Best suburban downtown in Tri-State Area?

[futurecity]

What is the most lively, upscale, suburban town center in the NY/NJ/CT Metro Area that most resembles a small, dense bustling downtown with rail access to Manhattan?

[Derek2k3]

White Plains is lively.
Most of the towns in Westchester have nice centers.

[futurecity]

I'm talking about a real downtown with some old charm - and not just some town with one main street, but something substantial where one could actually experience some kind of urban life in proximity to NYC? Does such a place exist. White plains is a modern, car orientated type place.

I'm talking about something along the lines of the towns outside London or Paris - Guilford, Reigate, Versailles, etc.. which are real towns and not just strips surrounded by low density residential lots.

The hudson river towns are too sleepy, I'm looking for something which bustles, like a mini NYC.

[JCMAN320]

Hoboken, Montlcair, Morristown

[NYC4Life]

White Plains, Yonkers, New Rochelle. All 3 in Westchester County.

[futurecity]

White plains, Yonkers have no charm. White plains is built around a mall.

[STT757]

What is the most lively, upscale, suburban town center in the NY/NJ/CT Metro Area that most resembles a small, dense bustling downtown with rail access to Manhattan?

Since I live in New Jersey I will cover the Jersey locations:

1.) Red Bank, Monmouth County (extremely upscale area surrounding the downtown)
2.) Morristown, Morris County
3.) Westfield, Union County
4.) Princeton Borough, the Dinky connects with the NEC. Home of Princeton University.
5.) Montclair, Essex County
6.) Ridgewood, Bergen County

[BrooklynRider]

On Long Island, I would say that Huntington is the hands down wnner in this category. Nothing else comes close.

[unknown memory]

For northern NJ, definitely Ridgewood. Their downtown has some nice restaurants, a real downtown feeling, friendly locals, and a train station that's within walking distance to that downtown. A nice change in setting compared to my town where its non-existant downtown consists of two highways and 5 malls (4 and 1/3rd, to me).

Hoboken's downtown has a lot of culture and unique restaurants. Unfortunately, it's not in upscale suburbia so it can't count but I think the downtown is worth a visit. It's not a usual small downtown since it's pretty wide and somewhat long. Check out some of the small bookshops there and you'll easily get the sense of community.

Another downtown, which isn't upscale but it's suburbia, is Englewood. That place has several stores and some good restaurants. It's rather quiet though so it doesn't fit your mini-NYC requirement.

Farther down south in Jersey, Red Bank's downtown is definitely nice too although, it feels a bit empty at some places. Several small businesses including antiques and furniture stores sharing the streets with more modern consumerism. You'll easily find a bunch of people just standing around in front of a clothing store chatting away and blocking one part of the sidewalk. The jewel of Red Bank shouldn't be its downtown but for why the town was called Red Bank. Take a nice walk out of the downtown area and close to the river, and you'll find beauty right there. Nature at its finest. ^__^

[Triborough]

Summit in Union County, New Jersey comes to mind.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2131/1557291692_5c54001795.jpg

[Front_Porch]

It sounds like you want to live in a city, so I'd suggest Jersey City, NJ.

Westfield NJ and South Norwalk, CT both have nice areas with an urban feel, but I don't think they'd be big enough for you.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

[giselehaslice]

I would suggest Hoboken. As one person said, it is not in suburbia, but it definatley is very upscale. Nice stores, restaurants and beautiful views from the riverside parks. The cool thing about it too is that there are alot of small shops everywhere around town, not just in the main business district. It is fun to explore around the town. Path trains and Hudson-Bergen light rail are close by too.

If not Hoboken, maybe Westfield. Westfield is a picturesque all-american small, but upscale, American town. Not really big city like at all though.

[Minato ku]

I'm talking about something along the lines of the towns outside London or Paris - Guilford, Reigate, Versailles, etc.. which are real towns and not just strips surrounded by low density residential lots.

Versailles is a "suburbs", it is surrounded by medium and low density area.
If you take the roead from inner Paris too Versailles, you will only see 5-12 floor buildings. no rural field.

http://img453.imageshack.us/img453/5338/cimg0166dl4.jpg

So Versailles is not even a suburbs but rather an outer district of Paris.

[ablarc]

What is the most lively, upscale, suburban town center in the NY/NJ/CT Metro Area that most resembles a small, dense bustling downtown with rail access to Manhattan?
You're describing a town.

