the greenification of...

Anyone have any idea where this mystery spot is?


Is there a new garden supply business in town? Hardly! I'll give you one more chance to guess before spilling the beans. One little hint - it's a holding area for thousands of healthy new vegetation being planted somewhere in northwest Hoboken. Any plants left over after installation are scheduled to be auctioned off to the highest bidder :)


Ok, you give up? You don't really like these games, do you. Ok let's get to it then! It's the greenification of VELOCITY HOBOKEN! It seems that REMI is beefing up the beauty of this new lux condo development, and cramming in thousands of plants, flowers, and trees to get ready for the pending condo auction. The below pics are of the inside courtyard, which is an entire block long and TOTALLY RAD:



Unfortunately, us cheapskates who try not to pay for wifi access by mooching off lazy people who do not protect their accounts with passwords....well...we'll be out of luck. We won't be able to sit peacefully in the outdoor Hoboken oasis because...well...it's private and LOCKED by a not so charming iron clad swing door. Guess that's what they mean by 360 degrees of security:


Here are some pics of the facade on Jackson Street, as well as the side street closest to the light rail. I think the landscaping looks great. My partner, on the other hand, thinks they planted everything too close together, and is convinced they are all going to suffocate and die. Apparently he has 15 years of landscaping experience working as a teenager on his property. I was just a lawn mower guy, so what do I know! We'll see what happens:





And as always, I've photographed the nifty toys that the landscaping team has been messing around with. Everyone, meet Bobby Blue, Beverly Back Hoe, and Yolonda Yellow. After a hard days work, they enjoy hanging out in the plant and flower holding pen watching new episodes of So You Think You Can Dance, practicing choreography, and drinking Pepsi Jazz!



And lastly, they've also planted trees along the perimeter of the developement, lining the sidewalk. Charming, indeed!

swim with the fishes

Ordinary sewer drain? Let's have a closer look, shall we:


It seems as though we have here a very interesting type of drain, that warns the friendly citizens of northwester Hoboken NOT to dump any waste products into the sewer, for fear of poisoning our waterways. Hey, at least we know whatever goes own the drain gets deposited directly into the Hudson River without any type of treatment or filtering. Joy!



Just how old is our sewer system again?

velocity hoboken moving crazy fast (crazy insane?)

In an unusual move by REMI Companies, the remaining 40 units (out of 128) at Velocity Hoboken will be auctioned off on June 24th at the Hyatt in Jersey City. I'm not sure whether to get excited about this idea, or feel maybe just slightly/ completely horrified.

Prices start at a drool inducing $295K. It's a green LEED building, and is conveniently located a block a from the light rail, everyone's favorite monorail (excluding the one at Disney World.)

Either way, it's going to be VERY interesting/ entertaining/ cool/ exciting/ depressing for the rest of us - if they don't sell for market value.

If you are interested, please call 201-658-3096 for more info. You must pre-register with them if you'd like to have fun at the upcoming auction.

Here's a link to the recent article detailing the auction in the May 23rd edition of the New York Post:

New York Post Article: You Shall Bid on Our Velocity!

get out your box of jumbo chalk!

The Monroe Center team has pretty much finished their new sidewalks and they are sure to make everyone happy! We've been lacking friendly sidewalk options in this area to walk on, and this one's a real beauty:

get your shovels and dust busters

The job is almost finished at 900 Monroe. Just some additional clearing of debris, and the last bit of warehouse still to come down, and then the job will be complete! There is also a section of foundation (red brick, shown below) along 9th street that needs some attention. Another week or so and you'll be able to play shuffle board...

shiny and new

Chic new townhouse, sandwiched in between two not so chic sort of old townhouses. 7th and Adams.

3 down, 8 to go

Progress at Metrostop! This photo was taken from the corner of Monroe and 8th streets. It seems as though the first two floors are for parking/retail/restaurant/coffee shop, and the residential portion will be above that. Which should alleviate some of the intrusions of the light rail being so close. Looking good!

I also want to appologize for the 8 day gap in between postings. Sometimes HH needs a rest from all the power-walking...

steel staircases to the sky

On Jefferson, just south of 7th Street, are a row of very unique townhouse style homes, that feature bottom floor garages, and interesting steel staircase details on both sides of the building. Mostly made of brick, with green ivy filling in the cracks. Quite charming, and sort of scary at the same time.

mr. horse needs to gallop away

Prime real estate on Jefferson! Alert! I'm sure the city can skirt the local building code rules and push through a 300 story skyscraper. Can't wait!


Do you think Mr. Horse is included in the asking price?

don't walk on the grass, your feet might disintegrate

There is a huge empty lot on the corner of 8th and Adams. It seems to have been empty for quite a long time, and has a healthy amount of grass coverage going on. It's in a super prime location for new development, and I'm wondering what the hold up is. Does anyone have information on this piece of land?

Rumors? Fact? Fiction? Please email me by clicking here!


There's also a ton of very scary signage tagged to the chain link fence surrounding this property, some of which is pictured below:


Would love to know what type of remedial action activities are actually happening here? What is this land contaminated with? Many plots of land are cleaned up and reused throughout this country, sites that were once areas of industrial activities. It is a common occurence.


For some reason, printing "Thank You" in cursive just makes the rules so much sweeter to follow. Just like using automated female voices to give direction and instructions on New York subways makes riding all the more pleasurable!

All I can say is, if you see some neighborhood pets walking around with three heads, well....here's probably the reason why....


Thank You, and have a killer day!

the water tower, no longer

There was a monumental moment at 900 Monroe this past weekend. Danny Demolition was working overtime, eating away at the old water tower, smack dab in the center of the warehouse that's being torn down. First he started tearing away at the lower leg, and the sucker held on. Wouldn't budge. Next he tried the base of the tower, with no better luck. During the struggle, people started watching, waiting, and staring. With each try, the vibrations were so great it was shaking cars in the streets! Finally, after a quick repositioning of his massive arm, Danny got to work- attaching himself to the top of the water tower and slowly tipping it over. It landed with a loud thud on top of an ever growing pile of rubble, letting out rust smoke and a sleepy flock of birds, who must have been enjoying their morning coffee- and were completely surprised by the loss of their long time pied-a-tier. The series of events, captured below:







Here are a few more pictures of the overall site, as well as two shots looking through the interior windows.




And lastly, to put a smile on Nancy's face, who's a loyal HH reader down in Naples, FL - here are two shots of Fields Crossing, as never seen before, because the warehouse is no longer blocking this particular view. Previously this shot would have only been possible by computer rendering. Enjoy!!

a strong foundation yields a happy life

800 Madison has been making progress, and the beginnings of a foundation is taking shape. Very exciting! Here's hoping the weather stays nice so we don't have another football field size lake on our hands:



When not laying the foundation and pounding steel girders into the ground, the guys pass their days playing Gigantor Rubber Tire Horse Shoes. Fun!


"What rolls down stairs alone or in pairs
Rolls over your neighbor's dog?
What's great for a snack and fits on your back?
It's Log, Log, Log!

It's Log, Log, it's big, it's heavy, it's wood.
It's Log, Log, it's better than bad, it's good!
Everyone wants a log! You're gonna love it, Log!
Come on and get your log! Everyone needs a Log!"

Why on earth would they need one of these? As an ottoman? A comfy seat while eating lunch? A base for chopping wood on? We will never know:


Road block? Or giant orange cassette tape? You decide:


That's all for now!