[31] Growing Asian and Hispanic communities have developed around French Street near Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.

The area around present-day New Brunswick was first inhabited by the Lenape Native Americans, whose Minisink Trail intersected the Raritan River and followed a route that would be taken by later colonial roads.

[34][35] Centrally located between New York City and Philadelphia along an early thoroughfare known as the King's Highway and situated along the Raritan River, New Brunswick became an important hub for Colonial travelers and traders.

[37] The Declaration of Independence received one of its first public readings, by Colonel John Neilson in New Brunswick on July 9, 1776, in the days following its promulgation by the Continental Congress.

[38][39][40] A bronze statue marking the event was dedicated on July 9, 2017, in Monument Square, in front of the Heldrich Hotel.

[42] Classes began in 1771 with one instructor, one sophomore, Matthew Leydt, and several freshmen at a tavern called the 'Sign of the Red Lion' on the corner of Albany and Neilson Streets (now the grounds of the Johnson & Johnson corporate headquarters); Leydt would become the university's first graduate in 1774 when he was the only member of the graduating class.

[43] The Sign of the Red Lion was purchased on behalf of Queens College in 1771, and later sold to the estate of Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh in 1791.

[44] Classes were held through the American Revolution in various taverns and boarding houses, and at a building known as College Hall on George Street, until Old Queens was completed and opened in 1811.

)[51] The Seminary, due to overcrowding and differences over the mission of Rutgers College as a secular institution, moved to a tract of land covering 7 acres (2.8 ha) located less than 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) to the west, which it still occupies, although the land is now in the middle of Rutgers University's College Avenue Campus.

[36] The existence of an African American community in New Brunswick dates back to the 18th century, when racial slavery was a part of life in the city and the surrounding area.

Local slaveholders routinely bought and sold African American children, women, and men in New Brunswick in the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century.

The site was a place where residents of New Brunswick sold and traded their goods which made it an integral part of the city's economy.

Additionally, in the urban environment of New Brunswick, there was a high demand for domestic labor, and female workers were preferred for cooking and housework tasks.

New Brunswick continued to be home to enslaved African Americans alongside a growing community of free people of color.

[53]: 99  In the early decades of the nineteenth century, White and either free or enslaved African Americans shared many of the same spaces in New Brunswick, particularly places of worship.

[53]: 114  The school was located on the upper end of Church Street in the downtown area of New Brunswick about two blocks away from the jail that held escaped slaves.

During the Cold War, the community was revitalized by the decision to process the tens of thousands refugees who came to the United States from the failed 1956 Hungarian Revolution at Camp Kilmer, in nearby Edison.

New Brunswick is one of nine cities in New Jersey designated as eligible for Urban Transit Hub Tax Credits by the state's Economic Development Authority.

In the 1960s–1970s, the downtown area experienced urban decay as middle class residents moved to newer suburbs surrounding the city, an example of the phenomenon known as "white flight."

Beginning in 1975, Rutgers University, Johnson & Johnson and the city's government collaborated through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to form the New Brunswick Development Company (DevCo), with the goal of revitalizing the city center and redeveloping neighborhoods considered to be blighted and dangerous (via demolition of existing buildings and construction of new ones).

[69] The Hiram Market area, a historic district that by the 1970s had become a mostly Puerto Rican and Dominican-American neighborhood, was demolished to build a Hyatt hotel and conference center, and upscale housing.

[citation needed] Devco, the hospitals, and the city government have drawn ire from both historic preservationists, those opposing gentrification[71] and those concerned with eminent domain abuses and tax abatements for developers.

[190] New Brunswick was an important center for avant-garde art in the 1950s–1970s with several artists such as Allan Kaprow, George Segal, George Brecht, Robert Whitman, Robert Watts, Lucas Samaras, Geoffrey Hendricks, Wolf Vostell and Roy Lichtenstein; some of whom taught at Rutgers University.

[191][192] New Brunswick's live music scene has been the home to many original rock bands, including some which went on to national prominence such as The Smithereens and Bon Jovi.

[215][216] In March 2017, NJ.com wrote that "even if Asbury Park has recently returned as our state's musical nerve center, with the brick-and-mortar venues and infrastructure to prove it, New Brunswick remains as the New Jersey scene's unadulterated, pounding heart.

"[217] A number of well-known local bands formed in the city's live music scene, including Thursday and Ogbert the Nerd.

As the legislative body of New Brunswick's municipal government, the City Council is responsible for approving the annual budget, ordinances and resolutions, contracts, and appointments to boards and commissions.

In 1991, the fatal shooting of Shaun Potts, an unarmed black resident, by Sergeant Zane Grey led to multiple local protests.

[241] Following the Deloatch shooting, sergeant Richard Rowe was formally charged with mishandling 81 Internal Affairs investigations; Mayor Cahill explained that this would help "rebuild the public's trust and confidence in local law enforcement.

[251] For the 2024-2025 session, the 17th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Bob Smith (D, Piscataway) and in the General Assembly by Joseph Danielsen (D, Franklin Township) and Kevin Egan (D, New Brunswick).