It is telling, to me, that what should be viewed as an improvement, is being eyed with suspicion by city government.

Developer scales back abatement
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

In a move that has city officials nervous, a Downtown developer is bowing out of 20-year tax abatement deal with the city in favor of a five-year deal.

Schenkman Kushner, builder of Grove Pointe II at the corner of Grove Street and Christopher Columbus Drive, has dropped its 20-year deal with the city, and instead has negotiated a five-year phase-in plan to pay full conventional taxes.

According to James McCann, the developer's attorney, Schenkman Kushner would have paid the city $200,000 to $300,000 more per year under the 20-year abatement deal than it would by simply paying conventional taxes.

It's the first time McCann - who works for several major developers in the city, including the LeFrak Organization - could remember a developer bowing out of a long-term tax abatement.

City officials cherish tax abatements since the "payment in lieu of taxes" paid by the developer all goes to the city. Conventional taxes are split with the county and school system.

"A five-year abatement sounds right to the public, but it doesn't really help Jersey City financially," said City Council President Mariano Vega, at Monday's caucus meeting.

The city raked in $80 million this year in PILOTs, perhaps the biggest source of revenue for its $420 million budget.

The council is scheduled to vote tonight on Grove Pointe II's five-year abatement. The 458-unit market rate rental project is scheduled to open this summer.

When the original abatement was negotiated in 2004, the city's ratio - the rate properties are assessed at compared to their true value - was roughly 51 percent; and the PILOT was based on 16 percent of the project's gross annual revenues, city officials.

But the current ratio in the city is 28 percent, which means a $100,000 home is taxed as if were worth $28,000, city officials said.

The steep drop in the ratio made the 20-year abatement - which the developer has the right to walk away from - untenable," McCann said.

To get the five-year phase-in deal with the city, the developer agreed to forgive a $1.6 million tax abatement "pre-payment" to the city. The city also received a $750,000 contribution for its affordable housing trust fund.

The best dentist in JC is:

Nancy Hanna DMD

Hours - (Please confirm) Mon 8am-6pm, Tue 8am-6pm, Fri 8am-5pm, Sat 8am-2pm
Address - 26 Journal Square Suite 800, Jersey City, New Jersey ( NJ ) 07306
Telephone - (201) 433-0773

My family of 5, have been going to her for 19 years, including all 3 of my kids since they were toddlers, they love her.

Great touch - highly competent.

Quote:

Back to the original topic - I found this in the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/rea ... 88&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

In the Region | New Jersey
Both Ultramodern and Dated
Paul Hawthorne for The New York Times
INDUSTRIAL FLAVOR A model apartment at CanCo Lofts in Jersey City, which will ultimately have 500 condos.

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By ANTOINETTE MARTIN
Published: April 22, 2007
JERSEY CITY

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Paul Hawthorne for The New York Times
A detail of the building?s Art Deco exterior.
THE American Can Company factory building here ? which was the birthplace of the modern American beer can ? is undergoing conversion into more than 500 condominium lofts that will retain a distinct industrial flavor, spiked with ultramodernity.

The new condos will have a look that is both retro and sleek, according to architects from SBLM of Manhattan, the company hired by the developer, Coalco New York, to transform the million-square-foot Art Deco-era industrial building.

Its classic factory elements, like ceilings that soar up to 24 feet and concrete columns as big around as giant redwoods, will be set off by white-lacquered kitchen cabinetry, wide-plank white-oak flooring and stone countertops in every unit, said David Nicholson of SBLM.

?It has been quite fascinating working on an adaptive reuse like this,? Mr. Nicholson said. ?The building has such strong character of its own, and we are trying to play to that, honor that, while at the same time going to the cutting edge with the apartment designs.?

A separate architecture firm, LOT-EK of Manhattan, was hired to create a ?destination? lobby at the condominium project, called CanCo Lofts. It has come up with a startling low-tech-high-tech design that combines stacked lumber used as benches and ?ceiling sculptures?; a wall decorated with industrial piping; extensive glass; and two dozen plasma television screens that will show live scenes of the Manhattan skyline as well as community news flashes.

