50 replies to this topic

[lammius]

I'll be moving to North Jersey in June and parts of Newark are under consideration. My favorite Newark neighborhood is the Ironbound, just east of Penn Station. It's a largely Portuguese and Brazilian community. There are lots of EXCELLENT restaurants, bars, etc. They serve margarita-like drinks called caipirinhas, in which the glasses are rimmed with sugar instead of salt. Very good stuff.

Caipirinha:


The Ironbound: (these are web finds, sorry some are small)




The following come from Photographer Ronald Saari. He has good pics from all over NJ. Take a look!

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[Jerseyman4]

I love the Ironbound though its been years since my step-mother (dominican decent) and I visited the area to eat at a Portugese restaurant which was REALLY good! The only portugese restaurant i go to locally on occasion is the Ria Mar in South River, Middlesex County.

[flotown]

I was born in Jersey City, lived in Union until I was 10 and visit 1-2 times a year (up from SC). I was up in December and on my way into JC took a wrong turn and ended up on Clinton Ave. leading into downtown Newark. I'm just thankful my car didn't break down or I might not be here typing this. Doesn't anybody there work? This was the middle of a weekday and there were throngs of people just hanging around street corners. Clinton Ave itself just looked run down and neglected. The business district was a bit nicer, though. It seems there is an effort being made to clean it up.

I heard they're building a new arena downtown for the Devils. Hopefully there will be nearby mass transit and plenty of security

[lammius]

flotown, on Jan 29 2006, 02:59 PM, said:

I was born in Jersey City, lived in Union until I was 10 and visit 1-2 times a year (up from SC). I was up in December and on my way into JC took a wrong turn and ended up on Clinton Ave. leading into downtown Newark. I'm just thankful my car didn't break down or I might not be here typing this. Doesn't anybody there work? This was the middle of a weekday and there were throngs of Ipeople just hanging around street corners. Clinton Ave itself just looked run down and neglected. The business district was a bit nicer, though. It seems there is an effort being made to clean it up.

I heard they're building a new arena downtown for the Devils. Hopefully there will be nearby mass transit and plenty of security

Clinton Ave is the southern part of the area most affected by the 1960s riots. Afterward many buildings in the area were bulldozed and nothing has been built since. So you'll see lots of empty blocks along Clinton Ave between Clinton Hill and Lincoln Park. Even worse than Clinton Ave is Springfield Ave. There is some infill development now occurring in the area, a promising sign, as these are the first significant reinvestments in the area in 35 years! I worked on a bus rapid transit study in the area. I'll create a new thread later today or tomorrow showing pics from that study.

[demon]

Thanks for these pictures. I grew up in West Orange & I have lived in Orlando for the past year and a half. seeing pictures of Newark and the archectecture of North Jersey really brings back memories. One of the things I really miss is the view I had of Newark from the Harrison Path station while I would wait for my train into Manhattan.

Edited by demon, 30 January 2006 - 10:24 PM.

[flotown]

demon, on Jan 30 2006, 11:23 PM, said:

Thanks for these pictures. I grew up in West Orange & I have lived in Orlando for the past year and a half. seeing pictures of Newark and the archectecture of North Jersey really brings back memories. One of the things I really miss is the view I had of Newark from the Harrison Path station while I would wait for my train into Manhattan.

This was a great place for pre game brew sessions prior to Mets, Yanks, Knick, Rangers etc. games on trips up north with friends. Here are some pics:<p>

<p>
<p>

[ZachariahDaMan]

Great pictures everyone, Newark seems like a nice city that has a lot of potential.

[lammius]

ZachariahDaMan, on Feb 2 2006, 09:43 AM, said:

Great pictures everyone, Newark seems like a nice city that has a lot of potential.

It's a city that has seen some rough times over the past several decades, but with excellent transit service and the cost of real estate through the roof in Hudson County, I believe Newark has one direction in which it can go...

[Hotlanta]

Its great to see some pics of my old area I use to call home so long ago. I went up to New York about a year ago and I stayed near EWR because it less expensive, but anyway the family and I drove around our old homestead in Paramus (Upper Saddle River) and got one of those handy little real estate books to check out house prices. JEEZE! For a 2 Bedroom/1 Bath house in Caldwell, NJ, it costs $650,000! That is so much more than we were accustomed to when we lived there about 12 years ago! Don't even get me started on taxes. I hope they clean up the area around the Pulaski Skyway. That area is very dirty and dangerous!

