Fair Lawn, New Jersey

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Borough of Fair Lawn, New Jersey
Map highlighting Fair Lawn's location within Bergen County. Inset: Bergen County's location within New Jersey
Map highlighting Fair Lawn's location within Bergen County. Inset: Bergen County's location within New Jersey
Census Bureau map of Fair Lawn, New Jersey
Census Bureau map of Fair Lawn, New Jersey
Coordinates: 40°56′2″N 74°7′0″W / 40.93389, -74.11667
Country United States
State New Jersey
County Bergen
Incorporated March 6, 1924
Government
 - Type Faulkner Act (Council-Manager)
 - Mayor Steven Weinstein (D, 2007)
 - Administrator Tom Metzler[1]
Area
 - Total 5.2 sq mi (13.5 km²)
 - Land 5.2 sq mi (13.4 km²)
 - Water 0.1 sq mi (0.1 km²)  0.96%
Elevation [2] 69 ft (21 m)
Population (2006)[3]
 - Total 31,246
 - Density 6,121.0/sq mi (2,362.7/km²)
Time zone U.S. EST (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) U.S. EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 07410
Area code(s) 201
FIPS code 34-22470[4]
GNIS feature ID 0876256[5]
Website: http://www.fairlawn.org

Fair Lawn is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 31,637. As of 2006, the Census Bureau estimate a population of 31,246.[3]

Fair Lawn was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 6, 1924, as "Fairlawn", from portions of Saddle River Township.[6] The name was taken from Fairlawn, David Acker's estate home, that was built in 1865 and later became the Fair Lawn Municipal Building.[7] In 1933, the official spelling of the borough's name was split into its present two-word form as "Fair Lawn" Borough.[6]

Radburn, one of the first planned communities in the United States, is an unincorporated community located within Fair Lawn, and was founded in 1929 as "a town for the motor age".[8]

Contents

[edit] Geography

Fair Lawn is located at 40°56′2″N, 74°7′0″W (40.933943, -74.116711).[9]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 5.2 square miles (13.5 km²), of which, 5.2 square miles (13.4 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.96%) is water.

[edit] History

In its earlier days Fair Lawn was known as Slooterdam: taken from a Dutch word used to describe a Native American weir used to trap fish on the Passaic River.[10] Fair Lawn was named after the Estate of David Acker which was named "Fair Lawn" and fronted onto what is now Fair Lawn Avenue. The home became the borough's municipal building and was later torn down when a senior citizen center was built where it stood.

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.  %±
1900 756
—
1910 1,178 55.8%
1920 2,026 72%
1930 5,990 195.7%
1940 9,107 52%
1950 23,885 162.3%
1960 36,421 52.5%
1970 37,975 4.3%
1980 32,229 −15.1%
1990 30,548 −5.2%
2000 31,637 3.6%
Est. 2006 31,246 [3] −1.2%
Population 1930 - 1990[11][12]

As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 31,637 people, 11,806 households, and 8,901 families residing in the borough. The population density was 6,121.0 people per square mile (2,362.7/km²). There were 12,006 housing units at an average density of 2,322.9/sq mi (896.6/km²). The racial makeup of the borough was 91.54% White, 0.74% African American, 0.04% Native American, 4.92% Asian, 1.37% from other races, and 1.38% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.51% of the population.

As of the 2000 Census, 19.7% of Fair Lawn residents were of Italian ancestry.[13] Fair Lawn also has a high Russian Jewish population.[14] As of the 2000 Census, 10.1% of Fair Lawn residents identified themselves as being of Russian ancestry, the highest percentage of any municipality in New Jersey with more than 1,000 residents identifying their ancestry.[15]

There were 11,806 households out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.5% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.6% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the borough the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males.

The median income for a household in the borough was $72,127, and the median income for a family was $81,220. Males had a median income of $56,798 versus $41,300 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $32,273. About 2.6% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Government

[edit] Local government

Fair Lawn operates under a Council-Manager (Plan E of the Faulkner Act) form of New Jersey municipal government by a five-member Borough Council. Members of the Borough Council serve four-year terms in office, and are elected in partisan elections in odd-numbered years on a staggered basis, with two or three seats coming up for election every other year. All policy making power is concentrated in the council. The mayor is selected at a reorganization meeting held after each election by the council from among its members, and presides over its meetings with no separate policy-making power. The manager is appointed by the council to serve as the municipal chief executive and administrative official. [16]

Members of the Borough Council are Mayor Steven Weinstein (D, term ends December 31, 2008), Jeanne Baratta (R, 2009), Lisa Swain (D, 2008) Joseph Tedeschi (D, 2008) and Ed Trawinski (R, 2009).[17][18]

