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TheGateway Region is the primary urbanized area of the northeastern section of theU.S. state ofNew Jersey. The region is anchored byNewark, the state's most populous city, and constitutes part of theNew York metropolitan area.
The area encompassesBergen,Essex,Hudson,Passaic,Union, andMiddlesex counties. It is the most urban part of the state, with a population of more than four million, and is home to most of itslarger cities, though much housing was originally developed as suburbs of neighboringNew York City.[1][2][3][4] It is home toEllis Island, the "gateway" through which many immigrants entered the United States, many of whom chose to stay in the region, which continues to be the port of entry and first home to many born abroad, making it one of the most ethnically diverse of the nation. It may also be the most socio-economically diverse, with some of the biggest pockets of poverty and most exclusive of suburbs in the state.[5]
The designation Gateway Region has not caught on in local parlance, as the topography andself-identification of the residents tend not to correspond to the collective name. The termsNorth Jersey andCentral Jersey are used in describing parts of the Gateway. The name may have been taken from the 1960sNewark nicknameGateway City after the newly developedGateway Center downtown. Amtrak'shigh-speed rail project throughout the region is calledGateway. It is one of seventourism regions established by the New Jersey State Department of Tourism, the others being theGreater Atlantic City Region, theSouthern Shore Region, theDelaware River Region, theShore Region,Central Jersey Region, and theSkylands Region.[6] TheGateway National Recreation Area, though not located inside the Gateway Region, is nearby.
The Gateway Region is home to six of New Jersey's largest municipalities:Newark,Jersey City,Paterson,Elizabeth,Woodbridge Township, andEdison. Major rivers and the bays include theHudson River/Upper New York Bay, theHackensack River and thePassaic River/Newark Bay, and theRaritan. The topography of the area is quite varied, with thePalisades and theMeadowlands in the northeast, the hills and valleys of theWatchung Mountains in the west, theRamapo Mountains in the north, and tidal plains of the Raritan to the south. The confluence of the roads and railways of theNortheast Megalopolis make the region very heavily traveled.Chemical Coast is a nickname for the heavily industrial area along theArthur Kill. Though there are broad distinctions between cities, suburbs, heavy industry, light manufacturing, recreational "green spaces", nature preserves, and retail, transportation, and maritime infrastructure, the landscape is characterized by their close proximity to each other, as is typical ofurban sprawl.
The Gateway Region was the territory of theLenapeNative Americans. Later calledDelaware Indian, this collection ofAlgonquian-language speaking people included theHackensack,Raritan, andTappan. They are recalled in the countless number ofplace names given by them to towns, hills, and bodies of water. Much of the land was "purchased" by Dutch and English from the Lenape, though this concept of "ownership" was foreign to them. The Lenape retreated to the west as settlements grew, and "agreed" to re-locate in 1766 with theTreaty of Easton, though some became part of theRamapough Mountain Indians.
Henry Hudson, an Englishman sailing for theDutch East India Company anchored his ship theHalve Maen (Half Moon) atSandy Hook andWeehawken Cove in 1609. The area became part of the colonial province ofNew Netherland with headquarters inNew Amsterdam. In 1630 the patroonshipPavonia was established and 1660, after series of confrontations with the Lenape, that the first chartered village was established on the west bank of theNorth River atBergen Square, creating the oldest municipality in the state. Descendants of theNew Netherlanders spread acrossNorth Jersey, and influenced its development and character for generations.[7]
When the English enteredNew York Harbor in 1664, a negotiated surrender (which guaranteed religious tolerance and protection of private property) was made to transfer control of the area to the British crown.Elizabethtown was founded as the capitol and became the first officially English-speaking settlement, named after the wife of the province's proprietor, Sir George Cateret. In 1666, Newark was established by Puritans from Connecticut. By 1675, the region become the proprietary colony ofEast Jersey (establishing a border with New York State, which was formalized in 1738). It was partitioned into four counties for administrative purposes:Bergen County,Essex County,Middlesex County andMonmouth County. Settlement remained sparse, though some towns were created within farming communities and along rivers and bays. Among them arePerth Amboy in 1684,Hackensack andPiscataway[8]in 1693, andNew Brunswick in 1736 (which later became home toRutgers University). During the 18th century, migration inland increased along theHorseneck Tract andRaritan Valley. Slavery and indenture were encouraged to populate the area. The third public reading ofThe Declaration of Independence took place in New Brunswick, but many East Jerseyans becameTories. Several battles ofAmerican Revolution took place in the region including those atConnecticut Farms,Bound Brook, andPaulus Hook.
