| Author |
Message |
    
Nakaille
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 3:18 pm: |     |
Funny thing about Mayor Sharpe James' name as I recall from a newspaper article last year: He was actually born James Sharpe but did change his name at some point. I don't remember what, if any, reason was given. So you're both right. As those of us who work in Newark may have experienced, he's not as "sharp" as one may either hope or fear.
Bacata |
Tom
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 3:33 pm: | |
Tip, your question was "Many posters have indicated that the market values of the homes are in many cases inaccurate and they are less than satisfied with Certifed. Do you agree or disagree with that? What will be done??"
Well, to take the question literally I would have to agree, that, yes many posters are less-than-satisfied with Certified, and that many posters indicated that the market values were inaccurate.
But I don't think that's what you meant to ask, so I'll try it another way: yes, there were inaccurate appraisals. We've got first-hand testimony here that houses on some blocks came in far above any sale price, and since the valuation is supposed to be based on market value that can't be correct.
What will be done? I don't know, I'm just an average joe citizen. What seems to be happening, though, is people are availing themselves of the administrative means to solve this, the TC is having our own assessor look at whole neighborhoods; and my guess would be that there are going to be changes to a lot of the valuations that have been issued. |
Tom
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 3:42 pm: | |
How about them gates, anyway? Sure, putting them up has made the area much more difficult for prospective car thieves, but the real day-to-day problem for folks in that neighborhood was in fact the speeding traffic.
I was a frequent offender myself (though not more than 35mph). Here's how it worked:
If you're heading west on Clinton, when you get to the Exxon station at the foot of Parker, you've got two bad choices: wait for the interminable left-turn signal to go up Parker, or turn right and get stuck at three consecutive lights before you even get as far as Ivy Hill Plaza.
The shortcut was to turn right, then left up the Hillcrest, now blocked off. From there, you could turn left onto Boyden, right-on-red at Parker, and be on your merry way. Or, continue up Garfield and cut across to Irvington Ave. further on.
To help you visualize you can see it at http://www.mapquest.com/cgi-bin/ia_find?link=btwn%2Ftwn-map_results&random=523&event=find_search&uid=ua.909qdj8b4wnod%3A855rtx5a7&SNVData=3mad3-9.fy%2528at2u67_%2529f82u67%253bah7-%253d%253a%2528_%253d%253abad672%253d%253d1su672%253d0%2Crb%253b7&ADDRHIST=&country=United+States&address=192+Parker+AVe.&city=Maplewood&State=NJ&Zip=07040&Find+Map=Get+Map>. (Ridiculous URL, sorry).
How do I know? My house is where the star is! |
Nilmiester
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 3:43 pm: | |
I wish Mayor Sharpe James was ex-mayor (get it Nohero?) I hope the next mayor will be Cory Booker, who is an excellent gentleman.
Use whatever reason you want for the gates. Maybe some talk-show will do a piece on that Jefferson Avenue speeding traffic! Yeah right... |
Townie
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 4:01 pm: | |
Nilmeister:
Can I ask you a question?
You said in one of your posts:
"Yes, the reval should have been done in 91 but Maplewood was STILL recovering from the crash of Oct. 1987."
I thought the best time to do a reval was when the market was down. Some people in town are basing their argument for a recall of the TC on the charge that they should've have waited for a recession to do the reval, not done it when the market was up.
I don't mean to argue the past; what's done is done. But your remark puzzled me because people are so mad about the reval being done in good times. It now occurs to me that they'd also be mad if it was done in bad times. I suppose then they'd say: How could you do this when are housing values are already going down? You're killing the town.
Is there ever any good time to do a reval? |
Nilmiester
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 4:04 pm: | |
Yes, not when real estate is depressed and not when it is a bubble world. I would put that around 1996. When the dems were in, as another poster put it, CONTROL. Doesn't take 4 years to talk about it. |
Nohero
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 4:10 pm: | |
Nil - not sure what there was to "get" about your hope that Mr. James moves on. It would be a helpful thing, though. Cory Booker is an interesting person (more on him here), and is definitely one of the brighter prospects for the next Newark mayor.
