I think the site is for sale.

It is really too bad what happened to the people who were pushed out of 111 First St. That building should definitely still be there!

Having said that, I'd like to know what is so horrible about getting discounts at this particular place next to BJ's. They want to help people buy space in a nice building with awesome hotel-like amenities which also wants to accomodate artists? WOW.. sounds GREAT... sign me up!!

I can't believe how spoiled some people are... there are way too many complainers on this board!!! Either you're an artist and your complaining about a possible opportunity that you're afraid to try and reach for, OR you're a hater because you aren't creative or imaginative enough to qualify for it.

Boo hoo!

Very appropriate:

What you get in totally FREE ENTERPRISE is THE GODFATHER, survival of the ruthless!

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It's called the free enterprise system.....it's the American way. "After all we're not Communists" (Quote from The Godfather movie)

Not for nothing, that job was never approved by the planning board yet,nor do they have a building permit.So why the ground breaking by Healy and company.

If you google the owner Mike Pazden you will find that he was convicted of a crime years ago that forbid him from being a developer (its in the court documents).
Were the Healy People just in a hurry to have a photo-op.......

i agree that noone should be pushed out... but unfortunately that is the way it is. i remember going to college and visiting a friend in Williamsburg when it was not so friendly place to visit. Now i can't even afford to live there. it's unfortunate, yes.

Not to dismiss anyone else's jobs, I am plainly responding to the fact that the WALDO district was made as an art district. Hence the reason that all these "artist lofts" are being put there, so that they are allowed to remain in that area. Draws people to them.

Yes i rent... but i don't plan to my whole life. I agree. I don't want to leave this area and would love to be able to afford living here, but in reality, i will have to find a tiny place in a not so safe area where i am not really wanted in. I won't be able to create my art in my small condo which will then stop me from making art. Renting allows me to live where i do currently, and allows me to make small art in my larger than if i owned condo.

So as someone who is stuck in the middle, between retardly wealthy and poor, I get to suffer too. And as to referring to other professions... why would i take my college education and work retail or work in business? I am not saying that i deserve more than anyone else, and if you read it that way, you read wrong. I am merely responding to "Why should so-called `artists' get subsizied or set-aside housing? If you choose to go into a profession that keeps you impoverished, well, that's yer fault. Christ, anyone can claim to be an artist these days. Just look at most of today's art - IT SUCKS!"

I have the same rights as the people in those houses on Montgomery. And yes, I do work for a living and make art.

crist! Sometimes even home OWNERS get pushed out when property taxes go out of control!

stagnant, just curious - what do you think happens / happened in jc, hoboken, union city, etc. when developers realized they could redo the existing sh*thole tenements and buildings and turn them into condos and sell to nyc business people? did the existing residents a) get great discounts on a 2 BR loft with stunning views of the city, or b) get left in the cold after their existing houses were mysteriously burned down? why should this situation be any different? is it because they are "artists" and do the public some good?

if a person can't afford where they're living, then they need to find a new place they can afford. isn't that the whole point of owning vs. renting.. when you own you have the right to stay where you are, regardless of the economic conditions around you (like rents going up). if you choose to rent for the rest of your life (by you choosing a profession that won't allow you to save enough to purchase in this market), then you should suffer the same consequences as anyone else who is in your shoes and is of a different profession.

Well considering that area was originally proclaimed to be an artist area, and tearing down of 111 First Street.... a lot of artists, like myself have been displaced. The thing that kills me is WHAT artist is able to live in these "luxury artist lofts"..... the answer is none. They use the word artist to draw people to the area cause that word makes yuppies think new, hip, interesting....

As for saying screw the artists... well now that just shows how uneducated you may be. If there was no such thing as artists, you would have nothing to look at, no music to listen to and nowhere to live, except a thatched hut. But that is right, good thing we look past us "stupid artists" cause we choose this as a profession. Look, I didn't want to be a cookie cutter person. I think there are enough of those out there.... I wanted to do something that i love to do... not something that would impress people such as yourself. And don't worry. We can't live there. We are the people that make bad areas of a city cool and then get pushed out- look at SOHO for an example. So don't worry, you don't have to look at us. Just sit in your white walled apartment and don't look at anything. Cause us artists are pointless.

