Hackensack, NJ Community Message Boards

General Category => Hackensack Discussion => Topic started by: sayhey on December 31, 2004, 01:09:14 PM

Title: Main St.
Post by: sayhey on December 31, 2004, 01:09:14 PM
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.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on January 01, 2005, 04:08:43 AM
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 (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2NjA3Mjky)

Main Street Revitalization (http://cntyseat.com/Vol2Issue6Nov152004/Main%20Street%20Revitalization.htm)

The Main Street Business Alliance (http://cntyseat.com/Vol1Issue21June152004/The%20Main%20Street%20Business%20Alliance.htm)

Hackensack MSBA Embarks on District Improvements (http://cntyseat.com/Vol2Issue5Nov12004/Hackensack%20MSBA.htm)

Stores hope festive notes will entice shoppers (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2NjIzNDUy)

Bergen County briefs (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2NDE2OTIw)

Al Dib
Editor, Hackensack Now
Title: For the editor
Post by: sayhey on January 01, 2005, 07:31:49 PM
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. 
Title: Re: Main St. downfall
Post by: Editor on January 02, 2005, 09:57:22 AM
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?



Title: Re: Main St. downfall
Post by: Steve on January 02, 2005, 07:46:20 PM
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?
Title: Re: Main St. downfall
Post by: Editor on January 02, 2005, 09:52:53 PM
There's plenty of hope and promise for Main Street.   The following information is an excerpt from: http://www.crcog.org/Publications/TCSP/Ch07_Fact%20Sheet_Main%20Street.pdf (http://www.crcog.org/Publications/TCSP/Ch07_Fact%20Sheet_Main%20Street.pdf)

The green, bolded text under "Revitalization" explains why I think the last post is off the mark.

Why Have So Many Main Street Areas Become Run Down?


Traditional Main Street areas ... have had a difficult time competing with auto-oriented commercial development in suburban areas. Strip-style commercial corridors, regional shopping malls, and big-box "power centers" are successful for many reasons. They have recognizable chain stores, large-scale shopping formats that provide a wide selection of goods, drive-through services, large movie theaters, large family restaurants, and most importantly, abundant parking and easy access for vehicles. By way of comparison, Main Street areas tend to offer unique and small-format spaces, which are generally unappealing to modern-day chain retailers, and they tend to be constrained in terms of parking and vehicular access. Most people living in the Hartford region nowadays are auto-dependent, and they tend to do their shopping in locations with the best automobile access and parking.

Why Re-invest in Main Street?

If suburban commercial sites are so successful, why should local municipality spend time and money attempting to revitalize the old town center? Many Main Street areas still have numerous businesses, residents, and employees, all of whom would directly benefit from improvements to the area. The town as a whole would benefit from the increased tax revenues from a revitalized commercial area. Most importantly, a Main Street area is usually the historical, cultural, civic and geographic center of the community, and improvements to the town center can bolster the town's pride, image, and residential property values.

From a "smart growth" perspective, town centers are "sustainable" growth centers. With higher-density development and a mix of commercial and residential uses, town centers provide a greater variety of housing types and more opportunities for walking, biking, and transit use.

Revitalization

This smart growth tool can be used in urban, suburban, and rural communities.

They are an alternative to the forces that fuel low-density suburban sprawl. A revitalized town center can attract new investment that adheres to a compact, mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented format. There has never been a better time to engage in economic revitalization efforts in historic town centers. Old Main Streets are being revitalized nationwide, and some modern retailers see old Main Street areas as the "new frontier" of retailing. Oriented to pedestrians and specialty shopping, these businesses capitalize on the character value and foot traffic of Main Street. They tap into the market that seeks an alternative to mall shopping.

What Are the Chances of Success?

Many communities have been able to turn around their traditional Main Street areas. Downtown West Hartford, which initially could not compete with the West Farms Mall, managed to renew itself through a multi-faceted revitalization program. West Hartford has been successful because it has managed to build off of the unique attributes that distinguish it from suburban commercial sites: historic architecture, a traditional "Main Street" ambiance, a safe and pleasant walking environment, and unique non-chain stores. Importantly, West Hartford Center has a unique parking scheme that makes access convenient. Similar initiatives are currently being undertaken in Windsor Center and Downtown Rockville (Town of Vernon).


Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: sayhey on January 03, 2005, 09:11:23 AM
I'm the same one, but not the only one that jumps on Zisa when he continues to let the people of Hackensack down with self-interest moves.  You remember me because I gave info that hit harder then most on the other forum such as the Trooper/Hackensack P.O. incident.  You claim I don't back up my claims, but I do because I have access to a member of Zisa's inner circle (city council-man who talks) and the trooper thing... I got it from a trooper (Hackensack guy and life long friend) who was involved on the seatbelt check part of the incident.  I've notice that you responded to me more then other on your forum even though I don't post that often.  What about others on both forums that continue to attack Zisa with more posts then I can write in a year?  Why don't you attack the "The Record" for bashing Zisa more then I do because they see a problem with him too?  Editor, the article is "great" for other downtowns because they are following that course, where as Hackensack continues to spend money on studies to "improve Hackensack".   How many more studies (with tax-payers' money) are there going to before something is really done?  All that has been done so far is band-aid measures.  During the 90s this country saw great growth on Wall St. down to mom and pop stores around the country except Hackensack's Main St.  National chain store moved in on River St. while small stores on Main St. closed only to be replaced by 99 cent stores.   That's a community life-saver if I ever saw one. (lol)  Could it be that Zisa (since 89) hasn't done more within his powers to be a bigger part of the growth during that time?  It's great the big box stores came, but what about the original stores?  There needs to be a mix of stores to help towns such as Hackensack to survive.  Also, as you posted revival of downtown increases the image, pride and value of the entire community.   I'm not here to fight you, but I'm here to be the right to the left and the up to the down because a person in power unchecked or questioned is dangerous.

As for Steve the other poster, have you ever seen a magic trick?  The hand is faster then the eye.  With all the new stores (strip malls) on River St. opening, the same amount has closed on Main St.  You might not have shopped at Prozy's, but plenty of other have and Lowitz was a quality store that plenty of people "still" found up-to-date suits and other things.  When things happened in the community, the local stores (not national chain stores) are more inclined to get involve because the outcome affects them more just as is does the rest of the citizens of Hackensack.   Big box stores on River St. pad themselves from local stuff with billions dollars profit years.  Also Steve, I know where you're coming from because of your relationship to someone in the administration, but that's not for here to explain to all.

Oh, for the editor:  I did not invent online bashing of Zisa.  It was always there just that there wasn't a way to voice it until now.  I just happen to be the first to post on the other forum about him.  Besides, I can't be bought like some on the forum. 
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on January 03, 2005, 11:50:05 AM
Who is Sayhey?

Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: sayhey on January 03, 2005, 01:42:06 PM
Al, lets kill this debate and move on to something else.  Besides, I like the sarcasm from you about "who is sayhey".   lol   
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: sayhey on January 03, 2005, 01:43:47 PM
Also, fix the time on posts because it shows them as being a hour ahead of the actual time.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Anthony on January 03, 2005, 08:06:08 PM
 I don't understand the obsession with Main Street.   

How many malls, stores and other Main Streets can people shop?  Why would people stop shopping in Ridgewood to come here?  Why would people stop shopping in the climate controlled Garden State Plaza to walk down Main Street on a February afternoon?

They're not going to unless an enormous amount of money and time is spent luring modern retailers who see Main Street as the "new frontier" of retailing.  If the mayor and the council and the voters (say hey that's you Willie) aren't on the same page, nothing will change.

I applaud your efforts and I'm sorry if you disagree but I don't have much faith in Main Street ever changing.  The report that the editor referenced sounds great in theory, but why is it taking the retailers so long to get here?  Why are they building in other towns on their Main Street?

There are a lot of variables involved, many of which are very complicated, some of which are controversial.  Is any of this the Mayor's fault?  C'mon man, you're just being a hater.  Main Street's downfall began in the 60's and hasn't stopped since. 

I realize many people are concerned with the idea that Main Street in Hackensack is important, therefore I have some ideas (since the housing idea wasn't so popular).

1.  Relocate the Cultural Arts Center to Main Street with parking.  It should be a location that will allow the center to seat at least 500 people.  All of those people attending would be hungry and thirsty after a show adding a need for nicer restaurants.

2.  Relocate the PAL boxing gym to Main Street and expand the gym to host amateur fights, maybe even some pro bouts.  I always thought the grocery store that opened next to Womrath's would have been perfect for that.   

3.  Sponsor more events highlighting Main Street - parades for the local sports teams on opening day, Ragamuffin parade on Halloween, Columbus Day parade (what happened there?), etc.  Small things like that develop a lot of town pride.

4.  Condemn some land, maybe near the library to build a nice park with a fountain, and benches, maybe even a statue of Chief Oratam in the middle.  Imagine a statue of the Chief in the middle of his town.

5.  Finally, let's figure out who we're targeting to shop on Main Street.  Is it the thousands of people working in the medical center and court house?  Is it the rapidly growing Hispanic community?  Is it people shopping in the malls or on other Main Streets?

The same old, same old still doesn’t work.  It’s time to be innovative and daring to have any chance at survival.


Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Steve on January 03, 2005, 08:11:37 PM
sayhey, please explain my relationship to someone in the administration for all to read.

I know I'm very interested in finding out what/who it is...


Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: midniteangel on January 29, 2005, 11:44:31 AM
Main st was the place to be...ppl from alot of towns came to Main st, Hack to shop...the stores were the absolute best from one end to the other...what a shame it went to pot! there's nothing left except the Record stores. Woolworths was the best....i loved it so much...when it went down, so did Main st....and i loved Johns Bargain store, Whelans, Army/Navy, Modern Bakery, A & P, Reds Italian store, Peter Pans, Arnold Constable, Womwraths, The Theater Tavern, Sonnys Lunchenette, The Wagon wheel, and on and on....great memories of great stores...sniff... :-[
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: ericmartindale on January 29, 2005, 11:17:18 PM
Somebody posted that the Hackensack Cultural Arts Center should be moved to Main Street, and wondered where. I'll tell you where --- the Johnson Library.  There couldn't possibly be a better place for a cultural arts center than in the very heart of the downtown district. Arts patrons would also become patrons of restaurants and shops, and encourage Main Street to be open into the evening.

Most towns have their library either next to their high school, or otherwise in the center of town. I say convert the Johnson Library into a new and much better cultural arts center. There might even be room for the city to have its own museum in the same building.

We could use a new state-of-the-art library next to the high school. The city could condemn land for this purpose. It could be a combination library/community center, and for major events, it could use the large high school parking lots. All this costs money, of course, and at least some of it would have to be grant money, or donations from HUMC (could anyone imagine them actually donating money to the community for such a cause....lol).
Title: Re: Main St.: "Exciting Times"
Post by: Editor on February 16, 2005, 10:12:08 AM
Check out the first Email Newsletter for the Upper Main Street Alliance (http://www.hackensack.org/controls/eventview.aspx?MODE=SINGLE&ID=37). 
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Kaffekat on March 18, 2005, 02:17:43 AM
At one time - as someone pointed out Main Street was the place to be.
Researching it I have found pictures going back to the late 17th Century - ...
To the 18th Century - the 19th - the early 20th.

......  I grew up listening to tales of how it  Main Street 'was'.

I grew up listening to tales of my dad, a Sicilian immigrant  that grew up in Hackensack NJ back when most of it was farmland.
Of how it was when my my mom emigrating from Denmark during the war..

But one thing I do recall is: I remember the street fair on Main St.
Back then, they blocked off the street, carpeted it, had bands, sales, vendors - a Carnival. It was a major event.
People came from all over the tri state area to view it.

I barely remember it, and I still remember it.

 Bring back the old Hack Main Street St Sidewalk Sale the way it was. .

Go back to the 1960's, the 70's. Better yet go back to the late 1890's - early 1900's!!
Nostalgia- of whatever sort,  is big now.

In the 1980's is when Main Street really fell. Trying to compete with the Malls on their own level: Garden State Plaza, Riverside etc....
The Malls Climate controlled, convenient - Main St had no chance. I worked on Main Street in that time frame in the 80's.

I thought, and I still think that Main Streets only chance nowadays is to go back. Competing with the Malls on their own level it is doomed,
taking advantage of it's actual age - on the other hand.
:)

Someone asked why do some of us want to save Main St - why do we care?

Because it has been around. Because we grew up with it. Because -
and most importantly - it has history -
not just another mall.... another street, not just another Main St., it is part of Hackensack History. Part of America's oldest History.

Much of it gone, too late. Lets keep what we can alive.

Keeping Main Street alive saves Hackensack from being just another boring bland old 'Mall', just another boring same as the rest of them county .... Another generic part of the greater metropolitan area that, and let's admit it blends into the same old, same old metro area.... .

Hackensack, NJ  one of the oldest states, counties in the USA, we should remember that and keep what we can.   
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: semafore on March 21, 2005, 09:39:15 PM
I grew up in Hackensack in the 40s and 50s, before the Paramus Mall took hold. It was a shopping mecca then and could become one again. In the Midwest, where I have lived for 35 years, the "newest idea in shopping" is a return to stores on streets instead of malls. The Simon people opened the Clay Terrace  in Carmel, Indiana last year, which is comprised of dozens of stores on both sides of a tree-lined street and it has been a stunning success. People like walking outdoors from store to store (even in the horrible weather we sometimes have) rather than a stuffy mall. If Hackensack would do more to bring trees downtown, (and some better stores) maybe the shopping would get better.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: chadshere on August 28, 2005, 06:10:05 PM
I just read this posting about Prozy's planning on closing. Did the store close yet? I hope not...I would like to stop by there and say goodbye. I worked there in 1985 and I actually have fond memories of being there including the Prosnitz family.  Reading the comments about Main Street, good and bad, made me think of the main street of my youth. Back in the early 70's there used to be a big parade that went down Main Street. I think it was for Memorial Day. The parade ended at the court house.  Another memory is going into Woolworths and smelling the hotdogs cooking at the lunch counter.  I used to try to get my mother to go to the back of the store to try to get her to buy me a toy.  Finally there were two movie theaters, actually across the street from each other. The Fox and the Oritani. Does anyone know how long the movie theaters were there? Why were they across the street from each other anyway?
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: itsme on August 29, 2005, 12:12:26 AM
Sorry, its already closed like so many other stores on the lower half of Main Street.
Title: Re: Bakman Building, Main St.
Post by: Editor on November 30, 2005, 04:18:11 PM
I found this in "Hackensack Illustrated".  This is now the Check Cashing place on the corner of Main and Mercer.  It's in the Special Improvement District.  I'm hoping the owners will take advantage of the SID's sign and facade grant program to be launched soon. 

Note the meat carcasses, carriages and covered sidewalk.  Wow.

(http://www.hackensack.org/filestorage/6814/70/Bakman.jpg)
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: itsme on December 21, 2005, 08:40:07 AM
I read the post regarding the Bakman building on Main and Mercer.  I recall a meat packing business at the corner of State and Mercer which is now the Armour Building and occupied by lawyers.  If I am wrong someone help me out here.  Its possible that I just associate the name "Armour" with the building.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Skipx219 on December 23, 2005, 02:54:56 PM
 In the early '50's my parents took me with them to purchase a half beef. I was pushing a beef hanging on one of the hooks like a swing when it fell on me. I remember it a an Armour pack plant.
Title: Main St. Facades
Post by: Editor on March 01, 2006, 10:06:21 AM
Putting a fresh face on Main St. (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2ODg5MDU0)

The Upper Main Alliance has allocated $125,000 in this year's budget to make storefronts more uniform so that Main Street will be more appealing to shoppers and diners.

The alliance will reimburse owners for up to one-third of the cost, or a maximum of $10,000 for facade improvements and $2,000 for new signs and awnings.

I would love to see the Bakman Building (Susquehanna Hotel) restored to its former glory:

(http://www.hackensack.org/images/slideshow/Old%20Businesses/photo32.jpg)
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on June 30, 2006, 09:59:11 AM
Latest story:  Main Street merchants say they're waiting for good times (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2OTU1MjEz) 
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: ericmartindale on September 12, 2006, 01:25:53 PM
I wanted to float a novel idea for the improvement of Main Street - a pedestrian-only plaza from the Green to the Library. Perhaps all the northbound traffic can be diverted to Moore Street, which would then become one-way northbound from the Courthouse all the way up to the library.  The buses would also go up Moore Street instead.

Then Main Street could become pedestrian-only from the Green to the Library.  The northbound traffic on Moore Street would return to Main Street via Camden Street, which is the northern end of Moore Street.

Here's a vision of the future for Main Street: There could be one very wide pedestrian sidewalk right down the middle of what is now Main Street, perhaps 20 feet wide, and made of stamped concrete or something else with pattern-work.  It would be fully accessible to emergency vehicles, when needed.  The remaining width on either side would be space for outdoor cafe's, landscaping, etc.  There would be ample room for flower beds, statues, a fountain, passive sitting areas, etc. 

