Have a seat

GA's bathroom on Wednesday (w/ temporary throne)

The reason GA's blogging has been 'irregular" lately is the ongoing gut-reno of my favorite room of the house!  It's large -10' x 12'- so have planned something interesting for the space...

Well, these are the dog days of summer; there's not much going on in our fair Mile Square, is there?

Stay hydrated, people.

Comments

  1. Yeah, things must be REALLY slow: Al Sullivan just published a piece about frank raia/mayor zimmer/HSA/mayoral race for the third straight week (not counting the numerous times he's written about it earlier than the past three weeks)! WTF? Either he's got a wicked bug up his ass about it or "an interested party" has done a stellar job of spinning this tale to him.

    I think the story deserves to be in the photo you posted: down the crapper.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha! And I enjoyed the part about Zimmer "needing Raia" to win. No one who supports the admin talks to Al anymore. The folks who spin him have their own agendas.

      Delete
  2. You folks have more conspiracy theories than Oliver Stone... if nobody reads Al Sullivan, why do you all worry about what he says?
    Some folks need to get a life!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Who said "nobody reads Al Sullivan?" I didn't.

      I said nobody who supports the administration TALKS to Al. That's the truth. I used to talk to him, until he plunged a knife in my back and lied like a rug, publicly attacking me with the false claim that Carmelo's etnic cleansing lawsuit email showed bloggers coordinate with Grossbard, and are "snipers" for Zimmer. Quite a shock- Knowing him as well as I did since 2010, trusting him, having defended his sorry ass to others so many times.

      I (still) read Al, before I slide the HR under my cats' litterbox.

      Delete
  3. ...yeah because you can win with less than 50% of the vote with just two candidates.
    How easy people forget....

    ReplyDelete
  4. Why can't someone who supports the Administration talk to Al? Is there censorship?Will they be banished from "reform"
    Oh that's right, speak against the machine and you will be thrown out, maybe even from a council meeting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. zing! ouch! double-snap! you go girl!

      LOL, what a doof.

      Delete
    2. I talked to Al for 5 years with no punitive action from "reform." The same for at least 2 reformers I know. Your talking points are crap. Machine? Somebody's taking cues from the Ghosts of Bajardis Past. You think just like him.

      Delete
    3. I think Al is just sad bitter old man who has seen his relevancy in Hudson County's political all but disappear.

      Speaking of disappearing now that the Hoboken Reporter closed and moved out of 1400 Washington Street offices for Bayonne does anyone know what is happening with the building ? It was up for sale for over $5 million dollars but now it is off the market. I heard rumors that they are trying to revoke the buildings landmark status to build a high rise. Hope if that is true they do not succeed.

      Delete
    4. anon@4:42, i have not heard that rumor and also hope it does not happen. while it might not be easy to retrofit the current building for a new business, it would be a shame to lose an old building with such history and character to another boring-looking high rise. too bad hoboken isn't big enough to support an apple store, that would be a great location for one (think of how they converted the old post office space in soho).

      Delete
    5. @5:40, Hoboken is certainly big enough to support an Appple store and they are trying to open at an undisclosed location downtown by the Path. The Old reporter building is too small by 2/3rds.
      The HR building is not being demolished, that's just crazy talk by anti development and anti administration assholes trying to stir up muck

      It's going to be offices and retail

      Delete
    6. GA, nobody said she needs Raia himself to win, but she does need more than a two- way race. Look at statistics and you will see, the only head to head that she's successfully won were Special Elections in November- until the vote was moved to November.

      Happy it moved and I don't believe she herself cuts deals with Raia, I also don't buy the innuendo and hints on here and MSV that attempt to point blame on Al's fantasies on the same two boogiemen that 411 used to blame

      Delete
    7. anon@10:06, my sense is mayor zimmer gets more popular each year as city demographics continue to change and more of her administration's programs come to fruition. i'm not a political insider like al sullivan (or you, presumably), but i feel pretty confident that the mayor can win a one-on-one election against any of the current potential opponents.

