It's unusually cold for this time of year, but since it is in fact April, I assume that we'll see warmer weather soon. For me, that means more time outdoors, specifically in Brookdale Park.

I've been going to Brookdale Park since my kids were babies: I spent many afternoons pushing their strollers along the paths and later helped them [...]

Sometimes a house just has the right combination of elements  --  location, price and space.  2 Dalebrook Road, in Bloomfield earns high marks on any walkability scale. It's close to Brookdale' s  interesting ethnic restaurants-- Stamna (Greek), Boonsong  (Thai) and Bar Cara (Italian).  Houses of worship-- Temple Ner Tamid and the Watchung Presbyterian Church-- are literally steps away, as is Bloomfield Middle School. For commuters, the [...]

I'm a big fan of the Brookdale section of Bloomfield. It has charming, well-maintained houses right by Brookdale Park, as well as a great mix of traditional and trendy shops and restaurants on Broad Street. Italian food fans have two delicious choices, each open less than a year.  [...]

When I walk to Watchung Plaza from my Montclair home, I take a short route  through an interconnected grid of streets and through a small park.  I wave to my neighbor on the way.  I stop for a brief minute in the park to chat with a friend who's on her way home from work (she's just gotten off the 5:31 [...]

For years, New Jersey was sprawling westward, northward, and southward with real estate development in formerly rural areas. Now the recession has hit and so many of those big new shiny houses a couple of hours outside the city are losing value rapidly--despite their newness, their immense pasture-like lawns, and quiet isolation. What seemed [...]