Comprised of single-family detached houses surrounding a fused commercial core, towns as physical forms disappeared most places in North America about fifty years ago.

Since towns had about the same density as modern suburbs, they were easily and heedlessly transformed by replacing a portion of buildings in the core (even on Main Street) with parking lots. This had the effect of encouraging driving (even from houses that were a short distance) and simultaneously discouraging walking. Walking became a chore in any case, as who wants to walk beside a parking lot and in the absence of shade?

The park/drive-to-shopping paradigm also invited comparison (unfavorable) to burgeoning shopping centers and malls on the strip at the edge of town. These were purpose-built for the car culture and creamed the moldering downtowns that mostly converted to selling antiques and gifts (Cold Spring, Rhinebeck, Carmel CA, Niagara-by-the-Lake) --if they survived at all. There was usually an old-timey diner that hardly made any money.

The only towns that survived were college towns, because they came with several thousand pedestrians on the hoof. Examples include Princeton, Chapel Hill, Harvard Square, Berkeley, Lexington VA. Some of these places still even have nightlife.

.

[futurecity]

Ablarc/Minato,

Versailles is rather an urban suburb in my mind even though it is not surrounded by fields...

Ablarc, thanks, but I know how all that works, no need for the history lesson... i agree though, the car that created sterile suburbia did a lot of damage. Of course, if you like big houses/space it was a good thing. However, it seems that there are places in the NY area like Westfield and Montclair that are decent enough and have nice main streets..


I find LI suburbia too be rather sterile...they seem to lack places like Westfield, etc.. and the Hudson river towns are depressing.

From what I've seen, NJ trumps NY for suburban towns with some character.

[futurecity]

Minato, which is the best area to live in if you want to be near Paris, but not IN paris centre? Is Versailles decent?

Thanks,
Future

[195Broadway]

Madison NJ. Maybe not the liveliest, but tons of charm and history, beautiful old homes, some real mansions (as opposed to "McMansions") and a wonderful train station. (used in at least one movie) and two universities.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison,_New_Jersey

Drew Uiniversity
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/Drewgate.jpg/800px-Drewgate.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c9/Drewgrad.jpg/400px-Drewgrad.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/21/SWB_snow_renovations.jpg/800px-SWB_snow_renovations.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/59/Drew_University%2C_Great_Hall_of_S.W._Bowne.jpg/800px-Drew_University%2C_Great_Hall_of_S.W._Bowne.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b6/Drewstatue.jpg
Fairleigh Dickinson University
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1327/570682508_5fdb367611.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3272/2469328701_ce0212ff03.jpg
Train station
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Madison_NJ_train_station.jpg/800px-Madison_NJ_train_station.jpg

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/images/photo/2008/06/15/20080615LIVINGIN/23595043.JPG
http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/magazine/01fa/fall01art/mad.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Madison_New_Jersey_downtown.jpg/800px-Madison_New_Jersey_downtown.jpg
http://www.jboyerhomes.com/images/041.JPG
City Hall
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Harley_Dodge_Memorial_in_Madison_NJ.jpg/800px-Harley_Dodge_Memorial_in_Madison_NJ.jpg
St Vincent Martyr Chuch
http://www.svmsnj.org/Photos/Church.JPG
Old library, now a museum
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/89/268193868_da5ae504e7.jpg?v=0
Movie theater across from train station
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/images/photo/2008/06/15/20080615LIVINGIN/23595019.JPG

[NYatKNIGHT]

^Madison's really nice, as is neighboring Chatham.

[ablarc]

^ But hardly lively.

[NYatKNIGHT]

Though hardly dead.

Lively (NJ):
Red Bank
New Brunswick
Hoboken

[londonlawyer]

My town, Scarsdale, NY, is magnificent.

http://pics4.city-data.com/cpicc/cfiles6304.jpg
http://www.sothebyshomes.com/images/neighborhood/197.jpg

[londonlawyer]

Greenwich is unreal. Its downtown is like Madison Avenue. It even has a Tiffany and a Saks.

http://www.townandcountrytravelmag.com/cm/tandctravel/images/greenwich-connecticut-17-1007-fb.jpg

[JCMAN320]

^^^Londonlawyer, Red Bank is similar to Greenwich in regards to it's upscale downtown main street with similar stores.

[pianoman11686]

Red Bank, without a doubt: http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18368&highlight=red+bank

Fits the description better than any other candidate in the area, with the possible exception of Princeton.

