JCMan8 wrote:
From the article:

"The proposal marks a shift from a policy Fulop, a regular critic of Downtown tax breaks when he was a councilman, implemented in December 2013 that he said at the time would shift long-term abatements away from the lucrative Downtown to other areas of the city."

What a surprise. Councilman Fulop says one thing (very loudly), Mayor Fulop does another.

pacoYtaco wrote:
Clearly the Port Authority does not care about their NJ riders.

At night time the trains are packed and stop in Hoboken first, sometimes sitting at the station for an extra 10 minutes.

The trains already run infrequently. There is obviously a demand for more service but they'd rather pack us up like sardines in a can.

I often walk from the Upper West Side to WTC to save myself the headache of being in a packed train since the NYC subway is packed along the line that runs to where I want to go, but at least it comes more often at night.

The Metrocard machines at Grove are often out of new cards or won't accept payments after 5PM on a weekday, which for some of us is when we're going to the city whether it be for work or other things. It's still costing us time and money nonetheless.

If only they allowed bicycles through the tunnel, but I'm sure they'd find a way to charge us for the smoggy air to breathe.

the1jonc wrote:
Astor Pl will keep rising.

Simple reasons.

1) Great Housess/Potential

2) I sold a house around the corner and lost a lot of $$. It is a sure sign that the neighborhood will take offas soon as I get out.

3) Monticello Ave. This street is an enigma in the NYC metro area. Where else is there a street with so many empty store fronts.

dtjcview wrote:
Quote:

hero69 wrote:
Quote:

dtjcview wrote:
I'd quote Michael Lewis "Those who say don't know, those who know don't say?.

Sites like motleyfool and seekingalpha will give you better investment ideas than random folks from JC. And the best investment advice needs to be tailored to your personal situation. Turbotax is a better source than Starbucks.

Get a good FA if you need one.

dtjcview, you should answer the question which has nothing to do with getting a fa or using seeking alpha or motley fool. I personally do not know of any investing groups.

Posting what you don't know isn't particularly constructive...

Getting a good local FA might be the best way to getting an intro to a local investment club if there are any. But I'd treat such clubs like the local office lottery pool - you're much better off getting professional advice on serious investments and tax planning.

dtjcview wrote:
I'd quote Michael Lewis "Those who say don't know, those who know don't say?.

Sites like motleyfool and seekingalpha will give you better investment ideas than random folks from JC. And the best investment advice needs to be tailored to your personal situation. Turbotax is a better source than Starbucks.

Get a good FA if you need one.

jctexan wrote:
http://www.hobokenjerseycityrealestatemarketblog.com

kencares wrote:
All backyards and courtyards should be banned for commercial use. It's a nightmare living above a bar or restaurant with patrons shouting and smoking and playing music all day and night. Keep it inside or out front. Give us some peace out back!

geniusofthecrowd wrote:
I tried to go with my wife and a friend last night around 9pm. We couldn't get past the door, all the guy could tell us was they were at capacity. So i asked if there is a list, a wait? And he just said sorry, we are at capacity and the kitchen closes at 9:30pm.

Yeah I get they just opened, but give me something, he didn't even give a hint that we could drink at the bar when some people come out.

I'm from Texas and I just wasn't feelin the southern hospitality on my first visit, so it irked me some. But whatever, I guess they just need to train their employees to not turn away business, will try them again next week.

JCman24 wrote:
The thing that really bothers me about this (having read the report found here http://goo.gl/Blo2Y0) is the total smear job they're trying to run on 202 York. I feel bad for whoever lives there. From page 8:

This three-story, five-unit multifamily building is in poor condition. The exterior has a rear yard, strewn with trash and surrounded by a chain-link fence that is falling down.
Inside, the building is dark, cramped, and lacks proper life safety updates.
The generality of the building is of substandard design with small inefficient units. An exterior survey reveals a minimally maintained building
with unidentifiable opening for possible venting and un-repaired patching.
Loose and hanging wires, and wired entering and exiting the center, side and front walls. While the vinyl siding appears new, it is impossible to determine
the true condition of what it covers underneath. The visible fa?ade that remains is a mix of stucco, brick face, tile and concrete.
The rear of the building, although it does contain a metal fire escape, requires some repairs to insure it is closed and secure. In its current state it appears to be
approaching dilapidation and obsolescence. It possesses characteristics of lacking light, air, and space, in a manner conducive to unwholesome living conditions.
Multiple windows are blocked by in window air-conditioning units, the front yard, contain as vent within the ROW indicating the presence of some
underground utility serving the building but within the City ROW. The chimney appears to need re-pointing.
Both the front and the back of the building contain an undersized person door non-compliant to current building code or safety design standards.
This site can be found to meet criteria "a" as an "area in need of redevelopment."

This describes 90% of the low rise housing stock in Downtown Jersey City. This building actually looks nicer than mine from the outside! Crappy fences and poorly installed Comcast/Fios wires do not justify the taking of property by the city for the benefit of a developer.

