| Author | Message | ||
     MHD Citizen Username: Mayhewdrive Post Number: 3931 Registered: 5-2001  |
Lucy, The Star Ledger DID do a story on this back on June 20, 2004: Pace of projects criticized in South Orange. Byline: KATIE WANG The three signs splashed in the windows of the glum-looking grocery store in the middle of South Orange hold promise for a brighter day. "Gourmet Grocery Store," they proclaim. "Coming soon." But in South Orange, "coming soon" has meant years and the signs have become a running joke about the village's sluggish pace of redevelopment. "In the last five years, 'coming soon' is more than a sign that is hanging in the supermarket," said Michael Goldberg, a resident who moved to South Orange in 1999. "'Coming soon' seems to be the motto of the village government." Village Administrator John Gross defended the village's progress, saying officials have spent years laying the groundwork for various projects. "There's been a lot of work in terms of planting the seeds for us to get these projects in the ground," he said. "We're now seeing more interest than ever from private retailers." Gross, however, declines to offer a timetable for projects because past projections have not been met. This has fueled criticism of village leaders. "The problem is none of the projects have come to fruition because you have to develop a business plan and in understanding that business plan, you have to have a vision of where you want to go," said Howard Levison, a South Orange resident and critic of the village's redevelopment plans. Three projects are expected to begin this year. A 34,000-square- foot performing arts center, the gourmet grocery store and a strip of luxury apartments are part of the village's vision for the future. The South Orange Performing Arts Center has been an exercise in government bureaucracy, snarled because of budget constraints and other problems. In 1998, the village formed a committee to study and design a performing arts center. Three years later, the village trustees approved construction of the center, but the designs that were drawn up exceeded the village's budget. The project was further delayed when members were added to the arts center board formed to oversee the project. When the $13 million project is approved by the state Department of Community Affairs, then work will begin. The question, though, is when. "Any day," said Gross. "We're expecting it any day." When complete, the center, located behind the train station on South Orange Avenue, will feature five movie theaters and a performance theater. "The importance of the arts center to the downtown economy cannot be overemphasized," said Gross. The gourmet grocery store, which has become the lightning rod for criticism, also has a tortured history. The bleak-looking building on South Orange Avenue was once home to a ShopRite. But village officials were unhappy with the shabby condition of the store and urged its owners to renovate it. The owners resisted, the store closed and the village eventually bought the property through condemnation. After the village acquired the property, though, it found environmental problems inside the dilapidated building. In April 2001, village officials selected a developer, New Market Square, for the site. In addition to the market at the site, there are plans for 96 luxury apartments and about a dozen artists' lofts. Negotiations for a tenant to occupy the retail portion of the property are still under way, said Gross. A third project, a collection of 60 luxury apartments on Valley Street, will replace an old Mercedes Benz dealership. The project was originally introduced as a hotel and conference center. It also was scouted out as a possible grocery store, but officials say neither use was appropriate for the site. The plans have been approved by the village, but construction has yet to begin. | ||
| Soparents Citizen Username: Soparents Post Number: 207 Registered: 5-2005 |
Then maybe the Star Ledger would like to do an update on the story - Headline..... Still coming soon.... | ||
| JoRo Citizen Username: Autojoe51 Post Number: 105 Registered: 10-2005 |
what are the environmental problems referenced in that article? was there a remediation? | ||
| Howard Levison Citizen Username: Levisonh Post Number: 561 Registered: 1-2004  |
One other comment Mr. Matthews made at the meeeting when asked if the commerical space would always be a supermarket, he stated that it was in the contract. Well here is a paragraph from the contract - what does "currently intended" mean?  | ||
| jayjay Citizen Username: Jayjayp Post Number: 600 Registered: 6-2005 |
Note use of the phrase "may include" when referring to the elements of the 5-story building. And what happened to point (iii) in the text? | ||
| Spitz Supporter Username: Doublea Post Number: 1712 Registered: 3-2003 |
What happened to the lofts above the market (5 or 7 as I recall?) These are the lofts, the proceeds of which when sold, were to be paid to the Village to pay down the mortgage of $1 million which the Village holds. | ||
| jayjay Citizen Username: Jayjayp Post Number: 602 Registered: 6-2005 |
There are far more questions than answers about this project. Isn't it reassuring that in the words of Allen Rosen at last night's town meeting, "we [the BOT] don't know anything [about this project]." And isn't it curious that our VP chose not to show up for citizen questions? | ||
| Soparents Citizen Username: Soparents Post Number: 211 Registered: 5-2005 |
No, not curious at all.... he probably thought it was either beneath him or that it could have ended up with residents asking him awkwards (pertinent and pointed) questions.... It seems anyway from what I read, Mr.Matthews adequately took on the role.... (yes, tongue in cheek here....) | ||
| Tracey Randinelli Citizen Username: Traceyr Post Number: 19 Registered: 4-2005 |
Spitz--totally agree with you re: John Choi. My thinking is that if he is in fact no longer involved in the supermarket, it's either because he was forced out of his lease, or because it was no longer financially feasible for him to continue to sit and wait for the Village and the developer to get their collective acts together. In either case, it was Choi who was screwed, IMO. | ||
| jayjay Citizen Username: Jayjayp Post Number: 604 Registered: 6-2005 |
Last night Matthew sort of intimated that the village kept Beifus from proceeding during the time the town was considering the Beifus site for a supermarket. If this is so, is Beifus holding a gun to the village's head, and is that the reason for the village not compelling them to act now? Just a theory. Maybe somebody out there knows for sure. It sort of reminded me of the lockhold the village seemed to have had on the car dealership on Valley which led to some sort of lawsuit which the village recently had to settle for over $1,000,000. I am wondering about these strong arm tactics. Are they legal? Who is the enforcer of the modus operandi? | ||
| SOrising Citizen Username: Sorising Post Number: 319 Registered: 2-2006 |
Does anyone know the amounts of money the village has had to pay say in the last 5-8 years to settle lawsuits or because they lost them? | ||
| MHD Citizen Username: Mayhewdrive Post Number: 3941 Registered: 5-2001 |
This appears on the Village website: Second Neighborhood Meeting Raises Key Issues The second neighborhood meeting was held on Wednesday, April 19, at The Baird. The trustees were pleased to be able to interact with residents in an honest and open discussion about several key issues, including: Activities for local teens; improving the water quality; financing the Tony Smith “Tau” statue; communicating the status of the town’s redevelopment projects; and increasing penalties for homeowners who allow partying college students to disturb residents. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 21. All residents are welcome to the meeting, but the residents from the following streets are especially invited: Zone 5 – Berkeley Av, Charlton Av, Clark Pl, Clark St, Comstock Pl, Connett Pl, Grove Rd, Grove Ter, Halsey Pl, Harrison Ct, Henderson Dr, Hillside Pl, Hillside Ter, Irving Av, Irving Ter, Keasby Rd, Mead St, Meadowbrook Ln, Meadowbrook Pl, Meeker St, Montrose Av (west of Grove Rd), Mountainhouse Rd, Page Ter, Ralston Av, Randolph Pl, Raymond Av, Raymond Ct, Scotland Rd, Taylor Pl, Thacher Ln, Turrell Av, Village Green Ct, Vose Av, Woodland Crest, Woodland Pl. Zone 6 – Audley St, Briar Ct, Church St, Conway Ct, Cumberland Rd, Edgewood Ter, Harding Dr South, Hemlock Ter, Kingsland Ct, Kingsland Ter, Lenox Av, Lenox Pl, Lenox Ter, Mews Ln, Ridgewood Rd (south of S.Orange Av), Rynda Rd, S.Orange Av (from the RR tracks west to Harding Dr), Third St (west of RR tracks), Thornden St, Trenchard Pl, Walton Av, Wesley Ct, West End Rd, Western Dr North, Western Dr South, Winthrop Ter. | ||
| joel dranove Citizen Username: Jdranove Post Number: 392 Registered: 1-2006 |
