Late night open thread

Reveal yourself oh Photoshop maven!

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Case of Pennsylvania "anti-drug crusader" with a van full of weapons in Holland Tunnel ends with guilty plea

John Cramsey, East Greenville, Pa, pled guilty to two charges after being arrested last year driving through the Holland Tunnel on some kind of self-proclaimed rescue mission, with quite the cadre of weapons, including:

Police said they seized a 12-gauge shotgun, an assault rifle with high-capacity magazines, five handguns, including some that were loaded, and a pair of knives, police said.

The two others arrested in the Tunnel along with Cramsey, Kimberly Arendt 29, of Lehighton, Pa., and Dean Smith, of Upper Milford, Pa., were admitted to a pre-trial program for first-time offenders and agreed to testify against Cramsey if his case went to trial.

Look, we understand Cramsey is mad and damned mad at the heroin trade as involvement with it ultimately took the life of his daughter. We're glad he's an activist in the cause. We truly wish him well but you simply cannot bring an A-Team van of weapons through the Holland Tunnel on your way to a halfway house in Brooklyn to possibly shoot your way in and out to rescue a girl who may or may not be at that address. That's why we have SWAT teams and police. Cramsey gets a lesson in what not to do but more importantly it didn't spin out of control in a shootout where the penalties would have taken him and his cohorts away from trying to help people for a far longer time.

Late night open thread

“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”
 -- Henry James

Time for Jersey City After Dark

Chris Christie making the rounds again

Today at Miller Park in Milwaukee Christie, a bowl of nachos in hand tried to act tough to a Cubs fan. Johnny promises you this guv, if you'd have tried that tough guy act at met Life you'd be wearing those nachos.

Late night open thread

Great match for a pre-season friendly between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Miami tonight. Fans got their money worth beside the fact they were seeing two storied teams play a Clasico outside Spain for the first (and only) time since 1982. A hard fought competitive match worthy of the name Clasico.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

Sticks head up, looks, listens, nothing going on.

Back to Warcraft.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with VELVET UNDERGROUND!

WJCD music time 10:55. Fuck the traffic and weather, we have things to attend to. 'Sweet Jane with the kids from across the river up next and making your Friday night a better place.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with SPARKS!

Here's one from the vaults of 1982, a song played to great effect in the movie Valley Girl, it's Sparks with 'Eaten By the Monster of Love'.

This song stood out for whatever reason on Johnny's recent road trip and that's how you land on the Music Series sometimes.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with GARBAGE!

Joy! Rapture! Tuesday night at The Beacon Theater it's these fine folks here, Garbage playing with/opening for Blondie and yes, Johnny's got seats (You'll pay for the whole seat but you'll only need the edge) to this once in a lifetime event. Two great bands, one iconic in Johnny's mind. Shirley Manson has said many times how much she's looking forward to this leg of the tour they are on.

If they play this song Tuesday and use this very reverb Johnny's gonna swoon all over himself.

Last stop on the Music Series this week, Garbage with 'Special' begging the question, what's a Letterman?

Late night open thread

The Doctor says, "You'll live to be 60!" "I AM 60!" "See, what did I tell you?"
 -- Henny Youngman

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

3 more Jersey City cops plead guilty -- friends it's a pipeline

Trying not to spend too much time on this (again) today but three more disgraced police officers from our fair city have pled guilty in the stand around cases where they claimed hours they didn't work, and or didn't pay the IRS on the money they got and or didn't cut the city in on their portion of this ridiculous program. Welcome to the Jersey City Desk wall of shame bad actors James Cardinali, Christopher Ortega and Victor Sanchez. Book 'em Terrence:

Cardinali was in charge of assigning off-duty jobs in the south district, where Ortega and Sanchez also worked.

Cardinali admitted today that he allowed companies to operate without off-duty officers present. He also admitted he approved phony vouchers to the city to make it appear as if officers worked sites they hadn't and accepted cash from the companies and officers who benefited. Ortega and Sanchez, who also worked in the south district, both admitted accepting money for work they never performed.

Funny nobody's going to jail for actually pulling on-duty cops off-duty to get to these stand around jobs.

Late night open thread

"The summer night was settling upon the neighborhood like a dark lace veil, casting dappled shadows on the roofs and sidewalks and lawns."
 -- Victoria Kahler, Luisa Across the Bay

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Do you like ribs Joey? How about movies about gladiators?

Gothamist went looking for the 11 best rib dishes across NYC, not necessarily BBQ mind you but some really delicious sounding and looking dishes are what they found. In a perfect world Johnny would have the time to try them all so if you have already had some of these ribs do feel free t share in comments.

Late night open thread

Jump in and help Marcella take down the office at some point tonight.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Third Jersey City cop pleads guilty for being on the take over stand around jobs

Sure we do discuss this failure of a program fairly often because the embarrassment it has become to the city as dirty cop after dirty cop pleads as being a part of standing around construction sites doing next to nothing if playing on your iPhone counts. This time is was Victor Sanchez who now faces five years in prison and forfeits over $21K. We want to give this officer his time in the sun so this kind of nonsense is never forgotten.

