Ok, we milled around town for six hours tonight and here’s what happened:

Spaghetti Dinner Block Party:
Took place along the Frank Sinatra walkway from Frank Sinatra park to Pier A Park. It cost $10 to get in and included: Spaghetti , meatballs, sausage, bread & salad. A lot of people lined up to get their grub. There was also a beer tent that looked more like a human dog park, with the fences and all. Notice the people that prepared the food for the event were NOT a Hoboken business. Brownstone catering, from Paterson, NJ supplied the food.

Skanatra’s final performance:
Long time staple of the Hoboken music scene bid farewell. Along with 30 screaming and running children. Seemed very odd.

And the best surprise of the night was an AMAZING band “Pete B and the Corporate Raiders”, which perform regularly at the Shipyard Marina off 13th St. We walked here accidentally and were blown away at this incredible cover band. They played hits from a WIDE RANGE of artists, such as No Doubt, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Cheap Trick, Gwen Stefani, Alanis Morrissette (which was SPOT ON PERFECT), Bon Jovi, Huey Lewis, and many others.

This band is something you ought to check out the next time they play at the Marina in September. We were very shocked to only see no more than 25 people attending this event. We stayed till they finished for the night and look forward to seeing them next time. We HIGHLY RECOMMEND this band!! Additionally, that reggae band “Selective Security” apparently is an amazing band as well. If you don’t get uptown to attend these shows, we suggest you do! They’re free, and the Marina has a bar you can order drinks from as well. A hidden gem in Hoboken for SURE! Check back for upcoming events. Much more laid back and fun than cramming into a smelly bar.

Pete B had his daughter singing as well, she had an incredible voice and is a fabulous talent. Here is her band link on myspace. I’ll post a link for Pete B once I get it. You should check it out, a great time that will not leave you disappointed.

http://www.myspace.com/rouxmusic

How ironic is it that a group of juvenilles are causing trouble at, you guessed it, near the “criminal superhighways” of Hoboken. This time, the group of dopey and idiotic trouble-makers threw a basketball at a woman near 4th and Adams Street. WHY? Just leave innocent and random people alone. Do you do this to make your other douchebag friends laugh? Do you get “points” with the crew to meddle with folks?

How about we get a group of 6′ plus tough guys come pelt you kids with 90mph fastballs to the skull? We’ll laugh at you as blood comes dripping from your temple and the rest of you scurry like roaches when you turn the lights on when you get home to your dumpy low-income housing. Maybe that will teach you a lesson.

How many of you are sick of hearing these reports of kids just screwing with people?

We need Curtis Sliwa.

Here’s an interesting article a blogger wrote about all these incentives developers are now offering. He seems to think that they’re doing this just to keep the sale costs from going down (i.e., not to give the buyers the impression the market is going south).

What are your thoughts about this? And the “bubble” in general? Hoboken Real Estate?

“Real Truth” on Incentives

I don’t understand why no one has written an in-depth article about the “real truth” on incentives and how much more they cost the buyer.

Incentives only help the industry, but they hurt the buyer.

1. You’d be better off paying for upgrades, plasma tv’s, even cars out of your own pocket on your own terms. You can get a plasma tv finance from most major electronics stores for 0%. why would you want that financed into your mortgage over 30 years?!?!

2. $20k worth of options really ends up costing you $43k over 30 years at 6%. You’re better off having the home price reduced by $20k which will save you $23k over the next 30 years.

3. When it comes time to resell your home, you could have more of a profit if they just reduce the price. If you have an inflated home price, thats less profit for you when closing time comes. Live like the stock market, buy low-sell high. You can’t short a house, so overpaying is only your fault.

4. The incentives only help the industry, not the buyer. They do that to keep prices “inflated” so other recent home buyers don’t get upset and to keep median prices high so that other potential buyers do not see home prices falling. God forbid prices fall, more people might be able to afford them. Why does the industry keep insisting real-estate isn’t cyclical, when it is?

5. You can get more for your money (in terms of upgrades) if you shop around. Chances are that $15k countertop is only costing the seller $8k. Now with many retailers and contractors feeling the chill, they’ll be desperate to take on new jobs. They’ll have to be competitive as well.

