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Jersey City)
Jersey City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the population of Jersey City was 240,055, making it New Jersey's second-largest city, behind Newark. As of the Census Bureau's 2006 estimate the population had grown to 241,791.[3] It is the seat of Hudson County.[7]
Jersey City lies on the west bank of the Hudson River across from Lower Manhattan in New York City, and is part of the New York metropolitan area.
A commercial and industrial center, it is a port of entry and a
manufacturing center. With 11 miles (17.7 km) of waterfront and
significant rail connections, Jersey City is an important
transportation terminus and distribution center. It has railroad shops,
oil refineries, warehouses, and plants that manufacture a diverse
assortment of products, including chemicals, petroleum, electronics, textiles, and cosmetics. Jersey City has benefited from its location near the island of Manhattan,
as many of its companies are extensions of businesses whose
headquarters are there. Recent developments have included increased
housing and shopping areas; some parts of the city, however, remain
run-down after years of commercial inactivity.
Geography
Image of Jersey City taken by NASA. (The red line demarcates the municipal boundaries of Jersey City.)
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 54.7 km² (21.1 mi²).
38.6 km² (14.9 mi²) of it is land and 16.1 km² (6.2 mi²) of it is
water. It has the smallest land area of the 100 largest cities in
America. The total area is 29.37% water. Jersey City is bordered to the
east by the Hudson River, to the north by Union City and Hoboken, to the west by Kearny and Newark, and to the south by Bayonne.
Given its proximity to Manhattan, Jersey City and Hudson County are sometimes referred to as New York City's sixth borough.[8]
Incorporation and Merger
The City of Jersey was incorporated by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 28, 1820, from portions of North Bergen Township, while the area was still a part of Bergen County. The city was reincorporated on January 23, 1829, and again on February 22, 1838, at which time it became completely independent of North Bergen and was given its present name. On February 22, 1840, it became part of the newly-created Hudson County.[9]
As Jersey City grew, several neighboring communities were annexed: Van Vorst Township (March 18, 1851), Bergen City and Hudson City (both on May 2, 1870), and Greenville Township (February 4, 1873).[9] These annexations have resulted in the current boundaries of Jersey City.
Demographics
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1840 |
3,072 |
|
—
|
| 1850 |
6,856 |
|
123.2% |
| 1860 |
29,226 |
|
326.3% |
| 1870 |
82,546 |
|
182.4% |
| 1880 |
120,722 |
|
46.2% |
| 1890 |
163,003 |
|
35% |
| 1900 |
206,433 |
|
26.6% |
| 1910 |
267,779 |
|
29.7% |
| 1920 |
298,103 |
|
11.3% |
| 1930 |
316,715 |
|
6.2% |
| 1940 |
301,173 |
|
−4.9% |
| 1950 |
299,017 |
|
−0.7% |
| 1960 |
276,101 |
|
−7.7% |
| 1970 |
260,350 |
|
−5.7% |
| 1980 |
223,532 |
|
−14.1% |
| 1990 |
228,537 |
|
2.2% |
| 2000 |
240,055 |
|
5% |
| Est. 2006 |
241,791 |
[3] |
0.7% |
| historical data sources:[10][11][12] |
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 240,055 people, 88,632 households, and 55,660 families residing in the city. The United States Census Bureau has estimated the 2004 population at 239,079. The population density
was 6195.2/km² (16,045.6/mi²). There were 93,648 housing units at an
average density of 2,423.4/km² (6,278.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the
city was 34.01% White, 28.32% African American, 0.45% Native American, 16.20% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 15.11% from other races, and 5.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.31% of the population. Largest ancestries include: Italian (6.6%), Irish (5.6%), Polish (3.0%), Arab (2.8%), and German (2.7%).[13]
Relations between ethnic groups in this heavily-mixed population are
not always amicable, as evidenced by incidents such as the infamous Dotbusters
gang attacks of 1987 against residents of South Asian descent, and,
more recently, the March 2007 defacing of a local sports field with Nazi slogans and racial slurs.[citation needed]
Jersey City is ethnically diverse, with several distinct religious groups, prominently the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt. The large influx of Copts
in New Jersey can be attributed to their persecution in Egypt, in
addition to those who emigrate seeking education and financial
opportunities. Currently, there are more than 30,000 Copts in Jersey
City alone. [14]
Of all households, 31.1% have children under the age of 18 living there, 36.4% were married couples
living together, 20.2% had a female householder with no husband
present, and 37.2% were non-families. 29.2% of all households were made
up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of
age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average
family size was 3.37.
