I walked by Mountain Road today, and there was some construction activity at the bottom of the road by the Cliff Lofts.... could it be related to the 100 Steps project? I haven't seen any announcements anywhere, and I'm sure Healey would've made it known, if the project was starting. Anyone know what's going on there?

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I would try contacting these guys:
http://riverviewneighborhood.org/

Anybody know if anything happened or will happened on this?

The article says above says "On Wednesday, the City Council awarded a $59,375 contract to city firm Dresdner Robin to design and manage construction of the project."

Did Dresdner Robin get any money? Have they done anything?

Agreement is hammered out with developer on completion of "100 Steps" to descend cliff at Franklin Street in Jersey City Heights

Tuesday, April 19, 2011
By TERRENCE T. McDONALD
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The long-delayed "100 Steps" restoration is one step closer to completion now that Jersey City officials have completed a deal with a developer to pick up the tab for most of the project's cost.

Several years ago, Brass Works Urban Renewal, developer of The Cliffs loft apartments on Paterson Plank Road, committed $250,000 to restoring the steps, which will descend from Franklin Street to Mountain Road in the Jersey City Heights.

After money was spent on preliminary engineering studies, about $140,000 of that money remains, according to Councilman Bill Gaughan.

But the restoration is estimated to cost $700,000. What's left of Brass Works' initial donation, plus a $300,000 state grant awarded earlier this year, leaves the project $250,000 short.

The city plans to borrow that $250,000 and Gaughan said Brass Works has agreed to a "special assessment" so city taxpayers will not be on the hook for the project's cost.

"It's not costing the City of Jersey City one cent," Gaughan said, praising the "compromise."

The 100 Steps, or Franklin Street Steps, were built more than a century ago and torn down in the 1990s.

On Wednesday, the City Council awarded a $59,375 contract to city firm Dresdner Robin to design and manage construction of the project.

City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill said Brass Works alone is responsible for repaying the $250,000 bond.

FYI: There's a grassroots campaign trying to get the City to enforce the contract. Please check out the petition and sign. Thanks!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/100- ... ---enforce-the-agreement/

This is exactly what will happen if Hyman ends up building on the embankment -- that promised green space will be the last priority.

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In fact, Rays - it mentions they were actors. Probably more likely they live in Hoboken. I think several of the reality TV people live in Hoboken.

jcboyz, what is it that you want me to learn from your post? it says nothing about where the attackers were from, for all we know they could be from hoboken or elsewhere!

Rays, yeah I KNOW!! See below from today...

Snapple Attack at Light Rail

At approximately 2:30am on Sunday morning, Hoboken Police were notified by Jersey City Medical Center that they had a male victim who was bleeding from the head ? saying he was assaulted with a glass bottle somewhere in Hoboken.

HPD responded to JCMC and met with the 19 year-old victim, who had just returned from getting a cat-scan on his head. The victim, who works at a local Hoboken pizza parlor as a bus-boy, said he walked to the 2nd Street Light Rail after work at around 11pm, and was approached by two black males, punched in the head by one of the actors and knocked to the ground. As he tried getting to his feet to ?defend? himself, he heard the two actors laughing, and the other male struck him in the forehead with a glass Snapple bottle. He had no other memories after that, including how he got to the hospital. He had deep 2 1/2 inch gash on his head. This apparently wasn?t a robbery, because he had his wallet and other possessions.

Police are investigating surveillance footage from the cameras installed at the Light Rail station.

Punched for no reason

Early Saturday morning, at approximately 1:30am, Police responded to 1st and Bloomfield Street on reports of an assault.

A 25 year-old Union City Male said he was walking east from 1st and Bloomfield, when he approached a group of three black males. One of the three actors punched him in the face, above the right eye.

The victim couldn?t offer much of a description other than one actor had ?corn row or dread lock? style hair, and the other two had short hair. He said he could identify the victims, but a search of the area by Hoboken Police yielded negative results. Hoboken EMS treated the victim on scene, and he refused further treatment.

Developers REGULARLY renege on promises made to make their development sound good. Politicians are in on the wink-wink-nudge-nudge and are well paid to ignore the stipulations.

Newport was given free land and $40 million of city money with the proviso that 25% of the developement, housing, mall, corporate, retail etc. would be owned by Jersey City in perpetuity.
Bret Schundler gave that share back to Lefrak-Simon.

Promises are easy.

The 100 steps problem is an easy one if there was will on the part of Jersey City. The City should just cancel its tax abatement because of breach of contract. The steps would be in by Labor Day.

Jersey City IS, WAS, and WILL BE for a long time a cabal of Mob, "Developers," and Crooked Politicians. The pattern of how they conspire to loot the city hasn't changed in 80 years.

jcboyz, you do realize that there's already an elevator connecting the heights to hoboken, right? the developer agreed to build the steps and is not holding up his end of the bargain. why shouldn't they be held accountable?

