Union City is a
cityA City in the context of New Jersey local government refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government....
in
Hudson CountyHudson 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...
,
New JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. 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 1.27 square miles (3.3 km²). As of the 2000 Census it was the
most densely populated city in the United States, with a density of 52,977.8 per square mile.
Union City was incorporated as a city by an Act of the
New Jersey LegislatureThe New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...
on June 1, 1925, with the merger of
Union HillUnion 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 TownshipWest 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...
. Two major waves of immigration, first of German-language speakers and then of Spanish-language speakers, greatly influenced the development and character of Union City. Its two
nicknames, "Embroidery Capital of the United States" and "Havana on the Hudson", reflect important aspects of that history. Thousands make a pilgrimage to Union City each year to see the nation's longest running
passion playA 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....
and the annual Cuban Day Parade of New Jersey.
Geography
Union City is located at 40°46′4"N 74°1′55"W (40.767651 , −74.031833). Part of the
New York metropolitan areaThe New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
, it is one of the municipalities which comprise
North Hudson, New JerseyNorth Hudson is the collective name of the municipalities of Weehawken , Union City , West New York , Guttenberg and North Bergen in Hudson County, New Jersey...
. According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 1.27 square miles (3.3 km²), all of it land. Located atop the ridge of the lower Hudson Palisades (just south of the highest point in the county), many of its streets offer glimpses and views of the surrounding municipalities, the
New York CityNew 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...
skyline, and the
New Jersey MeadowlandsNew 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...
.
The city is bisected by New Jersey Route 495, a vehicular
cutIn civil engineering, a cut or cutting is where soil or rock material from a hill or mountain is cut out to make way for a canal, road or railway line....
built in conjunction with the
Lincoln TunnelThe Lincoln Tunnel is a long tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey and the borough of Manhattan in New York City.-History:...
. Soon after its construction, many street names were abandoned in favor of numbering in most of North Hudson starting at 2nd Street, just north of
Paterson Plank RoadPaterson 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...
, which runs through the city's only major park and creates its border with
Jersey CityJersey 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...
. 49th Street is the northern boundary with
West New YorkWest 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:...
. Apart from a small section between Bergen Turnpike and
Weehawken CemeteryThe Weehawken Cemetery, like neighboring Hoboken Cemetery, is not located in its namesake town of Weehawken but rather on the western slope of the Hudson Palisades in North Bergen, New Jersey, with its main entrance on Bergen Turnpike. At its east side the cemetery is overlooked by the Bergen Crest...
, Kennedy Boulevard, a major north-south thoroughfare, creates the western border with
North BergenNorth 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...
. A former colonial road and previous border between the merged municipalities takes three names as it diagonlly crosses the city's urban grid:
Hackensack Plank Road, 32nd Street, and Bergen TurnpikeThe 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...
. Most of the city north of the street, formerly Union Hill, shares its eastern border along Park Avenue with
WeehawkenWeehawken 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...
. The southern section of the city, formerly West Hoboken, is indeed west of
HobokenHoboken 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...
, which it overlooks and is connected by the road which creates their shared border, the
Wing ViaductFourteenth Street in uptown Hoboken, New Jersey carries the Hudson County designation CR670. The eastern end is the Hudson River while its western portion is known simply as the 14th Street Viaduct. It is at the northern end of the city's urban grid, and one of the east–west streets that...
.
Early history and civic boundaries
The area of what is today Union City was originally inhabited by the Munsee-speaking branch of Lenni Lenape
Native AmericansThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, who wandered into the vast woodland area encountered by
Henry HudsonHenry Hudson was an English sea explorer and navigator in the early 17th century. Hudson made two attempts on behalf of English merchants to find a prospective Northeast Passage to Cathay via a route above the Arctic Circle...
during the voyages he conducted from 1609-1610 for the
DutchThe 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...
, who later claimed the area (which included the future
New York CityNew 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...
) and named it
New NetherlandNew Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
. The portion of that land that included the future Hudson County was purchased from the
Hackensack-Communities:*Hackensack, Minnesota*Hackensack, New Jersey*South Hackensack, New Jersey*New Hackensack, New York-Train stations:*New Bridge Landing *Anderson Street in Haceknsack, New Jersey...
branch of the Lenni-Lenape in 1658 by New Netherland colony Director-General
Peter StuyvesantPeter 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...
, and became part of
Pavonia, New NetherlandPavonia was the first European settlement on the west bank of the North River that was part of the 17th century province of New Netherland in what would become today's Hudson County, New Jersey.-Hudson and the Hackensack:...
. The boundaries of the purchase are described in the deed preserved in the New York State Archives, as well as the medium of exchange: "80 fathoms of
wampumWampum are traditional, sacred shell beads of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of the indigenous people of North America. Wampum include the white shell beads fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell; and the white and purple beads made from the quahog, or Western North Atlantic...
, 20 fathoms of cloth, 12 brass kettles, 6 guns, one double brass kettle, 2 blankets, and one half barrel of strong beer."
The relationship between the early Dutch settlers and the Natives was marked by frequent armed conflict over land claims. As a result, in 1660, Peter Stuyvesant ordered the building of a fortified village called Bergen. It was the first permanent European settlement in New Jersey, located in what is now the
Journal SquareJournal 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...
area of Jersey City near Academy Street. In 1664 the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
captured New Netherland from the Dutch, at which point the boundaries of Bergen Township encompassed what is now known as Hudson County. North of this was the unpopulated Bergen Woods, which would later be claimed by settlers, after whom a number of Union City streets today are named, including Sipp Street, Brown Street, Golden Lane, Tournade Street and Kerrigan Avenue, which is named after J. Kerrigan, the owner of Kerrigan Farm, who donated the land for Saint Michael's Monastery.
