Yvonne wrote:
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Walters wrote:
I don't know what the details are but I've been in the Loews a couple of times . It would be a great place to see a concert . With the PATH across the street it would do well in the hands of good promoter. As it is now , it's not doing anything for anyone except FOL who treat it like your Italian grandmother's living room . Look but don't touch .

The problem is the city not FOL, the city refuses to give money for some improvements. FOL manages the place but the city owns the theater and only the owner can put money into the theater. If the city can afford to give merit raises and raise the base pay for the fire chief and other personnel it can afford to spend some dollars on basic maintenance.

JCMan8 wrote:
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Frank_M wrote:
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JCGuys wrote:
I think I read that this building which subsequently approved, which is great news and means our city council doesn't pander to a minority of illogical loud mouths.

The only pandering is by speculative housing developers to young urbanites.

Also known as catering to their customers. You say this like it's a bad thing.

Yvonne wrote:
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LimpiarElSucio wrote:
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Yvonne wrote:
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LimpiarElSucio wrote:
then go become a developer. since you can do things cheaper than they can you can competitively cut them out and rake it in.

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Yvonne wrote:
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hero69 wrote:
well, i guess if it falls within the jsq redevelopment area nd that area qualifies for 30 year abatements, i can't really object BUT perhaps the city should start scaling back abatements in jsq to 10 year

When the economy was soft, Kennedy Lofts, asked for a 15 year abatement, Healy gave them 12 years. Kennedy Lofts is the old Welfare building in Journal Square. The economy is great today and now we are granting them 30 years, 18 more years than under Healy. I don't buy this. Journal Square is prime property.

Developers take the risks and receive the rewards. This should not involve taxpayers subsidizing them. When they sell their property, usually 2 or 3 years later, the public does not receive the benefit because the abatement is transferred. Besides, who is bailing out the 2,300 people in lien for 2013? The answer is no one.

Developers build properties for their own benefit, not the benefit of a community. When development is isolated to one part of a city, only one part of the city benefits from development. The other part(s) get little to nothing and you have the tale of two cities continue to widen. Since government cannot force developers where to build it is limited to enticing them... Pilots reduce some varieties of risk so that the opportunity cost of developing in riskier markets is reduced, and the "love can be spread."


Markets are constantly changing, week to week, month to month, year to year, and certainly decade to decade. You cannot possibly believe that just because 1 developer (out of thousands) decided to build something 20 years ago that it means all, or even any, developers would be able to justify development in the same area today. Its just not rational to hold that belief.

There is nothing in the city charter saying regular taxpayers should subsidize development. In fact, when the law was originally passed, it targeted property no one wanted. These abatements went to downtown where developers were paying $5 and $10 million for the plot in the 1990s. Journal Square is prime property, the fact Kennedy Lofts got a 12 abatement when the market was soft shows 30 years are not necessary.

JCGuys wrote:
I love it! Hypocrites that claim they are for development and building a stronger Jersey City until development is proposed in their own backyard. It's the same thing with the Hilltop people up in Journal Square. Literally 100 yards from the PATH station and 20 yards from one of the tallest buildings in Jersey City but would rather the site stay a parking lot.

I wonder if this is the mindset of those against this development: I spent a lot of money to live in this historic district, and I'll be damned if I let anyone else move in nearby that didn't pay as much as me. Cry me a river.

bodhipooh wrote:
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JadedJC wrote:
Very ironic proposal in a country where asking a restaurant for a doggie bag is frowned upon.

More or less along the same vein, I once came across a supremely ironic line that really captures the dichotomy of this here in the US:

In the US we are fighting a war on both hunger and obesity.

PS - And, to make the topic more "local", consider this: the South Bronx is widely considered to have some of the most severe hunger-related problems, as well as one of the highest rates of obesity in the US.

bodhipooh wrote:
I think this is a misguided gesture by the French Assembly. While it is true that there is a lot of wasted food in the world, you can't just address that issue by forcing supermarkets to donate food that is already spoiled. Certainly, some food past its stated/printed expiration date is still safe to eat/consume, but that also gets tricky. As for putting the onus of food safety on the consumer, I think that is a slippery slope. Once you make it possible/legal for a consumer to buy expired item, what is next? "Hey, this fish is slightly spoiled, but hey, season it well, and it will taste ok" or "you can buy food from this section where it is prepared with clean utensils, and stored in clean containers, or you can buy from this other section, where utensils and containers are washed weekly, and the employees don't have to bother with gloves, hair nets, etc., and we pass on the savings to you!". Food safety is here for good reasons, some of them historical ones that people fail to grasp.