The term "rent seeking" is a nearly perfect description of what the artists have accomplished.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking

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+1


i never bothered to read through the entire lengthy powehouse thread, but i was always under the impression that this was the turn of events that led to this

- artists live in area near bj's / shop rite
- area becomes much more valuable once new buildings pop up nearby (office buildings/ trump, etc)
- developers want to build new condos in area but local artists are firmly opposed since that's their home
- as part of compromise, artists get subsidies to live in these lavish new condos /buildings

im obviously oversimplifying but is that not the gist of it? and if it is, then why do artists get subsidies to stick around while people elsewhere are forced to move it? seems to me like they should knock down the projects on montgomery and then give subsidies to the residents so they can move into the beacon

New bid to demolish building despite the city's opposition

Friday, August 15, 2008
By LYSA CHEN
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Morgan Building in Downtown Jersey City - whose owner says is in imminent danger of collapse - is staying up a little longer, at least for now.

Since the city has rejected a request by Bob Lehrer, the primary owner of the building, for immediate demolition of the century-old warehouse, Lehrer says he's applying for a demolition permit from the Jersey City Planning Board.

Lehrer, who wants to develop the property - bordered by Warren, Washington, Morgan and Bay streets - into two condominium towers, says the century-old building's entire front wall has shifted as much as 7 inches.

The city, which has its own plans for Lehrer's property, has questioned the severity of damage to the building. The 350 Morgan St. property is the location city planners aim to relocate transformers that power the PATH train system, currently on the nearby Powerhouse property.

It's the first step in the city's plan to turn the Powerhouse into the centerpiece of an emerging arts district.

"We believe there is an imminent danger of collapse, but if the city is not acting on that, we also have the right to apply to the Planning Board for a full permit to demolish the building," said Lehrer's attorney, Joseph Barbiere. "There should be no reason why that application should be denied."

The city's corporation counsel, Bill Matsikoudis, said the city has not decided how to react to the application, but will continue to oppose any attempt to demolish the warehouse, which it wants registered as a historic landmark.

Meanwhile, the city is looking for alternate locations for the Powerhouse transformers, Matsikoudis added. Both sides are due in Jersey City Municipal Court on Sept. 10.

I'm confused as to how the artists are supposed to afford a $600,000 condo bringing in <$65,000 a year per household?

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struggling artist? i have often wanted to strangle an artist, especially when they say "I am an artist", and doubly especially if they are wearing a beret and a smock. and why do artists need a flexible floor and a swimming pool and park the car under the ground? they can't swim or drive and have no money to buy anything in a ground floor store. they don't work or have jobs. they just do their hobby all day and expect people to buy their stupid pictures. sometimes they pay ladies to come over and take all their clothes off and paint their picture. and then they hang it on the wall and look at it and play with themselves. this is not art, this is filthy. why do they not plan to have a mental health clinic on the ground floor? everybody knows that artists are all alcoholics, drug addicts, homosexuals or just lunatics. they cut their own ears off for god's sake! i work hard every day and have 8 jobs just to put cheerios on the table and i have 48.5 children and when they draw a picture at school and bring it home, i don't buy them a flexible floor condo with a swimming pool. i just put it on the refrigerator with a magnet. why does a straggling artist deserve a free condo just to paint dirty pictures all day? there are no artists in the bible, not one, that tells us that god doesn't want us to be artists, he wants us to have real jobs. god said to the hippocrates "i am the lord thy god, i will have no graven images before me, or after me for that matter". think about that before you decide to become an artist.

from ARTIST RESOURCES on padnajc.org

Artist Resources

A certified artist as defined by Jersey City is, a person regularly engaged in the fine arts as a career, not as a hobby. This does not necessarily mean that the individual's art generates his or her main source of income, or even that the creation of art occupies the greatest portion of the artist's day. Rather, the certification refers to individuals who are committed to their art, as demonstrated by a body of work indicating continued development of this work into the foreseeable future. Includes Visual Arts (painters, sculptors, photographer), Film/Video/Performance/Music (choreographers, composers, dancers), and Fiction/Poetry Writers.