The area that would one day be Union City, however, remained sparsely populated until the early 19th century. The British granted Bergen a new town charter in 1668. In 1682 they created Bergen County, which they so named to honor their Dutch predecessors. That county comprised all of present day Hudson, Bergen and Passaic Counties. Sparsely inhabited during the 17th and 18th centuries, the southeast section of Bergen County had grown by the early 19th century to the point where it was deemed necessary to designate it a separate county. The New Jersey legislature created Hudson County in 1840, and in 1843, it was divided into two townships: Old Bergen Township (which eventually became Jersey City) and North Bergen Township, which was gradually separated into Hudson County's present day municipalities:
HobokenHoboken 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...
in 1849, Weehawken and
GuttenbergGuttenberg , 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...
in 1859, and
Union TownshipUnion is a Township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms...
in 1861. Union Township itself developed into West Hoboken in 1861, and Union Township on March 29, 1864. Union Township, or simply Union, was formed through the merger of a number of villages, such as Dalleytown, Buck’s Corners and Cox’s Corners. The largest of these villages, Union Hill, became the colloquial name for the merged town of Union itself. The northern section of Union Township was later incorporated as West New York in 1898. Union City was incorporated on June 1, 1925 by merging the two towns of West Hoboken and Union Hill. The name of one of the city's schools, Union Hill Middle School, recalls the former town.
Immigration and industry
In the 18th century,
DutchThe 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...
and
EnglishThe British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
merchants first settled the area. Later, German immigrants immigrated from
ManhattanManhattan 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...
.
IrishThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
, Polish,
ArmeniansArmenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
,
SyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
ns, eastern European Jews and Italians followed. In 1851,
GermansThe Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
moved across the
Hudson RiverThe 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...
from
New York CityNew 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...
in search of affordable land and open space. During the
Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
a military installation, Camp Yates, covered an area now bounded by Bergenline and Palisade Avenues from 22nd to
32nd StreetThe 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...
. Germans began to settle what would become Union Hill in 1851, and some descendants of the immigrants of this period live in the city today. Although the area's diversity was represented by the more than nineteen nationalities that made their home in the Dardanelles (a five block area of Central Avenue from 23rd Street to 27th Street, from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century,
German AmericanGerman 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
DutchThe 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. Along with
SwissSwitzerland 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
AustriaAustria , 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, they founded the European-style
laceLace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
making industries for which they were famous. The introduction of Schiffli lace machines in Hudson County made Union City the "embroidery capital of the United States". The trademark of that industry is on the Union City Seal, though foreign competition and austere prevailing fashions led to the decline of embroidery and other industries in the area by the late 1990s.
As immigration to the area progressed throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Belgian, Armenian, Greek,
ChineseThe term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
, Jewish and Russian people found a home in the area, though its domination by Germans by the
turnTurn of the century, in its broadest sense, refers to the transition from one century to another. The term is most often used to indicate a non-specific time period either before or after the beginning of a century....
of the 20th century was reflected in the fact that the minutes of town meetings were recorded in
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. By this time, the area was witnessing a period of urbanization, as an extensive
trolleyA tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
system was developed by the
North Hudson County RailwayThe 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...
, spurred by both electrification in 1890 and the arrival of
IrishThe Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
and
ItalianThe Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
immigrants, which dominated the city until the late 1960s. Successive waves of immigrants from
Eastern EuropeEastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
, the Near East and
Latin AmericaLatin 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...
contributed to the embroidery industry in subsequent years. "The Cultural Thread"/"El Hilo", an exhibit highlighting this industry, is on display at Union City's Park Performing Arts Center.
The town famous for being the home of the rowdy Hudson
BurlesqueAmerican Burlesque is a genre of variety show. Derived from elements of Victorian burlesque, music hall and minstrel shows, burlesque shows in America became popular in the 1860s and evolved to feature ribald comedy and female striptease...
.
VaudevilleVaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and burlesque were theatre staples in Union City, with performers such as
Harry HoudiniHarry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts...
and
Fred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
making appearances locally. Union City was also for a time the home to the headquarters of sports publisher
Joe WeiderJosef E. "Joe" Weider is co-founder of the International Federation of BodyBuilders along with brother Ben Weider and creator of the Mr. Olympia, the Ms. Olympia, and the now-defunct Masters Olympia bodybuilding contests...
.
The first
CubansCubans 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...
immigrated to Union City from New York City in the 1940s, having been attracted to the city in search of work after hearing of its famed embroidery factories. A majority of these Cubans hailed from small towns or cities, particularly
Villa Clara ProvinceVilla Clara is one of the provinces of Cuba. It is located in the central region of the island bordering with the Atlantic at north, Matanzas Province by west, Sancti Spiritus by east, and Cienfuegos on the South. Villa Clara shares with Cienfuegos and Sancti Spiritus on the south the Escambray...
in central Cuba. After
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, veterans relocated to
Bergen CountyBergen 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...
, causing a short-lived decline in the population. By the late 1960s when the city was predominantly Italian, it was settled by a large migration of Cuban refugees fleeing
Fidel CastroFidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
's regime, making Union City for many years the city with the largest Cuban population in the U.S. after Miami, hence its nickname, "
HavanaHavana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
on the Hudson." Following the
Mariel boatliftThe Mariel boatlift was a mass emigration of Cubans who departed from Cuba's Mariel Harbor for the United States between April 15 and October 31, 1980....
in 1980, 10,000 Cubans settled in New Jersey, leading to a second wave of Cubans to Union City, which totaled 15,000 by 1994. The city, as well as neighboring towns such as West New York, has experienced a profound cultural impact as a result of this, as seen in such aspects of local culture as its cuisine, fashion, music, entertainment and
cigarA cigar is a tightly-rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco that is ignited so that its smoke may be drawn into the mouth. Cigar tobacco is grown in significant quantities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Philippines, and the Eastern...
-making.
Development in the 21st century
Since its inception in 2000 the Cuban Day Parade of New Jersey has become a major annual event in
North HudsonNorth Hudson is the collective name of the municipalities of Weehawken , Union City , West New York , Guttenberg and North Bergen in Hudson County, New Jersey...
, beginning in North Bergen and travelling south to its end in Union City. Union City has historically been a family-oriented city predominantly made up of
brownstoneBrownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
s, two-family homes and locally owned businesses. Beginning approximately in 2003, it underwent a period of development of modestly-sized residences, spurred by similar development in neighboring
HobokenHoboken 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...
