Newark

Newark, New Jersey - founded 1666; population 280,000 (2005 estimate); 24.14 square miles (smallest of 100 largest US cities); 5 miles from Manhattan

Newark is the red headed step child of the US East Coast Megalopolis that stretches from Boston to Washington. To the eye, it's a rather depressed city. It's downtown has the necessary infrastructure of a large city: subway and tram system, large corporate buildings, parks, sweeping city hall plaza. But it just doesn't feel right. It's dirty and loud. Some of the buildings have scaffoldings that look like they've been up a long time. As if the intended refurbishing project never happened and the scaffoldings are a part of the building now. Like wearing a brace on your leg after an operation and then deciding the brace is too comforting to be temporary. I saw in Newark some potential. It's a city that can't decide what it wants to be, so stands committed to just being the best run down city it can. Which I'm sure makes Detroit nervous.

I found the city to be depressed not only economically but emotionally also. The people were not friendly. I witnessed a bus driver arguing with two passengers, drivers cutting through pedestrian walkways, and train station staff ignoring passenger questions. It made France look like a customer service paradise.

© 2005