NORTH BERGEN, NEW JERSEY

'North Bergen' is a township in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township had a total population of 58,092.
North Bergen was incorporated as a township on April 10, 1843, by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature, from Bergen Township. Portions of the township have been taken to form Hoboken Township (April 9, 1849, now the City of Hoboken), Hudson Town (April 12, 1852, later part of Hudson City), Hudson City (April 11, 1855, later annexed by Jersey City), Guttenberg (formed within the township on March 9, 1859, and set off as an independent municipality on April 1, 1878), Weehawken (March 15, 1859), Union Township and West Hoboken Township (both created on February 28, 1861), Union Hill town (March 29, 1864) and Secaucus (March 12, 1900)."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 145.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Commerce

Government

Local government

Federal, state and county representation

Transportation

Noteworthy residents

Education

Points of interest

See also

References

External links

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 14.6 km² (5.6 mi²). 13.5 km² (5.2 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (7.47%) is water. North Bergen meets with Union City and Jersey City at a single point.
Shaped like an inverted "L", North Bergen has a large section stretching from north to south, and a smaller section stretching from east to west. That small north-east portion of North Bergen is considered the Woodcliff section. This area is directly juxtaposed to the Braddock North Hudson Park, along Woodcliff Avenue & JFK Boulevard East. Since this small stretch of land has river exposure to the east, the park to the west, and is sandwiched between the two towns of Cliffside Park (Bergen County) to the north, and Guttenberg (Hudson county) to the south, it is in high demand. This area is considered geographically and demographically separated from the rest of North Bergen.
North Bergen also has a diverse amount of geological features. For example, a rock formation in western North Bergen (located at ) is composed of unusual serpentine rock and made up of small rock cliffs. Because of this, it is unusable by developers, and is one of the few undeveloped parts of North Bergen.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 58,092 people, 21,236 households, and 14,249 families residing in the township. The population density was 4,313.4/km² (11,179.6/mi²). There were 22,009 housing units at an average density of 1, 634.2/km² (4,235.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 67.36% White, 2.72% African American, 0.40% Native American, 6.47% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 15.53% from other races, and 7.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 57.25% of the population.
There were 21,236 households out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.33.
In the township the population was spread out with 22.7% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 33.1% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $40,844, and the median income for a family was $46,172. Males had a median income of $35,626 versus $29,067 for females. The per capita income for the township was $20,058. About 9.6% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.0% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

Commerce

North Bergen is in a state-established "Urban Enterprise Zone," which was implemented through a program designed to assist businesses in communities across New Jersey. Businesses within the zone are eligible for a variety of incentives, including a sales tax reduction to customers of 3½% (from the mandated 7% statewide sales tax), with no tax on clothing or on purchases made by merchants related to running their businesses. Revenue generated from the reduced sales tax is maintained in a special fund dedicated for use within the zone for specific economic development and physical improvement projects. The zone was established in February 1995 through the efforts of Senator Sacco, one of the sponsors of the state's Urban Enterprise Zone legislation.^[1]

Government

Local government

North Bergen has been governed under the Walsh Act by a five-member commission since 1931.^[2] Members of the North Bergen Township Committee are^[3]:

★ Nicholas Sacco - Mayor and Commissioner of Public Affairs (Sacco also represents North Bergen, and the entire 32nd District, in the New Jersey Senate)

★ Hugo D. Cabrera - Commissioner of Revenue and Finance

★ Theresa V. Ferraro - Commissioner of Public Safety

★ Frank J. Gargiulo - Commissioner of Public Works

★ Allen Pascual - Commissioner of Parks and Public Property

Federal, state and county representation

North Bergen is split between the Ninth and Thirteenth Congressional Districts and is part of New Jersey's 32nd Legislative District.^[4]

Transportation

Hudson-Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) service is available at the Tonnelle Avenue station. HBLR is a light rail system, owned by New Jersey Transit and operated by the 21st Century Rail Corporation, that connects the Hudson County communities of Bayonne, Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Union City and North Bergen. Service is available to Hoboken Terminal and two stations at West Side Avenue in Jersey City and 22nd Street in Bayonne.
Route 495, Route 3 and U.S. Route 1/9 are major highways within the township's borders, and the New Jersey Turnpike is easily accessible.
New Jersey Transit bus service is available to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on the 121, 125, 127, 128, 154, 156, 158, 159, 165, 166, 168, 320 routes. The George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal is served by the 181 and 188. Jersey City is accessible via the 22, 23, 83, 84, 85, 86, 88 and 89 routes. Local routes are served by the 751.^[5]
The closest airport in New Jersey with scheduled passenger service is Newark Liberty International Airport, located 13.7 miles away straddling the border between Newark and Elizabeth. New York City's LaGuardia Airport is 16.0 miles away in Flushing, Queens, via the George Washington Bridge.