The redeveloper can change all intended uses without written approval. A wink and a nod, and it is done. The paper binds no one to anything concrete, except taxpayers to higher taxes, and everyone to more years of ugliness downtown. The graffiti is back on the shopworn building. Higher up, and bright colors. Better than Tau. jd | ||
| Spitz Supporter Username: Doublea Post Number: 1722 Registered: 3-2003 |
Maybe Howard can help here. At tonight's meeting, I think it was John Goss who said that the BOT had never approved the lease agreement with John Choi. If you go back to the minutes of the April 25, 2005 BOT meeting, Gross said the lease was attached to the abatement agreement. Would you have a copy of the lease, and if so, was it a signed lease or a pro-forma lease? | ||
| joel dranove Citizen Username: Jdranove Post Number: 402 Registered: 1-2006 |
Just left the meeting. Choi is out. The questions to be answered include: when did the board learn of this, why is he out, and when did he give official word/did whoever ax him? jd | ||
| Spitz Supporter Username: Doublea Post Number: 1723 Registered: 3-2003 |
"The developer always had a back-up" | ||
| Rastro Citizen Username: Rastro Post Number: 2934 Registered: 5-2004  |
"But we won't tell you who it is until you give us a better break on the PILOT." | ||
| MHD Citizen Username: Mayhewdrive Post Number: 3973 Registered: 5-2001 |
Has anyone else noticed the massive graffiti on the side of the old Shop Rite building? When you pull into town (or ride through town) on the train, it looks horrible. The town has been notified. Now, let's see if they DO anything about it. | ||
| Jim Murphy Citizen Username: Jimmurphy Post Number: 278 Registered: 5-2001 |
I agree - it does look horrible. The graffiti appeared right after NJT constructed the eastbound high platform at that end. There's a short wall that one can stand on and jump onto the roof of the ShopRite Building. No matter how many times it is painted over, I'm sure the graffiti will reappear until easy access to that roof is prevented. Seems if NJT extended the high fence (next to the high platform) further down the ramp that would solve the problem. Alternatively, one could build a fence on the roof of the Shoprite Building, but I'm sure that would look quite ugly, although admittedly, that building can't get much uglier. | ||
| MHD Citizen Username: Mayhewdrive Post Number: 3976 Registered: 5-2001 |
Did anyone else see the HUGE new Banner across the front of the entire Shop Rite building announcing. "The Avenue" so-ho style condos from stirling? There is also a banner along the front of the Vose pit fence. | ||
| joel dranove Citizen Username: Jdranove Post Number: 413 Registered: 1-2006 |
Who gave them permission to raise a huge banner? Can I place one over the front of my house, with "coming soon" on it? jd | ||
| kevin Supporter Username: Kevin Post Number: 689 Registered: 2-2002 |
They should use the banners to hide the graffiti. | ||
| dgm Citizen Username: Dgm Post Number: 296 Registered: 5-2001 |
Coming Next... the PILOT | ||
| Howard Levison Citizen Username: Levisonh Post Number: 576 Registered: 1-2004 |
I wonder if they obtained a permit for the "banner"? | ||
| Celia Kent Citizen Username: Cel Post Number: 119 Registered: 4-2004 |
Just noticed that banner today. What gives? Why are they advertising condos where a supermarket is supposed to be??? | ||
| FlyingSpaghettiMonst Citizen Username: Noodlyappendage Post Number: 75 Registered: 11-2005 |
Pay attention.... Condos on the side on Vose, Stupid Market on S.O. Avenue | ||
| Soparents Citizen Username: Soparents Post Number: 248 Registered: 5-2005 |
I can't remember the exact wording, but at the bottom left of the banners it said something like "retail units" or "retail enquiries" 973 535 1888, so it leads me to believe that there will be stores etc, but not if any of them are leased yet... and indeed, more worrying, what kind... I think i'll call tomorrow | ||
| Spitz Supporter Username: Doublea Post Number: 1733 Registered: 3-2003 |
The ground floor of the building on Vose is to be retail. The upper floors are condo units. Save the call.  | ||
| Soparents Citizen Username: Soparents Post Number: 250 Registered: 5-2005 |
I was just hoping that they could tell me the name of who will be taking the lease on our much anticipated supermarket..  | ||
| Spitz Supporter Username: Doublea Post Number: 1734 Registered: 3-2003 |
