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HRT - Hormone Replacement Therapy in Moonachie, NJ

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HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY for Women estrogen
What Causes Menopause

What Causes Menopause?

The most common reason for menopause is the natural decline in a female's reproductive hormones. However, menopause can also result from the following situations:

Oophorectomy: This surgery, which removes a woman's ovaries, causes immediate menopause. Symptoms and signs of menopause in this situation can be severe, as the hormonal changes happen abruptly.

Chemotherapy: Cancer treatments like chemotherapy can induce menopause quickly, causing symptoms to appear shortly after or even during treatment.

Ovarian Insufficiency: Also called premature ovarian failure, this condition is essentially premature menopause. It happens when a woman's ovaries quit functioning before the age of 40 and can stem from genetic factors and disease. Only 1% of women suffer from premature menopause, but HRT can help protect the heart, brain, and bones.

Depression

Depression

If you're a woman going through menopause and find that you have become increasingly depressed, you're not alone. It's estimated that 15% of women experience depression to some degree while going through menopause. What many women don't know is that depression can start during perimenopause, or the years leading up to menopause.

Depression can be hard to diagnose, especially during perimenopause and menopause. However, if you notice the following signs, it might be time to speak with a physician:

  • Mood Swings
  • Inappropriate Guilt
  • Chronic Fatigue
  • Too Much or Too Little Sleep
  • Lack of Interest in Life
  • Overwhelming Feelings

Remember, if you're experiencing depression, you're not weak or broken - you're going through a very regular emotional experience. The good news is that with proper treatment from your doctor, depression isn't a death sentence. And with HRT and anti-aging treatment for women, depression could be the catalyst you need to enjoy a new lease on life.

Hot Flashes

Hot Flashes

Hot flashes - they're one of the most well-known symptoms of menopause. Hot flashes are intense, sudden feelings of heat across a woman's upper body. Some last second, while others last minutes, making them incredibly inconvenient and uncomfortable for most women.

Symptoms of hot flashes include:

  • Sudden, Overwhelming Feeling of Heat
  • Anxiety
  • High Heart Rate
  • Headache
  • Nausea
  • Dizziness

Typically, hot flashes are caused by a lack of estrogen. Low estrogen levels negatively affect a woman's hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls body temperature and appetite. Low estrogen levels cause the hypothalamus to incorrectly assume the body is too hot, dilating blood vessels to increase blood flow. Luckily, most women don't have to settle for the uncomfortable feelings that hot flashes cause. HRT treatments for women often stabilize hormones, lessening the effects of hot flashes and menopause in general.

Mood Swings

Mood Swings

Mood swings are common occurrences for most people - quick shifts from happy to angry and back again, triggered by a specific event. And while many people experience mood swings, they are particularly common for women going through menopause. That's because, during menopause, the female's hormones are often imbalanced. Hormone imbalances and mood swings go hand-in-hand, resulting in frequent mood changes and even symptoms like insomnia.

The rate of production of estrogen, a hormone that fluctuates during menopause, largely determines the rate of production the hormone serotonin, which regulates mood, causing mood swings.

Luckily, HRT and anti-aging treatments in Moonachie, NJ for women work wonders for mood swings by regulating hormone levels like estrogen. With normal hormone levels, women around the world are now learning that they don't have to settle for mood swings during menopause.

Weight Gain

Weight Gain

Staying fit and healthy is hard for anyone living in modern America. However, for women with hormone imbalances during perimenopause or menopause, weight gain is even more serious. Luckily, HRT treatments for women coupled with a physician-led diet can help keep weight in check. But which hormones need to be regulated?

