[Portland_Bookgirl]

No offense, I've never visited and am getting dodgy advice. Is there really a super bad area of Bridgeport? I have no clue, and am looking for one. I know all cities have so-called rougher areas, but Bridgeport seem so affluent?
Thanks for your assistance in getting me straightened out on what's what.

[RogerAnthony]

Affluent? Have you ever been to Bridgeport? Nearly the whole city is a "bad" section. Main Street is like a ghost town of boarded up buildings. I've been all over the whole city taking photographs for a website and one area I found to be the worst was the 1400 block on Stratford Avenue.

[jjbradleynyc]

Bridgeport has seen better days. It's population has actually been increasing, up to around 144,000 in 2010, but the city is in need of a revitalization. It's been trying to get one started in different areas for decades--but corruption, bad decisions, and bad economic conditions all contributed to reasons for the stops.
The eastern part of Bridgeport city proper is pretty rough and run down. There are a lot of old manufacturing sites and warehouses in and around the city that are vacant. There are bad areas on the southside, west side, ringing downtown, and in the central section of the city. The so-so "potential" areas are Brooklawn that has a lot of excellent housing stock, the north side that borders Fairfield, and the nicest part of the city is Black Rock--which is actually pretty gorgeous and a wonderful neighborhood, mostly.
I love Bridgeport's potential. I would love to see it finally revitalize and gentrify sometime soon.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by RogerAnthony

Affluent? Have you ever been to Bridgeport? Nearly the whole city is a "bad" section. Main Street is like a ghost town of boarded up buildings. I've been all over the whole city taking photographs for a website and one area I found to be the worst was the 1400 block on Stratford Avenue.

Do you even know Bridgeport??? Have you really been there recently? Most of the city is decent and Main Street downtown has seen many major buildings renovated and converted to upscale apartments. It is hardly a "ghost town". North Main Street is a vibrant shopping district with a lot of nice stores and people everywhere. Black Rock is a desirable urban village with beautiful olde rhomes and some stunning waterfront homes. The North End makes up about 1/4 of the city proper and it is solidly middle class with well kept modest homes and condo and apartment complexes. The Beardsley Park and Treeland areas are also very nice and stable. Even Lake Forest is nice except for a small section around a public housing project nearby.

I will say I agree that Stratford Avenue and nearby Connecticut Avenue (which is in the East End) is the worst. The South End has the Univeristy of Bridgeport and a stunningly beautiful waterfront park called Seaside Park. It also has a few bad streets around Marina Village. The West End, Wood Park, the Hollow and the East Side are mixed. Overall though most of the City of Bridgeport is decent. I have driven friends from out of state around and they thought they were in Fairfield in many parts of Bridgeport. While there are some bad parts, there are many good parts. Jay

[JuJu83]

The worst parts of Bridgeport, in my opinion, are the projects called "The Marina," and the neighborhood called P.T. Barnum.

I would avoid living near those two areas.

You would be best to visit Bridgeport before making any decisions about moving there.

[andthentherewere3]

Originally Posted by original_bookgirl

I know all cities have so-called rougher areas, but Bridgeport seem so affluent?

Many of the towns surrounding Bridgeport are affluent, such as Fairfield and Trumbull, but I wouldn't describe Bridgeport itself as affluent. It is a struggling, economically depressed city. Why do you ask, do you plan to vacation or move to the area?

[MetsNY]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Do you even know Bridgeport??? Have you really been there recently? Most of the city is decent and Main Street downtown has seen many major buildings renovated and converted to upscale apartments. It is hardly a "ghost town". North Main Street is a vibrant shopping district with a lot of nice stores and people everywhere. Black Rock is a desirable urban village with beautiful olde rhomes and some stunning waterfront homes. The North End makes up about 1/4 of the city proper and it is solidly middle class with well kept modest homes and condo and apartment complexes. The Beardsley Park and Treeland areas are also very nice and stable. Even Lake Forest is nice except for a small section around a public housing project nearby.

I will say I agree that Stratford Avenue and nearby Connecticut Avenue (which is in the East End) is the worst. The South End has the Univeristy of Bridgeport and a stunningly beautiful waterfront park called Seaside Park. It also has a few bad streets around Marina Village. The West End, Wood Park, the Hollow and the East Side are mixed. Overall though most of the City of Bridgeport is decent. I have driven friends from out of state around and they thought they were in Fairfield in many parts of Bridgeport. While there are some bad parts, there are many good parts. Jay

I'll agree with Treeland and Northend being nice and stable.

But JayCT as someone who knows a lot about Bridgeport, I will tell you that Downtown is a ghost town, especially when compared to cities of similar size in this state: Hartford, New Haven, Stamford even Waterbury to some extent.

There is a lot of vacant office space downtown and while there is some revitilization going on, I'm not even sure how much of that space will actually be occupied.

When you drive through downtown Bridgeport it's depressing. It can be so much more.

As for the original post: Yes there are very rough parts of Bridgeport. For some reason people either think of Bridgeport is extremely bad or not bad at all. I will be the firs to tell you that it depends what areas you go to.

First and foremost, things to get seedy around the housing projects in the city. Washington Avenue can get a bit seedy. Down by the University of Bridgeport around the Marina Village housing projects it's hardly a nice area. In fact, it's an extremely high crime area.

The East Side is by far the roughest area. Stratford Ave, Seaview Ave, Connecticut Ave. Many boarded up, burnt out and vacant buildings. Garbage everywhere. This is the most high crime area of the city, but its confined to only a couple of blocks.

If you want to talk about REAL Bridgeport, if you go down the to old industrial sites down by the water you wil get the real depressing feel of the city. Its an environmental disaster down there. T

[MetsNY]

Actually, what am I saying. The East side is BAD. There is no other way to put it. The East Side is not a place you want to be if your an out of towner.

[JuJu83]

^^^^^true

That said, Bridgeport, in my opinion, is not as bad as its PR.

While it's not what I'd call "affluent," there's been revitalization (as noted above by Jay.)

From what I've experienced recently, there's considerably more foot traffic and entrepreneurial investment in the area than even 5 years ago. (Plus, there's always Peoples' Bank, which is all over the Northeast and headquartered in Bridgeport.)

One more thing relating to Bridgeport (the truth) vs. Bridgeport (the general perception *I don't normally compare cities like this, but I think the numbers will surprise some people, as they surprised me.*

Bridgeport actually has a much lower crime rating than New Haven, a somewhat lower rating than Hartford, and slightly lower rating than Springfield, Massachusetts.

This surprised me, because, from what I've perceived--New Haven and Hartford-Springfield are generally thought of differently than Bridgeport. NH-HF-SP are thought of as cultural capitals back on the rise, with diverse new plans and energy--Bridgeport, not so much.

It's a PR fight I think it'll take Bridgeport awhile to win.

[Angelic_Avalon]

this what bad part B-port looks like




I just think it's funny watching this lol