Editing Union City, New Jersey (section)

==Commerce and economy==
[[File:BergenlineThen&NowByLuigiNovi.jpg|thumb|400px|left|[[Bergenline Avenue]] then and now: Facing south toward [[Hackensack Plank Road|32nd Street]], {{circa|1900}} (left), and in 2010 (right)]]
Originally, [[Bergenline Avenue]] was the width of a cowpath, and was not regarded as a business center. [[streetcar|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.<ref>''Twentieth Anniversary: 1919–1939'' West Hoboken Post No. 14 Union City, New Jersey. The American Legion. Department of New Jersey. p. 31</ref>

The continuous line of retail stores that appeared on Bergenline Avenue by the time the town of Union Hill was incorporated<ref name=Kiwanis>{{cite book|title=North Hudson Kiwanis Club: History and Directory: Silver Anniversary: 1922 — 1947|author=Galland, Frank|publisher=North Hudson [[Kiwanis]] Club|date=1947|location=[[Hudson County, New Jersey]]|page=67}}</ref> made it not only the city's main commercial thoroughfare,<ref name=Calendar/><ref name=OtherCuban/> but a major shopping thoroughfare for [[North Hudson, New Jersey|North Hudson]] County, one of the leading shopping centers and commercial strips in Northern New Jersey,<ref name=Kiwanis/> and the longest commercial avenue in the state.<ref name="EndForUEZ?">{{cite web|url=https://archive.hudsonreporter.com/2011/03/06/is-end-near-for-biz-districts-and-3-5-sales-tax/|author=Cullen, Deanna|title=Is end near for biz districts (and 3.5 % sales tax)?|language=en-US|url-status=live|newspaper=[[The Hudson Reporter]]|date=March 6, 2011|accessdate=March 21, 2022|archive-date=March 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321172557/https://archive.hudsonreporter.com/2011/03/06/is-end-near-for-biz-districts-and-3-5-sales-tax/}}</ref> Among the Cuban Americans in the area, it has earned the nickname La Avenida.<ref name=NewYorkTimes2.5.06/>

Bergenline runs through not only the entire length of Union City from north to south, but also through West New York, [[Guttenberg, New Jersey|Guttenberg]] and North Bergen. Also known as the "Miracle Mile", Bergenline's largest concentration of retail and chain stores begins at the intersection of [[Hackensack Plank Road|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.<ref name=Kiwanis/><ref name=HudReporter5.10.09>{{cite web|author=Staab, Amanda|url=https://archive.hudsonreporter.com/2009/05/10/attracting-shoppers-to-summit-ave/|title=Attracting shoppers to Summit Ave.: UC talks street improvements, suspends liquor license|newspaper=[[The Hudson Reporter]]|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=May 10, 2009|access-date=November 14, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504141215/https://archive.hudsonreporter.com/2009/05/10/attracting-shoppers-to-summit-ave/}}</ref>