So if this describes you and you would like to be considered for one of the available artist units - read on.

Units maybe for rent or for purchase, you must check each building specifications as each have their own requirements. You can specify if you want to be considered in the lotter for a rental or a purchase.

In order to quality for one of the Artist units you must be registered and meet the following qualifications:
? Have not owned property in the last 3 years
? Have an income under $64,960 for 1 - 2 persons household

For each available unit, a lottery is held from all the registered artist applicants. Please note that you must be registered 7 days prior to the lottery.

AND THERE ARE LINKS TO SEE THE FOLLOWING ON THIS PAGE:

Attached is the complete packet of information and applications for 159_Second Street. This is the most comprehensive packet of information that we found. The Artist Application in the packet is the original application from the city and can be used to get certified.

View the Application

Read the article on the Artists Certification Board (ACB)

Some info from http://www.jcedc.org/new/waldofaqnew.html is below.

I see subsidizing those who pursue a particular occupation as perverse and unfair. This is especially true with respect to artists, who generally have more resources than many people with occupations who provide more important services (e.g. cops, convenience store workers, auto parts store workers, etc.).

Here is the description of who can be a "certified artist":

How is ?artist? defined for the purposes of WALDO?
An artist is: a person regularly engaged in the fine arts as a career and not as a hobby, and is so certified by the Planning Board. This does not mean that the art the artist creates generates the artist?s main source of income, nor does it require that the creation of art occupies the greatest portion of an artist?s day. An artist is committed to his or her work, has a body of work that demonstrates the development of that art and intends to pursue that work for the foreseeable future.

Do designers, architects and commercial artists qualify?
Work done on a commercial or work-for-hire basis must show a substantial element of independent esthetic judgment and must be largely self-directed. 

What about dancers, musicians and actors?
Emphasis is on the ?creative? arts as opposed to the ?interpretive? or ?performing? arts. WALDO is for artists that need a particular kind of space to create their art.
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More info on the builder Waldo Jersey City LLc at www.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/034236p.pdf

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Why did you choose "this guy" as a template for your point. I was referring to non-denominational worshipers and cults.

The Powerhouse ripple effect -- Owner of Morgan St. building wants to demolish; Councilman disagrees

Ricardo Kaulessar
Reporter staff writer
08/09/2008


CRACKS IN THE STRUCTURE ? This crack is one of many that property owner Bob Lehrer has seen in his 350 Morgan St. building. Photo provided by Bob Lehrer.

Last week, local property owner Bob Lehrer, the principal owner of the 1905 Butler Brothers warehouse at 350 Morgan St., said he wants to demolish a western part of his building as soon as possible.

Lehrer claims that a section of the building on the corner of Morgan and Warren streets has shifted about 7 inches toward the street.

Lehrer is suing the city because the Planning Board has not acted on his application to let him convert his building into condominiums with a maximum building height of 550 feet, or approximately 55 stories. He filed the application 1.5 years ago.

Lehrer's building is being considered by city government as one of the sites to relocate the electric transformers that power the PATH train system, located above ground on the west side of the old Hudson and Manhattan Powerhouse building. The building, on Washington Blvd. in Downtown Jersey City, would then be a focal point for a new community.

City officials told the Jersey Journal recently that Lehrer has only communicated with the city about his building after he encountered resistance to this plans for development.

City Councilman Steven Fulop, who represents Downtown Jersey City, is also skeptical about Lehrer's alarms.

But Lehrer said he doesn't want his building to collapse and create a danger to himself and others.

"I don't have any authority to close the sidewalk or the street near this part of the building, and if [the city] were smart, they would do something before it's too late," Lehrer said.

Only concerned for the public

Lehrer said a periodic inspection of his building done over a month ago found severe cracks that he had not seen before.

The inspection done by Allied Engineering of Franklin Lakes found the building, to be in "danger of imminent collapse," he said.

