Totally loving this video from the crew at Dozzino, the new(ish) wood fired artisanal pizza joint on the corner of 6th and Adams. If you haven't stopped by Dozzino yet, give it a try. Indoor/outdoor dining, chill aesthetics, delicious fresh simple food, with a touch of hipster. Plus Mr. Fancy and Mr. Flour Face aka Stickboy Sasso. Enjoy ...
DOZZINO
534 Adams St
Hoboken
201-656-6561
Follow DOZZINO on Twitter
BYOB
The Star-Ledger is reporting that our young Mayor Cammarano will announce his resignation tomorrow. Looks like the Dawn of Zimmer is upon us...
The Star-Ledger: Hoboken Mayor Peter Cammarano will resign after N.J. corruption sting arrest
On Friday, May 15th at 9am The Hudson County Office of Emergency Management will test its new emergency alert system.
So when you are rushing your ass out the door in the morning, hung over and running late because Thursday nights always get the best of you, just ignore what you hear and keep struggling. It's just a test. No danger. Just testing.
Tomorrow evening the grassroots organization Hoboken Revolt is holding a rally outside city hall to protest for change. Literally. We need some more loose change in our pockets. If you too are feeling the tax pinch, please come down and voice your support. We're all in this together, and the fastest way to progress is to get involved. Tomorrow, Wednesday March 4th @ 6:30pm outside city hall on the corner of Washington and 1st Street.
Click here for more information, or if you would like to become a member of Hoboken Revolt.
Click below to view / right click / and save the poster graphics for the rally:
Hoboken Revolt Poster 11 x 17
Hoboken Revolt Poster 8.5 x 11
Force Change Rally Flyer
What could wake up Hoboken Hero from his extended slumber? What could push through the paralyzing mire of economic uncertainty? What could possibly get HH to venture out into the wintry landscape all bundled up with eyes half shut?
A brand new neighborhood Dunkin' Donuts! Behold my dear brothers and sisters! We now have a local place for coffee! A place to go when you're too lazy to make your own! A place to get your dependable fix! A place your buddy will drive 200 feet to in his SUV when hungover while you run in in wearing track pants and yesterdays sweater to get an egg and cheese and hash browns! A place to surprise the kids with one of life's little pleasures!
Much to the surprise of local residents, work began a little over a month ago on this tiny little corner shop, nestled inside one of the Upper Grand buildings at the corner of 12th and Adams. It's one of their small footprint locations that doesn't actually cook anything, yet there they are all fresh and hot each morning (all goods get delivered each morning from a local distributor)...
And just my luck they opened this morning. Stopped in and met the two ladies running the place, both of whom had big smiles to welcome me. The windows were fogged, there was snow covering their pink and orange signage, yet the glow of donuts and coffee beckoned. There have been a few delays getting this baby open (shocker!) but they are very excited to be a new addition to our neighborhood. So come on down, introduce yourself, and swipe that credit card for a cup what many say is bar none the best coffee there is.
Oh, and I must point out if you haven't yet tried their new egg white flatbread bfast sandwiches, (only 280 calories) you don't know what your missing!
Dunkin'Donuts
1200 Grand St
(really the corner of 12th and Adams)
Hoboken, NJ 07030
(201) 217-8778
Two weeks ago, Metrostop eased open the doors to its new owners. It's been months since HH has profiled the tallest building in northwest Hoboken, so I figured it was time to share with you some new (and a few old) pictures. And for those of you who recently moved in, I know you're dying to forward on some pics to your friends and family. So here you have 'em. Ready, set, GO:
Below is the official front entrance for residents. Seems a bit understated for a building of this magnitude, but nonetheless it's clean and fuss free:
The doors open to reveal a minimal lobby - elevators on the right, mailboxes on the left. They've chosen interesting lighting fixtures that are quite modern, and some extremely attention grabbing furniture:
A very commanding presence! When I first saw the new sitting areas, I imagined the furniture coming alive in the middle of the night ala Beetlejuice sculptures to terrorize residents. Probably won't happen. But you know once the sun goes down those chairs are going to scare the hell out of the children who live there.
"MOMMY CHAIRY'S GOING TO EAT ME MOMMY! AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
Back outside on Jackson Street, we can see plenty of large growth trees that were planted, both on the curb side, and along the building. They've also mushed in boxwoods and some other fledgling shrubbery. This foliage will help disguise the two story parking garage (above and below ground). I've been trying to overlook their decision to put in such old school depression era bush bed borders that couldn't be more wrong for such a modern building, but I'm still having a hard time coming to terms:
The trees are going to be gorgeous in a few years, but I am a little worried about how close they were planted to the building. The maintenance man is going to have fun pruning back these babies:
Pachysandra was planted in very large swaths all over the place. Teeny tiny ones. Should fill in nicely and eventually will work towards conveying the 'green' message - it will spread everywhere in a few years:
Here's a great example of the trees that were chosen to line the sidewalk. They are common to the area. They also get to enjoy free skies above, and will be spared the chainsaw in future years, because there are no power lines above them.
