with mortgage rates as low as they'll likely get and income gains basically nil in the US - I find it hard to believe that any apartment in JC double in value anytime soon. furthermore there are far more problems than just that ugly building. Like to sleep with your window open - sure if you enjoy hearing drunken banter and breaking glass til 4 in the morning. Though if you need a quick meth/crack/smack fix you won't have to go far...

is that dump on the corner really protected? That's laughable given the historic character one sees from the street. I can't imagine there's much of its original detail left anywhere.

Furthermore $450 plus a foot on that block is steep. Maybe if they tore down the section 8 pads they could get that. Anyone paying those prices doesn't know the reality of that block. Is this thing tax abated? If not I'm guessing they are no bargain either...

there's no way this thing actually works - landlords can be horrible but it's impossible to prove where bedbugs come from - furniture, schools, hotel stays, stuff you bought at NikeTown, etc. Given the costs to truly nuke the bugs, there's no way landlords pay up.

wasn't this the one where the owner was robbed of a briefcase with several thousand dollars cash when he was leaving and walking near the brownstone diner? Surely there is some sort of cc video in that pharmacy?!

it's a tough living those guys earn, maybe cut them some slack...

Wow - this makes being a landlord a very risky proposition. To truly eradicate bedbugs from a building is very expensive. Theoretically this decision should mean that rents will go up to cover future exterminator bills. I think this is one that landlords will ignore. If you have a unit that pays you 24K a year and it costs 5 - 10K to get rid of the bedbugs, you tell me are most landlords going to do the right thing?

Saw someone get a $54 ticket for parking within 25 feet of a crosswalk at York and Washington.

Uh wouldn't that mean tickets on every single block in this town?

How about training the riders to stand for pregnant women?

It's unbelievable how NYC subway riders will stand and PATH riders will look down and ignore 8 month pregnant women.

PATH is by far the most unpleasant 18 minute ride I've ever experienced...

Bedbugs are a psychological nuisance more than an actual physical threat. If a home becomes infested it is a nightmare and very expensive to get rid of them. The extermination is NOT covered by any type of insurance. It's an issue that schools should be all over as they breed really quickly...

Bob Herbert's op ed today was on the shortsightedness of Christie and the US for that matter. I have a feeling he may have a change of heart as this decision is being portrayed in the media as emblematic of all that is wrong with the US as it heads to second rate status...

Columbus Drive has outdone itself of late. Can only imagine what it will be like after this winter if they don't fix it beforehand...

No question NJ is financially jeopardized these days, but this decision is pretty shortsighted. It's a nightmare getting in and out of Manhattan from NJ and sooner of later this situation needs to be improved. Do you really think Christie is going to funnel money to projects that provide a better return on investment? As always, Christie is good on spending cuts but refuses to raise revenue by taxing upper income earners...

I'd love to see the embankment preserved but have to agree the odds are slim. There just isn't the foot traffic or retail opportunity to support a Highline type conversion. I don't think this is a build it and they will come scenario. No doubt the RE developers are probably as slick as they come, I can only hope he loses money on the whole thing...

3 squad cars just broke up a melee of sorts on Grove St around 3:30PM; usual cast of high school neanderthals scattered as soon as the police pulled up.

Great kids...

At some point people will start to notice that the high property taxes hurt RE values. In Westchester you get something for your high taxes - good schools, serious police force, etc.

In JC you get a banana republic in many ways...

Yvonne - if you have the comparable numbers for 2005 vs 2010 on the schools/anything else would you mind posting? 85% in 5 years to the city may have slightly outpaced inflation, just a guess!

Crime always ticks up in a bad economy. More people become thugs because the legit avenues to cash are fewer/harder to get.

I think people should be much more vigilant in the current environment...

Just walking down Brunswick around 2nd Street and there was a whole line of cars on the east side of the street with slashed tires. Looked like 6 - 8 cars hit from what I saw.

Pathetic...

does anyone know if Vega keeps or loses his various pensions after pleading guilty to taking bribes and the like?

get Fulop involved. There are some good police officers but a lot of D grade talent as well. Sounds like you got stuck dealing with the latter. Call that shame shame guy on Fox, he loves to go after JC for all its incompetence...

Has anyone sniffed around his finances? I can't imagine this was his first bribe. I've heard he owns multiple places in NJ, one in NY and some in Brazil I think.

I can't imagine this lifestyle is all funded from legit W-2 earnings...

Also does the plea mean he'll no longer be entitled to his various pension benefits - those are big numbers...

so at this point is Vega no longer employed by JC in any capacity? Does this mean he gives up the Jeep??

nothing changes. Healy's team makes a mockery of the rules and knows that no one can really slow them down. These federal charges against Vega, Beldini etc don't seem to have slowed down the biz as usual attitude.

the good news is that due to city cash cutbacks, there were very few parades down Montgomery this year. Hopefully the cash is tight for the long haul as the noise level last summer was quite annoying.

I feel for those living near Exchange Place as bass noise gets you no matter how high up you live. The intelligent thing would be for the city to allow the yelling up til say 6PM.

77 Hudson advertises on LXTV regularly so gets puff pieces on that OpenHouse show every so often.

Still can't imagine they're selling too many units in this environment...

a neighbor heard it was closed for good this time which is a downer. THat block is hurting as the Feed Your Soul and Lee's Fish House also seem to be permanently closed. There's also the hardware store which has been vacant for two years. People need to support Made With Love and Jacks or it will be a ghost town over there...

Thanks for the info. It's unfortunate, but it sounds like it will only be open for a few weeks before the season ends.

Hopefully next summer they can get it opened on time so there is a full summer with outdoor swimming...

anyone know if they opened Johnston Ave pool - I keep getting voicemail when I call Parks dept...

so does this mean Vega can stall for another couple years and Beldini ultimately walks?

Unbelievable that a federal case like this seems to be fizziling out and JC goes back to biz as usual...

was wondering the same thing...