MAJOR KEYS: 12 HACKS FOR MAKING THE MOST OF DOWNTOWN NEWARK

What could it really be like to live downtown Newark? Find out for yourself at the FREE Downtown Newark Living Tour on May 20th from 10 – 4 p.m. Reserve your spot to see the most exciting residential developments and experience food & culture in the neighborhood firsthand.

Published April 25, 2017 | Promoted by

1. Explore the plethora of free exercise options (and good paid options, too)

Barely a day goes by when there isn’t free exercise on offer in the neighborhood.

The Newark Downtown District Walking Club will begin on May 30th outside PSEG Plaza (Raymond Boulevard and Park Place), and continue until October 28th. The club offers four walks daily, including the popular “stationary walk” during which the NDD personal trainer helps attendees work their cores. The three other walking times involve a jaunt through downtown and highlights architecture, parks, and retail downtown Newark. Sign up for NDD Walking Club online.

Enjoy group yoga for free at Newark Museum and Military Park, and even fitness classes at Whole Foods. If you love to dance, or want to learn how, a fun way to get moving is Newark Symphony Hall’s Soul Line Dance Party every second Friday of the month for just $5.

For a more traditional paid fitness option that offers lots of value for your money, consider joining the Newark YMCA (600 Broad Street). Membership fees include weight rooms, racquetball and squash courts, fitness assessments and classes, a steam room and more. The Newark Y also offers financial assistance for both individuals and families who cannot cover full membership costs.

Rutgers University’s Golden Dome Athletic Center (42 Warren Street) offers “Friends of the University” memberships for the general public for less than $40 per month for full-year memberships (annualized to $470 for the year). Alumni, staff and their spouses, Essex County first responders, and qualified corporate and business groups of ten or more can get reduced-rate memberships.

New to the downtown scene: Planet Fitness (520 Broad Street). One of the chain’s major value propositions: they’re open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A number of residential buildings downtown also have fitness facilities onsite. To see model apartments and amenities at a number of downtown buildings, sign up for the May 20th Downtown Newark Living Tour.

2. Take advantage of inspiring places to co-work and create

If you need a place to study or cook up your next venture or project, downtown offers quite a few options for office space, both makeshift and official.

In the Hahne’s building (entrances at 50 Halsey Street & 609 Broad Street) consider working in the atrium or at Express Newark (take the elevator or stairs to the second floor).

For a space purpose-built for working and entrepreneurship, head over to Equal Space, located in Gateway Project Spaces on the main concourse at 2 Gateway Center. Its location in the Gateway, which is attached to Penn Station, makes it convenient to get to and from via public transportation. The presence of other entrepreneurs, its colocation with an art gallery, and Equal Space’s event schedule all increase opportunities for networking, inspiration and collaboration.

Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership offers GrowSpace at its offices at 550 Broad Street. Entrepreneurs can purchase co-working space for as little as 10 hours per month, on up to private, dedicated office space with unlimited access, wireless internet and mail reception.

Artists and creators can also explore studio space and residency programs at a number of downtown galleries. Look into opportunities at Gallery Aferro, Newark Print Shop and Gateway Project Spaces. City Without Walls offers an innovative Newark New Media residency program for city youth. Check Newark Arts‘ website for up-to-date listings for studio space and artist residencies.

And on the cusp of downtown, consider Newark Foundry Workspaces. Business owners and entrepreneurs can set up shop in the non-traditional workspace located in a recently restored mansion at 569 Martin Luther King Boulevard.

3. Check out these groups and events to make new friends

If you’re new to downtown, or are simply looking to expand your friend circle, there are a number of ways to meet a lot of new people all at once.

Newark Adventure Squad is an informal mailing list of downtown and nearby residents who trade information over email and meet up for ad hoc activities in the neighborhood.

For consistent, planned activities in a social setting, you can also consider Brick City Supper Club, which regularly meets for meals and conversation at restaurants throughout the neighborhood. For food- and drink-related socializing that will also get your heart rate up, check out Nom Nom Newark and Brick City Bar Crawl. Nitecap Newark is a newcomer to the meetup scene: stay tuned to their social media accounts to learn about the location of their Wednesday night happy hour events.

Moms in the area can meet other moms, and find potential playmates for their children, by joining Newark Mommies and staying on top of their events.

4. Get a crash course in the geography of downtown

New downtown Newark residents will naturally need help understanding the lay of the land in the neighborhood. And with such rapid changes and attractions dotting the landscape, current Newark residents from all over the city might consider a refresher to size up all that’s new to enjoy in their downtown.

