On St. Patrick’s Day, St. Peter’s dispatched Kentucky, a No. 2 seed, in extra time, gorgeous basketball followers in all places and dancing its manner into the hearts of a rustic desperately in want of a diversion.
The staff delivered final weekend by beating Murray State, a No. 7 seed, 70 to 60.
And on Friday, for the primary time in its historical past, St. Peter’s is heading to the Candy 16. Its opponent? Purdue, a Huge Ten college 16 occasions its dimension and a No. 3 seed.
“It’s the story of the underdog,” stated Tom Weatherall, a 1991 St. Peter’s graduate who grew up in Jersey Metropolis and labored within the college’s admissions and improvement workplaces for six years. “They symbolize willpower and grit.”
Mr. Weatherall now runs Make-A-Want New Jersey, a department of the nationwide nonprofit. Its castle-shaped headquarters in central New Jersey has been lit up in “peacock blue” each night time this week.
Dive Deeper Into the N.C.A.A. Tournaments
If solely quickly, the wins have left New Jersey overflowing with a satisfaction that even its star flip in “The Sopranos” and its declare as Springsteen’s maker and muse by no means might. “It’s a blue-collar, lunch-pail type of combat,” Mr. Weatherall stated of the staff’s aggressive type.
A banner hanging from the entrance of McGinley Sq. Pub, a brief stroll from St. Peter’s, captured the statewide euphoria: “Miracle on Montgomery St.”
“That is up there with the Soviets dropping to Crew U.S.A. in ice hockey,” stated Angelo Hatzipetrou, the pub’s proprietor, who takes the signal down every night time, assured it may very well be swiped as a memento. “That is Tyson getting knocked out by Buster Douglas.”
At Departed Soles, a brewery in Downtown Jersey Metropolis, prospects are lining as much as purchase the commemorative four-pack of Busted Bracket, an amber lager named in honor of the 1.53 p.c of March Insanity brackets that survived St. Peter’s two upset wins.
“There’s Jersey satisfaction,” stated Brian Kulbacki, the brewery’s proprietor, who organized for a neighborhood artist to design a brand new beer label that includes the college’s colourful mascot, the peacock. “After which there’s Jersey Metropolis satisfaction.”
This previous week, Emilio Ortiz, a 20-year-old finance main who serves because the staff’s mascot, stopped Eugene J. Cornacchia, the president of St. Peter’s, close to the quad. He held out his cellphone to point out off his newest video interview with a community information host after which spoke of the event expertise normally.
“What this journey has dropped at me is an excessive message: It doesn’t matter what college you go to, what firm you go to. All that issues is, like, the center that goes into it,” stated Mr. Ortiz, who was raised in Jersey Metropolis.
“And that’s what the boys are exhibiting,” stated Mr. Ortiz, who lives on campus and works as a resident assistant along with his peacock duties. “We’re not a big-name college. They’re simply giving it their all.”
Pupil tickets to the sport in opposition to Purdue, on sale for $10 every, offered out in underneath three minutes. Followers hoping to witness historical past tried calling in favors from anybody with connections to the college, the staff or its now-famous coach, Shaheen Holloway. By Thursday night, single tickets have been beginning at round $300 on StubHub.
The final time the St. Peter’s males’s basketball staff made a run like this was in 1968, when it toppled Duke College, a identified hoops powerhouse, in a later spherical of the Nationwide Invitation Event. Tom Mac Mahon, a walk-on guard who performed on the 1968 staff, stated he deliberate to journey from Florida to be at Friday’s sport.
“The entire thing modified my life,” stated Mr. Mac Mahon, the previous chief govt of the testing facility LabCorp, whose donations to St. Peter’s paid for a brand new campus middle and a renovation of the Run Child Run Area, the place the boys’s basketball staff practices and performs.
“What I achieved in my life — it began with the training I obtained at St. Peter’s,” he stated. “And I’ve by no means, ever forgotten it.”
It’s unclear whether or not the bump supplied by the college’s newfound fame or its trending social media hashtag, #StrutUp, will increase enrollment, which fell by about 5 p.c through the pandemic.
Dr. Cornacchia, the college president, stated he was relieved that building on a brand new dorm could be completed in time for subsequent semester, ought to predictions of an admissions uptick show correct.
Messages of help have flooded in from throughout the nation, he stated, and as far-off as Europe and Japan.
“I’ve been simply type of knocked over by the quantity of publicity we’ve got acquired,” Dr. Cornacchia stated. “It’s priceless.”
