City Belt

LETTER FROM LEBANON: THEY HAVE NO WINE

By Patrick McGreevy

We visited Qana six weeks ago. To get there from Beirut, you pass through Tyre and then head southeast. The village clusters about a hilltop less than eight miles from Lebanon's southern border, and about thirty miles from Nazareth. There is a scholarly debate about whether this was the site of the Wedding at Cana, where Jesus is said to have performed his first miracle, creating wine from water. The Roman historian Eusebius and St. Jerome both believed this was the place. On our first journey to Qana a year earlier, we had looked in vain for the stone wine jars, when a boy and girl on a donkey had instructed us to follow them. I later photographed the girl. Now I wonder about her whereabouts and her safety.

'GREEN' LEGISLATION: MIKE FERGUSON

Editors' Note: 'Green' Legislation is an occasional column that attempts to shed light on the ways big money influences voting patterns.

A few weeks ago, we reported on Rep. Mike Ferguson's (R-7) vote against Net Neutrality.

There's someone else very opposed to Net Neutrality, and his name is Ed Whitacre. He just happens to be Chairman of the Board and CEO of AT&T. He has said: “The Internet can’t be free ... for a Google or Yahoo or Vonage or anybody to expect to use these pipes free is nuts.”

Mike Ferguson is facing a tough challenge this year, from Democrat Linda Stender. The race is already receiving national attention as "one to watch." Stender has raised a ton of money ($899,955 as of 6/30), mostly through smallish donations. But she is still way behind Ferguson in the money race. He's raised $2,047,068 (also as of 6/30).

His biggest contributor? AT&T -- the telecom giant has given Ferguson $61,400 for this election, about three times as much as the next highest donor. Since 2000, AT&T has given him $92,350.

So why would Ferguson be for Net Neutrality? It's only going to impair his largest benefactor's ability to rake in dough.

All figures courtesy of The Center for Responsive Politics

E-mail the editors

HOW THEY VOTED: MAKING THE WORLD A SAFE PLACE (FOR NUCLEAR WAR)

The Bill: H R 5682 (United States and India Nuclear Cooperation Promotion Act)
Date Passed: July 26, 9:17 p.m.
About: This act reverses US policy, and allows India to buy American nuclear reactors and fuel, despite the fact that India has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and has tested nuclear weapons in 1998 and 1974.

THE AGENDA: EXECUTIVE ORDER

Friday | 7.28.06
Comedy.
Does this guy look familiar to you? What if I told you that he was the carjack victim on the very last episode of Seinfeld? If that doesn’t help connect the dots, I guess it doesn’t really matter anyway. John Pinette was named Stand-Up Comedian of the Year in 1999, and he does a mean impression of the Chipmunks. Isn’t that enough of a reason to check out his act? He’s at the Stress Factory in New Brunswick through Sunday night.

DAY JOB: TRIS MCCALL

In Jersey City, mention the name Tris McCall to people, and they’re likely to free associate a variety of things: The New Jack Trippers, 111 First St., the 2004 election, live music, urban development, Jersey pride, and, of course, the Tris McCall Report. He's been very active in the city's artistic, and at times political, scenes, but at heart he's a musician. I'm Assuming You're All In Bands is his latest release. He recently took a moment to reflect on the ever-blurring lines between his life’s work and art.

LETTER FROM LEBANON: CRIMINALIZING CIVILIANS

By Patrick McGreevy

In the days before the US-commanded forces unleashed the second siege of Falluja in November 2004, a quarter million women, children and old men fled the city, but males between the ages of 15 and 45 were denied passage. They were essentially criminalized and forced to remain in a zone upon which hell was about to descend. These poor souls were condemned to a legal category that philosopher Giorgio Agamben calls hominus sacres, those without rights who can be killed without it being called the murder of a human, homicide.

WHAT ABOUT THEM, BOB?

So the big news in Washington yesterday was the speech to Congress by the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Lots of congressmen and women boycotted the speech (more on that later), since there seems to be a cynically political contest in Congress to see who can most strongly stand behind Israel's bombing of Lebanon, or as they'd prefer to frame it, its right to "self-defense."

