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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Home away from home
 
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This project is different than the St. Boniface project. Just mentioning that so nobody gets confused.
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Posted on: 2008/8/21 12:44
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Just can't stay away
 
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Work halted at Downtown site
Saturday, August 16, 2008 By MICHAELANGELO CONTE JOURNAL STAFF WRITER A threat of collapse caused by the use of the incorrect construction materials resulted in city officials stopping work at a construction site in Downtown Jersey City yesterday afternoon, officials said. The builder used lightweight "framing studs" rather than "structural steal studs" on the second-floor of the building under construction at the corner of First Street and Jersey Avenue, said Jersey City Construction Official Ray Meyer. As a result, a number of the framing studs buckled under the weight of the construction continuing above them. City officials ordered work stopped, First Street was closed at the location and a police officer was posted at the intersection. By yesterday evening, the building's architect had put together a plan to shore up the second-floor to prevent collapse and the city was to inspect it so the roads could be reopened, Meyer said. Next, the architect will provide a plan to replace the framing studs with structural studs and if approved, the project will be allowed to continue, Meyer said.
Posted on: 2008/8/20 12:35
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Just can't stay away
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What's up with the new building going up on the corner of 1st and Jersey. I went by today, and saw a red stop work order posted on the building.
Posted on: 2008/8/19 20:49
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Not too shy to talk
 
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FYI - this is the architect on the St. Boniface project
Architect-lawyer pleads guilty in connection to dog bribe by The Associated Press Monday August 18, 2008, 3:39 PM A lawyer and architect has admitted lying to the FBI on whether he paid bribes -- at least one in the form of a dog -- to Hudson County officials in exchange for favors. Jose Izquierdo pleaded guilty today to one count of making false statements. The 52-year-old Cliffside Park man faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced Dec. 15. Among other things, he admitted spending about $3,400 to buy a Pomeranian dog and pet supplies for the girlfriend of a member of the Union City zoning board. Federal prosecutors have not named the official. Izquierdo represented agencies of West New York from 2000 to 2006, as well as developers with real estate interests in several Hudson County towns.
Posted on: 2008/8/19 18:12
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Home away from home
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Ianmac, I agree, my preference is for the project to go forward without parking (and the necessary curb cut / driveway). I believe the benefits to the historic district and its streetscape outweigh any incremental increase in parking.
But - instead of belittling those who think otherwise, how about making a constructive arguement that might win them over to your (and my) position? Quote:
Posted on: 2008/8/7 15:51
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Home away from home
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Some people think that "preservation" means the preservation of their parking spot by constructing a hideously ugly parking garage.
Posted on: 2008/8/6 15:50
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Home away from home
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Seriously or a joke? Because that is pretty much a prime example of external preservation!
Posted on: 2008/8/6 15:41
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St Boniface Developer to Meet with Harsimus Cove Assn.
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Not too shy to talk
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We're holding a special meeting on August 20th to meet a second time with the developer of St. Boniface, for those that missed our regular meeting in July.
The meeting will be held at 7:30pm in the Community Room of the Villa Borinquen (2nd and Grove/Manilla). The developer goes before the Zoning Bd. of Appeals in September, so this is an excellent opportunity to ask questions and voice your concerns. I will also try to get a planner from the City to attend to explain the zoning. Eric Fleming Harsimus Cove Association www.harsimuscove.org
Posted on: 2008/7/22 18:23
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Home away from home
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Funny,
I've never thought that turning a church into apartments qualifies as PRESERVATION in ANY sense of the word!
Posted on: 2008/7/20 16:43
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Newbie
 
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Excellent post. These three steps alone would lead to a vast quality of life improvement in Jersey City, not to mention creating a more aesthetically pleasing environment.
Posted on: 2008/7/19 19:13
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Home away from home
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Please, Shop Rite and Pathmark are a hike but not that difficult unless you're perhaps 85. Even in Manhattan or Hoboken, it can be a hike to the supermarket. Just get a cart or use a taxi to bring stuff back home.
Posted on: 2008/7/19 3:35
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Quite a regular
 