You suggest 1996 as being the ideal time for the reval. Fine, and we should've all dumped out tech stocks early this year, too. Since it takes some time to gear up a reval, your suggestion is that the process should have started in 1994 (the time "control" changed).
As for the Jefferson blinker, how about another gate instead? May keep those troublesome eastsiders out ...  |
Lseltzer
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 4:33 pm: | |
>>In some cases, some will actually see a reduction
Tip: In fact, most houses in Maplewood will see a tax reduction. |
Nakaille
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 4:45 pm: | |
Most, Larry? My impression was that the much-touted 57% figure included a lot of folks whose taxes will stay the same. What am I missing? Is this the true "silent majority?"
Bacata |
Townie
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 5:07 pm: | |
Thanks, Nil, for answering my question. I have another: How long had the Democrats been in office in 1996? |
Nilmiester
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 5:25 pm: | |
As stated by our ex-mayor on another thread"
Ellen - 90
Ryan - 92
Burt -94 (a majority now, in control)
Celia- 96
Vic- 98
They have been in control. Also there was a Suzanna Gibbons, another Democrat (please no spelling police accusing me of not doing my homework) who blew in and left. |
Gerardryan
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 5:31 pm: | |
Susanna Gibbons: 94, then was relocated to the midwest so had to resign her seat in 96. |
Lseltzer
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 5:57 pm: | |
Nakaille: About the same, but I doubt many people will have their taxes exactly the same. 3.84, or whatever the final break-even multiple turns out to be for assessments, is just another point on the curve. That number is the overall multiple for assessments in the township. |
Bshears
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 7:23 pm: | |
As someone who lives near one of those gates, we ALL know why they were put up and it's NOT because of 40 mph traffic! There were 3 reasons:
auto thefts
auto thefts
auto thefts
Thank God for them! And that buffoon Mayor whatever his name is DID say that about Maplewood children. It's common knowledge. |
Mom
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 8:25 pm: | |
The gates were put up because of traffic! traffic! traffic!!!!!! Stop trying to dispute this. The Hillcrest residents know why they went up. The day the traffic stopped we sat outside and enjoyed the quiet. Our children now play outside especially on Sundays and we don't worry about their safety. It was traffic traffic traffic. Stop saying it was auto thefts. Yikes! Karen |
Kap
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 9:03 pm: | |
Would you like to borrow the video tape? I still have it. And, btw, I was also one of the organizing group that lobbied for the gates. The reason for the gates was the traffic. |
Harold
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 9:05 pm: | |
Try asking the M.P.D. They will tell you AUTO THEFT...thats why we are involved in the Essex County Task Force on auto theft. |
Ffof
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 9:35 pm: | |
i love this gate! When we moved here it was all about the gate! then the gal at wee-center day-care, then the breast-feeding mom at the pool, then the world trade center bomber then...what was next? re-val? boy we have good connections with the media around here... |
Harold
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 9:47 pm: | |
Don't forget the hostage situation on Schaeffer, the attempted rape at Hood high [also the carjacking there], the recent stabbing on Spring., ...etc,etc,etc.. |
Ffof
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 9:54 pm: | |
wow- i didn't know about those! Newspaper or tv? |
Harold
| | Posted on Friday, January 19, 2001 - 10:20 pm: | |
Both. |
Bshears
| | Posted on Saturday, January 20, 2001 - 10:52 am: | |
Oh yes Mom, the fast and heavy "traffic" you refer to was the auto thieves roaring down our streets away from the Maplewood Police to escape into Newark and Irvington! I was almost hit by one of these low-lifes and my neighbors car was stolen twice in broad daylight!
Maybe we should have put up polite little signs that read "Stolen Car Zone" instead! That would have been SO Maplewoodian! |
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