Union City, New Jersey

Union City, New Jersey
City
Official seal of Union City, New Jersey Seal
Union City highlighted in Hudson County. Inset: Location of Union County highlighted in the State of New Jersey.
Census Bureau map of Union City, New Jersey
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Hudson
Incorporated	January 1, 1925
Government
• Mayor	Brian P. Stack
Area
• Total	1.3 sq mi (3.3 km2)
• Land	1.3 sq mi (3.3 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	194 ft (59 m)
Population  (2007)
• Total	62,715
• Density	52,977.8/sq mi (20,395.9/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP code	07087
Area code	201
FIPS code	34-74630Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	0881349Template:GR
Website	http://www.ucnj.com/

For sites of same name, see: Union City. Note that Union City is not in Union County, New Jersey.

Union City is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the United States 2007 Census estimate, the city had a total population of 62, 715. All of the city is on land, an area 3.28 km² (1.27 sq mi). It is the most densely populated city in the United States and in the Americas, with a density of 52,977.8 per square mile. Union City was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 1, 1925, with the merger of Union Hill and West Hoboken Township. Two major waves of immigration, first of German-language speakers and then of Spanish-language speakers, greatly influenced the development and character of Union City. Its two nicknames, "Embroidery Capital of the United States" and "Havana on the Hudson", reflect important aspects of that history. Thousands make a pilgrimage to Union City each year to see the nation's longest running passion play and the annual Cuban Day Parade of New Jersey.

Geography

Union City is located at 40°46′4″N 74°1′55″W (40.767651 , -74.031833).Template:GR Part of the New York metropolitan area it is one of the municipalities which comprise North Hudson, New Jersey. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.3 sq mi (3.3 km²), all of it land. Located atop the ridge of the lower Hudson Palisades (just south of the highest point in the county), many of its streets offering glimpses and views of the surrounding municipalities, the New York City skyline, and the New Jersey Meadowlands.

The city is bisected by New Jersey Route 495, a vehicular cut built in conjunction with the Lincoln Tunnel. Soon after its construction, many streetnames were abandoned in favor of numbering in most of North Hudson starting at 2nd Street, just north of Paterson Plank Road, which runs through the city's only major park and creates its border with Jersey City. 49th Street is the northern boundary with West New York. Apart from a small section between Bergen Turnpike and Weehawken Cemetery, Kennedy Boulevard, a major north-south thoroughfare, creates the western border with North Bergen. A former colonial road and previous border between the merged municipalites takes three names as it diagonlly crosses the city's urban grid: Hackensack Plank Road, 32nd Street, and Bergen Turnipke. Most of the city north of the street, formerly Union Hill, shares its eastern border along Park Avenue with Weehawken. The southern section of the city, formerly West Hoboken, is indeed west of Hoboken, which it overlooks and is connected by the road which creates their shared border, the Wing Viaduct.

Climate data for Union City
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Source: Weather Channel

History

Early history and civic boundaries

Sign marking Union City's southern border with Jersey City.

The area of what is today Union City was originally inhabited by the Lenni Lenape. It became part of the European New Netherland settlement of Pavonia, later founded as Bergen. During the colonial era it was part of Bergen Township. Three years after the formation of Hudson County in 1840, North Bergen Township was created from the northern part of Bergen Township. North Bergen later divided in various municipalities. :Hoboken in 1849, Weehawken and Guttenberg in 1859, and West Hoboken and Union Township in 1861. The southern portion of Union Township became Union Hill on March 29, 1864, and the remaining northern section was later incorporated as West New York in 1898. Secaucus was founded in 1900. Union City was incorporated on June 1, 1925 by merging the two towns of West Hoboken and Union Hill. The name of one of the city's schools, Union Hill Middle School, recalls the former town.

Immigration and industry

Embroidery and lace exhibit at Union City's Park Performing Arts Center.

In the 18th century, Dutch and English merchants first settled the area. Later, German immigrants immigrated from Manhattan. Irish, Polish, Armenians, Syrians, eastern European Jews and Italians followed. In 1851, Germans moved across the Hudson River from New York City in search of affordable land and open space. During the Civil War a military installation, Camp Yates, covered an area now bounded by Bergenline and Palisade Avenues from 22nd to 32nd Street. Kerrigan Avenue, which runs from 14th Street to 24th Street, takes its name from Kerrigan Farm. Germans began to settle what would become Union Hill in 1851. Although the area's diversity was represented by the more than nineteen nationalities that made their home in the Dardanelles (a five block area of Central Avenue from 23rd Street to 27th Street, from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, German Americans and Dutch dominated the area. Along with Swiss and Austrian immigrants, they founded the European-style lace making industries, for which they were famous. The introduction of Schiffli lace machines in North Hudson made Union City the "embroidery capital of the United States". The trademark of industry is on the Union City Seal.

As immigration to the area progressed throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Belgian, Armenian, Greek, Chinese, Jewish and Russian people found a home in the area, though its domination by Germans by the turn of the 20th century was reflected in the fact that the minutes of town meetings were recorded in German. By this time, the area was witnessing a period of urbanization, as an extensive trolley system was developed by the North Hudson County Railway, spurred by both electrification in 1890 and the arrival of Irish and Italian immigrants, which dominated the city until the late 1960s. Successive waves of immigrants from Eastern Europe, the Near East and Latin America contributed to the embroidery industry in subsequent years. "The Cultural Thread"/"El Hilo", an exhibit highlighting this industry, is on display at Union City's Park Performing Arts Center.

The town was also home to the rowdy Hudson Burlesque. Vaudeville and burlesque were theatre staples in Union City, with performers such as Harry Houdini and Fred Astaire making appearances locally.

The first Cubans immigrated to Union City from New York City in the 1940s, having been attracted to the city in search of work after hearing of its famed embroidery factories. A majority of these Cubans hailed from small towns or cities, particularly Villa Clara Province in central Cuba. 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." Following the Mariel boatlift in 1980, 10,000 Cubans settled in New Jersey, leading to a second wave of Cubans to Union City, which totaled 15,000 by 1994.

Development in the 21st Century

Since its inception in 2000 the Cuban Day Parade of New Jersey has become a major annual event in the city. Union City has historically been a family-oriented city predominantly made up of brownstones, two-family homes and locally owned businesses. Beginning approximately in 2003, it underwent a period of development of modestly-sized residences, spurred by similar development in neighboring Hoboken, itself a formerly solid blue-collar town. This development continued for several years, reaching a milestone in 2008 with the completion of Union City's first high-rise condominium tower, The Thread, whose name evokes the city's historical association with the embroidery industry. Other such towers have followed, such as the Altessa and Park City Grand.

Commerce

Bergenline Avenue then and now: Facing south toward 32nd Street, circa 1900 (left), and in 2010 (right).

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 is 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 south of the town's limit. Bergenline Avenue is also used as the route for local parades, such as the annual Memorial Day Parade. At its southern end Bergenline becomes less commercial, the shopping district concentrated at Summit Avenue and Transfer Station.

Union City is in a state-established "Urban Enterprise Zone", which was implemented in February 1995 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. Between 1995 and 2000, over 150 businesses participated in the tax incentives and other advantages offered by the program.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Union City's unemployment rate as of September 2009 was 15%, the highest in the state, compared with the lowest, Hoboken, at 6.3%, and a state rate of 9.8%.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1930	58,659		—
1940	56,173		−4.2%
1950	55,537		−1.1%
1960	52,180		−6.0%
1970	57,305		9.8%
1980	55,593		−3.0%
1990	58,012		4.4%
2000	67,088		15.6%
2007 (est.)	62,715
Population 1930 - 1990.

According to the United States 2007 Census estimate, the city had a total population of 62, 715. All of the city is on land, an area 3.28 km² (1.27 sq mi). The population density was 20,395.9/km² (52,977.8/sq mi), 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, though neighboring Guttenberg (a town) is more densely populated.

There were 23,741 housing units at an average density of 7, 217.7/km² (18,747.7/sq mi). The racial makeup of the city was 58.38% White, 3.64% African American, 0.70% Native American, 2.15% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 28.19% from other races, and 6.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 82.32% of the population.

