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MDM

Re: Developers break ground on Jersey City micro-units apartment building

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The NYC version:

"The ceiling heights were 4.5 feet to 6 feet tall on each level, depending on where you were standing," Department of Buildings spokesperson Abigail Kunitz said in an email to NPR.

When an inspector visited the building this month, he found half-size doors and low ceilings, forcing him to kneel in an improvised hallway. A small staircase connected the two floors. Along with unapproved structural changes, the Department of Buildings says, the inspector found the space riddled with unpermitted electrical and plumbing work.

The compressed living spaces prompted New York City Council Member Ben Kallos to compare the arrangement to the movie Being John Malkovich, which features a cramped office — and a tiny door — on floor 7 1/2 of a Manhattan building.

---------------------------------

Officials promptly ordered all occupants to vacate Apartment 601, hitting the owner, Xue Pin Ni, with a potential maximum fine of $144,750 in civil penalties and ordering the subunits to be stripped out of the space. The penalty is set to rise, as the city will also fine Ni $1,000 every day that each illegal subunit remains on the premises, for up to 45 days.

https://www.npr.org/2019/08/20/7527917 ... 8-micro-apartments-in-nyc

Posted on: 8/21 2:35

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MDM

Re: Notice: JC Proposes to Dispose of .98 Acres of Two Parks

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Quote:

tern wrote:
I never realised there use to be a public pool at 531 Communipaw Avenue.

Can still be seen on a satellite image:
https://goo.gl/maps/mhv1nhEASNdmi9WW6

Any old timers remember this "Harmon Street Pool"?

Robin.

The Harmon Street pool became a headache for residents who complained about the frequent fights and the deportment of some of the youths that frequented the facility. In true Jersey City fashion, instead of confronting and solving that problem, the pool was shuttered.

The site has been vandalized to a fare-thee-well, but it still exists. Block associations expressed some interest in having it reopened, but nothing came of it.

https://www.nj.com/hudson/voices/2011/ ... ce_to_cool_off_jerse.html

Posted on: 8/5 11:19

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MDM

Re: Notice: JC Proposes to Dispose of .98 Acres of Two Parks

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If I didn't see the basketball backboards, I would assume the 16th St. park was an abandoned parking lot.

Posted on: 8/5 10:40

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MDM

Re: JC plans new North precinct, and officials want your suggestions

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Quote:

brewster wrote:

What I'd like to know is why this precinct needs to be on very valuable retail and residential Central Ave property. There could be quite a nice high tax base building there on that R-2 lot and the precinct almost anywhere. The East District seems to manage tucked away on 7th St.

There are a number of lots out on 1&9 that might work well.. including a rather large lot of a former Occidental Chemical plant that has plenty of room for a building and parking.

Posted on: 7/29 3:15

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MDM

Re: Flooding

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Quote:

Adonis wrote:
I was listening to the police scanner last night during the storm. Lots of calls for motorists standing on top of stranded cars at Westside Ave & Sip Ave.

I used to live down in that area. Saw that happen more than a few times.

Posted on: 7/18 13:35

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MDM

Re: The Best Neighborhood To Raise A Family In Jersey City

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Quote:

Bill463 wrote:
Montclair?

My wife had a thing for moving to Livingston for a while. Her friends bought homes there for the school system, which they all praised.

Moving to a suburb partially in a floodplain and putting up with a long commute to work was not exactly thrilling for me.

Posted on: 7/18 13:34

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MDM

Re: Flooding

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Quote:

tern wrote:
How does flooding happen in the Heights?
Doesn't all the water roll off down the pallisades?

Robin.

My corner three sewer lines merge into one. It also sits in a slight bowl. Before the sewers were repaired a moderate thunderstorm would fill the streets to the point water was sloshing against my building and my roof drain would backup.

Pre repairs, the buildings downsteam from me would flood. There is a line of houses with garages and rooms partially below grade. More than once I saw people hauling out destroyed rugs and furniture. Curious if I will see that today.

