» For sites of same name, see: Union City.
Union City is a
city in
Hudson County,
New Jersey,
United States. According to 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 - roughly twice as dense as the second densest city, New York City.
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.
History
The area of what is today Union City was originally inhabited by the
Lenape, but was later settled by
Germans in 1851, who moved across the
Hudson River from
New York City in search of affordable land and open space.
The area between what is now Palisade and
Bergenline Avenues, from 22nd to 32nd Street was a
Civil War installation called Camp Yates. Trolleys began to operate in West Hoboken and Union Hill in 1890, after the area was electrified. 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.
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
Cubans immigrated to Union City in the 1940s, having been attracted to the city in search of work after hearing of its famed embroidery factories. 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." 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.
Geography
Union City is located at (40.767651, -74.031833). 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's land and none of it's covered by water. It meets with
Jersey City along Paterson Plank Road 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.
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's 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.
Demographics
As of the
census 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. Union City is the most densely populated city in the United States 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.
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. Union City is ranked #48 on a list of cities with the highest number of renters.
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.
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, which has been in place since 1930.
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:
Union City is in the Thirteenth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 33rd Legislative District.
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.
Transportation
The city is only two miles from
New York City via the
Lincoln Tunnel, one mile to the
New Jersey Turnpike, four 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.
NJ Transit bus transportation is available to the
Port Authority Bus Terminal in
Midtown Manhattan on 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 when heading to the Port Authority Bus terminal only), and the
195 (Saturdays only). The
George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal is served by the
181.
Jersey City can be reached on the
22,
82,
83,
84,
85,
86,
88 and
89 routes.
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.
Education
Union City Board of Education operates public schools in Union City. UCBoE is an
Abbott District. The city is served by two high school,
Emerson High School and
Union Hill High School. The cost to build
Union Hill High School was $300,000.
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.
(External Link)(External Link)
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 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. 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.
Noteworthy residents
Akon, Senegalese rapper.
James E. Buttersworth, 19th Century British maritime painter.
Bobby Cannavale, actor known for his roles on Ally McBeal, Third Watch, and Will & Grace.
Norman Cousins, author and peace advocate.
Dominick V. Daniels, represented New Jersey's 14th congressional district from 1959-1977.
Vincent John Dellay (1907-1999), represented New Jersey's 14th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1957-1959.
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.
Otto Messmer, the creator of Felix the Cat.
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.
Carol-Lynn Parente, executive producer of Sesame Street and winner of seven Emmy Awards for her work on the program.
Frederick Reines (1918-1998), Nobel Prize-winning physicist who co-discovered the neutrino.
Aaron Stanford (1976-), actor known for his role as Pyro in the films and .
Joe Weider (1922-), Bodybuilder, publisher, and founder of International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) and the Mr. Olympia and Ms. Olympia contests, once had his headquarters in Union City.
Frank Winters (1964-), National Football League player (1987-2002) for the Green Bay Packers.
Media appearances
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 Avenue served as the exterior shots of a Queens, New York City Police Department station, and the real-life Zigo, who appeared in the film as a negotiator, was on location during filming as a technical advisor.
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.
Union City An eponymous 1980 film that was set in and filmed on location.
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