PARSIPPANY-TROY HILLS, NEW JERSEY

'Parsippany-Troy Hills Township', commonly called simply 'Parsippany', is a Township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 50,649. The name ''Parsippany'' comes from the Lenape Native American word ''parsipanong'', which means "the place where the river winds through the valley." ^[1] Parsippany-Troy Hills is the most populous municipality in Morris County.^[2]
Parsippany-Troy Hills was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 12, 1928, from portions of Hanover Township, based on the results of a referendum held on May 9, 1928."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 195.
Parsippany-Troy Hills was recognized by ''Money'' magazine as the 17th-ranked of the ''Best Places to Live in the United States'', the highest-ranked location in New Jersey.^[3]

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Government

Local government

Federal, state and county representation

Education

TV & Movies

Sports

Notable residents

References

External links

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 65.8 km² (25.4 mi²). 62.0 km² (23.9 mi²) of it is land and 3.8 km² (1.5 mi²) of it (5.82%) is water.
Lake Hiawatha is an unincorporated area located within the township.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 50,649 people, 19,624 households, and 13,167 families residing in the township. The population density was 816.9/km² (2,115.5/mi²). There were 20,066 housing units at an average density of 323.6/km² (838.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 74.28% White, 3.11% African American, 0.12% Native American, 18.06% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.90% from other races, and 2.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.98% of the population.
There were 19,624 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.2% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the township the population was spread out with 21.0% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 35.2% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $68,133, and the median income for a family was $81,041. Males had a median income of $51,175 versus $38,641 for females. The per capita income for the township was $32,220. About 2.6% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.
Parsippany-Troy Hills has a large Indian American community, mainly middle and upper class. As of the 2000 census, 8.39% of Parsippany-Troy Hills' residents identified themselves as being of Indian American ancestry, which was the eighth highest of any municipality in New Jersey, for all places with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.^[4] The community also has an equally large Chinese-Taiwanese American population.

Government

Local government

Township is governed under a Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) system of municipal government under the Faulkner Act (also known as Optional Municipal Charter Law). This Mayor-Council form of government is similar to that of the federal and state governments. One can liken this form of government to a presidential system.
Under the Faulkner Act Mayor-Council form of government, the Mayor and Council are separately elected, with the Mayor, serving as the chief executive officer, and the Council serving in the capacity of a legislative body.
Some responsibilities of the Mayor include preparation of the budget, enforcement of the ordinances, supervision of municipal departments and property, execution of Council decisions, and oversight of other functions of the municipality. Some of the responsibilities of the Council include adopting ordinances, approval of contracts presented by the Mayor, scheduling times and places for council meetings and designation of the official newspapers of the municipality.
Parsippany is one of only a few municipalities in New Jersey with a full-time mayor. The current Mayor, Michael Luther, earns a salary of $107,000. His father, Henry Luther, was the second mayor of Parsippany and served from 1966 to 1973. Mayor Michael Luther, while officially a Democrat, won a narrow election, with support from certain pro-development Republicans, over Township Council member Rosemarie Agostini, who favored a moratorium on development in the township. Green Party candidate Michael Spector and independent Roy Messmer also ran in the 2005 election.
Parsippany-Troy Hills's Township Council consists of Council President Rosemarie C. Agostini, Council Vice President James J. Vigilante, John Cesaro, Michael J. dePierro and Ann Grossi^[5]

Federal, state and county representation

Parsippany-Troy Hills Township is in the Eleventh Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 26th Legislative District.^[6]

Education

The Parsippany-Troy Hills School District consists of the following schools (with 2003-04 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics):
'Elementary Schools (Grades K-5)'

★ Eastlake Elementary School with 349 students

★ Intervale Elementary School with 255 students

★ Knollwood Elementary School with 345 students

★ Lake Hiawatha Elementary School with 263 students

★ Lake Parsippany Elementary School with 346 students

★ Littleton Elementary School with 448 students

★ Mt. Tabor Elementary School with 248 students

★ Northvail Elementary School with 322 students

★ Rockaway Meadow Elementary School with 307 students

★ Troy Hills Elementary School with 332 students
'Middle Schools (Grades 6-8)'

★ Brooklawn Middle School with 873 students

★ Central Middle School with 728 students
'High Schools (Grades 9-12)'

★ Parsippany High School with 957 students

★ Parsippany Hills High School with 1,166 students

TV & Movies

★ In the ''Seinfeld'' episode ''The Mom & Pop Store'' (originally aired on November 17, 1994), Jerry loses his shoes and finds out that they ended up at a garage sale in Parsippany.^[7]

★ In the ''Karate Kid'', Danielson's uncle Louie and his neighbor Recida are said to be from Parsippany.

Sports

Parsippany hosts teams in both the Super Y-League and the Super-20 League. The club in Parsippany is known as the Parsippany SC.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Parsippany-Troy Hills include:

★ James Jean, award winning artist and illustrator.^[8]

★ Chris Singleton, linebacker for the New England Patriots (1990-1992, 1993) and Miami Dolphins (1993, 1994-1996).^[9]

References

1. If You're Thinking of Living in: Parsippany-Troy Hills, ''The New York Times'', February 23, 1992
2. The Land Past and Present, Morris County, New Jersey. Accessed August 19, 2007.
3. Best Places to Live 2006, ''Money'' magazine. Accessed August 7, 2006.
4. Asian-Indian Communities, Epodunk, accessed February 18, 2007
5. Elected Officials, Parsippany-Troy Hills Township. Accessed August 3, 2007.
6. 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 62. Accessed August 30, 2006
7. "The Mom and Pop Store", Seinfeld Scripts. Accessed July 18, 2007. "GUY ON PHONE: You don't know me, but a really strange thing happened. I was at a garage sale, and this old couple sold me a used pair of sneakers they claimed belonged to Jerry Seinfeld, the comedian. JERRY: Can I have the address of that garage sale? Okay, thank you very much. I found Mom and Pop, they're sellin' my sneakers! KRAMER: Where are they? JERRY: Parsippany, New Jersey."
8. Seman, Rob "He draws on comic book love", ''Daily Record (Morristown)'', March 30, 2004. Accessed August 30, 2007. "Jean, who grew up in Parsippany on Westminster Drive, was a weekly customer at Funnybooks, on North Beverwyck Road, but never expected his work would one day wind up on store shelves."
9. Eisen, Michael. "The Giants swim with the fishes... While the Dolphins still think they have a shot at making the playoffs", ''The Star-Ledger'', [{December 5]], 1996. Accessed August 3, 2007. "Five of Miami's rookie starters are on defense linebackers Zach Thomas, a Rookie Of The Year candidate, and Anthony Harris, who took over for Parsippany's Chris Singleton in the second half at Oakland; linemen Shane Burton and Daryl Gardener, the team's top draft choice; and safety Shawn Jackson."

External links

★ Parsippany-Troy Hills Township website

★ Parsippany-Troy Hills School District

★

★ National Center for Education Statistics data for the Parsippany-Troy Hills School District