Quote:It makes it easier to keep the conversation here in the thread, but technically is copyright infringement since the entire article was copied. :(

Dare i ask why you felt the need to post the entire article that I had just linked to?

Thanks for a great link! Couldn't wait so just went to Shadman -- but will try soon!

http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2013/0 ... n-indian-jersey-city.html

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THE VEGETARIAN OPTION
Dining out meat-free.

Vegetarian Indian at Sapthagiri Worth a Trip to Jersey City

newyork.seriouseats.com
Lauren Rothman
SEP 20, 2013

I'm a born and bred New Yorker. That means many things: it means that some of my earliest memories take place in Central Park or the Natural History museum. It means that I memorized (most of) the subway map by the time I was nine. It means that I never learned how to drive a car. And it also means that if you tell me you're from New Jersey, which I understand is quite near New York, I'll ask you, "Oh, what part?" and then I won't comprehend your answer at all.

Unless, of course, you say, "Jersey City." Jersey City I know. It's super close by. The PATH train stops there and I've been there, oh, twice. I've heard that place has really good Indian food.

I'd been wanting to get to Jersey City to eat some Indian for a while now, and when my roommate started working there a few months ago, I knew this was the time. So recently I headed to Newark Avenue, which boasts a sizable Indian population and many great restaurants, to Sapthagiri, one of the local favorites.




Items from the chaat and dosa buffet.

Wednesday is all-you-can-eat dosa and chaat night for $10.99. That means you can get as many made-to-order dosas, or thin crispy crepes stuffed with savory fillings, as you like

We stopped by on a Wednesday night, and I highly recommend you do the same: Wednesday is all-you-can-eat dosa and chaat night for $10.99. That means you can get as many made-to-order dosas, or thin crispy crepes stuffed with savory fillings, as you like, as well as an entire buffet offering several types of chaat, or crispy Indian snacks, as well as pav bhaji, toasted buttered rolls heaped with potato curry; mysore bajii, airy coconut-wheat flour fritters studded with scallions and served with a coconut-tahini dipping sauce; fluffy rice pilaf, and some kind of dessert.



Papri chaat.

Everything on the buffet was tasty, but the sleeper hit was the Papri Chaat, crunchy, greasless crisps of fried dough smothered in sweetened yogurt and tangy tamarind sauce. Our server told us that chaat are commonly sold on the beaches of Mumbai; this sweet-salty snack would make the perfect summer treat.



Onion masala dosa.

For our dosa we opted for the Onion Masala Dosa, a paper-thin rice batter crepe griddled and rolled around a filling of mashed potatoes, peas and cashews. The dosa's tasty, well-seasoned filling was concentrated at the center of the crepe, so we used the empty ends for dipping into the restaurant's mint and tamarind sauces.



Paneer makhani.

If you go during a buffer you can still order items a la carte, and a north Indian dish of paneer makhani ($9.99) doesn't disappoint. The cubes of squeaky fresh panee in a super-rich, buttery tomato sauce are subtly flavored with crushed fenugreek leaves.




Aloo gobi.

It's difficult for me to visit an Indian restaurant and not order aloo gobi ($9.99), that classic curried cauliflower and potato dish. But Sapthagiri's version was unlike any I'd ever tasted: much, much richer, the sour/savory aspects of the sauce?provided by dried mango powder and a host of ground spices including turmeric, cayenne and cumin, respectively?completely in balance.

Visiting Jersey City's Newark Avenue is a treat; the steeply-pitched street is lined with dozens of restaurants and a handful Hindu temples, and strands of multicolored lights hanging from the street lamps and power lines lend the area a festive air. The atmosphere alone is worth a trip; the excellent food at Sapthagiri is just one more reason to go.

EDITORS' PICK
Sapthagiri
$
Indian/PakistaniRestaurant
New Jersey
804 Newark Ave
(at Liberty Ave)
Jersey City, NJ 07306
201-533-8400

Have you guys tried a new restaurant in Hoboken called Hoboken Dhaba.
They serve some delicious veg & non-veg dishes from different regions of India. The decor is very attractive and i loved their all you can eat lunch thalis. The best part was the food very fresh & non-greasy. The chicken saag was the best i ever had.

Another vote for Rasoi.

Quote:
For some reason, I wind up eating vegetarian on Newark Ave. There's a number of restaurants which serve meat I haven't eaten at, though. Curry On (formerly The Village) is OK.

