Gold Coast (New Jersey)
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| The Gold Coast | |
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| Counties | Hudson and Bergen |
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| Area | |
| - City | 137.529 km² (53.1 sq mi) |
| - Land | 95.571 km² (36.9 sq mi) |
| - Water | 41.958 km² (16.2 sq mi) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - City | 606,221 |
| - Density | 42,550.6/km² (16,428.8/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
New Jersey's Gold Coast consists of a string of communities on the west bank of the Hudson River, across from New York City in Hudson and Bergen counties. The term is a relatively new one and was coined by real estate agents, brokers, and developers in the 1990s who realized the investment potential of the area. It is infrequently, if ever, used outside the context of real-estate sales and marketing.
A more commonly used collective name is the Hudson Waterfront, or simply The Waterfront, or sometimes the "Jersey waterfront", or farther north, "the Palisades". (The New Jersey Department of Tourism considers it to be part of the state's Gateway Region.) Most residents just refer to the town or neighborhood, and occasionally the name of the development, where they live or work. This may have to do with the fact that though this geographically long narrow region is a contiguous urban area (where it's often difficult to know when one's crossed a civic boundary), each of the municipalities has its own government and school district, with which the citizens identify. Few people travel very far along its length to work, school, or to shop or socialize, more often heading east to New York City or further west into New Jersey.
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[edit] History
The west bank of the Hudson, and hills and cliffs beyond it, were initially settled by Europeans around the same time as New York City, in the mid 1600s. Prior to this it was inhabited by the Lenape, later called the Delaware Indian.
During the latter half of the 19th and early part of the 20th centuries, the region experienced intense growth, due largely to the many railroad terminals and maritime facilities built there and to the extensive immigration to the USA, especially via Ellis Island, which is in its waters. Before the construction, 1910, of the Pennsylvania Railroad's North River Tunnels under the Hudson, railroads terminated on the west bank of the river, requiring passengers and cargo to travel by ferry or barge to Manhattan. This development of ports in Jersey City, Bayonne, Hoboken, and Weehawken resulted in intense industrial and residential development in the area.
However, the construction of tunnels and bridges into Manhattan, coupled with the growing popularity of road travel over the railroads or boats, spelled the end of the railroads and ports. Most of the ports along the Hudson and Lower New York Bay were shut down, while nearly all of the railroad terminals closed. The only remaining railroad terminal currently in operation along the Gold Coast is Hoboken Terminal, which serves as a terminus for many New Jersey Transit commuter trains. As much of the capital and wealth fled the region after World War II, the area experienced a major downturn, which lasted through to the late-1990s.
[edit] Today
Today, it is primarily made up of established urban communities that were commercial/industrial in nature throughout the 20th century, though some areas were high-density bedroom communities. The area is currently experiencing intensive economic development, consisting largely of high-density residential buildings, office towers, and retail centers. Some of this development is on brownfields that were once factories, warehouses, docks, and rail yards. Existing housing stock, made up mostly of high-density detached homes, old brownstones/rowhouses and converted industrial spaces, has been revitalized — particularly in areas near to public transportation corridors. Additionally, the area is seeing new residential development, in the form of single-family housing, multi-family apartments, and condominiums. Today, the Gold Coast has some of the most valuable real estate in the state.
The Gold Coast communities are very urban and have some of the highest residential densities in the United States. However, the communities remain fragmented, due in part to New Jersey's long history of home rule local government. Within these communities exist distinct neighborhoods and shopping districts, formed in part due to isolation caused by Hudson River inlets, the cliffs of the New Jersey Palisades and rail lines.
[edit] Communities
Part of the New York metropolitan area, the area has a population of approximately 600,000. and is made up of the following communities (from south to north):
- Hudson County
- Bergen County
[edit] Transportation
[edit] Rail
- Hoboken Terminal New Jersey Transit Hoboken Division: Main Line (to Suffern, and in partnership with MTA/Metro-North, express service to Port Jervis), Bergen County Line, and Pascack Valley Line (limited AM inbound and PM outbound service), all via Secaucus Junction (where transfer is possible to Northeast Corridor Line); Montclair-Boonton Line and Morris and Essex Lines (both via Newark Broad Street Station); North Jersey Coast Line (limited service as Waterfront Connection via Newark Penn Station to Long Branch and Bay Head); Raritan Valley Line (limited service via Newark Penn Station);
- Hudson-Bergen Light Rail:serving Bayonne, Liberty State Park, Jersey City's West Side, downtown Jersey City, Hoboken Terminal, Hoboken's western perimeter, the Weehawken waterfront, Bergenline and Tonnelle Avenues.
