More that's been said before: in my neighborhood the flooding is due to the sewers overcharging nearly to street level and leaking into the street fill and then under our foundations.

My check valve works perfectly but in a really heavy rain the entire basement slab will be so pressurized every crack is squirting like a fountain.

The city has videoed the sewer, seen that is has all sorts of cracks, and walked away. The don't do anything until it actually collapses.

We have a complex system in our apartment building that was installed back in the 80's that deals with roof runoff and sewer back ups. Unfortnately someone had shut it off and we had some flooding last year. It took four visits by four different plumbers to figure this out. The first three plumbers told us we would need check valves and we would have to re-route our roof runoff which would have cost thousands of dollars. The fourth took two seconds to actually look at the contraption and realize that the switch was turned off.

In the end we will need to get a better sump pump for the front of our apartment but that will not cost nearly as much as a check valve.

My point is this, even though plumbers can talk with a lot of confidence they might not be giving you the proper information. Plumbers are plumbers, not engineers, and you should talk to as many people as possible to assess your situation.

who did you use at guarini? how much did the floodgate costs?

It's true, we go through the same thing every year.

Plumbers will tell you that check-valves work, but they don't because, as Alan said, debris gets stuck in the valve, which prevents it from closing. I had a check-valve, and a system for keeping it clean and free of debris, and it still didn't work all the time.

I had this Floodgate valve installed about a year-and-a-half ago, and it's been working so far. Guarini will put it in for you. Here's a link:

http://www.jrsmith.com/products/prodcat.htm

This is, of course, for sewer backup through your main. It's not the same thing as water seeping through your walls, which is another issue.

I know, I know - I post the same comment at least four times a year. If you think you are going to have sewage backing up - even the slightest chance - get Hep A & B vaccinations.

It is possible that debris is preventing the checkvalve from closing completely.

Sorry for sidetracking the thread.

is the basement flooding because of the sump pump being overwhelmed or by the sewer backing up?

or is it seeping from where the floor and the walls meet?

has anyone found any solutions to basement flooding? with the torrential rains, the sump pump could not keep the basement dry and then sewage came in from the street, even with a backflow preventer.

the incompetent jcmua keeps saying they don't have the money to replace the existing combined sewer.

What a lot of people (ironically this is especially the case with historic preservationist types) is an historic perspective. In the 70s and early 80s no one wanted to invest in JC. LeFrak did so and by the standards of the time Newport was a big risky improvement and way upscale for JC. They made a lot of money off a place that I wouldn't want to live in then or now - so what?

Now that JC is in a real estate craze many have their bitch about how this or that should have been done better. Where were they when no one else was willing to invest?

[quote]
Skadave wrote:
I am not that much of a newport hater. Yes, it doesn't have any soul but it is clean, safe, and it does have some larger chain type stores which I find useful.

Just think, Newport could have looked like Lefrak city in queens. At least most of these buildings are not atrocious looking.

Could it have been done better to reflect more of a community atmosphere? Yes. But it could also still be a dilapidated rail yard if it were up to local community groups to decide what to do with the land. You would have the one little league guy with too much power who would want all of the land to become baseball fields, you would have the dog run people, the anti dog run people, the park people, the wallmart people, the don't block my view people, and the historical preservation society people who would try to get the rail yards classified as a historic site.[/quote
]

To see the Memorial Hill, which isn't a foundation for the two 200 foot long and 30 feet high Walls, please see the architect's website, and for a comparison, there's a link to a photo of my mother with the view of the whole entire skyline view intact.
Just as important as preserving a sacred view of the downtown NYC skyline at the north end of Liberty State Park(and the view of the river on which people were evacuated on 9/11), is that there be an opportunity for the public to express themselves about the consequences of this design at a public meeting on this public memorial in this public park behind Lady Liberty. The Walls will block views also.
Sam
http://www.schwartzarch.com/nj911memorial.htm
http://www.folsp.org/Ethel_at_terminal.jpg

Dr. Mangia on Washington St is great. Only complaint is waiting time.

Ross, thanks for clearing the confusion.... I stand by my statement that being an independent locks you out of most elections, the local representation.... As the old saying goes, "All politics is local ".

But you can still vote in the mayoral election- non-partisan..
Mia

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well, f890. Does that mean I'm a registered Democrat now? Thanks for posting that link. And here I thought I was pulling a fast one. Can't beat the machine.

Now, to set about downloading a voter registration form...

Quote:


Not quite - per the State board of elections:

http://www.state.nj.us/lps/elections/faq_voter_doe.html#a26

Independents voting in their FIRST primary can declare at the polls. After that, you need to file a party declaration 50 days prior to the primary.

Grovester stated " Apparently, they said at the polls yesterday, that everyone was Independent and could choose when they got to the polls on primary day."

That was what I was commenting on, the everyone part... His statement implied that I could change to Republican on that date if I so chose. That took me by surprise.

Yes, I know an independent can vote in a NJ primary and I think it's a good thing. I agree that Common Cause NJ etc should promote that....

Mia

Mia--they probably didn't mention it because you are a registered Dem.

I'm undeclared so they did give me a choice when I showed up at the polls.

I think this is a terrific law that increases opportunities to vote because I would never register to a party just so I could vote in a primary. So the fact that primary elections are not restricted to party affiliated voters, as they are in most states is a real pleasure to me.

You would think that groups like Common Cause, PIRG, et al, would do more to educate the people of NJ on this. Certainly you can't count on the Reps. and Dems. to do it.

