Late night open thread

“It was a rainy night. It was the myth of a rainy night.”
 -- Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Lest you feel Johnny always picks on the mayor

He had nothing to do with The Star-Ledger's Tom Moran saying of Mayor Steve Fulop, and we quote:

"Fulop on Wednesday threw a tantrum aimed at George Norcross, the political boss from South Jersey who controls the party's biggest and most unified faction...

Fulop is not the powerhouse that Norcross is when it comes to moving votes in the Legislature. But many Democrats outside South Jersey resent Norcross -- a centrist who has allied himself repeatedly with Gov. Chris Christie -- and Fulop wants to be their hero..."

Moran goes on to point out Fulop makes cryptic if not outright claims Norcross was trying to enrich himself in casino deals in Atlantic City (among other things) and when pressed, or his talking heads were pressed for proof, Fulop had none.

Then Norcross got his turn and things escalated quickly:

"My father always told me never to interrupt someone making a fool out of themselves," he said in a written statement. "But it is important to note that the mayor did not always have a negative impression of me. He has repeatedly sought my advice and support, including just a few months ago when he traveled two hours to my office in South Jersey and begged for my support for governor.

"I respectfully declined, but perhaps that rejection is behind today's unhinged statement."

Wow, that ball hasn't landed yet.

For basically walking into that shovel in the face from Norcross, Moran awarded Fulop with "The Dumbest Stunt of the Year Award."

Perhaps you recall the movie Apocalypse Now. As Martin Sheen was meeting his new boatmates and going over their qualities or lack thereof in his own mind he mentioned Chef, a guy from New Orleans who worked as a saucier, he said he was wound too tight for Vietnam. Hell, Sheen thought, he was probably wound too tight for New Orleans. Maybe that's what we see from Fulop on the big stage that is the whole of New Jersey. Wound too tight. We know he's already secretive when he ran against it, he doesn't like criticism, even fairly done, those people are simply dismissed as those who don't love the city and fail to see the potential. When one perceives the walls of the bower closing in things get strange, and you start winning Dumbest Stunt of the Year Awards.

Late night open thread

Clothes are dry.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

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

Late night open thread

If you're going to quit the Presidential race why not pop your wife in the chops a couple times on the way out the door?

Time for Jersey City,  After Dark

Hamilton truly is a once in a generation play

SIXTEEN Tony nominations this morning, and yes, that sets a record. Lin-Manuel Miranda now owns Broadway. More on all the nominations (there were other plays this year surprisingly, many Johnny saw) at Gothamist.

Late night open thread

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Fight on you Foxes! Incredible 5000-1 shot Leicester City wins the Premier League!

Johnny thinks whether or not you follow soccer or even sports for that matter you can probably appreciate the utterly stunning fact that Leicester City, a preseason 5000-1 shot, won the Barclay's Premier League with room to spare after Chelsea scored a late goal costing Tottenham the points needed to stay in the race. This is what your first Premier division title in 132 years looks and sounds like:

Late night open thread

The Universe may have neither a center nor an edge, because according to Einstein’s theory of relativity, gravity bends all of space time around into an endless curve. Mull that one over trying to fall asleep tonight.

Time for Jersey City, After Dark

Jersey City, home of dog poop bag flower pots

Just feast your eyes on the uncollected trash in Jersey City as multi-colored dog poop bags and other assorted plastics create a flowerpot looking trash bin. Just gorgeous.

Jersey City, make it yours with dog poop performance art. The city is your canvas.