Noteworthy residents

★ James J. Braddock, heavyweight boxing champion from 1935 to 1937.^[6]

★ James L. Brooks, Television and movie director.^[7]

★ Jason Collins, NBA New Jersey Nets Basketball player

★ Bill Raisch, actor, "one-armed man" on the TV show ''The Fugitive''.^[8]

★ Frederick Reines, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist who co-discovered the neutrino.^[9]

★ John Scarne, author, expert on gambling, card games and magic tricks.^[10]

★ Hal Turner, white supremacist shortwave / internet radio host.^[11]

★ Ice-T Rap music pioneer and actor.^[12]

Education

The North Bergen School District serves students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are six elementary schools —
Franklin School (K-8),
Horace Mann School (K-8),
John F. Kennedy School (K-8),
Lincoln School (PreK-8),
McKinley School (PreK-8) and
Robert Fulton School — and
North Bergen High School for grades 9-12.

Points of interest

★ [Hoboken Cemetery, North Bergen|Hoboken Cemetery]]

See also

★ ''North Bergen Reporter''

★ Gold Coast, New Jersey

★ North Hudson, New Jersey

★ Hudson River Waterfront Walkway

★ Hackensack RiverWalk

References

1. District 32 Profile, accessed May 13, 2007. "Senator Nicholas J. Sacco, a Senator since 1994, is chair of the Transportation Committee; he also has been the mayor of North Bergen since 1985.... He was a sponsor of the state's Urban Enterprise Zone legislation..."
2. The Commission Form of Municipal Government, p. 53. Accessed August 11, 2007.
3. North Bergen Elected Officials, North Bergen Township. Accessed March 16, 2007.
4. 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 61, accessed August 30, 2006.
5. Hudson County Bus/rail Connections, New Jersey Transit. Accessed July 3, 2007.
6. "New Champion", ''Time (magazine)'', June 24, 1935. Accessed May 13, 2007. "Improvident of his earnings when he was a top-flight light heavyweight seven years ago, 29-year-old Jimmy Braddock had, after successive defeats, toppled completely out of the prize ring. He worked briefly as a janitor. He made a pittance as a stevedore on the New Jersey docks opposite Manhattan. Finally he changed his name to No. 2796 on the North Bergen (N. J.) relief rolls last year."
7. James L. Brooks, Internet Movie Database. Accessed November 29, 2006.
8. Bill Raisch, Internet Movie Database. Accessed November 29, 2006.
9. Frederick Reines - 1995 Nobel Prize in Physics, ''High Tech Mag'', March 16, 2005.
10. Obituary: John Scarne, Gambling Expert, ''The New York Times'', July 9, 1985.
11. Blumenthal, Max. "Hannity's Soul-Mate of Hate", ''The Nation'' (web-only), June 3, 2005. Accessed May 13, 2007. "This year a man named Hal Turner sat before his computer at his suburban home in North Bergen, New Jersey, posting bomb-making tips on his website, hailing the firebombing of an apartment containing "Savage Negroes" and calling for the murder of immigrants."
12. "Ice-T turns from cop-killing talk to posing nude", MSNBC, November 3, 2006. Accessed May 13, 2007. "NORTH BERGEN, N.J. - U.S. rapper Ice-T once gained fame talking about killing cops. Now the controversy over his latest album has led him to compare himself to a peace-loving John Lennon. Surrounded by leopard-print cushions in his penthouse apartment outside New York, the 48-year-old rapper defended a racy new album cover showing him lying naked in bed, his groin area covered by his wife's bare legs."

External links

★ North Bergen website

★ North Bergen School District

★

★ National Center for Education Statistics data for the North Bergen School District