If you have the option to bail out I would recommend it.

I lived in a far better neighborhood in the Heights and judged the area to be unsafe. Webster and Hutton was FAR worse than where I lived. The area is improving from what I hear but I would not consider it.


Light Rail is NOT a good option for Webster and Hutton so you are most likely going to be stuck with the Palisade Avenue buses, not bad during the day, slow at night. Be VERY careful walking home alone at night even just those 2 blocks.
As a renter and an NYC commuter, the Waterfront is a FAR more logical choice.

Hi all, Wow thanks! Great info here. With any luck, we'll be living there soon!! I'm surely going to ask a million and one questions if that happens. Many thanks! thinkingJC

I have heard the the "The Cliffs " development the the bottom of Hope street will be installing a stairwell leading to the heights. I am not 100% sure they are doing this, but I have heard it from realtors. So take that info with a grain of salt. If anyone has info please share.

It's all sidewalk. During the winter, most times, unless it's improved since I moved, the sidewalks down the serpentine road (I think the street is called Hope Street?) are not plowed and are often very, very icy.

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Is there are sidewalk or some other walkable path along that route, or do you have to walk on the street?

You might want to ask the unit's owner about the robberies in your building last year. Your building condo owners were so concerned about the crime in the area (and the frequent illegal dumping that occurs on the corner of New York & Hutton) that they installed a close circuit camera system (about a year prior to the robberies). You can see the small cameras on the front and sides of the building.

There used to be a Webster Avenue community group - don't know if there still is.

Small "quality of life" crimes are frequent and annoying - my car was broken into a number of times as well as dented a lot; our shed was robbed; flowers were taken from our porch, etc. Getting a cop to respond in that area basically took a report of bloodshed and an automatic weapon. No offense to the POs, but that's the reality that I experienced.

I moved from that area a little over a year ago due to a gang murder on Palisades, near Hutton. In October of 2005, a young man was gunned down in front of the barbershop. My daughter was 4 at the time and heard the whole thing. I had had enough and relunctantly moved away in early 2006 from a great house we had just renovated with our blood, sweat and tears.

Franklin is a magnet for gangs and drugs. It gets pretty shady at night. Central Ave is good for your basics. ShopRite in Hoboken delivers - and you can order over the internet. And I agree with the poster about Gino's - we still schlep there to get our pizza.

Your building is amazing - the units are gorgeous. Queen Latifa used to live at 126 - she was very cool. You will have some wonderful neighbors in the building. Outside, you'll see a couple of old guys that hang out on Hutton all day, next to the empty lot. They are pretty much the eyes and ears of the neighborhood. Interesting crew.

I think as a Mom with two small children, it was a tough area to be in. Maybe as a single person it would be easier. I just think the area hasn't seen the upturn it so badly needs to be a great place to live. Time will tell. Good luck.

Thanks for the replies! I've got another question regarding the 2nd St. light rail stop. Can one walk down or up that crazy winding road? Is there a better way down to that station? Or is there some sort of plan for stairs or something? Seems odd to build a station there without pedestrian-friendly access.

The apartment is incredibly charming. Sucks that the neighborhood isn't exactly perfect. But, there's no such thing in most cities.

I used to live at New York & Hutton before moving downtown. I still have close friends there so I visit often. They insist the area is on the upswing and from the looks of it I have to agree. Still, I'd be wary of walking around alone after 11PM; when I lived there, nearby Franklin St. in particular was notorious for drug dealing. Central & Palisades are safe but you'll encounter a variety of (mostly harmless) wackos there.

As for getting to Manhattan, you also have the option of grabbing one of those rickety vans that drive along Palisades and drop you off near Port Authority. Hispanic people call them "mojica,", Russians call them "marhshrutka," and white folk call them "jitney vans." Whatever you call them say a prayer before entering ;)

This area of the Heights is definitely on the upswing, but as with any area in this city, you have to always be aware of your surroundings.

I haven't heard of a particular story of someone being mugged by the elevator but where you are looking is much closer to the 2nd St lightrail station. Walk east on Franklin Street 3 blocks. You will see a winding road when you get to Franklin and Ogden, the bottom of the road is the 2nd St station.

