‘Bayonne boxes’ may get the boot in Newark
We’ve lived in a rental unit in a Bayonne Box for almost four years, and, while the building is livable, it’s certainly not inspiring. The tight proximity to the building next door means that we have to light the apartment during most of the day—every other room other than the living room is dark.
The new regulations, which are doubtless the result of the recent planning forum hosted at the Newark Museum last fall, should help to reinvigorate the city’s landscape with more interesting and sustainable structures. Zemin Zhang, a Daily Newarker contributing writer, wrote two excellent pieces about the Bayonne Box phenomenon:
- Bayonne Box: Symbol of Newark’s Ill Planning
As for us, we’ll be moving out of this building later this year into what we hope to be a more architecturally optimistic space.
The revised Newark regulations call for uniform setbacks, additional windows, narrower driveways, larger backyards and increased space between houses.
The city is also encouraging the use of balconies, bay windows, stoops and porches and is calling for 30 percent of the front of homes to be filled with windows.
The city is also recommending significant changes for driveways and parking. In order to encourage mass transit, officials plan to wave the one space per dwelling require ment if the home is within 1,200 feet of a station for the light rail, PATH train or NJ Transit bus station.
