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Re: Bye bye, Barcade?
#1
Home away from home
Home away from home


Quote:

dr_nick_riviera wrote:
Quote:

Bike_Lane wrote:
Quote:

I_heart_JC wrote:
does that building hold no historic significance? we're a block away, and can't change our stoop railing, per rules. how can corporations just tear down these old beauties?


They're not in a historic preservation district, but in the Newark Ave Downtown Redevelopment Plan Zone (would have to look that up to see what you're allowed to do there)

They're on the Planning Board agenda for Aug 13. The agenda says "Multi-phase proposed project retains Newark Avenue and Barrow Street (partial) facades in accordance with bonus provisions of the redevelopment plan to construct a 7-story mixed use building with 51 residential dwelling units and 11,967 sf of retail space.
Deviations: Minimum Rooftop Amenity Space, Prohibited facade materials, Minimum floor to ceiling heights - upper floors, Minimum floor to ceiling heights - ground floor, Minimum building stepbacks, Maximum stories"

Sounds like they want to cram in a few more units than allowed. If you feel strongly about it, reach out to Matt Ward in City Planning or go to the Planning Board meeting.


Per this article, https://jerseydigs.com/barcade-propose ... ewark-avenue-jersey-city/ it sounds like they're going to preserve and reuse the historic facade for the front of the building and that dollar store being obliterated is no huge loss.

However, it seems like the overall retail footprint is going to be greatly reduced as I don't think the combined dance studio/Barcade/Dollar Store is anywhere close to 12k square feet.

The NAs will do their usual whining and grandstanding over the residential density and parking, completely ignoring the retail factor, per usual of course.


Believe it or not - people that live in an area given no consideration for density impacts like infrastructure or PATH crowds do tend to have opinions.

That must be hard to imagine being a hardcore developer shrill

Posted on: 2019/8/8 1:05
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Re: Do you recommend particular Roofer?
#2
Home away from home
Home away from home


Quote:

brewster wrote:
Quote:

thor800 wrote:
stay away from Imperial Roofing.


You got that right!

Capital's price on PVC seemed great considering the warranty, till another roofer pointed out that the parapets were crumbling and the mortar was gone! They were going to wrap the crumbling masonry in PVC and walk away making it a hidden time bomb. Not good.

Another roofer on another roof ignored that the timber on the roof edge was rotted away where water had pooled. After the roof was done I noticed the siding shingles buckling from the whole roof sagging! I had to tear down the ceiling under it to get at it to shore up the roof.

Lastly, not roofing, I discovered that 2 bathrooms I had build had no waterproofing membrane on the cement board under the tile, considered mandatory today by tile professionals. I discovered this when I had to rip out a windowsill in the shower that they had failed to pitch so the water would run off rather than pool and leak through.

Lesson is most contractors are happy to leave you with a time bomb if they can argue it wasn't in their scope of work or you didn't ask for it specifically. I've learned my lesson, I'm going to hover over the next contractor I hire and make sure it's done right. I have no idea what people with less skills, knowledge & free time can do. Sorry for the rant, I'm disgusted.


definitely the best practice if you can spare the time and somewhat competent enough to understand what is going on - I feel bad for the token person that hires contractors to do work and have absolutely no idea about the right way to do things. As far as hovering over the contractor I definitely generally agree in being as present and observant as possible while they are working as long as you dont get in their way and piss them off.

in deciding between bitumen and PVC, the contractor i used said they have lots of jobs repairing PVC because when applying the air pressure to seal it to the decking, it's not overly apparent that they are covering all the surface compared to torch down which creates issues.

Does anyone know whether covering the entire surface existing planking deck with plywood is standard practice before applying the base sheet ?

Posted on: 2019/1/19 19:17
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Oil Tank removal
#3
Home away from home
Home away from home


Has anyone had one removed ?

How much does it normally cost ?

