TOTOWA, NEW JERSEY

'Totowa' is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 9,892.
Totowa was formed as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 15, 1898, from portions of Manchester Township and Wayne Township."The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 211.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

Government

Local government

Federal, state and county representation

Education

Points of interest

Notable residents

References

External links

Geography

Totowa is located at (40.903348, -74.217638).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 10.5 km² (4.1 mi²). 10.4 km² (4.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.23%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,892 people, 3,539 households, and 2,643 families residing in the borough. The population density was 954.8/km² (2,474.8/mi²). There were 3,630 housing units at an average density of 350.4/km² (908.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 93.40% White, 1.12% African American, 0.02% Native American, 2.26% Asian, 1.97% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.37% of the population.
As of the 2000 census, 37.2% of town residents were of Italian ancestry, the seventh-highest percentage of any municipality in the United States, and second-highest in New Jersey (behind Hammonton, at 45.9%), among all places with more than 1,000 residents identifying their ancestry.^[1]
There were 3,539 households out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.3% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.3% were non-families. 21.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the borough the population was spread out with 18.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 89.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $60,408, and the median income for a family was $69,354. Males had a median income of $44,462 versus $33,869 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $26,561. About 0.8% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 5.3% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Local government

Totowa is governed using the Borough form of New Jersey Government, with a governing body consisting of a mayor and a six-member Borough Council. The mayor is elected directly by the voters to serve a four-year term of office. Members of the Borough Council are elected to three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year.
The Mayor of Totowa is John Coiro.^[2] Members of the Totowa Borough Council are Louis D’Angelo, Arlene Festa, Jim Niland, Philip Puglise, Hubert (Hughie) Vickerilla and Councilman John Waryas.^[3]

Federal, state and county representation

Totowa is part of New Jersey's 35th Legislative District and is in the Eighth Congressional District.^[4]

Education

Public school students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade are educated by the Totowa Borough Public Schools. There are two schools in the district. Starting in Fall 2006, Memorial School will house students in prekindergarten through second grade. Washington Park School will now house students in grades three through eight.
For grades 9 - 12, students in public school attend Passaic Valley Regional High School. The regional public high school serves students from Little Falls, Totowa and West Paterson. The school facility is located in Little Falls Township.^[5]

Points of interest

★ Annie's Road is a section of Riverview Drive between Totowa Road and Union Boulevard, which is said to be haunted by a "Lady in White".

Notable residents

★ Famous boxing trainer Lou Duva along with his promoter sons, Dan and Dino, are from here. Their offices remain in town.

★ John Spencer, actor best known for his work on ''The West Wing''.^[6]

References

1. Italian Communities, Epodunk. Accessed June 9, 2007.
2. A LETTER OF WELCOME FROM MAYOR JOHN COIRO, accessed September 20, 2006.
3. Totowa Borough Council, Borough of Totowa. Accessed May 14, 2007.
4. League of Women Voters: 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, New Jersey League of Women Voters, p. 65. Accessed August 30, 2006.
5. District Information, Passaic Valley High School. Accessed June 20, 2007. "The regional district which is served by Passaic Valley High School is comprised of the communities of Little Falls, Totowa Borough and West Paterson."
6. Lee, Jennifer. " Obituary: John Spencer, 'West Wing' actor", ''International Herald Tribune'', December 19, 2005. Accessed June 9, 2007. "Spencer was born on Dec. 20, 1946, in New York City to John and Mildred Speshock, a truck driver and a waitress, and grew up in Totowa, N.J."

External links

★ Totowa Borough web site

★ Totowa Public Schools website

★

★ National Center for Education Statistics data for the Totowa Borough Public Schools

★ Passaic Valley Regional High School

★ Boro of Totowa First Aid Squad

★ TotowaStuff.com: Totowa, New Jersey's First Interactive Community Website

★ Photographic Memoir; The Totowa Book of the Dead, Laurie Giardino