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01 JC Cover 10/17/07 10:22 AM Page 1 !. %#/./-)# 2%3/52#% '5)$% JERSEY CITY, NJ /&8 +&34&:µ4 $6-563"- 0"4*4:063 ("5&8": 50 0110356/*5: 2008 02-03 Letter.qxp 10/17/07 6:27 PM Page 2 JERSEY CITY : Gateway to Opportunity Table of Contents J.Dundas Steven Pohotographer LIVE Public-Private Partnerships that Benefit Businesses & Residents ..........4 A World of New Possibilities ................................................................10 Jersey City: Home Sweet Home ............................................................12 Scientific Revival ..................................................................................16 PROSPER Government, Economy & Community..........................................................18 Making Life a Little EZier ......................................................................20 The Lure of Tax Breaks & Incentives ......................................................22 A Manhattan Transplant Thrives on Hudson Street ..............................24 SHOP A Shopper’s (and Bargain Hunter’s) Paradise........................................25 The New & Improved Newport Centre ....................................................26 Hudson Mall Changes to Meet the City’s Needs ....................................27 ENJOY Tourism Heats Up All Around Town ........................................................28 A Creative Center of Cultural Life ............................................................30 Steven J. Dundas 2 NOVEMBER 12, 2007 ● Special Supplement to NJBIZ 02-03 Letter.qxp 10/23/07 11:32 AM Page 3 Gateway to Opportunity : JERSEY CITY Dear Business Leader: An Economic Resource Guide Jersey City, NJ 2008 I am proud to welcome you to the City of Jersey City’s supplement in NJBIZ. As you explore the pages, you will recognize many visible Produced in coordination with: signs of our economic and physical rebirth and the evidence of our JERSEY CITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION cultural renaissance. It’s no surprise that Jersey City has become the (201) 333-7797 top city in the state to work, live and do business. Eugene Nelson, CEO Dan Frohwirth, Director of Real Estate Roberta Farber, Urban Enterprise Zone Director Due largely to our diverse community, our partnerships with visionary leaders in the Leon Yost, Original Cover Photography Jones & Associates Communications, business community, and resources like our proximity to downtown and midtown Project Coordination, Writing/Editing & Photography New York, Jersey City has become the engine driving the state’s economy. With CITY OF JERSEY CITY Fortune 500 companies and small and mid-size businesses and residential developers Office of the Mayor, Jerramiah T. Healy flocking to Jersey City, great things are happening. As mayor, it is my responsibility to keep our city traveling down this prosperous road. My administration stands firm in its commitment to continue to bring jobs PRODUCED BY NJBIZ D. Lee Carlson, Publisher and ratables to the diverse community we serve. As everyone who lives and works Josh Gertzog, Director of Sales here knows, Jersey City is the Gateway to Opportunity and New Jersey’s Premier Joe Malone, Advertising Account Executive Diana Lasseter Drake, Editor Destination. Summer Olstad, Design Manager Mike Sanchez, Project Designer Jennifer Webber, Production Published by Journal Publications Inc. David A. Schankweiler, CEO Jerramiah T. Healy Lawrence M. Kluger, President Mayor of Jersey City Cover Photo by Steven J. Dundas Special Supplement to NJBIZ ● NOVEMBER 12, 2007 3 04-09 SpImprovements2 10/17/07 6:47 PM Page 2 JERSEY CITY : Gateway to Opportunity L Special Improvement Districts: Public–Private I V E All photos courtesy of Jones & Associates Communications,© 2007 Clockwise from top left: 1. Christopher Columbus stands high above the activity of Journal Square. 2. Jersey City Heights residents and workers all love the frozen treats of Amourville Ice Cream. 3. The Plaza at McGinley Square. 4. The sights and aromas of Goehrig's Bakery are simply irresistible! 