Fair points, GWB, but there are many steps in between seeing the kid on the street and then taking the kid away in your car if you really risk some sort of bogus charge.

How people could watch her walk around and not try to pull her over to safety, just keep an eye on her, help her look for her family, call the cops...and instead just let her walk into a major intersection...is what's most frightening.

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Not sure about Erie, but Newport mall garage has monthly rates. I hope they finish that construction soon. I live around the corner and the noise is deafening. I have to close my windows to talk on the phone. I can't imagine what it must be like for the people that live right on that street.

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I suspect what you were seeing is what the kids now call
a "conceptual installation" -- art school lingo for just leaving
your junk on the floor and not using the waste baskets.

I agree it sucks, but I also think it would suck to put a naked child in your car as a stranger & get arrested for kidnapping if the "caregiver" decided that they didn't want to get arrested by DYFS.

"I didn't lose my child, that man stole my child!"

That doesn't make it right- anyone should just sack up & do the right thing, but it makes hesitance to do anything understandable- For all they know the parent is 30 feet away, which would not be cool, but hardly abandonment.

The way things are today, with either a huge influx in perverts or a huge increase in the number of perceived perverts, it's not a great idea to be around someone's kids without the parent being present. The old days of strangers being able to take your kid home if they got in trouble are long gone. I remember getting busted because my buddy was throwing rocks at a guy's duck (love ducks, still makes me sad to think about it) and the guy caught us, dragged us into his house so we could see how much he cared for his pets, and really taught us a lesson, seriously- Dressed us down good.

Nowadays the angry kid could just claim that some sort of something "happened", and the way the police etc are so shit scared to let something like that go, a ridiculous accusation ends up screwing up someone's life.

I have a buddy who is a highschool teacher & also works as the trainer for the district- He WILL NOT be in the training room with a female student without another teacher there.

Sad world.


GWB

The three carts that were full of trash at the corner of Wayne and Barrow disappeared recently, but the trash they were filled with got dumped all over the sidewalk against the fence on the western side of Barrow.

I'm guessing that the BJ's truck came to pick the carts up and just dumped the trash right there on the street, but I can't be sure of it.

I swear the carts were out taunting me this weekend. I saw tons of them. The worst one, I saw one in Newport Mall. IN the mall just sitting there. I got a nice pic which I will upload soon.

If you walk up Reservoir Avenue instead Booraem Avenue, you will see the Gr8 Taste Restaurant at 83 Reservoir Avenue. Try it out. It's a nice addition to the neighborhood.

Google has street view of that area.

Click on "street view":

Map

Anyone know just how long this will take?

I am really worried now that I am working evening shift that I won't be able to find parking when I get home at late hours. Many cars from 10th are parking on my street now making it difficult to find parking at normal hours. I fear about how far away I am going to have to park.

Is the Erie garage still taking monthly rentals?

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Tell her to walk south on Ogden towards the foot or dead end near the little playground in Janet Moore Park, turn up the last intersecting block which is Cuneo Pl. then cross Palisade Ave and walk up Booraem Ave. to Central Ave. You will be on the far south end of Central Ave. near St. Nick's church and Pershing Field park. Not knowing where on Ogden your girlfriend is walking from this is probably the safest way allowing you to avoid the characters that lurk within Franklin to Congress Streets leading up to Central Ave.

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That is the most depressing thing I have ever heard. What decent human being watches a naked toddler wander the streets and does nothing out of fear of LIABILITY? That's a sorry world to live in.

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The kind that is careful about accountability, and liability thats who. No one wants to get involved. An inch is as good as a mile. The people there were as close to that toddler as people across the country.

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"Everybody was standing there looking at her walking down the street," King said.

really? jeez, what kind of people would just watch a toddler cross a street on her own?

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rent a space if at all possible. nice cars are targets anywhere in jc, regardless of what people may tell you.
*edit - i live farther west from you near kennedy, and i'm paying about $120 a month for a spot inside a covered garage about 1 block from my house.

during the day she can walk down any of the streets, they're all the same. might start walking down franklin since it's at the start (or end) of the central ave. shopping district, and then she can work her way up from there

no good brazilian restaurants in the heights, but the closest one is on newark ave (1/2 block from palisade ave), it's called churrasquiera. if you take the bus down palisade and get off at dickinson high school, you can walk a half block to the right and you'll see it.. great seafood and great steaks.

