The budget is short of 40 millions, debt service is 60 millions, and yet they raise taxes again after a few months to gain another 2 millions. This does selective harm against 2/3 of the taxpayers while 1/3 are sheltered via pilots etc, and do little for the budget situation.

Many more people will hurt, many people will decide to leave, or to walk away from their home and payment to the city. This can accelerate things. In a situation of incoming tax base collapse, the town might benefit from preemptive default on some of its bonds - say Schundler bond for ex. This generate serious issues of course but would force the city to create a real budget plan. It might also reset the clock on many entitlements and special deals.

On the selective taxation issue, I am still amazed at hows a city can deny the schools and county of their share of property taxes through these pilots programs. Either there is something I don't comprehend in the way these pilots are structured, or there is a case for a lawsuit I would not mind being part of, as a taxpayer who does not belong to this self-serving plutocracy.

are you saying $700 increase per $100000 assessed value in addition to the $700 increase we already had this year ?

I will add my token here by suggesting to unhappy people to join the cleanup crew. There is nothing like exercise to refresh a point of view.

Now whooo, 3 positive postings in a row, must be the record !!
Anyone wants to break this ?

Yesterday night I was walking through the park and I noticed that one of the lamp post base was opened - the lamp post on the south side of the west lane going from the gazebo west to Pavonia. That lamp post was working fine but then I noticed that another lamp post on the northwestern lane by the playground was not working.

I hope it's not vandalism, but if it is it is very important to be proactive. Parkman, could you relay this information to the appropriate department ?

I too have joined the cleanup crew and like many others, I don't hesitate to pick up things in the park in the meantime. I am reluctant to do this around the BB court however, and will have mixed feeling doing this even as part of the cleaning crew. My impression is that the kids seeing that will have no reason to change their behavior. Some incentive needs to be attached.

As for the stick one might think of systematically redistributing the trash ON the BB court every night - OK, just joking. Or stopping the games in the middle to cleanup - and asking them to join the crew. At least that would force people to interact which might very well be a factor here, but the impact might be limited due to the short-time interaction. Consistent push however can work sometime, as long as the work and message remains the same and is fact-oriented so people can feel treated fairly.

As for the carrot, am I misguided in not seeing a fountain at the court ? It seems to me that a substantial amount of this trash is made of plastic bottles that the players bring and "dispose off". If they could refill cheaply they might like the free ride and hence reduce the amount of garbage. Otherwise, like others I can only think of a preferably sport-originated authoritative figure to change this.

Yes the BB court is here to stay...

We stopped by the other night with some friends. We had a bad service experience right after the opening (one of the co-owner talked to us about this hectic experience actually) but this time it was great.
They have simplified the menu (I guess they were initially probing what people liked) but it is still a good selection. Especially they have kept their kebabs which are very savory and can be considered their signature dish - I had tasted these before and my friends did this time and were impressed.
They are working hard on overcoming some initial impression and from my point of view they are succeeding. I wish them the best !

Sandman for the record, "fancy schmancy" french pastries are nothing special in the French staple and come in prices comparable to danishes etc. Preparation is nothing special. By this token one (I!) should expect a ?normal" pear tart to come at a reasonable price in America.

There is this assumption here that one has to make a choice between cupcakes and pastries because of price and class. I don?t believe that. Counterexample is Cousin?s John?s in Brooklyn who offer many options. Granted, Payard was an extreme example of what people will go for the best products in limited supplies ? and croissants and pastries were actually ?just? $1-2 higher than less elaborate versions in other places.

There is no reason people shouldn't eat their cupcake and have ?normal?(french-style&others) pastries as well. I was also trying to differentiate this concept bakery from Made with Love and others with regards to brunch options that can really bring money home. ?Tartines? is one example, ?Baoguettes? as in the vietnamese-french place in the Village is another. My token for what it is worth.

Jcteen22 good luck with your internship! If you come back with a load of Ispahans please PM me?

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=h ... n%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1

Indeed..., looks like covered with adds. From a functional standpoint they might have achieved the revitalization they wanted though - I haven't visited the place. The Distillery in Toronto is a great example of harmonious development. Hopefully they will be able to strike the right balance here. Maybe historical zoning consideration will prevent "tagging" such as in Baltimore.

Yes definitely a French pastry place ! You could still target good bread and pastries and make the difference by offering something unique for lunch such as tartines, see Pain Quotidien. As for the pastries well, I guess it might be much to ask for something similar to Bouley Bakery or the late great Payard... Good luck and yes, please target some level of foot traffic !

