Musings and Images

The reason for the double meeting last week was that city officials want to attend the League of Municipalities conference this week. City Hall may be very quiet with so many people away.
Meanwhile, here are some photos and random thoughts. Click on any image to enlarge.

Way up on an East Front Street facade you can see the character I call "downtown guy." He's been up there a long time. Wonder what he thinks of the latest plans for redevelopment as detailed in a Star-Ledger article this week. The part about creating offices with all the amenities built in reminded me of another downtown venture that had shared copy machines and such. It started out fine, but went off the rails when one office became a sort of church, with bread lines for the needy, and another became a studio for boudoir photography. Pretty soon it failed, saints and sinners and all. The lesson is to stick to the business model and not get too far afield.

The Masonic building at Park & Seventh is undergoing a removal of loose bricks prior to repairs. The black chute at the right is where bricks were being dropped to the ground with an odd percussive sound I could hear inside my apartment. It made me wish I had a tape recorder to capture the sound for an urban audio piece of the kind I have heard on public radio. A compilation of sounds from Park & Seventh! Better than whale singing! Or at least different ...

Walking to the bank Sunday, I saw this notice in one of the Park Avenue buildings rehabilitated by developer Frank Cretella. It is the second departure of a commercial tenant from the building next to PNC Bank. Hope he gets some new ones. It occurred to me that all the new rental space, whether residential or commercial, means new landlords downtown. That would include The Monarch's rentals and Horizons at Plainfield. As a longtime tenant myself (22 years in my current apartment), I wonder what the experience is for these various renters.

Somebody was having a party on Park Avenue Sunday. A well-dressed fellow was opening a gate on North Avenue to let people park, but I couldn't figure out where they were going from there. Nice balloons, anyway.

The Hawthorn trees planted in front of City Hall are now sporting cheery red berries. In Spring, the trees will have white blossoms. A very attractive addition to the landscaping that followed the severe pruning of the Yew bushes.

When Autumn rolls around and yard work lessens, I like to crochet hats. In the past, I have given them to the American Red Cross and the YMCA. I ran into someone today who operates a food pantry at a local church and offered the latest batch for distribution there. She agreed. By Saturday, I should have an even dozen to hand over.

And so it goes in mid-November. I also picked up some books at the Plainfield Public Library to read while the meeting schedule is in abeyance. Doris Lessing, Carson McCullers, W. Somerset Maugham. Hoping you all can enjoy some walks and diversion this week.

--Bernice