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Put simply:
1. Trader Joes will not build a store here because they have poor corporate algorithms for determining locations.
2. People at Grove (nor would anyone else) PATH or subway to a grocery.
3. It's Trader Joes loss for failing to capture a market of people who would patronize their store.
4. Perhaps we should look into what it takes to establish our own grocery or co-op?

Done. I sent the request.
Alittle off topic, can we petition for a Wawa. I really wish we had a Wawa

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We're in agreement! I think we said the same thing in a few different ways. Only one addition: you can both live at Grove or Journal as well. The 33rd Street PATH extends a little further than Newport, and gives you a few more housing, transport options outside of commuting.

I'm game. I'll be there. Lets see how many 3 min speeches we can give on the topic! Can anyone make a petition?


PS SICULO
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We've already had a robust love fest about our overwhelming support for municonsol. This isn't a partisan issue. This is something WE want for OUR community (Christie or no Christie).

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God I hope not! Walgreens tend to be 24 hours and full of the most random useful things.

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First, I agree with you 100%. Huge corporations take minimal risks, and that's why Cali companies are few and far between while NY companies have branches everywhere. I've never had a hard time finding a Duane Reade nor a Chase bank.

Second, I think my response addresses more so the "it can't happen here" mentality that tends to prevade the forum at times. It can happen here, and if something will happen, it will happen at Grove Street.

Great Neck and Somerset! I don?t envy you two. Midpoints don?t really work in your situation. One of you will be making a ?rush hour? commute. One will be making a ?reverse? commute. SI to Somerset will take your about 40 mins. SI to Great Neck will take your 40 mins in the middle of the night (but about 2 hrs between 6am and 10am). You should consider moving somewhere more transit accessible where she has access to the Port Washington Branch of the LIRR. Jersey City can give you the PATH to 33rd Street (a block from Penn), Newark has direct links to Penn etc.

I like Staten Island, but I agree with previous posters. It?s suburban, insolated, and the toll is oppressive.

GP: You always have the best information! Kudos for always keeping your ear to the ground. You should start a paper or something.

This Trader Joes will be at Grove Street, so lets insert the Grove Street perspective. Trader Joes would survive at Grove because of the neighborhood characteristics.

1. People who live at Grove walk first, PATH second, drive third. Despite misconceptions, the majority of Grove (VVPark, Harsimus, Village, HP) residents do not have cars. Don?t believe me? Look at any street, count the floors, and assume there is one unit per floor, per building. Then count the cars. The cars will never come close to the number of units. Those people are either walking or PATHing it. According to the Census 48% of JCers use public transportation while 8% walk to work, and I?m betting to wage that the proportion of those walking or using public transportation are concentrated downtown and around the PATH.

2.Grove Streeters are pretty diverse, but I am willing to wager that those who are moving in tend to be pretty young and health conscious. I?ll give you that based on the businesses that have opened up. LITM, Skinners Loft, Made With Love, Another Man?s Treasure, and The Stockinet. Compounded onto that, Shot Rite has an organic section (it never use to). Hell we have three small organic Asian supermarkets within four blocks of the PATH.

So as a Grove Streeter, I?ll say that the reason Trade Joes would succeed because people walk. TJ Edgewater because it?s not walkable. I can go to the TJ Union Square, but that?s intense. It?s a half-mile walk from the PATH station, plus the PATH ride, and the walk to the PATH plus bags of food. It?s not feasible.
If you placed a TJ at Grove, people would use it. People may even drive from Bayonne or SI or PATH from the Square, or Light-rail. We certainly aren?t oversaturated with food markets. Have you seen Shop Rite? (on a Sunday!?!)

And in defense of JC, I live here because I want to. I liked the Chili cook off, I like our library, I love my neighbors, I?ve become attune to my surroundings. I watch mercy. This place isn?t just an end to some new York means.

