The whole point of giving a ticket is to make sure people move their cars so that the streets are properly cleaned. If blowing the horns makes more people move their cars then the streets are cleaner..........no. It seems like a practical thing to do.

And regarding the cops' cars. Their streets down in Monmouth County are nice and clean, so what do they care.

I second that Girliegirl...........and that goes for Railroad Avenue and Grove St. too.

However, if they're going to rename a street to some dumb new name, they should rename the entire street. Otherwise, it's just confusing.

Is this the place that used to be an A&P a long time ago? If it's the same place that I'm thinking of, it's the foulest store in Jersey City.

The conveyers where you put your food are filthy. Gross.

And speaking of panhandling in traffic. What's up with the little kids collecting money for their sports teams in the middle of traffic stopped where Erie Street meets the traffic going into the Holland Tunnel. Does this disturb anyone else as much as me?

Last time I saw kids there ( and not high-schoolers, some of them were about five or six.) they were walking in and out of the cars while the "supervisor" sat fifteen feet away on a chair looking the other way.

I refuse to give money to them because I don't want to encourage them. Rather, I told them that it was unsafe for them to be there and that they should collect outside of a grocery store or something. I told them to tell the "mom" what I said.

I swear, next time I'm calling the cops, even though it probably isn't illegal.

Sorry to get off topic, but can't people see how a bad thing might happen? Same thing with the unrestrained kids.

yup.

There is a tuxedo cat in the lobby of the Wells Fargo Building howling to get in. It's very cute and shiny, black with white chest, face and boots. There's no collar or tag.

If anyone has lost a cat fitting this description call the Wells Fargo Bldg front office. 201-798-0057. The building is located on Pavonia Ave between Coles and Monmouth.

Check out www.vapkids.org.

I cannot speak for the teachers, but in both classes they complained a lot about not having any autonomy. A lot of the complaining came from one girl who teaches in a JC school not downtown. When we talked about a lot of great literacy strategies, she and others in state run districts such as Elizabeth and Newark said that they couln't implement a lot of them because they are "not allowed". There are, however, schools which have good prinicipals who give teachers a little more room for creativity and independence.

I could go on with a lot of examples such as the teachers disliking 100 book challenge because the stories are boring and unrelated to the kids' experiences, teachers saying they are not allowed to teach reading in the context of Science an Social Studies in the primary grades. My kids are in private school, but if I sent them to public school I would want to know about the principal and whether he/she has a good professional relationship with the staff. It's important.

When he goes, it won't be a minute too soon.

I took some Masters classes in education at NJCU this summer. I heard stuff from JC teachers about the schools and the tryrannical rule of Epps that would curl your hair. ie: students' desks must be kept in groups at all times, except, of course, during the almighty standardized tests. Also, not a lot of time to teach Social studies and Science. They also mentioned that he's the highest paid superintendent in the state.

Bastard. Hate having that dirtbag thrust upon us by the State. If/when JC regains control of the schools, I really wish we could vote for the superintendent directly on the same day as the mayoral election. Nobody votes for the school board that chooses a superintendent.

I grew up in the Westside neighborhood in the seventies. I asked my sisters and old friends for some help in answering your question.

The consensus seems to be that if you're from Jersey City and you tell someone you're from Westside it means that you lived between the following borders.

Now, you have to understand that when most Jersey City people who grew up here meet somewhere else, they often identify where they grew up by what parish they are from. That means what Catholic Parish - For example, I'm from Saint Aloysius. Very strange, but JC is very strange and was very Catholic at one time. Anyway, Westside's borders seem to include two parishes - Saint Aloysius and Our Lady of Victory.

So the northern border of westside starts at Holy Name Cemetery to the North(includes the entire cemetery). Anything to the North of that is considered "Marion". To the South, most people agree that it ends at the area near New Jersey City University. Anything South of that is considered Greenville or Country Village. The neighborhood runs as far East as Kennedy Blvd. - anything further east is Bergen. Finally, it runs as far west as Rt. 440.

Enjoyed your question. We all had a blast growing up there and had fun reminiscing.

Agree with Dan L. One of the major reasons we sold our house there was because we were always getting in the car and going downtown for everything. It's a great place for investment purposes, but the neighborhood doesnt' have much to offer. I have a friend who has lived there since before the light rail was built, and she doesn't mind getting in the car all the time. I guess it's just a personal choice.

I lived on Lafayette St. a few years ago, and I have to agree with Newlafayette. The area around the park/playground area is sketchy. A lot of dodgey people hang -out around the playground, making noise with their cars and loud radios, etc.....and when they have some sort of block party celebration there, you'll want to avoid being near there at all costs.'

I think you're a little better off South of there, like where NewLafayette lives. Whiton's a pretty quiet street where he is.

I'm a lifer, and it's a very bad neighborhood. There are some really gorgeous houses up there, but Stay away from Monticello Avenue and nearby vicinity at all costs.

Also, I bought a house in Bergen Lafayette a few years ago. I lived there with my husband and two little girls for six months before we put our beautiful house on the market. There was nobody for them to play with, and nowhere for me to bring them. I had to put them in the car and bring them out of their neighborhood for everything.

A lot of people raise their kids in the sketchy neighborhoods, with the hopes that the neighborhood will get better. But the way we saw it was that we didn't want to wait for our kids to be away at college by the time the neighborhood was good enough for them to be out and about. We felt that we didn't want to rob them of their childhood. Others may share another opinion, but it's just something to think about before you choose to buy anything.

I was born and raised here, and I have to say that I would never live up there because of safety concerns. It's especially scary for two young single women. Remember that the gorgeous apartment is cheap for a reason.

If you can't afford downtown, I would suggest you look up in the Heights. It's probably a bit safer. There are some other pocket areas that are safer as well. I suggest that you get out and walk around a neighborhood before you sign a lease. Maybe even talk to some store owners. They'll tell you the truth about the neighborhood.

Good luck.