Posted on: 7/18 12:25

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MDM

Re: Flooding

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Checked a weather station in JSQ. 2 inches of rain in about 30 minutes.

Posted on: 7/18 0:48

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MDM

Re: Flooding

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Quote:

brewster wrote:
Pump just started about 10 minutes ago, we'll see....

I think my neighbor just lost their hot water heater. Their basement filled up and is draining into mine through every available crack / crevice. Not the first time that happened

Posted on: 7/18 0:47

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MDM

Flooding

#10

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I have the worst street flooding I have seen in over a decade here in the Heights.. and the sewers up here had major repairs / relined since then (which pretty much ended street flooding until tonight).

How are you people in the downtown doing?

Posted on: 7/18 0:30

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MDM

Re: The Best Neighborhood To Raise A Family In Jersey City

#11

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Quote:

brewster wrote:

MDM, there's a lot of middle class people keeping their kids in the public schools, even if just till middle school, which makes them better just by itself. After that there's A1 and MS4 if they can get in.

My one tenant that had two kids moved because of the public school (Heights). The school was safe, but his son was going insane with boredom. He was already doing long division and fraction whilst the rest of the class was still trying to learn addition / subtraction, etc.

I think he tried to see if he could get him into PS16, but there was no room for an out of district kid. He decided moving was more affordable than private school.

My other tenant who has a kid has a god parent paying for her daughter to go to St. Nicholas in the Heights.

I am looking to put mine in one of the Montessori schools (budget willing). There is a group trying to open a Montessori charter school (grades K thru 3). They re-submitted their application after the Murphy administration blanket rejected all charter school applications. They seem to be making progress to getting approved now...

Posted on: 7/16 20:13

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MDM

Re: The Best Neighborhood To Raise A Family In Jersey City

#12

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Quote:

JCFam wrote:
What makes a neighborhood great for families is typically a sense of community! Here are a few Jersey City neighborhoods that are particularly popular to raise a family in JC.

http://jcfamilies.com/the-best-neighb ... -a-family-in-jersey-city/

For my tenants, unless they can afford private school, they head for the suburbs when their kids hit kindergarten or 1st grade.

Posted on: 7/16 18:54

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MDM

Re: Port Authority announces plan to increase PATH capacity, reduce delays

#13

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Speaking of reducing delays... It looks like the new signal system has issues with thunderstorms and downpours. PATH signal system got knocked out btw JSQ and Grove St.

The morning commute took forever.

Posted on: 6/25 13:53

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MDM

Re: New Electric Garbage Trucks...

#14

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Quote:

brewster wrote:

When the Prius came out I thought all cars would be hybrids within a decade, it just made so much damn sense. Now it's more than 2, and they're still exotic. What a mess. You're right, every transit, fleet or local business vehicle on the road should be EV.

Electric cars would replace ICE if the energy storage issues could ever be worked out. Current technology based on lithium / cobalt is not economically viable, safe, or environmentally sound. The issues have been papered over via subsidies, tax breaks, and a lot of virtue signalling. Short of government mandating their purchase (which will have dire economic and environmental consequences)... when the subsidies / tax breaks disappear, so will hybrids and electric vehicles. The exception being expensive toys for wealthy people.

There are companies / groups working on alternative technology: Batteries based on aluminum have far greater storage capacity, but a very short lifespan. So far, they are reserved for special military applications.

There is also hope that graphene based batteries might work (there has been progress in this regard), but so far, none have been built that could economically power an electric car.

Resized Image

Posted on: 6/7 13:59

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MDM

Re: Spotlight On: Affordable housing

#15

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Quote:

JCGuys wrote:

The comments section is a fun read as it points out the many flaws in the PhD student's analysis.

One of the comments posted an interesting link:

40% of the Buildings in NYC couldn't be built today

Posted on: 6/6 13:36

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MDM

Re: IMPORTANT NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT MEETING (The Heights)

#16

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Quote:

brewster wrote:

MDM, The Franklin gives me a sad since I was a regular for the old place's espresso. Where's the next closest?