In elections held on November 6, 2007, voters filled three seats for four-year terms on the borough council. Democrats swept all three posts, with incumbents Steven Weinstein (3,573 votes) and Joseph Tedeschi (3,354) winning re-election, joined by running mate Lisa Swain (3,405). Falling short were the Republicans Michael Roney (2,928), Lisa Yourman (2,818) and John Gil (2,812), as well as independent candidate Allan Caan (257). Democrats will retain their 3-2 margin on the 2008 council.[19][20][21]

Republicans Baratta and Trawinski received approximately 54% of the vote in November 2005 (defeating Democrats David L. Ganz and Allan Caan) despite the heavy Democratic registration and the borough's landslide for Governor Jon Corzine. Moreover, Councilman Joseph Tedeschi is a former Republican and an avowed "traditional, conservative" Democrat.

Standard Borough Council meetings are televised on local cable TV when held in the Council chambers in the Fair Lawn Municipal Building. Work sessions, where laws are discussed and prepared for adoption, are not usually televised.

Fair Lawn has an all-volunteer fire department.[22] The department has four stations, with Company 1 on George Street, Company 2 at Route 208 South (before Maple Avenue Bridge), Company 3 located at Corner Plaza Road / Rosalie Street and Company 4 on Radburn Road.[23]

[edit] Federal, state and county representation

Fair Lawn is part of New Jersey's 38th Legislative District and is in the Ninth Congressional District.[24]

New Jersey's Ninth Congressional District, covering the southern portion of Bergen County and sections of Hudson County and Passaic County, is represented by Steve Rothman (D, Fair Lawn). New Jersey is represented in the Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).

For the 2008-2009 Legislative Session, the 38th District of the New Jersey Legislature is represented in the State Senate by Robert M. Gordon (D, Fair Lawn) and in the Assembly by Joan Voss (D, Fort Lee) and Connie Wagner (D, Paramus).[25] The Governor of New Jersey is Jon Corzine (D, Hoboken).[26]

Bergen County's County Executive is Dennis McNerney (D).[27] The executive, along with the seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders administer all county business. As of 2008, Bergen County's Freeholders are Chairman Tomas J. Padilla (D, Park Ridge), Vice-Chairman Elizabeth Calabrese (D, Wallington), James M. Carroll (D, Demarest), David L. Ganz (D, Fair Lawn), Bernadette P. McPherson (D, Rutherford), Julie O'Brien (D, Ramsey) and Vernon Walton (D, Englewood).[28]

Other countywide elected officials are Sheriff Leo McGuire (D), Surrogate Court Judge Mike Dressler (D, Cresskill) County Clerk Kathleen Donovan (R, Rutherford).[29]

[edit] Politics

As of April 1, 2006, out of a 2004 Census estimated population of 31,613 in Fair Lawn, there were 19,673 registered voters (62.2% of the population, vs. 55.4% in all of Bergen County). Of registered voters, 5,206 (26.5% vs. 20.7% countywide) were registered as Democrats, 2,773 (14.1% vs. 19.2% countywide) were registered as Republicans and 11,685 (59.4% vs. 60.1% countywide) were registered as Undeclared. There were nine voters registered to other parties.[30]

On the national level, Fair Lawn voters lean toward the Democratic Party. In the 2004 Presidential Election, Democrat John Kerry received 54% of the vote here, defeating Republican George W. Bush, who received around 45%.[31]

[edit] Education

The Fair Lawn Public Schools serve students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics.[32]) are six K-5 elementary schools — J.A. Forrest (280 students), Lyncrest (216 students), Milnes (411 students), Radburn (359 students), Warren Point (461 students) and Westmoreland (276 students) — two middle Schools for grades 6-8 — Memorial Middle School (463 students) and Thomas Jefferson Middle School (712 students) — and Fair Lawn High School for grades 9-12 (1,476 students). The high school itself is well regarded for its music department and academic skills.

[edit] Transportation

Fair Lawn has several main roads crossing through it forming a semi-3x3 grid. Saddle River Road, Plaza Road, and River Road (County Route 507) run North-South, Broadway, Morlot Avenue and Fair Lawn Avenue run East-West, and Route 208 runs Northwest-Southeast.

Broadway becomes Route 4 in Elmwood Park to the west and eventually Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard in Paterson. To the East, it becomes Route 4 going into Paramus and is less than 10 miles (16 km) from the George Washington Bridge.

