New Jersey Monthly recently took a guided tour of Jersey City with Mayor Steven Fulop. Along the way they visited every neighborhood, from the waterfront to Bergen Lafeyette. Like previous Jersey City articles we’ve seen, it paints a tale of two cities with an outcome that few, if anyone, can predict. Below are some of the more poignant quotes/facts.
- Jersey City is the fastest- growing municipality in the state, its population rising from 247,597 at the time of the 2010 census to 262,146 in 2014. It may soon overtake Newark as the largest city in New Jersey.
- “I think to myself, can you sustain community when you start putting in such big buildings? You really do need neighborhoods. You do need some sort of community.” —Maggie Veca, owner Skinner’s Loft
- “I don’t see that there’s a limit to Jersey City, because it functions as an outer borough. If Manhattan is healthy, you can bet that the Jersey City and Brooklyn markets are going to be healthy.” —David Barry, president of Ironstate Development
- “I think the line is now Journal Square, and when that line is drawn in Journal Square, where do you go from there? Do you go north to the Heights? Do you go south to Greenville?” —John Gomez, cofounder of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy
- “By calling it the sixth borough, you’re taking the Jersey out of Jersey City. Why would you want to beg the big boy on the block to be his crony, when you could be your own guy?” —Tris McCall, musician and writer