The age distribution is spread out with 24.7% under the age of 18,
10.7% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 9.8%
who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For
every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18
and over, there were 92.6 males.
The median income of its households is $37,862, and the median
income of its families is $41,639. Males had a median income of $35,119
versus $30,494 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,410. About 16.4% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.0% of those under age 18 and 17.5% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Local government
Jersey City is currently governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council)
form of municipal government by a mayor and a nine-member city council.
The city council consists of six members elected from wards and three
elected at large, all elected to four-year terms on a concurrent basis
in non-partisan elections.[15]
The current Mayor of Jersey City is Jerramiah Healy. The current Business Administrator of Jersey City is Brian O'Reilly.
Members of the City Council are:[16]
- Mariano Vega, Jr., Council President
- Willie Flood, Councilwoman-at-Large
- Peter Brennan, Councilman-at-Large
- Michael Sottolano, Ward A - Greenville, Councilman
- Mary Spinello, Ward B - Westside, Councilwoman
- Steve Lipski, Ward C - Journal Square, Councilman
- William Gaughan, Ward D - Heights, Councilman
- Steven Fulop, Ward E - Downtown, Councilman
- Viola Richardson, Ward F - Bergen, Councilwoman
Jersey City Municipal Court gets a fairly heavy load of criminal
cases along with some traffic violations. Mayor Healy is a member of
the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition[17], a bi-partisan group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Federal, state and county representation
Jersey City is in the Ninth, Tenth and Thirteenth Congressional
Districts and is part of New Jersey's 31st, 32nd and 33rd Legislative
Districts.[18]
New Jersey's Ninth Congressional District, covering the southern portion of Bergen County and sections of Hudson County and Passaic County, is represented by Steve Rothman (D, Fair Lawn). New Jersey's Tenth Congressional District, covering portions of Essex County, Hudson County, and Union County, is represented by Donald M. Payne (D, Newark). New Jersey's Thirteenth Congressional District, covering portions of Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, and Union Counties, is now represented by Albio Sires (D, West New York), who won a special election held on November 7, 2006 to fill the vacancy the had existed since January 16, 2006. The seat had been represented by Bob Menendez (D), who was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the seat vacated by Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine. New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
For the 2008-2009 legislative session, the 31st District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Sandra Bolden Cunningham (D, Jersey City) and in the Assembly by Anthony Chiappone (D, Bayonne) and L. Harvey Smith (D, Jersey City).[19] For the 2008-2009 Legislative Session, the 32nd District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Nicholas Sacco (D, North Bergen) and in the Assembly by Vincent Prieto (D, Secaucus) and Joan M. Quigley (D, Jersey City).[20] For the 2008-2009 Legislative Session, the 33rd District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Brian P. Stack (D, Union City) and in the Assembly by Ruben J. Ramos (D, Hoboken) and Caridad Rodriguez (D, West New York).[21] The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).[22]
Hudson County's County Executive is Thomas A. DeGise. The executive, together with the Board of Chosen Freeholders in a legislative role, administer all county business. Hudson County's nine Freeholders (as of 2006) are: District 1: Doreen McAndrew DiDomenico; District 2: William O'Dea; District 3: Jeffrey Dublin; District 4: Eliu Rivera; District 5: Maurice Fitzgibbons; District 6: Tilo Rivas; District 7: Gerald Lange Jr.; District 8: Thomas Liggio; and District 9: Albert Cifelli.
History
The Lenape and New Netherland
The land comprising what is now Jersey City was wilderness inhabited by the Lenape, a collection of tribes (later called Delaware Indian). In 1609, Henry Hudson, seeking an alternate route to East Asia, anchored his small vessel The Half Moon at Sandy Hook, Harsimus and Weehawken Cove, and elsewhere along what was later named the North River. After spending nine days surveying the area and meeting its inhabitants, he returned to The Netherlands. The Dutch organized the United New Netherlands Company to manage this new territory and in June 1623, The New Netherlands became a Dutch province, with headquarters in New Amsterdam. Michael Reyniersz Pauw, Lord of Achttienhoven, a burgermeester of Amsterdam and a director of the West India Company, received a land grant as patroon
on the condition that he would establish a settlement of not fewer than
fifty persons within four years. He chose the west bank of the Hudson River and purchased the land from the Lenape. This grant is dated November 22, 1630 and is the earliest known conveyance for what are now Hoboken
and Jersey City. Pauw, however was an absentee landlord who neglected
to populate the area and was obliged to sell his holdings back to the
Company in 1633.[23] That year, a house was built at Communipaw, an area adjacent to present-day Liberty State Park. for Jan Evertsen Bout, superintendent of the colony, which had been named Pavonia (the Latinized form of Pauw's name, which means peacock).[24]
Shortly after, another house was built at Harsimus Cove (near the
present-day corner of Fourth Street and Marín Boulevard) and became the
home of Cornelius Van Vorst,
who had succeeded Bout as superintendent, and whose family would become
influential in the development of the city. Relations with the Lenape
deteriorated, in part because of the colonialist's mismanagement and
misunderstanding of the indigenous people, and led to series of raids
and reprisals and the virtual destruction of the settlement on the west
bank. During Kieft's War, approximately eighty Lenapes were killed by the Dutch in a massacre at Pavonia on the night of February 25, 1643.[25].
