If you're willing to travel to Hoboken, you might want to check out Dozzino. (They do nice pizzas akin to Razza but not as fancy, and you can add on a pig roast or porchetta if you want, plus salads, etc.) I know they do a lot of kids' birthdays and private parties. You can rent out the entire space if you want, and the food costs are pretty reasonable. Plus, it's BYO, so you save money there.

Yep! It's the Liberty Landing Ferry.

http://www.libertylandingferry.com/directions-and-parking.aspx

We recently got married at the Brennan Courthouse. When we got our license, they gave us a paper with three possible locations to have the ceremony and a contact phone number for each, and City Hall wasn't one of them. Curious as I'm pretty sure I've seen photos of others getting married there.

We went with the courthouse, and it was easy to get the day and time we wanted (a Thursday early afternoon). We called about three weeks in advance.

We had just our two witnesses with us, but there was another couple getting married afterward who had a whole huge crowd, so 6 people is definitely fine.

I recently went on the same search and was surprised at how few options there were for a low-key non-traditional wedding. One possibility that I did like is the Barsky Gallery in Hoboken. It's on Harrison St by Observer Highway, so right by JC border and not in heart of Hoboken. You can use your own caterer.

As someone who lives on the block, I do have some concerns. 80+ units more than triples the number of residences on a short one-block dead-end street. And as we are at the very end of Communipaw, there isn't much immediate spillover in terms of parking, etc. I'm not anti-development but am very much concerned about how this will impact current residents.

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I follow the NYC Office of Emergency Management on Twitter, and they posted this a couple days ago:

NYC OEM - Notify NYC ?@NotifyNYC Jan 20

Helicopter flying low over northern NJ/NYC preparing for Super Bowl 1/21-1/27. Helicopter/flight areas: http://bit.ly/1eNSE8q

Maybe we are talking about different restaurants? The Sabor de La Tia location was on same block as the pizza place. There's another place south of Communipaw that I've never caught the name of. I think the sign says something about lechon. It definitely looks more fun than the place I was referencing.

That Yelp review is out of date. Not sure when Sabor de La Tia closed, but if I remember correctly, it became Pacific Restaurant. That closed, as well. Now the awning says it's a Guatemalan place?just noticed the new signage a few weeks ago. I haven't had a chance to check it out, but I'm also curious.


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Finally stopped by this weekend. Is it Mae? No. Is it a solid addition to the neighborhood? Totally. There's a nice selection of draft beers, and they have pretty good happy hour deals with $1 or $2 off drafts and appetizers.

The menu is pretty straightforward, and I wish they had more munchie appetizers for sharing. That said, I had the Torch House burger and was really happy with it. Ordered it medium rare and it actually came out medium rare. (No small feat, for some reason.) It's topped with a fried fresh mozzarella wheel, fried pickles and caramelized onions. Definitely a splurge, but worth it once in a blue moon. Comes with house-made chips, which are pretty tasty.

The staff was nice, and the place has a friendly neighborhood vibe. Happy to have a regular local spot to grab a beer and a burger (sans tasty fried toppings)!

From the Village Voice:

Chinese-Dumpling Man Gets With the Kimchee-Taco Trend
By Daniel Maurer

All that talk of scallion pancakes got us hungry for them yesterday, so while visiting Jersey City, we skipped the Lucinda Creperie stand in favor of a take-out joint, Duckys & Dumplings, that has started serving kimchee scallion pancakes and kimchee avocado dumplings. The owner, Eddie Cheung, is Chinese, but tells us he gets about twenty pounds of Napa cabbage kimchee every week from a 60-year-old woman who grows it in the backyard of her Flushing home and supplies it to in-the-know restaurants. In the next week, he?ll start offering $2.50 kimchee tacos as well as ?kimchidillas,? made with avocado, tomato, cilantro, provolone, Cheddar, and mozzarella; both can be stuffed with either chicken or bulgogi beef. Cheung figures the Krave BBQ truck (the first to bring kimchidillas to the area) is only around from noon till 2 p.m. and from 5:30 till 8:30 p.m., so he?ll pick up the slack during their off-hours. Let the bulgogi battle begin.


http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2011/02 ... mpling_man_gets_with.html

I live by the end of Communipaw and have never seen "gangs of thugs" roaming the streets. To be sure, the area has its issues. And, yes, the bars on some windows is a bit disconcerting. But there are also beautiful old houses and some really great neighbors. My block is exceptionally quiet--in fact, I found it almost too quiet when I moved there from a much busier and "nicer" neighborhood.

The biggest issue I have is lack of amenities. But I have a car so that makes it easier.

My feeling is that things vary block by block, but there are some gems.

An update:

Bayonne robbery victim dies; alleged shooter now facing murder charge


A Bayonne man who was shot in the head during a robbery in Jersey City on Saturday has died and charges against the man already arrested in the shooting are expected to be upgraded to murder today, officials said.

Jorge L. Cuadra, 24, of Avenue C near 53rd Street, was shot at 1:45 a.m. at Communipaw Avenue and Whiton Street and he remained on life support until his death on Tuesday, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said today.

Larry "Du Du" Austin, 18, of Johnston Avenue in Jersey City, was arrested by Jersey City police later in the day of the shooting and charged with aggravated assault, armed robbery and weapons offenses, DeFazio said.

Cuadra and two others had just left a party on Pine Street when a man armed with a silver handgun and a second man ordered them into an alley and demanded money, reports said.

They took $16 and a cell phone from the 19-year-old Jersey City victim before the gunman smashed the victim's head with the butt of his gun, causing a cut that required four stitches to close, reports said.

The gunman turned to the second Jersey City victim, a 22-year-old resident of Kennedy Boulevard, and hit him in the face with the gun, knocking the man out and injuring his jaw, reports said.

The gunman then demanded Cuadra's wallet, but before he handed over his money, the gunman allegedly put him in a headlock and shot him, reports said. All three victims were taken to the Jersey City Medical Center.

An autopsy performed on Cuadra at the state Regional Medical Examiner's Office in Newark yesterday determined he died as a result of being shot in the rear, left side of his neck and the bullet exiting his head at his right eyebrow, DeFazio said.
It's not clear when Austin will make his first court appearance on the upgraded charges.

More arrests are possible in the ongoing investigation by Jersey City police and the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's Homicide Squad, DeFazio said.

http://www.nj.com/bayonne/index.ssf/2 ... bbery_victim_dies_al.html