I hate these rankings. They are always devoid of substance, and only consider skewed polls and personal opinions. There are so many factors that contribute to what some believe make a ?great town? that you can never determine the final winner. If you weight taxes more heavily, Secaucus becomes a great place. If you talk about social services, perhaps Weehawken ranks high.
In defense of West New York, I spent Valentines Day there. Bergenline Avenue is the longest commercial strip in the state. Bergenline in WNY loses a lot of the crowding you see in Union City, but maintains a well-kept ethnic flare. It also contains part of Boulevard East (it has a panoramic view of Manhattan from a cliff top for miles). Never once did I feel endangered, or that the place was unkempt. So why again is it last? I would venture the believe that it was last because the politicians didn?t kowtow to NJ Monthly.
I can?t stand the Star-Ledge Online. Its comment page is full of some of the most caustic rhetoric that I?ve seen of any paper on the Internet. That said, what reputable news source asks readers what?s the worst town. Those polls are inaccurate at face and there is not choice to say, ?none of them are the worst?.
Jersey City is a wonderful place for some (including me). In my opinion, its better than any suburb. The suburbs cannot provide the diversity; they cannot provide the public transportation, nor the history, or nor the vibrancy at the price all at once.

I think I've seen it in Tender Shoots (or one of the other Asian Farmers Markets) on Newark and Grove near Grove Street PATH. If not, you'll probably have to make the trek to Chinatown.

Well obviously, you?re wrong. Jcblows.
1. You?re experience reflects the experience of one bad experience. My grandmother once told me something. If everyone else believes on thing, but you believe another, you are either really smart or crazy. I am sorry you are having a bad experience wherever you live (bad hood, bad block, bad w/e), but you certainly don?t speak for everyone. Again, I certainly cannot pass for hood or tough, and I have never felt endangered or threatened (even as I?ve walked from the PATH past mid-night).
2. It?s also rude to make sweeping generalizations about people. It reflects poorly on your character and credibility.
3. I love Queens and Brooklyn. I considered both as I chose a place to live. To be frank, I really wanted Queens before I saw my place and the neighborhood. Jersey City is no different. New York City is a region that exists outside of Manhattan. To suggest that crossing one river over another creates some drastically different change is sort of odd.
I?m sorry you?ve had a rough time. I can understand you need to vent, but please keep the venom out of this forum.

Easy, you can find everything for a fried turkey at Shop Rite, Pathmark, or any other major supermarket. (but not the Cash and Carry)

Has anyone noticed the awful smell of the new PATH Trains? I enjoy a new ride, but the train certainly does not exhibit a "new car smell". It's not one train, but every new train with the same odor. Does anyone have any insight into why the new trains contain a funk? Will it go away?

I agree. A delivery guy does as much if not more than a waiter most of the time. They DO often pay for their own gas. I wouldn't pay as much as glitter, but I try to consider all the possible factors: cost, time, distance, weather, traffic, etc. I live downtown, and if i order from some place more than a mile away, I'm probably an inconvenience (by JC standards), so I try to make it "worth their while". I probably pay and average of $2 dollars for 10.00s local, $4 for someone from Journal or the Heights, and an additional $1 per 10.00 after.

So in your issue, I would have tipped $6 dollars for a meal that totaled $40 around Grove and $8 from somewhere else. At the end of the day, you have to compensate well if you want prompt and friendly service for delivery. These people depend on it for their livelihood.

As someone who grew up in a small town with a volunteer fire department, It's sometimes hard to wrap my head around how much urban fire fighters are paid. $100,000 is not uncommon for a ff salary in JC.

I guess this all comes down to economics. We have decided asa city to afford ourselves a quality fire force. I'm assuming quality is defined as expertise, equipment, and personal for the cost. If one of those three factors increases, we should be able to decrease another portion; thus, an increase is expertise should mean that we can decrease employees. For the cost the city is willing to pay, expertise has increased (the longer on the force, the more you are paid). That means we have a huge number of elite fire fighters, so theoretically we could decrease employees and maintain quality. I guess that the justification for a reduction, we should be able to maintain quality.

