GOP, and some Dems, put heat on Epps
Calls for his resignation
Thursday, October 05, 2006
By JARRETT RENSHAW
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City School Superintendent Charles T. Epps Jr.'s questionable campaign contribution to a school board member, and the continuing controversy over his dual role as a state assemblyman, has drawn the attention of Republicans.

"I am not surprised that a man who used taxpayer dollars to travel to London, ride in a limousine and eat expensive dinners would find nothing wrong with writing a campaign check to someone who evaluates his job performance," said Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose, R-Morris County.

"Assemblyman Epps should have never been permitted to continue serving as both superintendent in a state-run school district and legislator at the same time," she said in a press release labeling Epps as the poster child for the Republican argument against dual office-holding.

In the light of Republican complaints, some Democrats - including Union City Mayor and Assemblyman Brian Stack - are advising him to give up his Assembly seat.

"I think Charlie Epps, who I like a lot, would serve the children of Jersey City better if he just dedicated his energy to the school district, especially with the problems," Stack said.

Assemblywoman Joan Quigley said she supports Epps continuing to serve in both roles as "long as he does both effectively."

Assemblyman Lou Manzo said: "It's been a strain on (Epps) considering the type of job he has and it's a school district that needs a lot of attention. It's a decision that Charlie needs to make in the next couple months."

State Sens. Joseph Doria, Bernard Kenny and Nick Sacco would not comment on the issue, and Assemblyman Albio Sires could not be reached for comment.

The comments come on the heels of a Jersey Journal article that detailed a $750 contribution Epps made from his legislative war chest to Jeff Dublin's campaign fund in May. Epps has refused to comment on the donation - or on any matter - but Dublin said it did not affect his objectivity in evaluating Epps.

Dublin and other board members must submit evaluations of Epps on an annual basis and forward them to the state commissioner of Education, who uses them to help determine whether or not Epps has met certain benchmarks and to set the level of his salary increase.

The state Department of Education called the donation "inappropriate," but said there is no law barring it. A spokesman for the acting state Education Commissioner, Lucille Davy, said it would be inappropriate for her to comment about Epps's performance as the appointed superintendent of the state-run district.

The state Department of Education is considering new restrictions on hiring and campaign contributions in Abbott Districts, but the Education Law Center, which spearheaded the Abbott legal battle, wants the state to go further and add restrictions on "high-level" administrators from holding elected office.

"The fundamental reason is to ensure that these school districts, given the mandates that they are upon to run effectively, efficiently and to improve school achievement, it's important that they dedicate 100 percent of their attention to education and are not distracted in any way by holding other positions," said David Sciarra of the Education Law Center.

This was relayed from Harsimus Cove Assn, originating from East District Commander Captain McDonough & PO Dina Reilly:

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING AND PASS ALONG TO ALL.

The JCPD, East District, has received two complaints
stating that on Wednesday, October 4, 2006, in the
area of Third St. between Coles and Monmouth, an
unknown male was ringing doorbells and asking if
occupant (without stating name) was home, did not
provide further information, and appeared suspicious
in his manner.

In report #1 the unknown male is described as follows;
slighty heavyset, with short blonde hair and was
wearing a gray jacket, brown colored jeans and a large
gold chain with a cross around his neck.

In report #2 the unknown male is described as follows;
light skinned with a pinkish face, blondish short
hair, thin build, 5'7" - 5'8", wearing a light brown
plaid jacket, brown shirt and light khaki pants.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO AND ADVISE ALL TO REPORT ALL
SUSPICOUS PERSON(S). Please do not give out
information to unknown individuals regarding yourself
or your neighbors. And, as always DO NOT allow anyone
you do not know or anyone you have not scheduled to
come into your home.

If anyone has further information please contact the
JCPD at 201-547-5477.

Regards.

P.O. Dina Reilly

Dear Neighbors,

A reminder that the next meeting of the Downtown Jersey City Watch is scheduled for Monday, October 9th, 7PM at Grace Church (39 Erie Street). Please send any incidents or items you wish to discuss to this address before then. Here is the agenda for that meeting and upcoming events. Look forward to seeing you on the 9th.