The whole thing could be designed in some GRAND WAY, completely unlike anything in the metropolitan area.  This would be the ultimate atmosphere for restaurants, nightclubs, art galleries, coffee houses, specialty shops, etc.  Hackensack would surpass Ridgewood, Englewood, Nyack, Montclair, Hoboken, or any other downtown.  We would actually become a tourist destination.

There would have to be provisions for new parking decks, of course, to handle all the customers that would smarm into Hackensack, and to compensate for the loss of street parking.

All the cross street, such as Atlantic, and Mercer, would still cross. Perhaps the lights would stay, so that pedestrians would cross when green.  Banta Place would also have to be made into a pedestian-only street.   No big loss there. There are no driveways between the stores that reach Main Street,  so that isn't a problem. Actually there is one driveway just north of the railroad on the west side, but that whole property could be redeveloped. That whole square block should be redeveloped. Logistically, the pedestrian promenade plan could work.

It would cost millions to implement, but I think that the resulting increase in ratables would more the compensate.  In fact, property values would soar everywhere within 5 blocks walking distance of this pedestrian promenade.

I did mention it to a few merchants, and got some positive reaction.  I plan to pitch this idea to the Upper Main Street Business Improvement District, and to city officials.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: ericmartindale on September 22, 2006, 11:37:29 PM
This idea of a converting Main Street into a pedestrian street between The Green and the Johnson Public Library is not unprecedented.  It turns out this has been done all over Europe. They call them "Walking Streets".  They can be found in the following cities: Cologne(Germany), Vienna (Austria), Lugano (Switzerland), and Helsinki (Finland). All are thriving, and they have a tremendous appeal that cannot be duplicated in a shopping mall. They also exist in Tokyo.

Special thanks to bass player Michael Richmond of Teaneck for providing me this information.

Here in the USA pedestrian-only streets can be found in the historic city of Salem, Massachusettes.  Come to think of it, the Boardwalk of Atlantic City is also a pedestrian-only street.  If anyone knows other cities with pedestrian-only streets, please post. Thanks.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on September 23, 2006, 12:40:59 PM
Montreal has a bunch of "pedestrian only" streets with restaurants, art galleries, etc. They also have a thriving tourism industry and two or three colleges creating tons of pedestrian traffic.

As much as I love the concept, I doubt this would work on Main Street. We should, however, make Main Street much more pedestrian friendly. 

Montreal:

(http://www.bbcanada.com/pics/8033h.jpg)
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: ericmartindale on September 23, 2006, 11:38:50 PM
I wasn't expecting you, of all people, to be a naysayer. You "doubt this would work on Main Street".

Please clarify. Do you: (a) doubt the concept that it would bring economic prosperity, meaning do you doubt that shoppers, visitors, and tourists would use it heavily if it were constructed.  Or (b) do you doubt that there could ever be a political consensus among merchants, property owners, taxpayers, city and county officials, etc., to make the decision to implement such a project.

I admit that I also have some doubts regarding (b), but absolutely no doubt about (a).  Since you have offered half an opinion with two possible interpretations, I am asking, in as friendly a manner possible, for you to clarify that opinion.

And just to make it clear, despite doubts, I am not someone who ever lets (b)-type sentiments stand in my way. There was plenty of (b)-type sentiments regarding the preservation of Borg's Woods, and again with the river walkway. Ditto for the idea of building luxury condominiums on State and Union Streets, moving the County Police from Zabriskie Street to East Broadway, and building a new city hall on Essex Street. All these initiatives started with a "vision" that was considered impractical to implement. But if enough people gather behind a vision, and it is a good vision, things can and do happen.

Who was it that said "where there is no vision, the people shall perish"? That is EXACTLY my philosophy regarding public policy.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on September 24, 2006, 11:07:07 AM
Where there is no vision, the people shall perish. - Proverbs 29:18

Vision, without recognition of reality, is fantasy. - me.

Car-free zones (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Car-free_zone) (Wikipedia)
In 1997 there were about 30 pedestrian malls in the U.S. ... Most of these experiments were failures in the respect that they cut off automobile traffic from retailers. Most were re-converted to accommodate automobile traffic within twenty years (originally 200 were founded of which around 30 remain).

More pedestrian malls fail than succeed, observers say (http://web.dailycamera.com/pearl/19xwor.html)

Downtown Pedestrian Malls (http://www.emich.edu/public/geo/557book/d210.pedmalls.html)
In the 1970s many downtowns closed major streets and converted them to pedestrian malls as a way to attract customers. The success of such conversions has been minimal, and twenty years later most have been converted back into traffic streets.

Demise of Pedestrian Malls (http://www.designcommunity.com/discussion/19792.html)
_________________

You might start to persuade me if you can find one pedestrian mall in the US that actually works and is comparable to Hackensack.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for reduced dependency on the car, open air malls, cobblestone walkways, fountains, etc.  But there are countless reasons why Main St. is not a good candidate.  If you turn cars away, you better have strong tourism or a college base or other segment of the population that doesn't drive.  You'd also better have a way for trucks to load into these stores. Many stores on Main are front-loading stores.  Finally, we are surrounded by automobile infrastructure (Routes 4, 17, 80) and Main Street is a main thoroughfare.  Do I need to continue?

The SID is doing a good job in their district with planters, garbage bins, new facades, coop ads and the like.  These are practical, realistic and effective tools.  The library looks great and newer businesses are succeeding. 

The SID and Chamber of Commerce Street Fair is in October.  The City is closing Main Street to cars for one day.  Let's see what happens.   
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: ericmartindale on September 30, 2006, 09:07:49 AM
Our editor’s statistics showing that the percentage of these projects that have failed are indeed a concern. After a little more research, I am now asking what is the relevance to Hackensack?

Professional planning studies would have to be made supporting a pedestrian street initiative in Hackensack, and there is little harm in investigating it. Simply dismissing it or blindly supporting it is not a good thing. Something like this needs to be be studied.

Here’s some possible reasons why pedestrian streets built in the 1970’s failed in some downtowns:

(1)   They were built during an era of middle-class flight out of cities. (We are not in such an era now, cities everywhere are rebuilding and improving)
(2)   They were built in or very near a high-crime neighborhood. This was the case in Trenton (This is not relevant to Hackensack)
(3)   The remaining street pattern had a seriously disrupted traffic flow. In fact, our editor stressed this in his post (this won’t be the case in Hackensack with Moore Street becoming one-way north and completely absorbing all the northbound flow on Main Street from the Green to the Library)
(4)   Inadequate connections from the downtown to the regional highway network (We have good connections, River Street and Hackensack Ave provide this)
(5)   No Business Improvement District (BID) to manage and oversee everything. BID’s are a relatively new concept (One of the links the editor provided stressed this.  Hackensack has a BID)
(6)   Inadequate provisions for nearby parking, no parking towers. Or parking facilities with parking meters that have a maximum time of only one hour. (This definately must be addressed. We need parking towers.  In fact, Hackensack’s change from two-hour to one-hour meters in the 1990’s was a disaster, and it drove many stores out of business)
(7)   No major pedestrian base in the form of colleges, office buildings, and/or surrounding neighborhood (Hackensack has a huge office base, a growing residential base, with lesser contributions from Bergen County Community College and even the Parisian Hair academy).  If the city builds a new city hall with a library on Essex Street, the plan is to convert the Johnson Library into a large cultural arts center. This will bring even more pedestrians into the downtown, especially in the evening hours.
(8)   Inadequate population density in the surrounding area.  (I seem to recall a planning study documenting half a million population within a 5 mile radius of downtown Hackensack)
(9)   Inadequate streetscape improvements.  Some cities just blocked off the streets and expected pedestrians to walk on the asphalt. In many cases, there were inadequate attempts to create an “atmosphere” with lighting, special paving, trees, flowers, etc.
(10)   Lack of investment from the private sector. This is related to issue #1 on this list.
(11)   Inadequate mass transit.  Our editor didn’t mention this, but I understand that this was a very big factor in some of the failed projects.  Hackensack does have a lot of bus lines coming into the downtown. It would be nice to see rail reconnected.

Clearly, there has been a movement in the direction of pedestrian-friendly downtowns and “new urbanism” planning, especially in the last 5 years.   The articles that our editor linked to indicate that a lot of the pedestrian-only downtown streets were built in the 1970’s, and failed.  One actually mentioned that having a Business Improvement District is essentially to such a project succeeding.  Cities in general were failing in the 1970’s. There was a lot of disinvestment and middle-class flight. 

Now it is 2006, and cities are the center of investment once again. Demographics in Hackensack have also changed in favor of this concept.  We now have a great diversity of immigrant people in Hackensack, almost all from countries that place less emphasis on the automobile. Contrary to the assumptions of most white people, statistics show that this demographic change has occurred WITHOUT a reduction in education level or per capita income, after adjusting to inflation. In fact, both have risen.

 I do not believe that a pedestrian street project would have succeeded in 1970’s Hackensack.  Now is a different story.  This concept is something that needs to be studied, not dismissed because it was done improperly in other cities, or done during the wrong era.

Issues such as deliveries and garbage pickup can be addressed in the same manner as other pedestrian downtowns, usually during very early morning hours.

Although Hackensack has taken the mighty step in establishing a Business Improvement District, there has been no collective vision.  Instead, the guiding vision remains the same --- each individual merchant expects to magically entice customers, simply on the merits of their own products or services, to drive to downtown Hackensack from suburbia, park on Main Street within a ½ block of the store, and walk in the front door. 

We’ve been struggling with this failed business plan for 50 years. It hasn’t worked since the first mall opened in Paramus, and from that point forwards it will never work. IT’S TIME TO TRASH THAT BUSINESS PLAN IN IT’S ENTIRETY AND MOVE IN ANOTHER DIRECTION

People are going to patronize stores and restaurants in Hackensack for two primary reasons:
(1)   THEY ARE ALREADY THERE because
a.    they live there (in a new multi-unit building)
b.   they work there (in an office),
c.   they are visiting an office for business purposes
d.   they are visiting a library, a future cultural arts center, or a health club such as the YMCA
(2)   they are traveling to downtown Hackensack specifically to enjoy the atmosphere of an improved pedestrian downtown street.

Right now, relatively few people are driving into downtown specifically to visit stores and restaurants. Despite our editor’s fear that Hackensack doesn’t have a “pedestrian base” to support the pedestrian street concept, our existing retail and restaurant establishments are already almost totally reliant upon the pedestrian base. Most of their customers are the already there because they work in nearby offices.  That’s why everything shuts down after 5:00 PM. Now, if we make a really nice pedestrian street, three things will happen (1) an even higher percent of the office workers will patronize Main Street, (2) much more people will walk in from the surrounding high-density residential neighborhoods, and (3) we can actually achieve the “holy grail” of downtown planning, which is getting people from suburbia to drive in, park in parking towers, and enjoy the pedestrian street atmosphere.

Now comes the tough part, convincing the majority of merchants to give this some serious thought, so that we can get some professional planning studies of this concept.
Title: Main St. Street Festival
Post by: Editor on October 15, 2006, 11:31:28 AM
Latest story:  Festival fills streets with dancers, buyers (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDA1NjIx)
Title: Slideshow: Street Fair
Post by: Editor 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 (http://www.hackensack.org/images/slideshow/StreetFair/).
Title: Video: Village People
Post by: Editor on November 23, 2006, 03:53:53 PM
Click here for the Village People's "YMCA" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-GMjc5Ln5s) in front of the YMCA in Hackensack at the street festival.  Video on Youtube.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on December 03, 2006, 11:12:56 AM
Latest story:  Here's how a quality downtown can make it so (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNCZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NzAyOTQ2MA==)
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on December 04, 2006, 09:54:35 AM
Latest stories:

Picture this: The Button Shop (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk5JmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDMxNTc5)

Who pays for the show? (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDMxNjEx)
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on December 04, 2006, 04:24:36 PM
In response to The Record's Who pays for the show (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDMxNjEx)

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. 

(http://www.hackensacknow.com/images/The Grinch3.jpg)

Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on December 05, 2006, 10:27:19 AM
Record Editorial:  Deck the streets - Editorial (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNCZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NzAzMjAwNQ==)

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!
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor 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
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on January 04, 2007, 09:59:50 AM
Latest story:  Storefronts: The Battleground (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3JmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDUwMDA4)
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on April 17, 2007, 05:06:01 PM
Related story: Residents living in style over the store (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyMSZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NzExMDg2Nw==)

The story is about Englewood but may be a sign of things to come for Main Street.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on May 26, 2007, 03:24:54 PM
Latest story:  Owner to close button store in Dec. (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkyMiZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NzE0MDg0Nw==)
Title: Main St.
Post by: Editor on June 04, 2007, 03:33:18 PM
Latest story:  Hackensack wants boost for Main St. area (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk1MSZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NzE0NDYwNyZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTM=)
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on June 06, 2007, 08:49:12 AM
Latest story:  Hackensack explores traffic changes (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk1MSZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NzE0NzA3MiZ5cmlyeTdmNzE3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTM=)
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: ericmartindale 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.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: irons35 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...
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: ericmartindale on June 11, 2007, 05:28:49 PM
That's a reasonable observation, and I have a reasonable response. 

The statement is true, but traffic lights complicate and delay any driver taking Central Ave to State Street, then east on Mercer.

For one, the light at the corner of Central and State Street is EXTREMELY long, and you CANNOT make a right on red at that light.  NOBODY wants to wait that long, possibly over 3 minutes.  The bypass route I suggested also eliminates the eastbound wait for the light at Central Ave and Union Street.  This is because eastbound traffic on Central Ave can make a right on the red light onto Union Street.

Either way there would still be the light at State and Mercer, but under my suggestion, the driver has to wait ONLY AT THAT ONE LIGHT.  The other way, the driver has to wait at 3 lights, including one very long wait at Central and State.

It's a shame that getting 3 blocks from the corner of Central Ave & Union Street to Main Street takes so long.
Title: Main Street Festival: Ashford and Simpson
Post by: Editor on October 01, 2007, 08:54:55 AM
Latest story:  Street festival returning in Hackensack (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MjAyMjE5)
Title: Street Fair
Post by: Editor on October 07, 2007, 09:19:21 AM
Latest story: Revelers like fair; merchants prove to be tougher sell (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MjA0OTQ1)
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on December 24, 2007, 09:40:17 AM
Get perfect fit at Kates Bros. Shoes (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3JmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MjM2NDAz)
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on December 25, 2007, 11:02:07 AM
Where have all the musicians gone? (http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxNCZmZ2JlbDdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5NzIzNzczNw==)

The independent owners use live musicians to stave off the onslaught of the hydra-headed chains. These corporately owned entities are wreaking the same havoc that the drug and hardware chains did on the "mom and pop" shops.

Think back to Hackensack in the Seventies – before the Paramus malls created armadas of stores all within arm's reach. It was a thriving metropolis, a shopper's paradise, that boasted packed coffee shops and luncheonettes and not one, but two movie theatres!
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on March 02, 2008, 12:34:29 AM
Improvements set for heart of the city (http://hackensackchronicle.com/NC/0/103.html)
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: just watching on March 02, 2008, 12:06:13 PM
Glad to see something is finally happening with the Business Improvement District. 

I ate in Bohemia, the upscale Latino bistro they talked about in the article.  For a Latino-focussed lunch spot, it was so upscale I didn't even know it was Latino until I got inside.  The food was excellent, and I definately recommend the corn soup as an appetizer.

The Bohemia seems to bring together two mega-trends going on in Hackensack.  The city is slowly becoming more Latino as the Latino population has expanded out of it's base neighborhood into the rest of the city. And at the same time, the Latino population is becoming more mainstream, more English-speaking and more middle-class.  Hackensack went through the same phase from the 1950's through the 1970's, except then it was with Italians. It really wasn't until a few years after World War II that Italians began spreading heavily out of their base neighborhood.  In the 1980's, Latino's then came to dominate the very same base neighborhood, as well as a few other buildings.  But the overall trend is identical.  And I'm told that Germans followed the same pattern, before the Italians came.

History does tend to repeat itself.  Anyone care to take a guess at the next incoming group that will follow this pattern.
Title: Bank of America
Post by: Editor on July 26, 2008, 08:58:00 PM
Landmark loses long-time tenant (http://www.northjersey.com/business/news/Landmark_loses_long-time_tenant.html)
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: just watching on October 09, 2008, 12:21:47 PM
Looks like the historic Bakman Building (formerly the Susquehanna Hotel) is getting a complete rehab, generally to historic standards.  They are repointing the brick, and all the intricate soffits, chocks, and trimwork below the roofline of the 3-story building is being repainted - green.  Not sure what they are doing with the storefronts.  The south wall is nearing completion, and the difference is shocking.

Also, yesterday was opening day for LIMON, which is downtown's version of Whole Foods. This is a really upscale place, exactly what is needed for downtown Hackensack.  They say it is their first store, and an entire chain of Limon's will be launched !!!  Limon takes the place of another ikon, Prozy's, which closed a few years ago (Spring 2005 ?).  Remember the Record headline "There goes Prozy's".

