HRT -Hormone Replacement Therapy in Fort Lee, NJ.

Christmas is fast approaching, but so is an unfortunate mix of weather this weekend. With both rain and freezing weather in the forecast, it could be an icy holiday, with a flash freeze warning in effect.

Rain hit North Jersey on Thursday and and will continue into Friday. While the temperature is forecast to be as high as the mid-50s on Friday, it is expected to rapidly drop, with possible lows in the single digits, thanks to a blast of an arctic cold front. There is also a small chance of snow.

"Right now we have air temperatures below freezing at around 3 in the afternoon [Friday]," National Weather Service meteorologist James Tomasini said.

With such precipitous drops, the risk of roads freezing over is significant, particularly bridges and thoroughfares at higher elevations. As a result, Gov. Phil Murphy announced that all state offices would be shuttered on Friday, with employees working remotely to perform "essential business."

He urged all residents to refrain from travel.

But on Thursday, Bergen County was less concerned with the next day's snowfall than the rapidly dropping temperatures, said Derek Sands, the county's spokesperson.

"We're expecting a lot more rain, but then it's going to get cold," Sands said that morning.

Crews are prepared to put salt down, Sands said, but they won't be able to do it before the rain starts, since the salt would just be washed away.

Sands added that over 100 county snowplows and salt trucks will be available, if needed, and about 100 workers will be on call and are anticipating working 12-hour shifts.

If there is snow, the county is responsible for plowing certain towns including Carlstadt, Lodi, Hackensack, Franklin Lakes, Wyckoff, Mahwah, Fort Lee, Cliffside Park and the often-dangerous Skyline Drive in Oakland.

The county is also prepared to offer salt reimbursement to towns it does not plow, Sands said.

Hackensack fire Capt. Peter Rocco said his department is working closely with the city office of emergency management and department of public works, the latter of which is clearing storm drains and preparing to deploy salt trucks.

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"We're ensuring we have adequate personnel on duty to handle any and all emergencies that may arise," Rocco said. "Our high-water rescue truck is prepared to make any water rescues as well as all of our boats."

The rain is predicted to stop Friday, but temperatures could stay below freezing through early next week. So while it likely won't be a white Christmas, it may be an icy one, so caution is important for anyone traveling for the holidays.

"Hopefully people have been well-informed of this upcoming storm," Rocco said. "If possible, travel [Wednesday] or [Thursday] before the storm hits and then stay off the roads, if possible, Friday."

Last year was an eventful one for Fort Lee-based financial services provider Cross River Bank, capped off by being named as an NJBIZ Company to Watch. The company has an international reach at the intersection of banking and technology. “Cross River has always found success when we leaned into problems and challenges,” Phil Goldfeder, senior vice president, Global Public Affairs, told NJBIZ.

Cross River has had no shortage of problems and challenges to navigate since being founded in the wake of the Great Recession and successfully navigating COVID-19, originating more than $100 billion in loans since its 2008 founding. Beyond the bottom line, though, a spirit of giving back to the community is central to its mission.

“Success is not just defined by Cross River’s ability to be profitable,” Goldfeder stressed. “Success is defined by our ability to serve the communities we’re trying to serve.”

The company’s foundation is its focus on collaboration and partnerships — with Goldfeder noting that the Cross River is known for merging innovation and technology with traditional regulatory structures of a financial institution. “We don’t call them clients,” Goldfeder explained. “Everybody we work with is our partner. They say, ‘a rising tide raises all ships.’ So, when you have partners, you have mutual goals and mutual benefits. And that is in our traditional business. But even more important when it comes to community.”

A big part of that, according to Goldfeder, is to have a partnership be about more than just a single action. “What I mean by that is when you have true partners, it’s not about simply making a contribution and shaking hands and going about your way,” said Goldfeder.

There are examples of this philosophy throughout the initiatives that Cross River Bank has undertaken.

In September, the company’s giving arm, [email protected] Cross River, donated $25,000 to Rowan University’s Student Emergency Assistance Fund to help students who experience unexpected financial hardships from being derailed in earning their degree. But the money is just part of a larger partnership with the school.

Goldfeder explained how the two sides met numerous times to better understand each other and to learn how they can each add value to the relationship. “And we came to the conclusion that we want to do big things at Rowan,” said Goldfeder. “We didn’t just give money to Rowan University and say, ‘good luck.’ We gave it to a student fund, and we worked with them to specifically talk about students that are in the fintech area.”

