Let's be honest.a lot of shady things happen in places downtown where the thugs from the ghetto decide to go. In Boca Grande, I was told a story that someone boosted a $20 off the bar that someone left to pay the bartender. Someone put the money on tha bar to pay the bartender in a crowded bar. He was tapped on the shoulder. When he turned his head there was no on there.When he turned back around the money was gone. Crap like that happens in the ghetto.Yuppies think a lot higher than that. If they are going to steal it is going to be for a lot more than a $20.

For those of you who choose to make this a racial beef don't waste your time. There is just as much classless white trash in Jersey city as there are from other races. In whole it is a poor ref;ection of they way people who grew up in Jersey City act.

As a former bartender (and maybe current if I can't find something else soon) I have come to realize that all people have an equal chance of causing problems when they drink too much.

I have had to throw out yuppie, frat boy, dipshits as well as thugged-out wannabe gangstas with fairly equal frequency. I am a little guy and I find that if I speak calmly, firmly, and (on one rare occassion) give a quick shot to just under the sternum they usually comply rather quickly.

And it is always over some dumb shit that could have been avoided.

Slamming someone's head into the bar is a pretty effective way to end a fight before it starts though...I am equally appalled and impressed.

Your a newbie and I <3 you already!! I am glad someone with some sense is here, we lost Jenny a long time ago

Not that I advocate violence in any way... but this is the most ridiculous bunch of whining i have ever heard!!!!!!!! I am actually appalled at some of the racist, pretentious, snobby, douche-baggy things being said here! I am a young white educated professional and I happen to live 2 1/2 blocks from where the attacker lives. What do you propose? That I need to carry my degrees with me everywhere so I can prove to you that I belong in your bar. Do I need to show my stock portfolio to the bouncer before he'll let me in. If its exclusivity that you're looking for, then move to a city where there is no lowlife population... and best of luck to you! Maybe you could try Utah, predominately white, super republican... sounds like a perfect fit! Or maybe invent a time machine so you can go back in time to the 40's and 50's where at least you can sleep well at night knowing that the water fountain you drink from, or the public restroom you used has only been touched by other whites. Oh wait, that won't work, its probably been ruined by some uneducated blue collar white person.

I agree with JCSHEP, having been a bartender in a music venue for years I can honestly say that of all the different types of shows we had, the most fights and random stupidity happened when we had crowds of young uptight money hungry "well educated" "professional" crowds. You know the ones, they look down their noses at everyone, the ex-frat/sorority members that can't let go of those days. The weekend warriors who through the week life an exclusive "I'm so much better than you" life, but on the weekends pound jager bombs until they puke then take a few more. The ones who still think it looks cool to drive drunk. The men who wear $200 cargo pants and $60 white t-shirts, and the women who chase their fortunes.


Whew! that was a good Rant! All kidding aside, I do truly hope that the young lady recovered and is well. I also hope the loony toon that thought the best option was to smash someone's head in got what she deserved. I just didn't expect to hear this kind of closed minded thinking outside of the bible belt. It just breaks my heart a little that in this day and age we haven't seemed to learn that morons exist everywhere regardless of shapes, sizes, ethnicities, socioeconomic status and institutional education level. Its unfair to spread blame on whole classification of people just because of 1 fool.

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haha. I'd lie down in traffic before I moved there. You misunderstood my statement, I want people to realize it's not safe here so they move.

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+1

I was a bouncer in a dance club throughout my undergrad and grad school years. The things people do when they are drunk can be unreal, it?s like they have an alter ego. The girl fights were always pretty nasty to break up. We had our fill of thugs who perpetrated some horrific acts of violence, but we also had seemingly good people go completely bonkers when they got drunk. We had an engineer who had never been in trouble before smash a bottle over a bouncer?s head, another guy bit my manager so bad he needed to go to the hospital, another guy freaked out, pulled a knife and started swiping at people randomly, another guy urinated on a lot of people...I could go on for a while here. After five or six years I thought I would have seen it all but was regularly surprised by the shenanigans.

