This article very much surprised me. Newark is a city that’s been in decline for my entire adult life. One branch of my family had been there since the mid-19th century, and the older people still lived there in my youth; I remember visiting them in an old apartment building with very high ceilings.

Then all of them moved away as it became more and more dangerous to live there.

In 2020 I wrote this lengthy piece on Newark, describing its decline. But now I read – in a British paper, of all places – that things are looking up in Newark:

A New Jersey city once known as the car theft capital of the world has transformed itself over the last three decades from a blighted crime metropolis to one of the hottest real estate opportunities on the East Coast.

Located just 30 minutes from Manhattan, Newark has been ranked as the most competitive housing market in the nation, according to a spring market report from Redfin.

Real estate values have surged as criminal activity has fallen in Newark, with violent crime down by 19 percent last year, according to the Newark Star-Ledger.

Money talks:

“Newark has been rediscovered,” real estate broker Michael Rosa told HousingWire, who said a wave of luxury apartment construction has helped revive the city. “More recently, there’s just been so much investment going on over here.”

I have to say I read the article with a great deal of skepticism. Is this some sort of delusional Newark boosterism? The commenters there seem to think so; the article is regarded as a sick joke, and lots of people assert that Newark is basically a cesspool. Then again, are they correct?

When I searched, I found a great many articles about improvements in the Newark airport’s on-time record, which apparently had been abysmal. It also seems that, for whatever reason, in 2024 there started to be articles such as this one describing an increase in investment:

There’s the ongoing $190 million capital investment project at Newark Penn Station; the $570 million AirTrain Newark Replacement, with construction slated for 2025 through 2029; the $110 million “High Line”-like Pedestrian Bridge traversing McCarter Highway to Newark Penn Station; and, of course, Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport.

“People who haven’t been here or turned their backs on Newark are missing out on the most amazing urban transformation,” says Vincent Baglivo, executive director of the Ironbound Business Improvement District and Board Member for the Greater Newark Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Deputy Mayor Allison Ladd, director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development, says following the COVID-19 pandemic, investors and developers are still bold and bullish on growth in Newark.

Though largely focused on arts, health, and wellness, Newark’s incredible transformation is now attracting hundreds of new tech startups and higher-income residents.

Who knows? I’m not travelling there to find out, either. But I like to think it’s true. Once a city declines it’s very difficult to reverse the process, but I wish Newark well.

Years ago I also wrote about Newark’s extremely leftist mayor, Ras Baraka. It was in 2014, when he was first elected. At the time, he was one of the most “progressive” (that is, far left) mayors in the US. Well, guess what? To my surprise, he’s still the mayor there, serving his fourth 4-year term. From that Wiki page:

Politico has described Baraka as “one of the most progressive Democrats in New Jersey, and possibly the nation”.

During his tenure as mayor, Baraka has earned praise for improving Newark’s economic prospects.

Make of it what you will. Also this:

The city has now achieved a historic 60-year low in violence.

Violence has gone down in a lot of cities. But a 60-year low might actually mean something – although relatively speaking, violence isn’t actually low there. Some statistics from a 2025 discussion:

Many people still ask, “is Newark NJ safe?” The answer depends on where you go and when. While some neighborhoods have made notable progress, others continue to face persistent challenges.

The article goes on to get very specific about that.

You may ask, why am I writing about Newark? Basically I have a soft spot in my heart for it and I’d like to see it improve.

Lastly I’ll point to this comment in a Reddit thread about Newark’s declining crime rate:

Sticking to police reform was huge. The community policing element put former gang members in direct contact with at-risk youth in tough neighborhoods to get to them before they got in trouble or entered the cycle of retaliation.

The city’s population has gone up quite a bit. So there’s way less vacant housing that can be used for criminal activity.

This is the part that everyone ignores. The city has actually gentrified more than people think; it’s just middle class minorities doing it. If you go to parts of the West and South Wards, you’ll find Black people who had been priced out of Harlem, Bed-Stuy, and Crown Heights are becoming homeowners, which basically added a middle-class to poor neighborhoods. This is the reason why Downtown Newark has like 5 expensive African restaurants/nightclubs now.

The national trends have been helpful too. Crime is down pretty much everywhere, despite the fear-mongering.

Again, make of it what you will.

[NOTE: I wrote another post about Baraka in 2025, focusing on his arrest for causing a brouhaha around ICE.

And by the way, Baraka’s father is Leroi Jones.]