JOURNAL SQUARE WATCH

By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
The owner of the biggest eyesores in Journal Square has a new court date - again.

Ralph Tawil Jr., who has racked up nearly $4 million in fines from building and fire code violations at his defunct Hotel-on-the-Square and other Journal Square properties, has a court date set for Wednesday in Jersey City Municipal Court, City Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis said.

The trial is to determine if the fines are valid, and if - or how much - Tawil actually has to pay.

But it's no sure bet the court appearance will happen.

Jersey City officials agreed to postpone three prior court dates with Tawil in return for the landlord making steady progress demolishing dilapidated properties he owns on the block next to the Journal Square Transportation Center so the area can be redeveloped.

Construction workers have dismantled the top half of one Tawil property - 22 Journal Square, at the corner of Sip Avenue.

The second floor of the building, which formerly housed a dentist's office, has been dismantled brick-by-brick so as not to disturb the adjacent building, which is owned by someone else.

Meanwhile, two eateries occupying Tawil-owned buildings are open again after a water pipe was repaired over the weekend.

The two eateries - Daily Tortilla and Three Guys Pizza - were closed Feb. 16 by city inspectors because the broken pipe meant neither had running water.

The pipe was repaired Saturday morning and the businesses have re-opened, the restaurant owners said.

© 2006 The Jersey Journal
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.

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Daily Tortilla Grill and Three Guys from Italy remain closed as per the Jersey City Health Department. An inspector is due at the site this afternoon to discuss the situation with the owners of the businesses affected. Officer Mike Maffei is monitoring the situation to make sure that the stores do not re-open.

Posted by Chris Bernardo at 1:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The shut-off of the water main that supplies water to several units in the Journal Square Hotel property will be affecting 2 fast-food establishments: Three Guys from Italy and Tortilla Express shut their doors at 5:45pm this evening in compliance with public health laws that require all food handlers to have proper water facilities. They will remain closed until the owners of the property repair the main.

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As of 3:15 pm this afternoon the water main that services part of the Journal Square Hotel property was shut-off.

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As of 2:10pm United Water workers are still trying to identify the source of the break.

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The Journal Square SID Off-duty Police detail and the Jersey City Department of Public Works worked together this morning to secure the broken window that was left after last night's incident, in which a man allegedly shoved a female forcing her to crash through the window.

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United Water is currently shutting off the broken water main associated with 14 Journal Square. United Water Foreman, Ed Collis is present.

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A woman was thrown through a plate glass window of a former doughnut shop in Journal Square last night, authorities said.

The woman, heavily bandaged, was put into an ambulance and taken to the Jersey City Medical Center for treatment, witnesses said. Her condition could not be determined last night.

The incident occurred about 6:30 p.m. in front of the former Twin Donut, next to the Journal Square Transportation Center. Shards of thick glass from the shattered window and blood-soaked debris littered the sidewalk in front of the shop as commuters hurried past to taxis, buses or the PATH.

Jersey City police referred questions about the incident to the Port Authority Police Department, which responded to the scene. A request for information left with a Port Authority spokeswoman last night wasn't returned by press time.

The woman's friends reportedly knew the man who attacked her and provided his name and address to police.

A witness said he saw the man run from the scene, cross Kennedy Boulevard and then flee down an alley near the Jersey City Police Department's Journal Square substation.

© 2006 The Jersey Journal
© 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.

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SID maintenance crews are currently engaged in snow clearance at crosswalks and creating channels for melting snow to flow through the curbline to the sewer drains so that slush puddles don't develop at the crosswalks.

Posted by Chris Bernardo at 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jersey City street peddlers now have to hawk their wares outside the city's four specially designated business districts.

An ordinance passed unanimously last week by the City Council pushes the peddlers out of the Journal Square, Central Avenue, Historic Downtown and McGinley Square special improvement districts.

The goal of the law is to keep the peddlers from competing with businesses that have to pay rent, and, in many cases, sell the same items.

"It's (the law) been a long time in coming," said Don Smartt, district administrator of the Journal Square Restoration Corp. that runs the Journal Square Special Improvement District. "It would mean a cleaner, safer district."

The new law allows for physically handicapped persons who have been issued a special vehicle identification card by the Division of Commerce to continue to operate.

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Below are pictures illustrating the current snow conditions in Journal Square. Tomorrow morning the SID crews will be working on clearing crosswalks throughout the district including the plaza area next to the fountain and channeling melting snow into sewer drains.

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Sur Sangeet Video located at 12 Liberty Street was warned today about playing speakers (shown in the picture on the left) outside their store. They agreed to comply and promptly brought the speaker inside.

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This individual was removed from in front of Wachovia Bank this morning, I discovered him sleeping...he appeared to be unconcious, I called EMS and they responded quickly...under 2 minutes...he was in bad shape, it took a few minutes before he could even open his eyes...EMS was finally able to get him to respond and they lifted him up and put him on the stretcher.

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Jersey City Police Officers, including Harold Tolluck who was on the SID detail removed a hostile shoplifter from Lords Children store on Thursday.

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