Strike Two Against Bloomfield

No wonder we fired the Town Attorney. What a poor choice!

That's funny. When I look at those buildings, nearly all appear blighted - especially the block across from the train station. It makes me wonder what the judge considers to be blight? Does a building have to be literally falling down on itself to be condemned?

If the owners intend to stay, then the township should move agressively against the owners to get these buildings up to code!

why not just fix up bloomfield train station? if thats done right, improvements from incoming buisnesses in the private sector will surely follow.
i would much rather have an individual unique flavor to the town then a mcshopping mall that has matching draperies and all looks the same. look at redbank as an example.
and who needs a mega supermarket there?
how tacky would that be?
i also have a big problem with government taking private property from taxpayers unless its an emergency. a good example: to build a levy to keep the town from flooding or something.

just because the area doesn't look like downtown montclair doesn't mean it's blighted. i'm sure if the buildings in question were not up to code, mccarthy and co. would have shut them down long ago.

Would you really shop in a supermarket where you have to park on an upper deck and take an elevator down below? I'd rather push my cart on the ground at Shop Rite.

NJ Transit *is* supposed to be fixing up the train station, right? Anyone know what the timeframe is on that? Or are they waiting on the downtown redevelopment before they get started? I agree that eminent domain is not necessarily necessary in order to remake the downtown, but what's the engine that will drive that? Clearly the buildings across from the train station (with the exception of Animal Instinct) are in a sorry state. And the area across from Senorita's is no great shakes either. I won't pretend to know the legal definition of blighted, but it does seem sad that the redevelopment is playing out this way, and that is had become a series of legal battles rather than a collaboration between the township and business owners.

Making that area look even worse was all part of the plan.

Businesses that were renting space moved when this issue surfaced - so now those spaces are empty. And the property owners can't rent because who'd rent and open a business in the middle of all this? So the buildings look empty and unkempt, and a few more people will think its okay to trick people out of their property because of how dumpy those buildings now look.

yes bloomfield town council,mayor mcarthy, etc, why not collaborate with the property and buisness owners? why spend time and money fighting with them over legal battles that could be better spent making beautiful greenways,tree lined streets with beautiful streetlights. make it a beautiful place, and the buisnesses will come.

I think the voters in Bloomfield need to get a lot more involved in what is going on in front of and behind their backs, as well as in closed rooms (no longer smoke filled, thanks to Acting Governor Codey). My experience trying to fight the development of the 28-unit apartment house next to the Brookdale School gave me a very jaundiced view of the Zoning Board of Approval and particularly its Chairman, who all but fell to his knees in homage when the devlopers' attorney entered the room. Lord only knows where some of these deals are being made, and we all know that the right hand has no idea what the left hand is doing until they both meet up in our pockets. Whether the downtown area by the station is officially "blighted" or not, it is not up the Township to act as a private developer's bag-man using Eminent Domain. I think Bloomfield needs new leadership with no links to the cronyism of Essex County's Politics-as-usual; I think Bloomfield needs very harsh lights and TV cameras at every meeting; I think some muckracking journalists need to turn over some rocks in this town: they shouldn't be too hard to find.

Bloomfield must develop a Master Plan out in the open to ensure that the Township's tax base grows at least as fast as its tax rate. The development of high-density "slums of the future" that are so profitable and popular right now will only send the town's finances spiraling downward as the tax rate reaches for the sky. Bloomfield's taxes are already considerably higher than Caldwell's -- and Caldwell knows how to plow snow. Pretty soon we will be paying Montclair rates and only the builders get rich. Time to tune up the guitars and start the revolution, folks. It is not going to happen without you.

yes bloomfield town council,mayor mcarthy, etc, why not collaborate with the property and buisness owners? why spend time and money fighting with them over legal battles that could be better spent making beautiful greenways,tree lined streets with beautiful streetlights. make it a beautiful,desirable place, and the buisnesses will come.

bloomfield elected officials. listen to your citizens. we dont want a supermarket, we dont want you to seize property from buisnesses and property owners, we want you to focus on making bloomfield better, not worse!!!!

right as usual hrh.

we'd have been better off if the town had done nothing.

I have watched the area decline over the decades...anyone remember The Last Straw and the record shop on the next block? Then, slowly, Bloomfield Center morphed into its present form.
The area across from the train station always suffered. I would prefer renovation of the train station and a few individual stores...not another mega mall, strip mall, mini mall... And let Animal Instinct survive!!!

There are always so many great ideas posted here whenever the subject of Bloomfield's redevelopment comes up (but seemingly not from anyone with authority). Newbie question--are there any existing citizens groups working on this?

The only group on the ED issue that I know about are the local businesses.

How would Bloomfield appease its town members that want to improve that area without kicking out its long time small store owners? Would it offer funding for facial improvements? Would it clear out the "massage parlors" which have not been designated for destruction and bring in store like the GAP as Montclair has done? How do you separate the "mom and pop" stores from the scummy stores? Obviously the hair weavers on the corner have been in business for over 10 years, so someone must be getting their hair braided there. So how do you please the people that want to bring in new things? Obviously the answer is not by building another supermarket!

Yes I remember The Last Straw as well as Lipton's----that was before the bus route changed and made Bloomfield a dumping ground for Newark. And as far as crruption and investigation -forgetaboutit

Yes I remember The Last Straw as well as Lipton's----that was before the bus route changed and made Bloomfield a dumping ground for Newark. And as far as corruption and investigation -forgetaboutit

BTW- There is a multi-level shop rite in Oakland, NJ. for anyone who wants to see what the elevator full of carts experience is really like.

That Shop Rite is horrid in design both inside and out. And it doesn't really save that much space.

But what of the NJ transit issue mentioned earlier in this thread? Will the train station be revamped, by what entity, and when??

The train station had repairs made to it. Then the graffiti artists redecorated it for us.

Don't just blame the current politicans, it took 25 years to get where we are. They all let it happen. The Center is dieing, South Jr. is an eyesore, on and on...

hrhppg is right. I drove around the blocks in question a few days ago. "Blight" used to mean South Bronx, 1979 kind of desolation -- Bloomfield powermongers seem to want to make it mean simply "not fancy enough." If those buildings had active tenants, they could revive just like the Senoritas building. Let Bloomfield get some incremental benefit from the Montclair and Glen Ridge boom in a natural way -- eminent domain driven, all-in-one development just seems like government-sanctioned stealing from the small businesses in the area.

Beech Street -- that's not the sum total of repairs that are supposed to be made to the station. It's supposed to get a complete overhaul, including re-opening and refurbishing the actual station area which looks like it hasn't been open in years. NJ Transit declared Bloomfield a "Transit Village", and are supposed to spend a significant amount fixing up the Bloomfield station. I believe there was a press event announcing it earlier this year...

CCL, thank you for correcting me. I think trying not to to step in the urine stains on the stairs walking up to the platformm from Washington Street made me forget.

The "Transit Village" is not just a NJ Transit thing. It also involves Rutgers' Voorhees Transportation Center, which monitors progress. South Orange was part of a first phase, and Bloomfield is among the towns that are supposed to be part of a second phase. The idea is to create smart growth and walkable spaces with a variety of services. I'm not sure how much support Rutgers provides, though.

Conan (or anyone else) -- What's the best way to go about getting the town council to deal with this situation in a more open, transparent fashion, and to get them to really spell out the Master Plan in a way that the citizens can properly understand and react to? I'd be happy to join and assist in any organization with these goals.

ccl -- I really don't know the answer to your question. There are several neighborhood associations in Bloomfield -- the Town Website has pointers to them -- but there doesn't seem to be a cohesive township-wide group. I have tried instigating conversations with my Councilman, but I have not had much response. I believe the Town Council is highly opposed to doing things in the light of day: not because they are crooks, but because having the public watching their every move will make it very difficult for them to operate efficiently. There have been some recent uprisings on the Council -- most notably over the firing of the attorney. I would start by talking to the Council members responsible for that change. I am a newcomer here (just a year), so I really don't know who comprises the unoffical organization, where the real power usually resides. I will pass along your note to a couple of people I know who might have more insight into this problem than I do.

Thanks Conan. I've only been here a little over a year too. It would seem to me that operating efficiently is trumped by having informed residents, since after all it's the residents' interests that the council is supposed to be acting on behalf of, no?

True, ccl, but in any room (or blog) occupied by more than three people, the odds are good that you are going to have more than three strongly-held and differing opinions. What I really think we need is a City Manager type of government reporting to a fairly large council representing all of the town. What Corzine is trying to do to run the state more like a business might also help things get done in the light of day -- but he has many powerful enemies with vested interests in seeing that the "home rule" business as usual goes on unimpeded. I know for a fact that finding the time to form citizen watch-dog groups is most difficult. If the power structure doesn't want you to know what they are doing, they can wear you down until you just give up. If someone was willing to run for any office in this Township on a platform of open discussion and information, that person would most certainly get my vote. And unless the citizens use their voting power, nothing is going to change.

