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.

Little things often paint a bigger picture

As all our Jersey City Desk readers know, Johnny is not shy at making predictions. If you'll go back and look at his record, sure he'll be the first to blow his own horn, he's often times right. Let's put that to the test once again.

Walking his dog down Bay St. towards the Hudson River (Gotta stop and get a to-go-cup of that Intelligentsia coffee at The Warehouse Cafe) for the second time in two weeks he noticed a chunk of concrete has fallen off the Manischewitz building, protected historically by the city and PADNA. While Toll Brothers who own the property are busy trying to possibly de-bug the new Morgan building (The one a Toll VP said he couldn't defend the look of) and driving piles for their phase two portion at Warren and Morgan, while legally required to save the historic remaining front section, they are doing absolutely nothing to protect something they are required to.

So why must they protect the remaining part of the Manischewitz building? It's part of the Phase three portion of their abatement (heavily abated) which requires a giveback to the city in the form of a downtown theatre between their Morgan building and the Manischewitz building. The very fact Toll has done zero to protect or save the front facade tells us all we need to know. You can't go back and save a crumbled building. Johnny thinks therein lies their plan.

They're not going to build that theater, certainly not as planned. Never on the timetable. This is Toll Brothers people, they have a god-awful record of agreeing to something in writing then running back to city planning for variances that fuck over residents and benefit themselves. Sad part is because they are a big developer for decades Bob Cotter and the slack-jawed yokels at City Planning have simply agreed to whatever builders want.

So, we have a company not known for keeping promises already letting a historically protected building crumble before the city's eyes and and city planning department and a city council willing to cover for the sins of the builders.

So here's the prediction if you haven't caught on: Toll will never build the PADNA giveback theater because they'll say the building they were tasked with saving is beyond saving. They'll claim the money isn't there. They'll say it has to wait. They'll claim the cost of saving the building are too much and they'd simply rather pay their builder friends to build something else and "Jersey City Planning" and the Jersey City council will allow this to happen.

Johnny thinks you can make some good book on this prediction at the Atlantic City casinos.

Manischewitz Building--Jersey City Desk file photo

The next time NJ Transit cries broke...

Ask them how many people get picked up at the bus stop under the awning of the old Manischewitz Building, now a construction site on Provost, for almost an hour on a Sunday. Johnny was just out walking his pooch and noticed bus #6049 hiding under the awning. OK, he's filling out a report or something. After at least 45 minutes Johnny came back and there sat the NJ Transit bus still (and we did take pics if NJ Transit requires proof, it's our guess they just don't care) idling. So, NJ Transit, is this your new equivalent of the DPW Yard? Did you set up a bus stop overnight?

Or is the driver simply wasting our money? We're used to seeing Hudson Valley Ambulances and the odd mail delivery truck hiding under the awning there late on Friday afternoons but an entire bus? On a Sunday?

If Lucy were NJ Transit she'd have some 'splaining to do.

Toll Brothers, cratering neighborhoods for fun AND profits

A mere 4 years since they were given the go-ahead to rip apart the old Manischewitz building near Morgan and Marin Blvd., work has begun. The Toll Brothers plans, hated by almost everyone in the Powerhouse Arts District (reading online it's hard to find a lot of people who like Toll Brothers or find them as some kind of community asset), are planning on three tall condo buildings of 30 stories, 35 stories and 40 stories (Just what Jersey City needs, more empty condos) on the site. Here are a few pics from demolition work going on at the site.