They blocked off the street and sidewalks in front of the post office on Washington Street. The public is not invited to this party. Customers have to use the side entrances to enter the post office. It is like parallel universes.

Three carts on the NE corner of Morgan and Marin.
As seen on google maps street view!

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I went to Dr. Mirza (the walk in clinic on Jersey Avenue, a block south of Columbus) about 10 days ago, when the office was busy.

The waiting room is shabby, but the office manager knows what she's doing, and the exam room area seemed clean.

Mirza is board certified in internal medicine.

It was pretty obvious what I had (kidney infection), but Mirza seemed to know what he was doing when he examined me, and I think he'd at least be fine for the little illnesses that healthy people get.

I've also been to the DOCS clinic in Manhattan. The good thing about the DOCS system is that it's integrated with Beth Israel Medical Center, and it's pretty easy for DOCS to send you over to get all kinds of medical tests.

The bad thing about DOCS is that, because of the way various laws and insurance rules work, all of the medical practices and testing operations are separate companies with separate billing arms, and one little visit for, say, mild pneumonia could end getting you tangled in all sorts of billing red tape, even if you have a good health plan that pays all of the bills.

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http://www.nysun.com/new-york/city-wi ... miles-of-manhattan-road/#

City Will Close Five Miles of Manhattan Road to Car Traffic
A Path for Joggers, Cyclists, and Yoga Enthusiasts

By HOPE HODGE, Special to the Sun
June 16, 2008

Mayor Bloomberg's next big idea: Shut down Park Avenue.

A five-mile stretch of road running from Lower Manhattan to Central Park will be closed to automobiles for three days in August, as part of a city Department of Transportation program that, if successful, could lead to regular street closings.

A pair of rickshaws make their way down 5th Avenue in December, 2005 at New York City.

The proposal, expected to be announced by Mr. Bloomberg at an event today, is intended to provide New Yorkers and visitors with a safe place to jog, stroll, and ride without the congestion normally associated with the city's streets. The car-free zone will run from the start of Centre Street in Lower Manhattan to 72nd Street on the Upper East Side by way of Lafayette Street, Fourth Avenue, and Park Avenue, and it will be closed between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. on three consecutive Saturdays: August 9, August 16, and August 23.

But while the plan is intended to accommodate residents, some fear that, even on a weekend, the toll on businesses will be higher than the value gained.

The owner of Elan, an antique furniture store on Lafayette Street, Jeff Greenberg, 55, called the street closing "a horrible nightmare."

"There's no doubt that it will affect my business negatively," Mr. Greenberg said in an interview yesterday.

In addition to his concern that customers would not come without cars, he said the only way to load furniture into his store was through the front entrance on Lafayette Street, which would be impossible during a road closing.

"They've got to be kidding," the manager and owner of the League of Mutual Taxi Owners, Vincent Capone, said. "It's getting harder and harder for a cab driver to be out there making a living with all these traffic rules."

Instead of closing off Manhattan streets, Mr. Capone suggested organizing an event in nearby Central Park or in Brooklyn. "This is New York, this is Manhattan," he said. "We're not in the middle of a forest somewhere."

A source familiar with the project said the concept is loosely based on a common practice in some European cities, where main thoroughfares are closed periodically for pedestrian and bicycle access. Already, the city closes park drives in Central Park and Prospect Park to traffic on weekends. The state of Massachusetts closes Memorial Drive in Cambridge from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays from April to November.

Certain interactive activities, including yoga, could be permitted in the public space in New York, the source said, but planners want to avoid a "funnel cake" carnival atmosphere that is common in many of the city's street fairs. Vendors must be licensed and would be restricted to selling on the sidewalks along the route.

The chairman of the City Council's committee on transportation, John Liu, said a project like this has been discussed for several years, and would reinforce a trend, rather than posing an inconvenience.

"This is not likely to create a huge ripple in the fabric of Manhattan," he said. "It may even begin to wean people off dependence on personal automobiles."

