Some Things Change, Some (Must) Stay the Same

The needed changes to the Hoboken Waterfront, especially near Stevens, are long overdue. I am excited that Stevens has decided to finally clean up their most expensive piece of real estate and, better yet, make the waterfront more accessible for residents. So far, they have removed the large experimental tower. I only hope that they don’t continue to build upon the old wooden pier structures. Above and below are a few pictures I took today of the area surrounding Steven’s waterfront. (The picture at the bottom was taken from the mural above.)

Last night I saw a show at Maxwells. Maxwells is one of many reasons I love living in the mile square city. It is one of those places that provides a pulse to the otherwise lifeless establishments of Hoboken. There are others, of course – D.C.’s, Louise and Jerry’s, Empire Coffee, the studios at Newman Leather, Grimaldi’s- to name a few. But last night was disappointing. Let’s face it, New Jersey has its reputations and stereotypes for a reason. And unfortunately, last night, those stereotypes were standing next to me at a sold out show. They were drunk, wore too much perfume, talked loudly, and wouldn’t shut their mouths for the entire show. I know that Hoboken has more than its fair share of these people, but I always thought they would keep to the establishments that cater to them – like the places that offer flipcup tournaments. I’d like to think that the places that made Hoboken a destination in the first place will continue to be patronized by those who appreciate them. And the rest can practice flip cup.

Small City, Big Business

Barnes and Noble in Hoboken is closing. I am sure many in town are not surprised. After all, the high cost of Hoboken commercial real estate, extremely deep discounts offered by competitors on books, and the recent popularity of electronic books- all created the perfect storm- large enough to blow the bookstore giant from our landscape.

And (with my condolences to its workers) I say good riddance!

Barnes and Noble is the perfect example of what is wrong with large corporate America taking advantage of our little city. Big box retailers are happy to come to town when times are good and their incredibly bottom-line driven procedures provide retail services as long as they stay far enough in the black. However, as soon as times get tough, they pull up the tent and skip town. And why shouldn’t they? They have no ties to our city. The executives that made the decision to close Barnes and Noble don’t live in Hoboken. They never will. Nor will they care about its residence or the town’s long-term economic stability.

I am always frustrated when I hear fellow Hobokenites wish for big box retailers like Gap or Banana Republic to come to town. They are too short-sighted to realize they too will stay only if times are good, put out businesses that otherwise would have grown, and leave town as soon as they enter the red.

I am not saying that any bookstore could’ve survived in this economic landscape. I also know many people liked shopping at Barnes and Noble. But I hope Barnes and Noble's closure reminds us how important it is to support those shops who have shop owners who live among us. Put simply, shop at stores who care about Hoboken.

I should also add that this should be a lesson to Hoboken’s commercial real estate landlords hoping to cash in on big box retailer profits. If a retail giant like Barnes and Noble can go out of business and that doesn’t scare you back down to earth – and get you to appreciate a reasonable monthy rent and long term lease- nothing will. Your property too can sit empty for years- like the space that occupied Ted and Joes restaurant. What a shame.

Bottom line- buy local- and now buy books at Symposia. You’ll be glad you did.

P.S. For more stories on the local economy, you might want to check out my friend’s blog.

Haiti and Hope

I am attaching today’s NYTimes Science Times article on the Caribbean tectonic plate. It explains why the Haiti Earthquake happened- and why it was so devastating. I also want to attach another article – one more hopeful- about two Haitian orphans who were adopted in the aftermath.

A Sunny Solution to Everything

Thomas Friedman's opinion today in the New York Times is everything I want to say on this blog, albeit written much better. He states:

"...I am more convinced than ever that when historians look back at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, they will say that the most important thing to happen was not the Great Recession, but China’s Green Leap Forward. The Beijing leadership clearly understands that the E.T. — Energy Technology — revolution is both a necessity and an opportunity, and they do not intend to miss it.

We, by contrast, intend to fix Afghanistan. Have a nice day."

Many people in the United States want our government focused on one task, a solution to fix our economy and put people back to work - and rightfully so. As someone who studied more Darwin than Keynes in college, I admit that my few hours listening to Bloomberg Radio in no way make me an economics expert. But here is what I know: We cannot simply save ourselves out of a recession. We must spend money. And if we are to spend our way out of this, then let us spend money on solutions that create real jobs. The Chinese understand this. Why don't we? There should be no reason why we are not the world leaders in wind, solar, nuclear, and alternative energy technologies.

Here are some difficult facts to swallow: In the 1970's our country produced nearly 20 million new jobs. In the 1980's our country produced nearly 20 million new jobs. In the 1990's, you guessed it, our country produced nearly 20 million new jobs. The 2000's? Less than 500,000 new jobs were produced between 2000 and 2010. Moreover, many of the jobs produced in the last ten years were in the service industry, Starbucks and Walmart jobs. These jobs are unsustainable without a manufacturing foundation to our economy. With our nation's population increasing, this trend is troubling.

My humble opinion: our government resources must be placed in the hands of our scientists. Like the Apollo missions in the 1960's, a program that spun off millions of new jobs, the green revolution has the power to change the world, and the U.S. for the better. It will ideally accomplish the ultimate trifecta, create new jobs, decrease our dependence on world oil, and make the Earth a cleaner place to live. Moreover, it can provide incentive to our youth to focus their education into growing fields of study that our country so desperately needs - science, math, and engineering.

Can it really be as simple as "science is the answer"? I hope so. What can I say, I'm an optimist. I prefer kayaking, not dumping tea, in our waterways.