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I've lived here for almost 20 years (a NYC refugee) and what I miss the most is the wonderful drumming we used to hear on a summer night.

While the development has been helpful on many levels, particularly street crime and activity on the street, the biggest issue for me is lack of infrastructure. We have an ancient sewer system and constant flooding in the historic (expensive) downtown.

We have a failing school system and old-school politics where there is little incentive to make necessary changes to support the new demographic in terms of amenities.

Waterfront developers have had unlimited access to city government, and while they received abatements (PILOTs - payment in lieu of taxes - none of which goes to schools or other government services. Somehow, even with good deals no one ever felt an imperative to ask for waterfront green space, sports fields or schools. With all due respect to Mr. DeGise, kids still have go to Chelsea Piers for many sports.

The other huge infrastructure problem is traffic. Sometimes Jersey City feels like the big cut-through for Turnpike-to-tunnel traffic. Cars speed through small neighborhoods and the city makes it easy for them to do so. Why not make Jersey City greener with bicycle lanes and safe ways to walk instead and not allow traffic to speed through?

We are beginning to see changes, and some of us are working hard to implement those. But it's still very much an uphill struggle here in what we sometimes refer to as The Banana Republic of Jersey City.

Stephanie

I've lived here for almost 20 years (a NYC refugee) and what I miss the most is the wonderful drumming we used to hear on a summer night.

While the development has been helpful on many levels, particularly street crime and activity on the street, the biggest issue for me is lack of infrastructure. We have an ancient sewer system and constant flooding in the historic (expensive) downtown.

We have a failing school system and old-school politics where there is little incentive to make necessary changes to support the new demographic in terms of amenities.

Waterfront developers have had unlimited access to city government, and while they received abatements (PILOTs - payment in lieu of taxes - none of which goes to schools or other government services. Somehow, even with good deals no one ever felt an imperative to ask for waterfront green space, sports fields or schools. With all due respect to Mr. DeGise, kids still have go to Chelsea Piers for many sports.

The other huge infrastructure problem is traffic. Sometimes Jersey City feels like the big cut-through for Turnpike-to-tunnel traffic. Cars speed through small neighborhoods and the city makes it easy for them to do so. Why not make Jersey City greener with bicycle lanes and safe ways to walk instead and not allow traffic to speed through?

We are beginning to see changes, and some of us are working hard to implement those. But it's still very much an uphill struggle here in what we sometimes refer to as The Banana Republic of Jersey City.

Stephanie

Grew up in Kearny. My grandparents arrived in Kearny via Ireland, Scotland, and England. This was the dominant culture when I was growing up there, 30-40 years ago, and soccer was KING. I didn't realize it as so ethno-centric until I went to college and into the work world. (I guess I thought that every high school cafeteria had homemade shortbread!)

Kearny is still a strong, working class/middle class town with a strong sense of community and still attracts new immigrants. However, the fish and chip shops are almost all gone now (down to one) and have been replaced with Brazilian restaurants and Portuguese bistros.

I think the mutual love of soccer was the key to accepting/tolerating the cultural change. (You'd think I was kidding but I'm not!)

Needless to say, I'm never particularly shocked to hear about political scandals. (There was a time when our Mayor, Police Chief and my high school history teacher who was also a Councilman were carted off by the Feds.) Business as usual....

We've lived in Hudson County for almost 10 year (first Hoboken and then Jersey City), coming from Manhattan in 2001. We bought in the Hamilton Park neighborhood of Jersey, which is downtown. The biggest thing I've noticed recently is the tremendous explosion in the number families with young children that have moved downtown. And recently, most of the people I've met have come from Brooklyn. We love our neighborhood - there's a great sense of community and it just keeps getting better as far as quality of life. There are downsides, but overall it's a fantastic place to be and we couldn't be happier with having invested in this area.

