Lights, Action ...
"Let there be light!" my neighbor proclaimed as she called to say a Signal Bureau team was in Lot 7, fixing the lamps that have been out for months.
We began guessing why action was being taken now, after so many months of darkness. She thought it was because I had pointed out the non-working lamps when I blogged about the weedy sidewalk to Park Avenue from Lot 7. I had seen two state government cars on Cleveland Avenue today and guessed that officials were checking up on Lot 7 per a plan announced many months ago for employees of a new state office at 110 East Fifth Street to park in Lot 7.
Tonight it dawned on me that the lights were fixed just in time for the opening night of a theater production of "Steel Magnolias" at First Unitarian Society of Plainfield, where the Act IV group is based. Maybe church officials sought the change. This theater group is well-known and attracts out-of-town patrons who might otherwise be put off by a pitch-dark parking lot.
Whatever the reason, I'm sure the one overnight permit holder appreciates it. She leaves for her work at JFK Medical Center in the wee hours and the improved lighting must give her a sense of greater personal safety.
So thanks to the Signal Bureau for whatever the reason you took action today.
I must say I am looking forward to see the opening of the Cleveland Avenue/East Fifth Street building, which will include retail outlets as well as offices. It is in sort of a byway, between Park and Watchung, but also a logical destination for commuters from the main train station, City Hall employees and the many tenants of Connolly buildings on Block 832 and environs. I can't wait to see what the retail businesses will be. It is one of the first major overhauls by Paramount Assets, which has acquired nearly all the downtown commercial property including the former Pittis Estate.
The only downside is the loss of an Art Deco historic facade featuring a Ford logo that is now buried under some kind of modern building material.
This building is right across from E&A Bar & Restaurant Supply, famous in its own right, but which still may benefit from extra traffic at the refurbished building.
--Bernice Paglia
We began guessing why action was being taken now, after so many months of darkness. She thought it was because I had pointed out the non-working lamps when I blogged about the weedy sidewalk to Park Avenue from Lot 7. I had seen two state government cars on Cleveland Avenue today and guessed that officials were checking up on Lot 7 per a plan announced many months ago for employees of a new state office at 110 East Fifth Street to park in Lot 7.
Tonight it dawned on me that the lights were fixed just in time for the opening night of a theater production of "Steel Magnolias" at First Unitarian Society of Plainfield, where the Act IV group is based. Maybe church officials sought the change. This theater group is well-known and attracts out-of-town patrons who might otherwise be put off by a pitch-dark parking lot.
Whatever the reason, I'm sure the one overnight permit holder appreciates it. She leaves for her work at JFK Medical Center in the wee hours and the improved lighting must give her a sense of greater personal safety.
So thanks to the Signal Bureau for whatever the reason you took action today.
I must say I am looking forward to see the opening of the Cleveland Avenue/East Fifth Street building, which will include retail outlets as well as offices. It is in sort of a byway, between Park and Watchung, but also a logical destination for commuters from the main train station, City Hall employees and the many tenants of Connolly buildings on Block 832 and environs. I can't wait to see what the retail businesses will be. It is one of the first major overhauls by Paramount Assets, which has acquired nearly all the downtown commercial property including the former Pittis Estate.
The only downside is the loss of an Art Deco historic facade featuring a Ford logo that is now buried under some kind of modern building material.
This building is right across from E&A Bar & Restaurant Supply, famous in its own right, but which still may benefit from extra traffic at the refurbished building.
--Bernice Paglia
posted by Bernice at 8:50 PM
5 Comments:
Oh Bernice....Somehow I have missed this action and excitement !!! I read about the logo being covered etc in earlier posts, but missed the fact that there would actually be businesses there. How I would love a small pub or bar to open up ( I know, dreaming !! ) That area of the city always seemed so quiet and removed from the congested mess of traffic on Park. I hope they plant trees.....
it was a year ago this passed august,that i called the city about the lights in lot 7. i do think they read your blog bernice.and thanks 2 you,we got action.
Rob, keep dreaming...the building wil not have any retail components. It had been rented to the state for offices.
Bernice, maybe a piece on street lights for the public. You can go to the PSEG website, PSEG.com and report a street light out in your neighborhood. Simply go to the pole and get the ID number. They are usually head high on the pole. Fill out the quick form and you are done. 2-4 days later and there is light. And it is free!
To 2:38 p.m.: The application was for four offices and 10 retail spaces. When they asked for parking space in Lot 7, it was based on 45 employees. At different times we have been told the lights belong to PSE&G or to the city. Signal Bureau fixed them this time.
Oh dear! I am all for good development in Plainfield, but I am also a NJ Transit commuter who lives on the West Side. My route is West 7th to Cleveland to the Main Station.
My fear is that this new building renovation and parking lot usage will mean an even more congested morning rush hour. Any increase in vehicular traffic between 7:30 and 8:30am that will only make a difficult route more treacherous. I am envisioning traffic turning into the lot on 7th or people being dropped off at Cleveland and 5th. Traffic already gets backed up on 7th between Park and Watchung.
I don't suppose our city fathers and mothers thought about traffic patterns, did they? The limited one-way traffic flow that already exists makes it tough to get to the station as it is.
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