Please don't forget to vote in person tomorrow !! If you voted via absentee ballot, you might retrieve your vote later at no extra cost but the precise location at the bottom of the Hudson river will only be communicated past the expiration statute.

I have heard that the park is set for reopening June 5th, is this true ?

This run is really interesting indeed. On mapmyrun.com (good for gps geeks) it is roughly 12.5 miles without LSP (3.5 miles) and without Port Liverty (3 miles). With both it seems around 19 miles, very good New2JCHeights.

I am trying to return to long distance after knee injury and it's hard, 7 miles from Hamilton Park to LSP and back, it is all I can stand at this point and it is all flat. A friend of mine who trains for the iron man told me a great route is to go all the way to Bayonne and return via the light rail if needed.

Here is a copy of a post some time ago:

So, here is how Philadelphia staffs its fire department:

They have:

1,338 firefighters who make between $40k and $56k
267 lieutenants; $60k to $64k
92 captains; 69k to $72k
48 battalion chiefs; $80k to $84k
8 deputy chiefs; $91k to $96k
1 special operations chief; $80k to $84k
1 executive chief; $108k

The 2010 budget for overtime and unused holiday pay is just under $18 million. All-in expenses for uniformed personnel (all of the people above) is $135 million.

Philadelphia has a population of 1,540,000 and covers an area of 135 square miles. (One uniformed fireman per 878 people or 12.9 per square mile.)

Jersey City has (as of YE 2008):

406 firefighters
150 captains (no lieutenants)
23 battalion chiefs
10 deputy chiefs
1 fire apparatus chief
1 Chief

Jersey city has a population of 242,000 and covers 14.9 square miles. (One uniformed fireman per 409 people or 39.7 per square mile.)

Unfortunately, JC doesn't provide the level of transparency in its budgeting process that other cities do, so we don't know the range of salaries is for any of them, but we do know that the budget for all salaries and wages in the fire department is $66.3 million and total headcount for the department was 670 as of YE 2008. Since wages are budgeted to be up slightly for the current budget year, I'm guessing head count is about the same. That means the average salary/wage for the entire fire department (including dispatchers) is $99,000 and change. In Philadelphia, one person (the chief) made more than $100k before overtime.

This is indeed precisely the point, the ratio of supervisors is way too high in JC vs. other cities. This was pinpointed clearly in the march taxpayer revolts treads as compared to philadelphia also. These positions are draining the city budget. This is a key area in need of reform.

My understanding of the current personnel reduction is that the city has canned a number of temp and entry level when faced with taxpayer revolt but hasn't touched the supervisory positions - if not please post the number and names.

When the tax collection drops, the minimum you can do is freeze salaries with an engagement to raise again when things return to normal and, if the staff refuses, to cut and rebalance the hierarchy. I understand that Hoboken has not left untouched the PD in dealing with its budgetary issues.

For the record my father worked with interpol.

Yes that seems about right for property taxes. That being said, if there is no money down, the bank might have some reason to add mortgage insurance (that they would lift when one reach a certain % of equity), which can be ~$100 more.

Done. Next !

It was indeed more packed than early this month, more grievances and more focused. Still, they kept voting against taxpayers. The only thing they have done so far is to sacrifice the lower ranks instead of canning/downgrading the higher ranks and reforming the entitlement structure including their own perks - Yes Mr Grego, I want my carry-over-sick-days money back. They also amazingly kept voting for bond issuance tied to third-party favors related to the election. This Healy council is more than a disgrace, it is a vampire. They are destroying the tax base and the city.

I would argue related to Andrew's comment that the reason people are not voting more here is not out of apathy but out of ignorance. This relates to a lack of information instigated at the top. It was clearly shown by their refusal to have the budget issues discussed on TV. Still, people have their own recording devices now, so they won't stop this.

Speaking of information, keep reading on school boards candidates, including ex-felons activities. It will be CRUCIAL to vote for the right ones, if not GET READY for another NASTY tax increase.

City hall is packed today, many more than feb 9. Lots of cameras too. Stop by to voice your grievance!

I wonder if someone has done the math for what the city would save by cancelling all sick day carry overs ? I can't understand paying for this.

In this time of electronic monitoring apps, I would suggest one turn their recording device on when going through any process with that department. Taxpayers doing the quality control is one of the tools we have to incite fear in this administration.

