Jersey City Ward Map

By • Jan 6th, 2009 • Category: Blog

Editors note: Have you ever tried to find a ward map of Jersey City online? It is not an easy task. With that in mind, the Independent decided to make one. It is all part of our mission to use emerging technologies to provide services the city cannot or does not provide. If you have any ideas for future projects, leave us a comment or drop us a line. Thanks.

You can browse around the map right here, though we have yet to implement an address search functionality. Click on any particular ward to find out which one it is.


View Larger Map

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Like what you've read here? Please consider making a donation or becoming a sustaining member. As a grassroots news organization, we rely on community support -- as well as paid advertising -- to survive.

is the founding editor of the Jersey City Independent; he now works for a public-policy nonprofit in Trenton.
Email this author | All posts by

  • Paul

    Thanks for the map. This is great

  • Jon Whiten

    Our pleasure, Paul. As noted in the intro to the map, feel free to suggest other public resources that JCI should create.

  • New to JC

    Thanks for putting this up! Seriously, it took me three google searches to find this map. Couldnt believe it wasnt on the city government website.

    One other item that would be helpful for a newbie to the area is a primer on city politics. I know this sounds simplistic but I am trying to wrap my mind around how items such as:
    - How do city do at-large assemblymen/woman run across the whole city?
    - how do slates appear on the ballot? For example Levine has a slate, Healy has a slate, do they appear as a different groups on the ballot
    -are council, school board and mayor the only elected positions in the city?

    I would just like to understand the basic structure of jersey city government and how elections are conducted. I think part of the reason that it is difficult to get transplants to the area involved is because the system can seem archaic and confusing. Probably asking to much for a blog but A jersey city politics 101 primer would be a great help. Thanks again for the ward map. Atleast I now know who my potential candidates are!

  • Jon Whiten

    Hi New-

    Thanks for the kudos. Glad the map is helpful to you. As for a JC Politics 101-type resource, that is something that we could probably put together. We’ll try to give it a shot.

    As for your specific questions, here are a few answers and a question back to you:

    - Slates appear on the ballot basically down a line, much like just Dems or Repubs are in other ballots, but you can vote for any candidate for any council seat. Does that make sense? I realize that the ideal answer to that question would actually be more graphic than verbal.

    - Unless I’m mistaken, Council, school board and mayor are the only city positions elected by the public. County freeholders are also elected by the public. There are other quasi-governmental positions that ordinary citizens can get involved with, but the city doesn’t do much of a good job making them public. These are positions on, say, the Planning Board — not elected by the public, but (theoretically) open to the public.

    - Re: your at-large question — do you mean at-large council candidates? If so, can you rephrase the question or give me a little more info…I’m a bit confused as to what you’re asking.

    I think you’re right to an extent about why transplants don’t get involved — the system is confusing; elections are always held at off times which produces low turnout; and there is a feeling that the game is rigged to HCDO people, which to a certain extent, it is — unless more people get involved.

    Thanks for reading.
    -Jon

  • New to JC

    Again great info! I was simply looking to understand how at-large candidates for council are elected. Do they run city wide? That is my assumption but looking for clarification. Thanks!

  • Jon Whiten

    Yes, the at-large candidates run citywide. Therefore, they also need more signatures to make it onto the ballot (they need the same # as a mayoral candidate — 1,197 this year.

    Also, the at-large candidate that gets the most votes is usually — but not always — named Council President by the mayor.

  • http://www.wiredjc.com MCA

    Much appreicated, jwhiten. May I ask if you used those gargantuan PDFs on the NJ state site to make this map?

  • Jon Whiten

    No problem, MCA.
    I actually used the last published list of wards, block by block, from a public notice from March 18, 2002. The good folks at the NJ Room helped me find it, and then I just drew it up.