Scattered communities of farmsteads characterized the Dutch settlements at Pavonia: Communipaw, Harsimus, Paulus Hook,
Hoebuck, Awiehaken, and other lands "behind Kil van Kull". The first
village (located inside a palisaded garrison) established on what is
now Bergen Square in 1660, and is considered to be the oldest town in what would become the state of New Jersey.[26]
Early America
Among the oldest surviving houses in Jersey City is the stone Van Vorst house of 1742. During the American Revolutionary War the area was in the hands of the British who controlled New York. Paulus Hook was attacked by Major Light Horse Harry Lee on August 19, 1779.
After the war Alexander Hamilton and other prominent New Yorkers and
New Jerseyeans attempted to develop the area that would become historic
downtown Jersey City and laid out the city squares and streets that
still characterize the neighborhood, giving them names also seen in
Lower Manhattan or after war heroes (Grove, Varick, Mercer, Wayne,
Monmouth, and Montgomery among them). During the 19th century, Jersey
City played an integral role in the Underground Railroad. Four routes through New Jersey converged in the city.[27]
Turn of the Century
Jersey City at the end of the 19th century.
Jersey City was a dock and manufacturing town for much of the 19th and 20th centuries. Much like New York City, Jersey City has always been a landing pad for new immigrants to the United States. In its heyday before World War II, German, Irish, and Italian immigrants found work at Colgate, Chloro, or Dixon Ticonderoga. However, the largest employers at the time were the railroads, whose national networks dead-ended on the Hudson River. The most significant railroad for Jersey City was the Pennsylvania Railroad Company whose eastern terminus was in the Downtown area until 1911, when the company built the first tunnel under the river to Penn Station, New York. Before that time, Pennsy rail passengers transferred in Jersey City to ferries headed to Manhattan or to trolleys that fanned out through Hudson County and beyond. The Black Tom explosion occurred on July 30, 1916
as an act of sabotage on American ammunition supplies by German agents
to prevent the materials from being used by the Allies in World War I.
Frank Hague
From 1917 to 1947, Jersey City was ruled by Mayor Frank Hague. The Jersey City History Web Site
states that "His name is synonymous with the early twentieth century
urban American blend of political favoritism and social welfare known
as bossism." "Hanky-Panky,"
as he was known then, ruled the city with an iron fist while, at the
same time, molding governors, United States senators, and judges to his
whims. Boss Hague was known to be loud and vulgar, and would often
dismiss his enemies as "reds" or "commies."
Citizens of Jersey City dared not speak out against him for fear of
being harassed by Hague's police or being ostracized or publicly
embarrassed in some way. Remarkably, Hague lived like a millionaire,
despite having an average annual salary of $8,000. He was able to
maintain a fourteen-room duplex apartment in Jersey City, a suite at
the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, and a palatial summer home in Deal, New Jersey, and he traveled to Europe
yearly in the royal suites of the best liners. Shortly after Hague left
office, the last of the old streetcars was decommissioned in 1949.
Professional sports
Jersey City was briefly home to the Brooklyn Dodgers
of the National League for seven home games in both 1956 and 1957.
Games were played at Roosevelt Stadium, a minor league ballpark that
held just under 25,000 fans.
Decline and renaissance
Many areas of Jersey City are under redevelopment.
The city developed a reputation for corruption, even after Hague
left office. By the 1970s, it was caught up in a wave of urban decline
that saw many of its wealthy residents fleeing to the suburbs, and led
to an influx of working class citizens scarred by rising crime, civil
unrest, political corruption, and economic hardship. From 1950 to 1980,
Jersey City lost 75,000 residents, and from 1975 to 1982, it lost 5,000
jobs, or 9% of its workforce.[28]
The city experienced a surge of violent crime during this period. New
immigrants sought refuge in Jersey City because of its low housing
costs, despite the decline in many of its neighborhoods due to decay,
abandonment, or neglect.