In the early days of the post-Revolution era, Union City boasted the nation's largest Cuban population, second only to Miami, Florida, leading to the nickname Havana on the Hudson. Aspects of the enclave are explored in the 2009 publication The Cubans of Union City: Immigrants and Exiles in a New Jersey Community. In the ensuing decades, Cuban residents have spread out to other communities of North Hudson County. West New York, at 19.64%, now has the highest percentage of Cubans in New Jersey, with Union City in second place, with 15.35%. These two municipalities having the highest Cuban population percentage in the United States, outside of Florida. 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 Raúl 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 groups, such as South Americans and Central Americans, Haitians, Asian Indians, Koreans and Arabs. 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. Almost 55.4% of the population is foreign born, 38.3% of which are naturalized citizens. 19.3% speak English at home, whereas 73.7% speak Spanish at home.

Revelers during the 2010 Cuban Day Parade on Bergenline Avenue.

Although Hispanics remain the dominant ethnic group in the city, their percentage of the population has decreased in recent years. As of the 2005-2007 American Community Survey, Hispanics and Latinos made up 78.1% of Union City's population; down from 82.3% in the 2000 Census. Non-Hispanic whites made up 17.7% of the city's population; up from 13.3% in the 2000 Census. Blacks made up 5.1% of the city's population; up from 3.3% in the 2000 Census.

There are 29,000 houses and condominiums in Union City, and 22,827 renter-occupied apartments. Renters account for 79% of the population. Family households account for 66.3%, with the average household size 2.8 people, compared with a statewide size of 2.7. There are 5,900 two-person households, and 4,844 three-person households, with the rest numbering four or more. Nonfamily households number 12,513..

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. About 17% of the city's employed residents work in New York City.

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. In 1997, the New Jersey Municipal Distress Index, which is based on social, economic, fiscal and physical indicators, ranked Union City as the 3rd most distressed community in the state. Advocates for the homeless counted 2,227 people without homes in Hudson County as of January 2008.

Government

File:UnionCityCityHall.jpg

Union City Town Hall

Mayor Brian P. Stack

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 State Senate.

Five members comprise the Union City Board of Commissioners and serve in both administrative and legislative capacities. Each commissioner acts as the director of one of the five major departments of the City, administering the daily operations of his or her department. The five commissioners and their departmental assignments are:

• Brian P Stack - Commissioner of Public Safety
• Lucio P. Fernandez Commissioner of Public Affairs
• Tilo E. Rivas - Commissioner of Public Works
• Maryury Martinetti - Commissioner of Revenue and Finance
• Christopher F. Irizarry - Commissioner of Parks and Public Property

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.

Union City is one of five cities in Hudson County served by North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue, along with North Bergen, Weehawken, West New York, and Guttenberg.

Transportation

The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail station on Bergenline Avenue at 48th Street.

Union City is two miles from New York City via the Lincoln Tunnel, its main approach road, Route 495 bisecting it. Within a mile to the west are U.S. Route 1/9, Route 3, and the New Jersey Turnpike.

The Bergenline Avenue Station of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail is located at 49th Street near the city line with West New York and North Bergen.

Bergenline Avenue and the marginal highway of New Jersey Route 495 are major public transportation corridors. New Jersey Transit bus service transportation is available to points in Hudson, Bergen, and Passaic counties and to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan. Routes which stop in the city are 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 for travel 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. Additional public transportation service is augmented by dollar vans to the Hudson County Courthouse, Newport Mall, 42nd Street in Manhattan, and Paterson, New Jersey.

Newark Liberty International Airport is located 12.5 miles away in Newark / Elizabeth. LaGuardia Airport in Flushing, Queens is 12.3 miles away. John F. Kennedy Airport is also in Queens, New York. The Colombian airline Avianca operates a private bus service from to Union City and Elizabeth for passengers on Avianca flights departing from and arriving to JFK.

Education

The student population was 9,730 as of November 2009.

Historically, Union City schools have ranked among the highest in Hudson County in reported incidents of violence compared to the size of the student population more than once, most recently in a November 2009 report by the New Jersey Department of Education, which annually records incidents of violence, vandalism, weapons and substance abuse or possession. According to the report, such incidents declined statewide between the 2006-07 and the 2007-08 school years, but rose slightly in Hudson County, with Union City schools having the second highest number of reported incidents behind Jersey City.

