How's the Rutgers Newark campus like? And the area near the campus?

I used to live in East Orange, New Jersey, which is about five miles from Newark. At the time, Newark resembled a bombed out city after World War II. It's probably still terrible; perhaps worse. I used to teach at Rutgers, Camden, which was the same. The campus itself was nice, and the buildings were all new, but no-one in their right mind would leave campus after dark. A great thing about Rutgers, Newark, is that you're minutes away from downtown New York City. I often went into the city, especially on weekends. If you learn how, you can get tickets to great plays and music for a fraction of the regular price. I don't know anything about the quality of the courses or the profs there. If you do, and are willing to spend practically all of your time on campus, you should be safe enough, but there's no way I would tell anyone to live in the city!