River Edge, New Jersey

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, River Edge borough had a total area of 1.895 square miles (4.909 km²), including 1.854 square miles (4.802 km²) of land and 0.041 square miles (0.107 km²) of water (2.18%).

A suburb of New York City, River Edge is located approximately 8 miles (13 km) west of Upper Manhattan.

Cherry Hill and North Hackensack are unincorporated communities located within River Edge.

The borough is bordered by Paramus, Oradell, New Milford, Hackensack and Teaneck.

2010 Census

The 2010 United States Census counted 11,340 people, 4,134 households, and 3,163 families residing in the borough. The population density was 6,116.3 per square mile (2,361.5/km²). The borough contained 4,261 housing units at an average density of 2,298.2 per square mile (887.3/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 73.42% (8,326) White, 1.52% (172) Black or African American, 0.05% (6) Native American, 22.19% (2,516) Asian, 0.08% (9) Pacific Islander, 1.25% (142) from other races, and 1.49% (169) from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 7.66% (869) of the population. Korean Americans accounted for 11.1% of the borough's population.

Out of a total of 4,134 households, 38.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.8% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.5% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the borough, 26.0% of the population were under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.4 years. For every 100 females the census counted 92.8 males, but for 100 females at least 18 years old, it was 88.4 males.

The Census Bureau's 2006-2010 American Community Survey showed that (in 2010 inflation-adjusted dollars) median household income was $97,816 (with a margin of error of +/- $7,136) and the median family income was $109,335 (+/- $12,278). Males had a median income of $71,219 (+/- $6,936) versus $63,305 (+/- $12,071) for females. The per capita income for the borough was $38,772 (+/- $2,392). About 3.0% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.

Same-sex couples headed 19 households in 2010, a decrease from the 24 counted in 2000.

2000 Census

As of the 2000 United States Census there were 10,946 people, 4,165 households, and 3,102 families residing in the borough. The population density was 5,804.5 people per square mile (2,236.1/km²). There were 4,210 housing units at an average density of 2,232.5 per square mile (860.0/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 84.12% White, 1.06% African American, 0.08% Native American, 12.60% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.81% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.31% of the population.

There were 4,165 households out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. 22.7% 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 2.62 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the borough the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $71,792, and the median income for a family was $80,422. Males had a median income of $62,044 versus $41,085 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $33,188. About 2.5% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.

Local government

River Edge is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. The governing body consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at-large on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle. The Borough form of government used by River Edge, the most common system used in the state, is a "weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can veto ordinances subject to an override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council.

As of 2016, the Mayor of the Borough of River Edge is Republican Edward Mignone, whose term of office ends December 31, 2019. The members of the Borough Council are Council President Thomas R. Papaleo (D, 2017), Vito Acquafredda (D, 2018), Alphonse Bartelloni (R, 2018), Ellen Busteed (D, 2016), Mary Davis (R, 2016; appointed to serve an unexpired term) and Kathleen M. Murphy (D, 2017).

In February 2016, the Borough Council selected Mary Davis from a list of three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the seat expiring in December 2016 that was vacated by Edward Mignone when he took office as mayor.

In October 2015, council member Anthony Cappola resigned from office and left the race for an Assembly seat in the 38th Legislative District, following disclosures that he had written and published a 2003 book titled Outrageous that was described as "full of racial slurs, rants and stereotypes".

Federal, state and county representation

River Edge is located in the 5th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 38th state legislative district. Prior to the 2011 reapportionment following the 2010 Census, River Edge had been in the 39th state legislative district.

New Jersey's Fifth Congressional District is represented by Josh Gottheimer (D, Wyckoff). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Cory Booker (D, Newark, term ends 2021) and Bob Menendez (D, Paramus, 2019).

For the 2016–2017 session (Senate, General Assembly), the 38th Legislative District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Robert M. Gordon (D, Fair Lawn) and in the General Assembly by Tim Eustace (D, Maywood) and Joseph Lagana (D, Paramus). The Governor of New Jersey is Chris Christie (R, Mendham Township). The Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey is Kim Guadagno (R, Monmouth Beach).

Bergen County is governed by a directly elected County Executive, with legislative functions performed by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders. As of 2015, the County Executive is James J. Tedesco III (D, Paramus; term ends December 31, 2018). The seven freeholders are elected at-large in partisan elections on a staggered basis, with two or three seats coming up for election each year, with a Chairman, Vice Chairman and Chairman Pro Tempore selected from among its members at a reorganization meeting held each January. Bergen County's Freeholders are Freeholder Chairwoman Joan Voss (D, 2017; Fort Lee), Vice Chairman Steve Tanelli (D, 2015; North Arlington) Chairman Pro Tempore John A. Felice (R, 2016; River Edge), David L. Ganz (D, 2017; Fair Lawn), Maura R. DeNicola (R, 2016; Franklin Lakes) Thomas J. Sullivan Jr., (D, Montvale, 2015; serving the unexpired term of office that had been occupied by James Tedesco before he was sworn in as County Executive) and Tracy Silna Zur (D, 2015; Franklin Lakes). Countywide constitutional officials are County Clerk John S. Hogan (D, Northvale), Sheriff Michael Saudino (R) and Surrogate Michael R. Dressler (D, Cresskill).

