Weequahic, Newark

Weequahic (pronounced Wee-QUAY-ic, or WEEK-wake "when spoken rapidly"[1]) is a neighborhood in the city of Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Part of the South Ward, it is separated from Clinton Hill by Hawthorne Avenue on the north, and bordered by the township of Irvington on the west, Newark Liberty International Airport and Dayton on the east, and Hillside Township and the city of Elizabeth on the south. There are many well maintained homes and streets. Part of the Weequahic neighborhood has been designated a historic district; major streets are Lyons Avenue, Bergen Street, and Chancellor Avenue.[2][3] Newark Beth Israel Medical Center is a major long-time institution in the neighborhood.

A residential street in Weequahic

History

The name "Weequahic" is Lenni-Lenape for "head of the cove".[4] The area was farmland until the late nineteenth century when it was developed into a middle-class, non-industrial neighborhood of detached single-family homes oriented around Weequahic Park. Later many multi-unit homes were built to the west, and later still a few residential modernist highrises were built.

Elizabeth Avenue-Weequahic United Presbyterian Church

Weequahic was largely a middle class Jewish neighborhood until the late 1960s, home to many synagogues, yeshivas, and Jewish restaurants. Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (in Weequahic), the largest hospital in Newark, was built under the auspices of the Jewish community. The only remaining connection to the Jewish community is Bragman's Delicatessen and Restaurant at 393 Hawthorne Avenue.

Author Philip Roth grew up on Summit Avenue, graduated from Weequahic High School in 1950, and many of his novels (such as American Pastoral, Nemesis) are set there. Heart of Stone, a documentary by Beth Toni Kruvant produced by Zach Braff, focuses on Weequahic High School's decline from the 1950s when it graduated more PhDs than any other high school in the country, to one of Newark, NJ's most poorly performing schools. Principal Ron Stone inspires the students, to graduate and go to college. He partners with the largely Jewish and African-American Weequahic High School Alumni Association[5] to help the current students.

The post-World War II growth of suburbs and Second Great Migration of African Americans altered the demographic make-up of Newark in general and the Weequahic section in particular. The neighborhood might have stayed middle class if not for the devastating effects of real estate blockbusting, white flight, and the construction of Interstate 78. I-78 tore Weequahic's fragile urban fabric and separated the neighborhood from the rest of Newark. There are still many well maintained homes and streets in the neighborhood. The 1967 civil unrest was also devastating to the district, though the focal point was in the Central Ward.[6]

Weequahic Park

The jewel of the neighborhood is the 311-acre (1.26 km2) Olmsted Brothers-designed Weequahic Park. This park has a 2.2 miles (3.5 km) rubberized jogging path around its 80-acre (320,000 m2) lake[7][8] and Weequahic Golf Course, the oldest public golf course in the United States. It is listed on the state and federal registers of historic places.[9]

Elizabeth Avenue Corridor

Several highrise apartment buildings were built in the 1960s along the Elizabeth Avenue Corridor opposite the park.[10]

Highrise apartment buildings at Weequahic Park along the Elizabeth Avenue Corridor: 555, 515, 455, 440 left to right

440 Elizabeth Avenue, formerly Carmel Towers, is a residential tower and parking structure which opened in 1970. The apartment building is 313 feet (95 m) and 25 stories tall.[11][12] Originally built as market rate rentals, it became affordable housing for individuals and families with low income. Rent was based on 30% of adjusted gross income and was subsidized by United States Department of Housing and Urban Development under a program known as Section 8.[13] Conditions in the building deteriorated, with the structure becoming a center of drug-dealing and violence.[14] In 2011, the building was vacated due to failed inspections.[15][16] The buildings were sold in 2015,[17] and as of 2019 there were plans for redevelopment and gut rehabilitation of its 216 apartments and renaming as the Essex Lake House.[18][19]

Zion Towers, at 515 Elizabeth Avenue, is a residential tower built atop a parking structure that opened in 1972 that is one of the tallest buildings in Newark.[20][21] The apartment building is 313 feet (95 m) tall and has 29 stories with 268 apartments.[22][20] It also provides affordable housing.[23] The building was sold for $28 million in 2018 with plans to upgrade it.[24]

Other buildings include the 22-story Elizabeth Towers at 455 and the 24-story Heritage Estates at 555.[25][26][22]

Education

Newark Public Schools operates public schools. Weequahic High School serves the neighborhood.

The Weequahic Branch Library of the Newark Public Library (NPL) serves the neighborhood. The branch, which opened in May 1929, was the sixth NPL branch to open between 1923 and 1946. In 1992 the library system renovated the branch for $1 million; the renovation added air conditioning, online public access computers, an elevator, new lighting, off-street parking, and a children's storytelling pit.[27]

References
  1. Ortner, Sherry B. (June 2002). "'Burned like a tattoo': High school social categories and 'American culture'". Ethnography. 3 (2): 119. JSTOR 24047827. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  2. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Essex County". New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  3. "Chancellor Avenue, Newark". www.newarkhistory.com. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  4. County of Essex: Weequahic Park, accessed September 21, 2006
  5. "Weequahic High School Alumni Association". Weequahic High School Alumni Association. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  6. Dolan, Thomas. "Newark and Its Gateway Complex" Archived 2008-04-13 at the Wayback Machine, Rutgers–Newark. Accessed October 6, 2007.
  7. "Weequahic Park". Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. Essex County Parks Department. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  8. "Weequahic Park". Newarkology. newarkhistory.com. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
  9. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Essex County". New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
  10. impressM. "Mansions Give Way to Low-Rise Apartments". Charles Cummings. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  11. "Carmel Towers". Emporis. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
  12. "Carmel Towers - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  13. "Carmel Towers, 440 Elizabeth Ave, Newark, NJ 07112 - PublicHousing.com". www.publichousing.com. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  14. Peet, Judy (August 2, 2009). "A block in Newark known for drugs and gangs is safe, for now". nj.com. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  15. "Tenants scramble as HUD abandons Newark residential tower". The Real Deal New York. October 25, 2011. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  16. McGeehan, Patrick (October 25, 2011). "As Newark Tower Loses U.S. Aid, Tenants Fear Eviction". Retrieved May 28, 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
  17. "203-221 MEEKER AVE, owned by ESSEX LAKE ASSOCIATES,LLC in Newark City - NJParcels.com". njparcels.com. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  18. Kofsky, Jared (October 19, 2016). "A Vacant 25-Story Apartment Tower in Newark Could Soon See Revitalization". Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  19. "THE ESSEX LAKE HOUSE - The Ishay Group". Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  20. "Zion Towers Apartments, Newark - 121293 - EMPORIS". www.emporis.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  21. "Zion Towers - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  22. "Heritage Apartments, Newark - 121297 - EMPORIS". www.emporis.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  23. "Zion Towers in Newark, New Jersey". Affordable Housing Online. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
  24. Kofsky, Jared (April 23, 2018). "L+M Pays $28M for Newark's Zion Towers, Plans Rehabilitation". Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  25. "Elizabeth Towers - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  26. "Elizabeth Towers, Newark - 121294 - EMPORIS". www.emporis.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  27. "Weequahic Branch Library." Newark Public Library. Retrieved on March 2, 2010.

Further reading

Forgosh, Linda B. (2008). Jews of Weequahic. Images of America. Charleston, SC: Arcadia. ISBN 9780738557632. LCCN 2007935344. OCLC 212842952. Retrieved September 27, 2022.

40°42′40″N 74°12′54″W

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