      Delete
    8. I think that if some perceived yuppy runs against her, she'll have her work cut out for her. This is based not on inside information but on complaints I hear from the 10-20 people I talk to around town on a regular basis.

      Delete
    9. I would suggest that you try to find better people to talk to.

      Delete
    10. What do you mean "better"? These are (mostly) homeowners in town who pay taxes and work either in NYC or out in Jersey. Those who drive to work are the vocal about wanting a change in leadership, but some of the Path riders are also sick of bike lanes and parks being the only priorities in town.

      Agreeing with the mayor does not make one a "better" person. Being able to discuss objectively the goings on in town and honestly stating, "If another candidate was proposed I'd give them a listen" isn't a terrible thing.

      She's going for a 3rd term. There's bound to be voter fatigue.

      Delete
    11. I am not worried about voter fatigue with things in Hoboken getting better and better for the vast majority of people. Many more good things already in the pipeline will also come to fruition by election day 2017.

      Of course we still have the Russo lead old guard that yearn endlessly for the old days when in their minds everything was good for them and while flooding it with corruption.

      Of course there is a small clique are of the non-stop gripers who are never happy unless they can find something to b*tch and moan about. Some I have a feeling might be looking to try to turn their preferred ego bolstering hobby into what would almost certainly be an unsuccessful spoiler run that could only help the bad guys. I would say if you are limiting your conversations primarily to that group you need to widen your circle.

      The elections are over a year away but at this point I don't see any other viable candidates that have any real chance of keeping Hoboken moving forward.

      Delete
    12. My group of friends are not politically inclined or connected. They don't even know or care about the blogs. They're just citizens who are bitching about bike lanes and traffic. They vote in local and federal elections. They're well educated & they're double income families. They're your average voter, vs your old guard or politically savvy voter. Some of them thought Cammarano was a great choice. It wasn't because they were getting something from him, it was because he looked like them and talked like them and came from a working background. When he was caught taking a bribe, they were astonished, despite the fact I'd warned them about him. Because they just didn't believe that someone our age could possibly be like that.

      I think discounting people like this is a mistake. I think that if the OG gets smart and finds another Cammarano and doesn't add a 3rd candidate spoiler, there will be trouble.

      Or, we can keep pretending that everything is great. It doesn't really matter to me. I'm going to sell my place and leave town in the next 5 years for suburbia.

      Delete
    13. @snoopy, i doubt very much that mayor zimmer, her campaign or her supporters will take any opponents for granted or "discount" any voters. why would they?

      also, what's up with this ongoing "bike lanes" canard? that original washington st plan got revised and existing bike lanes around town don't seem to be a big issue. i heard some folks complain about the ones in the southwest corner of town slowing traffic exiting the city, hopefully that gets dealt with but jesus christ, does that rise to the level of past mayors so corrupt that they go to jail?? really?

      RE: the "traffic" problem, what's the city supposed to do...restrict residents from owning cars? or maybe they should erect a trump-like wall and allow only certain visitors in after a round of extreme vetting? :)

      people always find something to complain about, myself included. life's not perfect, but i'm convinced the mayor is and will continue to do a good job. when election time comes, she should reach out to people like your friends, plead her case and ask for their vote. hopefully at that point your friends will be a little bit less outraged about the horrors of hoboken.

      Delete
    14. anon 12:41 - the "discount" comment was to the 10:54 comment: "I am not worried about voter fatigue with things in Hoboken getting better and better for the vast majority of people."

      As for bike lanes - the issue is traffic, and the SW corner being the biggest issue for sure. The other issue is the narrowing of Observer (made things worse). Those are the two I hear about from my friends with one spouse (or both) commuting by car.

      No one said it rises to the level of corruption. Re-read my post: I said that if you put up someone who looks, acts and talks like the typical 30-40 something yuppy, and you'll see real competition for Zimmer.

