Glen Ridge, New Jersey

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Map of Glen Ridge in Essex County
Map of Glen Ridge in Essex County

Glen Ridge is a borough in Essex County, New Jersey, USA. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 7,271. Glen Ridge's public school system is one of the top-ranked in the state.

Glen Ridge was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 13, 1895, from portions of Bloomfield Township, based on the results of a referendum held the previous day.[1]

Of the many legacies left to the town by its founders, the one that has become its trademark is the gas lamps. With only 3,000 gaslights remaining in operation in the entire United States, Glen Ridge has 665 such lamps lighting its streets.[2] In 1924, Glen Ridge became the first municipality in New Jersey to establish a zoning ordinance.[3]

Contents

[edit] Geography

Glen Ridge is located at 40°48′18″N, 74°12′17″W (40.804950, -74.204700)GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 3.3 km² (1.3 mi²), all land. It is bounded by Bloomfield, Montclair, Orange and East Orange.

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop. %±
1930 7,365
–
1940 7,331 -0.5%
1950 7,620 3.9%
1960 8,322 9.2%
1970 8,518 2.4%
1980 7,855 -7.8%
1990 7,076 -9.9%
2000 7,271 2.8%
Est. 2005 7,020 [4] -3.5%
Population 1930 - 1990.[5]

As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 7,271 people, 2,458 households, and 1,978 families residing in the borough. The population density was 2,193.2/km² (5,695.0/mi²). There were 2,490 housing units at an average density of 751.1/km² (1,950.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the borough was 89.18% White, 4.98% African American, 0.15% Native American, 3.34% Asian, 0.99% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.45% of the population.

There were 2,458 households out of which 46.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.9% were married couples living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.5% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.33.

In the borough, the population was spread out with 30.7% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $105,638, and the median income for a family was $120,650. Males had a median income of $91,161 versus $51,444 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $48,456. About 1.9% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

[edit] Local government

Glen Ridge is governed under the Borough form of government, with a mayor and a six-member Borough Council. The mayor is elected to serve a four-year term of office. members of the Borough Council serve three-year terms, with two seats coming up for election each year.

The Mayor of Glen Ridge is Carl Bergmanson. Members of the Glen Ridge Borough Council are:[6]

  • Council President Elizabeth Brewster - Chair of the Public Safety Committee
  • Elizabeth K. Baker - Chair of the Community Affairs & Public Relations Committee
  • Art Dawson - Chair of the Planning & Development Committee
  • Paul A. Lisovicz - Chair of the Parks & Recreation Committee
  • Myles Sachs - Chair of the Finance & Administration Committee
  • Linda Seyffarth - Chair of the Public Works Committee

The Glen Ridge Civic Conference Committee (est. 1913), made up of delegates from the community and from local civic organizations, provides a non-partisan method of candidate selection for Borough elections. The CCC endorsement has been very influential; in some years, not a single local official won election without it. The eight organizations currently sending delegates to the CCC are: The Democratic Club, Freeman Gardens Association, Friends of the Glen Ridge Library, The Glen Ridge Historical Society, The Northside Association, The Republican Club, The Golden Circle, The South End Association and the Women's Club of Glen Ridge.

[edit] Federal, state and county representation

Glen Ridge is in the Eighth Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 34th Legislative District.[7]

New Jersey's Eighth Congressional District, covering the southern portion of Passaic County and northern sections of Essex County, is represented by Bill Pascrell Jr. (D, Paterson). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

The 34th legislative district of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Nia Gill (D) and in the Assembly by Thomas P. Giblin (D, Montclair) and Sheila Y. Oliver (D, East Orange). The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).

Essex County's County Executive is Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. The executive, along with the Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. Essex County's Freeholders are Freeholder President Blonnie R. Watson, Freeholder Vice President Ralph R. Caputo, Freeholders-At-Large Johnny Jones, Donald M. Payne, Jr., and Patricia Sebold, Freeholder District 1 Samuel Gonzalez, Freeholder District 2 D. Bilal Beasley, Freeholder District 3 Carol Y. Clark, Freeholder District 4 Linda Lordi Cavanaugh and Freeholder District 5 Ralph R. Caputo.