Beginning in the 1980s, development of the waterfront in an area
previously occupied by rail yards and factories helped to stir the
beginnings of a renaissance for Jersey City. The rapid construction of
numerous high-rise buildings increased the population and led to the
development of the Exchange Place Financial District, also known as
'Wall Street West', one of the largest banking centers in the United
States. Large financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch occupy prominent buildings on the Jersey City waterfront. Amid this building boom, a light-rail network brought articulated streetcars to downtown Jersey City.
Wide-scale gentrification of the Downtown neighborhood coincided
with the growth of Jersey City as an arts center, particularly the
visual arts. Beginning in the late 1970s, many artists moved the short
distance across the river from SoHo in Manhattan to JC in search of
affordable studio space. One structure of note, the massive Civil
War-era building located at 111 First Street, became a haven for
hundreds of Artists in the area. Despite being widely recognized as the
heart of the Jersey City Arts community, the building was demolished in
2005 in a controversial move to make way for future development,
including a high-rise building designed by world famous architect Rem
Koolhaas. The Art scene has continued to grow with the proliferation of
galleries and Artist organizations such as Rock Soup Studios, 58
Gallery, Arthouse Productions, Lex Leonard Gallery, LITM and others.
The recent addition of the Jersey City Museum, a venue for Contemporary
Art, has raised the profile of Artists working in the area.
Cityscape
Neighborhoods
-
Jersey City consists of Six Districts or Wards; Greenville, West
Side, Journal Square, The Heights, Downtown, and Bergen/Lafayette. Each
of these Districts consists of smaller neighborhoods, for example the
Paulus Hook neighborhood of the Downtown District and the Western Slope
neighborhood of The Heights District. Jersey City is a city of
neighborhoods, each with a different aesthetic and architectural style,
to some degree.
Downtown Jersey City includes the Waterfront (including Newport, Paulus Hook, and Exchange Place), Hamilton Park, Grove Street, Harsimus Cove, Van Vorst Park, and Liberty State Park. Jersey City Heights (or, simply, "The Heights") includes the Western Slope and the Central Avenue Shopping area. Journal Square, site of the Jersey Journal and PATH Transportation Center, West Side features West Bergen/Lincoln Park and Hudson Mall, Bergen/Lafayette where Communipaw Avenue connects the West Side with Liberty State Park, Greenville featuring Port Liberte and residential neighborhoods.
Downtown Jersey City
Downtown Jersey City is the area from the Hudson River westward to the Newark Bay Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 78) and the New Jersey Palisades; it is also bounded by Hoboken to the north and Liberty State Park to the south.
Newport and Exchange Place
are redeveloped waterfront areas consisting mostly of residential
towers, hotels and office buildings. Newport is a planned mixed-use
community, built on the old Erie Lackawanna Railway yards, made up of residential rental towers, condominiums, office buildings, a marina, schools, restaurants, hotels, Newport Centre Mall,
a waterfront walkway, transportation facilities, and on-site parking
for more than 15,000 vehicles. Newport had a hand in the renaissance of
Jersey City although, before ground was broken, much of the downtown
area had already begun a steady climb (much like Hoboken). Some critics
have derided the Newport development for its isolation because it is
cut off from the rest of the city by the Newport Centre Mall and other
big box retail.
Exchange Place, the first part of Jersey City to redevelop, was
built on the grounds of the old Jersey City Penn Station, ferry and
shipping terminals. It is now a bustling business and financial
district.
To the west lie three brownstone neighborhoods with "historic" protected districts — Hamilton Park, Van Vorst Park, and Harsimus Cove
— separated from the waterfront by a legacy of older infrastructure,
big-box development, and old warehouses still awaiting re-use.
Paulus Hook is another neighborhood with a historic designated zone. It borders Exchange Place and Liberty State Park on the waterfront, and blends older brownstone-lined streets with newer luxury developments. The Essex Street stop on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
cuts through the southern portion of the neighborhood. The area has
become increasingly active with development to the east and the
construction of the light rail; many of its streets are lined with
shops, and restaurants with outdoor seating.
