Separation of Church and State doesn’t mean religious people can’t hold office or participate in politics though - it means the government’s policies and actions can’t favor one religion over another.

That would be 100% unconstitutional to create religious litmus tests for candidates. If you find a candidate’s religious beliefs disqualifying you can express that at the ballot box.

You can walk down 13th St from Staples to get to Home Depot without having to cross tunnel traffic.

If anything that passageway is going to better connect Bergen and Lafayette. More density around here will make the retail on Communipaw and at the Junction more viable - and the residents of this building won’t be displacing people from existing apartments,

Where and how do you submit a public comment to the Port Authority?

A sushi place walkable from Lafayette is gonna be awesome! Communipaw Ave slowly filling in with businesses…

This will be a very attractive residential development site. Right next to Penn Station, Hugh rise zoning, riverfront views. This is the natural result of WFH: office tenants consolidate into the best buildings and older or less attractive office buildings are converted or redeveloped into something else.

Tax free Uniqlo!!!

I should also add that being dog-friendly here is so common that landlords only really bother to list when dogs aren’t allowed! Expect to pay some sort of extra fee or deposit to cover the extra wear and tear dogs put on an apartment.

Are police in other countries as arrogant about how they utilize their vehicles or is this a uniquely American problem?

Shoot me a DM! I do local dog sitting.

Also gonna add the South Mountain reservation! The closest trailhead is by Millburn station but there are also trailheads you can reach from Maplewood.

Would be a great spot for a bike rack!

I believe Kawaida Tower is waiting on an ASPIRE grant from the state.

Opportunity Zone tax break expired.

If you want to go the smaller building route and aren’t confident to DIY, the surest way to do such a thing would be to go through a broker. A rental broker will find listings on the MLS that meet your criteria, arrange showings, help you evaluate the units, and sometimes can even negotiate a slightly better deal for you. A broker generally charges the equivalent of one-month’s rent, but if you have a good broker they’ll try to negotiate that the landlord pays their fee instead of you.

With a budget like yours, you could either do a studio in some of the fanciest high rise buildings around such as 70 Columbus, or get yourself a nice 2BR apartment with a backyard in an historic brownstone in Van Vorst Park. I’d personally opt for the brownstone.

This is the right take. Our cops don’t brutalize the community, but they don’t do much of anything else either.

Hey! Some of us are pro-density and pro-taxes! There are dozens of us!

It’s going to be a two floor store. They are converting some of the parking garage to more floor space.

Wait…you can’t get Boar’s Head elsewhere in the country?

Residential is an allowed use in the NC zone.

Things have flip flopped a bit. All the new apartments in South Orange have meant SO has gotten younger and more hip, while Maplewood’s NIMBYism has meant it has just gotten older and wealthier. The trajectory is not dissimilar to how Hoboken has gotten wealthier and stuffier (RIP Maxwell’s) while Jersey City has became more culturally relevant.

Maplewood is a good town with lots of culture but is decidedly quieter and less urban-feeling than the ones mentioned above - it’s mostly classic early 1900s suburbia. It shares a school district with South Orange though and the two towns function as one in many ways.

Depends on your income and home budget, whether or not you have kids/need good public schools, etc.

You said you are craving something a little “different”. If you can afford it, Montclair has the most “urban” amenities of any suburb in the area, and has trains that run into Hoboken. Montclair is pricey though. Adjacent Bloomfield can give you access to Montclair’s amenities for a cheaper price.

South Orange is another good choice for an urban/suburban mix. While its downtown isn’t quite as vibrant as Montclair’s, it has a lot going for it, and has really good train service. West Orange is between South Orange and Montclair and is a bit cheaper than both.

You might be able to find a nice house in a yard for a reasonable price in Bayonne too, which is the city just to the south of Jersey City. It’s on the light rail, which will give you a quick, easy, and inexpensive commute to downtown JC. This is probably the best option if you want a yard but see yourself doing most of your socializing in JC and Hoboken.