, and the city's attempt to attract developers to what had historically been a town unfriendly to them, according to Mayor Brian P. Stack. Through approval of varied construction projects to address the needs of residents of different incomes, improved
rent controlRent control refers to laws or ordinances that set price controls on the renting of residential housing. It functions as a price ceiling.Rent control exists in approximately 40 countries around the world...
laws and community input on such issues, this "Hobokenization" resulted in positive comparisons with the redeveloped Hoboken of the mid-to-late 1990s, with new restaurants, bars and art galleries cited as evidence of renewal. The city recorded $192 million in new construction in 2007, and 600 certificates of occupancy, with 500-700 projected for 2008–2009, compared with previous years, in which 50 certificates was considered a high amount. This development continued for several years, reaching a milestone in 2008 with the completion of Union City's first high-rise
condominiumA condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
tower, The Thread, whose name evokes the city's historical association with the embroidery industry. Other such towers have followed, such as the Altessa and Park City Grand.
Commerce
Originally, Bergenline Avenue was the width of a cowpath, and was not regarded as a business center. Street car tracks were expected to be laid on Palisade Avenue where the Town Hall was located. However, and influential citizen named Henry Kohlmeier, who had just built his residence on Palisade Avenue, did not wish to be disturbed by the noise of the passing cars, and proposed that the tracks be laid on Bergenline Avenue, two blocks to the west, and before those who would have objected to this became aware of this change, the motion was approved.
Today Bergenline Avenue remains the city's main commercial thoroughfare. Currently the longest commercial avenue in the state, boasting over 300 retail stores and restaurants, Bergenline runs through not only the entire length of Union City from north to south, but also through West New York,
GuttenbergGuttenberg , 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...
and North Bergen, making it the main commercial strip for Northern Hudson County. Also known as the "Miracle Mile", Bergenline's largest concentration of retail and chain stores begins at the intersection of
32nd StreetThe 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...
and continues north until 92nd Street in North Bergen, and while it is a narrow one-way, southbound street throughout most of Union City, it becomes a four lane, two-way street at 48
th Street, just one block south of the town's limit. Bergenline Avenue is also used as the route for local parades, such as the annual
Memorial DayMemorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
Parade. At Union City's southern end, Bergenline is primarily a residential street, with the shopping district concentrated at
Summit AvenueCounty Route 617 is long and follows one street, Summit Avenue along the ridge of the Hudson Palisades in Hudson County, New Jersey. Its southern end is CR 622, or Grand Street, at Communipaw Junction in the Bergen-Lafayette Section of Jersey City...
and
Transfer StationTransfer Station is the name of a section of Hudson County, New Jersey, which radiates from the intersection where Paterson Plank Road crosses Summit Avenue at 7th Street, and where the borders of Jersey City Heights, North Bergen, and Union City meet at one point, which is a few blocks to the...
. Although not as busy a shopping area as upper Bergenline, the city implemented a series of improvements in 2009 to improve business there, such as improved sidewalks, landscaping and street lights from Seventh Street to 13th Street.
Union City is one of several cities in Hudson County that contains a state-established "
Urban Enterprise ZoneIn the United States, Urban Enterprise Zones , also known as Enterprise Zones, are intended to encourage development in blighted neighborhoods through tax and regulatory relief to entrepreneurs and investors who launch businesses in the area. UEZs are areas where companies can locate free of...
", which was implemented in 1983 by the New Jersey Department of Commerce and Economic Development assist businesses and revitalize economically distressed communities in New Jersey. Businesses within the zone apply for a variety of incentives, including a sales tax reduction to customers of 3½% from the mandated 7% statewide sales tax, with no tax on purchases made by merchants related to running their businesses. Revenue generated from the reduced sales tax is maintained in a special fund dedicated for use within the zone for specific economic development and physical improvement projects. There are approximately 180 UEZ-certified businesses in the city, which includes Bergenline Avenue from 49th to 15th Streets, 32nd Street from Bergenline Avenue to Kennedy Boulevard, Summit Avenue from 18th to Fifth Street, and
Paterson Plank RoadPaterson 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...
from Fifth to Seventh Streets. In addition to providing an incentive for shoppers and for business owners to invest in the area without raising taxes, up to $30,000 in annual UEZ revenue is also used for area upkeep and safety projects, marketing campaigns, and holiday decorations. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Union City's unemployment rate as of September 2009 was 15%, the highest in the state, compared with the lowest,
HobokenHoboken 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...
, at 6.3%, and a state rate of 9.8%.
Demographics
According to the United States 2000 Census, Union City had a population of 67,088, making it the second-most populous municipality in the county after Jersey City. By 2010, it had lost 633 people, or 1% of its population, bringing its population to 66,455.
All of the city is on land, an area 1.27 square miles (3.3 km²). The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 52,977.8 inhabitants per square mile (20,395.9/km²) in 2000, extremely high for an American municipality. The population density of Union City was approximately twice as high as New York City as a whole, but less than Manhattan alone. Union City is the most densely populated city in the United States, though neighboring
GuttenbergGuttenberg , 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...
(legally defined as a
townA Town in the context of New Jersey local government refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government...
) is more densely populated.
Although Hispanics remain the dominant ethnic group in the city, their percentage of the population has increased from 82.3% in the 2000 Census to 84.7% in the 2010 Census. Non-Hispanic whites made up 15.3% of the city's population in 2010; up from 13.3% in the 2000 Census. Blacks made up 5.2% of the city's population in 2010; up from 3.3% in the 2000 Census. The rest of the racial makeup of the city was 0.70% Native American, 2.15% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 28.19% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 6.87% from two or more races. Though Native Americans comprise less than 1% of the city’s population, they doubled between the 2000 and 2010 Census, and combined with West New York’s Native Americans, comprise 38% of the county’s Native American population.
In the early days of the post-
RevolutionThe Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
era, Union City boasted the nation's largest Cuban population, second only to
Miami, FloridaMiami 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...
