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Agreement near on access to Korean War Memorial |
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Home away from home
 
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Agreement near on access to Korean War Memorial
Friday, August 18, 2006 By JOSHUA KEATING JOURNAL STAFF WRITER An agreement may be near in the ongoing controversy over access to the Korean War Memorial on Washington Street in Jersey City. The agreement - being worked out among the city, the Historic Paulus Hook Association and a group of Korean War veterans - would keep Washington Street open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., according to one of the participants. "We're very close to a compromise and it's going to be a good compromise for us and the veterans," said Steven Fulop, the city councilman who represents the area. The street - currently closed to cars - has been in a state of legal limbo for years, having been opened and closed several times by Mayors Glenn D. Cunningham and Jerramiah Healy. There has not been an ordinance adopted since 1995. Fulop said he hopes to have a completed agreement by next week. Korean War veteran Joseph Swinson, one of the so-called "renegades" who demanded the street be opened even after the Hudson County Korean War Veterans Association agreed to an earlier compromise, said he was satisfied with the talks. "Fulop is discussing this with both sides now," he said. "Before he was just talking to one side. Now we're being listened to."
Posted on: 2006/8/18 11:16
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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Is it possible to sell that city block to those who own next to it? If so what would it be worth right there on the water and next to that park?
Posted on: 2006/8/3 14:13
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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Yeah let the condo owners buy it and maintain it -- or make it parking for the park.
Posted on: 2006/8/2 23:22
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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If this was a democracy and I had a vote, then I would vote to keep the barricade. WTF are cars going to do with a 1/2 block road that goes nowhere?
Reminds me of when I used to place sim city and the cars would just circle around aimlessly.
Posted on: 2006/8/2 20:54
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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Quote:
The Pulver Sign has been there for a couple of years.
Posted on: 2006/8/2 20:50
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Just can't stay away
 
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Just walked passed that area near the corner of Washington and Dudley Streets and have noted a new sign under the Washington St sign that indicates that it is called Edward Pulvis Way - is this the new name for the section that we are talking about?
Or has this sign been there along time and only now I have noted it?
Posted on: 2006/8/2 20:24
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Just can't stay away
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Quote:
I'm a member of the taxpaying PUBLIC and I say it's a street that goes nowhere and is better suited as a PUBLIC PARK than as a driveway which cheapens the memorial. Leave the barrier up.
Posted on: 2006/8/2 13:36
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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Quote:
"It's a fairly complicated process, as you can imagine," he said. Said it before, I'll say it again- WHAT'S complicated? It's a PUBLIC street built and maintained by TAXPAYER MONEY. Take down the barrier.
Posted on: 2006/8/2 12:55
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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Pursuing deal to open street
Wednesday, August 02, 2006 By JOSHUA KEATING JOURNAL STAFF WRITER Metal chains keep traffic from entering the waterfront section of Washington Street and the Jersey City Korean War Memorial, as lawyers attempt to hammer out a deal to resolve the issue of whether the area should be opened up to the public. The Hudson County Korean War Veterans Association has agreed to a deal that would allow its members to drive into the area with special permits, but veteran Joe Swinson says more members now agree with him that the street should be open to everyone. "We're not just four or five renegade guys anymore," he said. "I guess we might just have to go and take (the barriers) down ourselves." Around Memorial Day, Mayor Jerramiah Healy gave the Historic Paulus Hook Association a month to draft an ordinance declaring the block a pedestrian zone, but he has now extended the deadline until the end of August. The street had been closed for 13 years without any legal documentation, officials said. "The lawyers are going back and forth to formalize what's already been in place for years," said Councilman Steven Fulop, who represents the area and would most likely sponsor the legislation. "Progress is being made so it would be counterproductive to prematurely open the street before there's a resolution one way or another." Fulop hopes to have a proposal in time for it to be included in the next council agenda. The veterans group is doing most of the organizational work and is paying the lawyers who are drafting the ordinance. President Gerry Bakirtjy said they are taking their time to make sure that this time the closure is done properly. "It's a fairly complicated process, as you can imagine," he said. "This whole thing has not been well done in the past." The street was first closed during the construction of the Paulus Towers and remained so despite no ordinance ever being filed with the city. Joanne Monahan, of the city's Legal Department, said that while the deadline has been extended, the city is still interested in getting the matter resolved quickly. "If they are close then I think the mayor is giving them the opportunity to come up with a proposal so the council can accept or reject it," she said.
Posted on: 2006/8/2 12:03
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Newbie
 
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Mr. Fulop,
Thank you for your speedy responses on this board. My wife told me about the shame on you piece and I was suprised about it because I know that you yourself are also a veteran and the accusations seemed out of character and in contrast to your record. I also didn't think that you lived in Portside. I would caution you to stop making so much sense and using actual logic those attributes do not work well in JC.
Posted on: 2006/6/21 11:40
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Not too shy to talk
 
