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No doubt you've heard of Montclair, the liberal
New Jersey town often called the Upper West Side
of the suburbs, famous for its diversity, its
celebrated residents (Bill Bradley, Ian Frazier,
and Yogi Berra), and its spectacular estates that
resemble small national parks. Chances are you
haven't heard of Montclair's often overlooked
stepchild, Bloomfield, a neighboring town that's
home to Frankie's Futurmatic Car Wash and the
official Joe Pesci fan club. But with affordable
homes and a commute to midtown that's about to
be cut in half, Bloomfield won't stay sleepy for
long. For now, it's still possible to find a comfortable
three-bedroom home in this charming hamlet for
$200,000 and live close enough to Montclair to
take advantage of its shopping and restaurants.
Meet the neighbors That's a big part
of the appeal for Kelly Smith Killian, a 31-year-old
freelance journalist in Bloomfield. "I can do
all the stuff that I really need to do in Bloomfield,"
she says of things like getting groceries. "But
if I want to go to a nice dinner or go antique
shopping, I'll go into Montclair." Kelly and her
husband, Keith, rent a one-bedroom apartment near
the lower-priced south end of town for $855 a
month but are looking to buy a three-bedroom home
under $200,000.
Small is beautiful Remarkably, there
are actually plenty of options. The streets here
are lined with Cape Cod- and Victorian-style homes
in the $175,000 to $350,000 range. And, for Smith
Killian, the setting is hard to beat. She describes
the time a red fire truck pulled up to the Magic
Fountain homemade-ice-cream shop, and school children
swarmed the truck as firemen showed them the hoses
and sirens. "It was such a cute little Norman
Rockwell picture that I haven't seen anywhere
else I've lived," she says.
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Sample Listing:
98 SYLVAN ROAD. Three-bedroom, one-bath, 1938
side-hall Colonial with natural woodwork,
refinished hardwood floors in the living room,
a formal dining room, den, laundry room, basement,
one-car garage, and a large deck. On the market
for $257,000.
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Sights to behold Bloomfield's town center
extends the Rockwell imagery. The stately buildings
of Bloomfield College surround a grassy quad (where
scenes from the upcoming Drew Barrymore movie, Riding
in Cars With Boys, were filmed earlier this
year), and church steeples puncture the skyline
all around. The town also has several lush parks,
with ponds and park benches, where families gather
for picnics and duck crossing signs are a common
sight.
Manhattan transfer When Dominique Brunet,
36, who is a buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue, and
his wife, Kristin Brunet, 32, an assistant curator
at moma, started looking for a home to buy last
year, they insisted on a maximum commute of one
hour, door to door, to their jobs in Manhattan.
And after looking everywhere from Bergen County,
New Jersey, to Connecticut, the Brunets, who are
expecting their first child in November, left
their $1,250-a-month two-bedroom apartment in
Cobble Hill and bought a 1928 three-bedroom colonial
with hardwood floors and "a beautiful fireplace"
in the Oakview section of Bloomfield for less
than $250,000.
The commute Because of its proximity
to the Garden State Parkway and Newark International
Airport, Bloomfield is already conveniently situated,
but this spring, the New Jersey Transit System
will launch direct train service on the Montclair
Connection -- a long-awaited 1,500-foot sliver
of rail that will cut the commute to New York
Penn Station from a half hour or more (including
a change of trains in Hoboken) to a mere fifteen
minutes.
Prime areas Generally speaking, the northern
part of Bloomfield is more desirable (and farther
from Newark). The Brookdale area is coveted for
its proximity to Brookdale Park, and the Oakview
area has gorgeous homes that are among the closest
to Montclair.
The cons While Bloomfield has all the
basic retail a town needs (a bank, a garden nursery,
bakeries, grocery stores), it doesn't offer the
kinds of trendy cafés or boutiques found
in Montclair.
Schools While the elementary schools in
Oakview and Brookdale have solid reputations,
only 49 percent of students of Bloomfield High's
class of 2000 planned to go to college, down from
55 percent for the class of '96.
Best brokers Joyce Palm at Weichert Realtors
(973-220-7424); Denise Riordan, Schweppe &
Co. (973-744-4701).
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| From
the September 17, 2001 issue of New York Magazine.
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| Photos
by Sean Hemmerle. Maps by BRM. |
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The Good Old Boy of Time Inc.
Chuck’s Chance
