JCGuys wrote:
Out of curiosity, how many people here use the SmartLink card compared to Metrocard?

TheBigGuy wrote:
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K-Lo2 wrote:
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While tossing out the election pamphlets this week, one did catch my eye about Rebecca Symes and The Australians throwing THOUSANDS of JC residents out on the street after stealing their homes

...by paying above market prices in cash?

THOUSANDS?????

Bike_Lane wrote:
The heart of the legal dispute was whether Conrail had the right to sell the Embankment to the developer without the intent to have it remain a railroad.

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) must rule on abandonment of rail lines (this responsibility is handed down from the predecessor agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission). In this case "abandonment" does not mean trains haven't run on the line for x years, it means that the rail line would change to another use, and thus, cease to be a right of way for rail transportation (aside, some rail lines are not subject to STB rulings, such as New Jersey Transit owned rail lines).

Conrail's assets are subject to the STB, and therefore Conrail was/is required to apply for an STB ruling when abandoning a rail line. Here's an overview of the process: https://www.stb.gov/stb/public/resources_abandonment.html

Had the STB approved the abandonment ahead of time, Conrail could have offered it to the city or sold it to the developer free and clear. That didn't happen, and therefore, the long legal battle ensued.

Other former rail lines downtown, such as the 10th Street Embankment, went through the legal abandonment process before ownership was transferred.

JCBORN wrote:
We only read about the tenants side of things.

Why didn't Nina just move instead of paying $1,300 if she was so unhappy?

Now that her rent went down to $435 is she ok with sweeping the mouse droppings?

I'm interested to see if that website will also post what the owners have to say about it. It always seems to be one-sided.

I see they posted this about newark
https://www.nj.com/essex/2019/10/housi ... nt-control-ordinance.html

Yvonne wrote:
A number of people are confused by the flyers on the Airbnb. The wording on the ballot is confusing. A no vote is what the signatures were about, it is a removal of the city council ordinance. A yes vote, is to keep the city council ordinance. It is a shame the wording is confusing to voters. I am not an Airbnb renter and have no dog in the fight but I do not like the confusion for voters.

brewster wrote:
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MDM wrote:
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brewster wrote:
And VVP being elaborately and expensively renovated without including a playground. Good times.

Wow... never knew that happened (I don't use VVP since i am not in the downtown). The playgrounds are one reason I like living in J.C. My kid has 'his gang' that he meets daily at the playground on Ogden ave (Pershing Field gets a bit insane with the crowds). Having playmates at that young of an age was something I missed out on (Gen X baby bust in the burbs... no kids in my neighborhood... or playgrounds).

I take it the VVP planners didn't have kids...

I don't know all the details, but yeah, people who wanted a fancy garden had control, till at some point it all came out, and they had to retrofit in the 2 play areas. There were people in HP who would have gotten rid of the playground and ball courts in the reno if they'd had their way.

MDM wrote:
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val7101 wrote:

You know what else is lost? Party goers coming and going at all hours of the night. The feeling of insecurity you have when strangers are constantly in your building. Having to become the de facto concierge for out of towners. There is a true quality of life issue here.

I don't have a dog in this fight (I don't do AirBnB). My main concern is the creeping micro-management of property owners by the city. I am a cynic who believes politicians are on the whole, bought and paid for. I don't think for a minute "quality of life" was the motivating factor. The city was fine getting millions from AirBnB until someone I suspect from some lobbying group offered $$$ in campaign contributions (or other forms of compensation) to do a 180 and get rid of AirBnB.

So far my only bad run in was a AirBnB guest who blocked the garage I rent, when I needed to take my kid to the emergency room. Other than that, the AirBnB critters are well behaved.

My 'bad experiences' were mostly neighbors (before the neighborhood gentrified) strung out on booze, drugs, etc. creating all sorts of issues. Thankfully most of the bad actors are gone now.*

*One humorous incident when some guy high on who knows what was on all fours, barking at my bushes like a dog. He subsequently passed out on the sidewalk in the pouring rain.

dr_nick_riviera wrote:
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val7101 wrote:
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MDM wrote:
The sad thing is that with AirBnB regulated out of existence, rents won't be reduced by much, if at all. As long as multi-family buildings are torn down and replaced with Bayonne boxes, the rent market will continue to face shortages (at least until the next recession).

What will be lost is the revenue paid to the city by AirBnB. Wasn't it around $9mil a year?

You know what else is lost? Party goers coming and going at all hours of the night. The feeling of insecurity you have when strangers are constantly in your building. Having to become the de facto concierge for out of towners. There is a true quality of life issue here.

What nonsense. Any of the issues complained about here can also occur with long term tenants and owners. Future, Airbnb tourists aren’t putting kids into the school system and draining resources and they’re not taking up peoples precious parking, they’re either using ride share or public transit.

Let’s also not forget that this entire initiative was started by wealthy VVPA NIMBYs that didn’t like seeing people with roller suitcases on their block and feel they should restrict property rights for the entire city based on one incident.

MDM wrote:
The sad thing is that with AirBnB regulated out of existence, rents won't be reduced by much, if at all. As long as multi-family buildings are torn down and replaced with Bayonne boxes, the rent market will continue to face shortages (at least until the next recession).

