Is Newark REALLY that bad???? (East Orange, Irvington: environment, apartments, condos)

[sweetz]

Originally Posted by ehs

Why not come to Edison Hollow South ? As I just checked the Community Blog for another member and saw there are 3 condos listing for rent. EHS is only 5 min walk (may be less depending on how you walk) to Edison Train Station. The schools of Edison are great for your kids as well (in fact, one available unit is bi level condo of 1800 sq ft 1804 Raspberry Ct, Edison NJ, that school bus is right in front of the unit), and there is no discrimination here. If you are interested in, give Danny, Board of Trustees, a call at 908 635-2037 (cell) a call.

By the way, I have no bad feeling about Newark and am member of Newark Museum, and visited often, as a matter of fact. And I deliver sleeping bags to homeless people in Newark at nights, so Newark is like 5th and 6th Av of NYC to me at nights, you got many homeless sleeping outdoors, outside churches ...etc.

I called Danny today,, he only had a 1 bedroom available.

[Florence Diaz]

You should check out Hackensack or Englewood - excellent commuting to NYC. Public schools OK but you might also prefer private/parochial schools. I worked in Newark for 16 years and if you have school age kids, I would avoid it. The City is trying to come back but the safety issue is a BIG issue. Also check out Montclair or other Essex County suburban districts. No surprise about the feeling you got from the Bayonne landlord. In New Jersey as well as many other places, you'll sometime get the same feeling. However, you need to know your rights also so you don't become a victim of discrimination. Good luck.

[Olive1215]

Have you looked into Staten Island, specifically the North Shore. East commute to NYC and you can easily find a 2 bedroom at that price. Check the staten island advance silive.com for listings.

[kort677]

Originally Posted by Olive1215

Have you looked into Staten Island, specifically the North Shore. East commute to NYC and you can easily find a 2 bedroom at that price. Check the staten island advance silive.com for listings.

staten island???
people are fleeing in droves from there!
first off it costs $6 everytime to go to NJ, who needs that extra expense!?

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by mishi

I always think you can get a fairly good idea of the ethnicity in a town by checking out the schools. Check out the following link where you can view ethnicity in Bayonne schools: Greatschools.net Search: bayonne
When I looked at the statistics I have to say that I was actually surprised that Bayonne seems to be as diverse as it is. I always heard that Bayonne was predominantly Italian...and not very accepting of others...but perhaps that is not the case and/or it has changed.

to the original poster:
since you're african american, don't bother with bayonne. i went to high school in jersey city in the '90s with tons of kids from bayonne, and to a man they all told me how bayonne was the most insular town, full of archie bunker types, who didn't take kindly to outsiders (including minorities and/or yuppies, for ex). perhaps things have changed since i was in h.s., but the one thing i ALWAYS heard was, "be really careful when driving through bayonne, because the cops are the biggest a$$holes". several of the guys who told me this actually had RELATIVES who were on the bayonne police force. no joke.

as a minority myself, i never felt comfortable in that town when passing through or visiting friends who lived there. the bayonne kids from my school were a mixed bag (some were really cool, some were jerks, as is the case anywhere) but something about that town seemed a bit off. and it wasn't just me - every single person i've ever met who grew up in bayonne talks about what a weird, provincial town it is, even if they love it there. it might be accurate to say that longtime bayonne residents are territorial to a fault.

to mishi:
perhaps things have changed in the past 10-12 years, but when i was in high school, bayonne was overwhelmingly polish, not italian. almost every bayonne kid in my high school had a surname that ended in "-ski", "-wicz", "-itz", "-cki", or "-iak".

[mishi]

Originally Posted by pbergen

to the original poster:
since you're african american, don't bother with bayonne. i went to high school in jersey city in the '90s with tons of kids from bayonne, and to a man they all told me how bayonne was the most insular town, full of archie bunker types, who didn't take kindly to outsiders (including minorities and/or yuppies, for ex). perhaps things have changed since i was in h.s., but the one thing i ALWAYS heard was, "be really careful when driving through bayonne, because the cops are the biggest a$$holes". several of the guys who told me this actually had RELATIVES who were on the bayonne police force. no joke.

as a minority myself, i never felt comfortable in that town when passing through or visiting friends who lived there. the bayonne kids from my school were a mixed bag (some were really cool, some were jerks, as is the case anywhere) but something about that town seemed a bit off. and it wasn't just me - every single person i've ever met who grew up in bayonne talks about what a weird, provincial town it is, even if they love it there. it might be accurate to say that longtime bayonne residents are territorial to a fault.

to mishi:
perhaps things have changed in the past 10-12 years, but when i was in high school, bayonne was overwhelmingly polish, not italian. almost every bayonne kid in my high school had a surname that ended in "-ski", "-wicz", "-itz", "-cki", or "-iak".