He added that it is part of a holistic approach about helping students where they are now, but also thinking about the next stage for them and looking ahead to the next challenges.

And Goldfeder expects that partnership to evolve even further this year with the potential to integrate team members from Cross River to help students via internships or mentorships. If the effort succeeds, it will be a win for all sides while strengthening the fintech and broader economic ecosystem in the Garden State.

Goldfeder noted a similar partnership in the works with the New Jersey Institute of Technology: a pledge to be paid out over five years to create Cross River Opportunity Scholarships to support selected students majoring in fintech.

Cross River’s spirit of partnership was also on full display during the Propelify Innovation Festival this past October as the company hosted a collaborative lounge called “Cross River Commons.” That space was shared with the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, and the New Jersey State Veterans Chamber of Commerce to highlight their work supporting local businesses and to help facilitate new connections with the tech community and entrepreneurs.

Goldfeder said he was particularly proud of the effort Cross River pulled off at the annual innovation festival because it went against the conventional wisdom of setting up a space to only drive potential investments and customer acquisitions. “We came into Propelify this year following the work we did in PPP, specifically around financial inclusion and providing access to financial services to communities that are historically left out,” said Goldfeder. “And as we approached Propelify, we thought that we could set up a conventional booth to do conventional work. But thought that we could do so much more if we amplify that message together with minority chambers of commerce to give them a platform to amplify their message.”

And he stressed that effort was made with that same recurring theme about strengthening the broader New Jersey economy, the larger idea of financial inclusion and access to financial services.

It also offered the opportunity to merge Cross River’s existing partnership with TechUnited, the organizer of Propelify, with these different chambers to create this common space. “For everybody of all shapes and sizes, from diverse backgrounds, to come together, talk about mutual challenges, mutual opportunities, and build meaningful relationships,” said Goldfeder. “Ultimately, the chambers had the opportunity to highlight their work supporting local small business. And the tech entrepreneurs were able to connect with the leading business advocates across diverse communities and find the commonalities that actually will create economic inclusion and economic prosperity for everybody.”

In November, Cross River and TechUnited:NJ joined forces for a second year to empower women and minority business owners through mentorship programs. “When we invest and empower women and minority business owners with the resources to succeed, we all win,” said Goldfeder.

Another example of using partnerships to bolster the fintech and innovation ecosystems came in November when Cross River and the Israel Economic Mission hosted a delegation of startups to create new opportunities, connect talent, and bridge divides while promoting New Jersey as a potential place for businesses to relocate.

Cross River has a presence in Jerusalem and Goldfeder sits on the board of Choose New Jersey, which helped facilitate the delegation at Cross River’s Fort Lee headquarters. “Cross River was the perfect home to house local venture capitalists, the local small business community together with Israeli entrepreneurs who are looking for opportunities in many states,” Goldfeder explained. “And this was our chance to highlight New Jersey.”

Advancing another priority last year, Cross River took part in the October launch of national advocacy group Fintech Future, which supports responsible innovation that breaks down traditional barriers to wealth creation and bridges the access gap to modern financial services in historically excluded communities.

As Cross River looks toward the new year, Goldfeder acknowledged that while there are economic uncertainties, every challenge creates a new opportunity.

“I think that there are headwinds going into 2023 with the economy, with the fintech and technology innovation ecosystems,” said Goldfeder. “So, our goal is to understand what’s coming, to internalize it and find a way to be successful.”

Goldfeder said that a big priority for the year ahead is increasing financial literacy, especially with the potential for an economic downturn.

“When there’s economic shifts and challenges, people are always looking for additional information and resources in terms of potential help that’s out there,” said Goldfeder. “And so financial literacy is clearly a big part of what we do.”

And Cross River plans to expand its programs and initiatives while continuing to build and nurture the relationships and partnerships at the center of its mission, here in New Jersey and, more broadly, across the country.

“We don’t succeed if the community doesn’t succeed,” said Goldfeder. “If local organizations are struggling, then we think, from our perspective, we’re struggling as well. So, we work toward strengthening the community, strengthening our partnerships with community organizations that are looking to do good work.”

Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will begin its celebration of the Lunar New Year of the Black Water Rabbit at four different venues around NYC:

January 21 & 22, 2023 at 2pm

Victoria Theater’s Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Stage

Tickets: $27-$35

njpac.org/event/nai-ni-chen-year-of-the-black-water-rabbit

January 28, 2023 at 3pm

Hostos Community College’s Hostos Center for Arts and Culture

Tickets: $5-$12

https://mpv.tickets.com/schedule/?agency=HCAV_PL_MPV&orgid=56451#/?view=list&includePackages=true

January 29, 2023 at 7pm

Mainstage at Tilles Center for the Performing Arts of Long Island University

Tickets: $32-$52

ticketmaster.com/naini-chen-dance-company-brookville-new-york-01-29-2023/event/00005CEDF1346B60

February 5, 2023 at 3pm

Colden Auditorium Stage at Kupferberg Center for the Performing Arts at Queens College in Flushing

Tickets: $15

kupferbergcenter.org/event/lunar-new-year-of-the-water-rabbit

The celebration of the Lunar New Year is a global event and a community event. The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is joined by immigrant artists in this colorful and fantastic production that brings culture, arts, imagination, joy and community together. This year, the Company is re-staging Nai-Ni Chen’s iconic work, Mirage, inspired by the choreographer’s journey to the Silk Road with music created by Glen Velez. Dancing the soloist role will be Ms. Zhongmei Li. Ms Li is widely recognized for her performances in the Joyce theater and major venues across the United states. She is a regular guest dancer of the Santa Fe Ballet and has appeared as master teacher in dance conferences and competitions in the Chinese American community in the last decade, often working in collaboration with Nai-Ni Chen.

Ms Li will join the company on the Hostos, Tilles and Kupferberg Center stage.

A New York City tradition for more than a decade, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company returns to Hostos Center to welcome the coming of the Spring of 2023, after a long absence since 2017. This year is the Year of the Black Water Rabbit. The performance will be a spectacular experience for all ages, combining traditional Chinese celebration with modern flair. This year, to honor the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop, the Company will present a new Lion dance to the Chinese Drum, Cymbal integrated Hip Hop rhythm. The steps of the lion have also been choreographed to include Hip-Hop dance movement with a contemporary attitude. The new work is a collaborative effort from Company’s Director of New and Contemporary Dance, PeiJu Chien-Pott, assisted by H+ | The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory’s Yvonne H. Chow, Lion Dance Master Henry Lee, and Hip-Hop legends Kwikstep and Rokafella.

The Company will also be performing one of its most festive dances in its repertory, YungGe (Harvest Song) from northern China, a beautiful and elegant Peacock Dance from the Southern Yunnan Province, a powerful martial art solo Spear Dance and the perennial favorite, the majestic Dragon Dance.

Besides these traditional dances, a Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company presentation will not be complete without new and innovative contemporary works. This year, the Company will present Movable Figures, a dance inspired by Southeast Asian Shadow Puppetry that was originally commissioned by the Morningside Dance Festival and Mirage, a dance inspired by the unique dance style of the Uyhgur people residing in the XingJiang region of China.

The Company dancers, acrobats and musicians will be performing in festive costumes in red, gold, blue and purple colors symbolizing their prayer for a peaceful and harmonious New Year with plenty of prosperity and good fortune for everyone to enjoy and share.

About Zhongme Li

“Zhongmei Li moves like mist across the stage,” wrote New York Times dance critic Jennifer Dunning. “Off stage, she looks like a small, fragile-boned bird but there is steel in those bones.”

Zhongmei began her professional dance training at the age 12 at the Beijing Dance Academy, China’s foremost dance institution. There, she studied Chinese classical and folk dance, martial arts, and classic ballet before becoming a principal dancer with the Chinese Youth Dance Company, winning four national dance titles and performing throughout Asia. In 1990, Zhongmei come to the United States where she studied at both the Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham schools. Since then, she has created and performed Chinese dance programs at the Joyce Theater in New York and theaters across the country as well as in The King and I on Broadway. She earned a master’s degree in fine arts-dance at the Tisch School at New York University, and she is a regular guest performer with the Aspen Santa Fe ballet.

About Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company:

“Chen’s phrases, part exoskeletal rigidity, part boneless grace, embodied an epic dignity.” – Village Voice

Choreographer/Dancer Nai-Ni Chen (1958-2021) was a unique artist whose work crosses many cultural boundaries. Each of her dances reflect her personal vision as an immigrant and an American female artist with deep roots in the Asian culture. From this very personal perspective, she created new works that reflect current issues with global influences. Some of her works were developed in collaboration with renowned artists such as the Ahn Trio, Glen Velez, Joan La Barbara, Jason Kao Hwang, Tao Chen, Tan Dun and the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York.