  • Estrogen: During menopause, estrogen levels are depleted. As such, the body must search for other sources of estrogen. Because estrogen is stored in fat, your body believes it should increase fat production during menopause. Estrogen also plays a big part in insulin resistance, which can make it even harder to lose weight and keep it off.
  • Progesterone: Progesterone levels are also depleted during menopause. Progesterone depletion causes bloating and water retention, while loss of testosterone limits the body's ability to burn calories.
  • Ongoing Stress: Stress makes our bodies think that food is hard to come by, putting our bodies in "survival mode". When this happens, cortisol production is altered. When cortisol timing changes, the energy in the bloodstream is diverted toward making fat. With chronic stress, this process repeatedly happens, causing extensive weight gain during menopause.
Low Libido

Low Libido

Lowered sexual desire - three words most men and women hate to hear. Unfortunately, for many women in perimenopausal and menopausal states, it's just a reality of life. Thankfully, today, HRT and anti-aging treatments Moonachie, NJ can help women maintain a normal, healthy sex drive. But what causes low libido in women, especially as they get older?

The hormones responsible for low libido in women are progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone.

Progesterone production decreases during perimenopause, causing low sex drive in women. Lower progesterone production can also cause chronic fatigue, weight gain, and other symptoms. On the other hand, lower estrogen levels during menopause lead to vaginal dryness and even vaginal atrophy or loss of muscle tension.

Lastly, testosterone plays a role in lowered libido. And while testosterone is often grouped as a male hormone, it contributes to important health and regulatory functionality in women. A woman's testosterone serves to heighten sexual responses and enhances orgasms. When the ovaries are unable to produce sufficient levels of testosterone, it often results in a lowered sex drive.

Vaginal Dryness

Vaginal Dryness

Often uncomfortable and even painful, vaginal dryness is a serious problem for sexually active women. However, like hair loss in males, vaginal dryness is very common - almost 50% of women suffer from it during menopause.

Getting older is just a part of life, but that doesn't mean you have to settle for the side effects. HRT and anti-aging treatments for women correct vaginal dryness by re-balancing estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. When supplemented with diet and healthy living, your vagina's secretions are normalized, causing discomfort to recede.

Fibroids

Fibroids

Uterine fibroids - they're perhaps the least-known symptom of menopause and hormone imbalances in women. That's because these growths on the uterus are often symptom-free. Unfortunately, these growths can be cancerous, presenting a danger for women as they age.

Many women will have fibroids at some point. Because they're symptomless, they're usually found during routine doctor exams. Some women only get one or two, while others may have large clusters of fibroids. Because fibroids are usually caused by hormone imbalances, hysterectomies have been used as a solution, forcing women into early menopause.

Advances in HRT and anti-aging medicine for women give females a safer, non-surgical option without having to experience menopause early. At Global Life Rejuvenation, our expert physicians will implement a customized HRT program to stabilize your hormones and reduce the risk of cancerous fibroid growth.

Endometriosis

Endometriosis

Endometriosis symptoms are much like the effects of PMS, and include pelvic pain, fatigue, cramping, and bloating. While doctors aren't entirely sure what causes this painful, uncomfortable condition, most agree that hormones - particularly xenoestrogens - play a factor.

Endometriosis symptoms are much like the effects of PMS and include pelvic pain, fatigue, cramping, and bloating. While doctors aren't entirely sure what causes this painful, uncomfortable condition, most agree that hormones - particularly xenoestrogens - play a factor.

Xenoestrogen is a hormone that is very similar to estrogen. Too much xenoestrogen is thought to stimulate endometrial tissue growth. HRT for women helps balance these hormones and, when used with a custom nutrition program, can provide relief for women across the U.S.

What is Sermorelin

What is Sermorelin?

Sermorelin is a synthetic hormone peptide, like GHRH, which triggers the release of growth hormones. When used under the care of a qualified physician, Sermorelin can help you lose weight, increase your energy levels, and help you feel much younger.

Benefits of Sermorelin

Benefits of Sermorelin

Human growth hormone (HGH) therapy has been used for years to treat hormone deficiencies. Unlike HGH, which directly replaces declining human growth hormone levels, Sermorelin addresses the underlying cause of decreased HGH, stimulating the pituitary gland naturally. This approach keeps the mechanisms of growth hormone production active.

