The Personal Injury Attorney Near Me Paramus, NJ, You Can Trust

March 21, 2026Updated March 23, 2026, 7:25 a.m. ET

Driving to a Mets game is often a long and costly proposition for New Jerseyans.

The trek to Queens requires a trip across two rivers, bridge and tunnel tolls, a congestion-pricing charge if crossing Manhattan and then $40 to $50 for parking.

But there are other alternatives, including a new direct service from Paramus and Jersey City this season.

With major construction underway at their home park, the team announced new Citi Field transit and parking options on March 16. The team is in the midst of a redevelopment project to turn the area around the stadium into an entertainment, shopping and gambling destination. The massive Metropolitan Park, which will also include a hotel, is under construction and isn't expected to open until 2030.

Here's a look at the new wrinkles, as well as some ways to get to Citi Field from North Jersey other than driving:

When is Opening Day for the Mets in 2026?

The Mets home opener at Citi Field is Thursday, March 26, against the Pirates at 1:15 p.m.

New Citi Field shuttle from Paramus, Jersey City

The Mets announced that a new Citi Field Direct Shuttle service will run from five local malls in New Jersey, Long Island and the Bronx this season, with two game-day shuttles apiece.

That includes a shuttle from Paramus Park mall to Citi Field as well as service from Newport Centre Mall in Jersey City.

Tickets costs $8, or $22 for a family of four. Seats are first come, first served. Shuttles depart about three hours before the first pitch.

The shuttle departure times are designed for fans to arrive when the Stadium gates open, the team said.

Where to park for Citi Field Direct shuttles

Parking will be free and in a designated section of the mall lots, according to the Mets. A Citi Field Direct pick-up and drop-off zone will be marked with signage and staff.

At the end of the game, fans can catch the shuttle back at the same drop-off location in the Citi Field Bus Lot. All shuttles depart the stadium 30 minutes after the final out.

Bus and subway options

The time-honored way of getting to Flushing is taking a bus to the Port Authority, walking through the underground passage to the Times Square subway station and taking the No. 7 train all the way out to the Mets-Willets Point station.

To save some time, try to get on an express 7 train. (It has a diamond surrounding the 7 instead of a circle, which indicates a local train.) "Super express" trains are available after the game, with fewer stops between Flushing and Manhattan.

Many NJ Transit lines in North Jersey go into the Port Authority bus station just across the George Washington Bridge in Washington Heights. That requires taking the A train down to Times Square and transferring to the 7.

NJ Transit and LIRR discount

New York's Penn Station is an easy transfer point for New Jerseyans heading out to the game, because it's a hub for both NJ Transit trains and the Long Island Rail Road.

The LIRR's Port Washington Branch offers direct service to Citi Field after a few stops in Queens.

The Mets are offering $5 off an LIRR adult day pass to see a game when you buy tickets on the team website. Kids ride for $1.

Expanded ferry service

The Mets also announced that more games would be accessible by the Seastreak ferry this season.

Seastreak is offering ferries to Flushing from its terminal in Highlands, on the banks of Raritan Bay in Monmouth County. It's a 75-minute trip, and there may be stops along Staten Island and Manhattan before it heads to the marina in Flushing Bay — with just a short walk to Citi Field. Round-trip tickets cost $80 or $85.

There is no direct service from NY Waterway's Hudson River piers to Citi Field.

Citi Field parking

The team is also adding a prepaid parking system that allows fans to purchase spots in advance, "including a faster and more seamless arrival at Citi Field." The cost of parking will remain $40 for those who prepay, while drive-up parking will be $50, when available.

"Due to the ongoing transformation of the surrounding area, parking will be more limited overall," the team said in its March 16 news release. "As a result, parking at the gate may not always be available, making prepaid parking the best way for fans to guarantee a spot at Citi Field."

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Community Corner

For New Jersey families, the backyard is everything. The pool builder they choose should be too.

This is a paid post contributed by a Patch Community Partner. The views expressed in this post are the author's own, and the information presented has not been verified by Patch.

Paramus is a community that holds its contractors to a high standard. With prime Bergen County location, established neighborhoods, and strong property values, homeowners here invest significantly in their properties and expect every trade partner to show up, perform, and deliver. The Pool Boss is the pool builder that meets that standard consistently. A third-generation firm headquartered in Wayne, NJ, The Pool Boss was featured on Bloomberg Television's "World's Greatest!" as the benchmark for custom pool design and installation throughout New Jersey.

