I can definitely see this happening on that block in particular. Harrison has a lot of apartment buildings as I recall. Bentley Avenue and Gifford Avenue are mainly single families.

I lived on Harrison between Kennedy and W. Side for a little over two years, in the mid-2000s. I was working in Manhattan, and the daily one-mile commute to the JSQ PATH didn't work for me. There was a bus, but I tended to miss it in the morning; at night, the bus stop to get back was poorly lit and the walk home wasn't safe.

More to the point, I had a lot of problems when I lived there, from an attempted mugging outside my front door one night (a friend scared the guy away); brutally loud neighbors (music); multiple break-ins in the building; a drug-dealing ring in my building that the feds busted; my mail stolen, presumably by my neighbors, because it reappeared one day at my door--bank statements and credit card bills included, and all opened. I had to file fraud alerts and change a bunch of card/account numbers. And on and on.

It's a beautiful, beautiful neighborhood. But I wouldn't live there again.

When you start saying that one block is good but the next one is bad that is a little too close to consider buying into. Sure is some lovely housing stock though.

I live in that area (Belmont btw. Bergen/Kennedy) and have not had any problems whatsoever. There are definitely some sketchy people/areas (across Communipaw or down, closer to Bergen) but everyone generally minds their business and I've found most people to be friendly and neighborly. If you use your head and don't look for trouble you'll be fine. Parking is also generally not an issue, which is a bonus.

Thanks for the info! I know I ask a lot of real estate q's - it's like porn for me.

From the start, we've been mainly focused on a generous square outline running north/south from Montgomery - Bentley and east west from Bergen to West Side. The sq footage for the $$ is firmly in our price range for this area. The area has it's conveniences and I adore Lincoln Park. I love the pre-war bldgs that are there... some stunningly redone. Streets a bit closer to the PATH get a little too pricy or small for us. yes, there are stunning condos on Glenwood - can't reach them yet. For the record, we will be parking a car on the street and I don't plan to walk alone after 8 pm though I am out frequently at night. At what hour should a *couple* starting thinking about a taxi? After 10 pm? Whatevs. what we can afford is what we can afford so we're making friends with it, and I'm not a fan of the Heights.

Xerxes,you've given feedback about a lot of places you wouldn't live so I'm not sure where you do actually live. Hamilton Park is safe enough to walk around all hours but way too expensive. Ditto for Newport and Paulus Hook. Hoboken doesn't even get consideration - it's far too provincial.

while many would advise us to keep renting, in fact buying affords us an opportunity to lower monthly housing costs up to 20% and in 3 years I don't want to be kicking myself about all the places we could've afforded when the market was down.

Moved into the area 5 years ago on Gautier.

Location: Harrison Ave. b/w Kennedy and West Side Ave: Not bad or scary, but I would not go east of Bergen at night. Duncan, not great ? but Condict and Gautier area is totally fine and really quiet ? amazing what a difference a block makes.

My husband and I commute to Manhattan everyday for work. A little bit of a trek, but well worth it to have such a great park outside your door and abundant parking. Where else can you buy a single family home for under $300K only 1 mile from NYC? Amazing value.

Crime: It has gotten much better! But I am as cautious as I would be on the Lower East Side were we lived b/f or Brooklyn. I see no difference between crime and safety here or Brooklyn. Be smart and alert. Yes, my dumpy car was broken into twice 3 years ago b/f the projects were closed. Then I got a nicer car with an alarm and wheel lock and no one has touched it (knock on wood). Bur don?t leave stuff in your car. I?ve read about cars being stolen in downtown. 5 years ago, it was common to see little plastic drug bags on sidewalks near the park, now I NEVER see them.

Lincoln Park is a GEM in JC: Is 273 acres, not the 100 reported by another person. Run by Hudson County. Since I have been here, they have put so much $ into the park. Plus there?s a ton of tennis courts and a huge dog park. It?s getting a 9 hole golf course, a river walk, and WIFI through out the park. Seeing a lot more families and young professional looking people in the park.

As to conveniences like food and night life - No, it?s not like living in Manhattan or Brooklyn. It?s quiet-ish. But there are great places: Alnoor on Westside and Duncan has THE BEST bbq chicken I have ever had. Little India is great! Wonder bagel is great. I forgot to mention the Dairy Queen on West side! Sometimes we go to downtown JC for food.

Getting away: Access to highways and Newark Airport (12 minutes) are unparalled ? no tunnels and little congestion to get in and out. Great for road trips.

This place is not perfect ? but all in all, it?s a great bang for your buck!

I've lived in 3 locations in Jersey City and would NOT consider moving into the neighborhood in question. I don't consider it safe enough and would be afraid to leave my car on the streets overnight or walk home from PATH Journal Square after midnight.
If the economy continues its slow deterioration, the neighborhood will get worse before it gets better.

