Late night open thread

On this day in history the Eiffel Tower opened. Do you know what year? Answer in comments.
A) 1880
B) 1889
C) 1899
D) 1901

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Johnny's long said Steve Fulop had some similar traits to Chris Christie

Today that really came to the fore. We have a bully governor with his ridiculous support of a man who told lies about his own state concerning 9/11. We have a mayor who is so running for governor and some pretty skeevy funding but won't admit it. How do you think they'll handle the issue of a casinos in North Jersey? Let's see:

Christie:
Christie also continued allegations Thursday that Prieto is simply acting on behalf of Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, a likely Democratic candidate for governor next year. One of Fulop's possible rivals for the Democratic nomination is state Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), the main sponsor of the takeover.

Fulop:

Steven Fulop ‏@StevenFulop  9h9 hours ago

Steven Fulop Retweeted The Jersey Journal

I never read this bill.  @GovChristie will blame me soon 4 Trump's dumb comments on #abortion . my fault as well.  

Our Mayor badly needs an edit key on his smartphone. Abortion? Yes, we get it, Trump's a boob but abortion here was just, well, really out of place. Where's Ryan Jacobs when you actually need him? Back to our leaders...

Christie:
Chris Christie this evening in a statement following the governor’s press conference and repeated accusations that Fulop, acting in the role of a politically ambitious boss, has Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-32) on a short leash.

Fulop:
"If the governor wants to stop north Jersey gaming as a result of this tantrum as he threatens, that is his choice — it doesn't bother us either way," the mayor said. "Jersey City will be just fine."

Johnny:

Shut up the both of you. No casinos in Jersey City, ever.

Late night open thread

25 years ago tonight Johnny's first college love, Northern Michigan University, where he spent the first year and a half of his college life won their only national championship in hockey. The Wildcats won 8-7 in triple overtime over Boston University in the most exciting NCAA hockey game of all time.

It's a great day to be a Wildcat!

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Annnnnnd we're back to bikes

Not bikeshare programs but buttholes who ride their bikes on the sidewalk with impunity. Ya know how bikers are all apoplectic when it comes to THEIR rights on the road and how cars, if they exist at all, should be better aware of the BIKERS on the road.

OK, allow Johnny to retort; Know what MY rights are as a pedestrian? That you keep your bikes in the ROAD. Unless being walked they should never be on the sidewalks. If bikes are going to exist at all they'd better wise up and understand the laws and rights of peds.

Oh there ARE remedies for bikers on the sidewalks but let's not let it come to that. If you're too afraid to ride in the road your choice is then walking or driving. You bikers don't belong on sidewalks, now shoo!

Late night open thread

Throwback enough?

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

No reports of any bikeshare related violence

All quiet on the Jersey City and Hoboken bike share kerfuffle last night. No roving bands of young toughs trying to one-up each other and deliver bikes and bike racks where they're not wanted. Johnny's paying one of these toughs in all the food truck fare he can eat down there at night and keep an eye out for FuHo troublemakers so Johnny can quick make with the camera down by the water and capture Hudson Bike Share up to no good.

Stay tuned to this internet channel for more on the great Bike Wars of 2016.

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Jersey City and FuHo lock horns over bike sharing

A feud has erupted between the city governments of Jersey City (Yeah!) and Hoboken (Boo Hiss!) over bike sharing programs. Johnny has read what each side has said, the timelines, and here's his analysis. Hoboken better learn it's place. That's right, you chose Hudson Bike Share despite Jersey City making the easy NYC choice in Citibike. Jersey City residents have been rightly complaining since last fall that Hudson Bike was dropping off, ne, dumping clusters of their bikes at public bike racks at Exchange Place making it impossible for taxpaying residents (or renters) to park a bike because a subsidized private entity doing business with Hoboken thought they could simply pile bikes here to get people to use them between the cities. Our own Candice Osborne tried working out a plan wherein in the idea of partnership in spite of dueling bike share companies, Jersey City would put in three bike racks dedicated to Hudson Bike Share at Exchange Place if Jersey City could put three Citibike dedicated racks in Hoboken, one near the train terminal to make it that much easier for JC residents commuting there.

FuHo Mayor Dawn Zimmer said no to that plan. So in essence at this point FuHo wants full Hudson Bike access in Jersey City but no Jersey City linked bike program there. To hear The Mayor Zimmer tell it Jersey City is out to crush all kinds of ride sharing:

"What’s next? Will ZipCar drivers be barred from using public parking in Jersey City?"

