By The Garden State Gazette

RIVER WARS is a GSG series ranking New Jersey’s river corridors by economic dominance. Each episode breaks down the river’s economy stack—the industries it feeds, the institutions it anchors, the money it attracts, and the leverage it holds.
This is not environmental romance. This is power geography.

The Badass Index (WAR SCORE 0–100)

Hackensack/Meadowlands — 88 (WINNER)

• Throughput Power: 7
• Anchor Institutions: 9
• Land Leverage: 10
• Job Engine: 8
• Innovation Density: 5
• Capital Gravity: 9
• Political Power: 9
• Supply Chain Moat: 7
• Cultural Magnetism: 8
• Future Proofing: 6

Passaic River — 84

• Throughput Power: 6
• Anchor Institutions: 8
• Land Leverage: 7
• Job Engine: 7
• Innovation Density: 6
• Capital Gravity: 7
• Political Power: 7
• Supply Chain Moat: 6
• Cultural Magnetism: 7
• Future Proofing: 6

Winner: Hackensack/Meadowlands.
Because the Meadowlands isn’t just a river corridor — it’s a state-engineered economic weapon.

Why the Meadowlands Wins

1) The Meadowlands has something the Passaic doesn’t: a legal mandate for domination

The Hackensack Meadowlands were literally defined in law as a ~21,000-acre metro-positioned land resource that needed regional control (a commission “transcending municipal boundaries”) to reclaim, plan, develop, and redevelop it. Justia Law+1
Translation: this place got governance like a battlefield, not a park.

2) It’s a megasite economy: one district, multiple money engines

The NJSEA holds the land lease and operates the Meadowlands Sports Complex ecosystem—MetLife Stadium, racetrack, arena footprint, and American Dream all packed into one gravity zone. njsea.com+1
That’s not “a venue.” That’s an economic motherboard.

3) It can still pull huge capital even after embarrassment and delays

American Dream survived years of stalling, then secured $1.67B in private financing to relaunch construction (one of the clearest “this district still attracts money” signals). NJ Spotlight News

4) Even the flood problem is an economic story — because it triggers big resilience design

Rebuild by Design’s “New Meadowlands” frames the region as a critical asset that needs protection via “Protect, Connect, Grow,” including a “Meadowpark” system of berms/marsh restoration. Rebuild by Design+1
When a place gets that kind of planning attention, it’s because it matters.

Why the Passaic is still dangerous (and why it almost wins)

1) The Passaic is an OG power river — it literally built Paterson’s industrial machine

Paterson’s Great Falls / raceway system is recognized as the oldest American integrated waterpower + industrial development + urban planning system. American Society of Civil Engineers+1
And the National Park Service describes how Hamilton-linked industrial planning and the S.U.M. helped establish Paterson as a planned manufacturing center powered by the falls. National Park Service+1

2) Newark’s Passaic waterfront is trying to come back as a “second front”

The Army Corps’ Minish project lays out the infrastructure reality: 6,000 feet of new bulkhead and 3,200 feet of restored riverbank (plus the broader waterfront vision). North Atlantic Division+1
That’s the quiet signal of a corridor trying to convert “industrial past” into “public access + redevelopment future.”

3) The Passaic’s curse is also its plot armor: cleanup = forced reinvestment

The Lower Passaic / Diamond Alkali story is among the most notorious contamination legacies in the region; NOAA summarizes contaminants from 70+ facilities in the system. DARRP
EPA has active enforcement/cleanup milestones for the Diamond Alkali Superfund Site (including design approvals and cleanup planning). Cumulis
And reporting has pegged the Diamond Alkali cleanup projection in the billions (with major costs tied to the river remedy). New Jersey Monitor+1

The People (Top 3 Barons) — “Who actually holds power here?”

Passaic River Barons

1. The S.U.M. legacy machine (the original “industrial city” logic that turned water into factories). National Park Service+1
2. Federal cleanup power (EPA + the responsible parties framework) — because whoever controls the remedy controls the future timeline. Cumulis+1
3. Newark redevelopment infrastructure players (Army Corps + Newark/NJDEP partnership work) — the builders of “access + stabilization + next use.” North Atlantic Division+1

Hackensack/Meadowlands Barons

1. NJSEA — landlord/operator of the entire megasite. njsea.com+1
2. The Meadowlands district governance layer (the framework created to override fragmentation and drive “orderly development”). Justia Law+1
3. Mega-developers (American Dream / Triple Five era) — the capital-risk class that tries to turn swampland into a regional destination. NJ Spotlight News

Weak Spot (how each empire gets embarrassed)

Meadowlands weakness: flood exposure + political complexity. The same low-lying geography that makes it “available land” also makes protection and permitting a forever-war. Rebuild by Design+1

Passaic weakness: contamination stigma + legacy weight. The cleanup story is so big it can throttle momentum for years. DARRP+1

Crown Statement

The Passaic is a legendary founder river.
But the Meadowlands is what happens when NJ learns to weaponize land: district control, megasite economics, and permanent leverage.

Hackensack/Meadowlands takes Episode 2.

RIVER WARS — Episode 3 Hackensack/Meadowlands vs. The Hudson Corridor: The State Megasite vs. The Manhattan-Adjoining Money Machine

By The Garden State Gazette RIVER WARS ranks NJ river corridors by economic dominance. Not vibes. Power geography. The Badass Index (WAR SCORE 0–100) Hudson River Corridor — 90 (WINNER) * Throughput Power: 8 * Anchor Institutions: 9 * Land Leverage: 9 * Job Engine: 8 * Innovation Density: 7 * Capital Gravity: 10 * Political Power:

The Garden State GazetteBernard Van Houten