I second BrightGirl!

A good bowl of noodles would relieve the monotony of falafel, pizza and "Asian fusion" found downtown.

Thanks for the intel, jclist.

And welcome to the neighborhood, Thirty Acres.

Welcome even more if you truly are from Momofuku and you plan to serve any sort of noodles.

Does anyone have info on the new restaurant occupying the space that was (until very recently) Esperanto's Pizza on Jersey Avenue?

Paper went up in the windows on Saturday. The location is really promising, and I hope for a great neighborhood dining option.

If you really want to save yourself a lot of trouble, hire a contractor that not only works in New Jersey, but one that works often in Jersey City.

Jersey City's buildings department claims to not "share systems" (whatever that means) with the state licensing authority for contractors, electricians, plumbers, etc. They give you a lot of flack and waste a lot of your time during permitting/inspection if they don't know the contractor or if he's not in the city's "system".

If I were you, I would shell out the $$ to hire a good contractor who works often in Jersey City. If you need a permit of any sort (and you probably will) or a C of O or anything, it's worth the money.

I spent five Monty Python-like hours at the Jersey City Dept of Buildings just this week and advise you to avoid visiting their office (on Montgomery Street by the water) unless you have a few hours to burn and unending patience. Any information you get from the public servants there will be incomplete or incorrect, and it will certainly be given in a hostile manner. The petit napoleons there certainly don't want to deal with you, a tax-paying citizen and property owner.

Just save yourself a lot of trouble and time and hire someone.

I second Grove Path's suggestion. Look for a place near Newark Avenue, but on the far side of Jersey from the PATH station.

You might have to walk a little further to get a good deal. Stick to the main drags, like Jersey Ave and Newark Ave, if you have safety concerns.

People patronize neighborhood and 99 cent stores because the stores are conveniently located-- I suspect that most people shop at them on foot.

Big boxes located way out by the Hudson Mall serve a different clientele-- a clientele with access to an automobile. You must drive a car or take a bus to get there. I don't think that crappy old Hudson Mall rings the death knell for local small business.

Newport Mall, the newport Target, Modell's, Staples, PathMark, Bed Bath and Beyond, etc are the real culprits. These giant megastores just don't belong in a mostly pedestrian area.

Property owners like the folks who own the giant empty space next to Dunkin' Donuts are absolutely waiting for a long-term, sure-thing tenant, like Duane Reade or KFC or something equally boring. I inquired about leasing that space last year, and the rent was (if memory serves correct) well above 12 or 13K per month. Doesn't that large amount of rent eliminate most (if not all) independent business as potential tenants?

I don't know a lot about urban redevelopment, but it seems that property owners who prefer to let their properties sit vacant for years like this contribute to Jersey City's lackluster progress.

Arrest and impound resulting from an unpaid ticket might not be a new policy, and it isn't just in Jersey City. It happened to a friend of mine a couple of months ago when she made the mistake of asking a policeman who was directing traffic about the best route around some flooding in Kearny.

My friend was arrested, held in the police department for hours, had her car impounded and lost a few days of work over a parking ticket from a few years ago that she never even knew about.

applause to t-bird. If only half of the comments here were as witty and concise.....

Funny that Kilgore should comment on the noise level.

I *just* walked by duckys and dumplings and could hear a male employee SCREAMING at a female employee as I walked by on the street. I even stopped for a while to watch as two or three customers uncomfortably watched the woman get dressed down.

The spectacle felt a bit like an SNL sketch.

I don't mind the density of JC traffic. Afterall, we live in a big city.
Like Tommy, I do mind the apparent disregard for pedestrians when planning redevelopment of our neighborhoods and streets.

Grand Street is wide and accommodates lots of cars and that's fine. Grand Street in should also have a bajillion speed bumps to slow the traffic down.

Christopher Columbus, however, is like the unfortunate lovechild of a pigpath and a superhighway. I grew up driving on dirt and gravel roads, and most of them offered a smoother ride. The potholes, poorly installed crosswalks, AND speeding drivers make it unsafe for pedestrians and car traffic alike. I can't believe that street is still in such poor condition. Also, it's an incredibly ugly eyesore.

PostNet once charged me a dollar for a piece of tape. Not a roll of tape -- one single piece of tape.