An Urban Village – Recollections of Tom Newman

Tom Newman, his wife Suellen, and their growing family arrived in Hoboken in 1968, to find a place that was “a kind of urban village,” where people knew each other and their kids played in the street. The Newmans set down roots at Second and Garden Streets—where they still live—and began to work on neighborhood projects. To tackle the area’s problems with substandard housing and unfair renting practices, they helped found the First Ward Block Association. Tom was later elected to the city council and served nine years, all the while working as a furniture refinisher and eventually, as a furniture designer; among other projects, Suellen founded the Hudson School and was its director for many years.

“The key thing, I think, is community,” Tom later remarked about what drew him and his family to Hoboken. “People live, work, fall in love, have friends and enemies, succeed or fail on a little stage of their own making. It’s a scene that breeds characters. Everyone has their story.”

An Urban Village is the 39th publication of the Hoboken Oral History Project, which highlights the life stories of longtime Hoboken residents. The project is sponsored by the Hoboken Historical Museum and the Hoboken Public Library.