Jersey City, New Jersey

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Jersey City, New Jersey
Flag
Nickname: "Chilltown"
Location of Jersey City within New Jersey.
County	Hudson
Mayor	Jerramiah Healy
Area
- City	54.7 km²
- Land	38.6 km²
- Water	16.1 km²
Population
- City (2004)	239,079 [1]
- Density	6195.2/km²
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Website: www.cityofjerseycity.com

Jersey City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 240,055, making it New Jersey's second-largest city, trailing Newark. It is the county seat of Hudson County^GR6.

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, 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 headquartered there. Recent 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 cities in the United States, 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.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Incorporation and merger 1.2 Frank Hague 1.3 Renaissance 2 Government 2.1 Local government 2.2 Federal, state and county representation 3 Education 3.1 Colleges and universities 3.2 Public schools 3.3 Private schools 4 Neighborhoods 4.1 Downtown Jersey City 4.2 Journal Square 4.3 West Side 4.4 Greenville 4.5 The Heights 4.6 Bergen/Lafayette 5 Geography 6 Demographics 7 Transportation 8 Street alignments 9 Noteworthy residents 10 Trivia 11 See also 12 References 13 External links

[edit] 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.^[2].

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)^[3]. Shortly after, another house was built at Harsimus Cove (near the present-day corner of Fourth Street and Marín 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.

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 [1]. 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 Revolutionary War 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.

During the 19th century, Jersey City played an integral role in the Underground Railroad. Four routes through New Jersey converged in Jersey City.^[4]

[edit] Incorporation and merger

Jersey City was incorporated as The City of Jersey on January 20, 1820, and reincorporated under its present name in 1838.

By 1870, Jersey City’s population and economy had grown so large that the neighboring towns of Hudson City, New Jersey and Bergen, New Jersey voted to merge into the larger city. The residents of Greenville, independent since 1863, voted to merge into Jersey City in 1873, resulting in the current boundaries.

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.

[edit] 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. 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.

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. ^[5] 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.

[edit] Renaissance

Many formerly abandoned buildings are being renovated, and the light rail line from North Bergen 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. Many of Jersey City's neighborhoods, including the downtown area, Jersey City Heights, and West Bergen, have an impressive stock of historic houses in the Victorian style.

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.

[edit] Government

[edit] 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. The current Business Administrator of Jersey City is Brian P. O'Reilly.

Members of the City Council are:^[6]

• 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

[edit] 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^[7].

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 Vacant. The seat had been represented by Robert 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 Robert Menendez (D, Hoboken).

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 Charles T. Epps Jr. (D, Jersey City) 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, Secaucus) and Joan M. Quigley (D, Jersey City). The 33rd legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Bernard Kenny (D, Hoboken) and in the Assembly by Brian P. Stack (D, Union City). With Albio Sires taking his seat in Congress on November 13, 2006, the second Assembly seat in the district is vacant. The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

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: Silverio Vega; District 8: Thomas Liggio; and District 9: Albert Cifelli.

[edit] Education

[edit] 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.

[edit] Public schools

The Jersey City Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. JCPS is an Abbott District.

Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School, the most recently founded public school in Jersey City, 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^[8] and was selected as 15th best high school in the United States in Newsweek magazine's national 2005 survey^[9]. 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.

[edit] Private schools

Hudson Catholic Regional High School, a regional high school established in 1964 for young men of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, serves around 550 young men and is run by the De La Salle Christian Brothers. St. Peter's Preparatory High School is a private high school founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus. It is the only Jesuit high school in New Jersey.

Other private high schools in Jersey City include the Academy of St. Aloysius, Kenmare High School for Women, St. Anthony High School [2] two-time national champions in Boys High School Basketball, Saint Aloysius High School, Saint Dominic Academy and St. Mary High School.

There are many choices for grade school. Catholic parochial schools serve every area of the City and a number of other charter and private schools are also available.

[edit] Neighborhoods

Main article: List of neighborhoods in Jersey City, New Jersey

Jersey City neighborhoods This box: view • talk • edit

Downtown

-Newport

-Exchange Place

-Paulus Hook

-WALDO

The Heights

-Croxton

-Western Slope

Journal Square

-Marion

-India Square

-Five Corners

West Side

-Lincoln Park/West Bergen

Greenville

-Port Liberté

Bergen/Lafayette

Jersey City consists of Six Districts or Wards; Greenville, West Side, Journal Square, The Heights, Downtown, and Bergen/Lafayette. Each of these Districts is comprised 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") which include Western Slope and Central Avenue Shopping. Journal Square, site of the Jersey Journal and PATH Transportation Center, West Side which 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.

[edit] 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 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 Railway yards, 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 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 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. It borders Exchange Place and Liberty State Park on the waterfront, and blends older brownstone 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.

[edit] 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 and Loew's Jersey Theater 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 station and the city's largest bus terminal. 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.

[edit] 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. At the old Roosevelt Stadium in this district Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Minor League Baseball before his Major League Baseball debut.

[edit] Greenville

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.

[edit] The Heights

Jersey City Heights is a neighborhood atop the New Jersey 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. Pershing Field is a park in the center of this district, offering green space, baseball fields, a swimming pool and ice skating rink. Adjacent to Pershing Field Park is an abandoned reservoir which constitutes one of the largest patches of green space in Jerey City Heights. The future of the reservor is hotly contested as business interests, city government, and environmentalist groups have all proposed different uses for the land, ranging from new baseball fields, housing or a nature preserve.

[edit] Bergen/Lafayette

Bergen/Lafayette borders with Greenville and runs north towards Journal Square. It also borders with West Side and Liberty State Park. Communipaw Avenue and Bergen Avenue (approaching Journal Square) both have many small shops.