Karma Kafe in Hoboken is excellent, including the weekend buffet. Very good tandoori chicken.

In Manhattan, I'd go for Tamarind, Bombay Talkie. Dhaba has an excellent buffet, it can get crowded at lunch.

I've really been enjoying Canteen in LI. It's small and very casual, but really good. Pretty cheap too!

Dolomiti

Any suggestions for non veggie??

Quote:

Y'know, I was never thrilled by Rasoi. It was fine, but struck me as barely above average. It's certainly outclassed by Manhattan restaurants like Tamarind or Bombay Talkie.

I'd also say that one of the strengths of the restaurants on Newark -- there have been more than "4 or 5" restaurants there for years, by the way -- is that most of them offer dishes you don't find in a typical Indian restaurant, Dosas, idly, vada, chaats,

Most of those dishes are vegetarian, though. ;)

Quote:

Check out Rasoi.

Any suggestions for best non veggie Indian on Newark?

Quote:
Sapthagiri, vegetarian Indian, just off of Newark. Outstanding food.

Thanks. I know Healy is out but I wasn't sure what had happened on Newark up in LI since the traffic has ALWAYS been so atrocious I have avoided it whenever possible. Haven't been on Newark west of Kennedy since moving back in July. While I'm on the topic, though, any recommendations for restaurants? I am pretty pedestrian in my tastes (unusual for me) as far as Indian food goes, but occasionally I do miss the Jackson Diner that opened on University and W10th in my old neighborhood. It was an offshoot of the wonderful one in Jackson Heights with incredible food.

It was passed and the booze is flowing in Little India.

It seems most of the little shops/markets are disappearing and being replaced with restaurants with liquor.

The traffic is still a night mare and getting worse.



PS ? Healy lost the ?race? and I must have been drunk on a few bottles of Kingfisher when I wrote the below post.

Cheers.

I know this is an old thread, but I have been browsing a lot of them on here to catch up on all the stuff I missed when I moved to NoHo and then Brooklyn between 2006 and this July before moving back here.

I thought this was extremely entertaining writing, below, but I am running out of time for random JC List browsing and would like to know where this whole RR/Little India/cronyism thing stands now.


-

Quote:

does anyone know if this was voted on? I thought I read it was going to be voted on again on April 11, 2012.

the JS hood still has not gotten any information on it.

who is requesting the expansion?

Hey speaking of Journal Square congratulations it looks like the expansion of Restaurant Row into Little India will pass on April 11th, 2012. Both Healy and Lopez should be proud of passing something that no one in the neighborhood is clear on or wants passed. (except for that guy from $hort Hills who owns properties all over Journal Square including 3 properties on Little India..wink wink , nudge nudge)

Nice he doesn?t have to deal with the congestion, gridlock (most of the weekend) * or lack of parking because of the current ?thriving? state of Little India?s stores and shops. (Nidia that area needs revitalizing? Really?) No truth to the rumor the guy is going to name the restaurant at 827 Newark Avenue? Taj Mahealy is there? Or is it Inidia fine dinning ? (I think I would rather have the campaign contribution than the name...like in 2009)

I know Brenan is not voting because he owns a bar. I still don?t know why Lopez voted/is voting on the Restaurant Row expansion yet she couldn?t vote on the entertainment ordinance because someone in her family owns some type of establishment. Hmmm.

Hey just one more thing?Could someone tell me how that guy from Short Hills could build a 4 story 23 unit apartment house at 300 Magnolia Ave , Journal Square without having ONE parking spot? (yes that tiny little block) Another Healy admini$tration favor? Thank you planning board for this one. You just added possibly 23 cars to an already impossible street parking situation. You are all of bunch of geniuses I will give you that.


* I?ll make a bet with you Healy. A car race on a Saturday around 2:00 pm. You start out near Saint John?s Church on the Blvd. I will start out on Westside and Broadway. We race to each others starting points. The only rule is we have got to use Newark Ave. But since I know the area I will change the rules so you don?t have to deal with maneuvering around the cars waiting for spots in the middle of Newark Ave. (the 5 minute waits) I will let you go down St. Paul?s to Tonnele Ave. bypassing Newark Ave. if you would like.

