Little India, Edison/Iselin, also known as Oak Tree Road, is a predominantly South Asian shopping, business, and dining district centered on a road, designated County Route 604, situated in Middlesex County, in Central New Jersey, [1] and set amidst a suburban residential region home to many South Asian families. [2] [3] One food and entertainment critic has named the "atmospheric" Little India as one of the "50 Best Reasons to Live in New Jersey." [4]
Little India on Oak Tree Road runs for about one-and-a-half miles through Edison and neighboring Iselin, New Jersey. [5] [6] The epicenter of Little India retail is traditionally on the two-block stretch of Oak Tree Road between Correja Avenue and Middlesex Avenue in Iselin, an area officially known as India Square; there, as of 2017, rents were roughly double over the rest of the strip. [7] The intersection of Wood Avenue and Oak Tree Road is where the two towns meet. [8] [9]
Little India is located in Central Jersey in Middlesex County, the U.S. county with the highest concentration of Indian Americans. [10] [11] [12] This zone is the largest and most diverse South Asian ethnic enclave and cultural hub in the United States. [13] [14] According to the 2017 American Community Survey, 42.6% of Iselin residents identified themselves as being Asian Indian, the highest for any census-designated place in the United States. [15]
The area is served by Metropark Station, providing a one-seat commuter rail connection in 36 minutes on the express to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan.
Some have lamented the "stroad" status of parts of the western portion of the strip as inhibiting ideal walkability from establishment to establishment, and have advocated for improved sidewalks. [16]
Oak Tree Road in Edison and Iselin is home to over 400 South Asian business establishments, including dining, halal grocery, jewelry, apparel and electronics retailing, and entertainment. [17] [18] [19] [20] Many come to the area for its traditional gold and Maharashtrian jewelry retailers. [7] Indian-American supermarket chain Patel Brothers has a location on the strip. [21]
Over 145 Indian restaurants alone are found in the neighborhood. [22] [23] Establishments have appeared on food critics' "best of South Asian cuisine" national and regional lists. [24] [25] [26] The district, which lies nears the sprawling Chinatown, Edison, [6] is also known in particular as a destination for Indo-Chinese cuisine. [27]
The actor-comedian Omi Vaidya celebrated the Oak Tree Road scene and South Asian culture in his 2020 song "Oak Tree Road," a parody of Old Town Road. [28] [29]
In 2023, Tanishq, the luxury Indian jewelry brand, opened its U.S. flagship store on Oak Tree Road. [30]
Oak Tree Road has a long history in commerce. It is named for a large oak tree which stood at a crossroads where a market was located during the Revolutionary War era. [31] [32] This crossroads and surrounding area was the site of the Oak Tree Engagement during the Battle of Short Hills. [33] [31] [34] It was a relatively rural area in the early to mid 20th century. [35] [36] [37]
In the early 1990s, prior to the arrival of significant Indian investment, Oak Tree Road was a down-on-its-luck strip of biker bars and abandoned buildings. [14] Some late-1980s-era economic pioneers to the then-rundown strip experienced racism from the locals, which largely subsided by the early 1990s. [7] The first Navratri festival in the state of New Jersey was held in the area in 1991. [38] As Indian businesses began arriving in the 1990s en masse, the area transformed over time into the "thriving market full of pedestrian traffic on weekends" seen today. [7]
By 2022, the Indian population was approaching one-third of the population of Monroe Township in southern Middlesex County, and the nickname Edison-South had developed, in reference to the Little India stature of both townships in Middlesex County. [39]
A blend of South Asian religious festivals and cultural events are held in the Little India district in Edison and Iselin, each featuring a melting pot of visitors and celebrants of all religions and backgrounds. [40]
A major annual event on the road is the India Day Parade. The annual New Jersey India Day Parade, hosted by the Indian Business Association, [41] is held every August on Oak Tree Road to celebrate Indian Independence Day. [42] [43] [44] Celebrants such as Governor Phil Murphy start in Edison at Cinder Road and march eastbound towards Iselin, finishing the parade at India Square in Iselin. In 2022 as in other years, local officials attended, including Speaker Craig Coughlin, U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone, New Jersey state senator Patrick J. Diegnan, Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak, Mayor John McCormac, and Edison mayor Sam Joshi. [45] [46]