This is the type of store that will give all the health-conscious residents of Prospect and Overlook Avenues the excuse to come into downtown Hackensack. This is our version of Whole Foods, right here in Hackensack.

The city of Hackensack gave Limon's a warm welcome.....NOT. Instead, Constable Norm Levin was there, and he gave them a citation for passing out "Grand Opening" flyers.  Let me say sarcastically, "Nice work, Norm."  I don't care if it is technically against the law; there are times when the Constable should make sure his eyeballs are pointing in a different direction.

Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on October 16, 2008, 12:06:25 PM
From today's Record: http://www.northjersey.com/food/dining/30993109.html

Editor’s note: This is a weekly feature where we see how far $20 can stretch in North Jersey’s myriad markets.

Pick up lunch, groceries and sundries at Limon Fine Foods Marketplace, a one-week-old gourmet shop in downtown Hackensack. After you’re done with the hot and cold buffets or the selection of sushi and pizzas, you can buy Australian soft licorice or a blueberry chocolate bar, browse the cheese section or the olive bar, pick up some fancy jam, buy a porterhouse or a salmon fillet to grill for dinner and choose from a nice selection of produce, all in one compact market.

— Elisa Ung/photos by Don Smith

Flaky spinach pie: From the hot buffet — a nice lunch alone or with some greens. $3.50.

Corn salad: Sort of like a corn pico de gallo, with peppers, onions and celery. $1.75 for a quarter of a pound.

Granola bar: From the bakery, stuffed with oats, almond and dried fruit; it allows you to feel sort of virtuous because you passed up the black-and-whites and the Key lime bars. $1.98.

New York combo panini: Pastrami, corned beef, provolone, mustard, house dressing, lettuce and tomato. Eat cold or let them warm it up for you. $4.99.

Oogie’s gourmet popcorn: Romano and pesto-flavored (or try spicy chipotle and lime or sun-dried tomato and Parmesan). $3.29.

Bottle of MASH: Pomegranate- and blueberry-flavored lighter, less-sweet soda. $1.79.

Aloe vera: From the produce section. $1.49.

Limon Fine Foods Marketplace is at 121 Main St., 201-742-5079.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Hope Donnelly on October 27, 2008, 04:14:43 PM
Limon is actually an exact replica of Zeytinia, that are now in Englewood, Oakland and the Palisade Center Mall.  Zetynia is a turkish chain of gourmet grocery stores.  The prepared food is all excellent.  The prices in the produce department are usually phenomenal (I bought kale at 49 cents a bunch and organic black berries at 99c for the little square container.  I haven't yet had time to research if Limon is a brand of Zeytinia, but it is the exact same store and POS program.  Nice to have it in Hackensack. 
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on November 30, 2008, 12:01:52 PM
Greek Island Grill restaurant review in The Record:

http://www.northjersey.com/food/dining/Eating_Out_on_50_Greek_Island_Grill.html
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Skipx219 on December 31, 2008, 01:10:59 PM
 I passed by the old Esso Art Deco gas station at main & Poplar ave this morning and there is a portable fence around it that wasn't there last week.  I've seen nothing on the Planning or Zoning Board Agenda about it.  I'm hoping for a renovation in its old style but I think it may be torn down.

 Anyone know anything ?
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Skipx219 on March 05, 2009, 12:22:16 PM
Looks like they're tearing the building down  :-\ Big Backhoe parked in front... too bad.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Homer Jones on March 05, 2009, 01:00:41 PM
What building?
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Skipx219 on March 05, 2009, 01:48:51 PM
Oops, I thought I was responding to an earlier post.

The old Art Deco Gas Station at Main & Poplar - across from Target & B & W Bakery.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on March 05, 2009, 01:55:58 PM
You responded to the right post.  We just turned the page.

I wonder what, if anything, will replace it. 

Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: just watching on March 06, 2009, 07:13:29 AM
Well, it's been said that "one man's art is another man's garbage".  I consider it to be garbage.  Goodbye to that eyesore. Admittedly, the only art I appreciate is impressionism.

Why don't they turn down the vintage 1950's row of empty garages on Linden, not far from the eastern spur of Ross Ave.  Or does the 1990's graffiti facing the railroad constitute art that must be preserved....lol.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Homer Jones on March 06, 2009, 07:51:29 AM
That building was certainly no great loss. Ol' Homer remembers an application to the Board of Adjustment back in the 90's, and before Target, to convert that very same building to a poultry market where live birds would be kept, slaughtered and sold on a retail basis. Fortunately the Board gave the applicant the bird on that one.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: BLeafe on March 10, 2009, 08:24:27 PM
I took this today with my cell:

Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on March 29, 2009, 03:24:34 PM
John's is one block away from Main, on Sussex Street.  Might as well be Main Street:

Noted coffee shop owner retires (http://www.northjersey.com/bergen/johncoffee.html)
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on April 22, 2009, 02:56:25 PM
Today's Record: Indian fast food in Hackensack (http://www.northjersey.com/food/marketplace/Indian_fast_food_in_Hackensack.html)
Title: 1998 NYT article about Main Street/Hackensack
Post by: Editor on December 16, 2009, 11:11:40 AM
May 3, 1998
If You're Thinking of Living In/Hackensack, N.J.; After Long Decline, Downtown Rebounds
By JERRY CHESLOW

THERE is a saying in Hackensack that as goes Main Street, so goes the rest of the city.

Today, the 15-block-long commercial spine of the Bergen County seat has clearly rebounded following decades of decline that began in the 1950's with the opening of large shopping malls in nearby Paramus.

Main Street now has new curbs, many updated store facades, clean sidewalks and a new crop of service businesses, such as nail salons, banks and dry cleaners. Its dozens of food establishments, ranging from fast-food outlets to elegant restaurants, do a brisk lunch trade, serving the estimated 100,000 workers who funnel into the 4.12-square-mile city daily.

Old-timers, such as George M. Scudder, the 89-year-old city historian, still grieve for the bustling Hackensack of the early 20th century. ''Then there was no other place to shop in Bergen County,'' Mr. Scudder explained. ''Of our big department stores, most are long gone, and only Sears Roebuck remains. Once, store rentals on Main Street cost more than in Times Square and we had seven movie theaters. Now we have no theaters and many of our stores are vacant.''

Others, such as William DiLunardi, owner of three adjacent businesses on Main -- a one-hour film processing store, a liquor store and the Courthouse News newspaper store -- says the downtown is adapting to market conditions. Rather than focusing on serious shopping, merchants now supply services and convenience items.

''Maybe you can't sell dresses on Main Street anymore,'' he explained. ''But I can sell a lot of newspapers and others can deliver coffee and fresh fruit to law offices.''

Mayor John F. Zisa said that the improved appearance of Main Street was largely responsible for the strong demand for housing. And Linda McAuliffe, co-owner of ReMax Heritage Realty in Hackensack, notes that the fact that Routes 4 and 80 pass through Hackensack, that the city is near the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike and that it has convenient bus and rail links to New York City are impressive attractions to buyers.

She said that houses priced properly sold within four weeks. Detached homes range in price from about $120,000 for some modest turn-of-the-century colonials up to about $600,000 for some manor homes on several acres on Summit Avenue, the city's most prestigious street.

''Occasionally,'' she said, ''a handyman special on an odd-sized lot will come on the market for $70,000.''

MAYOR ZISA said that the highest priced detached house ever sold in the borough was on a five-acre estate on Summit Avenue. Known as Tulip House because of the 30,000 tulips that once graced its gardens, the house went for $650,000 two years ago, according to the Mayor. After massive renovations, the house is currently assessed for tax purposes at $800,000.

Hackensack's housing also includes dozens of apartment buildings and garden apartment complexes, comprising co-ops, condominiums and rentals. The higher-end buildings are along Prospect Avenue. One of the more prestigious buildings is the Camelot, an 18-story condominium high-rise with 72 two-bedroom apartments. One unit is on the market for $254,000.

The more reasonably priced condominiums are in converted garden apartment complexes, such as Suburban Terrace near the Maywood border, where one-bedroom units sell for $55,000 to $60,000 and two bedrooms go for about $10,000 more.

Carlos Santos, a California native who is a salesman for a Long Island medical products company, moved to Hackensack in 1994 after purchasing a 45-year-old Cape Cod-style house on a dead-end street. A bachelor, he said he had been drawn to the city by its proximity to Manhattan and the sense of community that he had found while renting an apartment in Hackensack a decade earlier.

''I really like the suburban feel of my neighborhood, in the midst of an urban center,'' he said. ''It is a 15-minute drive from Manhattan, but has small-town values where people watch out for each other. I also like the variety of ethnic restaurants on Main Street -- Thai, Mexican, Chinese, Colombian and Japanese. I just wish Main Street had some life after 5 P.M.''

Indeed, most residents surveyed in a recent poll commissioned by the municipality said they wanted to see further redevelopment along Main. The study, conducted by Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute, found that three in four residents rated Hackensack as either an excellent or a good place to live.

Hackensack is named for the Achkinhenhcky branch of the Leni Lenape Indians, who traded with Dutch settlers along the Hackensack River as far back as the 1660's. The portrait of their chief, Oratam, who negotiated a treaty with English and Dutch settlers in 1690, appears on the municipal seal. Many artifacts of the Colonial period are displayed in the still existing First Dutch Reformed Church, built in 1696 near the river on what is now Court Street. In 1780, George Washington attended the funeral in that church of his friend, Gen. Enoch Poor, who died in Hackensack and is buried in the churchyard.

A statue of General Poor stands on The Green, an open area between the church and the Bergen County courthouse, a copper-domed replica of the United States Capitol completed in 1912.

Among the city's amenities are the 600-bed Hackensack Medical Center, the largest hospital in Bergen County, and the 80-store Riverside Square, an upscale mall on Route 4. Its newest commercial area is the riverfront, which is making a comeback after oil storage facilities were replaced by a large supermarket, a Pep Boys auto parts megastore and a Costco consumer-club store. As a condition for the granting of permits to build along the river, Hackensack obligated the developers to construct sections of a promenade, complete with Victorian-style lights and benches, overlooking the river.

''Eventually, we will link all of these sections up into a river walk,'' explained City Manager James S. Lacava.

Hackensack currently has 14 parks, the largest of which is the 28-acre Foschini Park off Salem Street in the eastern section. The park has 11 baseball diamonds, which are also used as soccer and football fields in the fall, and it serves as the venue for the annual Fourth of July fireworks, which draw about 15,000 people.

Hackensack's 4,600-pupil public school system consists of four pre-kindergarten-to-grade 5 elementary schools, Hackensack Middle School and the 1,600-student Hackensack High School, which sent 88 percent of last year's 320 graduating seniors on to higher education.

The city is also home to the Bergen County Vocational and Technical High School and three coed parochial schools -- the Roman Catholic Holy Trinity and St. Francis, both pre-kindergarten to grade 8, and Hackensack Christian School, affiliated with the First Baptist Church, for elementary and high school. Tuition at Holy Trinity is $2,600 a year. At St. Francis, it ranges from $1,500 to $1,850 and at Hackensack Christian it ranges from $2,600 for half-day kindergarten to $3,7000 for grades 7 through 12.

ACCORDING to Schools Superintendent Joseph L. Montesano, districtwide enrollment grew by a third over the last decade, reflecting the sale of housing by empty-nesters to young families.

Hackensack High School's scores on standardized tests are below the state averages. Last year, 68.5 percent of Hackensack 11th graders passed all sections of the state-mandated High School Proficiency Test, which assesses performance in mathematics, reading and writing. This compares with 74.8 percent of students statewide. On the S.A.T., Hackensack students scored combined averages of 925 on the verbal and math sections out of a possible top score of 1,600. This was 80 points below the state average.

But Dr. Montesano said that the scores did not reflect the quality of education in Hackensack because the population is ''extremely diverse,'' with students coming from 57 different countries. The student body is about evenly split among whites, Latinos and blacks.

''Pit our top 20 percent of students against the top 20 percent of students anywhere in the state and we will do very well,'' he explained. ''We provide a safe, focused learning environment and it's frustrating that we don't receive more recognition for it.''

Indeed, Hackensack High School students have excelled in a number of areas. For the last three years, they won the North Jersey Championship for large high schools in the Academic Decathlon, a statewide competition in science, literature, mathematics and the arts. Last year the school won the New Jersey championship in the Odyssey of the Mind Competition, a worldwide contest that measures creativity, teamwork and critical thinking.

The school offers advanced placement courses in English, Spanish, mathematics, computers, sciences and United States history.

Photos: Homes along the prestigious Summit Avenue. Some are manors priced around $600,000. Higher-end apartment houses marching along Prospect Avenue in Hackensack. (Photographs by Eddie Hausner for The New York Times); On the Market: 4-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath colonial at 55 Poplar Avenue, $139,000. 3-bedroom, 1 1/2-bath colonial, screened porch, at 810 Summit Avenue, $179,900. 4-bedroom, 2-bath Tudor/colonial, new kitchen, at 52 Summit Avenue, $299,000. Chart: ''GAZETTEER'' POPULATION: 37,750 (1998 estimate). AREA: 4.12 square miles. MEDIAN HOUSHOLD INCOME: $44,509 (1997 estimate). MEDIAN PRICE OF SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSE: $180,000. TAXES ON MEDIAN HOUSE: $5,600. MEDIAN PRICE A YEAR AGO: $176,000. MEDIAN PRICE 5 YEARS AGO: $168,000. MEDIAN PRICE OF 2-BEDROOM CONDOMINIUM: $120,000. MEDIAN PRICE A YEAR AGO: $112,000. MEDIAN PRICE 5 YEARS AGO: $98,000. MEDIAN RENT FOR A 2-BEDROOM APARTMENT: $950. PUBLIC SCHOOL SPENDING PER PUPIL: $8,500. DISTANCE FROM MIDTOWN MANHATTAN: 8 miles. RUSH-HOUR COMMUTATION TO MIDTOWN: 50 minutes by N.J. Transit bus to Port Authority Bus Terminal, $2.55 one way, $82 monthly; 27 minutes to Hoboken by N.J. Transit train, $3.35 one way, $28.50 weekly, $94 monthly, then 10 minutes by PATH train to 34th Street, $1. GOVERNMENT: 5 council members elected to 4-year terms select one of their own as mayor for 4 years. Current mayor is John F. Zisa, a Republican. CODES: Area, 201; ZIP, 07601. A SUB MUSEUM: The Ling, a World War II submarine moored in the Hackensack River off Borg Park, serves as sort of a museum at the intersection of Court and River Streets. When operational, the 312-foot-long sub carried 95 men and 24 torpedoes. Commissioned on June 8, 1945, the Ling made one Atlantic patrol before the end of the war. Later it was used for training. The Ling has been berthed in Hackensack since 1973 and is open for touring Wednesday through Sunday from 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. Admission is $4 for adults and $2.50 for children under 12. Map showing the location of Hackensack, N.J.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: just watching on December 18, 2009, 09:28:12 AM
Yes I remember that one.  Glad it is posted online for posterity.

Reading it brought back a sad memory, I saw they quoted Bill DiLunardi.  Also the late George Scudder, former city historian.

It's amazing that a lot of the themes are still current topics of discussion:  the renovation of Main Street, the riverwalk, immigrants allegedly bringing down school test scores, and more. 

Montesano hit the nail right on the head with this fine point of wisdom, probably still true today: ''Pit our top 20 percent of students against the top 20 percent of students anywhere in the state and we will do very well,''
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on August 09, 2010, 12:30:52 PM
In today's Record. Click image to enlarge and again to shrink. 

Thanks Rosemarie!
_____________
A few of us are looking at this and cannot confirm this is Main Street, Hackensack. I walked the strip earlier but can't find any locations that match. 

There is a "Dairymaid" in the background and Dairymaid is referenced on these boards (http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php?topic=604.msg2833#msg2833) as having existing on Main Street. But Dairymaid was a chain that existed in many downtowns. 

I've also searched online for any text I can read on the signs but no luck.

Does anyone recogize any stores? Where is this?

Title: Re: Main St (Mystery solved)
Post by: Editor on August 10, 2010, 09:39:40 PM
Ok.  Bob got in touch with the Library/archivist for North Jersey Media.  While they were researching their files for more information on the image, Bruce the Bed King called them.  Turns out that Bruce's family owned a store called Wieners shown in the picture. We followed up with Bruce's people and got the scoop.

In the above picture, the building on the far left is "Sherby's," an army/navy store.  The car in the foreground is making a left from Demarest Place, now a pedestrian pathway to the bus transfer station.  Sherby's is now the Harwood Lloyd Law Firm.  Other stores seen are Bergen Arts and Crafts, Vogue, Riker's Wines, Shepards Clothes, Garafano or Carafano Curtains and Dairymaid. Below is a picture of the current location. If you look closely, you can see the fire boxes in the same location.  You also notice how office space totally changed the look and feel of the block.

