Author Topic: Main St.  (Read 148561 times)

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Main St. Street Festival
« Reply #30 on: October 15, 2006, 11:31:28 AM »

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Slideshow: Street Fair
« Reply #31 on: October 24, 2006, 06:14:39 PM »
The City celebrated its First Annual Street Festival on October 14, 2006.

Click here for the slideshow.

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Video: Village People
« Reply #32 on: November 23, 2006, 03:53:53 PM »
Click here for the Village People's "YMCA" in front of the YMCA in Hackensack at the street festival.  Video on Youtube.

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Main St.
« Reply #33 on: December 03, 2006, 11:12:56 AM »

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Main St.
« Reply #34 on: December 04, 2006, 09:54:35 AM »
« Last Edit: December 04, 2006, 09:59:46 AM by Editor »

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Main St.
« Reply #35 on: December 04, 2006, 04:24:36 PM »
In response to The Record's Who pays for the show

The tree lighting ceremony last Friday was a terrific event.  Music, singing, hot chocolate and Santa Claus.  It was great.  It's always been a wonderful way for the community to meet, spread good cheer and ring in the holiday season.  The kids loved it, the adults loved it and a good time was had by all.  This kind of community interaction and involvment is priceless.   

The Record featured a picture of the ceremony on page one today.  The paper is apparently upset that the city spent too much money on decorations. I think we should ask the kids who all had a chance to meet Santa. 


« Last Edit: December 04, 2006, 07:03:01 PM by Editor »

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Main St.
« Reply #36 on: December 05, 2006, 10:27:19 AM »
Record Editorial:  Deck the streets - Editorial

The seasonal displays have a value beyond dollars and cents. The spirit of the holidays is found in our communities coming together to stare at lights and decorations, to perhaps hear carolers, to revisit places that cannot be duplicated inside a shopping mall....

There may be waste in many a municipal budget, but only the Grinch would switch off holiday lights.


That's more like it.

Happy Holidays!
« Last Edit: December 05, 2006, 10:30:18 AM by Editor »

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Main St.
« Reply #37 on: December 14, 2006, 06:08:57 PM »
From today's "Your Views" in the Record:

Photographer Thomas E. Franklin erred with his nostalgic claim that "Main Street in Hackensack was the center of the North Jersey retail universe" ("The button shop," Picture This, Page L-1, Dec. 4).

Before the advent of highway shopping centers in the 1950s and 1960s, Newark and, to a lesser degree, Paterson were the retail shopping giants in the area. Newark had its huge Bamberger's and Haines department stores and Paterson its smaller Meyer Brothers and Quakenbush. Any of the four dwarfed what Hackensack had to offer in those days.

Adding to the appeal of the big-city retail trade were the great numbers of specialty retail outlets similar to the J&B shop in Hackensack visited by Franklin. That is something the malls no longer offer these days, quite probably due to their astronomical rents.

The demise of Newark, Paterson and Hackensack as major shopping destinations has been well-documented. At the outset the highway shopping centers aggressively touted their "acres of free parking" and highly competitive pricing. By contrast Newark at the time had its riots, Paterson's plan for a peripheral highway never got off the ground, and Hackensack's Main Street -- along with Fair Lawn's River Road, Bergenfield's Washington Avenue and other downtowns -- was hampered by its linear layout.

Shoppers will go where they have convenience, competitive pricing and safety. They are willing to walk in climate-controlled malls but not outside in all weather on city streets.

Other than government offices and courthouses, there isn't a great deal left to draw shoppers and their dollars to Newark, Paterson or Hackensack these days.

James D. Storozuk

Fair Lawn, Dec. 4

We enjoyed reading "The button shop" (Picture This, Page L-1, Dec. 4).

This store was across the street from our family's business, H. Plager and Sons (retail furniture).

Memories of the bygone days of Hackensack's Main Street in accounts such as these have never included a mention of H. Plager and Sons.

This store was established in 1888 at 190 Main St. in a four story, 50,000-square-foot, elevated building with entrances on both Main and Moore streets. It was an important part of Hackensack's vitality, drawing customers from all over Bergen and Rockland counties until it closed in 1973.

Malls changed Main Streets all over and our business, but not our way of life.

We recall Main Street in Hackensack as a vibrant, exciting and bustling area. We were proud to have been a part of those flourishing times.

Perhaps the next time a human interest story about Hackensack's business district appears in our favorite paper, The Record, whoever writes it will include H. Plager and Sons among other retail establishments discussed.