- PATH: 24-hour subway service from Hoboken Terminal (HOB) and downtown Jersey City and Journal Square (JSQ) to midtown Manhattan (33rd) (along 6th Ave to Herald Square/Pennsylvania Station), the World Trade Center (WTC), and Newark Penn Station (NWK).
[edit] Water
- NY Waterway ferry service, from Jersey City, Hoboken and Weehawken to World Financial Center and Pier 11/Wall Street in lower Manhattan, and to West 39th in midtown Manhattan, where free transfer is available to a variety of "loop" buses.
[edit] Surface
- New Jersey Transit as well as private companies provide bus service
- Journal Square, Exchange Place, Hoboken Terminal, and Bergenline at 32nd Street, 48th Street (HBLR) Station, and 90th St (Nungessers) are major origination, destination and transfer points
- Manhattan-bound bus service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal and George Washington Bridge Bus Station
- local (and some suburban) service is identified by single or double digits: 1, 2, 22, 23, 64, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87 and 88.
- Manhattan (with local stops) and some suburban service is identified by triple digits: 120, 121, 123, 125, 154, 156, 158, 159, 163, 165, 166, 168, 181 and 188.
[edit] Crossings and Highways
- Bayonne Bridge to Staten Island
- Holland Tunnel in Jersey City to Lower Manhattan, Interstate 78, U.S. Route 1/9
- Lincoln Tunnel in Weehawken to Midtown Manhattan, NJ 495, Route 3
- George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee to Upper Manhattan, Palisades Interstate Parkway, U.S. Route 46, Interstate 95, Interstate 80
- North River Tunnels (railroad) to Midtown Manhattan New York Penn Station, used by Amtrak and NJ Transit, part of the Northeast Corridor.
- H&M Hudson Tubes, now part of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey's PATH subway line.
[edit] Air
- Newark Liberty Airport (EWR) is closest airport in New Jersey with scheduled passenger service
- LaGuardia Airport (LGA) is in Flushing, Queens
- John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) is on Jamaica Bay in Queens
- Teterboro Airport, in the Hackensack Meadowlands, serves private and corporate planes
[edit] See also
[edit] Interesting Facts
- If the Gold Coast were incorporated into one city, it would be the twenty-first most populated in the country and would still have the smallest land area of the most populous fifty. The only city in the Gold Coast that is on the most populated hundred cities in the United States is Jersey City at sixty six. US Census
- Of municipalities with over 50,000 people, Union City, New Jersey is the most densely populated in the United States.[1]
- The most densely populated town in the country, Guttenberg, New Jersey is in the Gold Coast.[citation needed]
- North Bergen is the city with the second most hills per square mile in the United States behind San Francisco.[2]
- North Hudson has the second largest Cuban American population in the United States behind Miami.[2]
- Jersey City is the twenty first most racially diverse city in the United States and the most racially diverse on the East Coast of the United States.[3]
- The Gold Coast has six communities on the list of the 100 cities (population 5,000 and up) with the highest percent of foreign-born residents: West New York (65.2%), Union City (58.7%), Palisades Park (57.0%) Guttenberg (48.7%), Fairview (48.4%) and Fort Lee (44.7%).[4]
[edit] References
- ^ 2000 Census: US Municipalities Over 50,000: Ranked by 2000 Density, accessed March 22, 2007
- ^ a b Most liquor licenses? Bumpiest town? Local municipalities hold unusual distinctions, Hudson Reporter, August 27, 2006
- ^ Top 100 Most Racially Diverse Cities (pop. 5,000+), accessed February 25, 2007
- ^ Top 100 Cities with Highest Percentage of Foreign-Born Residents (pop. 5000+), accessed February 25, 2007