Ever wonder why trees are always planted on sidewalks DIRECTLY beneath power lines? Makes absolutely no sense. Anyway, I digress:
May take a few to provide some adequate shade though :)
A little farther south are very long steps, for loitering, sunning, and relaxing:
And also apparently, for skateboarding:
Here's the southeastern view. Notice the unique shape of the building, and the very wide sidewalks. This is a major thoroughfare for foot traffic, so it was necessary to keep it open and roomy. Soon the official Metrostop signage will be installed to the right at this corner:
Here's the new 8th Street oversized sidewalk that leads to the entrance to the light rail. To the right, a cornucopia of greenery, bordered by hand laid stonework. A nice touch:
Love a good grass plant. They should plant many more of these to soften things up:
At the top of the steps is a new raised area that takes up a large portion of the southern half of the property. Beautiful pavers have been put down, with a chic border stone, and some random street lights scattered about:
Extreme paver closeup, taken during installation:
There's a grassy area that gets great sun. I think this is supposed to be the official sculpture park, but there's no sculpture yet. I can't believe we have grass in the neighborhood! If you squint your eyes and plug your ears it almost feels like the suburbs!
There are, however, several large stone benches, that look very cool, except I feel like a four year old when I sit on them. They are SO HIGH my feet don't touch the ground. It's actually pretty funny. I wish they had sunk them lower into the ground:
It's still a beautiful touch though. I can see people hanging here in the warm weather, relaxing after work. And the south side of this building, which you can see in the image below, will be home to Amelia's Bistro - a restaurant that will offer brunch, lunch and dinner, complete with outdoor seating. The neighborhood is dying for this restaurant to open. Any updates on this, please drop HH an email:
Supposedly Amelia's Bistro is opening in October, but something tells me they are behind schedule. Here's how the restaurant looks these days. Even with a kitchen build-out, it's a pretty big space. And all the windows are actual swing doors that fully open up to the outside air. Next summer is going to be heaven when this thing gets going. To wet your appetite, click here to drool over the menu of their Jersey City location:
Along the rear of the building - it's very clean and architectural. I love the lines of the building, and the interesting use of glass and brick. There's an additional entrance to the light rail, which is very convenient. And they exterior lighting, seen below, creates a beautiful glow at night, all around the building. Great job:
Also in the back, not exactly visible in the below picture is the gym on the second floor. You can also catch glimpses of parked cars both above and below you, especially at night when you can easily see through the tinted glass.
On to the north side of the building - and clearly the most commanding:
When we first saw the renderings for the building, we figured this would be the official residence entrance, because of the sheer scale of it, but it's actually an additional retail space, long rumored to be the future home of Starbucks:
Hopefully one way or another, we'll get confirmation on when and what will be going into this space. Developer and Starbucks are both mum at this point. Beautiful double height columns that overlook the future park going in on 9th Street along the light rail. Meandering pathway, dog run, etc.
A perfectly symmetrical facade which I love. I get lost staring at how perfect it is:
Back on the ground after a quick shake of the head, we see that the north side of the property also features the new 9th Street light rail entrance, and a maze of hand rails, fencing, and twisty turns. A month ago, it looked ... uh ... ummm ... just a tad bit restrictive:
But since unlocking the gates, and with a few steps back and a nice deep breath - the entrance, complete with stairs and a handicap ramp, actually looks very pleasing to the eye:
Stepping back even further to the street, perspective really sets in. This building is large and in charge. But it's well done, with lots of glass, interesting nooks and crannies, and tons of details to keep your eyes full. There are lots of balconies hidden all over the place. And remember, the views above 7 are all of New York City. And along the western side of the building - every single view is of simply ... trees. Big beautiful green lush trees. Pretty rad, considering no other condo building in Hoboken has such a unique view. It must trick your mind into thinking you are in the woods. What peace it must afford...
Metrostop is a beautiful addition to the neighborhood. Each day, as more and more owners move in, the building is slowly coming to life. As we ease into fall it will be exciting to see how the neighborhood continues to transform itself. There are some units left for sale, and now that the building is open, there are open houses and tours going on each day.
Can anyone say block party?
Click here to read all about an unfortunate light rail ticket experience that ended up in jail time!
NJ Transit has yet to install a ticket machine and stamper at the 9th Street entrance to the light rail, which is the entrance HH uses. Boy if I ever went through a similar experience, I can tell you with all confidence that I wouldn't be as patient.
Do you think they will ever install a ticket machine?
Good luck this weekend everyone, try and stay out of the flood waters.
