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Zoning Board rejects apartments for store

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The Zoning Board of Adjustment narrowly rejected a proposal to convert a West Scott Avenue convenience store into three residential apartments.

After about two hours of testimony at its Feb. 27 meeting, the application for 497-503 W. Scott Ave. (Block 239, Lot 52) was not approved by the board, 4-3. Assessed at $189,000, the site had property taxes of almost $11,000 last year.

The Scott Ave. Grocery and Deli, formerly J&J Food Mart, is located at the corner of Oliver Street and West Scott Avenue, and is an existing, nonconforming commercial use in a single-family zone. The original plan called for two three-bedroom apartments of more than 900 square feet and one two-bedroom apartment of 800 to 822 square feet, which was eventually was changed to three two-bedroom units.

Several neighbors testified for and against the application. Those against the application worried that more tenants would bring more problems with loitering and exacerbate parking issues, considering a six-unit apartment complex across the street. Those in favor of the application preferred a residential use to alleviate existing issues of traffic and parking related to the single-story store, including customers using their driveway to turn around, as well as concerns about crime. The owners testified they had been robbed three times, twice around 1998 and once in 2008.

Board members expressed concerns about recreational space for potential tenants’ children as well as flooding issues. The property was flooded with about a foot of water during Hurricane Irene last summer and the application included plans to raise the existing three-bedroom apartment several feet as well as move utilities to the roof. Board members also feared the property would likely end up looking like a converted convenience store regardless of aesthetic renovations.

Owners of the property, who had owned the store between 1991 and 1998, testified that business is down since reacquiring the store in 2009. Witnesses for the applicant testified that ideally, someone would acquire the property, demolish the building and construct a single-family home for a better fit in the neighborhood. That’s not economically feasible, however, and presented this application as the best they could do with the site.

The three board members who voted in favor of the application were Egon Behrmann, Joseph Gibilisco and Ray Lopez. The four who voted against were Paula Braxton, James Pellettiere, James Heim and Adrian Zapotocky.

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Sheriff’s sale on Riverwalk units next month

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A $5.255-million sheriff’s sale on the remaining 19 unsold townhouses at Riverwalk is scheduled for Feb. 8, Redevelopment Agency attorney Frank Regan reported to commissioners at their meeting earlier this month. Bank of America likely will purchase the 19 units at the sheriff’s sale and then look to sell them, Regan told commissioners.

Foreclosure on the 19 unsold units began in late 2009. A total of 86 units were built, with a plan to add more on an adjacent parcel that never materialized. About two dozen Riverwalk units that are owned won judgments on their tax appeals last year, seeing their assessments reduced by as much as $20,000 and their taxes by $1,000.

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Well, check this out: A study by the National Trust for Historic Preservation claims that retrofitting an existing building to make it 30 percent more efficient will “essentially always remain a better bet for the environment than a new building built tomorrow with the same efficiencies,” according to The Atlantic.

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Rahway Rising Happy Hour next week

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Back by popular demand — and far too long in the making — the next Rahway Rising happy hour will be next Thursday, Jan. 26 at Nancy’s Towne House.

The groupies tend to start arriving around 6 p.m. Hope to see you there. Anyone with an interest in having some fun, maybe chatting a little about redevelopment, or just meeting your neighbors. All are welcome.

We’ll also be raffling off two tickets to The Rahway Taste of Spring. Maybe afterward we’ll all hit up the Mayors Council on Rahway River Watershed Flood Control meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the library.

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A year after the big apartment fire

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It was a year ago today that a fire destroyed a three-story, 50-unit apartment complex on St. Georges Avenue. Brookside at Rahway was under construction and nearly completed with leasing was expected to begin later in the year.


Police determined the fire was arson within a few days, but it wasn’t reported as such until one of our follow-up inquiries in March. Police Chief John Rodger said last week that it remains an open investigation.

Demolition of the three-story structure began about three months after the fire and work began anew in late September. In August 2009, trees were cleared at the 5-acre site to make way for construction, which began the first time around in August 2010.

Brookside at Rahway has since been nearly rebuilt, with leasing expected to begin in the spring.

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The idea of public art is always intriguing, so I thought this piece from The Atlantic was pretty cool  about an effort in Budapest, Hungary (“An Artistic X-Ray for Buildings in Budapest”). A local art collective commemorated buildings that had been razed for new construction by painting a mural of what appears to be a black-and-white X-ray of what once stood there.

It reminded me of some of the old artifacts and other signage found when some Main Street properties in Rahway were razed several years (namely a Marks Harris (.pdf) on the side of the building facing Lot B that’s been painted over white). Click the link above to see the images, it’ll really give you a sense of what I’m talking about.

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Looking for feedback on the blog

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I’m looking for some feedback this week about the blog, namely when exactly you read and visit the site. Whether or not the poll results affect what time I can post remains to be seen but I’d appreciate hearing if you have any preferences.

