New Brunswick, New Jersey facts for kids

Quick facts for kids New Brunswick, New Jersey
City
Skyline of New Brunswick Rutgers University–New Brunswick New Brunswick station George Street Playhouse
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Nickname(s):  Hub City, Healthcare City
Location of New Brunswick in Middlesex County highlighted in red (left). Inset map: Location of Middlesex County in New Jersey highlighted in orange (right). <mapframe text="Interactive map of New Brunswick, New Jersey" zoom="11" width="285" height="250"> { "type": "ExternalData", "service": "geoshape", "ids": "Q138338" } </mapframe>
Census Bureau map of New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick, New Jersey Location in Middlesex County, New Jersey Show map of Middlesex County, New Jersey New Brunswick, New Jersey Location in New Jersey Show map of New Jersey New Brunswick, New Jersey Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Middlesex
Established	December 30, 1730
Incorporated	September 1, 1784
Named for	Braunschweig, Germany, or King George II of Great Britain
Government
• Type	Faulkner Act (mayor–council)
• Body	City Council
Area
• Total	5.75 sq mi (14.90 km2)
• Land	5.23 sq mi (13.55 km2)
• Water	0.52 sq mi (1.35 km2)  9.06%
Area rank	264th of 565 in state 14th of 25 in county
Elevation	62 ft (19 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	55,266
• Estimate  (2023)	55,846
• Rank	32nd of 565 in state 6th of 25 in county
• Density	10,561.1/sq mi (4,077.7/km2)
• Density rank	719th in country (as of 2023) 37th of 565 in state 2nd of 25 in county
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (Eastern (EDT))
ZIP Codes	08901–08906, 08933, 08989
Area code(s)	732/848 and 908
FIPS code	3402351210
GNIS feature ID	0885318
New Brunswick is the county seat for Middlesex County.

New Brunswick is a city in and the seat of government of Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A regional commercial hub for central New Jersey, the city is both a college town (the home of Rutgers University, the state's largest university) and a commuter town for residents commuting to New York City within the New York metropolitan area. New Brunswick is on the Northeast Corridor rail line, 27 miles (43 km) southwest of Manhattan. The city is located on the southern banks of the Raritan River in the heart of the Raritan Valley region.

As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 55,266, an increase of 85 (+0.2%) from the 2010 census count of 55,181, which in turn reflected an increase of 6,608 (+13.6%) from the 48,573 counted in the 2000 census. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 55,846 for 2023, making it the 719th-most populous municipality in the nation. Due to the concentration of medical facilities in the area, including Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and medical school, and Saint Peter's University Hospital, New Brunswick is known as both the Hub City and the Healthcare City. The corporate headquarters and production facilities of several global pharmaceutical companies are situated in the city, including Johnson & Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb. New Brunswick has evolved into a major center for the sciences, arts, and cultural activities. Downtown New Brunswick is developing a growing skyline, filling in with new high-rise towers.

New Brunswick is noted for its ethnic diversity. At one time, one-quarter of the Hungarian population of New Jersey resided in the city, and in the 1930s one out of three city residents was Hungarian. The Hungarian community continues as a cohesive community, with the 3,200 Hungarian residents accounting for 8% of the population of New Brunswick in 1992. Growing Asian and Hispanic communities have developed around French Street near Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

History

Etymology

The area around present-day New Brunswick was first inhabited by the Lenape Native Americans, whose Minisink Trail intersected the Raritan River and followed a route that would be taken by later colonial roads. The first European settlement at the site of New Brunswick was made in 1681. The settlement here was called Prigmore's Swamp (1681–1697), then known as Inian's Ferry (1691–1714). In 1714, the settlement was given the name New Brunswick, after the city of Braunschweig (Brunswick in Low German), in the state of Lower Saxony, now located in Germany. Braunschweig was an influential and powerful city in the Hanseatic League and was an administrative seat for the Duchy of Hanover. Shortly after the first settlement of New Brunswick in colonial New Jersey, George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Elector of Hanover, became King George I of Great Britain. Alternatively, the city gets its name from King George II of Great Britain, the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

Colonial and Early American periods

Centrally located between New York City and Philadelphia along an early thoroughfare known as the King's Highway and situated along the Raritan River, New Brunswick became an important hub for Colonial travelers and traders. New Brunswick was incorporated as a town in 1736 and chartered as a city in 1784. It was incorporated into a town in 1798 as part of the Township Act of 1798. It was occupied by the British in the winter of 1776–1777 during the Revolutionary War.

The Declaration of Independence received one of its first public readings, by Colonel John Neilson in New Brunswick on July 9, 1776, in the days following its promulgation by the Continental Congress. A bronze statue marking the event was dedicated on July 9, 2017, in Monument Square, in front of the Heldrich Hotel.