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The Quote:
The immediate neighborhood benefits by not having to cross the street to access the MCP. They also get a paved playground for kids, and the veteran's with permits retain access. But what about JC residents who live farther away? If the street was open, they would have greater access to the park and possibly more parking. And what about Vets without permits or friends and family that need handicap access to the memorial? I assume the memorial was placed where it was in an effort to provide easy access. I heard the street was closed due to crime, but can anyone explain how closing this makes the area safer? I see parrallels between this issue and when shore communities refuse to allow parking for private beaches in an effort to limit access to undesirables. I side with Justiceiro on this issue. It's a public street maintained by the city but closed to benefit an extremely small subset of the tax payers. If the local community wants the road closed, they should compensate the tax payers and take over its maintenance.
Posted on: 2006/6/21 9:38
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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Quote:
hey, don't get me wrong, if "99%" of the population is happy with the solution that's pretty good. I have a problem with the PRINCIPLE involved.
Posted on: 2006/6/21 9:35
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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The monument is new. I also thought it was not the best idea to put in on Washington Street, on part of the street. Wouldn't Liberty State Park be a better location?
Part of the story of why the street is closed is so that fire engines have access to the back of Portside Towers. Portside has been here long before the monument. Portside is a rental, not a condo.
Posted on: 2006/6/21 7:55
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Newbie
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Quote:
bdlaw wrote: Who had the brilliant idea to build the monument in the street in the first place? Once the monument was placed at the end of the street, part of a public street was annexed by the monument. If you have a problem with keeping the street closed as it has been for the past ten years, then you should also have a problem with the monument taking part of the street. The solution brokered by our councilman seems to appeal to 99% of the local community (those who use the space on a daily basis) and the veterans (who use the space on a few days out of th year). Are we done with this story yet?
Posted on: 2006/6/20 23:48
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Not too shy to talk
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Steve Fulop's compromise is a wonderful solution and should be supported by all. The neighborhood gets to use a tiny piece of blacktop that leads nowhere for dog walking, rollerblading and stroller-pushing. The veterans get to drive in close to their monument. How could that be bad?
Posted on: 2006/6/20 22:59
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Just can't stay away
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Public Streets are maintained by public funds. Thus they should be available for public use- that means the whole city. I would love to close of my street to parking, indeed to all traffic. But it's not my street to do with as I please. If your condo association wants a private street, then buy it from the city and maintain it.
Posted on: 2006/6/20 20:05
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"Contemplate this upon the Tree of Woe."
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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P.S. and for the record, I think Arnold Diaz is a douche.
Posted on: 2006/6/20 18:44
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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I still smell a rat. Honestly, I could care less if that mini block area is closed or not. There are muggings, corruption, etc. Should't that take precedence????
Posted on: 2006/6/20 15:46
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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diepkloof has a problem with a public street not being reserved for a private use.
I have a problem with the notion that private citizens can annex public property without compensating the rest of the citizens of the city. How is this any different, in principle, than the tax abatements people on JCList are always bmw'ing about? Quote:
With all due respect, Councilman, closing the streets down is NOT a viable way to reduce crime.
Posted on: 2006/6/20 14:32
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Just can't stay away
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Let me do my best to outline the events and put this to rest before accusations gets out of hand….
When elected a year ago, I truthfully didn’t think opening the street to the veterans was a big deal, as my website listed it as something I wanted to do (it was there for all to see). After all, I am a veteran myself and there are few groups that are closer to my heart as I know first hand what many of these veterans endured. As I said at the Paulus Hook community meetings, I made a mistake as I underestimated how important this area is to the neighborhood and how hard they fought to have it closed down because of crime issues 10 years earlier. I truthfully can’t express how many e-mails I received concerned about the opening of the street, and furthermore, anyone present at the Paulus Hook meeting would attest to the fact that there were many newcomers physically present expressing their concern. At that point, I set up a meeting that included the Korean Veterans Group, the Historic Paulus Hook Association, the mayor’s office, and me to try and find another solution that works for everyone. We came to an agreement that the area would remain closed but the veterans would have special permits that allowed them to drive all the way up to the monument. It was truly a win-win as the community was happy the street would remain closed, and the veterans were happy that they would have access. This reasoning gave the veterans what they needed, insured that they would have where to park when they visited, but kept the area the way it has been for the community The veterans even put in their monthly newsletter a thank you to the Ward E council office, the Mayor, and the community group for making this work. However, in the end it appears although most of the veterans are happy there is a much smaller subset that is clearly not. A couple of final points 1) I do not live in that building that Arnold Diaz said in his report. That was an outright untrue statement.. Nor do I have any children who use the area. Based on feedback from the community, I tried to do my best to meet a goal that would satisfy the community and the veterans. Once again, I thought we had a true win- win. 2) The street was closed far before the monument was built. It wasn’t closed to hurt the veterans as Arnold Diaz tried to insinuate. 3) We gave Arnold Diaz all the documentation on the above including the neighborhood’s requests/feedback, the veteran’s letters regarding their approval of the situation, however Mr. Diaz wanted to make a story out of it and thus the shame on you. The Mayor and I shared a laugh the other day regarding Diaz's piece. In reality, The Mayor and I are not always on the same side of an issue as it related to taxes or crime, but the one time that we are together, and achieve a good resolution... we both are inducted into Arnold Diaz's "The Hall of Shame" for something that was taken out of context.... go figure I hope this is helpful and clrifies some of the background Steven Fulop
Posted on: 2006/6/20 11:30
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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I wonder if the fact that Fulop happens to live right there has anything to do with it? Surely, he cannot be bothered with having to hear and watch more traffic. Here's a tip Steve: Put your energy into something more valuable. This reeks of your own personal agenda!
Posted on: 2006/6/20 10:45
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Not too shy to talk
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Quote:
I think the followup question for Steve Fulop would be why the developer building the apartments by the Essex Street light rail station hasn't done anything to fix up the park. I understand that the space there (where the Colgate clock is, right?) was slated to be developed into a park. HOWEVER, I recently heard (this is strictly rumor) that the city was going to turn that space over to a developer to be turned into condos.
Posted on: 2006/6/20 10:19
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Not too shy to talk
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I vote in favor of the veterans. It's a public street and we owe it to our veterans to make it as easy as possible for them to access it. Perhaps we can add handicap parking close to the memorial, and limited time (1 hr? meters?) parking along the rest of the block? This would make the MCP more accessible to JC residents.
As for kids, they can walk around the memorial and play in the park, there's plenty of room. But if we're closing down public streets to create private playgrounds, I too would like the block in front of my condo closed to traffic.
Posted on: 2006/6/16 9:46
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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I didn't know when it would be on. I was watching WB11.
Did any mothers show up with their children when they were taping? If we opened up the street, I would think that all the parking spaces would be taken except on street cleaning day. On the few days it was opened, all kinds of people were hanging out there, including taxis, police, UPS, etc.
Posted on: 2006/6/15 23:12
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Newbie
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Did anyone see FOX5 tonight? They had a "Shame, Shame, Shame" story by Arnold Diaz on this issue. They put Healy and Fulop in the Hall of Shame for keeping the street closed to the veterans. They really made Paulus Hook out to be this exclusive enclave that has no respect for the veterans. They totally avoided interviewing any of the families that use the end of Washington St as our only play area.
And Fulop, how come you didn't return their phone call or at least show up with the Mayor when they came this past Monday? Makes you look like you don't care about the veterans, which we know is not the case. A very slanted story, but what else would you expect from a FOX affiliate?
Posted on: 2006/6/15 22:51
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Newbie
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Did anyone attend last night's Historic Paulus Hook Association meeting where this subject was on the schedule for discussion?
Posted on: 2006/5/5 10:47
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Quite a regular
 
