North Hudson, New Jersey - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

North Hudson is the collective name of the municipalities of Weehawken

Weehawken, New Jersey

Weehawken is a township in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 12,554.-Geography:Weehawken is part of the New York metropolitan area...

(2000 Census population of 13,501), Union City

Union City, New Jersey

Union City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census the city had a total population of 66,455. All of the city is on land, an area of...

(67,088), West New York

West New York, New Jersey

West New York is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, situated upon the New Jersey Palisades. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 49,708.-Geography:...

(45,768), Guttenberg

Guttenberg, New Jersey

Guttenberg , is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 11,176. Only four blocks wide, Guttenberg is one of the smallest municipalities in New Jersey and the most densely populated incorporated place in the...

(10,807) and North Bergen

North Bergen, New Jersey

North Bergen is a township in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township had a total population of 60,773. Originally founded in 1843, the town was much diminished in territory by a series of secessions. Situated on the Hudson Palisades, it is one...

(58,092) in Hudson County, New Jersey

Hudson County, New Jersey

Hudson County is the smallest county in New Jersey and one of the most densely populated in United States. It takes its name from the Hudson River, which creates part of its eastern border. Part of the New York metropolitan area, its county seat and largest city is Jersey City.- Municipalities...

. Though each municipality has an independent local government and school district, they collaborate (sometimes with Hoboken

Hoboken, New Jersey

Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...

) on certain services including fire-fighting, water supply, sewage treatment, emergency medical services, and vocational education. Some are members of the Bergen County Cooperative Library System

Bergen County Cooperative Library System

The Bergen County Cooperative Library System is an consortium of public libraries in the four northeastern New Jersey Gateway Region counties of Bergen, Hudson, Passaic, and Essex. Founded in 1984, the organization allows for reciprocal borrwing among its members so that books, audiobooks, CDs,...

Most of North Hudson falls within New Jersey's 13th congressional district

New Jersey's 13th congressional district

New Jersey's Thirteenth Congressional District was created starting with the 73rd United States Congress in 1933, based on redistricting following the United States Census, 1930. It is currently represented by Democrat Albio Sires...

, with a small portion in the 9th

New Jersey's 9th congressional district

New Jersey's Ninth Congressional District is currently represented by Democrat Steve Rothman.-Counties and municipalities in the district:For the 108th and successive Congresses , the district contains all or portions of three counties and 37 municipalities:Bergen County:Hudson CountyPassaic...

. The towns are among the most densely populated in the United States.

Geography

Situated on the New Jersey Palisades

New Jersey Palisades

The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson Palisades are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in northeastern New Jersey and southern New York in the United States. The cliffs stretch north from Jersey City approximately 20 mi to near...

and west bank of the Hudson River

Hudson River

The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...

, the area is directly across from Midtown Manhattan

Midtown Manhattan

Midtown Manhattan, or simply Midtown, is an area of Manhattan, New York City home to world-famous commercial zones such as Rockefeller Center, Broadway, and Times Square...

and Upper West Side

Upper West Side

The Upper West Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, that lies between Central Park and the Hudson River and between West 59th Street and West 125th Street...

in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, north of Hoboken

Hoboken, New Jersey

and Jersey City

Jersey City, New Jersey

Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...

(the county seat), and east of the New Jersey Meadowlands

New Jersey Meadowlands

New Jersey Meadowlands, also known as the Hackensack Meadowlands after the primary river flowing through it, is a general name for the large ecosystem of wetlands in northeast New Jersey in the United States. The Meadowlands are known for being the site of large landfills and decades of...

. Its high elevation allows North Hudson expansive views of the New York City

New York City

skyline, the Meadowlands, and the Watchung Mountains

Watchung Mountains

The Watchung Mountains are a group of three long low ridges of volcanic origin, between 400 ft. and 500 ft. high, lying parallel to each other in northern New Jersey in the United States...

. The cuesta

Cuesta

In structural geology and geomorphology, a cuesta is a ridge formed by gently tilted sedimentary rock strata in a homoclinal structure. Cuestas have a steep slope, where the rock layers are exposed on their edges, called an escarpment or, if more steep, a cliff...

, or slope, on the west side of area makes North Bergen

North Bergen, New Jersey

the city with the second most hills per square mile in the United States after San Francisco

San Francisco, California

San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

.