I second CJ (above). In order for the petition to be taken seriously, we'd need thousands of people to sign and coverage from a major news network. Can we do that? Yes, but we're still a long way to go.

Komegashi is great, but expensive. I've been to More, but i'm not a fan of hybrid sushi/thai resturants. JC Sakura is near my home, but the service is horrendous and the food mediocre. I have rarely been treated as poorly as I had at JC Sakura.

For sushi, I would suggest you travel up to Edgewater to Mitsuwa supermarket. It's a huge authentic Japanese market (one of four in the country), and has regular bus service to it from Port Authority. It's a 2o minute drive, or a 40 min lightrail/bus ride (transfer at Lincoln Harbor to the 156-158 bus). It's well worth the trip.

I wonder if this will actually work. I would like it too. What are some solutions we have as a city for some cuts we can recommend to our pols to hold their feet to the fire with a viable alternative?

Henderson Street is the former name of Marin Blvd. They named Henderson in honor of the first Governor of Puerto Rico. The TD referenced in the article IS the TD next to A&P. I don't think its much of a surprise. There is an intense impoverished segment of the population just West of Marin.

OK, this is a bit off topic. Firstly, the Abbott decision was never overturned. It was ruled that Gov Corzines new school funding formula fit into the "spirit" of abbott. His funding provided state aid per pupil as oppossed to per district aid.

Second, I'll explain the Abbott decision to the best of my abilities.
The New Jersey State Constitution provides that the State must provide an adequate education to all children. The state provides that education through locally run school boards preexisting the current constitution (1946). The problem arose as urban districts proved incapable of meeting state standards to educate. They sued that the state must rectify the discrepancies. Lots of quantifiable discrepancies were based on funding. A teacher in Montclair was paid 20,000 more than in Newark, etc thus they attracted higher quality educators (these are the justifications, don't kill the messenger). Every court through the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Abbott districts, and the Supreme Court has ruled 13 times since in favor of Abbott with liberal and conservative justices alike. It's really clear wording in the constitution.

Any alternatives? Well, the state could take over the district as it did in Camden (which turned out awfully). They can impose a statewide school tax and distribute by pupil which would be totally politically infeasible. There's the current method which distributes by pupil but produces, largely, the same results.

My beloved idea of municipal consolidation is a lot more likely to pass that any school changes due to unions and support among politicians for the status quo. So we will see schools change when pigs fly.

Well two points:

creativeconquests: Your specific situation sounds awful, and I'm sorry it happened to you. I know the average one-bedroom condo in New York has a property tax price tag of about 4,000 (which is much less than what you are paying), but I'm not sure how the city/state income tax would even that out for you. That said, the average price for a condo in any borough is much higher so I can't attest for how it would have affected the mortgage you pay, etc. So on some positive note, perhaps this investment may have been more cost effective than any others in NYC. And, Reassessment will come one day for your neighbors. I think it's criminal what some pay because their houses were assessed before a peak. Perhaps, you can seek tax cuts by trying to have your property assess at a lower value.

If you do believe you're paying to much, you should consider renting out your property. Judging by the taxes, it must be a nice place. You'd only need to get 750+mortgage a month for it to make up a 9000 property tax bill, and you'd have an tax deductible investment.

stani: The property taxes in the suburbs are high because the suburbs depend on residential property taxes for almost all of their governmental expenses.
The Abbott funding is a mandate by the Supreme Court that will not change. The only aspect that may change is the formula. They might allocate funds based on the number of disadvantaged pupils. At the end of the day, we have enough disadvantaged you that the funding will never change significantly.

I am sort of confused whether you rent or not?

