Who will help bake the cake? Not I said the fox, Not I barked the lazy dog...

"Not I," purred the sleepy cat. "Not I," quacked the duck.

But as you know from The Little Red Hen children's story, they'll all be more than happy to eat the cake. Which brings us to the utter lack of interest or participation in the Powerhouse Arts District from it's newest residents at The One, The Trump buildings, and The Morgan. Johnny went to help friends clean up the PAD yesterday and he's worked on the Harsimus Cove clean up days. He believes in putting in the sweat equity for the neighborhoods he's near to make Jersey City a place everyone wants to live in. Know what Johnny's job he offered up was yesterday? A giant grid going around and cleaning up the dog crap that idiot owners and bad dog walkers just leave. He's used to doing it and it's disgusting for those without a dog. Went through two full rolls of poop bags. Yes, Johnny gets to call you lazy bastards out who didn't help.

When you have a dog you get to know a lot of people in a wide swath. You just do. Johnny saw people cleaning the PAD from 150 and 140 Bay St. He saw people he knew from The A building and the new Modera. Didn't see any of the others. Do they not all use the neighborhood (and this goes for every ward and neighborhood)? There were signs up. The only kind you don't feel like ripping down.

See, it's not just the two spring cleanups these three buildings have bailed on. They've bailed on the last two art crawls as well. Bet some residents from Trump, The One and The Morgan enjoyed the art crawl, it's just their heavily-abated buildings just decided to let someone else do it. Let them pay for it. All three broke the height levels in the PAD through the courts, they've not been good neighbors to begin with, and it's clear their investment in the neighborhood is mailing in the PILOT check to city hall. Didn't the city insist they have art spaces (Heck, Public Storage had to put one in per neighborhood agreements)? Why do these three buildings and their residents sit these events out at every turn?

If you see them, do ask. Then ask again if they don't have an answer. Still no answer? Give them a trash bag before they get to eat any cake.

Must have been a real Smackeroo

By all visual accounts, sometime this morning at least one car and probably more than one looking at skid marks, hit the old Acadia Scenery business at the corner of Bay St, and Warren. All kinds of kitty litter outside the building and sidewalk along with assorted car parts told not just Johnny but pretty much everyone what had happened. Johnny will update this story with particulars should they become available later.

What a Studio Tour weekend!

Oh the hell with the rain, art fans care nothing for rain, baseball fans care about rain. From what Johnny was able to see downtown, in PAD and around Harsimus Cove the art scene in Jersey City is strong and getting stronger. Make no mistake, the new gallery at Modera and with all the associated artist space (look someone really lives up to their commitment to the Powerhouse ARTS District along with 140 and 150 Bay St., talking to you The One and The Morgan) has already and will continue to bring the focus of art back to the PAD. Johnny was actually privy to a discussion between artists and curators of an idea someone had to create a monthly art walk or studio and gallery art crawl on one Friday a month. Those on hand were also very adamant the city would be kept out of planning and implementation after the Monopoly board debacle (Where is your credibility now city hall?). Great idea and more than likely a better idea to keep the city at arm's length.

A few snaps from this tour this past weekend

An image from a bygone era

The almost postcard looking scene of a painter with his brush and canvas outside painting a scene. Johnny chanced across this gentleman today along Warren St. looking at the facade of the old Manischewitz building before Toll Brothers puts up their newest abortion of a building blocking this very view.

The Mayor and City Council President have some serious questions to answer

Johnny's been letting this story simmer this week and let the facts trickle out organically and trickle they have.

First, a little stage setting. Transmission is a club at 150 Bay St. that despite the locals push back was deposited in a small crowded area of the Powerhouse Arts District. All the concerns locals have voiced thus far have come true and yet the city is glacial in dealing with them.

Transmission a month ago was raided and arrests made. Underage drinkers and drug sales were the order of the night. Undercover officers went in and instead of taking notes for future reference felt things were so bad they brought in the black and whites. How BAD is it in there? Great for the PAD property values by the way to have such a club in operation. Underage drinkers and drug sellers. Classy.

Two weeks after that police were called as the clientele got out of hand, were seen drinking and taking drugs in cars, and challenging pedestrians walking by to fistfights. The Transmission owner said the booking agent that night tricked him.

Last Saturday night at Transmission a local style blogger had a party. The crowd was large and the streets were packed as usual and nobody in the neighborhood could sleep with the windows open.

Steve Fulop, Jersey City Mayor, showed up (for what the party host said was about two hours) along with Council President Rolando Lavarro. The two top members of the Jersey City government hanging out in a club with such a reputation? One where drugs have recently been sold and underage kids drink. Why would either think this is a good idea, to contribute their names to such a place? At this point the only thing missing from Transmission are illicit dice games on the 150 Bay veranda but there they were, giving the glad hand.

Their presence gets more scrutiny when the police showed up to go through the club at 1am. Did police not know Fulop was inside? Is the club so bad (and remember Johnny pointed out the undercovers went in at 1am in his report on this last Sunday) they feel they just need to go inside and check around? If so, again, what business do the mayor and council president have inside?