, leading to the nickname "Havana on the Hudson". Aspects of the enclave are explored in the 2009 publication
The Cubans of Union City: Immigrants and Exiles in a New Jersey Community.
In the ensuing decades, Cuban residents have spread out to other communities of
North Hudson CountyNorth Hudson is the collective name of the municipalities of Weehawken , Union City , West New York , Guttenberg and North Bergen in Hudson County, New Jersey...
.
West New YorkWest 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:...
, at 19.64%, now has the highest percentage of Cubans in New Jersey, with Union City in second place, with 15.35%. These two municipalities have the highest Cuban population percentage in the United States outside of
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Because of the still-high Cuban population, the major New York City
televisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
newsNews is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
outlets will invariably journey to Union City to interview citizens when news items involving
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
or
Raúl CastroRaúl Modesto Castro Ruz is a Cuban politician and revolutionary who has been President of the Council of State of Cuba and the President of the Council of Ministers of Cuba since 2008; he previously exercised presidential powers in an acting capacity from 2006 to 2008...
arise. Moreover, Union City still boasts the largest Hispanic population percentage in New Jersey, at 84.7% by the 2010 Census. It also has a very diversified Hispanic population with
CubansA Cuban American is a United States citizen who traces his or her "national origin" to Cuba. Cuban Americans are also considered native born Americans with Cuban parents or Cuban-born persons who were raised and educated in US...
,
DominicansA Dominican American is any American who has origins in the Dominican Republic.Immigration records of Dominicans in the United States date from the late 19th century, and New York City has had a Dominican community since the 1930s...
, and the more recent groups, such as
South AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
ns and
Central AmericaCentral America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
ns,
HaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
ans, Asian Indians,
KoreansKorean Americans are Americans of Korean descent, mostly from South Korea, with a small minority from North Korea...
and
ArabsAn Arab American is a United States citizen or resident of Arab ethnic, cultural and linguistic heritage or identity, who identifies themselves as Arab. Arab Americans trace ancestry to any of the various waves of immigrants of the countries comprising the Arab World...
. As of the 2000 census, 5.94% of Union City's residents identified themselves as being of
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
ian ancestry, which was the third highest of any municipality in New Jersey and the seventh highest percentage of Ecuadorian people in any place in the United States with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry. As of the 2000 Census, 58.7% of the population was foreign born and 21.6% of residents were naturalized citizens, while 13.9% only speak English at home, whereas 87% reported that they spoke Spanish at home.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 34.3% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.8 males.
As of 2000, Union City's employment breakdown is thus:
27% Manufacturing,
15% Professional,
15% Retail,
8% Transportation,
8% Finance/Insurance/Real Estate,
8% Wholesale Trade,
6% Business and Trade,
5% Construction,
4% Personal Service,
3% Public Administration,
3% Communications, and
1% Entertainment/Recreation.
About 17% of the city's employed residents work in New York City.
Of Union City’s 24,931 housing units (up 1,190 from the 2000 Census), 2,117 of them, or 8%, are vacant, twice the vacancy rate of the 2000 Census.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,642, and the median income for a family was $32,246. Males had a median income of $25,598 versus $19,794 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $13,997. About 18.6% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.3% of those under age 18 and 19.3% of those age 65 or over. The Brookings Institute studies ranked Union City among the 92 most economically depressed localities in the United States, with 18.1% of the population and 27.5% of the children falling below the poverty line. In 1997, the New Jersey Municipal Distress Index, which is based on social, economic, fiscal and physical indicators, ranked Union City as the 3rd most distressed community in the state. One of the county's three homeless shelters, Palisades Emergency Residence Corp., is located in Union City.
Government
Union City's City Hall is located at 3715 Palisade Avenue. The mayor of Union City also serves as a commissioner on the five-member Board of Commissioners, as per the city's
Walsh ActThe Walsh Act is legislation in the U.S. state of New Jersey that permits municipalities to adopt a non-partisan commission form of government. The legislation was signed by Governor of New Jersey Woodrow Wilson on April 25, 1911. The commissions in Walsh Act municipalities are composed of either...
form of government, which has been in place since 1930.
The current
mayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Union City is Brian P. Stack, who became mayor in 2000 after a
recall electionA recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote before his or her term has ended...
forced the resignation of then-mayor Raúl "Rudy" Garcia.
Five members comprise the Union City Board of Commissioners and serve in both administrative and legislative capacities. Each commissioner acts as the director of one of the five major departments of the City, administering the daily operations of his or her department. The five commissioners and their departmental assignments are:
- Brian P Stack – Commissioner of Public Safety
The Commissioner of Public Safety heads one of the departments in those local governments in New Jersey that operate under the Walsh Act form of municipal governance. This is a standalone position in Walsh Act municipalities with a five-member commission...
- Lucio P. Fernandez Commissioner of Public Affairs
The Commissioner of Public Affairs heads one of the departments in those local governments in New Jersey that operate under the Walsh Act form of municipal governance. This is a standalone position in Walsh Act municipalities with a five-member commission...
- Tilo E. Rivas – Commissioner of Public Works
The Commissioner of Public Works heads one of the departments in those local governments in New Jersey that operate under the Walsh Act form of municipal governance. This is a standalone position in Walsh Act municipalities with a five-member commission...
- Maryury Martinetti – Commissioner of Revenue and Finance
The Commissioner of Revenue and Finance heads one of the departments in those local governments in New Jersey that operate under the Walsh Act form of municipal governance...
- Christopher F. Irizarry – Commissioner of Parks and Public Property
The Commissioner of Parks and Public Property heads one of the departments in those local governments in New Jersey that operate under the Walsh Act form of municipal governance. This is a standalone position in Walsh Act municipalities with a three-member commission...
Federal, state, and county representation
Union City is in the 13th Congressional district.
Union City is also in the
Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders District 6 is represented by
Tilo RivasTilo Rivas is an American politician, research scientist and former journalist. He represents on the Hudson County, New Jersey Board of Chosen Freeholders, one of nine members who serve in a legislative role administering all county business.-Early life:...
.