'THE UTILITY COMPANY OF TOMORROW'

Layoffs, monopoly power, and a recipe for price gouging: What’s not to love about the PSE&G/Exelon merger?
By Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Corporate PR materials from Exelon claim they are "creating the utility company of tomorrow." It's got a nice ring to it -- after all, who could possibly be against tomorrow?

But after spending a couple weeks trying to understand the proposed merger between the Chicago-based energy giant and Public Service Enterprise Group, PSE&G’s parent company, I became increasingly frustrated. The more corporate jargon and empty PR platitudes I read and heard the more I wanted to turn off my computer and read an Us Weekly.

THE 'FIGHT' OF HIS LIFE

While Cory Booker's tenure as Mayor of Newark is just beginning, Marshall Curry's documentary of Booker's first Newark campaign is as relevant as ever.
By Jon Whiten

Photo by Angela Jimenez

Marshall Curry is the young documentary filmmaker behind the Oscar-nominated Street Fight, which chronicles 2002’s mayoral election in Newark between Cory Booker, who was recently sworn in as mayor, and Mayor Sharpe James, an old-school Democrat who’d been a key player in Newark politics for decades. Curry shot the film almost entirely alone, over five months, with an out-of-pocket cost of about $200,000. With the renewed interest in Newark and Booker as he has taken office, received death threats from jail, and pledged to tackle crime in the city, we thought it appropriate to speak with Curry about his film.

LETTER FROM LEBANON: ASYMMETRICAL ETHICS

By Patrick McGreevy

The Center for American Studies and Research at American University of Beirut has had two exciting and fruitful years. In the open atmosphere of Beirut, we have been able to foster a dialogue about the full range of encounters between America and the Middle East. Our mission to promote international understanding and to increase knowledge of the US in the Arab World seems more important than ever. There is much uncertainty here, but we are determined to continue. When peace returns, and our lectures and activities resume, I will need support, and I will need some brave scholars willing to visit Beirut.

HOW THEY VOTED: BOMBS OVER BEIRUT

The Resolutions: S Res 534; H Res 921
Dates Passed: July 18; July 20
About: Last week, both houses of Congress passed strongly-worded resolutions supporting Israel’s act of “self-defense” against Lebanon. There was little to no dissent as the nation’s congressmen and women rushed to show their strength. Like those who now admit the Iraq war -- and giving Bush the authority to wage it -- was a mistake, perhaps in three years, our representatives will see their resolution condoned Israel’s murderous attacks on Lebanon.

LETTER FROM LEBANON: THE DESCENT INTO HELL IS OPTIONAL

By Patrick McGreevy

The day after most of our American colleagues escaped the war zone of Lebanon, we wondered if the descent into hell many of them had imagined would materialize. In these days of precision terror, it seems that hell can be localized. 

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: HOLLAND TUNNEL AT NIGHT

This picture of the Holland Tunnel and surrounding area, which looks like it was taken from Jersey City Heights, was taken by Pat Marella.

Remember, if you're a photoblogger or photographer, we'd love to see what you're shooting. In Flickr, tag your NJ photos with CityBelt -- or you can just e-mail them to us. If you do either, you will be in the running for Photo of the Week.

On the Web: Pat Marella's Flickr page
City Belt's Flickr page

MORE PHOTO OF THE WEEK
 

 

E-mail the editors

THE AGENDA: EXECUTIVE ORDER

Friday | 7.21.06
Concert.
For lack of a better category, we’ve filed this as  “concert,” but knowing American Watercolor Movement, it’s sure to be a spectacle of sorts. American Watercolor Movement 1600, which features members of the Jersey City band plus a few guests, will play the live soundtrack to a 1920s film, Grass. They’re calling it SSARG, and they also want to clear up that the film is not, I repeat, not, the one about all those people smoking pot. SSARG is at Grace Church Van Vorst in Jersey City, at 8 pm. This one’s free so be sure not to miss it.

LETTER FROM LEBANON: WHY WE ARE STAYING

By Patrick McGreevy

It will be an emotional scene tomorrow saying yella bye to our friends who are evacuating from this nasty little war. Most swear they will return. The campus of the American University of Beirut will seem a different place then, though it is hard to imagine what it will be like.

A handful of non-Lebanese faculty and staff have decided to remain. Betsy and I are among them. We have been together since 1972, and we made the decision together to stay together here. What could we be thinking?

