Hackensack, NJ Community Message Boards

Everything about what ramftbl is asking about is posted in "CONVENIENCE STORES CONVERTING INTO LIQUOR STORES", which is currently on page 2 of this website because nobody has posted a comment there in a while. 

Mr. Editor, can these columns be merged, because they are talking about the same neighborhood

Yes, there has been significant resurgence in the quality of retail and businesses along Main Street in what is considered the Fairmount Section of Hackensack.  Some would call that gentrification, but I would prefer to reserve use of that term only to describe the improvement of a neighborhood that contained abandoned properties, or was really down and out. The Fairmount Section was never downtrodden or inner city.  (For instance, if the two approved luxury condo projects are ever built at State & Warren Streets, that would constitute gentrification.  Other examples of gentrification would be the luxury condos under construction on Linden Street near Anderson, the new bank at Essex and East Railroad Ave, and the townhouses replacing the old Alan Party Rental). 

Hahahaha.  This makes my day ---- this is utterly hilarious. Thanks for the research, Mr. Editor.

I guess the new establishment is "safe" to visit after all.

Rehab is complete, and the restaurant that is replacing Waterloo Sue's looks great.  Not sure if they are open yet. Instead of the whole building, trim and all, painted one color (pink), we now have a building with a decidedly upscale feel to it.  It's off-gold with black trim.  Still slightly funky, but the black trim has raised panel sections and contains so much architectural detail that "it works". Plus the new stonework on the 2nd floor corner facing the 5-corner intersection adds greatly to the appeal of the building, and ties in architecturally with the slate roof, as well as the stonework on the "Pesto" restaurant across the street to the south.

A block away, at Elm and Grand, Hackensack is going to lose one it's most classic pre-1880 houses, along with all it's landscaping.  An office building will be built. Oh, well.

But generally speaking, the visual appearance of the entire business strip of Main Street north of Sears to the old Waterloo Sue's has vastly improved over the past 15 years.   

Note all the changes: the new 7-11 at Hackensack Ave, Demolition of Packards to construct Target, rehab of B&W Bakery, establishment of the new Irish pub south of B&W (relocated from Essex & Prospect), a new sports clinic at Linden & Main replaces a hideous industrial-type building, the new houses on the lower block of Ross Ave built 10 years ago to replace a long-standing vacant lot, rehab of the Fairmount Diner, and especially the demolition of Hackensack Jack Auto sales for a new retail strip including a Quick Chek. Other relatively minor improvements have also occurred.

I wonder if that's the SW corner of State and Atlantic

I was told almost 20 years ago that there was one house on the property bounded by Summit Ave, Euclid North, and Euclid South, and that the author, Clement Moore, lived in that house.  I cannot verify the accuracy of this claim.  However, these maps seem to indicate that he owned land on both sides of the street all the way down.  The Clement Moore house was allegedly torn down to build 3 houses sometime around the 1900-1910 time period, or not soon after.  The Moore house was reportedly small, and not of any spectacular architecture.

I've also been told that 286 Euclid Ave is an "original farmhouse" that owned an entire square block, or at least the entire north side of Euclid between Summit And Prospect.  The "original barn" that was part of this same farm was converted into a single-family house.  It torn down 8 or 10 years ago, and a brand new house erected on the lot.  That house is a few doors to the east of 286 Euclid, not sure the address. It has partial brick on the front facade.

Whether or not this information conflicts with the Clement Moore information, or post-dates it, I cannot determine.

Summit Ave north of Passaic Street used to be called Prospect Ave.  At one time period, Summit Ave did not continue south of Passaic Street, and Prospect Ave did not continue north of Passaic Street.  This might be around the 1840-1890, the exact dates uncertain.  Prior to 1840, not sure if anystreet existed at all. Soon after 1890, Summit Ave and Prospect Ave were both extended, and the names seperated and established into the current configuration.  A great many luxurious houses were constructed on Prospect Ave from Central to Anderson, and on Summit Ave from Central to Fairmount Ave, all in the time period 1890 - 1920. 

In some instances north of Passaic Street, these luxury houses on Summit Avenue replaced vacant land, including pastures and woodlands, but in other instances there were pre-existing houses that were torn down.  Most of these houses were much smaller and closer to the street, and on large properties. It is uncertain if any of these houses were associated with the pre-estate community which is known to have existed on Prospect Ave in the vicinity of Berry Street.  This is part of Hackensack's UNRECORDED history because it is a matter that some people don't want to acknowledge. There is a great deal more history associated with the entire length of the old Prospect Ave, and it should be researched further and made public.

I wonder how the Superior Court judge would react if the city attempted eminent domain for the Tucci property on South River and Hudson Streets for another purpose ? Specifically to build a condo complex with 10% of the units officially to be sold as "affordable housing".  That would pit that State's affordable housing principle's against eminent domain case law.  Wow..... a clash of the Titans !!!

I just wanted to thank the editor for his diligent research into the matter regarding the Patel vs. North Brunswick case law, and for admitting that his original position was incorrect. Not too many people in a public position like to admit that they are wrong, and it shows some character on his part. In fact, all of us who chimed in on the matter were incorrect to one degree or another.  My initial statement was not fully correct either.  But this type of online dialog is what community websites are all about. It's a step by step process the real truth finally comes out.

But at least we got to the bottom of it:  The City of Hackensack gave the initial THUMBS UP to the transfer of the liquor license from one store in the neighborhood to another store in the same neighborhood.   For whatever reason there was little or no input from the neighborhood, and nobody should simply expect people to read the fine print legal notices every week for years and years on the happens-chance that they might find something.  The city could have proactively reached out to community leaders and the Fairmount PTA and consulted their opinions on this issue before making a decision, but I have seen no evidence that this happened.

They may have reasoned that there was no real change to the status quo because liquor was already being sold only one block further north. Personally, I would have rather seen the liquor license transferred completely out of the neighborhood.

Yes, people do come from all over North Jersey to visit there.

Now you've gone through such extensive detail to describe the store, but you never said how long they've been in business, or what B & W really stands for.  I believe that it is the last names of the founders, both of which were of German background.  It's gone through several ownerships, and they've kept the tradition of focussing on German pastries, whether they are German or not (I think they are).