A couple other questions:

I have a fairly nice car and am trying to figure out where I am going to park it. It seems like there are a ton of open spaces in front of Riverview Park (If I can't find one on Ogden btwn Griffith and Franklin). Is this a target area for car thefts? I talked to the police station and they said there is a constantly cop parked on Ogden at night near the basketball courts.

Would I be better off trying to rent a space from a neighbor? If so, what would be a fair rate to offer for the area...

I am going to need someone to maintain my property with regards to snow removal, landscaping.... any good, local suggestions?

If my gf wants to walk from Ogden => Central during the day, what street would you suggest she walks down?

Any good Brazilian restaurants in the heights?

thats all I can think of.

Hudson County to officer in Obama shirt: No you can't

Monday, July 07, 2008
By EARL MORGAN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A First Amendment dust-up is brewing at the Hudson County Correctional facility in Kearny over a corrections officer wearing a Barack Obama T-shirt to work.

Corrections Officer Anthony Smith said he was told by supervisors he violated department policy on June 20 when he wore to work a T-shirt emblazoned with "He's Black and I'm Proud," along with a likeness of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Smith, a member of the gang intelligence unit, changes into a uniform to perform his duties.

According to Smith, when he arrived at work, Capt. Jose Montanez told him to report to his office. Smith found Montanez with Deputy Director Kirk Eady, who, like Smith, is black.

Montanez told him he was violating departmental policy and procedures by campaigning and soliciting on county property, Smith said.

According to Smith, Eady turned to Montanez and said, "I don't agree with that. I have a picture of Obama and what if I decided to enlarge that picture and put it on my shirt? Would I be violating county rules?'" To which Montanez replied, "Yes."

Smith then told his union rep, Irving Boards, about Montanez's directive. "'Let's go to Montanez's offices and see if we can get him to put that in writing,'" Boards suggested.

When the pair located Montanez, the captain refused to put anything in writing and told Smith to bring him the "policy and procedures" book and he would show him the page to find the rule, Smith said in a written summary to his union.

Jim Kennelly, a spokesman for Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise, told a different version.

According to Kennelly, Smith was cautioned against wearing the shirt because Smith was trying to sell similar T-shirts at $10 a pop during roll call, and the county has audio and videotape to prove it. Smith denies it.

Kennelly said the county's official policy is that political campaigning on county property is prohibited.

Kennelly said Smith is not facing any punitive action concerning the incident and added, "Officer Smith is entitled to file a grievance if he feels his First Amendments rights have been violated."

DEEJAY HERO SAVES LOST 2-YEAR OLD

Monday, July 07, 2008
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A Good Samaritan picked up a naked, not yet 2-year-old tot wandering along King Drive in Jersey City by herself yesterday and turned her over to police, officials and the alert hero said yesterday.

Harvey King, a deejay, said he was driving back home from a canceled gig at Liberty State Park at about 10:40 a.m. when he spotted the 21-month-old toddler about to cross the intersection at Claremont Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive - about a half block from the little girl's home.

"Everybody was standing there looking at her walking down the street," King said. "I grabbed her just as she was stepping off the sidewalk and into the street. It scared me that something might happen to her."

King then drove her to the South District police precinct, reports said. The child, he said, did not seem scared or upset, but was "very quiet." When he took her to the station "she did not want to let go of my shirt," he said.

The child was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center where she was examined and given a clean bill of health, reports said. The girl was then put in the care of the state Division of Youth and Family Services, said city spokesman Stan H. Eason.

Police later identified the girl's parents when the father showed up to the South District asking if anyone had spotted his little girl, Eason said.

The mother of the girl told police she had left the child with her 16-year-old cousin while she went to do laundry, Eason said.

But because the child was found unattended, DYFS now has to investigate the incident and make decisions about the child's custody and whether charges should be filed against the parents, Eason said.

DYFS spokeswoman Mary Helen Cervantes declined to comment yesterday. When the girl's home was phoned, a man who answered quickly hung up.

King was still in disbelief yesterday afternoon.

"I could not understand why (a baby) should be walking down the street without any clothes on." King said. "It was by the grace of God that I was there at the right time."

More lead found in schools' water

Monday, July 07, 2008
By LYSA CHEN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Eight of 56 water sources in two more Jersey City schools have elevated levels of lead, according to the latest test results from the Jersey City Board of Education.

This number is reduced to one in 56 when water is run for a few minutes.

