Jersey City, New Jersey
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Jersey City is a city located in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 240,055, making it New Jersey's second-largest city, trailing Newark. It is the county seat of Hudson CountyGR6.
Jersey City lies on the west bank of the Hudson River across from New York City, and is part of the New York metropolitan area. The second largest city in the state and a commercial and industrial center surpassed only by Newark, 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, such as chemicals, petroleum and electrical goods, textiles, and cosmetics. The city has benefited from its position across the Hudson River from the island of Manhattan, and many Jersey City companies are extensions of businesses headquartered there. Further developments have included increased housing and shopping areas; other parts of the city, however, remain run-down after years of commercial inactivity.
Jersey City is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse cities in the country, with an almost equal mix of non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, Asians, and Latinos. Of all US cities, it has one of the largest Arab and Muslim populations and proportions, one of the largest Asian proportions, and one of the largest proportions of various Latino and Hispanic ethnicities outside the southwest. It also has higher-than-average numbers of Jews, Italians, Cubans, Filipinos, Indians, and Irish than most cities in the nation.
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History
The land comprising what is now known as Jersey City was wilderness inhabited by the Lenni Lenape Native Americans in 1609 when Henry Hudson, seeking an alternate route to East Asia and failing in that mission, anchored his small vessel in Sandy Hook. After spending nine days surveying the area and meeting its inhabitants, he returned to Holland. The Dutch organized the United New Netherlands Company to manage this new territory and named it New Netherlands. In June of 1623, New Netherlands became a Dutch province. Soon after, Michael Reyniersz Pauw, Lord of Achtienhoven, a burgemeester of Amsterdam and a director of the West India Company, received a grant as patroon on the condition that he would plant a colony in New Netherlands of not fewer than fifty persons, within four years. He chose the west bank of the Hudson River and purchased the land from the Indians. This land grant is dated November 22, 1630 and is the earliest known conveyance for what are now Hoboken and Jersey City. However, Michael Pauw neglected to settle on his lands and was obliged to sell his holdings back to the Company in 1633 [1].
The first settlement was at Communipaw, an area adjacent to present-day Liberty State Park. A house was built here in 1633 for Jan Evertsen Bout, superintendent of the colony, which was then called Pavonia (the Latinized form of Pauw's name) [2]. Shortly after, another house was built at Harsimus Cove (near the present-day corner of Fourth Street and Marin Boulevard). This second house became the home of Cornelius Van Vorst, who succeeded Bout as superintendent. These were the first two houses in Jersey City. Relations with the Lenni Lenape deteriorated, and war parties virtually destroyed the settlement of Pavonia in 1643 and again in 1655.
Image:Jersey-city-new-jersy-night.jpg Scattered communities of farmsteads characterized the Dutch settlements in what would become Jersey City: Pavonia, Communipaw, Harsimus, Paulus Hook and to the north, Bergen Township, later the town of Hudson, and incorporated into Jersey City in 1870 [3]. The first Jersey City village settlement was Bergen Township, established on what is now Bergen Square in 1660. The oldest surviving house in Jersey City is the stone Van Vorst house of 1742.
During the American Revolution the town was in the hands of the British who controlled New York, until Paulus Hook was captured by Major Light Horse Harry Lee on August 19, 1779.
Jersey City was incorporated as The City of Jersey in 1820, and reincorporated under its present name in 1838.
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 last streetcar was decommissioned in 1949 and today, no passenger heavy rail travels through Jersey City.
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 20th 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. He 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.
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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 percent of its workforce. [4] 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.
However, the city has recently been undergoing a renaissance. Many formerly abandoned buildings are being renovated, and the light rail line from Weehawken through Hoboken extends through eastern Jersey City, with branches to the western reaches of the city and south to Bayonne. As the waterfront continues to grow, Jersey City's downtown neighborhoods are experiencing rapid gentrification as professionals working in Manhattan are beginning to move in. The downtown area has a significant number of Victorian brownstones, and at prices that are far lower than one would find, for a similar home, in Manhattan, or even Brooklyn.
Also, many financial corporations including Goldman Sachs, Chase Manhattan Bank, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and the investment firm Charles Schwab have relocated from New York City to Jersey City or expanded their offices in Jersey City since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
It is projected that Jersey City will pass Newark as New Jersey's largest city by 2010.
