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Ok here's the deal. I was born & raised in Bayonne but I moved out a few years ago so take this for what it's worth:
One reason Bayonne is relatively safe is because of its geography. There are two ways into and out of the city: the Bayonne Bridge on the south end and four streets which cross the city line on the north end (these pass underneath a railroad right-of-way or dump onto the Jersey Turnpike). Basically if any major crime were to occur, the cops can easily set up road blocks to shutdown entry and exit from the city. I believe the out-of-town criminal element is aware of this (except the stupid ones). Secondly, Bayonne is fairly compact, about 3 miles long by about 3/4 of a mile wide (at least the residential section). It's an easy town for the police to patrol & keep tabs on what's going on.
The police were a bit aggressive in my day. I imagine they still are. Their big things were handing out tickets for public drinking, speed traps, rousting loitering kids, etc. The bottom line was that if they didn't like the way you looked you might get pulled over. As a kid I must have been pulled over for spot checks about a dozen times or so. Funny thing was, once I decided to grow up, cut my hair & dress like a respectable person it stopped happening. I'm puzzled why anyone would think this is a bad thing. No prospective homeowner would.
Good pizzerias, good bars, some good restaurants, good local bread. All inexpensive. I passed thru Bayonne the other day & ate lunch in a pizzeria. Two big slices & a 16 oz soda cost $4.50.
Used to be you'd buy your morning cup of coffee at a deli or newspaper stand (I'd be shocked if there is a Starbucks in Bayonne to this day). You'd ask for a cup of coffee and you'd get it with cream and sugar. Done. No "tall-moche-grande" crap with "room for cream" or any of that b.s. Cup of coffee with the NY Post for about a buck total. I doubt this has changed much - maybe a $1.50 now?
Altamura's bakery is still there. A large Italian panella loaf costs maybe $2? Great foccacia-style pizzas there too, soaking with olive oil. I remember once upon a time they used to be open at 10 pm & you could buy the bread hot out of the oven.
The thing I miss most though are the thin-crust pizzas that alot of the bars served: EJ's, The Sunrise, Patsy's D's (now Kapps?), Parentes, The Venice. I haven't been able to find those anywhere else. I don't even know if you can still get that kind of pie there.
I'll take a bar pie and a can of Budweiser right now, thank you...
Altamura's bakery is still there. A large Italian panella loaf costs maybe $2? Great foccacia-style pizzas there too, soaking with olive oil. I remember once upon a time they used to be open at 10 pm & you could buy the bread hot out of the oven.
The thing I miss most though are the thin-crust pizzas that alot of the bars served: EJ's, The Sunrise, Patsy's D's (now Kapps?), Parentes, The Venice. I haven't been able to find those anywhere else. I don't even know if you can still get that kind of pie there.
I'll take a bar pie and a can of Budweiser right now, thank you...
Sans the Budweiser you hit the nail right on the head.
Altamura's is one of the first places that I would hit if I traveled back up to Bayonne.
The Venice...oh man, did that just bring back memories.
Remember how after you ate one of the bars pies from any of the places that you mentioned you had the floury-grit feeling on your fingers?
I couldn't tell you how much I ate and drank at Patsy's and The Venice.
Sans the Budweiser you hit the nail right on the head.
Altamura's is one of the first places that I would hit if I traveled back up to Bayonne.
The Venice...oh man, did that just bring back memories.
Remember how after you ate one of the bars pies from any of the places that you mentioned you had the floury-grit feeling on your fingers?
I couldn't tell you how much I ate and drank at Patsy's and The Venice.
The Venice closed about a year ago...it's now under new ownership and is being reno'ed and should open shortly.
Jersey city is Not dirty! JC has many different areas, like NYC.. It can have a the cleanest, most developed (exchange place) and it can get dirty and dangerous (journal square)
it all depends which part of Jersey city u move to..!!!!!!
downtown jersey city by Hudson river , newport is a great place to live!
How Is Bayonne and Jersey City New Jersey also what about Roselle NJ
Some Insight Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jersey city is Not dirty! JC has many different areas, like NYC.. It can have a the cleanest, most developed (exchange place) and it can get dirty and dangerous (journal square)
it all depends which part of Jersey city u move to..!!!!!!
downtown jersey city by Hudson river , newport is a great place to live!
bayonne guy's post could have been written by me. I agree with everything that he said, except for the Budweiser - I'm a Heinekin guy myself.
But, his information on Bayonne is spot-on! I lived there most of my life, and after I retired, I moved out of state because I wanted someplace more rural, with a lower cost of living.
For a small city with an easy commute to NYC or Newark, Bayonne can't be beat!
It's not as safe as it used to be, but no area that I know of is as safe as it was years ago. Ditto for the school system.
The cops in Bayonne are tough, and we loved it that way. It keeps the crime rate down. 15 years ago, my nephew was stopped by Bayonne cops because he didn't come to a complete stop before making a right turn on red. He told the cop that it was OK, because there was no other traffic near him. After all, he never had the same problem in Newark, where he lived at the time.
After the cop wrote him a ticket for the turn, he wrote him another one for having one stop light out. He was highly ticked-off, but he was much more careful after that, and that's exactly the lesson that the cop was teaching him.
So, if you are solid-citizen-type, and if you want the cops to keep your town safe, head for Bayonne. If you like to shuck & jive, drive fast, and hate cops, go somewhere else.
I lived in Jersey City as a young boy. It was a rough neighborhood to grow up in. No place to play. Everything was crowded. I can remember Dad coming home and driving around and around and around waiting to swipe a parking space. Why would anyone want to live like that?
I can not say I have anything good to say about Jersey City.
Except one. Up until 20 or so years ago there was a place on a main drag (Central Av???) called Havenmyer's Deli or Bakery or something like that. They were known to have the best crumb cakes on earth...for just $2.00 ! I know it is gone now so I have heard. Does anyone remember it???
It has been more then 40 years but I remember my house. It was at 66 St. Pauls Av. Does anyone live near that street to tell me honestly what it is like now? Still dumpy? I remember playing in the basement where they had garbage incinerators. Wow! I bet those walls were plenty of lead filled paint.
If you are trying to decide between Jersey city and Bayonne, please choose Bayonne! I'm not just trying to be hard on Jersey city or talk down about it just for the sake of being nasty, but Jersey city is (except for a few areas), not a good choice! Jersey city is expensive but you will not get your moneys worth. Living here will have you paying and paying and paying for everything but not getting much in return. It is very dirty compared to bayonne, even the nicer areas are affected because of their close proximity to not so nice areas. Even if you find a nice area you are going to have to be in contact with bad areas more than should be acceptable. Jersey city is the type of place that is excessively expensive even in the ghetto, and im not figuratively speaking or using a metaphor, I am talking about really ghetto places. 350k and way up for a fixer upper in the greenville section. Ive wittnessed with my own eyes on several occasions people urinating in plain view among homes that are practically half a million dollars! you could live on a nice decently clean block and the next block over there will be drug dealers, crack heads and other undesirable things, and when you live that close it always drifts over to your area. i work in law enforcement with the court system and see this stuff every single day. The criminals in Jersey city are getting so bold now that they are traveling to nicer areas in JC and frequently downtown JC to break in, steal, vandalize and commit other ignorant crimes. This is a trend that has been steadily growing over the past few years. I would choose Bayonne.
I lived on & off in Bayonne since 1979. There is uptown, midtown and downtown. To me, there have been changes over the years that are not good. The shopping on Broadway used be good but over the years stores have closed and have not been replaced by quality retailers but I still enjoy shopping and walking on Broadway. Retail is building up on Rt 440 and will eventually have several "chains".
To me there is a mix of housing, I prefer the blocks near the parks - Hudson County park, Veteran's Stadium, 1st St. I like many of the streets off of Avenue A. If you drive or walk up and down the streets you will get a feel for what you like and don't like. If you are buying a house - one with parking is a must! Parking can be horrendous! There are some new developments - Boatworks or something with higher end townhouses.
Ethnically, I think Bayonne is quite mixed. Unlike Jersey City, where I grew up, where neighborhoods are predominantly . . . Bayonne seems to be more integrated. There are a few pockets of streets that are predominantly . . . My sister's immediate neighbors include a Black family, Egyptian family, hispanic family. My nephew and niece have gone to school with, played sports with and have friends who are white, muslim, catholic, jewish, black, hispanic, italian, polish, asian and combinations.
Overall, I like Bayonne although my personal preference is the Jersey Shore
I lived in Jersey City as a young boy. It was a rough neighborhood to grow up in. No place to play. Everything was crowded. I can remember Dad coming home and driving around and around and around waiting to swipe a parking space. Why would anyone want to live like that?
I can not say I have anything good to say about Jersey City.
Except one. Up until 20 or so years ago there was a place on a main drag (Central Av???) called Havenmyer's Deli or Bakery or something like that. They were known to have the best crumb cakes on earth...for just $2.00 ! I know it is gone now so I have heard. Does anyone remember it???
It has been more then 40 years but I remember my house. It was at 66 St. Pauls Av. Does anyone live near that street to tell me honestly what it is like now? Still dumpy? I remember playing in the basement where they had garbage incinerators. Wow! I bet those walls were plenty of lead filled paint.
Thanks for listening........
Thanks for the history lesson.
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jersey city has different areas...
Don't choose Jersey City