HOW THEY VOTED: FUNDING STEM CELL RESEARCH

The Bill: H R 810 (Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act)
Date Passed: July 19, 6:51 p.m.
About: Last night, the House brought this legislation back to the floor (they had already passed it last year) in an attempt to override President Bush’s veto. The bill would have restored federal funding to new stem cells lines. In 2001, Bush created restrictions that allowed federal funding only for stem cell lines already in existence.

DAY JOB: ALLISON FOX

Allison Fox is a 24-year-old photographer living in Jersey City. Last month, her show “Persona Non Grata” was the first show at the newly opened Residue Gallery in Jersey City.

LETTER FROM LEBANON: HOSPITALITY OR THE ABYSS

By Patrick McGreevy

City Belt received this letter around 9 pm EST last night.

West Beirut seems like a different place today. Shi’ite men and black-clad women have flooded into Hamra—the neighborhood near American University of Beirut that was once known as the most secular place in the Middle East. They are sleeping in crowded and sweltering school buildings with inadequate
bathroom facilities. AUB held a meeting today to coordinate volunteer support efforts for local refugees. The university will create a fund to provide food, water, cleaning supplies and medical assistance (if you are willing to contribute contact John Bernson).

GIVE ME CONDOS OR GIVE ME DEATH

Highland Park’s YM-YWHA says it needs to have 258 condos built to survive. Residents think they’ve heard this before, and aren’t convinced.
By Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Photo Illustration by Jon Whiten

I grew up in Highland Park and I can’t quite imagine a high- rise condo there. Another chachka store? A nail salon? Sure. But a high-rise condo is just what is being proposed.

The YM-YWHA of Raritan Valley (Y) has applied for re-zoning of its property, located at the corner of South Adelaide and Raritan Avenue in Highland Park. Re-zoning is the first step in the Y’s plan to, along with Highland Cliffs LLC, construct a new $8 million Y and 12-story, 258-unit condominium. The Y has announced its plans to close its current facility on Aug. 31.

LETTER FROM LEBANON: CRUISING OUT OF BEIRUT

By Patrick McGreevy

City Belt received this letter around 10 pm EST last night.

In the early evening, we watched from our apartment balcony as a huge white cruise ship glided past west Beirut toward Cyprus. Aboard were several groups of evacuees, including a number of US students from American University of Beirut. A few minutes later, another colossal cruise ship came by in the opposite direction; we heard it was a French ship that would be taking out more evacuees tomorrow. It looked like time for a Caribbean festival.

HOW THEY VOTED: EQUALITY IN MARRIAGE

The Resolution: H Res 88 (The “Marriage Protection Amendment”)
Date Not Passed: July 18, 2:00 p.m.
About: This resolution, which was to create a constitutional amendment defining marriage as something between a man and a woman, was largely viewed as an exercise in election-year politics. The Senate had already rejected an identical resolution last month (6/7/06), yet the House scheduled this vote anyway.

LETTER FROM LEBANON: MONDAY IN BEIRUT

By Patrick McGreevy

Editors' Note: Given the crisis in Lebanon, City Belt has decided to publish occassional letters from the area. This one was written yesterday by Patrick McGreevy, a professor at the American University Of Beirut.

The weekend is over, and now it is time to get back to the work-a-day routine -- but wait, normal time and routine will not return this Monday like it did a week ago. The day started with some loud bombs, and during the last 10 minutes, we have heard another series of earth-shaking explosions. It has
been a tense day in Beirut.

PRESERVING DECAY

If you’ve ever walked or driven around Jersey City, or most of northeast Jersey for that matter, and noticed how different it is from, say, strip-mall flyover country or sleek and antiseptic Manhattan, you should get yourself to Jersey City’s White Star Bar sometime in the next three weeks.

MEDIA MASSAGE: CAN THE STAR-LEDGER COUNT?

Editors' Note: Yet another regular City Belt feature makes it debut today -- Media Massage will be the spot for insightful media criticism and reporting on the New Jersey press.

In Sunday's Star-Ledger, the lead editorial, "Containing the Fire in the Middle East" took a strange tack -- it argued that the reasoning behind Israel's attack on Lebanon is false -- ie, waging war to make (or keep) peace does not work.

VOICES FROM THE FRONT: VETS IN THEIR OWN WORDS

'Landscape,' drawn by Iraq Vet Aaron Hughes, is part of a new pamphlet of oral histories published by Historians Against War. His entire collection can be seen here.

