Rant: Newark rent is too expensive for what it is worth

Submitted by swimteam69 t3_ybxev9 in Newark

I am a native of new jersey, lived by newark and looking to moving into newark. I want to live Newark because of work but I am here looking at places to rent and it is bleak. I keep thinking "if i want to live in newark why am i paying almost new york prices? at that point live in new york" I know Newark wants to be its own city but New York is next to Newark and that begs of comparison.

I know my place of privilege and wealth. I think I make more than the Newark median income and I find things expensive. I cannot imagine what the lower 50% feel like.

Newark developments are promising though but at what cost? The material conditions for the impoverished need to me improved. Why am I paying 70% New York prices to have little trash cans on the street something so simple to fix?

With these rent prices, we should be getting our moneys worth. More trash cans, better sidewalks, and more social safety nets.

I will still most likely live in Newark still but it is crazy to think about. I hope the 1000 units coming in next year or 2 decrease rent prices.

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Frank_Esc t1_itj75h7 wrote

“New York prices”?? Not even close!! You go to New York and look for an apt.. and let us know how it goes! I’m from NY moved here not so long ago, you have no idea about NY rent prices! Rent went up here but it’s nothing compared to NY(bk,qns, bx, etcc).

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swimteam69 OP t1_itj87um wrote

I mean people see the average rent of manhattan and get spooked. I said NYC and also I gassed it but my main argument was that Newark is too expensive for what it is worth. Newark is the one of the most expensive rent considering an average person's income.

In NYC, you have higher wages.

My argument was not cogent, my fault.

https://www.nj.com/essex/2022/07/newark-tops-us-cities-for-homeowners-severely-burdened-by-housing-costs.html

I saw a post that newark was the top 5 most expensive city in America considering the population's income.

For you, you move from more expensive to cheaper and I assume that (idk anything about you) you kept your NY income level or something comparable bc why would you move otherwise.

For you and I, newark is a good deal but for the population newark is becoming expensive.

This trend is not sustainable, something has to give. Either displacement of people, increased poverty or increased economic opportunities to name a few.

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Aggravating_Rise_179 t1_itm299t wrote

The issue here is that Newark's rent is reflective of the region's wealth not the residents. Developers aren't trying to attract Newarkers, but people from the region. Its a complicated situation, but its one that people kinda forget... Newark doesn't exist in a vacuum and by allowing market rate housing, you are opening it up to the NY/NJ market and not the Newark only market anymore.

That is why rent is seen as high for Newarkers, but it is still a bargain for the region

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Satanic_Doge t1_itkq5d1 wrote

> Either displacement of people, increased poverty or increased economic opportunities to name a few.

And sadly, in all likeliness, it's going to be the first two.

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NewNewark t1_itjugdu wrote

> You go to New York and look for an apt.. and let us know how it goes!

There are tons of parts of NYC that have Newark rates. I know someone in a studio paying $1450 in Brooklyn. My ex lived in an apartment that was 3 bedrooms for $2900 in Manhattan.

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GeorgosDalaras t1_itlqn6b wrote

Sorry, but I’m not buying what your selling. A 3bed for $2900…

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NewNewark t1_itm6hxo wrote

Did you know Manhattan includes Harlem, Washington Heights etc?

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Batumi19 t1_itm0vpi wrote

Washington Heights or somewhere else in Northern Manhattan most likely. Manhattan goes up a LONG way...

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NewNewark t1_itm6geg wrote

Yup. People seem to think Manhattan ends at 96th for some reason.

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swimteam69 OP t1_itn4rre wrote

Yeah the average sticker price takes into the crazy outliers prices in NYC. You can find cheaper apartments uptown or downtown manhattan.

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AsSubtleAsABrick t1_itusfq3 wrote

It doesn't, but the commute to midtown and definitely downtown faster from the ironbound than from above 125th st. Depends where you are going though obv.

