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Westfield is still a very desirable destination as seen by the large number of national chains, the great restaurants and mc mansions.

Unfortunately a good number of those neighborhood changing home remain empty and not contributing to the tax roles.
In fact a tear down behind my home has been empty for 32 months except for the four months it was rented.

We've lived here 19 years and have seen once vibrant industries with great salaries collapse, move or offshore including Bell Labs, Lucent, the pharmaceuticals and now Wall Street.

And yet people still come.

And that's a good thing.

eliissia from Hillside. Union County
I was born in Hillside 65 years ago. Attended Hillside schools. My parents lived in Hillside for over 95 years. My moved to NYC and moved back to Hillside for parental care. Hillside has changed. Taxes ae high.My parents pay $13,000. My neighbors are extremely diverse. Haitian, Jamaica, Portugeese, America Black, etc. The hispantic population appears non-existant The school system has gone from one of the top districts to one of the bottom districts. Over 400 homes are now in foreclosure. The white population is moving further south or west. The sift in diversity unfortunately is a cause for concern. Hillside has become the new Irvington/Newark. So, sad.

Apparently no one on your show has been to Hoboken lately. The sidewalks are choked with baby strollers -- with the occasional "double-wide" scattered throughout. Last fall I was asked to speak at an elementary school that was starting a dual-language (Spanish/English) program and I was amazed at the number of young parents in the room. Fleeing to Montclair when children enter the picture is so '90s.

We live in Cranford and love it!
Hoping to keep property taxes in check.
We can walk to the train station or bike it..
a big plus.

I see lots of drug dealing in Union... Schools have been getting worse... I cant take my kids there....

Kids from Irvington cross the bridge and attend our schools....

Union is becoming worse and worse.... will be moving out soon....

I am acting chairman of Rahway Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber is back on the Rahway business scene after having closed its doors some ten years ago. The text below was from article "Chairman's Message" on page 2 of the July Issue of the Chamber's newspaper "Our Town".

That's how the light gets in!

The lyrics from Leonard Cohen’s wonderful song “Anthem” speak deeply to me. They come to my mind now as I reflect back on the Chamber’s successful kick off meeting coupled with the success of the premiere issue of this newspaper “Our Town”. Discussions and planning that culminated in these two events took place over the course of nearly one year. Obstacles and roadblocks and reversals occurred that were formidable. Through some dark moments we always kept in mind our goals and stuck to the principles of fair play, transparency and good business. Today we are solidly on our way to again becoming a strong volunteer led organization dedicated to promoting and strengthening all Rahway businesses as well as our city’s schools, parks and quality of life.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.
That's how the light gets in.
That's how the light gets in.

Leonard Cohen “Anthem”

Bob Markey

Acting Chairman

I can be reached by calling tel #732-388-1765. By email at Bob @ SaligaMarkey.com or by regular mail at 103 West Main Street, Rahway, NJ 07065

I moved to Rahway earlier this decade amidst all the 'big plans' for redevelopment. I'm still waiting for the most part. The burst of the housing bubble brought much of it to a screeching halt and the retail/commercial is essentially still nonexistent.

While there's an improvement in some areas over the last 10 years, downtown is still pretty miserable as far as options go. Other than a few restaurants and bars, there's little else worth visiting, mainly bodegas, little eateries and just odd stores. There are several new, nicely-sized rental apartment complexes, but there's also the giant, half-empty white elephant that is completely out of character for the downtown. The hotel portion of Sky View might be doing well but I doubt anyone's paying the prices for those condos that they were in 2006.

Rahway is still pinning its hopes on the arts but it's still behind places like Red Bank and Morristown (true, difft demographics), despite a much ballyhooed renovation to the arts center, the "jewel" of redevelopment efforts. What I can't understand is how a tiny town, with similar demographics, like nearby Garwood can develop a several block area with dozens of modest condos and a dozen or more retail tenants in short order, and fill them while some projects in here drag on. Don't get me wrong, there are some developments that have moved quickly the last few years, even with the economy the way it is, but I expected more when I moved in. Maybe I expected too much.

To put Rahway in the same breath as Hoboken, Williamsburg or DUMBO is a stretch the say the least. Good to aim high, but also to be realistic.

Although a life-long resident of Rahway it is only since retiring in 2000 that I have enjoyed getting involved in the community – which has much to offer and full of positive energy. During the past decade it has been encouraging to witness the focus on the arts and history. Because of this we are seeing more visitors to downtown restaurants, cafes and businesses.