Mr. Liu said street closings are frequent in the city during the summer, but in shorter parade routes, or shorter street fairs. He said any complaints about the road closings were likely to come from businesses along the route, although he said most of the roads to be closed were surrounded by public and residential buildings.

Orthodox Jews do not drive on Saturdays, so they would be unaffected. And many Manhattanites with country homes leave on Friday afternoons and do not return until Sunday night or Monday morning, so they may not even notice the Saturday street closures.

The manager of Chinatown Brasserie, a restaurant on Great Jones and Lafayette streets, Iveline Lau, said the closing would be "a headache for guests." A salesman at the Eye Candy jewelry store on Lafayette and Bleecker, Paul Ingratta, said he thought his business would not suffer. "The car is obsolete in this town anyways," he said.

None of the businesses The New York Sun spoke with yesterday said they were consulted by the city about the road closings.

While at first there was some concern that the police department would not approve the event, Commissioner Raymond Kelly is said to approve of the proposal, according to a source familiar with the plan. Closing the 5-mile stretch of roads requires a lot of manpower to cordon off hundreds of side streets and direct traffic on crosstown thoroughfares.

The cost of police presence along the thoroughfare could total $900,000 for all three Saturdays, according to a Department of Transportation official, Dani Simons, quoted in a recent story in Downtown Express. The police department did not offer comment yesterday.

This plan comes in the final year of the Department of Transportation's three-year bike path project, the goal of which is to create 200 miles of on-street bike paths throughout the city in order to calm traffic and provide cyclists with a protected place to pedal. The department has completed 90 miles of paths to date.

"No comment," a spokesman for the Department of Transportation, Scott Gastel, said.

I really like Dr. Chinai as well, but he's only there two days a week -- it can be a bit hard to see him right away, particularly if your insurance only allows you to go to one doctor.

Dr. Mirza (corner of Jersey and Wayne) runs a walk-in office with pretty long hours. I went there once when I couldn't get in to see Chinai... definitely not the shiniest office, but I got the antibiotics I needed and he only charged me $50 for the visit (which my insurance didn't cover).

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maybe a class action lawsuit would change their tune?

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Got that right, so wheres all this convenience of booking a room here in NJ ?

CK

Councilman,
Any updates on getting Wayne St between Varick and Monmouth rezoned so the JC residents at 153, 155 and 157 Wayne street that are not residents of Dixon Mills can get permits for on street parking? We spoke about this many months ago and you mentioned it was on the agenda for an upcoming meeting.
Thank you

+1 on Newport Medical Associates. The reception staff is often clueless and lazy, but they will give you same-day appointments when necessary. I see Dr. Chinai there, who seems knowledgeable, competent, and has a no-nonsense attitude which I like.

Also, St. Mary's and Hoboken University Medical Center are one and the same. St. Mary's was never "closed down."

Although no longer owned by Bon Secours, the middle management and staff are still there from the St. Mary's days. It's now a city-owned hospital, and became a university hospital (because of its affiliation with some NJ med and nursing schools), but really, the only difference is the name.

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I think they have caught up, a friend's son was going to book a room at the Courtyard by Marriott in Newport and was told the rate was $330. a night. All the waterfront hotels are usually booked which is why a 26 story luxury Westin Hotel is being built.

Call Newport Medical Associates - their office is on Washington Blvd. across from Staples. When you call tell them you have an emergency. I did that once and they gave me an appointment within a couple hours.

Yeah, but the hotel chains are soon catching up on this side
of the river.

Anyone check out the rates in JC ??? wow ???one may as well stay in NYC, I don't see too much of a savings ???


CK

I Agree:

call portside medical. they are usually pretty good about this stuff

150 Warren St
Jersey City, NJ 07302
(201) 309-3000

This is from my walk to the PATH this morning.

1st and Erie:


Coles and Newark:

call portside medical. they are usually pretty good about this stuff

150 Warren St
Jersey City, NJ 07302
(201) 309-3000

Indeed, Tripadvisor has quite a bit of reviews of tourists who decided to stay in the hotels near Newport and they loved it.

