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I just wanted to get some perspective on what it is like to live at the Beacon and how safe it would be. There are times when I walk my dog at 5am or at midnight. How safe would it be to walk her at this time? Also, if I am coming back late from Manhattan, how safe will I be during that walk?
That area is not the best part of town for sure. I would not walk around there late at night or early in the morning alone. I believe there is a larg enclosed dog walking area at the Beacon. So walking your dog at night wouldn't be the problem. If you can take a cab at night, that would be safer. Have you gone to that area and checked it out at night?? In my opinion, the area is not safe. There is a large housing project right next to the Beacon and a lot of crime happens in that area.
That area is not the best part of town for sure. I would not walk around there late at night or early in the morning alone. I believe there is a larg enclosed dog walking area at the Beacon. So walking your dog at night wouldn't be the problem. If you can take a cab at night, that would be safer. Have you gone to that area and checked it out at night?? In my opinion, the area is not safe. There is a large housing project right next to the Beacon and a lot of crime happens in that area.
The housing project is empty & is set to be torn down. The land will be redeveloped.
Are you renting or buying? I'd be more hesitant to buy. That goes for anywhere, though, I guess.
My mother and a couple other relatives live right in that neighborhood. It's not the best. But that's subjective. If you're looking for a trendy/yuppie/hipster/bro-y neighborhood like Hoboken or downtown, you'll be disappointed.
It's also not the best, safety wise, in and around The Beacon. Again, though, I guess that would depend on your personal perspective. I mean, it's definitely not the worst neighborhood either.
As far as the PATH station...I thought The Beacon offered a shuttle service? I just looked it up. Yes, it does:
Quote:
The shuttle runs 6am-12am Monday-Friday stopping at Grove St. PATH and Exchange St. PATH Stations. On weekends the shuttle runs 8am-8pm (if you have a hot date or dinner plans after 8pm you will need to secure the services of a cab company - price from downtown to The Beacon is $8 for a Yellow Cab and $12 or higher for a car service.
That's according to a review on Yelp. (I don't understand why that shuttle wouldn't just go back and forth to the Journal Square PATH, but OK.) There are lots of Beacon reviews there:
I think one thing to consider is the continued construction (including the construction that openheads mentions above). Seems like that would be a lot of noise.
Just for fun, and because there's Halloween crap in all the stores already--I've heard that The Beacon is haunted. I'm sure you know it's a historical site that used to house the Jersey City Medical Center. One of my mother's friends moved there a couple years ago only to move back out because he found the building to be "creepy". My grandmother died there in 1996. I'd always tell him to say hi if he ever saw her floating around in the hallways. He wasn't amused.
I live at the Beacon and have for the last 6 years.
The Beacon is not haunted. Really people, get a grip!!
The Beacon is very very safe. It is a well lighted, fenced, gated community. The Beacon is a collection of 9 buildings on 14 acres. When finished it will have between 1650 and 1800 apartments. The Beacon Complex has a Spa with a 5 star rating on a 5 star scale. Now that the construction is occurring on all the remaining buildings at the same time and those buildings are further away from the completed buildings (4) the noise of contruction is much less. Construction vehicles now use a separate entrance on Clifton Place,which also helps reduce noise levels. They do work 6 days a week.
I have a small 20 pound dog that I walk at the Beacon dog walk, which also includes a grassy area for them to play in. I've walked my dog outside the Beacon fence onto Baldwin to the end of the property and back many times, never had a problem. Neither has anyone else. In 6 years I've had 3 people ask for change ( I said no) and I have seen 4 cars on Montgomery with windows broken out over night. So much for the crime.
However, the general area around the Beacon is not nice in the sense that there aren't any upscale restaurants, coffee shops or other amenities that would make walking around the area worthwhile if you don't have a dog. Just a few blocks away in any direction things get more boring and more likely to make you uneasy, so I usually don't venture far off the main streets.
People who like Art Deco architecture are attacted to the Beacon, as are artists and assorted folks from all over the world. There is some interesting architecture here and there, but most of the residential homes in the area are poor and clad in so much fake siding that their original architecture is hidden, which usually means the people have no understanding of architecture, and/or the buildings are rentals.
There is a public housing site close to the Beacon, but not close like at Dixon Mills, where public housing and Dixon sit side by side. We are up on an 80 foot cliff, which provide really impressive views.
The Montgomery Gardens public housing project is almost empty. Out of 425 apartments only 80 are still occupied. Most of the buildings are sealed and scheduled for demolition based on getting a 30 million dollar federal grant. It will be replaced by a combination of mixed income town houses and retail.
Most of us shop in downtown Jersey City, the frequent shuttle makes that easy. There are also 2 Zip Cars on-site if you don't own or want to buy a car.
I'm thinking that when we have over 1600 apartments occupied that the retail around us will start to change. There are not enough people at the Beacon Complex to influence local businesses yet. At the rate that the developer is finishing apartments I'd say that day is not far off, maybe 2 years.
And for the snarky types who think anyone that says anything about a piece of property must be a realtor or otherwise on the take, no I am not a realtor.
Last edited by Beaconowner; 09-13-2013 at 11:54 AM..
Reason: spelling
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As is obvious by my posting name..