Thanks to Bob and everyone else who pinned this down.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: BLeafe on August 11, 2010, 12:56:33 AM
The mystery's not totally solved. There's now a question about the year.

I thought a couple of the cars might be early 50s, but didn't say anything. While I was talking to Doug Clancy from The Record, he mentioned that he received a couple of emails from people who thought the same thing.

Their archivist is still coming in to try to find the original print and whatever info is on the back.


And I still want to know what that tall structure is in the background.



.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Homer Jones on August 11, 2010, 08:43:03 AM
If Homer's memory is correct, there were 2 buildings on the corner of Demarest Place and Main Street which were known as the Biggio and Weiner buildings. They were purchased in the very early 1970's by the Hackensack Housing Authority for a proposed urban renewal project which never got off the ground due to a court challenge by Milton Proznitz.
After all the tenants were gone, they were vacant for a few years until Harwood Lloyd purchased and renovated them.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on August 11, 2010, 12:29:14 PM
I believe the inscription above the door is "Biggio Bldg".  Good memory!


Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: just watching on August 11, 2010, 08:47:25 PM

WOW.............................Good old Homer's just opened the door to a whole lot of UNRECORDED history.  That's why we love your posts.

Nowhere in any history publications have I seen anything about the Hackensack Housing Authority proposing an urban renewal project in the heart of Main Street, nor dear Mr. Prosnitz litigating against it.  I don't doubt for one second that you are correct.  There's a lot of history that is just swept under the rug and not recorded.

PLEASE enlighten us on everything that you remember about this project.  Your candidness is greatly appreciated.  At least it will be documented here. Thanks
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: BLeafe on August 12, 2010, 01:35:55 PM
Anyone recall a 2001 book from The Record titled, "Looking Back - A Photo Retrospective of Bergen County"? A lot of the pictures featured in the paper's current "A Look Back" series on page A-2 are taken from it - including our favorite photo of the week on page 33:
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Homer Jones on August 12, 2010, 04:10:40 PM
I looked at my copy of the book and they dated the photo "circa 1948" which is well in the ballpark judging on the style of the autos.

Great detail on the photo is the car coming out of what was Demarest Place and crossing northbound traffic to make a left turn heading south. Don't forget that Main Street was 2 ways in those days. Talk about taking your life into your hands.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: BLeafe on August 12, 2010, 04:59:33 PM
I looked at my copy of the book and they dated the photo "circa 1948" which is well in the ballpark judging on the style of the autos.

Great detail on the photo is the car coming out of what was Demarest Place

"Circa 1948" is exactly what they wrote this week too. The guy at The Record told they got that from a database and it's pretty useless because the actual photo would have the date the picture was taken on the back of it.

That's why they said they were bringing in their archivist to try to find the original print..........that and the fact that some people - myself included - think it's from the early 50s because we think a couple of the cars are beyond the 40s.

What does the "great detail" of that car turning onto Main St reveal to you as far as its make and model year?

To me, it could be a Chevy from as late as 1953. I think the key car is the fourth one behind the pedestrians - definitely not 40s-looking.



.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Homer Jones on August 12, 2010, 05:38:16 PM
The fourth car back is definitely the benchmark. It is the only car with a one piece windshield. Every other car where you can see the windshield has the old two piece glass.

If I remember correctly the one piece windshields with some curvature came in around 1950.

Going back to the fourth car back, I put a magnifying glass on the front hood ornament. I remember that my father had a '52 Olds and the hood ornament was a silver rocket with wings and maybe it's my imagination; but, I think that I can  make out a rocket with wings on this car. Somehow I also think that in advertising parlance, Oldsmobile used the rocket as a logo way back then.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Homer Jones on August 12, 2010, 05:44:44 PM
Holy Oldsmobile! I still have some of my marbles left. GOOGLE "OLDSMOBILE" and they have pictures of every Olds. Hit the cursor onto 1950 and you can see that the rocket was the logo for Olds. That #4 car could be an early1950's Olds.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: BLeafe on August 12, 2010, 07:00:48 PM
Oldsmobile used the rocket as a logo way back then.

The Rocket 88 was an Olds model and was in production back then, so "circa 1948" is out the window. I'm going for "circa 1953".

I wish I could see either the full back or the full front of that car turning onto Main. It looks like a Chevy emblem on the hubcap (cropped out of the newspaper picture, but visible in the book). '53s and '54s look pretty similar, but the dead giveaway would be the taillights.

Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Homer Jones on August 12, 2010, 07:21:44 PM
Definitely not a 'Vette.
Title: Kate's Bros. Shoes
Post by: Editor on August 20, 2010, 09:27:56 AM
Kate's Bros. Shoes: Walk through life (http://www.northjersey.com/news/101137314_Kate_s_Bros__Shoes__Walk_through_life.html)
Friday, August 20, 2010
Hackensack Chronicle

HACKENSACK — Kate’s Bros. of Hackensack has been custom fitting people with problem feet since 1941, making it one of the oldest businesses in Hackensack. Located on 329 Main Street, this store is known for its outstanding customer service in which all customers are given individualized attention.

Owner Greg Mills and co-managers Dave and Maria Figueras work to provide customers with the highest quality merchandise for their specific needs, including special shoes for people with diabetes, arthritis and plantar fascitis.

They also fill prescriptions and provide shoes for those with hammertoes, high arches and bunions. Sicilian shoemaker Antonio Rizzo, an orthopedic shoemaker, is always on site and a certified pedorthist is available by appointment.

"We’re here to work with customers. We’re very community minded and have about 3,000 customers in our database. We work one on one with you to make sure we’re selling you the product that’s best for you," Dave Figueras says.

The store website tells it all: "YOU matter and we care."

To accommodate every customer, Figueras will make house calls if a customer is homebound and needs to be fitted for comfort footwear.

Kate’s Bros. carries a variety of shoe manufacturers – Drew, Markell, Clarks, Foamtreads, E.T. Wright, Durea Shoes and Apex – and all can be specially ordered.

The store is open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visit www.katesbros.com for a complete list of all products and services and don’t forget that shoe repairs are also offered here.

— Robin DeCicco
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on September 21, 2010, 05:03:25 PM
Learn about “The Main Idea”
for Hackensack’s downtown and share your ideas
Third Meeting: September 27, 2010

As we previously announced, the Upper Main Alliance is hosting meetings on the revitalization and development of Main Street. Our next meeting is Monday, September 27, 2010 at the Johnson Public Library Auditorium, 274 Main St., 7PM where we will share with you what we have discovered and hope to accomplish. We are very excited about the progress we have made in developing this vision plan for the future of Main Street and are eager to hear your thoughts and ideas as we move forward.  Please join us!

Note: We request that you reserve a seat for this meeting by emailing hackensackmsba@verizon.net (preferred) or by calling the Upper Main Alliance office at 201-498-1690.  Space is limited. Those registering in advance will be notified if space is not available for this meeting.

We will be covering the same material that we covered in our prior meetings but you are welcome to attend again if you would like.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: just watching on September 25, 2010, 07:47:23 AM
We're dreaming, but dreams can become reality.  See what Cliffside Park has done for its downtown:  1 acre green space/plaza with a reflecting pool, 200 parking spaces designated for shoppers, 267 upscale apartments, and nearly 51,000 square feet of new quality retail space.   Great ratable to lower the taxes for local residents, all at no cost to the Borough.  Now imagine that between Banta Place and the Railroad, and you've got a whole new identity for the downtown.

Cliffside Park retail, housing complex close to securing financing
Friday, September 24, 2010
Last updated: Friday September 24, 2010, 5:40 PM
BY MATTHEW VAN DUSEN
The Record
STAFF WRITER
CLIFFSIDE PARK – A long-planned retail and rental apartment complex on Anderson Avenue is close to securing $74 million in loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, borough officials said Friday.

The guarantees are a major step forward for the Towne Centre Redevelopment Project, which will include 267 rental units, 50,883 square feet of retail space and a three-story underground parking garage, officials said.

James Demetrakis, who is developing the project with Fred Daibes and Frank Raimondo under the name Towne Centre Urban Renewal Company, LLC, said the group must submit the final plans for government approval before closing on the financing.

Demetrakis said the project, which has a total pricetag of $100 million, will take 18 months to complete after the closing.

 “We’re 100 percent committed to getting it done and to rehabilitation of the business district,” Demetrakis said.

The Federal Housing Authority program insures private lenders against default by developers of urban rental housing, allowing the developers to secure a better interest rate.

Towne Centre promises to revitalize the downtown area with 200 public parking spaces for downtown shoppers and a 1 acre landscaped outdoor plaza with a reflecting pool.

Still, the project has attracted controversy in the past.

The borough seized 12 properties in the central business district by eminent domain in 2006, angering some residents. The giant hole in the middle of town has also left many wondering when construction would begin.

Town officials said they were confident that the project will move forward.

“After many years of planning, I am delighted, that in spite of a slow economy, substantial progress is being made to bring this project to reality," Mayor Gerald Calabrese said.

Borough officials added the project will not cost borough taxpayers and will revitalize the downtown and add to the tax base.

E-mail: vandusen@northjersey.com
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on November 19, 2010, 01:57:10 PM
Main Galaxy: Out of this world
Friday, November 19, 2010
Hackensack Chronicle

HACKENSACK — Virginia Isufi and her husband, Leon, opened the custom framing store and art gallery Main Galaxy on 251 Main Street five years ago. Selling a wide variety of oil paintings and lithographs from Italy, Columbia, Dominican Republic and a collection from local artists, customers can purchase great works of art from a price range of $50 to $5,000.

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/300*231/MC_galaxy1_1119_HK_tif_.jpg)
Main Galaxy, located at 251 Main Street, is a custom framing store and gallery owned and operated by the Isufi family.

The Isufis also specialize in custom framing for everything from oil paintings to shutter boxes and sports memorabilia. Frames are available in wood, brass, gold, silver and ready-made frames are also sold here.

Customers can drop-off artwork to be framed and can be assured it will be ready for them to pick-up within a few days.

"We offer excellent prices and excellent work. We do whatever we can to satisfy the customer at all times," Virginia says.

Main Galaxy also offers copy enlarging, passport and immigration photos and photo restoration services.

The Isufis added that customers who bring a copy of this article into Main Galaxy will receive a discount off of any service that the store offers.

The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Friday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

— Robin DeCicco
Title: Re: Main St. (Greek Island Grill)
Post by: Editor on January 21, 2011, 09:08:20 AM
Greek Island Grill: Fresh from the Mediterranean
Friday, January 21, 2011
Hackensack Chronicle

HACKENSACK — Owners Artemisia and Gina Tarkazikis serve authentic Greek cuisine at their family-owned eatery that has become known for not only its fresh food and traditional Greek dishes, but also for its hospitality.

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/GREEK_0114_hk_tif_.jpg)
Greek Island Grill, 77 Main Street, brings part of the Mediterranean back to Hackensack.
COLLEEN WHITE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The lunch and dinner menu at Greek Island Grill at 77 Main Street consists of dishes that are found on most Greek restaurant menus, such as grilled octopus, eggplant dip, tzatziki and souvlaki, but the difference lies in the quality of the food.

Recipes have been passed down in the Tarkazikis family, so generations and generations have had the chance to perfect the moussaka and pastichio.

Most of the ingredients, notably the olive oil and cheeses are imported from Greece, so make sure to try the "cheese lovers appetizer" served with grilled haloumi saganaki and feta.

The Greek salads, gyros, grilled peppers stuffed with spicy melted cheese, fried calamari, fries seasoned with lemon and oregano and kefte sausage are all very popular, as are the many fish dishes.

Grilled red snapper and whole striped bass are cooked with a light dressing of olive oil, lemon and garlic and the bakaliaros and skordalia - fried cod - is served with garlic dip.

Greek Island Grill delivers to the local area and offers catering for small and large venues. Call 201-489-4733 for specific information. Open for lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., the restaurant features daily lunch specials for under $10.

— Robin DeCicco
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: just watching on January 22, 2011, 07:40:54 AM

I always wanted to go on vacation to the Agean Sea, and visit the islands. But why bother, this is cheaper.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Homer Jones on January 22, 2011, 09:14:17 AM
Having dined along the banks of the Aegean Sea and the banks of the Hackensack River, trust me when I tell you that there is a difference in the ambiance.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: just watching on January 22, 2011, 02:50:59 PM
'ol Homer is right, as usual.  And a better speller.

Wouldn't it be great if the Hackensack River had more ambiance.  Not exactly the gold coast, is it ?
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on January 27, 2011, 11:25:44 PM
Become enlightened about lamp parts at Moss Lighting
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
BY BILL ERVOLINO
The Record
STAFF WRITER

Retailer specializing in hard-to-find lamp components and other vintage electrical supplies.
Bill Ervolino explores the little known, unusual and sometimes weird things in North Jersey.


271 Main St., Hackensack; 201 487-5086, mosslighting.com.

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/300*231/0125F_MOSS_EI.jpg)
Alan Rosinsky works the Moss Lighting shelves. Left, an antique bronze lamp.
STAFF PHOTOS BY DON SMITH

As Ira Moss leads me through the back room of his lighting store and down a gloomy and rather ancient-looking staircase, I start to pick up a distinctly Harry Potter-ish vibe.

Perhaps it's that cobweb over there, the glints of light bouncing off the stacks of old brass tubes or those strange-looking crystal globes in the corner.

"Watch your head," Moss says, once we're in the cellar. Through the shadows, I see hundreds — no, thousands — of boxes, neatly stacked and impeccably organized. Some are opened, others are still sealed.

Their contents, including items Moss may sell for just a couple of dollars, are almost priceless to the people who need them: spare parts for lamps, chandeliers and assorted other light fixtures going back more than a century.

As Moss would be the first to admit, his shop, Moss Lighting on Hackensack's Main Street, isn't the prettiest store on the block. Or, the biggest. Or, even — ironically enough — the most brightly lit.

But North Jerseyans, Manhattanites and plenty of overseas clients routinely seek out this seemingly one-of-a-kind shop for supplies that are hard (and sometimes impossible) to find anywhere else.

Moss, who lives in Oradell, is also a favorite of movie production companies, since period films call for period sets and props — including authentic light fixtures that won't arouse the fury of moviegoers who pay close attention to such things.

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/300*452/0125F_MOSSDETAIL2_EI.jpg)

Moss Lighting also carries period wall outlets, vintage doorbell buttons and at least one lavish curiosity stored off the premises: an enormous art deco ceiling fixture that once hung in Radio City Music Hall.

Another conversation piece, on display in the store, is a six-armed ceiling fixture that goes back to the beginning of the 20th century. "Three of the arms are for electricity and three are for gas," Moss explains. "When the electricity went out, as it often did in those days, they would use it as a gas fixture."

As Moss proudly notes, the store, which was opened by his parents, Murray and Rose Mossack in 1952, is often the final destination for people who have looked everywhere else for a certain switch, plate or base made by companies that went out of business before the now-66-year-old Ira Moss was born.

(Although the Mossacks opened their doors during the Eisenhower era, they accumulated vintage fixtures, parts and wiring through auction houses and liquidation sales.)

The Mossacks' store, originally located in the Bronx, moved to Hackensack in the early 1970s. Ira Moss and his wife, Vera, took over the business in 1982. But, since her retirement, he now works alongside nephew Alan Rosinsky, 50, and another employee, 40-year-old Alex Delgado.

The store does a fair amount of walk-in business but has a high volume of referrals (mostly from other lighting stores in the area) and, more recently, a lot of online inquiries, which Rosinsky handles. And many of these clients are, in a word, desperate.

As Moss recalls, "I had a man come in once, looking for a certain part. He had been looking for two years, and he said, 'I know you're not going to have this, but ...' And I said, 'Oh, I have that,' and handed it to him in two minutes."

Even Moss isn't sure how he remembers where all of these parts and pieces are, but he says that he and Delgado can almost always find things very quickly.

And when they can't?

Moss groans. "It drives you crazy, but that's part of any business."

Upstairs and down, the shop takes up approximately 6,000 square feet. (Moss also keeps an additional 10,000 square feet of warehouse space in South Hackensack.) And beyond the usual array of parts and wiring, the floor-to-ceiling inventory includes odd-looking bolts and screws; finials in every conceivable style and shape; steel globe holders; brass back plates; four-inch harps; porcelain sockets; gold filigree lamp bases from the '30s and '40s … the list is endless.

"From the beginning," Moss says, "my parents were always looking out for these things. They always said, 'Someone is going to need them, eventually.' "

Occasionally, Rosinsky says, clients get emotional. "They don't just say, 'You have my part!' They say, 'You saved my lamp!'

Moss even sells parts for 19th-century gas lamps, which may make him the only electrical supply store in the area that stocks items which pre-date electrical supplies.

"Everyone winds up here, eventually," Rosinsky adds, before resurrecting a retail slogan that's older than he is: "If we don't have it, you don't need it."

After a moment, though, Rosinsky recants, remembering the customer who — like me — came into the store and began having a Harry Potter flashback.

