New Condos in West New York or Union City, NJ (Jersey City: middle-class, home)

[ericka178]

Hello,

I have been reading many posts about different neighborhoods on this web site (very helpful).

I’ve noticed that Union City has very reasonably priced condos and also West New York (two bedrooms for $300,000 & under). I plan to tour these areas to see how they are.

I have searched a few locations and would like to know if anyone has any information/opinion about the following areas (I just typed up any Building # just to find out about these sections/streets):

Port Imperial Boulevard
24 Avenue at Port Imperial
West New York, NJ 07093

5501 Hudson Avenue
West New York, NJ 07093

5519 Jefferson Street
West New York, NJ 07093

6110 Park Avenue
West New York, NJ 07093

412 63rd Street
West New York, NJ 07093

5698 Kennedy Blvd. East
Guttenberg, NJ (is this location near West NY?)

Particularly, are these areas in “safe” neighborhoods (especially coming home late evenings; to raise a family) near transportation, retail stores, delis and supermarkets (nice quality stores) within walking distance, have nice views (greenery, parks) and clean streets?

Any comment(s) given is greatly appreciated - thanks!

[Raven1976]

I live near all these locations

The Port Imperial location is definitely the best, but I'm sure it's going to be very pricey and that maintenance fee will probably be high. It's right on the Hudson river.

The one on Hudson is the worst of all the locations I would say. Not that it's not relatively safe, but compared to all the other ones, that is the one I would choose last. NOt the cleanest and usually more people hanging out outside after dark.


The one on Jefferson St. is the furthest from the main buses on Blvd East to the city. Nothing exciting up that area

The other three are good locations too. All a couple blocks away from a bus stop and close to lots of shopping down on River Rd. ALl in walking distance of the big park and relatively cleaner.

[amcjap]

Guttenberg is only four blocks wide and nestled between WNY and N. Bergen. Anywhere on Boulevard East is nice.

[ericka178]

Raven1976 and amcjap, thank you both for responding. I really appreciate it!

[Ninasimonejr]

I live nearby. First, note that Port Imperial is right on the waterfront - far from the other addresses you mention which are on the top of the Palisade. It's like living in a different city unless you drive a lot. It's also a different world - much newer, lots of malls with big box stores (Whole Foods, Target, BBB, Barnes & Noble, etc. etc.), lots of young professionals (and probably families), lots of restaurants, and almost completely unwalkable. Not my cup of tea at all (as an ex-Manhattanite).

(Kennedy) Blvd East is the most upscale part of this area and there's a beautiful long park above the river with a famous view of Manhattan (and trees). You may need to hike a bit for shopping as that area is mainly residential. Guttenberg is tiny - it's more or less the same as living in WNY. That particular address is close to the road that leads down to the waterfront part of WNY, so if you have a car your shopping options expand drastically.

As for the rest, they're all in the upper part of WNY, which is rather gritty. Acc. to Wikipedia, the median income in WNY is $41,500 for a household; and there is a vast disparity between the upper (top of Palisade) part and the riverfront (Port Imp) part. I would guess wildly that the median income on the waterfront is $100K and on the top of the Palisade about $20K. In the upper part, there's lots of cheap shopping (esp. Bergenline). Other than that, you may find there's nothing to do and unless you like Latin food (which may be great, but I'm a vegetarian and can't eat it), not much in the way of restaurants. Parks and views - not much. I'm not sure I'd recommend it for coming home late at night or raising a family. It's safe in the daytime and early evening but people don't walk around much at night. My cleaning lady moved out of WNY last year because she thought the public schools were terrible.

Weehawken is pricier but it's also relatively middle-class and most of it is pretty family-friendly. It's lacking in amenities because it's so small, but especially if you have a car, it's quite easy to get to Hoboken, Jersey City, Union City, & West New York (upper or lower), not to mention Manhattan.

You might note that Park Ave. is the dividing line between UC & Weehawken, with the east side of the Ave. in Weehawken and the west side in UC. There are some new condos on the UC side of Park Ave. which is pretty much the same as living in Weehawken but I don't know what they're going for.

The transportation to Manhattan in all of these places is excellent, mainly by bus to Port Authority.

Some people would be happy in UC, others not so much. Just check it out well before jumping in head-first!

[ericka178]

Hello Ninasimonejr,

I really appreciate your response to my post/question. Thanks for all the information. Very helpful!

[liketoexplore]

I'm a mommy living in Union City, with kid you'd probably need a car, so with car in and out from the building, you don't really associate with people around the block often at all, so no fear!