Yep I was wrong. The wings are now $8. I'll give them another try - but I stand by what I posted, last summer they were among the worst I had ever tasted.

http://www.hamiltoninnjc.com/menus/THI_Dinner_Oct_2010.pdf


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WHO

CARES

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JCPD giving concessions??? The City asking for more??? What planet do you live on?

I really empathize with City workers that lose their jobs. But so does everyone across JC. People are losing jobs all over the City, the City is losing millions because people are losing their jobs, houses and there is less property tax/City revenue.

While few of us can agree on how the City spends it's cash, we can all agree that the City has to cut spending.

JerseyOfficer - this is not about JCPD's self-entitlement, nor JCPD's granting concessions to Jersey City. JC CAN"T AFFORD TO PAY YOU. YOUR UNION IS ALWAYS GOING TO THROW THE NEW GUYS UNDER THE BUS. DON"T SUGAR COAT IT, NOR WEASEL OUT OF THE BLAME.

PS To the mgt of Hamilton Inn.

Seriously - do a taste test on your food - particularly your wings. Go buy some frozen microwaveable Tyson buffalo wings at the local Shoprite or A&P. The Tyson wings get a 6 out of 10 for me compared to the 1 or 2 out of ten for the Hamilton wings.

In fact, fresh chicken wings are so cheap - you could probably hand out free fresh wings to customers and still make a profit on the drinks. Or stick with your $7 charge on your menu - I'd bet noone orders them twice.

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The few times I recently visited the place over the summer, the wings were definitely pre-cooked then reheated. The worst wings I've ever tasted in JC. Which is a huge shame since most of the other items on their menu were excellent.

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Baby strolller moms are simply about your insurance and their (sense of) entitlement.

Snow is stressful. Every year I get umpteen feet of snow piled up by plows in my driveway. The past couple of years I have waved the City plows down and they have cleared it for me. When I shovel snow from my sidewalk, I take the extra minute to clear a shovel's width of snow from both my neighbor's sidewalk My neighbors regularly do the same for me as well as sharing salt. I saw most of my neighbors help dig each others cars out of the snow.

Be nice to your neighbors and the folks plowing the streets in this weather. The sidewalks on our block are almost always free of snow because of neighbors helping each other out.

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If it was me, I wouldn't have swerved to avoid the car pulling out. I would have braked as much as I could, then hit the car. Hitting an idiot in a car that pulls out on me is a much better idea than spinning into a church crowd of pedestrians.

My thoughts:

1. NEVER EVER BRAKE AND SWERVE.
Unless you're a pro driver and know techniques such as hell-toe cornering/drifting, you are going to spin, flip or fishtail. That's true at almost any speed.
2. ALWAYS BRAKE HARD IN A STRAIGHT LINE.
Brake hard to a point of impact. Don't swerve, unless you're avoiding head-on collision. Then let your airbags do their job.
3. TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE BRAKE IF YOU WANT TO STEER AROUND.
Your brake pedal stops you from hitting stuff...your gas pedal gets you around it. Keep your car "balanced" at all times.
4. BRACE BY CROSSING YOUR ARMS IN FROM OF YOUR CHEST IF YOU ARE GOING TO HIT SOMETHING.
Protect your vital organs as racedrivers do.

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A footbridge at Marin and 9th might be a danged great idea. Remove the light and another at Marin and 8th would be awesome. Nice thinking outside the box RJ.

dunno. I think the first sentence of the first post made it pretty clear :)

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A responsible dog owner might have asked for the other owners number. A responsible dog owner might have made sure the other dog was calm and not ready to attack their small dog, before allowing the dogs to "greet" each other. A responsible owner would never just rely on an owners word on the behavior of their dog.

Your dog doesn't deserve the pain and suffering it is going through. I think you need to take more responsibility though.

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Careful what you ask for. Grovepath does a good job of posting where to find the bling outside of downtown :)

http://jclist.com/modules/newbb/viewt ... id=258836#forumpost258836

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Read the dog. Read both dogs. Read your dog no matter how small. Never take the other dogs owner's word.

I empathize with you, but it just looks like you put your dog in harms way based on the word of another owner. Owner's may have all the right intentions but they pretty much don't count when it comes to their dog attacking yours, except for the bill. Read the dog, not the owner.

I've passed these Hoboken stores, but never checked them out. Might be worth a visit.

http://hobokenfishandpet.com/

and

http://www.beowoof.com/index.html

Few statues in the world tell a story better that this one.

Keep the story.

PS: I'd also add.....