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NewNewark t1_itv32xj wrote

If youre on the east side, along the 4/5/6, it takes forever from Newark

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sutisuc t1_iubo2ei wrote

Woof east Harlem is rough though especially on 125th st

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Satanic_Doge t1_itkq38o wrote

Dude I am legit terrified for what's going to happen to the majority of people in Newark. They're going to get priced out and where are they all going to go? Alabama? Underneath the underpasses?

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swimteam69 OP t1_itn3du3 wrote

That is what I am saying! I know I was not clear but I am scared. The city is 75% renters, this is scary, people do not build equity into their homes which is the best wealth builder.

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mrkirlew t1_itj7rqw wrote

The developers have locked in on the train route towns to boost up the rent prices. When there was a recession in 2008 Newark it was cheap. It's more than just the price of materials. People in NYC are looking for cheap places. What happened in Brooklyn, is going to happen to Newark. We recently had a council person locked up for taking bribes from developers. Newark is worth billions. People in Brooklyn said the same thing.

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swimteam69 OP t1_itja1ph wrote

Exactly, Newark has a prime location with being by NYC but we struggle to either be in our own city and being in nyc shadow. I think it is a good relationship, leverage the location to NYC but develop to be our own.

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sutisuc t1_itm6utq wrote

This is honestly Newark, and NJ’s, blessing and curse. We’re so close to NYC so we can take advantage of the jobs, entertainment, culinary options, etc. But then there’s much less of an investment in our own cities because so much of peoples time, money, energy, etc is put into NYC and then people who aren’t from these cities have very little attachment to them.

On top of this because a good chunk of the “new” residents moving into Newark work in NYC the state and city are not seeing any of that tax money so you get new residents but they don’t actually pay in any money to the tax coffers (unless they pay property taxes). So NYC get the benefit of having white collar (and even blue collar) workers who pay into their taxes without having to deliver as much in the way of services and not housing people, while Newark has to provide service, housing, etc for people who work and spend a lot of money elsewhere.

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ahtasva t1_itm8lye wrote

NJ and NYC have a tax treaty that provides for some kind of claw back in favor of NJ in this instance. Also, as along as you live in NJ and are not homeless you are in effect paying property taxes. Does not matter if you rent or own.

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sutisuc t1_itm8xmo wrote

Nah you just get a credit on your taxes to NJ based on what you pay to NY so you’re not double taxed, NY is not giving any of that money back to NJ LOL.

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inf4mation t1_itlqwwt wrote

it happened in Jersey City, and people relocated.

The same will have to happen to Newark, you will be priced out and forced to move to a neighboring town if you want to stay in the area, or relocate completely.

The city, state, etc wont care, because someone will be replacing you. The building of new towers wont stop, more land will be sold, more homeowners will sell and more condos will continue to go up. Newark will be the next JC in terms of nonstop construction.

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sutisuc t1_itluan2 wrote

Yup and what I enjoy about a lot of the gentrification boosters on this sub is that they keep claiming we can build our way to affordability meanwhile jersey city is insanely priced and they’ve never stopped building like you said

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expressdefrost t1_itklgoi wrote

Same but for food. How are all the restaurants here so expensive and so mediocre 😭

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_overzealousgiraffe t1_itleqw4 wrote

Fr - the ironbound is delicious and I love it, but trying to find anything to eat past 7pm in downtown Newark is almost impossible. I have to get food out of town every night unless I want to hit RUHungry up on my walk back from campus.

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sutisuc t1_itkteut wrote

Yeah I co-sign on this one immensely. Most places are very underwhelming for a city of ~300k and way overpriced especially in the ironbound

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VroomRutabaga t1_itlyl3m wrote

This is a fact. *I also never step into Adega

But that’s besides the point, I’ve ordered from xscape cafe, sabor unido, eat frequently at Sihana, Casanova grill either ferry or adams, Souza fit, taste of Brazil. With the exception of Sihana, which is great food, the others are low quality for the price. They ALL raised their prices. Sihana is either keeping the same price or shrinking their portion. Their salmon salad and anything salmon related look like they cut it in half. It’s literally smaller than a sponge. I’m like whereTF is the salmon at? It’s tiny AH. And now all these places, I’m looking at you Souza fit and Sihana, they put an extra 2$ for credit card fee. That wasn’t calculated in before!! If it’s not walking distance, I’m not ordering from Uber eats, because they ALL raises their prices.