Setting the Standard for Bergen County Pool Builders

When Bloomberg Television went looking for the gold standard in Bergen County pool building, The Pool Boss was the answer. What stood out most was not the finished product, but the process. Joe Gorga, who hired The Pool Boss for his own home, described the experience simply: "When they say they're going to be there… they come and they start your job." For Paramus homeowners who have dealt with contractors who disappear between visits, that consistency is genuinely rare.

In-House Expertise, Seamless Execution

What separates The Pool Boss from the competition is structural, not just stylistic. As a dedicated design-build firm, they carry the project from the drafting table to the final walkthrough without handing it off to outside crews. In Paramus, that means Bergen County permit coordination and varying residential lot configurations is handled by the same team that designed the pool, not a subcontractor seeing the property for the first time.

Each installation is shaped by original design work specific to the property and the homeowner's vision, executed by phase-specific construction specialists who are selected for their expertise rather than their availability. Throughout the build, real-time progress updates and technician photos keep Paramus homeowners connected to their project from excavation day through final inspection.

What Pool Buyers in Paramus Should Know Before They Build

Paramus is one of Bergen County's most commercially active communities, but its residential neighborhoods tell a quieter story: tree-lined streets, well-maintained postwar and mid-century homes, and growing demand for upscale backyard amenities. Bergen County imposes its own layer of review on top of Paramus Borough's construction permits, which can extend lead times compared to municipalities where only local approval is required. Paramus's residential zones include specific rules on accessory structures like pool houses and cabanas, and pool lighting, which must comply with Bergen County's outdoor lighting ordinance. The Pool Boss factors all of these approvals into the project timeline from the beginning, so Paramus homeowners never face mid-project surprises from a county review they didn't know was required.

Long-Term Service for Bergen County Families

A pool is only as good as the care it receives over time. The Pool Boss understands that, which is why every Paramus installation comes with access to a full range of long-term support services:

Our Assessment

The pool building industry has no shortage of companies that promise and underdeliver. The Pool Boss has set itself apart as the most trusted pool builder in Bergen County by doing the opposite: committing to a schedule and keeping it, every time. "We treat these pools like they're ours," says founder Chris Argenziano, and the finished results across Paramus and beyond bear that out.

Whether the goal is a quiet escape or a backyard built for entertaining, Paramus homeowners who work with The Pool Boss consistently describe the same experience: stress-free, on schedule, and exactly what they imagined.

Ready to start your staycation? Visit thepoolbossnj.com to view the Bloomberg feature and schedule your consultation.

Useful Links

Pool installations in Paramus: https://thepoolbossnj.com/best-inground-swimming-pool-builder-in-paramus-nj/

This post is an advertorial piece contributed by a Patch Community Partner, a local brand partner. To learn more, click here.

This post is sponsored and contributed by a Patch Brand Partner. The views expressed in this post are the author's own.

Every season, American Idol rolls out its storylines — the tearjerker, the comeback kid, the quirky one nobody expected. And every so often, one contestant cuts through all of it and makes you think: this one is for real.

This season, that person is Jake Thistle from Paramus.

On Monday night's episode, Thistle performed during the Ohana Round at Disney's Aulani resort in Hawaii — one of 30 contestants fighting for the Top 20 spots where America gets to vote. He performed an original song called "Sleep On Me," accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. Carrie Underwood compared him to a young Bruce Springsteen meets Bob Dylan. Luke Bryan chimed in with Paul Simon. Lionel Richie stood up, told him he took a big chance with an original, and said: as a songwriter to a songwriter, you did well. The American Idol account posted his clip with one word: captivating.

He made the Top 20. New Jersey is still in this thing.

Here's what I love about Jake Thistle's story. When he was three years old, his parents brought him in to watch the Super Bowl, thinking he might get interested in football. Instead, the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers halftime show changed everything. He was hooked on music from that moment forward. By nine, he had a guitar. As a teenager, he was already performing in bars near Paramus and busking in downtown Ridgewood, with his parents driving him to shows several nights a week.