Bridging the grace of Asian elegance and American dynamism, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is a premier provider of innovative cultural experiences that reflect the inspiring hope and energy of the immigrant’s journey. The company’s ground-breaking works have focused on themes from ancient legends that reflect issues of the present time to purely abstract, contemporary dances influenced by a mix of cultures Nai-Ni Chen experienced in New York. An Asian American company that celebrates cross-cultural experience, the Company’s productions naturally bring forth issues of identity, authenticity, and equality.

The Company has presented at some of the most prestigious concert halls such as the Joyce Theater, Lincoln Center in New York, and the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in Florida. The Company appears annually at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Queens College, the College of Staten Island and on Ellis Island. Internationally, the Company has presented at international festivals including Open Look Festival in Russia, the Silesian International Contemporary Dance Festival, the Konfrontations International Festival in Poland, the Chang Mu International Dance Festival in Korea, the Meet in Beijing International Arts Festival in China, and the Tamaulipas International Arts Festival in Mexico.

The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company has received more than 20 awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and numerous Citations of Excellence and grants from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Advancing Dance Education, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company is currently in residence in New Jersey City University pioneering a program with the University’s A Harry Moore Laboratory School teaching dance to urban children with disabilities. For additional Company information, visit their website, www.nainichen.org; write to Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, P.O. Box 1121, Fort Lee, NJ 07024; or call (800) 650- 0246.

Programs of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company are made possible by the generous support of our Board members, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, The Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation (MAAF), the New Jersey Cultural Trust, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, The New Jersey Arts and Culture Recovery Fund administered by the Princeton Area Community Foundation, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Hyde and Watson Foundation, E.J. Grassman Trust, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, New Music USA, the Blanche & Irving Laurie Foundation, Dance/NYC Dance Advancement Fund, the Rapid Response Program of American Dance Abroad, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters’ Cultural Exchange Fund, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, PSEG, Proskauer, WAC Lighting, and the Glow Foundation and the Dragon and Phoenix Foundation.

GREAT BARRINGTON — According to my 18-year-old granddaughter, the best places to get a proper croissant are Paris; New York City; Fort Lee, N.J.; and Great Barrington!

How does our town’s croissant receive a starred review from a kid who wrote a college-admissions essay on “How to Bake a Perfect Croissant”?

The answer: Pixie Boulangerie

Patrizia (Paty) Barbagallo, the owner and principal croissant-maker, learned her craft in Europe from her Italian mother, a restaurateur. For her, croissant-making takes patience and the right ingredients, plus the avoidance of short-cuts.

Even more important is the baker’s ability to delay gratification. If there’s any departure from the steps in the process, the croissant will be too mushy, or too soft, or too buttery, or too heavy, or too sweet, or too salty, or otherwise not just right.

According to Paty, a just-right croissant is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. If filled, the croissant is creamy.

A Pixie croissant has three main ingredients: two kinds of butter from Cabot’s in Vermont (one with higher butterfat content than the other) and King Arthur flour. Plus: water, salt, milk, yeast, sugar.

“A lot of bakers use margarine to cut costs, which affects the flavor. No margarine or other fake fats ever cross the transom at Pixie—real butter makes all the difference!”

For Pixie customers, Paty makes six kinds of croissants:

plain (croissant nature) almond (amandes) chocolate (pain au chocolat) ham with gruyere cheese (jambon fromage) raisin (pain aux raisins) apricot swirl (tourbillon l’abricot)

Her personal favorite: plain…no butter, no jam, no nothing!

Paty began baking at age 10 and never stopped. In 2020 she moved to the Berkshires from Westchester, N.Y., baking every day to occupy her time while isolating during COVID.

Paty attempted to donate what she baked to a local food pantry,but she was unsuccessful because her kitchen was not “certified commercial.” She says, “Trashing baked goods everyday was upsetting.”

As the pandemic wore on, Paty realized she did not wish to return to teaching high school French. It was time for her to change careers and to do what she loved.

So she did in-depth research, consulted some professional chefs who ran commercial kitchens, and Pixie Boulangerie became a reality.

Croissant-making is a two-day process requiring:

—patience

—temperature control

—hand labor

—the best of ingredients

—the ability to multitask

—-creativity, coupled with precision

Day 1: “We make the dough, la détrempe.”

La détrempe: Croissant dough before the lamination process.

In making the dough, it’s important to keep in mind what Julia Child had to say: “You are the boss of that dough!”

