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Voyeur

Re: Prospective new restaurant opening in Hamilton Park

#91

Home away from home

There was movement at this joint this morning. Contractors were inside and there is now a large sign on the Erie side of the building stating that renovations are taking place.

I assume that this restaurant has been given the green light by the city? Anyone have any further information?

Posted on: 2016/2/3 17:23

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Voyeur

Re: Area between Tunnel and Hoboken

#92

Home away from home

"Taint" update: according to this blog post/advertorial, the developers at Cast Iron Lofts are doubling down on their gamble back there. They have just topped out the 232-unit Cast Iron II and they are already six stories high on a 377-unit twin towered development. By my count they have about 750 apartments either completed or under construction in non-man's land.

Among the developers' grand plans is a scheme to "raise the streets in the area out of the flood plain [????] while installing new storm and sanity sewer lines. The neighborhood would also get new street lights, public wi-fi, sidewalks and landscaped areas."

Good luck to them. I hope that this eyesore can be converted into a real neighborhood but I suspect all of the problems blighting this area may prove an insurmountable barrier to tempting yuppie families willing and able to pay $5,450 a month for a three-bedroom apartment.

Posted on: 2016/2/2 21:34

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Voyeur

Re: Smith & Changs is now a We Works

#93

Home away from home

Quote:

DouglasReynholm wrote:
Stop using it as an office ?so inconsiderate, jeez? Gayle and I .. ? it's not an office, it is a coffee shop where people go to relax, read? nobody wants to hear all your business, nobody cares, so rude !!!

Obviously not an Oprah fan...

Posted on: 2016/1/27 0:18

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Voyeur

Re: No Fee Duplex 2BR/1.5BA with W+D and Big Yard in Downtown Jersey City

#94

Home away from home

Advertisement on the PATH tonight: one beds in Cast Iron Lofts II in no man's land/ The Taint START at $2,450 a month.

Two beds with yard in Van Vorst Park for $3,000 seems like a steal by comparison.

Posted on: 2016/1/20 23:29

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Voyeur

Re: PATH (pathetic attempt at transporting humans)

#95

Home away from home

Quote:

bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

Voyeur wrote:
WSJ: WTC PATH Transportation Hub to open in first week of March

I'm calling bullshit on this time frame right now...

They must have done a media blitz today, as a ton of regional publications and websites are reporting the same thing.

I was just in the WTC station on Sunday and it seemed very much like a construction zone nowhere near completion. March sounds SUPER ambitious. But, what do I know? It's only 7 years behind schedule (if going by Pataki's prediction of a 2009 completion!)

Completely agree. I assume by "opening" the hub, they will be closing the Vesey St temporary entrance, but the few permanent exits that we can see still have a looong way to go.

The exit out of the lobby of 4WTC at the corner of Liberty & Church has made no progress toward its final state. It still has exposed concrete floors with no paving, piping and ventilation still exposed in the ceiling, no tiling on the bare concrete walls, temporary lights strung up, building materials stacked all over the place.

The two exits along Greenwich Street the lead up to the memorial plaza in front of 3WTC are also completely unfinished. All of that could be remedied between now and March, but if that is the current state of the exits that we can actually see, I'd bet that the various exits that are out of our sight are also a long way from being commuter ready.

Also, no word in any of the articles about whether the passage connecting the PATH with the Fulton Center will be opening in March.

Posted on: 2016/1/19 19:32

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Voyeur

Re: PATH (pathetic attempt at transporting humans)

#96

Home away from home

WSJ: WTC PATH Transportation Hub to open in first week of March

I'm calling bullshit on this time frame right now...

Posted on: 2016/1/19 18:53

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Voyeur

Re: Roof & apartment ceiling leak repair

#97

Home away from home

Thanks Neverleft.

First time it's happened in two years in this apartment. We were informed during attorney review that the building had previously had roof leak issues, and that this apartment had experienced problems, but that the improved financial standing of the HOA in recent years meant that these problems had been remedied rather than just poorly patched.

