Bergenline Avenue (New Jersey)

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For the light rail station, see Bergenline Avenue (Hudson-Bergen Light Rail).

Facing north at 32nd Street in Union City.

Bergenline Avenue is a major north-south street in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, passing through the city of Union City, the town of West New York, the town of Guttenberg, and the township of North Bergen. Its south end is at Union City's Second Street, the north boundary of Washington Park. From there north to 47th Street, the street is one-way southbound; New York Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard serve northbound traffic. Between 48th and 49th Streets, an elevator on the west side provides access to the underground Bergenline Avenue station of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail. After passing through West New York and Guttenberg and into North Bergen, the street meets North Hudson Park, running along its west side from 79th Street to the Bergen County line, where the name changes to Anderson Avenue, continuing to Fort Lee. Just south of the county line, Bergenline Avenue passes through the community of Nungessers and crosses Kennedy Boulevard. The northernmost 0.04 miles of the route from Kennedy Boulevard to the Bergen County line is designated as County Route 721.

Currently the longest commercial avenue in the state, boasting over 300 retail stores and restaurants, Bergenline runs through not only the entire length of Union City from north to south, but also through West New York, Guttenberg and North Bergen, making it the main commercial strip for North Hudson County. Also known as the "Miracle Mile", Bergenline’s largest concentration of retail and chain stores begins at the intersection of 32nd Street and continues north until 92nd Street in North Bergen, and while it is a narrow one-way, southbound street throughout most of Union City, it becomes a four lane, two-way street at 48^th Street, just one block south of the town’s limit. Bergenline Avenue is also used as the route for local parades, such as the annual Memorial Day Parade.

The street is also a major transportation corridor, served by New Jersey Transit buses to local points (22, 22X, 84, 86, and 89) and to the Port Authority Bus Terminal (156 and 159) and George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal (181) in Manhattan. The portion along the west side of North Hudson Park sees almost 300 buses in each direction on a normal weekday, an average of one every five minutes.^[1]

[edit] History

Bergenline Avenue then and now: Facing south toward 32nd ST., circa 1900 (left), and in 2007 (right).

Until the 1880s, the primary commercial area of Union City was Palisade Avenue. An influential citizen named Henry Kohlmeier who lived there objected to the noise created by horse-drawn public coaches, which led to the route being transferred two blocks west to Lewis Street, which runs parallel to Palisade Avenue, and which is now known as Bergenline.

Today Bergenline Avenue is the heart of the Cuban-American community in Union City, and home to many other Hispanics.^[2] It was once an Italian-American strip, but was predominantly Cuban by 1981.^[3]