South Paterson is a neighborhood in Paterson,

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 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

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. As ...

to the south, the Passaic River to the east, and

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

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, ...

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 Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

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 situat ...

immigrants.

Little Istanbul

"Little

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

" ( 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 Ins ...

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 Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

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, on the west by NJ 19 and on the north by

. 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