Chinatown, Mulberry St. between Lafayette and Franklin Sts. was, until the post-War deportation of thousands of Chinese, one of the most exotic and dangerous places in Newark. Broken windows and rusted iron today in the once brightly illuminated Arcade, L. off Mulberry st., suggests little of the bazaars, jade shops, and tea houses that once attracted thousands of visitors. The present chop-suey restaurants occupy sites where gourmets once feasted on Chinese delicacies and where tong warfare and unrestrained gambling reached the point of a public menace. At one time Newark's Chinese population exceeded that of New York, and the section supported a self-styled "Mayor" whose "edicts" city politicians heeded. In 1922, there were 3,000 Chinese living in Newark Chinatown, located behind Newark City Hall. In 1870, James Hervey brought 68 Chinese to Belleville, NJ to work in his steam laundry, they later moved to Newark.

Ref: http://www.newarkchinatown.org/history | New Jersey a guide to its present and past - 1939 pg 334 newarkchinatown.org