Hurry for Jersey City and Exchange Place. Welcome Deutsche Bank!

I'm all for bringing in high profile companies that pay high end salaries and can steer city officials to clean up and improve the area... because we as individual homeowners cannot do it all by ourselves. Big bucks can move mountains... if they need an incentive to come.. I'm all for it.

As for the jobs going to people from NYC... they will bring over their employees to keep the business running, and when openings need to be filled.... it's fair game. If you're qualified you'll get an interview and if you interview well and have the credentials... you'll get the job.

I'm going to start polishing up my resume and fine tune my skills so I can land a high paying local job in Jersey City... and get rid of that nasty PATH commute.

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Such as salaries for each other in their various posts.

At the end of the day though, I suppose it is better to have this office space being used as not. If they're going to clog up the skyline and block the view, at least make some use of 'em (the office buildings).

I just question whether these jobs are going to JC folks that already work there and currently commute, or if the majority will actually be bringing new people across the river to (potentially) fill up the bajillion new condo units coming on the market the next few years...

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Nothing "unique" about that, Councilman Vega.

Whether or not, in the eyes and wording of the law, there is a "conflict of interest" or a "conflict of office", the fact remains that too few people have too many jobs in municipal and state office. As a sidenote, I think we really need some legislation prohibiting people from holding both state and local level office concurrently.

Concentration of power was one of the founding fathers' biggest concerns and the main reason for the system of (now laughable, at least at the state/local level in NJ) checks and balances built into our Constitution.

Deutsche Bank Ups Space to 282,000 SF
By Eric Peterson

JERSEY CITY-Mack-Cali Realty Corp. officials announced late yesterday that ?a major international bank? had taken an additional 53,727 sf at the Cranford-based REIT?s Harborside Financial Center Plaza 1 on this city?s waterfront. Company officials did not identify the tenant, citing a confidentiality agreement, but sources confirm that the tenant is Deutsche Bank. The latter is in fact currently listed as a major tenant at the building.

The expansion follows on the heels of a related transaction in August. In that one, Deutsche Bank signed a lease for a total of 228,193 sf in the 400,000-sf eight-story building, a deal encompassing a 90,000-sf renewal and an expansion of more than 138,000 sf. That signing replaced a lease that was set to expire at the end of 2006, and this latest expansion bumps Deutsche Bank?s occupancy in the building to nearly 282,000 sf.

?This transaction is an indication of the success of our repositioning efforts at this Harborside building,? says Mitchell E. Hersh, Mack-Cali?s president/CEO. ?Harborside Financial Center has become an attractive office location.?

The repositioning and modernization referenced at Plaza 1 was completed earlier this year, and the latest Deutsche Bank expansion brings the building to more than 94% occupancy, according to information released by Mack-Cali. Altogether, the REIT has more than 4.3 million sf in Jersey City, a portfolio that?s currently 98.9% leased. Of that total, about 3.6 million sf is tied up in the multi-building Harborside complex.

The expansion, which carries a term of approximately 10 years, was pursuant to an option in the lease signed in August. Combined, the deals will keep Deutsche Bank in the building into 2017. David Maurer-Hollaender led a team of New Jersey and New York brokers from CB Richard Ellis in representing the tenant, while Mack-Cali was represented in-house. Further terms were not released.

67-story tower to overlook Newport Mall

Proposed for Pep Boys site, would be 2nd largest building in state

Ricardo Kaulessar -- Hudson Reporter --09/15/2006

FUTURE CONDO SITE ? The Metropolitan is planned for construction on the site of the Pep Boys Automotive Supercenter. The other stores at the center will remain.

A 755-foot residential tower called the "Metropolitan" is being proposed for land just south of the Newport Mall, at the site of where a Pep Boys Automotive store is currently located.

If it gets its city approvals, the structure at Sixth and Washington streets would be the second largest building in New Jersey. The largest building is already in Jersey City: the Goldman Sachs building at 30 Hudson St. stands at 791 feet.

Within a 10-block radius, there are several condo towers either under construction or that have been approved for construction, including: the 55-story Trump Plaza Jersey City on Washington Blvd. and Bay Street; the 33-story Athena on the corner of Washington Boulevard and Second Street; and the proposed San Remo I, San Remo, and Monaco condo towers located off Washington Boulevard behind the Doubletree Hotel.

