Id luv to see the local artists displaying pieces all over JC...or made for JC in public spaces. That would be cool.

I am a bit of insomniac so was up....and kept hearing that sound....I just thought it must be a massive, slow moving ship in the port area. Cool to know the real reason behind it.

You should contact Council Man Fulop....so far he seems to be a good guy....and most likely our next mayor.



http://stevenfulop.com/


Ps. I am in no way associated with him nor have i ever spoken or contacted him or met him. :)

I will be there to help...count me in. Also, is the farmer's market still on?

Thanks

"If it's what I think it is, "fried grease sticks" is the literal translation of the name from Taiwanese ("youtiao") - kind of resembles a churro, right?"


Big Wong's has those sticks. Yummy!

Try Big Wong's. It was the first place i ever went to in China Town. It's great and cheap.

Actually Ianmac is correct. Around 2000 or 2001 I had done a story about NJ Transit and the Path for my college paper...and the officials i spoke to said that the Path trains were obsolete and already too old and torn to be still be in use. The new trains were suppose to be in place no more than 5 years from that time.

I do believe with infrastructure and transportation people need to think long term. Christie has not done so. He killed the ARC project. I saw his point but why not reform the project instead of killing it outright? Why not go after the PA and reform it? Because it is a big patronage mill and Christie like all before him rather use it. I am still ticked about his lies about the toll increase....the whole thing was an act.

Some might not agree but during the economic mess we are in...proper infrastructure and transportation investment for the long term....is worth the money and would definitely produce good jobs.

Am i the only one disturbed by what bigtruck wrote below?

"It is against the law, and repugnant. Dogs are animals. Humans are animals. Both of which should be slain in bulk."

You don't need to build a machine to beat this current machine. You need people to come out and vote. Most of the people voting are the ones who have a vested interest in seeing that the status quo remains so.

Its really simple. People need to pay attention to local politics and then vote. Not whine and complain the rest of the year after the election.

And fresh baked cookies help. Works for SouthWest.

It really is a low turn out as usual. I know this probably won't be popular but there should be a law to make you vote. These local elections really count since it will affect you directly.
And to sweeten the pot they should give you a fresh baked cookie after voting that should make it fun.

And yes I voted today.

If all else fails follow the instructions below:
1. Apply war paint liberally.
2. Take up arms such as bats, pipes, 2by4 etc...
3. Act as normal as possible ...that wearing war paint affords...and make your approach.
4. Once near idiot box/device let loose with a swift cavalcade of strikes.
5. Don't forget to cry freedom as you repeat step 4.

To all those who say that a walking bridge to JC to NYC would be a safety concern considering post 9/11 realities, I have one question.

Why are we rebuilding the towers again?

It would be even better to have a pedestrian walking bridge from JC to NYC. So many cities around the world have done this....and they usually become great place for communities and tourists.

It's going to be tough to lay off my Hot Wheels Crew....sigh....

So a possible solution is that they become someone else's problem?


I understand people's concerns and again...if you feel like you have to reach out to the police...please do ...especially getting more detail and responses from others about what is happening in VVP.

I still think some people lack a bit of compassion and it shows when it boils down to NIMBY attitude.

Hi,

Does anyone know of a good child speech pathologist in New Brunswick or the general area? I really would luv a good recommendation. Maybe you know of a good speech pathologist in the JC area who could recommend one in NB area. Much obliged. :)

Don't worry Chris, I got your digits, i am holler at ya wink wink hehehehehe...

Am i the only one who thinks posting your number out in the open is not the smoothest of moves?

I am glad people are giving you good, solid advice on their experience.

My cousins lived a few blocks...from St. Doms....i think the actual block had a community bank in a really nice old building. They moved a few years back...because they did not feel safe.

But it sounds like this neighborhood has improved...so glad to hear it.

Associated Press

PORTLAND, Oregon ? When Occupy Wall Street protesters took over two parks in Portland's soggy downtown, they pitched 300 tents and offered free food, medical care and shelter to anyone. They weren't just building, like so many of their brethren across the nation, a community to protest what they see as corporate greed.

They also created an ideal place for the homeless. Some were already living in the parks, while others were drawn from elsewhere to the encampment's open doors.

