Worst towns in NJ (Newark, Camden: low crime, townhomes, neighborhoods)

[MElizH]

My commute currently consists of traveling from Hoboken to Teaneck, and let me tell you, it's the LEAST asthetically pleasing journey EVER. No wonder people think Jersey is awful! (But let me assure you, there really ARE nice parts...it's not called the Garden State erroneously.)

Anyway, the towns on my "Worst List:"

Newark
Kearny
Irvington
Harrison
Arlington
Hackensack
Paterson
East Orange
Orange
Jersey City Heights (went to look at apartments there last year before I knew better and literally witnessed a shooting!)
Parts of Jersey City
Camden
Atlantic City

[corruptnj]

Originally Posted by MElizH

it's not called the Garden State erroneously.

Actually it is...

The Garden State: This nickname seems to have originated at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia on Jersey Day, August 24, 1876. Alfred M. Heston states in his 1926 work, Jersey Waggon Jaunts, that "The Garden State" was used by Abraham Browning, of Camden. "In his address Mr. Browning compared New Jersey to an immense barrel, filled with good things to eat and open at both ends, with Pennsylvanians grabbing from one end and the New Yorkers from the other. He called New Jersey the Garden State, and the name has clung to it ever since."

In later years, the explanation has evolved to reference New Jersey truck farms that provide floral and agricultural produce to cities in the area instead of an "immense barrel." These farms have catered, particularly, to the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas. Some support the nickname with stories of the Revolutionary War and the food provided to soldiers by the small farms of New Jersey.

Probably the most intense promotion of this nickname for New Jersey began when the legislature voted to add the legend "Garden State" to New Jersey license plates in 1954, in spite of the Governor's refusal to sign the bill, in part because "New Jersey is noted for manufacturing, mining, commerce, construction, power, transportation, shipping & merchandising. I do not believe that the average citizen of New Jersey regards his state as more peculiarly identifiable with gardening for farming than any of its other industries or occupations."

[JamalJohnson]

I have been living in Camden, New Jersey for 3 years now and it has its rough times but growing up in Watts, CA was a lot harder. I can honestly say that I can walk to the market safely here after dark, but while living in Watts the crime was so rampint, and i have been shot 5 times while living there on 3 seperate occasions, 3 of the bullets are still in me. Not to mention every house and project in Watts is surrounded by 20 ft high barb wire fence.
I moved to the east coast because i like the feel alot more, but back to the question in New Jersey worst cities id have to say are Camden and Atlantic City.

[CMD Survivor]

Originally Posted by SilkCity0416

It's because NJ is one of the most de facto segregated states in the country, when it comes to class, and sadly race. NJ is like NYC. Either you live in Manhattan or some section of the city that have expericence "gentrification" or you live in the South Bronx. There is hardly any gray areas in between. Major cities such as Newark, have been declining since the 1940s partly because of highways that cut right threw the city. 280 and the Turnpike, broke the fabric of the city. The poor that did lived in cities were pretty much forced to live in housing projects. This caused major tension between the have, and the have-nots. Can anyone say 1967 race riots in Newark? That caused an acceleration of middle-class people, to move to the suburbs. Leaving plenty of people to live in a city with a broken tax base, and no jobs. So, that's pretty much it.

Thank you, and thank you for pointing this out. It bears re-reading.

This might be the same for Newark, Irvington, E.O. etc., but here in South Jersey....what do you expect Camden to be when affluent areas of the region pay the city to 'absorb' their share of low income and affordable housing? Moorestown, Cherry Hill, The Haddons, etc., although the westside of CH is starting to become run down and congested.

I've lived in Camden, namely East Side all of my life, except for my stint in the Air Force. The crime rate here has, if you believe it, gone down since I was in middle and high school. (87-94) I remember one year, 1995 I believe, we had over 60 murders. The area was a lot more depressed than it is now. Federal St. in East Camden had wall to wall trash in the streets. Westfield Acres public housing was still around....now replaced with the gorgeous Baldwin's Run development. McGuire Gardens housing was redone and looks a lot better.

There wasn't any Waterfront attractions, but now that area has turned around...slowly but surely.

But, by no means am I downplaying Camden's titles as the Country's Most Dangerous city, (fitting that CMD is the acronym for Camden) and it being the poorest city in America. Double whammy! The corrupt politicians for the most part made it this way. NIMBY is the old saying. I've always wondered why the county jail, a state prison, and a trash to steam plant are all along, or close to the waterfront. Valueable land mis-used. Why couldn't they have been placed in less populated areas like Winslow, or somewhere esle in lower Camden County?

Like the quote above, it's the de facto segregation. Camden is isolated like an island....in less than a mile or two drive from my house, you have the most affluent communities in SJ. All sending those they don't want to live in their town towards Camden via Section 8 and affordable housing buyoffs.

While in the AF, I lived in the Phoenix area. I thought since AZ was the last state to pass MLK's birthday as a holiday, I was in for a rough ride. I was pleasantly surprised. Mesa, Phoenix, Peoria, Glendale, Surprise....all had a great mix of income classes and races. I couldn't tell the 'ghettos' from the rest of the area. Maybe the weather had something to do with attitudes and acceptance of different races and class. That's when I finally realised how segregated NJ really is. All of these little towns, each with their own little school systems, police, etc. Wonder why NJ is so expensive? Too much government.

If the people of this great state really want to do something about taxes we should try and consolidate small school districts, police, etc. into a county wide system like in Delaware, and many other states that have less of a tax burden. But if your county happens to include Camden, or Newark, Trenton, Irvington, East Orange, The Amboys, J.C., most don't want consolidation. Because it means sharing schools and services with said cities. Sad, but if you ask yourself, you might agree.