I'm not registered with any party and I voted for Joe Vas yesterday--but only because 25McWilliams let me know I could. Otherwise I would have stayed home and waited for November. The law should probably be scrapped because it invites sabatoge, but if it's going to be the law, voting materials should play it up more.

Oh well, a strong loss isn't as good as a win, but it can still send a message.

No one mentioned that to me at the polls but I went at an odd hour. I'm not aware of the law. My expereince years ago when a bunch of us wanted to vote in the republican primary, anti-Schundler vote, we had to file change of party forms by a 4-6 week deadline date. It's good if that has changed.

I'm sure many independents stayed away not knowing they could declare a party on primary day. I've spoken to independents in the past who never realized that by the time they get to the polls in November it's a done deal on the local level....They prided themselves on not having an affiliation but they missed the prime opportunity to have a choice....

Nice find ZsaZsa. I hadn't noticed the "supplementary" zoning regulations contained in that other 'general extras' section (? 345-60. ---- Supplementary zoning regulations. [Amended 9-10-2003 by Ord. No. 03-113; 10-8-2003 by Ord. No. 03-134]). Interesting rules on home occupations (and other interesting points) I hadn't noticed before.


2. Standards for Specific Accessory Uses.

a. Home Occupations.

i. The practitioner must be the owner or lessee of the residence in which the home occupation is contained.

ii. The practitioner must reside in the home as his or her principal residence.

iii. There shall be no external evidence of the home occupation.

iv. The practitioner shall not utilize the services of more than one non resident employee.

v. There shall be no retail sales, manufacturing or industrial operations conducted on the site.

vi. No more than one business visitor shall be permitted at any one time.

vii. There shall be no sign identifying the home occupation and there shall be no identification of such home occupation upon any mailbox.

viii. The residential character of the neighborhood and the premises shall not be subordinated to the home occupation use.

ix. The home occupation shall be clearly incidental and subordinate to the principal use of the dwelling for residential purposes. The maximum area devoted to the home occupation shall be limited to not more than forty percent (40%) of the total area of the floor where the home occupation use is located, excluding space used for a private garage, or nine hundred (900) square feet, whichever is smaller.

x. No equipment or process shall be used in such home occupation which creates glare, fumes, odors, electrical interference, medical waste, or other nuisance factors detectable to the human senses outside the lot on which the home occupation is conducted.

There was this interesting fellow wearing a Fulop Field Team shirt and handing out Vas flyers on the corner of Mercer & Jersey and later migrated over to Jersey & Montgomery yesterday. When he wasn't busy singing and dancing to his reggaeton tunes from his mp3 player, he was so obviously checking out women's arses and sometimes making lewd comments to women passing by (myself included). Mira, chinita ... insert lewd comment and kissing noise. And no, although my Spanish isn't great, I know that he didn't ask me to vote for Vas in Spanish, nor did he hand me a flyer.

Quote:


Apparently, they said at the polls yesterday, that everyone was Independent and could choose when they got to the polls on primary day. When they said that, I sort of remembered hearing that being passed as a law. I've thought of myself as a registered democrat my whole life, but at the polls yesterday, they said, "Do you want to vote Democrat or Republican?"

So, rather than say it's a waste, maybe we should be questioning that law.

On the other hand, maybe it's good, it allows anyone to wake up on election day and say, "Hey, I'd like to vote in this one" without going through all the trouble of changing parties and whatnot.

Anyone have more detailed results? How did the candidates do by ward? By election district?

Also, what were the out of county results?

It's all about the apathy.... 19% of the registered Democrats voted and I'm sure most were straight party line voters. It's amazing to see that 49.4% of Hudson County's registered voters are independents, which is a waste in HC. Whoever wins the primary, wins the general election so independents don't even participate in the process. See http://www.hudsoncountyclerk.org/cgi-bin/election.pl for the election results...

Mia

I moved to J.C. about a year ago from Clifton and I would like to find a Doctor (internal medicine) and a Dentist that is a little closer to home. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

Joe Vas concession speech at Liberty House 6.6.2006

http://www.hudsoncountyclerk.org/cgi-bin/election.pl

Election Results- ONLY for Hudson County (

Dem - House of Representatives- 13th District
73/288 25.35% counted
Vote Count
Albio Sires 3,282
Joseph Vas 1,273
Personal Choice 1
Total 4,556

--------------------------------------
from http://www.nj.com:

All counties
U.S. House District 13 (12% Precincts Reporting)
Albio Sires Dem 1,476 52.10%
Joseph Vas Dem 1,357 47.90%

The County/HCDO decides where the names are placed on the ballot. It is not pick of the draw.

I voted at 6:30PM -- E17 and was number 45, including the pink signature slips.


Quote:

I voted a few minutes ago. Can we discuss how biased the ballot is? I am a highly educated and fairly smart person and it took me a bit to figure out how to vote for Vas.

I realize that this is a primary and is therefore run by the party, not the government, per se, but the HCDO candidates are given an unfair advantage. Especially since, to answer a previous question, the party and the HCDO are technically NOT the same thing. Although in reality . . .

Right, I figured out that they were unopposed, but who are Elizabeth Roman and Osvaldo Roman???

Quote:

Thanks to SuperFurry and Steve Fulop for the pointers. I'll be leaving work shortly and will try again to vote.

The county committee people in Hoboken were unopposed, unfortunately. DFA should try to field a slate of challengers next year, countywide.