?This wall will truly be a spectacle,? said Giuseppe Ligano of LOT-EK, describing the wall of piping as reminiscent of a Chinese screen. It will be lighted from behind so that from across the room the piping appears as stripes on an interior wall.

The TV screens mounted on the wall may be viewed as art in addition to their role as instruments of communication, Mr. Ligano said. ?For one thing, they can be used creatively to repeat the view of New York, so that it seems to be everywhere in the room, or splitting it into fragments so the screens make a whole ?painting? or to produce a panorama.?

In addition, five ?conversation areas? will be created around the lumber benches, whose seating section will be wrapped in leather. The lobby will also have a mailroom, with desks for opening mail.

The CanCo building is a natural haven for commuters ? nine blocks from Journal Square and a PATH station, from which passengers can reach Wall Street in less than 15 minutes. So the screens will also constantly report on weather and traffic, said Edward Yorukoff, marketing director of Coalco New York, a division of Coalco International, a diversified development company based in Russia.

Coalco will open sales next month on the first 100 loft units. Construction has begun after a long phase of environmental cleanup at the property and completion of a sales lobby and model kitchens, baths and a loft space, Mr. Yorukoff said.

One-, two- and three-bedroom units will be offered at prices ranging from the high $200,000s to the upper $600,000s, Mr. Yorukoff said. The apartments come with garage parking, numerous amenities and shuttle service to the PATH train.

The first residents could move in by the end of the year, he said.

The building, which was shut down as a can factory in the 1970s and has mostly been empty since then, is a local landmark. With its five towers, tall smokestacks and stone Deco details, the brick structure is part of a historic industrial district established by the city.

The developers have picked up on the theme with a piece of artwork installed inside the sales lobby?s front door: a wall-hung sculpture composed of paint cans of a type once manufactured on the site.

The building?s facade will be completely renovated, according to Coalco?s president, Mikhail Kurnev.

The lofts will be designed to be exceptionally large and roomy, he said, with period 14-foot ceilings ? 17 feet to 24 feet on upper floors ? and eight-foot-high doors, plus the oversize windows typical of old factories. The baths will have oversize showers and soaking tubs, glass mosaic tile on the walls and cove lighting.

A 10,000-square-foot residents? club will feature a large fitness center, a yoga and Pilates studio and a half court for basketball. In addition, the community will offer a children?s play center, screening room, pet park and pet spa, game room for billiards and video games and an event room with an outside terrace.

The building?s basement, formerly a rail station, will become a residents? parking garage, accessible by elevator, Mr. Kurnev said.

LOT-EK, the lobby designer, is also designing a garden area outside the lobby, which will have a glass wall on the garden side. Although the setting for CanCo Lofts, situated at 50 Dey Street just off the clogged traffic artery of Tonnelle Road, is highly urban, the building is designed to offer a calm oasis to its residents, the developer said.

From upper floors, the views of Manhattan and the NewJersey coast and, westward, of towns perched on rolling hills are extraordinary. From the now-gutted upper floors of one of the towers ? empty save for concrete support columns 12 feet in circumference ? the full 360-degree panorama is available.

?It?s a good time to shop for the view you might like to own,? said Mr. Yorukoff, who added that prospective buyers would be allowed to take a look, if willing to don a hard hat.

He said he expected the lofts to be most attractive to buyers in their 20s and 30s, probably with no children or only a toddler, who might want to use the loft space in their units as either work space or spare bedrooms.

I am thinking of going to the service.

I went to Dizzy's memorial up at St. John the Devine and it was amazing. Jazz royalty showed up.

-M

He was someone, imho, who it wasn't all that easy to get into, even for jazz fans with avant proclivities. Speaking from personal experience, I'd owned his "Spiral" LP (Arista/Freedom) since the late 70s, I think, enjoyed it sorta but not enough to really investigate further. I'd hear pieces of his from time to time on the radio and always *almost* have them grab me. But then, finally, way late in the game, I picked up "Point of Departure" and everything clicked. So whereas someone like Cecil Taylor never caused me a moment's hesitation, the ostensibly "straighter" music of Hill proved quite knotty, at least for this listener. Probably because it's not all that straight at all!

