They settled for Jersey City. They were settlers of a different kind, the kind who always feel cheated, because they settled for less. About the best thing she has to say in the book about Jersey City is that it has a great view across the Hudson, and beyond the Statue of Liberty, of the Manhattan skyline. But even Lady Liberty has her back turned to Jersey City. In person, she's a little more kind.
Some streets have trees.
She adds that with gentrification, Jersey City now is less like a slum than it was in her formative years, and that the current mayor is not corrupt. The monstrous Beansie was often the topic of conversation. They ate like kings from these stolen goods, but no one cared. It was just the way things were. She tells of wayward cousins and a couple of aunts and uncles, some of whom escaped Jersey City for Arizona or Miami.