My wife likes Dulce de Leche on Central Ave for her caramel latte and spinach puff pastry. There is also hipster coffee place across from Fisk park, but haven't tried it yet.

Posted on: 6/2 19:55

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MDM

Re: IMPORTANT NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT MEETING (The Heights)

#17

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Hopefully there will be more re-development projects like this one. I have watched with pleasure as the likes of $0.99 stores have faded away, replaced by new restaurants. These larger development projects have brought a wave of gentrification which has created a critical mass of people who can afford to patronize higher end establishments.

Whilst trying out a new Italian restaurant on Franklin Ave my wife commented we no longer have to go into NYC to eat at someplace nice.

When I first moved to J.C. Franklin ave was a mass of decrepit buildings and gang activity.

Posted on: 6/1 16:08

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MDM

Re: PATH (pathetic attempt at transporting humans)

#18

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Quote:

suzychapstick wrote:

Is there a reason you can't fill your MTA card at an actual MTA machine?

Haven't been in a MTA station recently and just using PATH for now. Was hoping to avoid having to do so.

Posted on: 5/23 14:14

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MDM

Re: PATH (pathetic attempt at transporting humans)

#19

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Any idea when credit / debit will be working again so PATH and MTA cards can be refilled? This is day 3 that the system has been down.

I have a full TransitChek card and an empty PATH & MTA cards.... The lines are long to pay cash :(

Posted on: 5/23 13:13

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MDM

Re: "Jersey City mayor would build more housing for gentrifiers, call it ‘affordable’"

#20

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With most of city zoned for R-1 Bayonne Boxes, where will the "affordable" housing go?

Posted on: 5/22 20:04

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MDM

Re: Jersey City Councilperson Reports Rent-Control Crisis Downtown

#21

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Quote:

Bamb00zle wrote:

For a newly constructed, or newly rehabbed 4-family building, the current fire code requires a centrally monitored sprinkler system throughout the entire structure.

Back when I did it, the sprinklers only kicked in if the 4 family building was over 3 stories.

The more annoying aspect was the handicap access requirements. Lots of issues with the Building Department regarding that part.

Posted on: 5/9 18:12

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MDM

Re: Jersey City Councilperson Reports Rent-Control Crisis Downtown

#22

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Quote:

i have a friend in the Heights who has an old 4 family house...it's in good condition but she keeps wondering if she should tear down and build anew....condos or rentals? thoughts? how much is construction psf?

If she is in Zone R-1 (most of the Heights is R-1), she could only build a Bayonne Box 2 family. Better off rebuilding the 4 family. The extra 2 rents have gone a long way of making my home affordable.. especially during a past period of financial strain.

My building should have been torn down. It would have been cheaper and faster to build a new 4 family.. except zoning didn't allow it.

Posted on: 5/9 14:49

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MDM

Re: Jersey City Councilperson Reports Rent-Control Crisis Downtown

#23

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Quote:

wow, I thought rent control only applied to older buildings built before 1969(?) containing 5 units or more. So, are you saying that JC could impose rent control on all those high rises?

From what I understand, Jersey City currently does not apply rent control to new construction. However, they could, but the State law preempts the city from doing so until the building is five years old.

Fulop's opponent in the last election ran on a platform of expanding rent control right down to single family homes.

Posted on: 5/9 14:47

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MDM

Re: Jersey City Councilperson Reports Rent-Control Crisis Downtown

#24

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Quote:

JCBORN wrote:

This is what I was afraid of. What if you don't get all of your tenants out? You always have 1 or 2 tenants who think they will get $1M to move. You can only convert to condos if the building is empty? Although it is a good idea to combine apartments I think I would have problems converting them back to 6 units once I want to sell them off.

That is the issue. I had the luxury of buying when JC market was dead. The buildings I bought were in such sad shape that the tenants couldn't stay. They were emptied out by closing time. The building I live in, you could look through a hole in the floor of the 3rd floor bathroom and see the basement. Floors were rotted out all the way down.