We had a water infiltration specialist conduct the home inspection and he was satisfied with the condition of the roof and found no evidence of infiltration within the apartment during the inspection.

The dripping stopped once the torrential rain abated yesterday morning and our condo board is getting an "expert" out this week to investigate. Let's hope things are repaired before the real winter weather kicks in. If there is water seeping though and it freezes, this could become a much bigger problem.

Thanks again for your helpful suggestion.

Posted on: 2016/1/11 18:06

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Voyeur

Roof & apartment ceiling leak repair

#98

Home away from home

So I woke up this morning to find rain water dripping into my bedroom. Seven different spots all dripping close together, presumably part of a larger overall roof leak.

Can anyone recommend a solid roof repair guy? Anyone that does both the roof and the interior of the apartment ceiling? Looking to get someone out today or tomorrow. Thanks!

Posted on: 2016/1/10 13:41

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Voyeur

60% of new construction rentals are leased to existing JC residents

#99

Home away from home

Yesterday I was reading a blog post from Jersey Digs on the upcoming real estate development for 2016 and one section jumped out at me:

"According to The Marketing Directors leasing records, only about 60% of leasing activity in the new buildings are current Jersey City residents. The other 40% are new residents from outside Jersey City including a large chunk from from Manhattan and Brooklyn."

Although I haven't been able to access the report they are referring to, I was genuinely surprised by this number. Are existing folks already living in town really accounting for 60% of the people moving into all this new construction?

I had long assumed that it was mostly NYC refugees paying these outrageous rents, precisely because they would only look reasonable to someone coming from across the river. I had thought that citizens already living here would balk at paying those kind of prices. And the many threads on gentrification on this board seem to confirm those assumptions.

These numbers sound way off to my ears, thought I'd put it out there and see what y'all think...

Posted on: 2016/1/6 20:42

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Voyeur

Re: 50 - 70 - 90 Columbus & Hotel @ Grove PATH

#100

Home away from home

Quote:

JCishome wrote:
I guess this is further proof I'd have never made it as an architect, since I find that building shockingly ugly.

Agreed on the lack of grace, but I still think its an improvement on the empty lot that stood there before. The walk from the PATH to Shoprite along Marin used to resemble something out of a nuclear apocalypse.

They haven't erected the most inspiring of buildings along there, but they're better than the crushed concrete and general desolation that characterized that area before.

Posted on: 2016/1/5 16:13

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Voyeur

Re: PATH (pathetic attempt at transporting humans)

#101

Home away from home

More delays due to the shitty construction standards at the world's most expensive train station - now the Oculus is leaking water, pushing back the opening into the first half of 2016, not that anyone who commutes through there daily had any illusions it would open this year.

But here is the real gem buried in the story: "By fall of next year, two new PATH train platforms are to be in service, in addition to those already used by commuters. Finally, the mezzanine above the platforms, which is linked to the Oculus by a grand staircase, is to be finished by the end of next year. The authority has abandoned its plan to open an interim passageway through the Oculus."

Another example of fine communication from the PA. Can't wait for another winter of trudging across the WTC site in the snow.

Posted on: 2015/11/5 19:37

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Voyeur

Re: Rutgers graduate, 22, dies after car plunges into water off Jersey City

#102

Home away from home

But at least we can all agree that one ambulance-chasing law firm, presumably working on a no-win-no-fee will waste hundreds of hours on a case doomed to be tossed out at the first hearing, no?

I hate to see mommy and daddy fighting like this...

Posted on: 2015/10/16 22:18

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Voyeur

Re: Rutgers graduate, 22, dies after car plunges into water off Jersey City

#103

Home away from home

Quote:

Frank_M wrote:

Indeed. Think about what happened.

Think about it from the perspective of a disoriented young man experiencing the terror of drowning. Think about it from the perspective of his family and friends who loved him. Think about it from any perspective where what actually happened, and how people feel about what actually happened, is all that matters.

Is it OK if I think about it from the perspective of the five friends on the road that night that are quietly going about their day today because this drunk put his car in drive rather than in reverse?

