Dear Editor:

In response to your article on the troubled Jersey City Museum, I believe that a solution to their present lack of direction is in the neglect of their past. Perhaps the JCM should consider as a matter of policy their mission statement to be partly or wholly a historical museum, with a combination of changing as well as temporary exhibits of its present collection of art and artifacts of Jersey City history. Since Jersey City is the second largest city in New Jersey with an over 300 year old history of settlement, there should be a special urgency on the part of the present board of trustees to initiate this idea in action. Moreover, since the city contributes money to the museum’s operations on a timely basis, perhaps a resolution should be adopted and passed by the City Council to require that the JCM exhibit its historical collection at all times in any manner they see fit. Granted, showing local history exhibits will not cancel out the JCM’s debt service and severe budget deficit, but it would be a great start in defining the museum’s viability, educational relevance and service to the community, all of which it is currently lacking. As a Jersey City citizen, artist and cultural enthusiast, I wish the JCM and its board all the luck and good fortune in maintaining this institution, and to please consider this proposal.

Richard Larovere