Well if you choose to fill up all the Jersey City lots waiting for your contracted company to make you money here while JC residents can neither park here nor in FuHo then YEAH, DUH!

We understand all your carz and bikez are regular flooding victims but if you want to use up our higher ground make a deal, Jersey City isn't your parking lot.

Again Hoboken, you better learn your place in the county power structure and fast. If you keep dumping Hudson Bike Share Bikes here we're going to start dumping them into the Hudson River. No Starvin Marvin those are Jersey City's bike racks.Think of it as a tea tax revolt where your business deals don't extend here without a signature on a piece of paper.

Late night open thread

Know what would make Easter easier?
Replace the t with an i.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Happy Easter Jersey City!

From your favorite Atheist. Enjoy the day but bundle up, it's chilly out there today. Here's a throwback of Johnny on Easter, never thrilled by all the religious humdrum and thinking "Let's make with the baskets!"

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Anyone else thinking Spring today?

Tulips, daffodils, crocusesez's, and all the spring flowers are popping up everywhere. Another week or so we'll get this in Madison Square Park or the one below from right here in Cool City. Our winter that wasn't is giving way to the Spring that is!

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with ELVIS COSTELLO & THE ATTRACTIONS!

Johnny, FOUR songs tonight? Have you gone mad? No, no Johnny's just in a good mood. As of midnight it was Johnny's birthday and to celebrate his organs all making it through one more year he decided he'd just throw another choice cut your way and we'd all have cake and then Johnny's heading upstairs for a party in his honor. There might be scandalous dancing. That'll distract from the hookers and blow. Let's get going with a Johnny favorite that was on the turntable the first time he got drunk at at high school party, Elvis Costello & the Attractions with 'Green Shirt'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with DIANA ROSS!

It's also Diana Ross' birthday today. She's much older than Johnny though. And has more Grammys. And more Billboard hits. And is a legend. And her band knocked the Beatles out of the #1 spot more than anyone else ever.  Other than that...

Here's the legendary Diana Ross with Johnny's treasured long version of 'Love Hangover'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with JOE STRUMMER!

Ooo, Joe Strummer, excellent said Johnny who is also picking the songs tonight. Let's rock out to this instrumental good time number, 'War Cry'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with MARSHALL CRENSHAW!

OK, everybody out after this one, Johnny's got to head upstairs to a party. Dinner tonight at a popular downtown joint (Johnny doesn't want to say where yet and cause a media scrum while others try and enjoy their meals) will be had.

From the 'burbs of Detroit just like Johnny, here's Marshall Crenshaw and 'Cynical Girl' serving as your wild and crazy birthday bonus track.

It would appear Mayor Fulop has his first real scandal

After first being elected, Mayor Fulop said he wanted to put more cops in the community and was working on a plan to get civilians trained in traffic control to volunteer around construction sites and free up the police who stand around and smoke cigars (yep it happened), text on their phones rarely looking up (we just documented that for like the PI time last week) or they just say fuck it and go to sleep:

Mayor Fulop said this was all going to change. Until suddenly it didn't and nobody seems to want to answer why. Johnny can't get an answer, couldn't get one before this big story was broken by The Real Jersey City. GO WATCH the video. You'll see that one particular officer (and with all of Johnny's documentation since 2011 downtown you can surmise this shit goes on constantly) simply lies about his time and saunters off to do what he does. The Real Jersey City's Michael Shurin does his due diligence and catches Lt. Terrence Crowley simply stealing from us all. Hands in the cookie jar. Red handed. BUSTED! We're not going to embed the YouTube video, Mr. Shurin's work deserves the clicks.

UPDATE: Mr. Shurin has offered us the use of the video so we will happily link it here:

Now we come to find out when asked about three other officers the Fulop Administration has delivered two different sets of numbers in two different documents. They sent false documents. Why wouldn't they match? In the words of Mary Chapin Carpenter, "The stars might lie but the numbers never do." If it quacks like a coverup friends, it's a coverup. 

Where are the right documents Mr. Mayor? Is your chief of public safety screwing you yet again? He supposedly is in control of this program, maybe ask him. Get copious amounts of detail. Something really really stinks about this police as security guard system around town. Watch the video peeps, this matters.