A view of the Hackensack River in winter from the Society Hill neighbourhood
The Jersey City Medical Center
operated in the 20th century on Baldwin Avenue, south of Journal
Square. Now JCMC is located on Grand Street downtown, next to the Light
Rail and Liberty State Park. The old medical center buildings, a
cluster of Art Deco buildings on a rise in the center of the city, will
be converted into residential complexes called The Beacon.[29]
Journal Square
Once the commercial heart of Jersey City, Journal Square
has become rather derelict in recent years, but is in the process of
rehabilitation, in part because of the efforts of the Journal Square
Restoration Corporation (JSRC) and the Jersey City Economic Development
Corporation (JCEDC). Here, Kennedy Boulevard and Bergen Avenue, main
thoroughfares in the city, are at their widest, lined on both sides by
brick houses and medium-density apartment complexes. The Stanley Theater, currently a Jehovah's Witness meeting hall, and Loew's Jersey Theater on Kennedy Boulevard are among the city's most noted landmarks, and are two of the best preserved movie palaces in the Tri-State area. Directly across Kennedy Boulevard from the Loews is the Journal Square Transportation Center (JSTC), which houses the Journal Square PATH
station and the city's largest bus terminal. The Journal Square PATH
station serves as a hub between Newark, Newark Airport, and the World
Trade Center PATH Station in New York City, approximately 10 minutes
ride from Journal Square. Buses from the JSTC connect Jersey City to
communities throughout Hudson County, as well as to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. Saint Peter's College is located about 10 blocks south of Journal Square. To the north of the square on Newark Avenue lies India Square, one of the larger and livelier Indian neighborhoods in New Jersey.
West Side
Jersey City's West Side is very ethnically diverse. Many ethnic grocery shops (Filipino, Indian, West Indian) line West Side Avenue. West Side runs from Broadway near U.S. Route 1/9 Truck along Route 440 to the Bayonne city line. This neighborhood is served by the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail
at Claremont Avenue. West Side also features Hudson Mall, Jersey City
Incinerator Authority, Lincoln County Park and Society Hill running
along Route 440 and U.S. 1/9 Truck. In this district, at the old Roosevelt Stadium, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Minor League Baseball before his Major League Baseball debut.
Greenville
Greenville
(also known as "The Hill") is primarily residential--once the home of
Frank Sinatra, with a principal commercial corridor surrounding
Danforth Avenue. The neighborhood is adjacent to Greenville Yards, a
former Conrail rail yard now being used as a distribution center.
Jersey City includes the Port Liberté development, a high-end gated
residential community on the Hudson River waterfront, as being part of
Greenville, although Jersey City residents typically consider Port
Liberté to be distinct from Greenville as they are separated by the New
Jersey Turnpike extension (Interstate 78) and represent vastly
different socioeconomic backgrounds.
The Greenville section runs from about 10 blocks south of Communipaw
Avenue to the Bayonne city line. It includes some of the most depressed
areas in the city, but is slowly being revitalized, particularly along
the light rail line. The crime rate is higher here than in any other
part of Jersey City and many streets are lined with abandoned homes,
but municipal aid over the past few years has helped in rebuilding many
of them and in bringing life back to many of Greenville's neglected
streets. With the gentrification of the downtown area, many of the city's working-class tenants have moved into this area.
The Heights
Jersey City Heights (aka "The Heights") is a neighborhood atop the New Jersey Palisades overlooking Hoboken
to its east and the Hudson River. It consists mostly of two- and
three-family houses, and remains traditionally middle-class. The
primary commercial strip is Central Avenue,
with residential districts flanking it on both sides. Six blocks to the
east, and parallel to it, are Palisade and Ogden Avenues, both of which
offer views of the Manhattan
skyline from Riverside Park. The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station at
Congress Street and Ninth Street connect this area of the Heights
directly to the Hoboken PATH train and regional New Jersey Transit
train lines. Many stately Victorian and Edwardian
homes contribute to the attractiveness of the Heights, particularly
along Summit Avenue and Sherman Place as well as areas to the east of
Central Avenue. Pershing Field is a park near the center of this
district, offering green space, a running track, several baseball
fields, basketball and tennis courts, a semi-Olympic size swimming pool
and an ice skating rink. Adjacent to Pershing Field Park is an
abandoned reservoir which constitutes one of the largest patches of
green space in Jersey City Heights. The future of the reservoir has
been hotly contested as business interests, city government, and
environmentalist groups have each proposed a different use for the
land. Recently, the Mayor of Jersey City has announced that the city
has decided to move forward with plans to develop the reservoir into a
nature preserve which will be open to the public.
Bergen/Lafayette
Bergen/Lafayette, formerly Bergen City, New Jersey,
lies between Greenville on the south and Journal Square on the north.
It also borders with West Side and Liberty State Park. Communipaw
Avenue and Bergen Avenue (approaching Journal Square) both have many
small shops.
Transportation
Of all Jersey City commuters, 8.17% walk to work, and 40.26% take public transit. This is the second highest percentage of public transit riders of any city with a population of 100,000+ in the United States, behind only New York City and ahead of Washington, D.C.
