Jersey City, New Jersey

Jersey City is a city located in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 240,055, making it New Jersey's second-largest city. It is the county seat of Hudson County{{GR|6}}.

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, Harsimus Cove, Paulus Hook, and Exchange Place), Hamilton Park, Grove Street, 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.

Related Topics:
Paulus Hook - Exchange Place - Liberty State Park

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Downtown Jersey City is poorly defined, due to the historical scattering of commercial activity in Jersey City caused by the many railroads, factories and port facilities. There is a civic and historic downtown near Grove Street and a new high-density downtown of large office buildings and rental towers in the redeveloped waterfront areas.

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Newport and Exchange Place are the names for the largest redeveloped areas, comprised of mostly luxury rental towers, hotels and office buildings. The older brownstone neighborhoods of Hamilton Park, Van Vorst Park, and Harsimus Cove lie to the west, separated by a legacy of older infrastructure, big-box development, and old factories still awaiting re-use. Exchange Place was the first area to redevelop -- on the grounds of a former Penn Station, ferry and shipping terminals. Newport began in 1986 and is today still under construction. It is a single enormous mixed-use development of residential rental towers, condominiums, office buildings, a marina, schools, restaurants, hotels, Newport Centre Mall, a town square, waterfront walkway, transportation facilities, and on-site parking for more than 15,000 vehicles.

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Paulus Hook is another neighborhood that borders Exchange Place and Liberty State Park on the waterfront and blends older brownstone streets with newer luxury developments.

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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 looking out toward the marshes of the Meadowlands.

Related Topics:
The Palisades - Hoboken - Manhattan - Hudson-Bergen Light Rail - Meadowlands

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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 Loews Theatre on Kennedy Boulevard is one of the city's most noted landmarks, and one 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.

Related Topics:
Movie palace - Tri-State area - PATH - Saint Peter's College

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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.

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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 New Jersey State Route 440 to Danforth Avenue.

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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 these homes and bringing life back to many of its neglected streets.

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Port Liberte 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 Liberte 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.

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