Posted on: 2018/8/22 22:36
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Re: Dixon Leasing Cheating JC out of Taxes with the help of Rebecca Sysmes
#4
Home away from home
Home away from home


Has anyone put together a definitive list of dixon properties and their pre / post reassessments ?

I would think a FOIA would take care of that.

Posted on: 2018/8/7 12:49
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Re: Do you recommend particular Roofer?
#5
Home away from home
Home away from home


go for Capitol or Roof4Roof - stay away from Imperial Roofing.

Posted on: 2018/8/6 2:53
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Re: New Tax Rate is Insane!
#6
Home away from home
Home away from home


It was definitely long overdue for tax increases though a more liberal policy to appeals for unfair rates could have brought the same relief to Greenville or West Side.

In any case, even $16K on a $1M building is still a bargain compared to almost everywhere else in NJ. Once the market realizes this, things will normalize. I would expect it will take longer for single family homes in the $1M+ range compared to ones with rental units included.

Posted on: 2018/5/30 20:22
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Re: New Tax Rate is Insane!
#7
Home away from home
Home away from home


Quote:

Dolomiti wrote:
Quote:

brewster wrote:
The softness is not attributed to the reval, but to the new construction. And getting hustled by agents means nothing. The biggest challenge to agents in any market is getting the listing. Get a $1m listing and that's a $25-60k payday if you price it properly.

We've been hearing people proclaim that Factor X will kill DTJC RE property values for years now. It's a bit old. Not to mention that we are specifically discussing the effects of the reval.

Yes, I know that getting calls from RE agents means nothing. So does one RE agent saying "single family homes are soft," or one single listing. That's why I'm saying you have to look at actual data, which a) shows no major drop in prices yet and b) shows that in the long term, prices are likely to hold or increase.


The reval won't kill downtown, but the absence of any definite guidance going forward (2 year / 5 year / 10 year reassessment) creates uncertainty which isn't good for the RE market in the short term.

Condos are still selling from what I've seen as most were probably converted 10-15 years ago and not dramatically affected by increasing taxes to the same degree as 1-4 family buildings.

Posted on: 2018/5/24 16:40
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Re: New Tax Rate is Insane!
#8
Home away from home
Home away from home


Quote:

HeightsNative wrote:
Quote:

thor800 wrote:
Quote:

bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

thor800 wrote:
The timing couldn't have been worse - most properties were reassessed at the height of the market


This argument shows a lack of understanding about the revaluation and property taxes. Whether it had been at the height of the market, or bottom, it doesn't matter. If the market had been lower, then the property tax rate would have been higher.

The city needed collect X amount of money.

X = (total value of market) * (tax rate)

If (total value of market) is lower, then (tax rate) has to go up, as X is constant in a revaluation.

The only thing that would make a difference is how different areas stack or compare against each other. The almost four year delay in the reval actually helped DTJC, as that period saw an accelerated increase in valuation in areas outside of DTJC, which translated into properties outside of DTJC getting relative higher levies than they would have 5 years ago.

In any case, the timing matters little. The reval was overdue, and DTJC was in for a HUGE increase regardless of when the reval had been completed. Those who claim the timing was terrible because it is a high market don't understand the issue clearly.



No I completely understand the market - DTJC assessed at the highest values ever with no regard for corresponding drop in market value after taxes double and no guidance moving forward.

Yes it was way overdue and definitely not fair for residents in other words to overpay for years, but also not fair to saddle downtown with absurdly high taxes with no clear plan to reassess more regularly in the future.


They're not "absurdly high taxes"; they're exactly the taxes one should pay for a residence in a particular market. Also, at a rate of 1.62% is still one of the lowest tax RATES in the entire state. Try paying 2.3% or whatever the state average is, on these valuations, then I'd say whoa. But again, there are options: reverse mortgages, the senior freeze, etc.


those are only options if you are a senior 62 or older.

again - youre missing the point about not making any allowances for resulting market impacts

Posted on: 2018/5/23 19:48
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Re: New Tax Rate is Insane!
#9
Home away from home
Home away from home


Quote:

bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

thor800 wrote:
The timing couldn't have been worse - most properties were reassessed at the height of the market


This argument shows a lack of understanding about the revaluation and property taxes. Whether it had been at the height of the market, or bottom, it doesn't matter. If the market had been lower, then the property tax rate would have been higher.