Where does one go if they want to see a doctor today, or even within 36 hours? For a non-emergency, but something that can't wait.

My primary care doctor will set appointments two-three weeks in advance. The receptionist will fight about seeing me today, saying go to the ER instead even for non-emergencies. If I walk in to his office, they'll give in (perhaps medical ethics rules require it, or they just don't want the confrontation in the office), but I don't like starting a visit on an adversarial relationship.

This is both a question for now - e.g. I heard St Mary's in Hoboken (which was AWFUL) was closed down and turned into a place where you can walk in and be seen reasonably quickly, and I'm wondering if this is true. And a question in general - I'd like to switch my primary care doctor to one who works in a group where I can be seen on short notice if I need to, even if he is out golfing.

My insurance doesn't have any primary care physician nonsense anymore, but it used to and I picked my doctor at random (one in JC) because of it (I can see most any doctor and have it covered now). I prefer doctors in NYC in general since there's something sketchy about every profession in Jersey City... But I will happily accept good advice for JC...

A NEW CANOE RIDE
Pesin family re-enacts their Dad's famous trip

Monday, June 16, 2008
By PAUL KOEPP
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

As Judy Pesin got ready Saturday morning to re-enact her father Morris's famous 1958 canoe trip from Jersey City to Liberty Island, the foundational moment of Liberty State Park, she portrayed a bit of unease.

Eyeing our 14-foot skiff, which was beached at the end of Pesin Drive in the park, she said, "I see a few motor boats out there I'd prefer to the one we're going on."

She didn't have to worry, I soon learned.

The rowboat that would carry me along with Judy, 56, her brother Sam, 58, and LSP Superintendent Josh Osowski had been safely paddled as far as the Florida Keys by John Tichenor, head of the Friends of Liberty State Park, who built it in his Garfield Avenue basement in 1992.

Morris Pesin, aptly described as the "Father of Liberty State Park," made this trip by canoe to dramatize the proximity of the island to the rotting piers of Jersey City and what the dilapidated waterfront and rail yards could become.

Opened on Flag Day in 1976 with 35 acres, the park is now nearly 1,200 acres and attracts more than 4 million annual visitors.

I was sitting in for former Jersey Journal reporter Tom Durkin, who was on board when Morris Pesin made the original trip. Before we left shore, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy presented the Pesins with a proclamation honoring the re-enactment.

Behind us in a ferry were about 50 friends and well-wishers, including Morris Pesin's widow Ethel, 93. A quick inspection of the Muhheakunnuk (the Lenape word for the Hudson River) revealed two life jackets for four passengers. Sam and Judy strapped theirs on while Osowski told me, "You would just hold on to your seat cushion to stay afloat."

Oh, OK.

Osowski then swung into the captain's seat, grabbed the oars, and we shoved off for a smooth 23-minute ride. That's 15 minutes longer than Morris Pesin took to show how close the city is to the island, though his was a shorter trip from where the South Cove Bridge now stands.

Sam Pesin remembered that the inspiration for his father's publicity seeking journey was a 1957 family trek to Liberty Island that took two and a half hours from their Van Nostrand Avenue home, via the Holland Tunnel and Battery Park.

Under the Statue of Liberty, 100-year-old Frances Oakley, a school friend of Ethel Pesin, led the Pledge of Allegiance and belted out the National Anthem.

Another friend present was Charles Balzer, who was Morris Pesin's partner for three years in the City Spirit Office, organizing cultural events from the old press room in the basement of City Hall.

"He would do anything for the betterment of Jersey City," Balzer said. "He never tolerated idleness."

Jersey City fire kills 6 puppies
Monday, June 16, 2008

A litter of six puppies perished in a one-alarm fire in a Jersey City home yesterday morning, fire officials said.

The Jersey City Fire Department responded to the fire in a two-story frame building on Spruce Street near Liberty Avenue just after midnight, Fire Director Armando Roman said.

The litter of pups appear to have died from smoke inhalation, reports said.

The fire was brought under control at 12:24 a.m. and caused moderate damage to the property, Roman said.

