Fyi....

NYT

The New York Times
September 20, 2009
Quick Bite | Jersey City
On Tap: Beer and Conversation
By KELLY FEENEY

Zeppelin Hall, a restaurant and beer garden that opened in late June in the Liberty Harbor development in downtown Jersey City, has 42 types of European and American beers on tap. But the convivial atmosphere is the first thing you notice.

?We want to feature conversation and people talking,? said John Argento, the director.

When Peter Mocco, the developer of Liberty Harbor, was researching restaurant concepts for his development, Mr. Argento, who worked at the Bohemian Hall beer garden in Queens, sold him on the idea of a beer garden.

On weekends, the place is packed, which says a lot considering that its 15,000 square feet of combined indoor and outdoor space can accommodate about 800 people. (A 3,000-square-foot addition is under construction.) The airy, outside seating area is crowded in warm weather. Inside, there?s a fireplace for chilly evenings to come.

Both areas have long communal tables, so it?s easy to chat with neighbors. The nearby Hudson-Bergen Light Rail stop on Jersey Avenue helps draw the crowds.

With Oktoberfest having just begun, the atmosphere will be further enlivened by oompah bands. Half-liter mugs of classic German beers like Spaten Oktoberfest are available (beers are $5 and $6). Or customers can sample a flight of four different beers served in five-ounce glasses ($7). Nonalcoholic beverages, including beer, are also available, and there is a full bar.

The food includes a sausage sampler ($12), offering a choice of three types of sausages ? like chicken bratwurst, kielbasa or andouille ? with rye bread, sauerkraut and fries. The menu is expanding to include Bavarian dishes like sauerbraten ($14.95) and schnitzels ($13.95 to $16.95).

And all of it is intended to taste good with beer. KELLY FEENEY

Zeppelin Hall, 88 Liberty View Drive, Jersey City; (201) 721-8888 or zeppelinhall.com. Open Monday to Thursday, 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.; Friday, 4 p.m. to 2 a.m.; Saturday, noon to 2 a.m.; Sunday, noon to 1 a.m.

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Having an itinerant license has nothing to do with safety or public health, at least as of a few years ago. The only requirement to getting an itinerant license is finding an available one (there's a finite number issued) and paying the fee. A health inspection is what protects the public. When I owned a restaurant several years ago, there were only 2 inspectors in the whole city. I can't speak for other restaurants, but my experience with the permit process was completely laughable. The inspector came in, asked if I had a bathroom (but didn't check), bullshitted for 10 minutes, remarked that I didn't have a 3 compartment sink as required and proceeded to pass the place.

To the best of my knowledge, restaurants are not routinely inspected like NYC, which requires at least one (surprise) inspection per year. NYC takes these things a lot more seriously, though the process is all very subjective. But I digress.

On a related note: NY Times

City Room - Blogging From the Five Boroughs
September 4, 2009, 11:59 am
Complaint Box | Parking Peeves
By Ray Rivera
Todd Heisler/The New York Times One car using space enough for two; a common annoyance in a crowded metropolis.

There is a certain car in my neighborhood, a sporty silver Mazda with Thule bike racks. I would have no interest in it if not for its owner?s insistence on taking up two spaces every time he parks.

Day after day, it?s the same thing. He nudges his car into a parallel space, nestling it about four feet from the bumper in front of him, as if this is going to protect his precious vehicle from errant dings, or make quick escapes easier. The effect for the rest of us is one less space that could have gone to a parent juggling children and groceries.

We have a lot of parking peeves in our little enclave at the northern edge of Manhattan. Softball players and picnickers flood into the neighborhood every summer weekend to relish our lush fields along the Spuyten Duyvil, taking up every bit of spare curb space.

Camera crews for the television show ?Law & Order? regularly gobble up long stretches of roadside for their trucks.

But the park revelers and film crews come and go. An off-duty police officer and a Buildings Department employee live in the neighborhood and park illegally every day in front of fire hydrants or in No Standing zones, while the rest of us circle the block searching for a legal spot. They place city placards on their dashboards claiming to be on official duty.

As official abuses of power go, this is fairly harmless, I know. But I consider it a gateway to bigger crimes, the way some people say marijuana leads to heavier drugs. Today it?s illegal parking; tomorrow, payoffs from the mob.