The Rahway Arts District Board, a 501(c)(3) organization (non-profit) is dedicated to this focus and has already been instrumental in completed projects. The restoration of the Union County Performing Arts Center with its Wurlitzer organ and Fazioli piano is the perfect setting for cultural events. Ground will soon be broken for a 1,200-seat amphitheatre. The world-renowned Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will occupy a 225-seat black box theatre and dance studio. One or more buildings will be provided with artists’ lofts such as in the YMCA, special modular/energy efficient units to be located near the Arts Guild Building, or in re-used existing buildings. Artists are welcomed and will be able to live, work and exhibit inexpensively.

Rahway is a great place for all to live.

Along with most Union County municipalities Rahway has embraced the Greening Concept. Hopefully developing this older city as a desirable place to live should reduce the tendency to sprawl (helping to preserve open spaces, encouraging people to work closer to living areas or use mass transit for commuting).

Some positive developments in Rahway -

- among the first NJ towns designated as a Transit Village (establishing a series of over a dozen redevelopment areas in a broad redevelopment ring zone surrounding the downtown, pedestrian-friendly amenities, comfortable traffic patterns, maximizing the concentration of workers and residents within a one-half mile radius of the train station –only a 15 minute ride to Newark Airport & direct train to NYC).
- participation in Local Government Energy Audit Program (resulting in energy efficient municipal buildings)
- participation in a three year NJ DEP sponsored water conservation pilot project (one of only five NJ municipalities)
- NJ DEP allowing Rahway up to $5 million per year for brownfield clean-up
- Collaborating with the Rahway River Association (helping to protect the natural resources of the Rahway River watershed which encompasses 24 municipalities including the Rahway – ours is the only city getting its drinking water from the Rahway River).

Many more examples and future projects are included in the “Green Building and Sustainability Master Plan Element” which Rahway’s Environmental Commission helped to develop - adopted by the Planning Board in June, 2010 to be part of the Master Plan of Rahway.

While most communities have been committed to improving the environment, there is little control over hazardous neighboring actions. In light of the BP spill in the gulf of Louisiana, construction of the Linden PurGen Coal Plant should be stopped. Plans approved by Linden’s City Council include sending a trillion pounds of pressurized, liquid carbon dioxide waste via a 100-mile pipeline through the Raritan Bay and out into the seabed off Atlantic City – with no scientific evidence that it will stay there! Union County’s accomplishments during the decade could be at risk with this plant.

I

I was born and raised in Plainfield, and after stints in Brooklyn and Jersey City, I returned 6 years ago. In terms of big changes, the two that are most notable to me, are the explosion of the Latino population, and the increase in violent crime (to be clear, I'm not relating the two). The growth of the Latino population has brought with it a wealth of restaurants serving Spanish foods, from Mexico, the Caribbean and South & Central America. I can't attest to the impact on social and community services, but it pleases me that my daughter can attend school and count among her friends, children that are Spanish speakers. The one negative is the numbers of Latino men that congregate in the downtown area, ostensibly looking for work. I think it creates a bit of an eyesore, and as an African American, I know that if there were crowds of young black men congregated in these same areas, that there would be zero tolerance by the police. Which brings us to the issue of violent crime. The number of shootings that have, and do occur within the city of Plainfield, relative to the surrounding towns, is alarming to say the least. I'm fearful for the young black men in the community, and feel that the police and the mayor's office aren't doing enough to stem the tide of violence. The gang situation is totally out of control, and not enough focus is being placed on creating opportunities for youth so that they don't go that route, as well as getting the guns off the streets. Overall, I love Plainfield, and feel that the city gets a bad rap in the local press. The city has always been full of hard working families who only want the best for their children. I think the mayor and City Council should be focused on igniting Business Development (which will bring jobs), and keeping the crime in check.

My husband and I moved to downtown Jersey City in March, and we represent one of the changes in this area...we probably would not have moved here 10 years ago, because we would not have felt safe. But the downtown is now comfortable, vibrant, and appealing to people who want an incredibly easy commute to NY. We love the restaurants, the community gardens, the plans to rework the 6th St. embankment, the Van Vorst and Hamilton parks...all of it!

I am an artist and I live and work in Union County New Jersey. I moved to Union County from Hudson County in 1990 and have since noticed many changes. I left Hudson County hoping to find a place that had that intense energy that fuels creativity. It's hard to describe but easy to feel. I didn't feel it here at first, but I am now discovering the beginnings of something great. I am absolutely thrilled with the excitement in the town of Rahway, where I work. This community is truly "All about the Arts" (which is it's signature phrase.) There are small galleries beginning, The Arts Guild of New Jersey, activities for children and senior citizens, lot's of opportunities for artists, and support and encouragement from the local government and community at large. There are many things planned for the near future as well! I remember this kind of energy in Hoboken, Williamsburg and DUMBO just before great changes. Although Hoboken never manifested into much for the arts, I think Rahway will. There is so much more emphasis on the arts here!!