After the Election - Staying Active

Now that the election is over many people who became active in politics and government on many different levels may want to continue. Here is a list of ideas for those living in Hoboken:

1. Attend city council meetings. In fact there is one tonight at 7pm at city hall. Here is a link to the schedule.

2. Learn more about local officials. You can see a list of council memebers here, many with bios and here for our Mayor. Remember, local elections are next May, only 6 months away!

3. Join the Hoboken Historical Museum. Gain a better understanding of where Hoboken has been in the past and it may help put the present in a clearer context.

These are just a few ideas. I would love to hear more. How are you involved in Hoboken politics? Please leave a comment.

Don't Forget to Vote

If you are registered to vote, please do so. If not, don't worry, just register soon for the next election. Here is the link to find your place to vote.

Pumpkin Cheese Cake

I was visiting family today for dinner and stopped by Carlos' bakery to get dessert. At the register they had samples of their pumpkin cheese cake. After trying one I forgot about the tiramusu I was planning on getting and ordered one of these too go. I definitely recommend you stop by the bakery which is right across from City Hall and get a piece for yourself.

Delays

I try to walk everyday and usually my walks take me along the waterfront where the views of the Manhattan skyline are amazing. I also pass the WWII memorial construction site which is just north of 4th street along Sinatra Drive. Today when I passed it I noticed a sign that stated the memorial would be opened in January 2008 and then another larger one stating the dedication would be on November 8, 2008. Peering through the gates, it looks like construction is done so I do believe the second sign about the dedication. But it amazes me that the opening is 10 months after the first date of January 2008. When I walked by the site the many times I have since I moved here in June I don't think I ever saw anyone actually working there so I doubt the project required more man hours than projected. I'm sure the delay was due to budget constraints but it would be nice to know the actual reason for the delay. To me construction sites can be such an eyesore.

Sizzle, Sizzle!

Yesterday I had dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Weehawken. Ruth's Chris is a well known steakhouse with many locations throughout the US but I'm not sure that many Hobokenites know that this one exists so close. Its located at Lincoln Harbor and one could actually walk there. In fact, from the seat I had I could see the Hudson Tea building.

Here is a link to the company's web site.

Election Time and Hoboken: US House Race

This year's race for our district's US House of Representative seat (13th District of NJ) is between the incumbent Albio Sires (Democrat) and Joseph Turula (Republican) . I found it interesting to note that the 13th District is 46% latino and in fact the incumbent was born in Cuba and came to the US when he was 10.

Albio Sires was elected to the seat in a special 2006 election after the seat was vacated by Bob Menendez who replaced Jon Corzine as a US Senator after Mr. Corzine became Governor of NJ. Prior to that Mr. Sires was the speaker of the NJ Assembly. You can find out more about Mr. Sires at his campaign website.

Congressional website
VoteSmart profile
GovTrack profile

The challenger, Joseph Turula, is a lawyer who lives in Jersey City. Not much came up when I did a Google search. This is not so surprising as the district is heavily Democratic with Sires beating his Republican opponent in 2006 with a 58% point margin (77% to 19%).

Getting Out of Hoboken

Yesterday morning I had plans to meet up with a former colleague in Montclair. We were to meet at 9:30 at the Starbucks on Bloomfield Ave. I used to live in Upper Montclair and knew it should take about 30 minutes. In fact Google Maps says it should take 29 minutes and up to 50 minutes in traffic. So I left at 8:45 thinking that would give me enough time as I thought the traffic would be in the other direction going toward the city. Was I wrong. I didn't arrive until 10:20, a 90 minute trip to go 15 miles! The whole hold up was getting onto 495, the road coming out of the Lincoln Tunnel. Traffic was diverted along the service road until the intersection with the Turnpike ramp and with stoplights every block I must have sat in traffic for an hour. However, once on Rt 3 I flew.

If I get a job where I can live in Hoboken I will most likely have to drive to work heading west so this was definitely an eye opener for me.

