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Re: Two schools, not supermart slated for Heights lot
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I moved to the Heights from the Upper West Side of Manhattan (where I had lived for 15 years) 2 years ago, and I still can't get over how many children there are! A casual observer might be forgiven for thinking every family group has at least 3 or 4! To the need or value of a new Stop & Shop Superstore - I live a short walk from the current Stop & Shop on Franklin and Central, as well as the Supremo on Palisade Avenue (awesome produce selection - I am teaching myself Mexican cooking, and my friends are blown away by the authentic ingredients I get there) - their selection and prices are fine, and never seem that crowded. I think the immediate area does fine, if you factor in the several green grocers on Central Avenue between Franklin and Congress Streets.
Posted on: 2010/9/28 17:40
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Re: Jersey City Ward Tour
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I live in the Heights, and can attest - biking on JFK Boulevard can get pretty hairy! In it's favor, though - and we will find is NOT the case on Griffith Street or Palisade Avenue, which makes them even WORSE - is that JFK is wide and cars (if they are so inclined or are in the hands of someone with a modicum of driving skills) can more easily pass around you. Which leads me to my other question for BikeJC - who came up with the Jersey City bike way map? I have tried most of the routes in the Heights, some of them are nearly impossible to try to navigate, given how narrow the streets are and everyone drives minivans. That said, I am very excited about this ride, and am looking forward to networking with people who are interested in making Jersey City more bicycle friendly!
Posted on: 2010/4/30 17:37
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Cost for condo management, building super?
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Thanks to everyone who responded to my previous question, about whether it made sense for our 54 unit condo to self manage. The clear consensus seems to be NO!
One person raised the question of why switch - the short answer is many unit owners are not satisfied with the supers or the managing agents service, and do not feel the management company is able to manage the super and his staff or address needed building repairs. Thus, the suggestion we find a new property manager. We are in the process of getting proposals, but I am wondering - what is a reasonable annual cost for a condo of our size, 54 units? We have a garage, but no yard or other amenities, such as health clubs etc.
Posted on: 2010/4/28 17:31
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Becoming a self-managed condo?
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I am on the Board of my condo association, a 54 unit building converted in 1990. Our management company also purchased the conversion from the original sponsor, and owns the remaining (9 or 10) sponsor units.
Some of the owners have suggested ending our relationship with the management company, and 'self-managing'. Anyone have any suggestions, experiences they can share about managing their own building?
Posted on: 2010/4/26 17:13
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Re: Ballot Question April 20, 2010: Should JC taxpayers pay $102 Million to the schools?
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Actually 90013th, all of your responses have been really informative, thanks so much! I am a relative newcomer to JC, and this makes me feel like I can walk into the voting booth next Tuesday pretty well educated on the issues.
Posted on: 2010/4/16 18:05
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Re: Heights: Man was badly beaten by two men in their late 20s wearing baggy clothing
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Who is Gaughn's "base"? He clearly has support, as he gets re-elected, and I am curious who they are and what their 'issues' are. As residents and VOTERS we need also to make sure our issues get heard along with his base's.
I was at the CivicJC/Citizen's Campaign workshop last weekend about getting elected to city boards and commissions. Several people were interested in having the Council enable a new board - a citizen's commission on crime. The type of thing a politician would love be seen as being associated with. better_IN_JC - I was at the Riverview Neighborhood Association's meeting on Monday, and the north district precinct was represented by an JCPD Officer. They are aware of the increase in tagging, and are investigating it. He indicated a lot comes from youth who are seeking to affiliate themselves with gangs, as opposed to actual entrenched gangs - when they actually apprehend one of the perps (usually a juvenile) they find their parents are not involved or effective parents, also engaged in illegal activity. He suggests reporting tags to the JCPD precinct, they can direct the tags be painted over, but more importantly are tracking this information.
Posted on: 2010/4/16 17:09
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Re: Ballot Question April 20, 2010: Should JC taxpayers pay $102 Million to the schools?
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Great... and the last thing we needed was another reason to doubt the competency of City and school officials.
I just received my sample ballot, and was floored by the $600 million figure! I am relieved to hear that is a "typo", but 90013th's post confused me - can someone explain what we are voting on and what could the outcome/downside be if we vote down the $100 million portion of the school budget.
Posted on: 2010/4/15 18:24
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Re: Daniel Wrieden aka 'Queer Eye For The Historic House Guy'
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Actually (and I stand somewhat corrected here myself) HPC follows the 'Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation', which allows for replacing missing features and elements that are damaged beyond repair. Unfortunately, when I tried to link to the design criteria in the ordinance available on-line, my computer kept crashing. There is guidance out there for homeowners like HamiltonParker, and it need not be left to one person to interpret as they see fit - shame on JC Division of City Planning for not making this information accessible!