The Trustees of Queen's College (now Rutgers University), founded in 1766, voted by a margin of ten to seven in 1771 to locate the young college in New Brunswick, selecting the city over Hackensack, in Bergen County, New Jersey. Classes began in 1771 with one instructor, one sophomore, Matthew Leydt, and several freshmen at a tavern called the 'Sign of the Red Lion' on the corner of Albany and Neilson Streets (now the grounds of the Johnson & Johnson corporate headquarters); Leydt would become the university's first graduate in 1774 when he was the only member of the graduating class. The Sign of the Red Lion was purchased on behalf of Queens College in 1771, and later sold to the estate of Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh in 1791. Classes were held through the American Revolution in various taverns and boarding houses, and at a building known as College Hall on George Street, until Old Queens was completed and opened in 1811. It remains the oldest building on the Rutgers University campus. The Queen's College Grammar School (now Rutgers Preparatory School) was established also in 1766, and shared facilities with the college until 1830, when it located in a building (now known as Alexander Johnston Hall) across College Avenue from Old Queens. After Rutgers University became the state university of New Jersey in 1945, the Trustees of Rutgers divested itself of Rutgers Preparatory School, which relocated in 1957 to an estate purchased from Colgate-Palmolive in Franklin Township in neighboring Somerset County.

The New Brunswick Theological Seminary, founded in 1784 in New York, moved to New Brunswick in 1810, sharing its quarters with the fledgling Queen's College. (Queen's closed from 1810 to 1825 due to financial problems, and reopened in 1825 as Rutgers College.) The Seminary, due to overcrowding and differences over the mission of Rutgers College as a secular institution, moved to a tract of land covering 7 acres (2.8 ha) located less than 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) to the west, which it still occupies, although the land is now in the middle of Rutgers University's College Avenue Campus.

New Brunswick was formed by royal charter on December 30, 1730, within other townships in Middlesex and Somerset counties and was reformed by royal charter with the same boundaries on February 12, 1763, at which time it was divided into north and south wards. New Brunswick was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on September 1, 1784.

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  Old Queens, the oldest building at Rutgers University

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  Building the Streetcar line, c. 1885

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  Albany Street Bridge, 1903

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  Aerial view of New Brunswick, 1910

African-American community

Slavery in New Brunswick

The existence of an African American community in New Brunswick dates back to the 18th century, when racial slavery was a part of life in the city and the surrounding area. Local slaveholders routinely bought and sold African American children, women, and men in New Brunswick in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century. In this period, the Market-House was the center of commercial life in the city. It was located at the corner of Hiram Street and Queen Street (now Neilson Street) adjacent to the Raritan Wharf. The site was a place where residents of New Brunswick sold and traded their goods which made it an integral part of the city's economy. The Market-House also served as a site for regular slave auctions and sales.

By the late-eighteenth century, New Brunswick became a hub for newspaper production and distribution. The Fredonian, a popular newspaper, was located less than a block away from the aforementioned Market-House and helped facilitate commercial transactions. A prominent part of the local newspapers were sections dedicated to private owners who would advertise their slaves for sale. The trend of advertising slave sales in newspapers shows that the New Brunswick residents typically preferred selling and buying slaves privately and individually rather than in large groups. The majority of individual advertisements were for female slaves, and their average age at the time of the sale was 20 years old, which was considered the prime age for childbearing. Slave owners would get the most profit from the women who fit into this category because these women had the potential to reproduce another generation of enslaved workers. Additionally, in the urban environment of New Brunswick, there was a high demand for domestic labor, and female workers were preferred for cooking and housework tasks.

The New Jersey Legislature passed An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery in 1804. Under the provisions of this law, children born to enslaved women after July 4, 1804, would serve their master for a term of 21 years (for girls) or a term of 25 years (for boys), and after this term, they would gain their freedom. However, all individuals who were enslaved before July 4, 1804, would continue to be slaves for life and would never attain freedom under this law. New Brunswick continued to be home to enslaved African Americans alongside a growing community of free people of color. The 1810 United States Census listed 53 free Blacks and 164 slaves in New Brunswick.

African American spaces and institutions in the early 19th century

By the 1810s, some free African Americans lived in a section of the city called Halfpenny Town, which was located along the Raritan River by the east side of the city, near Queen (now Neilson) Street. Halfpenny Town was a place populated by free blacks as well as poorer whites who did not own slaves. This place was known as a social gathering for free blacks that was not completely influenced by white scrutiny and allowed free blacks to socialize among themselves. This does not mean that it was free from white eyes and was still under the negative effects of the slavery era. In the early decades of the nineteenth century, White and either free or enslaved African Americans shared many of the same spaces in New Brunswick, particularly places of worship. The First Presbyterian Church, Christ Church, and First Reformed Church were popular among both Whites and Blacks, and New Brunswick was notable for its lack of spaces where African Americans could congregate exclusively. Most of the time Black congregants of these churches were under the surveillance of Whites. That was the case until the creation of the African Association of New Brunswick in 1817.

