Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Left hand meet right hand, economics the Fulop way
Two things this morning, we're going to discuss the abject lack of common sense at 280 Grove St. but also check in with Jersey City's Most Pitiable Official.
First off, back in 2105 Jersey City discussed selling a parking lot on Academy Street next to the municipal court. Ward D Councilman Michael Yun (Or just Michael now to the media from Fulop's press agent, not the courtesy of Councilman or Councilman Yun) said that would be a bad idea, court workers and residents will need those spaces. Since the court is not scheduled to close why inconvenience residents he asked? But sell it the city did and now it comes to light was going to rent 30 parking spaces on Academy Street from Vaishno Ma Academy LLC, controlled by Raj Gupta of Gupta Development.
Who does this? Sell it so you can rent from it? What about the residents who used to park there? In Johnny's best Lewis Black voice, "Wait, there's moooore."
This part sure pricked up Johnny's ears when he read it (And there has never been a better Jersey City beat writer than Terrence T. McDonald, it's why he wins awards) and it obviously did with someone close to Mayor Fulop too:
As part of the deal, Gupta said he would provide free parking spaces to the city for 18 months.
The Guptas have had a past business and personal relationship with Tom Bertoli, an expeditor who was at one time a Fulop political strategist. The mayor and Bertoli had a falling out around September, when Fulop decided not to seek the Democratic nomination for governor next year.
"Unless the courthouse was going to disappear in 18 months, only a moron would make a deal for only 18 months," Bertoli said. "It doesn't make any sense."
Exactly, you have what Gupta wants to buy, get those spots in perpetuity, negotiating 101. You're still taking away from residents and some court employees but you have something. The court isn't closing. It's not slated to. You don't sell your house so you can rent it back out.
This plan seriously flirts with the Underpants Gnomes on South Park and their understanding of business:
They city's response? Jennifer Morrill said Michael Yun doesn't live in Jersey City. A claim she's tried twice this week when met with fair criticism of Fulop's policies or seeming lack thereof. As we discussed here yesterday, giant abatements for an area already heavily abated going against what the mayor ran on is fair game. Councilman Yun, again, Michael to Morrill, did that. This deal that once it came to light seems destined for the scrap heap of "Somebody turned on the lights" ideas is also fair game. The Ward D councilman did that and again, "Michael doesn't live here."
Johnny sometimes so pities Morrill. Let's look beyond the fact she's making a claim that's not fully substantiated about Yun not living in Jersey City. Morrill backed Healy on any question of former Ward C councilwoman Nidia Lopez's address (mea culpa Johnny met with Lopez four times when he lived in Ward C) and was pretty darned quiet when Lopez ran on Fulop's first mayoral ticket (and lost). She's OK with Lopez possibly being a Floridian but her first inclination is to be nasty and condescending to Councilman Yun calling him simply Michael. Is that really where the city has sunk to? The mayoral spokeswoman makes nasty digs at Fulop as Healy's employee and turns around and says nasty things about Healy as Fulop's charge. It's too bad we as a city can't get more mature and issue focused comments from the mayor's office. Snipe, slap, slag, swing, it gets old and really starts to insult the citizens of Jersey City.
Pity.
First off, back in 2105 Jersey City discussed selling a parking lot on Academy Street next to the municipal court. Ward D Councilman Michael Yun (Or just Michael now to the media from Fulop's press agent, not the courtesy of Councilman or Councilman Yun) said that would be a bad idea, court workers and residents will need those spaces. Since the court is not scheduled to close why inconvenience residents he asked? But sell it the city did and now it comes to light was going to rent 30 parking spaces on Academy Street from Vaishno Ma Academy LLC, controlled by Raj Gupta of Gupta Development.
Who does this? Sell it so you can rent from it? What about the residents who used to park there? In Johnny's best Lewis Black voice, "Wait, there's moooore."
This part sure pricked up Johnny's ears when he read it (And there has never been a better Jersey City beat writer than Terrence T. McDonald, it's why he wins awards) and it obviously did with someone close to Mayor Fulop too:
As part of the deal, Gupta said he would provide free parking spaces to the city for 18 months.
The Guptas have had a past business and personal relationship with Tom Bertoli, an expeditor who was at one time a Fulop political strategist. The mayor and Bertoli had a falling out around September, when Fulop decided not to seek the Democratic nomination for governor next year.
"Unless the courthouse was going to disappear in 18 months, only a moron would make a deal for only 18 months," Bertoli said. "It doesn't make any sense."
Exactly, you have what Gupta wants to buy, get those spots in perpetuity, negotiating 101. You're still taking away from residents and some court employees but you have something. The court isn't closing. It's not slated to. You don't sell your house so you can rent it back out.
