2013 Pizza Poll: What's your favorite in Rahway?

It's time to take a break from all the serious, newsy blog posts and get back to having some fun. Feel free to use the comments section to make your case for your favorite pizza place.

What's your favorite place for pizza in Rahway?
Brooklyn Pizza
Buona Pizza
Gino's
KC's Pizzeria
Michelino's
Nunzio's II
Nancy's Towne House
Papa Vito
Subworks
Ted's Pizzeria
Tony's
Other

We could call this post our fourth annual Favorite Pizza poll. There's one less option to choose from since last year's closing of Rahway Pizza, which won the poll in 2009. Nancy's Towne House was the top vote-getter last year with 31 percent (27 of 87 votes), as well as the year before, when Nancy's grabbed 26 percent (48 of 183 votes).

In fact, Nancy's and Rahway Pizza were the top two vote-getters in most of our polls. Rahway Pizza had always fared well in the results, including a second-place finish last year.

This is hardly a scientific poll, just something fun that can be easily manipulated for anyone with too much time on their hands. So have some fun with it, and tell us what you like best about your favorite.

7-Eleven, new space coming to St. Georges plaza

The Deals shopping center on St. Georges Avenue will be getting a 7-Eleven as well as two tenants in a new addition to the property later this year.

7-Eleven will take over a space currently being renovated that was formerly occupied by Krauser's at the northern end of St. George Shopping Center. A 2,800-square-foot building is under construction adjacent to the northern end, closer to the street. Krauser's has since moved to the corner of Maple Avenue where Rahway Pizza once was located after its lease expired in December.

Larry Gelber of Gelber Associates, which owns St. George Shopping Center, said the new construction would be turned over to tenants by September, assuming no construction delays. About 1,000 square feet in a space closer to the street will be filled by Subway, which will move from its current space at the corner of West Milton and St. Georges avenues. Gelber said he's seeking a tenant for the other space, which would be approximately 1,500 square feet, further from the street.

A building formerly occupied by Marshalls Cleaners at the site was razed, with plans approved in 2005 envisioning a two-story structure on the footprint, Gelber said.

Senior housing facility to open this summer

Fifteen months after breaking ground and five and half years after it was first presented, a senior housing facility will welcome residents later this summer on the site of the former St. Mary's Church convent.

A lottery will be held tomorrow for tenants to get into the 51-unit Jack and Margaret Myers Senior Residence, according to John Westervelt, chief financial officer and vice president of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Newark. The four-story building will be up and running by July with people moving in when their applications are approved, he said.

The convent building was demolished in April 2010 and the Zoning Board of Adjustment approved the application about a year later. It first was proposed to the City Council in late 2007 and the governing body later approved 40-year Payment In Lieu Of Taxes for the project.

Third W. Grand Ave site targeted for acquisition

The city is looking to buy out a third West Grand Avenue residential property near the Rahway River that is prone to flooding.

The City Council passed a resolution (AR-96-13) at its May meeting to submit an application for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) disaster recovery funds in the amount of $409,985 to carry out two projects that resulted from Hurricane Irene flooding in August 2011.

The majority of the funding, $344,985, would be for the acquisition of 194 W. Grand Ave., where "due to repetitive flooding, the owner has requested that the city purchase the property for demolition and creation of permanent open space."

The 90-year-old home (Block 161, Lot 35) last changed hands in March 2006 for $365,000, just 18 months after it was bought for $240,000, according to property records. It's assessed at $127,200 for a property tax bill of $7,430 last year.

Another $65,000 would go toward rehabilitation of the first floor Senior Citizen Apartment Complex units at 224 W. Grand Ave., where asbestos remediation is required.

The city last year submitted Blue Acres funding requests for the acquisition of 182 and 188 W. Grand Ave. at an estimated cost of about $580,000.

Demolition under way on A&M Supply building

(Photo By Derron Palmer)

Demolition is under way on the A&M Supply building on Campbell Street. The industrial building along with a neighboring residential property at the corner of Elm Avenue will come down to eventually make way for Metro Rahway, a five-story, 116-unit rental project.

Five years ago, East Hanover-based Heartstone Development shifted gears and instead of pursuing 80 condominium units for the project, sought to built 116 rental apartments. Construction is expected to begin later this year.

The Redevelopment Agency recently amended Metro Rahway's redevelopment plan for a third to to clarify the development fee. The development fee was to have been $2,500 per unit when Metro Rahway (then Station Place) was being planned as a for-sale condominium.

Since it's been changed to a rental project, the developer will pay half of the development fee ($145,000) at the time of the building permit is issued, and the second half ($145,000) at the time the certificate of occupancy (CO) is issued.