I've lived in Hudson County for over 25 years. In the past 10 years, I feel the addition of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail system has revitalized the Hudson County community. It has made travel to places such as the PATH system, Liberty State Park, Newport Mall much more convenient. Also, since some stops are located in lesser developed areas, it is increasing commercial and residential development in areas of Hudson County, in turn, attracting more people to reside here. It is definitely a boom!

What I have noticed over the last ten years in my area in Hudson County is population growth. Boy! For example, 10 or 7 years ago, on Saturday mornings, I would take few minutes from 60th street from North Bergen to 31st in Union City, now it takes much longer to do such simple thing. It’d be nice to know the 2010 census figure for this area. Saturday or not, Bergenline Ave. from 60th to 31st, most often, is a challenge.

I've lived in (downtown) Jersey City for the last 15 years or so. For several years I lived in Paulus Hook, near the waterfront, in an area then-populated by prostitutes, packs of wild dogs, weed and rubble-strewn vacant lots, artists, and drunken sailors. It's since been transformed astonishingly quickly into acres of pleasant but not terribly interesting row houses and sparkly high-rises.

I now live in the Hamilton Park area, which is pleasant but still quite interesting. There is a tremendous mix, socio-economically, ethnically, and in terms of length of residence, religion, and sexual orientation. Those differences seem to mean pretty much nothing to anyone, in a truly charming way.

In all honesty, the most bitter rancor (as reflected in Christine's comment, above) is between dog owners and the rapidly increasing number of families with young kids. In second place is the frustration of many WNYC types with the entrenched political establishment--but winds seem to be blowing in the direction of reformers, as has happened in Hoboken.

I’m fairly new to Hudson County, now residing in Harrison. I lived in the suburbs of central Jersey prior to moving to North Jersey. Being a native New Yorker I’m always eager to be in the midst of different cultures and races in a transit-oriented city. I think Harrison offers that opportunity and has the potential to be a very productive safe family oriented community that will appeal too many. The redevelopment projects offer mixed used properties for all income levels. I think there are efforts for balance as to not be a town known for “gentrification” such as Hoboken. There are new businesses appearing as you see the changes in the economy. The downside is that the development is moving extremely slow as a result of the devastated economy. In addition, there does not appear to be a sense of unity in the community. Although, there are many different ethnic groups, each group tends to be isolated within there own culture. However, I’m hoping this will change with the new businesses and housing on the waterfront. There does appear to be lack of governance over the businesses. I would love to see consistency in the signage along Harrison Avenue. Overall, I’m excited to see growth with the new Red Bulls Arena and the Path parking garage. The town has a lot of potential to become New Jersey’s melting pot with nice restaurants and shops for people that are drawn to this type of diversity. I would love to hear what others think of Harrison and how it has changed.

I've been in and out of Jersey City for the past ten years, here steadily for the past five. The city saw an explosion of development downtown and along the river during the past decade. It is gaining needed density and slowly the place seems to be embracing the future instead of clinging to the past, although it has a very long way to go. It feels to me to be very much a place that lacks a unique identity and sustained vibrancy.

Jersey City is possibly on the verge of becoming the largest city in New Jersey, yet it exists largely in the shadows of Newark and New York. The incredible breadth of diversity seems to lead to there being little distinguishable citywide culture rather an identifiable flavor(s). Downtown continues to be highly transient and the poor public schools and political climate (and soaring property taxes due to horrible mismanagement on the part of city government) has done nothing to encourage people to plant roots.

Jersey City remains a city of vast and almost entirely unrealized potential that awaits the reform and leadership necessary to become the jewel it should be.

I've been in and out of Jersey City for the past ten years, here steadily for the past five. The city saw an explosion of development downtown and along the river during the past decade. It is gaining needed density and slowly the place seems to be embracing the future instead of clinging to the past, although it has a very long way to go. It feels to me to be very much a place that lacks a unique identity and sustained vibrancy.

Jersey City is possibly on the verge of becoming the largest city in New Jersey, yet it exists largely in the shadows of Newark and New York. The incredible breadth of diversity seems to lead to there being little distinguishable citywide culture rather an identifiable flavor(s). Downtown continues to be highly transient and the poor public schools and political climate (and soaring property taxes due to horrible mismanagement on the part of city government) has done nothing to encourage people to plant roots.