The Metropolitan, when completed, will have 809 condominium units, 809 parking spaces on seven floors, and 12,445 square feet of retail space.

The tower is one of several that may be built in that 18-acre shopping area currently anchored by a Shop Rite supermarket and BJ's Wholesale Club. But those shopping stores will still remain.

The plans for the Metropolitan were presented to the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency at their August meeting, and will be presented to the Jersey City Planning Board on October 3.

Details behind the Metropolitan

G&S Investors, a real estate investment company based in Port Chester, N.Y., will build the Metropolitan. They have been the owners of the Metro Plaza shopping center since the early 1990s.

The designer of the project is the architectural firm Arquitectonica of Miami. They also designed the Ellipse, a 460-foot residential tower planned for construction in Jersey City's Newport residential area. They also designed the Westin Times Square hotel in New York City.

Tom Lehne, consultant for G&S Investors, said last week the Metropolitan is estimated to cost $180 to $200 million and construction would start next summer, pending all approvals from the city.

Lehne was the former head of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency in the early 1980s.

Lehne also dispelled rumors regarding the closing of the Shop Rite supermarket, BJ'S Wholesale Club, and Bed, Bath & Beyond stores.

"The other stores have very long-term leases and they are doing great business, especially the Shop Rite," said Lehne. "And it is the wish of [Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy] and the Redevelopment Agency, and I am sure the Planning Department, that the Shop Rite and its parking lot stays intact."

First phase of development at shopping center

Jersey City attorney Francis Schiller, representing the developers, said the Metropolitan project would be the first phase of a larger development project that would span over 20 years, with retail always having a presence in the plaza. Schiller said there will be a meeting with the city's Planning Department to create a master plan specifically for the plaza.

What prompted G&S Investors to look at a residential component? Lehne said the decision was based on them seeing the continuing development in Jersey City.

Schiller said there is no height restriction in the area, which is governed by the Hudson Exchange Redevelopment Plan. The height of this building, Schiller said, would provide "great view corridors" of the New York Skyline to the east and the Watchung Mountains to the west.

What's inside the Metropolitan?

Lehne said the developers are looking to provide a "first-class signature building."

Instead of housing only condos, Lehne said the developers may decide to provide a mix of condos and rentals. That will be predicated on a marketing study being done by the developers currently to learn how to attract new residents to the Metropolitan.

Lehne added that the developers will contribute their share of affordable housing as required by the city for the its Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Residential units will conceal the four stories of parking from public view.

The 12,445 square feet of retail space on the ground floor will be divided into three areas. Both Schiller and Lehne agreed that the retail will be "neighborhood friendly boutiques" or small-scale retail since there are already big-box stores.

Councilman likes project but not abatement

Lehne said the developers will seek a tax abatement for the project.

A tax abatement is an agreement to exempt a developer from paying regular fluctuating property taxes. Instead, the developer makes a separate revenue deal to pay money directly to the city over 20 or 30 years. The city gets all the money rather than having to share it with the county and schools.

In the last few years, the agreements have become controversial because some people believe developers don't need the extra incentive to build, and other residents may have to chip in a bigger share of taxes than they should have to.

"The city actually makes a lot of money; it's a revenue producer," argued Lehne. "This site is two, three acres, which will mean millions of dollars going to the city."

Also happy about the Metropolitan but opposed to an abatement being granted is Ward E City Councilman Steven Fulop, who represents most of Downtown Jersey City, including the project site.

"I think it will be a great project, but if they come to seek an abatement, I will vote against it," said Fulop. "I think they can build this project without incentives."

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

Is this the same attorney that subpoenaed the web site editor of getnj ?

Council introduces $422M budget

Ricardo Kaulessar - Hudson Reporter - 09/15/2006

The City Council at its Wednesday meeting introduced the 2007 fiscal year budget. The budget so far is $422.6M, down about $3 million from last year.

It will have to go to a public hearing and a final vote at a meeting in the future.

City Councilman Mariano Vega said after the meeting that this year's budget is "unique."