To get a guided tour featuring Newark history, architecture, trivia and current & coming attractions, join an upcoming Have You Met Newark? tour. Now in its fourth year, HYMN is a great way to get your bearings, meet new people and get an appreciation of both the past, present and future of the neighborhood. The tours are free, and you’ll have an opportunity to sample and support locally owned eateries, shops and boutiques along the way.

To see a major new artistic feature of downtown Newark from the comfort of your own home, take a virtual tour of the Gateways to Newark {Portraits} Mural with VR Glasses. Located along McCarter Highway, Gateways to Newark made history in 2016 when it became the 2nd largest mural in the United States.

For a self-guided option that will take you back outdoors, download the free Newark Walks app from iTunes or the Google Play store and take yourself on the Newark Landmarks and Monuments Tour (or pick up a brochure and map from the Greater Newark Visitor and Convention Bureau, located at 60 Park Place). The three-mile route currently includes more than four dozen sites and attractions. Turn on geolocation to track your progress and get a digital guide to your surroundings. The app will even tell you which sites are within a 5 minute walk of your current location, so you can break up your Newark walk over a number of sessions at your leisure.

For a curated experience on a larger scale, participate in Newark First Fridays, which kicks off on May 5th and will take place on the first Friday of the month through the summer and into the fall. The art walk and street performances will be a great way to see art spaces downtown Newark; be exposed to local artists, performances and vendors; and participate in community art making.

And for access to downtown Newark’s residential offerings, sign up for the free Downtown Newark Living Tour, which will take place May 20th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The self-guided tour will feature open houses and tours of apartment buildings, experiences at several of the neighborhood’s arts and culture institutions, and deals at local restaurants. Shuttle service will be provided, but participants can also walk all or part of the way for a more eye-level view of the neighborhood.

5. Enjoy beer o’clock



Newark is one of the country’s pioneering beer towns, with a beer legacy includes Pabst Blue Ribbon, Ballantine Brewing, Kreuger Brewing and Anheuser Busch. Newark is even where the beer can was created.

From the beer novice who wants to hone their tastes to the aficionado with hundreds of stamps on their Untappd app, there’s something for everyone on Newark’s beer scene. Put these places on your list:

Bello’s Pub: A hub for locals and commuters alike, this pub, located directly across the street from Newark Penn Station, boasts 180 different bottled beers. Download their app to track what you drink: downing 100 distinct beers gets you a membership to Bello’s famed Century Club. (376 Market Street)

BURG: This burger joint features a rotation of beers from regional microbreweries. Executive chef and owner Chris Siversen also thinks through how the beer selection pairs with menu items. (55 Park Place)

Edison Ale House: Enjoy lots of local beers on tap, and occasional beer tastings. (51 Edison Place)

McGovern’s Tavern: This Irish pub is full of history–it just celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2016. McGovern’s serves the self-proclaimed best Guinness in the state. (58 New Street)

Nizi Sushi: A great place to get your hands on Japanese beers you may be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. (28 Central Avenue)

Redd’s Biergarten: This family-owned sports bar specializes in German beers, both on tap and in bottles. (220 Market Street)

Taste Venue: Find at least 20 unique beers on tap at this Edison Place hotspot. (47 Edison Place)

6. Learn new skills

If you’re committed to learning new things, there are excellent opportunities downtown to pick them up.

Every Wednesday at Express Newark, learn the art of screen printing at Newark Print Shop’s weekly Print Club. Through the end of June, Gateway Project Spaces will offer “Essential Yarn Craft” every Tuesday.

Turn your skill set up hundreds of degrees with flameworking and jewelry making classes at what might literally be the hottest spot downtown. GlassRoots offers glassmaking training both to students and to the public. (To hack this hack, you can also skip right to the party: look out for Glassroots’ next “Hot Shots & Cold Brew” event.)

Military Park’s updated summer schedule also contains a multitude of skills-building workshops and activities.

7. Enjoy an inexpensive night out

Downtown Newark has no shortage of art openings and closings. In addition to being a great way to take in art and culture and meet talented creators, you might also find some free, or inexpensive, wines and beers at these events. Cheers to that!

And then there are good, old fashioned happy hours. There are great deals to be had in downtown spots. Here are current deals and specials being offered at participating Downtown Newark Living Tour locations. (Remember: bar/restaurant promotions are subject to change.)