If I can't pack my groceries into plastic bags in JC, I'll just shop in Bayonne or Hoboken if the store doesn't give me a reasonable packing alternative. I have a car. Most shoppers also have cars. Give me the choice. Happy to pay a few cents per bag. Not going to lug my own if can pay a few cents extra to go to Hoboken or Bayonne.

Get it? A unilateral City declaration will just drive business elsewhere. Push for it at a state level and it might have some real teeth.

I'm posting this, not because I believe it, but because it's worth looking at both sides of the discussion. Are we "feeling good about ourselves" and not "making a real environmental impact". Dunno.

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

http://www.apmbags.com/bagmyths



Plastic Bag Myths
Plastic bags are being demonized across the world these days, but most of the statistics given to justify bag bans and taxes are either misleading or just plain wrong. Below are some of the more popular myths about plastic bags, as well as some interesting facts.

Oil Consumption

MYTH: According to many websites and environmental groups, plastic bag manufacturing uses a large percentage of the crude oil that is consumed in the US. Some suggest that eliminating plastic bags would reduce our dependence on oil.

TRUTH: Plastic bags, and all plastics for that matter, are made from byproducts created by refining petroleum products. The raw material for most plastic bags made in the US is actually natural gas. Less than 3% of all oil ends up being converted into plastic - ALL plastic - from car bumpers, to computer parts, to bags and packaging. The VAST majority of oil is refined into fuel.

The equivalent of approximately 12 million barrels of oil goes into the annual US supply of plastic bags. This sounds like a huge number until you compare it to the 20 million barrels used every day in the US, mustly as fuel for transportation and industry. Bag manufacturing is a fraction of 1% of US oil comsumption. The average US per capita bag use is about 500 bags a year ? the oil equivalent of about half a gallon of gas.

Banning or taxing plastic bags will do nothing to curb oil consumption.

Single Use

MYTH: Most proposed bag bans and taxes use statistics based on an assumption that plastic bags are only used once.

TRUTH: Studies have shown that 80-90% of the population reuse plastic grocery bags at least once. As trash bin liners, for picking up after pets, as lunch sacks, holding wet laundry, etc. Plastic bags are also very easy to recycle, and most grocery stores provide bag recycling bins.

Ireland's Bag Tax

MYTH: Ireland's 2002 tax on plastic grocery bags reduced plastic bag use by 90%.

TRUTH: This is partially true, but doesn't tell the whole story. Use of plastic grocery checkout bags declined, but sales of packaged plastic bags went up by about 400%, resulting in a net gain in plastic bags going to landfills. This shows that most people were reusing their plastic grocery bags for tasks where plastic bags are the best solution - trash can liners, picking up after the dog, wet garbage, etc.

San Francisco Bag Ban

MYTH: In 2008, San Francisco banned plastic bags, which resulted in a huge drop in bag use, and an increase in reusable bags.

TRUTH: Yes, since plastic bags were banned, stores stopped using them. But there was not a huge shift towards reusable bags. Instead, there was a huge increase in paper bag consumption. According to all studies, paper bags are responsible for many times the pollution and oil consumption than plastic bags. Paper is heavier, and not as durable, as plastic and requires far more resources to create, and creates much more air and water pollution. In addition to this, the San Fran Ban also practically eliminated bag recycling programs in the city, and after one year, plastic bag litter (the main reason for the ban) had actually increased.

Recycling

MYTH: Recycling plastic bags is extremely costly and difficult.

TRUTH: Recycling programs are growing all the time, and plastic recycling is actually a very simple, cost effective and energy efficient process. The main products currently made from recycled grocery bags is composite lumber, and new bags.

Marine Wildlife Tangled in Bags

MYTH: "Over 100 thousand marine animals die from becoming tangled in discarded plastic bags each year."

TRUTH: The report that this myth was based on (a Canadian study from 1987) didn't mention plastic bags at all. In 2002 the Australian Government commissioned a study on plastic bags, and the authors misquoted the 1987 study. What the original study found was that between 1981 and 1984 over 100 thousand marine mammals and birds were killed by being caught in discarded fishing nets and lines.

Litter

MYTH: Plastic bags are a major source of litter, and banning or taxing bags will reduce litter.

TRUTH: Plastic bags make up less than one percent of all litter. Cigarette butts, fast food packaging, and food wrappers are much larger contributors. Banning one item that becomes litter does nothing to change the mindset of those that discard trash improperly. Many of the bags that end up as litter blow off of garbage trucks or out of landfills. Landfill operators and garbage haulers should be held accountable for items that escape containment.

