Just went for a race. This is not your teenager's go kart. There are people who take the racing seriously. Given the way they start the races, the more skilled should be let out first to avoid crashes. Also, in my race, there were 9 karts and probably 9 times they paused the race. I started last and therefore never really could get up to speed because I was constantly braking to avoid smacking into the back of the cart in front of me. I think starting from a dead stop with six cars lined up 2x3 would be a better start. The fast would pass within a lap and the slow would be shot out the back. My fastest lap was 24.37.

Fun and a good forearm workout.

Stopped by to take a look today. Looks fun. Maybe a tad over priced but I am going to try and get a group together to do a race.

Quote:

Anybody notice a pattern here with slf918's posts?

What are the 50 new HD channels? I noticed that I don't get Fox Sports North anymore. BS.

The dock that is accessed by that small dock with picnic table is the Hudson Point Marina. It is called that because it is owned by the apartment building there; Hudson Point. Doesn't have many facilities but is great for residents of the area who don't want to have to drive around to Liberty Landing Marina.

Why did everybody have such a hard time understanding what Snowflake was saying? I read through this and felt like banging my head against a wall and not from Snowflake's posts. Is reading comprehension a lost art in the digital age?

The rock circle is a blight on the walkway, although that is relatively minor to the Colgate Clock area and the dog sh*t peninsula. I sat watching the "professional" volleyball players constantly pointing out to each pile of sh*t so they could attempt to avoid it. It didn't work.

AGAIN!. I just posted the same message last week!

Ok. Well sounds like Pershing is not ideal. Has anybody used the Y in Hoboken for "learn to swim" packages?

I would sign up if it was available. Can those trucks be done but Sunday?

Anybody else notice the Verizon trucks on Warren St. recently? Please say they are installing FIOS! Can't stand Crapcast.

Maybe you should proofread first.

Ok. Assuming Healy gets dragged into this. How do we go about getting Steven Fulop in the Mayor's office and reverse all the recent votes that the council did? Say, the Crystal Point tax abatement among others.

Anybody know how Beyer Blinder Belle was awarded the contract? Looking at the Jersey City Public Contracts, there is nothing about it. http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/pub-contracts.aspx

I like BBB and think they are the right group for this project but I worry about the construction getting awarded to a shady outfit.

The "sidewalk" across the street is another perfect example of the "progress"

Thanks snowflake for pointing this Architect's Newspaper article out. I pasted it below so you don't have to go searching. Pictures are here: http://www.archpaper.com/e-board_rev.asp?News_ID=3358

The Jersey City Shore
Plans unveiled for rare public park on city's Hudson waterfront

Starr Whitehouse and nARCHITECTS have designed a park for the Jersey City waterfront.
Courtesy JCWPC
In recent years, New York City has finally been reclaiming its moribund industrial waterfront. But across the Hudson, Jersey City has been at it for decades. The problem, as some see it, is that while New York has mostly been redeveloping its waterfront as parkland, Jersey City has almost exclusively built office and apartment towers on its shores since redevelopment began in the 1980s.

?Sure, there?s the promenade, but that?s basically just a steel railing,? Matthew Johnson, president of the Jersey City Waterfront Parks Conservancy, said of the city?s current open-space offerings. ?We want more of a natural feel.?


The proposed park would stretch from the Goldman Sachs tower across little basin via a bridge to the peninsula.
Julian Olivas
And so the conservancy unveiled plans for Paulus Hook Park on March 26. Designed by Starr Whitehouse and nARCHITECTS, the 9-acre park on the southern end of downtown seeks to weave together a half-dozen disparate lots into a destination for the area. ?With the tremendous amount of residential development that has sprung up in Jersey City, there are a limited number of parks to serve this new community,? Johnson said.

One of the main challenges behind connecting the six separate plots is that they are owned by as many government agencies: Liberty State Park, the New Jersey Department of Military Veteran Affairs, the Morris Canal and Banking Company, the Colgate Center Property Owners Association, and the city.


The park was originally conceived as an alternative to the corporate and condo towers that have overtaken the Jersey City waterfront.
As if that were not enough of a challenge, the conservancy is also working against nascent development interests. Indeed, the group was founded two years ago after word had spread that some groups had expressed interest in building on various sites within the planned park. Thanks to the recession, the conservancy hopes it may have bought enough time to get the park past the planning stages and into the political ones. ?It may be the perfect opportunity before somebody decides to build one of these pieces,? Johnson said.