  • Benefits of Sermorelin include:
  • Better Immune Function
  • Improved Physical Performance
  • More Growth Hormone Production
  • Less Body Fat
  • Build More Lean Muscle
  • Better Sleep
What is Ipamorelin

What is Ipamorelin?

Ipamorelin helps to release growth hormones in a person's body by mimicking a peptide called ghrelin. Ghrelin is one of three hormones which work together to regulate the growth hormone levels released by the pituitary gland. Because Ipamorelin stimulates the body to produce growth hormone, your body won't stop its natural growth hormone production, which occurs with synthetic HGH.

Ipamorelin causes growth hormone secretion that resembles natural release patterns rather than being constantly elevated from HGH. Because ipamorelin stimulates the natural production of growth hormone, our patients can use this treatment long-term with fewer health risks.

Benefits of Ipamorelin

Benefits of Ipamorelin

One of the biggest benefits of Ipamorelin is that it provides significant short and long-term benefits in age management therapies. Ipamorelin can boost a patient's overall health, wellbeing, and outlook on life.

When there is an increased concentration of growth hormone by the pituitary gland, there are positive benefits to the body. Some benefits include:

  • Powerful Anti-Aging Properties
  • More Muscle Mass
  • Less Unsightly Body Fat
  • Deep, Restful Sleep
  • Increased Athletic Performance
  • More Energy
  • Less Recovery Time for Training Sessions and Injuries
  • Enhanced Overall Wellness and Health
  • No Significant Increase in Cortisol

Your New, Youthful Lease on Life with HRT for Women

Whether you are considering our HRT and anti-aging treatments for women in Moonachie, NJ, we are here to help. The first step to reclaiming your life begins by contacting Global Life Rejuvenation. Our friendly, knowledgeable HRT experts can help answer your questions and walk you through our procedures. From there, we'll figure out which treatments are right for you. Before you know it, you'll be well on your way to looking and feeling better than you have in years!

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Latest News in Moonachie, NJ

Veterans Thanksgiving luncheon in Moonachie

Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance MediaVeterans Thanksgiving luncheonVietnam Veterans Anthony Picca, left, Henry McCormick and Ralph DeGroat sing the National Anthem during the start of the luncheon. A Thanksgiving luncheon to honor veterans at The Graycliff in Moonachie. Wednesday, November 24, 2021. Moonachie, N.J....

Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media

Veterans Thanksgiving luncheon

Vietnam Veterans Anthony Picca, left, Henry McCormick and Ralph DeGroat sing the National Anthem during the start of the luncheon. A Thanksgiving luncheon to honor veterans at The Graycliff in Moonachie. Wednesday, November 24, 2021. Moonachie, N.J.Get Photo

Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media

Veterans Thanksgiving luncheon

Vietnam Veteran Jared Durham, left, gives a 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War coin to fellow veteran Richard Donovan. A Thanksgiving luncheon to honor veterans at The Graycliff in Moonachie. Wednesday, November 24, 2021. Moonachie, N.J.Get Photo

Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media

Veterans Thanksgiving luncheon

Claire Sahagian, of Cliffside Park, prays during the start of the luncheon. She was attending with her husband Gus Pappas whoÕs a Vietnam Veteran. A Thanksgiving luncheon to honor veterans at The Graycliff in Moonachie. Wednesday, November 24, 2021. Moonachie, N.J.Get Photo

Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media

Veterans Thanksgiving luncheon

Minnie Hiller-Cousins, the Commander of District 1 on NJ Veterans of Foreign Wars, right, leads the Pldge of Allegiance during the start of the luncheon. A Thanksgiving luncheon to honor veterans at The Graycliff in Moonachie. Wednesday, November 24, 2021. Moonachie, N.J.Get Photo

Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media

Veterans Thanksgiving luncheon

Korean War veteran Albert Gonzales goes up to get food with his wife Ann. He severed with the First Marines. A Thanksgiving luncheon to honor veterans at The Graycliff in Moonachie. Wednesday, November 24, 2021. Moonachie, N.J.Get Photo