Edited by Hotlanta, 05 February 2006 - 09:34 PM.

[lammius]

Welcome to the NJ forum, Hotlanta.

While the areas surrounding the Pulaski Skyway may still be less than desirable, I find the structure itself to be something of beauty. It's such a relic of the American steelworks age.





And though I rarely travel over it I enjoy passing underneath on the NJ Turnpike:

[Jerseyman4]

The Pulaski Skyway was the original way to Manhattan. The bridge carrys the US Highways 1&9 designation of which if you continue straight (not turn off the bridge onto Tonelle Ave aka Routes 1/9) eventually becomes I-78 with traffic signals in Jersey City approaching the Holland Tunnel.

The US 1 northbound arch bridge between Edison and New Brunswick is another bridge of beauty and on a clear day, great way to see downtown New Brunswick with Boyd, Johnson and Donaldson Parks showing the beautiful landscape of New Brunswick, Highland Park and Piscataway.

[lammius]

In that image of the Rt 1 bridge I see Edison Diner. Oy. How many mornings have I strolled in there drunk for a Mexicali omelette?

[Recchia]

My brother lived in Ironbound for a while, he loved it, and so did I when I visited. I forgot the name of the bar we always went to, I think its Dega Lounge or something. Anyway, Ironbound is sweet neighborhood, tons of great authentic Brazilian restaurants. Nearby Harrison, NJ is also great. I was looking at living there if I got a job in the city.

[demon]

flotown, on Feb 2 2006, 01:20 AM, said:

This was a great place for pre game brew sessions prior to Mets, Yanks, Knick, Rangers etc. games on trips up north with friends. Here are some pics:<p>

<p>
<p>

Thank you so much for these pics. They make me nostalgic for the NJ/NYC area, I can't wait to visit them again this summer.

[lammius]

Some web finds...

Recchia, on Feb 8 2006, 06:11 PM, said:

My brother lived in Ironbound for a while, he loved it, and so did I when I visited. I forgot the name of the bar we always went to, I think its Dega Lounge or something. Anyway, Ironbound is sweet neighborhood, tons of great authentic Brazilian restaurants. Nearby Harrison, NJ is also great. I was looking at living there if I got a job in the city.

One of my co-workers lives in Harrison. He loves it. It's quite convenient to the PATH and to Newark. There's quite a bit of redevelopment proposed for that area.

[waccamatt]

As a Jersey native (South River), I'm glad to see Newark coming back. Jersey City seems to be doing very well too.

[lammius]

waccamatt, on Feb 20 2006, 04:10 AM, said:

As a Jersey native (South River), I'm glad to see Newark coming back. Jersey City seems to be doing very well too.

Nearly all of NJ's cities are making some sort of a comeback. Some have farther to go than others! (cough)CAMDEN(cough!)

[waccamatt]

lammius, on Feb 22 2006, 03:11 AM, said:

Nearly all of NJ's cities are making some sort of a comeback. Some have farther to go than others! (cough)CAMDEN(cough!)

Yes, poor Camden. It too will see the light of day. I was in NYC on business this fall and stayed the weekend to spend some time in central Jersey. I was expecting the old borough of South River to be older and dingier than when I last saw it, but it was not! I was pleasantly surprised by how much NICER it was than when I left 30 years ago. Gosh, has it been that long? I probably even have a southern accent now!

[lammius]

waccamatt, on Feb 24 2006, 02:02 AM, said:

Yes, poor Camden. It too will see the light of day. I was in NYC on business this fall and stayed the weekend to spend some time in central Jersey. I was expecting the old borough of South River to be older and dingier than when I last saw it, but it was not! I was pleasantly surprised by how much NICER it was than when I left 30 years ago. Gosh, has it been that long? I probably even have a southern accent now!

I was once lost on my way home from South Amboy and ended up in South River. It is indeed a nice town.

After 30 years of living in SC I can't imagine that you wouldn't have picked up some Southern stuff. I moved to NJ from VA less than 2 years ago and have begun drinking "cwoffee" and "cwalling" people on the phone.

[gregw]

Newark definitely has a great skyline. And I'm loving the Ironbound. Next time I visit my cousin in Montclair I'm going to make a point of exploring Newark more.