The south of Jersey City, from the Bergen-Lafayette edge down to the Bayonne line: streets of one- and two-family houses with driveways, three light-rail stops on the way to Exchange Place, and the biggest price gap from Downtown of any neighborhood on the same rail line. Greenville is where I take buyers who need a house, a yard and a budget.
Greenville is the southern third of Jersey City: two-family houses and brick rows between Kennedy Boulevard and the bay, the light rail on Danforth Avenue, Liberty State Park at one end and Bayonne at the other. I show homes here but I do not live here, so I built this day from the places locals rate highest, and I am walking it myself. Every place is real. The map is real. Scroll, and I'll walk you through it. Tap any stop for the full story.
The bakery on Kennedy Boulevard that opens at five every morning: coffee, a breakfast sandwich on a Portuguese roll, and a custard cup for the walk.
The light rail stop for this end of Greenville: trains up through Liberty State Park to Exchange Place, Newport and Hoboken, and south into Bayonne.
From here it is a walk to the Danforth Avenue light rail station, about 10 minutes on foot from the park, south on Garfield Avenue, for Exchange Place and Hoboken.
The neighborhood pizzeria on Danforth Avenue, in business since 1987. Two slices at the counter and a full Italian menu if you sit down.
Greenville's branch of the Jersey City Free Public Library, on Kennedy Boulevard at the top of the neighborhood. The errand hour, and a free one.
A three-and-a-half-acre city park on Bergen Avenue, a few blocks from the library. The after-school stop with a ball.
Chef Monique Johnson's bakery on Martin Luther King Drive: cupcakes and cookies for the walk home, and the reason the kids agreed to the library.
The dinner in Greenville: a family Italian restaurant on a residential side street since the 1970s, with lobster ravioli in vodka sauce and a full bar.
The second dinner, up over the line in Bergen-Lafayette: a Caribbean-inspired gastropub with cocktails built on juices and syrups they press every day.
The nightcap: a brewery taproom on Pacific Avenue with a rooftop deck facing the Manhattan skyline, dogs welcome.
The big park at the north end of Garfield Avenue: seventeen acres of fields and courts built on old rail yards, with the light rail at the gate.
Saturday lunch on West Side Avenue: Cuban and Latin American cooking, bring your own bottle, and mocktails if you did not.
The quiet walk: a historic non-profit cemetery on Garfield Avenue, a few blocks south of the park, with old stones, mature trees and the bay beyond.
Twelve hundred acres on the bay with the Statue of Liberty in front of you. The south end, by the Nature Center and Caven Point, is the Greenville side.
And back to the park on Garfield Avenue at the end of the weekend. Everything on this map is a walk or one light rail stop from here.
Honest footnotes. None of these places pays me or knows I wrote this. I built this Greenville day from the places locals rate highest and I am walking it myself — tell me what I missed. Hours change; check before you go.
The south of Jersey City, from the Bergen-Lafayette edge down to the Bayonne line: streets of one- and two-family houses with driveways, three light-rail stops on the way to Exchange Place, and the biggest price gap from Downtown of any neighborhood on the same rail line. Greenville is where I take buyers who need a house, a yard and a budget.
Greenville is the southern third of Jersey City, a residential grid between the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail and the Bayonne line, with Ocean Avenue, Martin Luther King Drive and Kennedy Boulevard as its north-south streets and Danforth Avenue across the middle. It was laid out as its own town in the 1800s and still reads like one: houses on lots, corner stores, churches, and the long green of Bayview Cemetery on the hill.
The parks are the neighborhood's best-kept fact. Bayside Park on Garfield Avenue has the ball fields and the community center, Audubon Park and Currie Woods are the small greens, and the south end of Liberty State Park, with the Caven Point beach and the marsh, is a walk away. Berry Lane Park and the Communipaw Avenue cafés are just over the line in Bergen-Lafayette.
The light rail is the commute. The Danforth Avenue, Richard Street and Martin Luther King Drive stations run north to Exchange Place and Hoboken; buses on Ocean Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard go to Journal Square for the PATH, and Route 440 and the Turnpike's Exit 14A are at the southern end for drivers.
For buyers this is the most affordable house stock in Jersey City: one- and two-family frame and brick houses with driveways, some with real yards, at prices that are a fraction of Downtown's on the same rail line. Investors buy two-families here for the numbers; families buy them for the space. Parts of the neighborhood are rougher than others, and I walk every block with a buyer before we talk about an offer.
Best for: first-time buyers and families who need a house and a yard on a budget, and two-family investors who want light-rail access. Harder for: buyers who want a walkable dining street or a short trip to Manhattan.
The walk above is a real day in Greenville — coffee, the commute, the park, dinner. Answer four questions and it reorders itself around your morning, or open the route map and follow it yourself.
77,339 people live in Greenville, where the median age is 36.6 and the average individual income is $39,965.
Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
There is plenty to do around Greenville — shopping, dining, parks and nightlife. The three scores below rate how easy it is to get around without a car.
Walk Score®, Transit Score® and Bike Score® provided by Walk Score.
The places within walking distance — where to eat, shop, train and get a haircut. Tap a row to find it on the map.
| Name | Category | Distance |
|---|
Places and addresses from OpenStreetMap contributors. Distances are straight-line from the centre of Greenville. Hours change — check before you go.
Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Daycare through high school, in or next to Greenville. A starting point for comparison — visit before you decide, and call me about catchment lines, which move.
| Name | Type | Grades | Students |
|---|
Public and charter schools from the NCES Common Core of Data; daycare and pre-school locations from OpenStreetMap contributors.
Before you go
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