  • Mona

    Thanks for posting this information. For over a year, I have been asking if the city has any plans on tackling the litter problem. Do you have any suggestions on the appropriate contact for this type of complaint? The city is filled with litter and I watch residents throw litter on the streets and out the windows of their cars as if it is natural. Even Newark now has a campaign against litter! Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

  • Jon Whiten

    Hi Mona-

    The agency that would handle any litter issues is the Jersey City Incinerator Authority, I believe — http://www.jciaonline.org. However, it might even be more effective to start very small and go through your Councilperson. For example, if there is one particular corner or block near your house where you see a huge buildup of litter, you might be able to have your Councilperson work to get additional garbage cans or something like that. I’m not 100% sure what the best way to tackle the problem is but these two leads could be a good start.

    Unfortunately, I don’t know when people in general will wise up and realize that throwing trash out their car windows or just dropping litter in the street is *not* acceptable behavior. Sometimes shaming the person works though. Sometimes if I am walking behind someone and they drop trash casually on the ground, I pick it up and run after them saying “Excuse me, I think you dropped this!” More often than not, they’ll be a little bashful and say, “Oh, thanks” and stick the litter in their bag or just hold on to it.

  • Mona

    Jon – Thanks for the tips. I wrote the Mayor an email – we’ll see. I will send one to my Councilman as well. I tried the approach of picking up the trash and have gotten some funny responses. Most people respond in the way you described. I picked up after one woman and said “I think you dropped this.” She looked at me blankly and said “oh not, that’s just paper”. Can you imagine? I had to laugh out loud. I will keep you posted if I make any progress. Thanks again for your information.

  • New to JC

    Jon – quick question….now that you have solved the ward map issue can you direct me to a map for the state senate and represenative districts? I tried finding something on the State website but it wasnt detailed enough to tell help me figure out who my reps are. It looks like JC is sliced and diced when it comes to these districts. Any direction would be appreciated.

  • Shane Smith

    Hi New, you’re a step ahead of us. A comprehensive set of political division maps is something we’re hoping to get out there soon. Thanks for reading!

  • Ron

    Good stuff JCI, your hustle at making Jersey City better is appreciated.
    A quick recommendation: On the map, add to each of the description bubbles the link to each council-person’s official government website (like Ward E is: http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/citycouncil.aspx?id=1224). I was also looking into adding icon markers with the letter of each Ward, but couldn’t get it to save in Google’s My Maps feature. Looks like it be easier w/ the Google Maps API installed, so if you guys have done this, maybe you can add the custom icon too.
    All the best.

  • Allen Oliver

    A breakdown of the voting districts would be appreciated. One map I recently saw has the Beacon as part of Ward E, but the last I remember it was part of F. As a matter of fact those residing in the Beacon voted in the same polling district as Ward F-8 and Ward F-9. Has the Beacon become the defining point of which side of the tracks one lives on?

  • BearBear

    Baldwin Avenue south of montgomery has been the boundary of Ward E for as long as I can remember.

  • Shane Smith

    Allen: A ward-by-ward voting district map is something we have in the works. We’ll keep you posted! This map was based on city ward boundaries published in 2002; I believe redevelopment of the old MC started around 2005.

  • Lily

    I am doing a project on Jersey City History- I have ward B. Any ideal monuments or landmarks of intrest. Do you knw where i could ffind reaserch.
    thanks for the map by the way- I had no idea there were wards!!!

  • Lily

    sorry about the typos!!! O_O

  • More Elected Officials in JC

    Nice job on the map.

    There are more elected officials in Jersey City than you think. Most people forget to mention committeepeople, but they serve a very significant role in the democratic process.

    Committee are regular residents who serve their neighborhood. Every year, Democrats run a man and a woman in each district. The Republicans do it every two years. They run in a primary because the election is partisan.

    Committee people are often forgotten or thought to be insignificant, but I disagree. At one time, committeepeople were very powerful and often were the go-to guys in the neighborhood to get jobs or get things done in the community.

    Democratic Committee members run annually, and Republicans in Hudson County run every two years. Both are running the upcoming June election.

