GhostOfRobertTreat

GhostOfRobertTreat t1_j5kutmf wrote

A different way to ask this question is “Which areas of Newark will never be nice enough for people who don’t live here now to choose to live here in the future?” I don’t like that kind of thinking.

We should be pushing for all areas of the city to be nicer, safer, cleaner, and more attractive. And we should be pushing and implementing policies that allow for people who live here now to stay here. That’s inclusionary zoning through income-restricted units in new developments. That’s rent control for older units. That’s some of the programs Invest Newark is rolling out to turn Section 8 vouchers into down payments. That’s job training and opportunities for current residents to increase their income.

If people want to move out because they got a better job and want to move to a nicer neighborhood, good for them. The problem is when people get pushed out of their neighborhood because they can’t afford the rent or some other crisis. That’s what we need to solve for.

The mindset that X neighborhood is poor and should stay poor so the poor people can keep living in poor housing is bad. I know that’s not what people explicitly mean when they argue against “gentrification” but in practice that’s what it means.

We need investment without displacement. We need new people from NJ, the rest of the country and the rest of the world. We need to have housing and job opportunities for everyone. And we need to work hard as we can so that anyone who moves out of their neighborhood is doing it because they WANT to and not because they HAVE to.

End of rant.

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GhostOfRobertTreat t1_j57wyx5 wrote

Ask the director of the department or the supervisor for an informational interview. Don’t push your interest in the job itself unless they bring it up. Ask them good questions about the work they do and why you’re interested in it.

Not everyone who gets a job in government is “connected.” But lots of people everywhere get their jobs because the hiring managers like them.

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GhostOfRobertTreat t1_j4eezl3 wrote

Adega is where you want to be. Maybe a 10 minute walk from Penn.

Bello’s is the closest bar to the station. It’s a commuter bar. Decent food and good beer selection.

Burke’s is new and wants to be the hipster bar but it’s lacking a crowd yet. I really like it though.

Bar Vanquish is like THE downtown bar for Black professionals in Newark right now.

Mompou is good for tapas. Small bar area.

If you want to try to meet girls, Adega, Manu, Little Tijuana, Lit 21.

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GhostOfRobertTreat t1_j3x64cc wrote

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GhostOfRobertTreat t1_j2p3ez2 wrote

Good luck!

We sent every building we were interested in a letter to see if they were thinking of selling and the only response we got back was some guy who wanted to rent us an apartment.

I’ll also note a lot of the buildings that look like row houses are condos not entire buildings for sale.

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GhostOfRobertTreat t1_j268r5z wrote

One issue is when people don’t use garbage cans. Animals rip apart bags and then it’s spread down the block. The city should do more to insist on cans and dumpsters instead of bags just piled on the curb.

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GhostOfRobertTreat t1_j15ja3u wrote

Housing and transportation should make up no more than 40%-45% of your take home after tax income. You can put more of your budget to an apartment if your transportation costs are lower.

And like, you can pay more but things will be tighter. Somewhere in the 60k range before tax should work I think assuming you have no other major mandatory expenses. (Like is your student loan bill really high?)

I had a landlady who wanted to see our pay stubs so she could confirm we made three times the rent and wouldn’t have a problem paying.

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GhostOfRobertTreat t1_j0z7af6 wrote

Reply to comment by recnilcram in Let's make Bus-Only Streets? by BvP_19

Could probably fit a protected two-way bike lane on most of Broad. But need the Parking authority or police to enforce double parking. Lots of cars park illegally on Broad by Harriet Tubman Square so three lanes merge to two.

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GhostOfRobertTreat t1_j03p709 wrote

I got no problem with him playing music. But if you walk your kids past him they’re going to damage their hearing with it that loud. Living in a city means being respectful of other people because we’re all on top of each other. When you blast your music that loud you’re saying you don’t care about other people and that your preferences are more important.

Again, I’m not calling the cops on people doing that. I’m not calling the cops on people who litter. I don’t even call the cops on people I see run red lights. But they’re still selfish assholes.

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