The school district initiated lead testing in all schools and school buildings after six elementary schools - Schools 6, 11, 23, 25, 27 and 31 - were found to have unacceptably high levels of lead in drinking water as part of the district's voluntary participation in a federal Environmental Protection Agency program.

The latest results showed that lead levels at Schools 5 and 9 ranged from 20.1 parts per billion to 173 parts per billion for "first-draw" samples taken from eight water sources. Lead levels above 20 parts per billion are considered elevated by the EPA. First draw means the water source hadn't been used for at least eight hours.

Only one water source at School 5 remained elevated during the "second draw," falling from 128 parts per billion to 54.1 parts per billion.

All eight contaminated water sources have been shut off, said Roger Jones, school district spokesman.

Garden State Environmental, the consulting company conducting the voluntary tests, has released results from 789 sources in 21 schools and has completed sampling at all school buildings.

The school district will receive the remaining test results by mid-July, a release said.

Alzheimers is hilarious.

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...and if you cant wait that long, it's on Comcast

I have the best travel agent. She was recommended to me through a co-worker for honeymoon planning a few months ago and she was extremely attentive, informative and pleasant. I highly recommend her!! Her email address is: amyjetter@aol.com and I believe the name of her business is Destinations.

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This seems to be a recurring theme. I had the duck from them a couple weeks ago and one of the ingredients was fig. While it was very delicious, not even the waiter knew what it was and had to ask the chef. Given how some people are allergic to certain things, leaving them off the menu seems like asking for a lawsuit from some freaked out individual.

Can anyone recommend a great travel agent that we can set up a honeymoon fund with in place of a gift registry?

We need someone that can plan the whole thing for us as well...not just book hotels and leave the rest to us.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

La Rustique hands down.

I finally stopped by the new Buon Appetito location on Grove Street today. I indulged in a slice of pizza topped with pepperoni and it was fantastic!

Here's what was even cooler -- I was surprised that the two guys behind the counter immediately recognized me.

It took me a moment, but then I realized they were the really nice pair of Egyptian brothers who used to operate Esperanto's a few years back right by the end of my block!

After they sold the establishment to another family, I felt Esperanto's pizza -- while still edible and very convenient to my home -- went downhill pretty darn fast.

It turns out that, for the last couple of years, the brothers were working out at a place in Queens, but now they're quite happy to be back here as part of Buon Appetito's expansion from Bayonne into Jersey City.

In my opinion, Buon Appetito's pizza is a heck of a lot better than the handful of pizza places I've tried while living in Downtown Jersey City over the last 7 years.

I look forward to grabbing a slice from there again soon (and maybe a sandwich and a salad too).

YUM!

Could they hurry up and get some commercial stuff in there already? I live by liberty state park light rail stop and i can't wait until there are stores and restaurants i can walk to or go a couple light rail stops to besides Caesars Cafe and Pathmark. We have grown enough in lafayette to warrant some more options.

New to town, been here about a month.

I've eaten at the embankment 4 times so far, each time has been consistent and an all around fun experience.

The first couple times I sat at the bar alone. They have a very friendly bar crew that was cracking me up with their comments on the euro 2008 match. The burger is a monster and the beer is cold.

Sat outside for brunch last weekend and had an instant hangover cure with their jersey city sandwich. (basically a taylor ham, bacon, egg, and cheese the size of my fist)

Went back again last night and had amazing scallops and my girlfriend had a nice vegetarian dish that the chef put together for her.

2 blocks away and quickly becoming a staple for me.

Did anyone try the Hudson County Community College's Cooking or Wine Classes?

Does anyone know much about the Culinary Arts Institute at HCCC?

How does this rate next to the CIA (Culinary Institute of America) in Hyde Park, NY?

http://www.ciachef.edu

As I said before even I have fallen on harder times, as we all have in this economy, and I now have a young relative who is interested in going to culinary school and I would like any advice.

I am thinking HCCC might be a little cheaper.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I read this OLD NEWS story last spring:

Hudson County Community College Announces Spring Roster of Saturday Cooking and Wine Classes

The College?s Culinary Arts Chefs and Staff will Conduct Classes in the New, State-of-the-Art Culinary Arts Institute

January 11, 2008, Jersey City, NJ?Hudson County Community College President Dr. Glen Gabert announced today that the College will offer area residents the opportunity to take all-new food preparation, cooking, and wine appreciation classes this Spring. The classes will be held on Saturdays, beginning March 8th, in the College?s state-of-the art Culinary Arts Institute at 161 Newkirk Street (just off the Journal Square PATH station in Jersey City).

