Perth Amboy, New Jersey

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City of Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Nickname: "The City by the Bay"
Location of Perth Amboy in Middlesex County
Coordinates: 40°31′10″N, 74°16′31″W
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Middlesex County
Incorporated	1683
Government
- Mayor	Joseph Vas
Area
- City	6.0 sq mi (15.5 km²)
- Land	4.8 sq mi (12.4 km²)
- Water	1.2 sq mi (3.1 km²)
Elevation	56 ft (17 m)
Population (2005)
- City	48,797
- Density	9,892.0/sq mi (3,820.9/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (EDT) (UTC-4)
ZIP code	08861
Area code(s)	732
Website: http://www.ci.perthamboy.nj.us/

The Perth Amboy National Bank Building, and a view of the "5 Corners" downtown area (Intersections of State and Smith Sts. and the terminus of New Brunswick Ave.)

Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city population was 47,303.

Perth Amboy was formed by Royal Charter on August 4, 1718, within various townships. Perth Amboy was chartered as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on December 21, 1784, within Perth Amboy Township and from part of Woodbridge Township. Perth Amboy Township was formed on October 31, 1693, and was enlarged during the 1720s to encompass Perth Amboy city. Perth Amboy Township was incorporated as one of New Jersey's initial 104 townships on February 21, 1798. The township was absorbed by Perth Amboy city on April 8, 1844.^[1]

Perth Amboy, and South Amboy across the Raritan River, are collectively referred to as The Amboys. Signage for Exit 11 on the New Jersey Turnpike refers to "The Amboys" as a destination. The Amboys are the northern limit of the area informally referred to as the Bayshore.

[edit] History

Perth Amboy was settled in 1683 and incorporated as a city in 1718. It was founded by English merchants, Scots seeking religious freedom, and French Protestants. They sought to use Perth Amboy's harbor to its full potential. Reality however never matched its expectations.

Perth Amboy served as the state capital from 1686 until 1776. In 1684, Perth Amboy became the capital of East Jersey and remained the capital until the union of East and West Jersey in 1702 and became an alternate state capital with Burlington until 1776. The wealthy came and lived here but they left due to hostilities. New Jersey merchants also chose New York City instead of Perth Amboy as their destination. Perth Amboy became “sleepy” but then came the ceramic industries.

By 1890, immigration and industrialization transformed Perth Amboy. Factories like Guggenheim and Sons as well as Copper Works Smelting Company fueled a thriving downtown and employed many area residents. Perth Amboy also grew after it became the tidewater terminal for the Lehigh Valley Railroad and a coal shipping point. Perth Amboy also witnessed tightly knit and insular ethnic neighborhoods such as Budapest, Dublin, and Chickentown. Immigrants from Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Russia, and Austria quickly dominated the factory jobs. Perth Amboy was also a resort town in the 1800s and early 20th century.

Today, Perth Amboy’s immigrants are primarily Hispanic. Unfortunately the immigration growth occurred at a time when factories were being demolished and plants were being closed down; thus Perth Amboy became part of the rust belt. Once a resort town, Perth Amboy’s beaches are no longer in use for swimming because of the polluted waters. Competition from malls outside the city and in New York forced the big chain and higher end stores out of Perth Amboy’s downtown. There are no movie theaters or major department stores remaining in Perth Amboy.

The overcrowded schools are slightly passing or failing as Perth Amboy is an Abbott funded district. There is also a large and growing number of students who cannot read or write in English.

However, since the early 1990s Perth Amboy has seen a recent redevelopment stage. Crime rates are much lower, small businesses have started to open up, and with the presence of an Urban Enterprise Zone there is a 3½% sales tax, half of the 7% Sales Tax charged statewide. This is mostly credited to Perth Amboy Mayor Joseph Vas who was elected the city's mayor in 1990, 1992, 1996, 2000, & 2004. Vas, a wealthy businessman, served as the city's Chamber of Commerce President until he organized a recall against the corrupt mayor of the city. Vas spent the better part of the 1990's fighting against recently indicted New Jersey Political Boss John A. Lynch, Jr. to open up city contracts to small businesses who were in the city. Vas also used an aggressive approach to fighting crime by placing a police officer on every street during the 90's. Vas is credited for defeating political bossism and pay to play within the City of Perth Amboy.

The waterfront has also seen a rebirth. The marina has been extended, there are new promenades, parks, and housing overlooking the bay. Perth Amboy is still continuing for an attempt of an upheaval in the waterfront. A new project called Landings at Harborside will feature 2,100 residential units composed of town homes and mid-rise luxury condominiums along with indoor garage parking. There were also be 150,000 square feet of retail space with an international market, restaurants, specialty shops, community center, and recreation amenities for the public as well. It is an eight year and $600 million plan. Moreover there will be an extension of Route 440 to High Street, connecting commuters from the Outerbridge Crossing directly to the waterfront.