Is it OK to think about it from the perspective of their families who look forward to seeing them at Thanksgiving because this dangerous moron went into the river rather than onto the turnpike?

No, I guess you're right. I'll think about it from his perspective: how in his last moments the disorientated young man must have taken solace in the fact that his fatal error had provided his family with specious grounds for an egregious lawsuit against the bar, the parking lot and the City.

Posted on: 2015/10/16 15:57

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Voyeur

Re: TALDE JERSEY CITY

#104

Home away from home

To get back to Talde specifically, last Saturday evening we tried this place for the first time. We were seated outside and ordered: the Tuna Tartar Spring rolls - $15 dollars, three of them, and they were tiny. Perhaps the thickness of two cigarettes and pretty much the length of a cigarette too; Zuzu quacamole - $12, four servings of something like a Triscuit with guacamole and ham on top; and we shared the Crispy Oyster and Bacon Pad Thai - $17, which was a decent size and very tasty.

All the food was very good, but the portions were grossly inadequate. Two glasses of wine each plus tip put the meal at $120, which we thought was a rip. Wouldn't have minded the price if we felt we got a good meal. Nice place, glad to have it in the neighborhood, but we won't be back.

I think people who live in DTJC have displayed a selection bias for good value. Any NYC transplant has chosen DTJC due to the inarguable better value it provides for your money relative to Brooklyn or Queens. I think we have just a vastly lower tolerance for restaurants that charge high prices but skimp on quantity than the beatniks of Brooklyn who take photos of their food, put it on Instagram and then leave with both an empty stomach and an empty wallet. Just my personal theory.

Posted on: 2015/10/6 16:10

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Voyeur

Re: PATH (pathetic attempt at transporting humans)

#105

Home away from home

Quote:

Sully wrote:
This doesn't sound good (as of 12:53 am - 10/3/2015)

Due to a track condition, PATH is operating 33rd-Hob, Nwk-Jsq and Wtc-Ex. Place only. NJT will cross honor PATH passengners.

I got to WTC at about 11.30pm last night only to be told all PATH service was "closed". Not suspended, or suffering delays, but closed. I asked the clueless guy whether 33rd-JSQ was running and of course he had no idea. Took the A train to PABT, waited an hour and then, without been told whether trains were operating or not, got on a JSQ train which terminated at Hoboken. So I walked down the Hudson walkway in the pouring rain to get back to home.

Even by PATH's pathetic weekend late night standards, last night was astoundingly frustrating. When a guy tells you to go to Penn Station and get NJ Transit to Secaucus, how exactly does that help anyone who lives in JC or Hoboken?

We spend a lot of time on this thread comparing PATH to the MTA, but the fact is there are a half dozen lines to take you into Brookly, Queens or the Bronx if one closes. Last night there was no ferry, bus or train option to get home. If we want to talk about why JC real estate is not approaching the same prices as Brooklyn Heights, its not the Jersey stigma, it is the risk of been stranded late at night.

There were plenty of yellow cab vultures lurking outide WTC, however, happily offering to take people home for $60.

Apologies for raging. Rant over.

Posted on: 2015/10/3 16:45

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Voyeur

Re: Joaquin could impact N.J., pose biggest threat since Sandy

#106

Home away from home

Quote:

SRhia wrote:
Quote:

meowmix wrote:
A refresher for those of us who have mentally blocked out our Sandy experience: What were the factors that made Sandy so damaging to Jersey City?

I think it was a combination of high tide and big storm surge? Wasn't that much rain overall.

It was a full moon that night too. You wouldn't think that would be a significant factor, but I recall reading in the aftermath that this single element coinciding with high tide may have increased the storm surge by 1-2 feet. Also, with the eye hitting around Atlantic City, the counter clockwise churn of the storm forced the worst of the winds at the edge of the system into the right angle created by NJ and LI with maximum ferocity. The narrows was the path of least resistance, so NY harbor served as a collect pond for the Atlantic to pour into. Which then burst it's banks and you know the rest of the story.

