Fear and loathing in Maplewood Village

durandhedden said:

The concrete pavers were installed roughly 30 years ago (I'll check the digitized newspaper at the library for the actual year.)  As I recall the installation then was paid for by a Community Block Grant and was done with the guidance of the town's beautification committee.  Unbeknownst to the then town leadership, Maplewood Ave. had been widened in 1927 and 7 feet taken off the front of the Sirlyn Building and I think the building where St. James Gate is. Thus the basements of these buildings extend 7 feet in front under the sidewalk.  The solution they turned to then was to carefully slice the pavers in half horizontally and they never were as stable as they should have been in that area. Armed with this information in 2019, the town engineer ordered 1/2 pavers to do the job. The pavers this time are clay. It will be interesting to see if they hold up for 30 years. They certainly are more attractive.  

 A plain-spoken post backed with knowledge. How refreshing! 

durandhedden said:

The concrete pavers were installed roughly 30 years ago (I'll check the digitized newspaper at the library for the actual year.)  As I recall the installation then was paid for by a Community Block Grant and was done with the guidance of the town's beautification committee.  Unbeknownst to the then town leadership, Maplewood Ave. had been widened in 1927 and 7 feet taken off the front of the Sirlyn Building and I think the building where St. James Gate is. Thus the basements of these buildings extend 7 feet in front under the sidewalk.  The solution they turned to then was to carefully slice the pavers in half horizontally and they never were as stable as they should have been in that area. Armed with this information in 2019, the town engineer ordered 1/2 pavers to do the job. The pavers this time are clay. It will be interesting to see if they hold up for 30 years. They certainly are more attractive.  

That bit of history is something I had never heard before.  Are there any photos of the construction, or descriptions of how they took the front off the buildings?  And are there records of how the building owners were compensated?  

And we are in the grand finale phase.  The fat Lady is busy with football games or the waning baseball season.   The task is mine.  Construction guys have torn up the the sidewalk in front of the Japanese restaurant and Village Coffee.  The ground looks like a mini Mojave Desert.  I barely made it out in the last seconds of the brick surface.  Crossed the street for a haircut.  Returned soon after and was forced to use the alternate door/window into Village Coffee for my Earl Grey tea.  Full staff is in and serving  full menu.

Construction guys promise all will be in place this evening

To my knowledge this finishes the project Village wide

stopped for coffee this morning.  Despite the construction both the front door and a side door were accessible to pedestrians.  Nothing to fear or loathe.

ml1 said:

stopped for coffee this morning.  Despite the construction both the front door and a side door were accessible to pedestrians.  Nothing to fear or loathe.

 Ok ............I borrowed part of a phrase from Hunter Thopson.....I think.  Construction should be finished today and once again God will be in his heaven and all will be well.

While I cant remember the exact year the pavers were replaced, I am thinking mid 90s.

There is a part of the brook that runs under the center of town.  Starts at Woodland and ends at the library.  It is big enough to drive a vehicle through.  As you proceed in to this tunnel you can see floor boards of a couple of stores, one of which was the pet shop but I can't remember the other ones, and the pub's  basement wall on the East side runs against the brook wall.   

This tunnel has caused several issues over the years, one of the problems was the half bricks by the pub.  Another was the siphon in the sanitary sewer line.  This problem was why they had to run the new pipe through the parking lot behind Village Coffee.  

Eric

The pavers currently being replaced were put in less that 20 years ago. 

EricBurbank said:

While I cant remember the exact year the pavers were replaced, I am thinking mid 90s.

There is a part of the brook that runs under the center of town.  Starts at Woodland and ends at the library.  It is big enough to drive a vehicle through.  As you proceed in to this tunnel you can see floor boards of a couple of stores, one of which was the pet shop but I can't remember the other ones, and the pub's  basement wall on the East side runs against the brook wall.   

This tunnel has caused several issues over the years, one of the problems was the half bricks by the pub.  Another was the siphon in the sanitary sewer line.  This problem was why they had to run the new pipe through the parking lot behind Village Coffee.  