[edit] Geography

Perth Amboy is located at 40°31′10″N, 74°16′31″W (40.519455, -74.275326)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.5 km² (6.0 mi²). 12.4 km² (4.8 mi²) of it is land and 3.1 km² (1.2 mi²) of it (20.07%) is water.

The city is named after Perth, Scotland, and was originally granted to a company of Scottish noblemen, headed by the Duke of Melfort "Amboy" is an Algonquian name for the area, also appearing in South Amboy.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 47,303 people, 14,562 households, and 10,761 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,820.9/km² (9,892.0/mi²). There were 15,236 housing units at an average density of 1,230.7/km² (3,186.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 46.41% White, 10.04% African American, 0.70% Native American, 1.53% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 35.59% from other races, and 5.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 69.83% of the population. Most of the Hispanics in Perth Amboy are of Puerto Rican or Dominican descent.

There were 14,562 households out of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.6% were married couples living together, 21.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.20 and the average family size was 3.63.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,608, and the median income for a family was $40,740. Males had a median income of $29,399 versus $21,954 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,989. About 14.3% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.1% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.

In 2000, 27.79% of Perth Amboy residents identified themselves as being of Puerto Rican ancestry, the fifth highest concentration of Puerto Ricans on the U.S. mainland of those municipalities with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.^[5] In the same census, 18.81% of Perth Amboy residents identified themselves as being of Dominican ancestry, the third highest concentration in the country of Dominicans in the United States after Haverstraw, New York and Lawrence, Massachusetts using the same criteria.^[6]

[edit] Community

Typical Victorians on High Street.

[edit] 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. Today however there are only two synagogues left each with only a few members usually over the age of 55.

[edit] 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 that cater to the lower and working class. The street is flanked by mainly two to three story 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 a number of department stores, the largest store downtown today is discount retailer Bargain Man.

[edit] 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. However it also has the highest poverty rate out of any neighborhood in Perth Amboy.

[edit] 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 Parade. From the 1980’s to the early 1990’s there was also a drug epidemic plaguing Hall Avenue. Hall Avenue used to be filled with juveniles loitering on street corners; many selling heroin, cocaine, and marijuana openly. With the help of the Perth Amboy Police Department and through the work of demolishing a high-rise housing project that served as an incubator for crime and drugs by the Housing Authority, the neighborhood is not the drug fueled war zone it once was. North of Route 440 in the neighborhood is Rudyk Park which features the Roberto Clemente baseball field and an industrial park.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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" due to the fact that these places are located in the neighborhood. Although today it is mostly Hispanic, Amboy Avenue once had a strong Italian population.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Government

[edit] Local government

The City of Perth Amboy is governed under the Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government. The current mayor is Joseph Vas. City Council members include Council President Peter Jimenez, Geraldine Bolanowski, Frank M. Sinatra, Robert Sottilaro and David Szilagyi.^[7]

[edit] Federal, state and county representation

Perth Amboy is in the Thirteenth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 19th Legislative District.^[8]

New Jersey's Thirteenth Congressional District, covering portions of Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, and Union Counties, is now represented by Albio Sires (D, West New York), who won a special election held on November 7, 2006 to fill the vacancy the had existed since January 16, 2006. The seat had been represented by Bob Menendez (D), who was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the seat vacated by Governor of New Jersey Jon Corzine. New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 19th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Joseph Vitale (D, Woodbridge) and in the Assembly by Joseph Vas (D, Perth Amboy) and John S. Wisniewski (D, Parlin). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Middlesex County is governed by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. Middlesex County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director David B. Crabiel (Milltown), Freeholder Deputy Director Stephen J. "Pete" Dalina (Fords), Camille Fernicola (Piscataway), H. James Polos (Highland Park), John Pulomena (South Plainfield), Christopher D. Rafano (South River) and Blanquita B. Valenti (New Brunswick).

[edit] Transportation

The Outerbridge Crossing, at night. The bridge leads Route 440 from Perth Amboy across the Arthur Kill into Staten Island, NY

The Outerbridge Crossing, a cantilever bridge over the Arthur Kill, connects Perth Amboy with Staten Island. Known locally as the "Outerbridge", it is part of a popular route on NY-440/NJ-440 from the south and west to New York City and Long Island. Despite the assumption that the name is derived from its location as the southernmost bridge in New York State and Staten Island, the Outerbridge Crossing was named in honor of Eugenius H. Outerbridge, first Chairman of the Port Authority. The bridge clears the channel by 145 feet, providing passage for some of the largest of ships.

The Victory Bridge carries Route 35 over the Raritan River, connecting Perth Amboy on the north with the borough of Sayreville to the south.

