Newark Overview
Newark, founded over 330 years ago, is New Jersey's largest city. Newark is home to one of the country's largest shipping ports, the busiest airport in the tristate area, and is within 12 minutes of New York City. Sea Land and Maersk, two of the largest shipping companies in the country, renewed leases in 1999 at Port Elizabeth insuring that Newark retains its container ship prominence. Amtrak, NJ Railway, PATH train as well as a major highway network make Newark a superb transportation hub. Its corporate headquarters include Prudential, Bell Atlantic, IDT, Public Service Electric and Gas, New Jersey Transit and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Over 48,000 students attend Newark's Universities, which include New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rutgers, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Seton Hall University Law School, and Essex County College. Rutgers christened its new law school for the 2000 school year just a few blocks west of The National Newark Building. Collectively, the universities conduct nearly $100 million dollars annually in research at 14 advanced technology centers.
Looking west over Newark, New Jersey, United States. Leftmost bridge carries Pennsylvania Railroad to Penn Station, near which the Morris Canal heads northwest past the triangular Military Park with its large church. Erie Lackawanna bridge on lower right connects to Broad Street and line westward.
Source: American Memory of the Library of Congress
A confluence of public and private capital and energy is contributing to a revival of Newark. The first step was the completion of the $180 million dollar New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in October 1997. Performances by the New York Philharmonic, Boston Pops, the New York City Opera, the American Ballet Theater, Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Lauryn Hill and many others have attracted audiences totaling in excess of 500,000 people in each year of operation - exceeding the most optimistic projections. NJPAC is located only two blocks from The National Newark Building at the north end of Military Park. Construction of the $10 million dollar Joseph G. Minsh Riverfront Park/Esplanade began in late 1999 along the Passaic River. When completed, the park will run from interstate 280, past NJPAC, and extend south of Penn Station. Just north of NJPAC is the Newark Museum, the state's largest, with world-renowned collections of American and Tibetan Art. A foundation controlled by Ray Chambers, a Newark native and philanthropist, has taken title to a multi-block strip along Military Park. The foundation is expected to develop retail, residential, and urban entertainment uses.
Not since 1950 has Newark had a professional minor league baseball team. That changed on July 16, 1999, when the former Yankee and Newark native Rick Cerone along with the city of Newark, opened the doors to the new $35-million dollar baseball facility called "The Den." The ballpark is located north of NJPAC on the corner of Route 280 and McCarter Highway (Route 21). The Bears will compete in the newly formed Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Clubs and will compete against teams from Atlantic City, Lehigh Valley, Somerset, Nashua, Bridgeport, and Long Island.
A nascent nightlife is developing in and around the Central Business District of Newark as restaurants, bars and nightclubs have opened, due in large part to these existing and anticipated improvements. Newark has always been home to a large Portuguese community in its Ironbound section. The name is derived from its location which is immediately south of the iron railroad tracks of Penn Station. This section is world famous for its dozens of Spanish and Portuguese restaurants where thousands of employees and visitors dine daily.
Dock Bridge - Newark, NJ
A Special Improvement District (SID) has been authorized by the city of Newark and is now operating with a $3 million dollar annual budget. Like New York's BIDs, the Newark SID will concentrate on cleanliness, safety, capital improvements, and public relations for the downtown area. Edward Reiter from Prudential has been hired as its director.
By 2001, Newark's superb access to its airport will be even better. A train station along Amtrak's main northeast corridor line will be completed along with a connection to the existing airport monorail system. When complete, Newark residents will be able to take virtually any south-bound train from Penn Station Newark to the new Waverly Yards Station, check baggage, check-in and take the monorail directly to their gates.
The Yankee/Nets organization has chosen Newark as its home base with intention to construct a $300 million dollar stadium for Nets basketball and Devils hockey. Located in downtown Newark, just two blocks from The National Newark Building, the complex has the potential to change Newark's perception on a National level. In addition to the stadium, hotels, restaurants, retail space, a television production studio and offices costing $250 million dollars are planned. The Nets plan to play their first home game in the new facility in the fall of 2003 and expect to host up to 275 major events each year.
Penn Station - Newark, NJ
As interest in Newark continues to drive new investment, the New Jersey Department of Transportation has committed one billion dollars to enhance and upgrade Newark's roads and bridges. The most expensive piece of roadwork in the state is underway at the south end of Broad Street. The new Route 21 Viaduct, connecting Broad Street and McCarter Highway with Highway 1/9 and interstate highway 78 is expecting to increase traffic safety and flow, to and from the city, by 2002. Fully funded and designed is a $150 million dollar light rail project connecting Newark's Penn Station with Newark's Broad Street Station. This "trolley" line (actually an extension of Newark's existing subway system) will provide public transportation between the stations, with stops for NJPAC and the new baseball stadium, as well as a link to the airport monorail. Sixteen new light rail cars, at a cost of $3 million each, will replace the aging cars built just after World War II. Newark's Pennsylvania station is undergoing a $100 million-dollar renovation to keep up with all of the Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and PATH train users.
Newark is in the process of reinventing itself. After years of neglect, the city is once again becoming an active urban center. Twelve prominent commercial properties have changed ownership within the last few years with many undergoing renovations. New entertainment facilities are proving successful while others are planned or under construction. The infrastructure is improving with the road, rail, airport and shipping port benefiting from a $1 billion dollar expenditure. City crime has been greatly reduced. The perceptions of Newark are changing and the reality is clear, Newark is on the way back!