Hello people How do you like living next to,or near Irvington Avenue, Maplewood? Is it safe to live there with children?

Hi,How do you like living next to,or near Irvington Avenue, Maplewood?


Heka said:

Hello people,How do you like living next to,or near Irvington Avenue, Maplewood? Is it safe to live there with children?

 Lived on Irvington Avenue for almost 40 years and raised 4 happy successful daughters.

Only problem so far had been a couple of decades ago when a boyfriend’s unlocked muscle car was stolen from our driveway...


Scully said:

 Lived on Irvington Avenue for almost 40 years and raised 4 happy successful daughters.

Only problem so far had been a couple of decades ago when a boyfriend’s unlocked muscle car was stolen from our driveway...

 Thank you for your help


I have family members with a young child living on Irvington Avenue. The child is thriving there.  No worries.


joan_crystal said:

I have family members with a young child living on Irvington Avenue. The child is thriving there.  No worries.

 Thank you


Scully said:

Heka said:

Hello people,How do you like living next to,or near Irvington Avenue, Maplewood? Is it safe to live there with children?

 Lived on Irvington Avenue for almost 40 years and raised 4 happy successful daughters.

Only problem so far had been a couple of decades ago when a boyfriend’s unlocked muscle car was stolen from our driveway...

 It was actually an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, not a muscle car.  It was also the 1990 when cars were being picked off left and right.

I grew up there (Scully is my mother) and as an adult I bought a house right across the street from her and lived right off of Irvington Ave a couple of hundred feet away from Ivy Plaza (I think they renamed it).  The area is MUCH better than it used to be in the late 80’s and early 90’s.  We had kids.  Unlocked bicycles will walk, but we never had any major issues.  We did move out in 2018, but it was due to property taxes and not being able to afford anything else in Maplewood.  


Is Ivy Plaza where City Supermarket is? I don’t live in Maplewood, but visit family there often. (Well, I did until 8 months ago...) City Supermarket is so much fun to visit. Love it. Along with milk and bread and lemons, you can, if you wish, get chicken claws and cuts of meat I’d never even heard of, plus specialties from Africa and Central America, and Jamaican sauces and spices so hot I bet the average shopper couldn’t swallow one drop. It’s such an interesting shopping experience - I highly recommend it!!


P. S. And if you’re talking about the neighborhood I think you are, Clinton School ROCKS. 


spontaneous said:

 It was actually an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, not a muscle car.  It was also the 1990 when cars were being picked off left and right.

I grew up there (Scully is my mother) and as an adult I bought a house right across the street from her and lived right off of Irvington Ave a couple of hundred feet away from Ivy Plaza (I think they renamed it).  The area is MUCH better than it used to be in the late 80’s and early 90’s.  We had kids.  Unlocked bicycles will walk, but we never had any major issues.  We did move out in 2018, but it was due to property taxes and not being able to afford anything else in Maplewood.  

 Thank you 


Heynj said:

Is Ivy Plaza where City Supermarket is? I don’t live in Maplewood, but visit family there often. (Well, I did until 8 months ago...) City Supermarket is so much fun to visit. Love it. Along with milk and bread and lemons, you can, if you wish, get chicken claws and cuts of meat I’d never even heard of, plus specialties from Africa and Central America, and Jamaican sauces and spices so hot I bet the average shopper couldn’t swallow one drop. It’s such an interesting shopping experience - I highly recommend it!!

 City Supermarket is awesome for imported stuff.  For regular grocery stuff their prices seem to run higher than regular grocery stores, so even though it was easy walking distance it never became my regular store.

Having a gym right across the street was also very convenient, but obviously right now no one is going and who knows if they’ll survive the pandemic.


Apart from the point of the discussion, -this is a really amusing line.

spontaneous said:

 Unlocked bicycles will walk, 


—- and there’s Dunks and a dollar store where you don’t have to pay $5 for your brother-in-laws birthday card.


spontaneous said:

 It was actually an Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, not a muscle car.  It was also the 1990 when cars were being picked off left and right.