[[File:10.2.09TransferStationByLuigiNovi.jpg|thumb|[[Transfer Station (Hudson County)|Transfer Station]] was once an interchange for trolleys and buses. The trapezoidal building at 707 [[Summit Avenue (Hudson Palisades)|Summit Avenue]] was home to a bank, and later the headquarters of [[Teamsters Local 560]] when it was led by mobster [[Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano]], before being purchased in by the city in 2023 to convert into affordable housing.<ref name=NJ.com9.8.23/><ref name=USvLoc560/>]]
At Union City's southern end, Bergenline is primarily a residential street, with the shopping district concentrated at [[Summit Avenue (Hudson County)|Summit Avenue]] and [[Transfer Station (Hudson County)|Transfer Station]],<ref name=Kiwanis/><ref name=HudReporter5.10.09/> so called because it was a transfer point for buses<ref name=HudReporter3.15.14>Schwartz, Art. [https://archive.hudsonreporter.com/2014/03/16/jersey-diner-served-gis-when-things-were-wild/ "Jersey diner served GIs when things were 'wild'"], ''[[The Hudson Reporter]]'', March 6, 2014. Accessed November 14, 2019.</ref> and three trolley lines.<ref name="Gabriele, Michael C. 43"/> A prominent landmark of Transfer Station is its five-corner intersection of Summit Avenue, Paterson Plank Road, and 7th Street, on which sits a five-story, trapezoid-shaped brick building at 707 Summit Avenue, originated in 1910 as the National Bank of North Hudson. It later became the First National Bank of Union City. By the 1960s, it had become the headquarters of [[Teamsters Local 560]], which was controlled by mobster [[Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano]],<ref name=NJ.com9.8.23>{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/2023/09/union-city-teamsters-building-associated-with-infamous-mobsters-to-be-converted-into-affordable-housing.html|publisher=[[NJ.com]]|author=Koosau, Mark|title=Union City Teamsters building associated with infamous mobsters to be converted into affordable housing|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=September 8, 2023|access-date=September 13, 2023|archive-date=September 10, 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230910160957/https://www.nj.com/hudson/2023/09/union-city-teamsters-building-associated-with-infamous-mobsters-to-be-converted-into-affordable-housing.html?outputType=amp}}</ref><ref name=USvLoc560>{{Cite web|url=https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-loc-560-intern-bro-of-teamsters|title=United States v. Loc. 560, Intern. Bro. of Teamsters|publisher=[[United States District Court for the District of New Jersey]]|via=Casetext|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=March 8, 1984|access-date=September 13, 2023|archive-date=September 13, 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230913213931/https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-loc-560-intern-bro-of-teamsters}}</ref> a reported [[caporegime]] in the [[Genovese crime family]], and a top associate of [[Jimmy Hoffa]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/13/obituaries/anthony-provanzano-71-ex-teamster-chief-dies.html|url-status=live|archive-date=January 4, 2019|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|author=McFadden, Robert D.|title=Anthony Provanzano, 71, Ex-Teamster Chief, Dies|date=December 13, 1988|access-date=September 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190104073016/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/12/13/obituaries/anthony-provanzano-71-ex-teamster-chief-dies.html?pagewanted=2&src=pm}}</ref> On July 30, 1975, Hoffa intended to meet Provenzano in [[Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan|Bloomfield Township]], a suburb of Detroit, but Hoffa [[Jimmy Hoffa#Disappearance|famously disappeared]] that afternoon. According to ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', Provenzano was seen fraternizing with local union members in Hoboken,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,917718-3,00.html|title=Investigations: Hoffa Search: 'Looks Bad Right Now'|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|page=3|url-status=live|date=August 18, 1975|access-date=September 13, 2023|archive-date=September 13, 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230913224102/https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,917718-3,00.html}}</ref> although Provenzano, according to the [[Associated Press]], told investigators that "he was playing cards with Stephen Andretta in Union City, New Jersey the day Hoffa disappeared",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://heavy.com/entertainment/2019/11/anthony-tony-pro-provenzano-real-story-true/|title=Anthony Provenzano Real Story: Who Was 'Tony Pro'?|author=McBride, Jessica|publisher=[[Heavy.com]]|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=November 27, 2019|access-date=September 13, 2023|archive-date=September 13, 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230913224912/https://heavy.com/entertainment/2019/11/anthony-tony-pro-provenzano-real-story-true/}}</ref> and denied having arranged any meeting with Hoffa.<ref name=CNN>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/05/17/hoffa.search/index.html|title=FBI: Tip on Jimmy Hoffa prompts search|publisher=[[CNN]]|language=en-US|url-status=live|location=Atlanta, Georgia|date=May 18, 2006|access-date=September 13, 2023|archive-date=February 12, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212145653/http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/05/17/hoffa.search/index.html}}</ref> In 2023, when the building went on sale, the city planned to purchase it for $3.1 million, and convert it into 24 affordable housing units.<ref name=NJ.com9.8.23/>