In 2022, controversy and concerns about anti-Muslim animus arose when members of the community objected to a yellow wheel loader, resembling a bulldozer, seen in the August 14 parade displaying photographs of Prime Minister Modi and the conservative Hindu nationalist monk, Yogi Adityanath, who is also the chief elected leader of the Northern Indian region of Uttar Pradesh. [47] [48] Modi and Adityanath are both members of the right-leaning Bharatiya Janata Party, a major Indian political party. [49] The 2022 Oak Tree Road parade's grand marshal, Sambit Patra, is the national spokesperson for the same party. [50] [51] [52] The yellow construction vehicle displayed at the 2022 parade included a placard with the words "Baba ka bulldozer" written in Hindi. [53] [54] This display was a reference to the monk's nickname, both affectionately and pejoratively, of "Bulldozer Baba" (roughly equivalent to "Father Bulldozer," "Saint Bulldozer" or "Bulldozer Monk") [55] [56] for his extensive use of the machine in demolishing structures. [57] [58]
A variety of Hindu temples have been established along the strip, alongside diverse Christian, Jewish, and Muslim congregations in the greater area. Shirdi Sai Cultural and Community Center is one such temple. Located on the Iselin side of the district, it is devoted to the 19th century Indian saint Sai Baba of Shirdi. [66]
Middlesex County is located in central New Jersey, United States, extending inland from the Raritan Valley region to the northern portion of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's third-most populous county with a population of 863,162, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 53,304 (+6.6%) from the 2010 census count of 809,858, which in turn reflected an increase of 4,725 (0.9%) from the 750,162 counted in the 2000 census. Middlesex is part of the New York metropolitan area. Many communities within the county serve as commuter towns to and from New York City and other points north.
Edison is a township located in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated in Central New Jersey within the core of the state's Raritan Valley region, Edison is a commercial hub and is a bedroom community of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township was the state's sixth-most-populous municipality, with a population of 107,588, an increase of 7,621 (+7.6%) from the 2010 census count of 99,967, which in turn reflected an increase of 2,280 (+2.3%) from the 97,687 counted in the 2000 census.
Iselin is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Woodbridge Township, in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, Iselin's population was 18,695.
Metuchen is a suburban borough in Middlesex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is a commuter town of New York City, located in the heart of the Raritan Valley region within the New York Metropolitan area. The borough, along with Edison, is a regional commercial hub for Central New Jersey. The borough is 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of New Brunswick, 17 miles (27 km) southwest of Newark, 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Jersey City, and 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 15,049, an increase of 1,475 (+10.9%) from the 2010 census count of 13,574, which in turn reflected an increase of 734 (+5.7%) from the 12,840 counted in the 2000 census.
Woodbridge Township is a township in northern Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is a regional hub of transportation and commerce for central New Jersey and a major bedroom suburb of New York City, within the New York metropolitan area. Located within the core of the Raritan Valley region, Woodbridge Township hosts the junction of the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, the two busiest highways in the state, and also serves as the headquarters for the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which operates both highways.
Central Jersey is the central region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The designation of Central New Jersey is a distinct administrative toponym. While the State of New Jersey is often divided into North Jersey and South Jersey, many residents, including the governor, recognize Central Jersey as a distinct entity.
Little India is an Indian or South Asian sociocultural environment outside India or the Indian subcontinent. It especially refers to an area with Indian residences and a diverse collection of Indian businesses. Frequently, Little Indias have Hindu temples, mosques, and gurdwaras. They may also host celebrations of national and religious festivals and serve as gathering places for South Asians. As such, they are microcosms of India. Little Indias are often tourist attractions and are frequented by fans of Indian cuisine, Indian culture, Indian clothing, Indian music, and Indian cinema.