The geographically long narrow region is a contiguous urban area where it is often difficult to know when one has crossed a civic boundary, and there is little, if any, physical acknowledgment of the demarcations. In the absence of an urban master plan, early thoroughfares (such as the Hackensack Plank Road

Hackensack Plank Road

The Hackensack Plank Road was a major artery which connected the cities of Hoboken and Hackensack, New Jersey Like its cousin routes, the Newark Plank Road and Paterson Plank Road, it travelled over Bergen Hill and across the Hackensack Meadows from the Hudson River waterfront to the city for...

, Paterson Plank Road

Paterson Plank Road

Paterson Plank Road is a road that runs through Passaic, Bergen and Hudson Counties in northeastern New Jersey originally lain in the colonial era. The route, connecting the city Paterson and the Hudson River waterfront, still exists...

and Bulls Ferry Road

Bulls Ferry

Bulls Ferry is the area along the Hudson River in the North HudsonCounty, New Jersey municipalities of West New York, Guttenberg, and North Bergen....

) and early real-estate speculators (such as the Hoboken Land Improvement Company) created the current street system. First the merger of Union Hill

Union Hill, New Jersey

Union Hill is a section of Denville Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. The Union Hill section comprises the southernmost part of Denville and is mostly south of Route 10. Although one of the oldest settled parts of Denville, it is characterized by having the most recent housing...

and West Hoboken

West Hoboken, New Jersey

West Hoboken was a municipality that existed in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, from 1861 to 1925.West Hoboken was originally incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 28, 1861, from portions of North Bergen Township. The township was reincorporated on...

, and later the opening of the Lincoln Tunnel

Lincoln Tunnel

The Lincoln Tunnel is a long tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey and the borough of Manhattan in New York City.-History:...

, influenced the five towns to agree to re-number the east-west blocks (and coordinate house numbers), from 2nd Street in the south to 91st Street in the north.

There are very few large green open spaces, notably North Hudson Park and the collection of private cemeteries on the Western Slope, including Hoboken Cemetery

Hoboken Cemetery, North Bergen

The Hoboken Cemetery is located at 5500 Tonnelle Avenue in North Bergen, New Jersey. It is bordered by Flower Hill Cemetery. Originally when the Secaucus Junction was built on land that was the Hudson County Burial Grounds, bodies exhumed were to be re-interred at the Hoboken Cemetery...

and Flower Hill Cemetery

Flower Hill Cemetery, North Bergen

Flower Hill Cemetery is located in North Bergen, New Jersey. It is cojoined with Hoboken Cemetery and Machpelah Cemetery.-Notable burials:*Ed Alberian children's television actor and entertainer...

. The dense urban grid is dotted with vest pocket park

Pocket park

A pocket park, parkette or mini-park is a small park accessible to the general public. In some areas they are called miniparks or vest-pocket parks....

s and high school athletic fields. The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway

Hudson River Waterfront Walkway

The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, also known as the Hudson River Walkway, is an ongoing and incomplete project located on Kill van Kull and the western shore of Upper New York Bay and the Hudson River, implemented as part of a New Jersey state-mandated master plan to connect the municipalities...

is in various states of completion along the river's edge.

Character

With nearly 200,000 residents, North Hudson has a population density that is among the highest in the United States. Of municipalities with over 50,000 people, Union City

Union City, New Jersey

Union City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census the city had a total population of 66,455. All of the city is on land, an area of...

is the most densely populated in the United States. North Hudson also has one of the nation's largest proportions of foreign-born residents. Among the 100 US cities (population 5,000 and up) with the highest percent of foreign-born residents: West New York (65.2%), Union City (58.7%), and Guttenberg (48.7%).

In the late 2000s, North Hudson came to be dubbed as "NoHu", a haven for local performing and fine artists, many of whom are immigrants from Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...

and other countries, in part due to lower housing costs compared to those in nearby art havens such as Hoboken

Hoboken, New Jersey

, Jersey City, and Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

History

The earliest known residents were the Lenni Lenape Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

, specifically the Hackensack

Hackensack (Native Americans)

Hackensack was the exonym given to a band of Lenape, a Native American people is a European derivation of the Lenape word for what is now the region of northeastern New Jersey along the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers.-Territory and Society:...

and Tappan

Tappan (Native Americans)

The Tappan were a Lenape people who inhabited the region radiating from Hudson Palisades and New York – New Jersey Highlands in at the time of European colonialization in the 17th century....