"This year's budget we are able to include the hotel tax and the realty transfer tax that will bring $5 million in anticipated revenues," said Vega.

A new state law allows Jersey City to directly collect the revenues from the 6 percent hotel tax. The realty transfer tax is a fee on real estate transactions.

Vega said he has not had an opportunity to study the budget in length and will do in upcoming weeks.

The city is facing a $9 million shortfall and will have to raise $148 million in taxes.

The budget also shows anticipated increases in Police Department salaries of over $4 million and Fire Department salaries of over $3 million.

'No conflict' in 2 voting on PJP deal, council told
Friday, September 15, 2006
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City's city attorney sees no conflict of interest when it comes to two City Council members voting on what to do with the former PJP Landfill site - even if they hold day jobs that are indirectly connected to the site's future.

Downtown City Councilman Steve Fulop had asked the city's newly resurrected Ethical Standards Board to give an opinion on whether City Council President Mariano Vega and Ward B Councilwoman Mary Spinello should be able to cast further votes on a controversial warehouse project proposed for the city's west side.

Vega, who wants to make the land a park, is in charge of developing parks for the county.

Spinello is deputy executive director of the Jersey City Incinerator Authority, whichhas levied more than $6 million in fire code fines on Trophy Trucking, a company located on land adjacent to where the warehouse would be built. The city - at Spinello's urging - is putting together a redevelopment plan that would evict Trophy Trucks.

In Fulop's opinion, Vega and Spinello should abstain when the redevelopment plan comes before the City Council in the next several weeks.

According to Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis - who verbally jousted with Fulop at the council's caucus on Monday and gave the council a written opinion on Wednesday - Vega and Spinello should be allowed to vote.

No legal "conflict of interest" exists, since neither Spinello nor Vega are in a position to personally profit from their votes and the question then becomes, are they in a "conflict of office," Matsikoudis said.

In a Hudson County Superior Court case, a judge ruled that City Councilman William Gaughan, chief of staff to the county executive, could vote on a matter before the council even though the county had an interest in the outcome.

Plus, New Jersey permits dual-office holding. So if an elected county freeholder holding office on the council could vote, certainly Vega can, Matsikoudis reasoned.

In regard to Spinello, he said, the statute governing incinerator authorities allows employees to hold public office and fully participate in deliberations.

===============================
Ethics and conflicts of interest

Ricardo Kaulessar --- Hudson Reporter

The council meeting also saw a discussion on the issue of ethics.

Ward E City Councilman Steve Fulop recently asked the city's newly resurrected Ethical Standards Board to give an opinion on City Council President Mariano Vega and Ward B Councilwoman Mary Spinello's involvement in voting on the AMB Warehouse project.

Specifically, Fulop believes both should not be able to cast further votes on a controversial warehouse project proposed for the city's west side based on their respective conflicts of interest.

Both council members have full-time jobs with the county in addition to being city councilpeople, and the county has made it known that it would like to use the land for a different project than the city wants it for.

Vega is currently the director of the Hudson County Department of Parks, Engineering & Planning, and wants the site of the warehouse to be open space.

Spinello is deputy executive director of the Jersey City Incinerator Authority (JCIA). The JCIA has in the past issued millions of dollars in fines to Trophy Trucking, a trucking firm that has property in the vicinity of the warehouse site, for illegal storage of trucks.

However an opinion was issued by the city's corporation counsel, Bill Matsikoudis, at Monday's council caucus and in a letter at Wednesday's meeting that finds that both Vega and Spinello are allowed to vote and there is no conflict of interest.

"Based upon my review of the law, it is my opinion that there is no conflict of interest under the facts presented.

Dual office holding, even if the offices are perceived to be incompatible, is permitted for the positions held by both council members under state law," stated Matsikoudis in his letter.

The City Council would not actually specifically vote on the warehouse project, but would vote on changing the zoning in the area to allow the warehouse.

The issue will be considered by the city's Ethical Standards Board at a future meeting. The state's Local Finance Board also has been sent information regarding Fulop's request.

Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com

Following are 2 emails from Captain Brian McDonough, East District Commander, as forwarded by the Downtown JC Watch group. To receive these updates, please send an email to downtownjcwatch@gmail.com.