Public

Union City High School and Athletic Complex, which opened for students September 3, 2009.

Union City Board of Education operates public schools in Union City. The district is one of 31 Abbott Districts statewide.

The city is served by a single high school, Union City High School, which opened September 3, 2009, which was built on the site of the former Roosevelt Stadium. The $178 million school, whose signature feature is an athletic field on its second floor roof, replaced the former Emerson High School and Union Hill High School, which converted to middle schools.

Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Thomas A. Edison School (PK-8; 1,362), Sara M. Gilmore School (PK-5; 346), Hudson School (PK-5; 436), Jefferson School (PK-5; 341), Roosevelt School (K-8; 1,028), Veteran's Memorial School (PK-5; 420), Washington School (K-8; 937), Robert Waters School (PK-8; 1,254) and Woodrow Wilson School (1-8; 325) for elementary school, José Martí Middle School (599) for grades 6-8; and Emerson High School (1,495), Union Hill High School (1,505) and Union City Career Academy for grades 9-12.

The site of the Hudson County Community College North Hudson Center is adjacent to the Bergenline Station complex on Kennedy Boulevard.

Mother Seton Interparochial School (left) and Miftaahul Uloom Academy, a Pre-K to 12th grade Islamic school (right), are both located on 15th Street.

• Mother Seton Interparochial School

Private

• St. Francis Academy
• Union City Daycare Program School
• St. Augustine's School
• Miftaahul Uloom Academy

Notable landmarks

Hudson Presbyterian Church.

The former Monastery and Church of Saint Michael the Archangel, once the largest Roman Catholic church in Hudson County, on West Street, is the one landmark on the National Register of Historic Places in Union City, and one of several locations which have been designated by New Jersey Register of Historic Places. It is now known as the Hudson Presbyterian Church. The José Martí Freshman Academy and Union City Public Library on located on the grounds of the complex.

José Martí Freshman Academy and Union City Public Library.

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 (sometimes used as the name of the Center itself), 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. An addition was built to the theater in 2000. The theater is currently administered by John Penn Lewis. The theater's two longest-running regular events are Union City's annual Multi-Arts Festival and the annual Passion play, the longest running in the United States.

In 1986 the bands Aerosmith and Run-D.M.C. filmed the groundbreaking video for their single "Walk This Way" at the theater. Other noteworthy performers at the theater include Johnny Cash, and comedian George Carlin, who filmed his 1988 HBO special George Carlin: What Am I Doing in New Jersey? there.

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 conservative political strategist Ralph Reed in April of that year.

Union City High School and Athletic Complex opened in September 2009 on the site of the former Roosevelt Stadium, demolished in 2005 to make way for it. The sports field are integrated into the structure, which also houses the Union City Performing Arts Center.

File:9.25.06CeliaCruzParkUnionCityByLuigiNovi.jpg

Tribute to Cuban-American salsa singer Celia Cruz, and other Latin stars.

Emerson Middle School home to the Bulldogs, was opened in April 1915 as West Hoboken High School, and was home to the Bulldogs. It was renamed for the writer Ralph Waldo Emerson, when the two towns merged. Located on New York Avenue at 18th Street, the original building is connected with the gym building, built in the 1980s, by an second story enclosed bridge that runs over New York Avenue.

Carnegie Libraries Union City is home to two libraries funded by donations by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie. Both are considered historically and architecturally significant by the city. The first was built in 1903 with a $25,000 donation by Carnegie in what was once West Hoboken on 15th Street between Bergenline Avenue and New York Avenue. The second was built in 1905 at the corner of 43rd Street and New York Avenue in what was once Union Hill, and is the main branch. The 15th Street library retains its original stained glass, but 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 José Martí Middle School. It is currently being converted into the Union City Historical Museum, Art Museum & Cultural Center.

Celia Cruz Park (also known as Celia Cruz Plaza) On June 4, 2004, 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 seven more stars were added in honor performers such as merengue singer Joseíto Mateo, salsa singer La India, Cuban musician Israel "Cachao" Lopez, and Cuban tenor Beny Moré. The park is located adjacent to the facilities of the Kluasenburg Hasidic community. Union City Commissioner Lucio P. Fernandez, in his 2010 book, Union City in Pictures, calls the plaza "the heart of Union City's 'Walk of Fame'", with new marble stars added each spring to honor Latin entertainment and media personalities.

