page_title: Union City, New Jersey
section_title: Commerce and economy
hierarchical_section_title: Union City, New Jersey / Commerce and economy
caption_attribution_description: English: Shot of Bergenline Avenue facing south toward 32nd Street, in Union City, New Jersey, circa 1900. Taken from a municipal giveaway calendar, which was produced by the city. Right: Shot of Bergenline Avenue facing south toward 32nd Street, taken January 22, 2010 by Luigi Novi. The photo on the right was created by Luigi Novi. It is not in the public domain, and use of this file outside of the licensing terms is a copyright violation. If you would like to use this image outside of the Wikimedia projects, you may do so, only if I am properly credited, either by linking the photograph to this page, or with an easily visible credit placed near the photo in each instance in which it is used. Please credit authorship as follows: &#160;© Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons. Please maintain the original file name in all uses. You can see a gallery of some of my other photos here. If you have any questions, you can contact me by sending me an email or leaving a note at the bottom of my Wikipedia talk page.
context_page_description: Union City is a city in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census the city had a total population of 66,455, reflecting a decline of 633 from the 67,088 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 9,076 from the 58,012 counted in the 1990 Census. As of the 2010 Census it was the second most densely populated city in the United States, with a density of 51,810.1 per square mile.
  Union City was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on June 1, 1925, with the merger of Union Hill and West Hoboken Township. The city's name marks the combination of the two municipalities.
  Two major waves of immigration, first of German speakers and then of Spanish speakers, greatly influenced the development and character of Union City. Its two nicknames, "Embroidery Capital of the United States" and "Little Havana on the Hudson", reflect important aspects of that history. Thousands visit Union City each year to see the nation's longest-running passion play and the annual Cuban Day Parade of New Jersey.
context_section_description: Originally, Bergenline Avenue was the width of a cowpath, and was not regarded as a business center. Street car tracks were expected to be laid on Palisade Avenue where the Town Hall was located. However, an influential citizen named Henry Kohlmeier, who had just built his residence on Palisade Avenue, did not wish to be disturbed by the noise of the passing cars, and proposed that the tracks be laid on Bergenline Avenue, two blocks to the west, and before those who would have objected to this became aware of this change, the motion was approved.
  Today Bergenline Avenue remains the city's main commercial thoroughfare. 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 Northern 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 48th Street, one block south of the town's northern boundary. Bergenline Avenue is also used as the route for local parades, such as the annual Memorial Day Parade. At Union City's southern end, Bergenline is primarily a residential street, with the shopping district concentrated at Summit Avenue and Transfer Station, so called because it was a transfer point for buses and three trolley lines. The neighborhood was also the site, in 1912, of the first lunch wagon built by Jerry and Daniel O'Mahoney and John Hanf, which was bought for $800 and operated by restaurant entrepreneur Michael Griffin, who chose the location for its copious foot traffic. The wagon helped spark New Jersey's so-called "golden age of diner manufacturing", which in turn made the state the informal "diner capital of the world". In the decades that followed, nearly all major U.S. diner manufacturers, including Jerry O'Mahoney Inc., started in New Jersey. During World War II, the area was a 24-hour hotspot for U.S. servicemen, who patronized the dozens of nightclubs located there. In later decades, Summit Avenue was not as busy a shopping area as upper Bergenline, so the city implemented a series of improvements in 2009 to improve business there, such as improved sidewalks, landscaping and street lights from Seventh Street to 13th Street.
  In terms of business, Union City is notable for being the location where Mallomars were first sold. Nabisco sold them to a grocer in the southern half of the town, when it was West Hoboken.
  Union City is one of several cities in Hudson County that contains a state-established Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ), under a program that was implemented in 1983 by the New Jersey Department of Commerce and Economic Development assist businesses and revitalize economically distressed communities in New Jersey. One of 32 zones covering 37 municipalities statewide, Union City was selected in 1994 as one of a group of 10 zones added to participate in the program and one of four of those chosen based on a competition. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment and investment within the UEZ, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3.3125% sales tax rate (half of the ​6 ⁵⁄₈% rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants. Established in April 1995, the city's Urban Enterprise Zone status expires in April 2026.  There are approximately 180 UEZ-certified businesses in the city, which includes Bergenline Avenue from 49th to 15th Streets, 32nd Street from Bergenline Avenue to Kennedy Boulevard, Summit Avenue from 18th to Fifth Street, and Paterson Plank Road from Fifth to Seventh Streets. In addition to providing an incentive for shoppers and for business owners to invest in the area without raising taxes, up to $30,000 in annual UEZ revenue is also used for area upkeep and safety projects, marketin
caption: Bergenline Avenue then and now: Facing south toward 32nd Street, circa 1900 (left), and in 2010 (right)
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