Harris Plager
Paramus, Dec. 4

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Main St.
« Reply #38 on: January 04, 2007, 09:59:50 AM »

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Main St.
« Reply #39 on: April 17, 2007, 05:06:01 PM »
Related story: Residents living in style over the store

The story is about Englewood but may be a sign of things to come for Main Street.
« Last Edit: April 17, 2007, 05:19:51 PM by Editor »

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Main St.
« Reply #40 on: May 26, 2007, 03:24:54 PM »

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Main St.
« Reply #41 on: June 04, 2007, 03:33:18 PM »

Offline Editor

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Posts: 4430
  • Karma: 17
    • View Profile
    • Hackensack Now
Re: Main St.
« Reply #42 on: June 06, 2007, 08:49:12 AM »

Offline ericmartindale

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 191
  • Karma: -5
    • View Profile
Re: Main St.
« Reply #43 on: June 09, 2007, 04:22:04 PM »
I wasn’t expecting the study to suggest a pedestrian-only plan for both Main Street and Banta Place. I'm glad that professional traffic experts are NOT recommending the restoration of two-way traffic on Main Street.  It would immediately become completely congested. I like the two-way street suggestions for some of the side streets accessing Main Street, especially Camden Street. 

I also think that Berry Street between State and River Streets needs to be renamed  since it no longer connects to the rest of Berry Street.  There are no residences or business with an address on this 2-block street, so the change would inconvenience nobody.  What would be the new name?  Let’s continue tradition and pick one of New Jersey’s counties.  Just about all of the streets intersecting Main Street in the downtown are named after counties in New Jersey. There’s still a few prominent counties not on the map in Hackensack. Perhaps Monmouth, Burlington, Hunterdon, or Somerset.

The Banta Place pedestrian street suggestion is a welcome surprise.  It will be great to see what happens to Banta Place as pedestrian-only street.  For it to work, the complete redevelopment of the block south of Banta Place has to happen.  This is one of the city’s pending redevelopment projects.

I also think that Trinity Place needs to be connected through the corner of the city-owned  parking lot to Mercer Street. I’ve advocated this in the past, and the time is right to suggest it again.  This is especially true if Banta Place will be abandoned to vehicular traffic.

There is a lot of traffic eastbound on Central Ave that is looking to go to the following locations:

 (1) anywhere on Main Street from Mercer Street to Passaic Street
 (2) Moore Street
 (3) River Street northbound,
 (4) river street southbound, and
 (5) left on River Street, and then a right onto the Midtown Bridge Approach, and then across to Bogota.

Connecting Trinity Place to Mercer Street will allow all of these traffic connections to happen WITHOUT detouring cars all the way down to Atlantic Street.  Atlantic Street is busy enough with it’s own traffic and HUMC traffic.

Here’s how the flow would work, and signs could be placed to direct the flow:  Traffic eastbound on Central Ave can make a right turn at Union Street, and then a left turn at Trinity Place. Currently, when you reach State Street, you can’t get to Mercer Street because State Street is one-way south.  Physically connecting Trinity Place to Mercer Street through the corner of the parking lot will make all five of the above-listed traffic connections work. 

It’s likely that this matter was out of the geographical scope of the study. This might be why it wasn’t considered.  It’s never too late to look at it.

Offline irons35

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 249
  • Karma: 16
    • View Profile
Re: Main St.
« Reply #44 on: June 09, 2007, 08:39:06 PM »
There is a lot of traffic eastbound on Central Ave that is looking to go to the following locations:

 (1) anywhere on Main Street from Mercer Street to Passaic Street
 (2) Moore Street
 (3) River Street northbound,
 (4) river street southbound, and
 (5) left on River Street, and then a right onto the Midtown Bridge Approach, and then across to Bogota.

Connecting Trinity Place to Mercer Street will allow all of these traffic connections to happen WITHOUT detouring cars all the way down to Atlantic Street.  Atlantic Street is busy enough with it’s own traffic and HUMC traffic.

Here’s how the flow would work, and signs could be placed to direct the flow:  Traffic eastbound on Central Ave can make a right turn at Union Street, and then a left turn at Trinity Place. Currently, when you reach State Street, you can’t get to Mercer Street because State Street is one-way south.  

last time I checked, taking Central Ave east to State St, turning South onto State St, crossing the tracks and making a left at the light will put you on Mercer St. 

1 Block on Mercer puts you at Main St.
2 blocks on Mercer puts you at Moore St.
3 blocks on Mercer puts you at River St.

no need to spend money to connect Trinity Pl. to Mercer St. for a Central Ave. escape...