The firststeam engine in America was introduced at theSchuyler Copper Mine onNew Barbadoes Neck in 1755.[9]In 1791,Alexander Hamilton help found theSociety for the Establishment of Useful Manufactures (S.U.M.), which encouraged the harnessing of the water power of theGreat Falls of the Passaic and to secure economic independence from British manufacturers.Paterson, which was founded by the society, became the cradle of the industrial revolution in America, supported in part by theMorris Canal built in the 1820s. A century laterThomas Edison, the Wizard of Menlo Park, made his mark.[10] In 1872 theSinger Manufacturing Company of New York opened a factory in Elizabethport along Trumbull Street next to the intersection ofthe CNJ mainline with the Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Branch.[11]Many discoveries and inventions, or application or mass production of them, were made in the Gateway Region including the steam engine, the revolver, the incandescent light bulb, the phonograph, the rocket engine, and the electric railway. It is the site of the first automobile and first submarine in the United States. It can claim to thebirthplace of baseball and theAmerican film industry, Television to the home was first broadcast in the Gateway.[12]
The latter half of the 19th century saw an explosion of the population.[13][14]German immigration to the United States after1848 gave the parts of the region a distinctly German flavor. Rail lines which still cross-cross the region, led to the development of the shipping industry at theNorth River (Hudson River),Newark Bay, andKill van Kull, and the beginnings of suburban developments such asLlewellyn Park.Streetcar suburbs also began to develop elsewhere.
TheBayway Refinery, which started in 1907, is the nation's northernmost and is along the corridor with other heavy industry. It was at this time that theChemical Coast began to be developed. ThePaterson Silk Strike took place in 1913. TheHudson Waterfront became home to heavy industry and shipping. Among the industries that would prosper in the first half of the 20th century were Alcoa Aluminum, the Ford Motor Company, Lever Brothers, Valvoline Oil Co. and Archer-Daniels-Midland.[15]
While immigration toEllis Island decreased the population continued to grow, in part due to theGreat Migration. Upon entry into World War I, the US government took theHamburg-American Line piers in Hoboken undereminent domain, which became the major point of embarkation for more than three million soldiers, known as "doughboys".Camp Merritt was established inCresskill for troop staging.[16] In 1916, an act of sabotage literally and figuratively shook the region when German agents set off bombs at the munitions depot in New York Bay atBlack Tom.[17] Another act of sabotage known as theKingsland explosion occurred on January 11, 1917.[18] TheT. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant explosion, though not considered sabotage, also caused tremendous damage.
The forerunner ofPort Authority of New York and New Jersey was established on April 30, 1921.[19] Huge transportation projects opened between the wars: TheHolland Tunnel in 1927, TheGeorge Washington Bridge in 1931, TheBayonne Bridge in 1931, and TheLincoln Tunnel in 1937, allowing vehicular travel between New Jersey and New York City to bypass the waterfront. Hackensack River crossings, notably thePulaski Skyway, were also built.Newark Airport was the first major airport in theNew York Metropolitan Area, opening on October 1, 1928. AtHouvenkopf Mountain crosses were burned by theKu Klux Klan.Radburn was founded in 1929 as "a town for the motor age".[20][21]The Kearney Works ofWestern Electric kept the plant running with "make work" program,[22] similar toWPA projects.
The region played an important role in the World War II effort.PT boats were manufactured byElco in Bayonne.[23]Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne (MOTBY) was opened in 1942 as a U.S. military base (remained in operation until 1999).[24]General Motors produced planes atLinden Assembly.TheFederal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company would produce over thirty ships before its closing in 1949.[25] In 1946, thebaseball color line was first crossed atRoosevelt Stadium byJackie Robinson.[26]
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TheSecond Great Migration and theG.I. Bill changed thesocial geography as well as thephysical geography of the Gateway. Planned and built during the 1950sPort Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal is the first and largestcontainer port in the eastern United States.Direct distance dialing (DDD) was introduced on November 10, 1951, inEnglewood[27] The northern parts of theNew Jersey Turnpike were opened between 1952 and 1956. The metropolitan section (north of theDriscoll Bridge) of theGarden State Parkway was completed in 1957.Bergen Town Center was the firstmall in New Jersey, opened in 1957, soon followed byWestfield Garden State Plaza.[28] andThe Mall at Short Hills.Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal became the nation's firstcontainer terminal in 1958, and was for many years its busiest. TheNewark Riots and thePlainfield Riots took place in 1967.