What will be lost is the revenue paid to the city by AirBnB. Wasn't it around $9mil a year?

135jc wrote:
Passing Montgomery st during rush hr it was grid locked. With only one lane heading east now cars were backed up behind cars trying to enter Edison fast park. There is no longer a second lane to allow traffic to pass any obstruction. Looking west Montgomery was also grid locked for as far as I could see. Can anyone explain why 3 bike lanes in each direction for a total of 6 is needed? Any green benefit is surely off set by hundreds of idling cars polluting the air.

Chocotastery wrote:
Hi Everyone!

I am Glenn the owner and founder of Chocotastery, a chocolate education and tasting experience company based in Jersey City.

We have been having classes at Indiegrove monthly and wanted to share here that we will be having another class on Friday, August 30th at 6-8pm.

During the class you will be able to learn about how chocolate is made and where it comes from and how to mindfully taste craft chocolate bars from around the world! You really get to discover for yourself a whole new world of chocolate. You even get to take home your favorite of the 4 bars that you taste during the class! Classes are $35 per person.

To get your tickets and to sign up go to our Eventbrite listing: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/intro-to- ... olate-tickets-66810537115

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me directly at glenn@chocotastery.com!

Lookong forward to meeting you all there!

Glenn

JPhurst wrote:
The city should make this the next stop in their pilot "Parklet" program.

135jc wrote:
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moothecow wrote:
Somebody moved into a house a couple of months ago on my block and completely paved over their front garden, cutting down some trees and flowers and putting in place a cheap concrete job. Now they are parking their car in the makeshift driveway, eliminating a street parking spot.

I know it's illegal to do this in Jersey City without a zoning variance or a grandfathered curb cut. Who can I call to complain about it?

You sound like a great neighbor.

bodhipooh wrote:
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val7101 wrote:
The issue is that if you are living in a building where lots of units are Air Bnb then they need to let you know up front so you can decide if you want to live with that.
If you have a building that's completely AirBnb then it needs to have signage indicating that so once again, people can decide if they want to live there.
I wouldn't live in a building with strangers constantly coming in and out, and neither would a lot of other people.
Second, how do people not see what this does to the housing market? Not to mention neighborhoods.
There is a big difference between people renting their house here and there or even a room, particularly if it's owner occupied.

But, again, this measure is overly aggressive in trying to solve this problem. If I want to spend the Summer away and rent out my unit to a friend, or even a stranger, for the month or two I will be away, I would not be allowed to do so legally, even if I had the consent of my landlord, as I live in a building with 5+ units. Where's the harm in that scenario?

tern wrote:
I'd love to know the real story behind Nick's rabid hatred of Neighbourhood Associations.

Owner of a a small business that was stifled? Former Vice President who lost out in a bitter power struggle over the park flowerbeds?

Robin.

tern wrote:
I'd love to know the real story behind Nick's rabid hatred of Neighbourhood Associations.

Owner of a a small business that was stifled? Former Vice President who lost out in a bitter power struggle over the park flowerbeds?

Robin.

brewster wrote:
Hmm, seems pretty silly considering how underutilized that bridge is. Just make a shuttle bus route over it from a commuter lot on SI. Google says it's less than 10 minutes @8am.

Now a Hudson Gondola from Xchange Pl to WTC is an awesome idea.

AlexC wrote:
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val7101 wrote:
Classy Lady!

Is it wrong that I'm sorta looking forward to people's snarky comments on this one? You have to have some fun in life.

Trump enabled most of these cockroaches now coming out of the woodwork

Is that snarky enough?

bodhipooh wrote:
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hero69 wrote:
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Annod wrote:
PATH introducing cellphone service to underground stations

Updated 6:45 PM; Posted 6:45 PM

By Patrick Villanova
The Jersey Journal

Underground PATH stations are officially joining the 21st century.

The Port Authority announced Tuesday that cellphone service is being added to nine underground PATH stations, with connectivity from major carriers phased in over the course of the rest of the year and into early 2019.

As of Tuesday, AT&T and T-Mobile cellular service is available at underground PATH stations in New York, while cell service from both providers will expand to New Jersey's PATH stations in the next three weeks. Verizon Wireless and Sprint customers will see system-wide cellular service in both New York and New Jersey's underground PATH stations early next year.

Cellular connectivity will be available on platforms and throughout underground stations.

"We want to upgrade service to the traveling public at all our facilities," Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said in a statement. "Access to cell coverage is an important expectation of PATH customers."

PATH follows in the footsteps of New York City's Metropolitan Transit Authority, which finished adding cellphone service to all of its subway stations in January 2017.

The PATH stations in New York with the new cellular coverage are: 33rd, 23rd, 14th, Ninth, and Christopher streets. The World Trade Center PATH station has had cellular coverage since it opened in 2016.

https://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... d.html#incart_river_index

this is awesome news! I was wondering why I started getting a signal at the 14th street station last week. now I know.

I am not at all excited by the prospect of cell service availability within trains or stations. People are rude enough as it is, so imagine the additional annoyance of people loudly speaking into their phones, as they flaunt the many other rules about music, food, etc. Even NJ Transit and Metro North were forced to add "quiet cars" to their trains because of this issue. Alas, that's a non-starter for the PATH considering the current overcrowding issues.