Contact: 
Dennis Gale, Cornwall Center (973) 353-1750

REVITALIZING NEWARK: THE VIEW FROM ESSEX COUNTY

Release Date: July 23, 2002

A Note to Our Website Visitors

A story based on an earlier Policy Brief was published July 14, 2002 in the Star Ledger. The headline of the story focused on one small part of the survey involving the proposed Newark arena. The story and/or our Policy Brief provoked a degree of controversy about the survey’s findings and/or its perceived tone. Some, on the other hand, have acknowledged that the study, though offering both favorable and unfavorable news about suburban perceptions, offered objective findings that are important for the public to know. We regret any concerns that the story or the Policy Brief may have caused readers. Nonetheless, we believe that our findings underscore the critical importance of beginning a regional dialogue among public officials, business organizations and civic and religious groups. We hope that the survey will lead to candid discussions on ways to reduce suburban misperceptions about Newark and its many entertainment and cultural attractions.

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As Newark struggles to advance its renaissance, it will be critical for the city to find ways to attract more visitors to its cultural and entertainment features. Also important, Newark needs to draw additional people to settle in the city in order to contribute to its tax base, improve properties, and patronize its shops and stores. Especially important are suburbanites such as Essex County residents who live within fairly easy access to the downtown. The Cornwall Center conducted a survey of 330 Essex County residents to see how often they visit Newark, what activities might draw more visitors, and what measures might help persuade people to consider moving into the city. Also, we wanted to know how Newark residents feel about their community and what could be done to encourage them to continue living in Newark. We interviewed an additional 170 Newark residents as part of this survey. *

We asked Essex County residents living outside Newark two questions about visiting the city. The first was: 

How often did you visit the following places over the past 12 months?  

We found that 34 percent of non-Newark residents had visited the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in the previous year. Of these, 23 percent had visited NJPAC once or twice in the previous year, and almost 12 percent visited three or more times.** Visitors in their late thirties, forties and fifties were the most common age groups attending NJPAC events. Households with children showed a slightly greater turnout than those without. Whites and African-Americans visited at similar rates, while Hispanics visited less often and Asians least often. 

About 12 percent of non-Newark residents of Essex County had visited Bears and Eagles Stadium for an event over the previous 12 months.  About 10 percent had visited once or twice and the remainder, less than 3 percent, visited three or more times. While visitation rates were similar across all age ranges, households with children were moderately more likely to visit the stadium than households with no children. Asians and Hispanics were more likely than Whites or African-Americans to attend a stadium event. 

Approximately 22 percent had visited the Newark Museum. Of these non-Newark residents, 17 percent reported visiting on one or two occasions over the past year, with 5 percent visiting three or more times. Males were less likely to visit than females and childless households less so than those with children. Whites were less frequent attendees than African-Americans, Asians or Hispanics.

About 12 percent had visited the Newark Public Library in the past year. Almost 7 percent had been to the library once or twice, and 5 percent had visited three or more times. Males and childless households frequented the library less often. Whites were less frequent visitors than African-Americans or Hispanics.

Approximately 15 percent of non-Newark residents had visited Newark Symphony Hall. Almost 12 percent had visited once or twice, while the remaining percent reported visiting three or more times. Males and childless households were considerably more reluctant to visit. Whites and Asians were significantly less likely to visit than African-Americans.

About 15 percent said they had attended an event at a Newark institution of higher education in the past year (i.e. – Essex College, NJIT, UMDNJ, Seton Hall Law School, Rutgers-Newark). About 9 percent had visited once or twice, while the rest (6 percent) visited three or more times. Not surprisingly, those most heavily represented at college events were people in their early twenties. Whites and Hispanics were less frequent attendees at university events than African-Americans or Asians.

More of Essex residents have dined in Newark or shopped in its downtown than have visited some cultural institutions. Approximately 37 percent indicated that they had eaten a meal at an Ironbound restaurant, in the past year. 17 percent had done so on one or two occasions in the past year and 15 percent had eaten there from three to ten times. Nearly 5 percent had dined 11 or more times. Whites and African-Americans visited in about equal proportions while Hispanics visited more often and Asians, less often.

