From Shopping Meccas to Brownfields: A Comparative Equity Analysis of Paramus Borough and City of Garfield, Bergen Cty, NJ

Kristin Taylor

25 March 2013

This paper will demonstrate how variations in historical development patterns in the Borough of Paramus and the City of Garfield have resulted in striking differences in terms of the economic and educational opportunities currently afforded the residents of each.  Part I will consist of an Equity Audit highlighting the differences in life outcomes between the residents of these municipalities.  Part II, Opportunity Factors, will discuss how disparities in wealth and the socioeconomic segregation of schoolchildren affect opportunity in each community.  Part III, Remedies, will evaluate the viability of some techniques for addressing the existing disparities between Paramus and Garfield, with a particular focus on regional approaches such as tax-base sharing and inclusionary zoning. 

In order to provide some context for the later analysis of socioeconomic differences between Paramus and Garfield, this section will first contrast their respective early patterns of development.  A comparison of the population and housing conditions in each municipality will follow.  Finally, this section will present data showing that residents of Paramus tend to experience better economic and educational outcomes than do their counterparts in Garfield.

Paramus was incorporated on March 2, 1922 and was initially slow to develop; by 1940 the borough had a population of only 4,000.  Following World War II, developers descended on the region with a vengeance, competing to attract returning servicemen with newly-constructed single family housing.  Low prices, no down payments and access to G.I. loans encouraged large numbers of (mostly white) veterans to purchase homes in the area.  Paramus' population exploded during this period, growing from 6,270 residents in 1950 to more than 24,000 in 1960.  During this same period, the farmlands adjacent to Routes 17 and 4, easily accessible and subject to no planning restrictions, proved an irresistible lure to commercial developers.  From 1948 to 1958, the number of retail establishments in the borough tripled and annual sales jumped from $5.5 to $112 million.  By 2003, Paramus had become "synonymous with suburban shopping," and encompassed over 10 million square feet of retail space in five malls and multiple shopping strips along the two highways.   

At the turn of the 19th century, the City of Garfield (then known as East Passaic) was a quiet community of farmers, famous for their berries and melons.  In 1859, the Dundee Dam, which linked Clifton and Garfield, was built across the Passaic River in order to improve navigability.  The large amounts of water made accessible by the dam had the additional effect of attracting industrial interests to the area.  By the beginning of the 20th century, Garfield had become a predominantly manufacturing community, its riverfront dotted by chemical plants and wool mills taking advantage of the cooling waters.  This industrialization carried with it heavy environmental costs; the Passaic River became so heavily contaminated that a nearby tavern owner was inspired to his establishment the Black Sea Hotel.  After World War II, most factories pulled out of the region, which somewhat abated the river pollution but had a devastating effect on the local job market.  The exodus of industrial interests has continued to this day, leaving Garfield with a declining tax base and a landscape marred by abandoned and deteriorating industrial properties.

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From Shopping Meccas to Brownfields: A Comparative Equity Analysis of Paramus Borough and City of Garfield, Bergen Cty, NJ