Went to Paul Lustiger for a first visit today - everything perfect - no wait, high tech machinery, friendly & competent staff. Dentist was friendly and low-keyed (don't you hate it when dentists rank not flossing up there with incest and folkdancing?).

I like that the x-rays are put on a computer screen and you can see what he is talking about. Strongly recommend. Takes Metlife, not sure about any others.

I have to admit I was not familiar with him -- but am really enjoying his music now.

Very accessible and I am hearing all kinds of influences in his style (classical/impressionist).

Really amazing.

-M

Garyg,

I've had this done at two places downtown:

- Daniel Professional Tailoring ~ 299 Grove St
(the shop glx is referring to)

- Tailor's Touch Dry Cleaners ~ 358 7th St

Both places will have you try the jeans on and they'll pin them for you. I was first a customer at Daniel but switched to Tailor's Touch when a couple of pairs of pants came out a bit too short. TT's regular alteration price for one pair of jeans is $8. Attaching the original hems costs $7 extra. After years of getting this done and hating the look of jeans with clean, pressed, new hems. I think the extra cost is definitely worth it.

Anyone know of a good tailor that can shorten the inseam of my jeans and reattach the original bottoms? I'm looking for a reference from someone who has had it done. I've had hit or miss results with this and would prefer not to ruin my jeans. Thanks!

hey.. i don't want chase to come to nj. we finally got crime under control and now this. it will over whelm our white colar crime task force.

I love Little India, as far as I am concerned it's the jewel in JC's crown. It's vibrant, colorful and in-your-face. If it was to become homogenized and boring like 6th Street or Curry Hill in Manhattan then it truly woiuld be a loss.

rest in peace, truly -- mr. hill's contributions to modern music are still being worked out by successive generations of new musicians. his late-period works is especially uncanny and masterful, where his initial 60's work helped define a broad embrace of harmonic advance, improvisational courage and exacting compositional rigor that was shared by many of his fellow blue note progressives, and exemplified by no one better. blue note founder alfred lion loved hill and thought him to be the last great giant he signed, so much so that his last request before his death in the 90's was to have the (pre-norah) revitalized blue note record hill one more time.

peaceout, andrew hill. jk

p.s. jersey city, and jclist, should be mournful of the loss of one of the true greats who lived in the city. "not jersey city," indeed... i'm going to request this thread be re-posted to arts & entertainment...

Quote:

More posturing, just like Merrill Lynch did a few months ago. The companies purposely leak this to the news to cause an uproar and then the city folds and gives them their breaks. Nothing to see here, move along.

Also in the headlines;

FAT-ASS-BIKE threatening to leave NJ for NY if he doesn't get property and income tax breaks!

NYC Says No to Extra Tax Breaks for Chase
NEW YORK -- J.P. Morgan Chase Bank is threatening to leave New York City if it doesn't receive bigger tax breaks to build a 50-story office tower at ground zero.
Officials close to the talks told the Associated Press the bank has offered the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey $300 million for rights to develop the skyscraper.
But the bank also wants tax incentives from the city and state and if it can't get them it will consider building in Connecticut and New Jersey.
New York City offered Goldman Sachs Company $1.6 billion dollars in tax exempt bonds and $100 million in tax incentives to build at ground zero. But that deal was offered two years ago when businesses were more wary about moving downtown. Since then, vacancy rates in the neighborhood have dropped to pre-September 11th levels.

1010 WINS Boroughs & 'Burbs Page: Manhattan


(TM & © 2007 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO & EYE Logo TM & © 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. In the interest of timeliness, this story is fed directly from the newswire and may contain occasional typographical errors. )

why is everyone picking on indians? its not like we are talking about those filthy uneducated pakisatini after all.


free kashmir now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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yes, now we can all see romantic dramas and their scandalous hand-holding.

how about covered parking all around taget and have an elevated park on that entire huge square?

how about land fill pushing out in some of the areas like lets say near the yacht club or north of the elipse?

assuming money is no object is land fill pushing out in some of those areas remotely possible or impossible for a zillion reasons

does lefrak secretly plan to develope around target in 2035?