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Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media

Veterans Thanksgiving luncheon

Vietnam Veterans Jared Durham, center, and Maurice Houckes Jr. sing the National Anthem during the start of the luncheon. A Thanksgiving luncheon to honor veterans at The Graycliff in Moonachie. Wednesday, November 24, 2021. Moonachie, N.J.Get Photo

10 / 12

Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media

Veterans Thanksgiving luncheon

Bill Thomson, of Washington Twp., the National Council Member for NJ VFW addresses the luncheon. A Thanksgiving luncheon to honor veterans at The Graycliff in Moonachie. Wednesday, November 24, 2021. Moonachie, N.J.Get Photo

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Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media

Veterans Thanksgiving luncheon

Minnie Hiller-Cousins, the Commander of District 1 on NJ Veterans of Foreign Wars, addresses the luncheon. A Thanksgiving luncheon to honor veterans at The Graycliff in Moonachie. Wednesday, November 24, 2021. Moonachie, N.J.Get Photo

12 / 12

Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media

Veterans Thanksgiving luncheon

Army Vietnam Veteran Charles Valenti, center, and Siegfried Olender salute as they sing the National Anthem during the start of the luncheon. A Thanksgiving luncheon to honor veterans at The Graycliff in Moonachie. Wednesday, November 24, 2021. Moonachie, N.J.Get Photo

How do you say that? Some North Jersey town names you may be pronouncing wrong

New Jersey is no stranger to tough-to-pronounce town names. Some make no sense at all.People from such towns are forever schooling those from out of state and even residents of the state on the correct pronunciation.If the sheer number of letters in names like Pequannock, Moonachie and Frelinghuysen don't give you pause, trying to figure out how to say them might.But don't fret: We can help. Here are some North Jersey towns whose names you may be saying incorrectly, along with the resident-approved pronunciations:...

New Jersey is no stranger to tough-to-pronounce town names. Some make no sense at all.

People from such towns are forever schooling those from out of state and even residents of the state on the correct pronunciation.

If the sheer number of letters in names like Pequannock, Moonachie and Frelinghuysen don't give you pause, trying to figure out how to say them might.

But don't fret: We can help. Here are some North Jersey towns whose names you may be saying incorrectly, along with the resident-approved pronunciations:

Boonton

BOOT-in

It's the name of both a town and a township in Morris County. The township is home to the Boonton Holmes Public Library. The library has been in operation since 1894.

Pequannock

puh-KWA-nik

Commonly mispronounced as pee-KWA-nock, this Morris County township gets its name from the Lenni Lenape Indians who lived along the river. The name is believed to have come from the Lenape name "Paquettahhnuake," meaning, "cleared land ready or being readied for cultivation," according to the Pequannock Historic District Commission.

Frelinghuysen

free-ling-HIGH-sen

Frelinghuysen isn't just the name of a township, but also the last name of former 11th District Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen. The Frelinghuysen family has a long history in New Jersey. The former congressman's great-great-great-great-grandfather was one of the framers of New Jersey's first constitution.

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Secaucus

SEE-kaw-kis

There is debate over how Secaucus is actually pronounced, with the variations including suh-KAW-kis, but Hudson County natives agree that SEE-kaw-kis is the right way to go.

Moonachie

moo-NAH-key

Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch caught hell for mispronouncing Moonachie after telling the 1987 New York Giants to hold their Super Bowl victory parade there instead of New York. He pronounced the Bergen County borough as moo-NAH-chee. Wrong!

Bogota

buh-GO-dah

While it may be spelled like Colombia's capital city, their pronunciations are very different. The country pronounces its capital bo-go-TA, while the Bergen County borough puts its accent on the second syllable.

Haledon

HAIL-don

It's easy to mispronounce this Passaic County borough as HAL-eh-don. But residents know the town as HAIL-don. It is home to the Pietro Botto House, which operates as the American Labor Museum National Landmark and honors the history of the 1913 Paterson Silk Strike.

