Asbury Park (Atlantic City, Long Branch, Rumson: section 8, condos, crime)

[ctheway]

Hello,

Does anyone happen to know what it's like living in Asbury Park? We would be interested in this city because it has rail access to the city and the homes/rental prices appear to be reasonable. However...what are the schools like? Is the crime outrageously high? Is there a large transient population?

We can live in a city with a few problems, this is to be expected when you are on a tight budget- but would living in Asbury Park be an ordeal?

Your suggestions and comments would be very welcome. Thanks!

[shannybannany]

I know Asbury Park is really trying to get its act together but I don't think it will be easy. Their schools are a mess and I don't think they will get any better in the 4 years you have until your child enters kindergarten.

I wish I had a better answer for you.

Good luck,

Shanny

[desertsun41]

I been away for about a dozen years but have been back just to drive around a place that was once on top of the world. Asbury Park is dead. Does anyone even live there? Back as little as 6-7 years ago even the Police Station closed. They turned off the power to the traffic lights. Convention hall once the bright shinning star of the rock music scene is in such disrepair that it can make you cry.

The pier is washed away. The jettys are a mess and silted in. The beach is littered with New Yorks trash. There are more tampons on this beach then there are bottle caps or flip tops. All the trash that floated in from NY's Fresh Kills Land Fill just sits there. No sanitation dept to clean it up.

Some of the old signs still stand. The color on these signs are all washed out but readable enough to get a picture of what once was. The Stone Pony where Bruce Springstien got his start. The Palace Amusment Park. The Salt Water Taffee shops. The Berkley Hotel which they built right on top of Atlantic Av without permits and then just abandanded the project only to leave a steel I-beam skeleton for the past 25 years. The decaying pedestrian walk way stretches from a deserted beach to a deserted boardwalk.

I miss the once glorious Crown Jewel of the Jersey Coast.

If things have improved in the last couple years then dont send me any hate mail. I will be the first to cheer on a new Asbury Park. But it will never ever ever be the same as the 70s and before.

[b75]

While investors are attempting to bring it back, I'd still classify it as not a safe area to live in, despite the fact that some people have chosen to buy there. It is safer in that people sometimes go out for events there at night now, whereas a couple of years ago, I wouldn't have necessarily done that. But no, I personally would not reccommend living there, especially if you have a child.

[Carbro]

Wow, desert sun! Your post made me incredibly sad.

Even when I was growing up in Monmouth County, in the '50s and '60s, AP was a troubled community. However, if you stayed near the Boardwalk, you could enjoy the beach, the amusements.

I used to take weekly skating lessons on the Boardwalk, and enjoyed some concerts there. It's a city that didn't have to die. Since the casinos opened, Atlantic City has probably drawn a critical mass of tourists who might otherwise have gone to AP.

With all the beachside condos springing up in nearby areas like Long Branch, maybe some gentrification will seep south towards Asbury Park. Enough to get it on its feet.

[ctheway]

Thanks everyone.

[zombiemommie]

It is definately not safe and the schools are horrible. There are still the halfway houses for the mentally/developmentally disabled, and although there are "good people" there, they are really the only thing holding Asbury from falling in on itself. There is now a huge population of hispanic day laborer/illegals and there are the equivalent of mini race wars between the black and hispanics in the town. Why on earth would you pick Asbury Park ? What are you looking for in particular - post your needs, people will help you find a decent place.

[fblumberg]

ive been looking and watching for a month now...
no better than 1987 mugged once robbed 2 3 bikes stolen....
even better now with the bloods and crips, bang bang ur dead
there is a glut of condos that no
one is buying it will be section 8 again in 2 years gauranteed!

[Giantone]

Asbury Park has'nt been the "Crown Jewel" ................for a hell of a long time.Yet it's not half as bad as people portray it.Other towns also along the same rail system are nicer and can get you into the city.Middletown,RedBank,Rumson,Belmar,Spring Lake and Manasquan are all great towns with good schools and almost no crime.

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by Giantone

Asbury Park has'nt been the "Crown Jewel" ................for a hell of a long time.Yet it's not half as bad as people portray it.Other towns also along the same rail system are nicer and can get you into the city.Middletown,RedBank,Rumson,Belmar,Spring Lake and Manasquan are all great towns with good schools and almost no crime.

not half as bad? name one town in the area that is worse? Asbury is a dump and it has a long way to go before becoming a viable place to live