WhoElseCouldIBe wrote:
Quote:

hero69 wrote:
Quote:

WhoElseCouldIBe wrote:
Quote:

hero69 wrote:
Quote:

WhoElseCouldIBe wrote:
Quote:

hero69 wrote:
Quote:

WhoElseCouldIBe wrote:
Quote:

hero69 wrote:
Quote:

Walters wrote:
Chapter 9 will allow for a organized debt restructuring . Puerto Rico as their Governor has stated cannot pay its debts . An organized debt restructure initially for some of their public corporations such as PREPA will allow PR to modernize their electrical systems . Otherwise they will just stop paying .

prepa has been mismanged for years. puerto rico should give prepa to the bondholders or sell it to a private entity that can better manage prepa.

puerto rico can repay its debts.....the fact is that the governor is taking the easy, politically expedient way out. six months ago, padilla said that pr could repay, and then it hired some judge who obviously is going to claim that puerto rico can not pay; the governor is the paymaster.

puerto rico needs some type of oversight to cut the fat and raise revenue, and if that is insufficient then maybe puerto rico might deserve some type of haircut.

interesting article from reuters, stating that puerto rico is only capturing 56% of its taxes due.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02 ... ax-evaders_n_4818197.html

PR's debt per capita is 16K per capita. GBP per capital was 16K in 2010 (and this includes government spending). What makes you think this can be paid back?

nah...puerto rico's debt can be paid back. stop the tax evasion, sell prepa, cut pensions benefit (fyi, interest payments to bondholders are EXPLICITLY given preference over pension payments, education payments in the bond indentures)

why doesn't puerto rico sell prepa or give it to the bondholders if it can't pay? damn, i hate that i'm sounding like a republican! or maybe rahm emanuel! i am hopeful that congress will not allow chapter 9 for puerto rico...san juan and pr's other ugly cities, perhaps, but not for the commonwealth.

Show your math

pr's debt does not need to be paid all at once. if puerto rico better managed its finances, reduced MASSIVE tax evasion and reduced headcount, closed schools, etc, then its debts could be paid back. puerto rico is no detroit!

http://www.hjsims.com/news-views/inve ... nd-payments/#.VZ1bVvnF964

Show your math

hey, why don't you show your math! simply stating that pr has $16,000 in debt per head does not mean that PR's debt is unpayable. and why should debtholders be resposnible for PR's lack of responsibility!

pr is almost like greece - wanting another debt haircut (#3) before they institute reforms. It should reform first and then get any debt haircut that are needed

If the debt was sustainable/payable, then PR bonds wouldn't have junk status.

Pebble wrote:
Quote:

ianmac47 wrote:
Quote:

Pebble wrote:
Quote:

hero69 wrote:
the vat tax should help improve tax collections

Should and Will are words with vastly different definitions. If you've ever lived somewhere with a flat tax or very high sales tax, you'll know that it doesn't actually work very well.

If you ever lived somewhere with a VAT tax, you would know that its regularly collected and funds services like public healthcare.

Not that you probably bothered to read up on what VAT tax is or how it works or why it works before maligning it, but VATs are very difficult to cheat, and when there are tax cheats, its a very small portion of the tax. Because Value Added Tax is added incrementally along the supply chain, no single tax cheat can deprive the state of a large amount of revenue. Also, because each collected tax is very small, the impact of a single tax cheat along the supply chain is very limited and there is much less of a competitive advantage to cheating the system.

I lived in St. Kitts. It isn't that hard to cheat...

Pebble wrote:
Quote:

bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

Pebble wrote:

Meanwhile, Puerto Rico is demonstrating why the flat taxers are wrong. Of course, this goes without saying since St. Kitts and Nevis prove flat taxers wrong as well as every single other place place on the planet that has tried to implement the sales tax only policy.

Such facts should remove just about every Republican from being considered for president, yet...

What are you talking about!? Puerto Rico does not solely rely on sales tax.

They don't. However, they pretty much went from a 3% rate to an 13% rate. The dramatic rate increase flushed products into the black market and overall expected increase in tax revenue did not quite pan out.

Walters wrote:
There was a politician from Illinois that was being prosecuted for taking bribes from a Arizona based RLC co. During the investigation it was revealed that the company also paid a bribe to a NJ politician . I've never read anywhere who that NJ pol was or if our appointed AG ever persued it. But beware of the politician who yells loudest for the return of RLC's

Stringer wrote:

Jersey City assigns new officers to walking posts in 2 districts

By Amanda Eisenberg | The Jersey Journal The Jersey Journal
July 08, 2015 at  5:32 PM

JERSEY CITY -- In an effort to enhance public safety and improve community relations in two districts troubled by a recent spate of violence, the city's police department has assigned its newest crop of officers to walking posts in those neighborhoods.

All 32 newly sworn-in officers recently completed training to monitor walking posts located along Martin Luther King Drive, Bergen Avenue, Ocean Avenue, Monticello Avenue and Rutgers Avenue, which span the South and West districts of Jersey City.