Late night open thread

Q: Did you know they had cars back in Jesus’ time?
A: The Bible says that the disciples were all of one Accord.
Just click it

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

We're one big step closer to another Hudson River tunnel

Amtrak and thew Port Authority have pushed $70 million in chips to the middle of the table in a gamble to get the current momentum to the unstoppable point. Cory Booker is very confident this will now get done:

Federal officials, including U.S. Senator Cory Booker, D-NJ, the Port Authority and New York and New Jersey officials, made the announcement Wednesday, which marks the first major progress on the tunnel project since Govs. Chris Christie and Andrew Cuomo announced a funding agreement between the states and federal government. 

Transportation agencies are in a race against time to start the $20 billion Gateway Project before one of two 106-year-old tunnels has to be taken out of service to repair flood damage, which would severely disrupt commuter rail service. 

"This is huge. It is a significant step," Booker said. "We're farther down the field than I thought we'd be last summer."

Anyone within 20 miles of the tunnel crossings know how badly another train tunnel is needed. One is going to have to be taken out of service within the next few years to fully clean Superstorm Sandy damage. Without tunnels and bridges New Jersey isn't even New York's parking lot. So there's that.

We've already seen how long the Pulaski ClusterFuck Memorial Skyway is taking and will take another half year (and just wait, that'll get pushed back too) and here we're talking a tunnel below a big river. The Skyway is existing infrastructure over a medium sized river. More important info on timing and funding at this handy link.

The Johnny Action Space Punk Trans Hudson Tunnel or "The Johnny" it has a ring to it.

Late night open thread

Sorry kids, on a serious note Johnny had to meet with his surgeon today and didn't feel much like heading into the Jersey City Desk office. No worries, he's not gonna die or anything like that but still, surgery. Johnny's first since he was eleven and had hernia surgery.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Governor Christie fires a shot at Mayor Fulop from the right

We as a city simply can't take umbrage anymore when the Governor levels his guns at Jersey City as the Mayor is out there on the same playing field of high-stakes and high-cash world of New Jersey politics. Christie has said if he deals with anyone on moving casinos north it'll be Senate President Steve Sweeney. Christie said he's not going to deal with an obstructionist like Speaker Vincent Prieto who wants to play ball with Mayor Fulop on casinos. Said Christie:

At a press conference this afternoon at Monmouth Medical Center, Gov. Chris Christie denounced Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop as a political boss controlling an obstructionist Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-32), who’s more concerned with playing politics than solving the fiscal troubles of Atlantic City, in the governor’s opinion.

“I’m not going to negotiate with two groups of Democrats,” Christie told reporters, indicating his preference for an Atlantic City intervention bill championed by Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) of which Prieto is wary.

“…Mr. Prieto wants to play public sector union politics for Hudson County political boss Steve Fulop,” said Christie decrying what he sees as too-generous to public sector worker measures favored by Prieto in his version of an AC takeover bill.

Hudson County political boss? Ouch You don't want that tag but it may be inevitable. More at the link...

Late night open thread

Mrs. Johnny brought home some Girl Scout cookies from work. Johnny is pretty certain if he were going to be stranded on a desert island with only one sweet treat it'd be their Samoas, the chocolate and caramel gems with coconut flakes liberally applied. But it'd better be a steady supply. What's your choice Jersey City, what would be your one sweet indulgence should you find yourself in that proverbial desert island situation?

(Gone moments after this picture was taken)

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Here comes Peter Rotten tail, fighting in the mall food court

Admission, Johnny got Peter Rotten Tail from one of the many great comments on the original story on this mess. A parent who witnessed his 1 year old daughter slip from her chair either on the easter bunny or next to him causing the father, Juan Jimenez-Gerrero, to verbally then physically attack the easter bunny, Kassim Charles. All the bad press clearly made it's way to the mayor's office as both are being charged with aggravated assault and disorderly conduct. Doesn't sound like plea deals are on the way either. Both men have been remanded because the city didn't want to wake up to Jersey City as the viral laughingstock it was.

No word on if the Easter bunny was hopped up on anything other than goodwill and chocolate...

Late night open thread

Yes friends, tomorrow we'll get into the Bunny Brawl at the Mall...

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Newark Bears Stadium is soon to be condos

Yes fans of really off the radar baseball, the Newark Bears Stadium, home to no team now for three years has been purchased by a New York developer and will be torn down. Check out the article for more on the condos set to be built there but you know the usual stuff:
*High end
*Affordable
*Mixed use
*First floor retail
*Near everything

Too bad the last owners were not more business-inclined and a whole lot less grating and perhaps something baseball could have come of all of this. Ah well, Johnny still has his Newark Bears hat and saw around 5-10 games there a season. Memories.