Just a reminder especially for people who are home today and haven't seen this.

As I wrote on another tread, there were tons of people, the video doesn't capture the crowd. Coming to the next meetings is CRUCIAL to be heard and also because this Jan 27 was just a temporary appropriation, the tax budget will be voted in stone end of Feb. See Jan 27 tread for more information.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO ATTEND THE NEXT TWO MEETINGS AND TO SPEAK BEFORE THEY VOTE !

I was there and actually the video doesn't capture the crowd. There were tons of people when Warren Curtin (the 1st on the video, but definitely not the first) spoke. Coming to the next meetings is CRUCIAL to be heard. I was so mad at the cavalier attitude of some of the council members, some look like they have no clue at all ! That's what happens to the mind when cows are fed the lefrak and other's grassy abatement return recipe.

In this year of proposals to tax inflated bonus, it isn't reasonable to DEMAND from the council that they find of way for a special excise tax on the developers who made such handsome profits on inflated property values from the water front, and also to suggest that they put the interest of the people who elected them by defaulting first on some of these loans. Yes that would force them to have a budget with what they have.

REMEMBER NEXT 2 MEETINGS ! COME TO SPEAK ! DO IT BEFORE THEY VOTE ALSO !

This is helpful but it doesn't tell how to select the comparable property to be sure that it will be valid. I guess it forces you to always look for better properties in better locations to be sure, not the best scenario.

Also, not accepting distressed sales in the equation is ludicrous since we all know that it affects other sales. I guess one can not select a foreclosure following these comments.

Regarding the 07302 post...: does anyone know if there a cap rate in New Jersey law defining maximum allowed assessment of a rental property based on rental income ?

I just checked my property tax increase online and I am incensed. I am going to the protest, I know someone else who is going as well. I will appeal also, my taxes are based on 2006 values... Sakatah, I PM you if you can. Maybe see you next week...

Regarding the fair share of "$1,000,000+ brownstones", it is worth mentioning that many of these properties are not worth this estimate now. An owner who has seen his/her "$1,000,000+ house" value drop by 20-30% over the last 3 years while his taxes have gone up by 40% over this time and way more than his/her neighbors has all the rights to consider he/she is not treated fairly.

Comparing with suburban $500K properties that pay $20K a year only indicates that consolidation of services there is WAY OFF where it should be.

Personally I don't understand the abatement process. How can it be legal for a city to define a special system that pays just for city expenses but not for schools ? Isn't the school system protected from such mistreatment by state laws ? There is something I am missing here...

Isn't the maximum rate increase capped at 4% based on state laws passed a few years ago ? In any case, if this stands I won't be the only one appealing my current taxes this year based on reduced property values ...

Teacher, you seem to have a pretty strong "categorizing" view of the world. How does it work ? Does it make you feel better to look down on other groups ? I also detect anger. Why is that ? Wouldn't it be because what you want to believe in and the reality around you are different ? Did something (or someone) make you feel this way ? Finally, if you are really a Teacher, why are you running away ? Teachers always look for materials for their students. Students are the ones more likely to be running away...

Teacher, you seem to suggest that life was easier in the past when rules were simpler for folks to follow. What you forget is that plenty of people were denied basic rights at the time, with the few people in power keeping a tight leach on people representation of the world - shall I mention Galileo ? This is what is going on right now again. On one side, the projection of "these people" behaviors, on the other the reality of plenty of them who have been asked to join the communal table in many states and countries. In these states, the majority has learnt to know them, and to see their commonality. The world has not collapsed (which btw is a pretty good argument for God looking benevolently on this). People have realized that the unknown is actually pretty known and that there is no reason to be afraid. But to do that, they had to first make the conscious effort to accept that they might not know everything, which is an impossible task for the brain to do. It was not the easy path but many started it, often out of their own troubled history or the place they came from. Many refused at first to look at ?these people?, because half-truths were easier to model the world and guide their behaviors. Eventually the majority realized that it is easier to include the ?others? in their vision of the world. In the process, they learnt a lot about controlling their own mind instead or leaving it to others ? or I would hope so.

Teacher, you can try to keep to your projections and embellishments of the past (that is what nostalgia is all about which btw is also a way not to ask too many questions), or you can look at this magnificent and scary world and see the many people looking at the many same things you take for granted. Many of them you know already, many more you might gain as friends and neighbors.

Btw, I was raised Catholic too...