Posted on: 2010/3/29 21:35
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Re: Daniel Wrieden aka 'Queer Eye For The Historic House Guy'
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First of all, HamiltonParker - congratulations on the strides you and your family have made. I'm sure your home is a lovely and special place, and in the years to come all of this will (hopefully!) be fodder for funny stories to regale your friends with over cocktails and cookouts! I work in historic preservation in NYC, and met Dan Wrieden when he worked for the NYC Landmarks Commission. He is smart, committed, and passionate. From my experience dealing with the NYC Landmarks Commission, the problem lies with Jersey City and not Dan. Here in NYC, you can quickly access the Landmarks Commission's rules and regulations on line - not so in JC. A lengthy search turned up a link to the Jersey City, NJ Code of Ordinances: http://library.municode.com/HTML/1609 ... _AII.html#C345_AII_s345-9 which offers no practical guidance for homeowners; in particular there are NO criteria spelled out for replacng deteriorated building components, such as windows, or where alternate materials are allowed. As Preservation Officer, Dan enforces the law, he does not make it. It would be up to US as citizens to push for clear rules and requirements. To XERXES - take your meds, and try to learn how government works, city Commissions and ordinances are established, and start pushing more more accountability at the mayoral, council, and commission level! THAT is how we are going to make the government more responsive to us, not criticizing hard working professionals like Dan Wrieden. P.S. - for anyone tempted to criticize Dan or anyone else because they are gay - as a gay man I have had enough of the gay baiting/bashing etc. Get over it, and learn some respect.
Posted on: 2010/3/29 18:48
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Re: PRESERVATION OF POWERHOUSE TO BEGIN
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The plywood isn't really shoring up the building - you would have to go inside, to see what kind of framing is being erected to stabilize the exterior walls and any remaining interior floors, which help distribute dead loads. The vented plywood panels seal the building from birds, wind driven rain, etc. We might not all agree on painting the panels - I suspect that was done to get people's attention in a positive way, and keep the Powerhouse from looking like just another boarded up building. Myself, I like it - they contrast playfully with the building's muscular brickwork. Please, everyone support the Powerhouse being restored and adaptively re-used! From all my years in historic preservation I can say there are very, very few industrial buildings of this caliber surviving in the metro area! 
Posted on: 2010/3/23 17:55
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Re: Heights: Man, 28, attacked and robbed by trio on Hancock Ave at 10 p.m
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Is it me, or has everyone run out of more positive things to post! It seems like there are more incidents like this being reported in this part of the Heights. I have only been here 1 1/2 years, but have so far found my neighborhood (roughly from the Palisades to JFK Boulevard, north of Christ Hospital) to be relatively quiet. The avenues - Webster, Sherman, Hancock - south of Congress Street have always seemed the nicest.
Anybody have any thoughts about what is up? A "bigger picture/pattern" developing? 
Posted on: 2010/3/19 14:14
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Re: Commuting to lower Manhattan by bike
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The new posts are helpful, thanks, if ironic - after posting this message in the fall of '08, I bought a nice hybrid Schwinn, which was stolen last fall - out of the LOCKED GARAGE IN MY BUILDING in the Heights!
So I am in the market for another new bike. Does anyone have any thoughts on how the folding commuter bikes, like the one GrovePath illustrates, hold up to JC's hills (and atrocious roads)? I live in the Heights, and take Mountain Road or Newark Avenue a lot.
Posted on: 2010/3/5 18:27
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Re: City Budget Suggestion Box - Cost Cutting and Revenue Generating Ideas
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Great posts, everybody! How do we make sure some of these suggestions get a better shot at being enacted? Another round of attempts to get citizens onto various JC boards and agencies? Develop a better support network for potential Council candidates?
I do want to contest a point raised by Brewster, though. I work for a local city government, and from my experience I heartily concur with the need to eliminate waste and making sure municipal employees really earn their salaries. My question for Brewster is do we really want to perpetuate the private sector model, which is a race to the bottom? I am surprised more private sector types - seeing what unions do for their members - don't rebel against having any their retirements trashed, health care disappear, etc. Unions, for all their faults, are a last reminder of our country's middle class aspirations! Quote:
Posted on: 2010/3/3 18:50
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Re: NJ Transit suspends north Jersey bus service
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Thank you GrovePath and AP - this gave me a little information before heading to work this morning; the NJTransit website being OUT OF COMMISSION SINCE LAST NIGHT!!!
What are the chances at lease some of the 30% fare increase is going to go to system improvements, as opposed to paying for pensions?