5. The Grove Street PATH Station entrance mirrors the surrounding area. EARS AGO, EACH TOWN HAD A MAIN STREET THAT FORMED THE Development Corp. Chief Executive Officer Eugene Nelson explains that the area’s heart of the community. As towns grew into cities, and cities became large SIDs act as lifelines in neighborhoods. “Our Special Improvement Districts protect urban municipalities, several Main Streets developed into the heart of various local businesses and aid in their growth. They also stabilize residential property val- Yneighborhoods. This is especially true in Jersey City. ues and improve the quality of life for everyone. We are very proud of their develop- To keep these areas thriving and operating in great condition, the State of New ment and of the roles they play in making Jersey City New Jersey’s premier municipal- Jersey initiated a Special Improvement District (SID) program in the Township of ity,” Nelson says. Cranford in 1985. A SID enables property owners and merchants to form a local management association—usually a non-profit corporation—with the authority to THE CENTRAL AVENUE SID collect voluntary special assessments from area businesses (residential properties Located 100 feet up on the Palisades, the Heights section of Jersey City is home within the districts are exempt from these assessments). These assessments—which to more than 60,000 people—about one-quarter of Jersey City’s population. Its three- are matched with Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) funds—may be used to finance quarter-mile-long main street—Central Avenue—runs from North Street to new sidewalks as well as building façade improvements, extra security, sidewalk Manhattan Avenue. and street cleaning services, special events, marketing and promotional ventures The Central Avenue Special Improvement District—Jersey City’s very first SID— and much more. Funds may also be utilized for hiring a professional manager to includes more than 240 businesses. The organization is dedicated to assisting busi- oversee the district and to administer programs that will attract consumers and nesses while preserving the highly valued traditional neighborhood quality that is so recruit new member businesses. unique to the area. “We are especially proud of the fact that we offer an incredible vari- Special Improvement Districts are created by municipal ordinance and are man- ety of shopping, dining and services and that many of our member businesses are aged locally with ongoing technical assistance provided by the New Jersey Department fourth-generation,” states Central Avenue SID Executive Director David Diaz. A seven- of Community Affairs. The SIDs are grassroots organizations that are driven by com- member Board of Trustees—who volunteer their time with no monetary compensa- munity support. Jersey City’s Special Improvement Districts have been in position tion—governs the SID. “Our Board members—Michael Yun, Gilbert Mendez, since the establishment of the Central Avenue SID in 1992. Today, there are a total of Domingo Handal, Sanford Fishman, Gary Solomon, Marco LoShiavo and Grace four SIDs in Jersey City—the Central Avenue Special Improvement District, the Cutri—take great pride in fulfilling their obligation to care for Jersey City as good Historic Downtown Special Improvement District, the Journal Square Restoration neighbors,” Diaz says. Corporation and the McGinley Square Special Improvement District. Each works to Heights residents need not venture any further than Central Avenue to handle maintain and improve the unique character of their neighborhoods while attracting nearly all of their needs. Stores and offices along the way offer opportunities for pur- shoppers and new businesses. chasing apparel and accessories, groceries, books and magazines, hardware, furniture, The Jersey City Economic Development Corp. Urban Enterprise Zone program carpeting and home furnishings, electronics, flowers, groceries, produce, meat, fish, oversees the SID program and assists the SIDs with their operations and with writing health care needs and gifts galore. The Avenue is also dotted with doctors’, attorneys’ proposals, budgeting and finding professional managers. Jersey City Economic and other professional offices as well as banks, dry cleaners, hair salons and barber- 4 NOVEMBER 12, 2007 ● Special Supplement to NJBIZ 04-09 SpImprovements2 10/17/07 6:47 PM Page 3 Gateway to Opportunity : JERSEY CITY Partnerships that Benefit Businesses and Residents All photos courtesy of Jones & Associates Communications,© 2007 Clockwise from top left: 1.The welcome sign is always out to greet area residents and visitors at McGinley Square. 2. Looking across the Grove Street PATH Station Plaza to the new Grove Pointe development. 3. Journal Square was named for Jersey City's hometown newspaper, the Jersey Journal. 4.The stars of Jersey City learn their steps at Don & Rosita Dance Studio. shops, laundromats/dry cleaners, and cafes and restaurants serving cuisine from all ing in his fifteenth year as Vice President of the Board of Trustees. around the globe. • Goehrig’s Bakery has been the place for morning coffee and pastries in Jersey Diaz states that one of the primary reasons businesses prosper on Central Avenue City for decades. In 1975, after years of working in other kitchens and bakeries, is because they are so in-tune with the needs of the Heights residents. Here is a Peter Gigante (who recently resigned his position as a member of the CASID Board glimpse at a few that have thrived for decades: