Tag Archives: police

Apartments, St Georges Avenue

Work begins again on Brookside apartments

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Reconstruction of Brookside at Rahway, the St. Georges Avenue apartment complex that was destroyed by fire in January, began earlier this month.

Work on the site originally began in summer 2009, with construction starting in earnest the next year, and the 50-unit rental complex was nearly completed when the fire, an incident local police concluded was arson, occurred. Demolition of the three-story structure took several weeks in the spring. No word on when completion might be expected.

UPDATED OCT. 11: Jim Sisto of Fanwood-based United Excavating/Sisto Realty, which is building the project, said boxes started getting placed on the site Sept. 12 and are expected to be finished this week. He’s hoping to open for business by April 1.

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In case you somehow missed it, here’s the story this week from nj.com detailing an ethics complaint filed by City Administrator and Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier against Mayor Rick Proctor, in which Pelissier alleges the mayor encouraged him to hire his wife.

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Police, Rahway

Routes 1/9 red light cameras in effect

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Two years after getting state approval, the city has installed red light traffic cameras on Routes 1&9 and East Milton Avenue.

The cameras went into effect Aug. 11 after a warning phase in July. Construction is supposed to start this week on cameras at St. Georges and Maple avenues, according to Police Chief John Rodger.

A survey by the Police Department at the time state approval was sought indicated as many as 60 violations per hour at Routes 1/9-East Milton Avenue, or almost 200 a day.

8/24 UPDATE: Based on 3,000 violations per month, Rahway would receive $1.6 million in revenue each year from paid violations, according to Rodger. Originally, both intersections combined were projected at 3,200 violations per month but he said Route 1 is far exceeding initial estimates and may do 3,000 monthly on its own. Some drop-off would be expected as people get acclimated, he said. Projections for the next applications the city will submit are close to 200 per day and 150 per day, respectively, though Rodger declined identify those until they are approved.

The $55 fine is split between the county and city, which receives another $18.50 for court fees (for a total $46). An additional $55 goes to the State Highway Trust Fund, according to Rodger, and the Safe Corridor violation (along Routes 1&9) is $140.

The vendor, which is responsible for equipment, software and notification costs, will receive monthly fees of $18,200 for East Milton and $17,000 for Maple, with the city and county splitting the total $35,200 monthly fee ($422,000 annually).

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Crime, Downtown

Cops begin moving into police center

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The Police Department is expected to begin moving into the new police assistance center on East Cherry Street this week. Police Chief John Rodger said the Police Auxiliary, which had typically used the basement of City Hall, already has started using the facility.

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City Council

Bell Building a shell of its former self

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Construction began last month to turn the Bell Building on Hamilton Street into a black box theater, a little at a time (photo left), until last week when several of walls were knocked out (photo below).

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City Council

$165k for police assistance center

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A multipurpose bond ordinance to be considered by City Council next week includes $165,000 for equipment and improvements for a police community assistance center currently undergoing renovations on East Cherry Street. The governing body is scheduled to approve several bond ordinances at its meeting on April 11.

The $1-million bond ordinance, which includes the purchase of various equipment and improvements, calls for a down payment of $8,250 and issuing $156,750 in bonds. The city acquired the former Beverage Shop building at 52 E. Cherry St. last spring from the Rahway Center Partnership for $80,000 and plans for the police center were announced last fall.

The $165,000 is for “pretty much everything we need to open the building as a police facility,” said Police Chief John Rodger, including furniture and equipment, such as IT infrastructure, for a 30-capacity conference room. Rodger said the interior has been slightly redesigned and the Juvenile Detective Bureau will be moved into the building full time. The video system for East Cherry Street also will be moved there and cameras will be added for Lot B and the driveway accessing it from East Cherry Street.

Renovations to the center have counted on donations to this point, said Rodger, estimating that less than $15,000 has been spent so far. Pending expenses including flooring, ceiling and Sheetrock work, the chief said, adding that he’s working on getting all material donated for the electrical work as well as volunteers from an electrical union to do the work.

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This Wall Street Journal story from last week, All Not Cake on Hoboken’s Washington Street, indicates that even everyone’s favorite cool city is having some difficulty when it comes to retail tenants. About a dozen storefronts along an eight-block stretch of downtown are currently closed, though some new tenants are on the way, according to the WSJ story. Rents vary, with spaces closer to the train station more expensive, as much as $100 per square foot while uptown locations rent for as little as $2 or $3 per foot.

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Routes 1/9, St Georges Avenue, Traffic

Beware of red light cameras coming soon

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Red light cameras could be up and in use sometime next month at two Rahway intersections: Routes 1&9 and East Milton Avenue, and St. Georges and Maple avenues. There would be a 30-day “warning phase” after installation, to get the public accustomed to them before tickets are issued, according to Police Chief John Rodger. He expects them to be installed at some point next month.

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Crime, Police

Crime rate dips; burglary up, larceny down

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Keeping with a pattern of falling crime rates throughout the county and state, Rahway’s crime rate dipped 9 percent last year, according to the state’s annual Uniform Crime Report (UCR), released last week.

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Uncategorized

Does this building look familiar?

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The former Beverage Shop building on East Cherry Street has undergone a transformation of its exterior as plans continue to turn it into a police assistance center.

Police Chief John Rodger hopes to have new signage and awning completed before the holidays while a local electrician’s union will be donating resources.

The heating, ventilation and air conditioning is just about completed and there’s some asbestos abatement to be done, said Rodger, who has been pleased with the pace of progress over the last month to six weeks.

The facade would have been $15,000 if they had to pay for it, said Rodger, and still to be done are things like acquiring classroom and cubicle furniture and installing flooring and a phone system.

Rodger hopes to have the building at least partially in use by January or February and be completely finished by March.

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Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Rahway was downgraded by Moody’s Investors Services, according to a report in Crain’s New York last month, and expects to end 2010 with “sizable operating losses,” like it did in 2009. The rating agency downgraded the hospital’s long-term debt rating and lowered its outlook from “stable” to “negative,” citing declining admissions.

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