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Re: Pho Thang Long restaurant will be open again!!!
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So what's everyone's favorite Pho meat? I've eaten other dishes in Pho shops for decades, yet only tried the pho soup recently. Tendon and navel always scared me off. I played it safe with some grilled meat, but I should give the obscure stuff a go.
Posted on: 2007/12/20 23:06
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Re: Newark Avenue Transition
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Quote:
I've said it before, but it's ridiculous that the JC museum's lovely theater is barely used. They should show art & indie films. Art...get it JC Museum?
Posted on: 2007/12/20 23:01
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Re: Real Estate Market trend In Jersey City
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The S&P index linked is not inflation indexed according to the FAQ on the site. FAQ
So......Using the handy CPI calculator http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl 85 in 1988 would be worth 62.05 in 1998, a 27% loss due to inflation while regaining the same price. Since this is regional data, we can assume that in JC the losses easily exceeded 30%. Further playing with the CPI calculator shows that I remembered correctly, that in real value prices did not recover till 2001, when 130 was worth what 85 was in 1988. Crazy_Chester, throwing around statistics is like playing with matches, they might burn you.
Posted on: 2007/12/20 2:43
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Re: Real Estate Market trend In Jersey City
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I think I may have said this on JCList before, but at New Years eve 2000 I had a long argument with a friend who was an "financial advisor" who took the "stock are better" position. He lost his shirt that year as the tech stock bubble burst as the value of my property started to soar. The argument always fails to take full account of the power of leverage and the benefit of shelter. Harlan Larson at the end of the article didn't buy the house for $32,500 in 1965, he likely paid 20%, $6k, and then got to live in it. The risk inherent in leverage is almost always consumed over the long term. That's why I would never advise someone to buy RE if they couldn't hold it 10 years. Can we assume that S&P spreadsheet inflation adjusted? I had heard a while back that the high in real dollars wasn't recovered until 2001. Maybe that was more local. El Groucho, buying rental property that covers it's nut became nearly impossible in in JC in the last few years, Downtown years before that. We bought a 3 family that did it in the Heights in 04, I don't think you can do it today. It's just one more sign of an out of balance market. I have friends who bought a 4 unit in Brooklyn in 04 with a P/E of 17. That's just nuts. We bought Downtown in 97 with a P/E of under 5.
Posted on: 2007/12/20 0:59
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Re: Real Estate Market trend In Jersey City
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The only error in Wibbits post is that agents aren't the ones holding up the prices, they make money on deals not stalemate like we have now. The following document of exerpts from the NYTimes from 83 to 95 should be required reading to post on this thread. It shows the same talk 17 years ago as now. See the header "1990 - Bank Failures And Foreclosure" to see where we are in the cycle. Unfortunately the graph of real values is down, what it showed was a steep drop from 89 to 92, then a long tail drop till aslow upturn in 97. Yes, the market fell in real value till 97, much of that not "prices" but inflation losses while prices held steady. http://njrereport.com/ is a great site for local market info. Home Prices Do Fall A Look At The Collapse Of The 1980's Real Estate Bubble Through The Eyes Of The New York Times Home Prices Do Fall
Posted on: 2007/12/19 1:21
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Re: No one is safe from the JC Parking Authority
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From the J Journal, dumb & dumber:
Report: Cops on stakeout stymied by a parking ticket by N. Clark Judd Monday December 10, 2007, 2:54 PM Bayonne detectives conducting surveillance in an unmarked car were about to spring on their target, cops said, when they were stopped by one pesky little problem: They got a parking ticket. According to police, parking enforcement officer Susan Wojtkowski issued a summons Friday to detectives in an unmarked car in the midtown area for failing to feed the meter - even after they showed their badges and told her they were on the job. Cops were staking out the target of a narcotics investigation and began arguing with Wojtkowski after she insisted on giving them a ticket, police said. While they were arguing, Wojtkowski stood in front of the car and the person they were staking out got away, reports said. Wojtkowski, 38, of Avenue A, was charged with obstructing a governmental function, police said, and was released on her own recognizance.