Public safety
Union City is one of five cities in
North HudsonNorth Hudson is the collective name of the municipalities of Weehawken , Union City , West New York , Guttenberg and North Bergen in Hudson County, New Jersey...
served by
North Hudson Regional Fire and RescueNorth Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue provides fire protection and medical assistance to the North Hudson communities of North Bergen, Union City, Weehawken, West New York, and Guttenburg, New Jersey. The fire department serves a population of over 195,000 people.Its members numbered 76 when it...
, along with
North BergenNorth 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...
,
WeehawkenWeehawken 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...
,
West New YorkWest 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:...
, and
GuttenbergGuttenberg , 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...
.
Transportation
Union City is two miles (3 km) from New York City via the
Lincoln TunnelThe Lincoln Tunnel is a long tunnel under the Hudson River, connecting Weehawken, New Jersey and the borough of Manhattan in New York City.-History:...
, its main approach road, Route 495 bisecting it. Within a mile to the west are
U.S. Route 1/9U.S. Route 9 is a U.S. highway in the northeast United States, running from Laurel, Delaware north to the Canadian border near Champlain, New York...
, Route 3, and the
New Jersey TurnpikeThe New Jersey Turnpike is a toll road in New Jersey, maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. According to the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, the Turnpike is the nation's sixth-busiest toll road and is among one of the most heavily traveled highways in the United...
.
The
Bergenline Avenue StationBergenline 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...
of the
Hudson-Bergen Light RailThe 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...
is located at 49th Street near the city line with West New York and North Bergen.
Bergenline Avenue and the marginal highway of New Jersey Route 495 are major public transportation corridors.
New Jersey Transit bus serviceNew Jersey Transit Bus Operations is the bus division of New Jersey Transit, providing bus service throughout New Jersey along with service along one light rail line, with many routes going to New York City and Philadelphia.-History:...
transportation is available to points in Hudson, Bergen, and Passaic counties and to the
Port Authority Bus TerminalThe Port Authority Bus Terminal is the main gateway for interstate buses into Manhattan in New York City...
in
Midtown ManhattanMidtown 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...
. Routes which stop in the city are the 111, 121, 123, 124, 125, 127, 129, 154, 156, 159, 144, 190 (and the 108, 160, 161, 163, 167, 191, 192 by passenger request for travel to the Port Authority Bus terminal only), and the 195 (Saturdays only). The
George Washington Bridge Bus TerminalThe George Washington Bridge Bus Station is a commuter bus terminal located at the east end of the George Washington Bridge in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan in New York City, New York....
is served by the 181.
Jersey CityJersey 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...
can be reached on the 22, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88 and 89 routes. Additional public transportation service is augmented by
dollar vanA 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...
s to the
Hudson County CourthouseThe Hudson County Courthouse or Justice William J. Brennan Jr. Courthouse is located in Jersey City, New Jersey. The six-story structure was originally built between 1906 and 1910 at a cost of $3,328,016.56...
, Newport Mall,
42nd Street in Manhattan42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known for its theaters, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square. It is also the name of the region of the theater district near that intersection...
, and
Paterson, New JerseyPaterson 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...
, The
minibusA minibus or minicoach is a passenger carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is used to describe any full-sized passenger carrying van. Minibuses have a...
es, locally known for their
Spanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
name
guagua, have come subject to greater scrutiny due to alleged safety issues.
Newark Liberty International AirportNewark Liberty International Airport , first named Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport within the city limits of both Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States...
is located 12.5 miles (20.1 km) away in
NewarkNewark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
/
ElizabethElizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...
.
LaGuardia AirportLaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
in
Flushing, QueensFlushing, founded in 1645, is a neighborhood in the north central part of the City of New York borough of Queens, east of Manhattan.Flushing was one of the first Dutch settlements on Long Island. Today, it is one of the largest and most diverse neighborhoods in New York City...
is 12.3 miles (19.8 km) away. John F. Kennedy Airport is also in Queens, New York. The
ColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n airline
AviancaAvianca S.A. is the flag carrier airline of Colombia since December 5, 1919 when it was initially registered under the name SCADTA. It is headquartered in Bogotá, D.C. with its hub at the El Dorado International Airport...
operates a private bus service from to Union City and
ElizabethElizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...
for passengers on Avianca flights departing from and arriving to JFK.
Education
The student population was 9,730 as of November 2009.
Historically, Union City schools have ranked among the highest in Hudson County in reported incidents of violence compared to the size of the student population more than once, most recently in a November 2009 report by the New Jersey Department of Education, which annually records incidents of violence, vandalism, weapons and substance abuse or possession. According to the report, such incidents declined statewide between the 2006–07 and the 2007–08 school years, but rose slightly in Hudson County, with Union City schools having the second highest number of reported incidents behind Jersey City.
Public
Union City Board of EducationUnion City School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in kindergarten through 12th grade in Union City, New Jersey, United States...
operates public schools in Union City. The district is one of 31
Abbott DistrictAbbott districts are school districts in New Jersey that are provided remedies to ensure that their students receive public education in accordance with New Jersey’s state constitution. They were created in 1985 as a result of the first ruling of Abbott v. Burke, a case filed by the Education Law...
s statewide.
The city is served by a single high school, Union City High School, which opened September 3, 2009, which was built on the site of the former
Roosevelt StadiumRoosevelt Stadium was a football stadium that stood in Union City, New Jersey. -History:...
. The $178 million school, whose signature feature is an athletic field on its second floor roof, replaced the former Emerson High School and
Union Hill High SchoolUnion Hill Middle School is a public middle school in Union City, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Union City Board of Education, an Abbott District. The school was built in what was formerly Union Hill, New Jersey, which merged with West Hoboken in 1925 to form Union City...
, which converted to middle schools.
Elementary and high schools in the district include:
- Thomas A. Edison School (PK-8)
- Sara M. Gilmore School (PK-5)
- Hudson School (PK-5)
- Jefferson School (PK-5)
- Roosevelt School (K-8;)
- Veteran's Memorial School (PK-5)
- Washington School (PK-6)
- Robert Waters School (PK-8)
- Woodrow Wilson School (1–8)
- Emerson Middle School
- Union Hill Middle School
- José Martí Freshman Academy (Grade 9)
- Union City High School
- Union City Career Academy (9–12)
Hudson County Community CollegeHudson County Community College is an accredited, co-educational, two-year, public, community college located in Hudson County, New Jersey.-Locations:...
