Upon entry to World War I the US government took the Hamburg-American Line piers in Hoboken under eminent domain , and which became the major point of embarkation for more than three million soldiers , known as " doughboys " . In 1916 , an act of sabotage literally and figuratively shook the region when German agents set off bombs at the munitions depot in New York Bay at Black Tom . The fore-runner of Port Authority of New York and New Jersey was established on April 30 , 1921 . Huge transportation projects opened between the wars : The Holland Tunnel in 1927 , The Bayonne Bridge in 1931 , and The Lincoln Tunnel in 1937 , allowing vehicular travel between New Jersey and New York City to bypass the waterfront . Hackensack River crossings , notably the Pulaski Skyway , were also built . 125th Street Hudson River bridge never got beyond planning stages
Black Tom
Black Tom explosion
Hudson Waterfront