Latest Improvement Project in Rapidly Growing Journal Square Area to Highlight Jersey
City’s Significant Role in our Nation’s History
JERSEY CITY, NJ – Mayor Steven M. Fulop joins City Council members and the Department of
Infrastructure alongside community members and organizations to announce the groundbreaking on the
Bergen Square revitalization project in the rapidly growing area of Journal Square. After years of working
closely with local organizations and Jersey City residents, the community-led project will transform Bergen
Square into new and innovative public spaces with renewed vibrancy in the heart of the City – all while
highlighting the critical role this section of Jersey City played in the development of our country, dating back
thousands of years.
“The Journal Square area is an important part of Jersey City’s history and is undergoing an unprecedented
renaissance to become one of the most vibrant and exciting places to live, work, and visit in the region,” said
Mayor Fulop. “This new Bergen Square revitalization project will be a key part of that progress and will help
to ensure that Jersey City remains a thriving and vibrant community for years to come.”
"We're thrilled with the public investment being made in Bergen Square,” added Chris Bernardo,
Administrator of the Journal Square Special Improvement District (SID). “The planned improvements
will highlight the area’s historical significance while establishing a vibrant and accessible urban space for
customers, residents, and visitors to enjoy."
In 2018, the Fulop Administration formed the Bergen Square Committee, which launched an effort to
strengthen the historic identity of Bergen Square and activate it as a vibrant public space. As a result, the
improvements slated for construction in Bergen Square include:
- Relocating PS 11's school bus area for safer, more streamlined school pick-up and drop-off activity.
- Converting surface parking lots into a 5,400 square foot pedestrian plaza and park space.
- Planting new trees and green infrastructure to increase green space for environmental, physical,
recreational, and social benefits.
- Improving public bus stops with new seating and transit shelters at one of the busiest bus stops in the
City.
- Adding 14 parking spots by relocating public parking to Academy Street and converting the street to
a one-way.
- Raising the intersection at Bergen Avenue and Academy Street for a safer, continuous pedestrian
experience.
- Highlighting the area’s rich history through design elements.
- Traditional Lenni Lenape banding design around the perimeter of the square.
- Designs on the new raised intersection mimicking the well that once existed at that exact
location to provide water to residents and livestock in the mid-1800s.
- Building a protected cycle track.
"The Journal Square community has been
working closely with the City for years to realize
the redesign of Bergen Square, and we are all
thrilled to break ground on this project. Since
1660, Bergen Square has been the site of
community exchange and cross-cultural
interaction. It is wonderful to see it as such again,
both in the public consciousness through events
such as Bergen Square Day and now through this
momentous groundbreaking for the new Bergen
Square Plaza,” added James Dievler, Ph.D.,
Chairman of the Journal Square Community
Association History Committee and founding
board member of the Museum of Jersey City
History at the Apple Tree House.
Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of
investments the Fulop Administration has made
in the Journal Square area to reinvigorate the
transportation, business, and retail hub. In
addition to the Bergen Square updates, these
pivotal projects include the restoration of the
historic Loew’s Jersey Theatre, the addition of
Centre Pompidou x Jersey City, and the new
Court House Park.
“Bergen Square was the first permanent European settlement in New Jersey. After working closely with the
Journal Square Community Association, the Journal Square SID, and community members, our collective
vision for Bergen Square is to create usable outdoor public space in the heart of our community with an
important emphasis on the area’s historical significance that helped shape our nation,” concluded Barkha
Patel, Director of the Department of Infrastructure leading this project.
The historical significance of Bergen Square dates back to ancient times when the area served as a critical
crossroads for the native Leni Lenape for over a thousand years. Bergen Square was established in 1660 as
the village of Bergen on land long utilized by Lenni Lenape Native American people. It was the first urban
square established in the colonies and is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in New Jersey.