Both free and enslaved African Americans were active in the establishment of the African Association of New Brunswick, whose meetings were first held in 1817. The African Association of New Brunswick held a meeting every month, mostly in the homes of free blacks. Sometimes these meetings were held at the First Presbyterian Church. Originally intended to provide financial support for the African School of New Brunswick, the African Association grew into a space where blacks could congregate and share ideas on a variety of topics such as religion, abolition and colonization. Slaves were required to obtain a pass from their owner in order to attend these meetings. The African Association worked closely with Whites and was generally favored amongst White residents who believed it would bring more racial peace and harmony to New Brunswick.

The African Association of New Brunswick established the African School in 1822. The African School was first hosted in the home of Caesar Rappleyea in 1823. The school was located on the upper end of Church Street in the downtown area of New Brunswick about two blocks away from the jail that held escaped slaves. Both free and enslaved Blacks were welcome to be members of the School. Reverend Huntington (pastor of the First Presbyterian Church) and several other prominent Whites were trustees of the African Association of New Brunswick. These trustees supported the Association which made some slave owners feel safe sending their slaves there by using a permission slip process. The main belief of these White supporters was that Blacks were still unfit for American citizenship and residence, and some trustees were connected with the American Colonization Society that advocated for the migration of free African Americans to Africa. The White trustees only attended some of the meetings of the African Association, and the Association was still unprecedented as a space for both enslaved and free Blacks to get together while under minimal supervision by Whites.

The African Association appears to have disbanded after 1824. By 1827, free and enslaved Black people in the city, including Joseph and Jane Hoagland, came together to establish the Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church and purchased a plot of land on Division Street for the purpose of erecting a church building. This was the first African American church in Middlesex County. The church had approximately 30 members in its early years. The church is still in operation and is currently located at 39 Hildebrand Way. The street Hildebrand Way is named after the late Rev. Henry Alphonso Hildebrand, who was pastor of Mount Zion AME for 37 years, which is the longest appointment received by a pastor at Mount Zion AME.

Records from the April 1828 census, conducted by the New Brunswick Common Council, state that New Brunswick was populated with 4,435 white residents and 374 free African Americans. The enslaved population of New Brunswick in 1828 consisted of 57 slaves who must serve for life and 127 slaves eligible for emancipation at age 21 or 25 due to the 1804 Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery. Free and enslaved African Americans accounted for 11% of New Brunswick's population in 1828, a relatively high percentage for New Jersey. By comparison, as of the 1830 United States Census, African Americans made up approximately 6.4% of the total population of New Jersey.

Jail and curfew in the 19th century

In 1824, the New Brunswick Common Council adopted a curfew for free people of color. Free African Americans were not allowed to be out after 10 pm on Saturday night. The Common Council also appointed a committee of white residents who were charged with rounding up and detaining free African Americans who appeared to be out of place according to white authorities.

New Brunswick became a notorious city for slave hunters, who sought to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Strategically located on the Raritan River, the city was also a vital hub for New Jersey's Underground Railroad. For runaway slaves in New Jersey, it served as a favorable route for those heading to New York and Canada. When African Americans tried to escape either to or from New Brunswick, they had a high likelihood of getting discovered and captured and sent to New Brunswick's jail, which was located on Prince Street, which by now is renamed Bayard Street.

Hungarian community

New Brunswick has been described as the nation's "most Hungarian city", with Hungarian immigrants arriving in the city as early as 1888 and accounting for almost 20% of the city's population in 1915. Hungarians were primarily attracted to the city by employment at Johnson & Johnson factories located in the city. Hungarians settled mainly in what today is the Fifth Ward and businesses were established to serve the needs of the Hungarian community that weren't being met by mainstream businesses. The immigrant population grew until the end of the immigration boom in the early 20th century.

During the Cold War, the community was revitalized by the decision to process the tens of thousands refugees who came to the United States from the failed 1956 Hungarian Revolution at Camp Kilmer, in nearby Edison. Even though the Hungarian population has been largely supplanted by newer immigrants, there continues to be a Hungarian Festival in the city held on Somerset Street on the first Saturday of June each year; the 44th annual event was held in 2019. Many Hungarian institutions set up by the community remain and are active in the neighborhood, including: Magyar Reformed Church, Ascension Lutheran Church, St. Ladislaus Roman Catholic Church, St. Joseph Byzantine Catholic Church, Hungarian American Athletic Club, Aprokfalva Montessori Preschool, Széchenyi Hungarian Community School & Kindergarten, Teleki Pál Scout Home, Hungarian American Foundation, Vers Hangja, Hungarian Poetry Group, Bolyai Lecture Series on Arts and Sciences, Hungarian Alumni Association, Hungarian Radio Program, Hungarian Civic Association, Committee of Hungarian Churches and Organizations of New Brunswick, and Csűrdöngölő Folk Dance Ensemble.

Several landmarks in the city also testify to its Hungarian heritage. There is a street and a park named after Lajos Kossuth, one of the leaders of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. The corner of Somerset Street and Plum Street is named Mindszenty Square where the first ever statue of Cardinal József Mindszenty was erected. A stone memorial to the victims of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution stands nearby.

