Hoboken, New Jersey

Hoboken is a city located in Hudson County in the US state of New Jersey. In the year 2020 it had a population of 60,419 inhabitants and a population density of 9805 people per km². Hoboken has the fourth highest population density in the United States, higher even than New York. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is home to the Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region.

Hoboken was first settled as part of the Pavonia, New Netherland colony in the 17th century. During the early 19th century, the city was developed by Colonel John Stevens, first as a resort and later as a residential area. Hoboken became a borough in 1849 and was incorporated as a city in 1855. Hoboken is accredited as the place where the first baseball game was played, and is where the Stevens Institute of Technology, one of the oldest technological universities in the United States, is located.

Situated on the docks of the Hudson River, the city was an integral part of the Port of New York and New Jersey and home to major industries for most of the 20th century. It is also well known as the birthplace of American singer Frank Sinatra, one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century. As a result, numerous parks and streets in the city were named in his honor.The character of the city has changed from being a working-class city to one of upper-class shopping and residential neighborhoods.

On October 29, 2012, Hoboken was devastated by a major storm and high winds associated with Hurricane Sandy, inundating 1,700 homes and causing $100 million in damage. It was even said to have "filled Hoboken like a bathtub."

 

Getting here

By plane
Of all the airports in New York City, Newark Liberty International Airport is the closest. To travel from here to downtown Hoboken, take any train bound for New York and transfer to a train to the Hoboken Terminal at Secaucus Station. During peak hours, some trains go directly to Hoboken from Newark Airport Station.

By train
New Jersey commuter trains Transit

You can transfer to Amtrak trains at Pennsylvania Station in Newark or Pennsylvania Station in New York.

The terminal in Hoboken serves trains of the following lines:

Main Line leading upstate
Bergen County Line, also upstate
Pascack Valley Line
Morristown Line and Gladstone Branch of the Morris and Essex Lines to the west of the state
Montclair-Boonton Line leading west of the state
North Jersey Coast Line
Raritan Valley Line
Metro PATH

Light Rail Hudson-Bergen

It is a light rail system that connects Hoboken to Weehawken, Jersey City and Bayonne.

 

City transport

Walk! Finding parking in Hoboken is very difficult. You can usually park on Sinatra Drive near the Hudson River or on any of the streets named after presidents (except Washington DC). City-owned car parks on Hudson Street and elsewhere are a good option if you don't want to get a shoe for violating parking rules. The cost of parking in such parking lots can be $3-5 per hour and increases significantly if you leave your car overnight. Some of the car parks are for Hoboken residents only or are available with the purchase of a monthly pass, so read the signs carefully or check with the car park staff.

If you really need to park, read the street signs carefully. Make sure you can park here before you leave your car. On most streets, one side is reserved for local residents, which can be read on green signs with white text. In order to leave the car on this side of the street (marked as Resident Only - only for residents), you must have a special permit. Be aware that there are also street cleaning restrictions and a 4-hour parking limit for non-residents. After this time, you need to move the car.

Finding parking in Hoboken is so difficult that parking spaces can sell for $40,000.

 

Sights

With a wide variety of pre-war buildings with great architecture and a lack of industrial facilities, Hoboken is a great place to walk.

Just north of the historic Hoboken Terminal, home to NJ Railway and PATH stations, is Pier A, which offers great views of New York City from its tip. On a clear day, you can enjoy panoramic views of the city, stretching from the George Washington Bridge to the Verrazano Bridge. In the summer months at 4-5 pm you can watch huge cruise ships heading to Bermuda or Canada. If you're an early riser (or a late sleeper), Pier A gives you an unforgettable view of New York's sunrise skyline. From here you can also watch the "Dedication in the Light" installation, which is lit annually in memory of the victims of the September 11 attacks. North of Pier A to 15th Street, there are many waterfront parks.

Join the holiday celebrations. During the holidays, the city is flooded with people. The largest crowds gather on New Year's Eve and on the 4th of July. People usually gather in the numerous bars and also on the promenade where you can watch the fireworks. It is launched in New York, but it is best seen from Hoboken, especially from the already mentioned Pier A. Another holiday widely celebrated in Hoboken is St. Patrick's Day. Every year the city hosts a parade that draws huge crowds to the main streets and bars.

