If you stop and talk to the workers they are actually recycling the building.Since the plans are no where near finished the demo company is taking its time.The old wood is sold one place and the bricks are worth more than you think.I grabbed a bucket of bricks if anybody wants one.

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A remarkable post.

How do you know the tower will be hideous if its plans have not been released yet?

Been talking to Koolhaas lately?

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I haven't tried it so I don't know how it rates, but there's a Polish place on Newark up the hill, roughly opposite Fiesta, just short of Five Corners.

Thank you for the explanation, I have been trying to figure out what was going on with those.

they are required to save the bricks and use them in construction of the base of the new structure. you can see on site they are wrapping them up in bundles. so i am thinking brick structure on bottom that resembles a semi-historic structure, with hideous glass tower looming over the base. i just hope it has some retail or art space on the bottom. it was supposed to get a performing arts space so we will see. no plans yet though they should be released soon.

We've been trying for 2 weeks now, and still nothing. No sign or information. Our cravings are getting stronger now that it's gone. Does anyone have any additional info?

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But just a little community consciousness ought to help these people make even more money by increasing rental rates and sales prices.

If Paulus Hook had a supermarket and P.S. 37 (Cordero - Newport/Harsimus Cove) were a lot better, I'd think that would really help property values a lot.

Anyhow, the big thing is that Jersey City needs a real chamber of commerce, to help business people here think a little better about how to maximize profits over the next 20 years, as opposed to just making a quick buck today.

Jersey City, NJ - High Taxes, High Crime. Where?s the Protection? That is the question many Jersey City residents will be asking Mayor Jeramiah Healy, Police Director Samuel Jefferson, and Chief of Police Thomas Comey at a citywide Public Safety Rally scheduled for 6:30 PM Wednesday March 7, 2007 at the Abundant Joy Community Church aka the ?Central Avenue Reform Church? located 137 Bowers St., Jersey City.

Although Jersey City has evolved dramatically over the past twenty five (25) years, some public services, such as policing, have not kept up with the changes. For a City with a population of 240,000 people (U.S. Census Bureau), the Jersey City Police Department is staffed with an estimated 850 police officers. Despite increasing taxes and the recent real estate boom experience, the City of Jersey City has not improved the infrastructure of its police department or its level of service to the public.

The people of Jersey City have had ENOUGH! In an attempt to better serve our great City, the community leaders of Jersey City are organizing a citywide rally to address ongoing public safety concerns with elected officials.

Policy makers have allowed the City to fall into a reactive (vs. proactive) system of policing. The police department typically reacts to crime by taking complaints from citizens instead of taking proactive measures to prevent it from happening in the first place. Band-Aid solutions like this take the place of well planned preventative measures such as creating strong police presence thru lasting community policing programs.

Accountability has become a major concern at the department as it has seen four (4) Chiefs in as little as four (4) years. New Chiefs always bring personnel changes within the JCPD. In what has become a yearly shuffling of personnel, this instability has jeopardized the department?s overall accountability and service to the public. As an example, one out of four Jersey City Police Stations (North District) saw at least five (5) district commanders in those four years.

Politics has a long history in the JCPD and it clearly continues today. Police officers (retired and active) are seen working in other capacities of City government more now then ever before. Some of these rolls include high-profile political appointments such as department directors and aids to elected officials. Several police officers are so involved with politics that they have been City Council and Mayoral candidates in recent elections. When political affiliations are rewarded, the morale of hardworking men and women within the department are undermined.
From a tax payer?s point of view, even the system of dispatching police officers for Jersey City?s four (4) established police districts (North, South, East, & West) is a disservice to the public. There was a time when each police station had a strong relationship with the community and citizens could directly call in complaints. Anyone who calls into their local police station today will be instructed to call the dispatch room (201.547.5477) and have their complaint placed on a list of generic priorities (Violent Crimes is a high priority vs. a group of teens loitering, lower priority). This bottle necking procedure delays police response to all non-violent crimes throughout the City. Each district has unique demographics requiring police service to be customized for its tax paying constituents. What is considered a high priority to the residents in one section of the city might be considered a low priority in another. Is this system of dispatching police the best solution to serve the public or a system of convenience for the department?

While the murder rate reached a twenty three (23) year high in 2005, experiencing crime has become part of everyday life and an adverse reality in today?s Jersey City. Many citizens are calling for police protection from growing gang activity, drug dealing, and the other crimes occurring in broad daylight. Many ?quality of life? issues have evolved into ?life threatening? issues causing many residents, especially seniors, to think twice before taking to the streets alone.

The people of Jersey City are asking public officials to answer to three fundamental public needs within the JCPD: Presence, Protection, and Accountability. Realizing the limited resources of tax dollars to increase JCPD man power, innovative management is needed now more then ever at the JCPD. The time has come for Public Policy on safety to change with the times. As part of what could be a comprehensive solution, people are calling for the creation of a Jersey City Civilian Review Board.