Though it's been a while since I last visited, I think Great Neck would be high in the running.

[antinimby]

^ Now that you brought it up, I totally agree about Great Neck on Long Island. I've only been there once or twice before and I remember how totally impressed I was with their main thoroughfare/district. Upscale sidewalk cafes/restaurants and shops and it was packed full of people.

It was small in area but impressive nonetheless.

[antinimby]

My town, Scarsdale, NY, is magnificent.So how come you left for the sticks, huh?

[STT757]

Red Bank is by far the best Suburban downtown (with rail access), the only thing they need is a Trader Joe's.

I hope one day Asbury Park would make this list, there's much more potential there than in Red Bank for a vibrant downtown.

[spatulashack]

No one mentioned this one yet but Downtown Rutherford is actually quite nice... especially near the train station. I was shocked when I visited friends there a few weeks ago because I never thought of Rutherford as being nice until I actually explored the downtown area.

[londonlawyer]

So how come you left for the sticks, huh?

For my wife's job. If where we lived were up to me, we'd be back in London.

[pianoman11686]

I hope one day Asbury Park would make this list, there's much more potential there than in Red Bank for a vibrant downtown.

I hoped for that too, although Asbury is much more of a seasonal resort than a commuter town. Red Bank's proximity to New York and the nearby affluent areas make downtown commerce there more viable, IMO.

[futurecity]

None of those towns shown do not interest me. Madison looks like a morgue, scarboro and greenwhich look like boring designer store ghettos with no real street life, and red bank is too far a commute.... Really, suburubia ain't that great in NYC...perhaps Montclair.

NYC should have a green belt, would have forced small dense towns to develop.

[unknown memory]

O.o Uhh.. So, none of those interested you? You think they're boring? O__O

Not even a slice of a nice community city like Hoboken?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e5/Hoboken3.jpg/800px-Hoboken3.jpg (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e5/Hoboken3.jpg)

Hmm.. Northern Jersey nightlife is definitely different from the more energetic restaurant-club-store activity you'd find easily in many parts of downtown Manhattan. Suburban nightlife is more towards restaurants, pubs, and mall shopping. Normal downtown shopping at night is a little more quiet. The malls close later so a lot of people just hang out there. As for Jersey night clubs, you'd definitely find them in a few places here n' there.

[futurecity]

Hoboken is right across the river from manhattan -- i never considered it a suburban town - it looks great though.

[unknown memory]

Hoboken isn't a suburb town but I think it's a place that might suit you just fine. Your requests and answers to a lot of what we gave you doesn't seem to interest you much (except for Montclair).

And here's a picture of Ridgewood. I'm only going to guess that you think it's just like all the other suburb streets that's lined with these little store fronts, parking spots, and restaurants that don't look appealing to you which I can understand. Most community suburbs have this typical downtown setting and parks regardless of being upscale or not. (At least, they're better to look at than the typical strip malls that plague most of the country.)

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk52/moonbmemory/non%20moon%20boy%20related/ridgewood.jpg?t=1221006601

^__^ A lot of these places are not as bad as you think. If you want to try Montclair first, go ahead. Hopefully, that town can meet most of your expectations.

[dtolman]

The pre-suburban boom towns on the north shore of LI are pretty nice - I'm particularly fond of Huntington, Northport and Port Jeff.

[JerseyBrett]

I currently live in Hoboken, NJ but grew up in Morris County. I am a pretty die-hard Jersey guy so I will list what I believe are the nicest downtowns I have visited by county, grouped between "Great" and "Good":

Morris County
Great:
Madison, Chatham, Morristown (it is currently undergoing a resurgence) Chester, Mendham
Good:
Denville (where I grew up), Morris Plains, Boonton

Essex County
Great:
Maplewood, Upper Montclair Village
Good:
South Orange (it is currently undergoing a resurgence), Montclair (great restaurants but I would like to see them improve upon the aesthetics a bit), Millburn, Caldwell

Bergen County (I haven't really been to many Bergen County downtowns but I know of a few that are quite nice)
Great:
Ridgewood, Hillsdale
Good:
Englewood, Tenafly, Rutherford

Union County:
Great:
Summit, Westfield, Cranford

Others nice downtowns around northern and central New Jersey:
Hoboken, Red Bank, Princeton

I'm partial towards Denville as I grew up there and regularly visit my parents and friends who still live in the town. They still play music over the loudspeakers (primarily 40s and 50s music) and always play the best Christmas music during the Holiday season. Haha. It's great to know that there are still some places left that haven't been sucked dry by political correctness. Please let me know what you think of my list!