There are many condo conversions in progress on Webster & New York, so I think that the neigborhood will only get better.

Good Luck!

I live up here in the heights. There are many great things going on up here. yea the kids can be a bit obnoxious at times so can the ice cream man running until midnight. That building is a great building though. i know you dont have a car, but if you dont like the busses a car is the best way to go. for most of your stuff you can get to everything on central ave.might i suggest ginos restaraunt (the pizza side is good too) but the food is great and so is caviches up the street from that! as far as the saftey thing goes, it is still the city. I see a lot of professionals walking home from the lightrail alone, but i always suggest traveling in pairs if you can, keep your phone at the ready and just keep your eyes open , it isnt the burbs.. In either case, we know all of our neighbors and we always keep an eye out for eachother. we feel blessed in many ways. Good LUCK!

-B-

Thanks Brian! We're very torn about the crime, to be honest. We're surrounded by it now, and wouldn't want the same thing there too. We're totally in love with the apartment, which makes it a little harder to decided. Seems like most of the people who live there use their cars for errands and such. That would be hard on us since we're both city people (not from NYC though). So, we'll see. I've been reading the crime reports on this site, and well, it's doesn't make me all warm and fuzzy. But, neither do the gunshots in our hood. I know it's not all bad!! Maybe a rental there would be good to show us what we think of it longer term (buying). Seems like the best option right now.

Thanks again!

Hey, always good to have more friendly people looking into JC.
The area you are looking at isn't the best area in JC, but it isn't the worst. The commute in NY is a little more of a pain. The downtown area is quite easy. From what you said you disliked about BK, you probably aren't going to want to spend much time in hoboken, unless you like pretending you are still in college. As far as crime goes...It's an issue anywhere around NY, no matter what neighborhood you are in. Yeah, some are worse than others, but if you are really concerned with crime, Montclair's probably a nice place to live...lol. Even if you live in a good neighborhood in JC, crime is an issue. It's not as bad as it was years ago, but you still have to be aware when walking around at night.

Hi there! My partner and I have been researching JC for years as a possible place to move to. We left Jersey (Montclair) two years ago for the wilds of Brooklyn. Neither of us are from this neck of the world, so it?s been hard to figure out where to try next. The trouble we?re having in Brooklyn is that we live in the ghetto and wake up every weekend to gunshots. There is a huge amount of anger on the streets where we live, and it?s not exactly cheap rent to make up for it. The landlord lives here too and could are less about the rats and the crime. So, it?s time to move on. We?ve looked around Brooklyn but it?s either too stroller-happy or more crime or a totally dead and boring part of town that would require an hour?s commute.

In the summer we had our second insider?s tour of JC with friends who live there. They took us around to see some open houses to get the feel for the place. We happened upon one at 126 Webster, the loft building. It blew us away! Totally amazingly beautiful!! The place has been offered to us as a rental. We?ve asked around and it seems a little high priced, but not too bad considering it is an artist loft. Does anyone know anything about these lofts? What to watch out for? The owner says there have been no crimes there. What about that immediate area?

I?m also trying to figure out if people commute from that part of JC Heights via the lightrail and PATH, or are buses really the only option? I hate buses in general, so I?m really trying to avoid that. Even if it means an extra few minutes on the commute.

Also, what is the crime like in that neighborhood? It seems like it is a bit rough in that part of the Heights, but coming up. Anyone live there and care to give some advice for two women?

We saw that we can get stuff done on Central (amenities-wise), which is great. And that Hoboken isn?t that far away either. We don?t have a car (yet), and might not get one for another year. Is that part of JC OK for city-folk who don?t have a car for everything? Seems like it is, but that a car would be better. The lightrail seems to really work well and move people rather quickly. We were concerned about the walk to the elevator. I?ve read that there are a lot of muggings there. I read about muggings in Brooklyn all of the time. And one of the local merchants on our street in Brooklyn was recently robbed, tortured, burned alive, and then they went to his home in Jersey and stole everything. We haven?t had anything bad happen to us here, but that doesn?t mean we don?t carry ourselves in a way that says, ?hey, we?re next!?

So, sorry for the super long post. Many thanks to all constructive responses!

thinkingJC