Hackensack, NJ Community Message Boards

About 20 years ago, I called City Hall to try to find out what purpose the lane between Clinton Place and Euclid Avenue served. I was referred to someone in the planning office who I had known.  I went to school with his son and daughter.  He gave me the facts, the conjecture, the opinion and the anecdotes which led to a different topic, then another and another. After a half hour or so, I thanked him and we said goodbye.  The next day, I came home to find a copy of Hackensack's "Three Centuries of Prosperity" in my mailbox with a note to call if I had any more questions.

I delved into the book, reading it cover-to-cover.  I drove past the places in the illustrations, trying to match up landmarks.  I was fascinated with the idea of transformation, for better or for worse. I was intrigued by how people could change a landscape over time and how a community could grow. I volunteered to be the city's Municipal Historian when the vacancy opened which ultimately led to full-time employment. By then, my friend was long retired.

The one simple question, and the willingness of someone to answer it, set me off on a mission.  With the internet then expanding in leaps and bounds, but with very little in the way of localized information, I started this website with the goal of repeating, on a larger scale, the simple exchange that took place during that phone call with my friend at City Hall.  After a couple years, he would join the online discussions, imparting what he knew to any one who cared to listen. He contributed hundreds of posts, sometimes funny, sometimes insightful, sometimes both. We emailed often.

He loved this city and never failed to see the "diamond in the rough", constantly chipping away the grit so that others could see it too.  He knew how to read tea-leaves with many of his predictions coming true.  He was a mentor to me. He was there for me when things looked bad. 

You know this person as "Homer Jones" because that's how he wanted it.  If you read the recent obituaries, it won't be hard to figure out.

I will miss him tremendously. Hats off to Homer.

https://www.roi-nj.com/2019/01/03/healthcare/its-official-hackensack-meridian-carrier-clinic-wrap-up-merger/

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/hackensack/articles/mayor-calls-for-school-bond-referendum-to-be-postponed

Mayor's letter seeking postponement of referendum: https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A6ca71d73-219c-44a5-bd39-6a7ee3c91176

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/27/sears-may-need-to-liquidate-if-no-bid-comes-in-by-tomorrow.html

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/hackensack/2018/12/19/hackensack-hospital-constructs-new-utility-plant/2149377002/

NorthJersey.com: Hackensack Brewing Co. set to open soon.
https://www.northjersey.com/story/life/food/2018/12/07/new-hackensack-brewing-company-coming-soon-bergen-hackensack-nj/1845185002/

https://publicdomain.nypl.org/greenbook-map/map.html#layer=cluster&year=1956