Posted on: 2007/12/11 1:42
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Re: 22% Increase, VVP section
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Possibly, but a market in perfect equilibrium like that between supply & demand would be pretty novel, no? On the other hand there always seems to be more market friction preventing a slide than keeping prices down, so there might be a range of stability, kinda like a seesaw on top of a 6 x 6 instead of a pipe. What do I know, I thought we'd see a market drop after Y2K! Fun to watch though huh?
Posted on: 2007/12/5 5:27
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Re: 22% Increase, VVP section
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Not to say you're actually making it up, but most condos downtown sell between 450-550/sq ft not double that, and I saw listings at G-P for $700/ft. Look at the FS ads at the unseen bottom of the JCList front page. There are 2 brownstone 1 br for 350k, and they both look to be 700+ sq ft. Fortunes are made off the "greater fool", but you'd have to be pretty foolish to pay twice the going rate just for a doorman and amenities.
Posted on: 2007/12/5 3:54
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Re: 22% Increase, VVP section
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Rent's may decline with RE values, then again they may not. A frequent phenomena is that as less people buy because of high prices and/or rates, and rent instead, rents go up from increased demand. The added variable here is that rents have risen considerably simply because the desirability of the area has gone up, and that is unlikely to go away soon, Downtown is past the tipping point that is often the challenge for a gentrifying area facing a downturn market.
Posted on: 2007/12/5 0:28
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Re: 22% Increase, VVP section
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I previously lived in, Chelsea, Tribeca and Morningside Heights (since annexed to UWS), and the song you sing is no different than those being priced out 10 and 20 years ago. Lofts in SOHO became unaffordable to actual artists, and the world was about to end! Move to Brooklyn? they said, NO WAY, BROOKLYN IS TOTALLY UNCOOL, THE ART SCENE WILL DIE!! Hardly. Things change, and you move where you can afford if you haven't bought, or have lucked or scammed a rent protected place. Downtown JC would still be a slum if not for previous adventurous rent refugees. The battle front moves on, now the frontier is the rest of JC, Newark, N Bergen, etc. The rent protection thing is the worst in terms of "middle class entitlements". I know people in rent stabilized Manhattan apartments that could easily afford market rate, but feel "entitled" to the country home and travel the cheap rent allowed them to buy. To prove I don't sing my song simply because I heard the Ka-ching!, I had this letter on the topic published in the Times 9 years ago in response to this article: For Middle Class, New York Shrinks as Home Prices Soar, This was just after the 1997 real dollar bottom of the housing market, 1 year after moving here, and before the market took off. To the Editor: I find it curious that middle-class people are shocked to find that they want something they can't afford. I always thought of it as a fact of life for all but the most affluent. The people you profile in your April 1 front-page article on high rents desire apartments of a size, location and amenities that are now out of reach for them, but they can't conceive of a compromise other than moving to the suburbs. The exclusive neighborhoods in Manhattan are a small fraction of the habitable portions of the New York City area. Gentrification is being driven by those willing to move to an area with some, but not all, of the features we might desire. In our case, my wife and I bought a large brownstone with rental units in downtown Jersey City, which has excellent transit and car access to Manhattan, for what people are paying for one bedroom on the West Side. There are numerous potential Hobokens and Park Slopes out there. They're wanting only for those willing to rationally consider the market rather than longing for subsidies and rent control. My wife and I can be at a Broadway theater in 30 minutes and still have the money to buy tickets. Jersey City, April 1, 1998
Posted on: 2007/12/3 5:25
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Re: 22% Increase, VVP section
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Is anyone not talking through their hat about "unconscionable rent increases", and actually know of a successful court appeal? My take on this clause was that it was to prevent an "eviction by rent raise" that was otherwise illegal by state law for buildings of 4 or more units. The anti-eviction statute does not apply to 3 and under. If the rent is remotely market, "unconscionable" would seem to be out.
There seems to be 2 mythical rental court actions in JC, the "unconscionable rent increases appeal", and the "owner hardship appeal" of rent control to raise rents. I have not personally heard of successful prosecution of either. Anecdotes anyone?
