Some years ago a group of citizens did push for more clear and appropriate rules around Historic Preservation. They cited to a host of other jurisdictions and materials for reference. One neighbor, a construction engineer in NYC had conducted a great deal of research identifying an appropriate color chart. This neighobr found reliable authority describing how colors were originally selected based upon the color of the brick. During that time Dan insisted he could identify the original color of your home and insisted you should only paint your home that color he suggested.

Also proposed were rules that provided if your house did not have a historic/original element you should not be required to replace that element with an original. However, if your house had an original element you should be required to MAINTAIN/ PRESERVE that element when renovating. This same group suggested tax credits be given to home owners who CHOSE to replace missing historic elements with the historic element, to encourage historic restoration. These are the rules followed by the vast majority of historic preservation districts. Keep in mind the purpose of historic preservation is to PRESERVE what's in existence, NOT replace what's not.

Also as a gay guy I could say that Dan can sometimes be arbitrary when enforcing the rules.

More importantly if citizens are concerned about this issue, the should gather at their respective neighborhood associations and present this issue in a professional and civil manner.

Big developers get away with a whole host of "deviations" from the rules and they get tax abatements to boot.

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First of all, HamiltonParker - congratulations on the strides you and your family have made. I'm sure your home is a lovely and special place, and in the years to come all of this will (hopefully!) be fodder for funny stories to regale your friends with over cocktails and cookouts!

I work in historic preservation in NYC, and met Dan Wrieden when he worked for the NYC Landmarks Commission. He is smart, committed, and passionate. From my experience dealing with the NYC Landmarks Commission, the problem lies with Jersey City and not Dan.

Here in NYC, you can quickly access the Landmarks Commission's rules and regulations on line - not so in JC. A lengthy search turned up a link to the Jersey City, NJ Code of Ordinances: http://library.municode.com/HTML/1609 ... _AII.html#C345_AII_s345-9 which offers no practical guidance for homeowners; in particular there are NO criteria spelled out for replacng deteriorated building components, such as windows, or where alternate materials are allowed. As Preservation Officer, Dan enforces the law, he does not make it. It would be up to US as citizens to push for clear rules and requirements.

To XERXES - take your meds, and try to learn how government works, city Commissions and ordinances are established, and start pushing more more accountability at the mayoral, council, and commission level! THAT is how we are going to make the government more responsive to us, not criticizing hard working professionals like Dan Wrieden.

P.S. - for anyone tempted to criticize Dan or anyone else because they are gay - as a gay man I have had enough of the gay baiting/bashing etc. Get over it, and learn some respect.

What are these "Marvin Windows?" (Anything like Marvin Gardens?)

Who gives this Imperial overlord the right to determine what you must do to your home? Can he assign penalties like liens against the house? Can you be thrown in jail for buying HomeDepot windows?

Is he an elected official or was he appointed? For life, like the Pope and the Supremes?

Does he own stock in the MARVIN COMPANY?

What are the boundaries of this Hysterical/Historical District?

Does your house get a gold star to paste next to the door for compliance?

Seriously, how does this silliness work?

Now that we\'ve received our permanent Certificate of Occupancy, it\'s time to bring this thread back to life....

I work in the apparel industry where most of my guy-friends are gay and everyone in the business is hopelessly neurotic. I\'ve gotten a lot of mileage out of a well developed sense of humor and am able to play nicely with all of the other *crazies* in the sandbox. Having said that, I thought that Dan Wriedan would be easy enough to deal with: my husband and I bought a brownstone in the downtown section because we admired the area\'s historic look and we were more than willing to simply do the right thing with regard to restoring the former crack house that would someday be our home.

We closed on the house, removed boards and bars from the windows and applied for our permits. Neighbors came forth to shake our hands, thank us for the buying the dump and warn us about Dan Wriedan, aka Crazy Pants.

No, make that CRAZY PANTS.

I was woefully unprepared for this guy and found myself thinking that something went terribly wrong in his early childhood development. Terribly wrong.

What should have been a straightforward enough process, partnering with the city on preserving our home and buttressing property values for the neighborhood, took twists and turns through the hallways of this man\'s mental illness over the course of a solid year.

Upon our first meeting he said to me \"were you and your husband thinking of staying on in the house or were you planning to quickly fix and flip this property?\" I recall thinking that if this were a job interview, rather than a property discussion, the question would be illegal.

I should mention that a brownstone in our row, just 3 doors from my own, was purchased at the same time and we were gut/rehabbing in tandem. Neighbor guy and I became fast friends. However, I am the *sucker* who spent top $ on the Marvin windows, while neighbor-rehabber quietly replaced every single window with off-the-shelf aluminum cheapos. I also fell for the *historic color palette* choices, while neighbor-rehabber chose whateverwasonsalethatday at Lowe\'s.

During the project, I\'d often find myself joking with the neighbors that if Dan were to be found dead on the ground from a bullet wound and the police were to ask the next of kin, \"Do you know of any enemies that he might have had?\"....they\'d be left with NO idea of where to start the homicide investigation.

I wish him no harm but do hope that he gets the help he so desperately needs.

