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Richard Street
Hudson–Bergen Light Rail station
The signage for the former Morris Canal with the station for Richard Street in March 2015.
General information
Location	Richard Street & Garfield Avenue Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey 07035
Coordinates	40°41′57″N 74°04′43″W / 40.6991°N 74.0787°W / 40.6991; -74.0787
Owned by	New Jersey Transit
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	1
History
Opened	April 15, 2000
Electrified	750 V (DC) overhead catenary
Services
Preceding station NJ Transit Following station Danforth Avenuetoward 8th Street 8th Street–Hoboken Liberty State Parktoward Hoboken
Former services Preceding station Central Railroad of New Jersey Following station Greenvilletoward Elizabethport Suburban service to Elizabethport Van Nostrand Place Communipaw Avenuetoward Jersey City

Richard Street is a station on the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) located in the Greenville section of Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey. Located at the end of Richard Street next to the northeast end of Bayside Park, the station services local trains of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail between 8th Street station in Bayonne and Hoboken Terminal. The station contains a single island platform and two tracks. The station is accessible for handicapped persons as part of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, with ramps and platform level matching with trains. The station opened on April 15, 2000 as part of the original operating segment of the Hudson–Bergen Light Rail.

Richard Street station was built north of the site of a former Central Railroad of New Jersey station in the same area. Located at what is now the south end of Bayside Park, Van Nostrand Place station was a stop on the Main Line in Jersey City. Opened in 1891, later than most stations on the line, Van Nostrand Place had a smaller station compared to others, only at 15 by 27 feet (4.6 m × 8.2 m), and only a single story. The station agent at Van Nostrand Place was eliminated in 1952 and in June 1958, they razed the single story depot, replacing it with two shelters (one in each direction). Passenger service to Van Nostrand Place ended on April 30, 1967, when the Aldene Plan went into effect, moving CNJ commuter services through Newark Penn Station via the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Service through Bayonne and Jersey City was truncated from Communipaw Terminal to East 33rd Street.

History

Jersey Central station

In August 1890, local citizens urged the Central Railroad of New Jersey to construct a station at Van Nostrand Place. Bayonne's former mayor David W. Oliver and Joseph Van Nostrand, a local land owner, donated land for a new station. This new land would be used to construct the grading for the new stop. The railroad promised local citizens and officials that when they completed a new bridge over four tracks and a local canal. However, construction of the new bridge completed and no station came with it. Local citizens, upset with this, reminded the railroad that the new depot at Van Nostrand Place would benefit the railroad and the city. Locals were already advertising for lots around the area of the future station, including 50 lots on Ocean Avenue, ensuring that the new residences would be in range of the new stop, along with the Jackson Avenue station on the Newark and New York Railroad.

The Bayonne Citizens' Association sent a letter in the fall of 1890 advocating for the construction of a station at Van Nostrand Place. J.H. Oberhauser, the General Superintendent, stated to the locals that plans were in place to build the station, but no timeline existed for when construction would begin.

Central Railroad engineers arrived in April 1891 to begin construction of a new station at Van Nostrand Place. The process began with surveying the land for the new stop. Progress on the new station went quickly. By June, the piledrivers had finished setting up the ground for the new station foundation. Edwards Brothers, a local subcontractor for the brickwork, would install the foundation for carpenters to begin building the depot. They started their work on June 22, with the expectation that they would by the end of the week. Oberhauser also inspected the construction. At the time, he speculated that the station would be finished by July 15, 1891. The foundation was in place by July 22. At that point, the Jersey City Building Inspector, issued permits for the construction of the depot and one at Communipaw. Both depots would be Queen Anne style architecture wooden frame structures wtih slate roofs. Edwards Brothers also had the contract at Communipaw. The wooden frame came up on July 25. At that point, the belief was the station would be complete by the end of August. The Van Nostrand family would also cut Van Nostrand Place through on their own to improve access to the new station, along with other general improvements.

By the end of September, construction of the new depot at Communipaw finished. Progress also continued rapidly on the new depot at Van Nostrand Place. The painters finished the station in October and the set completion date moved to November 1. Construction of the Van Nostrand Place station finished in November 1891 and the railroad announced that the station would open on November 16, eliminating a 1 mile (1.6 km) long walk to other stations for those in the neighborhood. However, the station opened on November 18, 1891 instead.

HBLR station

The station opened on April 15, 2000. It is located along the former Central Railroad of New Jersey right of way, which terminated at Communipaw Terminal. During excavations for its construction, workers came across what appear to be the petrified remains of luggage, which were also found at nearby Danforth Avenue stop.