Downtown Gun and Drugs Arrest

East District Officers arrested an armed individual in the area of 15th and Erie st early Tuesday morning after being found in possession of a loaded .380 automatic and 101 ziploc bags of cocaine. The gun was stolen out of North Carolina. The actor arrested is identified as Ronnel J. Ransom of Bergen ave , age 25. Mr. Ransom was charged with multiple weapon and drug charges.

Burglary Related Arrests

East District Plainclothes Officers this week arrested three individuals for burlgary related crimes. First, on Wednesday morning, Plainclothes officers Revel and Gonzalez arrested Mr. Shawn Coar, age 46, of Bidwell ave. Mr. Coar was carrying bolt cutters and drug paraphernalia after being spotted leaving an alleyway on York St between Jersey and Grove sts. The bolt cutters are commonly used to cut chains that secure bicycles. Mr. Coar also had a crack pipe in his possession.

Secondly, on Thursday morning, two individuals were arrested for attempting to push into a residence on Morris st. Plainclothes officers Revel and Gonzalez observed the pair after being alerted by Officer James Daly they were loitering in the area and each had a reputation for engaging in property crime theft. Irregardless Officer Daly was assigned to the funeral detail of Deputy Chief Sheyka and amongst 150 other officers the pair were intent on committing a burglary. Subsequent surveillance led to the actors apprehension and each was charged with burglary related crimes. The pair is identified as Rafeal Torres, age 34, of Montgomery st and Juan Rodriguez , age30 of Ocean ave.

New Construction will always bring mice up looking for new homes.

Also mouse proffing is a good idea but a mouse can get through the smallest place (even a hold a quarter their size) so mouse proffing an apartment may seem like a good solution but you need to make sure you get all the "known" holes.

I have found (through my own experiences and with friends) that as long as their is open food/crumbs out on countertops they will come and get it. If there is no food left out there is nothing to come for. I had 4 or 5 mice come and everytime there was food out. Once I started sealing up everything and keeping it in the fridge or cabinets I never had a problem.

Hope these help.

Budget is up $13M - with $9M hole city is hoping to fill
Friday, September 15, 2006
By EARL MORGAN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Jersey City's 2007 municipal operating budget is $148 million - an increase of $13 million over last year's $135 million figure, according to city officials.

The Jersey City City Council voted Wednesday night unanimously and without comment to introduce the budget, even though Jersey City Business Administrator Brian O'Reilly said it includes a $9 million shortfall.

During Monday's council caucus, O'Reilly said he was hopeful his office could find a way to make up the budget gap through anticipated state aid dollars, tax abatement payments and various other funding sources. The gap will have to be closed before the budget can be approved.

Last year, the city closed a $25 million shortfall in the 2005-2006 budget by raising property taxes 18 percent - increasing property taxes from $19.30 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $22.85 per $1,000.

O'Reilly said he is hopeful of finding additional revenues to forestall another tax increase.

"We're looking to get more money from the Port Authority in payment in lieu of taxes we get from them for city property they occupy," O'Reilly said, "and it looks like we will be able to work something out with them."

The budget O'Reilly submitted Wednesday includes $5 million in revenue from two new sources - a city tax on hotel rooms and a transfer fee on real estate transactions.

O'Reilly reeled off a string of high-profile projects the city is hoping to get off the ground using money from the city's $32 million capital budget

The projects includes a new police communications building at Bishop and Grand streets; a new West District police station at Jackson and Clinton avenues; and a new firehouse to replace the facility on Communipaw Avenue, adjacent to the West District police station.

since getting a cat decades ago have never had a rodent problem . . . but the dislocation is common. if you try to set out poison, beware: the critters may decide to die in an inaccessible part of your wall and you will deal with nasty odors.

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I'm shocked!

Here's how this kind of kickback scheme works. A not-terribly-savvy building owner hires (and trusts) an architect. The architect writes up the requirements for the work and puts it out to bid. On the side, the architect arranges for a contractor to put in an artificially high bid. The architect persuades the building owner that this contractor really is the best bidder, for some non-quantifiable reason. (Or sometimes the only "competing" bids are shams.) The owner says OK to the contractor recommended by the architect. The contractor kicks back part of the extra profit to the architect. Architect and contractor are happy; owner sometimes doesn't even realize there has been a con.

