From the Archives

Coney Island Meets Palisades Amusement Park

The Coney Island Sideshow Circus comes to Fort Lee Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Jack Alter Fort Lee Community Center in the final Movies & Music Under the Stars program of the season.

The world famous Coney Island Sideshow Circus leaves Surf Avenue in Brooklyn and comes to the Jack Alter Fort Lee Community Center for a live free show on Saturday, Sept.8, as part of the Fort Lee Film Commission’s final Movies & Music Under the Stars program of the 2012 season. This 10-week, free program has offered wonderful live music and fantastic films to the people of Fort Lee thanks to the support of the borough and our sponsors, including Universal Studios. Our final program is one chosen carefully in that it connects in a real way to our past; that past being the colorful Palisades Amusement Park. This weekly "Archives" column has covered the  history of Palisades Amusement Park upside and down, but in all our columns about the …

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Fort Lee’s Good Shepherd Sponsors ‘Canned Film Festival' to Fight Hunger

The local church and the Fort Lee Film Commission are urging people to bring canned food or monetary donations for the Center for Food Action in Englewood to the summer’s remaining Movies & Music Under the Stars screenings.

Fort Lee’s Church of the Good Shepherd is joining forces with the Fort Lee Film Commission to make this summer’s remaining Movies & Music Under the Stars events into what they’re calling the “Canned Film Festival” benefitting the Center for Food Action (CFA). Along with the Film Commission, Rev. Allison Moore of the Church of the Good Shepherd is asking that audience members bring canned goods or monetary donations for the CFA to the Sept. 1 and Sept. 8 musical performances and movie screenings at the Fort Lee Community Center. Suggested donation items include canned tuna, peanut butter and hearty soups, and Moore says bringing “a generous heart to help people struggling to make ends meet” is also important. In addition, Moore said, Good …

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Fort Lee Church Sponsors ‘Canned Film Festival,' Fights Hunger

The Church of the Good Shepherd and the Fort Lee Film Commission are urging people to bring canned food or donations for the Center for Food Action to the rest of this summer’s Movies & Music Under the Stars screenings.

The Fort Lee Film Commission has joined forces with Fort Lee's Church of the Good Shepherd to make the rest of its Movies & Music Under the Stars program, which runs through Sept. 8, the “Canned Film Festival.” Along with Rev. Allison Moore of the Church of the Good Shepherd, the Film Commission is asking that audience members consider bringing canned goods or monetary donations for the Center for Food Action (CFA) to each of the remaining Saturday evening programs at the Fort Lee Community Center this summer. Suggested items include canned tuna, peanut butter or hearty soups. “Bring a generous heart to help people struggling to make ends meet,” Moore said in a statement announcing the drive. Moore pointed to job loss and long-term …

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Ironman, Saint Rocco Feast Highlight Fort Lee Events

The Week Ahead: a look at just some of what’s going on in Fort Lee this week.

The long-awaited 2012 Ironman U.S. Championship takes place on Saturday, promising to put Fort Lee in the national spotlight for a day, but also posing challenges for local police and motorists. The southbound lanes of the Palisades Interstate Parkway (PIP) will be shut down from exit 18 in Bear Mountain State Park to the George Washington Bridge between 2 a.m. and 8 p.m. on race day, authorities announced recently, and Hudson Terrace from the Edgewater border to the Englewood Cliffs border will also be closed from 12:01 a.m. until about 10 p.m. Saturday, Fort Lee police said last week. The Fort Lee Regional Chamber of Commerce and the many volunteers who signed on to help out will man an aid station and event site near the corner of …

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BOE to Approve Superintendent's Contract, ‘Wolfman’ Comes to Fort Lee

The Week Ahead: a look at just some of what’s going on in Fort Lee this week.

