Its location at the mouth of the Passaic River, where it flows into Newark Bay, has made the city's waterfront an integral part of the Port of New York and New Jersey.

[36] The name of the city is thought to derive from Newark-on-Trent, England, because of the influence of the original pastor, Abraham Pierson, who came from Yorkshire but may have ministered in Newark, Nottinghamshire.

The ward contains the University Heights, The Coast, historic Grace Episcopal Church, Government Center, Springfield/Belmont and Seventh Avenue neighborhoods.

The South Ward, once home to residents of predominantly Jewish descent, now has ethnic neighborhoods made up primarily of African Americans and Hispanics.

More than 100,000 people commute to Newark each workday,[127] making it the state's largest employment center with many white-collar jobs in insurance, finance, import-export, healthcare, and government.

[130][131] Its airport, maritime port, rail facilities, and highway network make Newark the busiest transshipment hub on the U.S. East Coast in terms of volume.

[134] The southern portion of the Ironbound, also known as the Industrial Meadowlands, has seen many factories built since World War II, including a large Anheuser-Busch brewery that opened in 1951 and distributed 7.5 million barrels of beer in 2007.

After the election of Cory Booker as mayor, millions of dollars of public-private partnership investment were made in Downtown development, but persistent underemployment continue to characterize many of the city's neighborhoods.

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

The advantages of Newark included proximity to New York City, lower land costs, tech labor force and higher education institutions, a major airport, and fiber optic networks.

[167] In the fall of 2023, in an effort to stimulate rental of empty storefronts along a parallel strip of Broad, Halsey and Washington streets, the city launched the Newark Retail Reactivation Initiative.

Since its opening in 2007, the Prudential Center has presented Diana Ross, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, The Eagles, Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus, Bruce Springsteen, Spice Girls, Jonas Brothers, Metro Station, Metallica, Alicia Keys, Fleetwood Mac, Demi Lovato, David Archuleta, Aerosmith, Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, and American Idol Live!, among others.

Famed DJ Tony Humphries helped "spawn the sometimes raw but always soulful, gospel-infused subgenre" of house music known as the New Jersey sound.

[187] The library houses more than a million volumes and has frequent exhibits on a variety of topics, many featuring items from its Fine Print and Special Collections.

[201] Seventeen artists contributed sections to the mural, including Adrienne Wheeler, Akintola Hanif, David Oquendo, Don Rimx, El Decertor, GAIA, GERA, Kevin Darmanie, Khari Johnson-Ricks, Lunar New Year, Manuel Acevedo, Mata Ruda, Nanook, Nina Chanel Abney, Sonni, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, WERC and Zeh Palito.

St. Lucy's Church, a historically Italian parish in what was Newark's Little Italy, features an annual October procession and festival for St. Gerard Majella.

[209] The North to Shore Festival, inaugurated in June 2023, featured music and other entertainment events in Newark as well as Asbury Park and Atlantic City.

[278] Street Fight is an Academy Award-nominated documentary film which covered the 2002 mayoral election between incumbent Sharpe James and challenger Cory Booker.

In 2009, the Sundance Channel aired Brick City, a five-part television documentary about Newark, focusing on the community's attempt to become a better and safer place to live, against a history of nearly a half century of violence, poverty and official corruption.

The Once and Future Newark (2006) is a documentary travelogue about places of cultural, social and historical significance by Rutgers History Professor Clement Price.

[284] Numerous movies, television programs, and music videos have been shot in Newark, its period architecture and its streetscape seen as an ideal "urban setting".

[254][298][299] The Prudential Center, a multi-purpose indoor arena designed by HOK Sport, is located in downtown adjacent to Newark Penn Station.

[310] Ultimate Fighting Championship's annual Super Bowl weekend mixed martial arts event, UFC 169: Cruz vs. Barao, took place on February 1 at the Prudential Center.

[332] For the 2024–2025 session, the 28th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Renee Burgess (D, Irvington) and in the General Assembly by Garnet Hall (D, Maplewood) and Cleopatra Tucker (D, Newark).

A son of Italian immigrants, a tailor and World War II veteran, he ran on a reform platform, defeating the incumbent, Leo Carlin, whom, ironically, Addonizio characterized as corrupt and a part of the political machine of the era.

[388] Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg donated a challenge grant of $100 million to the district in 2010, choosing Newark because he stated he believed in Mayor Cory Booker and Governor Chris Christie's abilities.

OEM coordinates the distribution of commodities between the county and municipal agencies and ensures all emergency management capabilities are tested, evaluated, and updated for immediate implementation.

Mayor Baraka claimed the health of Newark residents isn't in danger due to the orthophosphate that was added to the water to prevent lead leaching and that it is working as intended.

[441] The Morris Canal, stretching 102 miles (164 km) to Newark from Phillipsburg on the Delaware River, was completed in 1831 and allowed coal and other industrial and agricultural products from Pennsylvania to be transported cheaply and efficiently to the New York metropolitan area.

Newark is connected to the Holland Tunnel and Lower Manhattan by the Pulaski Skyway, spanning both the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers, which was first constructed in 1938 and recently underwent a $900 million renovation project.