India Square, also known as "

Little India Little India or India Town (less commonly known as Indian Street or India Bazaar) is an Indian or Desi (South Asian) sociocultural environment outside India or the subcontinent. It especially refers to an area with Indian residences and a dive ...

," is a commercial and restaurant district in the

Journal Square Journal Square is a business district, residential area, and transportation hub in Jersey City, New Jersey, which takes its name from the newspaper ''Jersey Journal'' whose headquarters were located there from 1911 to 2013. The "square" itself is ...

and Marion Section neighborhoods of

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. The area is home to the highest concentration of

Indian Americans Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...

in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...

, and is a rapidly growing Indian New Yorker

ethnic enclave In sociology, an ethnic enclave is a geographic area with high ethnic concentration, characteristic cultural identity, and economic activity. The term is usually used to refer to either a residential area or a workspace with a high concentration ...

within the

New York Metropolitan Area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...

. The neighborhood is centered on Newark Avenue, between Tonnele Avenue and JFK Boulevard, and is considered to be part of the larger

District. This area has been home to the largest outdoor

Navratri Navaratri is an annual Hindu festival observed in the honour of the goddess Durga. It spans over nine nights (and ten days), first in the month of Chaitra (March/April of the Gregorian calendar), and again in the month of Sharada. It is ob ...

festivities in New Jersey as well as several

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. This portion of Newark Avenue is lined with grocery stores including

Patel Brothers Patel Brothers, Inc. (doing business as Patel Brothers) is an Indian-American supermarket chain based in Hanover Park, Illinois. Patel Brothers is the world’s largest supermarket chain serving the Indian diaspora, with 57 locations in 19 U.S. s ...

and Subzi Mandi Cash & Carry, electronics vendors,

video store A video rental shop/store is a physical retail business that rents home videos such as movies, prerecorded TV shows, video game discs and other media content. Typically, a rental shop conducts business with customers under conditions and terms a ...

s, clothing stores, and restaurants, and is one of the busiest

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...

areas of this part of the city, often stopping traffic for hours. According to the 2000 census, there were nearly 13,000 Indians living in this two-block stretch in Jersey City, up from 3,000 in 1980, increasing commensurately between 2000 and 2010. As of the 2010 Census, over 27,000 Asian Indians accounted for 10.9% of Jersey City's population, the highest proportion of any major U.S. city. After dark, the businesses light flashing signs and the street crowds continue. An annual, color-filled spring

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

has taken place in Jersey City since 1992, centered upon India Square and attracting significant participation and international media attention. Although India Square continues to represent the heart of Little India in Jersey City, situated between Tonnele Avenue and John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Little India itself as of 2019 has been expanding further eastward along Newark Avenue, through Jersey City's ''

Little Manila A Little Manila ( fil, Munting Maynila or ), also known as a Manilatown ( fil, Bayang Maynila) or Filipinotown ( fil, Bayang Pilipino), is a community with a large Filipino immigrant and descendant population. Little Manilas are enclaves of Overs ...

'', to Summit Avenue and the Five Corners neighborhood.

References

External links

Little India in Jersey City
*Fahim, Kareem.

''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. January 3, 2007. {{Coord, 40, 44, 8, N, 74, 3, 52.7, W, display=title Asian-American culture in New Jersey Streets in Hudson County, New Jersey Neighborhoods in Jersey City, New Jersey Indian-American culture Little Indias Ethnic enclaves in New Jersey Ethnic enclaves in the United States Culture of Jersey City, New Jersey Tourist attractions in Jersey City, New Jersey Indian-American culture in New Jersey Squares in Jersey City, New Jersey

See also

References

External links