The Fort Lee Board of Education will vote on whether to approve Steven Engravalle’s contract as Superintendent of Schools at its regular business meeting Monday evening at Fort Lee High School. The meeting had originally been scheduled for July 23 but was pushed back a week. According to the agenda for the BOE meeting, the Executive County Superintendent “has reviewed and approved” Engravalle’s contract, which runs through June 2015 and is retroactive to July 1. The school board voted 5 to 2 in late June to appoint Engravalle to the post for the next three years, pending county approval of the contract. At the same June meeting, the board also appointed Dr. Sharon Amato Assistant Superintendent of Schools through the end of the 2012-2013 …

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Film Commission Opens Movies, Music Under Stars Before Full House

Excessive heat and the threat of thunderstorms forced the opening night of the summer series of music and Universal Studios movies indoors Saturday at the Fort Lee Community Center, but that didn't stop the full house from having fun.

In spite of the sizzling temperatures and the threat of severe thunderstorms, there was a full house Saturday for the opening night of the Fort Lee Film Commission's anual Movies & Music Under The Stars. The enthusiastic crowd moved indoors to the second floor of the Jack Alter Fort Lee Community Center due to the excessive heat and the threat of rain, but it was well worth it. The Hot Sardines, an exciting band of musicians sizzled, snapped and popped like thunder and lightning, bringing the house down indoors. There wasn't an inactive foot inside the community center, as everyone was stomping their feet or dancing to the music of the 30s, 40s and 50s. Afterward, folks enjoyed the fun and mayhem of the movie, Back to the Future (1958), …

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Fort Lee Under the Stars: Movies, Music and Dancing All Summer

Mark you calendars using this rundown of evening events starting July 7 and continuing throughout the summer on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at the Fort Lee Community Center.

The Jack Alter Fort Lee Community Center recently announced its Wednesday evening concert schedule and a complete schedule of 2012 summer events, which also include the annual “Movies & Music Under the Stars” and “Dancing Under the Stars” series. All events are free to the public, and in the event of inclement weather, rain dates will be announced for the concerts, according to organizers. Below is a rundown of the Wednesday Night Concert Series—all performances start at 7:30 p.m.—with descriptions from the organizers: WEDNESDAY, JULY 11 - The Bronx Wanderers This show echoes the era of the past while breathing new life into the sound of today. Their ultimate tribute to Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons and Dion will feature crowd favorites…

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Film Commission to Celebrate Universal Centennial ‘Under Stars’

Fort Lee’s annual “Movies & Music Under the Stars” program this summer is comprised entirely of Universal Studios’ films, continuing a yearlong celebration of the studio’s 100th anniversary and founding in Fort Lee; the studio is waving all licensing fees

The Fort Lee Film Commission has announced the lineup of films and performers for its annual “Movies & Music Under the Stars” series, which kicks off July 7 at the Jack Alter Fort Lee Community Center, with screenings and performances taking place on Saturday evenings throughout the summer. This year is special because it marks the centennial of Universal Studios, which traces its roots to Fort Lee, and the Film Commission is working with the cinema giant to celebrate not only its 100th anniversary, but also that local connection. The films for this year’s Saturday evening series are therefore all Universal films, and the studio is waving all licensing fees, which will save the Film Commission “several thousand dollars,” according to …

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Tom Meyers

5:30 pm on Thursday, June 28, 2012

Yes the calendar can be downloaded via www.fortleenj.org or www.fortleefilm.org and a hard copy is available at all events and at Fort Lee Borough Hall, Fort Lee Community Center and the Fort Lee Museum.   more ›

From the Archives

Fourth of July Weekend Salute to Fort Lee's Veterans

A weekly look at historical images and their significance from the archives of the Fort Lee Film Commission and the Fort Lee Historical Society

This 4th of July weekend will be one of sun and warmth, and after the winter of our discontent, both weather-wise and economically, we are due for some fun and frolic. Macy’s will once again provide fireworks to light the night sky over the Hudson, while many towns in New Jersey have had to forsake the fireworks due to tough economic times.  Here in Fort Lee we will not have fireworks, but we will have a celebration and a community gathering in quite an appropriate place, the Jack Alter Fort Lee Community Center at 1355 Inwood Terrace.  The late Mayor Jack Alter’s vision built this center in 2005, and he would be proud of its use this weekend as a place to celebrate the 4th of July. Mayor Alter was a history buff and enjoyed the stories of…

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