But good luck with that I was stuck at the light by Saint Ann?s Church in a good 20 minutes of the gridlock on Tonnele because of the cars waiting to make the left onto Newark Ave. along with the cars coming up Broadway that were backed up because of cars waiting to make the right onto Newark Ave. I won't even mention the mess at White Castle. In need of a little attention and needs some revitalization indeed! Can?t wait until booze is added to the formula. Cheers!

Comments on the below piece from the HR link?.


Inclusion in the city?s Restaurant Row zoning law would exempt restaurants like Mithaas, and dozens of additional watering holes at the other end of Newark Avenue, from the 520-foot rule.

WTF ..dozens? There are only 4 or 5 restaurants ?err watering holes and a few already have liquor



With the expansion of Restaurant Row, the city?s hope is to attract more bars and restaurants to the Newark Avenue corridor and to support the bars and restaurants that are already there.

Where are there going to fit? (Aren?t there already dozens of watering holes?) There are about 25 store fronts on the stretch of Newark Ave. Like I keep saying they have been fully leased since the 70?s. (except ONE) I think the city would be doing a disservice to the Indian community of JC who get their groceries and vegetables in the very popular stores along Newark Ave. Is the plan to push them out for more watering holes? Doesn?t make sense. There are oh so many other area?s of JC that would benefit from an expansion of RR..NOW!



?This is an area that is in need of a little attention and needs some revitalization. So, I support this,? said Nidia Lopez, the Ward C City Councilwoman. She represents the Journal Square community that includes the portion of Newark Avenue that would be included in the expanded Restaurant Row.

This chick must be viewing Little India from Florida. Revitalization? It is the most vibrant shopping area in all of JC. It is like Times Square there on weeknights and weekends. Like I keep saying DTJC Restaurant Row was put in to attract newcomers to the new DTJC developments. The neighborhood around Little India doesn?t need help there are no new developments it is surrounded by 2 FAMILY houses and apartment buildings. Again all fully occupied. Not many empty buildable lots in the area.



Here?s the full Hudson Reporter piece?

Revitalizing the other end of Newark Ave.

A planned expansion of the city?s Restaurant Row went down in flames on Wednesday when the City Council failed to approve an ordinance that would have increased the number of businesses on ?the Row.? The city?s original intent was to expand the number of restaurants granted special liquor license and entertainment provisions beyond the downtown corridor where Restaurant Row currently exists. Dozens of current and future restaurants on Newark Avenue between Kennedy Boulevard and the Pulaski Skyway would have been affected, a fact that did not cause controversy last week.

Rather, it was a dispute over one downtown restaurant, the Brightside Tavern at the corner of Bright and Monmouth streets, that doomed the ordinance.

The city will now re-craft the measure in an effort to expand Restaurant Row beyond downtown.

Expanding ?the Row? Currently, Restaurant Row refers to a bar and restaurant-dense area of downtown on Newark Avenue, between Grove Street and Jersey Avenue, and some of the surrounding blocks and streets.

Since last year the city has been expanding Restaurant Row as a way to both encourage more restaurants to come to Jersey City and to help the ones already here compete with hot spots in Hoboken and New York.

Inclusion in the city?s Restaurant Row zoning area exempts establishments like Skinners Loft and LITM from a law that requires businesses with liquor licenses to be at least 520 feet apart. In addition to this exemption, inclusion in Restaurant Row allows businesses to offer live entertainment without requesting a zoning variance from the city.

The ordinance rejected last week was primarily drafted to expand Restaurant Row to the portion of Newark Avenue between Kennedy Boulevard and the Pulaski Skyway, in the Journal Square area, a neighborhood many believe is in need of revitalization. The area, also known as India Square, is home to more than a dozen restaurants, the Canco Lofts condo development, and the Mana Contemporary art space, but still lacks the foot traffic and panache of downtown.

__________

?We?re neighbors. We?ll work it out.? ? Tom Parisi

__________

?Positive? addition, but still concerns

But the proposed ordinance also included the recently opened Brightside Tavern, 141 Bright St., at the corner of Bright and Monmouth Street downtown. Had the ordinance passed, the Brightside, located several blocks from Newark Avenue and the heart of Restaurant Row, would have been granted the rights and exemptions given to other Restaurant Row establishments.

This did not sit well with one resident who spoke out against the ordinance, and the City Council members who voted it down.

?I understand that this expansion [of Restaurant Row] has probably been very positive on certain areas of Newark Avenue,? said Brightside neighbor Idalia Rosa of the ordinance. ?And I understand this allows for increased opportunities for small businesses. Right now, [the Brightside] is a nonconforming space. So the owner has to apply for a variance for anything. This gives neighbors the opportunity to know that there may be some changes and they might affect us. But it doesn?t fit to include this one business in this whole expansion.?

