Join us at the Museum on Sunday, March 12 at 4pm at 1301 Hudson Street, Hoboken NJ, when Janet Ayala speaks on her experience surviving the fire at the Pinter Hotel on April 30, 1982 that killed 13 people including  children.  Christopher López,  exhibit curator of “The Fires: Hoboken 1978-1982”  will be present. Admission is free. There will be a reception following the event. 

Janet Ayala has lived to tell the tale. And Christopher López listened, and brought her story and the reality of her experience to a wider audience in his ground-breaking exhibit at the Museum. Janet now lives in Florida and is coming to the Museum to speak. She has lived to tell, and we are here to listen and witness. By attending, and by listening with as much of our hearts as we can, we play a crucial role in advancing the narrative of our common and tragic history. It’s a rare opportunity to bear immediate witness to a fellow human’s seemingly unspeakable experience. Janet WILL be speaking. By listening, we can strengthen our impulses and resolve to fight against injustice now and in the future. Also livestreamed Sunday. March 12 @4pm on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=212kPiMSdfE

Also on Sunday, March 12, The Hoboken Fire Victims Memorial Project will hold an official plaque unveiling at 2:30pm at Tom Olivieri Park, 1225 Willow Avenue, Hoboken, NJ. This plaque honors victims of the Hoboken Fires from 1978-1982.

56 people, mostly children, died during those years, but there has been no memorial or public acknowledgement of their loss. This plaque will remember the dead as well as those who bear the physical and emotional scars from those tragic events.