Since plastic bags are responsible for less than 1% of all litter, banning or taxing them will have no impact. The solution to litter is public education, recycling programs, and proper disposal.

Landfills

MYTH: Landfills are overflowing with plastic bags.

TRUTH: Plastic bags are easily recycled, but even if they do end up in a landfill, they take up a small fraction of one percent of landfill space. The average person uses about 500 plastic grocery bags per year, which by weight is about the same as a phone book or two. By comparison, the average person generates nearly one ton (2000 pounds) of garbage each year.

The major contributor to landfills is paper, wood and construction debris. Banning or taxing plastic bags would mean that more paper bags would get used, resulting in more waste going to the landfill.

Paper Bags are Better

MYTH: Many people believe that paper bags are a better environmental choice than plastic.

TRUTH: Paper bags, even recycled ones, require many times more energy to produce than plastic. Paper production and recycling also produces far more air and water pollution than plastic. And because paper bags weigh nearly 10 times that of plastic bags, they require 10 times the fuel to transport.

Paper bags can also be easily contaminated with oils, grease, and food waste that can contaminate entire batches of recycling. Plastic bags can be cleaned prior to recycling to eliminate contaminants.

Reusable Bags

MYTH: The prevailing environmental opinion is that heavyweight canvas, cotton, and polypropylene reusable bags are the best choice to replace plastic bags.

TRUTH: While these reusable bags are great for some uses, their environmental impact hasn't been properly studied. Most are made in China, where health and pollution standards are somewhat lax, and then shipped halfway across the globe to get to you.

Reusable bags also can't be used for the myriad of things that disposable bags are used for. If disposable bags aren't available at the checkout stand, people will purchase packaged bags for secondary uses such as trash can liners.

Bans and Taxes

MYTH: Taxing grocery bags or banning plastic bags will reduce greenhouse gasses and save the planet.

TRUTH: Since bags are a minimal contributor to all the problems associated with them (oil use, litter, landfill volume, etc.), bans and taxes simply won't do anything for the environment. And because the alternatives all require more fuel to create, recycle, and transport, eliminating plastic bags actually increases greenhouse gasses.

Ogden1

I have not seen any site that supports your assertion that JC school crossing guard make only about $10/hour. Other sites show annual JC school crossing guard salaries in the range of about $20-25k/year. 3 hrs/day (morning, lunch and afternoon) on say 180 school days/year would work out at $46*3*180 = $24,840.

The JJ numbers look credible. Post some real evidence to support your numbers if you disagree with them.

http://www.salaryexpert.com/index.cfm ... sitionId=76910&CityId=369

I think the crossing guards do an excellent job, and I know it's not without it's risks. And I also agree there are probably better targets for City cuts. (For example JC pays over 15k/student/year - three times the national average per student, for a broken system.) However, $46/hour if true, is wasteful City spending. Across the nation services like this are being cut as local governments have to make tough choices. I also wouldn't underestimate local parents capability to self-organize if these services were reduced or cut.

Oh - and drop the scaremongering. Most Lincoln and Ferris kids are more frightened of their crossing guards and parents than the other way around. I drive past Ferris most days. They are extremely well behaved compared to a lot of schools.

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I think the Dept of Labor have just taken the tax filings - the $20,210 number and divided by 52*40 to get the $9.72 number. Crossing guards most likely work around 10 hours/week and not every week, which make the JJ numbers more credible.

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Ogden1 - you are flailing around, presenting your own views, and providing zero facts. How's about a few links to support your assertions?

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If they were paid $10/hour I don't think anyone would have an issue. And as far as volunteer crossing guards go, a lot of communities in the US and countries like Greece and NZ manage very successful volunteer crossing guard programs. Perhaps try googling and following the links a little more deeply :)

Start with this one:
http://www.handsoncentralcal.org/crossing_guard_program.html

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BS. Hard to argue the facts. They may only work 10-15 hours per week. $48/h is obscene for basic traffic duty. People volunteer for this duty for free. Schools have regular collections to give gifts to these traffic helpers. You'll get free volunteers for this kind of work. Why pay? You are out of your tiny minds.

For any JCPD layoff, why not negotiate something between the City and the banks?

If the person layed off has a JC house and JC mortgage, why not pay their mortgage interest for say 1 year to keep them in their homes?

Give them a break?

My rant first to get it out of the way:

WHAT STUDENT BENEFITS FROM PASSING THESE GENERALIZED TESTS? DAMNED COMMUNISM IN ACTION IF YOU ASK ME.

