Union City, New Jersey

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Union City, New Jersey
Union City highlighted in Hudson County
Coordinates: 40°46′04″N, 74°01′55″W
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Hudson County
Incorporated	January 1, 1925
Government
- Mayor	Brian P. Stack
Area
- City	1.3 sq mi (3.3 km²)
- Land	1.3 sq mi (3.3 km²)
- Water	0 sq mi (0 km²)
Elevation	174 ft (53 m)
Population (2000)
- City	67,088
- Density	52,977.8/sq mi (20,395.9/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (EDT) (UTC-4)
Website: http://www.ucnj.com/

For other places with this name, see Union City.

Union City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 67,088, living on a land area of 3.28 km² (1.27 sq mi). It is the most densely populated city in the United States, with a density of 52,977.8 per square mile.^[1][2]

Union City was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 1, 1925, replacing both Union Hill and West Hoboken Township.^[3]

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Commerce 4 Demographics 5 Government 6 Transportation 7 Education 8 Noteworthy landmarks 9 Noteworthy residents 10 Appearances in film 11 Trivia 12 See also 13 References 14 Sources 15 External links

[edit] History

The area of what is today Union City was originally inhabited by the Lenape Native Americans, but was later settled by the Germans in 1851, who moved across the Hudson River from New York in search of affordable land and open space. From the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, German Americans and Dutch dominated the area. They, along with Swiss and Austrian immigrants, founded the European-style lace making industries, for which they were famous. Union City and West New York became the “embroidery capitol of the United States”, and the embroidery industry’s trademark is on the Union City Seal. At the turn of the 20th Century, Irish and Italian immigrants came to the city, and dominated the city until the late 1960s. The first Cuban immigrants arrived in 1940s, having been attracted to the city in search of work after hearing of its famed embroidery factories. [1] Successive waves of immigrants from Eastern Europe, the Near East and Latin America have contributed imagination and skill to the industry in subsequent years.[2] Then, as today, Union City is a destination for immigrants because it serves as a more affordable and less congested alternative to Manhattan.

Union City was incorporated on June 1, 1925 by merging the two towns of West Hoboken and Union Hill. One of the city’s two high schools, Union Hill High School, continues to bear the name that former town to this day. After World War II, veterans relocated to Bergen County, causing a short-lived decline in the population. In the late 1960s, a large migration of Cuban refugees fleeing Fidel Castro’s regime came and settled in Union City, making Union City for many years the city with the largest Cuban population in the U.S. after Miami, hence its nickname, "Havana on the Hudson." The Cubans have also helped transform Union City into the city that it is today. In recent years however, the Hispanic population has diversified. Today’s influx of immigrants comes from the Dominican Republic, Central and South America. Middle class people from New York City have also settled there.

The easternmost streets of Union City, in particular Mountain Road and Palisade Avenue, boast some impressive views of neighboring Weehawken, Hoboken and the New York City skyline, a feature which, in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, was exploited by numerous Union City citizens, such as those who stood in the courtyard of the Union City Boxing Club to view the event’s aftereffects. A piece of wreckage from the attack was used to create a monument that now stands in that courtyard.

[edit] Geography

Union City is located at 40°46′4″N, 74°1′55″W (40.767651, -74.031833).^GR1 It is bordered by North Bergen in the west and West New York to the north, Weehawken to the east, and Hoboken to the southeast and Jersey City to the south.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.3 mi² (3.3 km²). All of it is land and none of it is covered by water. It meets with Jersey City at a single point while Kennedy Boulevard divides Union City and North Bergen right down the west side of the city with the exception of a small portion of Kennedy Boulevard which is entirely in Union City from 32nd Street to 39th Street.

[edit] Commerce

Union City is in a state-established "Urban Enterprise Zone", which was implemented through a program designed to assist businesses in economically distressed communities across 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. The zone was established in February 1995 through the efforts of Assemblyman Raúl “Rudy” Garcia, who later became the city’s mayor. Between 1995 and 2000, over 150 businesses participated in the tax incentives and other advantages offered by the program.

Until the 1880s, the primary commercial area of Union City was Palisade Avenue. An influential citizen named Henry Kohlmeier who lived there objected to the noise created by horse-drawn public coaches, which led to the route being transferred two blocks west to what is now Bergenline Avenue (formerly Lewis Street), which runs parallel to Palisade Avenue, and which 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, Guttenberg 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 Street 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 north of the town’s limit. Bergenline Avenue is also used as the route for local parades, such as the annual Memorial Day Parade.

