Truth about Elizabeth (Newark, Jersey City, Union: for sale, rent, crime)

[E-TOWN-R.I.P.]

Hello. I am big fan of the site and, after reading some very interesting threads about my former hometown of Elizabeth, I decided to post for the first time.

I want to preface this by saying I am a thirty-something Union County resident of half-Caucasian, half-Latino descent. I lived in the Elmora section of Elizabeth for 25 years before moving 5 years ago. I commute to work in NYC and still live in Union County. I still have family and friends that live in Elizabeth, so I’m there on an almost daily basis. As I stated, I was born and raised in Elizabeth – so I still have a lot of love in my heart for this place. That being said, this is my unbiased take on some of the misnomers and flat-out lies being stated in some threads about Elizabeth:

Elizabeth is most definitely not on the upswing. In fact, it has decayed rapidly since about 2000.

Elizabeth used to be a very diverse town with its good spots and bad spots, mostly good I might add. Crazy as it might sound, my family used to leave their doors unlocked (in the Elmora section) up until about 5 years ago. Now they own a gun and the house has been up for sale at a very reasonable price for about 6 months with no takers. In that time, both cars have been broken into, another rooming house has gone up (that makes 3 in a four-block radius), a cab driver was shot right down the street and a nice man decided to urinate on the sidewalk in broad daylight last Saturday. And this is the Elmora section, which numerous posters have hailed as one of the better places to live in Elizabeth. Truth be told, it is. What does that tell you about the rest of the town?

In short, the dangerous sections (Port, Midtown, Jefferson) are still dangerous, while sections like North Elizabeth, Westminster and Elmora Hills are about the same (though North Elizabeth is also getting worse).

But the real change has occurred in good sections like Elmora and Peterstown. They’ve gone downhill since the city started to change in the early 2000’s and have never come back. With those sections in the crapper, it’s going to be tough for the city to return to anything resembling its former luster as a “bustling working-class city.” No matter how many “Dirty Gardens” they build.

I hope I’m wrong and Elizabeth does come back, both for the good of its residents and the state as a whole. But look how much money they’ve poured into Newark and it’s worse now than ever (sigh). I hope you prove me wrong, Elizabeth. I’m rooting for ya.

[jstar41]

I'm not going to try to prove you wrong.. some areas are good some are bad.. when was Peterstown good??? I remember back in the early 90's it was bad.. like the rest of midtown and seaport..
Elmora used to be really good and North Elizabeth is getting better when compared to around mid 90's when Jefferson Park was a very dangerous place.. now it's clean up some but not entirely.. but from North Ave towards the rear of budwiser company is always been good.. very family oriented neighborhood..

Elmora has been affected due to the concentration of the redevelopment of the Seaport section.. police are patrolling the downtown area more to make up for the high taxes been charged. Elmora has changed quiet a bit, before it used to be a more Jewish community, now it's more of a diverse section.. you'll find from blacks, whites, hispanics and even homosexuals.. funny but true...
btw the population of Elizabeth has increased tremendously, more people = more crime.. compare it to NC.. no people = no crime (just been sarcastic ;-) )

I have brought up Elizabeth in many threads because of the potential it has.. you say it has gone down hill but what are you really comparing it to?? Newark? JC?? Hoboken??? before and now (before you move) or NOW (currently)?

btw: in reference to your parents house.. it's very unlikely for anyone to buy an old house.. not insulting their house.. but with all the new constructions, people are buying new homes instead of older houses.. with the availability of the new homes, the old house are not selling as fast unless it's in an R2 or R3 zone and that's to demolish the house and rebuild a NEW 2 Family house.. if your parents are trying to sell it for over 350k, don't expect any calls b/c anyone that's buying a 1 family house is mainly to demo it and rebuild..

btw: you may want to read a thread i created a while ago and see some things that are happening in Elizabeth... you might also want to do some more research either from the city's website or the feds website as there is also many postings about Elizabeth's progress.. :
//www.city-data.com/forum/new-j...ight=elizabeth

btw I live in Elizabeth because i choose to, not b/c i have to.. i find it to be very convenient to all the ammenities i need.. NYC and Airport..

[E-TOWN-R.I.P.]

You make a lot of good points, jstar41, and you definitely know the city well.

Maybe my view has been a bit too polarized because I've been subconsciously focusing mostly on Elmora. I've been so aware of the changes taking place in that one section that I sort of assumed the same thing was happening throughout the rest of the city, when, in actuality much of the city either hasn't change as dramatically or may not have changed at all.