Maybe you should call. | ||
| MHD Citizen Username: Mayhewdrive Post Number: 4035 Registered: 5-2001 |
Well, apparently, there is still no "announcement" of the Grocery operator and the Village still does not control all properties required for the construction. But, according to Calabrese tonight, he's still "hoping" the store will open by Xmas!  | ||
| MHD Citizen Username: Mayhewdrive Post Number: 4118 Registered: 5-2001 |
Well, well....John Choi is out, Garden of Eden is in: http://www.southorange.org/articles.asp?articleID=155 Garden of Eden Market to Replace Old Shop Rite The Garden of Eden, a New York City-area chain of high-end gourmet markets, is expanding to New Jersey and will be opening stores in South Orange and Hoboken. Currently, there are three Garden of Eden stores in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn Heights. The New York Times critic raved in his review that the Union Square location is “an unspoiled vision of produce and prepared foods. Each red pepper is beautiful enough to have been polished before being piled just so. Each chicken, turning slowly on the rotisserie, is browned to a crisp. Aromas entice.” The highly anticipated South Orange store will be located at South Orange Avenue and Vose Ave., renovating and revitalizing the old Shop Rite space as part of the anxiously awaited New Market Project. After an exhaustive search, the grocer chose South Orange as its second location because of the close proximity to the train station, the progressive development plans for the downtown area, and the demonstrated need and desire for a gourmet market within the Village. The Hoboken store, at 226 Washington St., is already under construction. An announcement as to when the South Orange store will open is expected in the upcoming weeks. Previously, John Choi and the New Market Development Corporation had negotiated a deal regarding operation of the 13,500 square foot area. However, the deal was never made official and New Market decided to go with Garden of Eden instead. An official proposal based on the new agreement was submitted to the Village and Board of Trustees on May 24, 2006. More details will come as they become available. | ||
| Rastro Citizen Username: Rastro  Post Number: 3237 Registered: 5-2004 |
I love this part: Never made official? I thought... nevermind. | ||
| FlyingSpaghettiMonst Citizen Username: Noodlyappendage Post Number: 152 Registered: 11-2005  |
Benefits, not an apple, are issue at Garden of Eden By Lincoln Anderson To hear management tell it, Garden of Eden is a workers’ paradise. But a union trying to get the specialty food store to increase employee health benefits and improve working conditions claims there’s trouble in Eden. For several weeks, picketers from Local 1500 of the United Food & Commercial Workers Union have handed out fliers in front of Garden of Eden’s 7 E. 14th St. flagship store near Union Sq. The fliers accuse the market of not providing its employees with union-scale wages, not providing affordable health insurance and “subjecting workers to poor working conditions through fierce management tactics.” Owned by two Kurdish Turkish brothers, Michael and Jon Coskun, Garden of Eden opened its first location 14 years ago and now has four stores employing 300 workers. The E. 14th St. store is five years old, the Chelsea store at 23rd St. and Seventh Ave. is eight years old and there are new stores on Montague St. in Brooklyn and 107th St. and Broadway. Another new market may be in the works on Third Ave. in the 20s to replace one there that recently closed. Michael Coskun said when Garden of Eden recently opened its 107th St. store the picketers started there from “Day One” and now are picketing all four stores. “I have no idea why they’re targeting us,” said Coskun. “We are a small, family-owned company — that’s all we are. We don’t have millions of dollars behind us. We can’t afford to give more. This is not a regular supermarket. We don’t sell paper towels, cleaning materials. We only sell food.” Coskun said Garden of Eden offers its workers health insurance — the store pays 50 percent of the cost — offers life insurance, vacation time off, bereavement leave, holidays off and paid birthdays off. The store’s minimum starting wage is currently $7.50 an hour, Coskun said, noting, “That’s for somebody, kids come from [after] school, part time, has no experience at all.” “I don’t see anybody [else] paying 100 percent at this time” for