Thanks for the correction...I don't know why I thought it was Italian...maybe misheard it from someone...but my husband just said the same thing as you...mostly Polish...oops sorry about the wrong info! In fact...he concurred with everything you said!

[pbergen]

Originally Posted by sweetz

Hi all. I am moving from Westchester Co. in NY and I have found an apartment I looove in believe it or not.. Newark!!! It is spacious, clean, has washer/ dryer hook up-- plenty of closet space, and it is affordable!!!

I am not naive and I realize there are drugs and other crime in Newark. But it seems to be like most metro cities in the US. I felt like when I was there searching that it is an environment that if you mind your own business, stay in and be smart.... life will be ok.

My concern is I have small children (two are school age). Are there ANY good schools there? Surrounding the apartment are other families and single persons who have nice apartments and work hard.

My kids safety is #1 so are the horror stories exaggerated? Does anyone have any personal accounts?

Thanks for reading and any responses!!!

honestly, i wouldn't consider living in newark for a second. it's just way too dangerous, and even if nothing serious happens to you, consider that newark has long ranked among the car theft capitals of the u.s. the risk of losing something precious to you is simply too great.

that said, some of the "safer" neighborhoods include forest hill, in north newark near the belleville border, and the ironbound, which is east of penn station. when i was a kid in the '80s, forest hill was a racially mixed neighborhood full of middle income families, but i don't know if the area has gotten better or worse since then. the housing stock mainly consists of fairly large, older single family homes, including some architectural gems, although a lot of the houses don't seem to be in the greatest shape. i honestly don't know anything about rentals in the area but you should definitely inquire about them.

on the other hand, the ironbound is primarily a portuguese and brazilian neighborhood with tons of restaurant and nightlife options along ferry street. i'm pretty sure it's one of the safest neighborhoods in the city, but it's also one of the most crowded and parking can be very difficult. since it's right by the PATH station, commuting to ny is pretty easy. there are plenty of rental apts in the neighborhood.

i don't know if living in an area with a large african american population (or at least a mixed area that includes a solid number of african americans) matters to you, but if so, i'd look in some of the aforementioned towns like montclair, bloomfield, hackensack, teaneck, and englewood. essex county in particular has a lot of racially mixed towns, so depending on your budget, you can look in towns like south orange, maplewood, montclair, and west orange on the high end and bloomfield and belleville in the middle income range. all of those towns have moderate to large african american populations and are much, much safer and cleaner than newark. hackensack, teaneck, and englewood might be more expensive for rental apartments than the aforementioned (bergen county in particular is insanely expensive, even by north jersey standards) and the county as a whole doesn't have the large african american presence that essex county does outside of those three towns. if any of that matters to you, it's something to think about before making your move.

[shelly2]

my son works at the Star Ledger in Newark and has a dismal view of the Newark police department, hence the rampant crime. He commutes, but has friends that live in Newark and he goes out after work with them at places like the Priory that are very nice and in safe areas. The press emphasis the worst of everything and because my son is a reporter, believe me I know this.

[lorib49]

As a life-time resident of the area surrounding Newark, I would tell you to avoid Newark at all costs! There are plenty of other suburbs in the area that offer a reasonable commute to NYC. Try Belleville or Rutherford. They offer some afforadable apartments, have good commute times and pretty good schools. I have 3 family members who are police officers in various towns around Newark and I can tell you that Newark is where the gangs are, it's a destination for people to get drugs, and it is where all of the stolen cars from other towns in the area go to. My hubby is a 4th year med students and I know what you're going through with the money that is paid to them in residency, but don't live in Newark. Residents have demanding schedules and your hubby won't always be home at night. I wouldn't want to live in Newark alone at night.

[city boy 105]

Find A Private School