Election Time and Hoboken: US Senate Race

Everyone knows about the upcoming Presidential election and the two major party candidates, John McCain and Barak Obama. But how about the local elections? In New Jersey we have a US Senate seat up for election. The incumbent is Frank Lautenberg (Democrat) and challenging him is Dick Zimmer (Republican). Frank Lautenberg was a long time senator from NJ and retired in 2001 after serving from 1983. After Senator Torricelli withdrew in 2002 from seeking reelection, Mr. Lautenberg ran for that Senate seat and easily won by a 10% margin.

Dick Zimmer was a US Congressman from southern NJ serving from 1991 until 1997. He decided not to run in 1996 as he ran for the US Senate seat vacated by Bill Bradely. Mr. Zimmer lost that election to Mr. Torricelli by a 10% margin.

To find out more about each candidate click on these links below:

Mr. Zimmer's Campaign Website
Mr. Lautenberg's Campaign Website
GovTrack page for Senator Lautenberg

Challenge!

I'm challenging myself to blog daily for the next 10 days. If any of my readers blog, I welcome them to join me.

Catholic Churches In Hoboken

I'm Roman Catholic and attend mass at Sts Peter and Paul on Hudson at 4th st. But within a few blocks there are another 3 Roman Catholic churches:

Our Lady of Grace (Willow and 4th)
St Ann's (Jefferson and 6th)
St Francis (Jefferson and 3rd)

So today I took a walk with my camera and took some shots of these 4 churches. Enjoy!

St Francis



Sts Peter and Paul





St Ann




Our Lady Of Grace

Hoboken House Tour

Its been awhile but I wanted to let everyone know about the upcoming Hoboken House Tour sponsored by the Hoboken Historical Society. The date is Sunday October 26 from 10 am to 4 pm. Its a self paced tour. You redeem your ticket at the Hoboken Historical Museum on Hudson Street at 13th Street for a map of the houses that will be opened to tour. For more details and where to get tickets click here.

Third Starbucks Opens in Hoboken

This past week a third Starbucks opened here in Hoboken. Its located on Washington Street between 3rd and 4th streets. Many of you probably saw the 'Coming Soon' sign in the window over the last few months. I remember seeing it when I first moved here in June and since its only 3 blocks away from my apartment I had been looking forward to its opening.

I had been going to the Starbucks on Hudson and 12th and will probably continue to go there when I fully recover from my torn muscle. Its a nice 10 minute walk each way, giving me some exercise before and after breakfast. But for now walking to the new Starbucks is perfect. With my injury, its the perfect distance to stretch out my body in the morning.

The new location makes sense to me. Currently there are Starbucks on both ends of town (12th and Hudson and Newark and Hudson). Putting a Starbucks on Washington Street in midtown makes sense. However, I was surprised they did not place it further north so it was equidistant between the two others, say between 6th and 7th. But I'm thinking the location of Panera two doors down from the new location probably had something to do with it. A chance to steal some of those customers!

Update

Unfortunately I had a setback with my pulled glute muscle so I haven't been out and about much in Hoboken. But I do want to write about a few things. One is Sri Thai, a Thai restaurant on the corner of 3rd and Bloomfield. Fortunately for me they deliver and I have had the Shrimp Pad Thai a number of times over the last 3 weeks. I love Pad Thai, particularly the taste of the ground peanuts. Some places make it a bit too dry but not Sri Thai. For me just perfect. I also recommend the Tom Kha Koong. Its a shrimp soup with coconut milk. And of course you can't go wrong with Thai iced tea. They do have dining area but the few times I've eaten there I found the space a bit too cramped. You can find additional reviews here.

Since moving here I have been looking forward to walking the water front along the stretch where Maxwell place is. Due to construction, one had to walk back to Hudson street between 11th and 12th. Now the streets along this stretch of the river are open but views are limited due to drapings on the fences separating the sidewalk from the waterfront pier construction.

The last thing I want to tell you about is East Coast Spine, Joint and Sport Medicine on 7th and Bloomfield. One good thing about my setback with my pulled muscle is that I am getting the professional help I need. So far the experience there has been exceptional.

