BOGOTA, NEW JERSEY

'Bogota' is a Borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 8,249.
Bogota was formed on November 14, 1894, from portions of Ridgefield Township at the height of the "Boroughitis" phenomenon, based on the results of a referendum held that day."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 76. Portions of Bogota were taken in 1895 to form part of the newly-created Township of Teaneck. Bogota was named in honor of the Bogert family, which had been the first to occupy the area, and may also be a portmanteau of Bogert and Banta, another early family, with an "O" added to ease pronunciation.^[3][4]
The borough's name is pronounced "buh-GO-ta", unlike Bogotá, capital city of Colombia, whose name is accented on the final syllable.Page, Jeffrey. "Our towns challenge our tongues", ''The Record (Bergen County)'', June 17, 2005. Accessed June 19, 2007. "The reason Bogota is called buh-GO-ta - and not the South American sounding bo-go-TA - is that the word has nothing to do with Colombia or its capital, Bogota. The "Bog" recalls the Bogarts and the "ta" is for the Bantas, two families that used to own all of what is now Bogota. "Or so the story goes," Henry Komorowski, the borough historian, said dryly. In any case, the story explains the first syllable and the last. But what about that "O" in the middle? It might have come about as a means of making pronunciation easier, Komorowski said." Coincidentally, 1.54% of Bogota's residents are from Colombia.^[5]

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Government

Local government

Federal, state and county representation

Politics

Education

Transportation

Popular culture

Notable residents

Sources

References

External links

Geography

Bogota is located at (40.873876, -74.027699), on the east shore of the Hackensack River.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.1 km² (0.8 mi²). 2.0 km² (0.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (7.32%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 8,249 people, 2,874 households, and 2,126 families residing in the borough. The population density was 4,190.7/km² (10,841.3/mi²). There were 2,915 housing units at an average density of 1,480.9/km² (3,831.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 75.72% White, 5.73% African American, 0.15% Native American, 7.75% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 6.76% from other races, and 3.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 21.32% of the population.
There were 2,874 households out of which 36.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.0% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.0% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.38.
In the borough the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 32.1% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $59,813, and the median income for a family was $69,841. Males had a median income of $49,347 versus $36,406 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $25,505. About 2.6% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

The Borough Hall in Bogota, NJ

The Borough of Bogota operates under the Borough form of municipal government, consisting of a Mayor and six Councilpersons elected at large.
The Mayor is elected to serve a four-year term and may succeed that term by re-election. The Mayor is empowered as head of the municipal government to: Provide for the proper execution of local and State laws; Recommend to the Borough Council measures deemed in the best interest of the Borough; Nominate and, with the advice and consent of the Council, appoint most subordinate officers of the Borough; and Maintain peace and order. Although the Mayor presides over meeting of the Borough Council, the Mayor votes only in the case of a tie. State law also requires the Mayor to be a member of the Planning Board and Board of Trustees of the municipal Public Library.
The six Council members are elected at-large for terms of three years on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year. The Council exercises general legislative powers conferred upon it by State law to protect and promote the general welfare of the Borough. Among these are: The right to enact ordinances; Approve resolutions; Approve mayoral appointments; and Adopt the annual budget and determine tax levy.^[6]
The Mayor of the Borough of Bogota is Steve Lonegan. Members of the Bogota Borough Council are Council President Joe Noto, Yesenia Frias, Pat Kearns, Pat McHale, Tara Sharp and George Silos.^[7].
In July 2006, Mayor Lonegan created a controversy when he engineered a Borough Council resolution requesting the removal of a Spanish-language billboard in town advertising McDonald's iced coffee. Lonegan said the billboard was "divisive." The story received national publicity, occurring concurrently with a national debate on illegal immigration.^[8]
On Election Day, November 7, 2006, Democrats Tara M. Sharp (1,403 votes) and Yesenia Frias (1,351) ousted Republican incumbents Melissa A. Schnipp (964) and George T. Shalhoub (930), winning three-year terms of office on the Borough Council. When Frias and Sharp took office on January 1, 2007, the Council consisted entirely of Democrats, leaving Mayor Lonegan as the lone Republican elected official in the borough. A ballot initiative regarding purchase of two new firetrucks passed by a 1,208-554 margin.^[9][10]

Federal, state and county representation

Bogota is in the Ninth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 37th Legislative District.^[11]