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Why are your children playing in the street? Good lord, you'll get arrested for parenting like that. Send them to a park. The streets are for cars. Didn't they teach you that in school?
Posted on: 2006/5/2 16:36
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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Anyone think a roller blade/skateboard park is a good idea?
Anyone? Fine. You can all eat my shorts. -M
Posted on: 2006/5/2 0:50
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What is food to one man may be fierce poison to others.
Lucretius (c. 99 B.C.-c. 55 B.C.) |
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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Quote:
But, of course, you do have the waterfront walkways and also the pocket park and playground behind the Essex Street light rail station. I think the followup question for Steve Fulop would be why the developer building the apartments by the Essex Street light rail station hasn't done anything to fix up the park. Also, given that there are at least 3 schools and daycare centers on Warren from Montgomery to the Morris Canal, why it's such an adventure to push a stroller from the canal up to Shoprite.
Posted on: 2006/5/2 0:45
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Re: south end of Washington St is now open to cars! |
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Home away from home
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Quote:
Why would our Concilman take away one of the few (if not the only) places where our children can play without worrying for their safety. The ordinance on Steve's website mentions repeals the parking restrictions on this section of Washington St. I would have never thought that it would lead to the opening of the southern end of Washington St. Here's the link to his website and the text of the notice: c. An ordinance supplementing Chapter 26 (Vehicle and Traffic) Article VII (Traffic) Article X (Schedules) Schedule 26 (Restricted Parking Zones) of the Jersey City Code repealing Zone 9 which limited parking to two hours on Washington Street between Dudley Street and the southern terminus the site of the Korean War Memorial 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., daily. Ord. 06-015 Quote:
http://cityofjerseycity.com/cityclerk/index.html#council Quote:
Councilman Fulop just posted the reason.
Posted on: 2006/5/1 16:29
Edited by r_pinkowitz on 2006/5/1 16:45:26
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