Fair Lawn Avenue is considered the borough's main street, containing its Borough Hall, Police Station, Public Library, and Community School. The road goes west over the Passaic River into Paterson, and east into Paramus where it becomes Century Road.

The intersection of Fair Lawn Avenue and Plaza Road form what could be considered a "town center", with several shopping plazas, and the Radburn train station all within walking distance. Other commercial areas include Broadway and River Road, but neither is particularly amenable to pedestrian traffic despite attempts by local business owners to make them so.

Route 208 has its southern terminus in Fair Lawn, and goes through the middle of the borough from the northwest to the southeast, where it eventually merges with Broadway to become Route 4 not far from Paramus. Taken the other direction, Route 208 flows northwest to Interstate 287 in Oakland.

Saddle River Road goes through the eastern side of Fair Lawn and into Saddle Brook, where it provides a link to both the Garden State Parkway and Interstate 80.

Route 20 southbound becomes Route 21 which separates Fair Lawn from Paterson and northbound Hawthorne.

Fair Lawn uses a somewhat unique street address numbering system. Instead of an address being, for example, 55 Some Street, most Fair Lawn addresses are given hyphenated numbers, such as 10-13 Some Street. This numbering system is also used in Queens, New York City. Exceptions to this numbering system generally exist on the Glen Rock and Hawthorne sides of Fair Lawn. The first numbers (before the dash) correspond to block-distances from Broadway (on streets that run east-west) and to the numbered streets in the borough (example: 2nd Street, 17th Street, etc.) on the streets that run North-South; with the highest numbers being in the low 40's, and the lowest numbers being 0-30, etc.

Fair Lawn is served by the Radburn and Broadway train stations on the New Jersey Transit Bergen County Line. The stations offer service to Hoboken Terminal, with connections at Secaucus Junction to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan and to most other New Jersey Transit train lines. New Jersey Transit buses include lines 144, 145, 148, 164, 160, 171, 175, 746, 748, 758 and 770. [33]

[edit] Popular culture

  • In the 1976 film Taxi Driver, when Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) is talking to a Secret Service agent, he gives his address as 154 Hopper Avenue, Fair Lawn, New Jersey. There is a Hopper Avenue in Fair Lawn, but 154 Hopper Avenue does not exist.[34]
  • In the 1996 Mel Gibson movie Ransom, Fair Lawn was seen when Gibson is told to turn from Route 4 onto Saddle River Road (Fair Lawn) and into the rock quarry (which is actually located in North Haledon, New Jersey). A few days worth of filming was also done inside a home on Saddle River Road but those scenes were cut.
  • In the 2004 movie Taxi, Fair Lawn can be seen on the map that Detective Washburn (Jimmy Fallon) is reading. The map is fake, since it shows a fictional uncompleted highway off the Garden State Parkway in Oradell. The scene where the robbers jump off the uncompleted skyway was not filmed in New Jersey.
  • In the movie Casino, two scenes were shot at the Fair Lawn Fire Dept. Company 3. The scenes when the news lady was talking about the mob members and the scene right after that.[citation needed] [35]
  • At the beginning of the critically acclaimed Pine Barrens episode of the television series The Sopranos, Mob boss Tony Soprano tells Paulie Walnuts and protege Christopher Moltisanti to visit a Russian mobster, Valery, in Fair Lawn. Although Paulie and Christopher are shown visiting Valery's Fair Lawn apartment, no scenery is shown besides the nondescript parking lot in front of the apartment and the inside of the apartment itself.[citation needed]