Camden is a burden for the state. Millions of dollars are being poured into the city for education because there is no tax base in Camden. Most of my family works for the BOE here, and we all ask, "Where is the money really going?" The educational system here is a joke. Schools here are in derepair. Out dated text books, overcrowded schools, schools falling apart. Without an education, the outlook is grim for the kids of Camden....in turn means either more welfare cases, drug dealers, crime and hopelessness. In fact, the drug trade is what's really keeping Camden's economy going. These street chemists aren't stupid if they can turn one thing into a product that's in demand. Shame, they could have gone to college and went into the pharm sector.

Con't due to too many characters in a post.

[CMD Survivor]

I've been all over the country, and the closest thing to Camden I've seen was E. St. Louis. Newark has a vibrant downtown. JC too. Even Compton is much better, just use Goggle Earth to see the housing stock. Homes there are going for over $300k. You can still buy a house here in Camden for under $20k....yet so close to Philly. Irvington reminds me of what Pennsauken would have been like if it wasn't for the de facto segregation. Though it's starting to get there now as more people are leaving for greener pastures via the housing boom. It's so bad here that I'm still reluctant to drive down Broadway into Gloucester City, and that's a shame. I have friends of many races and I'm not a racist by a longshot. I'd love to meet some people from GC...bet we'd have a great time. But the segregation and stereotypes are so ingrained into the region's psyche that I don't think it's possible...even in 2006.

So like many other New Jerseyans, I'm about to move out of state. Selling the house in Surprise, AZ and moving to the Delaware shore. I'm a city boy and it's so rural out there, but starting to get urbanized (Rehoboth Beach, Lewes, Dover, Milford, Millsboro, etc.) but no where near like NJ. And it's a great microcosm of what this area could have been like.

I love Camden. It has a great history. I came along right after it's peak. (1976) I'd love to see Camden come back to what it used to be and better. But I have a feeling the powers that be doesn't want to change the status quo. The crime is too high. I was shot on Haddon Ave. while I was on leave from the AF back in 97. I moved back here in 2000, and noticed how much the crime has subsided compared to while I was in secondary school. It's going up again. Something I never though possible is occuring here. Bloods are in town. This city is too small for that kind of thing. It's already the most dangerous now.....wait until the Bloods (and with Bloods comes Crips) finally gets organized. Over 200 open air drug markets (known to the cops anyway) to compete for. I feel so bad for the children and the residents of Camden that are trying their best to make a decent living. The quality of life here is nil. The median age of this city is the lowest in the country at 27yo. The lower the median age, usually, the more crime. The people that can afford to move out (usually the older and wiser of the population) leave the youth without any guidance that is sorely needed. But I really can't blame them.

It was cute growing up in this mess, before I knew any better, but it's too much for me now. Most of the people that live here have been here for generations. Most of them don't realise how bad it actually is here. they think it's normal. I always hear, "It's not that bad here, it can't be the worst in the Nation." I tell them statistics never lie.

Sorry for going off into so many tangets, but Camden is a passion of mine. I hope it can come around someday. If I had to rank the worst cities in NJ, based on what I've seen it would be:

1.) Camden
2.) Irvington
3.) East Orange
4.) Newark
5.) Atlantic City
6.) Trenton
7.) Jersey City
8.) New Brunswick
9.) Perth Amboy
10.) Paterson

Newark, Jersey City and Paterson might seem to be ranked to low, but I based it not only on crime, but how their downtown economies are holding up.

[GaryNJ]

so of course we have more than our share of low income/high crime areas. I grew up in Jersey City Heights, which used to be a decent neighborhood but became a ghetto as they built up the waterfront. Now I am nestled among the rich in southern Monmouth county, which I can barely afford even with a semi-sweet deal from the state.
I have seen creepy parts in all of the following areas in my vast travels of our state: JERSEY CITY, NEWARK, IRVINGTON, CAMDEN, TRENTON, THE ORANGES, AC, WESTERN HOBOKEN, CHERRY HILL, ASBURY PARK, NEPTUNE, KEANSBURG, BAYONNE, PATERSON---just to name the ones off the top of my head.
Just like the deer population, the middle class is losing our neighborhoods to greedy developers and politicians. We are being forced to the suburbs or out of state. And amazingly, more people still want in, and they keep building and building these seemingly unaffordable homes.

[borat s]

east orange is the worst place I have ever seen in NJ. Basically Newark and any of the areas surrounding it such as Irvington are not safe and the state police had to come in to take the streets over from the gangs and drug dealers. I have never been to Camden but it was voted most unsafe city in the country so it may take the cake. All I know is there is a stark contrast between NJ cities and suburbs and that is why you pay such high taxes in north jersey to keep the riff raff out.

[exhdo1]

Is it obvious to anyone else that have read the majority of posts on this subject (Worst towns in NJ) is that a lot are tiptoeing around what they really want to say. We all know the worst towns to live in here. Maybe it's time to move on!

[ucb91]

I cant belive that some one will actualy ask this question the worst towns in nj . well just to tell all of you i am actualy moving in to newark from new rochelle because newark is undergoing a revolution and i want to ba a part of it. watch give newark 5 years and it will move to your best towns list you will see

[exhdo1]

Originally Posted by ucb91

I cant belive that some one will actualy ask this question the worst towns in nj . well just to tell all of you i am actualy moving in to newark from new rochelle because newark is undergoing a revolution and i want to ba a part of it. watch give newark 5 years and it will move to your best towns list you will see

I guess you want to be part of the revolution. By the way Sharpe James promised the same thing back in 1986 when he was elected mayor. He did a great job Good luck, you'll need it!