The city needed collect X amount of money.

X = (total value of market) * (tax rate)

If (total value of market) is lower, then (tax rate) has to go up, as X is constant in a revaluation.

The only thing that would make a difference is how different areas stack or compare against each other. The almost four year delay in the reval actually helped DTJC, as that period saw an accelerated increase in valuation in areas outside of DTJC, which translated into properties outside of DTJC getting relative higher levies than they would have 5 years ago.

In any case, the timing matters little. The reval was overdue, and DTJC was in for a HUGE increase regardless of when the reval had been completed. Those who claim the timing was terrible because it is a high market don't understand the issue clearly.



No I completely understand the market - DTJC assessed at the highest values ever with no regard for corresponding drop in market value after taxes double and no guidance moving forward.

Yes it was way overdue and definitely not fair for residents in other words to overpay for years, but also not fair to saddle downtown with absurdly high taxes with no clear plan to reassess more regularly in the future.

Posted on: 2018/5/23 15:47
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Re: New Tax Rate is Insane!
#10
Home away from home
Home away from home


delaying 1 or 2 quarters wont really do much.

The timing couldn't have been worse - most properties were reassessed at the height of the market and nothing is in place to compensate for the corresponding drop in market value.


Posted on: 2018/5/23 4:49
 Top 


Re: Okay, so who here thinks the Katyn monument needs to go?
#11
Home away from home
Home away from home


the statue is still staying very close to its original location. the uproar over moving it 60 meters away is laughable

Posted on: 2018/5/15 15:02
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Re: Cafe Madelaine (Coles/2nd)
#12
Home away from home
Home away from home


no idea but thank god that part of 2nd & coles getting a facelift. exterior looks like a big improvement

Posted on: 2018/5/9 18:42
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Re: (4/16/2018) Storm causes flooding across Hudson County
#13
Home away from home
Home away from home


sounds like JC got 2.5 inches yesterday mostly in the morning hours - was this the heaviest its been recently ?

A drain in my basement backed up with water, but this was the first time thats ever happened.

Posted on: 2018/4/17 16:39
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Re: 2017 Reval ~ Property Inspections
#14
Home away from home
Home away from home


Quote:

bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

thor800 wrote:

Also, how could anyone whos taxes arent increasing / substantially dropping (greenville & west side) complain that downtown isnt paying enough ? Seems like everyone wants a free ride these days


Again with this? You obviously don't get it. This new (estimated) numbers show what most have been claiming for years now: that DTJC had been underpaying their taxes to the detriment of poorer residents in areas that have seen little or no appreciation.


Yes I realize that genius - and reductions in taxes for Greenville \ Westside are totally warranted, but how is 1.6% multiplier for downtown not enough tho ? Hence free rides

Posted on: 2017/12/15 3:01
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Re: 2017 Reval ~ Property Inspections
#15
Home away from home
Home away from home


Quote:

bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

jc201jc wrote:
http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/RevaluationUpdate

if you click "1-4 family neighborhood analysis" on the bottom of the page, it opens a PDF with average tax increases by neighborhood. Downtown JC taxes are looking to go up by 50% (unless I'm misinterpreting the table). But...tell me again how the housing prices won't be affected by this?


Going by the document, it looks like the increases in DTJC are anywhere from mid 50% to 75%, with the sole exception of the Van Leer neighborhood (WTF is that?) which is expected to go up by only 41%.