There were no reports of any other victims and no one was displaced, he said. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

CHARLES HACK

================================

Blaze leaves 2 families homeless

Monday, June 16, 2008

Father's Day went up in smoke for two Jersey City families yesterday as a fire ripped through a two-family house along Kennedy Boulevard and a firefighter injured his shoulder, officials said.

Four adults and four children had to be relocated from 2193 Kennedy Blvd. No one was hurt, said Fire Director Armando Roman.

But firefighter Thomas Rehill, of Ladder Company 8, was treated at the Jersey City Medical Center for a shoulder injury after he fell while fighting the one-alarm blaze, Roman said.

Responding to the wood-frame house at 5:26 p.m., firefighters found heavy smoke toward the rear of the building on the first floor, Roman said.

The house sustained heavy damage because the fire climbed up the staircase to the second floor and up to the cockloft, Roman said.

Fifty firefighters responded to the blaze that was brought under control at 6:23 p.m., he said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Roman said.

CHARLES HACK

Drug rap sentence for murder suspect
Monday, June 16, 2008
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A Jersey City man awaiting trial for the murder of a 26-year-old mother outside a city night club in 2006 faces up to 30 years in prison when he gets sentenced today on unrelated drug charges, officials said.

Damielle Tondee, 25, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to distribute heroin and employing a 15-year-old juvenile to distribute cocaine, officials said.

Tondee still faces charges in the death of Aida Reid, a mother of an 8-year-old, who was caught in the crossfire during a shootout between rival gang members while she waited to enter the Rendezvous nightclub on Martin Luther King Drive on Aug. 20, 2006. The club's name has since been changed to The Penthouse.

Most of the other 11 defendants arrested in September 2006 as a result of the drug probe have pleaded guilty to conspiracy or possession of drugs with intent to distribute, officials said. The drug ring was exposed during the investigation of Reid's murder.

In Reid's death, Tondee is charged with murder, weapons possession and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, officials said. A date for his murder trial will be set after he is sentenced on the drug charges this morning before Superior Court Judge Kevin Callahan, said Assistant Prosecutor Leo Rinaldi.

Police believe Reid was killed in a shootout in which Calvin Clark, 20, Lamont Martin, 26, and Dennis Reid, 32, were shooting at Tondee and he was returning fire at them, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Devarup Rastogi said.

Prosecutors believe Aida Reid and Dennis Reid are cousins.

Clark, who is believed to have fired the gun that killed Aida Reid, has since pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and was sentenced to 18 years in prison, Rastogi said. Martin pleaded guilty to possession of a weapon by a felon and was sentenced to eight years in prison, Rastogi said.

Dennis Reid pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and faces up to 10 years when sentenced, Rastogi said.

bothering?

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Cops: Man shot twice near park

Monday, June 16, 2008

A man was shot twice near Arlington Park Friday night, police reports said.

A 25-year-old man walked into the Jersey City Medical Center around 9:50 p.m. with two gunshot wounds, police said. The Bidwell Avenue resident told police he was at Arlington and Bramhall avenues when he began to chat with a woman who complimented him on the necklace and medallion he was wearing.

As they talked sitting on a ledge, a man with long braids ran toward them. The victim stood up and the man began firing a handgun at him, reports said.

He felt his arm go numb and dropped his cellphone before running for cover, reports said.

The victim then went to his girlfriend's home nearby, who drove him to the hospital, reports said.

The victim was treated for gunshot wounds to the chest and armpit and was released.

Anyone with information should call (201) 547 5245.

CHARLES HACK

Accused of making threats with machete

Monday, June 16, 2008

A truck driver and his passenger were arrested with a cache of machetes on Saturday after they drove over a man's basketball pole and then threatened him with one of the weapons, police reports said.

Blas Moreno, 19, and Alex J. Bonilla, 27, both of Van Nostrand Street, were arrested and charged with weapons possession, reports said.

A Van Horne Street resident told police that a delivery truck ran over the basketball pole in front of his house and when he went up to the driver's door, Bonilla waved a two-foot machete at him through the window.