Give me a break!!!! I don't blame them for not building the steps. I'm sure they don't want all the criminals in the heights to have easy access to to Hoboken. Fix the crime problem and then they should build the steps.

I know brass works is in JC but what does JC do for them. They should get praised for taking a shit show of a building and converting it into one of the premier rental buildings in JC!

Instead you have the homeless living in tents in the woods across the street and punk gangs spraying graffiti on every telephone pole up Paterson plank.

Like I said before, fix the crime problems and remove the crack heads from the woods across the street and then the steps should be built!

Concerned citizens in the heights and beyond. It is time to make your city government work for you.

I am writing about the developer of the Brass Works project located at the bottom of Mountain Road along the Paterson Plank road. The developer promised the city that he would build the steps linking Jersey City and Hoboken and has reneged on his signed agreement with the city. The city granted permission to build the project as part of that agreement. He now has fully leased the property and is collecting sizable rents. Still there is no safe access in the form of the "steps". Please contact your local councilpersons Gaughan and Lopez and let them know you want the steps built by the developer as legally promised in the developer's agreement back in 2005. The city must pursue all legal means to get this project started and completed.

This time it is in the Heights - next time it could be in your neighborhood. Riverview Neighborood Association has launched a grassroots campaign to get the City to enforce its agreement with a developer to built the "100 Steps." Please go to: http://goo.gl/5n2Q or riverviewneighborhood.org.

The background Back in 2003, the Zoning Board approved an application for development of The Cliffs (100 Paterson - since constructed and fully occupied) that in return for the needed variances required the developer to construct "the 100 Steps" at its sole cost and expense. The Steps would connect Ogden Avenue with the base of Mountain Road providing easy transport to/from the Light Rail and Hoboken. Further, in 2005 the City entered into a Developer's Agreement signed by the City and the Developer that outlined the construction of The Steps as one of its key terms.

Needless to say, The Cliffs is completed and fully occupied, but the promised improvement to the neighborhood has not been constructed. The City has done nothing to enforce the agreement.

While this time it is Heights residents who are suffering, next time it could be your neighborhood.

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Better yet, why don't developers just put the money directly into Healy's campaign fund? I'm sure he'd be willing to keep an eye on it! Oh, wait, they probably already did. Good luck getting the city interested in pushing them to do the right thing for us, the residents.

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I agree.

This quote from the petition says it all: "In exchange for granting the zoning board variances that allowed The Cliffs apartments at 100 Paterson Avenue to be built, its developer, Brass Works Urban Renewal, LLC, agreed to build the "100 steps". The "100 steps" will connect Ogden Avenue to the base of Mountain Road, and make the pedestrian trip between the Heights and the Light Rail and Hoboken safer and easier." However, like many developers who don't execute their side of agreements the force of law must be exercised to realize the agreement or a Final Certificate of Occupancy should not be issued or permit them to put a spade into the ground. Since the current administration of Mayor Healy is complicit in not forcing this contract agreement through his new Business Administrator, I think that a resolution should be brought before the City Council so that they must go on record to either support this "100 Steps" contract agreement or demand that the City Attorney carry out a cease and desist injunction against this property developer, Brass Works Urban Renewal, LLC asap.

Yes, the developer needs to build the steps and now but the everyone else should be on their knees blowing the developer for taking a crappy, rat infested warehouse and turning it into an amazing loft building.

+1 Kindelan. My question is this: why doesn't the city require developers to put a substantial amount of the cost of whatever it is they promised into escrow at the time of the approval?

I recognize that the city has been extremely hospitable to developers historically and that a poor real estate market might not be the time to introduce restrictive measures on development, but shouldn't this be a core principle for future development? Seems like this isn't an isolated case. Once the project is built, what leverage does the city (or its residents) have over the developer to assure compliance?

I didn't know that was Jersey City -- where is the dividing line located?
View Larger Map

It is totally ridiculous, but we have to sign a petition to get the City Government to get a developer to do what they promised to do.

"In exchange for granting the zoning board variances that allowed The Cliffs apartments at 100 Paterson Avenue to be built, its developer, Brass Works Urban Renewal, LLC, agreed to build the "100 steps". The "100 steps" will connect Ogden Avenue to the base of Mountain Road, and make the pedestrian trip between the Heights and the Light Rail and Hoboken safer and easier.

A written developer's agreement was entered into between Brass Works and the City of Jersey City on August 11, 2005 and the zoning board resolution stipulated that the Steps are to be built at the "sole cost and expense" of the Developer. While the luxury rentals at The Cliffs are fully occupied, the promised benefit to the community has not been constructed."


More info and petition here:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/100-steps---enforce-the-agreement