Interesting... I expected DT to get even higher increases. But, overall, the picture is bleak for the administration in terms of optics. Just as had been argued and pointed out multiple times prior to the reval, the current tax situation was a reverse Robin Hood scenario, and the numbers are damning. EVERY neighborhood outside of DTJC is going to see reductions, some quite substantial, with five rare exceptions, expected to have minor increases, three of which are under 5%.

And, it seems like they are expecting the tax rate to come out at about 1.62%. While that is welcome news for the DTJC homeowners, it is likely bad overall for the city, as pressure is likely to increase to force JC to take on a larger share of the local school budget if the property tax rate is so low compared to other NJ towns. At 2%, the city could argue that anything higher was a huge burden on residents, but at 1.6%, I believe that would be one of the absolute lowest property tax rates in the state (outside of Cape May county) and makes us a target for increased pressure.


The Heights and JSQ averages seem super low especially for the Heights which had the greatest increase this year in prices.

Also, how could anyone whos taxes arent increasing / substantially dropping (greenville & west side) complain that downtown isnt paying enough ? Seems like everyone wants a free ride these days

Posted on: 2017/12/14 20:24
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Re: Rep. Albio Sires & Net Neutrality
#16
Home away from home
Home away from home


He posted 5 hours ago on FB that he voted to delay the net neutrality vote and remove it from tomorrow's agenda. Not clear if he means remove all together tho

Posted on: 2017/12/14 3:48
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Re: Symes / Solomon runoff
#17
Home away from home
Home away from home


Quote:

brewster wrote:
Quote:

JPhurst wrote:
I fear for the future of this forum.....

Too late for that, this place was moribund before the election anyway.

IMO this notion of letting activist incumbent residents decide what happens in their neighborhood is absurd. In almost all cases they will vote for no development. No one has a right to a static neighborhood. Many of the same people howling about high housing costs are the ones preventing higher density.

Here's a thought experiment: convert Summit into a Bus Rapid Transit lane from Journal Square up to 495 through to the Port Authority, and rezone the heights area along it for midrise higher density. You would lose parking on Summit but thousands of new affordable homes with great mass transit and no need for cars would take its place.

This type of "New Urbanist" growth vision would absolutely be vetoed by existing residents, but potential residents have no vote.


Except that the the development most likely wouldn't be affordable. Why would any developer want to rent for affordable rates unless thats the only way they could get a tax break - which has been the opposite case in JC

Posted on: 2017/11/8 20:06
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Re: 2017 Reval ~ Property Inspections
#18
Home away from home
Home away from home


agreed - no one is saying that Joe shouldn't pay more, but how much more is the question.

if the 2% market value equalizer holds, I doubt many people will see any relief especially with the recent interest in BL, greenville, jsq, etc as a result of DTJC pricing out.

Quote:

Dolomiti wrote:
Quote:

thor800 wrote:
[quote]
not everyone that currently owns downtown has been living there forever and been substantially subsidized by other areas of the city. these areas have also seen increased values in the past few years and maybe wont see that golden $100 or $200 per month reduction by the reval - at most ? who will be crying now ?

OK, think of it this way.

Let's say that Joe bought a brownstone in 2015 for $800k, and is paying $8k per year in property taxes. After the reval, his taxes shoot up to $16k.

Joe has, in fact, already benefitted. By the time the reval takes effect, he'd have saved well over $25k just in a few years (as he should have been paying higher taxes in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018). And someone else had to pay the taxes he didn't pay.

In addition, if we don't do the reval, or somehow shield Joe from his full obligation, he's still getting a tax break moving forward. Further, someone else is still paying the remainder of Joe's fair share, while he continues to reap the benefit not only of lower taxes, but also higher property values.


Quote:
telling someone that they shouldnt be pissed their taxes are skyrocketing based on an arguably inflated investor driven market and if they dont like it, then they can just sell and leave is just being a dick.

Yes and no.

Yes, in that the city should not have delayed the reval for 30 frickin' years. It should have done this about every 5 years, in which case people would see more frequent and significantly smaller changes in property taxes.