-Jennifer K
Downtown Jersey City Watch Member
"We watch out for each other."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Downtown Jersey City Watch

AGENDA for Monday, October 9th 2006

7:00-7:20

Featured Guest Speaker: Frank Rizzo from ADT Home Security

7:20-7:40

Community Relations & Activities

- update from 9/21 patrol in Bergen Lafayette/Greenville

- tentative city-wide Blockwatch on Monday, 10/30

7:40-7:45

Five minute recess for Q & A, updates to incidents


7:45-8:15

Harsimus/Van Vorst Police Report


8:15-8:45

Any other business


CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS


NEXT MEETING

Monday, November 13th, 2006 @ 7pm

Grace Church (enter from 2nd street through main red doors NOT through Erie St red doors!)

--
This email was brought to you by the Downtown Jersey City Watch ( downtownjcwatch@gmail.com). "We watch out for each other."

Please send in any information about suspicious events or crimes to this address.

Quote:4bailey,
I don?t mind you classifying me, as ?one crazy @ss cracker, but let?s not take my comment out of context.
Below is what I said.

?I finally set up a video camera that caught a homeless man stealing the plants and selling them on the corner. All I could get myself to do was to threaten him with arrest if it happened again; fortunately it did not. ?

Parkman is going to be in... Hamilton Park on Saturday for FoHP's garden cleanup/planting which I have yet to put on Dan Falcon's event calendar. Come by and say hello to Parkman yourself. He likes to chat.

But I have plans for Parkman... I'm going to hand him a shovel and put him to work in the gardens. Did I tell you he likes to chat?

Ode? nah! Not my style ? now, if it?s a ?Friar?s Roast? , I?m there.

Here?s my parkman?s "greatest hit":

Quote:

Surveillance cameras!! Deliberately planting poison ivy!!...

You?re on-the-edge and one crazy @ss cracker,? but that level of commitment is what we dig about you!

I know we?re going to continue to disagree on all kinds of things, but I appreciate the dedication.

All the best,
another crazy @ss cracker

Quote:
Welcome back from vacation.
Please see the thread; ?VVP Dog Run Begins, now it?s up to the community?.
The dates given were in good faith. The delay was a result of last minute City politics, which have since been resolved. The initial construction has started, with the removal of a number of trees. If all goes as planned, excavation will begin next Tuesday.
Again, please see the above thread to donate.
Thank you.

I agree as well... As much as the $42,000+ price tag really pisses me off, at least someone is actually doing something!

Just want to chime in with my thanks to Parkman and to the other volunteers who have done such a great job in VVP. It's one of the primary reasons that I chose to live in this neighborhood. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Parkman, I'm appreciative of the work you've done for the dog run. I feel like I missed something though (maybe since I was on vacation for a while). Last I heard the dog run construction was going to begin in August (as per the sign in the park), and then early Fall. Now it's not going to start at all? Why was the public told that contstruction would begin if plans weren't final?

How much money is needed to make this happen? Has there been any sort of drive to pull the money together? I know there are a ton of dog owners in the neighborhood, myself included, who would be happy to chip in some cash to make this a reality.

A pleasant surprise to come home tonight and see this.
I don?t know what prompted this thread but I?m very appreciative of your support and acknowledgment of what I?m trying to accomplish in VVP. I truly believe that our park can make a difference in our quality of life and that it reflects well on us as a community.

I?ve taken this process far as I can, trying to provide a dog run for the VVP under financial constraints, administration resistance, and in general, a derisive atmosphere. It?s now up to the dog owners of downtown to decide whether or not they understand that their financial input is necessary to complete this process or adhere to the concept that the City should take care of everything for them.
This dog run is an addition to a park that has already received 1.6 million dollars in funds and never was designed to have a dog run in it. The new bonding for parks by the City is designated toward many parks that have not been addressed for decades and many are in the poorest sections. This is the most affluent part of town and yet the biggest objection I hear, is that the dog owners feel the City should be taking care of the entire cost. I wish that this were the case so I wouldn?t have to put myself out there trying to explain every nuance of a four-year process.
Sorry, but to paraphrase, it?s either ?run, or no run?; it?s now up to and for you.

parkman

The J. Owen Grundy Pier Park at Exchange Place has been closed for several weeks, but on Monday a broader area was fenced off, and today they cut down all of the trees. It looks awful at the moment, but hopfully improvements are being made there finally. I'm assuming the work that's going on there has to do with the bond sale mentioned in the article. I'm surprised it's getting started so quickly. Does anybody have more detail on this project?

Sing it, sister!

To continue to do such great work with people constantly b*tching and to remain levelheaded and optimistic in spite of it all -- and not got paid for it -- is to be Parkman. Yay!!!