    Right after the election, every city chairman (Democrat and Republican) in Hudson County is required to call a reorganization meeting. This often happens the day after the election.

    At the municipal reorganization meetings, the city chairman of every city in Hudson County is decided.
    Only committee men and women can cast a vote in the election of chairman for the Democratic and Republican party.

    The next order of business is to conduct a county reorganization meeting, again both Democrats and Republicans.

    Each party calls together the committee people from around the county to come and choose the County Democratic Chairman and the Republican Chairman. This usually happens two days after the election.

    The committee elections is the best kept secret of political organizations in Hudson County.
    Sitting city and county chairman rely on their usual candidates to run and carry them through the next election as chairman.

    Machines are built with committee people at the foundation.

    Want to start a revolution?
    Call the Hudson County Clerk.
    Find out what Ward and District you live in. (Example E-1, means Ward E, District 1)
    Then ask if there is a vacancy in your district for committeeman or woman.
    If there is, you can easily write yourself in to the seat on election day!
    Even if there isn’t a vacancy, you can run a write-in campaign.

    The deadline to file a petition for committee this year has past. If you want to run next time around, remember to obtain and file a petition 45 days prior to the election.

    This is one of the best places for any citizen interested in getting involved in politics to start.
    And, you’ll get to vote for the next chairman of the Democratic or Republican party!

  • http://www.jerseycityindependent.com Shane Smith

    @Lily: Certainly I would think you’ll want to cover Lincoln Park and Holy Name Cemetery — where Frank Hague is buried. For more info on JC history in general, start with this useful website from NJCU (http://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/) and pay a visit to the New Jersey Room at the Main Branch of the JC Public Library. For specific info on the ward, check in with the ward councilman David Donnelly, who grew up in the ward and will be able to put you in touch with interesting folks to speak to. Email him at DonnellyD@jcnj.org.

  • http://www.jerseycityindependent.com Shane Smith

    @More Elected Officials: a district map is something we have in the works; a list of party committee members would be a great thing to include as well. Thanks for the idea!

  • Lily

    Where can I find very old pictures(dating to the 1660′s)? In the Jersey Room??? Can I go into the Jersey Room and take pictures????

  • More Elected Officials in JC

    @Shane Smith:

    You should be able to obtain Ward and District maps at the Hudson County Board of Elections. They are required to have them and political parties get a set every year. The maps are huge though and come in big poster scrolls. Maybe you can reduce them down for the internet or maybe you can get a digital file. I’m pretty sure there’s a minimal fee for maps and district sheets listing all voters. Any citizen my request them.

    Also since the filing date is past for the committee members, every City clerk in the county should have a list by Ward and District of every committee person running in the Democratic and Republican parties.

    It would be a wonderful community service if JCI were to obtain this list of candidates and post it up well before the June election. It would be informative to all Jersey City residents who don’t usually know who is running in their neighborhood until the ballot comes out. It would also help everyone to see if their district is vacant.

    Good luck and thanks for good reporting.

  • Lily

    thank you sooo much!!!!!

  • http://www.jerseycityindependent.com Shane Smith

    @More Elected Officials: After a bit of searching around I have the 411 on this. The JC Democrats recently changed their bylaws so that the committee members will serve two-year terms, just like the Republicans. The Republican and Democratic election years will be staggered. So: there will be a Republican committee election next month, and in June of next year the Democrats will run. Meantime we’ll keep working on those district maps.

  • Josh

    How about a police jurisdiction map? This would be greatly appreciated.

  • http://www.jerseycityindependent.com Jon Whiten

    @Josh.

    That’s a good idea; we’ll put it on the list.

  • Brooke

    This is a great map. Another map I am having a hard time locating is one broken down by the four police districts in the city. Any advice?

    Another that would be great is a crime map.

  • http://twitter.com/RedCouchStudio Red Couch Studio

    thank you for this map. well done.

  • http://twitter.com/RedCouchStudio Red Couch Studio

    Thank you for this map. well done!