I recommend against it!

You might want to avoid that whole area. Bad vibes.

Quote:

I grew up in the neighborhood, and went to school two blocks away from your old house. Duncan Avenue, especially at Mallory avenue has been a dump since the early seventies because of the projects. That corner has been one of the worst areas of Jersey City for 40 years and is much worse than the rest of the area. But it was always a pocket and still is to some degree. The projects have been torn down, but the area is still terrible. In 1975 we kids used to call people from Duncan Avenue the Duncan Dirts. Because of this, I don't think your experience directly applies to the area in question in this thread.

It's a tough call. I grew up in the area and lived there until the mid-nineties. The neighborhood is not like Bergen Lafayette or areas of Greenville that have been ghettos since 1970, so it still has a lot of decent people who are still hanging in there. There are also a lot af Filipino people in the area. You would not be an urban pioneeer if you moved there. I think the area is okay during the day because it is not a ghetto and there is still some vitality. I would not venture out walking around at night though.

The area and houses are, without a doubt, the nicest in Jersey City. When Jersey City was nice, this neighborhood was where the wealthy professionals lived.

I am from JC, and I would never live in most of the neighborhoods that people say are okay. We lived in Bergen/Lafayette for just 6 months before we sold our house. I would not steer you away from the area you are questioning. My only advice would be for you to try and stay away from Bergen Avenue and stay far away from Monticello Avenue.

Also, you'd be really close to the Park Tavern.

Contact the Harrison Avenue Block Association. If you can't find it on line, check with city hall. I think the President's last name is Cohen.

1. I question the accuracy of NJ by the numbers. They report a robbery in a place/date that I **know*** simply never happened.

2. Discussion of the area by Lincoln Park seems to be as polarizing as talking about life on Astor Place (different thread). Of note, in this this current thread there are several references to the neighborhood being worse, not better, than it was a few years ago.

3. regarding being on the "right" or "left" side of Harrison, is that r/l from the POV of going east or west on Harrison?

thanks.

Good value condos available there. However, I would be more afraid to walk down westside ave now than when I was 6 years old and walking to school down westside ave in the early sixties...it has changed that much, for the worse, though there have been some attempts to improve. Not much future in my opinion. Wait a couple years, get an extra job, sack away the money, and buy downtown when the market is bottoming out.

Generally, a "regressive" neighborhood, not much to keep your attention...

The carjacking in the story in the Jersey Journal today happened about a block away from Kennedy and Harrison.

So, on the one hand, the neighborhood is not the wild wild west. On the other hand, it's probably not a neighborhood where you want to keep $100,000 in jewelry in your dresser.

I live in one of the condos on the left side of Harrison between JFK and West Side and while I did have someone break into my apartment that shit could have happened anywhere, even in the suburbs... particularly if you don't lock your windows like my dumbass.

I walk around at all hours of the night and I feel safe (I am a small white guy by the way). For the most part people are friendly and quiet...ish. The few people that I have seen who look like crackheads seem to be on there way somewhere else and the young kids I see hanging out seem more interested in getting laid than they are with trying to cause a problem. It is just like anywhere else if you look for a problem you will find it; if you just mind your own business you will be fine.

Besides which, in about five years I can only imagine what the houses or condos are going to be selling for, particularly with its proximity to Lincoln Park (which is huge) and Journal Square... as well as the ability to get out of JC on 1&9 with very little traffic.

Now let's compare with Manhattan: http://nymag.com/news/features/crime/2008/42608/.

I find the Jersey City Crime stats at NJ By The Numbers to be helpful. Just type the address where you are looking to buy or rent and you can get a list of the reported crimes. Note this database is only from January 06 till June 2007.