Spectators viewing the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks from the Union City Boxing Club.

September 11 memorials Four citizens from Union City lost their lives during the September 11, 2001 attacks. On September 11, 2007, the city dedicated Liberty Plaza, at 30th Street between New York Avenue and Palisade Avenue, to commemorate that day. The Plaza, which serves as a transit hub through which commuters pass on their way to and from Manhattan, includes two memorials dedicated to the lives lost during the attacks. In addition, The Union City Boxing Club, in whose courtyard citizens gathered on September 11, 2001 to view the attacks' aftereffects, was demolished and rebuilt as Firefighters Memorial Park in August 2009, and a memorial to local firefighters who gave their lives in the line of duty now stands in that park's entrance.

Blue Chapel The Monastery of the Perpetual Rosary (commonly referred to as the Blue Chapel) was constructed between 1912 and 1914, as the first monastery dedicated to the recitation of the Perpetual Rosary in the United States. Although the monastery was well maintained for many decades, after the number of resident nuns and finances dwindled, the chapel deteriorated and was vacated in summer of 2009. Plans were announced later that year to renovate and expand the monastery in order to create housing units and underground parking, but negative public reaction squelched those plans. In 2010, the Chapel was included on Preservation New Jersey's annual 10 Most Endangered Historic Sites list, which is intended to draw attention to historical sites in need of preservation. The site's caretakers have previously indicated that it will likely be abandoned or sold, but as of May 2010, its future is uncertain.

Historical markers Since 2009, Union City has erected historical markers to commemorate the lives of its noteworthy natives. The first marker was dedicated to the memory of boxer Joe Jeanette on April 17, 2009, and placed at the corner of Summit Avenue and 27th Street on April 17, 2009, where Jeanette's former residence and gym once stood. The marker lies two blocks from a street, located between Summit Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard, that was named Jeanette Street in his honor. Present at the dedication ceremony was Jeanette's grandniece, Sabrina Jennette. The city's second historical marker was dedicated September 26, 2009 to Peter George Urban, a 10th degree karate grandmaster, writer and teacher who founded an American karate system, American Goju Do. Present at the dedication ceremony was Ubran's daugther, Julia Urban-Kimmerly. The city's third historical marker was dedicated on May 22, 2010 to novelist and screenwriter Pietro di Donato, and placed at Bergenline Avenue and 31st Street, where di Donato once lived, and which was named Pietro di Donato Plaza in his honor. Present at the dedication ceremony was di Donato's son, Richard.

Media

Union City is located within the New York media market, most of it daily papers available for sale or delivery. Until its closing in 1991 the Hudson Dispatch, a morning daily newspaper that once had a circulation of 39,132, was based in Union City for 117 years. Local, county, and regional news is covered by the daily Jersey Journal. The Union City Reporter is part of the Hudson Reporter group of local weeklies. Other weeklies, the River View Observer and El Especialito also cover local news.

Among the films set or shot in the city are Out of the Darkness, Bloodhounds of Broadway, Far from Heaven, and the eponymous Union City (released in conjunction with the song "Union City Blue"). The low-budget film directed by former Guttenberg mayor Peter Lavilla, Oak Hill, features local institutions including Union City's Palisades Emergency Residence Corporation homeless shelter and a synagogue in North Bergen.

Notable residents

(B) denotes that the person was born there.