Latino community

In the 2010 Census, about 50% of New Brunswick's population is self-identified as Hispanic, the 14th highest percentage among municipalities in New Jersey. Since the 1960s, many of the new residents of New Brunswick have come from Latin America. Many citizens moved from Puerto Rico in the 1970s. In the 1980s, many immigrated from the Dominican Republic, and still later from Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador and Mexico.

Demolition, revitalization, and redevelopment

New Brunswick is one of nine cities in New Jersey designated as eligible for Urban Transit Hub Tax Credits by the state's Economic Development Authority. Developers who invest a minimum of $50 million within a half-mile of a train station are eligible for pro-rated tax credit.

New Brunswick contains a number of examples of urban renewal in the United States. In the 1960s–1970s, the downtown area became blighted as middle class residents moved to newer suburbs surrounding the city, an example of the phenomenon known as "white flight." Beginning in 1975, Rutgers University, Johnson & Johnson and the city's government collaborated through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to form the New Brunswick Development Company (DevCo), with the goal of revitalizing the city center and redeveloping neighborhoods considered to be blighted and dangerous (via demolition of existing buildings and construction of new ones). Johnson & Johnson announced in 1978 that they would remain in New Brunswick and invest $50 million to build a new world headquarters building in the area between Albany Street, Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, Route 18, and George Street, requiring many old buildings and historic roads to be removed. The Hiram Market area, a historic district that by the 1970s had become a mostly Puerto Rican and Dominican-American neighborhood, was demolished to build a Hyatt hotel and conference center, and upscale housing. Johnson & Johnson guaranteed the investment made by Hyatt Hotels, as they were wary of building an upscale hotel in a run-down area.

Devco, the hospitals, and the city government have drawn ire from both historic preservationists, those opposing gentrification and those concerned with eminent domain abuses and tax abatements for developers.

New Brunswick is home to the main campus of Rutgers University and Johnson & Johnson, which in 1983 constructed its new headquarters in the city. Both work with Devco in a public–private partnership to redevelop downtown, particularly regarding transit-oriented development. Boraie Development, a real estate development firm based in New Brunswick, has developed projects using the incentives provided by Devco and the state.

Tallest buildings

Christ Church, originally built in 1742, was the tallest building at the time of construction. A steeple was added in 1773 and replaced in 1803.

The six-story First Reformed Church, built in 1812, was long the city's tallest structure. One of the earliest tall commercial buildings in the city was the eight-story 112.5 ft (34.29 m) National Bank of New Jersey built in 1908. The 4 nine-story 125 ft (38 m) buildings of the New Brunswick Homes housing project, originally built in 1958, were demolished by implosion in 2000 and largely replaced by low-rise housing.

While there are no buildings over 300 feet (91 meters) in the city, since the beginning of the new millennium, a number of high-rise residential buildings clustered around the New Brunswick station have joined those built in the 1960s on the city's skyline.

Since the advent of the 21st century, New Brunswick has rapidly developed high-rise skyline. In 2008, there was a proposal to construct a 34-story 466-foot (142 m) New Brunswick Cultural Center Tower, which would have been the city's tallest building. In 2017 it was announced that the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center would be built on the site of the George Street Playhouse and Crossroads Theatre and would include 25 stories of residential and office space. The HELIX Health + Life Science Exchange is planned to contain three buildings: H-1,H-2, and H-3, the last of which will become the city's tallest building, with 42 stories.

The Standard 249 ft (76 m) at 22 stories was approved in 2014. The Rutgers Cancer Center is a proposed 12 story building.

Rank	Name	image	Height m/ft	Floors	Year	Notes
1	The Vue		299 ft (91 m)	24	2012	Louis Berger Group
2	One Spring Street		256 ft (78 m)	23	2006	Costas Kondylis
3-	New Brunswick Performing Arts Center		248.1 ft (75.62 m)	23	2019	Elkus Manfredi Architects
3-	Colony House		246 ft (75 m)	20	1962
4	1 Johnson and Johnson Plaza		230 ft (70 m) Building of the headquarters of Johnson & Johnson.	16	1983	I. M. Pei
5	Skyline Tower		194 ft (59 m)	14	1967/2003
6	Schatzman-Fricano Apartments		194 ft (59 m)	14	1963
7	The George			14	2013
8	Riverside Towers		177 ft (54 m)	13	1964
9	The Heldrich		160 ft (50 m)	11	2007
10	Rockhoff Hall/SoCam290		160 ft (50 m)	12	2005
11	Aspire		161 ft (49 m)	16/17	2015	Bradford Perkins
12	The Yard		161 ft (49 m)	14	2016	Elkus/Manfredi Architects
13	410 George Street		154 ft (47 m)	11	1989	Rothe-Johnson Architects
14	University Center		149 ft (45.3 m)	12	1994

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total area of 5.75 square miles (14.9 km²), including 5.23 square miles (13.5 km²) of land and 0.52 square miles (1.3 km²) of water (9.06%). New Brunswick is on the south side of Raritan Valley along with Piscataway, Highland Park, Edison, and Franklin Township. New Brunswick lies southwest of Newark and New York City and northeast of Trenton and Philadelphia.

New Brunswick is bordered by the municipalities of Piscataway, Highland Park and Edison across the Raritan River to the north by way of the Donald and Morris Goodkind Bridges, and also by North Brunswick to the southwest, East Brunswick to the southeast, all in Middlesex County; and by Franklin Township in Somerset County.

While the city does not hold elections based on a ward system it has been so divided. There are several neighborhoods in the city, which include the Fifth Ward, Feaster Park, Lincoln Park, Raritan Gardens, and Edgebrook-Westons Mills.

Climate

Under the Köppen climate classification, New Brunswick falls within either a hot-summer humid continental climate (Dfa) if the 0 °C (32 °F) isotherm is used or a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) if the −3 °C (27 °F) isotherm is used. New Brunswick has humid, hot summers and moderately cold winters with moderate to considerable rainfall throughout the year. There is no marked wet or dry season. The average seasonal (October–April) snowfall total is around 29 inches (74 cm). The average snowiest month is February, which corresponds to the annual peak in nor'easter activity.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1840	5,866		—
1850	10,019		70.8%
1860	11,256		12.3%
1870	15,058		33.8%
1880	17,166		14.0%
1890	18,603		8.4%
1900	20,005		7.5%
1910	23,388		16.9%
1920	32,779		40.2%
1930	34,555		5.4%
1940	33,180		−4.0%
1950	38,811		17.0%
1960	40,139		3.4%
1970	41,885		4.3%
1980	41,442		−1.1%
1990	41,711		0.6%
2000	48,573		16.5%
2010	55,181		13.6%
2020	55,266		0.2%
2023 (est.)	55,846		1.2%
Population sources: 1860–1920 1840–1890 1850–1870 1850 1870 1880–1890 1890–1910 1860–1930 1940–2000 2000 2010 2020

2010 census

The 2010 United States census counted 55,181 people, 14,119 households, and 7,751 families in the city. The population density was 10,556.4 per square mile (4,075.8/km²). There were 15,053 housing units at an average density of 2,879.7 per square mile (1,111.9/km²). The racial makeup was 45.43% (25,071) White, 16.04% (8,852) Black or African American, 0.90% (498) Native American, 7.60% (4,195) Asian, 0.03% (19) Pacific Islander, 25.59% (14,122) from other races, and 4.39% (2,424) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 49.93% (27,553) of the population.

Of the 14,119 households, 31.0% had children under the age of 18; 29.2% were married couples living together; 17.5% had a female householder with no husband present and 45.1% were non-families. Of all households, 25.8% were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.36 and the average family size was 3.91.

21.1% of the population were under the age of 18, 33.2% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 12.2% from 45 to 64, and 5.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23.3 years. For every 100 females, the population had 105.0 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older there were 105.3 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006–2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $44,543 (with a margin of error of +/− $2,356) and the median family income was $44,455 (+/− $3,526). Males had a median income of $31,313 (+/− $1,265) versus $28,858 (+/− $1,771) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $16,395 (+/− $979). About 15.5% of families and 25.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.4% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Healthcare industry

City Hall has promoted the nickname "The Health Care City" to reflect the importance of the healthcare industry to its economy. The city is home to the world headquarters of Johnson & Johnson, along with several medical teaching and research institutions. Described as the first magnet secondary school program teaching directly affiliated with a teaching hospital and a medical school, New Brunswick Health Sciences Technology High School is a public high school, that operates as part of the New Brunswick Public Schools, focused on health sciences.

Urban Enterprise Zone

Portions of the city are part of an Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ), one of 32 zones covering 37 municipalities statewide. New Brunswick was selected in 2004 as one of two zones added to participate in the program. In addition to other benefits to encourage employment and investment within the Zone, shoppers can take advantage of a reduced 3.3125% sales tax rate (half of the 6+5⁄8% rate charged statewide) at eligible merchants. Established in December 2004, the city's Urban Enterprise Zone status expires in December 2024.

Arts and culture

Theatre

The New Brunswick Performing Arts Center opened 2019. Three neighboring professional venues, Crossroads Theatre designed by Parsons+Fernandez-Casteleiro Architects from New York. In 1999, the Crossroads Theatre won the prestigious Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Crossroads is the first African American theater to receive this honor in the 33-year history of this special award category. George Street Playhouse (founded in 1974) and the State Theatre (constructed in 1921 for vaudeville and silent films) also form the heart of the local theatre scene. Crossroad Theatre houses American Repertory Ballet and the Princeton Ballet School. Rutgers University has student-run companies such as Cabaret Theatre, The Livingston Theatre Company, and College Avenue Players which perform everything from musicals to dramatic plays to sketch comedy.

