goods&greens is closing this week.

Please sign this petition and cross post. http://chn.ge/1jTXrb0

Current demographic studies show a growing demand for preK and elementary school classrooms across Jersey City with more than half of the need concentrated downtown. The PS37/Cordero Annex in downtown Jersey City currently provides educational space for sixty 3-year-old and 4-year-old students with the potential to serve hundreds more. The city administration is evicting the public school from the building as of September 2014.

If the city evicts the preK students, 3-year-old and 4-year-old children will be bused to other schools in the district. Some will be housed in trailers on the grounds of those schools due to their own capacity constraints. Other schools will fill to capacity leaving fewer classroom seats for the children living in those neighborhoods.

The PS37/Cordero Annex, a well-functioning school building, will sit empty for the 2014-2015 school year unless it is leased to a private or charter school, or it is sold to a developer and demolished for private development.

For the good of Jersey City, this school building should remain a public school for the city?s children.

To:
Steven Fulop, Mayor of Jersey City
Council President Rolando Lavarro, Jersey City Municipal Council President
Councilwoman Joyce Watterman, Jersey City At-Large Councilwoman
Councilman Frank Gajewski, Ward ?A? Councilman, Jersey City
Councilman Khemraj ?Chico? Ramchal, Ward ?B? Councilman, Jersey City
Councilman Rich Boggiano, Ward ?C? Councilman, Jersey City
Councilman Michael Yun, Ward ?D? Councilman, Jersey City
Councilwoman Candice Osborne, Ward ?E? Councilwoman, Jersey CIty
Councilwoman Diane Coleman, Ward ?F? Councilwoman, Jersey City
Councilman Daniel Rivera, At-Large Councilman, Jersey City


Mayor Fulop,

Please don't close our public school. Jersey City families deserve better. Public schools should be available wherever there is a need and we need you and the Council Members to be the leaders we elected you to be.

Please make available the PS37/Cordero Annex to the Jersey City Board of Education for next year and subsequent years at a price that will not take needed money from our children's classrooms, teachers, and libraries.

Your city will be better for it.
Sincerely,
[Your name]

http://www.cepr.net/documents/good-for-buisness-2014-02-21.pdf

Title: Paid Sick Leave ? Good For Business?



Author: Eileen Appelbaum, Ruth Milkman, Luke Elliot, Teresa Kroeger


Source: Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)


Date: March 25, 2014


Abstract: A new report from CEPR and the CUNY Murphy Institute delves into the impact of Connecticut's path-breaking paid sick leave law on business in the state. Drawing from survey data and on-site interviews, the report shows that the policy was not the job-killer that opponents claimed. That employers reported little or no negative effects after the law was implemented has significant implications for similar legislation around the nation.



Link: http://bit.ly/1fXGsRn

Ugh. Steven Fulop?...What's polarizing is the disparity between rich and poor. See Fulop's quote in
"Jersey City Mayor Picks an Unlikely Target
Steven Fulop Says New York City Mayor's Rhetoric 'Has People Terrified'" http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/S ... 3801304579407550834673142
In rare criticism directed across the Hudson River, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said Wednesday that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to raise income taxes on the wealthy had frightened the business community.

"His polarizing rhetoric has people terrified," Mr. Fulop said in an interview. "There is a lot of uncertainty about what his administration will do, and it's an opportunity for us to recruit businesses" to New Jersey.

The comments came ahead of Mr. Fulop's state of the city speech on Thursday night, part of which he said he would devote to the opportunities Mr. de Blasio's liberal agenda creates for Jersey City. Messrs. Fulop and de Blasio are Democrats.

Phil Walzak, a spokesman for Mr. de Blasio, said many upper-income people support a modest tax increase on those making more than $500,000 to pay for prekindergarten seats and afterschool programs. "This is a long term investment that lifts everyone in the city," he said. "A lot of [Mr. Fulop's] concerns are alarmist and not matched by reality."

The unusual spat partly reflects the headwinds facing Mr. de Blasio's tax plans within his own party. The tax needs approval in Albany, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo, also a Democrat, is opposed to any new taxes and has proposed paying for prekindergarten from existing revenue.

It also comes as political observers say Mr. Fulop is positioning himself to run for governor in 2017. Mr. Fulop?seen as a pragmatic liberal?has followed Mr. de Blasio's positions on other issues, passing a paid sick leave bill and speaking in support of more pre-kindergarten seats.

But on the income-tax plan, Mr. Fulop's message is similar to that heard from some New York Democrats. "You can have progressive ideals without taxing people for no good reason," he said.