Here is what comes up for Harrison between Bergen and West




270 HARRISON AVE
Larceny
1/10/2007 6:53:00 PM
270 Harrison Ave
Larceny
12/24/2006 10:01:00 PM
270 HARRISON AVE APT 204
Assault
8/19/2006 2:11:00 PM
260 HARRISON AVE 308
Burglary
4/6/2006 10:00:00 PM
269 HARRISON AVE
Burglary
1/30/2006 7:15:00 PM
275 Harrison Ave Apt
Robbery
12/6/2006 9:58:00 PM
275 HARRISON AVE Floor: 1st
Larceny
7/21/2006 11:59:00 AM
275 HARRISON AVE
Robbery
2/12/2006 1:17:00 AM
277 HARRISON AVE apt. E7
Burglary
2/8/2007 10:00:00 AM
277 Harrison Avenue
Robbery
12/1/2006 10:33:00 PM
277 HARRISON AVE APT B4
Burglary
11/9/2006 10:01:00 AM
277 HARRISON AVE
Larceny
9/9/2006 3:00:00 PM
277 Harrison Ave Apt E3 Floor: 5th
Larceny
2/27/2006 9:30:00 PM
Harrison Ave and Bergen Ave
Assault
5/20/2006 12:53:00 AM
253 HARRISON AVE
Burglary
11/23/2006 12:20:00 PM
249 HARRISON AVE
Robbery
7/17/2006 8:06:00 PM
756 COMMUNIPAW AVE
Burglary
12/24/2006 6:16:00 AM
754 COMMUNIPAW AVE
Burglary
11/23/2006 8:15:00 AM
754 COMMUNIPAW AVE
Burglary
11/12/2006 4:12:00 PM
764 COMMUNIPAW AVE
Burglary
11/6/2006
764 COMMUNIPAW AVE
Burglary
1/5/2006 5:25:00 PM
766 Communipaw Ave
Assault
6/17/2007 4:30:00 PM
149 BENTLEY AVE
Burglary
1/19/2006 8:00:00 AM
292 HARRISON AVE
Burglary
1/12/2006 5:59:00 PM
757 COMMUNIPAW AVE
Burglary
1/27/2006 2:00:00 PM

HARRISON AVE & KENNEDY BLVD
Burglary
12/17/2006 3:00:00 PM
HARRISON AVE & KENNEDY BLVD
Robbery
12/4/2006 8:18:00 PM
HARRISON AVE & KENNEDY BLVD
Burglary
3/21/2006 8:00:00 AM
203 HARRISON AVE 41 Floor: 4
Burglary
1/17/2006 3:25:00 PM
213 HARRISON AVE Floor: 1
Robbery
5/26/2007 10:41:00 PM
2403 J F KENNEDY BLVD Floor: 1
Assault
8/25/2006 12:30:00 PM
2403 KENNEDY BLVD
Assault
2/11/2006 8:20:00 AM
219 HARRISON AVE
Burglary
3/11/2007 9:40:00 PM
186 HARRISON AVE
Arson
5/4/2006 12:00:00 PM
99 Bentley Ave
Burglary
5/6/2006 2:50:00 AM
704 COMMUNIPAW AVE
Assault
8/27/2006 6:41:00 PM
704 COMMUNIPAW AVE 2r
Assault
4/22/2006 8:56:00 PM
704 COMMUNIPAW AVE 2L
Assault
3/26/2006 7:30:00 PM
2395 KENNEDY BLVD
Robbery
6/20/2007 12:30:00 PM
2395 KENNEDY BLVD
Assault
5/12/2007 8:42:00 PM
2395 KENNEDY BLVD
Larceny
3/21/2007 7:44:00 PM
2395 KENNEDY BLVD
Larceny
2/17/2007 5:10:00 PM
2395 KENNEDY BLVD
Larceny
2/15/2007
2395 KENNEDY BLVD
Larceny
2/8/2007 12:30:00 PM
2395 KENNEDY BLVD
Larceny
12/11/2006 2:00:00 AM
2395 Kennedy Blvd
Larceny
11/7/2006 6:25:00 PM
2395 KENNEDY BLVD
Robbery
10/29/2006 2:58:00 PM
2395 KENNEDY BLVD
Larceny
8/23/2006 12:37:00 PM
2395 KENNEDY BLVD
Larceny
8/13/2006 12:10:00 PM
2395 Kennedy Blvd
Larceny
6/9/2006 5:39:00 PM

Aaah. My old stomping grounds...Born and raised in "Westside".....Love, loved, loved it! Moved out on my own in 1994 and, unfortunately, had to move my parents not too long after as crime/drugs took over quickly. This was, at one time, a beautiful neighborhood. But, Gifford, Bentley & Harrison Ave have some absolutely beautiful homes.....I'm sure they're cheap as can be right now.......Just be careful.

Does anyone here live in these condos in question? These are the ones I'm looking at.. and I want to know how it is to live there? How management is? Neighbors, etc... [quote]

I lived next to Lincoln Park about 10 yrs ago, but that was on the corner of Duncan Ave & Mallory (the park splits Mallory, for those who may not know). It was a dump. To be honest, I'm happy about all the positive changes I've seen in JC since then, but newcomers should always take into consideration that this is a CITY. My job dictates that I cannot lawfully discuss neighborhood crime statistics, etc, but think of it this way: your car could always get broken into in Manhattan as well. And in Manahattan, they only get MILLION DOLLAR VIEWS OF JERSEY CITY!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAAAA........excuse me.

A person asks an opinion of an area in which to live, I respond with an honest answer because I did in fact live there for about five years. It really is that simple. The fact that some may have had positive experiences living there should impact on decisions to live there.

