Showing posts with label Paterson's Great Falls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paterson's Great Falls. Show all posts

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Borg family remains mum on 20 acres in Hackensack

There are signs of renewal in Hackensack, but not at the old headquarters of North Jersey Media Group and The Record, above and below. In 2009, they abandoned the city where the newspaper prospered for more than 110 years, and the pullout of hundreds of employees hurt an already struggling Main Street.




Today's Page 1 story on possible anchor stores for a 55-acre project in Teterboro appears to end speculation that the Borg family was courting Walmart for the 20 Hackensack acres once occupied by The Record.

Many residents of Hackensack reacted negatively to the Walmart rumors, fearing traffic jams.

But given the newspaper's low quality of local journalism in recent years, a retailer that offers low prices and low quality might be appropriate for the land on River Street.

Discussions with city

City Manager Stephen Lo Iacono has said officials have had discussions with the Borgs about their plans, but he wasn't at liberty to discuss them.

Today's story on Walmart and Costco Wholesale doesn't mention North Jersey Media Group's Hackensack property, which has become an eyesore.

The stores wouldn't open in Teterboro until October 2016, The Record reported.

How about a land swap? 

Many residents of Prospect Avenue would like to see the Borgs negotiate a land swap with the developer of a controversial, 19-story Long Term Acute Care Hospital proposed for a small parcel between Prospect and Summit avenues, near Golf Place.

Residents have been fighting the plan, which was rejected by the city's zoning board, 5-0, in 2012 after 3 years of hearings, but the developer has appealed the denial to Superior Court. 

Tonight, the Prospect Avenue Coalition is sponsoring a third forum for the 11 candidates in the May 14 City Council election, all of whom support the residents.

Well-traveled

On the front of Local, The Record's Hannan Adely  reports the Hackensack City Council on Tuesday voted to amend the city code to allow Class II police officers, "who have the power" of regular cops, "but make a fraction of the pay" (L-1).

The byline of Adely, who is assigned to cover Hackensack, also appears today on a front-page story about a walking tour of Paterson's Great Falls "that you can download to your smart phone" (A-1).

But I question the accuracy of the headline:

 "Historic tour goes high tech"

The tour, according to the story, is new, not "historic." 
 

Monday, November 1, 2010

Readers are stuck, too

Ted Sorensen, former aide to President John F....Image via Wikipedia
Theodore C. Sorensen died on Sunday at 82.

The featured piece on Page 1 today is a sob story about the thousands of homeowners who can't afford to live in North Jersey or leave. The headline declares: "Stuck with no exit." What about the tens of thousands of readers who are stuck with The Record of Woodland Park?

Where are readers going to turn when editors and reporters routinely ignore their concerns -- from the quality of local governments to the need for more mass transit to ease choking traffic congestion to a desire for a newspaper that doesn't depend almost completely on handouts, reports and surveys for story ideas.

Editor Francis Scandale, head Assignment Editor Deirdre Sykes and their lazy minions could have done a lot more with today's paper. 

The A-1 real estate story should have been honest with readers and acknowledged the factors that grossly inflated housing values before the recession let all the air out. And some of the sad stories are from homeowners who refuse to sell unless they make a killing. Who says the sale of a condo or home is supposed to make you rich?

The paper also should acknowledge the importance of real estate advertising to its bottom line and the special section Publisher Stephen A. "Greedy Stevie" Borg created -- largely to celebrate the industry and paint a rosy picture of home ownership, while hiding the shocking amount of interest banks charge over the 30 years of a mortgage.

$3.65M company mortgage

Thanks to a company mortgage, the young, arrogant Tarnished Silver Spoon lives in a $3.65 million dollar Tenafly mansion while many of his staffers can't afford even a modest home in Bergen County.

The death of Theodore C. Sorensen, the eloquent confidant of President John F. Kennedy, could have been a platform for one of The Record's political writers to note that what Republican and Tea Party candidates in Tuesday's election really are saying is:
"Ask not what you can do for your country, ask what you can do for yourself."
Today's Local section contains only three stories that could be considered municipal news, but nothing from Hackensack or Englewood or a lot of other towns.

Buried in the back of the section (L-6) is an inspiring vision of Great Falls National Park in Paterson, with a gorgeous photo by staffer Tyson Trish. Why isn't this story on the front of the section or even on Page 1 with this great photo blown up to a size readers can appreciate?

The likely reason is that Scandale and Sykes, who I'm guessing rarely visit Paterson, have spent years portraying the Silk City as a center of drugs and prostitution that have ruined many suburban lives, and as a murder capitol.

Clown loose in food store

What happens when you turn a clown loose in H Mart in Ridgefield, a large Korean supermarket that has one of the best selections of fresh fish, Asian greens and other produce in North Jersey? 

See the Better Living front, where Staff Writer Bill Ervolino chooses to buy and eat mystery pork and beef, and in the process makes fun of one of his Korean guides' English and parodies her diet, focusing on live octopus while ignoring all the healthy tofu and vegetables Koreans eat in main and side dishes.

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