The Heights Section of Jersey City (aka the Jersey City Heights) was once an independent municipality known as Hudson City. Incorporated as a town in 1852, it later merged with Jersey City in 1869. The boundaries of the Heights are Paterson Plank Road on the north; the City of Hoboken on the east; Highway 139 on the south; and the Hackensack River and Penhorn Creek on the west. This area (Zip 07307 & partial 07306) has an estimated population of 60,000 people according to data from the U.S. Census 2020
The Heights area is comprised mostly of two and three-family houses and remains traditionally middle-class.
Perched high atop the palisades on the western banks of the Hudson River, the Heights sits 100 feet above sea level and consequently the City of Hoboken. Along the east are Palisade and Ogden Avenues, both of which offer stunning views of the Manhattan skyline especially when standing in Riverview Fisk Park. The Western Slope area of the Heights is on the side that faces away from Manhattan and overlooks the marshes of the Meadowlands. Many majestic Victorian and Edwardian homes contribute to the attractiveness of the Heights, particularly along Summit Avenue and Sherman Place.
Jersey City Heights is characterized as a traditional neighborhood community appealing to small-town values largely due to its ¾ mile main street, Central Avenue. The Central Avenue shopping district is home to more than 240 storefront businesses which primarily services the consumer market found in the Heights and neighboring communities.
Bordering the North end of the Heights is County-owned Washington Park. Pershing Field park is located in the center of this district offering green space, baseball fields, an Olympic size swimming pool, and an ice skating rink. Adjacent to Pershing Field Park in Reservoir#3 which constitutes one of the largest patches of green space in the Heights.
Two of the biggest landmarks in the Heights are Christ Hospital on Palisade Avenue and Leonard J. Gordan Park aka “mosquito park” on Kennedy Blvd. If you are familiar with this park’s historic art sculptures of Buffalo and Bears (c. 1907) then you probably get why the Heights is trademarked with their image.
Parts of the Heights neighborhood are experiencing gentrification, largely due to the relative affordability of housing and the variety of transportation options, including the recently installed “light rail elevator” at Congress Street that connects to the 9th Street-Congress Street station of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail. Even Midtown Manhattan (NYC Port Authority) is only minutes away using a variety of transit options along Central Avenue, Palisade Avenue, or JF Kennedy Blvd.
Overall, Jersey City Heights is a great place to live, work, dine, and shop.