The last I heard was that inspections for the current property tax re-eval were to begin this month and continue for about a year(?). Has anyone seen a plan on timelines for different areas of JC?

Just wanted to let others know that Elaine James is now giving semi-private and private art lessons in her studio on Central Avenue in the Heights. Great teacher who already has a good following. Many of you may already know Elaine from Jersey City Studio Art Tour (Pershing Field Venue), from this summer's VineArt classes at the Historic Jersey City & Harsimus Cemetery, and from various other shows in Hudson County.

For more information, see PaintingWithElaine.com

Hope to see you.

Re: Parking -- Michael Yun's team was putting together meetings on various "parking" topics (e.g. illegal parking spots). Not sure if they have started the meetings, but contact his office for more information.

Ok .. I can't resist. See link and take your pick:

http://www.cs.umd.edu/~gasarch/HUMOR/lightbulb.html

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I believe the address is 64 Beach - the house with the large parking area that has been empty for over a year -- Between Kennedy and Montrose. I heard, after the fact, that there was a meeting on plans for this property -- Lot of concerns about parking. I believe Rich Boggiano may have been involved in getting the community meeting together.
Not sure what is replacing Ace Taxi - it would be nice to get some more restaurants on the Blvd. Vinnie's Pizzeria reopened under new management and is pretty good.

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Not sure if this is beginning to change - Heard of plans for a larger multi-unit building on Beach and and looks like there'll be some rebuilding where Hudson Market (?? if that's the name of the large gardening and fruit place on Kennedy Blvd). Have not heard anything recently on the multi-unit building that was being planned on Central Avenue.
Personally, I actually like the fact that the Heights does not have the density of other parts of the JC. At least for now, there's a much nicer vibe as you leave JSq, get past 139, and start to enter the Heights.. more of a neighborhood feel.

I know that a couple of years ago there were some problems with kids at Dickenson High School on Palisades. But, I have not heard of any major issues there lately. There was a recent "meet and greet" with North District police officers over at Wonder Bagels on Central Ave. and one of the officers I spoke with mentioned some work he was doing with teens at Dickenson. -- Perhaps such outreach is working?

I cannot speak to the issue Jersey Mom had over on Franklin and Palisades -- Again, I like the Western section of the Heights better. Having said that, I know the Eastern end of the Heights is getting a lot of attention from realtors. Not sure if it's related to rebranding (Arts District) or the 100 steps, etc. but it seems to be changing for the better. In general, I do not think that gangs is a major problem in the Heights. If you go to Heights community meetings, most of the complaints are on Parking and speeding cars. The article that JerseyMom linked to cites other areas of JC (South of Montgomery and West of Kennedy).

Anyway, the best way to get a feel for the neighborhood is to walk around at different times. That's what I did. I've seen incredibly beautiful houses in other areas of JC, but felt the vibe very quickly change for the worst within a 2 block walk. I'll stick to the Heights.

I moved to the Heights about 11 years ago and am very happy. As Brewster mentioned, prices are definitely on the rise but it is one of the JC areas that (1) is still affordable and (2), perhaps as important (if not more so), is fairly safe without the major crimes that other "on-the-rise" locations have.

The east side of the Heights is getting a lot of attention lately (steps/light rail elevator to Hoboken), but I like the western end of the Heights much better. Many blocks have a good neighborhood feel and people know one another. Also, have nice resources (Pershing Field Park/Pool, Reservoir, etc.). Walk around at different times and see where you feel more comfortable. As Heights mentions, some good neighborhood associations too.

Lot of new places starting to pop up (Gelato and Wonder Bagels on Central, Croissant place on Summit Ave). Hopefully, many more to come.

Buses and frequent jitneys to/from Journal Sq and Port Authority so I find transportation is pretty good. While the jitneys can kind of feel gritty, they run frequently and are cheap (I think it's now $1.50 to JSq an $3.25 to NY with discounted tickets available at Port Authority) .. and they ran even when the PATH was down during much of Sandy. If you are on the lower end of the Heights (e.g. under Manhattan Ave. or so), then even the walk (or bike ride) to JSq is pretty easy.

As for a RE crash, who know what will happen?? Others will say a stock market crash is more likely (so real estate may be a better move?). Not sure what effect the election will have. But for now, mortgage rates are still great. Your real challenge may be inventory -- Not a lot on the market.

FYI - there is a city-wide property reassessment underway -- Not sure what will come of it. Rumor is Downtown JC will be hit the hardest. But, if you find something with very low taxes (e.g., under $6,000??), then factor in taxes may be increased.

