Maybe there’s something about this time of year that makes people want to knock stuff down.
Category Archives: Rahway
More Hamilton Laundry photos
Another of the Hamilton Laundry buildings went down late last week.
The demolition of the two-story building exposed the lower part the adjoining four-story building, showing what appears to be a sign about fur storage. We can add that to last month’s list of old downtown signs.
Get your “Home of the Supagown” photos while you still can.
It was six years ago this month that then-Sen. Jon Corzine made the Hamilton Laundry one of his stops on a tour of Rahway. That’s when plans still called for an arts center and independent film theater. Due to flooding at the site last spring, the Hamilton Laundry site instead will be turned into a park and outdoor amphitheater by next fall.
Other interesting items that a simple Internet search yields about Hamilton Laundry includes these alleged OSHA violations from eight years ago.
Study to evaluate parking deck, needs
A consultant will evaluate downtown parking needs, including the feasibility of constructing a deck on Lot B (behind East Cherry Street) and adding two levels to the Main Street deck. A preliminary report to the Parking Authority is expected by the end of the year.
Until the residential housing meltdown of the last several years, the parking deck at Lot B (photo, below left) was to be part of The Westbury by Dornoch, which is also constructing The Savoy. Original plans included a 324-space, five-story parking deck, 150 condos and 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.
Instead, the Parking Authority and the city will take the lead on the Lot B garage. City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier said the developer would be back-charged for each unit that would require a space in the deck. Changes also will require renegotiations to the redevelopment agreement with Dornoch, which could take several months, said Redevelopment Agency attorney Frank Regan.
Developers have spent about $5.5 million i
n recent years to assemble properties for The Westbury project, according to Regan. That total could surpass $7 million once they acquire the Greek-American Deli on Main Street and a Parking Authority parcel, he added, and so the project has simply become too cost prohibitive to put together at this point.
In an interview after last week’s Parking Authority meeting, Chairman Matt Dobrowolski said there’s already been discussion with the city administration about a possible third location for a parking deck. “We’re looking long-term, not just the Dornoch project,” he said. Adding two levels at the Main Street deck (photo, right) is more difficult with Carriage City Plaza now constructed, he said, but they have the ability to do it although it won’t solve the Lot B issue.
The Main Street deck took about a year to erect and Dobrowolski expects the same timeline with the Lot B deck. Opened in December 2004, the six-story, 524-space deck cost $11 million — $3 million of which is to be paid back to NJ Transit.
Hamilton Laundry: Still standing
Like the old Elton John song, the old Hamilton Laundry is “still standing.”
The City Council on Monday night will rescind a bid for demolition of the building on Hamilton Street that some day will make way for a 1,000-seat amphitheater.
With demolition permits approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection earlier this year, a $281,000 bid had been awarded by the council in May. The governing body was legally required to reject the bid from LVI/Mazzocchi Wrecking after it was challenged by another bidder, City Attorney Louis Rainone explained at last night’s council pre-conference meeting.
Long story short: LVI didn’t file the appropriate paperwork. The next lowest bidder was $90,000 higher, which would have impacted the budget, said Rainone. Councilman Jerry Scaturo questioned how a second round of bids would be affected after rejecting the first round, but Rainone was hopeful the bids would come back lower when re-bid next week and not “delay the project substantially.”
City Chief Financial Officer Frank Ruggiero expects the council will award a new demolition bid by next month’s meeting (Aug. 11), and work could conceivably begin within a month or so after that.
Traffic changes this week
Two-way traffic is scheduled to begin downtown, on Main and Irving streets, this week. In addition to those one-way streets becoming two-way, several one-way side streets (East Cherry and Coach) will reverse direction while another that’s currently two-way (Poplar) will become one-way toward Irving; so all three will flow toward Irving.
Striping is scheduled to be done Monday evening and signs will be uncovered for Tuesday morning when the change is officially expected to occur. If there’s an issue, it could be pushed back a day, said Police Chief John Rodger, but the goal is to have it completed before the holiday weekend.
Cones will run the length of Irving and Main so motorists will have to stay in one lane, reinforcing the pattern change, according to Rodger, and Traffic will have a heavy presence downtown during the transition. The cones will be removed in phases, he added, to continually reinforce the patterns for a period of time.
When merchants were surveyed last year about changing traffic patterns downtown, most were in favor.
East Milton musings
East Milton Avenue looks like it’s been paved and ready for striping. Has anyone else noticed what appear to be video cameras atop the new traffic signals (left) at Main and Fulton streets, along East Milton?
6/27 UPDATE: Nope, they’re not video cameras but sensors to detect traffic patterns and adjust the timing of lights accordingly. Thanks to all who emailed/commented to clarify.
