LINDEN, NEW JERSEY

'Linden' is a city in southeastern Union County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area, being about 13 miles southwest of Manhattan, and bordering Staten Island, a borough of New York City.
Linden was originally formed as a township on March 4, 1861, from portions of Elizabeth, Rahway and Union Township. Portions of the township were taken to form Cranford (March 14, 1871), Linden Borough (March 30, 1882) and Roselle (December 20, 1894). Linden was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 1, 1925, replacing both Linden Township and Linden Borough (which had been formed in 1882 from the township), based on the results of a referendum held on November 8, 1923."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 239.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Government

Local government

Federal, state and county representation

Union County Freeholder Meetings

Education

Public schools

Private schools

Transportation

Highways

Public Transportation

Airport

Industry

Notable residents

References

External links

Geography

Linden is located at (40.633803, -74.249940).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 29.1 km² (11.2 mi²). 28.0 km² (10.8 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (3.65%) is water.
Linden is bordered by many municipalities: to the northeast by Elizabeth, to the east by Staten Island via Arthur Kill, and to the southeast by Carteret in Middlesex County. To the southwest lies Rahway, to the west, Clark, Winfield and Cranford, and to the northwest, Roselle.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 39,394 people, 15,052 households, and 10,084 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,407.0/km² (3,645.5/mi²). There were 15,567 housing units at an average density of 556.0/km² (1,440.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 66.08% White, 22.80% African American, 0.14% Native American, 2.35% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.88% from other races, and 3.71% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14.40% of the population.
There were 15,052 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.5% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $46,345, and the median income for a family was $54,903. Males had a median income of $39,457 versus $30,395 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,314. About 5.0% of families and 6.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.1% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

The Mayor of Linden is Richard J. Gerbounka. Gerbounka, who served twelve years on the City Council and ran an independent, defeated long-time mayor John T. Gregorio by an unofficial vote of 4,786 to 4,717. City Council President Robert Bunk was re-elected unopposed. Democrat Nominee Christopher J. Kolibas defeated independent Pat Hero in the 1st Ward race to replace retiring incumbent Edwin Schulhafer. Incumbent independent Robert Frazier was re-elected in the 9th Ward.^[2]
The former longtime Mayor of Linden (term ended December 31, 2006) is 80-year-old John T. Gregorio, who served as mayor of Linden for 30, nonconsecutive years and was repeatedly tagged with scandal during his mayoral career, including one felony conviction, later pardoned, which forced him from office for two terms.^[3]
Members of the City Council are:

★ Council President - Robert F. Bunk

★ First Ward - Christopher Kolibas

★ Second Ward - Richard Koziol

★ Third Ward - Thomas R. Boland

★ Fourth Ward - Derek Armstead

★ Fifth Ward - Gene Davis

★ Sixth Ward - Charles J. Crane

★ Seventh Ward - Ralph Strano

★ Eighth Ward - Michele Yamakaitis

★ Ninth Ward - Robert Frazier

★ Tenth Ward - Mary Ann Dorin

Federal, state and county representation

Linden is split between the Seventh, Tenth and Thirteenth Congressional Districts and is part of New Jersey's 22nd Legislative District.^[4]

Union County Freeholder Meetings

Union County Freeholders meet publicly on a monthly basis. Citizens have the ability to provide feedback and comment on issues that concern them. A sample Freeholder meeting held in September 2003 can be viewed by clicking:
# Union County, NJ Freeholder Meeting -- 25 September 2003

Education

Public schools

The Linden Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. There are eight elementary schools which serve from prekindergarten through seventh grade in some cases
(School No. 1,
School No. 2,
School No. 4,
School No. 5,
School No. 6,
School No. 8,
School No. 9,
School No. 10),
two middle schools covering grades 6-8
(McManus Middle School and
Joseph E. Soehl Middle School) and
Linden High School for grades 9-12.

Private schools

★ Saints Mary and Elizabeth Academy, Catholic school, Pre-K through 8th grade

★ Victory Christian Academy, Pre-K through 12th grade

Transportation

Highways

Linden is served by U.S. Route 1/9 and Route 27. It is also the western terminus of Interstate 278, which travels through all five boroughs of New York City.
The Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike are located less than a mile west and east of the city limits, respectively.

Public Transportation

Local public transportation is provided by New Jersey Transit with bus service to Elizabeth, Perth Amboy and Newark.
New Jersey Transit buses 112 and 115 provide local service and interstate service to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan.
Linden Train station is on the NJ Transit's North Jersey Coast Line and the Northeast Corridor Line.

Airport

Linden Airport is a small general aviation facility located on the eastern side of the city along U.S. Route 1/9.
Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately 15 minutes away.

Industry

Together with Elizabeth, Linden is home to the Bayway Refinery, a ConocoPhillips refining facility that helps supply petroleum-based products to the New York/New Jersey area, producing approximately 230,000 barrels per day.
In the mid-20th century, Linden was the headquarters for the Regal Records and the De Luxe Records record labels.
For many years, Linden was also home to a General Motors manufacturing plants, which produced cars from 1937 through 2005. The plant produced Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Buick and other GM automobiles, but also produced planes during World War II.^[5]
Linden, together with Rahway, is home to Merck & Co., one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies. The site of this pharmaceutical company recently celebrated 100 years in Rahway and Linden.

Notable residents

★ Carolyn Dorin-Ballard, professional bowler.^[6]

★ Cathy Dorin, professional bowler.^[7]

★ Eddie Kasko, former infielder, manager, scout and front office executive in Major League Baseball.^[8]

References

1. , Geographic Names Information System, accessed May 12, 2007.
2. Gerbounka upsets Gregorio in Linden, ''Home News Tribune'', November 8, 2006.
3. A Man of Influence, ''New Jersey Monthly'', May 2006.
4. 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 59. Accessed August 30, 2006.
5. GM to End Blazer/Jimmy Production and Close New Jersey Plant, Automobile.com, dated December 6, 2004.
6. Pezzano, Chuck. "BOHN, DORIN-BALLARD REAP MORE ACCOLADES", ''The Record (Bergen County)'', February 24, 2002. Accessed May 13, 2007. "Parker Bohn III of Jackson and Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of Linden were named honorary captains of the recently announced All-America teams in polls conducted by the American Bowling Congress and Women's International Bowling Congress."
7. Caballero, Paula. "INSIDE BOWLING Sisters have historic meeting in LPBT finals", ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram'', June 23, 1997. Accessed May 13, 2007. " Cathy Dorin of Linden, N.J., outdueled sister Carolyn Dorin-Ballard of North Richland Hills, 245-203, Thursday in the first stepladder match of the ,000 Sam's Town Tunica Mid South Classic in Memphis, Tenn."
8. Crehan, Herbert F. "Red Sox Heroes of Yesteryear", p. 191. Accessed May 13, 2007. "I was the last one cut, but I headed home to Linden, New Jersey, Figuring I had better get a job."

External links

★ Linden website

★ Linden Public Schools

★

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