Montclair NJ (Clifton, Bloomfield, Little Falls: apartments, condos, violent crime)

[bneath_the_surface]

Anyone here on the board from Montclair? If so, can you please fill me in on the area of the town located around the Bay Street Train Station? Anyone on here actually live in that area? Would like to hear from residents of the area in regards to safety, noise, and anything else that may have me reconsider about an apartment that is being offered to me on Pine Street (right before the railroad tracks).........I like the apartment, plenty of character and nice amenities for the price, but the liquor store on the corner
of Pine and Glenridge is turning me away......though I like the convenience of the train station being close by.......opinions anyone?

Thx

[carolinajack]

Is Montclair really a safe place for IR families? We hear that it is but we are not too sure about the facts. Anyone that can help please.

[Birge]

We lived in the condos next to the apt building you're talking about on Pine Street for almost four years. We loved it. We had a baby there, walked her in the neighborhood. The corner was never an issue for us.

[bck2826]

I am also looking to move to montclair. Everything I've heard about seems very good. Everyone says its a very beautiful area with a decent amount of things to do. I heard there is a college there so its good area for that type of crowd.

If anyone knows anything more about montclair please let me know. These are all just things people have told me about the area, but none them actually live there.

[Meyersd]

I lived in that neighborhood for 30 years before I moved to neighboring Bloomfield 3 years ago. I have to say it has changed dramatically (for the worse) since I left 3 years ago. There are still people hanging on the street corner where the liquor store is(Pine and Glenridge Avenue), and just a month or so ago, a proprietor of a convenience store(directly acroos the street) was shot. Two businesses at the end of Pine street were also broken into and/or robbed at gunpoint.(all of that activity happened within the last month. Since 2001, there have been a number of people who have flooded Montclair for a better living experience. I will say that you can't beat Montclair for it's diversity, beauty and community, but at this moment, the town is experiencing growing pains, which is showing in the form of increased violent crime. There was a shooting in Montclair in 1994, where an employee shot and killed a number of postal workers so he could steal money orders to pay his rent. That crime was a major, major deal around here, because until that time, nothing on that scale had ever really happened in town. Since that time and especially since 2001, there have been crimes that have happened that have been just as bad and more frequent. For the amount of taxes you will be paying by moving here (if you are going to buy) you should at least have piece of mind that law enforcement is on top of things. I figured you would want the real deal. It's strickly due to increased crime and not enough manpower to handle it. Most officers work during the day, and there are only a few on at night when the real crime starts. This goes back to the old ideology that only motor vehicle crimes happen at night. Monclair has a great nightlife with bars, resturants and nighclubs. But all that glitters is not gold.... I wouldn't rule Montclair out, but I would defintely look for other alternatives. This is coming from a 30 year resident of the town. I will always love Montclair, but right now, I think people should consider moving to a less populated town with less crime.

[whey2sassy]

I live right next to the liquor store on the corner you are referring to. You can walk outside the store and throw a rock and hit my building.

With that being said, I would have to disagree with one of the posts I just read.

I absolutely LOVE Montclair and thoroughly enjoy living on Pine Street. I am a young, attractive, white female who has absolutely no problems walking the streets - day or night. I feel VERY safe and have never had any problems at all.

I have heard many people express their concerns about the "liquor store on the corner" which I personally think are ridiculous. For those who aren't familiar with the area, at any given time you will see a handful of blacks standing out front or sitting in front of the store. Since when is that a crime? I have never been harassed or bothered by ANYONE one my street, ever. In fact, every person (no matter what race) I have run into on Pine Street has been very friendly - we are a nice little community.

Yes, there has been crime over the years - but there is crime ANYWHERE you go. It is nothing that is specific to lower MOntclair or Pine Street. I genuinely hope people don't shy away from Pine Street simply because of a few harmless people standing on a street corner.

My frustration stems from numerous people saying to me "oh, you live on Pine Street?" or "you don't live by that liquor store do you?" I mean, how racist can you possibly be? Bottomline, people wouldn't "shy away" from the Pine Street area if they saw a bunch of white people in business suits hanging out on the street corner....but since there are a few blacks who don't look like they just got off the train from Manhattan and are all dressed up, people immediately JUDGE. This type of ignorance is something I had hoped our society today had gotten past.

Pine Street is a great area and a very welcoming community. I hope people stop judging and give it a chance. There are a lot of great people who live here and it is a very diverse area with a lot to offer.

[brookdaleresident]

Not the safest area; there have been a number of shootings there. I love Montclair, but I don't think I'd want to live in that area.

[Spincycle]

Originally Posted by bneath_the_surface

If so, can you please fill me in on the area of the town located around the Bay Street Train Station?

This is the least desireable location in Montclair (i.e. the area around Pine/Bay and Pathmark). Its the pits, IMO.

I assume you are relocating from NYC and a 'broker' recommended this for you heh? You can do much, much better by eyeing some of the apartments further uP the line, those in and around Walnut Street, maybe Watchung Plaza, and especially Upper Montclair (apartments on Valley Rd. and the ones on Bellevue too). The latter will put you close in walking distance to Anderson Park, Bellevue theatre, CVS, several banks (eg. Chase and BoFA) and Starbucks. Edgemont Park is also close by just down Valley Rd. closer to Watchung. With all these more attractive and safer options why settle for Pine Street? Makes no sense whatsoever.

Originally Posted by bck2826

Everything I've heard about seems very good. Everyone says its a very beautiful area with a decent amount of things to do.

For the most part perhaps yes. I'd caution the generalizations.

Originally Posted by bck2826

I heard there is a college there so its good area for that type of crowd.

The college is technically in Upper Montclair/Montclair Heights, bordering Little Falls, and stradling the Clifton border on other end. Again I'd caution the generalizations, its not really a "college town". On a positive note I will stress that Brookdale Park and Applegate Ice Cream are awesome places in town, esp. in summer and early fall.

[brookdaleresident]

Spincycle is right, the college is not even near that part of town. That part of Montclair has more crime than most other areas. There was a murder just a few months back on Glenridge Ave, and a store owner was shot last year on the same street.

[MaverickDD]

Been to Montclair lately? Based on lawn signage alone, one would think that Montclair changed its name to OBAMA! More so, most of the rhetoric on the college grounds would support this observation.

Hmmm... OBAMA! State University of New Jersey. It has a certain ring to it, no?

[BTW, most of the college is in Clifton. Not much of the ground beyond the front gate (Normal Ave) and first building is actually in Montclair.]