The intent of this board (representative of the public and Neighborhood Block Associations leaders) is to reestablish the relationship between the JCPD and community. Their mission would consist of following up on community complaints on crime and question department behavior considered political. The board will shift focus away from local politics while encouraging the moral of diligent police officers who have truly dedicated their lives to serve and protect the public.

The time to demand change is now, not after you or a loved one has been victimized. High Taxes, High Crime. Where?s the Protection?

Jersey City, NJ - Originally scheduled for February 20th, a citywide effort to organize a Public Safety Rally has been postponed for 6:30 PM Wednesday March 7, 2007 at the Abundant Joy Community Church aka the ?Central Avenue Reform Church? located 137 Bowers St., Jersey City. Invited guest speakers include Mayor Jerramiah Healy, Police Director Samuel Jefferson, and Chief of Police Thomas Comey. The entire City Council of Jersey City along with the New Jersey Attorney General, Stuart Rabner, and Hudson County Prosecutor, Edward J. De Fazio, have also been invited to attend.

Despite organizers? best efforts over the last two (2) months to confirm the Mayor?s attendance; it was only recently that the Mayor?s office confirmed a conflict of schedule for the original date. Not only will the Mayor not be able to attend, but he will be conducting the first ?State of the City Address? in nearly four (4) years calling the attention of all other municipal officials and department directors including those who have already confirmed for the rally. As a consolation prize, the North District Commander was offered to substitute the Mayor, Police Director, and Chief of Police on the original date. Needless to say, the rally was postponed to the later date as to include the original three guest speakers. The Mayor?s office has already confirmed this date.

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It's the area around Riverview Park (Fisk Park?), which is between Palisade and the cliff, from Bowers south to Griffith.

It's an interesting area, luring some shockingly affluent people (for the Heights) to some great housing stock with stunning views.

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It was designated as historic, but Goldman said that it was too decrepit and could not be preserved. The first plan was to deconstruct it, preserve the outside shell, and build it back around the inner tower(s). But, then they said it would not be preserved. Money talks!

It was a great artists' community. It was a great and stimulating community place. It is a shame.

I saw some good shows there and Uncle Joe's it's a shame that there are fewer and fewer places to see live music in JC.
Please correct me if I'm wrong!

Alb. . . i see your point but I don't think developers think that way.

They see a plot of land and they think that if they put 800 units there they can make X amount of money. They don't care about the community or the future of the area. It's a slash and burn mentality where they will make a couple hundred million and bring their money to their mansion in connecticut. Ten years from now they'll be building up some other up and coming neighborhood (newark perhaps).

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Were you allowed to go inside or did you just sneak in when the guard was hanging around in the front?

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Aside from being sad, this is dumb.

If other Jersey City developers and property managers had a clue, they would have gone and bought Goldman out just to keep the Lorillard building standing. The condos and offices at Newport and Harborside would be worth a lot more if there were a bunch of cool shops at restaurants in the old warehouse district.

Anyhow, at this point, is the developer knocking down the outer walls of the building, or just the inner courtyard?

One of the first times I felt that I really "experienced" Jersey City was during an Artists Studio Tour at 111 First. I believe my first trip to Uncle Joe's followed--just one of many many more that would follow.

I'll raise a glass to another fallen JC soldier!

Would have been nice to have a decent night club open in that area. I thought that building was historic in a sense and could not be bulldozed, guess I was wrong!!

North Jersey gains from tight N.Y. office market

Tuesday, February 13, 2007
By KEVIN G. DeMARRAIS -- The Record

As goes New York, so goes North Jersey's commercial real estate market.

And that's good news west of the Hudson River because demand for office space in Manhattan is exceeding the supply, and the overflow is ending up in Bergen and Hudson counties.

"I'm not saying that we won't perform well unless New York does, but our performance benefits when New York tightens," said Matt Dolly, director of research and marketing at GVA Williams New Jersey in Parsippany.

Thanks to a strong fourth quarter, after nine months of reduced activity, the outlook was positive for the office market heading into 2007, Dolly said. "It seems like some of the spillover from New York City is starting to happen."

That is expected to start showing up in rental rates, said William Hanson, president of NAI James E. Hanson in Hackensack.

"Leasing prices in North Jersey haven't changed dramatically," Hanson said. "But prices have been going up in New York only the last six months, and that should help the market over here. It's not a great market, but if you want office space, it's not a bad market."

The retail market is strong as well, said Andrew Merin, vice chairman of Cushman & Wakefield Inc.'s Metropolitan Area Capital Markets Group.