"He walked in," Rosinsky recalls, and said to us, 'This looks like Diagon Alley in the Potter movies! Can you buy wands here?'

It was one of the few times Moss has ever said, "No, we don't carry them."

E-mail: ervolino@northjersey.com
Title: Re: Main St. (Kebab House)
Post by: Editor on March 25, 2011, 08:51:13 AM
I eat here once a week.  Great food.

Customers always return to Hackensack's Kebab House (http://www.northjersey.com/food_dining/118631989_A_taste_that_will_keep_you_coming_back.html)
Friday, March 25, 2011
BY CHARLES ERICKSON
Hackensack Chronicle
CORRESPONDENT

HACKENSACK — When cold weather and January snows were keeping people off Main Street and away from Kebab House, Galina Benimovich took a red grease pen and wrote "Free Sample" on one of the front windows of the Turkish restaurant.

(http://media.bergen.com/images/300*231/Kebab_032511_HK.jpg_tif_.jpg)
PHOTOS BY CHARLES ERICKSON
The chicken Adana kebab is made using ground poultry that is flavored with bell peppers and spiced with paprika. The meal is served with rice, salad and Turkish bread. There are now frequent requests for freebies, including from a man who admitted he was ignorant about Turkish cuisine, which favors marinated and spiced meats that are cooked over a grill.

"So, we gave him a little plate with everything there," said Benimovich, the wife of the owner, Fred Benimovich. "He tried it, and the next day he came here with the family."

Kebab House opened in November at 137 Main St. in a storefront previously occupied by a mortgage company. The owner signed a five-year lease, and the principals understand that epicurean reputations must be cultivated.

"Each and every business needs time," Galina Benimovich said. "You cannot think that you’ll open the restaurant today and tomorrow the line is going to be around the block."

(http://media.bergen.com/images/300*231/kebab2_032511_HK.jpg_tif_.jpg)
Fred and Galina Benimovich, immigrants from Ukraine, opened their Turkish restaurant, Kebab House, last year in Hackensack. Fred and Galina Benimovich arrived in the United States in 1988 from Ukraine, which was then a Soviet republic. Their cook, Sedat Kazan, arrived here in 1999 from Turkey.

The Benimoviches’ son, Sergeo, also works at Kebab House. He met Kazan when the two of them were employed at a Turkish restaurant in Brooklyn. The men discussed the possibility of opening an eatery in Bergen County.

"There are more than 50 Turkish restaurants in New York City," Kazan said. "Everybody knows the food. But this location, sometimes the people ask ‘What is a gyro?’ They don’t know."

Galina Benimovich said the staff had not received one complaint about the food since the opening.

Fred Benimovich also owns Benim Mechanical, a Fair Lawn contracting firm that specializes in commercial heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration systems. Fred and Sergeo installed the kitchen and ventilation fixtures at Kebab House, and will work at the restaurant until the spring, when trade increases at Benim Mechanical.

The family business is subsidizing the family restaurant, but the Benimoviches hope that Kebab House begins paying its own way this summer.

Kazan credits different spices and marinades for giving Turkish food its taste and texture. Cumin, black pepper, paprika, oregano, garlic and onion are the most popular spices used in the kitchen at 137 Main Street. There is no freezer on the premises.

"It’s fresh daily," Kazan said. "I make it every day. I never use any frozen meat, any frozen vegetables. Nothing."

There are some Turkish people in Bergen County, including a population in Teaneck. Turkish drivers park their limousines outside Kebab House while they patronize the establishment. But Fred Benimovich is not counting on trade from Turkish nationals to carry the business.

"People like the food," said Galina Benimovich. "This is halal food. In this area, there are a lot of Muslim people. And this is the only thing they eat, so everybody else eats halal food too because it’s a clean, good food."

Lunch and dinner are served here and lunchtime trade contributes the most to revenues, according to Galina Benimovich. There is much competition in the area, and the prices of meals reflect the concentration of restaurants.

"Not a lot of people want to spend more than 10 dollars for lunch," said Galina Benimovich. She is proud of the amount of food they serve to customers. "Here they can get a kebab, over rice, plus salad, plus soup, plus Turkish bread and sauces."

In the spring, when temperatures get warmer and the amount of daylight becomes longer, the Benimoviches believe that more people will visit their restaurant for dinner.

Twenty people can be seated inside Kebab House, which is primarily a takeout establishment. More tables can be added. The owner said that he planned to seek municipal permission to put tables and chairs on the sidewalk during the summer.

At lunch, when patrons are typically on a break from their jobs and the majority of food is ordered to go, there often is no time for customer testimonials. The $8 chicken Adana kebab and the $7.50 lamb shish kebab wrap are not major purchases. The brown-top pudding dessert sells for $3.95. But the Benimoviches and Kazan are satisfied whenever they see a person standing again at the front counter.

"With restaurants, if you don’t like it, you will never come back," Galina Benimovich said. "But here, people are coming back."
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on April 08, 2011, 09:15:45 AM
Copycat experiences renaissance in Hackensack
Friday, April 8, 2011
BY CHARLES ERICKSON
Hackensack Chronicle
CORRESPONDENT

HACKENSACK — Bruce Azumbrado has conducted the business of duplication for many years over the front counter at Renaissance Copy, which he owns and runs from a storefront at 57 Main St.

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PHOTO BY CHARLES ERICKSON

Bruce Azumbrado opened Renaissance Copy in Hackensack in 2004 after his longtime Manhattan employer closed his copying store. Azumbrado, who lives in Teaneck, decided to try the copy business on his own, in Bergen County.

From August 2004 to 2009, this business and that counter were located in an office building at 90 Main St. Previously, the fixture was the property of Copyquick Incorporated, which operated in Manhattan and was Azumbrado’s employer for more than 35 years before the proprietor lost his lease and ended the business.

"When he closed up, he gave it to me. He was a real nice person," Azumbrado said of the man, now deceased. "One of my regrets is that he never did come over and see the place."

Near the front entrance of Renaissance Copy are some oversized chessboards. Azumbrado hosts matches here on Sundays a few times a month and wonders about a chess happy hour on workdays, with reduced prices for copies and supplies.

"I want people to play chess daily in the afternoon," he said, "but I haven’t really promoted it enough yet."

Few new customers have been gained since Renaissance Copy changed addresses on Main Street. Azumbrado purchased black-on-yellow signage to advertise the store’s services and phone number to passersby. He never tried to capture street and sidewalk trade when he operated from the office building.

"I think I was better off inside the building where I was," Azumbrado said on a Saturday afternoon while leaning on the front counter.

He began working with photocopiers in 1974. Machines then were simpler. They lacked feeders, and documents had to be placed atop the glass manually, one at a time.

"Prices, believe it or not, are a basically the same as they were back in ’74," Azumbrado said. "They haven’t really changed in the retail market, although my expenses have gone up."

There are six photocopiers inside Renaissance Copy – two color units and four monochrome machines – and Azumbrado owns four and leases the others.

He is the only employee. Deliveries are made in the morning, before the store opens.

Three of his largest customers are institutions of higher learning in New York City: Columbia University Teachers College, Manhattan College and the College of Mount Saint Vincent.

"They have a lot of junky stuff that they don’t want the secretaries to do, so they send it to me," he said, showing a mailer he did for Columbia. Finished on heavy stock by one of the color machines, the quality of the oversized postcard made it look like it had been produced by a printing house on a modern press.

Law firms in Hackensack provide Azumbrado with the most work, he said, including orders for blueprints. He rents his blueprint machine by the month and loses money every time he uses it.

"It really doesn’t pay for me to have that machine," he said, "but when a customer calls for a job, I don’t want to say go someplace else for the blueprint, so I eat a little bit on the blueprint."

Predictions about offices becoming paperless have been incorrect, but miniscule profit margins remain a challenge in the duplication industry.

"Copy shops are dying out, because I think you need something else besides copies to really make it," Azumbrado said. "Something else to bring people in."

He leases 2,000 square feet of space, and not all of it is occupied. He has some ideas about what to display at the front of the store, where the giant chessboards are positioned and extra merchandise could easily be accommodated.

Azumbrado considered buying computers and then charging customers to use them, but was dissuaded by the cost of the initial investment. Stationery supplies are another possibility, but fancy papers are available in many stores, and Azumbrado worries that stocking them would be financially unrewarding.

"I’m not sure what else would be a good complement to my business," he said. "You can’t make money selling two or three copes – not at 10 cents a copy, and I go down to as low as three cents a copy."

The owner of Renaissance Copy understands said that he is not likely to become affluent through purveying photocopies. But after another 75-hour workweek that adds thousands more to the estimated 100 million copies he’s made since 1974, Bruce Azumbrado is usually able to declare that he still enjoys his occupation.

"My wife says I should get a real job one of these days," he said. "But I’ve been working pretty much on my own for 35 years. Even when I worked for a guy, he never came to the office. I like being my own employer, my own boss."
Title: Re: 1998 NYT article about Main Street/Hackensack
Post by: Oratam_Weaping on July 29, 2011, 07:29:13 AM
May 3, 1998
If You're Thinking of Living In/Hackensack, N.J.; After Long Decline, Downtown Rebounds
By JERRY CHESLOW

THERE is a saying in Hackensack that as goes Main Street, so goes the rest of the city.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Let be documented so that we can all look back and remember when Hackensack was better than Camden or Paterson: I don't know what William DiLunardi would have said about Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey (CSP-NJ) moving to One Essex Street which is also 1 Main Street. But my guess is that he would not be pleased. How politically correct does one have to be to be blinded to the fact that it was not the County of Bergen bringing Paroled Prisoners, Potentially Dangerous Mental patients from other counties to Hackensack: CSP-NJ; helps them find rooms in Hackensack; refers them to the Homeless Shelter, and other City and County facilities. That would be a good think if it was in an industrialized area, but not even in Hackensack, and Not on Main Street.  People are uncomfortable with it. I have been talking to County employees, lawyers, and people up and down the street since July 14th and only got one positive response and that was from a public defender who (by the way) sees many of CSP-NJ clients.
Title: Main St. (Facade Collapse)
Post by: Editor on September 01, 2011, 06:10:04 PM
No one injured when facade fell from Hackensack office building
Thursday, September 1, 2011
BY LIANNA ALBRIZIO
STAFF WRITER
Hackensack Chronicle

HACKENSACK - Fifteen firefighters arrived to 131 Main St. after the top portion of the front façade of the two-story office building collapsed at 12:45 p.m. today.

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/300*231/MC_Building1_090911_hk_tif_.jpg)
TARIQ ZEHAWI/THE RECORD
A portion of a building's façade fell on Thursday.

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/300*231/MC_Building2_090911_hk_tif_.jpg)
TARIQ ZEHAWI/THE RECORD
Officials have yet to determine the cause of the collapse, but Hackensack Deputy Fire Chief Matthew Wagner said it could have been because of deteriorated wood.

Deputy Fire Chief Matthew Wagner said the building was occupied at the time of the collapse, but no injuries were reported.

"Oddly, it was lunch time," he said. "It fell right on to the sidewalk, only on the exterior of the building."

While Wagner believes the collapse IS attributed to deteriorated wood, the cause is still being investigated.

Main Street is currently shut down for the safety of traffic flow and pedestrians, he said.

An emergency contractor is on the scene removing the remaining hazard. Wagner said the damage is reparable.

A construction engineer examined the building and will report back to the building department regarding reconstruction.

E-mail: albrizio@northjersey.com or call 201-894-6700
______________________________
My picture below.  There is a classic facade underneath.  I'm curious what the rest of it looks like.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: just watching on September 01, 2011, 11:38:04 PM

No doubt that 10" of rain a few days ago had something to do with it.  Lots of water soaking in, making it heavier, making it more rotten
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on October 16, 2011, 11:24:44 PM
Hackensack attorney Frank Lucianna receives group’s lifetime award
Last updated: Friday October 14, 2011, 1:34 AM
BY MARK J. BONAMO
MANAGING EDITOR
Hackensack Chronicle

Frank Lucianna has been practicing law for almost 61 years. But according to the longtime criminal defense lawyer, he is always a bit surprised whenever he is honored because of the unique nature of his business.

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/300*199/Lawyer1_101011_hk_tif_.jpg)
Attorney Frank Lucianna was given a lifetime achievement award by the Bergen County Bar Foundation for his work as an attorney.

When interviewed in his Hackensack office, Lucianna, 88, said, "I never knew a criminal lawyer who got an award from the state for being the professional lawyer of the year or from the county for lifetime achievement," referring to past accolades. "It's the idea that we're operating on the outskirts of the law, which isn't true."

The Bergen County Bar Foundation became the latest organization to recognize Lucianna as one of New Jersey's most respected legal insiders on Sept. 19, when it gave him its Lawyer Achievement Award, a public recognition of his lifetime's work.

"I really treasure this award, because this came genuinely from people who know me and know this office," Lucianna said, who has received 14 different awards for his work over the years from various organizations, including the Urban League, the Bergen County Bar Association and Fordham University Law School, his alma mater. "It means a lot to me, and I'm very thankful for it."

Frank Carbonetti, a partner with Lucianna's firm who has been by his mentor's side for 12 years, spoke at the award ceremony in Mahwah about what knowing and working with Lucianna has meant to him and others.

"When you honor someone for a lawyer achievement award, it's a very vague award. How does one define achievement?" Carbonetti said. "You could go into all of the amazing cases that he's had and still has. His battles that he's had with judges and prosecutors have become part of Bergen County's legal lore. What I think Frank Lucianna has done is written the survival guide for lawyers on how to make it is this business."

For Carbonetti, Lucianna's greatest lesson can be crystallized in one word.

"Happiness is the key word," Carbonetti said. "It's a hard word to find when you talk about lawyers. While working like a maniac for 60 years, he's been able to stay married to same woman, Dolores, for 56 years. They raised three successful children. He hasn't been indicted. He hasn't been disbarred. He hasn't been suspended."

Carbonetti also noted other physical and spiritual factors that helped Lucianna avoid potential personal and ethical pitfalls and kept him going for decades.

"He stayed physically fit by running and swimming. He stayed close to his religious beliefs by attending Mass every day. He laughs and he's able to find humor in each day. I'm not trying to be a preacher as to how one should live their life, but this guy kind of figured it out. He's been able to achieve the kind of elusive happiness which is something many lawyers never achieve in this business."

There are other secrets to his happiness revealed– his survival after many combat missions serving with the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, for one.

"God was very good to me, and gave me a second chance in life," Lucianna said. "I remember that every day of my life."

Maybe it's that mindset that drives Lucianna when he drives to jail every Sunday to visit his clients. Maybe it's the occasional dram of Johnnie Walker Black or Blue that he reportedly enjoys that strengthens his constitution. Or maybe it's a simple love of his job, and of life itself, that so satisfies his soul.

"I love coming here, practicing law and being with these beautiful people," said Lucianna, looking around fondly at his work colleagues. "It's a wonderful experience. I'm not bored. I'm not tired. And I'm not ready to stop. There are a lot of people who hate their job. Not me. For me, my job and my family – it's the elixir of life."

E-mail: bonamo@northjersey.com
Title: Re: Main St. (Record King)
Post by: Editor on November 16, 2011, 08:40:54 AM
The Record King
Tuesday November 15, 2011, 2:52 PM
BY JOSEPH RITACCO
SPECIAL SECTIONS
Hackensack Chronicle

For Those Who 'Still like That Old Time Rock 'N' roll'

Trying to track down a favorite vinyl record from years gone by? Chances are good you'll find it at The Record King in Hackensack, tucked somewhere within the store's vast inventory of more than 500,000 selections.

Owner Craig Stepneski, the keeper of the flame, has dedicated his career to preserving the bands and music he loved as a child. He credits his siblings for introducing him to the classic 1960s music that he would later make a career out of selling.

"When I was a kid I played my brother's 1961-62 records, and my sister's 1964-68 records," he recalls. "So I knew all about the 1960s."

His familiarity with the time period helped him land a job sorting records at the Hackensack Record King, where he began working in 1974 at the age of 14.

Little did he know then that such a modest job would turn into a lifelong endeavor. He formed a close relationship with Bill Smith, the store's owner, who he would succeed in that role in 1992. He would later shorten the store's name to The Record King, in case, he joked, he ever had to move the business out of Hackensack.

The business, a staple of Hackensack since 1965, was a "headquarters," Stepneski said, for fans of The Beatles and, later, the disco era.

"Back then," he recalls, "it was all new releases."

The emergence of stores like Walmart, Target and Best Buy, however, forced a shift in the business, which now specializes in the sale of used records, CDs and DVDs, along with other collectibles and autographed items. The store also has a presence on eBay.

The store's customer base, said Stepneski, is a loyal one, with relationships dating back to the 1970s in some instances.

"We have some great conversations," he said. "We'll have the debates about the best bass players. Who's the best in rock? Who's the best in jazz? The customers are very smart and really into the music."