Jersey City remains a city of vast and almost entirely unrealized potential that awaits the reform and leadership necessary to become the jewel it should be.

Hoboken has changed from a brownstone community to a high rise apartment city that is not affordable for many. I mourn the loss of my fellow artists who cannot find studio space in the few remaining factories or afford to live in the town now. It was the artists who rejuvenated the city in the 70's and 80's and they are forgotten in the current master plan.

I've loved Weehawken since moving here 8 years ago. It's charming and we have the best deal in the area given the views, easy access to the city or the countryside, affordability, etc. On the lighter yet agitating side, there has been a massive influx of tourist buses over the past 5 years. First Boulevard East became a draw as a backdrop for wedding and Quinceanera photographers. Now its become the new tourist attraction. Any evening you will find a continual cluster of tourist busses clogging the residential boulevard while hundreds to a thousand tourists at a time pile into a small park/sidewalk no more than 1 block in length and a quarter block wide, to take photographs. Often times the buses are full of high school students from Germany, France, Spain, etc. who are less familiar with sharing the sidewalk with locals trying to go about their business. Meanwhile the buses and others volleying to get a look block traffic while they load, unload and wait for parking. I can't imagine what it's like to live in one of the houses across the street. Not to mention, the locals have completely relinquished use of their own park. I often wonder if the tourist buses are at least paying our town for using the park and to help pay for the security staff that's on duty?

I increasingly hear about hispanic gangs, their drug deals and resulting murders taking place just a few blocks over the border of Weehawken and West New York, and wonder how much longer this neighborhood will be able to remain charming and seemingly retain its innocence at least on the surface? Unfortunately what has not changed is that this town is run by the same elected officials as it was 30 years ago and my understanding is that they are the quintessential tight-knit circle that NJ politics is known for. With a legacy of hiding negative news, operating in isolation from the community, and not welcoming new thinking, I don't see how they will be successful in managing a changing community dynamic and makeup.

I have been in Union City 6 years and lately notice more and more high rise apt. bldgs. displacing sections of older neighborhoods. They look like giant behemoths that don't fit into the landscape. They lack any architectural integrity. I can understand 1 or 2 of these, but this seems to be the trend. I also wonder whether the people being displaced are receiving decent compensation.

In the 20+ years I've lived here, Hoboken has lost a lot of its bohemian & native-born populations, leaving it a little blander. The past ten years have just continued that trend, underway since the early 80s. It's more densely populated, more homogeneous, less interesting.

Who's moving in and who's moving out?
Fewer "born-and-raised," more "bought and renovated"; fewer twenty-somethings, more thirty-somethings as real estate and rental costs have continued to rise; more empty-nesters moving into the waterfront condos.

Housing boom/bust: Many new buildings that were going to open as condos opened as rentals instead in the past two years.

Politics has shifted dramatically in the past three years, after a larger number of the traditionally apathetic newcomers were mobilized by a dedicated group of reformers to vote out the machine-backed mayor & several city councilpeople, as well as their cronies on the school board. Just this year, a group of reformers took control of the local Democratic Party commitee, choking off a funding channel for the machine.

The untold story is ugly truth behind the political machine that was partially exposed during the embarrassing Peter Cammarano scandal. From sitting in on zoning board and city council meetings, as well as getting involved in election monitoring, I've learned how the local political machine operates, who they are, and why they behave the way they do. They're largely the people who couldn't get out of Hoboken in the 70s & 80s, like their friends and relatives did, or people who stayed behind to profit from other people leaving by buying up the burned-out or derelict properties. They don't really love Hoboken itself -- not as much as the newcomers who are now raising their families here. The people who run or work for the political machine are happy to help developers replace historic factories (like the Maxwell House plant, and almost the Neumann Leathers building) with ugly, cheap, profitable six-story condo or apartment buildings, without regard to the stress on our aging civic buildings, roads and sewers. The insiders are making their buck off the public payroll or the developers & spending their weekends at the shore. The poorer ones keep voting for the machine for the age-old reasons -- promised access to public jobs or subsidized housing, or fear of losing them. The good news is, the last three years' local elections have shown a consistent, growing turnout among voters who are putting down roots here and who want to see real problems addressed, and reasonable development.