The move is a sharp political signal from Mr. Fulop, a former Goldman Sachs trader who speaks quickly and with much bravado about Jersey City, the state's second largest with about 250,000 people. He has carved out an ambitious profile, meeting with President Barack Obama and drawing national headlines after accusing Gov. Chris Christie's administration of political retribution.

He is one half of the "two Steves" dominating talk of the 2017 Democratic gubernatorial nomination contest, said Ben Dworkin, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University. The other is state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who has moved to oppose the governor on several fronts this year. Mr. Christie can't run for a third term.

"Nobody else is making aggressive moves to raise their profile on a statewide basis like these two," Mr. Dworkin said.

Mr. Fulop said he had no intention of running for governor in 2017. "Three years down the road, I don't think so," he said.

He isn't the first Jersey City mayor to try to lure New York City businesses, but his predecessors generally steered clear of such direct criticisms.

Experts said they doubted droves of companies would leave New York because of a tax increase on the wealthiest earners.

"Look at the cost of doing business in New York City already. People are willing to pay higher costs because it's darn profitable," said James Parrott, chief economist at the labor-backed Fiscal Policy Institute.

Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, said New Yorkers should worry that Mr. de Blasio wants to raise taxes as a "first resort" but she said she doubts Manhattan's major companies would quickly move unless city services aren't delivered.

"If you're a top-tier investment bank, you're going to be in Manhattan because all your competitors are there," Ms. Gelinas said. "It's easy to oversell and say everyone is going to leave."

Mr. Fulop said he would use aggressive tax abatements and available state grants and subsidies. He plans to tout the city's economic renaissance in recent years, with an influx of art galleries, restaurants and people.

http://www.afscme.org/blog/management ... actice-in-labor-relations
Jersey City, N.J. ? The Jersey City Medical Center engaged in unlawful acts against AFSCME workers when it terminated them for supporting their union, refused to recognize AFSCME as the representative of more than 600 of the center?s employees, and bargained in bad faith by imposing its own contract.

Now, the National Labor Relations Board sided with AFSCME Council 52, issuing complaints against the Jersey City Medical Center on several unfair labor practices. These complaints are similar to an indictment of the medical center?s management for engaging in unlawful acts against AFSCME and its members, who belong to Locals 2254 and 3680.

?For over a year, we have fought against the anti-union, anti-worker plan at the Medical Center to deny our members their rights,? said Rich Gollin, AFSCME Council 52 executive director. ?By issuing these complaints of unlawful acts, the NLRB has given new hope to the workers that the mistreatment they have endured might soon be over.?

Though Jersey City Medical Center workers negotiated in good faith, CEO Joe Scott chose to ignore more than 35 years of collective bargaining history and instead imposed his own contract.

?In all my years, I?ve never seen such a blatant disregard for workers? rights,? Gollin said. ?Joe Scott?s refusal to recognize the workers? right to have a union and the use of his management staff to promote an anti-worker agenda is deplorable. The NLRB agreed these acts were unlawful.?

The case is set to be heard before an NLRB administrative law judge on March 19.

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Why the race to the bottom? In this country's economic hey-day (1950s) the disparity was not as high as it is now and people were paying their fair share in taxes (rich and corporations included). Defined benefit plans give people an opportunity to retire in dignity. More people should have defined benefit plans rather than defined contribution plans. Teachers pay into their pension plans. The Christie Whitman administration decided to cut the taxes on the wealthy and then borrow money from the public pension plan. If the state just raised the taxes to the pre-Whitman era and the state could make pension contributions, the pension plan would be in better shape and the entire state of NJ would be better off too.

And if teachers have it so good (i.e "martini lunches," why isn't everyone running out to become a teacher?

City councilwoman Candice Osborne is conducting a survey regarding the development on Marin between 8th and 9th street:

http://candiceosborne.com/updates/wee ... n-between-8th-9th#anchor4

In the Gothamist blog:

http://gothamist.com/2014/01/13/new_e ... firm_chris_christie_i.php

WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/S ... od=WSJ_hps_LEFTTopStories

Jivamukti Yoga Jersey City
171 Newark Avenue
Jersey City, NJ 07302

201-993-1110

http://jivamuktiyogajerseycity.com

I'm not 100% sure of what the requirements for clearing snow and ice. What are the requirements for salting/sanding and snow removal on sidewalks? This morning, there were barely any sidewalks salted and sanded.