This plan seriously flirts with the Underpants Gnomes on South Park and their understanding of business:
They city's response? Jennifer Morrill said Michael Yun doesn't live in Jersey City. A claim she's tried twice this week when met with fair criticism of Fulop's policies or seeming lack thereof. As we discussed here yesterday, giant abatements for an area already heavily abated going against what the mayor ran on is fair game. Councilman Yun, again, Michael to Morrill, did that. This deal that once it came to light seems destined for the scrap heap of "Somebody turned on the lights" ideas is also fair game. The Ward D councilman did that and again, "Michael doesn't live here."
Johnny sometimes so pities Morrill. Let's look beyond the fact she's making a claim that's not fully substantiated about Yun not living in Jersey City. Morrill backed Healy on any question of former Ward C councilwoman Nidia Lopez's address (mea culpa Johnny met with Lopez four times when he lived in Ward C) and was pretty darned quiet when Lopez ran on Fulop's first mayoral ticket (and lost). She's OK with Lopez possibly being a Floridian but her first inclination is to be nasty and condescending to Councilman Yun calling him simply Michael. Is that really where the city has sunk to? The mayoral spokeswoman makes nasty digs at Fulop as Healy's employee and turns around and says nasty things about Healy as Fulop's charge. It's too bad we as a city can't get more mature and issue focused comments from the mayor's office. Snipe, slap, slag, swing, it gets old and really starts to insult the citizens of Jersey City.
Pity.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Late night open thread
"Annnnnd then I killed a guy in Berwyn and moved up here to hide out and wound up subletting from Winter Warlock..."
Time for Jersey City, After Dark
Time for Jersey City, After Dark
Lather, rinse, abate
We're running out of reasons why Mayor Steve Fulop, who as candidate Steve Fulop pretty much ran on a plan of NO MORE huge downtown condo tax abatements, continually insists on bleeding the city tax base dry. No more downtown abatements bellowed candidate Fulop, they already have too many. Fast forward to 3 and a half years later and Fulop has broken that promise to all of Jersey City in spades. He continues to give out sweet deals to just about anyone who can still find an unabated lot downtown. One tall square building and a couple project starts elsewhere still has not concentrated on the rest of Jersey City monetarily to what Fulop since becoming mayor has asked his "yes sir" council (Sans Boggiano and Yun) to dole out "in lieu of taxes." Some of these might have been be palatable if any of these new buildings had businesses. Look around. The One has A dry cleaner. A, ie 1. Marbella, nothing. Toll Brothers The Morgan, nothing. These promises of great new taxpaying businesses if a false one. The Igloos (The Art House and The Jokeman on First St.) have scads of parking put in, if you own an electric vehicle. Maybe, maybe 3 spots out of 25 are ever being used (Right now a call from the mayor's office going out to find every Chevy Volt or Nissan Leaf within Hudson County to get it there NOW for the media). Sometimes those spots, 3/4 a block, part of "in lieu of taxes," sits empty. Wow, great "giveback" there Shuster. Bet that cost almost nothing to get your deal. If one looks hard enough at that row of empty chargers it would seem the city has outsourced those as well.
So, is Jersey City real estate that unappealing still, after Healy's seed money got things going, for now the budget looks OK, and by most accounts Jersey City is a big old social buzz city? Could just be the mayor rolls over far too easily.
Jobs have come here, and these are exactly where any abatements downtown SHOULD be going to. Those still have to be measured but no more abatements for condos or apartments downtown. How often must this simple idea that less spending is good and right now is the time to make developers, if they want a part of Jersey City, to pay the going rate downtown. The city isn't going to collapse if a corner stays a parking lot. Somebody will pay it, at full tax rate going forward because it's close to NYC. A Chinese company is building the new 95 story tower on Hudson. They could afford going rate rather than "in lieu of taxes," no?
Why is Johnny back on this again?
Terrence T. McDonald, take it away:
Now, city officials are asking the City Council to approve a 25-year tax break for a 52-story, 50-unit high-rise slated for a Columbus Drive parking lot.
AND Fulop wants to loan them money, like Bruce Ratner at the old Pep Boys site. No money for your neighborhoods but actual money to loan a developer. The Goldman Sachs guy in Fulop is on full display here.
The deal would also include $1 million in city-issued bonds, known as redevelopment area bonds, the city said will fund infrastructure improvements on the site, to be known as 25 Columbus Dr.
Oh, that neighborhood gets a new public school kindergarten and first grade out of it (unless the deal is changed and that happens all the time where developers weasel out of agreed to things and council lets them often back out). If you live in Greenville, or say in India Square or along parts of Communipaw, you'll pay for it, but what do you think the chances of your kid going to the new shiny school downtown is?
