Hoboken

Grandma Power at the Jersey Shore ( a better reality)

January 2, 2010 | Frank Marciano

It’s winter, it’s cold, it’s the weekend. Stay home , watch TV, take a nap. Well my brother-in-law’s mother, “Sitti” to her wonderful grandchildren, was out at the Jersey Shore, surf fishing. This picture of her all suited up and ready to hit the waves, is just so inspiring that I had to make it my first post of the year. Betty Topazio is full of life and laughter as anyone can see in her beaming smile. I truly believe that the energy and spirit of some like Betty is more powerful that a speeding locomotive. And of course (and this is no fish story) she was the only one to actually catch a fish!!!!

In our youth obsessed culture, success is measured by how thin and smooth your body is, but no amount of botox can fill your life with purpose. My New Year resolutions are to keep moving, embrace change, laugh even louder, love more and in turn be loved more and strive to live a life worth loving.

Appellate Court allows Blimpie Base No 1 to Stay in Hoboken

October 4, 2009 | Frank Marciano

The First Blimpie ever was built in Hoboken in 1964, and over the past few months this true Hoboken Tradition was almost forced to leave because of their Landlord’s tricky attempt to try and double their rent. Well, they lost at the trial level and then went to the New Jersey Appellate Court to try and force their interpretation of the lease regarding when and how Blimpie had to give notice to renew their lease. Thankfully, they lost again. In this Appellate Court Decision the Law Firm of Frank Marciano successfully defended an attempt by The Hoboken Blimpie’s landlord to double their rent for allegedly failing to provide a timely request to renew their lease. You can read the decision here, but before the decision here is a little bit on the History of Blimpie:

Blimpie’s roots can be traced back to three friends armed with an entrepreneurial spirit and a business itch to introduce what the world now knows as the beloved submarine sandwich. After months of research and planning, all the components were in place for them to begin their journey of becoming business owners, with one exception – they needed a name. With a desire to set themselves apart from their competition, they decided to call their sandwiches something other than submarines or hoagies. Hoping to find some inspiration, they paged through a dictionary until they came to the word “blimp” and a picture resembling the healthy, generous-size sandwiches they saw as their competitive edge. That was the “eureka” moment, and the Blimpie sandwich and restaurant chain was born! On April 4, 1964, the three friends opened for business in Hoboken, N.J.

Today with more than four decades of history and locations from coast to coast, the Blimpie brand continues to grow with the strength of its past propelling it forward. Though times have changed since those three friends began their journey, enjoying a meal at Blimpie is still like returning to your neighborhood deli. With fresh sliced meats and high quality ingredients, Blimpie keeps the dream of its founders alive while still setting itself apart from the competition.

Appellate Court Decision Victory

May 29, 2009 | Frank Marciano

hoboken%20marciano%20appellate%20court%20victory%20copy.jpg

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Just received the Appellate Court’s Decision in a trial I had in Hudson County Chancery Court that reversed the Trial Court’s judgment. This was an interesting case involving rent control in Hoboken, reformation and rescission of a contract, and many other points of law discussing what happens when rent control issues come to play in the sale of a multi unit building. It also is a great example of how slow the legal process is and how Judges can be wrong and how the system does allow a person to appeal and overturn a judges decision. For those that are not attorneys it must not make that much sense that decisions and opinions at the trial level are not always correct. In this case the Trial judge is one of the smartest and fairest judges that I have appeared in front of, but for whatever reason he saw the case as presented in way that my client thought was incorrect, so we appealed, and thankfully three appellate court judges took the time and effort to write a 19 page opinion that reversed the trial judge’s judgment so that my client won his case.

Hoboken moves to the Web; Great new Website

April 29, 2009 | Frank Marciano

Hoboken’s New Website seems to be a big step in the right direction, the more on the web the better; forms, notice, proposals, zoning information, council video all of it should be available on the web and this new website is a big step in that direction.

Mortgages are getting harder to obtain.

April 19, 2009 | Frank Marciano

Mortgage industry changes throw new hurdles in borrowers’ way – Los Angeles Times

Laugh, and the world laughs with you;

April 14, 2009 | Frank Marciano

Centraal Station Antwerpen March 23, 2009

Solitude (a poem Feb. 25, 1883)

A Wonderful time at Hoboken’s new “W Hotel”.

April 8, 2009 | Frank Marciano

Hoboken%20W%20Hotel%20Outside.jpg The W Hotel from the outside.

Hoboken%20W%20Hotel%20Staff.jpg The front desk staff showing off their W’s

Hoboken%20W%20Hotel%20Living%20Room.jpg The W Hotel Living room. Now its quiet, at night it’s not.

How Times have Changed

March 14, 2009 | Frank Marciano

Found this picture of my mother’s Class of 1951 Rutgers Law School Graduation Class Picture. E. Gioia Cipriano from Orange New Jersey was the only women in her graduating class. She was treated with the utmost respect to the point when a Professor said the word “damn” in class, he apologized to Miss Cipriano for his language. She tells about how when she was in the library and had to reach up to get a book, the men would all jump up to help her.

Many years later in the same library she was doing research and had trouble reaching the book on the top shelf, and she had to get a chair was precariously balanced on one foot to reach a book and no one came to help at all. She laughed to herself thinking how much difference a few years make. When she graduated law school she wanted to get into corporate law but no law firm would hire her. She finally was able to find a firm to work for but when asked if she could type she was smart enough to feign a lack of typing skills, she knew if the partners thought she could type she would be no more than a glorified secretary.

She was first assigned to collection cases for “Kirby Vacuum Cleaners” which were sold door to door and were very expensive. The salesmen talked the people into buying these multi tasking monster machines on credit and even though the payments were 10 dollars a month many people fell behind on their payments and then the lawyers were called in to repossess the machines which were then reconditioned and sold as new to other customers. Thinking that this was not the reason she went to law school she quit that firm and began focusing on wills and estate and real estate.

The Irish have come to save Hoboken

March 7, 2009 | Frank Marciano

Don’t worry bout a thing, cause every little thing gonna be alright !!! (courtesy of Bob Marley)

I have not seen anything like it since the 1986 bicentennial in Hoboken. The amount of adults, young, full of energy ( and beer) adults that are arriving in Hoboken by Path, by Train by Car by Bus by Ferry and by God I think I see some Helicopters filled with a bunch of green shirts airlifting them in. Hoboken simply is the place to be. Hoboken for all the reasons anyone who has been here knows is a safe wonderful almost mythical town of magic and energy. So some kids (I mean young adults) will cause a ruckus maybe even break one of my office windows, so what. Hoboken is a destination, it is a place where young fun entrepreneurial people want to be. If you want hope if you want good news and encouragement then understand the craziness of Hoboken today shows that there is plenty of energy and options for people, Everything’s gonna Be all Right !!

Hoboken Real Estate Holding Steady

January 18, 2009 | Frank Marciano

Lets Go President Obama !!!!

From a day to day perspective, the Hoboken real estate market is not as bad as it might seem from all the negative press. Each aspect of the transaction: contract, appraisal, mortgage, insurance, inspections tends to need more attention, every party involved in a purchase wants to be sure that everything is in order. FHA loans and FHA spot approvals are becoming more common and require more attention. But people need to move, and buying real estate, with it tax benefits, still makes sense.

Prices are holding up, but it is clear that buyers will not even consider properties that are not priced to be reflective of the current market. The best strategy for a seller is to price low and wait for the buyers to bid the price up. We are all hoping that the new policies of President Obama will make a big difference and bring some needed confidence to the market.