She praised the Brightside Tavern for being a ?positive? addition to the neighborhood since it opened last fall. Still, as a homeowner who lives right next door to the tavern, Rosa said that she was uncomfortable giving Restaurant Row status to the Brightside since she does not know how it may affect her property.

Downtown residents have occasionally expressed concerns about the neighborhood?s burgeoning nightlife that stems from local bars and restaurants in the community. While these businesses have brought vitality to the neighborhood ? a vitality that neighbors appreciate ? they have sometimes also brought new public nuisance problems, including noise, parking shortages, public urination, and petty crime. Some residents fear that as Restaurant Row expands, these problems will increasingly affect their quality of life and property values.

But another Brightside neighbor and homeowner, Alex Forrester, spoke in favor of the ordinance, stating that he ?counted down the days? until the Brightside opened last year. Since the tavern?s debut, Forrester, co-founder of Rising Tide Capital, has become a regular customer. The Jersey City-based Rising Tide Capital helps small local businesses succeed in the community.

?I am very much in favor of this ordinance for all kinds of reasons ? for Jersey City and for all of the areas that this is going to expand to,? said Forrester. ?I know [Brightside owner Tom Parisi] and what he is looking to do. We?re not talking about a nightclub here. We?re talking about a very classy place. I cannot imagine a scenario in which the neighborhood would be disturbed by the kind of entertainment that would be going on at the Brightside Tavern.?

The Brightside has a baby grand piano, but Parisi can?t host live music unless he either gets a variance or gets included as part of Restaurant Row.

Forrester said he believed the success of the tavern would add value to his property.

Council: No spot zoning

Despite Forrester?s comments, the City Council voted down the ordinance by a vote of 0-6-1.

Council President Peter Brennan, a tavern owner himself, abstained from the vote, and Councilmen William Gaughan and David Donnelly were both absent from the meeting for health reasons. The remaining six council members rejected the measure.

?The sentiment is that everybody wants this business to succeed,? said Councilman Steven Fulop, who represents the city?s downtown Ward E. ?If you look at the map, however, it is re-zoning an area for one block and one business. That is a bad practice for the council to change the law for one business, no matter how good the business.?

Although the ordinance would have benefitted many restaurants near Journal Square, there was no way the council could approve that portion of the measure without also rezoning the Monmouth and Bright Street-area that includes the Brightside, since both were included in the ordinance language.

After the vote, an angry Tom Parisi confronted Rosa, arguing that he?ll now have to spend ?thousands? in legal fees each time he wants to get a variance from the city.

?You don?t want me to have [the variance] whatsoever. But the end result is the same,? Parisi said to her. ?What?s the difference if I have it now, or I have it later? The difference is now I have to spend four grand on lawyers to get the variance.?

Later Parisi, who told the Reporter he had expected the ordinance to pass, said, ?There?s no story here. We?re neighbors. We?ll work it out.?

The day after the vote, Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy said the city will re-write and re-introduce the measure.

?The administration will reintroduce at the next City Council meeting a revised ordinance for the expansion of Restaurant Row along Newark Avenue to include Little India,? said Healy said. ?There are several restaurants in that area and our vision for an expanding Restaurant Row focused primarily on this area. It is our hope that the City Council will see the importance of expanding what has been a successful designation to this area of the city.?

The revised ordinance will be limited to Newark Avenue between Kennedy Boulevard and the Pulasky Skyway, and will exclude the Brightside Tavern.


Read more: Hudson Reporter - No Restaurant Row for India Square Council kills expansion due to inclusion of one restaurantLittle India.

I will try and answer my above questions ..just my opinion?

1-Can I open up a restaurant/bar next to The Park Tavern (575 Westside) towards Communipaw? I want it to have liquor and entertainment licenses.

(no I can?t open up a restaurant/bar next to The Park Tavern. Gee it?s not fair the Restaurants in the Restaurant Row can)


2-Can I open up a restaurant/bar next to L.I.T.M (140 Newark Ave)? I want it to have liquor and entertainment licenses.

(yes I can open up a restaurant/bar next to L.I.T.M. thanks to the Restaurant Row ordinance)


3-Can I open up a restaurant/bar next to Rasoi Restaurant(/bar) (810 Newark, Little India)? I want it to have liquor and entertainment licenses.

