A Jersey City Heat Wave in Photos

Last Wednesday at noon, the asphalt on Newark Avenue shimmered, and the only sound was the hum of air conditioning units. You could almost hear the city holding its breath. Ben Ackman, a young photographer born and raised downtown, was out there with his camera, documenting the heat.

His photos, recently published by the Jersey City Times, tell the story of a city under a heat dome. The numbers were stark: 93 degrees on Tuesday, then 100 degrees on both Wednesday and Thursday. But numbers don’t show you the empty playgrounds, the way the leaves on the trees curled up, or the delivery man who sat in the shade of a fire hydrant, too tired to move.

This wasn’t just a heat wave. It was the kind of prolonged, oppressive heat that makes life harder for everyone. For folks without central air, it’s a health emergency. For parents with small kids, it’s a test of patience. For the elderly living alone, it can be dangerous.

How We Got Here

New Jersey has always had hot summers. But the past few have felt different. Climate scientists say the frequency of heat waves like this one — where temperatures hit 100 degrees for multiple days — is increasing. The urban heat island effect makes cities like Jersey City even hotter, with concrete and asphalt absorbing heat during the day and releasing it slowly at night. So when it’s 100 at 3 p.m., it might only drop to the mid-80s by dawn, offering little relief.

Ben Ackman, who studied photography at American University and interned for the Times last summer, didn’t set out to make a political statement. He just wanted to capture what was real. His photos show the quiet moments: a woman fanning herself with a newspaper, a dog panting in the shade, a child eating a melting popsicle. They’re not dramatic, but they’re true.

What It Means for Hudson County

For residents of Jersey City, the heat wave means more than discomfort. It’s a test of our community’s resilience. The city has cooling centers, but not everyone can get to them — especially if you’re working, or if you don’t drive. The cost of running an air conditioner for days on end can strain a household budget. And for those who can’t afford one, the choice is between the heat or the library’s air conditioning.

It also means checking on your neighbors. I know a woman on Bergen Avenue who calls her elderly father three times a day during heat waves, just to make sure he’s okay. That’s the kind of thing that matters. Ackman’s photos remind us that while the heat is a shared experience, it’s not experienced equally. Some people can retreat into air-conditioned homes. Others have to stay outside, working, living, getting by.

What People Are Saying

Ben Ackman, reflecting on his work, noted that the photos document the daily reality of a city living through extreme weather. He’s not an alarmist, just a witness. The Times publication of his photo series came without commentary — just images and temperatures. No policy proposals, no dire warnings. Just the truth of what it looks like when the sun doesn’t let up.

On social media, residents shared their own stories and images — showing frozen water bottles, trips to the grocery store for ice, and quiet gratitude for the responders who kept working in the heat. One commenter wrote, “Thank you for showing what it’s really like. Not everyone has AC.” Another said, “This is our new normal, and we need to talk about it.”

What Comes Next

As the heat wave breaks and temperatures return to seasonal norms this week, the photos remain. They’re a document of a moment, but also a warning. Jersey City, like all cities, will need to adapt. Residents can look up the city’s cooling center locations online, check on older neighbors, and consider requesting an energy assistance appointment from the state if costs are a burden. For now, though, the sun is less brutal, and you can hear children playing outside again.

The heat didn’t break us. It just reminded us we have to take care of each other — even when the mercury hits 100.