Condos and co-ops are especially vulnerable to this scam, since the building "owner" is a corporation made up of the individuals who own the apartments, and the folks on the board are usually volunteers and don't have a lot of construction experience.

There was a huge scandal a while back in which the building managers hired by condos and co-ops were in on it too. They would arrange for a big job like replacing 1,000 windows or brick pointing a highrise, and the bids were all carefully orchestrated so that they were all above the market rate. The boards of these big buildings often trusted their managing agents far too much. The DA's office successfully brought bid-rigging and kickback charges against many, many companies. I was on the board of my building in NYC for many years, and we thought we were pretty savvy, but sometimes I wonder if we were getting taken for a ride too.

If the architect was acting as the construction manager or was responsible for hiring the subcontractors or approving or recommending them it would be easy. If not mistaken, the architect fee is based on percentage of total project cost so the higher the sub bills, the higher the architect fee. If the flooring contractor was acting as the general contractor ( unusual but I have seen demolition contractors act as general contractors) then he would do all the hiring of subs. However it was done, the idea was, if you want this job, inflate your bill to the client and give the overcharge to me.

If possible seal up all openings in the foundation of the building and look for other possible openings -- I had a mouse one time -- so I bought a jar of Skippy Peanut Butter to bait my little "Have-a-Heart" traps -- the next day I checked the traps and of course nothing -- but I just happened to look out one of my fourth story rear windows -- I could not BELIEVE it but out on the phone wires, just stuck out there was the tear-off inside Skippy Peanut Butter lid that I had put in the top of my kitchen trash can. The little bastards must have been coming from the next door building along these high phone wires -- and somehow this folded paper tear-off Skippy lid managed to get caught between two of the phone wires and it was just dangling out there -- swinging in the wind -- hard to believe but I SWEAR it is true! I sealed the small hole on the outside wall where the wire entered -- it was rather a big hole for phone wires and a mouse (or mice) were getting inside the walls right there.

Something to keep in mind is that pet food left out for cats and dogs is one of the main food sources for mice -- that and trash not closed up -- ok and other crazy things like lunatic neighbors!

In my case two girls who were subleting with a dog moved out suddenly mid month and left an open bag of dog food in the building next door and it took the landlord over a month to find out that no one was in the apartment -- guess the real tenant was away for a while and these girls just left the large bag of dog food there and open -- why the mice then did the high wire act to my place I have no idea.

I too find this story and a similar one off the AP wire to not be very clear!

Why indeed would the architect "John Passaretti of the Kurland Passaretti Group (KPG) and Zelig Fekete of Millennium Floors Inc. be able to carry out the scheme on at least seven commercial projects in which KPG was the architect, collecting more than $300,000 in kickbacks."

I hope someone on can shed some light.

This is a good time to bring up anonymous browsing. You can download software (such as http://torpark.nfshost.com/) that makes it almost impossible to trace your source.

If you are paranoid about privacy you should look into using such services.

The infomation we collect is what you give to us when you register or update your profile using the User Menu when you are logged in.

The other information is your IP Address which we would reveal to others ONLY if we were ordered by a judge in a court order.

I looked up the IP for GrovePath and can see that Verizon is their ISP and yahoo.com is the email provider but that is all I can find out ot this person unless they choose to reveal more about themselves. Another court order served to verizon and yahoo.com could compel them to reveal the name and address of the person that registered for internet service and email. It is very difficult to obtain such a court order and we have never been served with one.

We will not say that we retain these IP records and may choose to purge them more frequently if that will minimize our liability. We will do everything possible to maintain the privacy of those that contribute legitamate, lawful, and usefull information to the jclist.com website.

Is there a part missing? Why would a contractor pay a kickback to an architect? Was the architect certifying faulty plans? Are there now buildings in JC that are not safe?

Webmaster, do you archive any info on jclist posters? Can you purge this info from time to time? Say every hour - haha

GETNJ.com is a crazy site!

I can see slander being an issue.

Well in that case, let me clarify a few things here. Wanda is definately not a ho. That flashy dressed man is not necessarily a pimp. The mayor is only a social drinker. Gabby hayes, Roy Rodgers and Hopalong Cassidy were NOT gay. Lieutenant Dan is not a dot com billionaire. Or is He?

