from Aileen

Cliffs Provide Shelter for the Homeless

The small town of Hoboken in New Jersey has been notorious for its history. The town which lies on the west bank of the Hudson River is claimed to be the birthplace of many celebrities like Frank Sinatra and Whitney Houston. Throughout the past couple of years, Hoboken has gained a reputation for being one of the most up and coming towns in all of New Jersey. Its proximity to New York, a five-minute ride by Path train, has also influenced its status by attracting many young professionals to live in its neighborhoods. However wealthy the town has become, a number of its residents still live in public housing developments that seem to have survived the recent reconstruction of the area. This alone may be surprising to the individuals living in pricey condominiums on Hoboken’s waterfront avenues. However, the wealth disparity stretches beyond these public housing developments over to the cliff that separates the town of Hoboken from Jersey City. This cliff has become a sprawling neighborhood on its own, with more than a dozen people living among the trees and rocks in makeshift houses. No matter how notorious Hoboken has become these last couple of years, these shanty houses have long been kept a secret.
The cliff, which stretches about two miles from just beyond the North Wing Viaduct in Jersey City to Second Street in Hoboken, has become a home to many homeless individuals. In recent years, this area has undergone a number of renovations. The last of the renovations has been the creation of the North-Hudson Light rail which connects the cities of Hoboken, Jersey City, North Bergen, Union City and Bayonne. Every day thousands of individuals hop aboard the light-rail which takes them to the Hoboken/Jersey City Path Stations for their commute into New York City. Others even go on to Exchange Place in Jersey City, another area which is going under numerous renovations. These individuals ride the trains everyday, along the cliff with these sprawling “shanty condos.”
Those who work closest to the cliff are the ones with the most knowledge of their existence. Many of these individuals claim that these houses have been in the cliffs for a long time but the difficulty in accessing them has impeded many from doing so. It is very difficult to reach the bottom of the cliff and climb your way up to the houses. In doing so you would need to cross train tracks, climb fences and do your best at ignoring “No Trespassing” signs. Once you have managed to pass these obstacles you are in the clear but may be astonished at how elaborate many of these makeshift homes are. Some include glass windows and wooden floors. Others have even created “deck-style” structures with wooden planks.
In recent years there has been little attention drawn to these shanty houses. Last summer there was a fire that was started in the woods along the cliff that brought the situation to the eyes and ears of many. About a decade ago there was an article written in the New York Times addressing the “razing of a shantytown” in the same area. Besides these two stories, only neighborhood bloggers have written a couple of pieces on them.
Though the shanty houses I was able to visit were empty, I still felt as though I was entering a house whose owner had just stepped out. Mattresses and lawn chairs were carefully placed. Colorful posters and cardboard boxes became decorative walls. Blue and black dirty tarps became permanent leaky roofs.