Unfortunately, just confirming your experience. I recently closed on a house where some finishing touches were underway on electrical (PSE&G to hook up line to street). City had already signed off on work. Was told the lender will not close if any issue is open. They basically want to know everything is in order in case they need to take the house. If the lender knows of the issue, they will not close.

Is he getting ready to run for Mayor?

Welcome to the neighborhood! I moved here 11 years ago and the area has a lot going for it .. the Reservior, Pershing Field and other local parks/recreational facilities, Central Ave shopping (which is slowly improving), etc..
If you ever wanted to paint, there's an art class at the Pershing Field Community Center - free and no experience needed. If you want to just check it out, come by on Thursday evenings (5PM to 8PM).
Enjoy the hood!

John Moss, http://www.inspexbuildinginspections.com/
is excellent - Have used him for 2 inspectons and a friend also used him. Our lawyer even commented on the thoroughness of his report. Cannot recommend him more highly.

So now, DWS is the honorary chair of Clinton's 50-state program. ... Reward for a job well-done and for her longtime friendship.

You just can't make this shit up. I've been a registered Democrat since I was old enough to vote, but this just sucks.

Waiting to see what else Wikileaks will be posting.

http://fortune.com/2016/07/24/wasserman-schultz-clinton-campaign/

I think the potential is there - There are a lot of artists in the area - You may want to speak to the Riverside Neighborhood Association (http://riverviewneighborhood.org/ and http://www.jcheights.com/Community-Arts-District.shtml) as I believe they were instrumental in pushing through the "arts district". There is also a painting class that is run by the Recreations Dept and meeting at the Pershing Field Community Center Thursday afternoons and evenings. Finally, for a retail perspective, there's a little cafe/cooperative on Summit Ave (may be around Griffin or so - its on a south west corner) that recently opened and sells french pastries, coffee as well as skin products. May be worth talking with them as I think the question may still be getting buyers -- but it does seems like the Heights are getting more people who are priced out of Brooklyn and DTJC.

I have been to a number of community meetings with Michael Yun and I would support him. He reliably has questioned the tax abatements that developers continue to get in the waterfront and downtown areas. He also hosted a meeting questioning many points regarding funding of the "hub" -- where JC would end up contributing heftily to the construction costs as well as rent and maintenance even if construction falls behind schedule. He also has made himself very available to Heights residents at all times and has personally assisted with several quality of life and recreational issues in the area.

I think he would bring some common sense the the city. Let him shake things up.

So, if you haven't guessed, Michael's got my vote if he does run. If he has houses elsewhere, I don't care because he has made himself accessible to residents in his ward. Hell, Fulop bought a house in the Heights but he hasn't done anything notable to improve the area.

For the past couple of Friday nights, we've smelled what seems to be burning rubber on the lower west end of the Heights. Not sure if it's coming from 1/9. Anyone have any knowledge of what it may be from?

Just a note for those looking for a quick, no-frills, marriage.

We tried to get married in Jersey City in December. Getting the license at City Hall was easy enough (note: you need to have one witness with you for the license; 2 witnesses for the ceremony). However, calls to some of the City-managed options for the actual nuptials, especially the one on Summit Ave., were never returned. Eventually, found out that all sites were booked into January. Appointments are required. Went to Summit Ave personally after calling for 3 days and never getting a response. Woman took down my information (could not give me any information) and then never called me back anyway -- I hate to say it but at least at that location, the contacts for wedding ceremonies exemplified the "public sector job holder" stereotype where they don't care about the residents of their own towns and don't seem to give a shit about their jobs.

If you are looking for a simple wedding, I recommend NYC - it was cheaper, faster, more efficent, 24 hr wait period (instead of 72 hr) -- no frills, but the officiant was very friendly and made the ceremony as personal as possible given it takes about 2 minutes in total.

Before switching, be sure to read the post on "Beware - Direct Energy Marketers - latest scam".
You'll see from that link, at least one company you do NOT want to switch to, regardless of the promises.

If anyone is thinking of switching, please see the following links:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/texas- ... panies/direct-energy.html

http://direct-energy.pissedconsumer.com/

Also, I did send an email to Bob Menendez regarding legislative action that could be taken against such deceptive practices. Feel free to do the same (power in numbers). But, would also warn any neighbors who may be prone to become confused or intimated by these marketers.

Just want to warn people that the Direct Energy's door-to-door marketers are out there again with even more bullsh**. They were at my door about 6 weeks ago telling me that I had "not replied to 3 notices". Took me a while to even figure out what they were talking about as they are deliberately vague while being aggressive (like you did something wrong). Once I figured out what the guy was talking about, he got an earful.