From Castle Point on the banks of the Hudson, you can also enjoy a magnificent view of New York. However, this place is on the grounds of Stevens Polytechnic Institute, so be prepared to meet security even if you're just enjoying the view. Frank Sinatra's birthplace is on Monroe Street (near 4th Street).

If you're a baseball fan, then visit the site where the first baseball game was held, marked with a sign at the intersection of 11th Street and Washington Street, next to the Helmers restaurant.

And finally, the film "On the Waterfront" with the participation of Marlon Brando was filmed in Hoboken. Filming took place in parks at the intersection of 4th and 11th streets with the Hudson waterfront, and these places can still be recognized today.

 

Things to do

Stroll along Washington Street, which is full of shops and restaurants. Stop by Maxwell's, it's a great bar-restaurant and concert venue. Stop by the little Tunes music store. Walk/jog/rollerblade along the Hudson. Visit the park at Pier A (1st Street and Sinatra Drive) for great views of Manhattan. A small section of the park is dedicated to the people of Hoboken who died in the September 11, 2001 attacks. If you are roller skating or skateboarding, then there is a small skate park especially for you on the banks of the Hudson with stunning views of Manhattan (about 1.5 kilometers north of the PATH station).

 

Night life

Sometimes Hoboken is rightly called the "city of bars": there are more establishments selling alcohol per inhabitant here than anywhere else in New Jersey. A huge number of bars are concentrated in a fairly small area.

Be aware that many restaurants in Hoboken do not have a license to sell alcohol, so they allow you to bring your own wine and beer. This can save you a lot of money, given that you can buy a bottle of good wine for as little as $10 in liquor stores.

If you want to see old Hoboken, people in helmets, hear Aerosmith from the jukebox and drink cheap draft beer, you should stop by Wilton House on 1st Street, a couple of blocks from the PATH station.

Within walking distance of the PATH station, you can find dozens of bars with the widest selection of alcohol. There are bars for every taste, including hot spots.

Happy hours at many places in Hoboken help you save a lot. In this case, you need to arrive at the bar before 7 or 8 pm.

 

History

Hoboken is located on a former island in what is now the Hudson River. The island was seasonally frequented by a tribe of Native Americans known as Lenni Lenape as a pre-settlement camp before they fell victim to war and displacement by invading Europeans in the 17th century. The Aborigines called this area "Tobacco Pipe Country" because the soapstone at Castle Point, Hoboken, was used to make pipes. In 1609 the slow development of the country began. At that time, the Englishman Henry Hudson explored the Hudson River, which was named after him.

Dutch settlers and subsequent residents connected the former island to the New Jersey mainland. Hoboken, like New York (originally New Amsterdam), Brooklyn (originally Breukelen) and other cities in the territory of the New Netherlands colony founded in 1624 by the Dutch West India Company (Dutch West India Company), is a Dutch foundation. It was named after the Flemish community of Hoboken near Antwerp, which is now a district of Antwerp. In 1626, the Society had purchased the island of Manhattan (Mana-hatta in the native language) discovered by Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 from Native Americans and in the same year established the New Amsterdam trading post on the southern tip of Manahatta. From here, other towns were founded by the Dutch West Indies Society. In 1630 the first settlers came to the nearby land of the tobacco pipe. Their leader was the Dutch merchant Michael Pauw, who renamed the country Pavonia, a Latinized version of his name.

Most Dutch settlers were farmers and started brewing here in America's early days.

Governor and Revolutionary War veteran Colonel John Stevens is responsible for Hoboken's economic rise into the industrial age. After first Americanizing Hoboken's name to Hobuck, he not only built a river walk along the Hudson, but opened an inn and hotel next to Bad Sybil's Cave. In addition, he laid the foundation for a large park, the Elysian Fields (Elysian Fields), which became the preferred destination of Manhattan's upper class. In 1811, to increase traffic between Manhattan and Hoboken, Stevens opened America's first scheduled steamboat service between Manhattan and Hoboken. He was so enthusiastic about steam technology that he had a locomotive imported from England. In 1825 this machine ran on a small circular track. With her began America's entry into the railway system.