Politics

As of April 1, 2006, out of a 2004 Census estimated population of 8,208, there were 4,405 registered voters (53.7% of the population, vs. 55.4% in all of Bergen County). Of registered voters, 790 (17.9% vs. 20.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 798 (18.1% vs. 19.2% countywide) were registered as Republicans and 2,817 (64.0% vs. 60.1% countywide) are registered as Undeclared. There were no voters registered to other parties.^[12]
On the national level, Bogota leans toward the Democratic Party. In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 56% of the vote here, defeating Republican George W. Bush, who received around 43%.^[13]

Education

Students in grades Kindergarten through 12 are educated in the Bogota Public Schools. Schools in the district are E. Roy Bixby School with 283 students in grades K - 6, Lillian M. Steen School which serves 258 students in grades K - 6, and Bogota High School with an enrollment of 496 students on grades 7 through 12.
Saint Joseph's School is a Roman Catholic parochial school serving students in grades K - 8.

Transportation

While no major highways travel through the borough, Interstate 80 is accessible at Exit 67 in Ridgefield Park, just south of Bogota, and Route 4 is accessible in Teaneck to the north. These highways provide access to the George Washington Bridge, the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway and other portions of the area's transportation network. Several bridges span the Hackensack River to Hackensack.
Several New Jersey Transit bus lines travel through Bogota between Hackensack, Jersey City, Paramus and New York City. New Jersey Transit bus service is available to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on the 155 and 168 routes; to the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal on the 182 route; and to other New Jersey communities served on the 83 (to Jersey City), 751 and 755 routes.^[14]
There is no passenger rail service, but the CSX West Shore Railroad freight line is on the edge of the borough.

Popular culture

The 2005 documentary film ''Anytown, USA'' focused on the 2003 mayoral race between Republican Steve Lonegan, Democrat Fred Pesce and independent Dave Musikant. The film was screened at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival on April 9, 2005, where it won the award for Best Documentary.^[15]

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Bogota include:

★ Pat Schuber, served for four years as Mayor of Bogota, represented the district in the New Jersey General Assembly from 1982 to 1990 and served 12 years as the County Executive of Bergen County.^[16]

★ Vin Scully - Sportscaster for the Los Angeles Dodgers.^[17]

Sources

★ "History of Bergen County, New Jersey, 1630-1923;" by "Westervelt, Frances A. (Frances Augusta), 1858-1942."

★ "Municipal Incorporations of the State of New Jersey (according to Counties)" prepared by the Division of Local Government, Department of the Treasury (New Jersey); December 1, 1958.

References

1. bogota town directory, accessed April 23, 2007.
2. , Geographic Names Information System, accessed April 23, 2007.
3. "History of Bergen County" p. 339
4. The Story of Bogota: The "Borough Act" of 1894 allowed Bogota to become a Borough, accessed July 17, 2006.
5. Colombian Ancestry, Epodunk. Accessed March 3, 2007.
6. Bogota Municipal Government: How Does It Work?, Borough of Bogota. Accessed July 17, 2006.
7. Bogota Town Directory, Borough of Bogota. Accessed February 1, 2007.
8. Bogota formally requests billboard removal, ''The Record (Bergen County)'', July 14, 2006.
9. Bogota election results, ''The Record (Bergen County)'', November 8, 2006.
10. Bergen County 2006 General Election Results, accessed February 1, 2007.
11. 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 55. Accessed August 30, 2006.
12. "County of Bergen: Voter Statistics by Municipality, Ward & District," dated April 1, 2006.
13. 2004 Presidential Election results: Bergen County New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety: Division of Elections, dated December 13, 2004.
14. Bergen County Bus/Rail Connections, New Jersey Transit. Accessed June 19, 2007.
15. Sirk Productions, accessed February 24, 2007.
16. William "Pat" Schuber, Esq., BA, JD, Fairleigh Dickinson University. Accessed August 28, 2007.
17. Sandomir, Richard. "Daffy Days of Brooklyn Return for Vin Scully", ''The New York Times'', October 5, 2006. Accessed May 21, 2007. "He called three Subway Series in his Brooklyn years, in 1953, 1955 and 1956. By then, he was living in Bogota, N.J., and his red-haired mother, Bridget, was listening to her son call Game 7 of the 1955 Series, the one in which the Dodgers, behind Johnny Podres, finally beat the Yankees."

External links

★ Bogota official website

★ Bogota Public Schools

★

★ National Center for Education Statistics data for the Bogota Public Schools