      That's all I am saying. I mentioned that 10-20 people I know and talk to about politics have complained from time to time and are interested in new blood. I didn't really expect this to turn into a debate. I don't really care. Long term this is of no consequence to me.

      Delete
    15. @snoopy...sounds like what you're saying is even though things are a millions times better than the bad old days of mayors going to jail, and even though this administration has lots of worthwhile accomplishments and plans still in the works, "your friends" are convinced they must THROW DA BUMS OUT!! because every single thing in town isn't perfect.

      does that seem rational? yes, work still needs to be done. yes, there are traffic issues that can still be addressed. but it sounds like "your friends" have exceedingly lofty standards by which they judge politicians. i hope some day that they find a crowded urban environment that meets their high criteria. let me know, i'd like to live there too.

      Delete
    16. anon 4:55. No, that's not what I said. It's fine. I'm done.

      Delete
    17. perhaps it's not what you meant, but it's what you said.

      Delete
    18. It's not at all what I said. You're assuming that people know what was going on in the "bad old days." For the average person in the "bad old days" of the late 90s early 2000s the snow was plowed timely, the garbage was picked up timely, the streets were cleaner & traffic wasn't as bad. Sure a mayor went to jail, but it didn't affect their daily lives.

      In the last 4 years, many people have complained loudly about snow plows being late (you may recall when the staff didn't show up for the first big snow storm under Mayor Zimmer because they're jerks), and in the last 12 months traffic has become awful in the southwest of town because of the narrowing on Observer. That's affecting their daily lives.

      Think what you will, but most people are not aware of the goings on outside of their daily lives. If you continue to talk to people who keep up with the actual politics you'll get the answers you're looking for. But *many* people outside of the 2nd ward had no idea Beth Mason was a real piece of work. Many people have never heard of Lane Bajardi nor have any interest in the lawsuit, and most people only care about what they experience personally.

      Delete
    19. #ManyPeopleAreSaying traffic was no problem in the 90s and early 2000s. Do these same people acknowledge that the city population jumped from 35,000 to over 50,000 since then? Do they acknowledge that the swell politician who did a swell job plowing the snow back in the day also caused their property tax rate to jump nearly 50% in one year, and looted millions of dollars from the city's coffers via the parking commission?

      Oh, that's right, these aren't facts that affect "their daily lives". Ok.

      Delete
    20. Anon: Not everyone owned when the taxes went up. The only people who know about the quarters are those who watch council meetings or read blogs. And I can't recall anyone every discussing the population change when discussing traffic.

      Delete
    21. so essentially, it's valid to make blanket condemnations despite being largely unaware of many important facts. gotcha.

      Delete
    22. If that's what you want to do go for it. That's not what I said whatsoever.

      Delete
    23. it's a distillation of what you said: "your friends" are either ignorant about or blissfully unaware of, for example, the city's tax history, its 50% population increase and this administration's reversal of local government's criminal ways of the past, yet it's still somehow a valid argument to THROW DA BUMS OUT!! facts and history have a zimmer bias, right?

      Delete
    24. Ha ha. My "friends" yes yes good call I have none it's all made up. Get a life.

      Delete
    25. let me know where i said it's made up.

      Delete
    26. Just saw this. Your "" around friends would indicate you're implying it's made up. If that's not what you meant, then you should probably not use "" around "your friends".

      I just didn't want you to think I ignored you. I did not see your post.


      Oh and ps- I had lunch with a friend who moved out of town a year ago. She just switched her kids' pediatrician because of the traffic and remarked, "In retrospect, I liked Dave Roberts better than Dawn Zimmer's administration. Under Roberts the streets were cleaner and the bike lanes weren't a priority. I remember when Ian Sachs denied my request for a stop sign on [redacted] street because "stop signs are not meant to meter traffic." I don't miss Hoboken as it's currently run. But would want to move back if the schools were better and it was run like it was run under Dave."