Eric

 Eric ............not to contradict. But I thought the new pipe that was placed behind Village Coffee was because of   the  anticipated additional run off caused by the 22 apts and few stores belonging to the new Clarus Building.

Don't know if this was connected but I attended a few meetings where owners of stores along Maplewood

Ave complained of frequent incidents of basement flooding

yahooyahoo said:

The pavers currently being replaced were put in less that 20 years ago. 

@Durandheddon’s post from 9/30 says about 30 years ago and they are usually a pretty reliable source for SOMA historical data. So I’m going with that unless someone produces a citation to the contrary.

I remember seeing the brick pavers installed and I moved to Maplewood in 1994. 

Not much of a proper citation. 

mrincredible said:

I remember seeing the brick pavers installed and I moved to Maplewood in 1994.

Your brain is running on McRib sauce. We’re supposed to trust your memory?

sac said:

yahooyahoo said:

The pavers currently being replaced were put in less that 20 years ago. 

@Durandheddon’s post from 9/30 says about 30 years ago and they are usually a pretty reliable source for SOMA historical data. So I’m going with that unless someone produces a citation to the contrary.

I said the pavers being replaced currently, meaning that while pavers may have originally been installed about 30 years ago many of them (not sure if it was all) were replaced less than 20 years ago.  This is the second time I've seen pavers installed in the village since 2000.

DaveSchmidt said:

Your brain is running on McRib sauce. We’re supposed to trust your memory?

 If you eat a McRib your life passes before your eyes. I just got to 1994.

Lets hope that PSEG doesn’t get their hands on multi colored spray cans and start marking up water, gas and electrical lines on the pavers like they’ve done in the past. I think they sprayed the newer ones on Springfield Avenue already

Sidewalk in front of Village Coffee is now complete minus a few minor touches.  Eminently walk-able.

No one working today across the street at the liquor store or Doctor's office.  I estimate two days needed there to complete the task.

I thought at least some of the pavers were recent. ml1's photo from 2007 shows a paver pattern different from the red brick chevrons that were recently removed. That would seem to point to another paver re-pavement since "Gracie" was filmed.

the paver pattern in the Gracie photo is the same one as in this street view photo from last year.  There are replacement bricks in one spot.  More evidence that the last paving job needed to be redone.  Hopefully the new pavers will last as long as promised.

author said:

EricBurbank said:

While I cant remember the exact year the pavers were replaced, I am thinking mid 90s.

There is a part of the brook that runs under the center of town.  Starts at Woodland and ends at the library.  It is big enough to drive a vehicle through.  As you proceed in to this tunnel you can see floor boards of a couple of stores, one of which was the pet shop but I can't remember the other ones, and the pub's  basement wall on the East side runs against the brook wall.   

This tunnel has caused several issues over the years, one of the problems was the half bricks by the pub.  Another was the siphon in the sanitary sewer line.  This problem was why they had to run the new pipe through the parking lot behind Village Coffee.  

Eric

 Eric ............not to contradict. But I thought the new pipe that was placed behind Village Coffee was because of   the  anticipated additional run off caused by the 22 apts and few stores belonging to the new Clarus Building.

Don't know if this was connected but I attended a few meetings where owners of stores along Maplewood

Ave complained of frequent incidents of basement flooding

 Yes it is all connected.   The siphon is located in front of the pub and would back up quite often, until we started a monthly maintenance program.   But even that didn't solve the problem completely,  especially if we got any significant rainfall. 

The Clarus Building being built would have only added to an existing problem, causing more flooding of basements in the center.  The sewer I am speaking of is the "sanitary" sewer, not the "storm" sewer.   In theory rainfall and runoff should not affect the sanitary sewer system.   I say "in theory" because many houses/stores have sump pumps,  roof gutters,  or surface drains hooked up illegally to their sanitary sewer line which dumps into the town's sanitary system.   When it rains, these illegal connections  cause the sanitary sewer lines to become "charged" which causes the flooding of basements.   

i could go on but we kind of drifted off of the topic of this thread. 