There was no Lincoln Park bashing, I'm happy for those who only have raccoons breaking in, that's that. Lighten up folks.

Quote:

I agree with you there, Four Brothers Pizza is GREAT, even though I remember that they always used to pet that little dog they kept there while making/serving the pizza...but I think they cut that out after a few complaints

But, who cares...I'm sure we've eaten worse

I live on Bentley and it is great. We have a double lot and grill out all the time in the summer. We work at home with our consulting business. There is a good private school 15 minutes walk from our house (Primary Prep). Our neighbors are great. The police have zero tolerance for stupidity on the Gifford and Bentley blocks and a call to the precinct produces cops on foot most quick. I teach at Rutgers and can be in New Brunswick in 30 minutes. It has improved vastly since we moved here. Houses are huge. What we paid for our place here you were looking at $1.5 million in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn with a longer commute and tougher street life. I have found that if there are kids out on the block at night, just going out and saying "Hey, I call the curfew wagon and they are on their way" disperses them. As for break ins on cars, most people on our blocks have off the street parking. There are people who walk 20 blocks from Greenville to park to be able to park on a safe street. I had a JC cop tell me that car thieves tend to stash their cars over here too. Lots of high end cars with NY tags are always parked on Bentley....

I agree though about crossing Communipaw. Anything near Bergen and Ege is totally sketchy. There are few restaurants worth a damn, but we do have Four Brothers Pizza with the only decent Brooklyn-style crust in JC.

I've lived in that area for over 10 years now. It has gotten alot worse in the past few years, but there's still worse out there. The condo's on the left side of Harrison Ave are ok...but stay away from the one's on the right (it's weird I know)

There're condos on the corner of Harrison & Kennedy which are ok and some on the corner of Bentley and West Side which are decent.

Last year I had my car broken into...in my driveway only because I had a spindle of blank DVD-R's in there.

And this year a friend of mine had their car window smashed in their driveway and had their GPS stolen.

People are randomly walking up and down the block even in the wee hrs of the night, I'm guessing returning from friend's houses...so it's not too bad of an area, sometimes there are rowdy kids out there, but not to much.

And I've seen cops driving up the block randomly, so at least it has police presence at times (even though sometimes they're just flying by.)

Just stay on the good side of Communipaw...after that, it gets worse and on the other side of Lincoln Park...well, let's just not talk about that for now =p

I see property values going up in a few years, because you are surrounded by some beautiful houses and easy highway access.

Food places are mostly just fast food

But you can take a 5 min bus ride to Journal Square or a 10-15 min bus ride to anywhere else in the city you need right at the corner.

Hope that helps

Quote:

Shane612...FYI, when I lived on 9th between WHP and Jersey someone tried to break thru a window, we had huge rocks thrown off the 10th street embankment that damaged our cars in a gated parking area, when we lived on 10th and Jersey our car was broken in to 2x and also had a car stolen.

I now live next to Lincoln Park and I did have one attempted break-in ........by a very big RACCOON.

I feel very safe here, there is little to no drama, very little noise and I have a 100 acre park across the street from my house. '

Sorry, that should read Bentley or Gifford, which between JFK and Wast Side are about the 2 nicest blocks in the neighborhood. I'm not sure why my brian slipped and I said Belmont.

Quote:

Thanks to all for your feedback. More comments are welcome!

The Lincoln Park bashers strike again! Please search this site for Lincoln Park for more threads on the topic with alternate opinions, my own included.

I will say here that Harrison is nicer between JFK and Bergen then the block you're looking at. The West Side block is preferable if you're on Bentley or Belmont. For the other steets, it's usually best to be on the other side of JFK.

Quote:

That's the other side of Communipaw which I'd consider a whole different neighborhood. Although I have friends on Union Steet (2 blocks further towards Greenville) and their block is fine.

The truth? Your vehicle will most likely be broken into more than once. You will surely have at least a few neighbors who will lower the quality of your life through sheer inconsideration. There will be many times the cops will be in your area tracking down thugs. And you will spend a lot of time being stressed.
I lived in the area for a few years and it was constatly just like that.

Not the greatest area, it is only a few blocks from communipaw ave (the block where that kid was killed outside Al's diner) and also the adjacent blocks arent great (Clinton, lexington...) It might be a good investment to rent out but I would not want to live in that area. On the note of places to drink, the park tavern is right down the block, its a local firefighter bar, pretty nice, good crowd. On places to eat, you have McDonalds, Al's Diner, Checkers, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Popeyes, Chinese Food, Blimpie in the area. Public transportation: the #10 bus rides down kennedy blvd to journal square. I have a friend who lives on Lexington between West Side and Mallory, pretty rough block, parking is terrible and the people who lurk the streets arent the greatest.