Retail properties are "among the most sought-after in the Garden State," Merin said. "Vacancies remain in the low single digits, and consumer spending has helped retailer performance."

Last year produced mixed results in the region.

In Bergen County, the commercial vacancy rate rose to 18.93 percent by the fourth quarter from 17.01 percent 12 months earlier, according to the GVA Williams market report.

Even so, the asking rent for Class A space -- the most modern, technologically advanced facilities -- also rose, to $25.60 per square foot from $24.57 in the fourth quarter of 2005.

The vacancy rate also climbed in Passaic County, to 23.14 percent from 20.25, but the average rental slipped to $21.21 from $21.76.

But those prices are bargains compared with rates in Manhattan, where prime space is going for more than $60 a foot in midtown and around $40 in lower Manhattan.

That's basically a matter of supply and demand, as well as pressure from Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs, industry insiders say.

"The market is being largely driven by investments," Hanson said. "It's still a good place to invest money."

REITs are buying "everything in sight," said Ron Bar-Nadav, associate director of Studley Inc. in Rochelle Park. "Hedge funds are pushing REITs to buy more. They're sitting on too much money, buying product for more than it would be worth."

They can do so knowing the tight market means they can charge premium rents.

Even without the REITS, "the New York commercial real estate market is very robust, and that is going to define our economy in 2007," said Gil Medina, executive managing director at Cushman & Wakefield's New Jersey office.

"The New Jersey economy is being influenced by two different forces, pushing in different directions," Medina said. "Job growth has not been very robust; in fact it's been pretty weak. So on one hand, the state economy has been sluggish."

What growth the state has had has been in such fields as leisure, hospitality, arts and entertainment, accommodations and food, health and education, he said. "That growth is not in areas that would populate commercial buildings," and that hurts the real estate market.

"On the other hand, the economy of New York City, operating under a whole different set of rules, has really been robust. Because northern New Jersey is so much integrated into the regional economy, impacted so much by New York City's economy, it, more than any other part of the state, is in the throes of these conflicting forces."

The first beneficiary is the New Jersey waterfront, especially Jersey City, which is often called the sixth borough of New York City, Dolly said. "It's just another stop of the PATH."

With Manhattan vacancy rates at their lowest in five years, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup led the movement across the river.

Of the six leases for more than 100,000 square feet signed in New Jersey in the fourth quarter of 2006, four were along the Hudson, including Citigroup's subleasing of 365,000 square feet at Newport Office Center in Jersey City.

In addition, Deutsche Bank decided to consolidate operations from locations throughout the metropolitan area, renewing for 90,000 square feet and expanding by another 191,920 square feet there, Cushman & Wakefield reported.

But there was also movement elsewhere in North Jersey, including Newark. Overall vacancy rates there have dropped below 11 percent, helped by the law firm Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione taking over 111,828 square feet previously occupied by the FBI.

Among other big transactions was Travelport -- formerly Cendant Travel Distribution Services -- moving within the Parsippany market by leasing 120,000 square feet at Morris Corporate Center III. And Passaic County got a boost when Hoffmann-La Roche expanded its presence in Clifton by leasing 72,838 square feet on Broad Street.

E-mail: demarrais@northjersey.com

Having lost several lofts spaces myself over the years it is sad to see these pictures.

SKYWAY READY FOR A SLAY RIDE
Design flaws - plus speed

Tuesday, February 13, 2007
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

You merge onto the roadway in the fast lane, there's no shoulder, the sun may be in your eyes, and people speed because there's nowhere for a police car to hide. Navigating the Pulaski Skyway can be a daunting task. But is it safe?

"With today's speed of vehicles, I would say it has to be looked at," said Jersey City Police Deputy Chief Peter Nalbach, who spent a week in the hospital after his patrol car was totaled - with him inside - after responding to an accident on the Skyway in 1983.

"You are entering from a full stop into a speed lane, and the divider and railing system also inhibit your view as you enter," said Nalbach of the Skyway's Broadway and South Kearny entrance ramps. "The Skyway in general is a frequent accident spot."

On Jan. 23, off-duty Jersey City Police Officer Kevin Freibott, 39, was drunk, authorities say, when his Jeep Cherokee rammed into the back of a Pontiac Grand Prix that had just entered from the Broadway ramp and had crossed over to the right lane.

Jose Carlo Zelaya, 2, was in the back seat of the Pontiac and he suffered head trauma that took his life four days later, officials said. His mother, Ruth Zelaya, 37, was also in the back seat and she remains in a coma and in critical condition. His father, Carlos Zelaya, 35, and his brother-in-law, Raul Posas-Pineda, who was driving, were not seriously injured.

Freibott has been suspended without pay and is charged with aggravated manslaughter, assault by auto and DWI, official said. He is free on $350,000 bail.

