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I was born and rased i elizabeth nj.I am now 64 years young.I have seen all the places you are talking about change some better some worse.When i was a kid i hung around parts of elizabeth you cant even drive through now.I saw my neborhood (bayway) go down hill and start to come back a few years ago.Do not think that westfield,clark,garwood,and the others you think are so great go without crime, they just try to keep it quite.I moved to garwood for two years and it was the frist time my car was broken into and most people would not talk to you if you were the last 2 people on earth.I now own a house in rahway in a quite part of town and am watching the town really grow.There school system is really improving,my grand daughter goes there and is top honers in her high school the teachers there for the most part really care.Well i could go on about this but i am on this forum looking for a place to move to in va,just cant afford to live in this crooked run state of nj any longer.
I was born and rased i elizabeth nj.I am now 64 years young.I have seen all the places you are talking about change some better some worse.When i was a kid i hung around parts of elizabeth you cant even drive through now.I saw my neborhood (bayway) go down hill and start to come back a few years ago.Do not think that westfield,clark,garwood,and the others you think are so great go without crime, they just try to keep it quite.I moved to garwood for two years and it was the frist time my car was broken into and most people would not talk to you if you were the last 2 people on earth.I now own a house in rahway in a quite part of town and am watching the town really grow.There school system is really improving,my grand daughter goes there and is top honers in her high school the teachers there for the most part really care.Well i could go on about this but i am on this forum looking for a place to move to in va,just cant afford to live in this crooked run state of nj any longer.
Roselle Park: During January 2008 - one day it was an unusual 75 degrees. My husband (older man in 50's) was walking in Roselle Park on weekday around Walnut Ave. & East Clay -midafternoon. A convertible car with top down pulled over from the other side of the street in opposite direction. There were 4 men in car with ski masks on (remember, it was sunny and about 75 degrees that day - you did not need a ski mask to keep warm that day). They eyed him up and down (I guess to determine if he had anything of value to take?). My husband, who still thinks he's 25 and buff, glared back at them. Thankfully they just laughed at him and drove away. We have seen the deterioration in the Union Township/Roselle Park area for the past few years and Kenilworth is next. I am originally from Newark/Irvington area & this area (Union Twp/Roselle Park) is beginning to feel the crime stats increasing in the same way that the Irvington/Newak border did 20 years ago. The Maplewood/Irvington/Newark border was hit with higher crime 20 years ago as well. I have relatives still in West Ward of Newark near South Orange and they hear gun shots quite often; neighbors on the block shoot off "38s" on holidays like 4th of July. Even a stray bullet is unwanted. I've been "down this road" for over 30 years now watching crime increasing in the towns and having to constantly move out to get a little further away from the crime each time I move. What's next? I suppose I will have to either move over the Driscoll Bridge or go southwest into Somerset County/Mercer County area or western Union county. If only I could afford it.....
Now some of you want proof that the crime exists and I can only say check the statisics on the County's crime reports. As for me, while in Newark we had a car stolen in our family and while in Irvington we've had our car vandalised twice. While in Irvington a friend of mine (female age 40) was punched in the face and robbed (25 years ago) - and I am sure it hasn't gotten any better.
Earlier this year 2009 a friend of mine was in Rt. 22 W parking lot of Pathmark/Best Buy and an attempted abduction was done to her. She's about 65 years old! 2 vans pulled up as she got out of her car and they were blasting music to act as a "cover." A man started pulling her into an open van but a bystander (man) saw what was going on. At first she thought he was part of the scheme but he was pulling her away from the man in the van. When she was rescued, the vans pulled off onto Rt. 22 West and when called by cellphone by the hero man, the police refused to come to the scene siting that it's too late: the vans were gone and neither of them got the plate number of the vans in all the excitement. So much for Union Township....She doesn't live in Union Twp. but up until that point she was about to move back into Union from Millburn but changed her mind after this incident.
I attended the grammar school in Newark where those teenagers were executed in the playground in broad daylight a couple of years ago. My mother lives just a few blocks from there in Newark. I visit her, but only during daylight hours and I bug out before sunset. She can't receive any mail larger than a manila evelope because the mailman can't get into her building because the front door is locked - so he has to push the mail throught the "mail slot." Last time the door was unlocked, their mail was stolen from the vestibule. These are also the little nonsenses you have to put up with when living in a bad area. I've been living in Union for many years and just recently the mail in our hall has begun to get stolen. So it's starting in Union too.
My sister in law in Maplewood on Irvington border told me that several months (Fall 2008) ago someone tried to pry their front door open during the night but were unsuccessful. We saw the mauling of the wooden door for ourselves.
I think Union Twp. can be compared to be the same as Linden was about 5 years ago, but maybe not Elizabeth yet.
I don’t agree with this at all, you do not live in Roselle Park and can’t make that assumption based on a random act while driving through the town. I’ve lived in Roselle Park for 22 years and it’s a safe town there never an area that I have ever felt unsafe. It’s in no way like Linden, Irvington, Roselle. Whatever happened to you was a very random thing just as in any town can happen. I hear more crimes going on in Westfield over the past few weeks then I have in Roselle Park in all of these years. I have driven through Irvington many many years ago and have no desire to go back there again, talk about scary. Get your facts straight
The person to whom you were responding has not posted anything--in any CD forum--for 11 1/2 years, so it's very unlikely that he/she will see your post.
I lived in the area for many years and feel very safe in Roselle Park. The fact remains there is very little crime here. Roselle has a slightly higher crime rate, especially as you get closer to St Georges Ave, but still relatively safe. But, as soon as you cross St Georges Ave, that section of Roselle Street in Linden between St Georges and Elizabeth Ave has seen several shootings in recent years. I would never live in that one particular section.
Yes, most of Elizabeth is generally not safe except for Elmora. I would say Linden has also become worse over the years, but not to the point that I'd avoid going there. The main downtown area near the train station is still decent.
Union has its good parts and crappy areas. The part of Union closer to Roselle Park, 5pts, and Kean are all very safe areas. Union Center can be sketchy because Irvington is close. Most of the trouble there are caused by Irvington thugs.
Cranford, Garwood, and Westfield have the lowest crime rates. Hardly anything happens in those towns aside from a few random traffic stops where cops find drugs on out of town folks.
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