Put yourself in a low-income student's shoes. I can graduate with a piece of paper that says I can read, write and count. But can I get a job at the end of it? If I graduate, can I afford a college education? If I dropout, sell drugs or whatever, I can make quite a bit, and worst case, if I'm caught, I get free lodging, food and health care for a period. What other career choices do I have?

There are quite a few things wrong with the overall picture. The biggest one is choice for the young student.

For most low-income students, the real choice is to enter the military and get their vocational education that way, or if they're talented, win a scholarship. Other countries give students a lot more choices at an earlier age...in Europe for example, 14-16yr old have choices to aim for a trade apprenticeship (plumber, electrician, auto mechanic), or enter careers such as with the merchant marine. Also most countries have free or near free college/university ed for low-income families.

I think we need to give our kids both a choice earlier in their education path on where they want to get to, and the support for making that happen.

How to measure success? Jobs, jobs, jobs. How many students from any given school, end up employed should be the primary measure. How many in jail and in college could be secondary measures.

Finally I'm totally mystified by the whole financial management of this. Local schooling is funded mostly at the county level. Prisons mostly at the state and federal level. Low income benefits are funded mostly at the fed level. There are some serious cost savings in across prison and low income benefit funding, with improving education. But these budgets are managed at different levels. There is no real incentive to spend money to reduce prison populations and low-income payouts by improving education. That is idiotic in my book.

In the 80's I received a BSc Honors degree from a UK university for less than free, All my course costs were covered, plus I got around $3k/year living expenses - I came from a low-income family at the time. I succeeded, and have more than paid back the UK and US governments in taxes invested in me over the years.

Bottom line, I think education is about incentives to students.

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I can already read the results....and unfortunately it could be damaging. "We conducted an independent poll of 5,000 JC residents and the majority said they welcomed the new jobs and money the pipeline would bring.....".

Can we counter this BS by our own poll/petition?

The stops were probably set up back in the days when there was more bus service to Hamilton park. The schedule is now limited to a basic rush-hour service, from JC am, to JC pm.

http://www.njtransit.com/pdf/bus/T0126.pdf


From NY to JC the 126 drops people off from 5:37pm to 11:45pm on 8th st weekdays. From JC to NY, it picks people up from 8th and 9th street between 6:43-8:54am. In the mornings, drivers pretty much use 8th street as a "terminal" to park their buses, but only for a few minutes.

The buses are around 40 ft long, and both stops are around 100ft long. However both streets are fairly tight, and for a bus not to block traffic flow it needs to be able to pull in and park without needing to reverse. At a 30% angle, a 40' bus needs at least 75' clear space to pull over.

It makes no sense having both stops. Plus there's zero risk of having more than 2 buses at the same stop at the same time given the schedule.

To be honest. I'd recommend scrapping both stops, and site a single stop on West Hamilton between Pavonia and 9th. That way, if a bus ever needed to double park for a period (say some idiot parks at the bus stop), it could do so without blocking through traffic. Pavonia could be used as an exit. Alternatively, move the 9th street stop east of Jersey Ave, allowing 9th street traffic to exit on Jersey Ave. I think the current sites are more to do with the fact that the entrances to the park are also designated "no parking", so effectively provide addional space for buses to pull over if the bus stop is blocked. Personally, I think it's better to let the bus double park for a short period so long as other road users have an easy exit.

Also, the bus stop be designated as "temporary" or have posted hours, say 6am-9am and 5:30pm-midnight Mon-Fri, if that's possible. Why block weekend and 9-5 parking if there are no scheduled buses?

Fulop might be your man to contact if you can't find a NJ Transit contact.

I think the best resolution to this might be just to ask for a 1-1 chat with the officer.

I don't think you'll get a public apology from the JCPD. Officer Menendez might give you an "off-the-record" apology or explanation.

With no one hurt and no crime, difficult to see any other outcome.

Leaf blowers??? If that's your top "quality of life" issue, I'd love to have your life.

Dan Levin is right on this. Tax the bags, don't ban them. Use the revenue to both reduce property taxes and reduce usage. An outright ban can be considered as a later ordinance.


http://www.nj.com/hudson/voices/index ... _to_tax_plastic_bags.html

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I've had people block my garage. The offender invariably gets two tickets - if they block my garage they're also in front of a fire hydrant. Double fine. JC Parking authority/JCPD only tow if the offender's licence plate shows up on their repeat offender list. Also JCPD normally avoid calling for a tow if it's possible to get in and out of the garage, even if it's a tight squeeze.

However, you have pissed off your neighbor. Burden of proof is on you if you want to sue them. I'd recommend you respect their property and access.

In my book, you are the type of insensitive idiot that I would like to key if I could get away with it.