[edit] Education

Public schools in Perth Amboy are operated by Perth Amboy Public Schools, an Abbott District. Schools in the district include two preschools ( Early Childhood center at St. Mary's and Ignacio Cruz School), five Elementary schools serving grades K-4 ( Anthony V. Ceres School, James J. Flynn School, Edward J. Patten Elementary School, Dr. H. N. Richardson 21st Century School (Number 10) and Robert N. Wilentz School) two Middle schools ( S. E. Shull Middle School for grades 5-8, and William C. McGinnis Middle School for grades 5-8) and Perth Amboy High School for grades 9-12.

Perth Amboy's athletic team have had success. The boys tennis team and cross country team have made New Jersey state championships.

9.7% of adults over the age of 25 in Perth Amboy have a bachelor's degree or higher.

[edit] Notable residents

• The first successful dirigible airship was built and flown by Dr Solomon Andrews, who later served three terms as mayor of Perth Amboy.^[9]
• Rock star Jon Bon Jovi was born in Perth Amboy in 1962 (But raised in Sayreville).
• Rock star Richie Sambora was born in Perth Amboy on July 11, 1959
• Stanley Norman Cohen was originally from Perth Amboy, He then went to Rutgers University, and ended up at Stanford University. In 1972, Cohen along with Herbert Boyer are credited with the creation of the first genetically modified organism and the process of recombinant DNA technology. He still continues his work on bacterial plasmids at Stanford University.^[10]
• Abolitionists Angelina and Sarah Grimke lived in Perth Amboy.
• Vida Guerra was born in Cuba but was raised in Perth Amboy.
• Astronomer and Planetary Scientist Joseph Montani was born in Perth Amboy in 1952. Montani has named one of his minor-planet (asteroid) discoveries (discovered on January 3, 1997 in Arizona, on Kitt Peak, in his work on the Spacewatch Project) after his home town; the object is officially known as: "(12465) Perth Amboy", and its properties and orbit have been recorded by the International Astronomical Union and published to the world. Montani's colleagues also named an asteroid for him, "(7656) JoeMontani", which they discovered on April 24, 1992. Montani moved from Perth Amboy in 1970, after completing high school at PAHS, to attend college in New York City, and has lived in various parts of the world since that time, pursuing his work in Astronomy.^[11].
• Charles White brother of actress Ruth White was born, bred, raised and lived in Perth Amboy until he was unable too. He died in Sarasota Florida. His cremated ashes were buried in the White family plot at St Mary's Cemetery in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. He donated Ruth's Emmy along with other memorabilia to the Perth Amboy Public Library before he died.
• Ruth White was born, bred and died in Perth Amboy from cancer at only 55 years old in 1969. She earned an Emmy Award and a Tony nomination for Best Supporting actress. She is best remembered for her performance as Winnie in Samuel Beckett's play Happy Days on Broadway. She was sister to Charles White. She is buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

[edit] Miscellaneous Information

• In 1914, Perth Amboy had a baseball team called the Pacers, they only played for one season.
• In the September 2005 issue, Golf Magazine named Perth Amboy the unofficial "Golf Capital of the U.S.," despite the fact that there are no golf courses within the city limits, citing the city's access to 25 of the magazine's Top 100 Golf Courses in the U.S., which can be found within 150 miles of Perth Amboy^[12].

[edit] Sister Cities

• Caldas da Rainha, Portugal
• Hillsdale, Michigan

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• City of Perth Amboy website
• Perth Amboy Public Schools
• AmboyHigh.Com - The Perth Amboy High School Alumni Web Site
• Perth Amboy Public Schools's 2005-06 School Report Card from the New Jersey Department of Education
• National Center for Education Statistics data for the Perth Amboy Public Schools
• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 40.519455° -74.275326°
  • Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

This box: view • talk • edit Municipalities of Middlesex County, New Jersey (County seat: New Brunswick)
Boroughs	Carteret | Dunellen | Helmetta | Highland Park | Jamesburg | Metuchen | Middlesex | Milltown | Sayreville | South Plainfield | South River | Spotswood
Cities	New Brunswick | Perth Amboy | South Amboy
Townships	Cranbury | East Brunswick | Edison | Monroe | North Brunswick | Old Bridge | Piscataway | Plainsboro | South Brunswick | Woodbridge
CDPs and communities	Clearbrook Park | Avenel | Brownville | Colonia | Concordia | Dayton | Deans | Fords | Heathcote | Hopelawn | Iselin | Keasbey | Kendall Park | Kingston | Laurence Harbor | Madison Park | Menlo Park Terrace | Monmouth Junction | Plainsboro Center | Port Reading | Princeton Meadows | Raritan Landing | Rossmoor | Sewaren | Society Hill | Whittingham
Historic houses	Buccleuch Mansion | Cornelius Low House | Henry Guest House | James Buckelew Mansion | Joyce Kilmer House | Metlar/Bodine House | Rockingham