I grew up there (Scully is my mother) and as an adult I bought a house right across the street from her and lived right off of Irvington Ave a couple of hundred feet away from Ivy Plaza (I think they renamed it).  The area is MUCH better than it used to be in the late 80’s and early 90’s.  We had kids.  Unlocked bicycles will walk, but we never had any major issues.  We did move out in 2018, but it was due to property taxes and not being able to afford anything else in Maplewood.  

 Thank you


Thank you for your help 



I don’t know what area you’re coming from. If you’re coming from anywhere in the M/SO area, you’ll be fine.  Same precautions here as anywhere else in town.

If you’re new to the area you just need to learn to take basic precautions for property crime.  Lock your doors.  Don’t leave your car running and unattended while you’re inside making your coffee on cold mornings.  Don’t leave valuables or cash visible in your car.  Make sure your garage or any sheds are locked.  Bicycles need to be locked.  This isn’t specific to the neighborhood but is for anywhere in the two towns.  Some people move in from out of state and get taken by surprised about property crime, but in general it is the easy targets that get hit, like when my husband kept putting off buying a lock for his Trek bicycle that was quickly stolen from our backyard.  He has no excuse though since he grew up in South Orange and knew stuff like this happens.


spontaneous said:

I don’t know what area you’re coming from. If you’re coming from anywhere in the M/SO area, you’ll be fine.  Same precautions here as anywhere else in town.

If you’re new to the area you just need to learn to take basic precautions for property crime.  Lock your doors.  Don’t leave your car running and unattended while you’re inside making your coffee on cold mornings.  Don’t leave valuables or cash visible in your car.  Make sure your garage or any sheds are locked.  Bicycles need to be locked.  This isn’t specific to the neighborhood but is for anywhere in the two towns.  Some people move in from out of state and get taken by surprised about property crime, but in general it is the easy targets that get hit, like when my husband kept putting off buying a lock for his Trek bicycle that was quickly stolen from our backyard.  He has no excuse though since he grew up in South Orange and knew stuff like this happens.

very grateful to you. Glad to hear that it is not so dangerous to live there

Hi,Thank you for your help 


Scully said:

 Lived on Irvington Avenue for almost 40 years and raised 4 happy successful daughters.

Only problem so far had been a couple of decades ago when a boyfriend’s unlocked muscle car was stolen from our driveway...

 Happy to read this 


B.D. (before divorce) lived at Parker & Boyden for 20+ years.  Raised 2 kids there.  Liked that side of town, which we lovingly referred to as  "Maplehood".  One child wanted to sell "Maplehoodies".  We steered him clear of that.  Now 31 & in CA, he recently told me he's grateful to have grown up in such a diverse part of town.

During the infamous "re-val" so long ago, our taxes actually went down!  Sold 10 yrs ago for twice what we paid, to a couple who's still there & raising young kids.

Honda Civic stolen from the driveway ages ago -- before the also infamous "gates" went up.  Those cut off easy "getaway" routes & eased that problem.

Bid on several "uphill" houses over the years, but always chose to stay among our "salt of the earth" crowd.

Take usual precautions & use your head -- you'll be fine there.


Juniemoon said:

B.D. (before divorce) lived at Parker & Boyden for 20+ years.  Raised 2 kids there.  Liked that side of town, which we lovingly referred to as  "Maplehood".  One child wanted to sell "Maplehoodies".  We steered him clear of that.  Now 31 & in CA, he recently told me he's grateful to have grown up in such a diverse part of town.

During the infamous "re-val" so long ago, our taxes actually went down!  Sold 10 yrs ago for twice what we paid, to a couple who's still there & raising young kids.

Honda Civic stolen from the driveway ages ago -- before the also infamous "gates" went up.  Those cut off easy "getaway" routes & eased that problem.

Bid on several "uphill" houses over the years, but always chose to stay among our "salt of the earth" crowd.

Take usual precautions & use your head -- you'll be fine there.

 Thank you for your help


steel said:

Apart from the point of the discussion, -this is a really amusing line.

spontaneous said:

 Unlocked bicycles will walk, 

 This is true most anywhere ... certainly in all parts of SOMA, including those with million-dollar-plus homes.



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