Just drove through Newark and then thru Bloomfield Center--when Broad Street in Newark is looking better than Broad Street in Bloomfield ---I'd say indeed you better do some investigating and organizing!

ccl & conan...I think a Town Planner is what you are alluding to. Montclair has one, as do most of the larger towns surrounding us. Bloomfield has a town manager that manages the township on a day to day basis (that's actually not the mayor's job). What Bloomfield truly lacks is someone to guide the current and future growth of the community. We already have a good master plan - it just needs to be followed and amended when necessary. This would be part of the job of a planner. Of course, Bloomfielders must be willing to pay for one via their taxes.

Right now, town council has the job of planning for the future of the town, as well as implementing the master plan. I think it's simply too much to ask people serving part-time, as council members do, to focus much attention on this. They are kept very busy just running the town day to day.

That would fine if the planner reported to the townspeople and not the mayor. What I am talking about is dump the elected mayorality form of goverment and hire a professional City Manager who would report to a larger elected town council -- a body also charged with hiring the Manager and reviewing performance. Put every town department and bureaucracy on a managed budget, and get rid of the patronage and waste. Please, someone: tell me why the Recreation Department needs more than a dozen reserved parking places (replete with signs) behind the Recreation Department building and next to the library . Do we have 12 Recreation Commissioners? And, if they are the recreation department, why the hell can't they park way in the back and walk to work. Walking is excellent recreation. Leave the parking spaces for people using the library.

Do we have a good Master Plan? What is it? Where can I read it?

As far as the town planner goes, I'm sure the township could find the money if it really wanted to. And that does definitely sound like a good position to have, but of course it all depends on who gets put in the job and what their agenda and point of view is.

Conan, forgive my ignorance of town politics, but how feasible is it really to dump the current form of government and move to the model you described? Sounds like it would be a tough transformation to make happen.

Very tough. I am hoping that the groundswell for more visibility (read TV coverage) at meetings, and a growth in community activity will start things moving in the right direction, but I just don't have that much breath to hold. Just found out my taxes went up a bunch for Q3. Where is this frikkin' money going? Reserved Parking Signs?

It really comes down to being held accountable.

South Jr. is a great example. They sold it to someone for redevelopment and its sat rotting away ever since. Who penned that deal? Why are they letting it rot? Wasn't some agreement to do something with that property made when it was sold? If not - why not –then what was the point? What happens if these properties get taken and sold to a developer who again - doesn't do anything with them.....will the mayor and crew be buying all our homes to save us from that eventual property value fallout?

Before we allow ‘the powers’ to sell off more of the town we need them to be accountable for the part already sold and abandoned. The answer and attitude of 'someone prior started that so it isn’t our problem to fix' is BS. It should have been dealt with before any other re-development was even thought about.

Does Her Royal Highness Princess Pretty Girl understand the concept of private property?

Yes ROC. That's why I think we should leave these properties to the people who currently own them and not allow the town to steal them away.

Re: the train station. The side facing the tracks belongs to NJ Transit and has been fixed up. The side facing Lackawanna Plaza is privately owned and the owners don't do anything to fix it.

Re: the Master Plan. Yes, we have a Master Plan, it was redone about 3 or 4 years ago with public meetings to provide input. The plan should be available in the public library or you can ask at Town Hall to see it.

We definitely need a town planner. It's absurd that a town the size of Bloomfield doesn't have one. Our population is probably the largest in the immediate area. East Orange has a planner, Glen Ridge has a planner. And we don't.

If the area is not blighted, why is Animal Instinct renting to a well known brothel?

Shame on you Mayor McCarthy for your governing of Bloomfield. Shame on you Mayor for being fined thousands of dollars for not reporting your campaign contributions on time, I bet your fines are way more than those of the alledged massage woman. Shame on you Mayor for having to have the state come in and condemn your own public works building. Shame on you Mayor for having a school district ranked 225 out of 316. Shame on you Mayor for allowing continuous problems to occur in the high school construction project. Shame on you Mayor for taking two years and double the budget to complete Venner Park - which is basically a concrete triangle. Shame on you Mayor for criticizing a NJ Superior court judge because her educated opinion is not to your liking, and shame on you Mayor for trying to steal property from taxpaying citizens - maybe Cuba would need a mayor like you. By the way Mayor, I have chosen not to hide in the shadows of anonymity here on this forum as do you and so many of your cronies.