Editors' Note: On occasion, City Belt will publish the written remembrances, diaries, confessions, letters, e-mails, poems or paintings of one the many casualties of war, its veterans. If you would like to participate in this feature please e-mail us.
This writer served as a medic in Iraq in 2004. Anonymity was granted because (s)he is still in the military awaiting a medical discharge. Several service members that the writer knows have faced retribution for speaking out against the war.

My parents married when they turned eighteen and ran off to join the Peace Corps. In their six-year marriage they had three children, myself being in the middle. I was raised in Monmouth County and graduated from a public high school there in 1996. My older brother enlisted in the Army in 1992 to pay for college; I knew a similar fate awaited me.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

This photo was taken on July 11, on Center St., between Brook and Colden, downtown Jersey City (under the Turnpike), by Jon Whiten. No, it's not for rent.

Remember, if you're a photoblogger or photographer, we'd love to see what you're shooting. In Flickr, tag your NJ photos with CityBelt -- or you can just e-mail them to us. If you do either, you will be in the running for Photo of the Week.

On the Web: City Belt's Flickr page

MORE PHOTO OF THE WEEK
 

 

HOW THEY VOTED: MEDICAL MARIJUANA V. METH CLEANUP

The Bill: HR 5672
The Amendment: H AMDT 1143
Date Not Passed: June 28, 5:35 p.m.

About: HR 5672 is one of those huge bills that allocates money to various federal departments and agencies, like Justice, State, Commerce, etc. New York Rep. Maurice Hinchey introduced this amendment, which called on the Attorney General to halt prosecution of medical marijuana patients who were using the drug within the limits of the law of their own state. The amendment would have redirected this money to the DEA, to “assist State and local law enforcement with proper removal and disposal of hazardous materials from illegal methamphetamine labs, including funding for training, technical assistance, a container program, and purchase of equipment to adequately remove and store hazardous material.”

THE AGENDA: EXECUTIVE ORDER

Editor’s Note: Each Friday, we will share some highlights from our events calendar, to help plan your weekend and week ahead. This shalt be dubbed The Agenda: Executive Order.

Friday | 7.14.06

Opening. Nyugen E. Smith’s “Bundle House: Crisis Control” opens at Jersey City’s Residue Gallery. It’ll be interesting to see how Smith’s installation projects translate in the gallery space. DJ Chuck D will spin and refreshments will be served, from 7-11 pm.

DAY JOB: STEPHEN HINDMAN OF LISMORE

Editor’s Note: Yet another regular feature at City Belt is Day Job, a column that examines the contradictions, conflicts and even, as our first subject illustrates, the convergence between “work” and “art.” If you know someone who would be a good subject, let us know.

Stephen wears a lot of hats in Jersey City’s electro-infused band Lismore -- he plays guitar and synth and sings backup vocals, sometimes plays the bass and drums, does the beat programming and producing, not to mention handling the band’s booking and art direction. Whew -- I'm out of breath just writing it all down.

RAILROADING YOUR RIGHTS

New Homeland Security searches at PATH train station raise questions about life in modern America
By Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Like a twisted elementary school class of show-and-tell, yesterday the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) demonstrated its latest effort to search commuters and, they say, thwart an attack on New Jersey and New York City’s transit lines.

THIS IS ONE WAY WE GET FUCKED

By Jon Whiten

The nation's mega-corporations, and the politicians that ceaselessly bend over for them, must be really happy that most people don't read the Business section of their daily newspaper.

PUBLIC PARK, PUBLIC INPUT

To the Editor,

It would be a significant help for your readers to write to New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Commissioner Lisa Jackson and Governor Jon Corzine about the importance of holding a public meeting to give people the chance to speak out on the monstrous 9/11 Memorial design for Liberty State Park in Jersey City. [You can get some background on the project here, here, and here. ]

This is the hill on which the 9/11 memorial will be built. The NYC skyline is barely visible in the haze.

