Quote:
Originally Posted by McBane
I've had this very thought for a long time. Even the name, Hudson City.
Usually the biggest issue with consolidation is that rich people don't want to subsidize poor people. Everyone knows about the Gold Coast, but inland, I don't know much about these communities. Are there major disparities between the various towns?
But besides that, I'm trying to think of tangible benefits. Municipal spending should come down. Being able to claim you live in the 21st largest city in the country or the largest city in NJ is not a tangible benefit. Representation in congress or the state legislature wouldn't change. What am I missing?
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There's actually not huge disparities between most of the cities, racially or economially
Bayonne - Lower-middle class white, though increasingly Latino
Jersey City - Tremendously mixed in terms of race and class
Hoboken - White - and getting whiter - and gentrified
Union City/West New York - Both relatively poor and heavily Latino
Guttenberg - Similar to Union City/West New York, but with some wealthy white people living by the Hudson
Weehawken - Mixed, with poor Latinos inland, and wealthy whites/Asians along the river
North Bergen - Mostly Latino, but a bit wealthier than Union City/West New York
Seacaucus - White/middle class suburbia
Kearny - Historically White and lower-middle class, but increasingly getting poorer and more Latino
Harrison - Similar to Kearny, except it has a developing Chinatown area
East Newark - Tiny, lower-middle class Latino borough.
The "wealth corridor" in Hudson County is along the coast - running from downtown Jersey City on up to the Bergen County line, and is where middle class and wealthy whites and Asians move. Even the wealthy/white enclaves like Hoboken and Weehawken have crappy local schools which are much more heavily Latino than the municipalities themselves are, meaning I don't think the local electorate is that attached to them.