Belmont Avenue, where a little more than a mile separates Paterson -- the city with the county's highest crime rate, from North Haledon -- the community with the lowest.
Crime statistics released this week by the New Jersey State Police showed North Haledon's continued streak as a low-crime borough and Paterson's persistence as a city where neither people nor belongings are particularly safe. The baseline elements of geography and population density are among those that play a role in keeping North Haledon's crime rate low, while Paterson struggles with crime and violence.
Belmont Avenue Offers Contrast In Crime Rates
Angela McCue, 57, lives in North Haledon. Last year, a burglar took $20,000 in jewelry from her home, but that didn't change her opinion that the town is "unbelievable" and "very safe."
In Paterson, a 68-year-old retired man who wouldn't give his name described drugs for sale on the street at all hours and said he has been mugged several times outside his apartment.
Both live on Belmont Avenue, where a little more than a mile separates Paterson -- the city with the county's highest crime rate, from North Haledon -- the community with the lowest.
Crime statistics released this week by the New Jersey State Police showed North Haledon's continued streak as a low-crime borough and Paterson's persistence as a city where neither people nor belongings are particularly safe. The baseline elements of geography and population density are among those that play a role in keeping North Haledon's crime rate low, while Paterson struggles with crime and violence, officials say.
Belmont Avenue begins at West Broadway in Paterson, passes through Haledon, and ends at the intersection of High Mountain Road in North Haledon -- 3.6 miles in all. At the North Haledon border, the road is flanked by the sloping lawn of Mary Help of Christians Academy and the neat gardens of homes that have flower pots and ceramic deer on their stoops.
By the time Belmont crosses into Paterson, at Burhans Avenue, a home with lace curtains shares the intersection with an evangelical church, a Burger King and a bodega. Downhill toward West Broadway, Belmont's shoulders contain 99-cent stores, Laundromats, bars and liquor stores.
From one end to the other, "it's like chalk and cheese," said the Paterson man.
"A world apart, but yet it's a mile," said McCue, who grew up in Paterson. "Once in a while, my husband will go down to the end of Belmont Avenue, but I'm petrified."
Despite their proximity, these are different places when it comes to both the amount and type of crime. The typical crime in North Haledon is a burglary, or home break-in -- as when jewelry and cash are taken from a master bedroom, said Police Chief Robert Bracco. There were 14 burglaries and 35 larcenies in North Haledon in 2005, both down from the previous year. There were no murders, rapes or robberies -- indeed, the last robbery was in 2003, Bracco said.
In fact, the burglary at McCue's house was one of the more notable crimes of the year. An intruder broke a glass pane next to the front door and took her diamond earrings, a tennis bracelet and several Gucci watches she and her husband owned.
"Every drop of jewelry that we owned," she said. "I was sick."
In Paterson, robbery is the most common crime, Lt. Patrick Papagni said. Police reports concerning a string of muggings last year at Great Falls Park indicate a more intrusive kind of theft that takes place person-to-person, often at the point of a gun or knife. Repeatedly, the Great Falls Park robber made off with victims' cell phones, jewelry and cash.
Paterson and North Haledon police say geography and population help account for the stark contrast between two places so close.
"We are a densely populated city compared to North Haledon, so I would assume that typically, there's going to be more crime," said Paterson's Papagni.
Paterson's population of 150,869 lives in 8.4 square miles, or roughly 17,875 people per square mile. North Haledon has about half the space but a fraction of Paterson's population, about 8,800 people spread out over 3.5 square miles.
Chief Bracco jokes that North Haledon has a wall "like the great wall of China" that keeps people out, but says it's really North Haledon's lack of highways or major county roads that tends to keep non-residents afar.
"Unless you're going from Hawthorne or Bergen County to the other side in Passaic County, there's really no reason to go through North Haledon," he said.
North Haledon Mayor Randy George said that besides its location and lack of bus or rail service, the borough benefits from a vigilant police force and close relationship between residents and police.
"The citizens are working with the governing body and the Police Department ... it's really that simple," said George.
Police strictly enforce speed limits on Belmont Avenue and High Mountain Road, the borough's other main road. Low crime means officers, many of whom are from or have relatives in North Haledon, have even more time to develop good relationships with the community at school or borough events.
McCue said once when her dog got loose, she began driving around to look for him. A neighbor who noticed her slow-driving car pass by called police, who arrived to ask her what she was doing.
"It's like one big family," she said.
By contrast, a 40-year-old woman who lives on Belmont Avenue in Paterson said she rarely sees Paterson police actively patrolling her neighborhood. She does not allow her 12-year-old daughter to walk to the corner store alone.
"I see a lot of the Sheriff's Department's cars riding past here, but it's not as if they or even Paterson police are patrolling the area. They're just riding through," said the woman, who also declined to give her name.
Reach Suzanne Travers at 973-569-7167 or travers@ northjersey.com.
Copyright © 2006 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
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