That said, Jersey City is not expensive relative to our region for the amenities we receive. We are close to the largest, best paying job markets in the country. Meanwhile, we don't have to pay the taxes one charged in New York. In Jersey City, you pay state income tax, a discounted sales tax, and property taxes. In New York, you pay state income tax, city income tax, property tax, and sales tax. Not to mention, Jersey City is much cheaper for the access. 400,000 dollars will get you an apartment in Manhattan (below 110th Street), or a nice apartment in Brooklyn and Queens. Meanwhile, 400,000 will afford you a house in Jersey City or a FANTASTIC apartment.

I am not making excuses for political corruption. I think our politicians are awful and our tax abatement structure is horrendous which leads to these higher taxes. However, the bulk of our taxes are linked to healthcare and pension costs. Virtually every city and state in the country negotiates union contracts that include these high cost benefits. Not matter where you move, you will always end up paying hire taxes every year. It's how the system is set up. That doesn't make it right, but there's little you can do to avoid it.

If you live in the New York area, and you want to live in an urban area; I haven't found a better place that Jersey City. If you find something better, share it with all of us so that we can all seek a better life.

You're right. The PATH should not be expressed. The stops are far enough apart. What we need is an alternative. The PATH is a money loser for the PA and they have no competition; thus there is no incentive to provide better service. We should work on making meaningful alternative probably in the form of a light rail under the Hudson. See the map linked:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF ... 6b1ded8bc5be&ll=40.725145,-74.033775&spn=0.062965,0.104027&z=13

I don't agree that Newport is in Hamilton Park. Hamilton Park is an attractive, mostly brownstone dense community. Newport emerged from abandoned rail yards west of Hamilton Park. That said, I would define Newport as Marin to the West, 6th Street to the South, the Hudson to the East. The Northern border is a bit more complicated. The Northern borders is Hoboken and 14th Street when East of Washington Blvd, the Holland Tunnel West of Washington Blvd to Marin Blvd.

See the map below.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF ... 0047c44f2aae371f0187&z=12

Initiatives work at local levels. I think it depends on the charter, but don't quote me on that. From what I know, the state only has one form of referendum. That referendum does not allow a vote to create a law or binds the legislature to do anything.

Actually, you might find this really interesting, but referenda don't mean anything in New Jersey. It's essentially a poll. Any referenda must be adopted by the state legislature (which means they have to vote on it) something they could have done in the first place.

So to recap:
The legislature votes to place a question on the ballot.
The people vote.
They then adopt the question into law if it passes.

The secret:
They could have adopted it as a law regardless.
They could pass it into law even if it fails.

Probably the biggest inhibitor to consolidaiton and municipal change derives from the fact that legislators who are often mayors and friends of mayors and municipal government must make the changes. No one likes to screw their friend :/

Three cheers for vigilance. Oh and if you go to hit him, use a sack full or oranges. I hear they don't leave marks.

T-Bird: You?re right. The question is what do you do? I would be great if someone in this love-fest was ?someone?, and new the proper channels one needs to take to turn something like this into public policy. I?ll write the JCI just for kicks but I doubt that will get us anywhere. How does one lobby for this? Any ideas?

I doubt anything big will come of this; it certainly is fun to entertain the idea of good government or at least a marginally less horrendous government model.

Hero: I sort of agree with you. I unfortunately don?t think its going to happen because lots of politicians don?t want to lose their positions in clout. I think in small town NJ, the property tax to school district elitism is very true, but I don?t think the same hold for Hudson. None of the school systems are stellar so I think it?s a hard sell to say that Jersey City will ruin Union City school; though that argument can have some ground in NB, Bayonne, and Secaucus. That said, that?s why I think we should avoid school, police and fire consolidation completely. We could have multiple school districts under one city-county superintendent. That way, it?s a non-issue. I know that sounds strange, but that concept is already the status quo today (we have a county superintendent though I?m not sure what they do).

T-Bird: You're right that schools are the biggest cash issue. Also, you continue to amaze with your concept of the cost figures.