"But there is hope for short men, and it resides a stone's throw away in the mythical land of Jersey City, where women aren't quite as discerning when it comes to height. ?It?s going against the normal pattern for most humans,? Shapiro said of Jersey City women. Well, we are talking about a place where people occasionally eat their own fingers and rents are not ridiculously high, so yeah, things are different over there."
http://gothamist.com/2013/12/08/its_h ... there_for_a_short_man.php

Since this development is probably already a "done deal," besides limiting the number of units, I suggest:
-Rooftop gardens and/or community gardens, indigenous gardens in park, apple trees, perennial plants
-Community events: holiday events (ie Santa Claus, pumpkin picking, haunted house, Easter egg hunt, spring equinox, summer solstice, New Year's), yoga classes, flea market, films, summer concert series)
-Commission jersey city artists and local schools for art in lobby and public spaces
-Gallery open to local events
-Bicycle shares, bicycle parking
-Parking spaces for electric cars
-Green cleaning
-Solar panels and donating any savings to the city
-Work-share space
-Composting
-E-waste and battery disposal recepticals
Artist studios/workshop space
-Hire local residents
-Sustainable building materials, renewable materials like bamboo
(Certified green building or LEED certified with electric saving bulbs etc
Provide reusable bags to residents in the lobby
-Financial Commitment to invest in infrastructure (buried electrical lines, sewer lines)
-Annual Donation to the Pavonia library
-Donation to the Roberte Clemente park
-Kushner scholarships for local Jc school and a scholarship to student
-Kushner internship to local Jc student
-in case of emergency, the development will be open to community

If any of the above is not adhered to, there will be a financial penalty.

Some random commentary:

I commend the Silvermans for their work with the artist community. I wish more developers would recognize how important art is to the community. I don't think Kushner has invested in the arts like the Silvermans.

I haven't been in Kushers' other developments. I've only seen the outside of Grove Point. I've seen the plans for Marin Street. Like Grove Point, the plans are very uninspiring, boring and institutional. I've heard the inside of Grove Pointe is slapped together and the hallways have drop ceilings.

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+1. And on top of that, Christie got rid of the Homestead Rebate.

I didn't realize that Century 21 did art shows. It seemed strange to me.

Atlantic:
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/nation ... de-center-building/70980/


Guardian:

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesi ... design-world-trade-center

Century 21 cancels show with Bansky?
IS this true?
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/c ... tc-diss-article-1.1498979

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Thank you.

Please check out the new Embankment Preservation Coalition website. Please become a member. http://www.embankment.org/

http://www.kvue.com/news/Construction ... fair-wages-229197871.html

Austin, Texas Council votes for fair wages for construction workers
Posted on October 24, 2013 at 10:18 PM

AUSTIN -- The City Council has voted in favor of new conditions for businesses receiving tax incentives to come to Austin. They must now pay construction workers at least $11 an hour.
There was a long wait just to get inside the Austin City Council meeting Thursday night. A total of 60 people signed up to speak either for or against better wages for construction workers in Austin. The entire debate was expected to take several hours.

The protest was large enough to wrap around Austin City Hall. Hundreds of construction workers from near and far came to support fair wages for those who build our city.

"Poverty in construction in Austin is very prevalent, and this policy would help stop that poverty; bring people up out of poor working conditions," said Reno Hammond of Labors International Union of North America.

Once inside council chambers it was standing room only. The issue at the center of the debate was a proposal to require new businesses give construction workers at least $11 an hour and domestic partner benefits - if that business gets tax incentives from the city.

Opponents say this proposal is well-intentioned but will cause construction costs to go up by 20 percent.

"We believe that anything that deters companies from coming to Austin, then we all lose," said David Ford. "We don't get to build the buildings, companies don't get to come to Austin; they go elsewhere."

Travis County commissioners will tackle the fair wages issue next week. The Austin City Council voted for the proposal just after midnight.

Perhaps nothing is as critical to America?s future as the trajectory of the middle class and improving the prospects for upward mobility. With middle-class incomes stagnant or falling, we need to find a way to generate jobs for Americans who, though eager to work and willing to be trained, lack the credentials required to enter many of the most lucrative professions.

Mid-skilled jobs in areas such as manufacturing, construction and office administration ? a category that pays between $14 and $21 an hour ? can provide a decent standard of living, particularly if one has a spouse who also works, and even more so if a family lives in a relatively low-cost area. But mid-skilled employment is in secular decline, falling from 25% of the workforce in 1985 to barely 15% today. This is one reason why middle- and working-class incomes remain stagnant, well below pre-recession levels.

