General Category > Hackensack Discussion
Main St.
sayhey:
I just heard about Prozy's on Main St. (Clifton location will remain open) is closing after 70+ years. There is a trend going on here with Prozy's, Lowitz, and other long time residents of Main St. It's funny how the stores on the lower half of Main St. are closing (being replaced by 99 cent stores) and the upper half is receiving help from the city thru different organizations. I smell a rat name Zisa for allowing this to continue without seriously helping. If Englewood, Ridgewood and others small downtowns survive, why can't Hackensack? Unless there is someone with a motive...like Zisa and crew. What makes a community is stores like Prozy's and Lowitz, not 99 cents stores. Prozy's and Lowitz offered goods that could make people visit them. If Hackensack added some more stores like the one's found in Englewood and Ridgewood, that would give life to Main St. and breath a second life into the established stores already there. Also, it would give Hackensack some life again as well as some pride. Strip malls don't give a community an identity or life. It puts more distance between the community and businesses. I don't know the people at Cosco or Shoprite strip mall, but I know the people at Prozy's. I'm more likely to shop at Prozy's then the other places because Prozy's knows my likes and dislikes and therefore are more helpful.
Editor:
The current City administration spearheaded the Special Improvement District (SID) on Main Street (from Mercer to Sears). This City Council is responsible for its formation and works with the SID to support Main Street's growth.
The southern portion of Main Street has yet to form a SID. I'm not sure, but I think businesses in the southern portion of Main Street were not interested in a SID program. If someone knows anything different, I'd like to know.
The current SID is just getting started. Once it is in full swing, many are confident that it will be successful like SID's in other towns. Bergenfield is one example.
Hackensack doesn't "add stores", - businesses do. The City supports local merchants and fosters the development of a SID to make Main Street more attractive for businesses.
Comparisons to "Ridgewood and Englewood" are not appropriate. They are completely different communities with completely different economic bases. Hackensack can have a thriving, successful Main Street, but it probably won't be like Englewood any time soon. In the future, new housing stock in the surrounding Main Street neighborhoods will bring more spending dollars to Main Street (as many have speculated).
I and many others are very hopeful about Main Street's continued success. City residents should be cheering it on and supporting it.
The last poster routinely attacks the current administration, always hiding behind anonymity. I chose to allow anonymous posting because I want frank discussion in these boards. Some posters abuse this privilege by personally attacking others (by name) without having the courage and common decency to identify themselves. This makes me crazy. I can only hope that readers will give less credibility to anonymous posters and make some effort to familiarize themselves with the facts.
Towards that end, I provide links to these related articles:
A cleaner day dawns
Main Street Revitalization
The Main Street Business Alliance
Hackensack MSBA Embarks on District Improvements
Stores hope festive notes will entice shoppers
Bergen County briefs
Al Dib
Editor, Hackensack Now
sayhey:
I don't attack Zisa as much as you would like other forum readers to believe because I don't post that often to began. There are others on the forum that do far more attacking Zisa (justifiable at times). Since you have been name to do something for the city (can't remember now), you taken a pro Zisa position on almost every topic on the forum. How come you're not neutral..conflict of interest now?
You are right about it's not the city's job to bring stores (businesses) to Hackensack, but it's their job to make an environment friendly enough to encourage them to come. Now, tell me that this current adminstration has done so? Except for strip malls on River St., Main St. has been left for dead. Besides, I had one or two lines total on Zisa in my previous post. My post was more about Hackensack losing an identity with the closing of community stores like Prozy's, Lowitz and so on. What next Cowans? I'm more concerned about the welfare of Hackensack then Zisa, but he happens to have the power to control the fate of Hackensack right now.
Editor:
Sayhey:
If you are "sayheywillie" from the other message boards, you invented online "Zisa bashing"!
http://www.nj.com/forums/hackensack/index.ssf (Post No. 4 torwards bottom of page).
As for your theory of a "conflict on interest", the fact that I allow you to say what you do about this administration, without simply deleting your post, clearly shows that I am not conflicted. If you go back and look at my posts, you will see that I almost never take a political stand one way or the other.
My problem with your posts is not that you dislike the administration, but that you insinuate with no basis in fact. You speculate and make conjecture with reckless disregard for whether or not what you say is true. But even this I can tolerate if you would at least identify yourself. Annonymously, you have nothing to lose if you are wrong. When you identify yourself, you become accountable. You are not accountable.
Your statement that "Main Street has been been left for dead" is nonsense in light of the SID. (See articles above). What are you talking about???
For the record (again), the City hired me to oversee the redesign of the official website and to maintain it regularly: http://www.hackensacknow.com/forums/index.php/topic,292.0.html . I made this fact known when I was hired. People know who I am, where I come from, what I do.
WHO ARE YOU?
Steve:
Sayhey, I think you are off base this time. Think about it, over the past 6-8 years Zisa & administration has brought us Target, Costco, Musically Yours, Commerce Bank, Pep Boys & The Hackensack Shop-Rite Mall. What was the administrations "Motive" then? We currently have in development and discussions many more community enhancing projects including townhouses and more retail. There's that "Motive" again. The Fox theatre has finally been demolished and will soon be a productive use of land. This Zisa guy is just too much!!! Finally a law to help us get rid of all the illegal apartments in this town. He's up to no good again!!
I never shopped at Prozy's in the 36 years I've lived in Hackensack. And I couldn't care less that it is closing. (i hope that doesn't sound cold hearted) The owner of Prozys is in his 70's and his son is in his 50's. You really think it was gonna go on a lot longer??? I read in the article the father said something about getting an offer he couldn't refuse. God Bless Him! I never heard mention of a next generation ready to take the helm. I don't think Zisa is to blame for the owners aging.
Redeveloping a large store like that may be exactly what's needed.
Who are you going to blame in 5 years when the SID was a complete success and Main Street is once again a place to be proud of?
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