Old Tappan

Old tuh-PAN

It makes sense that people would mix up the pronunciation of this town, which sits along the New York border. The former Tappan Zee Bridge (replaced by the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge) was not too far away, but the bridge's and town's pronunciations couldn't be more different: The town is pronounced tuh-PAN while the bridge is pronounced TAP-en.

Old Tappan's New York State counterpart, Tappan, is pronounced tuh-PAN, too.

Closter

CLO-stir

The name of the borough, which is nestled along the Oradell Reservoir, is commonly mispronounced. Many people pronounce it CLAW-ster or CLAH-ster, but it is pronounced CLO-stir. The town has many Dutch influences, having been settled by them in 1710.

More NJ town names: Are you saying these right?

Residents of Moonachie mobile home parks struggle to keep out of the cold after Sandy

americicorps2.jpgAmericorps National Civilian Community Corps volunteers Nathaniel Russell, Travis Pate and Elizabeth Kipp-Giusti install new insulation to the underside of a home in the Vanguard Mobile Home Community, which was underwater during Hurricane Sandy, on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2012.(Photo by S.P. Sullivan/NJ.com)MOONACHIE — First came the floodwaters, and then came the cold.Many residents of two mobile home parks that wer...

americicorps2.jpg

Americorps National Civilian Community Corps volunteers Nathaniel Russell, Travis Pate and Elizabeth Kipp-Giusti install new insulation to the underside of a home in the Vanguard Mobile Home Community, which was underwater during Hurricane Sandy, on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2012.

(Photo by S.P. Sullivan/NJ.com)

MOONACHIE — First came the floodwaters, and then came the cold.

Many residents of two mobile home parks that were completely submerged during Hurricane Sandy are still waiting on insurance settlements and FEMA relief to perform vital repairs to their units, like replacing insulation to keep the cold air out.

"Most homeowners tell us they've been cranking the heat at 75, just to keep the temperature at 55 inside," said Bob Williams, a site manager for Rebuilding Together Bergen, which has been working with Americorp's National Civilian Community Corps to install new insulation underneath trailers.

They were finishing up work underneath the home of Geraldine McCarroll Wednesday, hampered slightly by the snow and cold that settled on Bergen County this week. McCarroll, who moved to the Vanguard Mobile Home Community in 2006, saw her trailer destroyed when a large tree fell in the park at the height of the storm. It crushed a neighbor's mobile home and McCarroll's shed and overhang, coming to rest atop her laundry room and living room.

"I've lost everything over there," she said. "The water went all through it."

McCarroll spent time in shelters and hotel rooms, and with family, until her daughter, who also lived in the park, found herself an apartment and offered McCaroll her unit, which itself saw flood damage during the storm.

McCarroll said she's been struggling to get approval for FEMA relief because, like many residents of the mobile home park, she doesn't have a copy of her title. She said that Vanguard's front office has written several sealed letters verifying that she's a homeowner in the park, but after every trip to the temporary FEMA offices at the Bergen County administration building, she's come home empty-handed.

"I've gone to Hackensack three times already," she said.

Her daughter's home was insured, but the family didn't have flood insurance, she added. So, like many homeowners in Moonachie, there's a good chance they won't see any insurance money at all.

It wasn't until a neighbor signed her up for Rebuilding Together's free relief program that work on her daughter's mobile home could begin.

"I feel so bad for them," she said of the 20-somethings covered head-to-toe in protective Tyvek suits. "It's such a yucky day to be under there."

The corps members come from all over the country as part of a 10-month residential community service program run by the federal government. They're being housed at Montclair State University and will spend two and a half weeks helping Rebuilding Together replace insulation underneath the flooded-out homes.

Williams, the site manager, said the corps members were given training in how to install the new insulation — and the potential problems they'd encounter, from leaky pipes to exposed wires — before being sent into the muddy crawlspaces beneath the mobile homes.