Summit Avenue, beginning south of 17th Street, is also a busy commercial district.

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1930	58,659		–
1940	56,173		-4.2%
1950	55,537		-1.1%
1960	52,180		-6.0%
1970	57,305		9.8%
1980	55,593		-3.0%
1990	58,012		4.4%
2000	67,088		15.6%
Est. 2005	65,128	[4]	-2.9%
Population 1930 - 1990.[5]

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 67,088 people, 22,872 households, and 16,056 families residing in the city. The population density was 20,395.9/km² (52,977.8/mi²), extremely high for an American municipality, and in fact twice as high as New York City although slightly less than Manhattan alone. There were 23,741 housing units at an average density of 7,217.7/km² (18,747.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 58.38% White, 3.64% African American, 0.70% Native American, 2.15% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 28.19% from other races, and 6.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 82.32% of the population.

Although Union City at one time boasted the highest Cuban population (second only to Miami, Florida), Cuban residents have spread out to other communities of North Hudson County. West New York, at 19.64%, now has the highest percentage of Cubans in New Jersey, with Union City in second place, with 15.35%, with these two municipalities having the highest Cuban population percentage in the United States, outside of Florida.^[6] Because of the still-high Cuban population, the major New York City television news outlets will invariably journey to Union City to interview citizens when news items involving Cuba or Fidel Castro arise. Moreover, Union City still boasts the largest Hispanic population percentage in New Jersey. It also has a very diversified Hispanic population with Cubans, Dominicans, and the more recent South Americans and Central Americans. Almost 60% of the population is foreign born and 53% speak English less than "very well."

As of the 2000 census, 5.94% of Union City's residents identified themselves as being of Ecuadorian 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.^[7]

Most people live in two or three family houses and apartment buildings. There were 22,872 households out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.4% were married couples living together, 19.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.8% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.40.

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.

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 income 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 rank 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. The New Jersey Municipal Distress Index, which is based on social, economic, fiscal and physical indicators, ranks Union City as the 3rd most distressed community in the state. [3]

[edit] 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 Act form of government.

The current mayor of Union City is Brian P. Stack, who became mayor in 2000 after a recall election forced the resignation of then-mayor Raúl "Rudy" Garcia. he also serves in the New Jersey General Assembly.

Five members comprise the Union City Board of Commissioners and serve in both administrative and legislative capacities. Each commissioner act as the director of one of the five major department of the City, administering the daily operations of his or her department. The five commissioners and their departmental assignments are:^[8]

• Brian P Stack - Commissioner of Public Safety
• Tilo E. Rivas Commissioner of Public Affairs
• Lucio Fernandez - Commissioner of Public Works
• Maryury Bombino - Commissioner of Revenue and Finance
• Christopher F. Irizarry - Commissioner of Parks and Public Property

Union City is in the Thirteenth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 33rd Legislative District.^[9] West New York, Hoboken, Weehawken, and part of Jersey City form the other parts of the district. The mayors of both Union City and West New York represent the 33rd legislative district in the State Assembly.

Union City is in Freeholder District 6 of the County's Board of Chosen Freeholders, and is represented by Tilo Rivas.

[edit] Transportation

The city is only two miles from New York City via the Lincoln Tunnel, one mile to the New Jersey Turnpike, 4 miles from the Garden State Parkway, and is situated at the junction of Route 495, Route 3, and U.S. Route 1/9.

Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) service is available at the Bergenline Avenue station. HBLR is a light rail system, owned by New Jersey Transit and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, that connects the Hudson County communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City and North Bergen. Northbound service is available to Tonnelle Avenue. Southbound service is available to Hoboken Terminal and to stations along the routes to terminals at West Side Avenue in Jersey City and 22nd Street in Bayonne.

The closest airport in New Jersey with scheduled passenger service is Newark Liberty International Airport, located 12.5 miles away in Newark / Elizabeth. LaGuardia Airport in Flushing, Queens is 12.3 miles away via the Lincoln Tunnel.

[edit] Education

Union City Board of Education operates public schools in Union City. UCBoE is an Abbott District.