(well that all depends on who you know?more on this later...interesting word on the street as to who is pushing for it)


4-Can I open up a restaurant/bar next to (Councilman) Brennan's Pub (70 Sterling) I want it to have liquor and entertainment licenses.

(no I can?t open up a restaurant/bar next to Brennan?s Pub. Gee it?s not fair the Restaurants in the Restaurant Row can)


5-WTF does this mean?.with the exception of properties on Lower John F. Kennedy Boulevard where no live entertainment shall be permitted.

(haven?t figured this one out. When I grew up if someone lived in Greenville we would say he lived down the Boulevard, or at the end of the Boulevard. Is this talking about a street or a whole section of the city? How can the city council exclude one section yet let all other parts of the city participate?)



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Ok it looks like Newark Ave. (Little India) is going to be included in the RR expansion.


Jersey City City Council introduces measure to expand Newark Avenue Restaurant Row

Published: Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 6:36 PM
Updated: Wednesday, March 28, 2012, 6:36 PM

By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Restaurants along Newark Avenue between Kennedy Boulevard and the Pulaski Skyway in Jersey City will soon be a part of the Newark Avenue Restaurant Row, thanks to an ordinance given tentative approval by the City Council tonight.

The move is a part of the city?s effort to attract new businesses to the area. Restaurants in a Restaurant Row are exempt from state laws that prohibit establishments with liquor licenses from opening within 520 feet of one another.

Restaurant Row eateries are also able to obtain city entertainment licenses without having to apply for a zoning variance.

The measure passed 6-0-1, with Council President Peter Brennan abstaining and council members Steve Fulop and Michele Massey absent. It requires one more vote before it?s adopted.

The council shot down a similar ordinance at its March 15 meeting because it also included one restaurant on Bright Street. Council members called that ?spot zoning,? and the city revised the ordinance to exclude that restaurant.

JJ piece?.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... y_city_council_intro.html

There will be a short quiz at the end of this post?.before answering read the below information to brush up on Restaurant Row (and it?s expansion), the new entertainment ordinance, and the Jersey city zoning map. (also do some additional research on your own)

****

This is from my above post about the 1999 creation of ?Restaurant Row??

Under current zoning law, establishments with liquor licenses can be no closer than 1,000 feet of each other. In the proposed Restaurant Row, restaurants with liquor licenses can open next to each other. The ordinances also allow transfer of current liquor licenses around the city to sites within the zone.
The row's zoning also eases city parking restrictions. Restaurants of up to 5,000 square feet will not have to provide on-site parking spaces.

****
This is from the WSJ piece about the entertainment ordinance with a map of the original RR row, the 2011 expansion and the Little India expansion.

Artists and others seeking low rent started to move to Jersey City in the 1980s, and the pace increased in the early 1990s. By 2000, Jersey City was joining Hoboken as a place for urbane professionals to settle?though it still had more 99 cents stores than bars and restaurants.

The city established a three-block restaurant row in 1999 near the Grove Street PATH station, and a few eateries followed.

But an old city ordinance restricted the number of eating establishments that could serve alcohol on a block. Restaurant row establishments had to close by 11 p.m. And nightclubs were mostly restricted to commercial areas near highways.

In 2005, the city began allowing restaurants and bars serving food to remain open until 1 a.m. on weekdays and 2 a.m. on weekends. Five restaurants have opened on Newark Avenue since, Ms. Jardiniano said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001 ... 04577225633350947336.html


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This is from the new entertainment ordinance ?

WHEREAS, the Planning Board of Jersey City, at its meeting of January 13, 200 did discuss and
approve a motion recommending that the Municipal Council adopt the amendments contained herein
pertaining to the NC, OIR, CBD, HC , WPD and Historic Districts

Full ordinance..

http://jerseycitynj.gov/uploadedFiles ... ing/Agenda%20Document.pdf


****

(All of the amendments for all of the above type of districts have this line?)


with the exception of properties on Lower John F. Kennedy Boulevard where no live entertainment shall be permitted.

****

This is the Jersey City Zoning Map (2009)

http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/uploa ... /RFP/ZoningMap28Jan09.pdf

****
Questions:


1-Can I open up a restaurant/bar next to The Park Tavern (575 Westside) towards Communipaw? I want it to have liquor and entertainment licenses.