Police said they found four two-foot machetes in the truck, as well as a one-foot meat cleaver.

CHARLES HACK

Wow classic moments...

Don't be afraid about issuing a warrant for a parking ticket. If it's just one ticket they won't track you down and arrest you. However if they ever stop you and that comes up they'll take you in.

They'll probably go after you if you take too long to pay which at that point you may have your license suspended.

Nothing is worse then getting a boot on your car though, $125! Plus you gotta hitch the bus back to your car and wait for an officer or parking authority to come by.

Sucks that Fulop's ordinance didn't pass, which would of only gave them right to give you a boot if you owe 3+ tickets.

Post office being named for Guarini

Monday, June 16, 2008

Today at 11 a.m., the main post office in Jersey City at 69 Montgomery St. gets named for former New Jersey congressman and state senator Frank J. Guarini.

Born in Jersey City and a graduate of Lincoln High School, Guarini, now a real estate investor, served in Congress from 1979 to 1993, where he was a member of the powerful Ways and Means Committee and the Budget Committee.

Elected to the New Jersey State Senate for two terms, he served on the Appropriations, Environmental and Transportation committees.

As a lieutenant in the Navy Reserves, Guarini saw active combat in the Pacific Theater aboard the USS Mount McKinley.

Guarini holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College and a Juris Doctor and Master of Law degrees from NYU School of Law.

Scheduled to join Guarini at today's dedication are U.S. Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, U.S. Rep. Albio Sires and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy.

JOURNAL STAFF

Sleeping in New Jersey Helps New York Tourists Afford Hotels

By Carlyn Kolker and Oliver Staley

June 16 (Bloomberg) -- One of New York's new luxury hotels tempts guests with skyline views and a 15-minute ride to Midtown, at rates as low as $199 a night.

The catch? The Ravel Hotel isn't in Manhattan. It's across the East River in Queens.

Manhattan's soaring room and occupancy rates are driving guests to hotels being built from Park Slope, Brooklyn, to Long Island City, Queens, to Hoboken, New Jersey. That's helping neighborhoods in the outer four boroughs and towns across the Hudson River stake a claim to more of the $28 billion a year that visitors spend in New York City.

For bargain-minded tourists, these areas offer more affordable access to Manhattan attractions from the Empire State Building to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

``We decided we wanted to spend our money on shows and shopping,'' said Holly Pfeifer, a library assistant from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, who stayed at the Ravel in April. ``It was worth it for us to go to Queens and get a better value.''

They faced room rates that averaged $477 a night in New York City, compared with $220 for all of New York state, in a survey by AAA, the largest U.S. motorist organization. Rooms cost 60 percent more last year than in 2002, according to Smith Travel Research in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

The tide of visitors increased 5 percent to 46 million last year, said NYC & Co., the city tourism agency. They swelled hotel occupancy to 84 percent, Smith Travel said.

Hotels in Works

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., based in White Plains, New York, and InterContinental Hotels Group Plc, based in Windsor, England, are among chains adding hotels on Manhattan's outskirts. Fifty-five hotels are in development in the four outer boroughs and in Hudson County, New Jersey, according to Lodging Econometrics, a hospitality research firm in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

``For many of these locations, it's been years if not decades since they've seen a major influx of commercial hotels,'' said Sean Hennessey, chief executive officer of Lodging Advisors LLC in New York. ``It's a substantial phenomenon.''

Hoboken will get a W Hotel next year. Brooklyn's downtown, Williamsburg and Park Slope are getting boutique hotels. In the Bronx, V3 Hotels is building near where the New York Yankees baseball team is constructing its replacement stadium, said Ben Nash, chief executive officer.

Borough officials nurture the trend. Queens put a tourist bureau in a refurbished subway car to provide information on sites such as the New York Hall of Science and restaurants in Flushing, Jackson Heights and other neighborhoods. The Queens Economic Development Corp. set up a tourism Web site.

Welcoming Queen Mary

In Brooklyn, Borough President Marty Markowitz persuaded Carnival Corp.'s Cunard line to dock the Queen Mary 2 at the renovated Red Hook piers rather than in Manhattan. He backed developer Forest City Ratner Cos. in planning a $4 billion project with a hotel, condominiums, offices and an arena for the New Jersey Nets basketball team, which plans to move to the borough.

New hotels help draw tourists to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and other attractions they might not visit from Manhattan lodgings, Markowitz said.

``There were local restaurants and shops that were enjoyable and that I never would have gone into if I weren't staying in Brooklyn,'' said Anna Stramese, a retired theater professor from Los Angeles.

Accommodations like Brooklyn's Hotel Le Bleu, which opened in November, showcase the transformation of some neighborhoods.

``My image of the outer boroughs was of drug dealers,'' said Patrick Stern, 28, an accountant from Madison, Wisconsin, who stayed at the Le Bleu. ``I didn't expect the upscale neighborhoods.''

Macy's, Museum

Other visitors remain focused on Manhattan even when they're not sleeping there. Pfeifer's group of eight didn't use their seven-day trip to explore Queens. Instead, they took the subway to Manhattan for shopping at Macy's in Herald Square, dinner at Patsy's Pizzeria and a visit to the American Museum of Natural History.

``I would love to come back and do just a Queens trip,'' and sample food from its ethnic restaurants, said Pfeifer, 47.

Vincent Roy, 27, an electrical engineer from Lyon, France, said he enjoyed Brooklyn's eateries during a monthlong business trip when he stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Park Slope. When it came time for sightseeing, he headed for Central Park and Chinatown.

``Manhattan is Manhattan: It's the place that most people want to be, whether it's perception or reality,'' said Joseph Spinnato, chief executive of the Hotel Association of New York City. Hotels ringing the city may have to overcome an image of being also-rans, he said.

Stamp of Approval

Getting a hotel is ``almost a validation that a community has arrived,'' said Matthew Ouimet, president of Starwood, the third-largest U.S. hotel company. Starwood plans hotels for Hoboken, Brooklyn and Queens.

Ravi Patel, 34, who owns the Ravel, is luring guests with amenities such as free shuttle service and a rooftop bar. The hotel sits beneath the Queensboro Bridge and overlooks a power plant.

He said he's counting on European tourists who find the dollar exchange rate a bargain.

``They are used to staying in a more edgy area,'' he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Carlyn Kolker in New York at ckolker@bloomberg.net; Oliver Staley in New York at ostaley@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: June 16, 2008 00:02 EDT

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pi ... d=aY9P3saMpLWg&refer=home

I feel confident that everyone involved is fully aware that it is a cover-up. My question is are there going to be consequences as a result of the conditions and the closedown of the facilities and/or what's to happen to Mr. Carbajales? Will he go on as if nothing happened and carry-on in a profession he clearly has no business in...

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Yeah, great, but scooter still needs to get them then from NYC to JC which is another $40 taxi charge which = $85 total one way before luggage charge, extra passenger charges to JC, etc.

I doubt his passengers want to schlep luggage onto the World Trade PATH back here unless their without luggage or utes.

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As I said before:

[quote] BrightMoment on 2008/6/15 19:05:52

One way from JC to JFK runs from $75 at least plus tolls. You're better off renting a suv as was suggested.[/quote

I'm assuming that you are replying to my post. You seem to be claiming that a developer entered into a deal with the city that meant they were paying more than the normal tax rates in their PILOT and that this disadvantaged them so they want out.

The reason that I see a developer entering into a PILOT with JC that involved paying more than current tax rates is to insure that they (or the condo owners) won't be subject to uncontrollable tax increases in the future. That is essentially a form of insurance and the notion that a developer should get both lower current tax rates and a guarantee of minimal (or no) tax increases runs counter to the normal expectation that one pays for insurance.

Finally, if JC got the better of a developer I see no reason that the city should go back on their freely negotiated contract to benefit the developer at the expense of the taxpayers.

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Ok, so I was bored.... Plus its kind of fun when walking around JC. Kind of like bird watching.