Posted on: 2007/12/1 20:56
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Re: 22% Increase, VVP section
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Wow, I love The republican twist! I'll say you're a freakshow because you're a Republican who protests free markets and whines about being entitled to things you don't want to pay for. But like the Republicans running the country, your ideology is your wallet, free markets are for suckers.
Posted on: 2007/11/30 16:41
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Re: 22% Increase, VVP section
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If by your overblown Manhattan reference you're saying your landlord want's more than market rent, leave now and find a better deal. The beauty of the free market is that if someone wants more for their wares than others do, you don't do business with them. The function of the lease is to moderate the volatility of the rental transaction so this can only happen at renewals, but it does happen. You can also make a counter offer if you think it's truly over market, no landlord wants to lose rent on a vacancy that he might have to mark down eventually. Moving is a pain, but so is a vacancy, you may not be as powerless as you think.
Posted on: 2007/11/29 21:12
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Re: 22% Increase, VVP section
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If your statement re Manhattan were even close to true, you and many others would vote with their feet. I doubt Downtown is more expensive than even Harlem, and that comparison leaves out the rest of JC. So, why don't you feed your situation through the JCList victim/whiner detector by actually telling us your new rent, bedrooms, and sq footage.
Posted on: 2007/11/29 19:46
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Re: Corzine to cite fiscal woes to local municipal officials -- plans to hiking hiking highway tolls
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Why is it that after decades of highway tolls being dismantled as an archaic, inefficient system, NJ is more dependent on them than ever? They got rid of the tolls on LI's southern State Parkway in the late 70's. Even if you accept the argument that the TPK tolls pay for wear and tear from interstate through traffic, that doesn't explain the GSP tolls. And why only the TPK, why not 78 & 80 if you're trying to bleed the through traffic?
Drivers in most of this country have never seen a toll, it's mostly NE phenomenon. The only other place I've seen highway tolls is Chicago. There are clearly other ways to solve this revenue problem. \
Posted on: 2007/11/15 20:14
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Re: Chicago Sun Times: A 'great city' rises in Jersey
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When high sea levels result in sewage in your apartment, sea levels get your serious attention, not a chuckle. The city is already in the process of reducing property values by reconsidering C of O's for garden apartments.
Posted on: 2007/11/5 19:44
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Re: Chicago Sun Times: A 'great city' rises in Jersey
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FAB, only the ones who bought stupid, like depending on increasing equity, rather than a reasonable cashflow if the rents are affordable. We're a classic mom-n-pop, and our 04 purchase of an investment 3 family will never go south since we have it on a 30 year 5.5% and the unaggressive rents easily cover expenses. Contrast that with the moron Irish carpenter mentioned in Sunday's Times who bought a Wall St studio for $720K as an investment, and plans to rent it out for $3k/month. He will lose $3-4k per month on mortage and maintainance. Even with the weak dollar he'll suffer greatly.
Posted on: 2007/11/5 17:04
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Re: Please stop the huge 9/11 memorial at LSP - it will ruin the park's views of the Manhattan skyli
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I'd like them for once to generate a rendering of what it would look like from the side rather than the end: a frigging 200 foot long steel blast wall on a 10 foot hill. On the other hand, it would look just like the blank windowless wall of a fortress, accurately symbolizing Bush's America.
Posted on: 2007/10/22 16:02
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JJ: Students get clear on water
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Too bad they didn't do this tomorrow, they could get a nice high coliform bacteria count from all the crap overflowing into the river from today's storm.
Students get clear on water Friday, October 19, 2007 By KEENAN STEINER JOURNAL STAFF WRITER On the 35th anniversary of the passage of the Clean Water Act, about 70 North Jersey high school students were taught how to monitor water at Liberty State Park in Jersey City yesterday. To kick off the festivities - also World Water Monitoring Day - top officials from state and federal environmental agencies and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy took turns talking to the students behind the park's Interpretive Center. Healy and state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson heralded the progress made since the Clean Water Act passed. "There was a time in this country when water burned," Jackson said. Because of the increased attention on the environment, the Hudson River is much cleaner than it was 20 years ago, the mayor said. He added: "Speaking of water, if you've ever had our Jersey City water, I believe it's the finest in the country." Students from Montclair Kimberley Academy and North Arlington High School rotated to different stations, where experts showed them what they do for a living. This included a tour of an Environmental Protection Agency's ocean sampling boat, where they looked at pH monitors, water thermometers, and tools to measure the ocean's clarity and depth. Bob Reiser, a supervisory hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Trenton, was glad he could teach high school students about surface water hydrology. "Until college, I never knew it existed," he said.
