Mayor’s Letter
Welcome to Elizabeth, New Jersey, a City with a proud history dating back to the founding of our Country, with an even more exciting future!
I am once again pleased to present to you this Elizabeth, New Jersey, Community Profile, which highlights the vibrant new Elizabeth. This is an exciting time in our City, as more than $2 billion in private investments, revitalized neighborhoods and renovated business districts have made us one of the most prosperous major cities in New Jersey.
Elizabeth is New Jersey’s fourth-largest municipality and is located only minutes from Manhattan. As a true regional transportation hub for the East Coast, Elizabeth is accessible by land, sea, rail and air. Our City also contains Terminal A of Newark Liberty International Airport and enjoys a unique proximity to major highways such as the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway, and routes 1 and 9.
Our 2,463-acre Port Elizabeth/Newark marine terminal is the world’s largest containership port and the largest Foreign Trade Zone in the United States. This powerful transportation network also includes two NJ Transit stations with connections to New York City in 30 minutes. Our City has the honor of being designated a Transit Village by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, which will complement and contribute to the renewal of our Historic Midtown area. In addition, we were named among the top 50 Greenest Cities in America by Popular Science and placed 75th nationwide for Best Walking Cities by Prevention magazine and the American Podiatric Medical Association.
Elizabeth boasts the area’s most exciting retail and entertainment opportunities, including New Jersey Turnpike Exit 13A, which has brought countless visitors and shoppers. At Exit 13A, you’ll find Jersey Gardens Mall, the state’s largest outlet mall; a state-of-the-art 20-screen AMC Loews movie theater; world-class home furnishings; great restaurants; and terrific hotels. With an array of activities and amenities at your fingertips, you can Shop, Play and even Stay at Exit 13A.
Jersey Gardens is also home to the award-winning Retail Skills Training Center, which has provided training to numerous residents. The nearby Elizabeth Center at 13A is home to the nation’s top-performing IKEA store and the newly renovated Toys R Us/Babies R Us superstore. Furthermore, several new hotels are flourishing in this area, with more than 2,000 additional rooms.
Our award-winning Urban Enterprise Zone program, which offers reduced sales tax, has been a key partner in helping to revitalize our neighborhoods and business districts, as well as jumpstart economic development. Our exciting initiatives have laid the foreground for attracting new business and high-tech industries to our City. Ultimately, increasing marketability and solidifying our municipality as a premier place to live, work and raise a family.
I invite you to go out and spend some time in our City. Find out why we are great. Visit our parks. Shop in our business districts. Sample our wide variety of foods. Visit our numerous historic sites. Meet our people, and sample the diversity of our great City.
We welcome you and invite you to learn more about why your success starts here in Elizabeth!
Sincerely,
Chris Bollwage
Mayor
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