The other places.. lord have mercy just high price and low quality.

And randomly fuck Seabras grocery store (all of them) bc they have a monopoly in the ironbound they charge 8-12$ for a block of Minas cheese, and you open that shit and its expired. It’s not the first time, you get something within their “expiration date “ and the item is bad or them keeping expired shit on the shelf. Or that incident that they found rats within their produce (heard it was the Seabra Harrison location).. not only groceries are really high but bad quality

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sutisuc t1_itm004q wrote

Co-signed on all of this and seabras in particular is foul. I tried getting some broccoli from there recently that legitimately stunk like rubber. I’ve also heard stories of maggots in the produce as well. Just low quality overpriced junk.

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VroomRutabaga t1_itm0jzr wrote

I’m literally about to eat some broccoli now lol this is sad AF. You know how many of my Portuguese neighbors want a ShopRite in ironbound ? I know more people go to get their groceries outside of ironbound then within which says a lot. When I can get a ride, I go out, but it’s walking distance for me unfortunately.

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ahtasva t1_itm9vjf wrote

I was really hoping that pathmark would turn onto a ShopRite but alas ; I was disappointed.

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poete_idris t1_itkm5k6 wrote

The food is Newark is fire, I think you just found a buddy to share bad opinions with on this post lmao

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sutisuc t1_itlm37b wrote

Which restaurants do you like here?

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poete_idris t1_itlmc9f wrote

Dickie Dees, The Yard / Walla Burger, Sihana Cafe, Krugs Tavern, Deluxe Diner, Omar’s Cafe, I’ve heard the Good Eats Experience is good Basically any food truck around the North

Those are just a few regular spots for me.

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NewNewark t1_itm6t90 wrote

> The Yard / Walla Burger

$16 for a burger without fries is criminal. And their hours are shit.

>Deluxe Diner

Avoid them, theyre overpriced. Go to Central a block away

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poete_idris t1_itm8e4y wrote

I like deluxe and the price wasn’t killing me. The Yard is some heat though they food worth it for me idk what you on.

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ANGRYaccountant69 t1_itl93it wrote

Literally among best food in the world concentrated on ferry street

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sutisuc t1_itllv6q wrote

Yeah who doesn’t love dropping 25 dollars for a plate that’s half frozen French fries

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thebruns t1_itlamw6 wrote

Have you been recently? Theyve all increased their price massively. The two-person dish I used to get at Adega was $65...its literally $110 now. Insane. Not worth it.

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eastaleph t1_itlu4wb wrote

You're going to Adega and complaining the food is overpriced. Have you tried I don't know, anywhere thst isn't super overpriced?

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thebruns t1_itlycf2 wrote

My dude, I just explained to you that 3 years ago they had great prices.

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eastaleph t1_itm25ua wrote

3-4 years ago a lot of places were considerably cheaper, but Adega/Iberia/etc were always pricier and lower quality.

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thebruns t1_itm29tv wrote

Ive been to most places and my favorites were Adega and Seabra Marisqueira.

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eastaleph t1_itm32iz wrote

I think Casa d'Paco crushes Seabra's Masquiera and I've never considered Adega's food as particularly noteworthy.

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thebruns t1_itm47wa wrote

I mean theyre completely different food. You cant get a large seasfood platter at Paco. Thats not what they sell. Why event ry and compare different cuisines?

And Paco used to modify their menu every 6 months. Its been frozen in time since 2019 except prices went up and portions went down.

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sutisuc t1_itlzqml wrote

Where in the ironbound, that isn’t chicken shacks or burger joints, is the food not overpriced?

