Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 120,568, making it the fourth most populous city in New Jersey. Elizabeth's population was 124,969 according to the 2010 Census. The city is the county seat of Union. This has a high presence of Colombians, about 35,000 live in it, representing 28% of the total population.
By plane
Elizabeth is easily accessible via Newark Liberty
International Airport internet wikipediacommons (IATA: EWR).
By
train
The closest Amtrak train station is at Newark Liberty
International Airport.
By bus
The nearest Greyhound terminal
is in Newark.
In the street
The city is just off the important
Interstate Highway 95, which connects Boston and Newark with Baltimore,
Washington, D.C. and Florida connects.
NJ Transit, the New Jersey state transit company, has two train stations in Elizabeth - Elizabeth and North Elizabeth - that provide direct service to Newark Airport and Penn Station in Manhattan, as well as many destinations west of New York Metropolitan area. The same company also operates a number of bus routes here.
Midtown, also known as Uptown, is the main business district. It's
also a historic neighborhood, home to Elizabeth First Presbyterian
Church and St. John's Episcopal Church. The First Presbyterian Church
was a battlefield during the American Revolution. Here are also located
the Hersh Tower (of art deco design) and the Ritz Theater, which has
been in operation since 1926.
Elizabeth Avenue/Union Square is a
primarily Hispanic neighborhood, located to the east of Midtown.
Although there is still a predominance of Cuban businesses, there are
other Hispanic groups such as Central and South Americans. There are
also some Italian businesses, many of which have been around for
decades. The commerce of the neighborhood is centered on Elizabeth
Avenue, nicknamed "The Market" (The market). Spanish is the dominant
language. Unfortunately, the area is seen as a dangerous place, due to
the number of beggars and thieves that haunt the area, plus it contains
points that have been linked to drug trafficking.
North Elizabeth,
also known as "North End", is primarily a working-class neighborhood.
Morris Avenue is home to many Colombian shops and restaurants and is
sometimes called "Little Colombia." Many Colombians refer to Morris
Avenue as La Morris.
Westminster is one of Elizabeth's wealthiest and
most historic areas, located between North Avenue and the city's edge
with Hillside. Here is the home of Senator Raymond Lesniak (D) and
several of the largest mansions in the city.
Elizabethport ("The
Port"): Although it has been one of the most impoverished areas of
Elizabeth for decades, there has been great progress in recent years.
Many of the homes have been remodeled or replaced with newer, more
visually pleasing construction. Previously, housing projects existed
along First Street, which were razed and replaced with attractive low-
and moderate-income condominiums. Once littered with rubbish and debris
along the sidewalk, the Elizabeth Marina has been upgraded and now hosts
many celebrations, from a Hispanic festival in late spring to the
lighting of a Christmas tree in winter. Living conditions in the area
continue to improve year after year. The population is primarily African
American, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, and Portuguese. Historically
there was a Lithuanian community and a Lithuanian Catholic Church still
remains in the neighborhood. However, "The Port" was largely Irish from
the late 1800s until World War II. The largest church in Elizabeth is
St. Patrick's Church in Elizabethport, built by the Irish after their
arrival. The temple still remains in beautiful condition.
Elmora is a
working-middle-class neighborhood on the west side of Elizabeth. It is
home to many Colombians and Jews. It is also home to several Cashrut and
Colombian restaurants. On Elmora Avenue, the main street, you can find a
locally popular Goodman's gourmet store.
Elmora Hills is the
northwestern part of Elizabeth, just north of Elmora. It is a
predominantly upper-middle class neighborhood. Approximately 65% of its
population is white. The area has a large Jewish population.
Peterstown, also known as The Burg, is a working-middle-class
neighborhood, located in the southeastern part of the city. It is highly
industrial and ethnically diverse. Peterstown was mainly occupied by new
Italian immigrants and their descendants, but their numbers have
declined today. The west end of the Goethals Bridge, which spans Arthur
Kill and connects the city to Staten Island, is located in Peterstown.
1 First Presbyterian Church of Elizabeth, 14-44 Broad St. 18th
century Gothic style church.
2 St. Patrick's Church, 215 Court St, on
Jackson Park. Gothic style monumental church built in 1900 in South East
Elizabeth.
