PENNINGTON, NEW JERSEY

'Pennington' is a Borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 2,696.
Pennington was established as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on January 31, 1890, from portions of Hopewell Township, based on the results of a referendum held on January 21, 1890."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 194.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Government

Local government

Federal, state and county representation

Education

Transportation

Community

Points of interest

Notable residents

References

External links

Geography

Pennington is located at (40.325057, -74.792105).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 2.5 km² (1.0 mi²), all land.
Pennington is an independent municipality surrounded by Hopewell Township.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,696 people, 1,013 households, and 761 families residing in the borough. The population density was 1,084.3/km² (2,801.0/mi²). There were 1,040 housing units at an average density of 418.3/km² (1,080.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 94.96% White, 2.63% African American, 1.00% Asian, 0.41% from other races, and 1.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.19% of the population.
There were 1,013 households out of which 40.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.2% were married couples living together, 7.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.8% were non-families. 22.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the borough the population was spread out with 28.7% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $90,366, and the median income for a family was $107,089. Males had a median income of $84,912 versus $43,068 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $45,843. About 0.7% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.4% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Pennington uses the Borough form, which remains the most common form of local in New Jersey.
The Borough Mayor is elected at large to a four-year term. The Mayor retains all general law authority, presides over council meetings and can vote in case of a tie. The Mayor appoints, with the advice and consent of the council, all subordinate and officers of the municipality.
Six Borough Council members are elected at-large to staggered three-year terms, with two seats coming up for election each year. The Council is the legislative body of the Borough. All executive responsibilities not placed in the office of the Mayor by general law or the Borough law, lies with the Council.
Like the other traditional forms of local government in New Jersey, a Borough may appoint an administrator and delegate all or a portion the executive responsibilities to the administrator. The Council may also adopt an administrative code which describes how the Council performs its duties.^[3]
Anthony Persichilli was elected to fill the mayoral vacancy left by James Loper on November 7, 2006, in an election that saw council members Joseph Lawver and Eileen Heinzel reelected.^[4] He will complete the unexpired term of office through December 31, 2007, that was previously held by interim mayor James E. Benton. James Loper, the previous elected Mayor of Pennington, had resigned from office effective February 1, 2006. The Pennington Republican Committee nominated three candidates to take his place and the Council selected Benton from the three candidates to fill Loper's vacancy.^[5] That same procedure was repeated on December 4, 2006, when the members of the Pennington Borough met to decide that, of three Democratic candidates, Diane Zompa would fill the unexpired term left by Persichilli.^[6]
Members of the Borough Council are Council President Edwin "Weed" Tucker (D, 2007), Robert DiFalco (D, unexpired term to 2008), David S. Garber (D, 2007), Eileen Heinzel (D, 2009), Joseph Lawver (D, 2009) and Diane M. Zompa (D, unexpired term to 2007).^[7]

Federal, state and county representation

Pennington is in the Twelfth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 15th Legislative District.^[8]

Education

Public school students in grades K through 12 attend the Hopewell Valley Regional School District, a comprehensive regional public school district serving nearly 4,000 students from Hopewell Borough (371 students), Hopewell Township (2,998 students) and Pennington Borough (497 students).
Schools in the district include four Elementary Schools (K-5) — Bear Tavern Elementary School with 498 students, Hopewell Elementary School with 520 students, Stony Brook Elementary School with 461 students, Toll Gate Grammar School with 312 students — Timberlane Middle School with 945 students in grades 6 -8, and Hopewell Valley Central High School, which has an enrollment of 1,103 students in grades 9 - 12.
The Pennington School (1838) is located within Pennington.

Transportation

Route 31 passes through Pennington, providing access to Interstate 95 at Exit 4. Additionally, Exit 3B along I-95 will take you to Scotch Road N, which provides access to all of Hopewell Township, New Jersey.The town is also home to a designated NJ Transit bus stop at the corner of S Main St. and West Delaware Ave.

Community

★ Pennington Day - typically in the middle of May, an annual event where local organizations and businesses set up booths in a street-fair style on Main Street. Complete with local music and a parade early in the day, and lasts until 4 pm.

Points of interest

★ Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association

★ The Pennington School

Notable residents

★ Val Ackerman, first president of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), serving from 1996-2005.^[9]

References

1. Administration and Finance, Borough of Pennington. Accessed June 3, 2007.
2. , Geographic Names Information System, accessed June 3, 2007.
3. Pennington Borough Form of Government, Pennington Borough. Accessed March 18, 2007.
4. Pennington keeps council, changes mayor, ''Pennington Post'', November 8, 2006.
5. Pennington Borough Mayor Resigns, ''Hopewell Valley News'', February 2, 2006.
6. Council complete, ''Pennington Post'', December 7, 2006.
7. 2007 Elected Officials, Borough of Pennington. Accessed June 3, 2007.
8. 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 55. Accessed August 30, 2006.
9. Hoffman, Jan. " PUBLIC LIVES; A League President in the Dreams Business", ''The New York Times'', May 26, 2000. Accessed June 3, 2007. "AS a girl, thinking about what she would be when she grew up, Val Ackerman just assumed she'd be an athletic director.... When she was a teenager in Pennington, N.J., playing field hockey, swimming butterfly and freestyle, competing in track and field, and emerging as a star small forward in basketball, her father was her high school's athletic director."

External links

★ Pennington Borough website

★ Hopewell Valley Regional School District

★

★ National Center for Education Statistics data for the Hopewell Valley Regional School District

★ Pennington First Aid Squad