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I agree, I looked at a place on Monitor and the flood insurance was insane, so I moved further up the hill. That is the one thing that is a negative for BL they have the same flooding issues as dtjc.

Residents in Bergen Lafayette have complained about the sewerage. It backs up after raining, that must be fixed before there is any renaissance.

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I know exactly where you're talking about, and why people have been bullish on it. It just hasn't come through yet, and broken many investors and gentrifiers. It's just my POV, but personally I know lots of people thrilled with living in the Heights for a decade or more, and a number of people who limped away from B-L. But timing is everything, and you never know.

The parks are key for the neighborhood. It's a big neighborhood amenity people look for when they're moving. If Lafayette gets just a couple more key businesses, it'll be a true alternative to downtown. I believe in Lafayette more than the Heights personally.

Def understand where you're coming from, but I just wanna reiterate that I'm talking about the Lafayette section of B-L in particular. I feel like it's in a unique position since it's right next to downtown, soon to be flanked by 2 major parks, and has a relatively low crime rate.

While always rooting for another JC area to "make it", B-L has been breaking hearts and emptying bank accounts for decades. It looks to have so much potential, and never comes through. I know several families that bought there, invested a lot in reno, and left after deciding the low quality of life was not worth it. Maybe this time is different...

I really enjoyed the ongoing discussion about The Heights so I thought it'd be fun to start one about my own neighborhood.

Lafayette's a pretty quiet community situated West of Liberty State Park and East of Bergen Hill. The Communipaw-Lafayette neighborhood is actually one of the oldest settlements in North America and we have some great old (though sadly often neglected) housing stock to show for it. It's historically a working class neighborhood, but over the past 10-15 years there's been an influx of slightly more affluent folks moving in.

Transit-wise we have the Liberty State Park light rail and various buses that run via the neighborhood's main arteries, Pacific Ave and Communipaw Ave. I personally would love to see the much talked about Pacific Ave light rail stop come to fruition as well, I think that'd be a huge boost to the area.

I'd also love to see a forward thinking restaurant like MAE come back to the neighborhood! That was such a gem, but it might have been a bit ahead of it's time (allegedly, there were some major disputes between them and the landlord).

With Berry Lane Park coming along nicely, a bunch of new housing developments in the pipeline, and an awesome group of very involved neighbors working with police to make things better, I definitely feel confident in my purchase here. What I'd love to see most is more small businesses opening in the area, but I'm sure that will come with time.

I'm curious about what other folks in the neighborhood think about it's progress.