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TheNew Jersey Meadowlands Commission was established in 1969 to protect the delicate balance of nature, provide for orderly development, and manage solid waste activities in theNew Jersey Meadowlands District, and theMeadowlands Sports Complex opened in 1976. Terminals A, B, and C atNewark Airport were completed in 1973.
People's Express later made the airport its major hub, increasing the airport's passenger volumes.Liberty State Park opened in 1976.Gentrification of theHoboken andDowntown Jersey City nineteenth-century districts began in the late 1970s, which led to the eventual redevelopment of theHudson Waterfront.Secaucus Junction,Midtown Direct, and theHudson–Bergen Light Rail began service and changed local commuting patterns. TheHighlands Water Protection and Planning Act was passed in 2004 to protect thewatershed which supplies much of the region.Cory Booker became mayor ofNewark in 2006. ThePrudential Center opened in downtown Newark in 2007.American Dream Meadowlands, a large shopping and entertainment complex, opened on October 25, 2019.
The Gateway Region has an extensive network of national highways, state freeways, and toll roads; commuter and long-distance trains; an expanding light rail system; local and interstate bus routes; and is home to one of the New York/New Jerseymetropolitan area's three major airports. Much of the rail and surface transit system is operated byNew Jersey Transit and thehigh transit ridership is mostly oriented to commuters traveling to downtown Newark, lower and midtown Manhattan, and increasingly, the Hudson Waterfront. Outside of the most"city-like" areas of Greater Newark, Elizabeth, Hudson County, and Greater Paterson, the automobile remains the most common means of intra-regional travel.[29] ThePort of New York and New Jersey is the busiest on theEast Coast of the United States.
Commercial scheduled passenger service:
General aviation:
ThePort of New York and New Jersey is the nation's third busiest.Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, was the first in the nation tocontainerize,[30] It andPort Jersey inBayonne andJersey City include large segments that are part ofForeign Trade Zone 49.
The Gateway is part of theGreater New York media market.
Many communities have weekly local newspapers specific to their towns, while other daily newspapers have a broader readership and are commonly available in retail shops and for delivery. The following newspapers are daily newspapers serving the Gateway Region market.
The region has ethnic market stations as well as commercial stations that mainly address the metropolitan New York City market as a whole. TheWNJN network for New JerseyPBS affiliate stations provide New Jersey-specific news coverage.
Television stations located in and broadcasting from Gateway:
Radio stations in the Gateway Region include:
There are re-occurring events throughout the year in the Gateway includingstreet fairs,First Nights,Summer stock theatre,county fairs,fireworks, and otherfestivals. Among them are:
The Gateway Region is home to many points of historical interest, including districts, private homes, places of worship, train stations, civic and industrial architecture, and structures of engineering significance. TheStatue of Liberty,Ellis Island, and theCentral Railroad of New Jersey Terminal national symbols of mass immigration to the United States are all located on theUpper New York Bay. TheEdison National Historic Site and theGreat Falls of the Passaic River speak to the innovation of the region. Administered by theNew Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, theNew Jersey Register of Historic Places mirrors theNational Register of Historic Places, and uses the same criteria for eligibility. Most counties have historical societies and many municipalities assign historic designation or preservation status. TheNew Jersey Historical Society maintains archives and promotes research. There are also museums with thematic exhibitions.
Located near New York City, many residents and visitors take advantage of and contribute to performances in music, theater, and dance. There are many theater and dance companies throughout the region. Major companies, events, and performance venues include:
The Gateway is home to five teams frommajor professional sports leagues playing in the state (though three teams identify as being from New York), as well as minor league teams. Since the 1970s several new stadiums and arenas have been built mostly nearDowntown Newark or as part of theMeadowlands Sports Complex, which since 2009 can be reached with theMeadowlands Rail Line.[40]
The teams are:
The venues include:
The region has some of the highest concentration of super fund sites in the nation.[47]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link),AT&T. Accessed June 8, 2007. "Nov. 10, 1951: Mayor M. Leslie Downing of Englewood, N.J., picked up a telephone and dialed 10 digits. Eighteen seconds later, he reached Mayor Frank Osborne in Alameda, Calif. The mayors made history as they chatted in the first customer-dialed long-distance call, one that introduced area codes.""AT&T Labs Research | AT&T".Archived from the original on June 20, 2007. Retrieved2016-08-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)