Government
Local government
Jersey City is currently governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government.
The current mayor of Jersey City is Jerramiah Healy. Members of the City Council are Mariano Vega, Jr., Council President; Willie Flood, Councilwoman-at-Large; Peter Brennan, Councilman-at-Large; Michael Sottolano, Ward A Councilman; Mary Spinello, Ward B Councilwoman; Steve Lipski, Ward C Councilman; William Gaughan, Ward D Councilman; Steven Fulop, Ward E Councilman; and Viola Richardson, Ward F Councilwoman.
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.
New Jersey's Ninth Congressional District, covering the southern portion of Bergen County and sections of Hudson 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 represented by Robert Menendez (D). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken) and Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park).
The 31st legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Joseph Doria (D, Bayonne) and in the Assembly by Anthony Chiappone (D, Bayonne) and Louis Manzo (D, Jersey City). The 32nd legislative 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, Jersey City) and Joan M. Quigley (D, Secaucus). The 33rd legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Bernard Kenny (D) and in the Assembly by Albio Sires (D, West New York) and Brian P. Stack (D, Union City).
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 are: District 1 - Barry Dugan (Freeholder Vice Chair); District 2 - William O'Dea; District 3 - Jeffrey Dublin; District 4 - Radames Velazquez, Jr.; District 5 - Maurice Fitzgibbons; District 6 - Tilo Rivas; District 7 - Silverio Vega (Freeholder Chair); District 8 - Thomas Liggio; District 9 - Albert Cifelli.
Education
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 the Hudson County Community College, which is located in Journal Square.
Dr. Ronald E. Mc Nair Academic High School [5], the most recently founded public school in Jersey City, was previously ranked as the top high school in New Jersey according to New Jersey Monthly magazine. 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 three-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.
St. Peters Preparatory School [6] is a private high school founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus. With an average enrollment of just under 1,000, the school is an "independent college preparatory school for young men." Other private high schools in jersey City include Academy of Saint Aloysius, Hudson Catholic Regional High School, Kenmare High School for Women, St. Anthony High School, St. Dominic Academy and St. Mary High School.
Neighborhoods
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, and Van Vorst Park. Neighborhoods farther from downtown include Liberty State Park, Jersey City Heights (or, simply, "The Heights"), Western Slope, Journal Square, West Bergen / Lincoln Park, West Side, Bergen, Greenville, Lafayette and Marion. These designations are unofficial and, to some degree, subjective.
Downtown Jersey City
Downtown Jersey City is the area from the Newark Bay Extension of the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 78) and the New Jersey Palisades east to the Hudson River, bounded by Hoboken to the north and Liberty State Park to the south.
Newport and Exchange Place are the redeveloped waterfront areas comprised mostly of residential towers, hotels and office buildings. Newport is a planned mixed-use community, built on the old Erie Lackawanna railyards, made up of residential rental towers, condominiums, office buildings, a marina, schools, restaurants, hotels, Newport Centre Mall, waterfront walkway, transportation facilities, and on-site parking for more than 15,000 vehicles. Newport had a significant hand in the renaissance of Jersey City and successfully converted abandoned railyards and brownfields into a thriving community. However, some critics have derided the Newport development, which is cut off from the rest of Jersey City by the Newport Centre Mall and other big box retail, for its lack of connections to surrounding areas. Additionally, some consider Newport to be very "suburban" in nature and unlike the rest of Jersey City.
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 lay 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 that borders Exchange Place and Liberty State Park on the waterfront, and blends older brownstone streets with newer luxury developments.
Other neighborhoods
The Jersey City Heights is a neighborhood atop the Palisades overlooking Hoboken. Central Avenue is its primary commercial strip, with residential districts flanking the street on both sides. The Heights area is comprised mostly of two- and three-family houses, and remains traditionally middle-class. Six blocks to the east, and parallel to Central Avenue, are Palisade and Ogden Avenues, both of which offer breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline. Many stately Victorian and Edwardian homes contribute to the attractiveness of the Heights, particularly along Summit Avenue and Sherman Place. Parts of this neighborhood are experiencing gentrification, largely due to the relative affordability of housing and the variety of transportation options, including the recently installed "light rail elevator" at Congress Street that connects to the Ninth Street station of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail. The "Western Slope" area is on the back side of the Heights facing away from Manhattan and overlooking the marshes of the Meadowlands.