Other structures
Belcher-Ogden House, 1046 E Jersey
St, off Catherine St, in the center of town. Early 18th Century Georgian
style dwelling house.
Boxwood Hall/Boudinot Mansion, 1073 E Jersey
St, off Morrell St. Late 18th century mansion.
Elizabeth Station,
Corner of Morris Ave & Broad St. Elizabeth's Romanesque style railway
station, built in the late 19th century.
Charles N. Fowler
House/Vail-Deane School, 518 Salem Ave. Dwelling house from the early
20th century (Colonial Revival style).
Liberty Hall/Governor William
Livingston House, Corner Morris Ave & North Ave. Dwelling house from the
18th century.
Singer Factory District, Trumbull St. The 19th century
complex of the former Singer sewing machine factory.
St. John's
Parsonage/Hampton House, 633 Pearl St. 17th century rectory (Federal
style).
Union County Courthouse, 2 Broad St, off Rahway Ave. Located
in the center of Elizabeth, the city's imposing courthouse.
Elizabeth
Station is the best place to begin exploring the sprawling Mid-Town
Historic District.
Evergreen Cemetery, 1137 N Broad St. Late Victorian cemetery established in the 19th century.
After World War II, Elizabeth has seen its transportation facilities
grow considerably. The Port of Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal is one
of the busiest terminals in the world, as is Newark Liberty
International Airport, part of which is located in Elizabeth. The city
is home to the Jersey Gardens outlet mall and an IKEA store, both of
which generate millions of dollars in revenue.
Along with Linden,
Elizabeth is home to the Bayway Refinery, a ConocoPhillips refining
facility that supplies petroleum products to the New York and New Jersey
area, producing approximately 230,000 barrels per day.
Some
sections of the city are covered by an Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ),
which lowers sales tax to 3.5% (half the 7% usually charged statewide)
and offers incentives to businesses located in the area. The Elizabeth
UEZ has the largest range of participation in the state, including
approximately 1,000 businesses that participate in and benefit from the
program. The UEZ has helped bring in more than $1.5 billion for the
city's economic development and has generated more than $50 million in
sales taxes that have been reinvested to fund additional police, roads,
and other infrastructure improvements.
The city was founded in 1664 by English colonists and named after the
wife of Sir George Carteret (and not Queen Elizabeth I, as it may seem),
one of the first owners of a part of the territory between the Hudson
and Delaware rivers, formerly called New Netherlands and renamed New
Jersey . The city was originally called Elizabethtown. It is the first
English-speaking settlement in the new colony and the first capital of
New Jersey (now Trenton). During the Revolutionary War, Elizabeth was
attacked by British troops stationed in Manhattan and Staten Island,
culminating in the Battle of Springfield, which defeated British
attempts to take New Jersey.
On March 13, 1855, Elizabethtown was
merged with the suburbs, taking on the current name of Elizabeth. On
March 19, 1857, the city became part of the newly created Union County.
The first large industrial enterprise in the city was the Singer
company, which produces sewing machines. In 1889, Andrew Riker founded
his electric car business here. In addition, since the end of the 19th
century, submarines have been built at the Elizabeth Docks.
According to the US Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.66
square miles (35.37 km2), including 12.32 square miles (31.91 km2) of
land and 1.34 square miles (3.46 km 2) reservoirs (9.78%).
Elizabeth is bordered to the southwest by Linden, to the west by Roselle
and Roselle Park, to the northwest by Union and Hillside, and to the
north by Newark. East of the city across Newark Bay is Bayonne in Hudson
County and Staten Island, New York.
The boundaries of Elizabeth,
Bayonne, and Staten Island converge at one point at Shooters Island, of
which 7.5 acres (3.0 ha) of the island is owned by Elizabeth, although
the island is administered by the New York City Department of Parks and
Recreation.
Elizabeth River - flows through the city for 4.2
miles (6.8 km), and then flows into the Arthur Kill.
local government
The City of Elizabeth is governed through a
Mayor-Council system of municipal government under the Faulkner Act. The
city's mayor, J. Christian Bollwage, is serving his fourth term as
mayor.
