Editing Perth Amboy, New Jersey (section)

===Waterfront===
Perth Amboy features a historic waterfront, which has gone through significant [[urban renewal|revitalization]]. Local attractions include the [[Perth Amboy Ferry Slip]], two small museums, an art gallery, a yacht club, and a marina. Near the marina lies a park with a small bandshell. On Sunday afternoons in the summertime, Perth Amboy hosts the Concerts by the Bay in the park's bandshell. Every Thursday evening in the summer, Perth Amboy hosts the Mayor's Concert Series in Bayview Park. Perth Amboy also hosts an annual Waterfront Arts Festival. The waterfront is also characterized by a redbrick promenade near the water and many stately [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] homes, some on hills overlooking the bay and tree lined streets with well-manicured lawns. The land rises steeply after two blocks. This hides the rest of the town, making the waterfront look like a quiet fishing village. Points of interest on the waterfront include St. Peter's Episcopal Church, and the Proprietary House, which is now the former governor's mansion and houses a museum and some offices. [[Kearny Cottage]], which also has a museum, is here. This section of Perth Amboy once had a thriving Jewish community with yeshivas, synagogues, kosher butchers and bakers.<ref>Silverstein, Marilyn. [http://www.njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/2004/61704/sxrenaissance.html "Rabbi hopes to bring renaissance to shul"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222023457/http://www.njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/2004/61704/sxrenaissance.html |date=2012-02-22}}, ''[[New Jersey Jewish News]]'', June 17, 2004, accessed April 11, 2007. "'Once upon a time, Perth Amboy was the hub of a thriving Jewish community', observed Rabbi Israel Einhorn. 'Perth Amboy used to be the No. 1 shtetl in New Jersey. They had butchers, bakers, yeshivas,' Einhorn said as he sat in his office at Congregation Shaarey Tefiloh, an Orthodox shul on the waterfront in the economically depressed town."</ref> Today, however, there are only two synagogues left, each with only a few older members.

A project called 'The Landings at Harborside' was to have featured 2,100 residential units along with indoor parking, {{convert|150000|sqft|abbr=on}} of retail space, a community center, and recreation amenities for the public as well.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110501103211/http://newyork.construction.com/projects/TopProjects04/Landings.asp Top Projects Started 2003-2004: The Landings at HarborSide], New York Construction, backed up by the [[Internet Archive]] as of May 1, 2011. Accessed December 19, 2019. "The Landings at HarborSide - one of the largest comprehensive redevelopment projects in the United States between a private developer and municipality - is a comprehensive, eight-year $600 million plan that incorporates residential and retail development, recreation, parks, marina and future hotel site."</ref> However, after meeting with [[Charles Kushner]], the developer who spent two years in prison after being convicted of witness tampering, tax evasion and making illegal campaign contributions, Mayor Wilda Diaz endorsed a scaled-back design concept for the development, allowing Section 8 housing rentals instead of owner-occupied units as originally promised.<ref>Russell, Suzanne. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150402125156/http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20110916/NJNEWS/309160006/Perth-Amboy-s-Landings-at-Harborside-project-takes-new-direction "Perth Amboy's Landings at Harborside project takes new direction"], ''[[Home News Tribune]]'', September 16, 2011, backed up by the [[Internet Archive]] as of April 2, 2015. Accessed December 19, 2019.</ref>

The Raritan Yacht Club is the state's second-oldest and one of the oldest [[yacht club]]s in the United States, founded in 1882 from the merger of two older clubs, one founded in 1865 and the other in 1874.<ref>[https://www.1683society.org/raritan-yacht-club Raritan Yacht Club], 1683 Society. Accessed December 19, 2019. "The Club itself was established in 1882 from two others, the Carteret Boat Club (1865) and the Perth Amboy Yacht Club (1874), making it the second oldest yacht club in New Jersey and one of the oldest in the country."</ref><ref>[http://www.ycaol.com/americasoldest.htm America's Oldest Yacht Clubs], Yachting Club of America. Accessed December 19, 2019.</ref> Also located on the waterfront and founded in 1917, St. Demetrios was one of the first Greek Orthodox churches in central New Jersey. Established by the Greek immigrants who came to the United States at the turn of the 19th century, this community has stood as a beacon of the Orthodox Faith and Hellenism in Middlesex County.<ref>[http://www.stdemetriosperthamboy.org/our-parish/parish-history/ Parish History], St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church – Perth Amboy. Accessed December 19, 2019. Founded in 1917, St. Demetrios was one of the first Greek Orthodox churches in central New Jersey."</ref>