As for supermarkets in the US, you are always free to go dumpster diving. Or, the modern, urban version, which is essentially free outdoors shopping. What do I mean? Go to any Trader Joe's and figure out the date/time when they put out their trash of "expired" meats, chicken, groceries, etc. I have seen people line up at the TJs on Atlantic Avenue, right after closing (on trash collection nights) when they put out their bins with expired food. It is like shopping outdoors. People go through the contents of the bins and walk away with perfectly good food that happens to be "expired". Sometimes I see it as something sad, and sometimes I see it as savvy people that are saving a ton of money.

jklm wrote:
Isn't it called Columbus Drive, not Avenue?

tommyc_37 wrote:
Any more details on the look of the South House interior?

SRhia wrote:
The carriage house in the back is on the market. Looks so cute!!!

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SRhia wrote:
Looks like they're having an "investor day/tour" at 237 Montgomery Str. Initially I thought it was an open house (door open, lady with balloons on stoop), so I asked if I could go in and take a look. Nope, for investors only - most people there are in suits, or shirts with ties.

Apparently, there's a small "carriage house" in the back of the house (sitting at the end of the empty lot next door). It's a 2-bed and and 2-bath. It was renovated by Dixon as well, and will be on the market shortly (separate entrance from 237 MOntgomery).

Imagine how great this whole thing (brownstone up front + carriage house in the back, plus a small yard) would be for a family. DROOLING!!!!!!!!

tommyc_37 wrote:
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hero69 wrote:
does anyone know what is going up at 225 bay street?

It's condos, similar to The Gannon on First Street (emulating 19th Century rowhouses).

brewster wrote:
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/ ... j_senate_president_s.html

I wonder who's lining Sweeneys pockets? Sadly we see this blindered politics all the the time. "The world does not exist beyond our borders, there's no examples or data out there to prove an idea right or wrong".

moobycow wrote:
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bodhipooh wrote:

There is SO MUCH WRONG with your post. There is no such thing as a successful program to reduce gun violence in Chicago.

Just this past weekend, they had 47 people shot and wounded, and 2 homicides. That's 1 person per hour. You call that a success?? If anyone wants to see what a hellhole Chicago has become (which shows no sign of improving, or abating) check out this site, which is tracking the mayhem in the Windy City:
.

And yet that hellhole is not even in the top ten in the US, nor is it really getting worse (kind of stagnated at about the same level in 04 and half of the highest rate, with '12 ticking up a bit but subsequent years back down to that 04 baseline).

Saying it's become a hellhole is a bit inflammatory when it's hovering right around the lowest murder rate it has had in the last 45 years or so.

Chicago has a lot of issues, but it's hard to make the case that it has been getting significantly worse in recent years.

http://heyjackass.com/yearly-murder-trend-1957-2013/

bodhipooh wrote:
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hero69 wrote:
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bodhipooh wrote:
My one complaint about LSP is the lack of shade trees. I think the park would be much more inviting and pleasant for visitors if it had shaded areas and bigger trees. The northern area with grills is devoid of those and, if the Sun is out in full force, it can get pretty harsh. As for unpaved roads, I have NO IDEA what Boggiano is referring to, as the main North-South roads (Freedom Way and Phillip St) are both fairly smooth and well paved. Audrey Zapp is (thankfully) a brick road, which forces people to slow down as they enter the park. If anything, I wish they would turn Freedom Way into a brick road!! People LOVE to speed on Freedom Way (I run on it, and it can be scary at times) but the Park Police barely bothers enforcing speed limits.

i agree about the lack of shade trees and have complained about that before, but someone pointed out that there are no/few trees due to ground contamination.

I don't buy that explanation, hero69. If the ground was so contaminated, it wouldn't be open to the public. And, there ARE trees planted all over the park, just small trees and in areas that are not necessarily where people would congregate (perimeter of grass areas, etc.). The last time I brought this up, I was told that the trees that are planted are expected to grow and become shade trees. Well, it's been nine years since I arrived in JC, and those trees are sure taking a long time to become shade trees. :)

They really should have invested in, and planted, more mature, fuller trees. As for the rest of the park, I am actually quite impressed with it. It is kept remarkably clean (during weekends, you often see cleaning crews walking around checking on the garbage cans and emptying them out) and I do like the overall size and wide open spaces. I agree with everything Monroe said (admin building is indeed very clean) and the only thing I would add to my wish list is for a small launch ramp in the northern area for people to be able to launch a kayak or canoe.

fat-ass-bike wrote:
In past 15 - 20 years, local and state governments have implemented changes to planning legislation and regulations, signalling a shift towards high-density city housing and away from developing satellite cities and town, in order to ease the cost of maintaining or expanding the suburban infrastructure base.

As a result, consideration has not been given to how these policies might impact on levels of crime; fear of crime and to mitigate unwanted anti-social behavior within these high-rise communities.