The Record King, located at 303 Main St. in Hackensack, may be reached at 201-488-4232.

It is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information about the store, visit www.therecordking.com.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on February 26, 2013, 12:45:29 PM
Ex-Jacoby Appliance site in Hackenack sold (http://www.northjersey.com/news/191857191_Ex-Jacoby_Appliance_site_in_Hackenack_sold.html)
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
BY  LINDA MOSS
STAFF WRITER
The Record

*Restaurant, dollar store may move in.

The former Jacoby Appliance Parts store on Main Street in Hackensack has been sold and will likely be converted to a dollar store or restaurant, a real estate broker said Tuesday.

The 5,000-square-foot storefront at 269 Main St. was acquired for $450,000 in cash by Diwan 168 Inc., said Dominic Fittizzi, an associate vice president at NAI James E. Hanson Inc. The real estate firm was retained to sell seven locations owned by Jacoby, which sold parts for appliances such as washing machines and stoves, Fittizzi said.

Jacoby was bought by Marcone Supply, and was looking to liquidate some of its real estate holdings, Fittizzi said. The Jacoby store that had been at 269 Main St. moved to 180 Main St., operating under its new owner's name, Marcone Supply.

Diwan has offices in New York City, and Fittizzi said it plans to put in a dollar store, a restaurant or possibly both "because the building splits pretty well" at the 269 Main St. site.

The building was constructed in 1986 and has a tin ceiling and hardwood floors, Fittizzi said.

So far Fittizzi has sold Jacoby's Hackensack retail store and its warehouse on State Street, as well as the company's locations in Trenton, Pennsauken and New Brunswick. He said he has two sites left to sell, one in Delaware and one in Albany, N.Y.

Email: moss@northjersey.com
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: just watching on February 26, 2013, 05:11:52 PM
1986 ?  That building was not constructed in 1986.  I would guess 1930's or 1940's, but some older readers might have better information.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on March 03, 2013, 05:48:34 PM
Hackensack's Main Street Business Alliance, a SID corporation, introduced 2013 budget (http://www.northjersey.com/news/192427711_Hackensack_s_Main_Street_Business_Alliance__a_SID_corporation__introduced_2013_budget.html?page=all)
Friday, February 22, 2013
BY  JENNIFER VAZQUEZ
NEWS EDITOR
Hackensack Chronicle

Main Street Business Alliance, a Special Improvement District established in 2004, submitted its proposed 2013 budget to the city council.

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/300*199/MC_HKMainStreetUpperMain_022213_hk_tif_.jpg)
DANIELLE PARHIZKARAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Main Street Business Alliance, commonly referred to as the Upper Main Alliance, submitted the introduction of its proposed 2013 budget to the city council —seeking the same amount as previous years, $360,595. A public hearing will be held on March 5, during the council meeting, on the UMA budget. The corporation, which formed as a partnership between the business community and the City of Hackensack, addresses the business community with the goal of improving the local economy. It's boundaries are Main Street from Clinton Place to Atlantic Street.

The total requested "Special Assessment" amount of the budget is $360,595 — the same figure requested the previous year, according to the report submitted by MSBA, which is commonly referred to as the Upper Main Alliance.

"The Upper Main Alliance has been doing a great job of working, while staying within their budget," City Manager and UMA Non-Voting Trustee Stephen Lo Iacono said. "For the past, I want to say about four years, their budget has remained the same."

According to MSBA Executive Director Albert Dib, the appropriation of the budget is determined by the tax assessor and is aimed at the business owners who form part of the MSBA designated district. This special assessment is collected from the property owners in the defined boundaries that make up MSBA.

"This amount is our primary, our sole source for functioning," Dib said. "We have been requesting this amount for the past four years, which is when I came on board [as executive director] and, I believe, it goes to two years before that."

MSBA's budget is divided into three main categories: visual improvement, administration, and marketing and public relations.

The 2013 appropriation for visual improvement totals an estimated $150,560, whereas the SID budget for the same is $273,500.

According to Dib the total SID budget amount for all categories is comprised of the 2013 appropriation amount and the 2012 surplus for that particular categorical item.

The budget and report state that within the total SID amount for visual improvement, $90,000 will go toward this component for the "continued planning and consultation in connection with our "strategic vision" and downtown rehabilitation goals.

"There are many things included under this category," Dib said. "Among them grant programs and streetscape improvements."

According to Dib, this category includes a number of grant programs aimed at current business owners within the Upper Main Alliance district.

"If they meet certain criteria, they are encouraged to apply for these grants," he said. "These grants, among other improvements and programs fall under this category."

The 2013 appropriation for administration is $91,503.27. The budget for this category is set at $132,490.

The SID budget's marketing and public relations category is set at, approximately, $189,222. However, the appropriation amount is about $135,407.

This category entails the maintenance of the corporation's website, newsletter publications and the Co-Op Advertising Program, among other things.

"There are many important components in this category," Dib said. "One that must be pointed out is the Co-Op Advertising Program. This program allows for businesses [within the UMA district] to advertise their businesses within our ad shell….basically they can place their own advertisement as they choose as long as it is within our designated shell."

The ad shell is a designated design that illustrates UMA's logo. If a business chooses to take advantage of this program, UMA will utilize their funds to assist in paying for a percentage of the advertising cost.

The total expenditure listed for the 2013 budget is $631,116, whereas the appropriation amount is $360,595.

"Yes this is tax money collected from businesses in our designated area," Dib said. "But this money is being fed right back to the businesses and their needs….we want to encourage people to participate in Upper Main by taking advantage of all we offer."

Though Lo Iacono is not involved in decisions pertaining to UMA, his role as non-voting trustee enables him to sit at UMA meetings, allowing for him to gather information as to what the alliance is doing, share plans that the city has and brainstorm as to how both entities can work together. Collaboration between the two is important, Lo Iacono said.

"They have been a tremendous force and have been involved with the [Main Street Rehabilitation Plan]," he said. "They do tremendous work with the resources they have and continue to play an important role in moving this city forward."

According to MSBA's website, the corporation "is a public private partnership formed as an alliance between the business community and the City of Hackensack. The mission of the MSBA is to address the issues facing the business community with the goal of improving the local economy and the overall business climate in Hackensack."

The public hearing on the budget is March 5.

Email: vazquez@northjersey.com
Title: Re: Main St. (Library Clock Tower)
Post by: Editor on March 09, 2013, 02:05:41 AM
Who knew?
_______________________
At antique Hackensack clock tower, springing ahead looks like going back in time (http://www.northjersey.com/community/At_antique_Hackensack_clock_tower_springing_ahead_looks_like_going_back_in_time.html?page=all)
Saturday March 9, 2013, 12:00 AM
BY  JIM BECKERMAN
STAFF WRITER
The Record

The times they are a-changin.’ And doesn’t Ivan Lengyel know it.

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/300*199/0309A_clock1RST65p.jpg)
CARMINE GALASSO/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Ivan Lengyel resetting the clock tower at Johnson Free Public Library in Hackensack for daylight saving time. Many of the big clocks have been automated, but a few still need to be set manually.

It’s Friday — roughly 2:21 p.m., but by whose watch? — with the daylight saving changeover 36 hours in the future. And Lengyel, one of the area’s last bona fide tower clock specialists, is busy adjusting one of the area’s last public clocks that needs to be reset by hand.

“BONG!” sounds the chime of the great tower clock at Johnson Free Public Library in Hackensack. It’s somewhat off its normal schedule, and no wonder. In a tiny room on the other side of the huge clock face — reached by an elevator and an improbably steep staircase — Lengyel is at the mechanism. “One of the hammers is busted,” he said. “We’ll have to come back to that.”

Now he’s adjusting the time, twisting the drive shaft from the main mechanism so that it matches up with the little numbers on a reference timing gear. Outside, the hands on the clock face are turning, too. He checks his watch. Correct? “It had better be,” he said.

In fact, the time will be one hour off for the next day and a half — until daylight saving time returns at 2 a.m. Sunday.

Nor is this unusual. Other towns, faced with the problem of a weekend clock-adjustment by Monday-through-Friday employees, have equally creative schemes. Paterson will be changing the big City Hall clock on Monday. Ridgewood, too, will be resetting its big clock on Ridgewood Avenue, near Van Neste Square, after the fact. “If we do it on Friday, then it’s wrong for two days,” said Jim O’Connell, supervisor of the village’s parking traffic and signaling division. “If we do it Monday, it’s only wrong for a day.”

The Johnson Library clock, 36 inaccurate hours and all, is a beauty: raised iron Roman numerals, set in a crenellated stone tower topped by a weathered copper-green cupola. But the interior mechanism, seldom seen by outsiders, is gorgeous, too: gears, ratchets, chains, shafts, set in a chassis about the size of a cooking stove. “E. Howard & Company, Boston, Mass.,” reads the plate. “It’s cast iron, very brittle,” Lengyel said. “You have to be careful with this stuff.”

Public clocks like this were once a source of civic pride. Banks, jewelry stores and railroad stations erected them to dramatize their own reliability. Businessmen set their watches to them. People met “under the clock.” And if a movie comedian wanted to turn convention on its ear, what could be more subversive than to dangle from a big public clock, as Harold Lloyd did in “Safety Last!” in 1923?

Today, when everyone gets satellite-accurate time through dozens of personal gadgets, the public clock doesn’t matter as much. The big clocks themselves — the ones that are still left — have mostly been electrified, automated.

When Lengyel, 69, a Hungarian native and former Edgewater resident (he now lives in Sussex County), first began servicing local clocks around 1979, there were maybe 50 or 60 clocks he had to change twice a year, when daylight saving time came and went. Now, of the more than 1,000 clocks he services year-round, only the clock in the 112-year-old Johnson Library tower has to be reset manually. It, too, has been electrified — but without an automatic reset to keep it accurate.

That’s just fine with Lengyel — who’ll take the swing of a pendulum over the dull silence of an electric motor any time. “You ever stand in front of a grandfather clock?” he said. “You have the tick on the one side and the tock on the other. To me, that’s music.”

An electronics technician by trade (he also services intercoms, PA systems and nurse call systems), he’s had a special fondness for clocks ever since he found one in a junkyard at around age 13, fixed it up and brought it to his home in Edgewater.

“It was a mantel clock with a chime in it,” he recalled. “It got to the point where I had to shut it off. My mother couldn’t stand it.”

Lengyel, on the other hand, couldn’t get enough of the bings and bongs — and still can’t.

On Friday, he was already looking forward to his next job: a return visit to the Johnson Library tower, to fix that busted hammer he noticed earlier. It sounds one of the bells on the clock tower’s four-note “Westminster chimes.” He nodded to a ladder, leading up to a trap door in the ceiling.

“That goes up to the bell tower,” he said. “That’s where I have to go next time.”

Staff Writer Virginia Rohan contributed to this article.

Email: beckerman@northjersey.com
Title: Re: Main St. (Library Clock Tower)
Post by: BLeafe on March 10, 2013, 02:16:01 PM
There was an additional picture in the newspaper. Here are bigger versions of each:

(click to enlarge)


Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on April 18, 2013, 04:36:27 PM
Sidney Wiener, 87; started sleep stores (http://www.northjersey.com/obituaries/203536421_Sidney_Wiener__87__started_sleep_stores.html?page=all)
Thursday, April 18, 2013    Last updated: Thursday April 18, 2013, 11:32 AM
BY  JAY LEVIN
STAFF WRITER
The Record

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/300*401/0418L_WIENER_40P.jpg)
WIENER

Sidney Wiener, who launched the North Jersey sleep stores with the catchy Bruce the Bed King name, died Monday in Boca Raton, Fla. He was 87.

Mr. Wiener and his brother, Bertram, learned the ways of retail at their parents' juvenile furniture store on Main Street in Hackensack. In 1954, the brothers tried something different. They took a retail space at 467 Main St. in Hackensack, across from Sears, and began selling mattresses. They called the store Colony Sleep Center.

"The way my father told it, he looked around and the only places at the time where you could get a mattress were furniture stores and department stores," said Mr. Wiener's son, Bruce.

Marvin Jeshiva, regional sales manager for Gold Bond Mattress Co., a bedding manufacturer in Hartford, Conn., said the Wiener brothers were ahead of their time in opening a store selling strictly mattresses.

"If they had the desire, I'm sure they could have out-Sleepy'ed Sleepy's," Jeshiva said, referring to the giant Sleepy's chain, whose first mattress store opened in 1957.

Colony Sleep Centers eventually grew to 12 New Jersey stores, and in the late '70s the Wieners rebranded the stores as Bruce the Bed King, complete with a caricature of the mustached Bruce Wiener, who joined the company in 1974.

Today the family has two Bruce the Bed King stores: the original Hackensack location and on Route 17 in Paramus. Sidney Wiener retired about 25 years ago.

"My father was the most generous, kindest man," Bruce Wiener said. "He and my uncle pretty much gave me and my cousin [Robert Wiener] the business. They always supported us, in everything we wanted to do."

Mr. Wiener's hobby had nothing to do with sleeping. He became smitten with Western illustration after a visit to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City and started collecting original illustrations by eminent Western artists.

Six years ago, Mr. Wiener and his wife, Rosalyn, gave their collection — 91 artworks and 968 publications – to the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis.

Mr. Wiener, formerly of Hackensack, is survived by his wife of 48 years; his children, Bruce Wiener and Sue-Ellyn Wiener Behl; his brother, Bertram; his wife's daughters, Terry Brous, Sherry Oliver and Nancy Oliver, and eight grandchildren.

Graveside services are today at 1 pm at Beth El Cemetery, Washington Township.

Email: levin@northjersey.com
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on May 12, 2013, 06:33:18 PM
Then and Now: Woolworth 5-and-dimes (http://www.northjersey.com/shopping/207086531_Then_and_Now__Woolworth_Woolworth__5-and-dimes.html?page=all)
Sunday, May 12, 2013    Last updated: Sunday May 12, 2013, 9:45 AM
By BILL ERVOLINO
COLUMNIST
 
The Woolworth on South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield in 1997, the year the chain shut down. A business brief in the Feb. 28, 1990, issue of The Record trumpeted the good news: "National Wal-Mart, Woolworth have a big quarter."

The story went on to note: "Woolworth ... posted revenues of $2.80 billion for the quarter, up 9.8 percent from $2.55 billion in the year-earlier period."

Apparently, though, the bucks stopped there. Or thereabouts.

Seven years later, a front-page story titled "End of an era" interviewed crestfallen customers at the soon-to-be-shut Woolworth stores in Bergenfield, Paterson, Hackensack and Rutherford.

As the story — dated Friday, July 18, 1997 — noted, "On Thursday, Woolworth Corp. announced the closing of all 400 Woolworth stores in the nation during the next few months. That includes seven stores in North Jersey and the 27 stores in the rest of the state. The problem, officials suggest, is that too many people now view the old 5-and-10-cent stores more as a slice of Americana than as a good place to shop."

So, what happened?

Increased competition from Walmart and other discount chains was seen as part of the problem. Another was that Woolworth hadn't changed enough with the times and was losing its target audience to, ironically enough, Target.

Roger N. Farah, a Tenafly resident and the corporation's chief executive, told The Record, "This company has invested significant resources in trying to revitalize the F.W. Woolworth chain. However, despite our best efforts ... the business continued to lose money."

The first and most successful of the so-called five-and-dimes, F.W. Woolworth Co. opened its first store in Utica, N.Y., in 1878. That store failed. But one year later the brothers Frank and Charles Woolworth opened a second store, in Lancaster, Pa., and almost immediately an empire was born.

The stores were known for their low prices, their open merchandise displays, which allowed customers to handle items without the aid of a clerk, and their beloved lunch counters, which became part of civil rights history in 1960 at the then-segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C. (When four black students were refused service there, a series of sit-ins and boycotts began across the country — and continued for six months. Part of that counter has since been installed in the Smithsonian Institution.)

In 1979, Woolworth was cited by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest department store chain in the world. The chain continued to expand, but competition mounted. In addition to the newer discount chains, craft stores and other specialty outlets, the company found itself up against supermarkets, which had begun selling gadgets, small appliances and home items.

In 1997, news of the pending store closings had many North Jersey residents waxing nostalgic. Today, mention of Woolworth still brings back a rush of memories.

Lore Wellhoefer Valcarcel of River Edge recalled working at the Hackensack store in the early 1970s. "That was my first job, when I was 16," she said, "and I started in the record department, then the cosmetic 'island' — an oval-shaped counter with the employee in the middle. The cash registers were so old you needed to push down separate levers for each denomination of money. We wore aqua-colored smocks. I ended my Woolworth's career the following year, working the main checkout, which was chaotic on a Saturday afternoon. This was about 1971, when you had to fight the crowds to walk down Main Street in Hackensack. From there, I went on to bigger and better things: Newberry's in the Bergen Mall!"

Eileen Cammarano of Teaneck worked for the Union City store in the 1950s. "I was in charge of the toy counter," she recalled, "so every holiday was special with seasonal items. Our lunch counter special was chow mein sandwiches on a hamburger bun topped with Chinese noodles and a splash of soy sauce! Coffee back then was 10 cents a cup. Great memories!"

