It is a city conceived and created by one of the most famous Americans in history. He is perhaps even more well known today than ever following the success of the eponymous Broadway show “Hamilton” created by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Yet it is a city that surprisingly few New Jersey residents know much about. The city is Paterson, located in Passaic County and founded by none other than the great Alexander Hamilton, who decided to make Paterson the first industrial planned community in the United States. The city was named after the second Governor of the State of New Jersey, William Paterson, a lawyer and a jurist who was a signer of the US Constitution.
Many of the cities that have workers’ compensation courts have experienced tremendous economic growth in the last two decades, including Jersey City, Newark, Camden, New Brunswick and others. Paterson is a poor city. Families have half the state average annual income, but the city may be on the verge of its own renaissance. The third largest city in the state, Paterson was founded in 1792 by Alexander Hamilton. He could foresee what the Paterson Great Falls and its hydroelectric power could mean in developing much needed manufacturing in the United States. Hamilton was a visionary. He and others who founded the “Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures” (S.U.M.) were in fact prophetic. With the help of the S.U.M., Paterson did become a manufacturing powerhouse in the 19th century, manufacturing silk, locomotives, paper and firearms. It was known for decades as the leading manufacturing center in the United States for silk: hence the moniker, the “Silk City.” It fell on harder times in the mid-20th century.
As far as workers’ compensation courts go, Paterson is the only New Jersey comp court which is a few blocks from a National Park. The Paterson Great Falls is part of the National Park System, and the Falls are the second largest by volume of water east of the Mississippi. The waterfall views are simply spectacular. More and more visitors come to see the Falls, and they visit the nearby Paterson Museum which displays the industrial history of the city, Garret Mountain Reservation, Lambert Castle and the recently renovated Hinchliffe Stadium. All of these sites are close to workers’ compensation court. On one visit I made to the Falls in 2017, a bus from a private school in Lakewood, N.J. brought high school students to the Falls. I spoke with some of the students, and they were astounded that such a beautiful national park and falls were located in the center of North Jersey.
One of the strengths of the city is that it has great diversity with a large Latino community, black community, white community, and the largest Middle Eastern community in New Jersey, which is centered in South Paterson. In fact, the Mayor of Paterson is of Middle Eastern heritage. Each generation of immigrants that has settled in Paterson has left its mark over the centuries. More residents of New Jersey and visitors to the state need to know about the unique history of Paterson. They need to know about the many great Americans who lived or worked in the city, including Lou Costello, the famous comedien; Allen Ginsberg, a highly acclaimed poet raised in Paterson; Larry Dobe, who grew up in Paterson where he played high school baseball and along with Jackie Robinson helped break the color barrier in baseball while playing in the American League; Michael Jace, a very talented actor, and William Carlos Williams, an immensely talented writer and poet who wrote the poem “Paterson,” which consists of five books published between 1946 and 1958. There are many, many more famous Patersonians.
From a personal standpoint, I am rooting for the Paterson renaissance, as my mother and her family lived in the city, my sisters were all born at St. Joseph’s Hospital, my father worked there for 40 years, in fact co-founding what was then the largest law firm in Passaic County located in 100 Hamilton Plaza, site of the present workers’ compensation court, and my grandfather was a Superior Court Judge in Paterson.
If you have read this far, at this point you have undoubtedly begun to wonder, “John, what does this blog have to do with workers’ compensation anyway?” Well, at first glance perhaps not much but maybe more than you might think. There are only 15 venues where workers’ compensation cases are heard, and each court is located in a city or municipality with its own interesting and developing history. The Division judges, court personnel, security professionals, thousands of lawyers around the state, adjusters, translators, stenographers, petitioners, respondents and many doctors regularly work in or visit the 15 workers’ compensation courts. They park their cars there, buy coffee there, make friends there, shop there, and dine in restaurants there. They may become in time part of the fabric of the communities that host the 15 workers’ compensation courts in the state.
One could say that we in the world of workers’ compensation play a small role individually but a larger role collectively in contributing to each of the cities and municipalities where the Division carries out its vital business. As for the City of Paterson, don’t forget to put it on your bucket list.
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