New York
Senator Menendez’s Resignation Letter
ROBERT MENENDEZ
NEW JERSEY
COMMITTEES:
BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN
AFFAIRS
FINANCE
FOREIGN RELATIONS
The Honorable Phil Murphy
Governor of New Jersey
Office of the Governor
Trenton, N.J. 08625
Dear Governor Murphy,
United States Senate
WASHINGTON, DC 20510-3005
July 23, 2024
528 SENATE HART OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON, DC 20510
(202) 224-4744
210 HUDSON STREET
HARBORSIDE 3, SUITE #1000
JERSEY CITY, NJ 07311
(973) 645-3030
208 WHITE HORSE PIKE
SUITE 18-19
BARRINGTON, NJ 08007
(856) 757-5353
This is to advise you that I will be resigning from my office as the United States Senator from
New Jersey, effective on the close of business on August 20, 2024.
This will give time for my staff to transition to other possibilities, transfer constituent files that
are pending, allow for an orderly process to choose an interim replacement, and for me to close
out my Senate affairs.
While I fully intend to appeal the jury’s verdict, all the way and including to the Supreme Court,
I do not want the Senate to be involved in a lengthy process that will detract from its important
work. Furthermore, I cannot preserve my rights upon a successful appeal, because factual matters
before the ethics committee are not privileged. This is evidenced by the Committee’s Staff
Director and Chief Counsel being called to testify at my trial.
I am proud of the many accomplishments I’ve had on behalf of New Jersey, such as leading the
federal effort for Superstorm Sandy recovery, preserving and funding Gateway and leading the
federal efforts to help save our hospitals, State and municipalities, as well as New Jersey families
through a once in a century COVID pandemic. These successes led you, Governor, to call me the
“Indispensable Senator.”
I thank the citizens of New Jersey for the extraordinary privilege of representing them in the
United States Senate.
Sincerely,
Pabet Menang.
Robert Menendez
United States Senator
New Jersey
cc: The Honorable Kamala Harris, President of the Senate
The Honorable Ann Berry, Secretary of the Senate
New York
How Well Do You Know Literary Brooklyn?
A strong sense of place can deeply influence a story, and in some cases, the setting can even feel like a character itself. This week’s literary geography quiz celebrates Brooklyn and novels set around the bustling borough. To play, just make your selection in the multiple-choice list and the correct answer will be revealed. Links to the books will be listed at the end of the quiz if you’d like to do further reading.
New York
See How Your Subway Service May Suffer Without Congestion Pricing
After Gov. Kathy Hochul halted New York City’s congestion pricing program last month, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority cut $16.5 billion worth of planned upgrades to the city’s vast transit network, mostly to account for the loss of funding that was tied to revenue from the toll.
Projects were cut from each part of New York City’s transit system, which is the largest in North America and is used by millions of people every day. The projects included elevator and ramp installations that would make subway stations accessible for people with disabilities, structural repairs to aging infrastructure and upgrades to 1930s-era signals that regularly cause delays.
Here are some of the subway projects the authority says it has shelved:
The cuts announced by the M.T.A. — the state agency that runs the subway, bus and commuter rail lines — will also affect transit outside the subway system. The authority has postponed the purchase of more than 250 electric buses and charging infrastructure at bus depots, as well as upgrades to regional rails and a ramp reconstruction on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
The $12 billion remaining in the M.T.A.’s capital funds will be spent on projects the authority considers the most urgent, like track replacements and repairs to power substations. It will also replace some of the “least reliable” subway and railway cars, the authority said in a report.
All told, there are 92 subway stations that will not get planned improvements, including 22 stations that will not get new elevators or ramps; 10 that will not get upgrades like structural repairs, platform replacements and new barriers between platforms and tracks; and 71 that will not get upgrades to their public announcement systems.