First of all, this is not an actual ode. I can't write poetry.

I don't come around often enough to follow and post everywhere that Parkman gets maligned, so I thought I would just do a one-for-all kind of thing here.

I appreciate you Parkman! And every time I walk through Van Vorst Park (multiple times a day) I make mental thanks to you and all of the others who volunteer their time, energy, manicures, and sanity for the beautification and upkeep of Van Vorst Park. I know, you would prefer my money and my time, but mental thanks is what I have to give right now.

As to specific complaints I have seen on this site:

1) Asking for money to help build the dog run is absolutely acceptable. The goverment pays some, we pay some, makes sense to me. Why do people get so bent out of shape when they are asked for money for public projects? I am super excited about the new dog run, but frankly I'd rather the city spend more money on schools and crime enforcement than mounds for my dog to play on!

2) I love the dog-free areas in VVP. I can take my blanket out there and read a book, eat a picnic, etc. And listening to the complaints of the folks at Hamilton Park just emphasize how great it is that the VVP people got together to make our park friendly to all. (I've only been here a year . . . missed the big hulabaloo).

Overall, I love the park -- the variety of flowers ans shrubs, the adorable drippy fountain, the fenced kids area, etc. Great job.

Now, if we could just get everyone to throw away their cigarrette butts and pick up their dog poop, it would be perfect . . .

Quote:


I am dumbfounded by this as well. I hear stories about 3 floor homes in downtown jersey city paying 3 grand for taxes. Meanwhile I have a one bedroom (850 square feet)and i'm paying close to 8 grand. What gives?

I would assume that most properties will get an assesment and their taxes will go up 5 times. Who knows?

i'm in a single family house downtown and my taxes are less than 3,000 a year- i can't be the only one who pays what i think are pretty low taxes here. (not that the taxes i do pay are being put to the best use by our local govt.)
i know some people who bought newly built stuff around the corner and are paying like 15,000 a year- that seems insane.

Bobby J must be reading this
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Jersey Journal

Gotta love the revelation that an operative of the Republican candidate for Senate, Rep. Tom Kean Jr., went to disgraced and federally jailed former Hudson County Executive Robert Janiszewski to dig up dirt on rival U.S Sen. Robert Menendez.

As one political wag noted, Kean's people only had to offer him a carton of cigarettes and Janiszewski would be willing to come up with anything against anybody. In this latest episode of "As The Mud Flies," the GOP candidate is the one who looks bad. It is one thing to charge an opponent with mingling with corrupt individuals, it's hypocritical to then rely on a political felon for assistance.

Janiszewski is remembered for extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars during his 13 years as county executive.

The funny thing about this story is Janiszewski's recollection of events and relationships. In the Star-Ledger, he wrote to Kean "operative" Chris Lyon about how he "approached Menendez and encouraged him to run for Assembly on his ticket in 1987," and that the relationship turned sour when the then executive thought about running for governor in 1997.

He is quoted as writing: "Menendez discerned that he couldn't control me. So in the 99 primary, he (and) Scarinci tried to generate opposition to my re-election. Typical, they tried to do this behind my back (and) got caught, I chose not to accuse Menendez. Within 90 days, I was the target of another FBI investigation."

Bobby J was always concerned with his image. Even today, he reads The Jersey Journal online to see what people are saying about him. He should know that Menendez had his political ascension planned long before 1987. Also, things went sour a lot sooner - when Menendez's power buddy, Bruce Walter, decided to become chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization in 1991. The problem then was that Jersey City Mayor Gerald McCann also wanted to be chairman. At separate meetings, both McCann and Walter were elected chairman by their supporters.

The evening of the election, Menendez and Walter transported a weak-kneed Janiszewski to a rally at Schuetzen Park in North Bergen. As he was "escorted" to the front of the packed house, a smiling Donald Scarinci, attorney and Menendez buddy, said: "We had to shoot some testosterone into Bobby J to get him here." Janiszewski took the podium and praised Walter as the true chairman of the HCDO. Eventually, Walter became the sole chairman.

Right from the beginning, the Menendez crowd viewed Janiszewski as a lightweight who filled a void in county government.

As for Janiszewski's aiding the Kean camp, one state lobbyist said, "From what I've read, they could have obtained the same info by reading newspapers."