Read more here: http://nnjbubble.blogspot.com/2006/08/real-truth-on-incentives.html

I guess this weekend seems like bust for all the beach bums with shore houses. With remnants of Ernesto headed our way, it looks like it’ll be a cold, windy soaker for a good portion.

I’d stay out of the water! Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!

Oh, and I also mean the rivers of Hoboken, too. Send raging flood pictures if you get them!

WINDS WILL BEGIN TO PICK UP ACROSS OUR AREA AS
EARLY AS FRIDAY. WINDS BY FRIDAY NIGHT OR SATURDAY MAY BE GUSTING
BETWEEN 30 AND 40 MPH OVER LONG ISLAND AND NEW YORK CITY. THESE
WINDS WILL BE FROM THE EAST FRIDAY AND THEN GRADUALLY SHIFT AROUND
TO THE SOUTHEAST DURING SATURDAY. THIS ONSHORE FLOW WILL LIKELY
PILE WATER UP ALONG OUR COAST. AS SUCH…TIDAL DEPARTURES WILL
RISE AND WE MAY BE LOOKING AT SOME MINOR TO LOCALLY MODERATE
COASTAL FLOODING BEGINNING AS EARLY AS THE HIGH TIDE CYCLE FRIDAY
AFTERNOON. THE MOST LIKELY CYCLE TO EXPERIENCE PROBLEMS WILL BE
SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

IN ADDITION…RAIN PRECEDING ERNESTO MAY EDGE INTO OUR REGION FRIDAY
NIGHT AND BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES DURING SATURDAY. IF HEAVY RAINS DO
OCCUR ACROSS THE AREA…WE WILL BE LOOKING AT SOME WIDESPREAD URBAN
AND SMALL STREAM FLOODING. FLOODING ALONG OUR LARGER RIVERS WOULD
BE A POSSIBILITY AS WELL. AS OF RIGHT NOW…IT LOOKS LIKE THE MOST
OF THE AREA WILL SEE 1 TO 3 INCHES OF RAINFALL…WITH LOCALLY
HIGHER AMOUNTS.

Small fire at Farside tonight. It apparently was an electrical fire. Not sure if it was in the bar or on the second floor. But it’s out now. Nothing major.

I was on the phone when I heard this and didn’t catch the description well, but apparently a male (unknown ethnicity) wearing blue jeans (no further details) was reported to be exposing his schlong in public. This took place on or near 3rd and Adams St., where the police picked him up for indecent exposure.

Now it’s the “Indecent Superhighway” as well.

Why people feel the need to do this?

At Church Square Park. You know summer is dwindling down once the event schedule reaches it’s end.

Tonight, Joy Ride: The 20th Anniversary Finale Concert will take place from 7:00 - 9:00pm. They’re a wedding-type band playing all the old favorites.

Come down if you’re bored and have nothing else to do. Plus, many people like those types of bands, so it may be fun.

At least there won’t be any muggings during the show!

Fashion boutique coming soon to the Monroe Center for the Arts building.

Description - Fashion Boutique
Services - Unknown at this time
Address - 720 Monroe St., Hoboken, New Jersey ( NJ ) 07030
Telephone - TBD

Not sure if this should really be considered a “crime” that we should be worried about, but apparently some woman at 5 Church Towers received “Terroristic Threats” over the phone from what sounds like her boyfriend or something. He was on his way home, and she was fearful and called police for assistance. It’s seemingly a domestic / private affair. No juvenille or gang crap.

In other news we missed today:
- there was a 4 car accident downtown all requiring medical attention (I was too lazy to post it)
- many small fire jobs (one at stevens)
- some telephone pole issue near stevens that poses a hazardous condition. Tree limb.

All boring stuff really. Sorry about that!

8/31/2006 Update: Looks like they avoided the strike.

——————–
8/30/2006:
Not sure if this will make a difference to anyone in Hoboken.

But if they do strike, Academy would continue to operate some lines on a limited schedule. The workers would be picketing over at the Academy Bus location on 14th St. on the west end of our town.

Here’s an article from ABC News:

Strike threat for Academy Bus Co.

Hudson & Bergen drivers may strike Midnight Thursday
WABC Eyewitness News

At noon, a spokeman from Academy Bus Tours said the company is working diligently to avoid a strike.