Journalism

New Brunswick Today is a print and digital publication launched in 2011 by Rutgers journalism alumnus Charlie Kratovil which uses the tagline "Independent news for the greater New Brunswick community". The publication has covered issues with the city's water utility among others and was featured on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.

New Jersey alt-weeklies The Aquarian Weekly and NJ Indy cover music and arts in New Brunswick.

Museums

New Brunswick is the site of the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University (founded in 1966), Albus Cavus, and the Rutgers University Geology Museum (founded in 1872).

Fine arts

New Brunswick was an important center for avant-garde art in the 1950s–1970s with several artists such as Allan Kaprow, George Segal, George Brecht, Robert Whitman, Robert Watts, Lucas Samaras, Geoffrey Hendricks, Wolf Vostell and Roy Lichtenstein; some of whom taught at Rutgers University. This group of artists was sometimes referred to as the 'New Jersey School' or the 'New Brunswick School of Painting'. The YAM Festival was venue on May 19, 1963, to actions and Happenings. For more information, see Fluxus at Rutgers University.

Music

New Brunswick's live music scene has been the home to many original rock bands, including some which went on to national prominence such as The Smithereens and Bon Jovi. Rock band Looking Glass, who had the number one hit "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" in 1972, developed in the New Brunswick rock scene and dedicated their debut to "the people of New Brunswick."

The city is in particular a center for local punk rock and underground music. Alternative rock, indie rock, and hardcore music have long been popular in the city's live music scene. Many alternative rock bands got radio airplay thanks to Matt Pinfield who was part of the New Brunswick music scene for over 20 years at Rutgers University radio WRSU-FM and at alternative rock radio station WHTG-FM.

Local pubs and clubs hosted many local bands, including the Court Tavern and the Melody Bar during the 1980s and 1990s. The city was ranked the number 4 spot to see indie bands in New Jersey.

The independent record label Don Giovanni Records originally started to document the New Brunswick basement scene. In March 2017, NJ.com wrote that "even if Asbury Park has recently returned as our state's musical nerve center, with the brick-and-mortar venues and infrastructure to prove it, New Brunswick remains as the New Jersey scene's unadulterated, pounding heart." A number of well-known local bands formed in the city's live music scene, including Thursday and Ogbert the Nerd. Rutgers radio station WVPH 90.3 FM "The Core" hosts indie music festival "Corefest" on campus.

A number of jazz organizations and jazz festivals are held in the city, including the Hub City Jazz Festival and the New Brunswick Jazz Project. The New Brunswick Jazz Project is dedicated to live jazz in the city and surrounding towns. New Brunswick also has a plethora of rappers including Trill Lik, Mello B and Amgjay and also GetBizzy Nino.

Film

New Brunswick is home to a number of film festivals, two of which are presented by the film society, the Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center: the New Jersey Film Festival (1982) and the United States Super 8mm Film + Digital Video Festival (~1988). The Rutgers Jewish Film Festival was established 1999. The New Lens Film Festival is an event at the Mason Gross School of the Arts.

Grease trucks

The "Grease trucks" were a group of truck-based food vendors located on the College Avenue Campus at Rutgers. They were known for serving "Fat Sandwiches," sub rolls containing fried ingredients. In 2013 the grease trucks were removed for the construction of a new Rutgers building and were moved into various other areas of the Rutgers-New Brunswick Campus.

Education

Public schools

The New Brunswick Public Schools serve students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. Burke which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority. The district's nine-member Board of Education is elected at large, with three members up for election on a staggered basis each April to serve three-year terms of office; until 2012, the members of the Board of Education were appointed by the city's mayor.

As of the 2022–23 school year, the district, comprised of 12 schools, had an enrollment of 9,690 students and 777.4 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.5:1. Schools in the district (with 2022–23 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are Lincoln Elementary School (578; K-4), Livingston Elementary School (342; K-5), Lord Stirling Elementary School (490; PreK-5), McKinley Community Elementary School (640; PreK-8), A. Chester Redshaw Elementary School (784; PreK-5), Paul Robeson Community School For The Arts (665; K-8), Roosevelt Elementary School (609; K-5), Blanquita B. Valenti Community School (opened 2023-24: 569 in grades 4-8), Woodrow Wilson Elementary School (373; PreK-8), New Brunswick Middle School (1,259; 6-8) and New Brunswick High School (2,477; 9-12).

The community is also served by the Greater Brunswick Charter School, a K–8 charter school serving students from New Brunswick, Edison, Highland Park and Milltown. As of the 2021–22 school year, the school had an enrollment of 399 students and 32.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 12.3:1.

Eighth grade students from all of Middlesex County are eligible to apply to attend the high school programs offered by the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical Schools, a county-wide vocational school district that offers full-time career and technical education at Middlesex County Academy in Edison, the Academy for Allied Health and Biomedical Sciences in Woodbridge Township and at its East Brunswick, Perth Amboy and Piscataway technical high schools, with no tuition charged to students for attendance.

