How does a guy who doesn't care about other people, doesn't honor laws, doesn't follow regulations, historical restrictions, re-development plans, or basic urban development guidelines, hires family members for overpaid public jobs, and whos only qualifications are greed, megalomania and nihilism keep so many public jobs for so long?

I live here with my wife and two kids and I think our block is great! Its a super quiet dead-end block off Communipaw Ave. near LSP.

It's not perfect, but I've lived here since 2000 and have seen some incremental changes.

Missing amenities is the biggest gripe as others have mentioned.

I actually ride a folding bike to Grove St. PATH every day as part of my commute. Its a 5 minute bike ride, but a 30 minute walk.

When retail comes to Liberty Harbor that will only be a 15 minute walk from us. We already like Zeppelin Beer Hall.

If you are looking for some nice brick townhouse or a single home on a 40 ft. lot that you could buy for 1/3 the price of downtown and renovate, Lafayette has possibilities. But its a lot of work.

I have seen lots of artists here because they need the space and the low rent to create their art. Artists don't need lots of amenities like cafes and bars. They can always trek downtown for that.

I would love to see more light industry zoning come here, so we could get carpenters, welders, mechanics, brewers, artisans and blue collar working types. But who knows.

Unfortunately we may be forced to leave JC altogether because of the horrid schools. Right now our only school age kid is in a private school but with two kids and one on the way, we will soon need a decent public school system in return for these property taxes.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011 ... ey_sewerage_commis_2.html

quote:

Commissioner Carl Czaplicki, who also serves as director of the Jersey City Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce, sponsored his wife?s hiring. He selected Vanessa Czaplicki as a 21st round pick in 2003 as a $47,664-a-year account clerk. She now makes $70,676. His brother, John, makes nearly $90,000.

Withdrawn. Thank you Cleopatra. I honestly can understand how the senior citizens feel because I've seen how some kids ride their bikes on the sidewalks and intentionally try to scare you by getting close and pretending they have "no brakes" but this would not help with that problem.

TRENTON ? Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker (D-Essex) has withdrawn her proposal for a bill that would have required bicycles to be registered.
?My intention was never to impose a burden or additional costs," Tucker said in a statement. "My goal was to at least begin a discussion of how best to protect elderly pedestrians. No idea is perfect, but protecting elderly pedestrians deserves attention."

article from NJ.com

quote:
Dang she's on to something. But we gotta add skateboards and baby strollers. Especially baby strollers.

And wheelchairs. Don't forget those!

Every ambulance I've had the displeasure being near has had the WORST diesel exhaust I've ever breathed.
The are mostly run by independent companies where profit is the bottom line so they will not willingly go out and buy newer, more efficient vehicles.
They need to be inspected and made to conform to the same emission regulations as other vehicles. I have a 2009 VW diesel myself and one can barely detect its exhaust. It actually qualifies as a clean-emissions vehicle in all 50 states, even California. So clean diesel technology is here.
Even in the middle of winter I've never had to wait more than a few seconds for the glow plugs to heat the engine up enough to start it cleanly. So starting/warm-up time is no longer an issue with modern diesels either.
Modern hospitals have bays where they park the ambulances and hook them up to power lines (shore power) to keep them ready and charged. Why isn't this ambulance hooked up to a shore line somewhere near the hospitals it is serving?

try Ricky Singh, he has a welding shop on Communipaw Ave. near Monitor Street. He did our stair railing. - miles

201-220-5144

quote from NYT article above:

A building on 118th Street is one reason that the parents who are Perkins?s constituents know that charters can work. On one side there?s the Harlem Success Academy, a kindergarten-through-fourth-grade charter with 508 students. On the other side, there?s a regular public school, P.S. 149, with 438 pre-K to 8th-grade students. They are separated only by a fire door in the middle; they share a gym and cafeteria. School reformers would argue that the difference between the two demonstrates what happens when you remove three ingredients from public education ? the union, big-system bureaucracy and low expectations for disadvantaged children.

On the charter side, the children are quiet, dressed in uniforms, hard at work ? and typically performing at or above grade level. Their progress in a variety of areas is tracked every six weeks, and teachers are held accountable for it. They are paid about 5 to 10 percent more than union teachers with their levels of experience. The teachers work longer than those represented by the union: school starts at 7:45 a.m., ends at 4:30 to 5:30 and begins in August. The teachers have three periods for lesson preparation, and they must be available by cellphone (supplied by the school) for parent consultations, as must the principal. They are reimbursed for taking a car service home if they stay late into the evening to work with students. There are special instruction sessions on Saturday mornings. The assumption that every child will succeed is so ingrained that (in a flourish borrowed from the Knowledge Is Power Program, or KIPP, a national charter network) each classroom is labeled with the college name of its teacher and the year these children are expected to graduate (as in ?Yale 2026? for one kindergarten class I recently visited). The charter side of the building spends $18,378 per student per year. This includes actual cash outlays for everything from salaries to the car service, plus what the city says (and the charter disputes) are the value of services that the city contributes to the charter for utilities, building maintenance and even ?debt service? for its share of the building.