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A 95 for HP? You've got to be kidding me. A 6-7 block walk to the PATH and ShopRite gets a 95? Ice cream melts before you can get it home.
I put my address into the walkscore.com and it seems a reason it got such a high mark is because it thinks the Albert's around the corner is a grocery store-- yeah, I guess, if I wanted to live off a diet of canned pasta and soda pop. When I think grocery store, I think of a place I can get fresh veggies and fruits, not something that rivals a 7-11. Listen, I hate cars as much as you do, but the fact of the matter is that something has to be done to help people get that half mile to and from the supermarket, or people are going to continue keeping cars in this city. People are defending their precious parking spaces because they know with the state of public transport in downtown JC it's extremely difficult to get certain things (grocery, post office, trips beyond downtown) done.
Posted on: 2008/7/18 23:57
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Home away from home
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And one more thing. Check out Walk Score, a website that rates neighborhoods on "walkability."
Van Vorst Park scores 95 Harsimus Cove scores 92 Hamilton Park scores 95 236 1st Street, aka Saint Boniface, scores 97, the equivalent of Upper East Side nabe Carnegie Hill, the Lower East Side and many Brooklyn neighborhoods.
Posted on: 2008/7/18 23:09
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Not too shy to talk
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Friends and Neighbors,
Tonight the developer of St. Boniface went before the Zoning Bd of Appeals. Due to the number of people speaking in opposition to the project's lack of parking, walls that obstruct light of neighbors yards, and other concerns, the ZBA carried the proposal until its September meeting. I volunteered to host another meeting for those neighbors to meet with the developer who didn't make it Wednesday's meeting. The idea is to hold a meeting in August, before the ZBA's September meeting, to work out the concerns of our neighbors most affected by the project. So, per our bylaws, Article 5, Section 3, I am calling a Special Meeting, tentatively scheduled for the third Wednesday of August. Thanks. Eric Fleming president, HCA www.harsimuscove.org
Posted on: 2008/7/18 20:40
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Not too shy to talk
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See the St. Boniface thread for details
And I have the plans for the project as well, if neighbors would like to see them who can't make the August meeting with the developer of the St. Boniface site.
Posted on: 2008/7/18 20:24
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Home away from home
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Who said anything about a tower? The new building is 4 units. Most of the brownstones on that lot probably have 4 units. Quote:
Small scale construction shouldn't have mandatory parking requirements, and by all accounts, this is a small scale project. Small projects with parking end up looking like 369 Fifth Street or 321 First Street. On the First street project, there are so many garage doors, the development has in effect eliminated 60 feet of street parking, basically reducing the total number of public parking spaces to create fewer private parking spaces. This is not only counter intuitive if you want to create more parking, but also doesn't improve the street. Instead of having a living street with windows, there are now large garage doors along the sidewalk. Quote:
You are trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist. Any resident can pay a monthly rate for a reserved spot at Grove Pointe. There are even parking spots on city streets that the city rents for monthly fees. Contrary to the very popularly held belief, residents who have lived in Jersey City do not earn entitlements the longer you have lived here. The city doesn't give out gold watches to people who have lived here for 20 years. Quote:
So what? Instead of designing cities around an unhealthy, unsustainable, dirty and expensive mode of transportation, maybe we should focus on building a city where cars are unnecessary. * Improve sidewalks and crosswalks * Give people, not cars, preference when designing buildings and streets * Improve public transportation Ultimately, parking in downtown Jersey City is very easy. In fact, its probably too easy. There is no incentive for people who don't actually need a car but keep it around for the sake of vanity to give it up. Its easier for many people to drive out to the mall than to patronize local shops, which deprives our business districts of a healthy revenue stream-- and results in vacant store fronts. If however, parking is in short supply, then many people will give up there cars. Others will pay to house their car in a garage or pay for a reserved parking spot. These are positive changes for the community, not negative ones.
Posted on: 2008/7/18 15:36
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Home away from home
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Quote:
a) Again: if I had a choice, I would rather that the condo not have any new parking. (I also would strongly prefer that the developer not put a new tower behind the church.) But I think a lot of time Jersey City folks assume an all or nothing position: either I get my way and kill the bad parking (or bad building, or whatever), or I wash my hands. If the planning board ends up say the condo project should go ahead and can and should have parking: OK, in that situation, what do you do to minimize the damage done? Even if, say, a parking lot or garage is going to be kind of ugly, how do you limit it to being sort of ugly rather than exceptionally ugly? b) Another possible compromise solution: arrange for Grove Pointe, the Newport Mall, or some other place with a lot of parking to make parking spaces available to St. Boniface residents for, say, $200 per month. Then require any St. Boniface resident who owns a car to rent a space and park the car in that rented, off-street space (or some other off-street space). Aggressively ticket any St. Boniface residents who use ordinary on-street spaces for more than a few minutes. Given that most of the people who park on First Street are police officers who shouldn't really be parking there, anyway, maybe the officers could compensate for their illegal parking by spending a few minutes each day ticketing illegally parked St. Boniface residents. c) Downtown parking situation: One thing to keep in mind is that people have totally destroyed existing off-start parking in downtown Jersey City for decades. I think it's pretty clear if you look carefully at our "backyards" that our "backyards" were originally part of a system of alleys. Horses, apparently, could get into the alleys by going through carriage houses at the ends of the blocks. (Or maybe there weren't any buildings at the alley entrances.) These days, you see 1-story or sometimes 2-story carriage houses (or maybe early garages?) at the entrances to the alleys. So, people have eliminated off-street parking (especially, horse parking) by converting the carriage houses into homes, and they've eliminated a lot more potential off-street parking by turning the alleys into backyards. If the alleys were still alleys, people would have choice of using their backyards as backyards or as off-street parking. But I think you could argue that people making efforts to putting in reasonably attractive parking downtown are just compensating for all of the decades of urban decay and depopulation, when the city ignored the need to protect the existing parking infrastructure.