Another website operator is ordered to reveal information about Message Forum posts. He probably knows nothing about the posters identity.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1701351/posts

We ask that all of you excersize your "freedom of speech" in a responsible manner here. This is a moderated forum and any post that is considered to be false or slanderous may be removed. If we are to go to jail then it better be for a really good reason.

Architect Charged for Demanding Kickbacks

CBS News

NEW YORK -- An architect, accused of demanding kickbacks from contractors and others in exchange for work, and a flooring distributor were arrested Thursday after being indicted on larceny and bribery charges related to the alleged scheme.

Prosecutors said John Passaretti of the Kurland Passaretti Group (KPG) and Zelig Fekete of Millennium Floors Inc. carried out the scheme on at least seven commercial projects in which KPG was the architect, collecting more than $300,000 in kickbacks.

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said almost all of the kickbacks the contractors, subcontractors and fixtures providers gave the architects were paid by the clients in inflated bills. The work projects were in Manhattan and Jersey City, N.J.

Passaretti, 49, of Oradell, N.J., and Fekete, 47, of Monroe, N.Y., surrendered to Morgenthau's office Thursday. The district attorney said they are charged with second- and third-degree grand larceny, commercial bribe receiving, money laundering, restraint of trade and falsifying business records. They were to be arraigned later.

Passaretti's KPG partner, Scott Kurland, 53, Long Branch, N.J., pleaded guilty Tuesday to third-degree grand larceny, commercial bribe receiving and filing a fraudulent income tax return, Morgenthau said. His plea deal calls for him to be sentenced to one year in jail.

The Manhattan-based KPG used Fekete and his Millennium Flooring company in Brooklyn on most of the architects' projects to facilitate the scheme, Morgenthau said. He said contractors were told to inflate purchase orders on Millennium's work and pay the inflated cost, or to issue checks to Millennium for work that was never done.

In those cases, Fekete passed the unearned money along to KPG, Morgenthau said.

Assistant District Attorney Kelly Donovan, head of Morgenthau's labor racketeering unit, said investigators found at least 10 other instances of kickbacks involving KPG, most of them in New Jersey, for which they have not filed charges.

Morgenthau said neither Millennium nor Fekete had filed city state or federal taxes for the past six years.

I've lived in downtown JC almost 25 yrs. and never had a big problem with mice, only seeing the occasional mice that got through any holes I hadn't plugged with steel wool.

I'm not talking about brillo pads, go to Downtown Hardware where they sell steel wool in different grades from xx fine grade for using on counter tops to remove stains to xxcoarse which is what you want to plug holes up with as they can't chew through that grade and it irriates and cuts so they won't go near it.

I've use steel wool for plugging holes and it works every time to keep out mice. Keep dry good in glass/plastic containers, don't use or bring home paper bags (the glue is food for roaches) and you won't see roaches or mice but maybe a couple of times a year, irrespective of construction.

The cheap traps sold at Downtown Hardware are fine if you're not using the HavaHeart traps.

Rats are another problem: You should be aware though, that like NY, NJ being a waterfront city with old piers, etc, you have huge Norway rats and other breeds that are underground by literally the millions. There are other topic threads here about it including one I posted but too lazy to search it. As the rapacious development goes on in downtown JC, unfettered, you will see rats everywhere as they seek new homes!

i've been seeing some mice too. caught 3 in the last week on glue traps. the other day i went to the stores along newark and bought some oil of peppermint. supposedly that keeps them away. haven't really seen anything the last few days.

My wife and I go to Dr. Kothari on the 5 corners area, he's an allergy specialist and we like him.

Dr. Harish Kothari
(201) 418-9100
591 Summit Ave
Jersey City, NJ

Are you sure that those rats aren't coming from City Hall?

We never had any rodent problems, but then one started making an appearance in the apartment after then began work on an empty brownstone next door-- we put out traps and havent seen any for a while now, but it makes sense that new construction would move them out.

karindiann, I'm with you. Mice I can deal with... a roach problem would make me want to move (i know, its ridiculous, but even typing this is creeping me out!)