No, in that it is unjustified to be mad that you have to pay your fair share -- especially after getting a break, at some else's expense.

Griping about "inflated investor driven market" is nonsense, because the people whose taxes are going up have directly benefitted from that market. Nor is there any sign, even after people literally spending years predicting a massive crash, that JC is in an unsustainable real estate bubble.

Posted on: 2017/9/6 16:54
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Re: 2017 Reval ~ Property Inspections
#19
Home away from home
Home away from home


roughly 1.5% when I bought in 2015, but the past few years have seen crazy value increases in DTJC as well as Heights and JSQ albeit maybe not as much. It depends what those properties were assessed at and effectively paying though - if a property in JSQ at $50,000 paying $4,000 / year now has a market value of $500,000, its the same as a $100,000 paying $8,000 now worth $1,000,000 which I think is fairly reasonable though I do not know if the JSQ scenario is accurate. It seems like the rateable base is the question which will determine the market equalization ratio.

I understand the relativity concept, but couldn't those homeowners paying 3% have sought out relief through the tax accessor office ?


Posted on: 2017/9/6 13:53
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Re: 2017 Reval ~ Property Inspections
#20
Home away from home
Home away from home


Quote:

bodhipooh wrote:
Quote:

yorkster wrote:
Funny, those of us apposing the methodology of property tax calculation are due to get a $36K bill and those in favor obviously are not. Just because a value of a home has risen doesn't mean that the individual that lives in that home has the means to pay $36K year over year.


Stop being self-servingly obtuse. There is nothing wrong with the methodology. it is the same one used ALL OVER the USA. If someone bought a home for 300K, and that home has now risen to 1.5 MM, and they can't afford the taxes now, they still have options that all those other that have been subsidizing them do not have. Namely, the person has 1.2 MM in (unrealized) profit into which the person can can tap to pay off the tax burden: borrow against the property, or sell, or find another solution.

Complaining about having to pay higher taxes on a property that has appreciated tremendously, and for which taxes have been under assessed for a decade or longer, is like complaining about being taxed on lottery winnings: it is petty and will not get you far.


not everyone that currently owns downtown has been living there forever and been substantially subsidized by other areas of the city. these areas have also seen increased values in the past few years and maybe wont see that golden $100 or $200 per month reduction by the reval - at most ? who will be crying now ?

telling someone that they shouldnt be pissed their taxes are skyrocketing based on an arguably inflated investor driven market and if they dont like it, then they can just sell and leave is just being a dick.

Posted on: 2017/9/6 0:21
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Re: Flooding in Jersey City
#21
Home away from home
Home away from home


4-6 inches would not have been pretty after all the rain weve had lately.

Has there been anything near that much so far this year ?

Posted on: 2017/6/20 1:31
 Top 


Private auto inspections
#22
Home away from home
Home away from home


Has anyone ever used a facility in jersey city aside from the state run DMV for an inspection ?

Posted on: 2017/2/28 2:43
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Comic books for sale in Jersey City ?
#23
Home away from home
Home away from home


I am interested in buying individual issues and collections from anyone in jersey city or nearby surrounding areas.

Please email hookjc800@gmail.com for more information.

Posted on: 2016/10/21 16:23
 Top 


Re: Longish-time JC resident interested in buying...somewhere
#24
Home away from home
Home away from home


Bidding wars on properties downtown or when you switched to jsq ? Or both ?

Ive heard numerous bidding wars in nice areas BL and greenville

Posted on: 2016/10/18 15:57
 Top 


Sidewalk Repair violation and work
#25
Home away from home
Home away from home


Recently received a Notice of Violation from Division of Housing Code Enforcement for sidewalk repairs required and getting the run around from the various city agencies (Buildings, Housing Code, Traffic & Engineering, etc).

Has anyone recently had to deal with this ?


Posted on: 2016/10/4 13:21
 Top 


Re: Economic violence in JC ?
#26
Home away from home
Home away from home


Quote:

RichMauro wrote:
I'd define economic violence as a disregard for others in the name of profit for oneself.