"It's kind of a learn-as-you-go process," said Rachel Hanson, a corps member from Illinois.

Because Rebuilding Together and the Americorps crew work free of charge, Williams said it saves the residents of the mobile home park the $2,500-$3,000 the work would normally cost — the better part of the total reimbursement they'd be eligible for from FEMA.

At a cost of about $400 per home for materials, the groups complete about two mobile homes a day, and hope to repair every unit in the Vanguard park and nearby Metropolitan Mobile Homes that needs it.

McCarroll said she never expected work to be completed on her home so quickly — and free of charge — helping her save money for other much-needed repairs on her trailer.

"It's just amazing all of the help that came in here," she said, fighting tears. "They're so great."

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'The restaurant's soul has been ripped out': Family remembers Aldo Bazzarelli's big heart

Joseph Aldo Bazzarelli, the longtime owner of Bazzarelli Restaurant in Moonachie, loved his family. His wife Costanza, who emigrated with him from Calabria, Italy. His three brothers, one of whom was his pizzaiolo. His three daughters, two of whom managed his restaurant. And his five grandchildren."I wish I had my grandkids before I had my kids," he'd jest.His family will tell you that Bazzarelli, who ...

Joseph Aldo Bazzarelli, the longtime owner of Bazzarelli Restaurant in Moonachie, loved his family. His wife Costanza, who emigrated with him from Calabria, Italy. His three brothers, one of whom was his pizzaiolo. His three daughters, two of whom managed his restaurant. And his five grandchildren.

"I wish I had my grandkids before I had my kids," he'd jest.

His family will tell you that Bazzarelli, who died April 6 at 73 from complications of coronavirus, was wild about his restaurant, too.

"He put his heart and soul into the restaurant," said his daughter Susanna Bazzarelli-Teixeira. "He loved his workers, he loved his customers, he loved to cook."

And while he officially lived in Fort Lee, Bazzarelli-Teixeira said, "he might as well have lived in Moonachie. He was there seven days a week, from morning until night." He'd start his day at 10 a.m. and sometimes doze off at the end of it sitting at the bar before he'd finally leave for home.

He opened his namesake restaurant in 1971 as a small pizzeria and sandwich shop. Five years later, he moved it into a bigger space on Moonachie Road as a full-fledged Italian restaurant with a nice-sized bar.

He insisted that every product be fresh, every dish made from scratch.

"He loved to come up with recipes," Bazzarelli-Teixeira said. "He cut the meats by hand. He was constantly coming up with pizza recipes. The marinara sauce we use never changed — he got the recipe from his mother from whom he got his passion for food and cooking."

He also insisted on treating his staff well. If they didn't have a car, he'd go pick them up. It was well known that "you never get fired from Bazzarelli," said Bazzarelli-Teixeira.

"My father gave everyone one million chances," she said. "He believed in the good of people."

He had other passions as well. Hunting, for one. The family would be treated to venison dinners. Every January, he'd throw a fundraiser for a different local charity that would get booked in no time. On the menu: venison. "He prepared the whole six-course meal, soup to nuts, himself."

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His other passion was soccer. He would watch his beloved Turin soccer team Juventus at the restaurant and discuss it with a group of friends. "Who am I now going to argue with about soccer?" one of his friends asked after he had passed.

Bazzarelli turned 73 on March 19. The family couldn't celebrate because members weren't feeling well. His brother, Sal, 71, the pizzaiolo, got sick. So did Bazzarelli. As did Bazzarelli-Teixeira, 44. So did Bazzarelli's father-in-law, Giovanni Mannarino, 93.

Bazzarelli, however, had two serious underlying health conditions: diabetes and COPD, an inflammatory lung disease that he didn't even know he had until he was admitted to Hackensack University Medical Center.

"He was one of these people who just didn't go to doctors," said Bazzarelli-Teixeira. COPD is related to smoking; Bazzarelli smoked for 53 years.