[edit] Noted residents

Notable current and former residents of Fair Lawn include:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Borough Manager, Borough of Fair Lawn. Accessed January 2, 2008.
  2. ^ USGS GNIS: Fair Lawn, Geographic Names Information System, accessed April 16, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c Census data for Fair Lawn, United States Census Bureau. Accessed August 14, 2007.
  4. ^ a b American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  5. ^ US Board on Geographic Names. United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  6. ^ a b "The Story of New Jersey's Civil Boundaries: 1606–1968", John P. Snyder, Bureau of Geology and Topography; Trenton, New Jersey; 1969. p. 77
  7. ^ Dutch Door Genealogy - Bergen County New Jersey Municipalities, accessed February 9, 2006.
  8. ^ History, Radburn Association. Accessed December 26, 2007.
  9. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  10. ^ History of Fair Lawn, accessed August 23, 2006.
  11. ^ New Jersey Resident Population by Municipality: 1930 - 1990, Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network. Accessed March 1, 2007.
  12. ^ Historical Population Trends in Bergen County (1900 - 2000), Bergen County, New Jersey. Accessed December 23, 2007.
  13. ^ Fair Lawn, New Jersey, city-data.com. Accessed August 27, 2007.
  14. ^ "In Fair Lawn, Getting to Know a New Language and a New Land; ON THE MAP", The New York Times, July 7, 1996, accessed February 3, 2007.
  15. ^ Russian Communities, Epodunk. Accessed April 22, 2007.
  16. ^ 2005 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, April 2005, p. 160.
  17. ^ Fair Lawn Government: Borough Council - 2007, Borough of Fair Lawn. Accessed January 15, 2007.
  18. ^ "County of Bergen: 2007 County and Municipal Directory", Bergen County, New Jersey, p. 43.
  19. ^ Akin, Stephanie. "Fair Lawn municipal elections", The Record (Bergen County), November 3, 2007. Accessed December 26, 2007.
  20. ^ Akin, Stephanie. "Fair Lawn election results", The Record (Bergen County), November 6, 2007. Accessed December 24, 2007.
  21. ^ Bergen County election results, The Record (Bergen County), November 7, 2007. Accessed November 10, 2007.
  22. ^ Fair Lawn Fire Department, Fire Departments Net. Accessed May 22, 2007.
  23. ^ Emergency Services, Borough of Fair Lawn. Accessed May 22, 2007.
  24. ^ 2006 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government, p. 57, New Jersey League of Women Voters. Accessed August 30, 2006, which incorrectly shows Legislative District 33.
  25. ^ Legislative Roster: 2008-2009 Session, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed June 6, 2008.
  26. ^ About the Governor, New Jersey. Accessed June 6, 2008.
  27. ^ Bergen County Executive, Bergen County, New Jersey. Accessed March 25, 2008.
  28. ^ Freeholder Home Page, Bergen County, New Jersey. Accessed March 25, 2008.
  29. ^ Constitutional Officers, Bergen County, New Jersey. Accessed March 25, 2008.
  30. ^ "County of Bergen: Voter Statistics by Municipality, Ward & District," Bergen County, New Jersey, dated April 1, 2006.
  31. ^ 2004 Presidential Election results: Bergen County, New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of Elections, dated December 13, 2004.
  32. ^ Data for the Fair Lawn Public Schools, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed March 27, 2008.
  33. ^ New Jersey Transit Bus Schedules, New Jersey. Accessed August 30, 2007.
  34. ^ Trivia for Taxi Driver, Internet Movie Database. Accessed December 20, 2006.
  35. ^ [1], Internet Movie Database. Accessed April 7, 2008.
  36. ^ "Bornstein named head of NFL Network", NFL.com, January 16, 2003. Accessed June 27, 2007. "Bornstein is a native of Fairlawn[sic] , N.J., and is a 1974 University of Wisconsin graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in film."
  37. ^ Giants Re-Sign FB Jim Finn, New York Giants, March 28, 2005.
  38. ^ Byrne, Robert. Chess, The New York Times, November 15, 1994. Accessed October 27, 2007. "In winning the United States Championship in Key West, Fla., in late October, Boris Gulko performed in close accord with every grandmaster's daydreams. The 47-year-old former Soviet champion, who lives in Fair Lawn, N.J., won with captivating combinations, trenchant tactics, precise positional play and excellently executed endgames."
  39. ^ Edel, Raymond A. "AN ORIGINAL LEAVES THE WFAN TEAM", The Record (Bergen County), November 30, 2001. "Fair Lawn resident and WABC on-air personality Steve Malzberg is also slated to make an appearance."
  40. ^ New Picture, Time (magazine), March 30, 1959. See pg. 2 of article. "His choice was an 18-year-old model from Fair Lawn, N.J. named Millie Perkins."
  41. ^ Baseball All-Century Teams of the Decades, The Star-Ledger, accessed February 27, 2007.
  42. ^ Thompson, Toby. "Billy Price: East Coast Blue-Eyed Soul Man", copy of article from The Penn Stater at billyprice.com, January / February 2000. Accessed April 23, 2008. ""Forget Billy Price from Pittsburgh's rock cauldron. Meet William Pollak '71, '79, Liberal Arts, from Fair Lawn."
  43. ^ " Divorced Jewish male seeks a date (and, oh yes, reelection)", The Record (Bergen County), August 5, 2004, accessed April 14, 2004.
  44. ^ Charlie Schlatter, Internet Movie Database. Accessed July 19, 2007.
  45. ^ "Lasting Tribute", The Record (Bergen County), July 26, 2001. Accessed March 27, 2008. "The wing was dedicated by Rabbi Benjamin Yudin of Fair Lawn, followed by a dinner at the Fort Lee Hilton."

[edit] External links

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