Posted on: 2015/10/1 22:06

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Voyeur

Re: Joaquin could impact N.J., pose biggest threat since Sandy

#107

Home away from home

Quote:

MDM wrote:
Updated Euro model is showing a big miss. Per the model, we will be still getting a Nor'Easter, but from a separate system that is forming off the coast of the Carolinas. Basically we are getting four days of crappy rainy windy weather. Joe Bastardi is still forecasting the storm going out to sea as well.

MDM - What is Bastardi's track record?

I only ask in light of the age-old adage: "Success has many fathers, but failure is a...."

Posted on: 2015/10/1 20:11

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Voyeur

Re: Carrino Provisions

#108

Home away from home

Quote:

EasyGibson wrote:
Cracked up when I saw them carrying in the 70" tv's last week.

"Well, we tried.... give the morons what they want."

Well said. This thread typifies much of the JCList narrative: excitement that a high quality gourmet outfit is opening up in town, followed by bitching about the Manhattan prices of said gourmet market and poor quality of produce & service, followed by "told you so" crowing that JC folks won't pay NYC prices as place closes, followed by bitching about the opening of yet another sports bar downtown, followed by lamenting that the gourmet market concept failed.

Admittedly, I only shopped there for burgers and sausage for BBQs, and even then, shelling out $30 for six burgers stung a little bit, but I'm still sad to see the place go.

Wish them luck with the sports bar, but I'll still be watching my games at O'Hara's.

Posted on: 2015/9/27 18:59

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Voyeur

Re: HVAC broke.

#109

Home away from home

Quote:

stillinjc wrote:
Meyer&Depew - pricey but excellent service.

Thanks. Just tried them, but they can't send anyone out until next Tuesday. Might try them again if the other two aren't up to scratch. Thanks again.

Posted on: 2015/9/23 21:39

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Voyeur

Re: HVAC broke.

#110

Home away from home

We are looking to have our compressed air furnace replaced and a HVAC system installed in our condo.

We have the very well-reviewed Royal Heating & Cooling coming over Friday to give us some estimates, as well as Wickerham & Son of Hackensack.

I would like to have a third quote just to get a better sense of where prices should be for this kind of work. Anyone have another suggestion for a reputable HVAC/heating/cooling firm?

Looking to give our business to a small local independent firm, not one of the big box guys....

Posted on: 2015/9/22 16:38

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Voyeur

Re: All About Downtown Street Fair

#111

Home away from home

Quote:

7thstreeter wrote:
Thought it was a great event this year.
Loved:
All the bar options - way better than just a beer truck or two.

Monty's - great to once again believe they might open this nfl season!

Did the guys behind Monty's confirm that they are still pushing ahead? As mentioned on the Monty's thread, there has been virtually no progress visible for the past year or so. On the rare occasion the doors are open and there are folks working on the joint, the interior still looks like it has a very long way to go.

Just curious as to any update the Monty's guys might have provided.

Posted on: 2015/9/21 16:30

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Voyeur

Re: The Beacon

#112

Home away from home

Reviews have been overwhelmingly negative since this place opened and continue in that vein. Google Reviews has another 2 from just the past month.

Yelp continues to be replete with horror stories of the management, and Apartment Ratings warn of all the same problems with malfunctioning amenities and management that doesn't care.

Knocking down Montgomery Gardens will do nothing to alleviate any of these problems. And $1,700 for a studio is not really that good of a deal considering the lack of development in the immediate area and the fact that none of the "luxury" elements of the building seem to work half the time.

The management of the Beacon have shown zero interest in addressing any of these problems and is apparently quite content to have a toxic reputation as a shitty building. I have little sympathy for anyone who fails to do their due diligence, or worse, ignores all of these horror stories and moves into this building.

Posted on: 2015/9/1 15:23

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Voyeur

Re: Gentrifiers' guide - distribute in JC or no?