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eastaleph t1_itm2209 wrote

What exactly do you consider not overpriced?

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sutisuc t1_itm25j4 wrote

Less than 20 dollars for something that isn’t gonna make me hungry in an hour.

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eastaleph t1_itm2ves wrote

Blueprint, Saber Unido (only a few things, Krug's, any of the smaller BBQ places like McWhorter.

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sutisuc t1_itm30ep wrote

Yup burger joints and chicken shacks like I said lol

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eastaleph t1_itm427p wrote

Blueprint isn't either. Neither is Sabor Unido. McWhorter has one chicken item on it's menu.

Sorry bud.

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sutisuc t1_itm4fuj wrote

Sabor unido has barely anything sub 20 dollars on their menu and blueprint is a bit of a bridge between a burger place and more varied restaurant. Most people who go to mcwhorter get the chicken that’s why they cook them en masse on the racks. Also four restaurants in a giant area full of restaurants is not the ringing endorsement you seem to think it is

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eastaleph t1_itm6pdp wrote

>Sabor unido has barely anything sub 20 dollars on their menu

Because less than $20 is not a great price point and you know it.

>And blueprint is a bit of a bridge between a burger place and more varied restaurant.

The vegan friendly place with brunch is a bit of a bridge?

>Most people who go to mcwhorter get the chicken that’s why they cook them en masse on the racks.

Order the pork chops, which so many chicken shacks have. Hint: chicken shacks pretty much only serve chicken.

>Also four restaurants in a giant area full of restaurants is not the ringing endorsement you seem to think it is

Not only are you moving the goalposts, you got a couple of answers for a specific price point during the workday. What do you expect, a memorized list? Get a grip.

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sutisuc t1_itm78vp wrote

I can throw a rock in any direction in Manhattan (especially lower and upper manhattan) and find quality restaurants that are priced well below 20 dollars. Why is 20 unreasonable? Costs here are certainly lower than Manhattan so what’s with the upcharging here?

Why don’t most people at mcwhorters order the pork chops then? Why do they grill whole chickens endlessly all day?

You asked me what I consider to be not overpriced, I’m not moving the goal posts I’m just pointing out the exception here certainly proves the rule.

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eastaleph t1_itma2zk wrote

>I can throw a rock in any direction in Manhattan (especially lower and upper manhattan) and find quality restaurants that are priced well below 20 dollars. Why is 20 unreasonable? Costs here are certainly lower than Manhattan so what’s with the upcharging here?

Because the places that have the absolute rock bottom prices for food, fast food, are still charging something close to $10 for a meal. Real restaurants pay considerably more for food and put more effort into it. That's why you only find cheap food at places that can apply economy of scale.

>Why don’t most people at mcwhorters order the pork chops then? Why do they grill whole chickens endlessly all day?

Because that's what they like and what's cheap? Do you know what a chicken shack is? It's not a place that happens to sell a lot of chicken.

>You asked me what I consider to be not overpriced, I’m not moving the goal posts I’m just pointing out the exception here certainly proves the rule.

No, you asked for me places. I provided places. You then bitched about there only being provided four during a workday when you never mentioned a number.

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sutisuc t1_itmascs wrote

Man you have not eaten in the heights, Chinatown, hell I can even point you to places in ritzy areas of Manhattan with great food at affordable prices. You gotta get out more.

I don’t think there’s a legal definition of a chicken shack but if you have one available you’d like to share please do. I refer to chicken shacks as hole in the wall places that sell a lot of…chicken. Therefore mcwhorter fits the bill.

I said excepting chicken shacks (mcwhorter) and burger places (Krugs) and then you then named a place with barely any options under twenty dollars and bluebird which I’ll concede was a good call. My point being there isn’t much in the ironbound that isn’t a chicken shack or burger place that has decent food for under 20 dollars, even places like mcwhorter are like 75 percent frozen fries and rice. Not exactly something I want to eat on a regular basis.