Late night open thread

Aaaaaand we're back. Johnny drove virtually unmolested from Plymouth MI back to Fun City early this morning through the noon hour making dazzling time through Pennsylvania as always. Watched the sun come up between two thunderstorms in eastern Ohio. One of the best parts is the Maumee River crossing as the colorful new bridge splits a sleeping Toledo at 3:45am. Very scenic view, quite Americana. Still river, docks, smokestacks, yellowed lights along the banks and friends, you can't see that on a plane.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

Well friends it's that time. Johnny is off back to the midwest for the big Hobbit sized wedding of his nephew in Michigan so until which time (if any) he returns, you kids behave. Hard enough to get babysitters for some of you fuckers as is.

Until next week party cats and kittens...

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE MOODY BLUES!

Good for the soul every so often, a Moody Blues song, especially one asking the right questions, making the right points and with lyrics that work perfectly even today. What a song.

'I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)' stepping off tonight.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with THE ROMANTICS!

Johnny's coming home boys. That's right, as you've read above Johnny's heading back to Michigan for a few days (Still mad at them for voting the way they did, like a knife in the back it was) and to see a young buck in Johnny's family getting hitched. Might jackslap Kid Rock if he has time. Let's start this road trip a day or so early and hear from our good Detroit friends The Romantics and 'First in Line'

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with LITTLE RICHARD!

If she winks an eye the bread slice turns to toast. If truly the girl can't help it she may want to see an eye doctor. Don't take chances with your eyes, especially if they can burn food. Little Richard putting a bow on the Music Series this week with the aforementioned 'The Girl Can't Help It'

Late night open thread

Well somebody put the dorsal fin on the dog, he's just doing what dog sharks do. Death from above!

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

The cops who kicked the innocent driver at "The Fiery Crash" scene are back on duty

Modified desk duty to be exact. Look, Johnny is no happier these buffoons are still cops in Jersey City but right now the U.S. Attorney’s Office of New Jersey, based on their ongoing investigation have asked Jersey City not to bring departmental charges until their investigation and any charges the feds bring are complete. So desk duty it is according to Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill, who also confirmed the request according to Northjersey.com:

"The federal government is investigating and pursuing criminal charges on the officers involved, and they asked that Jersey City holds up on the separate departmental charges until they have completed their work," Morrill said. “Our intention is to hold every officer who was involved accountable.”

This is good news indeed because this kind of 'policing' simply can't happen here again. If Mayor Fulop has to get tough with the JCPD unions so be it.

Late night open thread

“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.”
 -- Henry David Thoreau

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Ignore the July heat for one moment and think fall debates

The Jersey Journal announced the debate schedule for each debate hosted by Hudson Media. If you want a heads up on those dates you can follow this link and find out where the council debates will be held (Each Ward gets a different debate date) and the only mayoral debate scheduled thus far.

Late night open thread

On this day in history, in a little town called Weehwken in 1804 there was gunfire. Two white guys out thugging over some nonsense at work and you know the rest, Veep Aaron Burr croaked Alexander Hamilton but it was Hamilton who'd get the last laugh, he got on money.
(Artist rendering)

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Apparently there's this show called Game of Thrones

While Johnny might have a passing interest (if by passing you mean encyclopedic knowledge) in the show, he's never been to a viewing party of more than 4 people. Zeppelin Hall here in Jersey City will be hosting a Game of Thrones watch party from 7pm until midnight this Sunday. More on the themed food and drink offerings available here.

Late night open thread

Aaaaaaaand it get worse, much worse for Donnie Jr. So much so Johnny got a long distance dedication from a Robert M. in Washington DC to Donald Trump Jr. who said he wanted you to know something:

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

So, the "Summer of Hell" began this morning

The Amtrak tear down and rebuild of many tracks and supporting material began in earnest today and commuters were faced with new, convoluted and in many cases baffling changes to their daily commute into and out of NYC and the surround. Many experts and teevee pundits are convinced the end is nigh and this will be nothing but daily misery.

Johnny begs to differ.

People will find their new routes and it'll become old hand as others find theirs. Sooner rather than later people will settle back into routines and trouble spots will present themselves soon. Those can be addressed and or worked around. When I-96/I-275/M-14 in the Detroit area was closed off, which is closing off an entire heart valve to and from Detroit's west siiiiiide, people adapted and experts were surprised how quickly the doom of Old Valyria that was predicted faded away. Johnny thinks the same will happen here.

Late night open thread

Donald J. Trump Jr., what a maroon

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

You know it's the perfect summer day when Johnny drops this one

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

It sounds like a broken record, it does

But this is our tax money being spent and perhaps some untoward ways. It's not like government boards and the Kushner Cos. have any kind of credibility they get to start out drawing upon. The Monmouth Mall is the issue at hand and just how deals to get it to Kushner Cos. seemingly so easily are what is on trial. It's really a case right now of a local board claiming they did everything about the sale in an aboveboard manner while a lot of the constituents loudly disagree.