After sprinkling a bit of flour on a wood surface, the croissant-maker punches and pounds the dough, then uses a rolling pin to roll it out. The dough is rolled and rolled several times and folded and unfolded. This is done quickly and with assurance! Otherwise, the dough will not perform properly in the oven.

Next step: Preparing the butter, beurrage

This step involves hammering the butter with a rolling pin, a technique known as beurrage, to flatten the butter and make it malleable.

Paty says she tried buying the butter in flat rectangles, already hammered. But the croissants were not the same…not up to her standards.

The dough is left overnight in the fridge to ferment.

Day 2: “We laminate, and we sheet.” Lamination is the art of locking the hammered butter into the dough, la détrempe, creating the layers.

Sheeting is rolling the dough and the butter together in unison. It’s done with a sheeter machine, making for a quick process in order to keep the dough and butter cold.

After the dough goes through the sheeting process three times, the baker quickly puts the laminated dough into the freezer.

“We prepare the fillings.” The fillings, such as frangipane (almond cream), are made. The dough remains in the freezer.

“We shape all the dough.” The dough is shaped to make six kinds of croissants. Once shaped, the croissants are frozen, and they stay on baking sheets. Every night, the number of croissants needed for the next day’s sale are pulled from the freezer and put into the fridge.

Days 3, 4, 5, 6: “We bake.” The next morning at 5 am, the croissants are egg-washed,proofed (they rest), and they are baked with steam.

Pixie uses large cookie sheets lined with parchment—different sheets for each kind, which allows for varying baking times and for easy sorting on baker’s racks.

Croissants by the Numbers (per week): Butter: 12,620 grams (28 pounds) Flour: 12,230 grams Best-seller: ham and gruyere Number sold: 500-600 Time in oven: 15–20 minutes Cost: $3.00 to $7.00 each

Questions for Paty: What’s your favorite? “I like my almond croissants—crispy outside and creamy inside with our homemade frangipane.”

What’s the difference between a Swiss and a French croissant? “No difference. The only difference among all the croissants is the maker and the ingredients used. The secret to having a successful croissant is making small batches, step-by-step, slowly, precisely, over several days…. in a cool environment. Plus, passion—passion for making a perfectly formed, flaky, fluffy crescent.”

Everyone has something to say about baking—from my granddaughter, to celebrity chefs, to the grandma next door:

And my own favorite, from my Yiddish-speaking grandfather: “Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough, but not baked in the same oven.” – Yiddish Proverb

VERNON, N.J. -- The warmer weather may be nice to step out in, but for ski resorts in our area it means extra work to keep slopes open.

There is an incredible view of the slopes on a downhill run at the Mountain Creek Ski Resort in Vernon. CBS2's cameras showed just how thick the snow is.

Due to the warmer temperatures, the area has had no snow, so it takes a lot of work to keep the mountain packed.

Crews work night and day to pump out snow from machines to make it look like normal.

"We've been making snow the past four nights this week and it's a complicated system and requires highly trained people. We're pumping snow throughout system of pipes, along with air, and that's creating snow on trails," Mountain Creek general manager Evan Kovach said.

The ski resort has about 700 machines. Each takes water from a lake on top of the hill and pumps through a compressor where the snow comes out.

"We had some warm temperatures in the past couple of weeks, but because of what the men and women who work here do on the mountain, they keep things in great shape for guests," Kovach said.

He said machine-made snow is more resilient than natural snow, and that they make it every chance they get.

But to do so costs resorts money. Places like Mountain Creek fare better because slopes sit at a high elevation, so it gets colder there.

"I feel very bad for the people who put hard work to keep this place contrary to whatever the climate gives us," said Veronica Gheti of Fort Lee.

"Any day here is good," another skier said.

On a weekday, when the resort sees smaller crowds, skiers love the warm temperatures. They can wear lighter clothes while they enjoy two peaks and more than 20 trails.

"It's getting pretty smooth out there, but as it warms up it with the fake snow it actually works to our advantage," said Debonaire Rustick of Sayreville.

There are also other things to do at Mountain Creek, including sitting at a fire pit or eating at lodge restaurants.

But one 4-year-old said she would rather be hitting the snow and quickly went showed CBS2 her moves.

The ski resort is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day and it even has twilight skiing.

A Mountain Creek spokesperson said despite the warm temperatures and no snow, revenues are up. The resort will remain open through mid-March.