When do you usually read/check the blog?
– Early morning
– Late morning
– Early afternoon
– Late afternoon
– Evening
– Late night
– Weekends

I can tell site visits are certainly higher during the week, one reason why I don’t usually post on the weekend. I tend to post whenever I have time and some information though I’ve tried different schedules, if possible, such as just after midnight so email subscribers get the posts about 10 hours later; lately I’ve aimed for a specific time, like 7 p.m. Would that be something you’re interested in, a set time, like 10 a.m. or noon or 7 p.m., to be consistent? Or perhaps you like the randomness and surprise of whether there’s a post that day?

Also, I’ll sometimes share interesting items about redevelopment or planning stories from outside of Rahway, either via Twitter and/or Facebook, and/or tacked on to the end of a blog post. I like to keep up about goings-on elsewhere but also perhaps some items might be relevant to local redevelopment. Let me know what you think about that.

I’m always open to suggestions and feedback, so feel free to comment or shoot me a comment. Thanks for reading.

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‘Four more years!’

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So, if I’d started college at the same time I started this blog, I’d be done (at least with a bachelor’s degree — luckily I’ve already got one!). Well, that certainly puts things into perspective. But hey, happy anniversary anyway. I doubt I’ve had as much time to devote to the site in 2011 as in years past but I hope it’s been valuable or helpful to you in some way. Regardless, thanks for reading.

On average, the site gets about 1,000 visits and about 1,500 page views per week. In all, there have been almost 181,000 visits, more than 284,000 page views, and 57,500 visitors. Some other statistics about the blog:
– 380 Facebook friends
– 247 Facebook fans
– 161 Twitter followers
– 302 e-mail subscribers

People seem to have really gathered on Facebook in the past year, while email subscribers fluctuated, strangely, between 300 to as many as 330. Facebook and Twitter have been used to sprinkle in some related or interesting development-type stories that might be linked to at the end of an original blot post. Whether it’s a story from a Jersey media source or maybe something in New York or nationally-focused, there’s always something interesting going on elsewhere that provides perspective (or a good idea to steal) for local issues. Let me know if it’s worth continuing, or if you hate it.

Some ideas for the coming year, if I can keep it up, are doing a blog poll more often, and since we’ve got four years worth of writing, maybe a “retro blog post” occasionally, to revisit certain places or projects. Perhaps you have some other ideas for the future? Of course, I know we’re long overdue for another Rahway Rising happy hour.

And of course, here’s how it all started, with the very first blog post.

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It may not be specifically about a Rahway business, but this nj.com story from last week got me thinking about what it takes to start a small business and keep it going: “NJ Couple’s dream of owning business ends in disappointment.”

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A deli for a deli

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Another deli has arrived on East Cherry Street to fill a space vacated just a few months ago by another deli.

GK’s Big Belly Deli shut down in March amid charges that the owner was illegally hunting deer.

It was just a few weeks ago that a “Coming Soon” sign appeared in the window at 78 E. Cherry St., and now there’s a new, permanent for D&R’s Gourmet Deli and Catering.

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The Star-Ledger’s Munchmobile stopped in Rahway again, this time at The Waiting Room (just a few dooors down from the new deli).

The garlic pork chops that were “the juiciest of the day” and the “right mix of saltiness and properly cooked,” according to the Munchers. The baby lamb chop were even better: “So tender,” and the seasoning was “remarkable” and “dynamite.” The Room’s most popular dish is the Buffalo shrimp and Buffalo wings but the Munchers said it was the voodoo chili, “with bubbling-over cheese and plenty of meat,” that deserves to be more famous than those wings.

The link includes video of owner Chris Wenson (2:42 in length)  explaining some of the renovations to the former McCrory’s building before they moved into it in 2006 and an outdoor patio in the back that’s planned for next year (which was approved two years ago by the Planning Board).

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NJ Transit graded 5.2 overall

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NJ Transit this week released the results of a comprehensive customer survey, earning an average overall satisfaction score of 5.2 out of a possible 10, but just a 4.5 from rail riders specifically, which make up almost a third of customers. Bus riders, 61 percent of customers, rated it 5.5 and light rail customers, who make up 8 percent, gave it a 6.5.

Scores in several categories were 5.0 or lower and identified as needing improvement:
* 4.3, handling of service disruptions
* 4.5, fares
* 4.7, on-time performance
* 5.0, weekday evening schedule

Other low scores were given for handling of service disruptions, 4.3, PA/general announcements, 4.7, and weekend/holiday schedules, 4.7.

The highest scores were:
* 6.8, payment options
* 6.6, safety
* 6.6, My NJ Transit website
* 6.2, security
* 6.2, My Transit

By the way, a category called “Boarding station/shelter condition” received a score of 5.3, but closer to home, it probably would be much lower, given the long-term closure of the inbound stairs at Rahway and the elevator to the outbound/westbound platform being closed through August.

NJ Transit has average weekday ridership of 425,000, according to the survey, and two out of three customers surveyed expressed “willingness to recommend to a friend.”

The agency this week also passed a $1.9-billion budget for the next fiscal year, holding fares steady after last year’s massive hikes in the first of what’s expected to be three years of no increases.

What do y’all think? What rating would you have given NJ Transit?

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