But let?s say I reported it, and the city actually cracked down on its employees. That would be just two more cars circling the block with the rest of us. I?ve discussed this with my neighbors, and we all agree that silence is the best course, even if it makes us passive conspirators.

There are other discourteous parkers in the neighborhood, but they are mostly these old-time New York characters who are so overly protective ? or just plain bad drivers ? they really shouldn?t own cars to begin with. I can rationalize their behavior the same way I could that of a late friend of mine who grew up in the Great Depression and for the rest of his life saved unused napkins from every restaurant he ever visited. It?s eccentricity born of self-preservation.

But Silver Mazda Guy has no excuse. We have left notes on his windshield explaining that many of us have children and finding close parking is a huge convenience, to no avail. What other recourse is there? I?m certainly not going to key his car or flatten his tires. Not because that would be wrong, but because he might know what I drive.

What I?d really like to do is plaster his car with those annoyingly sticky green notices the Sanitation Department uses when you forget to move on alternate-side parking days. You know ? the kind you can never fully remove, even with hot water and a scraper. I would find the company that manufactures them and have them make me a big boxful of giant scarlet P?s or maybe a wordy discourse on parking etiquette. I would walk around the neighborhood under cover of night issuing written warnings for first-time offenders and the full-on papier-m?ch? treatment for repeat violators.

As a reporter for a major newspaper, I could probably find out who makes these sanitation notices pretty easily. Then I could begin my secret vigilante career battling ill-mannered parkers, starting with the owner of you know what. I don?t know, would that be an abuse of power?

Ray Rivera is a reporter for The New York Times. He won?t say what he drives.

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Yes, the park couldn't be safer and it's a runner's paradise. During the week it seems almost empty of people. The weekends, particularly nice ones, are more crowded but there's plenty of room for everyone. You've got a choice of running on the scenic concrete walkway and many somewhat less traveled paths or running on grass.

As for the surrounding area, I'm a regular runner from my apartment to the park, a half mile (and around it). My route takes me onto Johnson as well as some of the more sketchier streets. In the 2 years I've been taking this route, I never had a problem though I admit at times it can be a little scary.

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Sam, read the article on the front page of today's NYT. It goes into detail on this very subject.

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I agree with the rationalization. However, I think most of us take it for granted that a no point violation has no affect on insurance. My fear now with pleading the current speeding ticket down to a no point violation is that it may be construed by the insurance companies similarly to the seat belt violation. The insurance company in question is GEICO. At the time of the increase last year, I called around to a bunch of agents and they all counted the violation in calculating my rate.

Anyway, I talked to another clerk at the court to change my hearing date. She had me fax in the request. I followed up today and they told me a decision would not be made until the day of the hearing [!!] The clerk I spoke with then told me I did not have to go to the hearing and that I should call the following day to find out when the new hearing is. So, in essence, the hearing was postponed?? I really hate the way they do things - everything is done on the phone and there seems to be no way to verify something if anything goes awry.

I'm going through a similar situation now... that is, trying to figure out how the system works here in JC.

I got a totally justified speeding ticket, 15mph over the limit in a 25mph limit zone. My only defense is stupidity. I did the crime but can't afford the points.

To step back a moment, a year ago I got a bogus violation for disturbing the peace and the cop, a real idiot, threw in a seat belt violation at the same time. I went to court, they threw out distrubing the peace and I pled guilty to the seat belt violation, a no point violation. Yet my insurance company (and all the others I called) held it against me and my rate went up by nearly $1000 with an otherwise squeaky clean record!

But I digress. I called the court to plead not guilty to the speeding ticket. The clerk actually asked if I really wanted to plead not guilty or just plead it down to a no point violation. I was a little taken aback at her boldness but I told her I wanted no points. She said no problem, just talk to the prosecutor beforehand. I also got another court date in the mail.

The court date was totally inconvenient. I called the court to try to change it but they wouldn't let me. And this time the clerk was not so forthright or helpful. She made like there was no such thing as pleading down to a no point violation.

And I also wonder. Even if I plead the violation to no points, what's to prevent the insurance company from holding it against me like they did the seat belt violation?

So now I'm thinking lawyer. I must have rec'd a dozen solicitations by mail from ambulance chaser lawyers. I called one in JSQ and was told pretty much what the first clerk told me - that I could likely plead it to a no point violation. He was pretty forthright and said I didn't really need a lawyer but that he could save me a lot of time and get the court date changed. And he's only $175. But he didn't know anything about insurance companies charging for no point violations.

So, I'm seriously considering hiring this guy. Any thoughts?

I run in LSP every other day, usually at the crack of dawn or just before. I run along the various paths as well as the walkway. I often don't see a soul, the way I like it.

"Crowded" is a subjective term. The walkway is wide and can accommodate lots of people. However, except for nice weekends or when there's an event, it's amazingly empty except for perhaps the area near where the ferry docks.

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Is this still the case? That is, will they take $400 and offer no points?

I haven't seen such venom about a restaurant since, uh, well, you know. Fwiw, you get what you pay for. That is, excellent inexpensive fast ethnic food. As for attitude, I never had a problem. As for not being able to phone in orders, I haven't done so for a while but I was always accommodated. My only beef is Phil's terrible taste in music. -)

I'm surprised no one's mentioned it or maybe I missed it. Chase on Columbus has had a promotion going for several months now. Open a checking account and they give you $125. Forget toasters. I did it and it's for real. Almost no strings attached. You need a coupon though. I live in the Lafayette area, not close, and must have gotten at least 6 offers in the mail.

BoA - I've had an account there for about 3 years now. I rarely go into the Newark branch any longer since I work across the street from their NYC headquarters. However, I had no issues with the few times I dealt with customer service there. But that's probably because the manager, an elderly woman, always seemed to be there to help.

However, what a nightmare opening my account! For whatever reason (my subversive activities 1000 years ago?), my name was flagged in their system. I had to show 4 or 5 pieces of ID including my passport even though they knew who I was (from owning a store down the street).

Anyone paying a service charge should call them. I didn't keep the minimum balance in my account sufficient enough to avoid the $12 monthly charge. I called and told them if they didn't stop charging me I was going to close my account. Not an idle threat since I have a free Chase account. Without hesitation, the CSR said they would waive the charge for a year.

Bottom line. Banks are desperate for depositors.

Comcast has a bizarre pricing system for the internet. I called 6 months ago to find out the cost of a faster speed and it turned out to be cheaper than what I was paying for the slowest speed. I pay $56.10 now which includes tax. I don't have cable TV so I don't get a break for that. I forget the speed but it was the fastest one they were offering 6 months ago. I also got the impression you can bargain with them.

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That's not as uncommon as you may think.

If I had to pick a favorite it would be Liberty State Park.

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Wait a second. This guy is a teacher? It's no wonder kids are like they are, however that is.

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Unfortunately, this is not uncommon. I doubt that it's intentional though. It happens when too many people are involved in the menu process. I generally pay attention to such things mostly out of curiosity. And I'll generally point it out since it's something that management usually wants to know and definitely needs to know.

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Your beef is not so much with Robins Oak but with your board of directors. They are the boss of the management company. I would complain to the board as well as try to get on the board.

A couple of things not mentioned. Fees should be based on the size of the unit. In addition, there should be a budget and that should dictate the maintenance fees.

In addition to other items, the maintenance fees should cover normal wear and tear, i.e., roof replacement and that sort of thing. For example, if the roof is determined to have 10 years life left and the replacement cost is $100k, the fees should be structured so that there is $100k in the bank for that purpose in 10 years. Normally, a condo will get an engineer to do a report. Assessments should not be the norm but only used to cover the unexpected.

This is all mandated in the NJ Condo Act. However, enforcement is all but nonexistent.

I suggest calling Karen Sackstein, 201-794-1649. She was the outside accountant for our condo and is highly recommended. She can most likely refer a reputable bookkeeping service.

This is definitely the route to go in these parts considering the dearth of decent property management companies in the area. But that's assuming the board and other owners generally get along.

I've had mixed experiences. Before I owned my own place, I wrote several reviews on kannekt. I recall being confused why one so-so review wasn't published, another so-so review was published, and all the good reviews were published. As for Melt, I never read any bad reviews on kannekt -- either there were none or they just weren't published. But I was never contacted by the list owner except possibly for factual info and I had no relationship with him.

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Ahem.

However, right on target.

Not to digress, but...

Anyone have any idea if LSP changed their hours? They used to open at 6am. My last few runs have been around 5:30 and they seemed to be open, i.e., the usual blockade for cars on Audrey Zapp Dr. was nowhere to be seen.

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...for he is of pure and noble breed.

[Hey BM, that writeup of DC must be ancient. J Perlow hasn't been associated with eglutton for eons although he was one of the founders.]