On the other side of the fire door, I encounter about a hundred children at 9:00 a.m. watching a video in an auditorium, having begun their school day at about 8:30. Others wander the halls. Instead of the matching pension contributions paid to the charter teachers that cost the school $193 per student on the public-school side, the union contract provides a pension plan that is now costing the city $2,605 per year per pupil. All fringe benefits, including pensions and health insurance, cost $1,341 per student on the charter side, but $5,316 on this side. For the public-school teachers to attend a group meeting after hours with the principal (as happens at least once a week on the charter side) would cost $41.98 extra per hour for each attendee, and attendance would still be voluntary. Teachers are not obligated to receive phone calls from students or parents at home. Although the city?s records on spending per student generally and in any particular school are difficult to pin down because of all of the accounting intricacies, the best estimate is that it costs at least $19,358 per year to educate each student on the public side of the building, or $980 more than on the charter side.

Good article in NYT about Race to the Top program:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/magazine/23Race-t.html

I think Obama is ready to back up this Governor and any Mayors who will stand up to the NJEA . . .

The participants of Teach for America have got new ideas, experience, and are ready for new challenges, like superintendent. There is somebody waiting to come in and do a better job than Epps for half the pay. Let's find him/her and give them a chance.

That statue is compelling and unapologetically unique. My favorite statue in JC.

The salary is the main issue with me, not Epps. Is the job search advertising a more reasonable salary? Like maybe, something UNDER 6-digits?? All the superintendent/supervisor salaries in New Jersey need a seismic correction. The teacher salaries aren't really the issue.

I think the Council also needs to address the issue of the school on Communipaw Ave. named after Epps. That should never have happened.

I could not afford a Brompton, so I've been riding a Dahon Curve D3. (3speed, aluminum frame, 16" wheels)
The small wheels make it less intrusive on the PATH than a 20" wheel folder. And it fits under my desk folded.
Its holding up well after a year of commuting since I'm an all weather commuter. It gets folded/unfolded 6 times each day so I have it down to 5 seconds to fold or unfold it.

Grove Street Bicycles sells this model, plus other Dahons.

miles

Interesting comments from Healy about a property tax increase just not being in the cards, from last Spring:

Levin says that by plugging budgets with one-shot infusions from PILOTs (Payments in Lieu of Taxes on tax abated properties), legal settlements, property sales, and, this year, the pension payment deferral, ?we?re just pushing off a property tax increase for the future.?
However, Healy says a property tax increase simply isn?t in the cards. He says his administration has ?restrained spending while seeking new sources of reoccuring revenue,? specifically a parking lot tax and a hotel tax, which together bring in close to $10 million per year. Going forward, he says, he ?will do everything possible to keep taxes stable.?

But Levin stresses the need to form a budget and a long-term financial plan that forces the city to live within its means. He says much of that can be done by cutting expenses citywide.

?We need to control our municipal spending,? Levin says. ?There?s no other alternative.?

He points to a number of areas for the city to save money, from cutting back on the automotive fleet provided to city employees, to reducing staffing levels to outsourcing services that could be better provided by other entities.

sources:

http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... opment-taxes-and-budgets/

http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... udgets-at-downtown-forum/

I know for a fact mine have doubled since I bought my house in 2004.

marybarr,
I think residents of this block would have argued just as strongly against ANY non-residential use of the lot, whether it was a store-front, doctors-office, or public park. Some blocks just have a special historical, residential character that is worth defending, especially when the zoning law is on their side. The house there now is historically significant worth saving. It just needs the right buyer to restore it.

Not one but a few alternatives have been suggested, which are only a few blocks away on the main avenue, which are larger and properly zoned for this center. I believe Team Walker is still considering these alternatives.

The uses of this center should not be limited to just a development center for 15 kids. If the location is moved, this center could serve the community and our children in many more ways, such as a weekend meeting center for non-profits, and a recreational center.

Thank you Ricardo for continuing to cover this!
To re-iterate, 183 Pine Street is zoned for residential use only and we would like to preserve the structure as a single two-family house on one 50 ft. lot.

Basically when a developer of any kind comes into a neighborhood and wants to build something in Lafayette, he must follow the basic zoning regulations, adhere to the Redevelopment Plan, and also try to take into account legitimate feedback from the residents affected. Jerry is ignoring all of this with this particular project and seems to have hoped we would just lie down and let him do whatever he wants.