Rail
- Hudson-Bergen Light Rail:
Twenty three stations in Bayonne, Hoboken, Jersey City, North Bergen,
Union City, and Weehawken. Three branches: Hoboken-22nd Street,
Hoboken-Tonnelle Avenue, and West Side Avenue-Tonnelle Avenue.
Hudson-Bergen Light Rail.
Water
- NY Waterway operates ferries between Newport, Harborside, Paulus Hook, Liberty Harbor, Port Liberté and the World Financial Center
and Pier 11 lower Manhattan and 39th Street in midtown Manhattan, where
free transfer is available to a variety of "loop" buses.
- Circle Line provides service between Liberty State Park and Ellis and Liberty Island
- LSP Water Taxi operates ferries between Dock M. of Liberty State Park and the World Financial Center during the summer months[1].
Surface
The Journal Square Transportation Center, Exchange Place, and Hoboken Terminal
(just over the city line's northeast corner) are major
origination/destination points for buses. Service is available to
numerous points within Jersey City, Hudson County, and some suburban
areas as well as to Newark on the 1, 2, 22, 43, 64, 67, 68, 80, 81, 82 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 125, 305, 319 and 981 lines. Also serving Jersey City are various private lines operated by the Bergen Avenue and Montgomery & Westside IBOAs, and by Red & Tan in Hudson County.[30]
Air
Lindin airlines
Road
Street alignments
A majority of the streets in Jersey City are named streets, with
Downtown the only district with numbered streets - in an East-West
alignment.
- The numbered streets go from 1 to 18 and cover only half of
Downtown. Some numbered streets are discontinuous, being interrupted at
various points by buildings. Second Street is the only numbered street
in the city that runs from the Palisades to the edge of the Hudson
River without obstruction.
- Many streets are named for Jersey City families who owned land in
the city. Examples; Van Vorst Street (the Van Vorst Family), Tues
Street (Jane Tuers), Tonelle Avenue (John Tonelle), Sip Avenue (Peter Sip) and Monmouth Street (the Monmouth Family).
- Many streets are named after American Revolution generals. Examples; Washington Street, Mercer Street, Greene Street, Montgomery Street, Wayne Street, Warren Street, Lafayette Street, Steuben Street and Gates Avenue.
- Many avenues are named after cities or other locations, whether in
or out of New Jersey. Examples; Newark Avenue, Communipaw Avenue, New
York Avenue, and Palisades Avenue.
- All boulevards are named after famous people in history and cross
city lines. These include Luis Muñoz Marín Boulevard (named for Luis Muñoz Marín, the first elected Governor of Puerto Rico), which crosses the Hoboken city line, and John F. Kennedy Boulevard - County Route 501.
- Most drives are named after people in city and world history and
are wholly contained within a district. Examples; Martin Luther King
Drive in Bergen/Lafeyette, Christopher Columbus Drive in Downtown, and
Audrey Zapp Drive in Liberty State Park.
- Jersey City has small residential streets called Parkways. They
feature a street island, and are commonly found in the Greenville
District. Examples; Stegman Parkway, and Wegman Parkway.
- There are several "roads" in Jersey City including Old Bergen Road, Caven Point Road, Secaucus Road and Paterson Plank Road.
- The names of many residential streets in Jersey City change along
their route. One notable continuity change is Grove Street. It is named
Grove Street between the Hoboken border and Boyle Plaza, Manila Avenue
between 12th Street and 1st Street, then Grove Street again between 1st
Street and Grand Street.
Education
Colleges and universities
Jersey City is home to the New Jersey City University (NJCU) and Saint Peter's College, both of which are located in the city's West Side district. It is also home to Hudson County Community College, which is located in Journal Square. The University of Phoenix has a small location at Newport, and Rutgers University offers MBA classes at Harborside Center.
Public schools
The Jersey City Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district is one of 31 Abbott Districts statewide.[31]
Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School was the top-ranked public high school in New Jersey out of 316 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2006 cover story on the state's Top Public High Schools[32] and was selected as 15th best high school in the United States in Newsweek magazine's national 2005 survey.[33] In contrast, William L. Dickinson High School,
located near Jersey City's downtown area, is the oldest high school in
the city. It is also one of the largest schools in Hudson County, in
terms of student population. Opened in 1906 as the Jersey City High
School, it is one of the oldest sites in Jersey City. It is a
four-story Beaux-Arts structure located on a hilltop facing the Hudson River. Other public high schools in Jersey City are James J. Ferris High School, the Hudson County Schools of Technology (which also has campuses in North Bergen and Secaucus), Liberty High School, Lincoln High School and Henry Snyder High School.