In 1900, Hoboken had a population of 59,000, 20 percent of whom were German. The local economy was very much determined by Germans. At the end of the 19th century, Hoboken was the most important stop in New York Harbor for the liner trade with Europe. North German Lloyd, Hamburg-Amerikane Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (Hamburg-Amerika Linie, Hapag), Scandinavian America Line and Holland-America Line called at the port, with the connections being used primarily by immigrants from Europe.

In a major fire on June 30, 1900, the piers of the NDL and the Scandinavian America Line and three ships of the line were destroyed. On the NDL ships alone, 147 seamen and employees died, and the entire disaster probably claimed more than three hundred lives. Immediately after the fire, new, much larger buildings and more piers for German ships were built. On the morning of August 7, 1905, another fire broke out, this time aboard the Hopatcong ferry. This fire destroyed the old wooden buildings at the ferry pier and the railway station. The Great Lackawanna Station, which still exists today, and new arrival and departure buildings for the ferries were built for this reason and reopened on February 25, 1907. It was the fourth station on this site, all of its predecessors having been destroyed by fire. In 1908, the tunnel that was celebrated as a technical masterpiece, which had been led here from Manhattan under the Hudson, also ended here. The station tower, which looks like an Italian church tower and was as high as a lighthouse, was demolished in 1948 after storm damage, but was rebuilt in 2007 during renovation work at the station.

 

Geography

Hoboken is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, opposite the West Village and Chelsea neighborhoods of Manhattan, between Weehawken and Union City to the north and Jersey City to the south and west.

According to the US Census Bureau, the total area of the city of Hudson is 5.1 km². Of these, 3.3 km² is land and 1.8 km² is water, which is 35.35% of the total area.

Hoboken has a network of 48 streets that run from east to west and are numbered. Many north-south streets are named after US presidents (Washington, Adams, Madison, and Monroe), and Clinton Street is named after 19th-century politician DeWitt Clinton, not Bill Clinton.

 

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there are 50,005 people. In 2000 there were 19,418 households and 6,835 families residing in the city. The population density was 11,636.5 inhabitants per km2. The population is 80.82% White, 4.26% African American, 0.16% Native American, 4.31% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 7.63% other races, and 2.78% mixed race. 20.18% are Latinos of various races.

Of the 19,418 households, 11.4% have children under the age of 18. 23.8% of these are married couples living together, 9.0% are single mothers, 64.8% are not families, 41.8% consist of single households and 8.0% people are older than 65. The average household size is 1 .92, the average family size 2.73.

10.5% of the population is under 18 years old, 15.3% between 18 and 24, 51.7% between 25 and 44, 13.5% between 45 and 64, 9.0% older than 65. The average age is 30 years. The female to male ratio is 100:103.9, for people older than 18 the ratio is 100:103.9.

The median annual household income was $62,550, and the median family income was $67,500. Men have a median income of $54,870, women $46,826. The city's per capita income is $43,195. 11.0% of the population and 10.0% of families live below the poverty line, of which 23.6% are children or young people under the age of 18 and 20.7% of the people are older than 65.

 

Traffic

rail transport
The Hoboken Terminal is a junction for rail traffic between New Jersey and Manhattan. In addition, the station is the terminus of numerous commuter trains of the New Jersey Transit. Since February 26, 1908, Port Authority Trans-Hudson subways have operated to New York City (the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad until the late 1950s). On April 20, 2000, the first leg of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail opened in Jersey City; this light rail goes to Bayonne and Weehawken Township.

On September 29, 2016, during the morning rush hour, a Pascack Valley Line commuter train coming from Spring Valley drove into the Hoboken Terminal terminus with practically no braking, broke through the buffer stop and only came to a stop against a wall. Part of the station roof collapsed. One person died and over 100 were injured.

shipping
Hoboken has two ferry docks on the Hudson River. The regular ferries there connect the place with Manhattan.