Higher education

• Rutgers University has three campuses in the city: College Avenue Campus (seat of the university), Douglass Campus, and Cook Campus, which extend into surrounding townships. Rutgers has also added several buildings downtown in the last two decades, both academic and residential.
• New Brunswick is the site to the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, a seminary of the Reformed Church in America, that was founded in New York in 1784, then moved to New Brunswick in 1810.
• Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, part of Rutgers University, is located in New Brunswick and Piscataway.
• Middlesex County College has some facilities downtown, though its main campus is in Edison.

Historic district

The Livingston Avenue Historic District is a historic district located along Livingston Avenue between Hale and Morris Streets. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 16, 1996, for its significance in architecture, social history, and urban history from 1870 to 1929.

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  John B. Drury House, Victorian style

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  Roosevelt Intermediate School, Neo-Classical Revival style

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  Ukrainian Catholic Church, Richardsonian Romanesque style

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads and highways

As of May 2010^[update], the city had 73.24 miles (117.87 km) of roadways, of which 56.13 miles (90.33 km) were maintained by the municipality, 8.57 miles (13.79 km) by Middlesex County, 7.85 miles (12.63 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation and 0.69 miles (1.11 km) by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.

The city is crisscrossed a wide range of roads and highways. In the city is the intersection of U.S. Route 1 and Route 18, and is bisected by Route 27. New Brunswick hosts less than a mile of the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95). A few turnpike ramps are in the city that lead to Exit 9 which is just outside the city limits in East Brunswick.

Other major roads that are nearby include the Garden State Parkway in Woodbridge Township and Interstate 287 in neighboring Edison, Piscataway and Franklin townships.

The New Brunswick Parking Authority manages 14 ground-level and multi-story parking facilities across the city. CitiPark manages a downtown parking facility at 2 Albany Street.

Public transportation

New Brunswick is served by NJ Transit and Amtrak trains on the Northeast Corridor Line. NJ Transit provides frequent service north to Pennsylvania Station, in Midtown Manhattan, and south to Trenton, while Amtrak's Keystone Service and Northeast Regional trains service the New Brunswick station. The Jersey Avenue station is also served by Northeast Corridor trains. For other Amtrak connections, riders can take NJ Transit to Penn Station (New York or Newark), Trenton, or Metropark.

Local bus service is provided by NJ Transit's 810, 811, 814, 815, and 818 routes routes.

Also available is the extensive Rutgers Campus bus network. Middlesex County Area Transit (MCAT) shuttles provide service on routes operating across the county, including the M1 route, which operates between Jamesburg and the New Brunswick train station. DASH/CAT buses, operated by Somerset County on the 851 and 852 routes connect New Brunswick and Bound Brook.

Suburban Trails offers service to and from New York City on Route 100 between Princeton and the Port Authority Bus Terminal; on Route 500 between New Brunswick and along 42nd Street to the United Nations; and Route 600 between East Windsor and Wall Street in Downtown Manhattan. Studies are being conducted to create the New Brunswick Bus Rapid Transit system.

Intercity bus service from New Brunswick to Columbia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., is offered by OurBus Prime.

New Brunswick was at the eastern terminus of the Delaware and Raritan Canal, of which there are remnants surviving or rebuilt along the river. Until 1936, the city was served by the interurban Newark–Trenton Fast Line, which covered a 72-mile (116 km) route that stopped in New Brunswick as it ran between Jersey City and Trenton.

The Raritan River Railroad ran to New Brunswick, but is now defunct along this part of the line. The track and freight station still remain. Proposals have been made to use the line as a light rail route that would provide an option for commuters now driving in cars on Route 18.

Old Bridge Airport in Old Bridge supply short-distance flights to surrounding areas and is the closest air transportation services. The next nearest commercial airports are Princeton Airport located 14 miles (23 km) southwest (about 23 minutes drive); and Newark Liberty International Airport, which serves as a major hub for United Airlines and located 22 miles (35 km) north (about 31 minutes drive) from New Brunswick.

Healthcare

Saint Peter's University Hospital, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, and The Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital are all located in the city of New Brunswick. The city is aptly named the 'Healthcare city' for its wide array of public and private healthcare services.

Popular culture

• On April 18, 1872, at New Brunswick, William Cameron Coup developed the system of transporting circus equipment, staff and animals from city to city using railroad cars. This system would be adopted by other railroad circuses and used through the golden age of railroad circuses until the 2017 closure of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
• The play and movie 1776 discusses the Continental Army under General George Washington being stationed at New Brunswick in June 1776 and being inspected by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Chase of Maryland as members of the War Committee.
• The 1980s sitcom, Charles in Charge, was set in New Brunswick.
• The 2004 movie Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle revolves around Harold and Kumar's attempt to get to a White Castle restaurant and includes a stop in a fictionalized New Brunswick.
• The 2007 Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is primarily set in New Brunswick.
• The 2013 novel Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie features a taxi driver bragging about having a daughter on the dean's list at Rutgers.
• Bands from New Brunswick include The Gaslight Anthem, Screaming Females, Streetlight Manifesto, Thursday and Bouncing Souls.
• The independent record label Don Giovanni Records was established in 2003 to document the music scene in New Brunswick.
• The store run scene in the movie Little Man was filmed in New Brunswick.