Now, protesters from Portland to Los Angeles to Atlanta are trying to distinguish between homeless people who are joining their movement and those who are there for the amenities. When night falls in Portland, for instance, protesters have been dealing with fights, drunken arguments and the display of the occasional knife.

However, many homeless say the protests have helped them speak out against the economic troubles that sent them to the streets in the first place.

"The city wasn't giving us what we needed," said Joseph Gordon, 31, who trekked his way from Cincinnati two months ago and noted that there is nearly always enough food but never enough shelter. "You can't feed your problem away. It took this camp to show people how it really is."

As protesters across the country try to coalescence around an agenda in the coming weeks and months, they are trying to make life work in camps that have become small-scale replicas of the cities in which they were erected. And just like those cities, they are dealing with many of the same problems the local governments have struggled for decades to solve.

Some organizers see the protest and the inclusion of the homeless as an opportunity to demonstrate their political ideals. They see the possibility to show that the homeless are not hopeless and that they, too, can become a functional part of society.

In Portland, the protest has swallowed up two square blocks. There are shaggy haired college kids, do-gooder hippies, and couples with their young children. They came by the dozen, in cars and vans, on bikes and on foot and in rides hitched on the highway. Rain falls daily and dry socks are at a premium.

At the center of the camp are the medical, information, library and wellness tents. Along one side are families, who established a play area for children. On the opposite side is the "A-Camp" ? for anarchist. It's where the city's anarchist faction and long-term homeless sleep.

"We're here to spoil each other," said Kat Enyeart, a 25-year-old medic who says she spends half her time tending to the homeless, some of whom are physically and mentally ill. "It's a big, messy, beautiful thing."

As the occupation enters its fourth week, divisions have begun to emerge. Without the ability to enforce laws and with little capacity to deal with disruptive or even violent people, the camp is holding together as it struggles to maintain a sense of order and purpose.

One man recently created a stir when he registered with police as a sex offender living in the park. A man with mental health problems threatened to spread AIDS via a syringe. At night, the park echoes with screaming matches and scuffles over space, blankets, tents or nothing at all.

Last week, a homeless man menaced a crowd of spectators with a pair of scissors. Micaiah Dutt, a four-tour veteran of the Iraq War, and two other former soldiers had no problem tackling and subduing the man. Other members of the protest's volunteer security detail have been punched and threatened with knives.

Dutt said he felt helpless at times and noted that the man he helped subdue could, in theory, press assault charges against him.

"I served four tours in Iraq, and I felt more safe there at times than here," he told a gathering of protest organizers under a drizzly evening sky. "There, I had a weapon and knew the people around me were with me. Here, I don't know."

Dutt said the protests are not just about the radicals and the politicians. "It's about our community taking care of itself because the city, county and federal governments have neglected this population," he said.

In Los Angeles, protesters are dealing with similar issues: Homeless transplants from the city's Skid Row have set up their tents within the larger tent city. No violence has been reported, but protest organizers are attempting to discourage people who are only at the encampment for the amenities.

Some, like Steven Pierieto, said they've fallen on difficult times but are at the protest because they support the movement. They scorn those who come for the sandwiches but never lift a protest sign. Life in camp, Pierieto said, is far better than life on Skid Row.

"I'm very comfortable right here," Pierieto said. "I don't have to smell urine. I don't have to see people smoking crack. I have porta-potties right here. It's peaceful."

In Oakland, California, where the camp on the City Hall lawn has become a tourist attraction, organizer Susanne Sarley said getting along for a common cause will be an ongoing challenge. "This is the homeless people's turf," Sarley said. "This area we're occupying is their home. We can't move them. We have to cooperate and respect the community that we're in."

The friction between the homeless and the protesters has not been the case in other cities. In Atlanta, for instance, it has been a benefit. The homeless have helped newbie protesters learn how to put up tents that can withstand wind gusts, maintain peace in close quarters and survive the outdoors.

Billy Jones, 28, provides security at the protests. Jones said he's not just looking for free food.

"Don't have the misconception that most homeless people are always out for a meal," Jones said. "I'm here because there are things I can lend that are helpful to the movement. I can get food anywhere. I don't have to be at Occupy Atlanta to get food."

In Salt Lake City, protesters see working with the homeless as an opportunity to demonstrate their political views. "We can help people get out of homelessness," said organizer Jesse Fruhwirth, 30. "We have already surpassed any effort the state or city has ever made to create a sober, happy space for the homeless."