 

HOW THEY VOTED: THE WAR AGAINST THE PRESS

The Resolution: H Res 895
Date Passed: June 29, 7:27 p.m.
About: This resolution came in the wake of the New York Times (and later the Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times) disclosing “a secret Bush administration program initiated weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, [in which] counterterrorism officials have gained access to financial records from a vast international database and examined banking transactions involving thousands of Americans and others in the United States, according to government and industry officials.” (New York Times, 6/22/06)

ADVERTISING WITH CITY BELT: A SMART CHOICE

"New Jersey might be easy to overlook on a map, but City Belt, a new independent news source, is getting noticed."
- Utne Reader, Nov. 2006

You can get noticed too, for a fraction of the price of traditional print advertising, by placing web ads with City Belt. In doing so, you'll be certain to reach a well-educated and progressive audience that is in tune with cultural and social trends.

City Belt is Hudson County's independent weekly online publication, featuring hard-hitting news coverage, insightful cultural criticism and reporting, long-form narrative features and a strong editorial voice and community presence.

Web Ads

We use Blogads for our Web advertising. Try it out, it's only $10 for a week!
Rates:
One week -- $10
Two weeks -- $15
One month -- $20

E-mail citybelt@gmail.com if you'd like to pursue other online advertising possibilities or promotions, including sponsorship of events or advertising in our weekly e-mail newsletter.

WRITE FOR CITY BELT

Here at City Belt, we are always looking for new writers with stories to tell. If you are interested in becoming a contributor, send any story ideas or a query e-mail to us.

We don’t believe in "objective" journalism -- just great writing and strong reporting. Feel free to let your own voice, style, opinion, annoyance or humor come through. Try to never report a story as he said/she said -- dig in and find out who’s telling the truth, who’s right, who’s wrong.

Or if you don't write, but just have a story you think needs to be told, you can also shoot us an e-mail.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Editors' Note: Today, we introduce another regular City Belt feature: Photo of the Week. If you're a photoblogger or photographer, we'd love to see what you're shooting. In Flickr, tag your NJ photos with CityBelt -- or you can just e-mail them to us. If you do either, you will be in the running for Photo of the Week.

This photo was taken on July 5, at the intersection of Grand St., Communipaw Ave., and Prescott St. (aka "The Junction") in Jersey City, by our very own Jon Whiten.

On the Web: More photos at City Belt's Flickr page.

MORE PHOTO OF THE WEEK
 

NOT ALL TAXES ARE CREATED EQUAL

Why hasn’t taxing high-income earners been seriously considered?
By Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

Like a pop song you can't get out of your head, the budget stalemate seems to be stuck on the sales tax. But the terms of debate set by Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine and his colleagues obscure the other options available to them.

HONORING A HERO: HUGH C. THOMPSON

To the Editor,

Today being the Fourth of July, I reflected on our country's history and many of it's past heroes. The one name which stood out in my mind was that of Hugh C.Thompson Jr. I've been thinking about writing a letter about Hugh for a while, but just couldn't find the words to do him justice.

HOW THEY VOTED EXTRA: NET NEUTRALITY

Editors’ Note: This is the first of many How They Voted columns, which will break down how New Jersey’s congressmen and women voted on important bills in the House and Senate, to help us all get a better sense of where they really stand on issues.

The Bill: HR 5252 (Communications, Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006)

ABOUT/CONTACT

"As a full-time media critic, I know alternative media is the antidote to the corporate press. While my home state of New Jersey has a little bit of everything, it's always needed a viable alternative newspaper to challenge the glut of chain-owned dailies. Thankfully, those days are gone.”
- Peter Hart, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR)

City Belt is an independent weekly online publication covering news and culture in Hudson County.

We launched in July 2006, with a wider north/central Jersey focus, and have been going strong ever since. Our work has been featured by the New York Times, Utne Reader, the New York Indypendent, KPFK-FM in Los Angeles, as well as by prominent national blogs like DailyKos and MyDD. City Belt was voted "Best NJ Blog of 2006" by readers of Blue Jersey. After a half-year hiatus, City Belt relaunched in January 2008 with a new format.

