Tag Archives: Luciano’s

Uncategorized

Rahway Rising enters the Terrible Twos

Leave a comment

Rahway Rising is a lovable toddler today. Two years ago I launched this blog to get some of the information in my head out to the public, hopefully informing our community about what’s going on in their neighborhoods.

For a look at our first year, here’s a blog post from Nov. 1, 2008. We now have about 230 subscribers by email,which fluctuates from 225 to 250 regularly. About 150 visitors come to the site daily, some days breaking 200. We cracked 300 visitors in one day for the first time last month, just after a post about foreclosures beginning at Riverwalk.

Here are some stats from our first two years in existence, according to Google Analytics:
20,408 visitors
73,709 visits (42% direct visits to the site)
127,542 page views
1.73 pages/visit
71.9% bounce rate
1:56 average time on site
27.75% new visits

Some other tidbits from Google Analytics: As far as keyword searches, the top five are all related to Rahway Rising (16%), rahway blog, or rahwayrising.com, although coming in fourth was “rahway new jersey skyview condos for sale”. Also in the top 10 of keywords searches were Brooklyn Pizza, rahway nj skyview, nancy’s townhouse rahway, and cubanu restaurant rahway.

Food/restaurant-related blog posts, regardless of how old, continue to be among the most widely viewed. Here are the top five posts since we began tracking:
1. On Tap for 2008: Park Square, Sky View, 1,747 page views
2. Cubanu: A review, 1,284
3. Luciano’s set to open, 893
4. Pizza pizza, 866
5. Brooklyn Pizza coming to Rahway, 642

Surprisingly, all those posts are from 2008 yet still garnered the most page views. Among the most viewed posts of 2009 are Carriage City violating redevelopment agreement (428 page views), Carriage City declared in default of agreement (353), Return of White Castle in the works (347).

In our second year, we’ve ventured onto Twitter and Facebook, with about 40 followers and 75 fans and friends, respectively. We’ve also started Google AdWords, and as you can imagine, I’m already planning my retirement.

I said it before and I’ll say it again, hard to believe another year of blogging has gone by, and we still haven’t organized an official Rahway Rising happy hour, despite the urging from some readers. Well, let’s change that. Pick a night that’s best for you and vote in the poll. Let’s try to set a date before the holidays get into full swing (We’ll also take suggestions on where to have it). Unfortunately, I probably won’t be able to make it to The Taste this year — which is always fun for meeting up with readers — so now we must have a happy hour.

I often write “We” when referring to the blog. Although I’m the only writer, there’s a cadre of people I turn to for their opinions on potential blog posts, coverage and general advice. To them, I say thank you for putting up with me and always being willing to listen to my rambling and brainstorming. When I use the term “We,” I’m also referring in a sense to our readers, who often email their tips and observations or comment on blog posts. Thanks to all who have taken the time to read the posts and comment, whether anonymously or not. I’m not sure how long I’ll keep this up, but hearing from you at least makes it seem a worthwhile endeavor. Thanks everybody.

_uacct = “UA-2976232-1”;
urchinTracker();

Downtown, library

State of the City 2009

1 Comment

Though I was unable to attend Monday’s City Council meeting, I did get a copy of Mayor James Kennedy’s State of the City address. The mayor is among a long list of officials looking for help from the feds.

“I retain optimism that this slowdown will only be temporary and the incoming administration of President-Elect Obama will provide long-overdue federal funds to invest in our roads, sewers, parks and other vital elements of our infrastructure,” Kennedy said. “Unlike other municipalities, Rahway has many projects that are already approved by the authorizing boards and agencies. Our improvements and investments will enhance our redevelopment opportunities. So that the ‘shovels can hit the ground’ as soon as the economy rebounds and our continuing redevelopment efforts will restart in a period of months instead of years,” he said.

Among the projects Kennedy cited as “ready to begin” are the 88-unit Renaissance at Rahway and 116-unit Station Place. The Savoy, he said, will “restart construction when additional financing is obtained.” (Photo at left)

As for other redevelopment-related highlights in his remarks, the mayor reviewed the various ongoing projects that you’ve read about here before:

— New ratables increased the tax base by $30 million for the nine-month period in 2008. A full year on the books is expected to create $42 million in 2009. A little perspective: ratables increased by about $30,000,000; the city’s total valuation is about $1,500,000,000 ($1.5 billion). The added ratables — mainly attributed to Carriage City Plaza, Luciano’s and Riverwalk — generated about $900,000 in additional tax revenues for the city.