Whenever i broke up a particular bad fight i would always ask what caused it. Most of the time the answer was something like "he hit on my girl" or "he bumped into me". In the end it just isnt worth the stitches, plastic surgery, jail, etc. Let your ego take the temporary hit and walk away...

JCblowsafatone: I hope you're not hanging out at the same eateries I'm at.... I can't take how good looking and better educated you are. NOT.

MikeyTBC - just move to Montclair - you know you want to.

This type of action will increase my patronage to the Merchant. It's usually looks like a teachers lounge that plays elevator music. Cheers!

Yours Truly,
YorkTavernPatron

if this is the same girl from hoboken, then i played softball against her in 2000.

That's a big woman, not that there's anything wrong with that.

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Not sure but she might have been from Hoboken...
From 10 years ago... (it might well be a different Valeria Foster - but if she was in High School in 2000 then the age is about right)
==================
http://hudsonreporter.com/pages/full_ ... STY+TIDBITS%20&id=2363613

TASTY TIDBITS

Hudson Reporter
by Jim Hague,Jul 07, 2000

Strong representation at Governor's Bowl

The third annual Governor's Bowl, which pits the best New Jersey high school football players against the best from New York...

Congrats to Hoboken's Valeria Foster and Marist's Makeda Gleaton for earning Third Team All-State Softball honors by the Associated Press. Gleaton, the Hudson Reporter Player of the Year, and Foster, who had monstrous numbers for the Red Wings, are both deserving honorees...

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uh oh even worse!

Quote: She was not from the Heights she from the West side... "Valeria Foster, 28, of Boyd Avenue in Jersey City"
View Larger Map

Cops: Woman slams another woman's head into bar at Downtown Jersey City restaurant

By Tom Shortell/The Jersey Journal
April 05, 2010, 12:40PM


A woman was injured last night when a woman she was sitting next to at the Merchant restaurant in Jersey City slammed her head into the bar corner, police said.
A woman at an upscale Jersey City restaurant slammed another woman's head into the eatery's bar last night because the victim was sitting too close for her liking, Jersey City police said.

Officers responding to the Merchant on Grove Street around 9:30 p.m. found the victim, a 22-year-old Jersey City woman, bleeding heavily and semi-conscious, reports said.

The woman was mumbling and incoherent but managed to tell police that woman had slammed her forehead into the corner of the bar counter and to point out her attacker, who was still sitting at the bar, cops said.

Police quote witnesses as saying Valeria Foster, 28, of Boyd Avenue in Jersey City, and the victim were sitting next to each other at the bar when Foster asked the other woman to move away. When the 22-year-old said she wasn't close to her and didn't have to move, an argument started. Eventually, Foster grabbed the victim by her shirt and slammed her head into the wooden bar's corner. Dazed and bleeding, the victim fell to the ground, and Foster sat back down at the counter, they said.

Foster, who is described in the police report at 6 feet tall and 170 pounds, was charged with one count of aggravated assault, police said.

The victim was rushed to Jersey City Medical Center, where she was treated for a non-life threatening cut and possible head and neck injuries, police said.

The manager of the bar told police they could review security footage from that night tomorrow, police said.

No one at the Merchant could comment immediately for this story.

What an animal! She deserves to do some serious time for this. It just amazes their are people out there who conduct themselves like this.

I hope the young woman will be ok. I hope she doesn't have a brain injury. It may not be apparent for a while.

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Clearly a reference to 90's boy band 'N Sync.

"J.C. blows a Fatone," referring to band members JC Chasez and Joey Fatone.


Admittedly, I had to look it up to confirm the details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/'N_Sync

Its Jersey City and unfortunatley one of the finer establishments will have some lowlife thug wonder in even if that person isn't looking for trouble, its the nature of the Bizz and the area.

I agree Bar owners should set the bar high for the type of patrons they allow in, but with the economy being what it is and competition extremley cut throat I doubt they will.

Bottom line keep your eyes open and avoid the lowlifes anytime you walk into a bar here in JC.