Posted on: 2010/2/26 17:04
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Re: Group of men attack and rob Heights man outside his home after he got out of a cab
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Practically around the corner from me, scary! On the heels of the attempted robbery at Palisade Wine & Liquor... what is going on on Palisade Avenue? Is this the (re)start of a bad trend I wonder...
On the other hand one is tempted to ask questions. If the cab pulled up and there where sketchy characters about, I would have asked the driver to go around the block, or wait until I was in the front door! Maybe not paying attention, as Heights suggested?
Posted on: 2010/2/24 23:15
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Re: Teens Caught Stealing Vodka - Attack Clerk at Heights Liquor Store
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I am sad for everyone who works there! Palisade Wine & Liquor is my local - as wall as favorite - liquor store, and everyone there is terrific! The lady who handles the wine sells has been so helpful, and I have been introduced to many great wines by her. Just the other weekend, they had a JC woman who is producing her own line of salsas giving away samples, clearly the PW&L staff are trying their best to be more of a neighborhood institution than just another store, so I am sorry this had to happen to them.
What a shame, with so few good shopping options in the Heights!
Posted on: 2010/2/24 23:09
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Re: Heights man throttled, robbed after turning down sex
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Predatory trannies on the loose in The Heights!? This will give the dowdy drag queen on Franklin Street fits! CapnJon, are you privy to inside information? I live nearby, and will keep an eye open - and cell phone camera ready - for these two. I see this rivaling DT's pimp for spotting opportunities.
Posted on: 2010/2/3 18:52
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Re: Ready to give up living in this city...
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What are you looking for, and where would you go?
Could you be so burned by your real-estate situation that you would give up things you clearly like about JC? I moved to The Heights 1 1/2 years ago from Manhattan because I wanted to buy a place of my own and to feel like a stakeholder in my community, yet still be in a walkable, city environment close enough to New York to get their on the spur of the moment. NYC may be the model of good urban government, and trust me not a day goes by when I don't compare the amenities and access I enjoyed on the Upper West Side to those in the Heights, and think "maybe I just should have stayed". But it is no longer possible to hope to live as a homeowner in NYC if you aren't employed on Wall Street or have rich parents, and I am a city boy at heart and at least here in JC I am in it's orbit (as opposed to being in the Bronx or Flatbush...). If you do decide to move, well best of luck. But my advice is to plan to move closer to something you really want, as opposed to away from something.
Posted on: 2010/2/3 18:37
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Re: Heights man badly beaten, robbed in Pershing Field by three men -- one wearing a black skull ca
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Actually, the perps' ethnicity aside, we have a pretty good description - if anyone was in the vicinity, and remembers seeing these guys, it could provide JCPD with clues as to their whereabouts, maybe even an address. The poor guy that was beat up may not have been able to give a really good description beyond what we see in the article. Was it 12:15 in the morning? Too dark to see better? People like to jump on the anti-PC bandwagon, but a useful description needs so much more than race!
Posted on: 2010/2/2 22:15
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Re: Heights: Five assail jitney bus in Jersey City, rob driver and attack passenger
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I hope this turns out to be some sort of personal "beef" between the driver and the perpetrators; and my heart goes out to the rider. But the jitney services are thriving because they fill a need, that NJ Transit buses completely fail to do. I have never had a bad experience on a jitney, and appreciate actually being able to get downtown or to the mall on weekends without a long wait. And as they are on the lookout for riders, they are NOWHERE near as much of a menace as cars with their drivers running red lights, speeding, yacking on cell phones, etc.
Posted on: 2010/2/2 21:56
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Re: Wayne St - Bike stolen right out of my apartment
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That is a shame about your bike. But you will need to take the advice about locks to heart when you get a replacement, as will I - last fall, someone hotwired the door to our condominium's parking garage, and made off with most of the bikes chained to our common bike rack. Thinking our locked garage secure, I only used a cable and kept my Kryptonite lock for my rides. No matter how secure we think our building's are, you only need to take in the characters loitering or hanging out aimlessly to realize there is ample time for someone to case a place out! Good luck and happy cycling in the future!
Posted on: 2010/1/19 18:53
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Decent bars in the Heights?
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I've lived in the Heights for over a year now, and strolling and biking around the neighborhood I've seen several old fashioned looking type bars which look pleasant enough - like 'Lincoln Tavern' on Lincoln Street off Central Avenue, and one near Stanford Place and Zabriskie Street (can't recall the name).
As a gay man, my social life pretty much revolves around Manhattan and I'll admit to preferring slick lounges, but it would be nice to have someplace local to take my mom & dad or stop in with friends after a day sightseeing in the nabe or road trip to IKEA. Any suggestions?
Posted on: 2009/12/31 21:32
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Re: NYC views from Jersey City
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Do your friends have mobility issues that make it hard for them to get around? If not, I highly recommend a jaunt up to the Heights, to Riverview Park on Palisades Avenue, between Griffith and Bowers Street. If you have not been there, the view of Manhattan is awesome! You are up on the top of the cliffs, and on a clear day can see from the Verazzano to the GW Bridge. In addition, you take in all of Hoboken - because you only catch glimpses of the Hudson River, it takes on a somewhat surreal quality, like you could walk to Manhattan! You can take the #86 Bus or one of the jitneys from Grove PATH, or the #87 or #84 Bus from JSQ PATH, which will drop you right at the park. Have fun!
Posted on: 2009/12/31 17:25
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Does the Incinerator Authority listen to weather reports!?
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What is up with the JCIA, or whoever is supposed to prepare for winter weather!? I left my apartment in the Heights planning to catch my usual bus - #87 to JSQ - finally gave up, and went to Hoboken - it took 1:45 to get to lower Manhattan - busses sliding off the road, re-routed, Paterson Plank Road turned into a parking lot. It seems someone dropped the ball on this! This is only my second winter in the Heights - what am I in for? Should I be getting a sled and dogs to get to work?
Posted on: 2009/12/31 16:43
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Architect/PE needed to do building condition survey!
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Our 50 unit condominium has a long history of LEAKS. The board and the managing agent, to their credit, do call in a contractor to make spot repairs to the roof, terraces, and interiors of apartments, but the leaks come back, especially with the especially wet weather we have been having.
Our building was built in the 1890's as a factory, and remodelled as a condominium in the 1980's when several additional floors, set-back terraces, and new facades were added. The owners and tenants suffering from leaks into their apartments are asking one another what can be done - the managing agent seems to prefer 'quick fixes', in part because they own 20% of the units and could face a huge expense if the building needs extensive repairs. It seems the real solution is to hire a qualified, independent architect or engineer to do a thorough inspection, and determine the right repairs. Does anyone have experience with this type of project, and can you recommend a someone and give us and idea of what the inspection report might cost?
Posted on: 2009/12/10 14:39
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Re: State cuts education budget, Board of Ed elections next week - Get Involved!
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I don't have children, but am concerned about this issue as it almost seems there are two conflicting positions. As a progressive liberal, I want to see appropriate resources - both financial, as well as educational ideas - benefit children. But as a homeowner, I am concerned about taxes escalating out of control, as a result of law like Abbott, due to the fact that kids from poor and dysfunctional neighborhoods seem to have endless needs. I live in the Heights, and got my flyer in the mail for next week's BOE elections. Anyone out there from the Heights, who has some experience, or thoughts on, the folks running?
Posted on: 2009/4/17 14:50
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Re: Stuck in Denial "War Zone"
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icechute - criticizing politicians tendency to keeping saying the same thing over and over is like complaining about the tides - that is what they do! I attended the mayoral candidates forum in the Heights last night, and heard very different responses from them on how to handle crime. I care more what WE - as residents of JC - say and think on the matter. Admittedly, before moving to the Heights I had lived in Washington Heights and Manhattan Valley in Manhattan - dicey neighborhoods at the time - so I may have a higher threshold of discomfort, but Greenville seems out of control! What is going on, and what should we be insisting mayoral candidates be doing?
Posted on: 2009/4/3 16:55
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Re: Fight Back JC - Let's clean this place up, it is not impossible
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[quote]
snorky wrote: I am not downtown, I am in the Heights. Any recommendations for groups up here?[quote] I am relatively new to the Heights myself - 8 months. I attended the mayoral forum last night, and was hoping more of the local community groups would have a table, be leafleting, etc. Snorky and others - please let me know what you find out, and send suggestions and contacts for groups to get involved with my way. I am on Sherman Avenue, between Franklin and Hutton. Thanks!
Posted on: 2009/4/3 16:37
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Re: did you guys do your taxes yet?
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You would need to file in both states, but be sure to file NY taxes first - that way, you can deduct the NY taxes from your NJ taxes (for most folks, this means you don't owe any NJ taxes). BE CAREFUL if you use TurboTax! I did, and either it made a mistake or I got confused, but it didn't credit me - unless I can fix it before 4/15 I will pay taxes all over again to NJ! Has anyone had this experience themselves? When should I file my amended return?
Posted on: 2009/3/19 21:10
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Commuting to lower Manhattan by bike
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Needing the excercise - and hoping to avoid the dreaded NJT 87 bus! - I am thinking of getting a bike, to ride to the PATH. Why not commute from the Heights to my office by City Hall Park in Manhattan?
Does anyone have experience biking to lower Manhattan to share? Can you take bikes on the ferries?
Posted on: 2009/3/16 15:06
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