Seventh Avenue, formerly known as the First Ward, is a neighborhood in the city of Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Settled by Italian immigrants beginning in 1870, the First Ward was once known as Newark's Little Italy. In its heyday, Seventh Avenue had a population of 30,000, including 11,000 children, in an area of less than a square mile. The center of life in the neighborhood was St. Lucy's Church, founded by Italian immigrants in 1891. Throughout the year, St. Lucy's and other churches sponsored processions in honor of saints that became community events.