Spring 2004 Edition

Paterson   Before the shopping malls of Paramus, there were the department stores of Paterson. Photo, courtesy of the Paterson Museum   Most of us can walk to Paterson; it's so close.   But, we don't. Despite decades of abandonment, Paterson still has much to offer.  But, Fair Lawn residents are much more likely to drive to the Palisades Center in Rockland County, then go to downtown Paterson. In this edition, Fair Lawn News begins the first in a series of articles that look at the city next door.  We think it's important to understand Paterson because we have shared histories and concerns.  Plus, it's always nice to get to know your neighbors.  Fair Lawn News talked with June Avignone, author and editor of Downtown Paterson.  Besides, the Great Falls what do you think Fair Lawn residents would find interesting to see and do in Paterson? Avignone:  If you are into ethnicity, visiting Paterson can be fun.  I myself enjoy the coffee clubs on Cianci Street and 21st Avenue.  I love my church, St. Michael's, and the pastor there, Father Joe. It is a beautiful church.  I also love the Star of Hope Mission's thrift store on Broadway, a great place with great people.  Great Peruvian restaurants here as well, particularly Griseldas on Market. There are still diamonds to he found here among the shards of glass on these streets. They may appear in the form of a cappuccino made by an old Italian man at the Roma Club on Cianci Street; the Peruvian lady with the beautiful, dark-eyed little girl in the luncheonette on Van Houten, which has the best rice and beans around; or the big man with the gentle heart, originally from South Carolina, who works at the dye factory and feeds the pigeons everyday at noon in the park with the statue of Lou Costello. Truth is, there isn't all that much to do here, especially from a suburban perspective where feeling safe at all times is a priority (my perspective of suburban attitudes, which is both reasonable and sometimes annoying) -- that is, without seeing the homeless, druggies, etc., or at night when the city literally becomes dead, a sad thing to behold, with the exception of a few good restaurants.      About Paterson's Problems    Avignone:  The city of 150,000 lacks a hometown daily newspaper to watchdog corruption or report with direct insight on its people, places, and needs.  The abundant go-go bars, where women do just about anything for a dollar, remain the main source of nightly entertainment. There is not one movie theater left in Paterson.  No youth center is planned for the area or the city at large, although one is desperately needed."      How do you think Paterson residents think of the suburbs that surround their city, like Fair Lawn? Avignone:  I guess it depends on the Patersonian.  Some view suburbanites in general as racist.  Or as armchair liberals. Others would love to move the burbs.  I grew up in Hillsdale, escaped to New York when I went to school because it did not seem real, and often think of Hillsdale, now, with fondness for the beauty and safety that it held and holds (even with yuppies and Starbucks and sushi these days)....although I am grateful to Paterson to waking me up to so many things in so many ways.  If the suburbs were more interesting (bookstores, good movie theatres, etc.), I guess I would find them more appealing, and, besides, they are unreachable financially these days -- myself included --  for many working people in terms of purchasing a house.  Also, I think many people feel as if all of the problems of the suburbs are shifted to the city.  Mental institutions and prisons literally give directions to Paterson and lists of services found here to their patients/prisoners.  I am personally sick of the garbage and politics here, so it is easy to see why intelligent people would not want to move here, but the reasons for how and why things got this way are complex.  I am still proud to say I live in Paterson.  There is something real about this place that can't be found in the suburbs.   If you would like to contribute to future articles about Paterson and its relationship to Fair Lawn, send an e-mail to editor@fairlawnnews.com