[edit] Noteworthy landmarks

Saint Michael’s Monastery & Church The largest Roman Catholic church in Hudson County, the grounds of St. Michael’s Monastery are located between 21st and 18th Streets, between Summit Avenue and West Street. It was built in 1869. Due to lack of finances, the entire complex was closed in 1981, and Saint Michael’s Parish merged with nearby Saint Joseph’s Parish, whose school and church were on the corner of Central Avenue at 14th Street, becoming Saint Joseph and Michael’s Parish. (That school later closed following the graduation of its 1986, and was rebuilt in 2005 as Veterans Memorial School.) The monastery and church were purchased by a Korean Presbyterian congregation from Palisades Park, who maintain it to this day. In its lifetime, the church/monastery has survived two fires, one in 1934 that nearly destroyed it (after which it was rebuilt), and another in August 1994 that destroyed the actual monastery section behind the church, and the third of three condominium buildings built adjacent to it. The surrounding park grounds, which had been used in the past for sports activities by citizens, were sold, and are now occupied by two condominium buildings, a low-to-moderate income housing complex that replaced the portion of the monastery destroyed by fire in 1994, and the José Martí Middle School, which was completed in late 2004, along with a new public library housed in the same building. The school’s Field House and Turf Fields are currently under construction.

Park Performing Arts Center Located at 560 32nd Street, the Center was built in 1931 by the German congregation of a Catholic parish to house their cultural and educational programs. Its most outstanding feature is the Park Theater, which seats 1,400 people. It belongs to Holy Family Church and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, and was incorporated in 1983 as a non-profit arts center dedicated to presenting and producing programs for the surrounding communities. It is identified as "the only institution in the County solely dedicated to the performing arts" by the Hudson County Urban Complex Strategic Revitalization Plan. It has featured performers such as Johnny Cash and George Carlin. One of the most noteworthy events to have taken place at Park Theater occurred in 1986 when Aerosmith and Run-D.M.C. filmed their groundbreaking video for their single "Walk This Way". The theater is currently administered by Father Kevin Ashe. An addition was built to the theater in 2000. The theater’s two most well-known events are the annual Multi-Arts Festival and the annual Passion play.

The Multi-Arts Festival is an exhibition of artwork, musical performances and workshops held every May since 1981, in which 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 sculpture, portraiture and caricature for attendees. It was organized by Chairperson Agnes Dauerman, a Union Hill High School art teacher, for 25 years before she retired in 2005.

The Park Theater's Passion play made headlines in March 1997 when a black actor, Desi Arnaz Giles, was cast to play the part of Jesus Christ. This created an uproar that resulted in death threats directed at the theater, and as a result, cancellations by five tour groups. The theater also received hundreds of calls and faxes from around the world expressing support, and Daniel Quinn, assistant director of the play, opined that reaction to the play was 99% positive. Ticket sales actually increased as a result of the controversy, which was covered in the New York Post, and the opening day’s audience of 700 gave Giles a standing ovation for his portrayal of Jesus. The play was also attended by noted conservative political strategist Ralph Reed in April of that year. [4][5]

Roosevelt Stadium This sporting arena (not to be confused with Jersey City, New Jersey's Roosevelt Stadium) opened November 25, 1937 as part of the New Deal's federally-funded Works Progress Administration Project. Originally the site of the Hudson County Consumers Brewery Company, the art deco^[10] stadium was bounded on the east by Summit Avenue and on the west by Kerrigan Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard between 24th and 26th Streets. Roosevelt Stadium stood 15 rows deep, seated 18,000 people, and housed events in football, soccer, |track, boxing, and semi-pro baseball, as well as numerous special events, from carnivals and Fourth of July fireworks shows to an exhibition baseball game featuring Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The stadium’s most noteworthy annual event was the Thanksgiving football “Turkey Game,” held since 1919 between rivals Emerson High School’s Bulldogs and Union Hill High School’s Hillers. Its last Turkey Game took place on November 25, 2004, with Emerson victorious 21-0. It was demolished in the fall of 2005 to make way for the new Union City High School and Athletic Complex, which is scheduled for completion in September 2008.

Emerson High School Named for writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emerson High School, home to the Bulldogs, was opened in April 1915 as West Hoboken High School. Located on New York Avenue at 18th Street, the school’s most unique physical feature is the bridge that connects the original building with the gym building across the street, which was built in the 1980s, allowing students to cross New York Avenue from one building to the other on the second floor. A new high school that was to be the new Emerson High School will be completed in September 2008 on the site of the former Roosevelt Stadium, though it was decided to name it Union City High School, as a merger of both Emerson and Union Hill High School. The the old Emerson H.S. will become a junior high school for grades 7 - 9.

15th Street Library Situated between Bergenline Avenue and New York Avenue, this library was built in 1904 with a grant from Andrew Carnegie. It boasts original stained glass and is considered by many to be of landmark quality. The library 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 the new José Martí Middle School.