Late night open thread

The new Game of Life board has a few new landing spots that kinda help update the game. Here's one:

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Rutgers hoops has their new man

Rutgers has chosen Steve Pikiell as their new head coach. Pikiell has roots in the famed UConn program, serving as an assistant to Jim Calhoun after playing point guard for the Huskies. Pikiell most recently took Stony Brook to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history and were rewarded with Kentucky. So after one game Pikiell was free to tell Rutgers yes. Johnny thinks this is a smart hire. Pikiell will come in already knowing how to do more with less at a small school like Stony Brook and he has a history as head man of turning programs around. Can he recruit and lift RU up in the B1G standings?

That's why they play the games.

Late night open thread

Johnny's OK about his MSU Spartans losing in the first round, *sniff* thanks for asking...

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with ELTON JOHN!

Johnny was about ten or eleven when he started to take Elton John and Bernie Taupin's words to heart, probably irreparably harming a free society in which Johnny can say what he wants with no repercussions. Know why?

"I can bitch I can bitch

Cuz I'm better than you

It's the way that I move

The things that I do

Whooooaaaa"

Dangerous thoughtt for a pre-teen. Elton John and 'The Bitch is Back'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with MIDNIGHT OIL!

How nice of Midnight Oil to come all the way from Australia to play one song and go home.....Cause we're not paying for a room. We're not. Midnight Oil and 'Blue Sky Mine'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with PATTY GRIFFIN!

Johnny has seen the great Patty Griffin as many times as he's seen anybody. She recently went through the area but nowhere close enough for Johnny to make the show. How about a little tent revival music tonight that is actually going to reach into your soul and get your feet moving before you skedaddle out into this good evening.

Patty Griffin with 'Move Up'

Late night open thread

Tonight we'll wind up St. Patrick's Day 2016 a little differently than we normally do. Johnny's gonna drop a long music clip of some of the best Irish and Celtic music around. It runs a while so if you have something to do or just want something cool and topical on while you relax, here you go.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

We've had drinking songs, jigs and reels so how about a lament?

The famous Irish lament, 'Molly Ban' (Bawn) from Alison Krauss and once more with The Chieftains.

Dropping a quick jig & reel in before supper

'The Coal Miners Set' on St. Patrick's Day 2016.

Timeout for Johnny's NCAA bracket picks

He'll be talking a lot of shit over the next couple weeks to to be upfront, fair and honest here are Johnny's picks so he too can be properly mocked if necessary.

C'mon Sparty! January, February Izzo!

Slow down shriner, it's not even noon yet

You don't wanna get so drunk you miss half the day passed out or barking at the ants....like these fellers here out back of Conor O'Neill's in Ann Arbor, March 17, 2008.

One more song over your Lucky Charms

A great song, Sinéad O'Connor & The Chieftains performing the baleful 'The Foggy Dew'

Happy St. Patrick's Day Jersey City!

As we often do, we'll lead off with one to get your Irish up. The Pogues and Dubliners with the classic tale of 'The Irish Rover'.

Late night open thread

We all know what tomorrow is and aside from a mid-morning client meeting Johnny's gonna be about two things, the NCAA basketball tournament and of course, St. Patrick's Day and all that great Irish music!

Til then.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

The ugliest new building in Jersey City is....

Jersey City has some REALLY bad new architecture going on. Everything either needs a sibling building (boring) or the architects simply could give two fucks about our skyline and neighborhoods. Johnny has decided to let you, the Jersey City residents have your say on which new building is the ugliest.

First, the rules, any new building coming online, ie allowing tenants in in 2015 is eligible for this 2016 award.

Let's not be CBS and the NCAA Tournament show and get right to the nominees:

The new Mirbella, the Oakman (Jokeman), the new Ironstate in Journal Square and little Jared Kushner's tribute to his father-in-law, the Shithead Trump building will all be eligible next year as they will open this year. Now that that's cleared up we have three key nominees all relatively close to each other:

Lloyd Goldman's The One

Void of any feeling, void of any interesting architecture, void of anything top end this is a candidate that simply can't be overlooked. Well, actually it should be overlooked but no doubt it's made many a person's eyes bleed as they gaze upon it. The backside looks like a prison entrance and the best views include a park Goldman's goofs tore up and the light rail down below.