[tommyguy]

About Westchester-

Someone wrote that White Plains is "built around a mall." Which one did they mean, I wonder, there are several.

I grew up in White Plains and one thing the city has always had going for it is its diversity. Racial and ethnic but also income. In fact, White Plains was one of the first places to desegregate the school system voluntarily back in 1958. Like many places, because of housing segregation, the "neighborhood school" concept resulted in de facto school segregation.

They have purposefully developed a lot of night life back into the city and there is some street life at night. In fact, some people say too much. The mini-park around Main and Mamaroneck Avenue became a rendevous point for many teens. Racially-mixed and oriented towards Goth or semi-Grunge. People found their language and surly sick-of-it-all attitude intimidating. I found it pretty cool.

Forty years ago -- Good Lord is it really that long ago? -- kids hung out at the park at Broadway and Main Street. We were the first kids to smoke marijuana openly and it drove people nuts. :cool:

What does this have to do with the original question? I'm simply trying to give a 'feel' for what White Plains is like.

[jdbarber]

Morristown,NJ There has been a lot of downtown development in the last 5 years. Still lacking in many areas but the best Suburban NJ has to offer.
http://jpiniat.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/downtown-morristown-nj.jpg

[philvia]

are there anymore pics of Scarsdale? has someone done a phototour of it or somethin? it looks really nice.

[Nexis4Jersey]

Interesting that ive found this thread ive been slowly documenting all the Railway towns in this Region and Philly...i'll show 3-6 photos per town...

South Orange

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6009/5983680115_6d59dc595f_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/5983680115/)
Downtown South Orange (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/5983680115/) by Nexis4Jersey09 (http://www.flickr.com/people/42178139@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6133/5983679755_bcb2cc8670_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/5983679755/)
Downtown South Orange (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/5983679755/) by Nexis4Jersey09 (http://www.flickr.com/people/42178139@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6041/6274335060_c4f85830bf_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/6274335060/)
DSCN4045 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/6274335060/) by Nexis4Jersey09 (http://www.flickr.com/people/42178139@N06/), on Flickr

Morristown

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6104/6343241500_efe806338c_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/6343241500/)
DSCN4524 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/6343241500/) by Nexis4Jersey09 (http://www.flickr.com/people/42178139@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6094/6342490091_26d5dd42f7_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/6342490091/)
DSCN4520 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/6342490091/) by Nexis4Jersey09 (http://www.flickr.com/people/42178139@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6054/6343236924_034ccc2e8e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/6343236924/)
DSCN4515 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/6343236924/) by Nexis4Jersey09 (http://www.flickr.com/people/42178139@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6052/6342473491_c42dd5ee7b_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/6342473491/)
DSCN4489 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/6342473491/) by Nexis4Jersey09 (http://www.flickr.com/people/42178139@N06/), on Flickr

Rahway

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4117/4867651890_4da0109927_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/4867651890/)
Rahway Station (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/4867651890/) by Nexis4Jersey09 (http://www.flickr.com/people/42178139@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4082/4867651270_6d3843e121_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/4867651270/)
100_1601 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/4867651270/) by Nexis4Jersey09 (http://www.flickr.com/people/42178139@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4104/4847291305_eca8d9cc21_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/4847291305/)
010 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/4847291305/) by Nexis4Jersey09 (http://www.flickr.com/people/42178139@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4104/5127006559_0ed1ae79ac_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/5127006559/)
DSC01396 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/5127006559/) by Nexis4Jersey09 (http://www.flickr.com/people/42178139@N06/), on Flickr

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4110/4847915926_7483f2153e_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/4847915926/)
028 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/42178139@N06/4847915926/) by Nexis4Jersey09 (http://www.flickr.com/people/42178139@N06/), on Flickr

[Nexis4Jersey]

Rail log....Towns / Cities & Stations documented so far and future

NYC Subway

IRT Lexington Avenue line
103rd Street
96th street
59th Street
51st Street
42nd Street
33rd Street
28th Street
23rd Street
14th Street - Union SQ
Spring Street
Canal Street
Brooklyn Bridge - City Hall
Fulton Street
Bowling Green

IND 8th Avenue line
42nd Street – Port Authority Bus Terminal
34th Street – Penn Station
14th Street
West Fourth Street – Washington Square
Spring Street
Canal Street
World Trade Center


IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line
96th Street
79th Street
72nd Street
Times Square – 42nd Street
34th Street – Penn Station
14th Street
Christopher Street
Houston Street
Chambers Street
South Ferry

BMT Canarsie Line
Eighth Avenue
Sixth Avenue
Union Square

IND Queens Boulevard Line
Seventh Avenue
Fifth Avenue / 53rd Street
Lexington Avenue – 53rd Street
Court Square – 23rd Street

IND/BMT Archer Avenue Line
Jamaica – Van Wyck
Sutphin Boulevard – Archer Avenue – JFK Airport

BMT Broadway Line
Whitehall Street – South Ferry
City Hall
Canal Street
23rd Street
28th Street
Lexington Avenue / 59th Street

IRT Flushing Line
Times SQ
Fifth Avenue – Bryant Park
Grand Central
Hunters Point Avenue
Court Square
Queensboro Plaza
33rd Street – Rawson Street
74th Street – Broadway

IND Sixth Avenue Line
47th–50th Streets – Rockefeller Center
34th Street – Herald Square
14th Street
West Fourth Street – Washington Square
East Broadway

IRT Eastern Parkway Line
Clark Street
Borough Hall
Nevins Street
Atlantic Avenue

PATH Trains...
33rd Street
23rd Street
14th Street
Hoboken Terminal
World Trade Center
Exchange Place
Grove Street
Journal SQ
Harrison
Newark Penn

Hudson Bergen Light Rail
Tonnelle Ave
Bergen line Ave
Port Imperial
Lincoln Harbor
9th/congress
Second Street
Hoboken Terminal
Pavonia / Newport
Harimus Cove
Harborside
Exchange Place
Essex Street
Marin Boulevard
Jersey Ave
Liberty State Park
45th Street
22nd Street
8th Street

Newark Light Rail
Newark Penn
Military Park
Norfolk Street
Branch Brook Park
NJPAC / Centre Street
Atlantic Street
Newark Broad Street

NJT Regional Rail

Main line
Suffern (2012)
Ramsey (2012)
Ridgewood
Paterson (2012)
Rutherford (2012)
Secaucus JCT Lower level

Pascack Valley line
Hillsdale
Westwood
Emerson
New Bridge Landing
Anderson Street

Northeast Corridor
Secaucus JCT upper Level
Newark Penn
Elizabeth (2012)
Linden (2012)
Rahway
Metropark
Metchun (2012)
New Brunswick
Trenton

North Jersey Coast line
Perth Amboy (2012)
South Amboy
Red Bank
Asbury Park (2012)
Point Pleasent (2012)

Morristown line
Newark Broad Street
Mountain Station
South Orange
Summit
Madison
Covent Station
Morristown
Morris Plains (2012)
Dover (2012)

River Line Light Rail
Trenton
Bordentown
Roebling
Burlington
Delanco (2012)
Riverside (2012)
Riverton (2012)
Palmyra (2012)
Pennsuaken Transfer Center (2012)
Walter Rand Transit - Camden
Cooper Street - Rutgers
Aquarium

Montclair - Boonton line
Dover (2012)
Little Falls (2012)
Montclair Heights (2012)
Bay Street
Glen Ridge (2012)
Bloomfield (2012)

Raritan Valley line
Somerville (2012)
Bound Brook (2012)
Fanwood (2012)
Westfield (2012)
Union (2012)

Metro North

Hudson line
Beacon (2012)
Cold Spring (2012)
Sleepy Hallow
Tarrytown
Irvington (2012)
Yonkers
Riverdale (2012)

Harlem line
Brewster (2012)
Pleasantville (2012)
Valhalla
North White Plains
White Plains
Scarsdale (2012)
Bronxville (2012)
Botanical Gardens (2012)
Fordham (2012)
Harlem - 125th Street
Grand Central Terminal

New Haven line / System
Pelham
New Rochelle
Larchmont (2012)
Mamoroneck (2012)
Harrison (2012) < One trip
Port Chester (2012)
Stamford
South Norwalk (2012)
Southport (2012)
Fairfield Metro (2012)
New Haven (2012)



Danbury Branch
Norwalk (2012)
Danbury (2012)

New Canaan Branch
Glenbrook (2012)
Springdale (2012)
New Canaan (2012)

[londonlawyer]

Greenwich, Ct. bar none.