's $28.1 million North Hudson Higher Education Center is expected to open for the 2011 spring semester. The seven story, 92250 square feet (8,570.3 m²) Center, is located on Kennedy Boulevard adjacent to the
Bergenline Avenue Light Rail stationBergenline 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...
. It incorporates green technology, such as photovoltaic electrical systems,
rainwater harvestingRainwater harvesting is the accumulating and storing of rainwater for reuse before it reaches the aquifer. It has been used to provide drinking water, water for livestock, water for irrigation, as well as other typical uses. Rainwater collected from the roofs of houses and local institutions can...
tanks, daylight and occupancy sensors, low-flow fixtures, and high-efficiency mechanical equipment. The NHHEC will also house offices for the Hudson County Career Development Center and the County Clerk.
Private
- St. Francis Academy
- Union City Daycare Program School
- St. Augustine's School
- Mother Seton Interparochial School
- Miftaahul Uloom Academy
Notable landmarks
The former
Monastery and Church of Saint Michael the ArchangelThe Monastery and Church of Saint Michael the Archangel is a state and national historic place in Union City, New Jersey. Formally opened in 1869 and completed in 1875, the grounds of the complex are bounded West Street and Summit Avenue between 18th and 21st Streets. The small street leading to...
, once the largest Roman Catholic church in Hudson County, on West Street, is the one landmark on the National Register of Historic Places in Union City, and one of several locations which have been designated by
New Jersey Register of Historic PlacesThe New Jersey Register of Historic Places is the official list of historic resources of local, state, and national interest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The program is administered by the Historic Preservation Office of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.The register was...
. It is now known as the
Hudson Presbyterian Church. The José Martí Freshman Academy and Union City Public Library on located on the grounds of the complex.
The
Park Performing Arts CenterThe Park Performing Arts Center is a cultural center located at 32nd Street and Central Avenue in Union City, New Jersey, USA. Originally built by a church parish, it became a non-profit organization in 1983, and hosts appearances of local, national, and international artists as well as community...
was originally built in 1931 by the German congregation the Catholic parish of Holy Family Church (and still owned by the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of NewarkThe Archdiocese of Newark is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in northern New Jersey, United States. Its ecclesiastic territory includes all of the Catholic parishes and schools in the New Jersey counties of Bergen, Union, Hudson and Essex .-History:Originally established as the Diocese of...
) to house their cultural and educational programs Its outstanding feature is the
Park Theater which seats 1,400. Incorporated in 1983 the non-profit arts center presents works of local, national, and international artists, as well as permanent and rotating exhibitions.
Union City High School and Athletic Complex opened in September 2009 on the site of the former
Roosevelt StadiumRoosevelt Stadium was a football stadium that stood in Union City, New Jersey. -History:...
, demolished in 2005 to make way for it. The sports field is located on the second floor roof of the building, which also houses the Union City Performing Arts Center and a community health center.
Emerson Middle School, home to the Bulldogs, was opened in April 1915 as
West Hoboken High School, and was home to the Bulldogs. It was renamed
Emerson High School for the writer
Ralph Waldo EmersonRalph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
, when the two towns merged. Located on New York Avenue at 18th Street, the original building is connected with the gym building, built in the 1980s, by a second story enclosed bridge that runs over New York Avenue. The school became the South campus of
Union City High School in September 2008, before converting to a middle school in September 2009, with the opening of the new Union City High School proper. Alumni of the school include DJ and music producer
Erick MorilloErick Morillo is a Colombian-American DJ, music producer and record label owner. Having produced under a number of pseudonyms, including Ministers De la Funk, The Dronez, RAW, Smooth Touch, RBM, Deep Soul, Club Ultimate and Li'l Mo Ying Yang, Morillo is best known for his international work in...
and former
Green Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
center
Frank WintersFrank Mitchell Winters is a former American football center in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Green Bay Packers...
.
Union City is home to two
Carnegie Libraries funded by the donations of steel magnate
Andrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
. Both are considered historically and architecturally significant by the city. The first was built in 1903 by the Cranwell family builders, who were active in the construction of many of the city's buildings, with a $25,000 donation by Carnegie in what was once West Hoboken on 15th Street between Bergenline Avenue and New York Avenue. The second was built in 1905 at the corner of 43rd Street and New York Avenue in what was once
Union HillUnion 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 is the main branch. The 15th Street library retains its original stained glass, but was closed in 2004 upon the completion of a new library on the corner of Summit Avenue and 18th Street, housed in the same building as José Martí Middle School. It was converted into the William V. Musto Cultural Center, which opened in June 2011. It houses the Union City Museum of Art, the Union City Police Museum, the Union City Art Gallery & Concert Hall, the Union City Museum of History, and a senior citizen center.
On June 4, 2004, nearly a year after the death of Cuban-American
salsaSalsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
singer
Celia CruzCelia Cruz was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums...
(who lived in nearby
Fort LeeFort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...
), Union City heralded its annual Cuban Day Parade by dedicating its new
Celia Cruz Park (also known as
Celia Cruz Plaza) at 31st Street and Bergenline Avenue, with Cruz's widower,
Pedro KnightPedro Knight Caraballo was an accomplished Cuban-American musician who was better known for being the husband of legendary singer Celia Cruz....
, present. The park featured a sidewalk star in Cruz's honor, and an 8' x 10' mural by Union City's Edgardo Davila, a collage of Cruz's career throughout the decades. There are four other similar dedications to Cruz around the world. The Latin American Kiwanis Club refurbished the park in early June 2006, replacing the mural with a backlit photograph of Cruz. Cruz's star has expanded into Union City's "Walk of Fame", as new marble stars are added each spring to honor Latin entertainment and media personalities. People so honored at the park include merengue singer Joseíto Mateo, salsa singer
La IndiaLa India , known also as "La Princesa de la Salsa" , is a singer of salsa. She has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy awards.-Early years:...