So we have appealed the zoning decision, which was based on a made-up definition of the one use in our plan which happens to be undefined - Public Purpose.

We will argue that Jerry's project belongs under the "Community Facility" use by all evidence presented for the proposal, and the sole reason that he did not put it under this use, was because it would not be allowed at this location.

If you want to support your fellow JC home-owners and residents who are tired of this city and developers walking all over the regulations in place and building anything, in any way, wherever they will profit most, then please come to the zoning board of appeals meeting on Jan. 21st.

miles
Contact me by email/PM for more details!

Walker is wrong here. The block is zoned for residential use only. This is the whole basis of the dispute.

This does not apply to folding bikes, as long as the bike is fully folded before boarding the train.

http://www.transalt.org/resources/aboard

I'm not sure why the PATH info page no longer states that folding bicycles are allowed. May have been accidentally left out when the website got redesigned.

http://www.panynj.gov/path/security.html

This applies to all MTA trains also:
(they will even sell you a folding bike)
http://www.mta.info/bike/


miles

from the Hudson Reporter:

Problem on Pine Street
Neighbors don?t want basketball stars to build tutoring center nearby

by Ricardo Kaulessar

Will it be just a facility for kids to come in the afternoon to prepare for high school, or a magnet for increased traffic and noise on a quiet, dead-end street?

That is the debate between two opposing groups over 183 Pine St., where a building will be constructed and operated by the Jersey City non-profit group Team Walker, run by former high school basketball stars Jerry and Jasper Walker.?

Team Walker currently operates after-school athletic and academic programs at Public School 22 on Van Horne Street.?

Jerry Walker, in a recent interview, said he has been looking for a spot for a facility in the Bergen-Lafayette area, where he has spent most of his life, for at least 10 years. But has run into problems with potential sites.

?There are vacant lots, but they are spoken for, as in, some developer already has a claim on the property,? Walker said.

The Pine Street site is a double lot that Walker said is zoned for commercial use, and currently occupied by a boarded-up house that would be torn down. Walker has not purchased the property yet, saying he is awaiting approval for the facility from the Planning Board at its next meeting on Dec. 15. As far as financing, he says he has over $920,000, including an $822,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).

Walker said the facility would be two stories, and have a few classrooms and a driveway for a transportation van. He plans to have 15 seventh and eighth-grade kids at a time in the building for after-school prep classes.

He says the kids are ?high-achievers? from the various Team Walker programs, students that he is steering toward some of the top high schools in the city, such as St. Peter?s Prep, St. Dominic Academy, or McNair Academic.

But residents on Pine Street and the tiny block of Boltwood Street are unsure if 183 Pine St. is the right location for the new facility. They made their opposition known at the City Council meeting on Nov. 24, and they met last week at a closed meeting with Walker and City Councilwoman Viola Richardson to discuss alternative sites.

Build it somewhere else

Those who spoke in opposition at the Nov. 24 council meeting actually support Walker?s program ? they just prefer to see the facility built somewhere else.

Miles Poindexter lives with his wife and two young children at 175 Pine St., a restored 1871 house only a few doors down from Walker?s proposed site. Poindexter wants his block to remain purely residential.

?I?m not sure why Mr. Walker is trying to build a commercial structure in the middle of this residential block at 183 Pine St.,? Poindexter said. ?I don?t know why he would want this lot, because there are so many empty lots on Communipaw Avenue that are mixed-use and commercial.?

Last week in a posting on the local website, jclist, Poindexter said he had located a site at 378-380 Communipaw Ave. with an abandoned two-story brick building.?

Another Pine Street resident, Deborah Sinico, said at the meeting, ?We would like to help Jerry find a suitable location; Pine Street is not a suitable location.?

Another Pine Street resident, Bernice Davis, said the project has to be questioned because the federal CDBG funding for the project benefits very few children, which she said is not a ?good use? of taxpayer dollars.

However, Walker had his supporters too, such as Susan Curry, a lifelong Pine Street resident. She said Walker?s project represents three valuable components for success in society ? ?family,? ?community? and ?development.??



http://hudsonreporter.com/pages/full_ ... ey_city_story_left_column

We would be happy to have this in our neighborhood also. But what we have been saying is that this is a planning/zoning issue.

I am in the process of helping Team Walker select an alternative site and have suggested 378-380 Communipaw Ave.
The advantages of this lot are:

1. same size lot but $25,000 cheaper. That is just based on the asking price. I'm fairly certain the owner would sell for an offer much lower than that.

2. The existing bldg on this lot is a solid, two story brick bldg. It would only need some renovation to modify it to be classrooms. No teardown would be necessary.

