We bought our first house on Garrison and have lived here for two years so I feel the need to weigh in here:

It\'s a great block-everyone is friendly and watches out for each other. I knew more people in the first month than I did in 10 years in Brooklyn! Is it as cool as Brooklyn-hell no! No cool restaurants (outside of Indian food), no hip cafes or bookstores-we just go downtown for that which is not a big deal. Although if you love a good slice I recommend Three Guys from Italy-convenient on walk home from PATH. Oh almost forgot Wonder Bagels down the street-excellent bagels and sammies!

Re: grocery stores-there\'s the farmer\'s market at Journal Square, the Korean market on JFK, and a place up in the Heights on JFK (not sure of the name). I would recommend Ctown on JFK over Twin City probably cause it\'s on walk home from PATH. If you have a car I would recommend A & P downtown or the ShopRite.

Re: crime-I\'m a 30 something (!) petite female and have NEVER had a problem. I commute to NYC daily (PATH is very convenient and reliable despite the crowds) and I usually don\'t come home too late, but when I do I\'ve never felt unsafe. I usually walk down Sip versus JFK so maybe I run into less crazy people? Of course being an urbanite I do watch my back-you should just be smart like you would in any city.

Post office is right around the corner but be mentally prepare for that-not a pleasant experience.

I agree with a lot of what Shadrock said except for firehouse- living right down the block I barely notice the sirens! Maybe it\'s cause I\'ve lived here a while? They never wake me up. Oh yeah and the beggers-I assume you mean by the PATH? I see them for two seconds on my walk home but that\'s it-never on my block.

Cheap drycleaning around corner on Sip and very nice people.

All in all-love my block! Any other questions let me know..happy to give my honest opinion :)

I lived in a condo on the next block, Romaine between Sip/Pavonia from 2000 - 2007. My condo there is rented out so I would tell prospective tenants who came to look at my place who were not familiar with the area that for better or worse it was not at all like downtown Jersey City or Hoboken as far as hipness/going out etc. With the right expectations the area is a decent, quiet, and not too expensive place to live.

For convenience though, it is very close to the JSQ PATH and I could get on 1/9 to 78 West very quickly if I wanted to although the street parking situation was a pain.

The biggest drag on the neighborhood as mentioned are the apartments on Van Wagenan where there is definitely a criminal element. Will that element bother you? Probably not but you definitely do not ever want to walk down Van Wagenan at any time and keep your eyes open at night on the way back from JSQ.

That said I never had any real problems (except car broken into once). I spent most of my 20's on Romaine and came home hundreds of times late night/early morning at various without issue. This maybe part luck/part my awareness of surroundings but the area worked out for me.

Sounds great.

The whole Garrison / Journal Square area is true urban living. Just what you yuppies/hipsters are looking for right? Shadrock had a good description of the area. ( I agree it could be used for any area of JC) During the day the area is fine a lot of people walking around. At night a different story I would be very careful walking around the area. I think there were quite a few muggings in the Garrison/ Pavonia area over the years. Most of the block of Van Wagenen Avenue is subsidized housing. Tough crowd.

Another plus that was not mentioned..if you are Indian or like Indian food?Newark Avenue is just around the corner. For coffee there is a Dunkin Donuts on Broadway and Wagenen. Also PS # 23 school on Garrison if you have kids.

Good Luck!

PS ? hard to believe that Journal Square (like Newark) was once considered the ultimate shopping experience in the tri state area. Journal Square still is?if you want kicks , t-shirts, or lids.

Funny when I was growing up in Jersey City as soon as the street lights came on all of the mom?s on the block would yell for us to come inside. Now being grow up living in Jersey City I more or less follow the same rule. Get off of the mean streets of JC once the street lights come on!!! Mom was right.

I lived on Garrison Avenue for several years and have since moved. I loved my building, but the new management company is terrible.

On the plus side:
-convenient to PATH, buses, and taxis
-diverse and pretty friendly
-stores are close by (Twin City) but no really good supermarket
-rents are very reasonable
-close to the VIP if you crave something to eat at 3 AM

Negatives:
-very tough to find parking if you drive
-very busy fire house on Sip Avenue (sirens all night long)
-overcrowded (most row houses have illegal apartments)
-liquor store on Sip Avenue attracts a tough crowd
-beggars everywhere
-several people in my building mugged in the last few years -- someone tried to mug me while walking my dog one night, but they underestimated an English Pointer's bite (I did too)
-Journal Square is years away from being a place where you would want to shop

After rereading my list, I realize that this applies to many neighborhoods in JC.

Hi! My husband and I are considering to rent an apartment located at Garrison Avenue. We've heard that area is not too nice or safe... is that true? He'll be commuting to NYC every day and walking from the Path late at night. I'm mostly concerned about being close to grocery stores, post office, coffee house, etc. to run errands... most likely I will not walk to the path at night.

any thoughts? thanks!!!!