OK, we managed to move to Jersey City Heights in late November - knowing of the situation with the 99S having moved to Central. But to find out a month later that the bus would be canceled was a real blow. We joined the Riverview Neighborhood Association, sent in post cards, met with the mayor, etc. The suggestion of the 123 extension seemed promising. But, alas, today I looked up the new schedule to see how frequent it would be and to find out if they would be charging an extra zone to come south of Congress. Sure enough, they are gouging us for 1/4 of the service they provide to Union City. Unreal!!!!! I'm fuming over this. If my commute is going to cost me the same amount of time and money as riding down to Hoboken on the 87 and catching the much-more-reliable Path train, then I think I'll be sticking with that route. They couldn't even give us 1/2 of the service options as Union City? I mean do Union City dwellers pay more taxes than we do? What's the rub? We moved here to possibly buy the condo we're presently renting next year, but I truly wouldn't want to give over $6100 a year to a community that can't find a way for me to get to work using public transportation so that I can make that money to invest here. Manhattan is only 3 miles away, let us not forget. This is not the Pennsylvania border, which likely has better direct service into Manhattan. I'll be letting the JC powers that be know that they are losing two residents later this year if they don't fix this issue.

"I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" to quote a great film.

Hi all, Wow thanks! Great info here. With any luck, we'll be living there soon!! I'm surely going to ask a million and one questions if that happens. Many thanks! thinkingJC

Thanks for the replies! I've got another question regarding the 2nd St. light rail stop. Can one walk down or up that crazy winding road? Is there a better way down to that station? Or is there some sort of plan for stairs or something? Seems odd to build a station there without pedestrian-friendly access.

The apartment is incredibly charming. Sucks that the neighborhood isn't exactly perfect. But, there's no such thing in most cities.

Thanks Brian! We're very torn about the crime, to be honest. We're surrounded by it now, and wouldn't want the same thing there too. We're totally in love with the apartment, which makes it a little harder to decided. Seems like most of the people who live there use their cars for errands and such. That would be hard on us since we're both city people (not from NYC though). So, we'll see. I've been reading the crime reports on this site, and well, it's doesn't make me all warm and fuzzy. But, neither do the gunshots in our hood. I know it's not all bad!! Maybe a rental there would be good to show us what we think of it longer term (buying). Seems like the best option right now.

Thanks again!

Hi there! My partner and I have been researching JC for years as a possible place to move to. We left Jersey (Montclair) two years ago for the wilds of Brooklyn. Neither of us are from this neck of the world, so it?s been hard to figure out where to try next. The trouble we?re having in Brooklyn is that we live in the ghetto and wake up every weekend to gunshots. There is a huge amount of anger on the streets where we live, and it?s not exactly cheap rent to make up for it. The landlord lives here too and could are less about the rats and the crime. So, it?s time to move on. We?ve looked around Brooklyn but it?s either too stroller-happy or more crime or a totally dead and boring part of town that would require an hour?s commute.

In the summer we had our second insider?s tour of JC with friends who live there. They took us around to see some open houses to get the feel for the place. We happened upon one at 126 Webster, the loft building. It blew us away! Totally amazingly beautiful!! The place has been offered to us as a rental. We?ve asked around and it seems a little high priced, but not too bad considering it is an artist loft. Does anyone know anything about these lofts? What to watch out for? The owner says there have been no crimes there. What about that immediate area?

I?m also trying to figure out if people commute from that part of JC Heights via the lightrail and PATH, or are buses really the only option? I hate buses in general, so I?m really trying to avoid that. Even if it means an extra few minutes on the commute.

Also, what is the crime like in that neighborhood? It seems like it is a bit rough in that part of the Heights, but coming up. Anyone live there and care to give some advice for two women?

We saw that we can get stuff done on Central (amenities-wise), which is great. And that Hoboken isn?t that far away either. We don?t have a car (yet), and might not get one for another year. Is that part of JC OK for city-folk who don?t have a car for everything? Seems like it is, but that a car would be better. The lightrail seems to really work well and move people rather quickly. We were concerned about the walk to the elevator. I?ve read that there are a lot of muggings there. I read about muggings in Brooklyn all of the time. And one of the local merchants on our street in Brooklyn was recently robbed, tortured, burned alive, and then they went to his home in Jersey and stole everything. We haven?t had anything bad happen to us here, but that doesn?t mean we don?t carry ourselves in a way that says, ?hey, we?re next!?

So, sorry for the super long post. Many thanks to all constructive responses!

thinkingJC