Similarly, 33 percent had had at least one meal at a Newark restaurant outside the Ironbound. Nearly 13 percent had done so on one or two occasions. Fourteen percent had visited Newark restaurants from three to ten times and 6 percent, 11 or more times. Patronage seems most common among those of working age, while those in their sixties and older are much less frequent visitors. This suggests that many suburbanites are most likely to visit a Newark restaurant at lunch during the work week. Whites were considerably less likely than African-Americans, Asians or Hispanics to visit.

Other consumer goods and services revealed a comparable pattern. Almost 29 percent of non-Newarkers reported that they had shopped along Broad or Market streets in the past year. Nearly 8 percent had shopped there one or two times. Another 13 percent had visited from three to ten times. And almost 8 percent had done so 11 or more times. Not surprisingly, females and households with children were much more likely to shop in the downtown. African-Americans, especially those in their twenties, reported the most frequent visits.

Clearly, there is room to increase visitation to Newark by Essex County residents from outside the city. In the second question about visiting Newark, we asked:

Is there anything that would encourage you to visit Newark for leisure-time activities more often than you do now?

(Respondents could choose more than one answer). Fifty-seven percent identified one or more things that could be done to bring them into the city more often. Approximately 13 percent of non-Newark Essex County residents surveyed said that better nightlife and entertainment activities might attract them into the city more often. Similarly, about 12 percent responded that more police on the streets might increase their willingness to visit. About 5 percent indicated that building a Newark Arena might increase their visits to the city. About the same percentage said that adding more museums and galleries would increase their propensity to visit. A little more than 6 percent said that better retail stores might attract them, while almost 4 percent indicated that a better selection of restaurants might do so. Adding better street lighting (3 percent) or attracting more people to the streets (2 percent) were less promising. 

There were few significant variations by race, gender or child status. Those in their twenties were generally more open to visiting downtown Newark than older age groups.

Moving to Newark

Is there anything that would encourage you to move to Newark and live there?

Respondents could choose more than one answer). About 9 percent said that better housing and neighborhood choices might persuade them to move to Newark. And, almost 7 percent said that less crime might motivate them to do so. Better job opportunities, arts and cultural opportunities, spectator sports, nightlife and entertainment, restaurants, public schools, or lower taxes – none of these drew more than a percentage point or two of support. Though these percentages may appear low, it is important to remember that suburban to central city moves nationally are uncommon in most metropolitan areas. 

Among age groups, those in their twenties appeared slightly more open about moving to Newark, although when asked what would attract them, few could articulate specific suggestions. Whites and Hispanics were more reluctant to live in the city, while African-Americans were somewhat more accepting of the idea. Among African-Americans, better housing and neighborhood choices and lower crime rates were the two improvements that could most influence their decision to move. Women were more likely than men to consider moving to the city at some point.

Moving Out of Newark  

Is there anything that would encourage to you to leave Newark and move to another community?

(Respondents could choose more than one answer). Successful urban revitalization requires not only that new visitors and residents be attracted to a city. Just as important is retaining those who are already residents. In this question we sought insights on what conditions might contribute to a Newark household’s desire to move out of Newark. We interviewed 170 Newark residents.

Almost 25 percent said that the opportunity to move to a community with less crime might encourage them to leave. Nearly 19 percent identified better housing and neighborhood choices while 9 percent said that better schools might encourage them to move to another community. Better job opportunities (5 percent) and better opportunities for culture, recreation and amusement (2 percent) had lower priorities. Forty percent of Newarkers said that nothing would encourage them to move away.

People in their early twenties were more reluctant, while those in their late twenties, thirties and early forties were less reluctant to move out of Newark. Otherwise, we found few variations among subgroups in our sample.

Revitalizing Newark : The Job Ahead

Our survey of 500 Essex County residents leads us to several conclusions.

