A one-square-mile former mill town on the Passaic that has been rebuilt around its PATH station: new apartment buildings along Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard, the soccer stadium on the river, and the old Harrison Avenue main street a few blocks up. Harrison is the newest housing in the county at the lowest price for a direct train to the World Trade Center.
Harrison is a small town on the Passaic, across the river from Newark's Ironbound, with the PATH station in the middle and a new waterfront district growing up around the stadium. 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.
A small coffee shop on Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard that opens at five in the morning, Monday to Saturday. The first cup of the day, and a baked empanada with it.
An Indian sweet shop on Harrison Avenue with a breakfast counter: dosa in the morning, pani puri and a box of sweets on the way out.
The reason Harrison is on anyone's list: a rebuilt PATH station in the middle of town, one stop from Newark Penn and about twenty minutes to the World Trade Center.
From here it is a walk to the Harrison PATH station on Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard South, about 8 minutes on foot from the park, one stop to Newark Penn or straight through to the World Trade Center.
A small Taiwanese kitchen on Harrison Avenue, run by a mom and pop, open for lunch on weekdays and brunch on Saturday. The lunch that people in town argue over.
A full-service salon on Bergen Street that cuts women, men, kids and babies, and takes walk-ins. The errand hour.
The town library on Harrison Avenue, freshly renovated, with Toddler Time and Tiny Tots on the weekly calendar. The free hour with small children.
A Cuban coffee bar on the boulevard between the library and the station: a cortadito or a leche y leche for the afternoon, with a pastry.
Portuguese dinner two blocks from the PATH: grilled meats, seafood, and the Ironbound's cooking on the Harrison side of the river.
The other dinner on the boulevard: ropa vieja, whole fried snapper and churrasco, with a mojito and a table outside when the weather holds.
The famous diner, just over the line in East Newark, open every day from eight in the morning to eleven at night. Late dinner, or a dessert as big as the dinner.
A real pub on Harrison Avenue: Guinness, single malt whisky, micro-brewed beer and live original music, with a Scottish welcome at the door.
The soccer stadium at the end of the block, home of the New York Red Bulls and Gotham FC, with the PATH three blocks away. The Saturday night that fills the boulevard.
Forty-six acres shared with Kearny at the top of town: a two-acre lake, four miles of paths, two playgrounds and a spray pool. The Sunday morning walk.
And back down to the river for the last of the light over the Passaic. Everything on this map is a walk from this bench.
Honest footnotes. None of these places pays me or knows I wrote this. I built this Harrison day from the places locals rate highest and I am walking it myself — tell me what I missed. Hours change; check before you go.
A one-square-mile former mill town on the Passaic that has been rebuilt around its PATH station: new apartment buildings along Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard, the soccer stadium on the river, and the old Harrison Avenue main street a few blocks up. Harrison is the newest housing in the county at the lowest price for a direct train to the World Trade Center.
Harrison sits on the east bank of the Passaic River opposite downtown Newark, between Kearny to the north and East Newark tucked into its corner. For a century it was a factory town, and the empty industrial land along the river is what made the last twenty years possible: block after block of new mid-rise apartment buildings on Frank E. Rodgers Boulevard, the soccer stadium at the water, and a rebuilt PATH station in the middle of it.
The old town is still there up the hill. Harrison Avenue is the main street, with the library, the Portuguese and Latin American restaurants, and the two- and three-family houses on the side streets that the new construction has not touched. The two halves of town do not look like each other, and buyers usually know within a block which one they want.
The commute is the argument. The PATH runs from Harrison to Newark Penn in one direction and to the World Trade Center in the other, without a change. The station was rebuilt from scratch and sits at the centre of the new district, so most of the new buildings are a five-minute walk from a platform. Route 280 and the Turnpike are at the top of the boulevard for anyone who drives.
For buyers this is where new-construction condominiums and rentals with a doorman and a garage cost less than the same product in Jersey City or Hoboken, because the address is Harrison. For investors the older two-families near the avenue rent to people who work at the stadium, the warehouses and downtown Newark. I show it to anyone who wants new and cannot make the waterfront numbers work.
Best for: buyers who want a new building and a one-seat ride to the World Trade Center, and investors who want tenant demand near a PATH station. Harder for: anyone who wants a finished neighborhood; the riverfront is still being built, and the older streets are plain.
The walk above is a real day in Harrison — 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.
20,369 people live in Harrison, where the median age is 33.8 and the average individual income is $51,945.
Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
There is plenty to do around Harrison — 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 Harrison. Hours change — check before you go.
Data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Daycare through high school, in or next to Harrison. 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.
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