You don't re-combine apartments. Most of Jersey City is now zone R-1, which limits you to a 2 family Bayonne Box. Grandfathered buildings can reduce units to get closer to R-1, but cannot add units, unless you go for a variance. Expect people to come out of the woodwork to oppose you adding units during the hearing.

Posted on: 5/9 14:15

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MDM

Re: Jersey City Councilperson Reports Rent-Control Crisis Downtown

#25

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Quote:

JCBORN wrote:
Did anyone on here convert a rent-control building into condos? Is that an easy process?

Your big upfront expense will be bribing the tenants to leave. Typically this is 2 to 3 years worth of rent paid once the tenant leaves. Hoboken during the 1980s real estate boom was infamous for incidents of mafia lighting hitting buildings. Nothing gets rent controlled tenants out faster than a fire.

I did one building years ago that I got off rent control: I eliminated the commercial unit, turning it into a 4 family. You can do this with 6 and 8 family buildings as well.. Combine the apartments into huge units. Huge apartments though, especially in a downturn, can be harder to rent.

New construction (unless the state law changed since I less checked) is free from any local rent control ordinance for 5 years.

Posted on: 5/9 12:29

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MDM

Re: Plastic bag bans coming to Hoboken, Jersey City

#26

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I find the efforts to ban plastic straws to be particularly annoying...

https://reason.com/2019/05/07/new-jers ... ll-bags-paper-or-plastic/

State legislators have clearly heard this message, floating proposals to ban not just plastic grocery bags, but all single-use bags—paper or plastic.

Working its way though the legislature right now is S2776. As written, the legislation would ban food service businesses and other retailers who have stores larger than 1,000 square feet from providing their customers with plastic bags. The bill would also naturally ban plastic straws.

Violators would be fined anywhere from $500 to $5,000 depending on the number of offenses.

Posted on: 5/8 16:37

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MDM

Re: End of AirBnB in Jersey City?

#27

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Quote:

BergenWood wrote:
Not surprising, but the Airbnb spokesperson in this video is very misleading and alarmist. I recommend reading for yourself (starting at about page 175 [or search for "short-term"):Short-term Rental Ordinance

I read the ordinance. The AirBNB spokeswoman is correct about it pretty much killing the business outside of owner-occupied 1 to 3 family buildings.

Non-owner occupied properties are essentially banned (over 3 units) or severely limited (28 days max a year). With the limits and the registration fees, AirBnB becomes non economical to do, which is I think the point of the regulations.

The meeting with Yun and Boggiano was interesting as both mentioned they weren't given much in the way notice or time to review the proposed ordinance. Being a cynical person, I wonder if the reason for this proposed ordinance is not "protecting affordable housing" but instead due to lobbying and $$$ donations from a group with financial interests in hotels.

Posted on: 5/8 14:31

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MDM

Re: Jersey City Councilperson Reports Rent-Control Crisis Downtown

#28

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Hasn't most of the rent controlled properties gone to Section 8 (hence, avoiding rent control)?

Posted on: 5/6 16:34

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MDM

Re: Jersey City Councilperson Reports Rent-Control Crisis Downtown

#29

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Quote:

brewster wrote:
Quote:

MDM wrote:
[quote]
brewster wrote:

Very interesting doings in CA regarding zoning, a bill to prevent cities from restricting density around transit is making it's way through the legislature. It's pitting the SF mayor against his own council!

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/27/opinion/california-housing.html

NJ has / had incentives for high density construction around 'transit hubs'. Don't recall the details though.

Posted on: 4/30 20:59

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MDM

Re: Jersey City Councilperson Reports Rent-Control Crisis Downtown

#30

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Quote:

brewster wrote:
I see in my crystal ball a whole lot of rental buildings being converted to condos.....and the rent control warriors will say no one saw that coming.

Mine sees an old multi-unit building being torn down and replaced with new 2 family Bayonne boxes. Followed by the same "warriors" wondering why the number of rentals available keeps going down.

I am wondering if NJ will respond to the "crisis" like Oregon did.. statewide rent control, but doing nothing regarding the zoning that creates shortages to begin with.

Posted on: 4/30 18:50

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