Archive for the 'Living in Bloomfield' Category

Relaxing in Essex County's Brookdale Park

It’s unusually cold for this time of year, but since it is in fact April, I assume that we’ll see warmer weather soon. For me, that means more time outdoors, specifically in Brookdale Park.

I’ve been going to Brookdale Park since my kids were babies: I spent many afternoons pushing their strollers along the paths and later helped them navigate the equipment on the two playgrounds. Several years later, I found myself at the park again, cheering them on from the sidelines of the soccer and softball fields with fellow Montclair moms.

My kids have moved on to other activities, but I still love the park. Whenever I get a chance, I meet a friend for some tennis (there are 11 courts). I  also love the art shows held there in spring and fall, as well as the free summer concerts and July 4th fireworks. Note to gardeners: there are dozens of  different species of roses in the gorgeous rose garden.

Brookdale Park was designed by the Olmstead brothers, who also designed New York City’s Central Park. Since I grew up in the city and spent a lot of time in Central Park when I was young, I really feel right at home here.

Sometimes a house just has the right combination of elements  –  location, price and space.  2 Dalebrook Road, in Bloomfield earns high marks on any walkability scale. It’s close to Brookdale’ s  interesting ethnic restaurants– Stamna (Greek), Boonsong  (Thai) and Bar Cara (Italian).  Houses of worship– Temple Ner Tamid and the Watchung Presbyterian Church– are literally steps away, as is Bloomfield Middle School. For commuters, the DeCamp bus to New York City stops right around the corner, and Brookdale Park is a five-minute up Watchung Avenue.

Location is not the only virtue of this property. 2 Dalebrook Rd is a well-maintained split-level with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a den and an oversized rec-room – great for table tennis, billiards or a child’s playroom. Oak hardwood floors and lots of windows make the house bright and airy. A newly carpeted and painted rec room, a new shower in the master bath, new front steps, and central air-conditioning (you guessed it, also new) make this house move-in ready, all at an affordable $379,000. Happen to be looking for homes in Bloomfield?  Check out this great house in a great neighborhood at a great price.

I’m a big fan of the Brookdale section of Bloomfield. It has charming, well-maintained houses right by Brookdale Park, as well as a great mix of traditional and trendy shops and restaurants on Broad Street. Italian food fans have two delicious choices, each open less than a year.  Bar Cara is the more casual sibling of Montclair’s haute Italian restaurant Fascino;  both are owned by the DePersio family. On the other side of Watchung Ave. is Pizza Rustica, serving pizzas, pastas and the like. Literally next door is the popular Greek eatery Stamna, and right across the street is Boonsong Thai Cuisine. 

Looking for something less exotic?  The IHOP is perfect for a traditional pancake breakfast, and Mastriano Prime Meats & Deli has been the  neighborhood butcher since 1966. After dinner,  Brookdale-ites often stroll over to Holsten’s. Open since 1939, Holsten’s was famous for its ice cream long before the Sopranos came to town. 

The neighborhood is also home to several houses of worship. Among others, the Watchung Presbyterian Church is right next to the IHOP, and Temple Ner Tamid, a Reform congregation, is just a bit further south on Broad. 

Clearly local shop owners are proud of their neighborhood: long-established businesses here include Brookdale Wine & Spirits, Brookdale Pet Center and Brookdale Barber.  Add Brookdale Elementary School to the north, Bloomfield Middle School to the east, and you have one of New Jersey’s best walkable communities.

When I walk to Watchung Plaza from my Montclair home, I take a short route  through an interconnected grid of streets and through a small park.  I wave to my neighbor on the way.  I stop for a brief minute in the park to chat with a friend who’s on her way home from work (she’s just gotten off the 5:31 train from Manhattan).  It’s social.  It’s interactive.  It’s exercise.  It’s green.

On the other hand, it’s very difficult to walk to the train station, or the corner store to get milk in a town that is laid out in a branching street pattern with a series of dead-ends -aka cul-de-sacs- feeding in to a main artery. In these configurations, you can be a stone’s throw from your destination, but have to travel a mile to get there.  This may be a satisfactory layout for the car but not for the pedestrian or bike rider.

Watch this very clever video from the Congress for New Urbanism and you’ll see what I mean…

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGJt_YXIoJI

For years, New Jersey was sprawling westward, northward, and southward with real estate development in formerly rural areas. Now the recession has hit and so many of those big new shiny houses a couple of hours outside the city are losing value rapidly—despite their newness, their immense pasture-like lawns, and quiet isolation. What seemed like a good idea a few years ago is suddenly languishing in the for-sale market.

That’s why now seems like a good time to start talking about why density is good for the planet and good for humans. Yes, density. The word has a bit of a negative connotation. But you’ll get past that. These days, many young families want to live in areas where they can walk places, shop in their towns, spend less time in cars and get to the city quick.  Density is also a good investment.  In the recent economic downturn, towns on train lines have been holding real estate values far better than those far from urban centers.

Walkable Suburb is my new website and blog.  And it’s the focus of my New Jersey real estate business. You can find out more about density, new urbanism and what makes New Jersey’s inner-ring suburbs like Montclair, Glen Ridge, Bloomfield, South Orange and Maplewood, walkable suburbs.  These towns were built early in the last century with walking, community, and public transportation in mind. They are increasingly desirable and make sense for the world today.

Welcome to Walkable Suburb. Please drop in from time to time or sign up for my monthly summaries via email or my RSS feed. I hope to keep the journey interesting with insights, market analysis, and tips for life and real estate in New Jersey’s best walkable suburbs.