[5][6] The racetrack located in the area was a popular with day-trippers from New York (who traveled by streetcar from the elevator at the Weehawken Ferry) during the latter part of the 19th century, until gaming was outlawed by the New Jersey legislature in 1893.

While the tracks closed, the area remained an amusement park known as Little Coney Island.

The "pleasure resort" as it was known, gained a reputation as attracting a similarly rowdy crowd as the racetrack, and reported incidents of alcohol being served to children and women being drugged.

[citation needed] The recently invented ice cream cone was popularized at the park.

[5] White Castle, an early drive-in fast-food chain, has long been located in the neighborhood.