Posted on: 2008/7/18 14:53
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Home away from home
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Posted on: 2008/7/18 14:04
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Quite a regular
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Well, even if it's legal to sell to non-drivers only, I don't think the developer would willingly do so. I'm sure they'll sell to whoever comes along first with the money.
That section of Newark Ave with the three nail salons and empty buildings looks like crap anyway, let's just cram a garage in there. 
Posted on: 2008/7/17 21:14
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Home away from home
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The south side of the stretch of First between Jersey and Erie doesn't look very historic now, and I doubt it looked historic when the neighborhood got registered. Anyhow, I don't really want a garage, either, but, if I had to choose between St. Boniface sitting vacant for 20 years and a carefully designed garage, I'd take the garage. Do you know if there's any practical, legal way for a developer like that to just sell to non-drivers? Would it be legal, say, to sell units only to people who've had their licenses revoked? Or maybe the developer could focus on marketing to affluent people who happen to be visually impaired?
Posted on: 2008/7/17 20:14
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Home away from home
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if you are actually looking for parking, try craigslist...people rent out their spots. I know several people who have gotten spaces that way.Quote:
Posted on: 2008/7/17 18:25
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Quite a regular
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Hey, I'm more than willing to pay for parking, but that's kind of hard to do if there isn't a place to buy it from!
Posted on: 2008/7/17 17:23
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Home away from home
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Or people could realize they live in a city where parking is at a premium. Some people "need" a car, which is fine, as long as they are willing to pay, either in money, or in aggravation and time.
If parking is too much of a hassle for you, I hear suburban Franklin, New Jersey is a lovely place to live.
Posted on: 2008/7/17 17:18
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Just can't stay away
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I agree. As easy as it may be to get around/to work from downtown, it's no easy task gowing grocery shopping etc without your own wheels.
Posted on: 2008/7/17 17:16
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Quite a regular
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Quote:
I feel like your guess is correct-- The cars I see parked on the streets of my neighborhood when I get home around 7 PM night are still there when I leave for work around 9 AM. I know a bunch of my neighbors take the PATH into Newark or the city and just use their cars to haul groceries and for weekend trips.
Posted on: 2008/7/17 17:13
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Quite a regular
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It's, what, 21 new residences? I don't see why that calls for a "giant parking garage." Since there is already parking lot in the rear of the church, why not turn that into a pay lot from which the residences of St. Boniface could rent spots? It keeps some of the new residents' cars off the streets, nothing changes in terms of how the neighborhood looks already, and the property owners still get some cash out of that lot.
Posted on: 2008/7/17 17:07
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Home away from home
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Yes, nothing says historic brownstone neighborhood like a giant parking garage.
Posted on: 2008/7/17 16:35
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Downtown: St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church (262 First Street)
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Home away from home
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Zone board topic: St. Boniface plan
Thursday, July 17, 2008 Plans to turn one of Jersey City's St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church into a condominium complex will be the main topic at tonight's 6 p.m.meeting of the Zoning Board of Adjustment at 30 Montgomery St. Last week, the city's Historic Preservation Commission gave Stryker Investments approval to create 21 condo units. According to Hugh Sweeny, a former commissioner, a number of residents plan to attend tonight's meeting to protest the fact that the plans don't call for new parking. JOURNAL STAFF
Posted on: 2008/7/17 15:29
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Home away from home
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I don't have a car and I wish there were fewer cars downtown. But, if people really think that the St. Boniface development has to have some parking, here's a possible solution: The city and Bank of America have parking lots right across the street from St. Boniface. If people really want more parking in that area, I think the solution would be to make the property owners work together and build a parking garage on one of the existing parking lots, and maybe to hold down the total number of cars by requiring that a specified number of St. Boniface residents share a number of Zip cars. (Zip car is a car-sharing company.) Also: I think another solution might be to work with the state to create special car registration rules for congested urban areas. Simply forbid residents of some congested areas from registering a car unless they have an on-street parking permit from the city or can show that they've arranged for a space in a nearby parking lot or garage. Finally: one reason people who move to a place like St. Boniface might want cars, or fight over Zip cars, is that they want to do things like going antiquing in upstate New York or camping in western New Jersey, and it's really hard to figure out how to get out there without a car. I guess there are some bus tours, but they seem to be aimed at 80-year-olds who want to play the slots in Atlantic City, not 30-year-olds who want to swim in a lake. Maybe one way the city could cut down on private car ownership downtown would be to subsidize the creation of a "Fun Bus" service. A Fun Bus van could make a bunch of trips to and from the big regional malls on weekends. A big bus could take people out to a campground, Jersey Shore town or other tourist-y place on Friday evening and Saturday morning, then bring people back on Sunday evening.
Posted on: 2008/7/17 15:24
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Re: Development on 1st & 2nd St.
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Quite a regular
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Where are all these awesome mass transit options of which you speak? I'm simply not in good enough health to lug shopping bags the 7 blocks back from the supermarket/mall/home depot, especially in the middle of the summer. I've been unable to find any buses (I live in Hamilton Park) that can drop me off closer, and taxi service is unpredictable. I'm sure there are a lot of people who keep their cars for the same reason. I'd LOVE to ditch the car and the insurance payments that come with it if I could find another means of getting around to do my errands.
Posted on: 2008/7/17 14:47
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