Oh that Kushner name, it's just toxic in North Jersey anymore.

Late night open thread

"The Sistine Chapel
Painted with a Gatling gun"

Johnny had to order a new iPod tonight and he'd never had anything engraved ever and since it was free why not use a great line from a favorite song, Neko Case's 'Polar Nettles' and one up the Brady Bunch's Silver Platters.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with JUNIOR BROWN!

If you're anything like Johnny you love some great guitar and you love playing along on whatever imaginary guitar you have at the time. Get your slide guitar out of your head for this one and ready, steady, go, its Junior Brown after all.

That 'Highway Patrol' is gonna get ya, leadfoot.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with WANDA JACKSON!

Ever since the late 1950's Americans have enjoyed listening to the legendary Wanda Jackson was they drove down our highways and byways. As Johnny prepares for another road trip back to Michigan in another week or so it shall be true again. Wanda Jackson in some form shall grace Johnny's driving playlist. While it may not be this Rockabilly standard, 'Slippin' and Slidin,' it will sound so choice out there somewhere wherever somewhere is.

Friday night MULTIMEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA with SHAGGY!

A request Music Series fans, an actually request made via the emails to Johnny. Here you go ______________, and yes this IS the Shaggy song they use with the little pig on a leash in whatever teevee ad that is.

See that kids, ask and you will most likely receive. Shaggy and 'Mr. Boombastic' sending you out the door tonight.

Late night open thread

Oh no, Satan took your money, that must suck.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Just going to leave these numbers right here

Johnny's in a rush tonight but had to hare this important article by Terrence T. McDonald as he takes a good look at the four years of Steve Fulop and his history of abatements and taking a look at as Johnny has said, Councilman Fulop would hate Mayor Fulop. Johnny also pointed out over a year ago that Fulop's term economically pretty much felt like another Healy term. The count?

In Healy's first full term as mayor, the council approved 52 abatements lasting 10 or more years, 21 of them Downtown. Under Fulop, the council has approved 43 abatements, 14 Downtown.

Mmmmmhmmmmm. Not that big a difference with still another few months left. There is so much good reporting at this link, go get your learn on.

Late night open thread

Johnny may actually get to do something he's always wanted to do but never had the time and availability to do it right. Today Johnny began planning a fall trip for a few days to Gettysburg to ghost hunt. Not your idea of a cool vacation? Do enjoy perhaps one of the best ever videos of suspected ghosts, yes, taken at Gettysburg. Sleep well.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Did you know the Los Angeles Times has better journalists than the Jersey City Desk?

It would appear they do. While Johnny has been ringing the alarm bells and chiming in with news analysis on the embarrassment that the Trump/Kushner alliance (Think MODERN DAY Orthanc and Barad-Dur) around Jersey City and the many many messes they have created since they felt they had some advantage to be pressed after Trump's beyond stupid comments thousands upon thousands of Jersey City residents turned 9/11 into the national anthem at the old Chicago Stadium before Blackhawk games. What a shitgibbon.

So, yes, this does the best job encompassing ALL of the mess made that of course has engulfed Mayor Steve Fulop. Note spokesperson Jennifer Morrill coming behind the mayor with mop and bucket after his no contributions from Kushner claim is followed up on later in the article about the fact YES, 100K of Kushner do-re-mi wound up in his SuperPAC.

Read it. Learn it. Know it.

Late night open thread

Another year without blowing up anything important. Johnny's on a roll!

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Happy Independence Day to all our readers!

Yes even Republicans today. All should partake in this Republic's independence and the joy that goes with it.

Tomorrow however a lot of Americans need to get on with the whole 'responsibilities' portion of 'rights and responsibilities'

Late night open thread

America!

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Everything you need to now about tomorrow's Jersey City frireworks

Caitlin Mota at the Jersey Journal has you covered on all that has changed and friends, a LOT has changed from the usual easy-peasey Liberty State park idea but since that's not an option and the fireworks WILL be held at Exchange Place you'll for sure want to read up on the changes including parking and how to best get downtown.

Late night open thread

Chris Christie, what a selfish lying asshole.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Late night open thread

This is Johnny's favorite 4th of July-related video. Again, physics Jersey City Desk fans. Too many bottlerockets causing too much heat in a contained area creates a firestorm in Jimmy's truck. Driving faster, while fun for you and Johnny was not the best idea here. It was nice of Jimmy to go mobile into the neighborhood looking to set their shit on fire as well. You know, YOLO. We'll have more stupid people with fireworks over the next couple days but it can't be better than this one.

RIP Jimmy's truck

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Mayor Fulop to the rescue!

With Govrnor Chros Chrostie and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto clashing heads over who will blink first over the budget, which Christie has said is the reason all state parks (Including Liberty State Park where the Jersey City fireworks are best watched from) will close until a deal is reached.

Stupid.

Mayor Fulop to the rescue this year as he said Jersey City will shoot off fireworks and everyone, instead of LSP, should gather around Exchange Place to watch the show. We thank him for rising above the nonsense coming from Trenton.