• Jose Miguel Battle, Sr. (c. 1930-2007), Former Bay of Pigs Invasion operative who became known as "Godfather of the Cuban mafia".
• Fred Barakat, college basketball coach.
• Harold Bell (1919–2009), creator of Woodsy Owl.(B)
• Ben Blank (c.1921 – February 3, 2009), television graphics innovator.
• James E. Buttersworth (1817–1894), British maritime painter.
• Bobby Cannavale (born 1971), actor known for his roles on Ally McBeal, Third Watch, and Will & Grace.
• Norman Cousins (1915–1990), author and peace advocate.(B)
• Dominick V. Daniels (1908–1987), 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.(B)
• Pietro Di Donato (1911–1992), Italian American novelist, and author of Christ in Concrete. (B)
• Henry Escalante, pop musician, and one of the 15 finalists from the 2007 season of the MTV reality show Making Menudo.
• Hank Finkel (born 1942), retired NBA basketball player.(B)
• Rafael Fraguela, member of the New Jersey General Assembly who also served on the Union City Board of Commissioners.
• Nick Galis (born 1957), retired Greek basketball player and member of the FIBA Hall of Fame.
• Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam (1905–1994), Rebbe of the Klausenberg Hasidic dynasty.
• Alexis Hernandez, contestant on season 6 of the Food Network's Next Food Network Star.
• Antonio Jacobsen (1850–1921), maritime artist known as the "Audubon of Steam Vessels".
• Joe Jeanette (1879–1958), considered one of the best African American heavyweight boxers of the early 20th Century.(B)
• Vicki Johnson, woman believed to have perpetrated a hoax in which she fabricated a boy afflicted with AIDS, whose autobiography, A Rock and a Hard Place, fooled people such Armistead Maupin, Mr. Rogers and Oprah Winfrey, and became the basis of Maupin's fictionalized novel, The Night Listener, and the feature film of the same name starring Robin Williams.
• Dennis Locorriere (born 1949), singer, and one of the two frontpersons for the Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show.(B)
• Bob Menendez (born 1954), United States Senator and served as mayor of Union City from 1986 to 1992.
• Otto Messmer (1892–1983), the creator of Felix the Cat.(B)
• W. S. Merwin (1927-), Pulitzer Prize-winning poet.
• Erick Morillo (born 1971), DJ and music producer. He graduated from Emerson High School in 1989.
• Luis Moro (born 1964), actor, filmmaker, writer, best known for his history making-film Love and Suicide, which made him the first American to break the embargo on Cuba to film a feature there.
• William Musto (1917–2006), Mayor of Union City from 1962–1970 and from 1974-1982.
• Oscar Nunez (born 1958), Cuban American actor and comedian who stars in The Office.
• Mitchell Olson, songwriter and contestant on Survivor: The Australian Outback, the second season of the reality television show Survivor.
• Joe Oriolo (1913–1985), writer and cartoon animator who co-created Casper the Friendly Ghost and animated Felix the Cat.
• Togo Palazzi (born 1932) retired NBA basketball player.
• Carol-Lynn Parente, executive producer of Sesame Street and winner of seven Emmy Awards for her work on the program.
• William Ranney (1813–1857), famed 19th Century Western painter.
• Frederick Reines (1918–1998), Nobel Prize-winning physicist who co-discovered the neutrino.
• Dwayne Sabb (born 1969), American football player for the New England Patriots.(B)
• Brian P. Stack, Assemblyman, New Jersey state senator, and mayor of Union City since 2000.
• Aaron Stanford (born 1976), actor known for his role as Pyro in the films X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand.
• Alexandria Suarez, child actor who performs the voice of Backpack on Dora the Explorer, beginning with that show's fifth season.
• Peter George Urban (1934-2004), 10th degree karate grandmaster who founded the American karate system, American Goju Do.
• Walter Walsh (born May 4, 1907), FBI agent and Olympic sharpshooter who participated in the capture of outlaw Arthur Barker.(B)
• Joe Weider (born 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 (born 1964), National Football League player (1987–2002) for the Green Bay Packers.

Notes

^ a: Guttenberg, New Jersey is more densely populated, but not incorporated as a city.

References

• History of West Hoboken and Union Hill by Ella-May Ryman (1965)
• The Historical Background of Union City: A Monograph, Prepared for the Commemoration of New Jersey's Tercentenary 1664-1964 and As a Teaching Material and Aid in the Union City School System by Daniel A. Primont, William G. Fiedler and Fred Zuccaro (1964)
• The City of Union City (A 1996 calendar)
• Union City Reporter (Various issues)

External links

• Union City's official website
• Union City Board of Education
• School Performance Reports for the Union City Board of Education, New Jersey Department of Education
• Data for the Union City Board of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
• Official Site of the Union City Reporter
• Park Performing Arts Center