Never mind! All the latest info is on this thread: http://jclist.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=25678

Argh! Wrong again. That was written after that PATH snafu last year when, yes, I wound up getting stuck in the city and having to share a cab to JC with a stranger. In any event, it seems the info about the buses is still useful in that thread.

So, does anyone know where to get a jitney that runs to Journal Square? Is it those ones that line up on 42nd Street or inside Port Authority? The week after the storm I took a jitney in to Manhattan and it let us off inside PA and I got it again to go back to JSQ from the same gate. But I don't know if that was just during the time when the PATH wasn't running at all.

Sadly, they got rid of some of the more authentically Japanese items from the menu they had when they first opened. No more unagi don (eel over rice) or sauteed squid app. Why they would want to become yet another generic Asian joint I have no idea. Maybe no one but me was ordering the eel? I thought that was what set them apart but I guess they don't want to be set apart. Sad face!

Anyway, I don't have high hopes for it, but anyone try their sushi yet?

I hope none at all!! That place already charged a bit too much for ice cream, as far as I'm concerned. It's a long walk from Ham Park neighborhood to Tommy's, but I like walking there on a nice day, getting a reasonably priced ice cream and sitting in their garden out back. Will Torico's serve food beyond ice cream when they re-open, I wonder? That would make a difference.

I love reading about how much exterminators charge for getting rid of bed bugs. Maybe there is a magic solution where you can pay lots of money and go around with one of those fumigation hoses and be done in 10 minutes. But I know from personal experience (in Hoboken, no less) that you just need to go to the bed bug guy in Harlem (I can look up the exact info if anyone needs it), spend $80, and follow his advice to the T. Then you wash ALL your clothes and bedding in hot water. You vacuum and dust the whole apartment and then you apply the chemicals to every nook and cranny of your apartment. When all was said and done, I had spent 3 days on eradicating those little bastards.

With the 2nd step dust sprinkled around my apartment, they never came back. And I never heard about them moving to my neighbors' apartments either. I had told the landlord that we had them, he sent over one of those roach fumigator guys, which of course didn't work. And so I took matters into my own hands. If they had spread, since I had been upfront about it, I (hoped I) was not going to be held responsible.

Have been to Ox once for brunch and now once for dinner. We really enjoyed the brunch and it is a great bang for your buck (kind of like going to brunch at Amanda's in Hoboken; the dinners are way too pricey but the brunches are great and priced same as other brunches around town).

The food we had at dinner was all superb. The octopus app was scrumptious. The blackened catfish was delish and so were the scallops. The service was excellent. The manager (or whoever he was) came over to check on us and asked if he had any questions. When I asked if the octopus app tasted strongly of fennel, he was honest in his answer, which I appreciated. (He said the flavor is there, but it's not overwhelming and he was right, I'd say.)

Those were the good points. Now for the bad. We had to wait a good while between app and entrees. It was late (after 9 on a week night) and so we were hungry. We had polished off our bowl of popcorn before the app arrived and the waitress had taken it away. After waiting a while for our entree, my husband said he really wanted to bread to nosh on. I asked a waiter and he said they don't have bread. Huh. How do they make their sandwiches? Anyway, I then said, "well, could we have some more popcorn?" He said he wasn't sure, but he'd check. He wasn't sure? Come on. No one was apologetic about the wait either. Also, the prices on the menu outside did not match the prices on the menus we were given and the prices on our bill were different again! They were evened out in the end, so we decided not to bother complaining, but it was a bit annoying. (Example: outside scallops were listed at $22, on the menu, $26 and on our bill $24.) The other entree was also prices 3 different ways and both our drinks were priced differently on the bill vs. on the menu.

All in all, we will probably go back when friends are visiting and we want to take them somewhere upscale. I am still really glad this place opened on Newark. I hope it is a sign of more upscale places to come. Bring on the gentrification!

This was such a cool event! I'm glad I live in a town that puts on such a great art festival. However, I wish the map put out by the free paper didn't suck so much. Would it have killed them to put the dots on the correct blocks and to include all the artists on the map? I'll bet the Accumulation Project peeps are pissed that they weren't on the map at all. If I hadn't really wanted to see that exhibit, I would have given up on finding them since hell if I knew where McWilliams Place is. (Well, yes, the description page did describe the corner, but still. If you hadn't heard about them already and were just walking around from dot to dot you would have missed them entirely.)