Freibott, who is a cousin of Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, transferred from the Middletown Police Department in December 2005. After the crash, accusations of nepotism surfaced when it was learned Freibott had a prior DWI, numerous traffic violations, and a lousy record in Middletown, where he was once on "charges of incompetence, insubordination and conduct unbecoming a public employee."

He was reinstated on appeal, but was suspended six months.

Although the sun was not a factor at the time of Freibott's accident on the Skyway, commuters on the elevated roadway drive with the sunrise in their faces when heading east in the morning and the sun in their faces in the late afternoon.

After a series of accidents in the 1970s, the Skyway was closed to trucks, forcing them onto Communipaw Avenue, which was later designated the Routes 1 & 9 truck route, according to a New Jersey City University Web site. To further improve safety, a barrier was installed to separate the Skyway's east and westbound lanes.

Work on the Skyway began in 1930 and 15 people died during construction.

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Mom in crash to start reconstructive surgery
Tuesday, February 13, 2007

The Honduran woman who's been in a coma since a vehicle crash with an off-duty Jersey City police officer will begin undergoing reconstructive surgery to repair damage to her head and eyes, her attorney said.

Ruth Zelaya, 37, was to be moved from the Jersey City Medical Center to the Kessler Rehabilitation Center in West Orange yesterday to begin rehabilitation, but the move was postponed because she had been running a fever, said her attorney, Samuel Davis.

Zelaya has been moved back into the Medical Center's intensive care unit and she will instead begin undergoing reconstructive surgery, Davis said yesterday.

Ruth Zelaya and her son, Jose Carlo Zelaya, 2, suffered severe head trauma when, police say, Kevin Freibott slammed his Jeep Cherokee into the back of the car they were in. Jose Carlo died four days later and his mother has been in a coma and in critical condition since the accident.

With his wife in a coma in Jersey City, Carlos Zelaya flew back to Honduras with the body of his son and buried him on Feb. 3.

"I promise that we will meet again and we will play again, my love," Carlos Zelaya told La Prensa newspaper in Honduras at the funeral. The father placed some of the child's favorite stuffed animals inside the casket, the newspaper reported.

Before the burial, Carlos Zelaya put three white roses on the casket, one for himself, one for his wife and one for their 13-year-old daughter, Karla.

The father said he got no support from authorities here following the tragedy.

"All my thanks go to my friends and family, to the medical personnel who cared for my son and wife," said Carlos Zelaya who has returned to the United States. "The only thing I can do now is to ask God to help my wife. I need a miracle."

MICHAELANGELO CONTE

111 is half rubble now.. we took one last look before it turns into another overpriced condo tower.

111 First St.

Will there be a webcast or is that way over reaching the technical capabilities of our city?

BM-

As a relative newcomer to the city I'm not familar with this neighborhood or association.

I note the Ward D connection, but out of curiosity, what are the borders of this neighborhood?

Just curious, didn't mean to hijack.

Does this mean that he will not be in attendance to the Bowers Street event?

Riverview Neighborhood Association
February 12, 2007

Dear JCListers,

RNA Meeting - Tuesday, February 13th
Please come to the RNA meeting on Tuesday, February 13th at 7:30 PM Location: Harbor View Health Care Facility (1st Floor Cafeteria) located at the corner of Ogden and Franklin.

We'll update you on the Parks Master Plan, local development issues and you can share your concerns for the neighborhood with the Police, NID and fellow neighbors. We will also be nominating officers for 2007.

Parks Master Plan Meeting Rescheduled

A well-attended Ward D Parks Master Plan meeting on January 25 was cancelled in progress when no representative from the City's consulting firm attended.

The Ward D Parks Master Plan meeting has been rescheduled to March 1 at PS 28 (167 Hancock St) from 6-9PM. Let your feelings be known about the needs for our parks.


Thank you!


Becky Hoffman
Riverview Neighborhood Association
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email: riverviewneighborhood@comcast.net
phone: 201-876-1980

It really is worthy of mention that it is likely that many metals...not just chromium, as mentioned here, at present regulated levels are problematic. A recent article highlights the risk with developing brain...

http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-hslead0206,0,3014503.story?coll=ny-leadhealthnews-headlines

Just because science has had difficulty in making ever more sensitive measurement does NOT mean that there isn't a problem with metals at existing standards.

interesting, this is the same night that there's a big neighborhood meeting in the heights on Bowers street. nice planning city.

The info has been placed on the calendar awaiting approval-

Mayor Healy will be making a State of the City Address on February 20, 2007, 6pm at PS4 Conwell School, 107 Bright St.

For more info call 201.547.4836.

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I'd rather side w/ caution then find out 20yrs later that my home is the reason I'm developing a tumor. Good job Lisa. Lets see how long the rules last before lobbiest force her to capitulate.

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Grade: B+