2-Can I open up a restaurant/bar next to L.I.T.M (140 Newark Ave)? I want it to have liquor and entertainment licenses.

3-Can I open up a restaurant/bar next to Rasoi Restaurant(/bar) (810 Newark, Little India)? I want it to have liquor and entertainment licenses.

4-Can I open up a restaurant/bar next to (Councilman) Brennan's Pub (70 Sterling) I want it to have liquor and entertainment licenses.

5-WTF does this mean?.with the exception of properties on Lower John F. Kennedy Boulevard where no live entertainment shall be permitted.


Take a crack at it I will give my answers later on in the day. Oh hey there may be one or two trick question$. Good luck.

Jersey City plans to re-seek Restaurant Row expansion[/b]

Published: Monday, March 19, 2012, 3:00 AM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Jersey City administration officials said they intend to reintroduce plans to expand the Newark Avenue Restaurant Row to encompass Little India, one day after the City Council rejected a similar plan because it feared ?spot zoning? for a single restaurant.

The city?s new plans will exclude that sole restaurant, The Brightside Tavern, from its new proposal. City Council members said Wednesday night they were uncomfortable expanding Restaurant Row, a city effort to attract new bars and restaurants, for just one business.

Mayor Jerramiah Healy said in a statement that the city?s vision is to include the restaurants along Newark Avenue between Kennedy Boulevard and the Pulaski Skyway.

?It is our hope that the City Council will see the importance of expanding what has been a successful designation to this area of the city,? Healy said.

Full JJ piece?

http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index ... y_plans_to_re-seek_r.html

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Buy the JJ?a spicy treat

Quote:

In what specific place are they being FORCED to open?

Quote:

Yes, we are not forcing them to open.

But we do force them to open in some specific place.

And deny them opportunity to open where they want.

So, you can't claim that succeed or fail is completely up to them.

ANY establishment can have live entertainment, as long as it is approved via zoning permit. The Row businesses are exempt from the zoning permit.

As for Little India opening new restaurants, well, that's capitalism. Supply and demand. If there are restaurants opening and staying open, good for them. If there is no demand, then they will close.

The RR plan isn't FORCING new restaurants to open, but ALLOWING them to open. Whether new or existing restaurants succeed or fail is completely up to them.

Quote:

Hi 1stStGuy?.yes I am a little fuzzy on it. (but I just did some ?second hand? research) I know it was put in place to attract NEW restaurants/bars to DTJC. The newcomers(err Yuppies back then) complained about lack of ?life?. It put time restrictions on the businesses but it also made it easier for them to open up next to each other and transfer liquor license?s into the zone. I remember the fights between homeowners and the city. The homeowners worried about the noise and congestion. I don?t know if the ordinance is still in its 1999 form, but here is a JJ piece from the time of its creation.

Also isn?t the new entertainment amendment about that you can have live entertainment ONLY if you are in the Zone (Row)? That is why Tommy Two Scopes aka Brightside was sort of pissed about?

***** ****
It?s the part about new restaurants/bars being able to more or less open up right next to each other that I think would be bad for Little India. I would think it would force out the smaller shops and markets. The restaurants/bars WITH an entertainment license would be far more attractive to developers and landlord$.

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Jersey Journal, The (Jersey City, NJ)

Restaurant Row: Vision on way to being a reality



Jim Kennelly, Journal staff writer
Published: August 30, 1999

Could Downtown Jersey City's urban pioneers finally get the kind of restaurants and boutiques Hoboken takes for granted?

Maybe, if new zoning changes for Newark Avenue and surrounding blocks work the way city planners hope.

Last week, the City Council unanimously introduced ordinances to create a Downtown "Restaurant Row" be ginning on the north side of Christopher Columbus Drive and running primarily along Newark Avenue from Jersey Avenue to Morgan Street.

The area overlaps the historic Downtown Special Improvement District, a collec tion of small, low-end retail stores struggling to attract customers from the booming nearby waterfront to their location north and west of the Grove Street PATH station.

"The challenge was to create a restaurant row without creating a bar row," said Ward E Councilman Mariano Vega Jr., who spearheaded the effort on the part of the city. "We didn't want to create something that hurt quality of life in an attempt to enhance it." The final version was a compromise.

Although they agreed the de pressed Downtown Newark Ave nue strip needed a shot in the arm, nearby homeowners did not want the headaches they associated with party crowd-popular Ho boken - late night revelers mak ing noise, tramping though yards, urinating in public and dumping bottles and trash in their wake.