Toll Brothers The Morgan

A Toll Brothers VP told a meeting of PADNA he simply could neither defend the architect of The Morgan, nor it's look. He said it's why Toll had a new architect to build their new Phase Two shithole at the corner of Warren and Morgan. Basic, bland, ill colored brick for the neighborhood it's in, and on the back wall that overlooks a lawn it might be the ugliest "mural" in all the land.

Shuster's Art House

A beige block of ice, a non-descript building in an old neighborhood filled with architectural gems. It doesn't help the Art House that Shuster is building an almost exact copy called The Jokeman, er Oakman right next door. One is supposed to be high end (Johnny's seen brochures dropped in his lobby like trash for the Oakman, it ain't that high end people) while the other is affordable rentals. Look at the outsides of the buildings and tell which is which. Exactly. Ugly! Branding Problem!

Feel free to jump into comments and vote for the one that hurts your eyes the most. Vote on it and make America great again LOL...

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

A winged servile minion...LOL

A must read letter to the editor today on what Governor Christie has become. This one's a gem.

Late night open thread

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow.
 -- Proverb

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Toll Brothers getting on the 'affordable unit' bandwagon

In Jersey City, if you want tax abatements for really ugly unnecessary buildings, you have to agree to put in affordable units, even if you plan on dumping them in the next city over once "city planning" and city council gives you the variance you'll whine for. Not Toll Brothers, no, Toll today is at the forefront of affordable units, case in point, here's their newest offering for low-income or those of modest means, "The Hovel at Warren".

Listed on Zillow recently this property goes for $399K and while it doesn't have running water or sewage connection you will get 100% authentic early-American hovel living, complete with a cool blue back porch and storage/extra metal pod sleeping for friends and family. What's not to love, it's a Toll property after all, built with all the loving care they put into the Morgan.

Late night open thread

Another B1G title for Tom Izzo and Johnny's Michigan State Spartans. Three tournament titles in five years and six overall. Now the real fun starts, ie MSU takes their revenge on anything moving for making them a #2 seed when just about anyone drawing breath thought they deserved a #1 seed. Old frenemy Virginia is out there in the Midwest Region. MSU has eliminated a #1 seeded Cavalier team the last two seasons. More on the rest of the tourney including full Seton Hall coverage later this week.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

How about those Seton Hall Pirates? Winners of the Big East tournament the Pirates may have done Johnny's MSU Spartans a huge favor in knocking off Villanova who was holing onto a #1 seed in the NCAA Tourney, that #1 may well now go to Sparty. Congrats to The Hall! Right now Seton Hall sits at a #6 seed in the NCAA Tournament according to ESPN guru Joe Lunardi. Oh look, 3 games in, a possible rematch with Villanova, all from Brooklyn!

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

A closer look at the Butler Building

The folks rehabbing the Butler Building at Warren and Morgan St. are in the final stages of the project. They put up the side lighting on the building on their sidewalk along Warren and Johnny took a couple snaps.

Late night open thread

Saturday night is your big night. Everybody used to fry up fish and have one hell of a time. Find me playing till sunrise for 50 cents and a sandwich. And be glad of it. And they really liked the low-down blues.
 -- Muddy Waters

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with POE!

Here's a hot number to step off to tonight, a little off the beaten track. It's Poe with 'Could've Gone Mad' to get us started on the right foot. Turn those speakers or headphones up.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE DOORS!

Sometimes your love for a song never wanes and never goes away. 'Moonlight Drive' by The Doors is such a song for Johnny. Loved it the first time he heard it on the radio and that love has held strong all these years later.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with SARAH MCLACHLAN!

For once Sarah isn't going to make you feel bad about abused animals (Hey it's a serious topic and her ad certainly hit home) but tonight she's going to be blue, covered in mud, and sing 'Into the Fire' from her Solace album for all of us cool kids.

Late night open thread

The Music Series is TOMORROW night. Fridays. Got it?!

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Just listen to all this community spirit by Mack-Cali over the NJTransit strike

You've gotta love a company that acts all community oriented unless we're guessing you ask hard questions or don't take things at face value....like us here at the Jersey City Desk.

As we've talked about here, there is the possibility of an NJ Transit rail strike starting Sunday morning at 12:01am. It could impact the Monday morning commute in a bad bad bad way. To "help prepare" for such a possibility, we learn from the Wall Street Journal, that Mack-Cali, a real estate company with a footprint here in Jersey City has a plan. They are going to make more spots in their parking lots/decks for people who will be forced to drive.