At the heart of the park is a 1,000-foot-long shank-shaped spit of land that is already a public park, though it is little more than a plot of grass that is quickly eroding?a foot per year, estimates Johnson?because of heavy ferry traffic. One of the first tasks the designers will undertake if the park gets built is shoring up the peninsula against further erosion.


One of two proposed concession stands in the park designed by nARCHITECTS.
Beyond that, the plans call for a largely passive park, based on extensive community surveys. The surveys started with 25 different uses, from the most active (soccer fields and jogging tracks) to the most passive (walking paths and lawns for picnics and sunbathing). Johnson said the reaction was overwhelming for the latter, though a volleyball court will be included for a local group that currently plays on the extant park. A dog run is also being added, by popular demand.

Active uses aside, the idea is to provide a peaceful respite with views of the city and respect for the surroundings. ?The community really understands that,? Stephen Whitehouse, principal of Starr Whitehouse, said. ?They value the basic landscape, the sweep of that outdoor landscape and the sweep of the city and the river and the sun. Yes, there are some activities they wanted, but they really wanted a park that respects the space, one that integrated with the natural landscape that already exists.?


The "infinity bridge" is meant to serve as both circulation and symbol for the park.
Or at least used to. Across the Little Basin from the peninsula, the spaces are mostly vacant. The iconic Colgate Clock is still there, but otherwise the land is occupied with parking, a dilapidated shoreline, a basketball court, and a roller hockey rink. In addition to the new landscape, the designers want to add an education component on the north side of the basin detailing the history of the canal that once led inland from the site, including a tie-up for a historic barge. A Korean War memorial on a secluded part of the site will be moved to a more prominent location on the northern plot and surrounded by perennial gardens.

The signature piece of the park is the ?infinity bridge,? a swooping figure-eight of wood that joins the peninsula to the northern side of the park. Designed by nARCHITECTS, the bridge is meant to visually represent the connectivity and continuity of the park with its surroundings and history while also serving the practical purpose of easing circulation within it. ?The longer you can walk in green the more transformed you can become,? said Laura Starr of Starr Whitehouse.


A plan of the proposed park (Click to view larger image).
The project is still in the planning phases, though Johnson said that he has spoken with all the associated public agencies about the project and they have all been supportive so far. ?We?re confident this park will be built,? he said.

Matt Chaban

Can anybody enlighten as to why this is not an unbiased debate? Not trying to be snarky, just trying to understand.

I have encountered the mother and son many times in the hood and was on edge. I think this is going to be an extremely interesting legal case to follow. Why?

1. They live in a rich area. (I live here and feel poor too, but yes, it is a rich area.)

2. Son has disabilities but seemed to love his walks with these dogs.

3. Dog community will be 50/50 on their opinion.

4. Parents of children with disabilities will 100/100 on how the dogs helped the son.

5. The owner is white and presentable and some of the victims are not. (I am white and do not know any of the victims. I am calling out the media and the white voting powerful contingent on being lenient on white people.)

6. Substantially differing views of events during \"attacks\"

7. Were they really trying to breed them? Breeding large breed dogs in downtown jersey city in a small apartment is a really bad idea. Especially when you have large (plus 100 lbs) dogs in a building that only allows 45lbs dog. The building website states this.

8. If the dogs are put down, what is the effect on the son? Many groups will come out and say that his ability to \"socialize\" was a result of the daily dog walks. I know many local businesses knew them well and went out of their way to explain how great they were.

Again, I have encountered them many a time, sometimes with a toddler walking and sometimes with a stroller and I don\'t know how I feel about it. My current gut is that the dogs helped the son gain confidence, but it was the wrong kind of confidence, (dogs and him intimated people into being friendly) and the dogs were too big given that situation. The repeated \"attacks\" are not helping their situation.

I think either the owner will get out of town leaving the dogs to die, or this is going to court. Since I live in the hood and don\'t want my kids to get hurt I am okay with the dogs being put down. However, I would like to see what a jury of peers thinks.