Erin Lanahan 
We’re saying goodbye to 2025 and all of the craziness we covered in the past year. From wicked weather coverage, plenty of celebrity sightings, and transportation frustrations, our teamstayed busy keeping our community updated with all local happenings. The Local Girl took a look back at our headlines this past year and pulled some of the highlights and lowlights. Here’s a roundup of some of the more memorable stories The Local Girl covered in New Jersey in 2025.
Travel
The PATH Was The PATH
Construction, fires, and delays, oh my! The PATH gave riders plenty of frustration throughout 2025 between station closures for construction and random track fires, causing surprise delays and reroutes. TLG took a closer look at the PATH to figure out where these issues come from and what’s being done to create a smoother public transportation experience.
Real IDs
Real IDs were finally enforced in 2025, although New Jersey residents were slow to accept them. In April, TLG reported that less than 20% of residents obtained a Real ID, which put the Garden State in last place when it comes to compliance rates. The TSA just announced that as of the beginning of December, if you still want to fly but don’t have a Real ID, you must pay a $45 fee to use another form of ID. To avoid future fees while traveling in 2026, click here to learn about how to get a Real ID.
Read More: NJ Congressman Pushes To Make Porch Piracy A Federal Crime
Airport Headaches
Newark International Airport (EWR) caused some frustration among travelers this year. One of its biggest departure runways was closed for construction, allowing the facility to bring it up to current safety standards. While it was finished a couple of days ahead of schedule, it quickly devolved into a series of infrastructure malfunctions and staffing issues, which resulted in numerous delays, cancellations, and outages. The FAA then issued a final order restricting flights through the end of the year to allow for time to resolve those problems.
Nature
Sinkholes
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Hoboken has a history of sinkholes, which is what happens when water, like rainwater, flood waters, or water from a mainline break, has nowhere to go and the pressure breaks the surface. The most recent one was in September of 2025, when a water main break on Newark and Garden streets turned into a sinkhole. Learn about what the City of Hoboken is doing to mitigate these sinkholes here.
Weather Woes
Hoboken saw another year of flood mitigation. A nor’easter struck New Jersey this fall that brought beach erosion and flooding up and down the coast. An earthquake shook Somerset County residents in November of 2025, according to NJ.com, and The Local Girl reported on tremors felt in Morris and Bergen Counties throughout 2025.
The (House) Call Of The Wild
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While we love to appreciate our furry friends in their natural environment, some of them made their way into our environment. Holiday shopping took a turn when a deer made its way into Marshalls in Brick Township this December. According to NBC Philadelphia, a shopper managed to wrangle the deer and guide it back outside, and thankfully, no one was injured. In September, a black bear wandered into Dollar General in Vernon, then was later euthanized after biting a 90-year-old woman, per NJ.com. In March, TSA at Newark airport caught a Pennsylvania man with a live turtle in his pants. Still no word on why the man tried to smuggle a turtle through TSA, and officials said it was a first for them.
Local Life
Hollywood Of The East
New Jersey hosted a variety of celebrities shooting TV shows and movies throughout 2025. Kevin Hart was spotted in Jersey City’s Van Vorst Park shooting a project for Netflix. Daisy Edgar-Jones was seen shooting a thriller in Jersey City and Hoboken. Jennifer Lopez was seen in Hoboken working on a Netflix rom-com. Adam Sandler was seen, well, everywhere in NJ, shooting some movies and scouting out locations for future projects. Check out all the movie sets in the Hoboken + Jersey City area here.
Delivery Robots
Food delivery in Jersey City got an upgrade in 2025. Uber Eats and Avride expanded their robot food delivery service, doubling coverage to 100 restaurants with their tech-powered, autonomous service. They deliver food in under 20 minutes and have about a 31-mile battery range. You may recognize them as the little robots winking at people while they drive off to pick up food and drop it off. No word yet on whether the robots will make their way over to Hoboken or other cities in New Jersey, but Avride says they’re always looking for expansion opportunities.
See More: New Jersey Bill to Ban Sale of Dogs, Cats at Pet Stores Advances
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