Celia Cruz Park (also known as Celia Cruz Plaza) On June 4, 2003, nearly a year after the death of Cuban-American salsa singer Celia Cruz (who lived in nearby Fort Lee), Union City heralded its annual Cuban Day Parade by dedicating its new Celia Cruz Park at 31st Street and Bergenline Avenue, with Cruz's widower, Pedro Knight, 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.^[11] Stars were later added to the park in honor of Tito Puente, Spanish language television news anchor Rafael Pineda, salsa pioneer and Johnny Pacheco. The park was again refurbished by the Latin American Kiwanis Club in early June 2006. The mural was replaced with a backlit photograph of Cruz, and four more stars were added in honor of merengue singer Joseíto Mateo, salsa singer La India, Cuban musician Israel "Cachao" Lopez, and Cuban tenor Beny Moré.

[edit] Noteworthy residents

• Akon, Senegalese rapper.^[12]
• James E. Buttersworth, 19th Century British maritime painter.
• Bobby Cannavale, actor known for his roles on Ally McBeal, Third Watch, and Will & Grace.^[13]
• Norman Cousins, author and peace advocate.
• Pietro Di Donato, Italian American novelist, and author of Christ in Concrete.
• Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam, Rebbe of the Klausenberg Hasidic dynasty.
• Joe Jeanette, considered one of the best African American heavyweight boxers of the early 20th Century.
• Bob Menendez, United States Senator.^[14]
• Otto Messmer, the creator of Felix the Cat.^[15][16]
• W. S. Merwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet.
• Erick Morillo, DJ and music producer.
• Mitchell Olson, songwriter and contestant on the second season of the reality television show Survivor.
• Joe Oriolo, writer and cartoon animator who co-created Casper the Friendly Ghost and animated Felix the Cat.
• Frederick Reines, Nobel Prize-winning physicist who co-discovered the neutrino.^[17]
• Paul Tagliabue, National Football League Commissioner.
• Frank Winters, National Football League player (1987-2002) for the Green Bay Packers.

[edit] Appearances in film

Union City has been used as the location for a number of feature and television movies. Among them:

• Out of the Darkness A 1985 tv movie depicting the hunt for "Son of Sam" serial killer David Berkowitz, with Martin Sheen as detective Ed Zigo. The apartment building on the corner of 18th Street and Summit Ave. served as the exterior shots of a Queens, New York police station, and the real-life Zigo, who appeared in the film as a negotiator, was on location during filming as a technical advisor.^[18]
• Bloodhounds of Broadway A 1989 period film set during 1928 New York, featuring Madonna, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Grey, Steve Buscemi, and Randy Quaid. The building on the corner of 24th Street and Summit Ave. was used a location in the film.
• Far from Heaven A 2002 Academy Award-nominated film starring Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, and Dennis Haysbert.^[19][20]
• Union City An eponymous 1980 film that was set in and filmed on location.^[21]

[edit] Trivia

• The area between what is now Palisade and Bergenline Avenues, from 22nd to 32nd Street was a Civil War installation called Camp Yates.
• In the 1960s and early 1970s when the Union City Cuban population was at its height, there were more Cubans per square mile in Union City than in Havana, Cuba.^{[citation needed]}
• The area on which Roosevelt Stadium stood was part of a farm called Kerrigan Farm. The street that now runs from 15th Street to 25th and ends at the stadium site is called Kerrigan Avenue.
• Trolleys began to operate in West Hoboken and Union Hill in 1890, after the area was electrified.
• The cost to build Union Hill High School was $300,000.
• The city is served by a local newspaper, Union City Reporter, which is actually based in Hoboken.
• Union City is ranked #48 on a list of cities with the highest number of renters.^[22]
• Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show played Union City clubs before they became famous in 1971.
• Bodybuilder, publisher, and International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) co-founder, Joe Weider, who created the Mr. Olympia and Ms. Olympia contests, once had his headquarters in Union City.^[23]

[edit] See also

• Union City Reporter

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

• History of West Hoboken and Union Hill by Ella-May Ryman (1965)
• The Historical Background of Union City: A Monograph, Prepared for the Commemoration of New Jersey’s Tercentenary 1664-1964 and As a Teaching Material and Aid in the Union City School System by Daniel A. Primont, William G. Fiedler and Fred Zuccaro (1964)
• The City of Union City (A 1996 calendar)
• Union City Reporter (Various issues)

[edit] External links

• City of Union City
• Union City Board of Education
• Union City Board of Education's 2005-06 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• National Center for Education Statistics data for the Union City Board of Education
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 40.767651° -74.031833°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

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