Heros work on Xanadu

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PARAMUS - A Westwood man said he didn't stop to think before scaring off three men who were savagely beating a teenager at a Paramus Road bus stop on Saturday.

Edward Monahan, 26, of Westwood frightened away three men who were beating a teenager at a Paramus bus shelter.

Edward Monahan said when he saw the attack, he had to act.

"I saw how vicious the attack was and what kind of condition he was in," Monahan said. "I had to act immediately."

Monahan, 26, had just left work around 4 p.m. on Saturday and was on his way to meet his wife at her parents' home in Fair Lawn when he saw three men beating another man under a bus shelter.

"They just kind of exploded out of the bus stop and the kid is on the ground on all fours," Monahan said.

"I had to swerve to avoid him," he said.

Monahan said he pulled over and ran toward the injured man, whom police described on Tuesday only as an 18-year-old Paterson man.

The three assailants, who Monahan said were wearing bandannas over their faces, scattered into the bushes next to Paramus Road.

The victim told police that the men approached him and demanded that he hand over his iPhone, police said.

The device was reported stolen but was found in the bushes near the site of the attack later on Saturday. Police continued to search for the attackers on Tuesday.

Monahan, had just left his job at the Interstate Drywall Co., which is helping to build the Meadowlands Xanadu shopping complex.

The victim, an employee at Victoria's Nursery, "was really badly shaken up," Monahan said. "He had the biggest welt I'd ever seen - it covered his whole neck and shoulder. He had a fat lip that was cut and bleeding. He had road rash on his elbows and knees from getting thrown on the ground."

The man was treated at the scene but declined to be transported to a hospital, said Paramus Police Chief Richard Cary.

Cary credited Monahan with scuttling the attack before it got worse.

"The victim had attempted to flee, and when he did that he was knocked to the ground and they began beating him," Cary said. "My feeling is that would have continued had Mr. Monahan not stopped there."

Heros. Good to know.

New Thought

In an earlier post I said that I was for the keeping of the Izod center for concerts and high capacity shows. On second thought, I'm not so sure. Giants stadium is right next door and has held many large concerts. There really isn't much of a need for two high capacity area right next to each other. If Xanadu can put something cooler instead, I'd be for it. I have a couple of ideas:

• Indoor paintball stadium (stadium? field? court?)
• Super go cart track
• Planetarium
• Beach (I actually really like that idea, big wave pool (part of the Flowrider? sand, towels, etc... skiing in the morning, go to the beach in the afternoon)
• Amusement Park
  

If you have other ideas, please comment

Edit: Happy July!

Aquarium Information

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A commenter asked us for information about the proposed aquarium so I decided I'd make a whole post for this. I'll do a fake interview with my self:

Questioner: "Where is the money for this super awesome fish tank gonna come from?"

What Can't Xanadu?: "No need to worry tax paying citizens, no money is coming from the state. The primary financial supporter is Colony Capital, the company sponsoring most of the project."

Q: "Who will be running this Aquarium?"

WCX: "That's a good question, and quite frankly, I can't answer it. All that we know is that it will be run by an 'undisclosed private company that runs aquariums.' Adventure Aquarium in Camden is run by Herschend Family Entertainment and was previously run by Steiner + Associates."

Q: "If we don't know who is running the Aquarium, how do we know if it will be a good job?"

WCX: "Carl Goldberg, the sports authority's chair, said that the undisclosed company currently in negotiations is "really world renowned for ecological sensitivity and very well structured aquarium experiences." With no other information to go on, I will trust Chairman Goldberg. I also find it extremely hard to believe that a company would put the time and money into this effort for a shoddy job."

Q: "Why is the Aquarium operator undisclosed?"

WCX: "I don't know the true reason, but my best guess would be that because the bill has not passed making the Aquarium a legal possibility, their are other legal issues involved in naming the company. They might just want to play it safe."

Q: "Who is building the Aquarium?"

WCX: "Cumming Corp, the same company building the rest of Xanadu. It's possible that they are running it as well, but I don't know."

WCX: "Thats all the time we have for now. Thanks for all the questions. See you all next time!"

IZOD center

The future of the former Continental Airlines Arena and current IZOD center his still undetermined. I was just at a Pearl Jam concert in Hartford CT, and it was amazing. Xanadu definitely needs a large enough arena for concerts with that kind of draw. When it was still Continental Arena, I went to three concerts there and they were awesome. Xanadu will have an 8000 capacity concert hall, but that will never be able to support the big name performers. So, you either have to replace the IZOD center with something better that can support concerts or you keep it. I'm sure they will make the right choice.

Xanadu Aquarium nears OK

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All that's left is for Governor Corzine to sign the bill allowing an aquarium in New Jersey not called Adventure Aquarium located in Camden. I'm sure he will sign it.
Here's another quote from our hero Robert Gordon:

Gordon described Xanadu as "a major economic and entertainment engine in northern New Jersey," adding that the aquarium itself would be a valuable educational tool for children.

I agree 100%.

Our Surprise

Xanadu T-shirts. I have one. Xana Du Me has one. We will post pictures eventually. And maybe even sell some.

The Aquarium Approved!

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On Monday, the state Senate committee unanimously approved the aquarium addition to the Xanadu complex. The hero in this story is Sen. Robert Gordon- D-Fair Lawn. The biggest roadblock was, of course, Adventure Aquarium in Camden.

Gordon said that there is enough distance between East Rutherford and Camden — almost 100 miles — for the Xanadu aquarium to "draw in an entirely different visitor base."

"New Jersey is big enough to support two top-notch aquariums," Gordon said. "Allowing the developers of Xanadu to include an aquarium in their planning introduces an educational element to the facility."

I consider this good news (and actual news after the last three posts of BS) and reassuring that this delay is for a good purpose (and porpoise hehe. Puns aren't funny? Shut up.). I really do like aquariums and can't wait to visit this place and then go fishing at the indoor lake.

By the way. I should be able to explain our secret surprise before the weekend. (Hopefully)