?The ?Cooking for the Holidays? classes we presented in November were a big success! Since so many people asked us to continue these offerings, we decided to devise classes that would cover even more areas of interest,? Dr. Gabert said.

Like the November classes, this season?s offerings will be conducted by the award-winning chefs who teach at the College?s nationally acclaimed, five-star Culinary Arts Institute. The classes will provide participants with the opportunity to learn the essentials of cooking and wine appreciation, while enjoying local and international foods. They include: ?Knives and Knife Skills? on March 8th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; ?Contemporary Cooking for Today?s Lifestyles? on March 15th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the two-session presentation of ?The Fundamentals of Wines? (with tastings) on April 5th and 12th from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.; ?Ice Carving for Beginners? on April 12th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; the food preparation and wine appreciation presentations ??Food and Wine Pairings: Exploring Europe? on April 19th from 1 to 4 p.m., and ?Food and Wine Pairings: Regions of the United States? on April 26th from 12 to 3 p.m.; ?Classical Cooking Techniques, Part One? on May 3rd from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; ?Techniques for Creating a Great Dinner Party? on May 3rd from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and ?Classical Cooking Techniques, Part Two? on May 10th from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The cost of each class is just $95.00, and there is an additional $20.00 lab charge for the wine classes.

?We think that the community will thoroughly enjoy these classes, and they will be able to learn in the most up-to-the-minute, professional premises and equipment in the area ? our Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center/Classroom Building,? Dr. Gabert stated. The five-story, Georgian Revival-style building boasts 72,000 square feet of state-of-the-art kitchens, ?smart? classrooms, and conference areas, as well as an elegant dining and banquet facility.

A leader in the culinary education arena for more than 20 years, the College?s Culinary Arts curriculum is one of only two programs in the New York region to be accredited by the American Culinary Federation Accrediting Commission. Students may pursue a variety of one-semester to one-year certificates, as well as two-year Associate degrees. HCCC CAI students have gone on to work in some of the finest restaurants, hotels and clubs in the New York metropolitan area, and throughout the world.

Those interested in obtaining more information about or registering for the classes are asked to phone (201) 360-4639 or email cai@hccc.edu. Early registration is recommended as the classes do fill up quickly.

Bleh - so court appearance is probably required, huh? Does the owner of the car (my girlfriend) have to go as well, or can it be just me (was driving alone)?

I'll call the clerk tomorrow and ask - just curious if anyone knows.

this happened to my neighbor and she was also required to appear in court. Lucky for her, the judge revoked the ticket since she was also new to the neighborhood.

Nicole Herbert?s only nude-sunbathing fear is that it could fade her tattoos.

Ferrying From Manhattan to Bare It All on the Beach

By RALPH BLUMENTHAL
The New York Times
June 30, 2008

SANDY HOOK, N.J. ? In honor of Nude Recreation Week, traditionally celebrated after July 4, join us on the Wall Street ferry SeaStreak as it makes its twice-daily run to Gunnison Beach, the busiest clothing-optional recreation area in the nation, devotees say.

Aboard on a Wednesday are Kassity Hu, 29, and Rochelle Rosen, 40, Internet marketing colleagues who no sooner found out on the Web about a nudist haven within sight of the Manhattan skyline and maintained by the National Park Service than they were game to try it.

For someone in the fashion trade, Todd Thomas, 46, another day-tripper, has found a particularly liberating way to play hooky.

Add Mike from Britain, a bond trader, and his American companion, Monica, in the hotel business ? no last names please ? who find the timing fortuitous. ?June 2,? said Mike, ?was a perfect time to be laid off.?

Kelly O?Brien, a nurse, has worked all night and is ready for a nap on the beach, but at an adjacent one in what the park service calls a ?clothed area.?

?I?m kind of conservative,? said Ms. O?Brien, 22. ?I like clothing.?

Molly Rodriguez, 69, a retired real estate payroll manager, on the other hand, is not beachbound at all but on her way to Atlantic Highlands to house-sit for her daughter and son-in-law who are sailing their boat up to Connecticut.

In any case, she would not be found anywhere near a nudist beach, she said, adding, ?I can look at myself and get hysterical.?