Points of interest

• Albany Street Bridge, a seven-span stone arch bridge dating to 1892 that was used as part of the transcontinental Lincoln Highway. It stretches 595 feet (181 m) across the Raritan River to Highland Park.
• Bishop House, located at 115 College Avenue, is an Italianate architecture mansion built for James Bishop and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
• The historic Old Queens Campus and Voorhees Mall at Rutgers University – Old Queens, built in 1809, is the oldest building at Rutgers University. The building's cornerstone was laid in 1809.
• Buccleuch Mansion in Buccleuch Park. Built in 1739 by Anthony White as part of a working farm and home overlooking Raritan Landing, the house and its adjoining 79 acres (32 ha) of land were deeded to the City of New Brunswick to be used as a park in 1911.
• Christ Church Episcopal Churchyard had its earliest burial in 1754 and includes the grave sites of slaves.
• The Henry Guest House, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, is a Georgian stone farmhouse built in 1760 by Henry Guest at Livingston Avenue and Morris Street that was moved in 1924 next to the New Brunswick Free Public Library after plans were made to demolish the building at its original site.
• William H. Johnson House is an example of Italianate architecture built c. 1870, when New Brunswick experienced a post-Civil War economic boom. Architectural components including the tall narrow windows with arched tops, double bays, cornice brackets and low pitched roofs exemplify the Italianate style. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in July 2006.
• St. Peter the Apostle Church, built in 1856 and designed by Patrick Keeley, is located at 94 Somerset Street.
• Delaware and Raritan Canal – Completed in 1834, the canal reached its peak in the 1860s and 1870s, when its primary use was to transport coal from Pennsylvania to New York City. Accessing the canal at Bordentown on the Delaware River, the main route covered 44 miles (71 km) to New Brunswick on the Raritan River.
• Birthplace of poet Joyce Kilmer – Located on Joyce Kilmer Avenue, the building is where the poet and essayist was born on December 6, 1886. Acquired by a local American Legion post, the building and its second-floor memorial to Kilmer was sold to the state in the 1960s, which then transferred it to the ownership of the City of New Brunswick.
• Site of Johnson & Johnson world headquarters
• The Willow Grove Cemetery – located behind the Henry Guest House and the New Brunswick Free Public Library, the site of the cemetery was acquired in the late 1840s, the cemetery association was incorporated in 1850 and a state charter was granted the following year.
• Mary Ellis grave (1750–1828) stands out due to its location in the AMC Theatres parking lot on U.S. Route 1 downriver from downtown New Brunswick.
• Lawrence Brook, a tributary of the Raritan River has a watershed covering 48 square miles (120 km²) that includes New Brunswick, as well as East Brunswick, Milltown, North Brunswick and South Brunswick.
• Elmer B. Boyd Park, a park running along the Raritan River, covering 20 acres (8.1 ha) adjacent to Route 18, the park went through an $11 million renovation project and reopened to the public in 1999.

Places of worship

• Abundant Life Family Worship Church – founded in 1991.
• Anshe Emeth Memorial Temple (Reform Judaism) – established in 1859.
• Ascension Lutheran Church – founded in 1908 as The New Brunswick First Magyar Augsburg Evangelical Church.
• Christ Church, Episcopal – granted a royal charter in 1761.
• Ebenezer Baptist Church
• First Baptist Church of New Brunswick, American Baptist
• First Presbyterian, Presbyterian (PCUSA)
• First Reformed Reformed (RCA)
• Kirkpatrick Chapel at Rutgers University (nondenominational)
• Magyar Reformed, Calvinist
• Mount Zion AME (African Methodist Episcopal)
• Mt. Zion Ministries Family Worship Church
• Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church
• New Brunswick Islamic Center
• Point Community Church
• Saint Joseph, Byzantine Catholic
• Saint Ladislaus, Roman Catholic
• Saint Mary of Mount Virgin Church, Remsen Avenue and Sandford Street, Roman Catholic
• Sacred Heart Church, Throop Avenue, Roman Catholic
• Saint Peter the Apostle Church, Somerset Street, Roman Catholic
• Second Reformed Church, Reformed (RCA)
• Sharon Baptist Church
• United Methodist Church at New Brunswick
• Voorhees Chapel at Rutgers University (nondenominational)

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with the City of New Brunswick include:

Sister cities

New Brunswick's sister cities are:

• Debrecen, Hungary
• Fukui, Fukui Prefecture, Japan
• County Limerick, Ireland
• Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan

See also

In Spanish: Nuevo Brunswick (Nueva Jersey) para niños