Redds Biergarten. Happy Hour is 3. to 8 p.m. seven days a week (except Prudential Center event nights). (220 Market Street)

Edison Ale House. Happy hour is weekdays from 4 – 9 p.m. Look for specials on drinks and appetizers (except Prudential Center event nights). (51 Edison Place)

Nico’s Kitchen. During their 4 to 7 p.m. happy hour, draft beers are $4, select wines $5 and martinis $6. (1 Center Street)

BURG. Enjoy happy hour during the week from 4 to 7 p.m. when this Military Park burger joint reopens on May 1st. (55 Park Place)

Burger Walla. Voted “Best Bang for the Buck” by NJ Monthly two years in a row: visit Walla for everyday deals, great events and a rotation of specialty burgers to live for. (47 Halsey Street)

27 Mix. Happy hour is 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Enjoy mixed drink specials on Mondays, Martini specials on Tuesdays, and half-priced bottles of wine on Wednesdays. (27 Halsey Street)

8. Network to get work

Very often, getting a beat on new opportunities is all about who you know. There are a number of groups and institutions that hold networking events open to the public downtown. These present opportunities to meet people who can enrich you personally and become great contacts professionally.

Forward Ever focuses specifically on localism and sustainability, and often holds their Remixx networking events at downtown locations. Same with the Urban League of Essex County Young Professionals, which emphasizes civic action and social justice.

To check out the startup and tech community in Newark, join Brick City Tech and attend their events. BCT is a great starting place for diving into the tech and entrepreneurship scene because the meetup is plugged into various other tech and entrepreneurship hubs in the neighborhood, throughout the city and in the wider region, including Fownders, Newark Venture Partners, Rutgers Business School’s Scarlet Startups and New Jersey Tech Meetup.

9. Enjoy great live entertainment

Downtown Newark is home to three anchor arts and entertainment institutions: Prudential Center, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and Newark Symphony Hall.

At historic Newark Symphony Hall, you can often find great deals on tickets to see quality acts, as well as opportunities to support and enjoy local talent on a larger stage.

Prudential Center hosts headlining acts and is the home arena for the New Jersey Devils, which is the state’s only professional sports team. This season, Prudential Center made a habit of offering free and reduced-price tickets to Devils games to expose more locals to the team and to professional hockey itself.

Another way to get in the hockey spirit come next season: attend Devils Fan Fest before home games at Championship Plaza (Mulberry and Market Streets), and mingle with other fans while watching the game at Edison Place bars, Market Street bars, Hobby’s Deli and other local businesses nearby.

NJPAC offers popular entertainment as well as cultural programs where great deals can be had. New Jersey Symphony Orchestra are residents there, and NJPAC goers can see other first-rate orchestras, dancers, popular performers and public speakers. Also stay tuned for PAC’s programming outside of the building. In the past, NJPAC has offered workshops and music and dance performances off-site.

The Honors Program, a Newark-based branding company, also hosts millennial-targeted events adjacent to NJPAC performances. In December, THP hosted a free party at Nico Kitchen + Bar (attached to NJPAC) that featured members of Carolyn Dorfman Dance performing to Solange Knowles’ A Seat at the Table album to promote the Dance Theater of Harlem’s NJPAC performance. On April 27th from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., THP will host “Trap Ailey” at Express Newark to highlight Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s annual Mother’s Day weekend performance at NJPAC (May 12 – 14).

And then there are the many opportunities to hear independent live performances, and even to participate yourself. Catch open mics, jam sessions and other performances at venues around downtown, from 211 Community Impact (211 Halsey Street–where you should clear your calendar for EvoluCulture’s Evolution Open Mic) to Taste Venue (47 Edison Place) to La Rouge Lounge (972 Broad Street–home of Vibes in the City open mic) to Burger Walla (47 Halsey Street) to Skylab (810 Broad Street) and Clement’s Place (15 Washington Street). The aforementioned Newark First Fridays will feature live performances as well.

There will also be at least three festivals in the neighborhood this summer: The Honors Program’s third annual Guard d’Avant Music Festival (Tuesdays, July 4 – August 1) and the first annual Afro Beat Fest (July 15), both at Military Park, and the 12th annual Lincoln Park Music Festival (July 28 – 30). And mark your calendar for Newark Social’s second annual Newark Under the Stars pop-up dinner at a secret location downtown on August 26th.