Sounds great right? Unless you read that they are planning on limiting access to the parking by their own residents. We're guessing this is parking residents already pay for in some capacity. To boot them for the commuters, whom we're guessing Mack-Cali will charge for parking makes this whole thing seem pretty scammy doesn't it? You people get out so those who will pay more for what you're getting now are coming. Go on, fuck off.

Just come back when they settle.

Late night open thread

Here's Bob now with sports and a live report from Berea Ohio and Browns HQ...

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

On this day in 1950 the famed VW microbus, a favorite form of transportation for hippies and teenage crime solvers, began production.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Just riffing on Jersey City

Let's go on a few quick riffs this evening on all things Jersey City (and not).

The new downtown buildings at 90 Columbus, The One, The Morgan, the new offset Ironstate building and the Drumpf Tower on Bay St. Most have have some kind of issues with falling debris either hitting a cop or killing someone, careless fires that shut downtown, one just opened and a pest control truck was seen in their parking lot (off limits to anyone but them). The Butler Building, the rehab going on at Washington and Bay St is being written up in the New York Times as true luxury and quality. The problematic new buildings? All union work. The Butler Building? Non-union labor. Discuss...

Speaking of The One, we're at the one year anniversary of Lloyd Goldman's asshat brigade tearing up a PAD Park. It's still not fixed though Candice Osborne says it will be, after the chromium Goldman's BLDG dug up is cleaned up. Probably fall before Jersey City residents can use it. A year and a half because of a half-wit developer.

We'd belatedly like to praise Mayor Fulop on raising the minimum wage for city workers to $15 an hour. It's truly the right thing to do and no doubt Fulop knows this will be used against him in his run for governor (Oh, we all pay for your schools but you have the money to do this?) so kudos for doing something truly selfless politically.

The new Game of Thrones trailer for season six is out. Cersei's steely claim with Ser Robert Strong at her back saying "I choose violence" was too cool. FYI, this is Johnny's guess and since the books have been caught by the show it's not technically a spoiler, The Hound is the Valonqar.

Late night open thread

Everybody dance

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Yep, LepreCon in Hoboken turned ugly

It would seem no matter what the Mile Square City tries, it fails to keep people from using the town as their own personal drinking purge game. Fifteen people were arrested, including one jagoff named Christopher Smallwood, from the shithole of Warminster, Pa attacked a Hoboken police officer so badly he broke three of her ribs. He also dislocated another officer's shoulder when this former Delaware State running back ran through the officers. Fifty four tickets were issued for the usual drunken boorish behavior.

There's going to come a time where bars and other restaurants are going to stay closed by city order if this kind of stupidity keeps up.

Late night open thread

In heaven there is no beer.
That's why we drink it here (Right Here!)
And when we're gone from here,
Our friends will be drinking all our beer!

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

A perfect metaphor for this week

It would seem the last vestiges of winter will begin to pull out of the Tri-State this week with the little piles of snow and bits of ice making way for temps in the 70's by Wednesday.

While it hasn't been a bad winter by any stretch, any day that wants to be 70º and sunny, Johnny's all for that.

Late night open thread

One more song this weekend friends. An online friend of Johnny's passed away he found out last night. Never easy news to hear but in Howie's memory Elton John with 'Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding' before a rumination-filled bedtime.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Let's get fired up! The St. Peter's Peacocks tip off in one hour!

Just one hour until Jersey City's own St. Peter's Peacocks take on Fairfield. Fairfield and St. Peter's were both 12-8 in conference play with the Stags with an 18-12 ovrall record while the Jersey City Five are 14-15 on the entire season.

Let's go St. Peter's! Time for another amazing run!

Late night open thread

When you believe in things that you don't understand,
Then we suffer,
Superstition ain't the way.
 -- Stevie Wonder

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with NEKO CASE!

Johnny has played a lot of songs on the Music Series over the years. Thousands at this point. Some fit a theme that night, some we have fun at their expense on either singer or song. Some we love. Tonight Johnny's going to let you in and hear three of his all-time most favoritest most wonderful songs he knows and he holds dear. The kind of song you too have that seems to make it on so many travel or driving playlists and CD's.

