Round 1 VOTE: What's the best downtown in North Jersey?

If you think North Jersey is better than, well, the rest of Jersey, you've come to the right place.
You've got your suburban delights like Madison and Montclair -- with their quaint and charming downtowns. Or, if you're up for a more city-like feel, there's the slowly revitalizing Newark, with new, sleek eateries like Marcus Samuelsson's, Marcus B&P and the draw of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the Prudential Center. As we announced in a previous story, we want to find the best downtown in New Jersey within these generally defined parameters: Fun sections of town where people like to spend time -- and that offer something special. Based on the sheer number of serious contenders here alone, the best downtown could very well be within the northern section of the Garden State. You can stroll down red-bricked sidewalks with a coffee in hand, peruse your locally-sourced vendors or hey, run into the set of the new Joker movie starring Joaquin Phoenix because future box-office hits only shoot in the most iconic places. For North Jersey, you have a chance to vote for the best downtown areas in Sussex, Passaic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Union, Morris and Warren counties. ​Now is your chance for your voice to be heard. Below is a poll with the list of downtown areas in the five-county areas comprised by reader nominations, emails, and Facebook comments. Voting will remain open until Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 9 a.m. The winners will move on the "Terrific 10," then to the "Fantastic Five" and finally the designation of the being the best downtown in New Jersey. Just like March Madness, we know that some cities will be on the proverbial "bubble," there may be a Cinderella downtown or two, and there will be a lot of pride and cheering for your favorite downtown area to win this distinction. Good luck to all of the downtowns.

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Central Jersey

South Jersey