If mortgage rates stay where they are today or fall a bit more, I'm putting my place on the market. I've decided I just can't win with the Historic Preservation Gestapo in this town (and yes, he still requires Marvin windows - they cost me $1,500 apiece). Life is too short to fight these stupid fights. I've already started looking around, and one of the first questions I ask a realtor: "This place isn't in a zoned historic district, is it?" I get some strange looks. This isn't the only reason behind my desire to move, but it's easily in the Top 5. I'm even (gasp!) considering Hoboken, but only if I absolutely can't find anything I like in JC. Has anyone had any experience or heard what it's like with the Historic Preservation board there?

Man, are you a one note Charlie or what!

Who wants fireworks? The thread's hysterical. You of all people should enjoy the stroll down memory lane.

Check out our registration dates, Brew- I beat you by a day. Strange coincidence, don't you think? :)

Do you remember why it happened like that?

Good times, good times.



GWB

Cmon, W, if you want some fireworks don't dig up a dead and buried thread. Why not start a thread about why your soon to be unemployed namesake is the greatest president ever. There'll be some insults and namecalling, I guarantee it!

It's a little quiet on JCList this week, so I went looking for what was and is a legendary thread, one of those that really made this messageboard.

For the relatively new, way back you used to be able to post anonymously. Was this positive & helpful, promoting worthwhile discourse & vigorous conversation? Hardly.

Was it entertaining & hilarious, providing an outlet for angry, angry people to vent their spleen without fear, and simultaniously forcing those observing to spam "refresh" every 5 minutes to see what the next load of totally awesome bile would hit the thread? Oh hell yeah.

Homophobia, accusations of homophobia, outing of the prescriptions taken by various individuals to combat this or that mental deficiency... this thread had all that and more.

If you read closely enough, you'll even find violations of Godwin's Law. Seriously. Over the historic district.

And of course, lots of sock puppetry.

I haven't heard much about historic district totalitarianism over the last few years- Did people just get used to it? Does Dan still hold the power?

Are Marvin Windows still the only special windows allowed in the Historic District?

EDIT: Ohhh, I just read one of the posts where someone mentiones Uncle Joes. That actually hurt my heart.

GWB

some complications? i've been driven over the coals for thousands on a single family home. there has to be some reasonable limit to what you can be expected to spend. maybe based on income? when you are led to believe all things have been agreed too and you get sandbagged in the hpc meeting that feels like a personal attack.

6 months ago when we did a renovation, my contractor didn't file one of the right forms. Dan Wrieden called us on the phone, asked some questions, and pushed thought the paperwork. He was very considerate to my neighbor and I, and the work started on schedule.

If you buy in a historic district, you have to assume there will be some strings attached when you do renovations. Sorry if I don't have empathy for some of the complaints in this thread.

BTW, when personal attacks are made, it weakens your argument.

values in downtown largely reflect what happens in new york city. values in nyc have quadrupled over that last decade. that has more to do with what's happened here than anything else.

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Which explains why the historic brownstones have tripled or quadrupuled in value over the past decade.

If the Secretary of Interior standards didn't apply to brownstones, then there would be no historic districts in downtown.

Joshua Parkhurst
President
Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy

I don't buy into the whole historic preservation argument when when it comes to the historic brownstones. Homeowners of wood frame row homes is a completely different story. Crazy Dan's rules suck period. Being forced to live with a sloping unsafe edfice is outrageous! So, unless you can shell out the big bucks to have it fixed, we are talking at least 100K for structural safety, you run the risk of danger and you are stuck with property that will not "resell" unless it is at a huge discount.

Dan must go!

i used to be a onetime defender of dan"offtherecord"w but that is officially over. he has really gotten out of control lately. he's now trying to extend the commission's purview well beyond its mandate.

i'm going to speak to the politicos and whomever else i need to in order to have him removed. if it requires a lawsuit don't be surprised when you hear about it in the jc reporter - i know he won't be as he lurks on this site.

he's turning into a mini robert moses and has been given way to much power (at least vis-a-vis small homeowners).

he IS effectively "the commission." i've never seen them vote for something he didn't sanction or vice versa. this abuse needs to end. those who've sat through the meetings in jan and feb u know what i mean.

goodbye to his long lunches back on wayne street almost everyday - when he is "off the record" checking building sites. and goodbye to this little b**ch telling people that earn their own money how to spend it.

please...give him a napkin already, he's got something on his chin.

Dear, Dan

We hope some more Jersey City historic applications will actually get processed before the end of 2006!

Please accept this authentic, victorian, solid mahogany butt plug with our compliments.

Luv,

The Marvin Window Company

I precisely got your point. You are pointing to Lloyd Goldman's bullying tactics as a model by which you can try to get your way.

As was pointed out before. You got your CNE in two of the three instances in which you were "aggrieved." You were properly denied a CNE in the other instance.