Politics

As of March 23, 2011, there were a total of 6,776 registered voters in River Edge, of which 1,961 (28.9% vs. 31.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 1,329 (19.6% vs. 21.1%) were registered as Republicans and 3,485 (51.4% vs. 47.1%) were registered as Unaffiliated. There was one voter registered to another party. Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 59.8% (vs. 57.1% in Bergen County) were registered to vote, including 80.7% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide).

In the 2012 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 2,723 votes here (53.0% vs. 54.8% countywide), ahead of Republican Mitt Romney with 2,337 votes (45.5% vs. 43.5%) and other candidates with 58 votes (1.1% vs. 0.9%), among the 5,134 ballots cast by the borough's 7,065 registered voters, for a turnout of 72.7% (vs. 70.4% in Bergen County). In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 2,965 votes here (52.6% vs. 53.9% countywide), ahead of Republican John McCain with 2,577 votes (45.7% vs. 44.5%) and other candidates with 45 votes (0.8% vs. 0.8%), among the 5,633 ballots cast by the borough's 7,100 registered voters, for a turnout of 79.3% (vs. 76.8% in Bergen County). In the 2004 presidential election, Democrat John Kerry received 2,821 votes here (49.8% vs. 51.7% countywide), ahead of Republican George W. Bush with 2,790 votes (49.3% vs. 47.2%) and other candidates with 31 votes (0.5% vs. 0.7%), among the 5,661 ballots cast by the borough's 6,988 registered voters, for a turnout of 81.0% (vs. 76.9% in the whole county).

In the 2013 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 58.3% of the vote (2,007 cast), ahead of Democrat Barbara Buono with 40.7% (1,400 votes), and other candidates with 1.0% (35 votes), among the 3,522 ballots cast by the borough's 6,801 registered voters (80 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 51.8%. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 1,714 votes here (46.2% vs. 45.8% countywide), ahead of Democrat Jon Corzine with 1,702 votes (45.9% vs. 48.0%), Independent Chris Daggett with 230 votes (6.2% vs. 4.7%) and other candidates with 11 votes (0.3% vs. 0.5%), among the 3,707 ballots cast by the borough's 6,921 registered voters, yielding a 53.6% turnout (vs. 50.0% in the county).

Education

River Edge has two primary schools as part of the River Edge Elementary School District, both of which served students in Kindergarten through sixth grade until a kindergarten facility annexed onto Cherry Hill, the New Bridge Center, was opened in 2007 and the elementary schools became 1-6 schools. River Edge has two primary schools as part of the district, both of which serve students in first through sixth grade. As of the 2014-15 school year, the district and its two schools had an enrollment of 1,388 students and 84.7 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 16.4:1. Schools in the district (with 2014-15 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are New Bridge Center PreK - K, Cherry Hill School (1-6; 747 students, previously PreK-6) which is on the south side of town and Roosevelt School (1-6; 455 students) which is located on the north side of town.

River Edge and neighboring Oradell share a combined public school district for seventh through twelfth grades, River Dell Regional School District which was established in 1958. Schools in the district (with 2014-15 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics) are River Dell Regional Middle School in River Edge (with 606 students in grades 7-8) and River Dell Regional High School in Oradell (with 1,067 students in grades 9-12).

Public school students from the borough, and all of Bergen County, are eligible to attend the secondary education programs offered by the Bergen County Technical Schools, which include the Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, and the Bergen Tech campus in Teterboro or Paramus. The district offers programs on a shared-time or full-time basis, with admission based on a selective application process and tuition covered by the student's home school district.

St. Peter Academy is a K-8 Catholic school that operates under the auspices of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. The Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey, which served 1,040 students in nursery through eighth grade as of the start of the September 2013 school year, was founded as the Yeshiva of Hudson County, and was re-established in Bergen County in 1979.

Roads and highways

As of May 2010, the borough had a total of 33.73 miles (54.28 km) of roadways, of which 29.50 miles (47.48 km) were maintained by the municipality, 3.85 miles (6.20 km) by Bergen County and 0.38 miles (0.61 km) by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Route 4 and County Route 503 (Kinderkamack Road) pass through the borough.

Public transportation

River Edge has two trains stations in the borough, at River Edge (at River Edge Road on the north end of town) and New Bridge Landing (at Grand Avenue on the south end of town). These stations provide service on NJ Transit's Pascack Valley Line, which runs north-south to Hoboken Terminal with connections via the Secaucus Junction transfer station to New York Penn Station and to other NJ Transit rail service. Connections are available at Hoboken Terminal to other NJ Transit rail lines, Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, PATH trains, and NY Waterway ferry service to the World Financial Center and other destinations.

NJ Transit offers bus service to and from the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan on the 165 route and local service on the 756 and 762 routes.

The 11T/11AT route of Rockland Coaches also serves the Port Authority Bus Terminal, as well as providing service to Rockland County, New York.

Points of interest

New Bridge Landing is the site of The Bridge That Saved A Nation crossed by the Continental Army and General Washington as they retreated from the British attack on New York City on November 20, 1776.

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with River Edge include: