Hawthorne, NJ (Paterson, Passaic, Wayne: rentals, crime, townhouses)

[phillycheesesteak]

Hey NJ,

I am new to the forum...I am orginally from Philly (Miss the REAL cheesesteaks) but live in NJ. I lived (rented) in Plainsboro, Passaic Park, Wayne, and now Edgewater over the last 8 years. After living around a bit I decided to buy a new townhouse in Hawthorne (I close next month). Seems like a nice quiet area but not sure if my eyes are telling me the truth. Can anyone shed some light on Hawthorne (likes and dislikes). Also, I work in times sqaure NY so I plan to commute by bus (the Bergen/passaic line train seems like it would take long since I remember takinig it from Passaic a few years ago) The only bus options I know are: Wayne park/ride, GS exit 165 park/ride, or try to do a shortline bus route and park at a local church. Any comments on the area and commute (train vs. bus) would be appreciated.
THANKS!

[LynW676]

I can't help you with the commuting situation, but Hawthorne is close to where I live in Ridgewood, so I know a few people who live there and my son, who is a cop in another town, knows several of the police officers. In general, the people I know are happy with the town. They live in modest older homes in stable neighborhoods. The areas of Hawthorne that are closer to Paterson have a slightly higher crime rate, but I believe that Hawthorne is pretty safe and is a good "first home" area because it is a little more affordable than the surrounding suburban towns.
I am sure you will be happy there. What are of Hawthorne is it?

[phillycheesesteak]

The townhouse community is off of lafayette ave up by Rt 208 (Grandview exit). It is one block away from Wyckoff township and like 2 min from Ridgewood (is weird because I found the closet supermaket A&P and whole foods about 5 min away and they said its ridgewood). I was very confused driving around when trying to figure what town I was in. Overall, the area was very clean, landscaped and quiet...also I see some new construction family homes in the area that look like 4-5 bedrooms about 5-6K sqft....I see on this site that people say hawthorne is mostly blue collar...maybe I need to change from white collar to blue collar then...thanks for the input.

[LynW676]

That's a good area...and I see Hawthorne becoming more white collar. (In fact, I see the "collar color" lines becoming more blurred and hopefully less important over time....) I think you will be happy with your choice. Whole Foods is indeed in Ridgewood but not far from the Midland Park border, and the A & P is in Midland Park near the Wyckoff border....I shop at both of them often.

I wish someone would post some help with your commuting situation though. You might do the best commuting out of Ridgewood...the train station is near Whole Foods, and the bus station is in the center of town.

[joe moving]

What I like about Hawthorne is that it's a very decent hardworking town. It has just about everything you need. There's tons of stuff on Goffle and Lafeyette and Lincoln. You will probably find yourself grocery shopping at A&P down Goffle, or for deeply discounted stuff "Food Basics" (where you have to put a deposit on a shopping cart and you used to have to pay for plastic bags).

We lived there for 2 years just these past 2 years until moving next door. We thought very hard about buying in Hawthorne but decided to wait and spend a little bit more to get into Bergen County. But we have a house and a dog and plan on having children. I am guessing you will not find a townhouse at all, let alone this nice, for this price, in Ridgewood Wyckoff Glen Rock etc. I believe that the town is a little bit less well off than some of the other "Bergen" county towns and in shows in the minute details. For example you can park your car on the street overnight there, and this just gives a different feel. It's funny when I was younger I always thought what kind of silly towns won't let you park overnight? NOW I prefer to live in a town where you cannot park overnight. But this won't affect you up on the hill. There is a bit more industry and commercial business around Hawthorne. There are some areas tucked in by the rail road tracks where there are trucks coming in and out all the time. I don't think the schools will be as good, again, as the Bergen county surrounding towns. I believe Lafayette is a great area. You are just a few steps away from Wyckoff and that road is pretty quiet.

Overall Hawthorne is tons tons nicer than Paterson and Prospect Park next door, but no where near as nice as Wyckoff, Ridgewood and Glen Rock also next door.
I don't know what your living situation is (wife? kids? etc?) but I think those townhouses are very nice. KHOV makes very very nice places. Not sure if the people on Lafeyette Ave are too happy about it though.

I don't work in NY so forgive me - would you consider the train to Secaucus then to Penn station? Or is that too far south...? Sorry for babbling.

[phillycheesesteak]

Joe moving...Thanks for the additional input..this is very helpful. It's just me and my girlfriend (soon to be fiancée) for now....We have no kids and both travel for work often, so we just wanted something as a starter home and move into something bigger in like 5 -7 yrs when we start a family. I agree about Bergen, we probably will consider moving back into Bergen county once we start thinking about schools systems for our kids. As for the commute, I would consider the train if I can fine someone that knows the parking (i.e., how early to get a spot) and commute situation and can tell me how long it takes to penn sation during rush hour or bad weather.

[joe moving]

The trains are pretty reliable since they don't have traffic and are not generally affected by the weather.

Check this out

New Jersey Transit

Put in Hawthorne for from, then New York Penn for to, then weekday. It takes under 1 hour.

I think in Hawthorne, you as a resident can park on the (Washington St) street right by the station. I never bothered looking at the signs but I am pretty sure its resident parking only and you probably apply for a permit for free or close to it. I have driven by Washington St in the morning and didn't consider the traffic or parking situation to be out of hand - you might end up walking a hundred yards or something... maybe just drive by Washington St and read the signs, or call the borough hall and ask them what the deal is...

Good luck and enjoy.

[DIMPLES1]

Hello:

Phillycheese steak, I think buying in Hawthorne was a mistake. I am well aware of the area and the new Town Houses are really nice. Hawthorne is changing and quickly. Hawthorne is a blue collar town with alot of rentals. In the 50's 60's 70's and 80's the local goverment made it a point to keep the element of the surronding towns out. The past Mayor of Hawthorne and the current Mayor welcome the minoritys, shortly Hawthorne will be the next Paterson. As you drive through the center of town you will see alot of Latinos and other ethnic groups which are sliding in due to the rentals and the fact it is PASSAIC county. Sell why you can and get into Bergen county. I just bought home in GLen Rock myself, what once was a cute blue collar town with the down home feeling is quickly changing into LATINO DI MUNDO

[CPA247]

Honestly, how ignorant can you be to talk about minorities that way, not to mention that there's probably a 90% chance that your family, at some point, migrated to the US, which, by default will make you of minority descent. Also, you talk about Hawthorne and glorify Glenrock, which may I add, in case you haven't bothered to look at a map before running your mouth with these nonsense comments, GLEN ROCK ISS NOT TOO FAR WAY FROM, PATERSON. You, on the other hand, opted to pay thousands of dollars more to live in an area of no greater distiction to the one you are trashing. And as advice....if you do not want to be around minorities, I suggest moving, not out of the town, nor the state..more like the country, since miroties according to CNN totaled 98M or 33% of the total US population of 296.4M (in 2005). Welcome to AMERICA!!!!!! PS, BEFORE YOU QUOTE SPANISH WORDS, LEARN TO SPELL....And if you have nothing positive to say in this forum, then save your words for some who cares to listen to these racist comments and allegations.

[Bradykynin]

Cheers for CPA 247!!!! I couldn't agree more! With dunderheads like Dimples1 living in Glen Rock, I am proud to reside in Hawthorne. Shame on you, Dimples1. Hawthorne has lots to offer if you take your head out of the sand.