The first thing you need to do is check your bylaws and articles of incorporation. These documents will tell the details of how a board of directors is empowered. You should have received them when you purchased the condo. If you rent, the condo owners, i.e., board, is the group with whom you should take your complaint to.

It sounds like the board is not doing their job. Perhaps the board is still controlled by the developer? I suspect that's the case. The best bet is for disgruntled owners to organize a meeting with as many owners as possible and, if legal, throw out the board and elect a new one. Frankly, even if it's not totally legal, sometimes common sense prevails.

As for management companies, I've yet to come across a good one. And our condo tried out more than our share. The best bet is a pro-active board who plays an active role in overseeing a management company or for the board to act as the management company. In theory I think the latter is the best option. However, in practice, this often doesn't work out because of the egos of some board members. Every building seems to have a few such people. Good luck.

I was moved to read Noogie's Time to Shine by Jim Knipfel because I thought it was gonna be centered around Jersey City ala 5 Finger Discount (Helene Stapinski). The bad part is that there aren't all that many references to JC, where the main character, Noogie Krapczack, aka Crap Sack, resides. HOWEVER, it was tons of fun and I found myself wanting it never to end. It's truly an oddball comical story about a total loser who rips off ATM machines. Never a dull moment.

Today's Jersey section of the Times had an article.

A big thumbs up to the sausage bread!

October 14, 2007
New Jersey
Sandwiches From an Heirloom
By KELLY FEENEY

YOU can buy just a loaf of bread at Second Street Bakery in Jersey City, but it?s hard to stop there. The specialty is sandwiches on crusty Italian loaves made in a coal-fired brick oven that the ancestors of the owner, Gino Siniscalchi, used when they opened the place in the 1920s.

The line to get into this tucked-away takeout shop often runs out the door at lunch time, so go early if you can. At breakfast time, you can order a simple but satisfying frittatalike egg sandwich with broccoli rabe, ham or potatoes ($3.50). There are also more than two dozen heftier hot and cold choices.

Second Street?s signature sausage bread, which is specked with chunks of meat, is used to make a sandwich with prosciuttini (peppered ham), salami, fresh mozzarella and roasted peppers ($5.50). The hot pork brasciole sandwich is like eating Sunday supper on a roll ($3.75; $5 on half a loaf of Italian bread). The lightly breaded eggplant sandwich, with fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers and balsamic vinegar, is a timeless classic ($3.95 or $5.50). So are the meatball parmigiana, hot corned beef and chicken cutlet sandwiches.

If you are lucky enough to go on a day when the special roast pork sandwich with aged provolone, caramelized onions and sweet barbecue sauce is served, try it ($5.50). There are other daily specials, including pastas and soups, and stuffed rolls, antipasto and pizza logs, a cross between bread and pizza. If you?re feeding a crowd, you can order a party platter.

Italian bread is $1.25 for a one-pound loaf; sausage bread, $3.75; a loaf made with pepperoni and mozzarella, $4.

Second Street?s lone sweet is a ricotta-filled pastry ($2) that is typically associated with the feast day of St. Joseph in March. There are no tables, but customers sometimes perch on one of the nearby stoops.

Second Street Bakery, 402 Second Street, Jersey City; (201) 420-1793. Open Monday to Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Buckalew Frizzell & Crevina

I can't vouch for litigation, but one specialty is condos. Our condo used them in a very sticky matter... they successfully got rid of our management company who wouldn't cede control after we fired him. Ask for Eric Frizzell 201-612-5200.

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Correct.

I was thinking the same as Dave. I'm in Ward F and was around a good part of the day and the Cunnites were all over the place, hanging signs everywhere, driving around with the speaker blaring and talking to anyone who would listen. And they've been at it for the last several weeks. Not one man-zite in sight this entire time.

I'd say your options are:

1. call the cops and file a complaint
2. change locks
3. put an alarm system in
4. get an attack dog

Personally, I would choose 1 & 2. In this case, 2 Wrongs = Right.

The one middle-aged lady seemed to be able to cope with the mobs easily in the 1 booth voting place at the senior citizen home in Lafayette, Lafayette Gardens. She looked so happy to see someone, even me! But then her glee turned to dismay when I told her I needed a provisional ballot because I just moved. She grudgingly dug one up and muttered something like, "What's the point, they don't count 'em anyways." That gave me a warm feeling.