Which brings us to our last order of business, yes, the mayor and council president were more than likely present at a party where drugs were being used. Remember this bag of powdery substance right outside Transmission, taken by Johnny Sunday morning?

See those items? Those are the exact kinds of things that quickly get dumped when police start showing up.

Is this the kind of example you, Mayor Fulop and Council President Lavarro want to set? Is this a good message from either of you? Know what it is? It's every bad stereotype of the new downtown setting itself in stone to the rest of the city.

Dinosaurs drive amongst us...

No, not old people, real dinocars. Johnny took the dire for a rainy walk this morning and figured since it was crappy out he'd grab a cup-to-go of that fine Intelligentsia coffee from the Warehouse Cafe.

They can be ruthless in the PAD to illegally parked cars. Johnny's seen it for years. They embarrass poor parkers. This one was parked over the yellow lines and was blocking a small walkway and presto, instant Nissan Stegosaurus.

A great view that won't be around too much longer

Like planets aligned, so are the warehouses over in The PAD tonight. This view will forever be skewed by another Toll Brothers ugly building all too soon.

While we're on the PAD there's an excellent article out by ChicPeaJC

Well, it's on her website looking into the rich history of The PAD. "One of the smallest neighborhoods in Jersey City but it packs a helluva punch" says Lauren Bienvenue, and you can even learn which famous movie shot it's final scene in The PAD waaaay back when, with the Powerhouse Building standing prominent. Poor Powerhouse Building, could be so much but all city government lets it rot instead of a citywide initiative to take ownership and rebuild and rebrand without turning it over to Trump's kid. Buildings like the Powerhouse are why you don't abate everything else by the way...

The end of another era downtown

Here's all that's left of the old Parlay Studios in the Powerhouse Arts District. Flattened. Luckily a new mid-size condo will go up where a building that had a cool vibe, a good business and where Johnny watched the 2010 World Cup final >:>\

EXCLUSIVE Downtown demolition video

Johnny called in a favor and got roof access near where the old Cooke Warehouse at Bay St. and Warren is in the final stages of demolition. What video, any closer and you'd have rubble on your keyboard.

More pie in the sky from the Mayor last night

Mayor Steve Fulop gave his 'State of the City' address last night and as usual, he had a lot of praise for himself. A video ran before the speech of former President Clinton giving Fulop accolades. Kinda tells you what comes next. Fulop touted what he called "the greatest growth and expansion ever seen in Jersey City's history."

OK Mr. Mayor, so why is the budget so flat? When are we getting rebates or lower property taxes? This building boom should have our city coffers in much better shape, there should have been talk last night about Jersey City residents getting something back. You sure missed on that one. Do you think people don't notice all the construction and loss of parking around town? We're not blind Mr. Mayor and frankly your promises on city finances are coming up short. You might also want to point out that most of what you see going up now you're taking credit for Mr. Mayor was signed off on and started under former Mayor Healy. Somehow you missed telling us that.

Fulop also made a big deal last night about, since every empty lot is either under construction or is in the planning stages, he was back in his effusive praise of affordable housing downtown. His words have never rung so hollow. Remember when Fulop was Ward E councilman? Remember the community arts building that once stood, in Fulop's ward that Lloyd Goldman had dragged down to build a new 38 story high rise WITH of course 10% set aside for art space and affordable housing? Well as soon as this proposal got the green light Goldman, as he no doubt planned to do all along, then reneged on his affordable apartments and art space. Fuck that Goldman said, he didn't want the poors living there despite what he signed off on to get tax breaks he was never made to pay back. So, that did Councilman or Mayor Fulop say about this deal? Absolutely fucking nothing on record. Thanks Mayor for your support and undying work on affordable housing in Jersey City. If your next work is anything like your previous work on getting residents downtown into affordable units just admit your speech last night was just that, a pie in the sky speech.

So the Mayor gave a speech and practically nobody outside his inner circle were impressed by it. In fact, we're going to give the Jersey City Desk famous last word to Ward D council member Michael Yun:

"He painted a pretty picture, but we're looking for more substance."

Wildlife sighting in downtown Jersey City!

While walking the dire wolf this morning, and after grabbing a coffee at the Warehouse Cafe as he is known to stop in and buy at the halfway point in the walk, Johnny's wolf began really barking. Now she's a talker anyway but this, this was different. She seemed somehow fixated on a line of cars outside the building the Warehouse Cafe is in. Bark bark whiiiiiiine bark. What ever could it be?

A skunk! A big old skunk crawling under cars making his or her way east down Bay St. Johnny stood in the street trying to get pictures with a wilding dog trying also not to get sprayed. Finally the skunk acquiesced. Johnny then warned residents coming out of the building there. He warned Warehouse customers. He did NOT warn the  Lloyd Goldman 111 First. St. construction guys because screw them.