Brent Jackson, 46, is one of the homeless who has been recruited as a volunteer and is an active member of a planning group. He said the protest's message rings especially true with homeless people. "The homeless are the bottom of the 99 percent," Jackson said, referring to the percent of Americans the protest says it represents apart from the wealthiest 1 percent.

"We have a lot of disillusioned Americans, but they don't think what happened to us can happen to them," he said. "Except it can."

___

Cristian Salazar in New York, Christina Hoag in Los Angeles, Harry R. Weber in Atlanta, Josh Loftin in Salt Lake City and Terry Collins in Oakland. California, contributed to this report.

I think if you were closer to Journal Square then it would be safer. But this area is rough around the edges. On too many occasions whether i was on the bus or driving police and fire vehicles were always responding to one thing or another. Lots of traffic in the area also.

Br6 before I assume what you mean. Could you be more specific in terms of how the ACLU prevents these persons from receiving the care they need? Registered Republican here but does not behave as one.

Thank you for making a difference Parkman. I mean it.

Thanks Johnson! I wanted to point out that exact same thing that the police can only do two things really... which is either make an arrest or let them go. But as you can see this post is going all over the place. :)

I keep thinking this has got to be a joke. What was he thinking?

By the way Heights...don't pat yourself on the back. You are in no ways some how better than this guy. I hope people haven't forgotten at times your blatant racism.

By the way been dying to ask, "where do you get those white sheets from?"

:)

I agree this issue is much bigger than one person to solve. But let's be clear. When i saw all those people around the church. I did not do the following:

Worried or even thought for a second that they were making the fancy Back Bay Area not as attractive.

Check to see if the property rates had gone down.

Call the authorities to remove these sub human beings immediately.

Encourage others to call the authorities and complain about these so called "things". I am sorry but just because they might make us feel uneasy or they are doing things we disapprove of is not good enough. If they are doing something that would harm themselves or the the public then yes please call the police.


Some have hinted that they maybe drinking or doing drugs. I see people all the time in NYC out in public drunk or high...but we accept that as normal behavior...i guess because those folks are dressed better and have homes.

Yea lets get rid of those THINGS that make that park so unattractive! Our dogs can only be walked around in gold-plated settings.

I understand people's concerns but where is the compassion? The majority of these individuals probably have several issues but are for the most part harmless. Now if they really are doing something that might harm themselves or others then please do call the authorities.

It's easy to make ourselves believe that we can get them to the social services they need. Have most of you forgotten what the country is going through? Do you really think that the so called safety net can even provide them with what they need? Social services are stretched, or drastically cut or non-existent....and that would be a fair way to describe them before the economic down fall.

I was in Boston not too long ago. Had a few hours to kill in the middle of the night before my train left South Station. I walked around the Back Bay neighborhood. I saw so many homeless people. The most heartbreaking sight was outside this church that proudly proclaimed in a huge sign a mulit-million dollar exterior renovation. Yet all around the perimeter of this place lay 50 or 60 homeless people and mind you it's much colder up there than here. This image stuck in my mind....I wish someone came along pushed open the doors of this holy place and invited them in. Isn't that what holy places are suppose to be? Warm and inviting.

The human condition makes me sad.

The neighborhood near Casa Vasca is pretty safe. I have spent lots of time in the area because my friend lived right across from Casa Vasca. There are two sketchy bars within a block of the restaurant where stupid people will act up now and then. If it makes you feel safer the sketchier bar closest to Casa Vasca is frequented by members of the NPD. :)

Why assume? We all do it...but sometimes we really should pause. We should be more concerned with the FACT that someone was a victim of a crime. I am known to walk late at night to either go to the park or grab coffee....so who knows what people would assume about me...even though i am doing nothing wrong.

Don't get me wrong i think this is an amazing site. And am sure it will get better with time. Heck, i would luv to build a site for the town i live in. I just don't have the money to take classes...and people say you can learn on your own...but i need some direction to get going. Sigh.
Kudos to Webmaster.

Unless there are physical issues or you are carrying lots of stuff....just walk it. Hoboken is a nice and easy city to walk. The last time i was there for a haircut at HobokenMan...I walked there from the Path Station. Goodluck!

So right Br6! And watch how some comments just disappear. Just don't complain about it or you might disappear. Just trust us on that one.