Edison High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Edison, in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The school serves students of many diverse cultures, and is part of the Edison Township Public Schools. The other high school in the district is J. P. Stevens High School. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools.
India Square, also known as "Little India," is a commercial and restaurant district in the Journal Square and Marion Section neighborhoods of Jersey City, New Jersey.
The cuisine of New Jersey is derived from the state's long immigrant history and its close proximity to both New York City and Philadelphia. Due to its geographical location, New Jersey can generally be divided by New York City cuisine in the northern and central parts of the state and Philadelphia cuisine in the southern parts. Restaurants in the state often make use of locally grown ingredients such as asparagus, blueberries, cranberries, tomatoes, corn, and peaches. New Jersey is particularly known for its diners, of which there are approximately 525, the most of any state. Various foods invented in the state, such as the pork roll, and salt water taffy, remain popular there today.
Indian Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The term Asian Indian is used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, who are also referred to as "Indians" or "American Indians." With a population of more than 4.5 million, Indian Americans make up approximately 1.35% of the U.S. population and are the largest group of South Asian Americans and the second-largest group of Asian Americans after Chinese Americans. Indian Americans are the highest-earning ethnic group in the United States.
In the New York metropolitan area, Filipinos constitute one of the largest diasporas in the Western Hemisphere. By 2014 Census estimates, the New York City-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area was home to 262,375 Filipino Americans, 221,612 (84.5%) of them uniracial Filipinos.
Indians in the New York City metropolitan area constitute one of the largest and fastest-growing ethnicities in the New York City metropolitan area of the United States. The New York City region is home to the largest and most prominent Indian American population among metropolitan areas by a significant margin, enumerating 711,174 uniracial individuals by the 2013–2017 U.S. Census American Community Survey estimates. The Asian Indian population also represents the second-largest metropolitan Asian national diaspora both outside of Asia and within the New York City metropolitan area, following the also rapidly growing and hemisphere-leading population of the estimated 893,697 uniracial Chinese in the New York City metropolitan area in 2017. The U.S. state of New Jersey, most of whose population is situated within the New York City metropolitan region, has by a significant margin the highest proportional Indian population concentration of any U.S. state, with a Census-estimated 4.6% of New Jersey's population being an individual of Indian origin in 2023.
Robert J. Karabinchak is an American Democratic Party politician, who serves in the New Jersey General Assembly, where he represents the 18th Legislative District.
Patel Brothers, Inc. is an Indian-American supermarket chain based in the United States. Patel Brothers is the world’s largest supermarket chain serving the Indian diaspora, with 51 locations in 20 U.S. states—primarily located in the Eastern United States, due to its large Indian population and geographical supply chain constraints, and with the East Windsor/Monroe Township, New Jersey location representing the world’s largest and busiest Indian grocery store outside India. The chain was founded by brothers Mafat and Tulsi Patel and is operated by three generations of family since its inception.
Piscatawaytown is the oldest neighborhood in Edison in Middlesex County, New Jersey. It was established in the 1660s as the original village in what was then within Piscataway. Piscatawaytown is centered around St. James Church, the Piscatawaytown Burial Ground and the Piscatawaytown Common, near the intersection of Plainfield and Woodbridge Avenues.
The BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Edison, New Jersey is a Hindu temple built by the BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, a Hindu denomination within the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. The first BAPS mandir built in Edison was consecrated by Pramukh Swami Maharaj in August 1996. In 2019, a new mandir was built on the same property and a re-inauguration ceremony was conducted by senior monastic disciples.
"Curry Row," or "Little India," and sometimes called Curry Lane, is an area of East Sixth Street, from First Avenue to Second Avenue, in the East Village of Lower Manhattan, with approximately 20 South Asian restaurants.
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