A skunk, no doubt out for a morning stroll, perhaps to the Warehouse Cafe because they use that great Intelligentsia Coffee Johnny loves so much. Maybe the skunk was headed to the food truck down at the corner of Bay and Warren, how apropos. Here's your shots of the wildlife going on downtown even as we speak Jersey City.

Exclusive Jersey City Desk video of the Warehouse demolition

Yes, the old warehouse at Warren and Morgan St. started to come down this morning, history be damned. There are neighborhood rumors Johnny was told this morning by onlookers that this very building is where former Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini did her burlesque dancing way back when the place was known as "The Jersey Room" but of course this is mere speculation. So Jersey City another piece of history goes bye-bye for rental units and transient residents.

The times they have changed Mr. Dylan...

Get stepping Jersey City, Eliza Neals sings all up in your faces this afternoon

Jersey City artist by way of Detroit (and thus a friend of Johnny's) Eliza Neals will be on stage today at the corner of Bay St. and Provost in the Powerhouse Arts District. So put on a sweatshirt and some long pants and get downtown, she's fantastic!

Johnny's seen a lot of construction vehicles but this takes the cake

In his last few years of walking the dire wolf through, and visiting friends in the Powerhouse Arts District, Johnny has seen just about every conceivable construction vehicle: Dump trucks, long trucks, short trucks, loaders, haulers, little golf cart zippy things but he had never ever never seen a construction vehicle like this before this morning:

Yes, the guys at Mill Creek rehabbing the building at Warren and Morgan have a horse trailer to aid them this morning. So either Mill Creek is putting in off-track betting and want some ambience in the lobby or maybe they are going to turn the famed Morgan Lot across the street into a horse track. What? It could happen. We could hold the Jersey Derby or SpacePunk Stakes over there. Johnny didn't see any sulky's lying around so we're guessing it could be thoroughbred racing.

Ah, perchance to dream.

Smile for your close-up Jersey City

Crews are currently filming what Johnny was told is a commercial (or parts of a commercial) on Morgan St. at Warren this morning. Take a look at the pics and from the looks of that buffet table they plan on being here for a while today.

One a side note, Johnny heard two jagoffs from the Mill Creek construction team working on the old dark brick building at Warren and Morgan looking at the commercial set-up and complaining it would make their trucks take circuitous routes to their job site and for them that was a problem. Hey, morons, how do you think the people in the Powerhouse Arts District feel when you block off entire streets for your worksites? How do you think they feel when half their roads are blocked for you and Goldman and Tish and Shuster and Toll Brothers? We're just glad to see film crews still heading over into the PAD after all the whitewashing of the character of the area from mayors Healy and Fulop along with the aforementioned developer vampires.

If you see a Jersey City cop today, thank them

In taking his dire wolf out for a walk this morning Johnny knew where he was headed; to the Powerhouse Arts District with all that construction and all the police officers working traffic around job sites. Johnny made a point to walk up to every JCPD officer he could find to express deepest sympathies and to simply say "Thank You" to them. This isn't really about Johnny or what he did but he will tell you a few officers really really appreciated that thank you today. So if you find yourself out and about and see a JCPD officer today please tell them thank you. It's a simple act that goes a long way.

Jersey City Beer? Oh how awesome!

Now Johnny's a teetotaler, but he drank (like a Viking) many great beers/bieres in his day. According to the good folks at Seen in Jersey City, Cool City is getting it's own new brewhouse as the Departed Soles Brewing Company is moving into 150 Bay St. Here's Departed Soles, from their website:

Departed Soles Brewing Co. is proud to call Jersey City, New Jersey home, where we craft both regular and Gluten Free Craft Beer. Our offerings aren't meant to be "a good gluten free option" but a great beer that happens to be Gluten Free.  
Craft with a Kick!

What a great get for the Powerhouse Arts District. Much more from the Departed Soles Brewing Company on their story can be found right here.

Good god man, you've struck asbestos!

The hazmat teams are on the scene and the asbestos (we're guessing asbestos, if it's something more toxic the PAD is screwed) alarms are shrieking at the corner of Bay St. and Warren.

Hey no problem to have a building rich in asbestos with the sides splayed open where a good breeze can share it with everyone downtown.

If Steve Fulop ran for mayor of the Powerhouse Arts District next week he'd lose

Johnny is getting the impression the city has ignored some of the well-heeled voters (read donation factories) in favor of builders and constructioneers for about the last time. After getting an email about what a group of locals discussed last night AND hearing about a citizen/construction worker dust-up on the Listening Station of Doom® this morning, Johnny knows things over there are tense. Johnny also knows where the blame for being overrun in the PAD is landing, at Stevie Pullups' feet.

So, Johnny being Johnny he went looking for some more info and found out the police guarding the worksites think the citizens are getting short shrift and are openly encouraging people to call the mayor's complaint line.

We'll soon find out if a citizen revolt gets noticed over at 280 Grove St.