Anyone that thinks that any area close to the Junction is safe
is an idiot. The housing stock is very nice. It is an unsafe area.
Do you see any JC cops buying in the area. There is a reason.
Your obit in your hometown newspaper will read very nice about how you were a Hudson County pioneer.

Some of the homes are lovely old brick Victorians, but the area is far too seedy for my tastes...a little too close to Communipaw Ave and Greenville, the very worst part of town.
I don't think I would DARE to walk to the PATH after dark.

To respond to what several residents of this area have said earlier in the thread..... if the neighbors are so "awesome", what IS the problem? The children attending the schools in this area, are your neighbors' children, yes?
Or are people coming in from other areas to buy + consume drugs? If the area is rife with gangs, aren't these the neighbors too?

Interesting read over here...I (along with other JC old-timers) have got to get out more!!

I am taking you guys up on the safety of your hood. I will take a tour over the weekend. If you see a 6 foot 9 inch, 300 pound, pale white guy walking around don?t be alarmed. Hopefully you will see me walking around and not laying down taking a dirt nap.

PS ? I better hear some ?Hey how are you doing?? and not the usual JC phases of ?Gimme all you gots!? and ?Roll your pockets!?.

Umm....I don't know how slow you drive, but I have EASILY made it into the city in 20 minutes from Park Street (and I turn down Astor to swing around to Grand St. ) during my social commute. I have made it to BK in 30-35 minutes early weekends. Yes, I drive fast...but can't possibly drive THAT fast...

I agree...I work downtown NYC and my work commute is easily 40 - 60 minutes door to door (between bus, squeezing onto PATH, etc)...

I agree with the area, it has great character, and I will say over and over our neighbors are awesome!! Everyone (on my block anywho) says hey and are very neighborly. I said it before its all about your tolerance level. Don't expect downtown living, all of my friends who are from BK say its like BK over here. And I quite like it!

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Which city? NYC? Please tells us how you accomplish that feat!!
There is no way you can get from Astor Place into NYC in 20 minutes during regular commuting hours, regardless of transportation mode (car, bus, train, or a combination of those.) Even if you were driving late at night it would be a hard feat to accomplish.

Having said that, I think most of us in JC have enviable commute times into NYC. Most of my friends who live in Brooklyn spend more time (and money) commuting into midtown than I do.

Astor Place is actually a cool area. Definitely not the greatest, but it has character, and some of the houses in that area are truly very interesting.

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Both newbies and oldtimers know that...Dickinson wins hands down!! These three were under ?Dickinson riot? from last year.

?The police presence at Dickinson High School in Jersey City will be beefed up this week and next due to recent episodes of gang violence and rioting, including a machete attack and numerous arrests on Monday, officials said.
Jersey City Superintendent of Schools Charles T. Epps Jr. said yesterday he's "working closely" with Police Chief Tom Comey on the effort. ?

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?A 15-year-old Dickinson High School boy suffered five stab wounds at dismissal time Thursday in what appears to be violence between gangs triggered by a robbery last weekend, police officials said yesterday.
At 3:08 p.m., a "large, rowdy" crowd gathered on the Palisade Avenue side of the school and police got word the conflict was caused by the robbery of a Marion section resident by members of the Goonies/Summit Ave. Mob, reports said. ?

************

?Jersey City and Port Authority police swarmed across Journal Square yesterday afternoon in response to a series of fights involving young people - reportedly Dickinson High School students - including one person who was reportedly shot in the arm. The shooting reportedly happened at Van Reipen Avenue about 3:40 p.m., Jersey City police said. Port Authority cops responded first, breaking up several fights they say involved Dickinson students, and arrested seven juveniles and two ?

Just re-read your original post...you live in JSQ? Then you should be fine unless you hate it out there...

IMHO??

I bought my house on Park Street, so the front of my house faces the back side of the hs and rarely have any problems with the hs or the kids. BUT, I also work in NYC during the day and am not around to have to deal with them. My biggest complaint would be more about the kids on the bus ---FYI there is a hs, middle school AND an elementary school on the bus route btwn BergLaf and downtown. So, that makes the commute in the am fabu! But that's another post discussion...

If this is the house of your dreams (which is what I bought), then GET IT. Seriously. You won't get the details, character, charm like this for anywhere near this price. EVER. Seriously EVER.

BUT if you get easily uncomfortable around "different" kinds of people, you may want to think twice or weigh how much you love the house vs. getting over your insecurities (I'm not talking about you specifically, just generally. This is the same spiel I give all of my friends about moving into the neighborhood;o). You need to figure out if you can deal with that and get over it. Some people are not comfortable outside of their comfort zone --nothing wrong with it, but it is what it is. If you can live in Harlem or east Williamsburg aka Bushwick, then you'll be fine over here. If you have been inside of a bodega and not wanted to pee on yourself, you should be fine over here. Aside from Ray- Ray trying to get my phone number, I really don't get bothered in the 'hood. And its no worse or more prevalent that Noah's attempts on the UES or Ramon on 135th/ Amsterdam when I'm in those areas.