Over the past three years, high-wage professions have accounted for 29% of new jobs created, while the lowest-paid jobs (under $13 an hour) have grown to encompass roughly half of all new jobs. Net worth-wise, as a recent Pew study notes, the wealthy ? the top 7% ? are thriving due to the rebound of the stock and bond markets; the bottom 93%, whose wealth is more tied up in their homes, is still feeling the hangover from the cratering of housing prices in the recession.

No surprise then that about a third of all Americans now consider themselves lower class, according to another Pew study, up from a quarter before the recession.

But middle-income employment has not vanished everywhere. An analysis of the distribution of new jobs since 2010 by Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. found a wide disparity among the states. Between 34% and 45% of all new jobs have been mid-wage in Wyoming, Iowa, North Dakota, Michigan and Arizona. The worst performers: Mississippi where only 10% of new jobs have been middle-income, followed by New York, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Virginia, all with 14% or less. (Note: I use the terms ?mid-skill? and ?middle-income? interchangeably; recent research suggests pay is a reasonable proxy for skill.)

Generally speaking mid-skilled employment is expanding the most in states with strong overall job growth, and less in high-cost, high-tax states, with the notable exception of Mississippi. The EMSI data also suggest that states with expanding heavy industries such as oil and manufacturing generate more positions for mid-level workers such as machinists, truck drivers, welders and oil roustabouts. At the same time, the states with a bifurcated combination of low-wage industries, like hospitality or retail, and high-paid professions, like software engineers or investment bankers, tend to have fewer opportunities for middle-income workers.

This pattern becomes clearer if we look at metropolitan areas, the level at which most economic activity takes place. Mark Schill at the Praxis Strategy Group crunched the data for us on employment trends over the five years since the recession in the 51 metropolitan statistical areas with over 1 million people. It?s not a pretty picture. Three years since employment hit bottom, the U.S. still has 2 million fewer mid-income jobs than at the onset of the financial crisis in 2007; half of that deficit is in the largest metro areas.

But the pain is not evenly distributed. There are eight metro areas that boast more mid-level jobs today than in 2007. The list is dominated by Texas cities, led by Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, which has added 17,000 mid-skill jobs ? an increase of 7.6% ? among the 95,000 new jobs generated in the region. The largest numeric increase is in Houston-Sugarland-Baytown, which has 60,810 more mid-skilled jobs, up 7.4%. The Houston metro area also has easily led the nation in overall job growth since 2007, adding a net 280,000 positions.

Texas metro areas also come in third and fourth: in San Antonio-New Braunfels, middle-income employment rose 3.4%; in Dallas-Ft. Worth-Arlington , 3.1%. Nearby Oklahoma City comes in fifth with 2.1% growth in middle-income employment, sharing the merits of relatively low costs and a strong energy economy.

The working class and the endangered middle class may be favored topics of discussion in the deepest blue regions, but for the most part these metro areas have failed to bolster their middle-skilled labor forces. Los Angeles-Long Beach leads the league with the biggest net loss of mid-skilled jobs since 2007, down by 112,300, or 6.1%. Chicago had the second-largest numerical decline, some 102,100, or 7.6%, followed by New York, which lost 82,350 such jobs, 3.4% of its total in 2007. In contrast, notes economist Tyler Cowen, Texas has not only created the most middle-income jobs, but a remarkable one-third of all net high-wage jobs created over the past decade.

The loss of manufacturing jobs is clearly part of the problem here; despite the recent resurgence in the industrial sector, the U.S. still has 740,000 fewer middle-skill manufacturing jobs than in 2007. Chicago and Los Angeles remain the nation?s largest industrial regions, but they are also among the most rapidly de-industrializing areas in the country. New York City, once among the world?s leading industrial centers, with roughly a million manufacturing workers in 1950, is down to around 75,000. In contrast, industrial employment has been expanding in the Houston, Seattle and Oklahoma City metro areas, and recently even Detroit.

In contrast , New York, Chicago and L.A. have seen job gains in such low-wage areas as hospitality and retail, as well as a smaller surge in high-end employment ? notably in information and business services. But the welcome growth in these positions is not enough to make up for the big hole in middle-class employment. Since the recession, for example, New York has lost manufacturing and construction jobs at a double-digit rate while hospitality employment grew 18% and retail 10%. Los Angeles and Chicago showed similar patterns, but actually did worse in higher-wage sectors, like professional business services.

Another major area of lost middle-class jobs has been construction. The U.S. is still down 1.2 million middle-skill construction jobs since 2007 and 125,000 in real estate. These losses have inflicted the most pain in the boom towns that grew fastest in the early 2000s. The biggest loser of mid-skill jobs in percentage terms is Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., which has suffered a staggering 16.1% loss in such jobs since 2007. It?s followed by Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (-10.6%); Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, Calif., (-10.4%); Tampa- St. Petersburg- Clearwater, Fla. (-9.7%); and Phoenix-Mesa- Scottsdale, Ariz. (-9.3%).

