Tag Archives: St. Georges Avenue

Routes 1/9 red light cameras in effect

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).

Beana’s Mexican gets two stars

The Star-Ledger/nj.com on Friday had a review of Beana’s Para Siempre restaurant on St. Georges Avenue. (Para siempre, by the way, means “forever” in Spanish; I had to look it up).

Of course, one of the first things mentioned is the decor (which really is one of a kind):

“You’d shriek if you stumbled onto this restaurant along a dusty stretch of Route 66, pulling out your camera to document your touristy luck to your disbelieving friends. The place is thoroughly fun and kitschy, its walls crammed with 70-year-old license plates, sombreros, commemorative dishware, velvet paintings of bullfights and countless crosses, lizards and chili pepper lights.”

Not sure what it says about a review that spends so much time waxing about Census figures and decor though. In the end, Bean’s got two stars through the appetizers (chorizo, flaky empanadas) seemed to be a bigger hit than the entrees (standbys that you’d expect), and there were some drawbacks: “The kitchen is too cozy with salt, even for those who consider salt a friend. The salsa disappoints, and service is inconsistent. And no, you can’t order a margarita.” (Always good to have BYO options though.)

“Beana’s is fun, and perhaps offers a taste of what’s to come: an ever-evolving mashup of Mexican and American, even if that means the quite unexpected…”

At last count, there were more than 50 reviews aggregated on the restaurant’s Google listing, coming through Yelp, Urban Spoon, Yahoo! and others. What do you think?

Police confirm St. Georges Ave fire was arson

(Taken about 7 a.m. today)

Rahway police today confirmed that the Jan. 4 fire that destroyed a St. Georges Avenue apartment complex under construction was arson.

“We determined it was an arson within a few days but weren’t prepared at that time to release that information,” Police Chief John Rodger said in response to another of our inquiries. He declined to go into further detail about the investigation. “Other than telling you that it was declared an arson, there isn’t a lot I can discuss about the fire,” he said.

(Taken about 7:30 p.m. today)

The 50-unit development, dubbed Brookside at Rahway, broke ground more than a year ago and was nearly completed, with leasing expected to begin as early as this spring. Instead, demolition of the three-story building started this week and could take as much as a month to complete. Jim Sisto of Fanwood-based United Excavating/Sisto Realty said he plans to rebuild after the structure is demolished down to the foundation and steel.

Demolition of fire-damaged apartments to begin

Almost three months after a fire gutted the nearly-completed Brookside at Rahway apartments on St. Georges Avenue, demolition is scheduled to begin Thursday on the three-story structure.

The plan is to demolish down to the foundation and steel and eventually start the process of rebuilding, according to Jim Sisto of Fanwood-based United Excavating, the firm behind the development of the 50-unit rental complex. Once demolition gets under way, he expects it could take about a month, weather permitting, to take down the structure. If anyone is able to take some photos or video of the demolition, feel free to share.

A four-alarm blaze tore through the building on the morning of Jan. 4. The cause of the fire is still unclear. Police John Rodger said as recently as today he had no new information that he could share. Sisto said he hasn’t gotten any answers from authorities or insurance companies as to the cause of the fire. He believes the cause must be arson given how meticulous he said he keeps his job sites, and there was nothing on site that would have sparked a fire.
UPDATED 3/24: Updated portions in italics.

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A pretty cool idea recently reported in The Wall Street Journal: “Construction info on the go — New codes on building permits provide Smartphone users with city data”. New York City’s Department of Buildings has started to bring “Quick Response,” or QR codes, similar to bar codes, on all permits for buildings undergoing any type of construction in the city. The information already is available on the city’s website but the QR codes will provide instant access to “a condense mobile version of the Buildings Department webpage, which provides permit and violation history for every building, and already received more than one million views a day.

Beware of red light cameras coming soon

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.

Continue reading Beware of red light cameras coming soon

Blaze rips through apartments under construction

A four-alarm blaze that drew firefighters from many neighboring towns this morning tore through a three-story apartment building that was under construction since early last year.

At least three helicopters hovered overhead this morning, capturing video of the roof fire and some reports indicated reached as far as Manhattan’s West Side Highway. St. Georges Avenue was closed for most of the day from West Hazelwood Avenue and/or West Milton Avenue to West Grand Avenue, with traffic jamming side streets during the morning rush.

This story from Patch.com quotes the fire chief as calling the building “finished” after Tuesday’s fire. Mayor Rick Proctor, who was sworn in Monday night, told MyCentralJersey.com: “I’ve got to figure it’s a total loss.”

We posted an update about the project in October and in August, when Jim Sisto, president of Fanwood-based Sisto Realty, said he expected it would be mostly done by October and completed by the new year. In recent weeks, the building took on a new look, with the dark-colored mansard-type roof. Many of the initial reports called the building a condo complex but it was actually planned as rental apartments. Of the 5o units, 37 were planned as two-bedrooms, with 13 one-bedrooms.

The 5-acre site was a wooded area for years before trees were cleared in summer 2009 to make way for construction. Plans to build there go back even farther though, when the Zoning Board rejected a 60-unit application for the site in March 2003 (.pdf). The builder appealed before 50 units were approved in 2004. The Zoning Board granted extensions each year through September 2009 as the developer awaited approvals from the state departments of environmental protection and transportation (St. Georges/Route 27 being a state highway).

For more photos or video of the blaze, keep an eye on Facebook or our Twitter updates (top of the page on the right).

St. Georges Avenue apartments take shape

The 50-unit development on St. Georges Avenue has taken shape over the past month, adding the third floor and some curbing within the complex.

Continue reading St. Georges Avenue apartments take shape