3. It is in the correct zoning for the use Team Walker intends. Communipaw Ave. is a mixed use zone with both commercial and residential use allowed. The center being proposed falls under the "Community Facility" use, which would be allowed here.

4. This property is only a few blocks from PS22, where most of the kids will be coming from. Much closer than Pine St.

So we are waiting for Team Walker's reply on this lot, and there are others available too. Since this alternative site is only three blocks from Pine Street, he would still be in the Lafayette Community where this is needed, so everyone is happy.

I will post more news as things happen . . .

miles

As a resident of the block of Pine Street being discussed here, let me clarify our arguments. This block is zoned as a residential block, and this is not a residential use of the lot. That is the basic conflict. This is a planning / zoning issue and nothing else.

We have been working on getting the Redevelopment Agency to offer another property in our neighborhood on a mixed-use street such as Communipaw Ave. or Pacific Ave.

Hello,
I was at the Council meeting last night to speak about a completely different issue, but I watched in horror as the Council voted to purchase this bldg.
Councilman Fulop argued cogently about all the reasons to get a new appraisal of the bldg's value.
I think he also suggested that maybe the Parking Authority should renegotiate the rent it is currently paying since it seemed completely out of touch with today's rental rates.
Then the new appraisal would use these adjusted rental rates.
The new appraisal should have also factored in the extremely high possibility that the post office would at the minimum, demand much lower rental rates when its lease was up next year, and could even move the branch to another bldg. or close it entirely.
This new appraisal, done correctly, would have shaved millions off the price of the bldg. my opinion and it was the right thing to do and would have cost maybe $600 tops.
To see the Council members argue against doing such an obvious thing made we want to puke. Maybe I don't have the stomach to see corrupt, greedy, self-serving politicians blatantly rewarding their cronies (in this case the bldg. owners) in return for contributions.
Even though this is now done, could an NGO finance a 2nd certified appraisal anyway? Then they would sue the city for the difference?

miles

I don't think following the money leads to the teachers. But to admins, and other higher ups. And where did all the SCC money go? I'm going to try to see this movie this week.

AMC Loews Jersey Gardens 20
651 Kapkowski Road, Elizabeth, NJ
12:45 3:00 5:15 7:30 9:45pm

AMC Loews Menlo Park 12
390 Menlo Park, Edison, NJ
11:00am 1:10 3:20 5:30 7:40 9:50pm

mebbe this is how JC Repo men operate?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=554AX4l1tmw

I have a feeling the One Jersey City team could do A LOT to put JC on the path to recovery. Dan Levin has already spent years putting together the prescient no-pay-to-play reform which recently got approved by the Council. (they had no choice)

Team Healy:
Lowered their ethics standards.
Raised your property taxes.

Game over for Team Healy

The JC 15:

Leona Beldini, 74, of Jersey City, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right

Joseph Cardwell, 68, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with agreeing to offer bribe to public official

Joseph Castagna, 53, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right

Guy Catrillo, 54, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with attempted extortion under color of official right

Edward Cheatam, 61, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right

Richard Greene, 45, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under of official right

Maher A. Khalil, 39, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right & attempted extortion

James P. "Jimmy" King, 67, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right

Louis Manzo, 54, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right

Michael Manzo, 53, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right

Lori Serrano, 37, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right

Jack Shaw, 61, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right

L. Harvey Smith, 60, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under of official right

Mariano Vega, 59, of Jersey City, NJ, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right

Lavern Webb-Washington, 60, of Jersey City, charged with conspiracy to commit extortion of official right

I doubt anyone from onejerseycity.org will be arrested either.
(hint: get involved next election. Today means nothing if everyone just elects another slate of goons next election)

I helped them as much as I could last election, but unfortunately, it wasn't that much because I work too much.

Now we see our only reward for all of the construction/development going on for the last decade is an 11% tax increase. That's the only "change you can see."

Where was that picture/video taken on Communipaw Ave? I can't quite place it. Cross Streets anyone?

We're the people Dan was referring to that completed a gut-renovation on Pine Street.
This is a VERY quiet street with lots of trees. I lived on Communipaw Ave near Pacific before this and the difference in street noise is unbelievable. Communipaw Ave. was always loud, treeless and ugly. This street has a bit of charm.

There really are no amenities here, like cafes, restaurants, bars, bagel shops, etc. But its OK for now since I'm an avid bicyclist and can get downtown in 5 minutes. With two kids, there's not much time for hanging out at the local cafe anyway.
Also, whatever new retail comes online at Liberty Harbor North will be very accessible to us. ( 15 minute walk)

Its still a good place to buy I believe, especially if you need more room. Take a look at 181 Pine Street if you're ready for a renovation project! (probably a tear-down unfortunately)

miles