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Old 07-21-2007, 06:06 PM
 
38 posts, read 143,403 times
Reputation: 18

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The only "town" that i've heard to be racist, told to me by a few friends in the National Guard, is Oxford NJ... they were telling me that apparently it has Klan activity. Either way, as an hispanic i must ask; is it 'multicultural' for white people when their town is 95 % white, and 2/ 3% nonwhite? Otherwise it becomes a "bad" and "unliveable" city? I didn't ever would imagine NJ had this much racial segregation...

Last edited by Handsome Devil; 07-21-2007 at 06:08 PM.. Reason: Fixed some grammar
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Old 07-22-2007, 06:38 PM
 
Location: NJ/SC
4,343 posts, read 14,739,507 times
Reputation: 2729
Quote:
Originally Posted by jerseygirl4life View Post
I have fallen in love with an apartment in Lyndhurst, NJ but I am African-American and I noticed that the community isn't very diverse. I'm concerned because there are still areas of Bergen County that are not welcoming to ethnic groups. I would love any feedback on the Lyndhurst community and school system. I am looking for a comfortable and diverse community where the neighbors are welcoming regardless of ethnicity.
Can someone get back to the original post and answer the question? Thanks.

Maybe give info. on Lynhurst and the school system. If you don't know the answer then move on.
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Old 07-22-2007, 06:57 PM
 
20 posts, read 188,202 times
Reputation: 44
I am a 29 year old African American female who moved to Lyndhurst about 4 months ago from DC. And while I love my apt community, I will tell you that I will be moving once my lease is up. The apt community is pretty diverse, but I don't feel welcomed at all in Lyndhurst as a whole. I have been stopped by the Lyndhurst police on several occasions, when I ask why, I don't get any answers. I never get a ticket, or a warning; just a kind of "what the hell are you doing in this neighborhood" kind of look. I know they are profiling...... Kids will blurt out racial remarks to me in the parking lot at grocery stores in throughout town. It is not uncommon to be the only black person in a huge grocery store. I have stories on top of stories on top of stories. If you want to PM me personally for more details about the community please do so (we are probably talking about the same place). As I said before, the amenities in this apt is outstanding (pool, bbq grills, 24 hr gym, yoga room, community room w/pool tables, plasma, etc), but for over $1700 per month, I would prefer to live in an area where my dollars are appreciated more in the community. I grew up in the south around very few black people, so I have no problem being around the majority. But I have never dealt with this strong amount of ignorance and unwelcomeness.
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Old 07-22-2007, 10:30 PM
 
Location: Bronx, NY
2,806 posts, read 16,333,529 times
Reputation: 1115
Is this the Avalon in Lyndhurst? I just looked it up on the internet. They're charging $1,700 a month for a 1br in Lyndhurst!?!? Thats highway robbery. I am pretty sure you can find a 1 br in Lyndhurst for $800 - $1,000 a month.
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Old 07-23-2007, 10:10 PM
 
1,453 posts, read 4,920,049 times
Reputation: 336
You could probably find lower rents in a town like that but it does not have much to offer by itself. How can someone grow up in the south and not grow up around Black people?
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Old 07-24-2007, 08:07 AM
 
Location: Saddle Brook, NJ
14 posts, read 117,857 times
Reputation: 19
Quote:
Originally Posted by mead View Post
Yeah you're just a realtor. The only thing you care about is getting people to closings and collecting your commission check.

The realty on the ground is quite different from what you're portraying though. I know quite a few people from Lyndhurst and the surrounding towns. When I've spoken to them in private they'll usually go on tirades about moolignan this, nigg* that. This isn't like just an isolated case, there are a lot of very pissed of white people, at least when it comes to race issues, living in the towns in this area. Just ask somebody in this area what they think of what has happened to Belleville over the past couple of decades and sit back for the next 30-60 minutes as they give you an earful of their take on non-white people. So don't try to portray this area as some type of kumbaya wonderland for black people.

If you want middle class African-American look towards towns like Orange, Maplewood, etc. You're not going to have to face issues of fitting in, in those towns.

First of all I am NOT a realtor I said I work in the realestate business which doesn't mean that I'm a realtor. Second I know people of all races who live in Lyndhurst and they like. You keep on tell people to move to Orange and Maplewood when those towns aren't diverse they 95 % african american with a bad school system. I know this for fact. Instead move to a nicer area just because there some people in a town who are racist doesn't mean that the entire town is. Lyndhurst is a nice town with all races that live there not just white people. I am hispanic and live in a town that is perdominately white but everyone in my town are very much open minded and have not had any issues. I had more issues moving to Clifton and other areas. Why not break the stereotype and move to a nice area and give your children the best. Just remember we are not in the south and that there are narrow minded people where ever you go.
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Old 07-24-2007, 12:49 PM
 
