Fifth Floor View

Big Gym news in Jersey City. Fit & Trim, which opened on the 5th floor of a refurbished building on Newark, was an attempt to extend Gold Coast Fitness. Unfortunately, the economy is terrible, the building they were in had some issues. Once Gold Coast opened in that section of the neighborhood in the late 90s, proving there was a market in the start and stop gentrification that had been Jersey City for a mainstream gym, a few other chain gyms opened. Anyway, Fit & Trim has now merged with World Boxing & Fitness Center, which is at 29 Division Street (which I call Joy Division Street) is a beautiful place. All the details are still being worked out for the transition to members. The Fit & Trim might have had some flaws, but it was a beautiful space and what a view, from five floors up. I wanted to document that here.

See, the winter is here and the water is back. Last blogged about here, here’s another view.

House Decay Halted

A real fixer upper. I wonder if the real estate broker used that hackneyed phrased. Decay halted I am attracted to these surviving vestiges of the past, they encourage me to imagine another time, another world than this one. I didn’t see any actual construction going on, the multi-family house is fallow, gutted. Echoes of children from the long ago and always were heard; or was that from the yard next door? Seemed the exterior had been sanded, but there several splotches. Maybe it hadn’t been, maybe it was just old and read to be knocked down. A knocked down they call it, where they buy a lot. I imagine—imagine again—that in other parts of the country, this would have been some kind of extreme foreclosure situation, a walk away. Still might be part of the story here. Then I noticed the very newly painted looking doorway, a natural stone foundation intact. Upkeep is minimal but extant. Prepared for the fixing Up to commence.

Western Union Moved

Just down the street, don’t worry. Still there. Western Union. But gone here, just another storefront now, it actually looks not much different than when Western Union was here. They cashed checks too. I just liked the sound of Western Union moved. I also like the Elvis Song:
Western Union

Oh, Western Union

clickety clack

I had a fight with my baby

Ooh how sorry I am

She won't talk to me no how

I'm gonna send a telegram

Western Union

oh yeah

Send my lovin' baby back to me

Flexible Flyers

Flexible Flyers. We had two, large and small, double and a single. Used to get what seemed like more snow. I will always remember that big storm, ice storm, school closed for two or three days, sledding through a several backyards down to the patch of woods at the foot of the neighborhood hill. Trudging up the hill, dragging the sled (not a sleigh) behind you, and when you would go down the hill, as you gained momentum, steering with the front end of the sled, the flexible part I guess. Never had the saucers. I don’t even like snow. I’m remembering an April snow, wet, slush, too big for the single sled, the runners getting stuck in the mud, waiting the whole three more seasons for the snow to return but the desire to trudge up the hill was gone. Back at the homestead for thanksgiving. The siblings cleared out the place of all the junk, or so I thought. The Flexible Flyers were still there, waiting for winter. They’re rusted and worn but I bet one good ride left, given the right snowfall and hill. I guess I’m not the only sibling inclined towards sentimentality.

New Re-Scaping

Didn’t they just street-scape this portion of the sidewalk? The answer would be yes. The refurbishing continues, it’s on Newark down near Grove. Saw them ripping up the asphalt and cracking into the new sidewalk, let’s hope they are replacing some or installing some new sewer infrastructure so there won’t be a lagoon every time it rains. Might be too much to ask for. I take a lot of these type of pictures, construction, destruction, reconstruction. I am trying to get a clear shot of the scoop smashing the chunk of sidewalk into smaller chunks. I just like that, it’s like the infant boy living out simple fantasies on this street of dreams. Bam! Bam! Didn’t really come out so well, the actual smashing.

Beige Brick

I needed evidence just in case somebody thinks that this building had bricks that were naturally beige. It is currently undergoing renovation, previous to which last year it was prone to loosing chunks of its façade. It’s on Newark Avenue, the building that would be next to the beige bricks burned down, swear it was an accident. I thought they might just knock down all these old buildings and erect some kind of super complex. I guess that is not to be. Instead we get faux adobe brick façade, caught them painting over the old red with this beige.

Light Pail

The city fathers decided that our traffic lights needed replacing and I’ve sporadically blogged about the removal of the old and the installation of the new. New traffic lights, a good thing and it is not a simple task. You have to put in the new while the old are still active then activate the new and dismantle the old. I noticed this base on a corner, where the transition has been completed or at least almost completed. I guess final removal is still pending. I am assuming this base will be gone at some point. In the meantime, our dear citizenry utilizes it as a make-shift waste pail. I think it’s still littering, but maybe the person using thinks this as a new trash can now is morally superior to littering. I always littered near this traffic light pole, now I can litter in the light pole.