10. Get fresh

If you need a style refresh, there are a number of boutiques in the area that offer one-of-a-kind clothing with a personalized touch.

In Teacher’s Village, visit Isabel Livingston and her team at Closet Savvy Consignment (37 Maiden Lane). Finish off your look with a stop at Bella Nail Lounge and Beauty Bar next door (41 Maiden Lane). With its plush and gilded decor, the shop specializes as much in top-notch customer services as it does manis, pedis, and other beauty services for women and men.

On the northern end of Halsey Street, Artisan Collective is not only always good for beautiful, handmade clothing and accessory finds by local artisans, they also host can’t-miss events, from open mics to wine tastings. Off The Hanger/A Girl & A Guy Thing (12 Linden Street) offers contemporary men’s and women’s fashions and home decor. At women’s fashion stop SHE Boutique (83 Halsey Street), find more women’s clothing, and stop in for personal styling. Both places also offer fashion shows, previews and other events. And don’t miss Gifts East West with its one-of-a-kind finds and fascinating, four-decade, made-in-Newark history.

Top it all off with a visit to Dan’s Hats & Caps (33 Branford Place). The shop has hats for men and women, and its owners are known to never let you leave the store if the hat you’ve chosen isn’t sitting right with them–literally.

11. Stimulate your mind

Downtown provides many opportunities for lifelong learning.

Newark Public Library, which recently welcomed a new director after a nationwide search, has stepped up the roster of headlining speakers at the main branch and plans to continue doing so.

And the various galleries and art spaces in the neighborhood are often flush with openings, closings, studio tours and artist talks. Check our “On View” calendar to see what art installations are up and when artist talks will occur.

Gallery Aferro will soon launch its “People’s Book Club” in their new Community Book Room on the gallery’s second floor. Attendees will select the club’s first book during their inaugural meeting on April 29th. Source of Knowledge Book Store (867 Broad Street) also hosts compelling talks and events throughout the year. Look for Reading Room talks to return to Military Park’s schedule later this spring, and check out NJPAC’s schedule for their speaker’s series lineup, including Fairleigh Dickinson University’s New Jersey Speaker’s Series.

Head over to MakerSpace at Newark Museum to get creative, tinker, and light up parts of your mind that might be on the rusty side. The Museum will also be the site of the Greater Newark Mini Maker Faire on May 6th.

Lastly, stay tuned for lectures and other public events at Newark’s universities. Rutgers’ involvement in Express Newark provides a purpose-built gateway between the university and the community. Keep your eyes on NJIT and Essex County College as well for lectures, panel discussions and cultural events.

12. Sit back and enjoy the view

Bricks, stone, concrete, glass, and steel figure prominently in the landscape of downtown: it is the central business and arts district after all.

But there are spaces that are ideal for enhanced scenery and greenery. Our picks:

Skylab

The wraparound outdoor patio at the penthouse bar in Hotel Indigo (810 Broad Street) offers views of New York City and Newark.

Mr. Adams

It’s a little bit set back from the Passaic River, but if you’re looking for a riverfront vibe in the warmer months, the patio at Mr. Adams (1034 McCarter Highway), which debuted in 2015, will do a pretty good job of setting that scene. Before the patio opens, have a seat in the dining room near the east-facing picture windows to enjoy a fairly close view of the river.

Not-so-secret gardens

Check out the outdoor seating at 27 Mix (27 Halsey Street) and Nizi Sushi (28 Central Avenue) in the summertime. BURG’s (55 Park Place) outdoor seating is situated among the trees and lawns of Military Park.

Bonus tip: The world at your doorstep.

Want to feel what it might be like to walk from downtown to anywhere in the world?

Pack a carry on, roll it to Newark Penn Station, ride the escalator to track 4 and take a North Jersey Coast train one 5-minute stop to Newark Liberty International Airport (hang onto your train ticket!).

Then get yourself onto an AirTrain–you’ll need your New Jersey Transit ticket to enter–hop off at your terminal, make your way through security, walk to your gate and board your flight. You might never experience a smoother commute from your doorstep to points near and far (unless you ask a local friend, family member or taxi service/rideshare for a ride–it’s not a bad drive either).

Similarly, you can take regional buses and rail from Newark Penn Station to locations throughout the region for a quick and inexpensive weekend getaway.

Spend time downtown Newark? Tell us your own downtown live/work/play hacks in the comments.

Reserve your spot now for the FREE Downtown Newark Living Tour, presented by Newark Downtown District, which will take place on May 20th from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.