Among Jersey City's elementary and middle schools is Academy I Middle School,
one of the top middle schools in the country. Many Academy I students
go on to McNair Academic High School. Academy I is also part of the
Academic Enrichment Program for Gifted Students. Another participant in
this program is MS 4, a school combining 3 schools together. MS 7 has
been created as well
Private schools
Private high schools in Jersey City include the Saint Dominic Academy, Hudson Catholic Regional High School, St. Peter's Preparatory School, Caritas Academy, Kenmare High School for Women, St. Anthony High School three-time national champions in Boys High School Basketball[34], and St. Mary High School.
There are many choices for grade school, including the OLC School and St. Aloysius School. Catholic schools serve every area of the City and a number of other charter and private schools are also available. Genesis Educational Center is a private Christian school located in downtown Jersey City for ages newborn through 8th grade, Al-Ghazaly Elementary School Islamic school http://www.alghazalyschool.org/
Established in 1984, Al-Ghazaly developed a comprehensive education
program taught to the highest standards as defined by New Jersey's Core
Curriculum Content Standards, with a strong focus on Islamic Studies .
Museums
Liberty Science Center is an interactive science museum and learning center located in Liberty State Park
The center, which first opened in 1993 as New Jersey's first major
state science museum, has science exhibits, the world's largest IMAX
Dome theater, numerous educational resources, and the original Hoberman sphere, a silver, computer-driven engineering artwork designed by Chuck Hoberman.
The museum opened with another artistic exhibit that is related to the
sciences, Jim Gary's Twentieth Century Dinosaurs sculpture exhibition,
as the exhibit on the ground floor.
Commerce
Portions of Jersey City are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3½% sales tax rate (versus the 7% rate charged statewide).[35]
Community
- Ellis Island is inside Jersey City's borders, and is managed jointly by the states of New Jersey and New York,
though it is owned by the federal government. In 1983, the State of New
York went to the Supreme Court to sue the State of New Jersey over the
ownership of the island, but in 1998, New York lost; New York retains
title only to the original three acre portion of the Island, while New
Jersey owns the 24 acres that were added as landfill.[36] [37]
- The Statue of Liberty is 2,000 feet from Jersey City. In 1987 Representative Frank J. Guarini, a Democrat from New Jersey, and Gerald McCann, who was Mayor of Jersey City, sued New York City, contending that New Jersey had ownership over the Liberty island because they are in the New Jersey portion of the Hudson River. The federally owned islands are over two miles from New York City.[38]
- The Katyń Memorial by well-known Polish American artist Andrzej Pityński on Exchange Place is the first memorial of its kind to be raised on American soil to honor the dead of the Katyń Forest Massacre
- The Colgate Clock, promoted by Colgate-Palmolive as the largest in the world, sits in Jersey City and faces Lower New York Bay and Lower Manhattan (it is clearly visible from Battery Park
in lower Manhattan). The clock, which is 50 feet in diameter with a
minute hand weighing 2,200 pounds, was erected in 1924 to replace a
smaller one.
- The tallest building in New Jersey is Jersey City's Goldman Sachs Tower, which was completed in 2004. Other notable buildings in Jersey City include 101 Hudson Street, the Newport Tower, 630 Bergen Ave, and the Exchange Place Centre.
- In 1916, German agents set off a series of explosions in present-day Liberty State Park in what came to be known as the Black Tom Explosion.
- WFMU 91.1FM (WXHD 90.1FM in the Hudson Valley), the longest running freeform radio station in the US, moved to Jersey City in 1998.
- Z-100 WHTZ 100.3 The top rated New York City radio station broadcasts from the Merrill Lynch Building (101 Hudson Street) in Jersey City.
Jersey City in Popular Culture
- Part of the 1993 Saturday Night Live spin-off movie Coneheads was filmed in Jersey City.
- Much of the 1999 movie Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai was filmed in Jersey City.
- The movie City Hall, starring Al Pacino and John Cusack is partly set in the Tunnel Diner, next to the Holland Tunnel
- In The Ren and Stimpy Show episode Black Hole/Stimpy's Invention,
Ren and Stimpy tried to escape the Black Hole by riding an
Intergalactic Bus to Jersey City, but did not have the money to pay the
fare (or so they thought).
- On The History Channel's 10 Days that Unexpectedly Changed America episode, When America was Rocked, an old newspaper article of a city-wide ban of Rock and Roll in Jersey City was shown and archival film footage of the Mayor explaining his reasoning of the ban was also shown.
- The animated series Megas XLR takes place primarily in Jersey City.