Since 1994 I've lived in Union City and worked in Secaucus. I have a tendency to begin most any new situation with a mental list of things that "will never change". And I'm always wildly mistaken. The local culture, to my thinking, would never exert itself to beautify public space. Yet, both Union City and Secaucus have become strikingly more beautiful places in my years here. Landscaping. Open space. Fountains. Reading gardens (2!). Street trees. (Secaucus is an Arbor Day Foundation "Tree City USA".) Much of the credit goes to the priorities of the mayors. Mike Gonnelli in Secaucus (was head of the DPW before election) and Brian Stack in U.C. They both determined to make their towns aesthetically appealing and got the job done. Ask someone who knows more than I do about how the rank stretch of Hwy 1&9 from North Bergen to Jersey City morphed into a growing and reviving area from a soot-covered "Mad Max"-esque crater.

In the promo, you failed to mention what I consider the best town in Hudson Co.--Weehawken. Conveniently located at the foot of the Lincoln Tunnel and boasting a priceless view of NYC, I've lived there since 2002. What has changed? Lots more "luxury" apartments along the river and the palisades, but also 4 new parks (courtesy of the developers, but still. . .), refurbished playgrounds, and a few new high quality restaurants and stores. I hate NJ but love Weehawken.

Kearny pronounced (Carney), my lifelong residence (I am 24 years old), often falls into the shadows when discussions of Hudson County arise. I feel this is a such a shame, given Kearny's long, and colorful history comparable to those of the NYC boroughs and the rest of Hudson County. Up until about 10 years ago, when I was out of town and I told someone I was from Kearny the usual question was "Wow, you guys are great at soccer, are you Irish?...Scottish?" Now when out with friends through friends in Montclair, Hoboken, Manhatten or Brooklyn, after telling them where I live and that I lived there my whole life I get the question, "YOU'RE from Kearny?" A puzzled look overcomes their face as they wonder why I don't have big hoop earrings, my hair slicked to the side , talk with a much more exaggerated accent, or at least have skin 4 shades darker. I can remember joking with a Brazilian friend from Kearny High School back in 2000 when he told me he was working at the Argyle Fish and Chips-the oldest restaurant in town, attracting Scots from all over the state for their Robert Burns festival. I joked with this friend about what a perfect indication it was about how the town was changing. A Brazilian immigrant making haggis and blood sausage. I have to admit those people can cook, they're restaurants and Cafe's now dominate Kearny Avenue, along with the endless selection of Portuguese, and Peruvian and Spanish Restaurants. So, that's who's moving in. Who's moving out? The white families, usually with deep roots in the community, who can afford it, and feel like strangers in the town they either grew up in, or flocked to so they can raise a family in a once quiet working class white suburb, fleeing from New York City, Jersey City, or Newark-where they sought a quiet refuge that they once found in Kearny. Don't get me wrong, there are PLENTY of quiet areas still in Kearny, but the heart of town has greatly urbanized. I enjoy walking on Kearny Avenue, "The Ave" and hearing the accents, whether they are old locals with thick Kearny accents, or immigrants from Peru, Scotland, or Portugal. I go to visit friends in Hoboken whose families can still barely afford to live there, walk around on Washington Street, and see these yuppies who can be from anywhere in the country and you could never tell the difference. It's nice to have educated, aware people move into your neighborhood, Kearny could use a little of that, but I would never want the down to earth, unsuperficial spirit of Kearny to be wiped out the way it has been in Hoboken.