Neighbors also worried about parking problems that would en sue if Restaurant Row were to eventually attract business on the level of Hoboken's crowded Washington Street strip.
Downtown residents' apprehensions and complaints about Restaurant Row, including an ag gressive letter-writing campaign to newspapers and City Hall, led to the council's tabling of the original ordinances last year.

But Vega continued to meet with residents, eventually hammering out a compromise with them over how late the Restau rant Row restaurants could serve liquor - a key to reducing late-night trouble, residents contended.

In the rest of the city, bars and restaurants may sell liquor until 2 a.m. on weekdays and until 3 a.m. on weekends. However, within Restaurant Row, restau rants will be able to serve liquor until 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturdays.

"It's an excellent compro mise," said Annie Kessler, a neighborhood resident who with her husband Charles led the fight to rein in the row. "We got what we could live with," she said.
The new ordinances also protect two liquor stores, one owned by the family of developer and former Congressman Frank Gua rini, that are within the boundaries of the restaurant row. The or dinances prohibit Restaurant Row restaurants from selling packaged liquor. The modified proposal still contains key elements that city planners believe will attract new restaurants to the area.


Under current zoning law, establishments with liquor licenses can be no closer than 1,000 feet of each other. In the proposed Res taurant Row, restaurants with liquor licenses can open next to each other.
The ordinances also allow transfer of current liquor licenses around the city to sites within the zone.
The row's zoning also eases city parking restrictions. Restaurants of up to 5,000 square feet will not have to provide on-site parking spaces.

However, the city will open a metered lot on Bay Street to help with any new congestion. Vega said he hopes the city can eventu ally build a parking deck on the Bay Street lot.
Privately, some Downtown businesses owners grumble that the limitations on liquor sales doom Restaurant Row before it opens. But Council President Thomas DeGise endorsed Vega's compromise approach.

"This is an attempt to open this industry to us and respect the rights of people who live there, too," DeGise said. "This is a good place to start."

The changes still don't make everyone happy.
One of the most vocal propo nents of more Downtown nightlife, Hard Grove Cafe owner Do menic Santana, says the compro mise Restaurant Row legislation will actually hurt his business.

Santana's restaurant lies just outside the proposed Restaurant Row, so he won't be affected by the shortened liquor sales hours. However, he believes the value of his liquor license will be reduced by an influx of new competitors. The colorful club king says he wants a substantial refund on his original license fee.

"I'm dumbfounded. It's like the city is asking for half my backyard and not paying for it," Santana complained.

Vega counters that the benefits to the entire area are already beginning to be seen.
He said that two new restau rants, one serving Spanish cui sine, the other he described as a "Chinese noodle place," will soon open in the Restaurant Row area as a result of the new zoning.

*** ***

From the JJ? www.nj.com/jjournal


Buy the JJ...it has a nice after taste.

**
Like I always say correct me if I am wrong on something..I am getting old and I forget A LOT! (but I can still beat your newcomer butts! )

Neverleft, are you sure you fully understand what the "Restaurant Row" is all about? From your posts, I'm not entirely sure that you do.

Neverleft, I could not have said it better we need to get rid of this whole silly idea of restaurant row only on Newark Ave. Ocean, MLK, Central, and Westside all need a boost and some attention from the city. Little Indian is one of the best things about JC, dont mess up a good thing. 2013 can not come soon enough.

Right you hit the nail on the head. Why not other parts of the city?

I could see how the original idea was hatched to vitalize all of DTJC. The promise of restaurant row really helped push the idea of a ?new? DT. With all of the new development you could see how they needed to make the area more attractive. (to lure the newcomers in) I mean just look how many people probably settled in DT just because of the Whole Foods/Trader Joe's rumors.

But now that the city is expanding the plan why only to one small already thriving piece of Newark Ave? What about 5 Corners, Westside Ave, Central Ave, Ocean Ave? If I were a restaurant/bar owner in another section of the JC or someone who wanted to open one up I would get my lawyer working on a lawsuit pronto. I am surprised business owners in other parts of the city aren't complaining about the 2011 DTJC expansion of the plan.

I will bet you 20 bucks that if the Little India Newark Ave. plan passes, Tommy Two Scoops will sue the city. ?What about me??

I would still love to know who came up with that Little India plan. Hmmmm..