, Cuban musician
Israel "Cachao" LopezIsrael "Cachao" López , often known as Cachao, was a Cuban musician and composer who helped popularize mambo in the United States in the early 1950s....
, Cuban
tenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
Beny Moré,
Tito PuenteTito Puente, , born Ernesto Antonio Puente, was a Latin jazz and Salsa musician. The son of native Puerto Ricans Ernest and Ercilia Puente, of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Puente is often credited as "El Rey de los Timbales" and "The King of Latin Music"...
, Spanish language television news anchor
Rafael PinedaRafael Pineda is a Cuban-American television news reporter and anchor for the Spanish language station WXTV, the Univision affiliate in New York City.Born in 1938 in Cuba, he later immigrated to the United States as an adult...
, salsa pioneer
Johnny PachecoJohnny Pacheco is a Dominican producer, musician, bandleader, and one of the most influential figures in American salsa music.-Early life:...
, singer/bandleader
Gilberto Santa RosaGilberto Santa Rosa, also known as "El Caballero de la Salsa" , is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero.-Early years:...
and music promoter
Ralph MercadoRalph Mercado Jr. was a promoter of Latin American music — Latin Jazz, Latin rock, merengue and salsa — who established a network of businesses that included promoting concerts, managing artists, Radio Mundo Musical a record label the most important in the Latin industry during 1980-1990, film...
.
September 11 memorials The city's first memorial to honor the four Union City citizens who died in the September 11 attacks was a sculpture placed in Doric Park, in whose courtyard citizens gathered on September 11, 2001 to view the attacks' aftereffects. On September 11, 2007, the city dedicated its Liberty Plaza to commemorate the event. The Plaza, which serves as a transit hub through which commuters pass on their way to and from Manhattan, includes two memorial markers. In subsequent years, citizens of neighboring towns have been honored at Liberty Plaza, including North Bergen resident David Lemagne, a Port Authority police officer who grew up in Union City, and perished during the attacks. Doric Park was later rebuilt as Firefighters Memorial Park, which opened in August 2009. The park includes a public swimming pool, and a new memorial to local fallen firefighters that stands at the entrance. Its popularity has attracted visitors from
ManhattanManhattan 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...
and
Staten IslandStaten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
.
The Monastery of the Perpetual Rosary, known as the
The Blue Chapel, was constructed between 1912 and 1914, as the first monastery dedicated to the recitation of the Perpetual Rosary in the United States. Although the monastery was well maintained for many decades, after the number of resident nuns and finances dwindled, the chapel deteriorated and was vacated in summer of 2009. Plans were announced later that year to renovate and expand the monastery in order to create housing units and underground parking, but negative public reaction squelched those plans. In 2010, the Chapel was included on Preservation New Jersey's annual 10 Most Endangered Historic Sites list, which is intended to draw attention to historical sites in need of preservation. The site's caretakers have previously indicated that it will likely be abandoned or sold, but the city Board of Commissioners passed a November 3, 2010 resolution designating it as a historic site as part of efforts to protect it.
Since 2009, Union City has erected
historical markers to commemorate the lives of its noteworthy natives. The first marker was dedicated to the memory of boxer
Joe JeanetteJeremiah "Joe" Jeannette is considered one of the best African-American heavyweight boxers of the early 20th century.-Early life and career:...
on April 17, 2009, and placed at the corner of
Summit AvenueSummit Avenue is a street in Saint Paul, Minnesota known for having a number of historic houses, churches, synagogues, and schools. The street starts just west of downtown Saint Paul and continues four and a half miles west to the Mississippi River. Other cities have similar streets, such as...
and 27th Street on April 17, 2009, where Jeanette's former residence and gym once stood. The marker lies two blocks from a street, located between Summit Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard, that was named Jeanette Street in his honor. Present at the dedication ceremony was Jeanette's grandniece, Sabrina Jennette. The city's second historical marker was dedicated September 26, 2009 to Peter George Urban, a 10th degree
karateis a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
grandmasterGrandmaster and Master are titles used to describe or address some senior or experienced martial artists. Such titles may be, to some extent, aligned to the elderly martial arts master stock character in fiction...
, writer and teacher who founded an American karate system, American Goju Do. Present at the dedication ceremony was Ubran's daughter, Julia Urban-Kimmerly. The city's third historical marker was dedicated on May 22, 2010 to novelist and screenwriter
Pietro di DonatoPietro Di Donato was an American writer and bricklayer best known for his novel, Christ in Concrete, which recounts of the life and times of his bricklayer father, Geremio, who was killed in 1923 in a building collapse...
, and placed at Bergenline Avenue and 31st Street, where di Donato once lived, and which was named Pietro di Donato Plaza in his honor. Present at the dedication ceremony was di Donato's son, Richard. The fourth was dedicated to painter William Tylee Ranney on September 18, 2010.
Media and culture
Union City is located within the New York media market, with most of its daily papers available for sale or delivery. Until its closing in 1991 the
Hudson DispatchThe Hudson Dispatch was a newspaper covering events in Hudson and Bergen counties in Northern New Jersey. It published continuously from 1874 until 1991, when it was purchased by Newhouse Newspapers...
, a morning daily newspaper that once had a circulation of 39,132, was based in Union City for 117 years. Today it continues as a free bilingual weekly. Local, county, and regional news is covered by the daily
Jersey JournalThe Jersey Journal is a newspaper published from Monday through Saturday, covering news and events throughout Hudson County, New Jersey. The headquarters in Jersey City are at Journal Square which was named after the newspaper...
. The
Union City ReporterThe Union City Reporter is a weekly community newspaper serving Union City, in Hudson County, New Jersey. The newspaper is one of nine weekly publications produced by The Hudson Reporter Assoc., L.P. and is covered by reporter Gennarose Pope. The company's main office is located in Hoboken.Hudson...
is part of the Hudson Reporter group of local weeklies. Other weeklies, the
River View ObserverRiver View Observer is a monthly newspaper, published in Hudson County, New Jersey, and owned by Ad Vantage Publishing Inc., which also publishes the Bayonne Observer newspaper...
and
El Especialito, also cover local news.