Below is a list of the subway stations where upgrades have been put on hold, based on what the M.T.A. has detailed so far:
Projects on hold at 41 stations in Brooklyn:
Union St R
- upgrade to public announcement system
4 Av-9 St R
- upgrade to public announcement system
36 St D N R
- upgrade to public announcement system
59 St N R
- upgrade to public announcement system
Bergen St F G
- upgrade to public announcement system
15 St-Prospect Park F G
- upgrade to public announcement system
Church Av F G
- upgrade to public announcement system
Avenue X F
- upgrade to public announcement system
Neptune Av F
- upgrade to public announcement system
- elevator or ramp installation
- platform or waiting area replacement
Jay St-MetroTech A C F
- upgrade to public announcement system
Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts A C G
- upgrade to public announcement system
- elevator or ramp installation
Franklin Av C
- upgrade to public announcement system
Nostrand Av A C
- upgrade to public announcement system
- elevator or ramp installation
Utica Av A C
- upgrade to public announcement system
Euclid Av A C
- upgrade to public announcement system
7 Av B Q
- upgrade to public announcement system
Kings Hwy B Q
- upgrade to public announcement system
Avenue U Q
- upgrade to public announcement system
Neck Rd Q
- upgrade to public announcement system
Sheepshead Bay B Q
- upgrade to public announcement system
Brighton Beach B Q
- upgrade to public announcement system
Ocean Pkwy Q
- upgrade to public announcement system
W 8 St-NY Aquarium F Q
- upgrade to public announcement system
Jefferson St L
- elevator or ramp installation
Nevins St 2 3 4 5
- platform or waiting area replacement
Crescent St J Z
- upgrade to public announcement system
Norwood Av J Z
- upgrade to public announcement system
Cleveland St J
- upgrade to public announcement system
Van Siclen Av J Z
- upgrade to public announcement system
Alabama Av J
- upgrade to public announcement system
Chauncey St J Z
- upgrade to public announcement system
Halsey St J
- upgrade to public announcement system
Gates Av J Z
- upgrade to public announcement system
Kosciuszko St J
- upgrade to public announcement system
Myrtle Av J M Z
- upgrade to public announcement system
Flushing Av J M
- upgrade to public announcement system
Lorimer St J M
- upgrade to public announcement system
Hewes St J M
- upgrade to public announcement system
Marcy Av J M Z
- upgrade to public announcement system
Kings Hwy N
- elevator or ramp installation
18 Av D
- elevator or ramp installation
Projects on hold at 9 stations in the Bronx:
Norwood-205 St D
- upgrade to public announcement system
Bedford Park Blvd B D
- upgrade to public announcement system
Kingsbridge Rd B D
- upgrade to public announcement system
Fordham Rd B D
- upgrade to public announcement system
Tremont Av B D
- upgrade to public announcement system
161 St-Yankee Stadium B D
- upgrade to public announcement system
Wakefield-241 St 2
- elevator or ramp installation
Brook Av 6
- elevator or ramp installation
- repairs for structural or aesthetic issues
3 Av-138 St 6
- elevator or ramp installation
- repairs for structural or aesthetic issues
Projects on hold at 27 stations in Manhattan:
Roosevelt Island F
- upgrade to public announcement system
Lexington Av/63 St F Q
- upgrade to public announcement system
47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Ctr B D F M
- upgrade to public announcement system
42 St-Bryant Pk B D F M
- upgrade to public announcement system
- elevator or ramp installation
34 St-Herald Sq B D F M
- upgrade to public announcement system
Broadway-Lafayette St B D F M
- upgrade to public announcement system
2 Av F
- upgrade to public announcement system
Delancey St-Essex St F
- upgrade to public announcement system
- elevator or ramp installation
East Broadway F
- upgrade to public announcement system
190 St A
- repairs for structural or aesthetic issues
145 St A C B D
- elevator or ramp installation
W 4 St-Wash Sq A C E
- upgrade to public announcement system
Canal St A C E
- upgrade to public announcement system
Chambers St A C
- upgrade to public announcement system
World Trade Center E
- upgrade to public announcement system
Lexington Av/59 St N R W
- elevator or ramp installation
168 St 1
- elevator or ramp installation
3 Av L
- new fencing between platform and track
5 Av 7
- elevator or ramp installation
Times Sq-42 St 7
- new fencing between platform and track
Delancey St-Essex St J M Z
- upgrade to public announcement system
- elevator or ramp installation
Canal St J Z
- upgrade to public announcement system
Chambers St J Z
- upgrade to public announcement system
- repairs for structural or aesthetic issues
Broad St J Z
- upgrade to public announcement system
110 St 6
- elevator or ramp installation
59 St 4 5 6
- elevator or ramp installation
7 Av B D E
- elevator or ramp installation
Projects on hold at 14 stations in Queens:
21 St-Queensbridge F
- upgrade to public announcement system
111 St J
- upgrade to public announcement system
75 St-Elderts Ln J Z
- upgrade to public announcement system
Ozone Park-Lefferts Blvd A
- upgrade to public announcement system
Jamaica Center-Parsons/Archer E J Z
- upgrade to public announcement system
Sutphin Blvd-Archer Av-JFK Airport E J Z
- new fencing between platform and track
Jamaica-Van Wyck E
- upgrade to public announcement system
Parsons Blvd F
- elevator or ramp installation
Sutphin Blvd F
- upgrade to public announcement system
Briarwood E F
- elevator or ramp installation
- repairs for structural or aesthetic issues
Howard Beach-JFK Airport A
- upgrade to public announcement system
Broad Channel A S
- upgrade to public announcement system
Far Rockaway-Mott Av A
- upgrade to public announcement system
Rockaway Park-Beach 116 St A S
- upgrade to public announcement system
Projects on hold at 1 station in Staten Island:
Clifton SIR
- elevator or ramp installation
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