No Guarantee to be Boot Free

This is terrible. A woman had her car booted even though she had a resident parking decal. Apparently there was another woman on her block with the same name and this second woman did not renew her parking permit for 2008. For details read this article in the Hoboken Reporter.

Just when I thought I was safe!

No More Boot for Me!

Last week I registered my cars in NJ, got a NJ driver's license and the coveted Hoboken resident parking stickers. Kudos to the NJ DMV, making the switch from NY to NJ was very easy.




Having the resident parking sticker now lets me park on either side of the street and since the sticker sticks to the window, no more forgetting to put the temporary pass in the window. And that means no more boots!

For those new to Hoboken or to this blog check out this post about my parking boot experience.

For those of you coming from another state, please note that NJ requires you to switch your registration and license over within 60 days. As for the Hoboken parking authority, you need a NJ drivers license and the cars registered in NJ to get the resident parking sticker. Until you have those you can have a 45 day temporary permit which only lets you park on one side of the street.

Walking in Hoboken

Being able to walk to everything in Hoboken is definitely a plus for me. Its nice to not have to get into the car every time one has to run an errand. But that is only if you can walk. My strained muscle has made it difficult to get around the last 11 days and made me wish I was living in the suburbs with a nice driveway just feet away from the house. And nice big parking lots right next to the places I need to go like supermarkets, the post office etc. Instead I rarely left my apartment for fear I would only find a parking space blocks away from my apartment. Fortunately many places deliver so food was not a problem.

So for those of you reading my blog to determine if Hoboken is the place for them, keep in mind being less than mobile may pose unique challenges.

Sprained Muscle Keeps Me In Hoboken!

Actually the sprain was severe enough to not only keep me in Hoboken but its confined me to my apartment for the weekend. It happened when I was doing a basic Yoga pose, child's pose. As I was leaning into the pose, SNAP, I felt the a buttock muscle pull.

I'm still recuperating but I wanted to share this advice for those of you who may also suffer from a soft tissue injury. I actually made things worse by taking a hot bath later the day of the incident and also continuing to walk on it even though the leg started to feel numb.

RICE relieves pain, limits swelling and speeds healing, and it is often the best treatment for soft-tissue injuries, such as sprains and strains. Here's what to do:

• Rest: The injured area should be moved as little as possible to allow healing to begin.

• Ice: Apply it immediately to reduce inflammation, which causes more pain and slows healing. Cover the injured area with an ice pack inside a wet cloth and apply the ice for 10 to 20 minutes intermittently for 48 to 72 hours. Never ice for more than 20 minutes, because it can cause a nerve injury.

• Compression: Using a pressure bandage helps to prevent or reduce swelling. Use an elastic bandage. Wrap the injured area without making it so tight that it will cut off the blood supply.

• Elevation: Raise the injured area above the level of the heart. Prop up a leg or arm while resting it. You may need to lie down to get your leg above your heart level.

Do all four parts of the RICE treatment at the same time. If you suspect a more serious injury, such as a broken bone, call your health care provider immediately.

Source

Getting the Boot!

Yesterday I walked to my car to move it for the street cleaning and found an unpleasant surprise; a boot! Apparently I forgot to put my temporary parking permit in the window and once the 4 hour time limit expired I was given a summons and a boot.

For those of you not familiar with parking rules in Hoboken, let me explain. First of all, you cannot park on any street for more than 4 hours unless you have some kind of permit. On one side of the street you will see white parking signs. This allows you to park for up to 4 hours. If you need to park longer than you need a permit. On the other side of the street you will find a green parking sign. Only cars with resident permits can park here.



I have a temporary permit but since I didn't place it where it could be seen I was given the summons and the boot. A boot is a device that is put around a wheel of the car which prevents the driving of the car.



To have it removed is quite easy. I called the number on the summons and after paying a 'removal fee' the operator gave me a code which I entered on the device which then let me remove the boot. Unfortunately the removal fee is $150! I plan to go to court to see if I can recover some of this fee but I don't feel very hopeful.

