Essex Street park to open next month

The park under construction along Essex Street is expected to open next month, according to this report in Sunday’s Star-Ledger.

Construction of the park started last fall. Though there’s no mention of it in the Ledger piece, it’s expected to be named after Myron R. Ross, a Rahway native killed while serving in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War.

Park Square aiming for June occupancy

In case you haven’t been to the Park Square Web site of late, it’s been updated to reflect a planned June 2009 occupancy. Previous timelines had pegged October 2008 and March 2009 for residential occupancy at the four-story, 159-unit rental development.

It’s been about a year since brick work was started on the Irving Street facade and construction of the Main Street side began. The photo above was taken Sunday, and you can see the streetscape work continuing up to the corner of Elizabeth Avenue. You’ll recall the first tenant was signed for the first-floor Irving Street retail space earlier this year.

Burger wars go to Flynn’s

Wow, it wasn’t even very close. Flynn’s and The Waiting Room had been neck and neck for awhile in the latest poll, but the last few weeks, it’s been aaallll Flynn’s. No need for a run-off even.

“Who makes the best cheeseburger in Rahway?”

Flynn’s, 37 percent (59/156)
Big Belly Deli, 26 percent (42/156)***

The Waiting Room, 14 percent (22/156)
Firehouse Pub, 6 percent (10/156)
Just A Little Healthier, 5 percent (9/156)
Stewart’s, 3 percent (3/156)
Bachmann’s Tavern, 3 percent (5/156)
Rahway Grill, 1 percent (2/156)
Other, >0 percent (1/156)
Cubanu, 0 percent, (0/156)

Technically, the burger at Just A Little Healthier is a bison burger. Cubanu had been nominated but never got a vote. Anyone want to share who their “other” vote was? Rocky’s Bar and Grill? Some other place we missed?

***There actually was a bit of, dare I say, “controversy” in the final night of the poll. Late Wednesday night, Big Belly Deli had but five votes with only hours before the poll closed. I wake up Thursday morning to find BBD got about seven times as many votes in the final hours of the poll than it did in the entire two weeks! I’m guessing someone had a lot of time on their hands Wednesday night…
(P.S. The image above was one I just found in a quick Internet search. Don’t go to Flynn’s, or anywhere else local, looking for it…)