Hackensack High School alumnus Don Pierce regularly went to the Hackensack Woolworth "for frozen Coke and the latest 45s" when he was a student, while Debbie Snow of Ringwood trekked to the Bergenfield store for "Coke floats and cheap earrings."

For George Grimm, who grew up in Jersey City, the Woolworth on Central Avenue was a regular destination.

"What I remember most about [the stores] was that all the merchandise displays were flat," he said. "No shelves, nothing hanging. Everything was on those flat tables with the sliding doors underneath. I also used to buy my Hardy Boys books there!"

Lisa Taglieri Osborne, who grew up in Oakland, recalled going to the Pompton Lakes store "every Saturday while my mother had her hair done. They had balloons over the lunch counter. You could pop them and win a banana split for anywhere from a penny to 99 cents."

And yes, there were 5- and 10-cent ones, too.

Email: ervolino@northjersey.com
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on July 16, 2013, 09:56:53 PM
Marisa Iapicco
Semisweet Desserts

685 Main St., Hackensack, 201-487-0737
www.semisweetdesserts.com

Marisa Iapicco admits she is terrified. The 28-year-old graduate of the Manhattan-based Institute of Culinary Education is opening a 1,000-square-foot bakery on Main Street in Hackensack — by herself. "I feel very vulnerable," the South Hackensack resident confided. "I am putting everything out there."

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/300*409/MC_0714F_foodbizBECK_40p.jpg)
STAFF PHOTOS BY MITSU YASUKAWA
Marisa Iapicco runs Semisweet Desserts of Hackensack, which makes artisanal cookies and cakes.


What Iapicco is putting out there is her colorful, hand-decorated cookies and custom cakes that she has been peddling through her website and at food festivals for the past year. "People who tasted my cookies were shocked by them," she said. "They didn't expect them to taste so good."

Word of mouth helped grow her fledgling culinary venture. "People would order my cookies for birthdays, bridal showers, graduations. I've made them in heart shapes, with couple's names — whatever." (They cost $42 a dozen.) She used the kitchens of Hesterides Kitchens & Bakeries, a cooperative commercial space in Hawthorne, to make her sweets, and named her company Semisweet Desserts, though she is thinking of changing the name. "People think it's for diabetics," she says. Her creations are decidedly not sugar-free. They are, however, artisanal and seasonal. "I love the artisanal movement, the local movement. It really speaks to me."

She also loves baking. "I find baking very soothing. It's very relaxing." Iapicco even likes the hours. "I hated the hours of working at a restaurant. As a baker, I start early morning but I have the afternoon."

And she also loves New Jersey. "I grew up in Fort Lee and Rochelle Park," she said. "I tried to leave New Jersey — I went to college in Philadelphia — but I'm back. I like the pizza places, Palisades Park." But — and do keep this a secret — she is not wild about sweets. "I'd rather have a bowl of mashed potatoes than a bowl of ice cream," she said. Her customers most probably can't say the same. Semisweet Desserts is at 685 Main St., Hackensack (201-487-0737; semisweetdesserts.com). -

See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/215411081_Artisanal_food_companies_are_sprouting_in_North_Jersey.html?page=all#sthash.NqNdzJkp.dpuf
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on August 20, 2013, 11:49:41 AM
Dessert empanadas at Fusion Empanada in Hackensack worth a taste
Tuesday, August 20, 2013    Last updated: Tuesday August 20, 2013, 10:57 AM
The Record
 
(http://media.northjersey.com/images/650*488/0820F_Empanada_RLR_30p.jpg)
The dessert empanadas at Fusion Empanada are the highlights.
ELISA UNG/RECORD STAFF

Showcasing our favorite casual eats. To suggest one, email ung@northjersey.com

The dessert empanadas at Fusion Empanada in Hackensack are like little hand pies – piping hot fruit fillings encased in flaky crusts. And they change with the seasons – at a recent lunch, I sampled two delightful specials, blueberry crisp and strawberry rhubarb, while other offerings have included one with fresh cherries and another stuffed with goat cheese, almonds and fresh raspberries.

The tiny restaurant serves dozens of empanadas in sweet or savory, baked or fried. But as far as I'm concerned, dessert is the star. Dessert empanadas are $2.25 each, or available as part of an eight-piece platter for $17.95.

Fusion Empanada, 838 Main St., Hackensack, 201-880-9800, fusionempanada. com.

— Elisa Ung

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/food_dining/220302471_Good_Bite__dessert_empanadas.html#sthash.CqS24rF4.dpuf
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on August 30, 2013, 02:20:32 AM
Alliance calls for more cops in downtown Hackensack (http://www.northjersey.com/news/221748631_Alliance_calls_for_more_cops_in_downtown_Hackensack.html?page=all)
Friday, August 30, 2013
BY  CAESAR DARIAS
CORRESPONDENT
Hackensack Chronicle

As the Hackensack Police Department continues it's quality of life initiative, merchants on Main Street are expressing mixed opinions as to how customers can feel safe and what policies can help their businesses to grow.

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/300*168/homelessstore_082113_hk_tif_.jpg)
Carlos Campoverde, owner of Galapagos Restaurant on Main Street in Hackensack prepares plantain treats.
CAESAR DARIAS

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/300*168/homelesschief_082113_hk_tif_.jpg)
Director Michael Mordaga has been spear heading a quality-of-life initiative which includes finding a solution for the city's homeless.
CAESAR DARIAS/PHOTO

Police Director Michael Mordaga has been spear heading a quality-of-life initiative which includes finding a solution for the city's homeless. Meanwhile, a business alliance is calling for cops to walk the beat on Main Street to decrease panhandling as the city embarks on an ambitious rehabilitation plan designed to transform the downtown shopping area into a modern district where people live, work and stay after-hours to dine and shop.

Shortly after starting his job on February 4 as police director, Michael Mordaga attended several community meetings where residents complained about noise, speeding cars, improper street parking and drug sales.

Complaints from residents were particularly strong regarding panhandlers, which they say come from the Bergen County Health and Human Services Center on South River Street. The center, the only homeless shelter in the county, offers beds, food, housing placement, drug and alcohol treatment, job counseling and other services under one roof.

Mordaga has said that most homeless they encounter on the street have extensive criminal records.

In previous interviews, Julia Orlando, the shelter director, has asserted that not everybody who appears homeless is homeless. Moreover, Orlando said that not all homeless people seen on the streets of Hackensack are staying in the shelter.

Then in May, the Upper Main Alliance, a business improvement organization that represents approximately 150 merchants, placed an ad in the Chronicle calling for a "greater police presence for Main Street and Downtown Business District."

The ad said that foot patrols "would also reduce incidents of panhandling, loitering and other disruptive behavior that can occur in any shopping area."

In a telephone interview, Jerry Lombardo, the Upper Main chairman, said he stands by the ad and added his support for Mordaga's quality of life initiative.

"Having a police presence in downtown is just good for business," said Lombardo, who has addressed the issue with Mordaga. "We've been asking for that for some time… And that's not purely because of the homeless. It's a shopping security thing. You see them at the mall."

Mordaga says help is on the way.

The Chronicle interviewed several Main Street business owners, managers and workers over the last two weeks to gauge how the presence of the homeless impacts businesses. Some were more interested in discussing how to improve the business climate.

Franco Ravennati said he has owned and operated Charmed Beauty Salon at the same location for 47 years.

"The homeless, they always come asking for money," said Ravennati, 75. "It's a problem. There are people that like it. There are people that don't like it. But I don't see it as much anymore."

Ravennati said Main Street is "dead," and called for improved parking for his customers.

At Nick's Grocery & Deli, owner Nick Pandya has been at his location for 10 years.

Pandya, 40, said when he started "it was very bad," but the number of homeless has decreased.

"We see [homeless] still on the street, especially outside of my store but it's getting better," said Pandya, who added that customers have complained.

"That customer would probably stop coming in if that happens more often," said Pandya. "The economy is tough. If people don't have the money for themselves, how would they give money to somebody else. Some customers have brought homeless into the store to buy them food rather than give them money."

Pandya said he'd like to see police "walking the beat to protect customers instead of giving more tickets to the people who shop over here."

Pandya said he is hopeful that an economic turnaround will happen soon.

"This city has so much potential," said Pandya. "And I believe that if everybody is doing the right thing, I think this city should be back again."

At Galapagos Restaurant, Carlos Campoverde says "a couple" of homeless people come into his restaurant every two to three weeks asking for food.

"I give it to them," said Campoverde in a Spanish-language interview. "They don't have a job. They're living on the street. They're hungry. I'd rather give it to them than throw it in the trash."

Campoverde says he has owned Galapagos for five years and the homeless do not affect his business.

Farther south on Main Street at Colombia Bakery, manager Luis Armando complains that homeless frequently gather outside the store asking customers for money.

According to Armando, some homeless come into the bakery, spend one dollar and then use the bathroom for extended periods.

"I then have no choice but to let them use the customer bathroom," said Armando. "Other customers then have to wait."

Next door at Montinio's Salon, manager Lucia Bonificio says that in nine years only once did a homeless person ask for money.

"They pass by but I've never had a problem with them," said Bonificio.

A manager at another food establishment who asked for anonymity, said that in winter the homeless ask for food "just about every night."

"Mostly they're not aggressive unless they're high on drugs or intoxicated," the manager continued. "Mostly, they're just looking for food. Customers never say anything, but you can tell on their face that they're uncomfortable."

The manager says he favors more foot patrols.

At the Subway sandwich shop, Ahmed Shahed says three or four homeless people ask for food every week.

"I try my best to give them some cookies or food, if I have it," said Ahmed, who has owned the shop for two years. "Sometimes they come, ask for food or sometimes they try to grab people to buy the food for them."

Ahmed added that he feels the homeless "are not harming anybody," and his business is not affected.

Moreover, Ahmed expressed concern about vacant storefronts on his block, saying that sales are down 30 percent. "We need to grow businesses and more jobs," he said.

At the Johnson Public Library on Main Street, some Hackensack residents complain that many homeless people stay during the day.

"They go in there for the air conditioning," said one woman who declined to give her name.

The library has posted on-line a lengthy list explaining grounds for ejection titled: "Behavior Rules Governing the Use of Johnson Public Library."

Item number 18 on the list reads, "Sleeping in or on Library premises."

Item number 19 reads, "Improperly using Library restrooms, including, but not limited to, bathing, shaving, washing hair or changing clothes."

According Sharon Castanteen, the library director, about 10,000 people visit the library every month. Asked how many of those people are homeless, Castanteen said, "In my opinion it's 25 percent, without going around and saying, 'Are you homeless?' How can you know."

"We can't determine if somebody is homeless just by looking," Castanteen added. "We don't make that judgment."

The library previously employed one full-time and one part-time security guard. In February, the library turned the part-time guard into a full-time employee at an additional cost of $15,000 per year.

Castanteen said it was done "to stop the loitering. To stop people form blocking the exits. It's not just the homeless. It's to control behavior."

Many teenagers also use the library, said Castanteen.

Castanteen stressed that patrons will not encounter any problems.

"We have strict behavior rules," she said. "I just don't want people to feel they will be harassed."

Back north on Main Street, Andranik Eskandarian has owned Birkenmeier Sport Shop since 1982. The former soccer star for the New York Cosmos says he sees the homeless "from time to time. Sometimes they are in the street. But really they don't bother. I don't see anything to bother people. If you have police resources to keep an eye on them. You know, these people sometimes they get high or something, they get out of line."

Eskandarian said he was more concerned that "more police means more parking tickets to customers."

"I'd rather see the homeless than police giving tickets to customers 'left and right,'" Eskandarian continued.

According to Eskandarian, last month he was using the loading zone in front of his store to unload merchandise. Eskandarian said a police officer gave him a ticket.

"Fifteen, twenty years ago we knew all the police by name and those cops walking the beat would always come into the store to ask if a vehicle belonged to a customer to avoid a parking ticket," Eskandarian said.

According to Eskandarian, the "new" and "young" officers don't listen.

An incredulous Mordaga said there must be a misunderstanding.

"If you're in a loading zone, a police officer is not going to ticket somebody who is loading or unloading," said Mordaga. "I think what a lot of people are doing is they're double-parking and unloading. And you can't do that, especially the fact that there's only two lanes of traffic on Main Street. It ties the entire street up."

Mordaga said that due to retirements, suspensions and officers out on administrative leave, the police department is currently short "about 12 police officers."

According to Mordaga, the police department has 12 Special Law Enforcement Officers Class II who are training in the police academy.

"A Class II police officer is a part-time police officer with full police powers that carries a firearm and wears the uniform," said Mordaga "But they get paid by the hour."

Mordaga said the "specials" are due to graduate in January 2014, and will probably earn between $15 and $20 per hour.

According to Mordaga, the new "specials" will be assigned to foot patrols on Main Street, Hudson Street and Anderson Street, among other locations.

Hackensack currently has two retired cops working as "specials" assigned to municipal court.

"I do perceive the need for more officers," said Mayor John P. Labrosse, Jr., who added that the director will have to approach the city manager and the city council to request new hires. "Everybody is sympathetic to anybody who is down on their luck. Unfortunately, the other part we have is some of the people who are out there are drinking, panhandling, urinating in public. That's the stuff that needs to stop. We can't have them walking up Main Street panhandling, because it's illegal, number one. And it's not good for business either."

Regarding a belief among some business owners and community leaders that the City of Hackensack Rehabilitation Plan has been abandoned, Labrosse said it's a "full go as far as we're concerned."

"It's almost like a living thing," said Labrosse about the plan. "It has to be adjusted as we go. Within that area it's up the council to determine where there will be development."

Lombardo agreed that the redevelopment plan is moving forward, and emphasized that a residential component is essential to revitalize the business district.

"You need people living there," said Lombardo. "We want to see residential units built there. There's nary a successful downtown in the United States that doesn't have a fair amount of residential people living in the district."

Lombardo cited Hoboken as a case-in-point.

"Hoboken is loaded with apartments and there are people out in the street," said Lombardo. "And they change the demeanor of the area when you have people living down there."

Right now, Lombardo says, everybody goes home at 5 p.m.

Lombardo is also the CEO of C.J. Lombardo, a Main Street realty that owns and operates commercial properties, office buildings, shopping centers and thousands of residential units, mostly outside Bergen County and out-of-state.

According to Lombardo, the economic struggle of Main Street businesses reflects what he sees happening across the nation.

Lombardo also happens to be the landlord of Shahed, the Subway shop owner.

Lombardo says he urges his tenants to be active, attend city council meetings and to urge officials to move forward with the Rehabilitation Plan.

As for dealing with the homeless, Lombardo says the shelter has contributed to the decrease of homeless on Main Street.

"The shelter has done a good job centralizing the services that are available to the people that are in the homeless community," said Lombardo. "They're treating it with professionalism."

According to Lombardo, an important component of the shelter is placing homeless in permanent housing.

"I'm going to try to put a landlords' group together that would make a certain number of apartments available," said Lombardo, who explained that the apartments would be within and outside Hackensack and Bergen County.

The idea may not become a reality for some time, Lombardo said, until more money becomes available for housing vouchers.

Email: hackensack@northjersey.com
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on September 24, 2013, 09:49:06 AM
Tandoori Dragon in Hackensack introduces Indo-Chinese cuisine to Hackensack
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
The Record

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/650*432/0924F_NOWOPEN1_BD_50P.jpg)
The dining room at Tandoori Dragon in Hackensack. The new restaurant specializes in Indo-Chinese dishes, a fusion cuisine that is highly popular in India.
MITSU YASUKAWA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Tandoori Dragon

258 Main St., Hackensack
201-457-1557, tandooridragon.com

How it began: This Indo-Chinese restaurant is the brainchild of co-owners Amit Bhaiya, Fathajeet Singh and Bobby Singh (no relation), all of whom hail from India. The trio have run the neighboring Indian restaurant Tandoori Chef since 2006. The Singhs cook and run the day-to-day operations. Indo-Chinese food is wildly popular in India, especially in Calcutta, Bhaiya's home city, where the first Chinese settlers migrated more than 100 years ago. "Our palates already know this food," Bhaiya said.

What is Indo-Chinese food? It's a hybrid cuisine, combining Chinese food with Indian spices such as turmeric, cumin, red and green chilies, basil and garam masala — a ground spice mix that includes cloves, black and white peppercorns, cinnamon, cumin and cardamom. North Jersey has only one other Indo-Chinese restaurant, Chinese Mirch in Edgewater. "There's no other around here," said Bhaiya. "This is how we want to distinguish ourselves."

Calcutta Chinatown: The first Indo-Chinese restaurant opened in Calcutta around 1925, spawning generations of restaurants and street vendors serving up the fusion cuisine. ""You have Chinese restaurants everywhere [in India]," Bhaiya said.