healthcare, Coskun noted. The store also gives a 20 percent employee discount. Coskun added they are not hindering union organizing. “You have [the] right to belong or not to belong. It’s up to our employees, not us,” he noted. The union has tried to organize Garden of Eden’s workers for the last five years, Coskun said, adding, of his workers, “We never stopped them” from trying to organize. He said the employees have not taken any votes on whether to organize. U.F.C.W. Local 1500 also recently picketed outside Jefferson Market, another local food store, in a campaign that was supported by a coalition of Village clergy calling themselves Jobs With Justice. In that case, according to John Mallen, a Local 1500 organizer, the clergy joined because Jefferson Market fired an employee, Jose Luis Murio, in 2001 for trying to organize a union. Jefferson Market has denied anyone was fired or threatened for supporting a union. To Coskun’s relief, the clergy so far haven’t joined the Garden of Eden pickets. Local 1500’s Mallen said the goal for the moment isn’t to unionize Garden of Eden. “This is not about an active organizing campaign. It’s more about informing the community of lack of standards that we feel aren’t being upheld by Garden of Eden,” he said. The family-owned chain “has reached the size now, with four stores — it’s very high-end margin, because of the specialty food it sells — it should be obligated to give their employees a certain level of pay and benefits,” he said. The most important thing, in the union’s view, is for the store to provide affordable healthcare. Mallen charged Garden of Eden’s plan is unaffordable for workers, who, he said, must pay $15 to $45 per week, depending whether the plan is for a single person or also spouse and family. “Most workers, when they have to pay that kind of health coverage, can’t make a livable wage or won’t take healthcare,” he said. “We think that with public pressure and public support, Garden of Eden will raise their level of benefits.” Mallen said because Garden of Eden’s business was “growing faster” they decided to stop picketing Jefferson Market — for now, at least — and focus on Garden of Eden. “We decided to give Jefferson Market some time,” he said, “to give them a chance to improve things.” Mallen said the Garden of Eden and Jefferson Market pickets are part of the union’s “It Takes a Village” campaign to target “new-style groceries that are relatively young and anti-union” in the area. Two workers recently interviewed at Garden of Eden’s 7 E. 14th St. store, Lauro Quito, 35, and Daniel Rodriguez, 24, seemed pretty content with their working situation, though were not averse to hearing what a union might offer. Quito, a grocery department supervisor, has worked there four years; after starting at $6 an hour, he now makes $10 an hour. He’s from Ecuador, where he used to tend bar at a golf and tennis club. Rodriguez, an employee for two and a half years, started at $7.50 an hour and now makes $9.50 an hour. He’s from the Dominican Republic and is studying computers at T.C.I. Quito said he pays $20 a week for health insurance. “I don’t have complaints,” he said. They both like working with Nicholas Kotsianas, the store’s upbeat and personable general manager, saying he’s better than the previous manager. At the same time, they are curious about a union. “Maybe, but we don’t know how the union works,” Quito said. “In my country, we don’t have unions.” “I would like to know more about it,” said Rodriguez. General manager Kotsianas is angry about the claims on the picketers’ fliers. “In this country we have a constitutional right to demonstrate,” he noted, “but these are blatant lies. “We run a tight ship. But it’s a clean ship. It’s a happy ship,” said Kotsianas, formerly a buyer for major European supermarket chains. “It’s not a sweatshop,” he said. “People smile in here. You can’t fake that.” Coskun wanted to know how much the picketers make. The picketers are Hispanic, seemingly new immigrants. Some of the women appeared to speak no English but one of the men said they get $8 an hour and are “temporary workers.” Asked if the picketers have legal status, Mallen said it’s not an issue, noting, “We don’t ask whether they’re residents or not.” “Why are they picketing here and not a major food chain that just opened? — I won’t mention their name,” asked Kotsianas. He said the pickets in front of their store came the same day, March 16, the Whole Foods mega-store opened on Union Sq. S. Mallen assured, “We will eventually do some sort of campaign at Whole Foods on a similar style — but we’re doing one employer at a time.” | ||
