Executive Summary

The Great Falls Neighborhood of Paterson, New Jersey is a community of 13,423 people who reside in the blocks to the east and the west of the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park. The neighborhood has a rich history: It was a planned industrial city, envisioned by the first U.S. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. During the 19th and early 20th century, its manufacturing mills were powered by water diverted from the Passaic River above the Falls and running through its raceway system – an engineering marvel in its time. The neighborhood was the home to waves of immigrants who labored in the mills, and who stood up, through labor organizing and strikes, to demand respect and their fair share of the abundance they helped produce.

Today, the people and families who make up the neighborhood are diverse – 59% Hispanic, 17% Asian, and 14% African American – and young, with more than one in four residents under the age of 18, and with roughly as many residents under the age of five as residents age 65 and older. Nearly half of the population is foreign born, coming from countries like Bangladesh, Dominican Republic, and Peru. Half of the population speaks Spanish in their household, and one in five residents speaks Bangladeshi.

Despite high rates of employment, the neighborhood is poor, with a 30% poverty rate and a median annual household income of between $35,000 and $40,000. 84% of households rent their homes, and, despite nearly 20% of households receiving some form of housing subsidy, residents face issues related to housing quality and affordability.

Notwithstanding these challenges, the neighborhood community today, like its predecessors, has fought its way forward – building community, advocating for itself, and creating opportunities for improvement.

The Great Falls Neighborhood is a one-square mile area located in the central-western section of Paterson, NJ. The neighborhood straddles both sides of the Passaic River, with the Great Falls National Historic Park functioning as the neighborhood’s center. In addition to the National Historic Park, the neighborhood includes the western edge of downtown Paterson, the Great Falls Historic District, with its historic mill buildings and raceway infrastructure, S.U.M. Island, and a number of commercial and residential areas.

Irregular in shape, Union Avenue serves as the neighborhood’s northwestern border and West Broadway serves as its northeastern border. The neighborhood’s eastern edge continues south down Main Street until reaching Grand Street, at which point the boundary continues further East until arriving at the railroad tracks and continuing southward. Interstate 80 serves as the neighborhood’s southern border east of the Passaic River until New Street. The riverfront itself serves as the southern border for the neighborhood’s western half.