Transfer Station 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.<ref name="Gabriele, Michael C. 43"/> During World War II, the area was a 24-hour hotspot for U.S. servicemen, who patronized the dozens of nightclubs located there.<ref name=HudReporter3.15.14/> 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.<ref name=HudReporter5.10.09/>

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.<ref>[[James Barron (journalist)|Barron, James]]. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/08/nyregion/the-cookie-that-comes-out-in-the-cold.html "The Cookie That Comes Out in the Cold"]. ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 8, 2005. Accessed July 6, 2017. "Mallomars' origins are in New Jersey. Kraft, whose Nabisco division markets Mallomars, says the first buyer was a grocer in West Hoboken, which was consolidated to form Union City in 1925."</ref>

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.<ref>Sanabria, Santo. [https://archive.hudsonreporter.com/2011/07/03/keeping-bergenline-and-tonnelle-pumping-2/ "Keeping Bergenline and Tonnelle pumping; Shopkeepers look at future of urban business program"], ''[[The Hudson Reporter]]'', July 3, 2011. Accessed November 14, 2019.</ref> 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.<ref>[https://www.state.nj.us/dca/affiliates/uez/publications/pdf/tax_q&a_052709.pdf ''Urban Enterprise Zone Tax Questions and Answers''], [[New Jersey Department of Community Affairs]], May 2009. Accessed October 28, 2019. "In 1994 the legislation was amended and ten more zones were added to this successful economic development program. Of the ten new zones, six were predetermined: Paterson, Passaic, Perth Amboy, Phillipsburg, Lakewood, Asbury Park/Long Branch (joint zone). The four remaining zones were selected on a competitive basis. They are Carteret, Pleasantville, Union City and Mount Holly."</ref> 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 {{frac|6|5|8}}% rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants.<ref>[https://www.nj.gov/dca/affiliates/uez/about/ Urban Enterprise Zone Program], [[New Jersey Department of Community Affairs]]. Accessed October 27, 2019. "Businesses participating in the UEZ Program can charge half the standard sales tax rate on certain purchases, currently 3.3125% effective 1/1/2018"</ref> Established in April 1995, the city's Urban Enterprise Zone status expires in April 2026.<ref>[https://www.nj.gov/dca/affiliates/uez/publications/pdf/ZONE%20EXPIRATION%20DATES%20-%202018.pdf Urban Enterprise Zones Effective and Expiration Dates], [[New Jersey Department of Community Affairs]]. Accessed January 8, 2018.</ref>  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 [[County Route 501 (New Jersey)|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, marketing campaigns, and holiday decorations.<ref name="EndForUEZ?"/>

According to the [[U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics]], Union City's unemployment rate as of September 2009 was 15%, the highest in the state, compared with the lowest, [[Hoboken, New Jersey|Hoboken]], at 6.3%, and a statewide rate of 9.8%.<ref>Tirella, Tricia. [https://archive.hudsonreporter.com/2009/12/27/the-business-of-business-2/ "The business of business; Hudson stores, companies cope with economy"], ''The Hudson Reporter Year in Review'', December 27, 2009. Accessed November 14, 2019. "Hudson County’s average unemployment rate was 11.6 percent for the month of September, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state’s unemployment rate in September was 9.8 percent. Union City had the highest unemployment rate at 15 percent, and Hoboken had the lowest rate at 6.3 percent."</ref> By 2018, the city's unemployment rate was 4.5%, compared to a rate of 3.9% in Hudson County.<ref>[https://www.nj.gov/education/finance/fp/audit/1819/AnnualAverageLaborForceEstimatesbyMunicipality2018.pdf 2018 NJ Annual Average Labor Force Estimates by Municipality (2018 Benchmark)], [[New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development]], April 12, 2019. Accessed November 14, 2019.</ref>