Each district has received 16 new officers, city officials said. 

Mayor Steven Fulop, Public Safety Director James Shea and Police Chief Philip Zacche collaborated on the initiative in effort to achieve stronger community relations and provide increased security at night.

Read more:  http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... sts_for_cops_to_patr.html

ianmac47 wrote:
Quote:

hero69 wrote:
so now i see that hilary clinton is in favor of letting msi-managed puerto rico file for chapter 9 which is only available to municipalities. if illinois can not file for chapter 9, why should puerto rico be able to while it also gets benefit of being able to offer lower rates on its debt since interest on pr debt is triple tax free (another subsidy).

one would have thought democrats would have learned something. most of pr's economy is underground and the pr government needs to find a way to tax this.

anyway, if democrats keep up with nonsense of letting pr file bankruptcy, they will be even more in the minority come 2016.

Yes, you would have thought that Democrats have learned something, like an unregulated bank industry leads to financial chaos. Something like big banks are not going looking out for the best interests of people. Something like there is a place for government to regulate large corporations that control vast amounts of wealth. Fortunately, there is a candidate running for the Democratic nomination who claims to be interested in limiting the power and size of banks and putting people ahead of corporations. That candidate isn't Hilary Clinton.

ambar35 wrote:
Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States and has been so recognized as such by the United Nations for decades while the independence movement in Puerto Rico has always been a target of U.S. government repression. The people of Puerto Rico are owed reparations for the ecological and social devastation they have suffered since the first U.S. troops came ashore on July 25, 1898. And the vulture hedge funds that want to take over the island should not be paid anything.

WhoElseCouldIBe wrote:
Quote:

hero69 wrote:
Quote:

WhoElseCouldIBe wrote:
Quote:

hero69 wrote:
Quote:

WhoElseCouldIBe wrote:
Quote:

hero69 wrote:
Quote:

Walters wrote:
Chapter 9 will allow for a organized debt restructuring . Puerto Rico as their Governor has stated cannot pay its debts . An organized debt restructure initially for some of their public corporations such as PREPA will allow PR to modernize their electrical systems . Otherwise they will just stop paying .

prepa has been mismanged for years. puerto rico should give prepa to the bondholders or sell it to a private entity that can better manage prepa.

puerto rico can repay its debts.....the fact is that the governor is taking the easy, politically expedient way out. six months ago, padilla said that pr could repay, and then it hired some judge who obviously is going to claim that puerto rico can not pay; the governor is the paymaster.

puerto rico needs some type of oversight to cut the fat and raise revenue, and if that is insufficient then maybe puerto rico might deserve some type of haircut.

interesting article from reuters, stating that puerto rico is only capturing 56% of its taxes due.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02 ... ax-evaders_n_4818197.html

PR's debt per capita is 16K per capita. GBP per capital was 16K in 2010 (and this includes government spending). What makes you think this can be paid back?

nah...puerto rico's debt can be paid back. stop the tax evasion, sell prepa, cut pensions benefit (fyi, interest payments to bondholders are EXPLICITLY given preference over pension payments, education payments in the bond indentures)

why doesn't puerto rico sell prepa or give it to the bondholders if it can't pay? damn, i hate that i'm sounding like a republican! or maybe rahm emanuel! i am hopeful that congress will not allow chapter 9 for puerto rico...san juan and pr's other ugly cities, perhaps, but not for the commonwealth.

Show your math

pr's debt does not need to be paid all at once. if puerto rico better managed its finances, reduced MASSIVE tax evasion and reduced headcount, closed schools, etc, then its debts could be paid back. puerto rico is no detroit!

http://www.hjsims.com/news-views/inve ... nd-payments/#.VZ1bVvnF964

Show your math

jerseymom wrote:
Here is the text of the petition:

Prato Bakery is suffering. A neighbor who lives next door to the business has placed a complaint against the bakery, stopping the preparation of a community back garden, and forcing the bakery to remove all of their tables and chairs as of this morning while the dispute is resolved. This issue places strain on the business and it threatens not only its survival, but the thriving of the community.

Prato is a lovely little neighborhood hub, in the heart of the Jersey City, that offers as uniquely warm atmosphere and is frequented by neighbors and families.

We want to ask the community to support this petition to keep Prato Bakery open, and to encourage Steve Fulop (Mayor of Jersey City) to take action in defending a small business that adds a lot of value and vibrance to a rapidly flourishing community.

(This is utterly ridiculous. This guy expanded from NYC and chose Jersey City to move his business to. He worked for a year to open this place. He is a great guy and a great addition to the JC community. Bakeries do not have a great margin to begin with - impeding business like this could be very harmful. As 3rd noted, what's the real story here?)

Walters wrote:
Sending me links from HJ Sims ? Drill a little deeper on Richard Larkin he has been wrong for over 2 yrs now on PR . HJ Sims is in the ass covering mode on PR .

user1111 wrote:
This is why we can't have nice things.. a bunch of complainers, that want a suburb feel in a downtown area. Idiots!