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Well, I'd agree, hence why I don't go to Hoboken bars. But you shouldn't have to pick -- sketchball or frat pack, and nothing in between.

for real. plus the big hoboken bars get thier share of thugs and troublemakers. i worked there for a good bit at a couple different places.

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9 times out of ten, I'll take the occasional sketchball over the typical Hoboken bar crowd.

Never seen any fights at The Merchant, but it can happen anywhere. Though, one fat drunk older bearded fella almost was handed a whack in the face the other night, but he eventually moved on to another group to bother. He was trashed. That's the one thing, barkeepers need to remove or stop serving drunk folks. Otherwise, usually a patron is the one who takes the beating.

York Street Tavern may occasionally get a rough crowd ... but I've never seen a rough crowd at the Merchant.

I do wonder why bartenders/proprietors allow sketchy people in what would otherwise be nice bars, and good places for decent people to hang out and have fun.

I can spot a sketchball a mile away, regardless of gender or skin color.

I'll get blasted for this -- but this is an element that you DON'T see in most Hoboken bars. (For the record, I don't hang out in Hoboken bars, for other reasons). Hoboken, like Downtown Jersey City, is generally safe but surrounded by rougher areas (like other parts of JC, Union City, etc). However in Hoboken, the ghetto elements generally do not wander into Hoboken bars ... in Downtown Jersey City, they do. Barrow Street Bar (on occasion) on the weekends is filled with thugs, none of which live in the neighborhood. York Street Tavern - same thing. These are neighborhood bars that should be serving their neighborhood - not gangbanger types from the Heights and B-L. White Star Bar does a great job of serving their neighborhood, and keeping it that way.

This is one reason why I'm NOT against a place like the Beer Garden not letting certain people in, due to a dress code. I paid a lot of money for my education, worked my tail off my entire life, and work too damn hard in my career to be drinking my beer next to a group of guys or girls who dress and speak like they belong in a rap video.

IMO, the dress code at the beer garden maintains a diverse crowd (a very good thing), WITHOUT ghetto attire, and the ghetto way of speaking that typically coincides with such attire.

i was there when it happened & gave the statement to JCPD that got the woman arrested. kinda surprised there was an article about it... the tussle was only a few seconds long and i didn't call the police until the woman started threatening the bartender with "do you want to be on the ground too?" and it was clear the the girl on the ground needed an ambulance. happy easter!!

I'm actually surprised stuff like this doesn't happen more often. People need to realize that it's not safe here.

I'd pay good money to hear the audio and see what actually happened. I have doubts that this "sweet" girl wasn't at least talking a little sh!t.

jcblowsafatone might be the best screen name ever. the merchant gets a sketchy bar crowd once in a while.

I'm sorry to hear this happened to your friend. If you can, you should advise her to urge the DA to prosecute the perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law. A violent person like that should not get away with a wrist slap.

I know the girl who this happened to personally and shes very sweet and not the type to start fights. Maybe she called the girl a bitch. Regardless, she did not deserve to have this happen to her. I used to live in jc and Im happy Im gone now. Obviously , this sort of thing can happen anywhere but too often I've seen scumbags from the heights or whatever bummy part of jc theyre from come downtown and from the second they walk in you can tell theyre looking for a fight. Maybe theyre bitter because theyre surrounded by people who they know are better educated, better looking and I guess just luckier. These people should either work on imrpoving themselves or stay at the shitty bars that cater to them. Why a girl wearing sweat pants and timberlands would even waant to be at a classy bar like "the merchant" is beyond me. She obvously has alot of self hate. Also, where was the bouncer. Every bar should have security. Not just some teeange waiters, cute girl behind the bar, and a tiny bar back. If security had been there, I think they would have been able to defuse the situation before this happened. The merchant is in a nice part of town but its still jersey city and theres still plenty of scumbags.

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

Officers responding to the Merchant on Grove Street around 9:30 p.m. found the victim, a 22-year-old Jersey City woman, bleeding heavily and semi-conscious, reports said.