— In addition to the planned 1,000-seat amphitheater at the former Hamilton Laundry site, and development of the former Bell Telephone building into a performing arts space and black box theatre, the former Elizabethtown Gas building is expected to be purchased and house a “first-rate art school as well as a co-op gallery venue.”

— “The 40,000 square feet of condominium space above the library was sold last year, and will be converted into office space sometime this year.” The library opened in 2004 with the idea of eventually selling the top two floors for office space. No word on whether the sale netted the $3.5 million that was expected at the time to help offset the cost of the $7.4-million facility. [UPDATE: SDI Technologies already paid $3.2 million to the city for this project, according to City Administrator Peter Pelissier.]

— The city is “exploring a partnership with the Parking Authority to construct a 300- to 500-space parking deck on Lot B, to complement the proposed Westbury housing/retail development next door.” We wrote about this study in August but there was never any mention of the number of spaces. Originally, The Westbury was planned with a five-story, 324-space parking facility.

For some historical perspective, there are a few paragraphs about the mayor’s 2005 State of the City address here.

_uacct = “UA-2976232-1”;
urchinTracker();

Uncategorized

Welcome back, Poll

Leave a comment

We took a peek at the top posts of 2008 by number of page views over the weekend. Tonight we’re bringing back the poll after a months-long absence and letting you vote: What was the biggest story of 2008 on the blog? Obviously, the decline in the housing market and the collapse of the economy in general had an effect locally, but what was the most significant development locally?

* The opening of Carriage City Plaza/Hotel Indigo
* Work at The Savoy coming to a halt
* Tabulation of the Rahway Survey
* The reopening of the Union County Arts Center
* The slow pace of redevelopment in general
* The fast pace of redevelopment in general
* Other

There’s always that “Other” category, so feel free to explain what that might be to you.

_uacct = “UA-2976232-1”;
urchinTracker();

Uncategorized

The top posts of 2008

Leave a comment
And now the moment you’ve all been waiting for, or not, the most viewed posts of 2008 (I’ll be scouring garage sales and flea markets for an appropriately gaudy trophy to present to the top spot):

1. Cubanu: A review, 855 page views
2. Luciano’s set to open, 847
3. On tap for 2008: Park Square, Sky View, 837
4. Luciano’s open for business, 446
5. Luciano’s: A review, 427
6. Pizza Pizza, 404
7. Zoning Board KOs condos at Koza’s, 387
8. Rahway welcomes Hollywood, 330
9. Eatery targets July opening, 267
10. The Waiting Room by a mile, 238

Hmm…I sense a restaurant theme. Maybe we’ll focus a bit more on that if that’s what readers want, although of the 132 posts in 2008, 20 were restaurant related. It’s likely a common way to find the blog, while looking for info about new restaurants, particularly Luciano’s and Cubanu. In 2009, we’ll also try to more consistently offer news outside of downtown, like Route 1 or St. Georges Avenue.

_uacct = “UA-2976232-1”;
urchinTracker();

Uncategorized

Luciano’s among best of ’08

Leave a comment

Luciano’s Italian Ristorante and Lounge, which opened in January, was chosen among 11 of the state’s best restaurants of 2008 by The Star-Ledger last week:

“No jackets are required, but Luciano’s, a cavernous Tuscan-style restaurant, evokes a more genteel time. Not a mediocre dish on the table. Menu includes many standards — fried zucchini, mozzarella and roast peppers, veal saltimbocca. A great place to bring family for a good white-tablecloth meal at reasonable prices. Desserts, too, are made with care.”

Our last visit, for dinner just before Thanksgiving, was definitely a thumbs up — nice appetizer, great entree (Ahi Tuna) and good service. The chunks of blue cheese in the martini were a surprise; E for effort on trying to be distinctive, but I could do without it.