| FlyingSpaghettiMonst Citizen Username: Noodlyappendage Post Number: 153 Registered: 11-2005 |
"Great fancy-ish grocery store. Just moving here from California, I found the produce section at the nearby Gristedes to be very sad and expensive to boot. At Garden of Eden, the produce outside the store is really quite reasonable. Of course, if you wanted, you could get a whole range of potentially very expensive organic fruits and veggies, as well. The store also has a large selection of cheeses and other dairy goods, and a lot of prepared and semi-prepared meals for what seemed like reasonable prices to me. You can probably do a lot of your general grocery shopping here (cereal, oils, spices) but you may have to supplement with another store to cover some gaps. The store is a lot larger than one might guess from the outside, but it can definitely get crowded in there. Nonetheless, checking out isn't too bad, since most people are only buying what they can carry! Oh, and for the other newbies, don't make my mistake: when the person at the counter asks you to sign on the screen for my credit card purchase, just do it! Nothing on the screen will indicate where or when to sign." Send to a Friend Ted S. Reviews Written: 67 05/02/2006 "Not a bad market at all. I was especially impressed by their produce both in selection and quality. They even had Guava so fresh the smell literally stopped me in my tracks to locate the source. Unfortunately they were $5/pound but it is nice to know they are there if I need them. The store is a bit pricey, especially with Fairway about 17 blocks up. The meat section looks fine, only pricey organic poultry though. i'm not paying $10 for a chicken breast no matter how healthy the damn bird was when alive. The selection and quality of the fish looked only ok frankly but I'm very picky about fish. There are a lot of little gourmet tidbits tucked away in there though and I really liked that about it. It's not so huge and the lines can be ridiculous but as someone mentioned before, it's much better than gourmet garage and cheaper." Send to a Friend Pamela G. Reviews Written: 8 02/26/2006 "I live right next to this market, so I do most of my shopping here. The selection is absolutely amazing, especially if you're into organic foods. The fruits and vegetables outside are the best deals; the last time I was there, they had 12 tangerines for 2 dollars. Don't miss the dessert and bakery sections, they are worth a small splurge." Send to a Friend Heather H. Reviews Written: 274 02/01/2006 "I was really surprised about the huge selection of food available in this space. The cheese and pate options alone made my eyes bug out. The prices are reasonable as well." Send to a Friend Sarah B. Reviews Written: 281 01/11/2006 "A beautifully presented healthy food supermarket, with specialty products in the areas of cheeses, produce, and meats, poultry, and fish. The fruit display lined up along the outside of the store catches your eye after blocks of rather run-down 99 cent stores." | ||
| MHD Citizen Username: Mayhewdrive Post Number: 4119 Registered: 5-2001 |
I actually preferred this part:
Hmmm.....will it be Thanksgiving? Christmas? or 2 days before the election next May?  | ||
| singlemalt Supporter Username: Singlemalt Post Number: 1145 Registered: 12-2001  |
Actually - this is the best part....
Nothing is official yet on these guys either!! | ||
| ril Citizen Username: Ril Post Number: 540 Registered: 6-2001 |
If this ever actually comes to pass, I will be delighted. I work near the Garden of Eden on 23rd St and the one that recently closed--which I didn't realize till I read the above article--thanks for saving me the walk over there ;-). Great salad bar; wonderful sandwiches and cheeses and prepared foods; impressive beer selection; bakery; etc. But it's not a supermarket in the sense that you might run in to buy toilet paper or cleaning supplies. Still, better than those "coming soon" signs... | ||
| Josh Holtz Citizen Username: Jholtz Post Number: 451 Registered: 4-2004 |
Personally I liked the phrase "the progressive development plans for the downtown area." Heck, we can time the downtown development plans with a sun dial. | ||
| mrosner Citizen Username: Mrosner Post Number: 2791 Registered: 4-2002 |
http://www.edengourmet.com/ |
