In northern New Jersey, only seven miles to the west of the George Washington Bridge to Manhattan, Hackensack is a New York City satellite town and business center that sits alongside the Hackensack River. Hackensack event venues are boosted each day by workers converging on this county seat of government, and the large Hackensack University Medical Center. Things are also kept fresh by the presence on its border of the main campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University, as well as nearby MetLife Stadium, home field of both the New York Jets and New York Giants.
Hackensack is accessible by the Garden State's two main freeways, the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike. Also, on the city's border, is Teterboro Airport (TEB), which is much used by private and corporate aircraft, so close and accessible is it to Midtown Manhattan; but most visitors will find it far easier to come to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), which is a 20-mile drive directly south along the New Jersey Turnpike and has service to most parts of the U.S., as well as to Canada and Europe.
There are no convention venues in Hackensack, but it is served by Meadowlands Exposition Center in nearby Secaucus. This venue has 61,000 square feet of convention space, almost 4,000 square feet of meeting space, and room for up to 5,000 people, as well as five chain hotels.
Hotel venues in Hackensack or close to it include the 355-room Hilton Hasbrouck Heights Meadowlands, which has 23,000 square feet of meeting space; the 345-room Teaneck Marriott Glenpointe, in neighboring Teaneck, which has 21 meeting rooms; the 252-room Holiday Inn Hasbrouck Heights, which has more than 5,000 square feet of meeting space for up to 200 persons; the neighboring 241-room Saddle Brook Marriott, which has seven meeting rooms, and the 140-room Hilton Garden Inn Ridgefield Park, which has four meeting rooms for up to 128 persons.
Unique spots in which to gather in the Hackensack area include, on the Hackensack River, the New Jersey Naval Museum, which is the home of the USS Ling, a World War II submarine (and has gallery space); myriad rooms and other venue spaces at the Metropolitan Campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University; Bergen Performing Arts Center in nearby Englewood, which puts on major entertainment acts and has a 1,370-seat theater, 100-capacity Cabaret, and Gallery where refreshments may be served; and Fiesta Banquet Rooms in nearby Wood-Ridge, which has been in operation for more than 60 years and has eight large rooms, including the Grand Lobby, Casa de Rosa Ballroom, and Flamenco Room. Finally, the many facilities at MetLife Stadium, the Meadowlands Racetrack, and the IZOD Center, include large event and dining spaces.
Restaurants in Hackensack ideal for larger parties include the Lebanese-fare Club Aladdin, which has cabarets and room for groups of 350 persons, and Bangkok Garden, a Thai restaurant, which has a private room for up to 25 persons. For a real retro event, rent out the White Manna Diner, which was built in the late 1930s and owned by the man who unveiled the diner idea to the World's Fair in Queens, New York, in 1939. In Teaneck, try BV Tuscany, which serves Italian dishes and has room for 50 persons, while in the same town is local favorite Smokey Joe's, which puts on Tex-Mex barbecue and is kosher.