20 posts, read 188,202 times
Reputation: 44
If you must know, I grew up in Central Florida. And I went to college in GA. There are many metropolitan ares in the south were there are very few black people. This area was one of them. When I was younger, it was not uncommon growing up to be the only black family in a restauraunt or other type of establishment. In addition to classes in school, and on athletic teams as a student. I stressed this point in my posting to show that I have no issue being the lone minority. I think you are reading way to far into that statement.
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Old 07-24-2007, 01:27 PM
 
72 posts, read 325,508 times
Reputation: 22
If you are looking for real statistics regarding diversity, use the census:

New Jersey by Place and County Subdivision - GCT-PL. Race and Hispanic or Latino:**2000


I hope this link is good. I cut and pasted it and it had every town in the state listed and broken down by race.
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Old 08-03-2007, 06:34 AM
 
1,542 posts, read 6,019,403 times
Reputation: 1705
to the original poster:

i have to agree with the others who have stated that lyndhurst isn't the most welcoming town for minorities. lyndhurst is a working class-to-middle class community that is overwhelmingly white, although the non-white population (mostly asians and latinos) has been slowly but steadily increasing. actually, i'd say that the above is generally true for all of the towns in the southwestern bergen county/meadowlands region.

a little background about myself:
i'm asian american, born and raised in this country, and have lived in southern bergen county virtually my entire life--in north arlington (which is extremely similar to lyndhurst, demographically and economically) and hasbrouck heights to be specific. furthermore, members of my family have either worked, shopped, or gone to school in a number of the southern bergen towns over the years since the 1970s. and i can tell you that as one of the only minority kids in these towns growing up, my brother and i were repeatedly harassed, on the receiving end of racial slurs, and generally made to feel unwelcome by many white people in these towns - even in rutherford, wood-ridge, and hasbrouck heights, which are probably a little wealthier and nicer than, say, lyndhurst or north arlington. my parents received some discrimination as well, but it probably wasn't nearly as bad as for us kids.

now that i'm older, i don't get as much of the weird looks or blatant racism that i received as a kid - as mentioned, lyndhurst and the other meadowlands towns are slowly getting more diverse - but i still don't consider any of the southwestern bergen towns to be particularly asian-friendly, with the possible exception of rutherford, which has the largest asian population in the immediate area. whenever i patronize "mom-and-pop" places in these towns (e.g. lyndhurst diner or some of the shops on ridge road), i still get an uncomfortable feeling at times - nothing overt, just a sense that i'm not welcome. perhaps latinos would feel differently than me, since there are definitely more latinos than asians in these towns.

but as for african-americans? there are HARDLY any in lyndhurst or the meadowlands region in general (less than 1% or 1.5% of the population in every one of these communities). i hate to say it, but as a lifelong resident of the area i'm positive that african-americans would receive the HARSHEST reception among any minority group in these towns. it's really sad and messed up, but true. you have to realize that most people in towns like lyndhurst are blue-collar white people, who (sorry for generalizing) have often demonstrated that they aren't particularly tolerant of racial/ethnic, religous, and sexual minority groups. in other words, they're a bunch of archie bunkers.

another thing to keep in mind is that a pretty fair number of the older residents in lyndhurst, north arlington, et al. have roots in newark, jersey city, and other inner city areas that were once heavily white and middle class but then declined precipitously during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. a lot of these residents specifically blamed african-americans for "ruining" "their" towns and as a result moved to towns like lyndhurst. so it's not surprising that they wouldn't be welcoming to minorities, in particular african-americans.

bottom line: as an african-american, you will NOT feel comfortable in lyndhurst. i totally believe the other african-american poster above who mentioned getting pulled over by lyndhurst cops for no reason; this is EXACTLY the kind of b.s. i would expect from that town. really, it's a shame because the town has so many things going for it (stable middle class residents, decent housing stock, super close to manhattan, excellent public transportation and proximity to highways, great shopping in paramus). but again, you probably don't want to live where you're not welcome.

in bergen county, there are only three towns which have large african-american populations: hackensack, teaneck, and englewood. although there is some degree of racial and economic segregation in each of these, for the most part african-americans i've spoked to feel very comfortable and happy in these towns. all three are for the most part safe (although there are some seedy pockets that should be avoided), have a range of incomes (including many solidly middle class or upper middle class af-ams), and a good sense of community. ditto for essex county communities such as maplewood, south orange, montclair, west orange, and bloomfield. notice that i excluded the rougher towns such as irvington, newark, orange, east orange, etc. orange is a mixed bag, actually, with some very dangerous pockets and some pretty decent areas as well, but overall i don't consider it to be a nice town.