The Elizabeth City Council consists of nine members. Three
members are elected by accumulation and the other six are elected by
each of the six wards in the city. The current at-large elected
councilors are Frank Cuesta, Edward Jackus and Patricia Perkins-Auguste.
Councilmembers elected from each ward are: Manny Grova, Jr. (First
Ward); Nelson González (Second Ward); Joseph Keenan (Third Ward); Carlos
Cedeño (Fourth Ward); William Gallman, Jr. (President of the Council,
Fifth Ward); and Frank Mazza (Sixth Ward).
Federal, state and
county representation
The City of Elizabeth is divided between the
10th and 13th Representative Districts and is part of the 20th
Legislative District of New Jersey.
New Jersey's Tenth
Representative District, which covers portions of Essex County, Hudson
County and Union County, is represented by Donald M. Payne (D, Newark).
New Jersey's Thirteenth Representative District, which covers portions
of Essex County, Hudson County, Middlesex County, and Union County, is
represented by Albio Sires (D, West New York, who won the seat in a
special election on November 7, 2006, to fill the seat that had been
vacant since January 16, 2006. The seat used to be represented by Robert
Menendez (D), who was elected to the United States Senate, to fill the
seat by now New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine New Jersey is represented in
the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D,
Hoboken).
New Jersey's 20th Legislative District is represented
in the State Senate by Raymond Lesniak (D, Union) and in the New Jersey
General Assembly by Neil M. Cohen (D, Union) and Joseph Cryan (D,
Union).
Union County is governed by a nine-member Board of Chosen
Freeholders. As of January 2007, the Union County Freeholders were:
Bette Jane Kowalski (President), Angel G. Estrada (Vice President),
Chester Holmes, Adrian O. Mapp, Alexander Mirabella, Rick Proctor,
Deborah P. Scanlon, Daniel P. Sullivan and Nancy Ward.
As of the 2000 census, there are 120,568 people, 40,482 households
and 28,175 families residing in the city. The population density is
3809.5 inhabitants per km². The population is 55.78% White, 19.98%
African American, 0.48% Native American, 2.35% Asian, 0.05% Pacific
Islander, 15.51% other races, and 5.86% mixed race. 49.46% are Latinos
of various races.
Of the 40,482 households, 36.6% have children
under the age of 18. 42.9% of these are married couples living together,
19.1% are single mothers, 30.4% are not families, 24.6% consist of
single households and 8.4% people are older than 65. The average
household size is 2 .91, the average family size 3.45.
26.3% of
the population is under 18 years old, 10.8% between 18 and 24, 33.7%
between 25 and 44, 19.3% between 45 and 64, 10.0% older than 65. The
average age is 33 years. The female to male ratio is 100:98.0, for
people older than 18 the ratio is 100:96.1.
The median annual
household income is $35,175, and the median family income is $38,370.
Men have a median income of $30,757, women $23,931. The city's per
capita income is $15,114. 17.8% of the population and 15.6% of families
live below the poverty line, of which 22.2% are children or young people
under the age of 18 and 17.2% of the people are older than 65 years.
Most of Newark International Airport is in the Elizabeth metropolitan
area, as is one of the United States' largest container terminals, Port
Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal.
The New Jersey Turnpike
(Interstate 95) connects Elizabeth directly to the interstate network.
Interstate 278 connects Elizabeth to the New York borough of Staten
Island via the Goethals Bridge. The Garden State Parkway runs a few
miles west of town.
Both Elizabeth (Broad Street) and North
Elizabeth Stations serve New Jersey Transit's Northeast Corridor Line
and North Jersey Coast Line regional trains to and from New York City
(Penn Station). There are also bus routes to New York City (Port
Authority Bus Terminal), Newark Airport and Newark Penn Station.
Education
The city's public schools are operated by Elizabeth Public Schools, an Abbott district. Elizabeth High School is the largest in the state and one of the largest in the United States. Bruriah High School for Girls is a Jewish women's academy.
Matthias W. Baldwin (1795-1866), steam locomotive maker, was born in
Elizabeth.
Rick Barry (b. 1944), NBA player.
Antoinette Louisa
Brown (1825–1921), the first woman to be ordained as a minister, was
born and died in Elizabeth.
Carol Blazejowski (b. 1956), a member of
the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, was born there.