For several weeks there have been rumors that Menendez was quitting the race. Hudson Dems say any attempt to change the rules again - as was done when Robert Torricelli bolted against Republican Doug Forrester in 2002 - would not fare as well. The New Jersey Supreme Court allowed Frank Lautenberg to replace Torricelli on the ballot, but Dems say a second request would draw a spanking from the court.

South Jersey Dems are nervous because many of their local races are partisan and Menendez will top their line. They may stay nervous because last week the governor reiterated his support for his hand-picked senator. The race is a statistical dead heat and both candidates are in it to the finish. So where do the candidates stand on the issues?

Democrats' Jersey Barrier

By Ruth Marcus - Washington Post
Wednesday, October 4, 2006; Page A25

JERSEY CITY -- It's 1 in the morning, and Bob Menendez, a red bindi dot on his forehead, is at his third Navratri festival of the night. "Namaste," says the Democratic senator, pressing his palms together and looking out over a street thronged with Indian Americans who've taken a break from the exuberant dancing at the traditional Hindu festival.

On this day, Menendez's pitch to keep his Senate seat has taken him on a marathon spin through the ethnic kaleidoscope of New Jersey politics. He dropped by the city's Irish Festival, a backyard barbecue with the Latino community, a meeting with African American leaders and a Korean celebration -- before boarding a bus full of Indian American supporters for this late-night blitz.

"I always drive myself hard," he says, but this fall the 52-year-old Menendez has especially good reason to push. In a year when Democrats across the country are doing better than expected, his race could be a glaring counterexample -- and a potentially costly one, given Democrats' outside chance of retaking the Senate.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine tapped Menendez, then the House's third-ranking Democrat, to fill his unexpired Senate term. Winning election on his own should have been the easy part -- this reliably blue state hasn't elected a Republican senator for 34 years, and President Bush's popularity is low. But Menendez now finds himself in a too-close-to-call race against Republican Tom Kean Jr., the 38-year-old son of the popular former governor. The scion of a patrician family, Kean is waging a decidedly ungentlemanly campaign against Menendez, the son of poor Cuban immigrants.

The race, in broad strokes, comes down to Bush fatigue vs. corruption fatigue. Menendez is doing his best to lash Kean to the president and his policies. Kean hardly mentions Bush or his party, though he's been happy to accept fundraising help from Laura Bush and Karl Rove. Instead, much as Menendez seeks to link Kean to Bush, Kean paints Menendez as "an individual who personifies the system that has hurt New Jersey for so long."

In hammering on corruption, Kean may have lucked out -- in his timing and opponent. Even in a state where tales of corrupt officials are as common as turnpike traffic, this has been a busy season. One powerful Democratic state senator was implicated in arranging a no-show state job for himself. The former state Senate president pleaded guilty to taking bribes. The attorney general, a Menendez protege, had to quit after intervening in a traffic stop of her boyfriend. Former governor Jim McGreevey, who resigned after admitting he put his gay lover on the state payroll, has just published a book.

And Menendez, who got his start in the notoriously corrupt politics of North Jersey's Hudson County, has offered Kean ample ammunition. Some of the attacks on him have been decidedly below the belt, others overstated even by the loose rules of political license, but some involve the kind of back-scratching coziness that looks even worse in the unforgiving light of a 30-second attack ad.

Kean accused Menendez of being "part of a massive kickback scheme" in Union City 25 years ago, citing his 12 appearances before a federal grand jury that culminated in the racketeering conviction of Menendez's political mentor, Mayor William V. Musto. In fact, four former federal prosecutors in the case contradicted Kean's assessment. "[I]t was certainly an act of courage for him to testify against the entire city government," one told the New York Times.

Similarly, Kean assails Menendez for "putting $350,000 of federal taxpayer money in his own pocket" -- accusations that arise from Menendez renting a house he owned to a nonprofit agency he helped to get federal funds, even as agency employees donated to his campaigns. Reports from the time indicate that the rental was at market rates; Menendez says the ethics panel approved the arrangement. Still, federal prosecutors have subpoenaed records, and Menendez himself says he wouldn't do it again.

Adding to Menendez's woes, last week he had to sever ties with his childhood friend and closest political adviser, Donald Scarinci, after a tape surfaced in which Scarinci urges a Hudson County contractor to make a particular hire. "That would be a favor to the congressman," Scarinci says, adding that "it makes sense for you because it gives you protection."

Kean tries to bring home the corruption issue, linking it, not entirely convincingly, to the state's "unaffordability," especially high property taxes -- never mind that local taxes aren't something a U.S. senator can do much about. "That type of personal profiting from public office is what raises people's taxes and makes this state more unaffordable," he says.