The family hoped to celebrate his birthday when he came home. Instead they buried him at Madonna Cemetery and Mausoleum in Fort Lee.

The restaurant has been temporarily closed since March 23.

"We will open the restaurant once this is over," his daughter said. "That's what he would want us to do. But it's going to be hard. It's like the restaurant's soul has been ripped out of it."

Esther Davidowitz is the food editor for NorthJersey.com. For more on where to dine and drink, please subscribe today and sign up for our North Jersey Eats newsletter.

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NJ students get behind-the-scenes tour of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade studio

MOONACHIE ─ The building “where the magic begins” looks nondescript from the outside.But inside the 71,000-square-foot brown warehouse where Macy’s builds the floats, creates the costumes and tests the balloons for the Thanksgiving Day Parade, magic is everywhere.A green dragon hangs from the ceiling. Giant chocolate chip cookies, French toast and pieces of cake lean against a wall. A pair of giant sneakers sits behind a plastic curtain.But the main attractions on Tuesday, the one day M...

MOONACHIE ─ The building “where the magic begins” looks nondescript from the outside.

But inside the 71,000-square-foot brown warehouse where Macy’s builds the floats, creates the costumes and tests the balloons for the Thanksgiving Day Parade, magic is everywhere.

A green dragon hangs from the ceiling. Giant chocolate chip cookies, French toast and pieces of cake lean against a wall. A pair of giant sneakers sits behind a plastic curtain.

But the main attractions on Tuesday, the one day Macy’s opens up its Parade Studio to the media and local schoolchildren, were the floats: Tom Turkey, the oldest and most famous float of them all; a chocolate factory by Kinder; St. Bernard dogs from The Elf on the Shelf; the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a safari adventure by Kalahari Resorts.

“It’s our time to show off the floats that you’re going to see on Thanksgiving up close and personal,” said Susan Tercero, executive producer of the parade. “It gives people a chance to really see the artistry and craftsmanship behind them and get excited about Thanksgiving.”

The floats are all built in-house by a team of about 50 full-time designers, sculptors, technicians and painters working year-round out of Moonachie, the parade’s newest home. For 40 years, until 2011, the magic began in a converted Tootsie Roll factory in Hoboken.

The new space allows Macy’s to inflate balloons — some weighing as much as 800 pounds — indoors, transport 4,000 costumes in one elevator and, ideally, allow the parade to grow for at least 70 years.

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Both balloons and floats start out as simple, and sometimes hand-drawn, sketches, said Laura Duphiney, a studio designer.

The balloon sketches are turned into clay models and then plastic models and, finally, pieces of balloon that are glued together. The float sketches were once made into 1-inch scale models, but beginning with the Tom Turkey float this year, they will be converted into 3D models and then carved out of foam or other materials.

Tom Turkey will debut revamped plumage on Nov. 22 after nearly 50 years of leading the Thanksgiving Day Parade, Duphiney said. He will also be the parade’s first self-propelled float.

Story continues below the gallery.

Every float will be broken into pieces to fit inside the Lincoln Tunnel and reassembled the night before on Central Park West, Tercero said.

For the past several years, dozens of children from local elementary schools in New Jersey have been able to get a preview of the newest floats before anyone else.

“They start asking in kindergarten when they’re going to go,” said Lee Ten Hoeve, an art teacher at Robert L. Craig Elementary School in Moonachie. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience for them.”

Third-graders and special education students from the school marveled at the size of Tom Turkey on Tuesday, and one 8-year-old, Romeo Canovera, said he was inspired to work at the studio one day.

“I want to see if I can make my own float,” he said.

Romeo already has an idea for one: Sonic the Hedgehog. He has sketches of the video game character ready to go.

Ten Hoeve said she jumped at the opportunity to take her students to the Macy’s studio for children like him.

“It’s a great thing for the kids to see that there are real careers in the arts that are in their own town and that they could potentially do something like this when they get older,” she said.

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