Property taxes in West New York have risen 47% within the last two years, while the streets remain filthy, crime and prostitution flourish, and the schools are 3rd rate. Developers remain in the pockets of the local politicians, and the waterfront communities are now learning that their "new construction" tax abatements are expiring. Such is the "progress" in West New York over the past 10 years.

Brian's request for callers for the upcoming census of Hudson County only mentions residents from Hoboken and Jersey City--the two most rapidly gentrifying areas of hudson county. I realize that the demographics of your show may be mostly white and english speaking, those likely to be agents of gentrification, but I urge you to also include the Latino-majority cities that also make up Hudson county. Such cities include: Union City (one of the most populated cities in the country and poorest in the state), West New York, and North Bergen. These cities have also seen drastic urban changes in the past decade and it is often in poor places like Union City and West New York where the impact of gentrification is strongly felt. In Union City, for instance, many former rental apartment units are being transformed into condos to attract New York professionals. The largely poor residents of Union City, some who are section 8 recipients, are finding themselves displaced from their community. Meanwhile, the large presence of poor residents in Union City has marked the city as a UEZ district, which unwittingly(?) allows these condo developments to offer wealthier home buyers tax abatements. ...The unfair situation facing our poor cities is heartbreaking.

Media has always had a soft spot for Hoboken since the young and wealthy moved there, displacing a poor Hispanic population - sometimes through building burnings. Since our local newspaper has been reduced to rubble by the penurious Newhouse owners, politicians around the county have been freed to commit all matter of abuses of the public trust. Scratch any town or city outside of Hoboken and find a million stories equal in worth to those of the so-called "gold coast" who are bailing anyway with the loss of lucrative wall street jobs.

I spent the weekends only here for around 3 years before moving to Jersey City 7 years ago. In some ways I prefer Jersey City when I first moved to the neighborhood. Yes there are more interesting shops and people are taking better care of their surroundings. I like also that when educated people move into this area there is a hope for improved city government and representation instead of not attending to the upkeep and care by the city employees. At the same time I mourn the passing of enjoying Hamilton Park alone or with few people. Case in point this park has been newly renovated. Beautiful and lavish at the same time the "atmosphere" is more indifference and mean-spiritedness, us vs them. This is unfortunate. To me there is a worst of both worlds, general little pride for the neighborhood. There still is a lot of littering. There seems to be more young parents who seem to be self centered and let there kids scream, holler making the streets unpleasant for anyone else.
I am not sure if the streets are safer today as compared to 2001 when I first started dating my boyfriend who moved here around 1999/2000.
I still feel safe but always in a city, one needs to be careful.
City government is under more scrutiny, they are crying poverty with the economic decline. there has been a huge reduction in the number of city employees being laid off. I do not notice any horrible lapse in services because those said municipal services were always threadbare and neglected/poor. City employees could be complacent, annoyed if someone questioned their work, how they are overworked and annoyed of low morale.
There seems to be a lot of people who still are able to afford the restaurants etc. I am surprised but glad there is a pocket of prosperity.
I really like the mix of residents, young, old, nice not interested in anything but themselves.... not much has changed there.

I think there has been tremendous development and investment, particularly in Hoboken and Newport (Jersey City), over the last ten years. I far prefer the area in 2010 vs 2000. Hudson County residents frequently complain about the development, but on balance, I far prefer the new condo developments, shops, restaurants and rejuvenated neighbourhoods to what was there before. I notice an improvement in quality of life. For example, it seems to me that street crime in Hoboken (car theft, mugging) has decreased in the last 10 years, or at least, I hear very little about it. I notice tremendous change in Jersey City, where the quality of life in most neighbourhoods seems to have greatly improved and appear to be cleaner and safer.

The two biggest changes in the last ten years — the development of the waterfront, which was factories and docks connected to freight rail and now has become high end apartment buildings, and the influx of Spanish-speaking immigrants to an area that was mostly German-Swiss and Italian.
The development is destroying what remains of the Palisades south of the GW Bridge and any open space that remains. In order to build on every inch of open space, zoning variants are requested and granted. Traffic is coming to a standstill. All this is the name of rateables.