all of the nice, diverse towns i mentioned are very expensive, so you'll definitely want to look around to find the best bang for the buck (unless of course $$$ is not a factor for you). the bergen county towns in particular are very, very expensive, but i do know that a bunch of really nice and new townhouses and rental apartments have been built in hackensack and englewood over the past 2-3 years. you might want to look into those first.
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Old 08-03-2007, 06:48 AM
 
Location: 32082/07716/10028
1,346 posts, read 2,187,021 times
Reputation: 167
Quote:
Originally Posted by pbergen View Post
to the original poster:

i have to agree with the others who have stated that lyndhurst isn't the most welcoming town for minorities. lyndhurst is a working class-to-middle class community that is overwhelmingly white, although the non-white population (mostly asians and latinos) has been slowly but steadily increasing. actually, i'd say that the above is generally true for all of the towns in the southwestern bergen county/meadowlands region.

a little background about myself:
i'm asian american, born and raised in this country, and have lived in southern bergen county virtually my entire life--in north arlington (which is extremely similar to lyndhurst, demographically and economically) and hasbrouck heights to be specific. furthermore, members of my family have either worked, shopped, or gone to school in a number of the southern bergen towns over the years since the 1970s. and i can tell you that as one of the only minority kids in these towns growing up, my brother and i were repeatedly harassed, on the receiving end of racial slurs, and generally made to feel unwelcome by many white people in these towns - even in rutherford, wood-ridge, and hasbrouck heights, which are probably a little wealthier and nicer than, say, lyndhurst or north arlington. my parents received some discrimination as well, but it probably wasn't nearly as bad as for us kids.

now that i'm older, i don't get as much of the weird looks or blatant racism that i received as a kid - as mentioned, lyndhurst and the other meadowlands towns are slowly getting more diverse - but i still don't consider any of the southwestern bergen towns to be particularly asian-friendly, with the possible exception of rutherford, which has the largest asian population in the immediate area. whenever i patronize "mom-and-pop" places in these towns (e.g. lyndhurst diner or some of the shops on ridge road), i still get an uncomfortable feeling at times - nothing overt, just a sense that i'm not welcome. perhaps latinos would feel differently than me, since there are definitely more latinos than asians in these towns.

but as for african-americans? there are HARDLY any in lyndhurst or the meadowlands region in general (less than 1% or 1.5% of the population in every one of these communities). i hate to say it, but as a lifelong resident of the area i'm positive that african-americans would receive the HARSHEST reception among any minority group in these towns. it's really sad and messed up, but true. you have to realize that most people in towns like lyndhurst are blue-collar white people, who (sorry for generalizing) have often demonstrated that they aren't particularly tolerant of racial/ethnic, religous, and sexual minority groups. in other words, they're a bunch of archie bunkers.

another thing to keep in mind is that a pretty fair number of the older residents in lyndhurst, north arlington, et al. have roots in newark, jersey city, and other inner city areas that were once heavily white and middle class but then declined precipitously during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. a lot of these residents specifically blamed african-americans for "ruining" "their" towns and as a result moved to towns like lyndhurst. so it's not surprising that they wouldn't be welcoming to minorities, in particular african-americans.

bottom line: as an african-american, you will NOT feel comfortable in lyndhurst. i totally believe the other african-american poster above who mentioned getting pulled over by lyndhurst cops for no reason; this is EXACTLY the kind of b.s. i would expect from that town. really, it's a shame because the town has so many things going for it (stable middle class residents, decent housing stock, super close to manhattan, excellent public transportation and proximity to highways, great shopping in paramus). but again, you probably don't want to live where you're not welcome.

in bergen county, there are only three towns which have large african-american populations: hackensack, teaneck, and englewood. although there is some degree of racial and economic segregation in each of these, for the most part african-americans i've spoked to feel very comfortable and happy in these towns. all three are for the most part safe (although there are some seedy pockets that should be avoided), have a range of incomes (including many solidly middle class or upper middle class af-ams), and a good sense of community. ditto for essex county communities such as maplewood, south orange, montclair, west orange, and bloomfield. notice that i excluded the rougher towns such as irvington, newark, orange, east orange, etc. orange is a mixed bag, actually, with some very dangerous pockets and some pretty decent areas as well, but overall i don't consider it to be a nice town.

all of the nice, diverse towns i mentioned are very expensive, so you'll definitely want to look around to find the best bang for the buck (unless of course $$$ is not a factor for you). the bergen county towns in particular are very, very expensive, but i do know that a bunch of really nice and new townhouses and rental apartments have been built in hackensack and englewood over the past 2-3 years. you might want to look into those first.
thanks for your efforts, this is an excellent and informative posting
(and it affirms my original comments).
Maybe the people who posted the knee jerk responses will grasp the reality of the situation in this town and the many towns in NJ like this one, sure racism and prejudices are not something that people want to see in a place the are considering a move to but to ignore the character of a town is just plain foolish
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