So if you are parking in Hoboken on the streets, BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL!

Small City Feel

In the post below I list 'small city feel' as a reason I chose to live in Hoboken. I like that the downtown area is only 14 blocks long and centered mostly on Washington Street. I like the fact the fact that the city is a square mile (basically 16 blocks north to south and 15 blocks east to west) which allows one to walk easily just about anywhere. And with the densely packed population living in brownstones, row houses, and now new apartment buildings this city has the energy that 40,000 people can generate. Kind of best of both worlds.

When I was thinking of this point I thought of another small city I once lived in, Charleston, SC. The greater Charleston area had more than 500,000 people when I lived there in the early 90s but the downtown historic area south of Calhoun Street is probably only a little smaller than Hoboken with about the same amount of people. I mention this because Charleston is not next to a city the size of NYC. I found this made Charleston a more complete city. What I mean by this is that Hoboken is more homogeneous than Charleston at least with regard to age. What I found walking around Hoboken is a lot of young singles or couples with small kids. In Charleston there seemed to be more of a mix of young people, young families and senior citizens. To me that leaves something to be desired here in Hoboken.

So Why Hoboken?

Before I go into all of the pluses of Hoboken let me explain why it took me 18 years to come back. The main reason was commuting distances to the jobs I've had. After school I left the area to serve in the Navy for 6 1/2 years. I then returned to NJ but my job was in Allendale and I thought the commute would be too long so I rented a place in Montclair. Five years ago I moved to Port Jefferson Long Island to work for a medical device start up company out there. A year ago I moved to Manhattan and commuted to my job on Long Island. But this past May I was laid off and my lease was up and since I wanted to move back to NJ I thought Hoboken would be a good place to live.

So why is Hoboken such a good place to live? Here are a few reasons I like Hoboken:

1. Small city feel. You can walk everywhere in Hoboken, its only a square mile! Plus most of the streets are lined with row houses or brownstones that are not much taller than 4 stories. I actually have a maple tree outside my front window. The neighbors are friendly and the two I've met have lived in their homes for 15 and 30 years.
2. Less expensive. My place in Hoboken is larger than my Manhattan apartment but the rent is over $1000 cheaper. Granted my Manhattan apartment was near Lincoln Center with a great view of the NY State theater so we aren't completely comparing apples to apples. In addition restaurants are cheaper here in Hoboken and if you frequent the many byob restaurants you can save a lot on drinks. Lastly, if you work outside of NYC you don't have to pay the city tax.
3. Great waterfront parks. While the waterfront parks are not as large or stretch as far along the coast as the Hudson River park in Manhattan the views are much more impressive from Hoboken, especially at night with a full moon.
4. New York is close by. I have a few friends who live in Manhattan and Brooklyn and its nice to know that I can get to the city quickly via the Path, ferries or buses.
   
5. Closer to family. My family lives in New Jersey, only a 25 minute drive away with no tunnel tolls!

Those are the main reasons I chose to move to Hoboken and after being here a month I think I made a good choice.

Back In Hoboken!

After 18 years I am back in Hoboken. I was a student at Stevens Tech living on campus in the late 80s and left after I graduated in 1990. A month ago, I moved back to Hoboken from Manhattan and now am living on Bloomfield St. in midtown, only a few blocks from the Stevens campus.

However, I should state that while it has been 18 years since I last lived here, it hasn't been that long since I was last in Hoboken. In fact in 2002 I was dating a woman who lived here and I spent quite a bit of time in Hoboken that year.

So I thought I would start this blog to record my observations on what it is like to live in Hoboken for someone who is 40. Hoboken is still a young town with many 20 somethings yet there appears to be quite a few people in their 30s and 40s who call Hoboken home. In fact one blogger who is in her 60s moved here last fall and has been blogging about her stay in Hoboken. Check it out here.

So stay tuned for more posts and please leave comments if you have any.