New Jersey Meadowlands: A History

by Robert Ceberio, Ron Kase

Overview

Situated in northern New Jersey, the Meadowlands region is one of stark contrasts as more than thirty square miles of protected wetlands sit close to MetLife Stadium and across the Hudson from Midtown Manhattan. From the time the Dutch arrived in the 1600s, the area has had a storied and mysterious history as fortunes were made and lost. Beloved performers like Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen graced Meadowlands stages, and some of the most legendary athletes played its stadiums. Nearly destroyed by centuries of abuse, Meadowlands waterways are now reclaimed, causing property values to soar and creating new communities that provide a good quality of life for residents. Local authors Robert Ceberio and Ron Kase present the fascinating story of this Garden State region.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626197336
Publisher:	History Press, The
Publication date:	06/08/2015
Series:	Brief History
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	1,086,065
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Robert Ceberio served as executive director of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and is now president of RCM Ceberio, LLC. He was an adjunct professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Rutgers University for many years and the author of articles and papers on environmental issues and regional planning. He is on the operating board of the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce. He serves on numerous civic and professional boards and associations.

Ron Kase is a sociologist who retired from Ramapo College after twenty-five years, where he was associate vice-president for grants and sponsored programs and taught writing and project development for the graduate program in educational technology. He also worked at the School of Dentistry of Fairleigh Dickinson University and at the New York City College of Technology. He has written three published novels, three regional history books and edited two social science texts.

Table of Contents

Foreword Jim Kirkos 9

Acknowledgements 11

Introduction: Defining the Meadowlands Region 13

1 Cedar Forests to Industrial Wasteland 23

2 The Hackensack Meadowlands Reclamation and Development Act 43

3 New Jersey's Wasteland 52

4 The New Meadowlands 69

5 The Great Experiment: Hartz Mountain's Harmon Cove 76

6 Music in the Meadowlands 84

7 The Sports Complex and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority 95

8 Who's Playing at the Stadium? 116

9 Radio Waves 127

10 The Malls and the Meadowlands 132

11 Meadowlands Town Center/Meadowlands and Mills Corporation 140

12 From Trash to Tecs and Back 150

13 Future of the Meadowlands 161

Index 171

About the Authors 175