Avoid like H5N1
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11/30/2005
I grew up in Newark in the 80s. To this day, coming within 5 miles of the city makes me twitch. I hate it. Maybe my personal experience is skewed a bit, but my memories of the city include: being mugged at age 9 by two 12-year-olds; a dirty diaper left by the side of the community pool; roaches; uneducated, unmotivated, predatory people who will not or cannot think outside the "hood"; litter everywhere; at least one demolished, boarded-up, burnt-out building or vacant lot per block; not being able to play in the snow because of all the stray dogs (rather, what they leave behind). And on and on. I remember growing up and hearing tales of how dirty New York City was, but having worked in NYC for 9 years, I have to say I have yet to encounter an area as bad as Newark. Supposedly Newark has undergone a "renaissance" in recent years, but I don't buy it. Sure, they cleaned up one tiny area of it, near the NJ PAC, but I still get the desperate urge to escape when I drive through any part of it. And supposedly Newark has its nicer areas, but to call them "nice" is a real stretch, especially when compared to nearby towns. "Nice" Newark is still Newark. Take all of what I'm saying with a grain of salt; maybe I just happened to have a horrible childhood and get more than my share of the negative Newark experience. But even if they were handing out gold bars on Clifton Ave, there's no way I'd go back.
Crisco | Chelsea - West Midtown, NY