Among the films set or shot in the city are
Out of the DarknessOut of the Darkness is a 1985 telefilm about the life of the New York City detective who tracked down and arrested serial killer David Berkowitz.-Cast :*Martin Sheen ... Eddie Zigo*Hector Elizondo ... Father George...
,
Bloodhounds of BroadwayBloodhounds of Broadway is a 1989 film based on four Damon Runyon stories. It was directed by Howard Brookner and starred Matt Dillon, Jennifer Grey, Anita Morris, Julie Hagerty, Rutger Hauer, Madonna, Esai Morales and Randy Quaid....
,
Far from HeavenFar from Heaven is a 2002 drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes and starring Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, and Patricia Clarkson....
, and the eponymous 1980 film
Union CityUnion City is a 1980 film starring Deborah Harry and Dennis Lipscomb.-Plot:A man is so obsessed with finding the person responsible for stealing his milk bottles that he ignores his beautiful young wife, who has other ideas on her mind....
(released in conjunction with the song "
Union City Blue"Union City Blue" is a song by the US rock band Blondie. It was written by Deborah Harry and Nigel Harrison, and was featured on their 1979 album Eat to the Beat.-Single information:...
"). The low-budget film directed by former
GuttenbergGuttenberg , 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...
mayor Peter Lavilla,
Oak Hill, features local institutions including Union City's
Palisades Emergency Residence CorporationPalisades Emergency Residence Corporation founded 1981, is a not-for-profit social service agency located in Union City, New Jersey. The organization provides numerous programs and services with the aim to combat poverty and end the cycle of homelessness and hunger in Hudson County, New...
homeless shelter and a
synagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
in North Bergen.
In the late 2000s, Union City, West New York, Weehawken and North Bergen came to be dubbed collectively as "NoHu", a North Hudson haven for local performing and fine artists, many of whom are immigrants from
Latin AmericaLatin 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
HobokenHoboken 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...
, Jersey City and
ManhattanManhattan 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...
. The Union City/West New York area in particular is a major training ground for actors in the county. In September 2008, Union City held its first annual month-long Art Month, which originated with the September 2006 "Celebrate Art" show at St. John's Episcopal Church. Art Month includes events such as the Union City Arts and Crafts Festival, held the second week of every September. Group shows are also arranged by organizations such as La Ola, a group formed to help unite local artists, and Federación Mercantil, which provides support to artists in the form of bank loan assistance and help avoiding foreclosure, and puts on an annual show of work by Spanish-American painters. Another is the Union City Artists Collective, founded in 2007 by a group of artists and public officials that includes Amado Mora, a sculptor, painter and curator of the Union City Art Gallery at City Hall. Locations in which artists reside or have put on tours or shows include the Yardley Building, a former
Yardley of LondonYardley of London is a traditional British cosmetics brand and is one of the oldest in the world. Established in 1770, Yardley was a major producer of soap and perfumery by the beginning of the 20th century. By 1910, it moved to London's Bond Street, and in 1921 Yardley received its first Royal...
soap factory on Palisade Avenue that overlooks Hoboken, and the old R.H. Simon Silk Mill on 39th Street, which has been dubbed the "
Union HillUnion 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...
Arts Building". The
Park Performing Arts CenterThe Park Performing Arts Center is a cultural center located at 32nd Street and Central Avenue in Union City, New Jersey, USA. Originally built by a church parish, it became a non-profit organization in 1983, and hosts appearances of local, national, and international artists as well as community...
is also a popular arts venue in the city, as it houses Hudson Theatre Works, a theatre company founded in 2011. It was also the first venue for the Park Players, an acting troupe founded in the early 1980s by local teacher Joseph Conklin, and formerly hosted the
NoHu Visions show, and the annual two-day Multi-Arts Festival until 2010, when the latter moved to Union City High School, which houses the Union City Performing Arts Center.
The Multi-Arts Festival is an exhibition of artwork, musical performances and workshops held every May since 1981. Students and alumni of the various schools of Union City display their artwork, put on musical performances in the Park Theater, and put on free demonstrations of
sculptureSculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
,
portraitthumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
and
caricatureA caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
for attendees. It was created by Agnes Dauerman, a Union Hill High School art teacher, who coordinated the program for 25 years before she retired in 2005. The Union City Museum of Art, the Union City Police Museum, the Union City Art Gallery and Concert Hall and the Union City Museum of History are housed in the William V. Musto Cultural Center, formerly the 15th Street library.
The 2010 independent gothic horror art film,
Vampire in Union City, was filmed entirely in Union City, and was directed by entertainer and Union City Commissioner Lucio Fernandez. Produced by MeLu Films, it premiered on September 3, 2010 at the Summit Theater, marking the city's first movie premiere, and the 2010 Celebrate Art Month, which included art exhibits, jazz, dance and opera performances, a film festival, and the public release of Francisco Rivadeneira's book,
Los Amos del Planeta, Tomo II.
The first annual Union City International Film Festival began in December 2010, with the short film "X", which was written and directed by
Josh BrolinJosh James Brolin is an American actor. He has acted in theater, film and television roles since 1985, and won acting awards for his roles in the films W., No Country for Old Men, Milk and True Grit.-Early life:...
, as the opening film. Later that month Union City unveiled the Union City Plaza of the Arts on Bergenline Avenue between 30th and 31st Streets, as a venue for artists to congregate and showcase their work. The location, which sees copious traffic to and from
Midtown ManhattanMidtown 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...
, was chosen in order to showcase the city in a positive light to commuters, and so that the plaza could represent fine arts alongside the adjacent
Pietro Di DonatoPietro Di Donato was an American writer and bricklayer best known for his novel, Christ in Concrete, which recounts of the life and times of his bricklayer father, Geremio, who was killed in 1923 in a building collapse...
Plaza and
Celia CruzCelia Cruz was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums...
Plaza, which represent literature and music, respectively.
External links