A for instance:

Realtors constantly knocking on people's homes pestering them to sell which could lead to the ousting of long term tenants.


just because someone tries to get you to sell your house, doesnt mean that you should believe what they say. aggressive sales tactics are nothing new

Posted on: 2016/9/29 16:09
 Top 


Re: Fulop won't run for governor, will back Murphy, sources say
#27
Home away from home
Home away from home


Quote:

AMo wrote:
I think Moran is kind to suggest that Fulop remember "why he got into this game" in the first place. The "why" was self promotion, plain and simple. There were no core beliefs, only a lust for power. It's time that he return to the private sector where he will be free to cut deals that advance his interests, free from the inconvenience of considering the public good.


all politicians seek to advance themselves. even with his unbridled ambition, hes done more than any previous JC mayor

Posted on: 2016/9/29 13:53
 Top 


Re: Rental Prices out of control - DTJC
#28
Home away from home
Home away from home


Whats the current market rate for a 1bd in Hamilton Park rennovated and not updated (i.e. not stainless steel appliances, fancy tile bath, etc slightly dated) ?

Posted on: 2016/9/21 21:50
 Top 


Re: Embankment- Update Thread
#29
Home away from home
Home away from home


Quote:

Yvonne wrote:
Quote:

brewster wrote:
Quote:

Yvonne wrote:
I was at the council meeting when the city said this will be a rail spur. A spur means trains will be on the line. It does not mean people will walk on the area. All of the connections to the line are torn down. The city lied, that is the point. Perhaps they will lie on another project to take your property next.


Either you have Alzheimer or are being deliberately forgetful. A major event in this whole long drama was when the city unveiled a plan for a linear walking park sharing the embankment with light rail. I can picture someday climbing up to a train at Jersey and 6th, and taking it to visit the future Trader Joes at 15th St in Hoboken, when they redevelop that area and add a new HBLR stop there. That will never happen if it's torn down.


The difference between you and me, Brewster, I state my facts without name calling. Now let me give you some facts. Since other parts of the Conrail line has been torn down or have development there such as Bruce Ratner property where would this rail go? Where is the money for this rail spur? It is not coming from the state, fed or even local taxpayers. To put it mildly, JC cannot pay for terminal leave without bonding. Since there is no connection, the city lied about a rail spur, the exact term which was used by Corporation Council Jeremy Farrell when the city council passed the ordinance. The term was rail spur not railbanking because this rail line is going no where. Now this brings me to my second point. If Conrail did not abandon the property correctly then Bruce Ratner's property is also not correctly abandon. So the lawsuit against Ratner should go ahead. But it is not just Ratner, Conrail had other connecting lines in JC that developed. I actually have a map of those lines so much of downtown JC was not in compliance and the people who own those properties now have problems. This opens up questions on many properties in downtown JC.


The lawsuit against ratner is being brought by someone with absolutely no ties to the area nor claims against property and the property has no opportunities for preservation.

Posted on: 2016/9/21 16:18
 Top 


Re: Embankment- Update Thread
#30
Home away from home
Home away from home


Quote:

Yvonne wrote:
It was abandon in the same process because Conrail owned that property too. Why give a tax abatement if a property was illegally abandon? When young men were teens during the 1960s. The railroad hired them to clear the rails during snowstorm when school was closed. Those teens walked the length of the line including where this development is located. My point is - it is part of the same rail line. This process smells, from city hall stating falsely the that this will be a rail spur in order to take the property to granting a tax abatement on another piece of the rail line. Honestly, the feds should investigate JC over the embankment.


The Feds should investigate Conrail for not properly disposing of their properties.

Whoever gave the property to developers at the Metro Plaza site would have more of an issue than the city being accountable because they willingly passed on "possession" and it was not actually a line of rail.

Posted on: 2016/9/14 19:36
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