Just wondering what the motivation was for the subject title of this thread?  Seems a bit over the top and never seemed to be supported by any of the subsequent posts.

j_r said:

I thought at least some of the pavers were recent. ml1's photo from 2007 shows a paver pattern different from the red brick chevrons that were recently removed. That would seem to point to another paver re-pavement since "Gracie" was filmed.

 There have been some repairs, but no full-scale replacement.

sac said:

Just wondering what the motivation was for the subject title of this thread?  Seems a bit over the top and never seemed to be supported by any of the subsequent posts.

I thought it was author's sense of humor combined with his general distaste for anything in the village ever being changed.

ml1 said:

sac said:

Just wondering what the motivation was for the subject title of this thread?  Seems a bit over the top and never seemed to be supported by any of the subsequent posts.

I thought it was author's sense of humor combined with his general distaste for anything in the village ever being changed.

 "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving in a  pretty and well preserved

body but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke thoroughly used up totally worn out and and  loudly proclaiming  "Wow what a ride"............Hunter Thompson

Half correct who ever guessed my intentions.

My sense of humor has a mind and a will of it's own............fine with me. T he absurdities of life furnish unlimited material. 

Diastase for changes in the Village that do a disservice to the Township.

I've spoken to several merchants as to how the Circus building has benefited them.  That red herring has done nothing more than furnish luxury housing and once again duplicated already existing retail service.

Maplewood Seniors, and low income families benefited nada. Kings seems to be doing well in the location we were told they would be leaving if not offered an alternate site

Village merchants...........only dividing  the same retail dollar..........seniors and low income...lots of luck.

I could write of a very attractive Senior Building recently raised in Bloomfield.  Near Bloomfield college and library as well as the Green.

But if I did I would be called a troublemaker and obstructionist.  Actually that is pretty accurate.

author said:

 "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving in a  pretty and well preserved

body but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke thoroughly used up totally worn out and and  loudly proclaiming  "Wow what a ride"............Hunter Thompson

Half correct who ever guessed my intentions.

My sense of humor has a mind and a will of it's own............fine with me. T he absurdities of life furnish unlimited material. 

Diastase for changes in the Village that do a disservice to the Township.

I've spoken to several merchants as to how the Circus building has benefited them.  That red herring has done nothing more than furnish luxury housing and once again duplicated already existing retail service.

Maplewood Seniors, and low income families benefited nada. Kings seems to be doing well in the location we were told they would be leaving if not offered an alternate site

Village merchants...........only dividing  the same retail dollar..........seniors and low income...lots of luck.

I could write of a very attractive Senior Building recently raised in Bloomfield.  Near Bloomfield college and library as well as the Green.

But if I did I would be called a troublemaker and obstructionist.  Actually that is pretty accurate.

 what does any of this have to do with new sidewalks?

ml1 said:

 what does any of this have to do with new sidewalks?

 Dude. It's author. He's like the king of havering.

ridski said:

 Dude. It's author. He's like the king of havering.

yes.  I shouldn't really have expected a coherent answer. 

But I'll add that I think the sidewalks look nice, and now when I walk in the village I realize how unstable the old paving stones were in a lot of places.

I get that author doesn’t like the new building and, for some unfathomable reason, loved the old PO building. But I don’t get what that has to do with the new brick sidewalks, which I think look very nice. ‘Fear and loathing’ ... really?  

sac said:

I get that author doesn’t like the new building and, for some unfathomable reason, loved the old PO building. But I don’t get what that has to do with the new brick sidewalks, which I think look very nice. ‘Fear and loathing’ ... really?  

 Hey, a catchy title is a catchy title, and author knows one when he sees it. Anyhow, all's well that ends well...

-s.

Eric, do you know about the dungeons below the building on Baker Street next to the parking lot?  Apparently it was used as a jail some years ago. Rumour has it that at one time it was a brothel. The cleaner is there now. 

The post office was there many years ago. It was physically connected to the cleaners.

No, I never heard that.  A brothel......hmmmm........nah, never mind.