Whether in the biggest cities, or Sun Belt boom towns, the issue of increasing middle-income employment should be as much of a priority for policymakers as attracting glamorous high-wage jobs or helping the poor. America?s identity has been built around the idea that hard work, particularly with some study for a particular skill, should be rewarded with decent pay. Boosting employment in mid-skill professions, from construction and manufacturing to logistics and energy, is critical to achieving this goal.

If we fail to stem the erosion of middle-income jobs, we will be faced with a continued descent into a Latin American style society divided largely between an affluent elite and multitudes of the poor, with a thin layer in the middle. This promises miserable consequences for most Americans and the future of our democracy.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/joelkotki ... e-most-middle-class-jobs/

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20131 ... -passageway-open-thursday

World Trade Center's Underground Passageway to Open Thursday

By Irene Plagianos on October 23, 2013
LOWER MANHATTAN ? Pedestrians trying to cross the busy West Side Highway near the World Trade Center will soon be able to make their way underground.

The long-anticipated World Trade Center west concourse, an underground walkway linking the WTC site with Brookfield Place at Vesey Street, is slated to open Thursday at 11 a.m., the Port Authority announced Tuesday.

The passageway will connect the WTC PATH station, which has an entrance at West Broadway and Vesey Street, with the new glass-enclosed Brookfield Place Pavilion across West Street, which is also opening for the first time Thursday.

The 8,000-square-foot pavilion, supported by two massive steel lattice towers, will have six escalators leading to the underground passage, along with revolving doors opening to West Street.

The pavilion and passageway will eventually lead to the much-anticipated Santiago Calatrava-designed $3.9 billion WTC transportation hub and the nearby Fulton Center, which are both still under construction.

The pavilion is also part of Brookfield Place's $250 million revamp of the former World Financial Center buildings, which will include high-end retail shops and dining.

For inspiration....
There was a great piece in NYT for a pedestrian bridge to Governors' Island.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/06/opi ... idge-no-cars-allowed.html

N.J. judge denies Christie administration request to delay same-sex marriage

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/ ... ay_same-sex_marriage.html

Oct 10 2013
Christopher Baxter/The Star-Ledger
TRENTON ? A state Superior Court judge today denied the Christie administration's request to delay same-sex marriages in New Jersey beyond Oct. 21 while it appeals the matter to the state Supreme Court, saying that such a move would infringe on couples' rights.

But the administration quickly responded by requesting the same delay from the state Appellate Division instead, according to the state Attorney General's Office. It is unclear when the court will consider the motion.

Judge Mary Jacobson ruled last month that same-sex couples in New Jersey were being denied equal rights and must be allowed to marry in view of the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling that overturned the Defense of Marriage Act.

The administration intends to appeal the ruling directly to the state Supreme Court to prevent the marriages, bypassing the normal procedure through the appellate courts. In the meantime, it had asked Jacobson to delay marriages until the appeal was decided.

But in a 17-page decision issued today, Jacobson rejected the request and said allowing marriages to move forward would cause no harm to the state and the administration was unlikely to succeed on appeal.

"The 'harm' (the state) alleges simply cannot justify depriving plaintiffs and other same-sex couples of equality in the form of access to important federal marital benefits," Jacobson wrote.

Gov. Chris Christie's office has not yet returned a message.

Gay-rights advocates applauded the decision.

"This is a historic moment for all loving and committed couples in New Jersey," said Mike Premo, the campaign manager for New Jersey United for Marriage. "The fact that those who have waited so long for this moment can get married in just 11 days is truly amazing and something to be celebrated."

Opponents said they were disappointed. John Tomicki, president of the New Jersey Coalition to Preserve and Protect Marriage, said he hopes for a resolution quickly.

"You don't want to wind up with the situation that happened in California," Tomicki said. "First there were same-gender marriages. Then there weren't. Then there were. You want to find some logical consistency."

Star-Ledger staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report.

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This is helpful! Thanks so much.

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+1

I got home late last night from NYC. I got off the Newport Path around 10:20/10:30. I was intending to get a taxi but when I said I was going to Hamilton Park, the taxi drivers wanted $8. I walked away and then they offered $7. Someone eventually yelled "$6." I said, "I don't take rides from people who gouge riders."
I asked around and people have told me that the Taxi drivers are supposed to run meters. Does anyone have issues with taxi drivers not running meters?
Thanks

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+1

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+1