RIVERSIDE TOWNSHIP, NEW JERSEY

'Riverside Township' is a Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 7,911.
Riverside was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 20, 1895, from portions of Delran Township."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 98.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Government

Local government

Federal, state and county representation

Education

Transportation

Immigration debate

Notable residents

External links

References

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 4.2 km² (1.6 mi²). 3.9 km² (1.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (6.14%) is water.
Riverside Township borders Delanco Township and Delran Township.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 7,911 people, 2,978 households, and 1,992 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,009.5/km² (5,197.2/mi²). There were 3,118 housing units at an average density of 792.0/km² (2,048.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the township was 90.22% White, 4.44% African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.42% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 2.28% from other races, and 2.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.11% of the population.
There were 2,978 households out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.21.
In the township the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 19.4% 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 99.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.2 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $43,358, and the median income for a family was $52,479. Males had a median income of $36,556 versus $25,510 for females. The per capita income for the township was $18,758. About 6.7% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.4% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

On Election Day, November 7, 2006, Mayor Chuck Hilton (R) and fellow Republican James Ott were running for reelection to the Township Council, but were defeated by their Democratic opponents, newcomers Lorraine Hatcher and Thomas Polino. The anti-immigration ordinance passed by the Township Committee that imposed fines on any business that hires or any landlord who rents to an illegal immigrant was a major issue in the campaign.^[1]

Federal, state and county representation

Riverside Township is in the Third Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 7th Legislative District.^[2]

Education

The Riverside School District serves public school students in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Schools in the district are Riverside Elementary School for (PreK-5), Riverside Middle School (6-8) and Riverside High School for grades 9-12.
Public school students from Delanco Township attend Riverside High School as part of a sending/receiving relationship with the Delanco Township School District.

Transportation

The Riverside station on the River Line light rail system, is located on Franklin Street, offering southbound service to Camden, New Jersey and the Walter Rand Transportation Center (with transfers available to the PATCO Speedline) and northbound service to the Trenton Rail Station with connections to New Jersey Transit trains to New York City, SEPTA trains to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Amtrak trains.
New Jersey Transit provides bus service to Philadelphia on the 419 line.^[3]

Immigration debate

In July 2006, a controversial ordinance was passed by the township committee trying to handle the large amount of immigrants, primarily illegally from Brazil, that have moved into the township. The ordinance states that employers and/or landlords who rent or hire an illegal immigrant will be fined $1,000 - $2,000 per incident and can possibly lose their business license. In response to the ordinance, several civil groups including the ACLU and People for the American Way have contemplated legal actions against the ordinance.^{[4] [5]}
In August 2007, the ordinance was repealed, though some have speculated that the exodus of over 1,000 immigrants from Riverside to other New Jersey townships was a major factor.^[6]

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Riverside Township include:

★ Derek Holloway (1961-), retired football player, who was a wide receiver in the NFL for the Washington Redskins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.^[7]

External links

★ Riverside School District

★

★ National Center for Education Statistics data for the Riverside School District

References

1. Latinos praise election results in Riverside, ''The Courier-Post'', November 15, 2006.
2. 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 62. Accessed August 30, 2006.
3. Burlington County Bus/Rail Connections, New Jersey Transit. Accessed July 15, 2007.
4. "Riverside OKs illegal aliens measure", ''The Courier-Post'', July 27, 2006.
5. "Riverside threatened with suit", ''The Courier-Post'', September 21, 2006.
6. Panaritis, Maria and Wood, Sam. "Riverside to repeal immigrant laws: After an exodus of Brazilian residents, officials plan to end penalties sought for hiring and housing those here illegally.", ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', August 23, 2007. Accessed August 23, 2007.
7. Derek Holloway profile, database Football. Accessed August 6, 2007.