Popular dishes: The signature Indo-Chinese dish, chicken Manchurian, boneless chicken marinated in traditional Indian spices, dipped in corn starch and eventually fried with sautéed garlic, onions and chilies (it also comes in a lamb version); Peking gobi, cauliflower lightly fried and served with chilies and plum sauce; Mongolian lamb, shredded lamb marinated in Indian spices that's lightly deep-fried and served with a chili sweet bean sauce with red and green peppers; and Singapore fried rice, curry-flavored rice tossed with egg and vegetables.

Owner's favorites: Hakka noodles (flat rice noodles stir-fried with vegetables, chicken or shrimp and served with a soy, vinegar chili sauce) and chili tofu or paneer (white firm cheese cubes cooked in a soy, garlic and chili sauce) — very hot. "I'm a vegetarian," Bhaiya said. "So I like paneer; it blends very well with our spices."

How it's not like the typical Chinese restaurant: It's much spicier than American Chinese food (except for Sichuan style), but diners can ask the chef to adjust the spice levels. No pork or beef is on the menu. Because cows are sacred in Hinduism, Indians traditionally do not eat beef. Non-vegetarian Hindus can eat pork, but it's not common in India. And don't expect chopsticks or fortune cookies at the end of your meal.

Future plans: The menu is limited, but Bhaiya plans to expand it after a year.

Prices: soups $3.95 to $4.95; appetizers $5.95 to $7.95; entrées $10.95 to $13.95. All major credit cards accepted; BYOB.

— Sachi Fujimori
   
- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/food_dining/224974812_Tandoori_Dragon_in_Hackensack_introduces_Indo-Chinese_cuisine_to_Hackensack.html?page=all#sthash.pSVzXct9.dpuf
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on October 11, 2013, 03:07:02 PM
Restaurant review: Choripan Rodizio in Hackensack
Friday, October 11, 2013    Last updated: Friday October 11, 2013, 6:53 AM
By ELISA UNG
RESTAURANT REVIEWER

It began with a party. Pablo Spadavecchia, a native of Buenos Aires and a former pizzeria owner, asked his soccer pal Leonardo Marques to give him a hand with the grill at a huge bash in his Hackensack back yard. Marques, an Argentine-American accountant who made frequent trips to visit family in Argentina, happily toiled over the charcoal grill well into the night, wrestling with skirt steak, chorizo, monster-size beef ribs, sausages filled with cheese and parsley.

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/300*449/1011F_DINECHICKEN_BD_50P.jpg)
Chicken legs and teriyaki chicken served tableside from their skewers.
VIOREL FLORESCU/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

(http://media.northjersey.com/images/300*200/1011F_DINEMIXTA_BD_50P.jpg)
A carnivore's delight: the parrillada mixta includes steak, sausages and sweetbreads served on a grill tray. 
VIOREL FLORESCU/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

His food got raves, and the two friends got to talking afterwards, wondering if there was a restaurant in their future — one that combined the Argentine-style grilled meat they both loved with Brazilian rodizio, where meat is cooked on rotating skewers and sliced off for customers tableside.

Soon they had a real-estate broker. One night, they found themselves standing in front of a vacant spot on Main Street in Hackensack that reminded them of Argentina, with its brick sidewalks and its street lights. They completely remodeled the place, adding a rotating rotisserie and a grill fueled by both charcoal and seasoned wood. And as luck would have it, shortly before they opened in January, the longtime Green Grill Rodizio on Hackensack Avenue closed and the partners snatched up several veteran staff members.

That's one reason the 10-month-old Choripan Rodizio (named for choripán, the Argentine sausage sandwich) feels like it's been open longer. Come on a Friday or Saturday, and you'll find a bright, open bundle of activity – flat-screen TVs, big windows facing Main Street, modern tango music blasting, meat rotating in the back. Its staffers are charming and confident, even while winding their way through the crowded restaurant with sharp knives and long, thick skewers of meat.

This is a restaurant where you either come for the meat or you go elsewhere. More specifically, you come here for the rodizio or, if you are into organ meats, the parrillada mixta. The rodizio is served on an all-you-can-eat basis for $30; the servers will stand a skewer on your table and slice off as much meat as you want, for as long as you can eat it. Their breezy attitudes make it fun, and they offer a good variety of grilled beef – juicy top sirloin, garlicky sirloin, buttery skirt steak – as well as pork ribs, chunks of pork loin and sausage with fennel. They offered chicken hearts and looked happy when we accepted. My favorites were the rest of the poultry — little bundles of bacon-wrapped turkey, chicken thighs with crisp skin and steaming meat, and what our server called "teriyaki chicken" – its feisty, spicy flavor would put actual teriyaki to shame.

The parrillada mixta ($30 for one or $40 for two) arrives at your table on an imposing grill tray, with charcoal nestled underneath to warm the meat. Marques said it's intended to be an authentic Argentine grill mix, but what the dining room menu doesn't mention (and neither did our waiter) was that the cuts do not have nearly as wide an appeal as the rodizio. Ours included rich blood sausage – our favorite – as well as intestines, tripe and beef sweetbreads, along with short ribs, sausages, a dry piece of chicken and skirt steak.

Both meat options come with two sides – your best bet, by a long shot, would be the first-rate, fresh-cut french fries or sweet potato fries. Actually, I would come here just to eat fries. Appetizers seem unnecessary, though Choripan does offer some crisp, mildly spiced empanadas – try the Caprese version, almost like a pizza pocket ($2.25 apiece). And good luck eating dessert after this meal, but we enjoyed the eggy, house-made flan ($6).

After our first visit, Choripan shortened its dining room menu and now offers only the most popular staples in the restaurant; other items, such as pizzas and its namesake sausage sandwiches, are now available only for takeout or delivery. This was a smart move – the bready sausage sandwich ($10) and ho-hum pizza ($10.75) from our first dinner are barely worth mentioning.

But the editing shouldn't stop there. My friends and I tried some items so that you could avoid them – an a la carte strip steak, ordered medium rare, that had been grilled into grayness ($21) and an enormous plate of yellow rice with seafood that tasted, well, as if it came from a restaurant where nobody orders seafood ($22.50). Lesson learned: Don't be the one who does.

_________________________
Choripan Rodizio **
72 Main St., Hackensack
201-880-4832
www.choripanrodizio.com

Food: Brazilian rodizio and Argentine-style grilled meat, the reasons to come.
Ambience: Newly renovated room bustles, with meat on the grill, sports on TV and waiters wielding skewers.
Service: For the most part, charming and fun.
Value: Best for the all-you-can-eat rodizio; less popular items aren't worth it. Appetizers $2.35 to $13.50, entrées $11.50 to $30 (or $40 for a mixed grill for two).
Would be good for: A party.
Less appropriate for: Anyone who wants anything other than meat.
Recommended dishes: All-you-can-eat rodizio, empanadas, flan.
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Liquor, wine: BYO.
Noise level: Loud music and lots of activity often make it challenging to hear even the waiter or your dining partners.
Credit cards: AE, D, MC, V.
Reservations: Strongly recommended for Friday and Saturday evening.
Accommodations for children: Items on request.
Dress: Neat casual.
Early-bird specials or deals: All-you-can-eat dinner rodizio (usually $30) available for $15 all day Tuesday.
Takeout: Yes, and delivery before 5 p.m. to Hackensack and surrounding towns.
Parking: Street.
Reviewed: Oct. 11, 2013.

About the ratings
O Poor
* Fair
** Good
***Excellent
****Outstanding
In determining ratings, each restaurant has been compared with others of the same type and level of ambition. Reviewers make at least two anonymous visits to a restaurant, and the newspaper always pays the tab.
_____________

Email: ung@northjersey.com Blog: northjersey.com/secondhelpings Twitter: @elisaung

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/food_dining/227340041_Restaurant_review__Choripan_Rodizio_in_Hackensack.html#sthash.N34ZLatv.dpuf
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on November 04, 2013, 11:26:55 PM
Tarts & Flours Bake Shop opens in Hackensack (http://blog.northjersey.com/secondhelpings/3589/tarts-flours-bake-shop-opens-in-hackensack/)
Posted on Monday, November 4, 2013 4:22 pm
by Sachi Fujimori

(http://blog.northjersey.com/secondhelpings/files/2013/11/DSC_0039a2-300x300.jpg)
Custom-made cookies from Tarts & Flours

Tarts & Flours, an artisan bakery, is opening at 685 Main Street in Hackensack on Saturday, Nov. 9. Opening Day hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Owner and pastry chef Marisa Iapicco is a gradute of the Institute of Culinary Education’s pastry program.  She’s a Ridgefield Park-native that currently lives in South Hackensack. Prior to opening her shop, she ran the custom-order baking business Semisweet Desserts from an industrial kitchen in Hawthorne.

(http://blog.northjersey.com/secondhelpings/files/2013/11/marisaiapiccoheadshot-300x221.jpg)
Chef/owner Marisa Iapicco of Tarts & Flours in Hackensack.

(http://blog.northjersey.com/secondhelpings/files/2013/11/chocolate-almond-tarts-300x198.jpg)
Chocolate almond tarts
_____________________________
[See related post, above (http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,361.msg8924.html#msg8924)]
 

 

 

Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on December 13, 2013, 09:14:35 AM
Center for Asian culture plans move to downtown Hackensack
Friday, December 13, 2013   
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK — A center that promotes Asian culture, arts and philosophy in schools and institutions throughout the region has plans to relocate to the city’s downtown.

The Donghwa Cultural Foundation bought a four-story office building at 218 Main St. in July and is seeking permits to renovate it for an art gallery and studio, a kitchen for cooking classes and tea service, and classrooms and offices. At 9,800 square feet, the building is triple the size of the non-profit center’s current home in Englewood.

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/235693911_Center_for_Asian_culture_plans_move_to_downtown_Hackensack_to_Hackensack_s_downtown.html?page=all#sthash.Jept0aJW.dpuf
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: irons35 on December 13, 2013, 02:27:36 PM
will it be tax exempt?


Center for Asian culture plans move to downtown Hackensack
Friday, December 13, 2013   
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK — A center that promotes Asian culture, arts and philosophy in schools and institutions throughout the region has plans to relocate to the city’s downtown.

The Donghwa Cultural Foundation bought a four-story office building at 218 Main St. in July and is seeking permits to renovate it for an art gallery and studio, a kitchen for cooking classes and tea service, and classrooms and offices. At 9,800 square feet, the building is triple the size of the non-profit center’s current home in Englewood.

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/235693911_Center_for_Asian_culture_plans_move_to_downtown_Hackensack_to_Hackensack_s_downtown.html?page=all#sthash.Jept0aJW.dpuf
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: just watching on December 13, 2013, 06:09:46 PM
This is directly adjacent to the big vacant bank building on Main Street across from the end of Banta Place. This building lies to the north of the bank building, and as I recall, it was fully renovated.  I would say this is a welcomed addition to Hackensack, and will bring in a lot of foot traffic to Main Street.  This facility is also art-based, and bringing more of the arts into the heart of the downtown has been an ongoing goal.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Homer Jones on December 13, 2013, 07:50:18 PM
We know where it is; but, it is important to get an answer to Iron's point about whether it is tax exempt before the City welcomes this user with open arms. Over the years there has always been bantering about what percentage of the City's ratable base is tax exempt and  what steps Hackensack as well as other County Seats should take  to protect themselves from tax exempt users which tend to gravitate to County Seats. Just a thought.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: irons35 on December 13, 2013, 09:07:33 PM
negative.  218 is 2 buildings north of the Bank.  this building was last occupied by IDT.  about a year after IDT moved out this building had a huge water leak.  a pipe broke on the top floor and flooded out the whole building pretty severely.  I was working and we just happened to be coming back from another run when we passed the building. water was pouring down the facade of the building.   too bad IDT left town.  there was a very workable solution to have them and their couple thousand jobs stay in town. 
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on December 20, 2013, 08:33:34 AM
Hackensack bank tower to be redeveloped for residences
Friday, December 20, 2013
BY  HANNAN ADELY
STAFF WRITER
The Record

HACKENSACK — The city's first "skyscraper," a notable art-deco bank building in the center of the downtown, has been sold to a Ridgewood company that wants to convert it into residences.

An 11-story building on Main Street is part of revival plans.

Heritage Capital Group bought the unoccupied 11-story building at 210 Main St. and two adjacent properties and has told city officials it plans to put residences on the upper floors.

- See more at: http://www.northjersey.com/news/236678021_Hackensack_bank_tower_to_be_redeveloped_for_residences_to_become_apartments.html?page=all#sthash.MO2BMu17.dpuf
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: just watching on December 20, 2013, 12:01:40 PM
IDT left Hackensack because they were expanding greatly and needed much more space.  They wanted to stay in Hackensack. They looked extensively in Hackensack and city officials worked with them to try and keep them here.  IDT had the opportunity to buy a huge vacant office building in downtown Newark at a bargain price. It was the HQ of a defunct insurance company. This was an opportunity too good to pass up, and it allowed even better mass transit connections for its employees. Goodbye Hackensack, hello Newark. Hackensack's loss, and Newark's gain. A similar bargain real estate deal led to Oritani Bank to move its headquarters to Washington Township. They weren't even considering leaving Hackensack, and suddenly they were gone as well.


Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: irons35 on December 20, 2013, 12:29:29 PM
at the time IDT was leaving 19-21-25 main st was going vacant more and more every month.  that would have been a great place for them to go, in a modern building.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: just watching on December 21, 2013, 05:31:33 AM
That's right, but the lure of owning your own building, rent free, at least three times the size of Court Plaza, was too big of an opportunity to pass up.

Also the word on the street was that IDT hated the cheap slow elevator that the builders installed in Court Plaza.  And that was one of the reasons that the County decided to move out, and why Sanzari has had a hard time renting space there.  They built a beautiful building, an architectural masterpiece with gorgeous upper plaza's and fountains, but the elevator system is the achilles heal.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Homer Jones on December 21, 2013, 04:58:30 PM
Ol' Homer did some research here on IDT and moving out of Hackensack. The real reason was that Hackensack did not have the fiber optic capacity that they needed for their operation. To obtain this capacity, "somebody" would have had to bring high speed fiber optic  service from Rochelle Park into Hackensack. Whether it was AT&T , Verizon or whoever had the operation on Passaic Street in Rochelle Park, they had no plans at that time to provide this type of service.
Apparantly fiber optic was available in Newark at a building which was available at reduced price and was much more suited to their needs.
Their move had nothing to do with the Court Plaza elevators. Although nobody has brought it up yet, the move had nothing to do with the Health Department stopping Howard Jonas's kid from hawking hotdogs next to the Main Street building.
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: just watching on December 21, 2013, 09:34:09 PM
Great research. THanks Homer !
Title: Ice Cream by Mike (Soup too)
Post by: Editor on October 19, 2014, 10:40:43 AM
Warm soups and hot chocolate at Hackensack ice cream shop
Last updated: Friday, October 17, 2014, 3:59 PM
By Elyse Toribio
Staff Writer | The Record

To fill in the gap caused by a seasonal dip in ice cream sales, Ice Cream by Mike in Hackensack is now offering homemade hot chocolate and a variety of soups. During the colder months, owner Michael Elias explained, “soup is a natural,” so adding it to the menu made sense. Two soups will be offered only on weekdays – one chicken variety and another hearty option. They’ll rotate, but so far Elias’ list includes chicken matzo, chicken and rice and chicken noodle soup; clam chowder; mushroom; gumbo; potato leek; beef barley and split pea.

http://www.northjersey.com/food-and-dining-news/warm-soups-and-hot-chocolate-at-hackensack-ice-cream-shop-1.1112099
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on June 07, 2016, 01:40:51 AM
http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/main-st-jeweler-closing-its-doors-1.1611678

http://hackensack.dailyvoice.com/business/longtime-hackensack-pizzeria-changes-with-neighborhood/664493/#.V1WJlPOaUHo
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on June 21, 2016, 03:00:58 PM
http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/last-chapter-for-womrath-s-bookstore-in-north-jersey-1.1619051
Title: Re: Main St. (Ice Cream by Mike)
Post by: Editor on July 19, 2016, 03:24:59 PM
http://www.nj.com/jerseysbest/2016/07/njs_best_ice_cream_shop_finals_can_a_newcomer_walk.html
Title: Re: Main St. (Citrus)
Post by: Editor on October 06, 2017, 08:53:11 PM
http://hackensack.dailyvoice.com/business/colombian-accountant-uproots-to-rebuild-hackensack-cafe-destroyed-by-fire/723573/
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on October 06, 2017, 08:55:16 PM
http://hackensack.dailyvoice.com/business/hackensacks-ice-cream-by-mike-closing-for-now/723339/
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on October 22, 2017, 09:39:32 PM
http://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/dining/2017/10/17/25-year-old-opens-his-second-argentinean-restaurant-time-hackensack/774067001/
Title: Re: Main St.
Post by: Editor on October 28, 2017, 05:48:23 PM
http://www.northjersey.com/story/entertainment/dining/2017/10/23/paulas-soul-food-opens-hackensack/789919001/