Politically, Kean is no Lincoln Chafee moderate -- or even a Tom Kean Sr. moderate. He is pro-choice and supports federally funded embryonic stem cell research, but he backs the Bush tax cuts, would have voted for his Supreme Court nominees and the war in Iraq, and denounces Bush's immigration plan as unacceptable "amnesty."

Menendez, for his part, seems offended by having to run against the unseasoned Kean in what he describes as "probably the most vile campaign I have ever participated in."

Dismissing the closeness of the polls, he says, "New Jersey is a late-deciding state." The open question is what, 34 days from now, its voters will decide they're most fed up with.LINK

I went to Dr. Mangia for a while (he's on Washington Street, I believe), but I got tired of waiting for hours on end to be seen. I now go to Hoboken for all of my doctors. Dr. Balacco/Dr. DeMarco on Washington are terrific, and very close to the PATH.

Hey, they don't pay taxes in India or Pakistan or Africa, move there. You'll save a bundle.

I'd much rather be in New Jersey than North Carolina anyday of the year.

It's not exactly downtown Jersey City but the daycare center at Port Liberte is very nice. I can vouch for it b/c my 8 month old son goes there right now. If you work in downtown NYC, it might be an ideal place to put your child b/c you can drop him/her off and take a 13 minute ferry ride to downtown manhattan from port liberte.

Does anyone have a doctor they can recommend in downtown JC? My husband and I are looking for a general physician for both of us, and possibly a pediatrician as well. Just staring at lists of doctors from the insurance company is not very effective- We'd like some personal recommendations. Also open to ideas across the river (downtown preferably).

Thanks!

So I had my appointment yesterday for the new Trump building. They are only building one as of now-

1 bedrooms will be $499K to upper $800K's
2 bedrooms will be Mid $700k's to over million
Didnt look at anything bigger or smaller than that. The amentities are great but common charges as said to be through the roof. Wont be ready untill mid 2008!!!!!! Same as everyone else - building going straight to contract and 10% down needed to hold anything.

Its amazing that JC has reached these prices considering resales go for nowhere near as much. (Ex - Dont see many one bedrooms on market for $600k!).

Jersey's high cost of housing tops nation
Ownership eats up residents' incomes
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
BY ROBERT GEBELOFF
Star-Ledger Staff
After moving to Chatham last year, Katie Young began to notice a harsh new fact of Jersey life.

She and her husband make more money than their old friends back in North Carolina. Yet, after spending $3,500 on her mortgage and taxes, there's not as much left to spend at the end of the month.

"It's crazy" she said. "We cut back on vacations, going out to dinner. We drive a Honda Civic. Everything is very basic."

Thousands of other families are living like the Youngs, new Census data indicates.

The Great Housing Boom that marked the first half of this decade didn't just drive up home prices -- it changed the way New Jersey families spend their money.

The Garden State now leads the nation in home ownership costs, and the number of residents devoting more than 30 percent of their income toward mortgages, property taxes and insurance is soaring, according to the new figures.

It now costs the typical homeowner $1,938 per month to own a house in New Jersey, well ahead of California and Massachusetts, which were second and third, and far ahead of Hawaii, the most expensive home-ownership states at the beginning of the decade, the new figures show.

And those are just median costs. One in six Jersey homeowners now pay more than $3,000 a month, compared with one in 14 just five years ago.

"We're very rich, but what these figures suggest is we're not really as wealthy as we think we are," said James Hughes, dean of the Bloustein School of Public Policy and Planning at Rutgers University.

While the typical New Jersey household earns 27 percent more than the national average, homeowners pay nearly 50 percent more to keep a roof over their heads, the new numbers show.

The figures released today come from the 2005 American Community Survey, a new annual demographic study by the Census bureau. While the survey covers a broad range of topics, the new information pertained mostly to housing.

Though such demographic statistics generally don't change much in five years, the state of New Jersey's housing is a notable exception.

Home values nearly doubled -- from a median of $170,800 in 2000 to $333,900 last year. These figures are similar to those reported previously by other organizations such as the National Association of Realtors.

But what the Census data shows more clearly is how these higher costs have translated into greater financial stress. Many state residents are going to be grappling with the ill effects for years to come, the new statistics seem to suggest.