He said he sent a letter to Construction Code Official Ray Meyer asking him to come check the building. Lehrer said Meyer then sent him a letter back a week later asking for an engineering report, and saying that Lehrer has to go to the Planning Board to get approval for demolition.

Meyer could not be reached for comment last week.

Lehrer was also upset at an engineer the city sent. Lehrer says the engineer told Lehrer that the building was sturdy and "could hold a party."

Lehrer said that construction in neighboring blocks may cause further problems.

At the 111 First St. site, one block from his building, there are plans to build a proposed 1.2-million-square-foot, 52-story tower. And Toll Brothers is planning a three-tower project to be built on Bay Street, currently being contested in litigation by a neighborhood group.

"What happens when they start driving piles for those projects?" Lehrer said. "The vibration could create more problems."

Lehrer also noted that the city closed off an area of Warren Street on the east side of the building after several bricks fell from the eighth floor of the building.

Councilman agrees with city

Councilman Fulop last week weighed in on Lehrer's situation.

"The city under no circumstances should allow that building to be altered or torn down," Fulop said. "It is a historic building, one of the key buildings in the Powerhouse Arts District."

Fulop said the city has worked with Lehrer on the issue of the relocation of the transformer equipment from the Powerhouse, but said Lehrer's actions in this matter have made him a "litigious and difficult individual to deal with."

Fulop also doesn't buy Lehrer's claims that his building is in danger of collapsing, bringing up the observations of the city's construction office finding there is "no validity."

Comments on the story can be sent to rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com.

Well it sure sounds like bull ish to me.

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You mean like this guy?

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And anyone can claim to be a religion to get tax exemptions. Just look at these self proclaimed preachers out there.

Why should so-called `artists' get subsizied or set-aside housing? If you choose to go into a profession that keeps you impoverished, well, that's yer fault. Christ, anyone can claim to be an artist these days. Just look at most of today's art - IT SUCKS!

doesn't say anything about being a struggling artist, just a certified one.

so how does one go about getting artist certification? is there a course at the Y? does it involve the heimlich?

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How can struggling artists afford such a home - and if they can, are they really struggling?

Maybe the market will be "back" when this project is completed in a few years...

Harbor Lights, how artistic!
September start for Powerhouse District's first condos

Thursday, July 31, 2008
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Who said the Powerhouse Arts District is dead? Developers broke ground yesterday on the first condominium project to be developed under the current plan for the district.

Despite the gloomy nationwide real estate market, developers are pressing ahead with the Harbor Lights 153-unit condominium project at 160 First St., saying they "remain bullish" on the Downtown Jersey City market.

"We think that Jersey City is the hottest real estate market in the United States in the next 10 years," said David Pazden, the managing member of Waldo Jersey City LLC, a group of 37 Ivy League investors. "That is why we are here."

When complete, the three buildings will offer artists live/work loft spaces - with flexible floor plans, a private rooftop swimming pool, underground parking, ground-floor stores, galleries and a publicly accessible central courtyard.

Work will begin next month on demolishing a Ramp Auto Parts building on Second Avenue. Work on the foundations of the first two buildings will start in September - when the sales office is set to open.

First to be built will be a six-story, 16-unit building next to P.J. Ryan's Pub on Marin Boulevard, then an 11-story, 42-unit building on Second Street.

Under the Powerhouse Arts District plan, around 75 percent of the units must be at least 1,200 square feet. The remainder are planned for 900 square feet, with a few penthouse apartments at 1,700 square feet.

The market-rate units are expected to sell for between $600,000 and $1.2 million.

The Powerhouse Arts District plan also requires units to be marketed exclusively to artists for the first three months, and at least 10 percent must be affordable units to be sold to certified artists on the Jersey City Planning Department's waiting list. A company spokesman said they also have a list of more than 2,000 interested artists.

"This follows the PAD plan to a T," David Pazden said.

Developers have applied for an amendment to allow them to build smaller units by the time the construction begins on the third building, on First Street, which now is planned as a 11-story building with 95 units.

Michael Pazden, the director of construction and David's father, said buyers will be able to customize their fixtures, fittings and finishes.