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squee_bastard t1_j1bqxy5 wrote

I wonder how those original residents would feel now, jersey city has probably changed beyond their wildest imagination.

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drinfernodds t1_j1c1vks wrote

My dad was born and raised in jersey city and never left. I remember his favorite driving game was "That Place Used To Be a Bar". The changes were both a surprise and a reminder to just how much the neighborhoods he lived in had changed.

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erstrecs t1_j1cca34 wrote

I moved here in 1988, downtown was not very safe then. I lived on Christopher Columbus Dr just off Jersey, on the same block as the bagel store (which opened a few years later), and for a while the building next door was a crack den (right on CC Dr!).

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squee_bastard t1_j1cerdk wrote

I bet you’ve seen a lot of change, I’ve been here since 2004 and never imagined to see what it’s become. Back then I was young and naive and wished it was “more fun like hoboken” and now I’m middle aged and want quiet and wondering why it’s so damn loud all the time…like hoboken.

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erstrecs t1_j1cf9ny wrote

one thing I always tell people is that there was so little here at that point, that if it was a holiday and you needed food, literally your only alternative was to take the PATH into Manhattan, as all of the few places to get food in Downtown JC were closed.

also I watched the second WTC tower come down that day, from Christopher Columbus Dr. I will never ever forget the collective gasp from the people filling the street around me, crazy.

I was even here for the earlier WTC bombing in 93, I was working nights in the city then and couldn't get to work because (of course) the PATH had shut down.

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Rube777 t1_j1d4dcr wrote

In 2004? Shoprite, La Conga, P&K, Tendershoot (now Oliva), Lee’s grocery, Key foods… they were all here then

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erstrecs t1_j1d7bxc wrote

in like 1990, but anything that did exist was not open on holidays.

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erstrecs t1_j1d7lxl wrote

once Big Chef (RIP) opened, they were usually open on holidays, but that was a little later.

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erstrecs t1_j1d7ruo wrote

also Key Food was quite disgusting for a long time, they have had a few changes of ownership over the years and I like the current one, but Pathmark where 99 Ranch is now was the place to go back then.

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Jimmoe t1_j1efu7t wrote

I think Key Foods was a C Town when I moved here in 1995.

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kulgan t1_j1dsiwc wrote

Big Chef would treat you like royalty if you dined in.

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[deleted] t1_j1d91hv wrote

[deleted]

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erstrecs t1_j1dad9s wrote

I responded to that same person saying “I bet you’ve seen a lot of change”, why are you making me regret posting here?

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Rube777 t1_j1dexrr wrote

I misread it, apologies. There were a couple of ways to interpret your reply, I picked the wrong one lol. It’s only reddit, No Ragrets! 😂

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jcnative t1_j1h72yg wrote

From what I've seen the residents from the 1900s were mostly some of the poorest immigrants from Ireland, Italy and Poland who couldn't afford to leave after getting through Ellis Island. Most of the waterfront was docks and industrial, pretty much everything is an improvement. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/82197.Five_Finger_Discount is a good read btw

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objectimpermanence t1_j1brvli wrote

I don’t think any original residents were around in 1979. I think that would be more like 1579.

/s

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