[edit] Politics

On the national level, Glen Ridge leans toward the Democratic Party. In 2004, Democrat John Kerry received 59% of the vote here, defeating Republican George W. Bush, who received around 40%.

[edit] History

Glen Ridge traces its beginning to 1666 when sixty-four Connecticut families led by Robert Treat bought land from the Lenni Lenape Native Americans and named it New Ark to reflect a covenant to worship freely without persecution. The territory included the future towns of Bloomfield, Montclair, Belleville and Nutley. When Bloomfield seceded in 1812, Glen Ridge was a section "on the hill" composed mostly of farms and woodlands with the exception of a thriving industrial area along the Toney's brook in the Glen. For most of the nineteenth century, three water-powered mills produced lumber, calico, pasteboard boxes and brass fittings. A copper mine and a sandstone quarry were nearby.

With the arrival of the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad in 1856 and the New York & Greenwood Lake Railway in 1872, Glen Ridge began its transition to a suburban residential community. Stately homes slowly replaced orchards and wooded fields.

Residents "on the hill" became unhappy with their representation on the Bloomfield Council. In spite of repeated requests to Bloomfield officials, roads remained unpaved, water and sewer systems were nonexistent, and schools were miles away. Area residents marked out the boundaries of a 1.45 square mile area to secede from the adjoining town. At the February 12, 1895 election, the decision to secede passed by only twenty-three votes. Robert Rudd was elected the first mayor of Glen Ridge.

In 1989, athletes from the high school were involved in a brutal sexual assault of a mentally handicapped student with a baseball bat and a broom stick. The boys accused in the case were found guilty of first degree aggravated sexual assault, and were given short prison and probation terms. The boys who were involved included twin brothers Kevin and Kyle Scherzer, brother Paul and Chris Archer, Bryant Grober, and Richard Corcoran Jr. Others were present at the rape, but were not convicted because they did not participate. Author Bernard Lefkowitz wrote about the incident in Our Guys: The Glen Ridge Rape and the Secret Life of the Perfect Suburb. Lefkowitz's book was adapted into the 1999 TV movie Our Guys: Outrage at Glen Ridge

[edit] Education

The Glen Ridge Public Schools are highly-ranked in the state of New Jersey and a key attraction to new residents. The system consists of two elementary schools (Linden Avenue School and Forest Avenue School), an upper elementary School (Ridgewood Avenue School), and a high school (Glen Ridge High School).

Forest Avenue School is an early childhood learning community serving the needs of over 250 children in grades pre-kindergarten through second. The school philosophy embraces each child entering school and recognizes his or her unique needs, abilities, aptitudes and interests. A creative, caring, and competent professional staff encourages every child to learn, grow and flourish within a challenging, yet supportive environment. Children may develop positive self-esteem coupled with a love for learning, acquisition of knowledge, and problem-solving skills. We begin this development for our four year-old students who experience an active and exciting inquiry approach to learning in a well-planned, stimulating classroom as part of our half-day pre-kindergarten program. Through many hands-on experiences the children begin on a path of learning through discovery about their environment. They also begin developing an understanding of how numbers and letters help them to communicate. The full-day (half-day optional) kindergarten program highlights emergent literacy and language arts development as well as beginning skills in mathematics, science, and social studies through learning centers and hands-on activities.

Approximately 288 students attend the Linden Avenue Elementary School. The major goal of the Linden Avenue Elementary School is to provide all students with a love of learning in a stimulating, caring, safe educational setting which will ensure that each child meets his/her fullest potential. Students are taught by a group of caring professionals who teach the whole child. Well versed in the rigorous core curricular offerings, teachers use the Rigby balanced literacy program for reading and language arts and the Everyday Mathematics program created at the University of Chicago. Each program provides students a foundation in reading or math.he academic program in the primary school is comprehensive and enriched with instruction in developmental reading, mathematics, language arts, social studies, and science being implemented by the self-contained classroom teachers. The Everyday Mathematics program was introduced approximately eight years ago and its' efficacy is currently being questioned by the high school mathematics staff.

Ridgewood Avenue Upper Elementary School houses students in grades 3-6. In addition to a rigorous academic curriculum in the major disciplines of language arts literacy, mathematics, social studies, and science, students are exposed to art, instrumental and vocal music, physical education, health, library skills and Spanish. Students in grades five and six are required to move through the stations of the Synergistics Lab, solving real world problems through the study of mathematics, science, and technology.