If I didn't have a car, I'd walk there to get some exercise and then call a taxi to take me and my packages home. Of course, not knowing where you live, that might not be feasible for you. But assuming that it costs about $5 for me to get from the Grove St. station to my apt. in Hamilton Park, I'm guessing it couldn't cost too much more than that to take a taxi from Target home.

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When we go to Edgewater, we combine it with a trip to Mitsuwa. You can't beat lunch at the food court there, either.

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We used him, too. I agree that he is a very nice guy and was good about explaining everything he found. However, he did miss something kind of crucial, and that was that there was concrete on the vent damper of our boiler (rendering it inoperable). He did get the owner to put in some new grounded outlets for us, however. And he offered to come back a second time for free to check the heat since the boiler was off the first time he came and he said it is not his policy to turn them on when they're off in case they're off for a reason. It was kind of our fault, however, that he didn't try to turn on the heat that 2nd time because we were so annoyed to find out that one of the new outlets had been installed (for an a/c) underneath the only window with a fire escape and it had become apparent that the hot water was not working. So, I would definitely still recommend him. And he did get us those new outlets.

My friend has never used any illegal substances or alcohol in his life. He was stone cold sober, as he always is.

I am amused by how sitting by your computers you all have it all clear how A. cat burglers always act (you did your dissertation on them perhaps or are you one yourself?) and B. how you would act in the same situation. I (knock on wood) have never had my home burglarized, but I'm sure that if I did I would be so scared that I would probably freak out. If you have ever been home during a robbery, tell me honestly your pulse didn't sky rocket during that harrowing experience.

You folks can think what you want. All I know is that the JCPD said some very nasty things and did some completely uncalled for things to Matt and that he is in very bad shape physically right now (can't sit down for more than an hour or two without having muscle spasms) and has a hard time walking after sitting for a little while. Did I mention that one of the undercover cops twisted his foot around really hard and said to him something like, "Ever had your foot broken? I'll break it so bad you'll never walk right again." Does a good cop say something like that?

Yes, he was expecting the cops, but note that he heard sirens in the distance when he got to the door (ie, they were on their way, not there yet) and that these guys were at his door as soon as he dashed down 4 flights of stairs. They then rushed at him and screamed in his face, "did you call the cops?" (as the JJ reports). So, why should he assume these thug-looking guys were the cops he called? And what cops scream at you "did you call the cops?" and rush at you while saying it?

GrovePath, to answer your question about how the thug-like guys got in... The reason Matt ran downstairs was to let the cops in because he has no buzzer. He opened the door to wait outside and there the guys were.

And to the guy with the bad grammar whose comment didn't even make any sense -- whatever, dude. I just hope it's not you next time.

And finally, Matt has been to the doctor. His elbow is fractured. I'm not sure why the need to nitpick about his injuries, but there you go.

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I asked him to sign up here and tell his side, but he says whatever he writes can be used against him, so he declined.

He says he never implied on the NYCC bike message board (not a blog) that his arm isn't broken, however. Can you copy and paste the comment that you saw, please?

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What would you do if you opened the door to your apartment building and 2 burly guys lunged at you and started beating on you and you were assuming they were robbers who were trying to break into your apt.? You don't think maybe your instinct wouldn't be to fight back? Or would you just stand there and take it?

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Well, they got away of course since the cops were too busy beating up the guy whose apartment was about to robbed.

Matt said the plain clothes guys asked him if he had called the police in a very threatening tone, which made him assume they were the robbers or connected to them and that they were angry at him for doing so. Because of that he tried to get away from them.

From what I understand, Matt was trying to get away from all four cops who were beating on him because he was scared out of his wits. Here he has called the cops to come help him and they start beating on him. But because he was trying to get away, they got even angrier with him. A downward spiral.

That it is. Especially since my friend was totally innocent. He calls cops to come protect him and they beat him up and then accuse him of assault. Niiice. I had no idea just how corrupt the JC cops really were until this happened. They are claiming all sorts of bogus things about him, like that he was drunk and high. So outrageous.