Judy Blume (b.
1938), writer.
Elias Boudinot (1740-1821), President of the
Continental Congress and one of the first United States Congressmen.
Todd Bowles (b. 1963), former defensive back for the Washington Redskins
and San Francisco 49ers and current defensive backs coach for the Dallas
Cowboys.
Hubie Brown (b. 1933), NBA coach and member of the
Basketball Hall of Fame, grew up in Elizabeth.
Robert Nietzel Buck
(1914-2007), aviator who broke the transcontinental airspeed record in
1930 and the youngest pilot to be licensed in the United States.
William Burnet (1730-1791), physician who represented New Jersey in the
Continental Congress from 1780 to 1781.
Nicholas Murray Butler
(1862-1947), Nobel Peace Prize winner and one of the founders of the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Rodney Carter (b. 1964),
former running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Al Catanho (b.
1962), former linebacker for the New England Patriots and Washington
Redskins.
Abraham Clark (1725–1794), member of the Continental
Congress and one of the signers of the United States Declaration of
Independence.
Amos Clark, Jr. (1828-1912), New Jersey representative
and businessman, lived in Elizabeth.
Michael Chertoff (b. 1953),
United States Secretary of Homeland Security.
Freddie 'Red' Cochrane
(1915-1993), professional boxer in the welterweight division who became
world champion in that category in 1940.
Tom Colicchio (b. 1962),
restaurant owner, chef, and judge on the TV show Top Chef.
Joseph
Halsey Crane (1782-1851), representative from Ohio.
Elias Dayton
(1737-1807), member of the Continental Congress and mayor of
Elizabethtown from 1796 to 1805. Father of Jonathan Dayton.
Jonathan
Dayton (1760–1824), signer of the Constitution of the United States of
America and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
John De Hart (1727–1795), delegate to the Continental Congress.
Eddie
Donovan (1922-2001), basketball coach in the NBA and in the NCAA.
Thomas Edison (1847-1931) lived in Elizabeth as a young man.
Charles
N. Fowler (1852-1932), a representative for the Fifth Representative
District of New Jersey from 1895 to 1911, lived in the city.
Orson
Squire Fowler(1809-1887), phrenologist and author, resided in the city.
Ron Freeman (b. 1947), gold medal winner in the 4 × 100 m freestyle
relay at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.
William F. Halsey (1882-1959),
Fleet Admiral during World War II.
Alexander Hamilton (ca.
1755-1804), lived in Elizabeth after his arrival in the United States.
Horace Jenkins (b. 1974), former NBA player, currently plays in the
Italian Basketball League.
Phineas Jones (1819-1884), representative
of the Sixth Representative District of New Jersey from 1881 to 1883,
resided in Elizabeth.
John Kean (1852-1914), represented New Jersey
in the United States Senate from 1899 to 1911 and represented the Third
Representative District of New Jersey in two separate terms: from 1883
to 1885 and from 1887 to 1889.
William Livingston (1723-1790), signer
of the Declaration of Independence and Governor of New Jersey during the
American Revolutionary War, lived and died in Elizabeth.
Thomas
Mitchell (1892–1962), screenwriter, actor, and Oscar, Emmy, and Tony
Award winner.
Elizabeth Peña (b. 1959-2014), actress.
Lorenzo da
Ponte (1749-1838), Italian poet and librettist, lived in Elizabeth.
Franklin Leonard Pope (1840-1885), telegrapher and inventor, lived in
Elizabeth.
Debralee Scott (1953-2005), actress.
Jay Lethal (b.
1985), professional wrestler in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Mickey Spillane (1918-2006), writer, grew up in Elizabeth.
Edward
Stratemeyer (1862-1930), children's writer and publisher.
William
Sulzer (1863-1941), member of the House of Representatives, who was
indicted while Governor of New York.
Philip Taaffe (b. 1955), artist.
Craig Taylor (b. 1966), former running back for the Cincinnati Bengals
for three seasons.
Dick Vosburgh (1929-2007), comedy writer and
composer.
Bernie Wagenblast (b. 1956), television presenter and
journalist.
Mickey Walker (1903-1981), boxer, who held the
welterweight and middleweight championships.