I would say have fun wasting your money in federal court. But as a taxpayer, I would incur some expense while the city defended a frivolous lawsuit.

you must have missed the point..... my references to gloman was to make aware to all that as individuals we have recourse in court..... against the city as well as individuals..... its my belief that many have been agrived by the commission and the historic officer.... to that end i pointed out the current court action, as it is available to us as individuals or even as a group...... i would hope individuals as well as groups would stand up for their rights............ warren curtin

The lawsuit in question is the one brought by Lloyd Goldman, who is doing everything he can to tear down 111 First Street and nullify the Powerhouse Arts District.

It is indeed enlightening that Mr. Curtin cites this man with approval. Thank you for showing where you are coming from.

The ordinance is fine. What can be improved is additional staffing and a more efficient permit process.

Joshua Parkhurst
President
Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy

Now just over a year with this thread expressing so many individual experiences with the Historic Ordinance, changes have been proposed by the Hamilton Park Neighborhood Association. The Van Vorst Park Association President Bill Donohue, Harsimus Cove President Valerio Luccio and Paulus Hook President Gerry Bakarty or Association turned them down, and represented that this is the communities position. The current ordinance is fine was their position in a meeting with Councilman Folup. With all that has been cited on this thread, I question that. It is extremely important that community members make their positions clear to the community as they carry such weight with Councilman Folup. It is also important to let Councilman Folup know your position and share some of your experiences in the application of the current ordinance. Councilman Fulops e-mail address is fulops@jcnj.org The changes that are being proposed I am to e-mail to anyone interested. My e-mail address is wacurtin@aol.com.. In addition Hamilton Park Association has this topic on its agenda for their January 4th meeting and I would encourage anyone interested to attend it is an open meeting. The meeting will be held at the Cordora School that is located on Eire Street between 9th and Pavonia . There is also a law suite pending against the city and individuals of the city government in regard to property rights, its worth reviewing the site is http://newgoldequitiesjerseycity.net. As I feel that the application of the ordinance has infringed on individuals rights.

This thread is hilarious. Very witty title!

I wouldn't want to suppose anyone?s sexuality - but the condescending treatment that I get by Dan is very similar to Carlson!

Lets start the New Year with a new set of historic guidelines and someone competent to implement them.

Mayor Healy, you are doing your taxpayers a great disservice by not heading the public opinion. Enough of this aesthetic Nazi, already!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Does Dan own property in JC under his own name?

Find out at http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/WebTaxInquiry/AccountSearch.aspx

The street address can be entered to look up the owner - individuals, corporation or partnership.

This is one of the funniest threads I ever read.....I feel sorry for this Dan person. Im sure his ears are BURNING.
Is he really as bad as y'all claim?

The mayor is a homeowner in the Heights, he knows what it is like to fix an old house.

Can you be a little more specific about what took place? Was this something you had tried to deal with during the prior administration?

Has anyone begun to see the historic department lighten up a bit with their excessive rules and regulations within the historic areas under the new Mayors careful eye? After speaking to the Mayors Action Committee, it is apparent that the Mayor understands and is concerned about the issues we have faced in the past regarding harassment and discrimation from the historic division.
I have seen the Mayors office respond quickly and act on issues I have complained about regarding the unresposiveness and inconsiderate behavior of those who have caused historic homeowners problems in the past.
I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Thanks to the new Mayor and his staff.

Last night was a great meeting at the Atrium for the HPNA. Steve wasnt there, and he was missed. I heard that someone from historic will be at the next meeting, if its Dan, we expect a FULL HOUSE..I put my request in for a front row seat so I can watch him sweat as the homeowners of this community continue to take back this community from the privilaged.

See you at the next meeting. Show your support by joining the association and attending the meetings. It goes along way and helps all of our causes. Keep checking this site for updated information regarding the next meetings agenda.

Thanks....

Well Well Well.....So have the members of The Hamilton Park Homeowners Association finally come to theor senses????

Good ole boy Steve Gucciard has been releived, removed, or can I simply say YOUR FIRED from the Chair of this this newly revamped wonderful association. Needless to say our rage has just begun, we need to duplicate our efforts and have him and his co conspirators removed from the Historic Preseveration positions they currently hold in Jersey City.
Steve and company can still cause us harm, and we need to show up at the next meeting to display that we have had enough and aint gonna take it anymore.

As I have been echoing throughout this entire thread, we need back control of our city and all things important to us.We pay the taxes, we call the shots. They work for us.

I wish the newly elected members of the Association luck with their endevors and I am willing to assist anywhere anytime you need to help better the community.

ps.....bye Steve, and dont forget to take Joann with you....We dont like her either. To bad we cant fire her asl well. whatever comes around goes around....................

hahaha hehehe hehehe hahaha hehahehaheha hohoho

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I can personally attest to the fact that Warren is an upstanding citizen. As I mentioned in another post, he was our previous landlard [at that Varick street property mentioned in that article] who eventually became our real estate agent when we purchased our first home.

I'm glad to see that he is getting somewhere with his petition. Oh, and is that jclist that they alluded to at the end of the article? Hmmmm...

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Is a good article. Curtin's a real life machine isn't he?

Article from The Jersey City Reporter

When preservation becomes aggravation

Hamilton Park homeowners seek to reform historic guidelines

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?ne ... =461&dept_id=523586&rfi=6