Last night, I had 4 or 5 of them at my door. This time, they tried to use the same line (now I haven't "replied to 4 notices") but added more bull. The new twist was that the some of my neighbors (they mentioned names) had switched service and were unhappy and now wanted to switch back. But to have those neighbors switch back they needed everyone in the area to "default" their service.

The marketers were very vague and I would say deliberately confusing which probably is meant to intimate some. My spouse had intially answered the door and basically told them "I don't know what you are talking about". In response, one marketer said "well I just explained it to you - what don't you understand" as if anything they said made sense. FYI, at that point, they had not even mentioned electricity and had just kept saying we need your area to "default".

When I came to the door, I recognized some of crap from the previous month - asked if they were with PSE&G and they nodded as if they were. I asked for their IDs at which point they started to back off. The "leader" of the pack then showed me some paper with "Direct Energy" at the top -- When I challenged them further, they just meekly backed-off and left.

I'm sure they would have tried to get me to show them my PSE&G bill to get my account number to switch my service without my approval. PSE&G said, when they get requests to switch service, they send out a confirmation letter and people have 7 days to respond (e.g. say they do not want their service switched). But, I'm sure there are people to may not read the notice and/or don't realize what is happening until they start to get increased bills.

If you have neighbors who may be intimated or easily confused, please warn them. Again these marketers are using neighbors' names to gain some credibility and are very aggressive. Also for the record, there is no such thing as a whole area needing to "default" for any single household to switch service.

Following is a BBB link for Direct Energy which lists similar tactics:
http://www.bbb.org/houston/business-r ... p-in-houston-tx-16000037/

I have had my 40+ year old gas boiler under contract for several years and can vouch for their service. We upgraded to the premium version when it came out -- covers additional components. About 5 or 6 year ago, we had problems with the boiler and called them. Their repairman came and actually started pulling out various parts saying they weren't necessary -- we were nervous, but have to say it worked fine afterwards. They also replaced the expansion tank last year or the year before. Not sure if necessary if you have a relatively new boiler. But for an old one like ours, I'm sure it has saved us a lot.
Appointments were made fairly quickly and repair guys have been very good.

I know this topic has been brought up before on JCList -- it's a long shot and I'll probably be dead before it would ever be done. However, I do love the idea/drawing and would really love being able to walk/bike between JC and NYC. With all the push for "green" solutions, this should be up there. I wish JC officials would push the idea as it truly would create a big boom for JC. However, with NJ politics the way it is the idea of Port Authority losing all that bridge / tunnel tolls would likely have our wonderful poliiticians, especially Christie, shudder at the thougth.

Some may know Father Kevin who previously was pastor at St Nick's on Central Ave. in the Heights. He often jested with parishioners regarding football. It is very easy to imagine that he was bantering with the boy in question. It is very diffiicult to imagine the alleged actions that he put a rifle, loaded or not, to the boy's head. It will be interesting to find out who actually called the cops and if there was some motive behind the call.

Yeah, like it will really end Sunday at 9PM -- Hell, it will just start to get warmed up.
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Can you take me with you.

The weather on that day was apparently much more potent than MTA's subway system -- Seems like Manhattan is down for the count.

http://web.mta.info/maps/submap.html

Aglaia Vlantes - Very experienced and licensed in both NY and NJ.


http://www.papadopouloslawfirm.com/At ... apadopoulos-vlantes.shtml

Pershing Field Pool is not free - there is an admission charge. As an alternative to the per-visit charge, you can pay a membership fee every 6 months.

Weekend MEMBER ONLY hours began today - 10AM to Noon.
Pool opens to non-members at Noon.

Again, A BIG THANK YOU to Michael Yun, Councilman for Ward D for making sure the hours really happened. Last weekend, he pushed Dept. of Recreation to begin member only hours and checked with them again mid-week when there was still no official word to ensure it was in the works. And he was at the pool this morning before 10AM to make sure it was staffed and open.

I like to give credit where credit is due - If you are a member and want to pass on the thanks, let Michael know at (MYun@jcnj.org).

Pool was GREAT this morning!!

When I had mine done, you needed a permit. At that time, PSE&G charged you for the permit. But, in all honesty, not sure if it was ever filed. They may have removed themselves from that process now.

Used PSE&G in past. I believed they used a local plumber, but work was scheduled quickly (within a day). Total cost was around $1100 for heater with 6 yr. warranty. They also have a payment plan (spead over 12 months) in case that is important to you. Was about 5 years ago and no issues. You may be able to get a local plumber directly for cheaper, but PSE&G was easy and guys showed up on time with heater. They also carted off the old heater.