Long one of the New York area?s best-kept secrets, Gunnison Beach, on the upper end of this barbed peninsula jutting into the harbor at the northern tip of the Jersey Shore, has been a favorite of naturists, locals say, since Army troops at Sandy Hook?s historic Fort Hancock, and perhaps the redcoats before them, discovered the joys of skinny-dipping far from prying eyes.

It opened to the public as part of the Gateway National Recreation Area in 1975 but remained largely a zealously protected local attraction until 2003, when the SeaStreak ferries began catamaran service as quick as 45 minutes from the East River at Wall Street and East 35th Street. (The company?s name, by the way, predated the beach run.)

Round-trip tickets cost $43, and the trips are becoming so popular that weekend boats carrying up to 400 sometimes ?max out,? and a later weekday homebound departure has just been added, said Heather Irvin, a SeaStreak spokeswoman.

The half-mile beach regularly attracts 5,000 sunbathers on a weekend, making it the most populous nude beach in the country, according to Friends of Gunnison, a group that self-polices the beach and runs charity events.

A yellow school bus providing free shuttle service is waiting at the ferry dock for the three-minute ride to the beach. Some of the day?s passengers disperse to ?clothed areas? all along Sandy Hook. But Ms. Hu and Ms. Rosen, Mr. Thomas, Mike and Monica and others head for Gunnison, trudging past cautionary signs.

?Warning: Nude Bathers May Be Present on the Beach.?

And farther on, ?Beyond This Point You Will Encounter Nude Sunbathers.?

Ms. Rosen and Ms. Hu do not scare easily. They pick a spot near the water and set down their blankets, demurely removing their tops but not, or not right away, their bottoms.

Others also choose varying degrees of modesty. Nina Calvin, 40, a leasing and sales coordinator, strolls the beach topless with her companion, Larry Garbowski, 61, who is wearing a skimpy bathing suit. ?I won?t take it off,? Mr. Garbowski, a machine technician, said stubbornly, ?because she wants me to.?

Karen Czaplinski, 56, a former teacher, and now a waitress and manufacturer of fishing lures, is lolling by the curling tide, in a bathing suit, next to her equally clothed and cringing friend, Kat, a postal worker who said her first name was enough. ?My husband would kill me,? Kat said, mumbling, ?First time ever in a nude beach and The New York Times comes.?

To hear her tell it, they somehow did not realize it was a nudist beach when they arrived, but once they found out did not rush off either. ?It?s like eye candy, I guess,? Kat said, making the best of it.

Sharon Caruso, 48, a flight attendant for a corporate fleet, is stretched out in a chair just topless for now. ?The only thing better than sitting here with nothing on,? she said, ?is going into the water with nothing on.?

Nearby lies her friend Phil, 44, a salesman who gave his last name and then thought better of it, doing the ?full Monty? and baked brown as a chestnut. Hasn?t he ever heard about sun damage? Phil is practically insulted, countering, ?Haven?t you ever heard about vitamin D deficiency??

No doubt, the dominant state of dress is undress, and one of the problems, it can be reported, is where to focus the eyes. The distant spire of the Empire State Building is a good bet, along with the rolling waves.

But try ignoring a naked horseshoe match.

Gawking is gauche, and overt sexual behavior clearly illegal, Friends of Gunnison advises. Vigilante justice for miscreants is not unknown here in the land of the Sopranos, although the group counsels restraint when beach etiquette is violated: ?Do not try to take matters into your own hands.?

Down the beach, a portly fisherman wearing just a sun hat casts into the surf for blues and stripers. He is not thrilled with the news coverage. ?The press built it up as a nude beach, and every pervert in the world thinks this is the place to be,? he said. But the rise in gas prices has brought at least one blessing, he and others said: fewer power boaters flitting close to shore with long camera lenses and binoculars.

Nicole Herbert, 40, a veterinary nurse, strolled the beach in only her abundant tattoos, concerned, she confessed, that sun exposure could fade them while glorying in her freedom. ?When,? she asked, ?are we going to get respectful of our nudity??

The yellow school bus comes promptly at 2:20 p.m. to collect beachgoers for the ferry, but Ms. Hu and Ms. Rosen are missing. They have called for a cab, it turns out, to stay later and take a boat back from Atlantic Highlands.

On the SeaStreak, Mr. Thomas lies on deck, shirtless, catching a few last rays. Near the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the crew reminds him to put his shirt back on. New York is a clothed area.