Jon Whiten, co-publisher and managing editor, brings a unique background to City Belt, one that has combined media theory and criticism with on-the-ground journalism experience. He is also senior editor for the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, where he oversees AltWeeklies.com and Aan.org, and his work has appeared in Extra!, New York Press, Boston’s Weekly Dig, the Jersey Journal, City Limits, and Block Magazine.
Go to him with arts inquiries, questions about the website, and marketing issues.
citybelt@gmail.com

New Jersey native Elizabeth “Buffy” Weill-Greenberg, co-publisher and news editor, has worked as a news reporter for several publications, including the Washington Blade, the New York Amsterdam News and In These Times. Her first book, 10 Excellent Reasons Not to Join the Military, released in May 2006 by The New Press. She currently is a case coordinator at the Innocence Project.
Go to her with anything news-related -- story pitches, news tips, or comments on any of our stories.
elizabethwg@gmail.com

To subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter, e-mail citybelt@gmail.com

You can also find us on MySpace, if you're into that.

For general postal correspondence, you can write to:
City Belt
228 Brunswick St. #3
Jersey City, NJ 07302

'KNOWING' IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT OFTEN DIFFICULT

How the focus on 'personal responsibility' undermines public health
By Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg

The ads are ubiquitous: "Knowing is Beautiful," "We All Have AIDS," and other empty platitudes. The airbrushed faces urge us to get tested – as if the onus is solely on us and our reticence to get tested is our own fear or ignorance or apathy.

Why 'City Belt?'

Elizabeth's fifth grade social studies teacher, Dr. Shilane of Highland Park's Bartle School, told her class that Central New Jersey was the state's city belt. This was the center of New Jersey's life -- its business, politics, controversies.

As she grew up in Highland Park, and then New Brunswick for college, she became increasingly frustrated at how this city belt, or rather the entire state, was overshadowed by its two neighbors -- New York City and Philadelphia. New Jersey was the Jan Brady of the tri-state area.

During one of our many brainstorming sessions about this project, she mentioned the city belt -- and the idea was extrapolated to incorporate New Jersey in general: a connector to some, fly-over country to others, but the center of the world to us. As a title, City Belt is both an expression of civic pride in our state and a reference to the belt of cities connecting New York to Philadelphia, from Hoboken and Jersey City to Newark to New Brunswick to Trenton to Camden.

WHO IS CHRIS LYON?

'Darth Vader' returns to pull more dirty tricks
By Jon Whiten

Last week, the New York Times’ Jim Dwyer revealed that he had been contacted by Chris Lyon, who was doing research for a film on Bob Menendez’s possible involvement in a “massive illegal kickback scheme” in Union City in the late 70s and early 80s.

On June 25, the Times reported that Lyon claimed the film was unconnected to the Kean campaign, and that he didn’t know who was financially backing the film.

Turns out the Kean campaign is behind the film, as revealed five days later in the pages of the Times. Lyon was technically correct when he told the Times that “I was not working for Kean on the documentary project,” because he was working for Matt Leonardo, Kean’s chief campaign consultant. Since he was a subcontractor, he wasn’t working directly for Kean.

However, to claim he didn’t know where the money for the film was coming from is disingenuous at best, as the National Journal reported (4/7/06) that Alfano-Leonardo Communications Inc., the firm that Leonardo co-founded, “is working with GOP Senate candidates Tom Kean in New Jersey and Mike McGavick in Washington.”

But Lyon’s ability to work in the shadows is clear by briefly examining his history, which shows a pattern of dirty campaign tricks and evading responsibility for them.

City Belt is Hiring

City Belt, north and central New Jersey's newest alternative news and culture magazine, is looking for a part-time Marketing and Ad Sales Associate. This position will be responsible for taking over the magazine's growing roster of advertisers, selling ad space to potential advertisers, and helping to successfully market and brand City Belt.

City Belt is a monthly print magazine, and is updated daily on the Web at www.citybelt.org -- the ideal candidate will be comfortable selling both print and online advertising. We are looking for someone who believes in what we're doing and can turn that into ads sold. Look around our site and you can get a good impression of what we're about -- alternative journalism, underground (and above ground) arts and culture, and progressive politics.

We are looking for someone who is motivated, smart, and has the right personality to sell City Belt to clubs, restaurants, retail stores and the like in our initial target areas of Jersey City, Hoboken, New Brunswick, Princeton, Newark and Montclair.

Since we are a new publication, this position is currently part-time, but if the candidate is successful, it could turn into a full-time position as we grow.

The job pays $12.50 per hour (20-30 hours a week likely), plus a 10% commission on all ads sold, and starts ASAP.

Please send cover letters and resumes to Jon Whiten at jon@citybelt.org.

SUBSCRIBE

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