It does not help that Healy must be delusional, we have more crime, pay higher taxes, streets are filthier, there are more gangs in Jersey City than ever. Just look at the Central Ave district for example, I lived up the heights for over 20 years, we had nice stores, it was place people could shop, grab a bite to eat. In the evening you have to watch your back, gangs, drugs being sold. The poor senior citizens they don't stand a chance if they want to take a walk in the evening, nice change Healy. Gaughan, has been councilman 16 years in Ward D, great job guys in turning Central Avenue in the opposite direction. Does Gaughan still live in Jersey City, seems he spends more time in Spring Lake, maybe he should run for councilman down the shore. I know there are other areas in Jersey City that have not changed for the best either, I use Central Ave and should mention all of the Heights as an example because it was at one time one of, if not the best section of Jersey City to live, not anymore. So there is the change we can see.

Arm yourselves, Charlie Bronson style,blast those cockaroaches.

Mayor Healy is all over TV citing hires of more cops, new gang units, gun buy-backs etc. & any given day of the week we hear crime is on the upswing...a store owner is held up at gunpoint by two punks and the store owner waits twenty minutes for the PD to respond...these good people in the Heights have done the PD's job for them...it's total doo-doo...So do this: Get the cops you do have devote their full energies in fighting crime...Eliminate the off-duty jobs completely for the PD...Total emergencies only...Keep the cops fresh for their tour of duty...The boozefog politicos think they're practicing the tenets of "Urban Renewal" when what it is they are practicing is "Bourbon Renewal"...a couple of drinks and the city looks pretty good...

What can concerned residents in the Heights - both long time and new arrivals like myself - do at a time like this? With the economy tanking, and everbody afraid of a new spike in crime, it seems like now is the time to take stock of the situation, and energize people to get involved.

i used to hang out a bunch as a teen around bowers/ny ave back in the late 90s and it was a dump between there and griffith down to franklin..almost every apt building was boarded up. if you are someone in hudson county, shit will happen when you complain and have connections. not the same for the rest of us working lames.

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Didn't take long for Comey to blame the recession.

London should run for Mayor!

From drug haven to Heights heaven, residents in Jersey City neighborhood say

by Tom Shortell/The Jersey Journal
Friday January 09, 2009, 8:05 PM

It wasn't hard to tell when the New York Avenue Block Association began winning the war against the drug dealers and crackheads in their Jersey City Heights neighborhood.

Ross London, who founded the group in 2002, said on two occasions bricks came flying through windows of his home. His car was repeatedly damaged and one time they even left a dead bird on his windshield as a warning.

But he wasn't alone. The properties of other residents were also damaged and one was threatened with death if he attended another association meeting, London said.
"We went through hell. It was rough," London said.

The block of New York Avenue between Franklin and Ferry avenues was a drug haven, said Sheena Begum, an area resident. Drug dealers roamed around at night with their car stereos blasting and conducted sales in the street, she said.

"They did it out in the open. They had this superior attitude," she said.

London, a former municipal judge in Hoboken, had moved to the block in 2002 and was shocked by the crime he witnessed outside his home.

"The block had been pretty awful," said London, 59. "I figured I'd stick it out for six months and see what happened. In the meantime, I decided to do everything possible to see what could be changed."

He formed the block association. Then he rallied the police and local politicians. The association also pushed landlords to hold their tenants accountable for illegal actions. London, now a professor at Berkeley College in Newark, set up a surveillance camera outside his window and gave police footage of crimes, he said.

The pressure paid off in 2005 when an undercover drug sting rounded up some of the block's worst offenders, residents said. "The police came through big," London said.

"By building partnerships and through teamwork, police and community groups can create neighborhoods where people can live and work safely," Police Director Sam Jefferson said.

Many of the residents credit London for the turnaround.

"That's all the judge's doing," Artie Gordon said of London. "Every little spot was filled with drugs. Then he moved in."

London credits all his neighbors. "The key to political power is political organizing," he said.
Now when residents look outside, they see children playing catch instead of dealers cruising the street.

"With the community and police working as a team, we can accomplish the goal of cleaning up the streets," Police Chief Tom Comey said.

====================
Success story aside, crime in the Jersey City Heights on rise

by Tom Shortell/The Jersey Journal
Friday January 09, 2009, 7:55 PM

While the New York Avenue Block Association may have witnessed a turnaround in its small corner of the city, the same can't be said for the Jersey City Heights as a whole, at least one resident says.

Ron Clate, who lives on Congress Street, said his tires have been slashed, his home has been "tagged" with spray paint and his bushes have been uprooted. Gangs have moved into the neighborhood, and calls to the police have not fixed the problem, he said.

"Do we have to become vigilantes? Is that what it's going to take?" Clate asked.

Crime statistics for the area appear to back up Clate's claims -- and outrage.

Police data shows a 12.5 percent increase in overall crime in the North District from January to November of last year, compared to the same period in 2007. The North, which has about 60,000 residents, includes the Heights and a portion of Journal Square, according to the Jersey City Police Department Web site.

Robberies, burglaries and larcenies are the driving force behind the spike in crime. Robberies increased 23 percent in the area, which drove up the North District's violent crimes by 15.2 percent. Non-violent crime grew by 11.8 percent, powered by larceny and burglaries, which were up 20 percent and 13.7 percent, respectively.

Police crime stats show there has been a rise in property theft throughout the city -- which Jersey City Police Chief Thomas Comey blamed in part on the economic downturn.
"In desperate financial times, people revert to desperate measures," Comey said.

Burglaries throughout the city jumped 23.4 percent while larcenies increased 8.4 percent. The number of robberies increased slightly, 3.7 percent.

"We took a vow to protect life and property -- in that order," Comey said. "The question is, at what point do you shift assets to prevent violent crime to prevent non-violent crime?"