About the Bergen-Lafayette Neighborhood

Located just west of Liberty State Park, Bergen Hill contains some of the most stunning row houses in all of Jersey City. The area—which received an option to be featured as a Historic District in 1991—is renowned for its 19th-century Victorians, brownstones and converted warehouse spaces.

At the end of Summit Avenue, you’ll find Library Hall—a five-story brick building from 1865, recently renovated to contain over a dozen luxury condominiums. The unique, triangular building once housed 14,000 books and was originally intended to be Jersey City’s first lending library. Today, Library Hall leads a renaissance of residential adaptive reuse in Bergen Hill along with industrial spaces such as Ficken’s Warehouse, The Foundry and Whitlock Cordage.

Along Summit Avenue, you’ll find landmarks such as St. John’s Episcopal Church, a Gothic Revival building from 1870. The intersection of Communipaw and Johnston was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. There’s also a Montessori School on Communipaw, right near the Liberty Science Center.

Transportation from Bergen Hill offers multiple public and private buses, as well as several options for the HBLR Light Rail to take you to Bayonne, Journal Square, or Hoboken.

Bergen-Lafayette is a coveted residential area, and the completion of the Berry Lane Park in 2015 will only add to the allure. As the largest park in all of Jersey City, Berry Lane will contain two basketball courts, tennis courts, sports fields, and a water park. Lately, it has been rumored that Jersey City mayor Steven Fulop may be buying a brownstone in this historic area.