, whose territories overlapped. In 1658 Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

Director-General

Director-general

The term director-general is a title given the highest executive officer within a governmental, statutory, NGO, third sector or not-for-profit institution.-European Union:...

Peter Stuyvesant

Peter Stuyvesant , served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664, after which it was renamed New York...

of New Amsterdam

New Amsterdam

New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....

negotiated a deal with them for the area named Bergen

Bergen, New Netherland

Bergen was a part of the 17th century province of New Netherland, in the area in northeastern New Jersey along the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers that would become contemporary Hudson and Bergen Counties...

, "by the great rock above Wiehacken," including all of what would become North Hudson.

Curiously, North Hudson lies north of Bergen

Bergen Square

Bergen Square, at the intersection of Bergen Avenue and Academy Street in Jersey City, is in the southwestern part of the much larger Journal Square district...

, the first permanent settlement in New Jersey, founded in 1660. During the British and colonial it was known as Bergen Woods and was in the southeastern part of Bergen County

Bergen County, New Jersey

Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...

until the establishment of Hudson County on February 22, 1840. In 1843 most of the area became part of North Bergen Township when the county was divided into Bergen Township and North Bergen.

Like most of the region surrounding the Upper New York Bay

Upper New York Bay

Upper New York Bay, or Upper Bay, is the traditional heart of the Port of New York and New Jersey, and often called New York Harbor. It is enclosed by the New York City boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island and the Hudson County, New Jersey municipalities of Jersey City and Bayonne.It...

, the area experienced waves of immigration, specifically: settlers from the Netherlands, British colonialists, German-speaking farmers and entrepreneurs, Irish fleeing the famine, "Ellis Islanders", World Wars refugees, the "Spanish" (initially Cuban

Cubans

Cubans or Cuban people are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...

immigrants, and later other South and Central Americans), and most recently, so-called "cosmopolitans" including individuals and childless families yuppies, retirees, gay men and women, newlyweds, house-sharers, and rent refugees from less gentrified areas.

In the mid-19th century and early 20th century German American

German American

German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...

s and Dutch

Dutch people

The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...

dominated the area. They, along with Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

and Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n immigrants, founded the European-style lace making industries, for which they were famous, and North Hudson became the "embroidery capitol of the United States". Many of the factory buildings still house clothing manufacturers, while others have been converted to art studios or housing. It was this community who (in 1915) established what has become longest running passion play

Passion play

A Passion play is a dramatic presentation depicting the Passion of Jesus Christ: his trial, suffering and death. It is a traditional part of Lent in several Christian denominations, particularly in Catholic tradition....

in the U.S., creating America's Oberammergau. The German-American Volksfest has taken place annually since 1874 at Schuetzen Park

Schuetzen Park

Schuetzen Park is a privately owned park in North Bergen, New Jersey, USA that has existed since 1874 and is located on the ridge of the Hudson Palisades at Kennedy Boulevard and Bergen Turnpike just north of the Marginal Highway...

.

It was during the same period that the narrow waterfront at the base of the Palisades became (along with Hoboken, Jersey City, Bayonne

Bayonne, New Jersey

Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east...

, and Edgewater

Edgewater, New Jersey

Edgewater is a borough located along the Hudson River in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 census, the borough had a population of 11,513...

) an integral part of New York Harbor

New York Harbor

New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...

's shipping industry. Rail lines under and on both sides of the Palisades were laid. From its terminal in Weehawken the West Shore Railroad

West Shore Railroad

The West Shore Railroad was the final name of a railroad from Weehawken, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City, north along the west shore of the river to Albany, New York and then west to Buffalo...

operated long-distance and commuter passenger train and ferry service (used by travellers and locals alike), from 1884-1959. North Hudson County Railway

North Hudson County Railway

The North Hudson Railway Company built and operated a streetcar system in Hudson County and southeast Bergen County, New Jersey before and after the turn of twentieth century. It was founded by John Bonn, and eventually taken over by the Public Service Railway...

developed an extensive network of horse-drawn railroads and later, streetcars, taken over by Public Service Coordinated Transport which bustituted

Bustitution

The word bustitution is a neologism sometimes used to describe the practice of replacing a passenger train service with a bus service either on a temporary or permanent basis. The word is a portmanteau of the words "bus" and "substitution"...

the system in the 1930s and 1940s.

