Neighborhoods in Perth Amboy, New Jersey

Perth Amboy, New Jersey is located at the mouth of the Raritan River at the Raritan Bay, and is part of the region known as the Raritan Bayshore.

Neighborhoods

The Waterfront

Perth Amboy features a historic waterfront, which has gone through significant revitalization. Perth Amboy's waterfront is where the city was first settled and one of the few places left in New Jersey that has a historic and marina culture surrounded by water. Local attractions include two small museums, an art gallery, a yacht club, and a marina. Near the marina lies a park with a small bandshell. On Sunday afternoons in the summertime, Perth Amboy hosts the Concerts by the Bay in the park's bandshell. The waterfront is also characterized by a redbrick promenade near the water and many stately Victorian homes, some on hills overlooking the bay and predominating tree lined streets with well-manicured lawns. It has a number of seafood restaurants, as well. The waterfront rises very steep after two blocks. This hinders the rest of the town making the waterfront look like a quiet fishing village. Points of interest on the waterfront include St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, and the Proprietary House, which is now the former governor’s mansion and houses a museum and some offices. Kearny Cottage, which also has a museum, is here. In addition, this section of Perth Amboy once had a thriving Jewish community with yeshivas, synagogues, kosher butchers and bakers.^[1] Today however there are only two synagogues left each with only a few members usually over the age of 55

Downtown Perth Amboy

Downtown is the main commercial district and is centered on Smith Street. It is an Urban Enterprise Zone and the reduced sales tax rate of 3½% (half of the statewide rate of 7%) funds revitalization of Smith Street with newly planted trees, Victorian streetlights, benches, garbage cans, and redbrick sidewalks. Smith Street is a relatively small shopping center that is only seven blocks wide and bustles with stores catering to working-class customers. The street is flanked by mainly two- to three-storey buildings of varied architecture. It also has a lone bank skyscraper which is 10-stories tall called Amboy Towers in the "Five Corners" (pictured above). The Five Corners is the intersection of Smith Street, New Brunswick Avenue and State Street. Although there were previously several department stores downtown, the largest today is discount retailer Bargain Man.

Harbortown

Harbortown is a recently built townhouse development, that is part rental and part condo, and still continues to be expanded. Section 8 housing along with more affluent homes can be found in Harbortown, an economically and ethnically diverse townhouse development in the city. Harbortown is also the most educated and one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Perth Amboy.

Hall Avenue

Hall Avenue is a neighborhood centered on Hall Avenue east of the New Jersey Transit train tracks. The street, Hall Avenue, itself is not the commercial strip it used to be. Still, although the street has a few pedestrians, it is not deserted. In addition, there is a recently built strip mall on the corner of Hall Avenue and State Street called the "Firehouse Plaza." However, Hall Avenue is now primarily residential. Most of the homes are aging apartments but there are also some newly constructed homes. Hall Avenue also remains the traditional Puerto Rican neighborhood and it hosts the city's annual Puerto Rican Day Festival, which is held on the same day of the historic Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. North of Route 440 in the neighborhood is Rudyk Park which features the Roberto Clemente baseball field and an industrial park.

Southwestern section

The southwestern section is a mainly working-class residential neighborhood with some light industry. The city's largest strip mall is located here. This neighborhood has a large and diversified Hispanic neighborhood with many Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, and the more recent South Americans. Much of the city's Mexican population also lives in this section. Before, this section of Perth Amboy used to have a large Irish population and the neighborhood was once named "Dublin." After, the Irish came the Eastern Europeans, primarily Polish and Hungarian. Most of the housing consists of small one or two family houses. The main commercial strip is Smith Street, west of the New Jersey Transit train tracks.

Western section of the Waterfront

The western section of the waterfront is west of Kearny Avenue. It is an overwhelmingly blue-collar Hispanic neighborhood. Most of the homes are over 100 years old and many are modest row houses. Sadowski Parkway Park lines through the southern end of the neighborhood and has a walkway with a beach. The beach however is no longer in use for swimming. The park also hosts the Dominican festival and other festivals during the summer.

State Street

State Street is a neighborhood east of the NJ Transit train tracks, north of Fayette Street, and south of Harbortown. Like the southwestern section of Perth Amboy, it is predominantly working-class Hispanic. In addition, this neighborhood had many industries and factories before they moved overseas. The neighborhood is mainly Caribbean Hispanic. This section also once had a visible Cuban community. The State and Fayette Gardens, an apartment complex in the neighborhood, was at one point considered to be "The Cuban Buildings." The Landings at Harborside redevelopment project is being constructed in this neighborhood.

Amboy Avenue

Amboy Ave is a quasi-suburban, working to middle-class neighborhood. It is also referred to as the "Hospital section" or the "High School section" because these places are located in the neighborhood. Although today it is mostly Hispanic, Amboy Avenue once had a strong Italian population.

Maurer

Maurer is mainly working to middle-class neighborhood that lies in the northern part of Route 440. It is heavily industrial with many oil refineries and brownfields. Like Amboy Avenue, it is quasi-suburban.

Chickentown

Chickentown is a neighborhood in the western part of Route 35 south of Spa Springs, just south of Route 440. It shares many of the same characteristics of Spa Springs but to a lesser extent. The city's largest park, Washington Park, is located here.

Spa Springs

Along with the waterfront, Spa Springs, which is in the northwestern part of the city, remains one of the most attractive and middle-class areas of the city. In this neighborhood, the population is older. Spa Springs is also the wealthiest neighborhood in town and is the most suburban with single family houses and garages.

References

1. ^ Silverstein, Marilyn. "Rabbi hopes to bring renaissance to shul", New Jersey Jewish News, June 17, 2004, accessed April 11, 2007. "Once upon a time, Perth Amboy was the hub of a thriving Jewish community, observed Rabbi Israel Einhorn. “Perth Amboy used to be the No. 1 shtetl in New Jersey. They had butchers, bakers, yeshivas,” Einhorn said as he sat in his office at Congregation Shaarey Tefiloh, an Orthodox shul on the waterfront in the economically depressed town."