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NewNewark t1_itmsyo0 wrote

Youre absolutely right. My gf is vegetarian and in all the ironbound theres like 2 places we can go to lol. Zero diversity of food.

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sutisuc t1_itmtnph wrote

Yup and what is available is overpriced and usually served with half a plate of frozen french fries lol. Such an overrated dining neighborhood

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NewNewark t1_itmuhc9 wrote

If you browse the photos on google maps, it crazy to see the change in prices in 5 years. You used to get a half chicken and the full bag of fries for under $10

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sutisuc t1_itmvdj2 wrote

Yup mcwhorter was 7 dollars for like at least ten years and then in the last two years it’s shot up to 10 dollars while the portions and quality of everything has dipped.

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Interesting-Fish6065 t1_iubjksc wrote

Sihana Cafe

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sutisuc t1_iubnxvb wrote

I wasn’t impressed by their food honestly which was a bummer cause I had high hopes. Really good coffee though

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ANGRYaccountant69 t1_itnkcit wrote

I’m confused if we are talking about quality or price b/c everyone is jumping around. The chefs and service in Fornos is unreal and worth every penny few times as year. Otherwise go to McDonald’s dollar menu like a pleb idk what to tell you

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thebruns t1_itnopbq wrote

Its both. You used to be able to get high quality food at affordable prices. Now you can get still get high quality food, but at MUCH higher prices. Also, lower quality places are matching the price increases. Before I used to tell people to come to Newark all the time for food. Now theyre better off going to NYC. Theyll pay the same but have much more choices and its less of a gamble that the place wont be closed at 7pm randomly

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_overzealousgiraffe t1_itj9lyg wrote

I pay more here in rent than I did in NYC hhahahahah cannot wait to move

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swimteam69 OP t1_itjaauw wrote

You are a special case but do you feel like you are getting your money's worth?

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_overzealousgiraffe t1_itlcxyi wrote

Absolutely not. I’m eager to get back. If you’re going to charge NYC rents in an overwhelmingly impoverished city - then you should have NYC level amenities, etc. Or at least Jersey City for fucks sake. They’re overcharging, calling it lux, for what I consider to be an average style of living.

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poete_idris t1_itkmasw wrote

What were you paying in NY, where, and what size. I find it hard to believe that what you’re saying remains true after all the differences on living are calculated. You must have chosen to live in the bougiest of apartments or something. I pay 1540 and have more space than my boys luxury apartment in Philly that is close to 2k. And I live in Forest Hill.

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_overzealousgiraffe t1_itldxrp wrote

If I chose to live in one of the “bougiest” apartments then that’s my own prerogative.

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poete_idris t1_itlln3m wrote

Lmao then you shouldn’t be talking as if that represents a norm in Newark. If you choose the most expensive place here but not the most expensive in NY, it don’t make sense to be like “I’m paying more in Newark than NY wtf !!” nigga I’m sure the most expensive crib in Columbus Ohio costs more than a little one bedroom in NY too. But it makes no point to say so because that’s not an average number.

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_overzealousgiraffe t1_itv5ykz wrote

Lmao u are not getting my point whatsoever but ok man. I have lived in NYC, Brooklyn, and JC and just saying, Newark has a very high cost of living for what you're actually getting. Regardless of the amenities in your apartment etc. The city is constantly covered in trash yet they price DT Newark as if its Grove Street.

And to add: I lived in a comparable apartment everywhere I live, so no I didn't choose to live in a shitty NYC apartment and then move to Newark just to complain about rent prices.

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Zealousideal_Rub5826 t1_itjjlfz wrote

I bought my 3BR in Society Hill for $150,000. How far will 150k get you in NYC? How much does a 3BR cost in Brooklyn?

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GhostOfRobertTreat t1_itj2yd6 wrote

Labor and materials cost roughly the same in Newark as in JC and Manhattan. The biggest difference in cost would be land. Most large towers in Newark need subsidy in order to generate enough revenue to pay off what it costs to build them.