I have witnessed and seen these 'luxury' complexes experience some of the same anti-social behavior and crime issues as the downtown housing projects of yesteryear - The only difference is that arguments are taken to the Courts at great cost for those involved but what these luxury apartments have become to the broader community, is a beacon of wealth to be pryed on. I'm hearing it's becoming of big problem but it's kept quiet!

bodhipooh wrote:
My one complaint about LSP is the lack of shade trees. I think the park would be much more inviting and pleasant for visitors if it had shaded areas and bigger trees. The northern area with grills is devoid of those and, if the Sun is out in full force, it can get pretty harsh. As for unpaved roads, I have NO IDEA what Boggiano is referring to, as the main North-South roads (Freedom Way and Phillip St) are both fairly smooth and well paved. Audrey Zapp is (thankfully) a brick road, which forces people to slow down as they enter the park. If anything, I wish they would turn Freedom Way into a brick road!! People LOVE to speed on Freedom Way (I run on it, and it can be scary at times) but the Park Police barely bothers enforcing speed limits.

Erobinsonh wrote:
The matter of 375 Fifth Street is back before the Zoning Board this week - 2 days from now, on Thursday evening. They haven't posted their agenda online yet - http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/zoningboardagenda/ - but the meeting is scheduled for Thursday (May 21) at 6:30pm at City Hall.

After a bad start to last month's proposal for a 7-story, 19-apartment building on an R1 lot, the owner of 375 5th St has a month to regroup, and has submitted a 6-story, 17 apartment proposal, still with no parking.

They are entitled to 3 stories, 65% lot coverage - they are asking for twice the number of stories and approximately 90% lot coverage (the other 10% is for space around the the windows of the adjoining building).

When they met with the Village Neighborhood Association, they were told that the VNA was willing to compromise and support a 4-story, 90% coverage building, but they chose to go ahead with their 6-story request.

So several of us from the VNA are planning to attend the Zoning meeting on Thursday - and anyone else who wants to oppose this proposal (or support it!) should come to the 2nd floor of City Hall as well. The participation of the neighborhood can really make a difference.

Please join us! Showing up in great numbers has a huge impact, and is the key to defeating this proposal.

fat-ass-bike wrote: Quote:

iGreg wrote: Quote:

Councilman Rich Boggiano

Let's refer to him as "Dick" for convenience: Dick makes a fair point about the park not having decent amenities but the absurd notion of handing it over to a private entity is well in line with his whiny comments about any productive progress within Jersey City approving large scale development projects.

I concur he is a Dick

EasyGibson wrote:
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hero69 wrote:
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JCMan8 wrote:
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hero69 wrote:
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Monroe wrote:
Another drive by was reported last month as I recall. It's too bad, because if the area cleaned up it could be quite nice.

i agree the area could be quite nice..but nothing will change until the government stats locking away these felons for 20-30 years

Then we will hear more cries of racism.

i think the police need to respect everyone's consitutional rights, but if one is caught with weapons (maybe they get sometype of approval before stop and frisk) or have metal detectors or body scanners)...anyway, i read somehwere that 70% of the murders in chicago are committed by african-americans who comprise only 33% of chicago's population, and we knew that it is mostly men who commit murders..so 17% of the population doing 67% of the killing

So we'd put the "body scanners" in the park?

JCMan8 wrote:
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hero69 wrote:
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Monroe wrote:
Another drive by was reported last month as I recall. It's too bad, because if the area cleaned up it could be quite nice.

i agree the area could be quite nice..but nothing will change until the government stats locking away these felons for 20-30 years

Then we will hear more cries of racism.

user1111 wrote:
By Jonathan D. Salant | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com


President Obama came to this New Jersey city on Monday to "hold you up as a symbol of promise for the nation."

"This city is on to something," Obama said in a speech before almost 300 people at the Salvation Army's Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center, which offers programs for recreation, performing arts, early childhood and job training.

Obama acknowledged the improvements in the crime rate, the increased number of police on the streets, and the relationships that the officers are building with community residents.

Still, "no one is suggesting that the job is done," the president said. "It's still a work in progress."

The president's appearance comes at a time when several unarmed black men have been killed at the hands of police in communities across the U.S.

Story

Monroe wrote:
Another drive by was reported last month as I recall. It's too bad, because if the area cleaned up it could be quite nice.

Yvonne wrote:
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caj11 wrote:
Does anyone know the ordinance number, and where we can see the text of this ordinance? I looked at this past week's council agenda and all the ordinances and I cannot find it.

There are two ordinances related to this, the first one is the definition - 15.052 and the second one is the adoption - 15.053.

jcman420 wrote:
Grabbed a drink on the roof deck bar and it's pretty nice. However, I have to say... 8 bucks for a plastic cup of beer? Seriously? I'm no cheapskate, but that is pretty goddamned expensive for a bar in Jersey City.

Hell, I'd even find an 8-buck beer slightly on the high side at a nice bar in NYC or London.