#113

Home away from home

Quote:

brewster wrote:

This is a classic piece of American class/race confusion. It's been exploited terribly by both sides for many years. If you look past the colors it's a comparison of a woman sipping tea, presumed not to be a working class drink in this country, and there is less of an assumption that women should have jobs than for men, vs "the very wonderful Puerto Rican men who hang out on my street all day", who apparently are not employed at all. Which would the gentrifier rather see?

As an avowed gentrifier, I have rented to a number of spanish tenants, who were all fine people with good middle class jobs. Class discrimination? I don't believe "class" is a protected class.

Brewster is right - gentrification is really an issue about class and wealth rather than race, but race is a simpler and more emotive element to focus on. It also provides a neatly packaged narrative: fair-skinned gentrifier = bad/darker-skinned displaced resident = good.

One observation from my own life. Right now the condo association in our building is at war with itself over a proposal to increase our monthly HOA fees by 1/3 in order to fund some badly-needed and long overdue maintenance.

Half of the owners bought their condos in the late 90s/early 2000s when 2-bed apartments in Hamilton Park could be had for around $100,000 and earn modest incomes. The other half bought their condos in the past five years, paid three to four times as much for their units and unsurprisingly earn higher incomes.

The latter group wants to raise the HOA fees to spread the pain of paying for the improvements over time, the former group favors doing nothing and getting slapped with a large special assessments as and when these problems reach a critical point.

The discussion has become very acrimonious with a division emerging between the old people and the "gentrifiers". Our building is 100% white. Nothing to do with race, all to do with money

Posted on: 2015/8/28 16:06

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Voyeur

Re: New bar: The Archer

#114

Home away from home

Quote:

Kalen wrote:
There are a lot of panhandlers who hang out around that building. I know that is one of the reasons Box left. They thought it deterred business. Hopefully this new place does not the same problem.

They seem to congregate around that little parking lot next to the building.

The last time we ate at Box would have been maybe 2-3 months ago, about 6pm Saturday evening. A guy dressed in jeans and t-shirt with a bucket supposedly collecting for the Boys & Girls Club walked in, was waved through by the host and he then proceeded to walk from table to table soliciting "donations" in a bucket with a handwritten sign. The guy was clearly not affiliated with the BGCA in any way, and the fact that the staff just let him come in and bother its customers was astonishing. We agreed that this would be the last time we ate there, but I guess the staff had basically given up the fight by that stage.

Posted on: 2015/7/22 16:08

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Voyeur

Re: PATH and The Shithole of Port Authority

#115

Home away from home

Quote:

Wishful_Thinking wrote:

I for one really like the new WTC PATH station, and am looking forward to it being finished. I love how light, airy, architecturally engaging it is, and feel history will prove it was worth the time and money to create good design.

I can understand how Downtowners feel tho' - for you all it is more like taking the subway from you lovely neighborhood, more like living in the city, and so practicality is key.

Living in the Heights, my commute starts waiting for a bus on the corner of Palisade Avenue - shuttered storefronts, abandoned buildings, trash skittering in the wind - and ends at the WTC station - this beautiful, futuristic space, and up you pop into the amazing energy of Manhattan! The quality of the space is important; hopefully the quality of the ride will catch up.

I don't contest the fact that it's aesthetically pleasing, or that it time it will come to be regarded as a great public space. I would applaud the ostentation if it were matched by the project's practicality as a transit hub. The problem is that it's ornateness is not matched by its functionality.

For example, there were not enough stairs to handle the rush hour crowds on the temporary PATH platforms, and incredibly nothing has been done to increase the stairwell capacity of the new platforms. In fact, the new Hoboken platform has FEWER staircases than the temporary one had, so people are waiting even longer to get off the platform in the morning rush.

The oculus itself is a 100% redundant feature - nothing more than a glorified skylight, but particularly galling is the fact that the entrance through the oculus from ground level at Church St is certain to be continually infested with tourists taking photos, in the same way they perpetually block the Vanderbilt Ave entrance to Grand Central. The rendering makes it clear that this entrance is little more than a balcony designed to give the tourists an unobstructed vista against which they can pose like idiots.

