Moving into the BL neighborhood is totally worth it for some of us. I was looking for a place about 5 years ago and with my budget I could rent a small studio downtown, or I could buy a 2 BR with a basement and backyard in an up and coming neighborhood. No brainer. At the time, Whitlock Mills (what ever happened to that?) and The Foundry were both coming up, so I thought it'd be exciting to be a part of this neighborhoods revival. I was right.

Don't get me wrong, I don't feel as safe all the time as I do when strolling around downtown, but the neighborhood is changing for the better everyday. People seem to think downtown changed over night, but it was only maybe 15-20 years ago my parents wouldn't let me visit friends because parts of the neighborhood was so bad! When I first moved to BL most of my friends thought I was crazy, but now they "get it". In fact, several of them have even been entertaining the thought of moving/ opening businesses here.

The arrival of MAE, PLT, and all the redevelopment that has been going on recently makes me feel even more validated about the decision I've made. It's not for everyone, but some people like to get in at the ground floor of a good thing =).

Quote:

It's possible you assume that what you prefer is what everyone prefers. Perhaps what you would call 'appealing' is the opposite of what many would. And that's fine. To borrow from Bill Hicks's observation on abortion, if you don't want to live in Lafayette, don't move there. In the end, as Berg-Laf1 says, what's good for a part of JC is good for us all.

It's kind of subjective. I scoped things out for more than a year and now own a gut renovated 3-story with a garden for $1250 a month. And I'm much happier than I was downtown. Would you be? No clue. But no one's twisting your arm to move here.

Quote:

If anyone decides to buy property based on a single article in the JC Independent, or on a post on jclist - whether it's in Lafayette or Monaco - they deserve whatever they get.

We owned and lived in Bergen-Lafayette for a couple of years. Wasn't for us at the time so we moved DT in 2005, but I always root for the neighborhood to keep growing and improving. Every neighborhood in JC benefits when any other one improves.

A few reasons to consider buying in Bergen Lafayette, particularly the streets SE of Pacific Ave:

Lower housing costs, much lower property taxes (the revals will be interesting to see but this area will still come in a lot lower than DT), better parking (many houses have driveways), a backyard (imagine that?!) proximity to LSP, freeway entrance, light rail in walking distance, new 5M outdoor pool with morning swim lanes, more and more business owners opening up here because of cheap rents. I know of two store fronts right now in the $1000/mo price range.

This area would also be quite suitable for someone who works in NYC. Sure, not as convenient as DT but certainly not a huge issue. I don't have to take the PATH into the city every day. However, when I do I simply bike to LSP go over the foot bridge take a right and go through the Ferry parking lot near the old Sandbar and into Paulus Hook to The Exchange Place PATH or down Warren to the Grove St. PATH. I could also take the LSP Light Rail to the PATH. A cab home from Grove to the Communipaw/Pacific area will be around $7.

I know of a brownstone that sold for 190K recently and others in the low 200K's. That will get people out here and has for over the last couple of years. Lot's of artist in the neighborhood and new home owners who care about their surrounds and crime.

Over the last few years there have been a number of BL issues which drew a large number of like-minded home owners to city hall. This assembly of neighbors is a huge step in the right direction and with numbers you get the city listening. It's happening and this simply wasn't the case a few short years ago. I recall canvasing the area in 2006 getting signatures for more of a police presence. The long standing neighbors of BL looked at me like I was nuts. "Why would I waste my time, the city doesn't care about BL." I can honestly say they do now.

Time will tell folks but you can't deny more and more people are moving into BL and setting down roots. After all, it's only around a mile from Paulus Hook and Van Vorst Park.

Naysayers are a dime a dozen and it's not for everyone. In the end we are all a part of Jersey City and therefore we should all be supportive of each of our distinct, historical areas and want them all to thrive.

Neighborhoods like Downtown JC and Hoboken where once undesirable as well. We moved to Bergen Lafayette because we were priced out of Downtown. We've been in the Bela neighborhood for a few years & have no complaints. Yes it takes time and commitment for a neighborhood to come together & make change but it happens. You can't have that "give up" attitude. You have to take pride in your community & believe it will happen. That's why there's a strong community here, people support eachother because they want them to succeed and attract others. Cheers! to MAE & Pretty Little Things for taking a chance in our neighborhood and let's all support them. Thanks also to the artist(s) for the spectacular mural in the community garden. Keep it coming, Bela JC is a neighborhood on the rise!

Quote:

yes, well, those who take the path of least resistance will always just settle in the most convenient place where they don't have to think about it.

but for those who maybe don't have as much money to burn but still want to buy something, lafayette is definitely an option. even in the two months i have lived here (i'm renting) i have noticed changes. MAE opened, the community garden opened, there is new construction going up next door to me that will have a store front on the first floor. 10 years ago there were areas of brooklyn that you wouldn't even consider going to that are now the "it" place to be. so yes, it will be developed soon. this is a metropolitan area. people are pouring into the nyc area, and they need places to live.

I don't live in Lafayette, but I drive through the area on my way to LSP. It has got some nice houses. The light rail makes commute to downtown very easy.

Quote:

The most silliest thing I read all weak, This neighborhood is thriving, its much more attractive than downtown. I am about to purchase here myself, I love the vibe, the people, the look and feel.

I think most of the neighborhoods that have lightrail stops will do well. Like Richard Street, Garfield, LSP, and Danforth. Not everyone is interested or can afford to buy downtown. I for one am not interested in renting. Downtown is done deal, smart folks have moved on.

I have already noticed up here in Greenville the neighborhood is changing fast, due to the lightrail. Most of my new neighbors are from Prospect Heights, Park Slope, and Flatbush Brooklyn. This is becoming more and more the norm on the outskirts of downtown.

There are great people living in lafayette, greenville, and bergen hill. That doesn't make those areas appealing.

I'm exaggerating with my percentage but "most" people only do move into already gentrified areas that are safe and close to nyc.

Quote:

If people only move to a place when it's gentrified, how does anything ever gentrify?

And what if the point isn't gentrification? There are a lot of really cool, good people living in Lafayette now. I lived in downtown JC and was bored to tears.

Sorry to bring some realism to this thread but Lafayette will not be redeveloped anytime soon. I just wanted to prevent any optimistic buyers from spending their hard earned cash to buy property there and lose money...

It will be developed once every inch of downtown is fully developed. There is nothing Lafayette offers that downtown does not....and please don't tell me the area has "history"

99.9% of people move into an area because it's safe, easy to get to NYC from, and gentrified. None of which currently apply to Lafayette....

The story talks about a community garden that emerged on Pacific Ave. over the past month and a half. The garden is a project of the Morris Canal Community Development Corporation and includes a mural: Garden State of Mind. Here's some photos of the mural in progress:

New projects and businesses are springing up in the city?s Lafayette section, a former industrial hub right outside Liberty State Park, that have some people saying this is the next Jersey City neighborhood to hit it big.


http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... ing-changes-to-lafayette/