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 and Loews Theatre on Kennedy Boulevard are among the city's most noted landmarks, and 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 railway station and the city's largest bus terminal. Buses from the JSTC connect Jersey City to communities throughout Hudson County, as well as Manhattan. Saint Peter's College is located about 10 blocks south of Journal Square.
The West Bergen/Lincoln Park area is the area south of Montgomery Street and north of Communipaw Avenue, from Bergen Avenue on the east to West Side Avenue on the west. These neighborhoods are dominated by detached single-family houses with some of the best preserved Victorian and early 20th Century mansions in the city. Lincoln Park, one of the largest parks in the area, is a county park which includes recreational facilities (tennis, track, athletic fields, golf range, biking, running) and picnicing areas.
Jersey City's West Side is very ethnically diverse. Many ethnic grocery shops (Filipino, Indian, West Indian) line West Side Avenue. It runs from west of Broadway near Route 440 to Danforth Avenue.
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.
Port Liberté used to be one of the many ports on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. It was filled with industrial buildings until 1990 when developers began to transform the neighborhood into an upscale residential complex. It was not a smooth ride, but Port Liberté has emerged from bankcrupcy to become Venice on the Hudson. The only golf course (Liberty National Golf Course) that is within a 15 minute ride from Manhattan is scheduled to open here in the summer of 2006.
Geography
Image:JerseycityNASA.jpg 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. 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.
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there are 240,055 people, 88,632 households, and 55,660 families residing in the city. The population density is 6,212.2/km² (16,093.7/mi²). There are 93,648 housing units at an average density of 2,423.4/km² (6,278.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 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. 28.31% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of all households, 31.1% have children under the age of 18 living there, 36.4% are married couples living together, 20.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 37.2% are non-families. 29.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.67 and the average family size is 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 32 years. For every 100 females there are 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.6 males.
The median income of its households is $37,862, and the median income of its families is $41,639. Males have a median income of $35,119 versus $30,494 for females. The per capita income for the city is $19,410. 18.6% of the population and 16.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 27.0% of those under the age of 18 and 17.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Transportation
Jersey City is served by a number of highways including the New Jersey Turnpike, Interstate 78, U.S. Highways 1 and 9, and New Jersey Routes 139 and 440.
The Holland Tunnel, which carries Interstate 78, connects Jersey City to Manhattan.
The city is also well served by public transportation. The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, which connects Bayonne to Weehawken, has 13 stations in Jersey City. The PATH system, connecting to Newark and Manhattan, has four stations in Jersey City: Exchange Place, Pavonia-Newport, Grove Street, and Journal Square. Finally, ferry lines operate between Jersey City (Newport, Liberty Harbor, Harborside, Colgate, Port Liberté) and Manhattan (Midtown, the World Financial Center, and Pier 11). Ferries are operated by NY Waterway.
Facts
- The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty Island and it's address is 1 Communipaw Avenue, Jersey City, though the statue is maintained by the National Park Service. Likewise, Ellis Island is inside Jersey City's borders, but is managed jointly by the states of New Jersey and New York. The body of water that surrounds both islands is known as New York Harbor.
- The Colgate Clock, promoted by Colgate 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, 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.
- Part of the 1993 Saturday Night Live spin-off movie Coneheads was filmed in Jersey City. The character of "Beldar Conehead", portrayed by Dan Aykroyd, worked in the town as an appliance repairman shortly after his spaceship crash-landed on Earth and lived in a trailer just outside the shop. His boss, Otto, was portrayed by Sinbad, and actor-comedian Eddie Griffin played a customer.
External links
- City of Jersey City
- Jersey City Economic Development Corporation
- Jersey City Museum
- Jersey City: Past and Present
- Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy
- History of Jersey City
- Jersey City History
- Lincoln Park Neighborhood
- Jersey City List
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Local or Yahoo! Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
- Satellite image from Google Local or Microsoft Virtual Earthbg:Джърси сити
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