The good thing is these little cluster of blocks are mostly comprised families/older people. So, its mostly quiet in here. AND the Muslim school/mosque on Park does a good job of providing an element of fear (are you going to act up around the mosque? Seriously?). They also renovated what used to be THE crack house on Park Street (rents start at $1,500 I heard ~side eye to mgmt company), so that also removed an element of crime/unsavoriness from the neighborhood.

Sorry for the long reponse, but I love my house. And after a a little over a year, I am still glad that I bought it. I hope I did a good job of putting the pros and cons in persoective. But it's a toss up....

So who has better riots at dismissal - Lincoln or Dickinson?
A friend of mine lives on Summit and to visit her we've parked on the Prescott. One night we stood outside for a while (after midnight, so this makes it a valid standing outside late) to see exactly what it is we are supposed to be just so terrified of in this neighborhood. Didn't find it. shrug.

I can see where Duncan and Fairmount may contain an element of hinkiness, but when going by Lincoln Park late at night in consideration of that neighborhood we didn't turn up much excitement there either.

We must be doing it wrong.

Don't buy into some of the hyperbole in this forum. While the area has it's problems, it's not the Gaza Strip.

I've lived on this block for the past four years with my wife and I haven't had any problems beyond garbage on my property. I would probably be considered a yuppie by most people an there are several other households on the block that are just like mine. Besides where else can you buy a brownstone/Brickrow house for 200k and still have a 20 minute commute to the city?

Growing up in JC you knew that anything above JFK Blvd in the Bergen area was not a good area. These are the hot blocks for crime from reading the JJ over the years?Gardner, Belmont, Harrison, and Astor. Story after story.

If you didn?t do so yet and are really interested in Astor Place. (someone mentioned maybe around 30 Astor) Just go to that area around 3:00 pm in the afternoon on a school day. (maybe it won?t be as bad because of the cold weather now). Lincoln High School is at 60 Crescent Ave. PS # 12 is at 91 Astor Place.

I guess you don?t read the JJ. A riot at Lincoln High School during dismissal is common place. So that will be about 1000 kids roaming the area every day.

See if you can talk to any teachers who work in Lincoln or PS # 12 , ask them about the area.

I don?t want to burst your bubble but..PLEASE do more research!!!

Good luck!

getting back to Astor - the area - anytime i'm in that area, or at Astor Bar, i meet lots of very friendly locals/old timers.

I'd be careful about the short sale. Real estate agents will tell you anything to get you in the contract.

I am guessing its very hard to get inside the house because its a short sale and it is priced very well. At this point there are probably a ton of people trying to see it.

I am not sure if you are familiar with a short sale but from what I have heard they take quite a long time. The plus is that you get a house for a much cheaper price.

Good luck if you decide to purchase it. Im going to keep looking.

We would be buying it to live in it, not rent it out. This is, of course, assuming we can actually get inside it. If the market is in the pits and there's so much inventory to be moved, not sure why it's so hard to get a return phone call from a realtor.

Yes I am referring to 30 Astor. It seems like a steal and a half but when you run the income potential it does not seem as promising.

These comments have been helpful especially the ones about it potentially taking 10 - 20 years to improve.

The neighborhood around Astor Place & Summit Avenue is much safer than you'd guess from comments here. I have several friends, both Black & White who have lived there for various lengths of time & love the neighborhood and feel safe. All of them are affluent and can afford to live anywhere they choose. I attended a large New Years Day Party there at one of these homes - attended by people from Jersey City, the NJ suburbs and quite a few from the Upper Eastside of Manhatttan - noone was concerned about safety.

Are you talking about 30 Astor? I'm having the very same debate with my fiance right now about that property. i love that neighborhood for its houses. I do think it's also a decent long term investment. I do wonder at my life expectancy though if I live there and am equally torn as you are about what to do about it. Best of luck in your house hunt.

It's considered Bergen Hill. It's really not very safe, which is a shame, considering that some of the brownstones are decent looking.

If you happen to be white, you'll feel out of place I think.

Could be a decent LONG TERM investment, but do not expect the area to gentrify in the next 10 years. Maybe 20 years, but it's a crapshoot, as is all real estate investing. Will depend on lots of factors.

The area is slowly changing. What is the asking price of the property?

Didn't you post this once before?

You are going to get told it is usually on what your tolerance level is. I live one block away on Belmont and was rocked out of my bed at 5:30am to gun shots in my backyard, I been there for awhile so im accustomed to the sound of gun shots lol. It is a really nice neighborhood and the neighbors are awesome but there is a lot of riff raff to deal with. and if your used to a rough around the edges type of living then it's really nothing.

I live in Journal Square currently and am considering a property on Astor Place in Jersey City. What are your thoughts?

Crime? Neighborhood? Proximity to Light Rail? Average Rents for a 2 BR? Real Estate Taxes in that part of town? What neighborhood is this considered?

Any information would be helpful.

Thanks