[edit] Geography

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.

[edit] Demographics

Jersey City Population (1880-2004)[10]
1880	120,722
1890	163,003
1900	206,433
1910	267,779
1920	298,103
1930	316,715
1940	301,173
1950	299,017
1960	276,101
1970	260,350
1980	223,532
1990	228,537
2000	240,055
2004	239,079 (est.)

As of the census^GR2 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.

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.

[edit] Transportation

Jersey City is served by a number of highways including the New Jersey Turnpike, Interstate 78, U.S. Route 1/9, and New Jersey Routes 139 and 440.

The Holland Tunnel, which carries Interstate 78, connects Jersey City to Manhattan.

Of all Jersey City commuters, 8.17% walk to work, and 40.26% take public transit. This is the third 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 Cambridge, Massachusetts and ahead of Washington, D.C. The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, which connects Bayonne to North Bergen, has 13 stations in Jersey City. The PATH rail system, connecting to Newark and Manhattan, has four stations in Jersey City: Exchange Place, Pavonia-Newport, Grove Street, and Journal Square. Ferries operate between Jersey City (Newport, Liberty Harbor, Harborside, Colgate, Port Liberté) and Manhattan (Midtown, the World Financial Center, and Pier 11); they are are operated by NY Waterway and New York Water Taxi.

The Journal Square Transportation Center houses stations for the PATH rail lines, and for buses serving numerous points within Jersey City and throughout the area, including the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan.

[edit] Street alignments

Unlike most cities in America, 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 interupted 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) and Monmouth Street (the Monmouth Family).
• 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 wholy 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.

[edit] Noteworthy residents

• Akon, rap artist and R&B singer
• John Bachmann, lithographer, pioneered "bird's-eye view" prints, especially of New York City
• Paul Banks, lead singer, lyricist and guitarist of the New York City based band Interpol
• Robert "Kool" Bell, musician and founder of Kool & the Gang
• Joe Budden, rap artist
• Heather Gardner, hip-hop music artist who was a castmember on the first season of the MTV reality television show, The Real World.
• George Catlin, painter
• Terry Dehere, NBA basketball player
• Arturo Gatti, Professional Boxer.
• Bobby Hurley, NBA and Duke University basketball player
• Malcolm Jamal-Warner, The Cosby Show
• Dennis James, television game show host and telethon emcee.
• Joseph Krumgold, winner of two Newbery Awards
• Nathan Lane, actor
• James Jonas Madison, awarded the Medal of Honor for service in World War I
• Louis Manna, known as "Bobby"; former Consiglere of the Genovese Crime Family
• Roshown McLeod, NBA basketball player
• Marilyn McCoo, singer, was with group The Fifth Dimension.
• Walter Dean Meyers, bestselling author of young adult/children's books.
• Christina Milian, singer
• "Newsboy" Moriarty who ran the numbers game in Hudson County, New Jersey and left $2.5 million dollars in the trunk of a car while he was in jail.
• Mary Philbrook, champion of equal rights for women.
• Stanley Poreda, heavyweight boxer in the 1930s.
• Kevin Powell, journalist, poet, author and activist who was a castmember on the first season of the MTV reality television show, The Real World.
• Rodrick Rhodes, NBA basketball player
• David Rivers, NBA basketball player
• Eddie August Schneider, pilot who set airspeed records
• Martha Stewart, entrepreneur
• Nadine Strossen, Professor of Law, head of the ACLU
• Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner of the National Football League from 1989-2006
• Flip Wilson, comedian

[edit] Trivia

• 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.
• Jersey City residents have nicknamed Jersey City "Chilltown." ^[11]
• 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.
• 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
• The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty Island and while many New Jersey residents unofficially cite its address as 1 Communipaw Avenue, Jersey City, the island is actually within the territorial jursidiction of New York. The statue is maintained by the National Park Service. Ellis Island is inside Jersey City's borders, but is managed jointly by the states of New Jersey and New York. Both islands are in New York Harbor.^[12]
• 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 didn't have the money to pay the fare.
• 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.

[edit] See also

• List of Mayors of Jersey City, New Jersey
• Jersey City Reporter [3]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• City of Jersey City
• Jersey City Board of Education
• Jersey City Public Schools's 2004-2005 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• National Center for Education Statistics data for the Jersey City Public Schools
• Jersey City Economic Development Corporation
• Jersey City Neighborhoods
• Jersey City Museum
• Jersey City Reservoir Preservation Alliance
• Jersey City: Past and Present
• Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy
• History of Jersey City
• Jersey City History
• Lincoln Park Neighborhood
• Jersey City Magazine
• Jersey City Portal
• Jersey City Tourism Web site - DestinationJerseyCity.com
• Jersey City Vibe
• Jersey City List
• Jersity City Online - Questions about City Government
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 40.722102° -74.065385°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

	Municipalities of Hudson County, New Jersey (County Seat: Jersey City) This box: view • talk • edit
Cities	Bayonne | Hoboken | Jersey City | Union City
Townships	North Bergen | Weehawken
Towns	Guttenberg | Harrison | Kearny | Secaucus | West New York
Borough	East Newark
Communities	Exchange Place | Greenville | Liberty State Park | Newport | Paulus Hook

	State of New Jersey This box: view • talk • edit
Capital	Trenton
Regions	Central Jersey | Delaware Valley | Jersey Shore | Meadowlands | North Jersey | Pine Barrens | South Jersey | New York metro area | Tri-State Region
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Counties	Atlantic | Bergen | Burlington | Camden | Cape May | Cumberland | Essex | Gloucester | Hudson | Hunterdon | Mercer | Middlesex | Monmouth | Morris | Ocean | Passaic | Salem | Somerset | Sussex | Union | Warren