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swimteam69 OP t1_itj742p wrote

Yeah you are right, the labor costs difference are negligible but then Newark needs to either differentiate or be just as good and it is lacking in both. I want better for Newark, not shit talking it.

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sutisuc t1_itj8gzv wrote

You want Newark, a poor city that was divested from for decades, to be “just as good” as NYC, the largest and wealthiest city in the country?

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swimteam69 OP t1_itj9o9q wrote

>I want better for Newark, not shit talking it.

You know Newark was better like 50s and 60s right? You know that it was divested for decades. Why can we not ask better for our cities? We need to ask more for it. I noted something as simple as trash cans in our streets more. That is a rather simple fix. I walk up and down streets by weequahic and broad street. I carried trash for at least half a mile to avoid not littering.

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mrkirlew t1_itjefwf wrote

Ownership of people that actually LIVE IN NEWARK. 75 percent of Newark are renters. That means the landlord lives in another town. That means the people that are paid to take care of Newark just need to do the minimum. Who is going to call their council people to take care of Newark. Renters in Newark dont even know who to call if something goes wrong in their apartment. Who is going to call their respective precincts to walk their neighborhood. Most people don't even know their precinct. I just moved to Newark from Brooklyn and I see people who don't even know they in a billion dollar town. It's Deja Vu. Don't worry in ten years you going to see trash cans everywhere.

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swimteam69 OP t1_itn3yic wrote

>75 percent of Newark are renters.

That is too high, owning a home is biggest wealth tool for americans. Newarkers effectively cannot build wealth with homes. What else can they do?

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sutisuc t1_itjg25c wrote

I want it to be better too but I’m not expecting it to be equivalent to NYC, that’s absurd

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swimteam69 OP t1_itjlkfh wrote

Fair, the comparison is easy to make though but fair.

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Njmomneedz t1_itl19rm wrote

I would love to do a cleanup with the community

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mrkirlew t1_itl255l wrote

Cleanups are done weekly. Just contact your council person

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poete_idris t1_itkm1pf wrote

These are not even close to NY prices. I’m not feeling anything in this post lol.

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surrealchemist t1_ito2nkw wrote

The people putting up all these new units would rather them sit empty and wait for the right clientele than bring down rent. I don’t think this is just a problem in this area either.

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Ironboundian t1_itllpru wrote

You are right to expect a lot....it will come. It takes time. People forget that the the famed Newark Ave pedestrian area in downtown JC only happened in 2015....like 15 years after the big downtown JC developments added thousands of luxury units. Things will happen slowly bit by bit. more towers leads to better streets which makes developers want to build more housing which makes the retail to do better which then creates more interest in housing, etc.

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Aggravating_Rise_179 t1_itm1nin wrote

To be fair, these were NY prices like 4 years ago. NY prices now are 2 to 3 thousand dollars more... so its still a bargain... just not for newarkers or NJ residents

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swimteam69 OP t1_itn4872 wrote

Do you not see the issue with that? I noted that i'll more likely than not be okay due to my income but I am above the median.

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Nwk_NJ t1_itohgz0 wrote

People need to not get too ahead of themselves. Newark is a long long way away from the other places mentioned. New towers are expensive, but huge swaths of the city are still some of the most affordable areas in the region. It's going to be a longgg time until/if folks are truly priced out akin to Hoboken.

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mrkirlew t1_itpgg6f wrote

Newark will never be Hoboken. Brooklyn will never be Manhattan. But! Newark will become a place where people actually care about. Year by year more people are watching Newark. People are coming into Newark saying I can make money here. As the rent prices keep rising and more out of Towner's come in willing to spend high rent money. Things will change. Garbage cans will pop up. Better restaurants will pop up. More up to date infrastructure will pop up. Then it's too late. People of Newark need to put their money together and start creating better opportunities. 10 years Newark will be a place where 50 percent of people living here can not afford.

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Nwk_NJ t1_itpoavs wrote

Yes it is changing and going to change for sure.

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