Peterstown has changed from a heavily Italian community to a very mixed community. It was never a bad section, but I may have inflated its status because of its location (between midtown and seaport). If you take that out of the equation, I guess it was no great shakes then, and the same can probably be said now.

Though I have to disagree with you about Jefferson Park (an area I know very well). Dangerous then, still dangerous now.

You're correct about older homes not getting the same play in Elmora. This is actually my grandparent’s house - a two family house in Elmora that's on the market at about $350K. Only a few nibbles in 6 months. It is old, though (constructed 1960's, I think).Any suggestions, besides dropping the price?;-)

When I compare Elizabeth, I try to be fair and maybe downhill is too harsh a term. I think it's in much better shape than Newark and would compare it favorably to Jersey City, as well. This may be a surprise, but I can name a town that Elizabeth should aspire to become like in the next 5 years: Perth Amboy. Perth Amboy has changed dramatically for the better in the last 5 years and there is no reason why Elizabeth can't catch and surpass Perth Amboy.

You are absolutely correct about the potential Elizabeth has. Any major city situated so close to Newark with 2 train stations, ample bus transportation, a shopping district, a downtown, a seaport and new housing should be able to prosper for years. Even in this state. If true, the funding is great. But I think the real lynchpin is the NYC Ferry. If Elizabeth does in fact get this service, you could be looking at Hoboken South.

[jstar41]

Originally Posted by E-TOWN-R.I.P.

You make a lot of good points, jstar41, and you definitely know the city well.

Maybe my view has been a bit too polarized because I've been subconsciously focusing mostly on Elmora. I've been so aware of the changes taking place in that one section that I sort of assumed the same thing was happening throughout the rest of the city, when, in actuality much of the city either hasn't change as dramatically or may not have changed at all.

Peterstown has changed from a heavily Italian community to a very mixed community. It was never a bad section, but I may have inflated its status because of its location (between midtown and seaport). If you take that out of the equation, I guess it was no great shakes then, and the same can probably be said now.

Though I have to disagree with you about Jefferson Park (an area I know very well). Dangerous then, still dangerous now.

You're correct about older homes not getting the same play in Elmora. This is actually my grandparent’s house - a two family house in Elmora that's on the market at about $350K. Only a few nibbles in 6 months. It is old, though (constructed 1960's, I think).Any suggestions, besides dropping the price?;-)

When I compare Elizabeth, I try to be fair and maybe downhill is too harsh a term. I think it's in much better shape than Newark and would compare it favorably to Jersey City, as well. This may be a surprise, but I can name a town that Elizabeth should aspire to become like in the next 5 years: Perth Amboy. Perth Amboy has changed dramatically for the better in the last 5 years and there is no reason why Elizabeth can't catch and surpass Perth Amboy.

You are absolutely correct about the potential Elizabeth has. Any major city situated so close to Newark with 2 train stations, ample bus transportation, a shopping district, a downtown, a seaport and new housing should be able to prosper for years. Even in this state. If true, the funding is great. But I think the real lynchpin is the NYC Ferry. If Elizabeth does in fact get this service, you could be looking at Hoboken South.

hey i might be interested on your grandparents 2 family house for 350k.. that's a great deal on Elmora. what street is it on.. if serious please send me more info via private message.. address, asking price, lot size, rent roll..

thanks!!

[JR86]

Originally Posted by E-TOWN-R.I.P.

Elizabeth used to be a very diverse town with its good spots and bad spots, mostly good I might add

I don't know, I've lived here all my life and I'd say it was always mostly bad, except Elmora Hills and Westminster.

Originally Posted by E-TOWN-R.I.P.

In short, the dangerous sections (Port, Midtown, Jefferson) are still dangerous, while sections like North Elizabeth, Westminster and Elmora Hills are about the same (though North Elizabeth is also getting worse).

Agreed. But I do think Westminster went down a bit. When I was younger I'd ride my bike in the neighborhood and would feel safe, but then you started hearing about guns being pulled on people for their bikes. Then you heard about people being assaulted for their cars in front of their houses, even murdered sometimes. Granted, it's still not a 'bad' area, but I do think it was a bit safer in the early 90's.

Originally Posted by E-TOWN-R.I.P.

I hope I’m wrong and Elizabeth does come back, both for the good of its residents and the state as a whole. But look how much money they’ve poured into Newark and it’s worse now than ever (sigh). I hope you prove me wrong, Elizabeth. I’m rooting for ya.

I hope so too. Even though I don't want to live here right now, I hope I can come back in 20 yrs and it can be more like Hoboken. Most of the city's plans seem to be pointing it in that direction, it's all about the execution. Gentrification is the answer, you know, as long as it doesn't get out of control. Part of the city has to remain affordable.