Seems like that’s business as usual these days, according to this recent MSNBC report:
“Even after a damning report by the head of London’s extensive surveillance network and with little evidence that the systems work — police in many cities are trying to add thousands more cameras to their networks.
“Officials in many cities are eager to take advantage of money from state and federal security agencies to install the cameras on street corners and intersections.”
Speaking of East Milton Avenue, is it just me or has it become a virtual wind tunnel on that side of the hotel? I noticed it back in May during Hot Rods & Harleys, and I can’t recall it ever being that windy before the 16-story Carriage City Plaza was erected. Imagine if the “second tower” envisioned across the street ever materializes…
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The coffee shop formerly known as Moca Motion Cafe looks like it’s open for business, although the Moca Motion Cafe signs are still there, in addition to a new Express Cafe sign in the window. Either way, the interior looks awfully similar to what I remember when the previous tenant was there.
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The next reader to subscribe by email to Rahway Rising will be No. 100. That might sound like I’m about to give something away at least something of monetary value — what, my gratitude isn’t enough for you anymore?!? — but I’m not. It’s just a nice round number. It’s been an exciting week, as we hit a new high for daily visits on Tuesday (186) and then again on Wednesday (201).
Thanks to everyone for reading, subscribing, supplying tips of all kinds, and commenting, etc. Keep it all coming, especially suggestions for a new poll question (though it sounds like I’m the only one clamoring for that to return…).
Parking deck permits going up 30 percent
A 30-percent increase in the monthly cost of parking permits for the Lewis Street garage has sparked a petition drive.
Tina Morgan and others who use the deck are collecting signatures for a petition they plan to present to the Parking Authority. She will be collecting signatures outside the deck on Thursday from 6 to 7:15 p.m., Friday morning, and again from 3 to 5 p.m. that day.
Raising rates had been mentioned as a possibility earlier in the year, but the Parking Authority Board of Commissioners at its June meeting approved increasing the monthly rate for the new parking deck by $20 — from $65 to $85.
Permits for surface lots are going up by $10, roughly 20 percent, from $50 to $60 or $55 to $60. The only fees that won’t see increases are a lot leased from St. Mary’s Church and permits in Lot B (behind The Waiting Room), which are downtown residents and merchants, said Parking Authority Executive Director Don Andersen.
Commissioners, w
ho meet the first Wednesday of the month, discussed fee increases at their May meeting, according to minutes. At least one commissioner suggested Rahway’s rates are “very low” compared to other towns while another said the increases “would not be as bad as originally proposed.” The garage began 24-hour operations June 3 in anticipation of the opening of Carriage City Plaza. Condo residents were expected to begin moving in this month.
Morgan, who uses the deck daily before taking a train to her job in Newark, said the only other neighboring parking deck with comparable rates to Rahway’s $85 is in Elizabeth at $90. She suggested the fee hike be staggered — increasing by $10 this August, and another $10 next August — to make it “more digestible.”
Morgan offered an excerpt of the letter she plans to present to Parking Authority commissioners at their next meeting, Wednesday, July 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the parking deck, 67 Lewis St.:
“We are at the mercy of the Parking Authority since the more reasonably priced surrounding lots have all been removed and no longer available to us. We hope that because the deck is now, for the most part, the ‘only game in town,’ that you would not treat your loyal patrons so cavalierly. We understand $3 million were contributed to the City of Rahway by NJ Transit to allow for the deck to be built. It would seem that NJ Transit’s interest in providing such a grant would be to encourage the public to take mass transit as opposed to overburdening our already heavily congested thoroughfares. We don’t think that the grant was given to eventually price-out the average person who takes the train from Rahway and raise the parking fee to become almost as high as the train fare. This does not seem fair, good business or in the spirit of community, which the Parking Authority heralds on the Web site.”
The $11-million Lewis Street deck opened in December 2004. Of the 524 spaces, 209 are set aside for condo owners at SkyView. Through Tuesday night, Morgan reported 127 signatures on the petition.
Three stars for Luciano’s
Luciano’s received three stars in a review featured in Friday’s Star-Ledger, and had a few interesting things to say about Rahway as well: “If you haven’t found yourself in Rahway recently, you’ll be surprised by the ever-increasing reasons to go. This is a city on a quest to become a vibrant community, full of urban artists and commuters, with all the energy that entails. It stands to reason, then, that the restaurant scene would enjoy an invigorating renaissance as well.”
Owner Michael Merlis is also quoted: “Merlis expects even more people to re-discover the town and sit at one of the tables that not so recently would have been in a vacant lot. ‘They can’t believe they’re in Rahway.'” Hmm, where have I heard that before?