Azul_the_Cat wrote:
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hilltopgirl wrote:
Have you tried reporting it to the city through the JC Resident Response Center (or JC RRC Fix-It)? You can access it through the city's website and there is also an ap. I know. They've been incredibly responsive the few times I've called to report issues.

Reported the problem through the app. Thanks!

VA2015 wrote:
I have noticed one positive form of graffiti though I'd argue it's actually street art.

A building on the corner of Coles and Columbus has been abandoned for decades. It's on the list of properties the city is planning to seize. Someone tagged something lewd on there a few weeks ago. About a week ago I noticed that someone had put up what looks like a wheat paste drawing, that is a figure heavily inspired by "the thinker" but sitting on an oil drum. They completely covered the lewd graffitti.

Whoever you are who did this - thank you! If I'm going to have to stare at a dilapidated building, I'd rather it become a piece of art than a regular piece of sh*t.

VA2015 wrote:
In other homeless person news, I am pretty sure the Gorton's fisherman of Columbus Ave got a makeover. No more long black hooded coat. He is wearing a sportier jacket and blue jeans that appear clean/new. I totally didn't recognize him until I got close enough to hear him muttering his usual expletives under his breath and then recognized the stooped posture and cart. All I can imagine is with the freezing temps he ended up in a shelter that cleaned him up and got him some new clothes. I saw him in the pizza place 2-3 days ago and he still had the long black coat so it must have been over the weekend.

He is mostly harmless but can be verbally abusive so for anyone who usually avoids him like I do, be aware his look is different.

HamSandwichPark wrote:
Nobody and I mean nobody wants to eat 1/2 priced sushi.

linky wrote:
As a parent of two school-aged children and a veteran teacher who currently works in a school with an extended day, I disagree with Chistie?s proposal. People on this list and Christie himself will probably say that I disagree because I am a lazy, selfish person who is spoiled by ?teacher?s hours?. Of course teachers appreciate getting early, usually so they can catch up on paperwork, but this is not the reason that this teacher opposed an extended school day. I?m against it because I see how terrible it is for children.
My school day ends at 4:15 and, in general, my students are an exhausted, neurotic, miserable mess. Today?s students are under way too much pressure to perform by teachers who are equally pressured and to keep them in school for more time makes it worse. Every teacher on my school?s staff knows that the kids check out by 2:00. Every day at three o?clock I come that much closer to burnout when I have to go against every nurturing bone in my body and force five-year-olds to sit up straight and learn to read and write. At times I have put paper towels on my rug to let a kindergarten student sleep. I would probably get in trouble but I find it abusive to force an exhausted child to try to pay attention to a lesson. There are those who would respond to this and tell me that I have to be more creative in my teaching and engage the students and make my classes a big game. However, those people have not walked in my shoes and do not understand the pressure that I am under to have my students meet the objectives thrust upon me and my students by NCLB (No Child Left Behind) and the Common Core State Standards. They have also probably never heard of a pacing chart or probably have never seen the new lesson plan formats which force me to treat my students like robots.
And then the kids come home and do homework?.way too much homework. In my school, the lucky students get home by 4:45, but the ones who take the bus may get home by 5:30. They have a minimum of an hour?s worth of homework. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children between the ages of 5 to 12 get 11 to 12 hours of sleep a night. How is a child supposed to eat dinner, spend time with his parents, read for pleasure, and God forbid actually go to the park and then get into bed by 8:00?
Folks, please know that the politicians are killing childhood. NCLB, CCSS and the likes of Christie have no idea what their policies are doing? I have just ordered dozens of stress balls to give to my students because half of them are biting the skin off their fingers. My daughters are miserable because of school stress as well. Every well-respected educator in history has talked about educating the whole child. Why have the politicians thrown this out the window? If it?s to keep up with the Chinese and remain on top, then they can have it because I don?t want to teach, parent, or live in a country whose educational system is abusive to kids. And if people like Chris Christie have their way, that?s what it will become.
If anyone knows a young person who is majoring in education, my advice is to tell them to switch their major to psychology. We are going to have a lot of messed-up, neurotic people on our hands in ten years in need of a good shrink.

downtown wrote:
I'm assuming the lovely smell permeating downtown has something to do with the water main break, but what is it?

K-Lo wrote:
Mattias Gustafson, of Madame Claude/Wines, is one of the new owners, no?

brewster wrote:
Does anyone know why JC has no current small music spaces. Is there an ordinance against them? The day before Thanksgiving we met my BiL at a gig of his friends jazz band in Brooklyn in a tiny space (maybe 23 x 35) in the back of a Park Slope bar. It was terrific! It's crazy there's nothing like that here.

The last time I saw live indoor music Downtown was salsa at the Hard Grove, but it was so ridiculously loud we had to leave. You DO NOT need to amplify horns and drums in a space that small! The band in Brooklyn was drums, sax, tuba and guitar, but only the last was amped. Real pros know how to play to the room.

FakeGreenDress wrote:
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AlexC wrote:
For authenticity, Grand Sichuan on Grove delivers. Pork Soup Dumplings, Dry and Spicy sauteed Chicken, Smoked Tea Duck, Garlic Eggplant, to name a few.

Whatever you do, do not order any items from the "American Chinese Food Dishes"

Gui Zhou spicy chicken, dan dan noodles and the cumin lamb are my favorites, and they travel pretty well. Soup dumplings are awesome in the restaurant but I've always been afraid to order them delivered!

We've just started ordering from Rasoi, and the portions are HUGE.

bodhipooh wrote:
Same experience as I_heart_JC.

Making matters worse: showing up at the Bergen Avenue location, to pick up the package for which a slip was left, and being told they can't find it.

After asking the lady to check again, she miraculously finds it during her second check.

As the song goes: "something ain't right"

sp2xs wrote:
Have the rush hours between JSQ/33 always been this crowded? Have steps ever been taken to alleviate the cramped commute?

MidwestTransplant wrote:
I agree with fraulein - the Paradise Deli makes a very solid, relatively cheap breakfast sandwich.

Grabbing a pork roll, egg and cheese on my way into work (because I was too lazy to make breakfast that day) is a great way to start the morning.

Frank_M wrote:
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pacoYtaco wrote:
Some of the Yelp reviews are ridiculous.

Yelp is kind of ridiculous. Free reviews by consumers for most goods and services are worth about as much as they cost. Taste is obviously subjective, so unless we can establish some relevance to our own expectations, random opinions are not particularly helpful, if not entirely misleading. Our families, friends, and the work of established food and restaurant critics?at least we know where they?re coming from.

One Yelp review that stuck with me for a long time came from a young woman who criticized the authenticity of a French restaurant because they served fries along with her steak. She thought it was cheap and tacky on their part to serve ?French? fries in a French restaurant. I give Yelp points for entertainment value and general information about the restaurant, but not much more.