On August 1, 2010, gunfire erupted at the station, sending a group of people running for cover as they were chased by a gunman on the platform. Police arrived at 10:32pm (EST). The gunman and the group were gone, but police recovered three spent bullet casings at the scene, and one bullet projectile at the base of the steps leading to the platform. One of the railings of the steps was struck by one of the bullets. A witness who had been walking about 50 feet behind the group on the platform stated he saw another man run past him and fire three or four shots into the group. No one was shot or injured. The gunman, was described as being in his late teens, 5-foot-8, wearing blue jeans and a black T-shirt.

Station layout

Ground/platform level Exit/entrance
	Southbound	←      8th Street–Hoboken toward 8th Street (Danforth Avenue) ←      Bayonne Flyer does not stop here
	Island platform, doors will open on the left or right
	Northbound	8th Street–Hoboken toward Hoboken (Liberty State Park) →      Bayonne Flyer does not stop here →

Bibliography

• New Jersey State Board of Taxes and Assessment (1918). Third Annual Report of the New Jersey State Board of Taxes and Assessment. Somerville, New Jersey: The Unionist-Gazette Association State Printers. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
• Bernhart, Benjamin L. (2004). Historic Journeys By Rail: Central Railroad of New Jersey Stations, Structures & Marine Equipment. Outer Station Project. ISBN 1891402072.

References

1. ^ Canal, Alberto (April 16, 2000). "Leaders Cheer Light Rail Opening as Hudson Steps Into 21st Century". The Jersey Journal. Jersey City, New Jersey. pp. A1, A8. Retrieved March 14, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
2. ^ Bernhart 2004, p. 41.
3. New Jersey State Board of Taxes and Assessment 1918, p. 187.
4. "Van Nostrand Pl. Station a Memory Now". The Jersey Journal. Jersey City, New Jersey. June 6, 1958. p. 7. Retrieved March 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "18 Stations on Railroad Cutback List". The Asbury Park Press. March 1, 1967. pp. 1, 6. Retrieved October 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Shore Commuters Gripe About Standing". The Daily Home News. New Brunswick, New Jersey. May 1, 1967. p. 13. Retrieved October 31, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Greenville". The Jersey City News. August 29, 1890. p. 4. Retrieved March 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "50 Choice Building Lots". The Jersey City News. July 22, 1890. p. 2. Retrieved March 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Greenville News". The Bayonne Times. October 2, 1890. p. 4. Retrieved March 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Greenville Gossip". The Bayonne Herald. April 18, 1891. p. 4. Retrieved March 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Greenville". The Jersey City News. June 20, 1891. p. 3. Retrieved March 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Greenville". The Jersey City News. June 22, 1891. p. 3. Retrieved March 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "New Central Railroad Stations". The Jersey City News. July 22, 1891. p. 1. Retrieved March 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Van Nostrand Avenue Station". The Jersey City News. July 25, 1891. p. 1. Retrieved March 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Railroad Notes". The Jersey City News. September 26, 1891. p. 1. Retrieved March 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Greenville". The Jersey City News. October 20, 1891. p. 3. Retrieved March 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Greenville". The Jersey City News. November 14, 1891. p. 3. Retrieved March 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Here and There". The Bayonne Journal and Bürger-Beiting. November 21, 1891. p. 1. Retrieved March 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
19. Richard Street station photos
20. From a plaque located at the Danforth Avenue (HBLR station):
    Immigrant Remnants Found Remains Appear Petrified, Luggage Among Items Unearthed. During excavations for the construction of stations along the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit System, workers this morning came across what appear to be the petrified remains of luggage and other items buried under many feet of earth. Digging was immediately suspended at two sites after it was noticed that some of the exposed rock looked like old pieces of luggage. As a gathering crows looked on bewildered workers carefully pulled familiar shapes from the ground. By noon a trunk, a violin case, a hat box, a suitcase and some parcels had been counted among the unearthed items. Construction managers at the two affected stations, the Richard Street station and the Danforth Avenue station, declined to officially comment on the bizarre findings. however, witnesses to the events of this morning seem convinced that the delicately articulated rocks were not really rocks at all, but petrified luggage. Dr. Chip Travertine, Associate Professor
21. Conte, Michaelangelo (August 3, 2010). "Terrifying Gunfire at Light Rail". The Jersey Journal. pp. 1 & 5.

External links

• Richard Street Light Rail Station – NJ Transit

• Hudson-Bergen Light Rail stations
• Transportation in Jersey City, New Jersey
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 2000
• 2000 establishments in New Jersey