Actual NJ & NY folks using the station will have to either fight their way through these morons and the crowds milling around the shopping mall below, or simply use one of the non-ostentatious subway entrances that will be located around the perimeter of the WTC site. The fact is that almost all of us will end up using these perfectly functional side entrances and explicitly avoiding the oculus and shopping concourse in order to make it to our trains without encountering the tourist horde. This project is for the tourists - we're just the suckers that are footing the bill.

Posted on: 2015/7/21 19:24

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Voyeur

Re: PATH and The Shithole of Port Authority

#116

Home away from home

Just to further stoke the outrage of my fellow PA haters at the unconscionable filthy lucre and largesse on display at the WTC, yesterday it was announced that the skylight in the center of the train station's oculus will be retractable and will open annually for the anniversary of Score09's demented conspiracy fantasies:

NYT story (paywall): http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/20/nyr ... akes-final-form.html?_r=0

Curbed summary: http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/07 ... ill_open_each_sept_11.php

Posted on: 2015/7/20 18:19

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Voyeur

Re: Newark Avenue Pedestrian Plaza -- Reopening?

#117

Home away from home

Quote:

Yvonne wrote:
There are people who go to a lung specialties there. I am fortunate I do not have that problem.

As everyone is painfully aware from the unintelligible screeds, we know your lungs are 100% Yvonne. Your brain on the other hand...

Posted on: 2015/7/16 3:06

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Voyeur

Re: What's going there?

#118

Home away from home

Quote:

I_heart_JC wrote:
Quote:

TheGinch wrote:
Quote:

foshizigity00 wrote:
the space on first street at erie, right across from torico??? I peaked in one morning when the back door was open, i could see a bar.. they just layed tiles down on the front stoop. anybody have any more information than that? (sorry if it's already been discussed, i didn't see it)

Spoke to a guy a few weeks back who was working on it, and he said burger joint. I got to peek inside, it's this beautiful wooden counter. Maybe it'll be more of a pick up spot instead of restaurant, like Left Bank?

take-out burger joint. they really classed-up that storefront. I hope they succeed, if only as a reward for making that corner so much prettier than it was when it housed an endless succession of lackluster delis.

Walked past this place this morning - they now have a hamburger sign hanging out the front. Quite understated, not at all garish.

While I'm at it, one of the "no photos!" gestapo at WTC PATH was telling a commuter this morning that the new southern exits will be opening next week. Anyone who works south of WTC will probably shave about five minutes off their commute by exiting on Liberty and Church rather than schlepping up to Vesey and then backtracking down Greenwich.

Posted on: 2015/7/8 14:39

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Voyeur

Re: Home Inspection Recommendation

#119

Home away from home

We used John Estes of Hoboken. He was great, convinced us to ask for $5,000 in credits off the asking price and provided a detailed report to support his estimate that secured the credits for us.

He's a water infiltration specialist, so if you are on the top floor with roof issues or in a basement worried about flooding potential, he is especially solid in detecting water seepage or any weak spots.

We had some electrical issues that he pointed out and then a couple of months later took the time to recommend a couple of electricians that he trusted to do the job. I would highly recommend him.

Regional Home Inspection, LLC
John Estes
201-954-9894

Good luck!

Posted on: 2015/7/2 15:35

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Voyeur

Re: The nightmare that awaits N.J. if a Hudson rail tunnel is forced to close

#120

Home away from home

Quote:

stillinjc wrote:
Bullshit thread meant to coincide with today's Christie's announcement. Election year smear campaign.

When the media brings up a notorious incident in which a politician unilaterally decides to kill a vitally needed regional public infrastructure project and screw over his constituents in order to bolster his credentials for national office on the same day said politician announces he is running for president, it's not a smear - it's fair game. It's a reminder that the people of north NJ will still be suffering on crowded and delayed trains long after Christie's absurd presidential ambitions are a punchline on the late night talk shows.

Posted on: 2015/6/30 17:53

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