Little Lima

Little Lima is a Peruvian enclave in Downtown Paterson. New Jersey's Peruvian population continues to grow in its urban areas. East Newark has the largest Peruvian percentage in the country although the borough itself has a total population of 2,377 as of the United States Census, 2000. New Jersey has one of the largest Peruvian populations of any state.

Little Lima is bounded to the west by Spruce Street, to the north by McBride Avenue, to the east by Cianci Street and to the south by Ward and Oliver Streets. The main road through Little Lima is Market Street. Little Lima is close to Paterson's Little Italy and to the Mexican, Dominican and Puerto Rican neighborhoods on Main Street as well as Great Falls on the Passaic River. Peruvian bakeries, groceries and restaurants line this busy section of Market Street. Little Lima is home to the Great Peruvian Festival and the Peruvian Parade, held in the summer. Little Lima is in the heart of Paterson's first neighborhood, Dublin. The Dublin District, as it was originally known, has gone from a mostly Irish American neighborhood to a predominantly Italian American neighborhood in Little Italy's heyday. Today the Dublin District and specifically Little Lima have a predominately Hispanic population with many Peruvian and Bolivian citizens.