While many neighborhoods of Jersey City, New Jersey are experiencing an economic resurgence and large-scale investment and development, the arts and arts organizations are struggling. Artists and creative professionals recently penned an open letter to the elected officials of Jersey City, arguing for reliable, dedicated funding and institutional support for the local arts community and its organizations. The Jersey Journal, the local daily newspaper, published the letter on May 17, 2017.

The letter described the strain placed on the local arts community: arts groups have shuttered or fallen dormant. City government has failed to include arts professionals in the decision-making process. Arts-focused zoning ordinances and legislation have not been enforced. The increasing desirability of Jersey City has led to rising real estate prices; thus, artists possess fewer options for studios, performance spaces, or even apartments.

Not long ago, the Jersey City arts community appeared to be growing, thriving, ready to burst. So, what happened? A brief look at Jersey City’s history might provide some answers.

Jersey City Arts: Then and Now

Jersey City sits directly across the Hudson River from Manhattan and has benefited from its geographical proximity to the financial, media, and cultural capital of the United States. A former industrial and shipping hub, Jersey City suffered through the postwar economic and social decline afflicting many older American cities, bleeding jobs and people. As New York’s fortunes improved during the past quarter-century, individuals untainted by the acceptable anti-Jersey prejudice (I’ll spare the reader a diatribe on this subject) and select businesses began to explore Jersey City as an affordable alternative to the ever-escalating real estate costs of the Big Apple. A subway line operated by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey connects the two cities, allowing residents to quickly move back and forth across the Hudson.

Beginning in the late 1980s, the Jersey City waterfront was redeveloped to attract banks and financial services and affluent individuals. At the same time, artists and other creative types “discovered” downtown Jersey City neighborhoods for the same reasons that the business sector looked at the waterfront: bargain rents and easy access to Manhattan. For some artists, Jersey City was the choice over Manhattan and Brooklyn. (This seems impossible to believe today, admittedly.) The “rediscovery” of Jersey City paralleled the migration of artists and like-minded folks across the East River to Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which became known as the capital of cool in New York in the early 2000s. Arguably, Jersey City stood as a rival—albeit small and scrappy—to Brooklyn until this point.

During an online debate concerning the artists’ letter on a local discussion board, a longtime civic activist cut through the noise and clearly observed the real problem. To quote Gertrude Stein: “There’s no there there.” That is, Jersey City lacks an anchor or primary institution for the arts.