The answer is pretty clear looking to OUR shared future isn't it Jersey City? You want to open or move your business downtown, we've got office space, we're listening. You want money and loans to build and enrich one tiny neighborhood at the cost of all neighborhoods after all that's been given, yes given, to downtown? No.
Call your councilmember NOW. Tell them to vote responsibly or you'll look to find someone next time who will. Look at Ward B, remind them people aren't tied to they mayor's one-track desires anymore.
So, is Jersey City real estate that unappealing still, after Healy's seed money got things going, for now the budget looks OK, and by most accounts Jersey City is a big old social buzz city? Could just be the mayor rolls over far too easily.
Jobs have come here, and these are exactly where any abatements downtown SHOULD be going to. Those still have to be measured but no more abatements for condos or apartments downtown. How often must this simple idea that less spending is good and right now is the time to make developers, if they want a part of Jersey City, to pay the going rate downtown. The city isn't going to collapse if a corner stays a parking lot. Somebody will pay it, at full tax rate going forward because it's close to NYC. A Chinese company is building the new 95 story tower on Hudson. They could afford going rate rather than "in lieu of taxes," no?
Why is Johnny back on this again?
Terrence T. McDonald, take it away:
Now, city officials are asking the City Council to approve a 25-year tax break for a 52-story, 50-unit high-rise slated for a Columbus Drive parking lot.
AND Fulop wants to loan them money, like Bruce Ratner at the old Pep Boys site. No money for your neighborhoods but actual money to loan a developer. The Goldman Sachs guy in Fulop is on full display here.
The deal would also include $1 million in city-issued bonds, known as redevelopment area bonds, the city said will fund infrastructure improvements on the site, to be known as 25 Columbus Dr.
Oh, that neighborhood gets a new public school kindergarten and first grade out of it (unless the deal is changed and that happens all the time where developers weasel out of agreed to things and council lets them often back out). If you live in Greenville, or say in India Square or along parts of Communipaw, you'll pay for it, but what do you think the chances of your kid going to the new shiny school downtown is?
The answer is pretty clear looking to OUR shared future isn't it Jersey City? You want to open or move your business downtown, we've got office space, we're listening. You want money and loans to build and enrich one tiny neighborhood at the cost of all neighborhoods after all that's been given, yes given, to downtown? No.
Call your councilmember NOW. Tell them to vote responsibly or you'll look to find someone next time who will. Look at Ward B, remind them people aren't tied to they mayor's one-track desires anymore.
Monday, December 12, 2016
Late night open thread
How's your Christmas tree Billy?
We don't have a tree.
What do you have?
Yes.
Time for Jersey City, After Dark
We don't have a tree.
What do you have?
Yes.
Time for Jersey City, After Dark
Johnny normally tries to get his blood pressure down before bed
Another tax abatement downtown, this one for 25 years will be discussed tomorrow. In the meantime Johnny will try and pop a fistful of Ambien.
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Late night open thread
One more time, thanks yo to everyone at Blue Pearl on 55th in NYC. Johnny would hate to think how his dire wolf would make it through life without all your efforts!
Time for Jersey City, After Dark
Time for Jersey City, After Dark
Saturday, December 10, 2016
If you see SantaCon activities in Jersey City, you call the SantaCon Brute Squad
Today, sadly, is SantaCon. That lowly drunken, slovenly event that drags down Christmas every god damned year. Now, normally these "SanataCon" participants don't get much beyond NYC or Hoboken which could mean their Department of Corrections shock collars® won't allow them into Cool City or our force field is holding strong but you will, citizens, see SantaCon activity rearing it's ugly ugly head in JC from time to time.
That's when you call 1-800-99-BRUTE. A local cabal of Jersey City citizens in different wards will be dispatched with everything but guns to force the SantaCon participants back indoors to their own hovels and yurts or make sure they leave on the PATH stagecoach back to the big city where the Cheeto-faced Shitgibbon who will be our next president lives. These actions have been approved (as far as you know) at the highest levels and top men and women have been put on this important oversight committee.
If you see something, say something. You call 1-800-99-BRUTE! SantaCon, get out, and leave Jersey City well behind.
That's when you call 1-800-99-BRUTE. A local cabal of Jersey City citizens in different wards will be dispatched with everything but guns to force the SantaCon participants back indoors to their own hovels and yurts or make sure they leave on the PATH stagecoach back to the big city where the Cheeto-faced Shitgibbon who will be our next president lives. These actions have been approved (as far as you know) at the highest levels and top men and women have been put on this important oversight committee.
If you see something, say something. You call 1-800-99-BRUTE! SantaCon, get out, and leave Jersey City well behind.
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