City commits to 10% cut in impervious surfaces

The City Council last month passed a resolution to "commit to a goal of 10 percent reduction in impervious surfaces" at municipally-owned facilities by 2015.

The city "will make best efforts to reduce impervious surfaces, including equivalent storm water runoff reductions, to set an example to communities that storm water management is a serious matter," the resolution stated.

The resolution cites communities in the Rahway River Watershed as suffering in excess of $50 million in damages to households and businesses from Hurricane Irene in 2011. "The overdevelopment of properties and the elimination of pervious surfaces throughout the watershed have compromised the ability of the region to manage its storm water without such major damages as seen during Irene."

This piece in Atlantic Cities, "The Way We Build Cities Is Making Them Flood," essentially blames the urban impervious surfaces (parking lots, anywhere that water can't drain, like asphalt), for flooding in the Chicago area -- only not where you'd think.

Hamilton Apartments successful in tax judgment

A Hamilton Street apartment complex was awarded a roughly 13 percent refund on its property tax bill over two years after a judgment by the state Tax Court.

The City Council unanimously approved a resolution (AR-49-13) at its March 11 meeting authorizing the refund of $25,830.81 over two tax years --  $14,128.72 for 2009 and $11,702.10 for 2010.

The assessment only changed for 2009 and 2010 through a Tax Court judgment and by 2011, the improving market for apartments and the city's increasing ratio justified the existing assessment, according to Tax Assessor Tom Mancuso, so as part of the settlement, the property owner withdrew an appeal for 2011 and 2012. Settlements like this are rare, he said, with the reduction usually continuing into latter years, but as the apartment market improves and the city's ratio climbs, it makes it easier for the city to defend assessments.
 
The owner of Hamilton Apartments, at 768-88 Hamilton St., is listed as Goldman Hamilton, LP, in Fords. The property (Block 175, Lot 1) was built in 1963 and last year was assessed at $1.711 million, bringing an annual property tax bill of nearly $100,000. There are 58 units within two three-story buildings.

The City Council also authorized another refund at its May 13 meeting (AR-103-13) of $15,005.64 for the owner of 991 St. Georges Ave. (Block 141, Lot 15.01). The refund was for the 2009 tax year.

The former Wells Fargo branch was acquired in February 2010 for $824,250 and converted into a medical office. The property is assessed at $653,800, generating a property tax bill last year of $38,188. The Zoning Board approved variances for the doctor's office in September 2010 and the bank facility was renovated sometime last summer.
The City Council approved AR 77-13 at its April 8 meeting, authorizing a $100,215 refund for overpayment of taxes on 147 condominium units at Carriage City Plaza owned by 80 E. Milton Ave., LLC.

80 E. Milton was among a slew of property owners to have successful judgments at the Union County Board of Taxation last year, leading to a huge increase in the number of successful tax appeals soared last year. The number of successful appeals dropped the city's valuation by $11 million, and affecting the city budget by about $25 in municipal taxes for the average assessed home.

Soil removal next for proposed Lot B project

Thousands of tons of soil must be removed and taken to another site in addition to some remediation at the site of a proposed five-story rental complex near Lot B on Main Street.

Redevelopment Director Peter Pelissier told the Redevelopment Agency earlier this month that he met with Nils Berten of Slokker Real Estate Group and that an extension of the redevelopment agreement is needed after receiving environmental reports. Commissioners extended the redevelopment agreement for another 120 days at its May 1 meeting.

For the two levels of parking that are planned, Pelissier said, about 6 feet of dirt must be excavated. Berten advised him that 20,000 tons of "historical fill"must be removed and taken to another site, which could cost $40 to $50 per ton, or some $800,000 to $1 million. Historical fill only means that it's not "virgin earth," and isn't necessarily contaminated but could have anything in it, he said. At one time it was a marshy area before fill was brought in while building elevated railroad.

Remediation and monitoring wells of soil where a gas station once stood on the corner of Poplar Street also could cost an estimated $250,000, Pelissier said.

Slokker is interested in the project and has hired an architect to further detail and design a concept plan that was presented to the Redevelopment Agency last year, he said. The firm also is negotiating with the Parking Authority for a land swap and additional parking, if necessary should there be any loss of parking spaces. "The good news is their marketing study finds that the rents and number of units proposed would work," Pelissier said, and Slokker is pleased with the demographics.

Slokker Real Estate Group had partnered with Dornoch for the proposed Westbury project before the housing market crashed. In December, representatives from Slokker presented the Redevelopment Agency with a concept plan of about 180 rental units in two, five-story buildings with parking and about 4,500 square feet of retail space on the ground level. There are no immediate plans for an application to the Zoning or Planning boards.