South Paterson is a neighborhood in
Paterson,
New Jersey,
United States.
Location
The neighborhood is bounded by
NJ 19 on the west, the border with
Clifton, New Jersey
Clifton is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Criss-crossed by several major highways, the city is a regional commercial hub for North Jersey and is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York Metropolitan Area. A ...
to the south, the
Passaic River to the east, and
I-80 to the north. The
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
community has existed since the late 19th century when many
Lebanese and
Syrian immigrants moved in. Since then, immigrants from Lebanon have slowed, although many second, third, and fourth-generation residents remain. Recently,
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
immigrants have settled in the neighborhood, adding to the mix of Arabs. In addition to the Arab community, a
Turkish community and an
Azeri community has existed in the neighborhood since the 1950s made up primarily of
Turks and
Karachay
The Karachays ( krc, Къарачайлыла, Qaraçaylıla or таулула, , 'Mountaineers') are an indigenous Caucasian Turkic ethnic group in the North Caucasus. They speak Karachay-Balkar, a Turkic language. They are mostly situa ...
immigrants.
Little Istanbul
"Little
Istanbul" ( tr, Küçük İstanbul) is an area of South Paterson centered on Main Street. This rapidly growing
Turkish American
Turkish Americans ( tr, Türk Amerikalılar) or American Turks are Americans of ethnic Turkish origin. The term "Turkish Americans" can therefore refer to ethnic Turkish immigrants to the United States, as well as their American-born descend ...
enclave is the largest in the United States in addition to housing many Palestinians, Lebanese, Syrians,
Jordanians
Jordan has a population of around 11 million inhabitants as of 2021. Jordanians ( ar, أردنيون) are the citizens of Jordan. Some 95% percent of Jordanians are Arabs, while the remaining 5% are other ethnic minorities. Around 2.9 million wer ...
, and
Arab immigrants from a variety of other countries. Paterson is home to the largest
Turkish-American immigrant community in the United States (Little Istanbul) and the second largest
Arab-American
Arab Americans ( ar, عَرَبٌ أَمْرِيكِا or ) are Americans of Arab ancestry. Arab Americans trace ancestry to any of the various waves of immigrants of the countries comprising the Arab World.
According to the Arab American Inst ...
community after
Dearborn, Michigan. Therefore, it is also called "Little
Ramallah" ( ar, رام الله الصغيرة ). The Paterson-based Arab American Civic Association runs an
Arabic language program in the Paterson school district. Paterson's Arab American population was estimated as high as 20,000 in 2015.
The area is also part of
Lakeview, which lies to the east of East Railroad Avenue. The area is bounded on the south by
Clifton
Clifton may refer to:
People
* Clifton (surname)
* Clifton (given name)
Places
Australia
*Clifton, Queensland, a town
** Shire of Clifton
*Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong
* Clifton, Western Australia
Canada
* Clifton, Nova Sc ...
, on the west by
NJ 19 and on the north by
I-80. There are many Middle Eastern restaurants, grocery stores and stores in the area. Main Street has the largest concentration of these, but there are other Turkish and Arab stores and restaurants throughout the area. The area is mostly residential with commercial zoning along Main Street.
References
{{Paterson, New Jersey
Arab-American culture in New Jersey
Lebanese-American history
Middle Eastern-American culture in New Jersey
Neighborhoods in Paterson, New Jersey
Palestinian-American culture
Syrian-American history
Turkish-American history
Islam in New Jersey