Well for the next year I am guessing most of his efforts will be to convince the voters to reelect him in the regular senate race coming up. If the R's are smart they will find a centrist candidate to run against him, but they will probably stick to the tea party types.

I am still not over Booker endorsing Healy for our mayor; in my mind that says alot about his character as being more machine oriented than progressive

I did vote for him, but if he doesnt produce results and there is a credible progressive R (are there such types any more?) i would consider the alternative

So in all these ramblings I see precious little advice on the candidates positions, so I guess none of them are hanging around "the List", or just dont want to state anything on the record.

Jenn2213 identified some real issues but none of these candidates have anything on their issues pages but platitudes.

Whether or not you supported the new mayor, he deserves alot of credit for having a specific plan that he ran on, and that we can now hold him accountable for. I wish the school candidates would do the same.

@tommyc--I couldnt agree with you more! Its not whole foods we need, its just a decent store that sells artisan breads, dark chocolate, and nice fresh produce that we need. Key Foods is almost there for downtown, but out here in Greenville we have nothing but Bodegas and that piece of S#1t called Pathmark. I suspect a prison commissary has better customer service than Pathmark.

A Sprouts or Trander Joes would be nice...

@JCDD--I completely agree that poor schools are holding back JC's success as a good place to live for families. I know many folks who have moved to the burbs when their kids hit 5 years old.

HOWEVER, I dont agree that spending more money is going to fix JC Public Schools. According to http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/13 ... /mapping-school-spending/

JC PS has one of the highest per student spends in NJ, at an overall $22,273 per student (2011-2012 year). Funding cant be the problem.

Clearly we need to get more for our money. Throwing more money at JCPS will not improve performance. I'd like to know what the candidates for the School Board election in November are planning to do, but so far all i have read are platitudes.

So to summarize so far all the candidates want the best education for kids, etc.

But nobody has outlined any realistic plan on how to get there without spending more money, which we all know is not available.

Is there any candidate who has a plan to improve the schools without throwing more money at the system?

Thanks for the direction. I see so many people move out of JC when their kids hit 5 years old and always the same reason--they want to send their kids to good public schools, and NJ has some of the best suburban schools in the nation.

I read the "excellence" team platform, which contains alot of good things, but not realistic given budget levels. Id like to see what actions could be taken to improve the schools at existing budget levels which i believe is entirely achievable, but will require much more struggle. In simpler terms, what can we cut to provide the funding to implement the stated goals?

My understanding is that the JC schools have one of the highest per student spends in the US. Seems like if this is true there must be some core problems that need to be addressed that i didnt see on the list.

Excellence candidates, if you are reading this, tell us how we can achieve some of your goals in a budget neutral way.

I suggest an in-between solution as a driver, walker and bike rider....Make Grand a 3 lane road, two traffic lanes, and a continuous left turn lane. Use the extra space to put in a dedicated bike lane and maintain some parking where there is enough space.

I agree that diverting traffic through the other streets is a big mistake.

And why cant the pedestrian plan go throughout the city? Try walking in Greenville

DT seems pretty crowded with fitness places already. Maybe you should consider Bergen-Lafayette, as there are a ton of places along Pacific St that would make great facilities.

You might even be able to get some help from the city.

And, there are no fitness places in B-L or Greenville, so the whole south end of town is really unserved.

But if you are relying on DT clients walking to your place, i can understand why you need to be in DT

Hi All---I have my mail-in ballot and I have no idea what the school board candidates stand for and what their history is. Anybody want to chime in with some factual information as to which 3 people i should vote for the open and 1 person for the unfulfilled term?

I got all the way to the lost password questions when it crashed. What a waste of time. Probably best to wait a week or two and try again.

As a Greenville resident our block association has been working with Chief Cowan since he took over patrol. In the short time he took charge we have seen foot patrols for the first time since i have lived here, many more arrests, and frequent patrols of the Bayside park area. This was one of the main reasons I voted for the new regime and so far they have delivered.

Oh, and I have seen Cowan in our neighborhood about once a week which i personally appreciate. He was responsible for a couple of arrests in the Bayside park area. Before his tenure we almost never saw JCPD in our area.

They have legitimate baked goods, lots of pastries too. They dont do much with whole wheat though which is too bad. Id love to find a good loaf of rustic italian bread in JC

Thats very welcome. Its ridiculously crowded when they go from two cars to one car.

Id sure like to see them do this on the weekend too as many people shop and have cards and baby carriages. Saturday and Sunday PM can be hell on the HBLR towards Bayonne

I know you can buy archive photos from the NY Times. I wonder if the Jersey Journal does the same thing--you'd think so. I would give them a call or check their website.

Oh yeah, and keep us posted on what you find please!

Yes it was, but new books still coming in, and next week it will be back to normal.

And you were right about the roofing project. Lots of very old dust filtered down during the work which we will be cleaning up this week.

Thanks for your patronage of the book sale.

BTW if you have never been, check it out. We have a fantastic selection of books, alot of current editions, for only fifty cents or a dollar.

Keep in mind:

1. Used books are more waterproof that readers
2. Nobody does a snatch and grab of a paperback on the PATH
3. If you leave the book somewhere you are only out $0.50
4. When done you can bring back to Grace and re-recycle!

Thanks!

@HeightsBrat--I agree with your comments, and have already gone to the RRC for a couple of issues that were resolved. Previous administration had a retired-in-place councilman, so we went to Lavarro for help.

And lets hope the councilpeople will now work on the bigger picture of improving the City and leave the RRC to the fixing stuff, making sure it continues to be effective.

You might want to contact Dan or Brian at the Historic Office, 201-547-5010 or 5050.

While I am sure they cannot recommend specific contractors they may be able to give you contacts for contractors they have worked with.

I suppose you could also look at Angies List, though i dont know how helpful that would be.

Since a good portion of our local tax dollars are spent on salaries and related personnel costs, the only way taxes will be controlled in the short term is to have a smaller, more efficient workforce. It certainly seems that combining agencies, especially the semi-autonomous ones, saves money by eliminating the duplicate top brass, and centralizing administrative functions such as accounting, HR, etc.

This city is long past due for a technology upgrade. Many of the forms necessary for citizens are either mailed or faxed, but should all be on line, filled in on line, and processed electronically.

Once the city becomes a more attractive place to live, more people will move here and buy one and two family homes, which would then increase the tax base.

Just like in business, first you stop the wasteful spending and build a strong foundation, then you focus on growth.

@LoKo--right, keep calling it in to 201-547-5477. The word is getting out that Bayside park is not the place for illegal activities. I am sure most all the parents of the kids that play there every day like the improvement.

For the rest of you, take the HBLR out to Richard St. Its a beautiful park with two tennis courts that get little use, a water park, and 8 basketball hoops

Most companies I have worked at in a professional position (of which both of these jobs are) forbid outside employment for full time workers.

Does the City have a Code of Ethics that employees sign? I would imagine the Fulop administration putting one into place.

Lets remember that it serves Ward A as well. Its one of the few open meeting places on that side of the city.

I was just there for a couple of meetings and the condition is deplorable. The building has central air, but each room has an ugly noisy window air conditioner. Whats with that? Cant they find someone to fix the AC or did the city get screwed on the quality of the facility?

Also, whats with the wires running out of the recessed can lights? Really?

Its a shame how much wear and tear has happened in this place given the poor utilization, and the shoddy repair work.

Keep in mind that JC had a much larger population in past years, so the increased density issue seems misplaced to me. In the old days the higher population probably held jobs in the local area at a much higher rate than today, which minimized the traffic and PATH issues.

With the Mayor's focus on attracting more small and medium sized businesses to the city, as well as making areas like GV and BL more attractive to retail, maybe we could be going in the direction of providing more local employment over the long term.

I like the plan, and think it makes sense with the planned marketing campaign to attract small and medium sized businesses. From my own experience of owning a small biz, I know that we never got any support or interest from the local government; just alot of fees and taxes and compliance stuff.

The next step would be a detailed review of how we can make it easier for small businesses get started in the city with fee breaks, reuse of abandoned properties, assistance through the myriad of city processes, etc.

Grace Church Van Vorst on the corner of 2nd and Erie rents out the Parish Hall (basically a basketball court) with a kitchen, or the Sanctuary for very reasonable rates.

Where else can you rent a 160 year old beautiful historic Church? Call Robin 201-659-2211 in the mornings

@vindication and user1111

"I lived dtjc b4 most of you got there and it was just as bad as GV and BL put together and shit changed. I rather be a pioneer and help create change then being a person that creates separation.

Quote:
Instead of yelling at any of us, you should be yelling at your councilperson and telling the mayor to make your crime ridden area safer.


I did, its called voting."

User1111 is quite right, we voted and we largely got a whole new administration that had a detailed plan that I liked and assume user liked too.

In our GV block association, we have gotten great support from the JCPD, Parks, Recreation, and Residents Response team. We have seen lots more police activity, foot patrols, response to our specific requests, better maintenance of the park, organized teams cleaning up the park when they are done. And thats only in the last few weeks.

As is often pointed out to me, Williamsburg, Lower Eastside, and even the vaunted Village were dangerous places not long ago full of crime, drugs and prostitution. These things only change when we work to make them change, and we now have a city government that is on board.

And oh yeah, Council Pres Lavarro attended our last block meeting on Wednesday along with the JCPD brass. They are tuned in.

At least they didnt cut off her finger to speed things along!

We had a neighborhood meeting with the JCPD at 7PM and Deputy Chief Cowan had to leave due to the shooting.
Personally I am very impressed with the Department for taking such immediate action to reach out to our block associations, and to actually institute new patrols.

To see a 700+ person PD make so many positive changes in such a short time shows a real dedication to the public, and I am proud of them. Keep up the good work.

I think the unfinished WTC station is now 2-3x over budget at an estimated $2B. I wonder what the Harrison station will end up costing?

Though I wanted to see the ARC tunnel built and was disappointed to see it cancelled, there is some logic to Christies' decision based on history that the finished product would have massively exceeded the $8B budget. Seems likely given that one station is $2B and counting!

Adds to my growing optimism for Jersey City and Greenville in particular.

Be careful, some of the low lying areas by the Liberty Light Rail Stop are in the designated flood zone, which means thousands of dollars of required insurance.

I opted out of a home purchase when i found that out, so be sure to check the FEMA maps if you are considering purchasing.

start with the Mayors Action Office, 201-547-4900.

i would think your building owner would want to do something given that these insects are ruining his investment too