This is not a kid who showed up to a TV audition on a whim. He has shared stages with Stevie Nicks, Foo Fighters, Eddie Vedder, Jackson Browne, and Steve Earle. He played the Stone Pony and the Count Basie Theatre. He toured Europe with the Light of Day Foundation and helped raise more than $100,000 for charity. He graduated early from Rutgers with a double major in communications and journalism. The résumé was already there before the cameras showed up.

Why New Jersey should be paying attention

We do this every time one of our own steps onto a national stage — we watch a little closer, root a little harder, take it a little more personally. And we should. Thistle has said the support from Paramus, Bergen County, the Asbury Park community, and New Jersey as a whole has meant everything. "This is where I've cut my teeth," he said. "It's where I've basically learned everything I know."

That's a Jersey musician talking — the kind who earned it the old-fashioned way, one room at a time, one night at a time, long before anyone put a camera on him.

Now America gets to vote. Let's make sure New Jersey shows up.

Proud to be New Jersey.

Stacker identified musicians born in every year from 1920 to 2003 and determined the most famous born the same year as you.

Arts & Entertainment

Young Bergen County musician Jake Thistle performed an original song on the latest round of "American Idol." Watch it here.

NORTH JERSEY, NJ — After performing Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home" on American Idol last month, Paramus native and recent Rutgers graduate Jake Thistle appeared on the program again this week, this time performing an original song.

After he crooned "Sleep On Me" on Monday night's episode in Hawaii, the judges sent him to the next round.

"All right, Jake, so you know you took a big chance," said judge Lionel Richie. "But as a songwriter to a songwriter, you did well."

"It's like watching a young Bruce Springsteen...meets Paul Simon...Bob Dylan...." said the other judges.

The young musician had told Patch in an interview last month that he was three years old when Tom Petty's Super Bowl halftime show made him want to be a musician.

He has performed his blend of classic rock and modern pop around the Garden State since he was 9 years old.

He appeared last month before judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan, who sent him to "Hollywood Week" with other musical successes.

After being praised for his original song, he'll be among 20 performers moving on to the next round.

The new episode aired Monday night at 8 p.m. on ABC, and will stream starting Tuesday on Hulu.

"Been an honor to hang with the American Idol crew in Hawaii!" Thistle wrote on social media on Sunday. "Get ready to tune in tomorrow to see the Ohana round and me with a ton of sun block in my eyes."

Background

Thistle graduated from Paramus High School in 2022, released two singles in 2023, performed around the country, and graduated from Rutgers in January (he'll walk at graduation in May).

Thistle started playing gigs a few weeks before his 10th birthday, he told Patch, when a family friend suggested he try out an open mic at Mama’s Café Baci in Hackettstown.

While studying at Rutgers, Thistle kept playing shows, and especially enjoyed performing in Asbury Park. But "Idol" is bring his biggest audience yet.

Read our interview and a recap of Thistle's first appearance here:

This post is sponsored and contributed by Hackensack University Medical Center, a Patch Brand Partner.

In a twist of fate, two nurses who care for transplant patients are called to donate their own stem cells to strangers in need.

This is a paid post contributed by a Patch Community Partner. The views expressed in this post are the author's own, and the information presented has not been verified by Patch.

Two nurses, bound by a shared calling to care for stem cell transplant patients, found their roles unexpectedly reversed in a twist of fate. Julie, an assistant nurse manager at the Brennan 6 Bone Marrow Transplant unit at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, and Emily, a nurse practitioner at the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, have dedicated their careers to guiding patients through the life-saving transplant process. But nothing could prepare them for the day they each received a call that would change their lives forever.

Years after joining the National Marrow Donor Program registry, both Julie and Emily were identified as matches for strangers in desperate need of a stem cell donation. Under the expert care of their own colleagues at Hackensack University Medical Center, coordinated by Michele Donato, M.D., chief of the adult stem cell transplantation and cellular therapy program, they underwent the very procedures they facilitate for their patients every day. This profound experience gave them a raw, unfiltered understanding of the vulnerability and hope that defines the patient journey. From inspired caregivers to selfless donors, their story is a powerful testament to the profound connections forged in the fight against cancer. What does it feel like to become the cure you've always worked to provide? Their journey offers a glimpse into that extraordinary answer. Click to read their story.

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