I don't understand why this is in the NOT Jersey City, as while Andrew played all over the world, he lived in Jersey City.

It is with great sadness we that note the passing of Boosey & Hawkes composer and jazz pianist Andrew Hill. Hill died Friday, April 20, 2007 several years after being diagnosed with lung cancer. He was 75 years old and lived in Jersey City, NJ. The funeral will be open to the public at Trinity Church (89 Broadway at Wall Street) this Friday, April 27, at 2:00 pm. Those who would like to send cards or condolences to his family may use our address.

Andrew enjoyed a lengthy international career as performer and recording artist, and educator. He leaves an extensive and highly acclaimed recorded legacy, dating from the 1950s (So In Love) to his 2006 trio album Time Lines (Blue Note), named to many critics' top ten lists. Hill is survived by his wife Joanne Robinson Hill, and a neice, nephew and cousin, besides a devoted coterie of friends, typically creative artists and perceptive fans.

Just before his passing, Hill was delighted to learn of two honors which will now be designated posthumously. The first is an honorary doctorate of music degree from Berklee College of Music which will be presented at commencement on May 12. Previous jazz honorees "for their achievements in the world of music, and for their enduring contributions to American and international culture" include Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Quincy Jones and Ahmet Ertegun. He was also recently named a NEA Jazz Master (2008), joining the ranks of the most accomplished of jazz artists.

We are honored to have been a part of his life over the past few months and will continue to work to bring the legacy of his music to listeners far and wide. More information on Andrew can be found on our website www.boosey.com/hilhttp://www.boosey.com/hil or his website www.andrewhilljazz.com http://www.andrewhilljazz.com .

Warm regards,
Sarah

Media & Public Relations Associate
Boosey & Hawkes
35 E. 21 St.
9th floor
New York, NY 10010
212 358 5361

Someone needs to ask where all the hook up fee money went.Every builder must kick in money per unit to hook into the sewer system.I think it is 1500 per unit.So where is the money?Its a sewer connection charge that is paid to the MUA.With the massive amount of building in the last ten years there should have been money to at least have done the sewer survey.

In answer to my own question the City uses this money to close its budget every year.This is a good place to start.

Hooray for Bollywood!

http://jclist.com/modules/newbb/viewt ... php?topic_id=8642&forum=1

I draw your attention to the last post.

http://www.afterellen.com/movies/2007/4/lesbianmovies?page=0,3#comment-348900

Changing Times for Lesbians on Film
by Allison Steinberg, Contributing Writer
April 22, 2007
Use New Technologies

Another major force in changing the way that consumers watch movies is Netflix, which launched in 1998 to offer DVD rentals by mail. For the first time, Netflix gave consumers all over the country access to obscure titles that previously had little or no distribution

Can't you see just by looking at your image what a fruitless idea you have? LeFrak is like a poster child for "The Corporation" film, an entity that will never do anything other than the most profitable. That means developing every lot they can, since parks don't turn profit, and they calculate the extra profit from that development easily offsets any stunting of prices due to a lower quality of life in the area with no parks.

The point of the redevelopment plan was to insure they DID create parks, but our compliant government hasn't found the will to hold them to their agreements, including their environmental impact statement.

Sad to say, public or private, there's no one looking out for our future. Reservoir 3 was a rare win, and I wouldn't be surprised if that game isn't really over.

ideas for more parks in newport...

Quote:

Do I get $10,000 if Lefrak goes for something like this?

CLICK HERE

so here is the latest master plan i can find
anyone have an idea on how and where to add more park space?
$10,000 to anyone who comes up with an idea that lefrak agrees to use

what an interesting topic

i was walking near grove street a couple of weeks ago
and i just happen to come across a postal worker emptying a corner mailbox
the darn thing was filled with netflix envelops
he said netflix was a significant part of his daily work

my guess is that downtown has a significantly higher netflix penetration than most areas

i did rent this one which is why it probably made the list as i don't think it is ver popular

16. Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love