• With key cultural organizations such as NJPAC, the Newark Museum, Newark Symphony Hall, Newark Public Library, and five institutions of higher learning (not to mention the New Jersey Historical Society), Newark possesses an admirable variety of attractions to draw suburban visitors. Yet, while some institutions have shown considerable success in attracting visitors, our data demonstrate that much work remains to be done to draw more suburbanites to participate in the city’s cultural life.
• Among cultural institutions NJPAC has clearly set the trend for attracting suburbanites to Newark, followed by the Newark Museum. But both institutions, among the best performing in our study, are challenged by a large potential audience of those who seldom or never visit their events.
• Bears and Eagles Stadium drew about the same percentage of suburbanites in our sample as did Newark Public Library, Newark Symphony Hall, and Newark’s five higher education institutions. Clearly, there are opportunities for increasing attendance from among the more than 80 percent of Essex’s suburban population who seldom or never visit their activities.
• According to our survey results, about the same share of Essex suburbanites found a Newark Arena attractive as those who found more cultural institutions or better retail stores appealing. Better nightlife and entertainment activities and additional police on the streets garnered about twice as much support. However, it may be that these options are not independent of one another. For example, if an arena can help attract additional entertainment options nearby and increase police presence, it may have an impact which exceeds its own fan base. Of course, our results say nothing about the relative economic impact arena visitors might have as compared to visitors to other attractions.
• Newark’s restaurants, especially those in the Ironbound, and its main retail shopping corridors are among the most effective attractions in Newark. Not only do they draw visitors from outside the city, they draw a higher percentage of repeat visitors than most other attractions. The survey results suggest that complementing these dining establishments with better nightlife and entertainment opportunities could draw in additional visitors.
• Downtown retail outlets were among the more popular attractions in our survey, especially with young people. Currently however, most stores cater to a narrow market and need to reach out to a broader spectrum of shoppers. Poorly tapped markets include Whites, Asians, and Hispanics, especially males, and people in their late thirties and older.
• The survey results show that, while the city’s population has stabilized in recent years, there is still a higher propensity for people to leave the city than to move here from other places in Essex County. Of course, Essex County is only one possible source of new residents. Although evidence in our survey is modest, there are indications that young people may show a greater openness to living in Newark. Experience in other cities has shown that attracting students and young working adults to live in the city often provides the best strategy for stabilizing or increasing the population. With five college and university campuses in Newark, turning students into residents is an opportunity that should not go unexploited.
• The survey also seems to demonstrate that, if Newark is to retain more of its existing residents and attract new people to move to the city, two of its best options are to achieve further reductions in crime and to make substantial improvements in its neighborhoods and housing stock. While crime has decreased in recent years, suburbanites may not be aware of or may be misinformed about actual crime rates. And, while Newark has made strides in building new housing, our survey makes clear that many residents and some non-residents are calling for living environments that are cleaner and more thoughtfully planned and designed.

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* Our survey was conducted by TMR, Inc., a professional survey research firm with offices in Parsippany, N.J. (www.tmrinfo.com). Five hundred telephone interviews of Essex County residents age 20 and older were completed, 170 of which were Newark residents. These proportions are virtually identical to Newark’s share of the county’s overall population. Residents of 20 of Essex’s 22 communities were reached through Random Digit Dialing (RDD). (RDD is a commonly used sampling system which employs randomly generated telephone numbers selected from within the appropriate area code or codes). TMR’s professionally trained interviewers use a Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing system (CATI). The survey was conducted from June 12 to June 28. The sampling margin of error for the entire sample was + or – 4.38 percent at the 95% confidence level. Sampling error varies with demographic or geographical cross tabulations of the data.


** Percentages discussed in the text do not add up to 100 due to rounding.

   
Question: Is there anything that would encourage you to visit Newark for leisure-time activities more often than you do now?  

(Responses from Non-Newark Residents)

Question: Is there anything that would encourage you to leave Newark and move to another community?  

(Responses from Newark Residents)

*Percentages exceed 100 because those interviewed were free to give more than one answer