In the early 1900s the idea of the all towns consolidating emerged and subsided, but eventually resulted in the consolidation of West Hoboken

West Hoboken, New Jersey

and Union Hill

Union Hill, New Jersey

in 1925.

In the 1960s and 1970s some residents headed to the suburbs (often close-by Bergen and Passaic County). Simultaneously middle-class and professional Cubans, fleeing the revolution in their home country, re-located to the area and are generally considered to have "saved" it from a devastating downward spiral, leading to the nickname "Havana on the Hudson". North Hudson has the second largest Cuban American population in the United States behind Miami

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

. Since its inception in 2000 the Cuban Day Parade of New Jersey has become a major annual event in North Hudson, beginning in North Bergen and travelling south to its end in Union City.

Unlike other urban industrial areas of comparable size, age and density, North Hudson did not experience marked urban decay or a crime wave during the late 20th century, its population and economic base remaining basically stable, in part, because of its good housing stock, tightly-knit neighborhoods and satisfactory schools systems.

Transportation

NY Waterway

NY Waterway, or New York Waterway, is a private transportation company running ferry and bus service in the Port of New York and New Jersey and in the Hudson Valley...

re-instituted ferry service in the late 1980s, and in 2006 opened a state-of-art terminal on the Waterfront for boats traversing the Hudson to lower and mid Manhattan.

The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail

Hudson-Bergen Light Rail

The Hudson–Bergen Light Rail is a light rail system in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Owned by New Jersey Transit and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, it connects the communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City , and North Bergen.The system began...

, connecting to south Hudson, has stations at Tonnelle Avenue

Tonnelle Avenue (HBLR station)

Tonnelle Avenue is a station on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail located at 51st Street in North Bergen, New Jersey. The station opened for service on February 25, 2006....

in North Bergen, Bergenline Avenue

Bergenline Avenue (HBLR station)

Bergenline Avenue is a station on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail . The intermodal facility is located on 49th Street between Bergenline Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard at the border of Union City, West New York and North Bergen, New Jersey The station opened for service on February 25, 2006.-Design and...

and 48th Street at the Union City/West New York border, and Port Imperial and Lincoln Harbor

Lincoln Harbor (HBLR station)

Lincoln Harbor is a station on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail located at Waterfront Terrace, north of 19th Street, in Weehawken, New Jersey. The station opened on September 7, 2004.-Name and Vicinity:...

on the Weehawken waterfront.

New Jersey Transit

New Jersey Transit

The New Jersey Transit Corporation is a statewide public transportation system serving the United States state of New Jersey, and New York, Orange, and Rockland counties in New York State...

, since its opening, has promoted Bergenline Station as a hub/transfer between the light rail and buses: 22, 84, 86, 89, 156, 159, 181 and (one block west on JFK Boulevard) 88, 154. Nungessors

Racetrack Section, North Bergen

The Racetrack Section of North Bergen, New Jersey is a mostly residential district between Bergenline and Kennedy Boulevard. Its east-west streets follow the numbering of other North Hudson towns while its north-south streets are called avenues and are numbered First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth...

at the Fairview is a major origination and transfer point. Transfer Station, Hudson County is also a transit hub. Manhattan and suburban-bound bus service is provided along Boulevard East, Bergenline, Kennedy Blvd., and 32nd Street.

Additionally there are many privately operated licensed mini-buses locally known as immi-vans, gua-guas, carritos,or dollar buses
Dollar Van
A dollar van is a privately owned type of bus service used to carry passengers in the United States of America. Dollar vans typically operate in neighborhoods within urban areas that are under-served by public mass transit or taxis. Some of the dollar vans are licensed and regulated, while others...

along Bergenline to Journal Square

Journal Square

Journal Square is a business district, residential area, and transportation hub in Jersey City, New Jersey, which takes its name from the newspaper Jersey Journal whose headquarters are located there. The "square" itself is at the intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Bergen Avenues...

, Downtown Jersey City

Downtown Jersey City

Downtown is an area of Jersey City, New Jersey that includes the Historic Downtown and the Waterfront. Historic Downtown can be further broken down into the neighborhoods of Harsimus Cove, The Village, Van Vorst Park, Grove Street, Hamilton Park and Boyle Plaza...

, 42nd Street

Times Square

Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...

in Manhattan

Manhattan

, and south east Bergen County, and Paterson

Paterson, New Jersey

Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Geography

Character

History

Transportation

See also

External links