Racetrack Section, North Bergen

Nungesser's, at the intersection of Bergenline Avenue and Woodcliff Avenue.

The Racetrack Section of North Bergen, New Jersey is a mostly residential district between Bergenline and Kennedy Boulevard. Its east-west streets follow the numbering of other North Hudson towns while its north-south streets are called avenues and are numbered First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth.^[1] Located on the plateau of the Hudson Palisades (which begin their descent at the Boulevard) the Racetrack Section consists of mostly one and two family homes and enjoys convenient public transportation, a stable population, and proximity to North Bergen Public Library,^[2] North Bergen High School, North Hudson Park and Woodcliff.

The neighborhood takes its name from Nungesser's Guttenberg Racetrack.^[3][4] The racetrack located in the area was a popular with day-trippers from New York (who traveled by streetcar from the elevator at the Weehawken Ferry) during the latter part of the 19th century, until gaming was outlawed by the New Jersey legislature in 1893. While the tracks closed, the area remained an amusement park known as Little Coney Island. The “pleasure resort” as it was known, gained a reputation as attracting a similarly rowdy crowd as the racetrack, and reported incidents of alcohol being served to chidren women being drugged. The recently invented ice cream cone was popularized at the park.^[5]The track was later used as a roadhouse for automobilists under the former clubhouse burned down in 1910.^[6] The site became a known landing spot for early aviators.^[7][8][9] The land on which the racetrack sound was subdivided in 1919, and later was built upon creating the section which exists today. .^[10] A White Castle, an early drive-in fast-food chain, has long been a landmark in the neighborhood.^[11][12][13]

The district is still sometimes called Hudson Heights^{[14][15][16][17]} or Nungesser's, which is more commonly used to describe the intersection and transportation hub at the northwest corner of North Hudson Park, at the Bergen line with Fairview border.^[18]

See also

List of neighborhoods in North Bergen, New Jersey

Sources

1. ^ Hudson County New Jersey Street Map. Hagstrom Map Company, Inc. 2008. ISBN 0-8809-7763-9. 
2. ^ -NBPL
3. ^ Ractrack
4. ^ Ryall, G.F.T. (December 14, 1957), "The Race Track", The New Yorker, http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1957/12/14/1957_12_14_086_TNY_CARDS_000252866, retrieved 2011-01-25 
5. ^ La Marca, Stephen (Sept. 18, 2011), "Corruption, carousels, and ice cream cones North Bergen was once home to ‘Little Coney", Hudson Reporter, http://www.hudsonreporter.com/view/full_stories_home/15551499/article-Corruption--carousels--and-ice-cream-cones-North-Bergen-was-once-home-to-%E2%80%98Little-Coney-Island%E2%80%99-?instance=north_bergen_story_left_column, retrieved 2011-09-20 
6. ^ "FIRE ENDS OLD GUTTENBURG.; Blaze Seen from Manhattan Destroys the Clubhouse, Latterly on Inn". The New York Times. January 16, 1910. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F60D14FD3A5D16738DDDAF0994D9405B808DF1D3. 
7. ^ "THREE PLANES FALL; ONE BEHEADS A BOY; Former Army Pilots Arrested After Their Propeller Kills Jersey Lad at Play. BIPLANE ENGINE GOES DEAD Lieut. Stinson Lands in Flatbush Lettuce Patch--AConey Island Mishap". The New York Times. July 8, 1921. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F50D14F73D5A1B7A93CAA9178CD85F458285F9. 
8. ^ "MOROK'S AEROPLANE INTERRUPTS TOILET; Trans-Hudson Flyer's Machine Comes to Grief in a Young Woman's Window". The New York Times. December 27, 1910. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0912FD385D11738DDDAE0A94DA415B808DF1D3&scp=143&sq=north%20bergen&st=cse. 
9. ^ "BANDIT ROBS A TRAIN.; Gets More Than 100 Wallets and Watches from Passengers". The New York Times. December 26, 1910. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=F10615F8345D12738DDDAF0A94DA415B808DF1D3. 
10. ^ Ractrack
11. ^ White Castle
12. ^ NY Times
13. ^ Arthur G. Adams (1996). Guidebook to the Hudson. Fordham University Press. ISBN 9780823216765. 
14. ^ Arthur G. Adams (1996). The Hudson Through the Years. Fordham University Press. ISBN 9780823216796. 
15. ^ [1] Hudson Heights map
16. ^ SkateCity:Fort Lee to Hoboken
17. ^ NJ State Info Bank: Post Offices and Zip Codes
18. ^ What's Nungesser's?

Coordinates: 40°48′22″N 74°00′25″W / 40.806°N 74.007°W / 40.806; -74.007