Teachers take pride in displaying student work through creatively designed bulletin boards, which not only beautify the school, but also enhance the learning environment. They disply many different types of crafts and writing pieces that are done in the classrooms.

Glen Ridge High School houses students in grades 7-12. Excellence in academic preparation is valued in both the school and community cultures. Standardized test scores far exceed both the state and national averages. More than 98% of the graduates from the Class of 2004 went on to study at four or two year colleges and universities. The remaining graduates continue their education in trade or technical schools, or in the armed services, while others find employment. Recent graduates have attended schools such as Harvard, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Swarthmore, The United States Naval Academy, Tufts University, Georgetown University, Duke University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Rutgers University, as well as other extremely competitive colleges. The Class of 2004 average SAT scores were 583 on the math section and 591 on the verbal section. (Compared to a NJ average of 514 math, 501 verbal and USA average of 518 math, 508 verbal.) Over the past four years the graduation rate has been approximately 99%, while 100% of students pass the New Jersey High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA). The success of the students is due in a large part to rigorous academic programs, a committed professional staff, a serious-about-learning student body, strong instructional leadership and parental involvement and support. Glen Ridge High School has often been cited as a top school in New Jersey and the country. The High School is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and has been cited for excellent curricular and co-curricular programs.

[edit] Property taxes

In order to fund its outstanding school system, Glen Ridge residents pay high property taxes, about $12,431 in 2003 for a home assessed at the Borough average. This has led to what one local columnist has dubbed "the Glen Ridge syndrome," whereby young families are enticed to move into town by the high quality of the school system (as realtors will often point out, you can deduct your local property taxes from your federal tax return, but not private school tuition), and then these same families are chased out of town by the tax bills immediately following the graduation of their youngest child from high school. It is not unheard of to see two lawn signs in the same yard, one congratulating the child for graduation, and the other announcing that the house is for sale. There was at least one in 2005.

The arguable result is that the sense of any long-term community is slowly bled from the town, replaced by a sort of short-term cooperative environment for the schooling of children. This, of course, flies in the face of the underlying premise of public education--i.e., that the expense of the education of all children is shared by society, which also shares in the benefits of a well-educated citizenry.

However, anyone who has lived in Glen Ridge would argue that the sense of community remains with those who have departed the town's physical boundaries, and it is not uncommon for those whose were raised in the town to return and raise their own children there.

[edit] Notable residents

[edit] References

  1. ^ "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606-1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 128.
  2. ^ "In Glen Ridge, the future has a Manhattan flair and a French twist; Work begins on a big ratable: Luxury condos with the fancy name", The Star-Ledger by Philip Read, March 30, 2005
  3. ^ "WHERE HOUSES DEFY THE DECADES; It's no accident that most Glen Ridge homes are old: The town sees red if you defy the blueprints.", The Star-Ledger Mary Jo Patterson and Mark Gebeloff, December 27, 2002
  4. ^ Census data for Glen Ridge township, United States Census Bureau, accessed March 1, 2007
  5. ^ Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, accessed March 1, 2007
  6. ^ Glen Ridge Borough web site, accessed March 13, 2007
  7. ^ League of Women Voters: 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, p. 57, accessed August 30, 2006
  8. ^ Biography of Horace Ashenfelter, accessed December 25, 2006
  9. ^ Tom Cruise Biography, Filmography, Fox News, November 28, 2006

[edit] External links

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Municipalities of Essex County, New Jersey
(County seat: Newark)
Boroughs Caldwell | Essex Fells | Glen Ridge | North Caldwell | Roseland
Cities East Orange | Newark
Towns
Townships Belleville | Bloomfield | Cedar Grove | City of Orange | Fairfield | Irvington | Livingston | Maplewood | Millburn | Montclair | Nutley | South Orange Village | Verona | West Caldwell | West Orange
Neighborhoods Broadway | Downtown Newark | Fairmount | Forest Hill | Ironbound | Llewellyn Park | Roseville | Seventh Avenue | Springfield/Belmont | University Heights | Vailsburg | Weequahic
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