Posted on: 2007/10/19 20:08
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Re: Another Child Dies - Not Buckled Up!
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We've all driven around town and stopped behind cars with a bunch of kids crawling around loose in the back. It's like that homeless wheelchair guy in Harlem that was just killed after years of panhandling from the middle of traffic, you wonder why it took so long.
Posted on: 2007/10/13 23:00
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Re: Steve Fulop op-ed on referendums in NY Times Jersey section
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In terms of the liquor laws, I've been told by Korean grocers that the reason we don't have the typical 24/7 NYC Korean grocery here is that without selling beer the it doesn't pay to stay open all night. For my money those stores are a major quality of life perk of NYC, our corner bodega closes at 7:30.
Posted on: 2007/10/13 0:31
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Steve Fulop op-ed on referendums in NY Times Jersey section
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I didn't catch this until DanL mentioned it in the Vega thread.
Put Corruption to a Vote By STEVEN FULOP Published: October 7, 2007 Jersey City LAST month, 11 public officials in New Jersey were charged with illegally receiving kickbacks and bribes in a statewide sting operation. The investigation dealt with nearly every layer of government, including the Pleasantville school board in Atlantic County, state assemblymen, mayors and current and former councilmen. Sadly, this is just the latest instance of what is a disturbingly long line of political figures to be arrested for public corruption. Whether it?s dual-office holding, blatant conflicts of interest, pension padding or pay-to-play, a sense of personal entitlement has been a part of New Jersey?s political culture for so long that many politicians see it as a normal way of doing business. As a councilman in Jersey City, I frequently see what I believe to be an abuse of government for personal purposes. City officials take municipal cars on trips to the Jersey Shore on the taxpayer?s dime. Council members hold paid positions with entities that do business with the city or are regulated by a city board. Indeed, a majority of the members of the Jersey City Council hold paid positions with Hudson County, and then vote on issues where the city?s interests diverge from the county?s. The conflicts are blatant, the hypocrisy is disturbing and the explanation that these practices provide ?public service? is alarming. Gov. Jon Corzine, who has the best of intentions when it comes to making real changes in the state?s political culture, tried to bring real reform through the Legislature this year with a bill that would have prohibited dual-office holding. Regrettably, he was forced to sign a watered-down version of that ban, with a loophole exempting current violators. Similarly, last month my colleagues on the Jersey City Council voted down an ethics reform package that I proposed, which could have been a model for other municipalities. Among other things, the legislation would have restricted use of city vehicles and property, banned officials from holding multiple elected or appointed positions in government, instituted business and income transparency requirements for elected officials and barred people from lobbying an entity in which they serve. It?s clear to me that when New Jersey politicians are offered an opportunity to police themselves, they refuse. There is another option, however. We can take the issue directly to the voters and force politicians to live by a stricter code of ethics. Voters in Jersey City can demand transparency and make it more difficult for unscrupulous, greedy politicians to steal taxpayers? dollars. Specifically, we need two ballot questions that would give Jersey City?s voters the opportunity to institute new ethics reform measures. The first referendum would prevent elected officials or government employees from collecting more than one taxpayer-financed salary. By state law, we can?t stop individuals from serving multiple government positions by popular vote, but since state law allows a municipality to hold back a paycheck and benefits if voted on by referendum, we can change the pay structures at the local level to ensure that there is less incentive to collect multiple paychecks and pensions. The second referendum would make it illegal for any entity that does business with the city, like a developer or contractor, to make a political contribution to a local candidate for a one-year period. This would prohibit those with a specific interest in controlling a singular aspect of local government from bankrolling a local elected official who may have the power to influence that specific interest. Political corruption is directly connected to how much people pay in taxes. It creates barriers to new ideas, and it infringes on the delivery of government resources. Instead of slick political insiders talking about reform, voters in Jersey City should have the opportunity to institute reform themselves. Steven Fulop, a Democrat, is a Jersey City Council member.
Posted on: 2007/10/12 16:48
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Re: JC Parking Code of Ethics
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I was told that there was a couple on 5th that would park their cars one in front of the other, then if one needed to run an errand, pull out and move the other to take both spots till they returned. If I lived on that block, those cars would not be pretty.
Posted on: 2007/10/11 0:09
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Re: JC Real Estate Market Recent Activity
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Quote:
Actually, the bottom was 97, 92 was merely the end of the freefall. There was continued price stagnation, which means inflation losses in real dollars through the end of 96. Those banks may have croaked here, but there was a nationwide boom and bust cycle closely matching the recent one. It's simply what markets do. Check out this page, it's a compilation of news abstracts chronicling the rise & fall of that market. http://njrereport.com/80sbubble.htm The real lesson is if you want safety don't bet you can time a market, any market! residential RE is usually a good investment, as long as you're in it for the long run of at least 5-10 years, not the short flip. The advantages of taxes and leverage are usually left out in the returns comparisons to equities.
Posted on: 2007/10/4 21:21
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Re: Information On Building Owners
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Got to the County tax records near the courthouse. Easy. When I wanted a building of a particular configuration I would spot a place, then look them up and call. It almost worked. Then we got lucky, and Michael Del Forno convinced an owner to sell specifically for us.
Posted on: 2007/9/28 2:44
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Re: JC Real Estate Market Recent Activity
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Alb, your notion of prices being relative to consumer buying power has validity, but your sense of proportion is off. If we borrowed $600k at a 30 yr our payments would look like this:
5.5%=3406 7.5%=4195.29 9.5%=5045.13 Rates haven't gotten near 9.5 for qualified buyers and even that payment isn't nearly double original the payment. What it would be double of is the ridiculous ARM's and "interest only" loans people took. So there's more than one variable than rates, you've got to include the banks current skittishness. SO my point about downtown vs Teaneck is that the same population in Teaneck will no longer be able to afford as big a loan, but in DTJC it's not the same people buying as 10 years ago. The demographic has changed, and accounts for a percentage of the price rise. Just how much remains to be seen. Loan calculators can be fun http://www.bankrate.com/brm/popcalc2.asp
Posted on: 2007/9/27 4:06
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Re: How to (attempt to) buy an election, Hudson county style @ $70 a vote
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Marketing is one thing, purchasing is another. A presidential candidate spent $600m to get 60m votes, thats $10 per, mostly used for television ads. Campos paid $70 per "worker" in his ward, out of a total contributed war chest of $113k. That's $140 per vote, 14 times what the presidential race cost. It would probably be quite a netsurfing project to see if any elections anywhere can top that.
Posted on: 2007/9/27 1:49
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Re: How to (attempt to) buy an election, Hudson county style @ $70 a vote
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I DO think that makes a difference! While it may be more efficient to simply pay the voters rather than spend the same on advertising to convince them to vote for you, it seems to me it undercuts what little we have left of democracy.
Posted on: 2007/9/26 22:36
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Re: JC Real Estate Market Recent Activity
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While I agree with that, as opposed to numerous areas where the demographic stayed the same, just paying more with ridiculous mortgages. I think it will sink some, just like Hoboken did in the 90's despite a similar demographic change. I can't see a reason a ranch in Teaneck can't drop 50% after rising 300%, but a 20% drop here would be reasonable to expect, perhaps more.
Posted on: 2007/9/26 22:28
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Re: How to (attempt to) buy an election, Hudson county style @ $70 a vote
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Your explanation might seem reasonable if he hadn't paid 1 person for every 2 that voted for him. I'd bet the Corzine campaign didn't pay 1 out of 100.
Posted on: 2007/9/26 22:13
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