_uacct = “UA-2976232-1”;
urchinTracker();

Uncategorized

Happy Birthday Rahway Rising

Leave a comment

First and foremost, thanks to everyone who’s been reading the blog over the past 365 days, and for commenting and sending e-mails. Hard to believe it’s been a year, but in the time since I started the blog, Hotel Indigo and SkyView at Carriage City Plaza have both opened and Hamilton Laundry finally was demolished. The economy has tanked altogether as well, forcing changes to two projects in town.

I started the blog because I’m interested in what goes on in my neighborhood and in my town, and I figure most people are as well. Unfortunately, while there are plenty of cable news channels screaming about the presidential election (granted, it’s important too), there’s precious few media covering what’s happening at a local Zoning Board or Planning Board meeting. What can I say, I’m a community journalist at heart, from my days as, well, a community journalist for a weekly newspaper.

You’ll notice there’s no advertising on the site. I’ve thought about messing around with Google AdWords but I thought it probably wouldn’t be worth the four cents a week I’d rake in. The blog isn’t what pays my bills either, so it’s really more a hobby/community service.

For those who are curious, here are some random readership statistics about the blog. I started tracking blog traffic in earnest with Google Analytics in mid-January, so these figures are for the last 8 1/2 months or so, and not a full year:

30,408 Visits
57,605 Page views
1.89 Pages per visit
2:23 Average time on site
8,384 Visitors

We have 151 subscribers by email, compared to 68 after six months (and 156 just yesterday…?). It’s been around 150 for a few weeks now. The highest number of visits in a day (226) was July 7; perhaps after a post about the number of units closing at SkyView. Not surprising considering SkyView is among the most popular key word searches that end up on the blog. We also get a number of visitors searching for Luciano’s and Cubanu, with a few looking for The Savoy. The most widely read posts also are still the ones about Luciano’s and Cubanu.

Goals for the second year? I’d like to hopefully spice up the blog graphically, but sometimes it’s tough to find the time after writing a few posts a week. I’m also hopeful of “marketing” the blog a bit more and getting the word out. It’s just been word of mouth and Internet searches so far that have pointed people toward the site. I’m also hoping to get a regular poll back up and running more frequently; that kind of petered out a few months ago. I also might be open to finding a new name for the blog if anyone has suggestions. I’ve explained the title before but I get the impression people think the blog is a totally pro-redevelopment, positive-only place to visit. I’ll write about anything going on, but good or bad is for readers to decide.

As always, I’m open to suggestions for improving the blog. Feel free to tell me what you like or don’t like either via the comments section below or by email. There’s been talk amongst the inner circle for some time about hosting a Rahway Rising happy hour or some kind of get-together. Maybe I’ll just have everyone over for some Karaoke Revolution.

Thanks again for reading.

_uacct = “UA-2976232-1”;
urchinTracker();

Uncategorized

The Supagown will need a new home

Leave a comment

Well, I guess that was the last photo I’ll ever have to take of the Hamilton Laundry building. The main structure on Hamilton Street — the one that had “Hamilton Laundry” emblazoned on it, as well as the peculiar “Home of the Supagown” — was razed this morning, completing the demolition that started last week.

All that’s left are piles of rubble to haul away. Now if we could just figure out what the “Supagown” is/was…

***

Democrats might be in Denver, but the Libertarians — check that, the Libertarian is in Rahway tonight, at Luciano’s. Happy Labor Day weekend!

_uacct = “UA-2976232-1”;
urchinTracker();

Arts District, Downtown, Rahway, restaurants

Three stars for Luciano’s

Leave a comment

Luciano’s received three stars in a review featured in Friday’s Star-Ledger, and had a few interesting things to say about Rahway as well: “If you haven’t found yourself in Rahway recently, you’ll be surprised by the ever-increasing reasons to go. This is a city on a quest to become a vibrant community, full of urban artists and commuters, with all the energy that entails. It stands to reason, then, that the restaurant scene would enjoy an invigorating renaissance as well.”

Owner Michael Merlis is also quoted: “Merlis expects even more people to re-discover the town and sit at one of the tables that not so recently would have been in a vacant lot. ‘They can’t believe they’re in Rahway.'” Hmm, where have I heard that before?

_uacct = “UA-2976232-1”;
urchinTracker();