Johnny is starting off with someone you know he loves and links to on this very page, the fabulous Neko Case. Sure Johnny loves soooo much of her music but on her last album, The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You, she released a song, 'Where Did I Leave That Fire' about losing those closest to you in life and moving on alone and having to deal with those feelings as they sap your very will. The lyrics touched Johnny in his own orbit but the music laid down around this fabulous song is incredible. Johnny just wants to put the instrumental interlude in the middle on a loop and pump it into his brain it's so good. A song that means a lot and is never far from Johnny's heart. He's honestly never heard another song like it.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with TOM TYKWER!

Johnny, WHO? Tom Tykwer, the guy so cool, he not only wrote, produced and directed the indie movie once called the Citizen Kane of music videos, Run Lola Run, he wrote the music. Now Tykwer (who was dating Franka Potente at the time and wrote the role of Lola with her in mind) thought if he let someone else write the soundtrack they'd only serve to fuck that up and ruin his vision. Know what he did? He wrote what Johnny considers one of the ten best soundtracks to any movie ever by himself. Yeah, wrote the entire soundtrack/score.

Here's a piece with no real true singing in it, just a small voice piece and yet Johnny thinks it's one of the most perfect pieces of music he's ever heard. Tom Tykwer and 'Casino'

P.S. If you're somehow reading this Ms. Franka Potente do know Johnny has the biggest crush on you. Email him :)

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with FLEETWOOD MAC!

There was a time, 1973 to be exact, when Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks hadn't yet joined Fleetwood Mac and made Rumors and become mega super giant stars. That'd come in three more years. In 1973 Bob Welch was singing for the band. It was on the Mystery to Me album that Fleetwood Mac unleashed this song on Johnny's conscience and he still cannot ever change it when it comes on the iTunes or XM radio and it too is on every driving CD he's ever made. It's just that influential to him.

Fleetwood Mac and 'Hypnotized' on a Johnny's Favorite Cuts night on the Music Series.

Danger, Danger Will Robinson, impending Hoboken Lepre-Con tomorrow

Yes, we know they're not calling it Lepre-Con anymore but does anyone have a better name for what does and will happen tomorrow in the Mile Square City? Tons of drunken louts and loutettes wandering from bar to bar with a wristband that can cost, *GASP* upwards of SIX US dollars will be fuel to the drinking fire. Just about anyone selling food or booze in FuHo is open and catering to this though they'll say they're not catering to it. Yes, they are. If they weren't they'd tell those in green costumes and those who have already had a couple too many beers to get stepping.

There you have it, the 24 hour avoid Hoboken rule goes into effect around dawn tomorrow and carries over to dawn on Sunday when the last of the litter and passed out customers & yack are cleaned off the sidewalks.

Late night open thread

Boy Johnny was having fun with that #GifParty hashtag on the Twitter earlier today. Nobody got a better collection of those things than Johnny. Hope the Slim Jim and Mountain Dew cravings were worth it.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Time to start planning for an NJ Rail strike after next week

No burying the lead on this one:

NJ Transit officials warned commuters on Thursday that bus service would only be able to handle 40 percent of the 105,000 people who get to work using its rail service if unions walk off the job in 10 days over a contract dispute.

Johnny's gonna stay out of the politics of this but it is worth \noting NJ Transit workers have worked several years with no contract.

The scariest part about getting around are there two points:

* 10,000 cars an hour during the morning and evening commuting peak on to roads in a 25-mile radius of New York

* The plan would mirror what was done in 2012 after Hurricane Sandy flooded and shut down the Hudson River rail tunnels and damaged the North Jersey Coast Line — using hired charter buses running from park and ride lots to bring commuter to Hudson River ferries.

So, the question becomes how do you get around and what are your plans to get around the area in the case a strike happens. So tell us Jersey City and the surround, did you learn any new ways to go after Sandy or do you have a secret route?

Late night open thread

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.
 -- Charles Dickens

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

We hate to harp on the Governor...

...no, wait, no we don't. What an asshat. Let's "Mr. Trump" shit all over us here in New Jersey and nods his head like a bobblehead. Six different papers who endorsed Christie last time have now called for him to resign. We'd love for that to happen but he's too much of an egomaniac. It's time to fully fight back on anything Christie wants, and fight hard. Fight to the last arrow. He shall get nothing through nor do anything more to destroy this state. It's the only option and yes, he brought this on himself.

Late night open thread

Apologies, Johnny had a couple medical checkups today and never made it into the office. Might as well get them out of the way all at once.

Anyone get a load of our Governor with the Trumpmeister tonight? It went something like this...

What a douche.

Time for Jersey City. After Dark