      Remembering our conversation I asked, "What about the tax increase & the population increase."

      The response: "I didn't own when the tax increase went through, and when I bought I bought new construction which was already high on the taxes." Re population increase: "Yes, it increased, so reducing the number of lanes on the south side of town made sense how?"

      Good points. Good thing that friend isn't voting in the 2017 election.

      Delete
    27. @Snoopy, don't you know, The Mayor can not be questioned? Everyone's so blessed she has saved us all from ourselves! How did Hoboken make it over a century without her?
      All her cult members ( smaller by the day ) is write a false and fantasy narrative that there's a few egotistical has beens that still want to run things. Oh how those attacks and even this site allow anonymous posters to mock , block and spread false conspiracy theories all to save the new "reform" queen.

      Delete
  5. I've had the same experience as Snoopy. Traffic and snow are the two big issues that I hear about. People who are new in town or who don't follow politics don't see how much better things are now than they were.

    For myself I'd love another Zimmer term. I'd also love to see Jen Giattino as Mayor some day, or Dana Wefer. Or GA. Wouldn't that be cool?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha! Yes to another Zimmer term and a future Mayor Jen or Mayor Dana. As for me, I'd be a horrible mayor, probably get impeached the first day. Or stoned (with real stones) then tarred and feathered.

      Delete
    2. GA, You wouldn't get tarred & feathered or stoned. :)

      Delete
    3. I think people who live here either long term or short see and understand that Hoboken is a great place and getting better and when that happens they vote to keep those who are making things better in office.


      Delete
    4. I doubt Zimmer is really running. She'll pass the baton to Bhalla who has a $250,000 war chest ... For...?
      Nobody who is serious announces re-election 1.5 out on an obscure podcast. This was simply an attempt and signal to the council members not to start rocking the boat and try to step out of line. It's not working, already you can see Cunningham, Defusco, Fisher and Mello objecting to the administration's over reaching social agenda.
      Meters on residential streets
      filthy streets,
      broken swings,
      grafitti,
      parking boots
      and the War on UBER

      Basic services are lacking while enforcement of the slightest parking into a yellow curb is ticketed, Uber passenger's ejected and your parents car gets booted.
      No attention to loud motorcycles, broken cameras on the waterfront or missing fencing along the riverwalk....

      Oh wait that must have been the last administration. After all 8 years is really not so long ago...

      Delete
    5. The various reformers may disagree on policy more often than some of us care for, but the one thing we all agree on is we never want the OG back in power.

      Delete
    6. anon@8:31, that's a total straw man argument. reformers don't automatically agree on everything, nor should they. i certainly don't, but so what? that's how a good political movement works, with varying opinions but a general agreement on good government principles. it's idiotic to suggest the mayor is sending any signals to anyone about stepping out of line, LOL!

      i don't agree with everything the administration has done, but i back them overall. if other reformers decided to run for mayor, i will certainly consider them and vote for who i think will do the best job for the city. again, why wouldn't i or any other reformer do that? this whole driving a wedge BS is so obvious, who cares about that nonsense.

      btw...the "filthy streets" meme is laughable, i walk all over town and have not seen these mysterious streets. please specify exact street locations that are "filthy" so i can go there and take a look.

      parking boot? well, what do you suggest for people who violate the parking laws?

      and i take lyft rides about once a week in hoboken, never had a problem. what's the "war" you mention.

      Delete
  6. news about 1400 washington st...no details on commercial tenants but definitely not residential: http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/08/hudson_reporter_building_in_hoboken_sold_for_retai.html#incart_river_index_topics

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thor bought the place to be used as The Avengers Hoboken HQ.

      Word has it that Tony Stark was not fond of Thor hanging around is gal Pepper Potts and showing off his hammer at Stark Tower.

      I would not be surprised if the new owners pushed very hard to add additional stories to the building to increase the value of their investment.

      Delete
    2. "You people are so petty....and tiny"

      Delete

Post a Comment