We're going to go enjoy a nice meal outside somewhere, before the rain encroaches this evening. Then we'll either look around for Noah's Ark, or just go to Target and buy life vests. Or maybe those little floaty things you put on your arms when you're three.
Tomorrow at 7pm in the ground floor conference room at City Hall (94 Washington Street) there is a very important Planning Board meeting to vote on a new ordinance that essentially creates a new 'Park' category for zoning in Hoboken. If approved, it would pave the way for our City Council to designate the so-called SW6 site along First Street for a future park. A proposed mock-up of said park appears below:
Click here for a larger version that you can zoom in on, courtesy of Hoboken Now.
Now how does this apply to our dear northwest area of Hoboken? Well if this passes, than that same zoning ordinance can and will be applied to our giant abandoned square on 12th and Adams, seen below in a handy little Google map.
So the moral of this story is - if you want a park on 12th and Adams, then you better get your booty over to City Hall tomorrow (Tuesday 8/5) and show your support for for SW6.
This is the only way to voice your opinion. Otherwise a very small group of people will continue to make all the important decisions that directly affect your quality of life. Why not break off a piece of that power for yourself?
What would I ask for? An installation of super tall Redwoods in the shape of the letters 'HH' and of course a giant sculpture of my head that houses a small burger stand and beer hall. You know, for when the weather's nice.
For those of you spending your time speculating about HH instead of shutting down your computer and enjoying the holiday weekend with those you love, I will respond with the following:
The name of this blog comes from this story on Salon.com, which I found while researching Hoboken before my partner and I made the decision to move here. The name is catchy, easy to remember, and pays homage to one of Hoboken's greats. A perfect storm if you will.
And as to my motivations for starting this blog in the first place - I thought it would be a great motivator for us to learn more about the city we were moving to. We wanted to engage and explore our new community, instead of just falling into the pattern of 'sleeping' in Hoboken, and 'living' in Manhattan, which so many people tend to do.
To date we've been living here over a year and do not regret our decision. In fact, I think we're happier than we've ever been.
Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend everyone!
"Still, most indications are that Mr. Roberts is the biggest loser so far in a process certain to include sizable tax increases next year."
Click below to read more!
The New York Times: Hoboken, an Economic Success That Can’t Pass a Budget
Click the below image to enlarge!
Do you like to give your opinion? Yes, of course you do! Well stop by City Council Chambers at 94 Washington Street at 7pm this Wednesday to discuss the future of the Western Edge Redevelopment plan. Now's your chance to have your voice heard.
Do you want good restaurants? Quality retail? Open space covered with real grass? Perhaps a bicycle fast lane along Monroe Street? Community pool? Do you want to make sure that future retail spaces are larger than what's currently zoned in our Upper Grand buildings, which sit empty because they are not large enough for businesses other than nail salons and dry cleaners? Thought so. Come and hang out on Wednesday evening!
Afterwards, we can do a conga line together back to our neighborhood.
Great piece in this weekends New York Times about the Hoboken market weathering the real estate storm, with specific references to our neck of the woods, new developments like the west side's first high rise building (9th and Monroe) and 800 Madison, and of course our new movie theater. A must read. Click here.
Shockingly no mention of Metrostop. Again.
No, not exactly. But Marty McFly would definitely have something to be excited about. You are not looking at fresh farmland being turned over for next season's croppage. What you are actually looking at, is quite possibly the beginning of Mr. Hoda's long delayed / future parking garage / condo / retail / current eye sore in all its newly flattened glory. Join me as we take a step back, as we stumble past Dirty Danny Earth Mover. Looks like he's had a busy day:
Gone are the canisters, barrels, miscellaneous galvanized cages, soda cans, hub caps, 5 foot weeds and wild trees that have stagnated on this property for the last few years. Could we be witness to the rebirth of 800 Monroe? A little late in the game but definitely worth the wait?
FYI - the deal the developer has with the city, as part of the Monroe Center of the Arts redevelopment plan that was passed deems this plot of land to be built out first, before any other condo buildings can go up on plots to the south and behind the arts center. Future development calls for hundreds of condos and additional retail where the parking lot currently is. But enough about that. For right now, let's focus on the 800 Monroe block four story garage (which butts up against Fields Crossing) and the attached mixed use residential tower (along the south end of the parcel facing 8th Street). The top of the garage will be 'green space'. Open to the public 'green space'? Who knows.
Could this really be the start of something?
It is also worth noting that the burned out old Bronco is gone as well. While the auto sculpture garden was an interesting idea, something tells me a beat up Chevy with the windows blown out was most certainly frowned upon by the neighbors.
Time to rejoice? Hope so! Pretty soon our little bedroom community is going to wake the hell up and smell the coffee. Starbucks can't be that far behind (wink, nudge) !.JPG)
Also I'd like to give a shout out to the flux capacitor. Happy Friday everyone!