- The bar scenes in the movie CopLand,
were filmed in the Paulus Hook Pub (no longer in existence) on Grand
Street, owned by life-long Jersey City resident and civil servant Roy
Zevoteck. It featured Sylvester Stallone, Debbie Harry, Ray Liotta, Harvey Keitel, Robert Patrick, Michael Rapaport and Frank Vincent.
- One of the scenes in the movie 8 Mile is shot behind Indian Square, along the PATH train's route to Newark.
- The Last Days of Disco was filmed in the lobby of the Loew's Jersey City Theatre in Journal Square.
- The Old Power Station is shown in the final scene in the film Sid and Nancy with Gary Oldman. The undeveloped shoreline of Jersey City is also depicted in the previous scene.
Cemeteries
Newspapers
Sister cities
Jersey City has some sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
See also
References
- ^ Department of Business Administration, City of Jersey City. Accessed April 24, 2008.
- ^ USGS GNIS: Jersey City, Geographic Names Information System. Accessed January 4, 2008.
- ^ a b c Census data for Jersey City city, United States Census Bureau. Accessed October 22, 2007.
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ A Cure for the Common Codes: New Jersey, Missouri Census Data Center. Accessed July 14, 2008.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Holusha, John. "Commercial Property / The Jersey Riverfront; On the Hudson's West Bank, Optimistic Developers", The New York Times, October 11, 1998. Accessed May 25, 2007. 'That simply is out of the question in midtown, he
said, adding that some formerly fringe areas in Midtown South that had
previously been available were filled up as well. Given that the
buildings on the New Jersey waterfront are new and equipped with the
latest technology and just a few stops on the PATH trains from
Manhattan, they become an attractive alternative. It's the sixth borough, he said.
- ^ a b
"The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P.
Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p.
146-147.
- ^ "New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990". Retrieved on 2007-03-03.
- ^ Campbell Gibson (June 1998). "Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in The United States: 1790 TO 1990". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-03-06.
- ^ Wm. C. Hunt, Chief Statistician for Population. "Fourteenth
Census of The United States: 1920; Population: New Jersey; Number of
inhabitants, by counties and minor civil divisions" (ZIP). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-03-21.
- ^ Jersey City, New Jersey, city-data.com. Accessed January 24, 2008.
- ^ New York Times Article (2005)
- ^ 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 139.
- ^ Municipal Council Information, City of Jersey City. Accessed August 3, 2006.
- ^ "Mayors Against Illegal Guns: Coalition Members".
- ^ 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 59. Accessed August 30, 2006.
- ^ Legislative Roster: 2008-2009 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed June 6, 2008.
- ^ Legislative Roster: 2008-2009 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed June 6, 2008.
- ^ Legislative Roster: 2008-2009 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed June 6, 2008.
- ^ About the Governor, New Jersey. Accessed June 6, 2008.
- ^ Jersey City Past and Present: Pavonia, New Jersey City University. Accessed May 10, 2006.
- ^ A Virtual Tour of New Netherland, New Netherland Institute. Accessed May 10, 2006.
- ^ Ellis, Edward Robb (1966). The Epic of New York City. Old Town Books, p. 38.
- ^ Jersey City's Oldest House, Jersey City History. Accessed September 11, 2007.
- ^ "Jersey City's Underground Railroad history," Jersey City Magazine, Spring & Summer 2005.
- ^ A City Whose Time Has Come Again, The New York Times, April 30, 2000.
- ^ Model of urban future: Jersey City?, USA Today, April 15, 2007.
- ^ Hudson County Bus/rail Connections, New Jersey Transit. Accessed July 3, 2007.
- ^ Abbott Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 31, 2008.
- ^ Top Public High Schools in New Jersey, New Jersey Monthly, September 2006
- ^ Top 1000 High Schools in The United States, Newsweek August 5, 2005.
- ^ Super 25: Lincoln (N.Y.) climbs three spots with state title - USATODAY.com
- ^ Geographic & Urban Redevelopment Tax Credit Programs: Urban Enterprise Zone Employee Tax Credit, State of New Jersey. Accessed July 28, 2008.
- ^ States fight over New York landmark, BBC News, January 12, 1998.
- ^ Greenhouse, Linda. "THE ELLIS ISLAND VERDICT: THE RULING; High Court Gives New Jersey Most of Ellis Island", The New York Times, May 27, 1998. Accessed July 28, 2008.
- ^ "New Jerseyans' Claim To Liberty Island Rejected", Associated Press, The New York Times (October 6, 1987). Retrieved on 2008-07-27. "The
Supreme Court today refused to strip the Statue of Liberty of its
status as a New Yorker. The Court, without comment, turned away a move
by a two New Jerseyans to claim jurisdiction over the landmark for
their state."
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