Financial advisers generally don't recommend that homeowners spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs. But that threshold was exceeded thousands of times this decade as homeowners took out bigger loans, put less money down and then saw property taxes rise faster on an annual basis than in the 1990s.

Five years ago, less than a third of homeowners were over the 30 percent mark. By last year, it was two out of five, and nearly a quarter of homeowners reported paying more than 40 percent of their income on housing costs.

"There are people all over this state leveraged out the wazoo," said Michael Jannone, a financial adviser at Tomorrow's Financial Services in Lincroft.

But many homeowners are willing to take on the debt to get into the "right" house or the town.

Anne Feltquate moved to Montgomery Township this year after her husband David, a medical doctor and a Ph.D., landed a job as a drug researcher Bristol-Myers Squibb. Already saddled with student loans, the couple took out two mortgages to pay for their $750,000 new home.

They pay nearly $5,000 a month for their new home.

Because one of their two children has autism, she said, getting into one of the state's top school districts was a huge priority.

"We kind of feel like we bit off more than we can chew," she said. "But people are always recommending buying at your uppermost limit because you expect your income to increase every year. So it's tight this year and maybe it will ease up."

She said she drives a hand-me-down minivan to save on car payments and that she can't afford to put much into the children's college fund.

"But it's not like it's way out of control," she said. "Nobody dragged us here kicking and screaming. It was our choice to live here and I'm grateful I can put food on the table."

In some cases, the rising costs are changing the very nature of towns.

In the 1990s, Montclair became very popular with middle-class families who wanted to live in a racially diverse community with an elegant stock of housing and bustling downtown.

The price war that ensued has changed the economics, said Fleming Meeks, a town resident and editor of Smart Money magazine.

"We moved here eight years ago, and the people who could afford to move here then couldn't afford to move here now," he said. "The people moving off of our street are more like me. The people moving in are investment bankers."

It's not only new residents with big mortgages that are driving up the state's average housing cost.

George McGrath figured he had found the perfect way to save money on housing. The Cranford firefighter years ago decided to live 50 miles to the west.

He also took a second job as the part-time construction official in Mountainside.

But this year, he got the shock of his life -- the taxes on his two-bedroom bungalow in Lopatcong were going up nearly 20 percent, thanks to a township-wide property revaluation.

"I know in this state, $600 seems like nothing," he said. "But that's $50 a month. That's like getting a second gas bill or electric bill. People say that if you can't afford your housing, you should go down in size. But my bungalow is 945 square feet. I can't get any smaller.

For many New Jersey residents paying high housing costs, the future will not be financial ruin, said Jack Oujo, a financial adviser from Wall. But the future isn't necessarily bright either.

"I think they're going to have to be working into their 60s and 70s instead of retiring, or be willing to accept a dramatic reduction in their lifestyle," he said.

Because mortgage loans tend to mask the true cost of homes -- unlike other luxury items where consumers realize the actual costs up front -- many consumers don't even realize the holes they're putting themselves in, he said.

"A lot of people in this state are living way beyond their actual means, and the day of reckoning is coming," he said.



Robert Gebeloff covers demographics for The Star-Ledger. He may be reached at (973) 392-1753 or rgebeloff@starledger.com.




? 2006 The Star Ledger
? 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.

btw - it's still on the market and down to ONLY $6.5 mil.

REDUCED!!!

MOTIVATED OWNER!!!

Quote:

That I don't know but if you read the listing it comes with a "Sharp" microwave. So if you're on the fence...

The only daycare center in the downtown area I would entrust with the care of my child is the River School on Warren Street. The cost is $1345/month. My daughter has been there for a year, and we are very happy with them. I did a lot research before I decided it was worth it to shell out the ridiculous amount they charge for tuition. Some of the other daycare centers I visited in the area were dirty, some places had caregivers who spoke no english, and some made me feel unwelcome and I was I told to make an appointment, which is a very bad sign...you should always be able to visit a daycare center without an appointment. The only other daycare center in JC I would consider is St. Elizabeth's on Garrison Street near Journal Square. The place has been in business forever and it is half the price of the River School.

Can anyone recommend a decent Day Care Center in downtown Jersey City, preferably in the Grove Street area?

Would also love to hear which day cares, if any, are to be avoided.

Thanks in advance.

Relating to bicycles.

Good Police public relations exercise that relates to cyclists.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/nationa ... /10/02/1159641249697.html

To those who still believe that this sort of initiative (rewarding motorists or now cyclists) doesn't exist or is a waste of time -