| Berkeley Township, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Township — | |
| Map of Berkeley Township in Ocean County. Inset: Location of Ocean County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. | |
| Census Bureau map of Berkeley Township, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Ocean |
| Incorporated | March 31, 1875 |
| Government[1] | |
| • Type | Faulkner Act (Mayor-Council) |
| • Mayor | Jason J. Varano (2011) |
| • Administrator | Leonard W. Roeber[2] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 55.8 sq mi (144.5 km2) |
| • Land | 42.9 sq mi (111.1 km2) |
| • Water | 12.9 sq mi (33.4 km2) |
| Elevation[3] | 56 ft (17 m) |
| Population (2010)[4][5] | |
| • Total | 41,255 |
| • Density | 932.3/sq mi (360.0/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 08721 |
| Area code(s) | 732 |
| FIPS code | 34-05305[6][7] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0882073[8] |
| Website | http://www.berkeleytownship.org |
Berkeley Township is a Township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population had increased to a record high of 41,255.[5]
Berkeley Township was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 31, 1875, from portions of Dover Township (now Toms River Township). Sections of the township were taken to form Seaside Park (March 3, 1898), Seaside Heights (February 6, 1913), Beachwood (March 22, 1917), Ocean Gate (February 28, 1918) Pine Beach (February 26, 1925), South Toms River (March 28, 1927) and Island Beach (June 23, 1933, reabsorbed into Berkeley Township in 1965).[9]
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Army officer named Lt. Edward Farrow began buying up woodland with the idea of building a retirement community for former Army and Navy officers.
Farrow built a railroad station, shops and even a resort hotel called The Pines with the idea of attracting people. But only 11 people ever built houses in what Farrow called "Barnegat Park," and eventually he went bankrupt.[10]
In the 1920s Benjamin Sangor purchased the area. The New York and Miami developer imagined a vast and luxurious resort town catering to wealthy urban vacationers. Between 1928 and 1929, about 8,000 lots were sold in Pinewald, a "new-type, residential, recreational city-of-the sea-and-pines." It was to contain a golf course, recreation facilities, and estate homes.[11]
The developers immediately began construction of the Pinewald pavilion and pier at the end of Butler Avenue. The Royal Pines Hotel, a $ 1.175 million investment facing Crystal Lake, was built on the site of an earlier hotel dating back to the days of Barnegat Park.[12] It was the focal point of the new community. The hotel was also used as an asylum, then later a nursing home which changed ownerships. It's now the Crytal Lake Nursing & Rehabilitation center.
Mystery surrounds the former hotel. It was constructed by Russian architect W. Oltar-Jevsky in the early 1920s. Al Capone may have frequented its halls, perhaps even venturing beneath the lake in tunnels especially designed for smuggling alcohol during the Prohibition. One newspaper article interviewed an unidentified man who claimed that "in the early 1930s the then Royal Pines Hotel was frequented by society's elite who, for $1.90 a drink, consumed prohibition liquor under the watchful eye of men who had guns strapped under their coats."
In 1929, during the Great Depression, the resort community went bankrupt. Now, development is starting off slowly.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 55.8 square miles (145 km2), of which, 42.9 square miles (111 km2) of it is land and 12.9 square miles (33 km2) of it (23.12%) is water.
The Township is located in the central part of Ocean County along the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay, which is part of the Intracoastal Waterway.
Approximately 72% of the Townships land area is within the federally designated New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve. Approximately 38% is within the State's Pineland Area, which is within the Pinelands National Reserve. Toms River Township forms the northern border of the Township, Cedar Creek and Lacey Township form the Township's southern border. The barrier island, on which South Seaside Park and Island Beach State Park are situated, is the Township's eastern boundary.[13]
Holiday City-Berkeley (2000 Census population of 13,884), Holiday City South (4,047), Holiday Heights (2,389) and Silver Ridge (1,311) are census-designated places and unincorporated areas located within Berkeley Township. Bayville is an unincorporated area located within the Township.
| Beachwood, S. Toms River, Pine Beach and Toms River Township (formerly Dover Township) |
Seaside Heights | |||
| Manchester Twp | Seaside Pk | |||
| Berkeley Township | ||||
| Woodland Twp | Lacey Twp |
Also, the township completely surrounds Ocean Gate.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 811 |
|
|
| 1940 | 1,127 | 39.0% | |
| 1950 | 1,550 | 37.5% | |
| 1960 | 4,272 | 175.6% | |
| 1970 | 7,918 | 85.3% | |
| 1980 | 23,151 | 192.4% | |
| 1990 | 37,319 | 61.2% | |
| 2000 | 39,991 | 7.2% | |
| 2010 | 41,255 | 3.2% | |
| Population 1930 - 1990.[5][14] | |||
As of the census of 2010 there were 41,255 people residing in the township. There were 23,818 housing units.
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 39,991 people, 19,828 households, and 12,174 families residing in the township. The population density was 932.3 people per square mile (359.9/km²). There were 22,288 housing units at an average density of 519.6 per square mile (200.6/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 97.10% White, 1.30% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.33% of the population.
There were 19,828 households out of which 11.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 6.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 29.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.99 and the average family size was 2.52.
In the township the population was spread out with 11.4% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 14.7% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 52.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 66 years. For every 100 females there were 79.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.1 males.
The median income for a household in the township was $32,134, and the median income for a family was $40,208. Males had a median income of $41,643 versus $28,640 for females. The per capita income for the township was $22,198. About 3.4% of families and 5.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
Since July 1, 1983, Berkeley Township has been governed under the Mayor-Council system of municipal government under the Faulkner Act. The Township is governed by a Mayor who is elected for a four-year term and a seven-member Council elected on a staggered basis for terms of four years, with the respective terms commencing on January 1; the Mayor and the three at-large seats come up for election every four years, with the four ward seats up for election two years later.[1]
As of 2011[update], the Mayor of Berkeley Township is Jason J. Varano (D, term of office ends December 31, 2011).[15] Members of the Berkeley Township Committee are Council President Karen Davis (Ward 1; R, 2013), Council Vice President Carmen F. Amato, Jr. (Ward 2; R, 2013), Nathan A. Abbe (at-large; D, 2011), Peter J. Mustardo (at-large; D, 2011), Judy Noonan (Ward 2; R, 2013), Frances R. Siddons (Ward 4; R, 2013) and Anne M. Wolff (at-large; D, 2011).[16][17]
Berkeley Township is in the 3rd Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 9th state legislative district.[18] The legislative district was kept unchanged by the New Jersey Apportionment Commission based on the results of the 2010 Census.[5]
New Jersey's Third Congressional District is represented by Jon Runyan (R, Mount Laurel Township). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
9th district of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Christopher J. Connors (R, Lacey Township) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by DiAnne Gove (R, Long Beach Township) and Brian E. Rumpf (R, Little Egg Harbor Township).[19] The Governor of New Jersey is Chris Christie (R, Mendham).[20] The Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey is Kim Guadagno (R, Monmouth Beach).[21]
Ocean County is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders consisting of five members, elected at large in partisan elections and serving staggered three-year terms of office, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year. As of 2011, Ocean County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari (Toms River, term ends December 31, 2011), Freeholder Deputy Director Gerry P. Little (Surf City, 2012), John C. Bartlett, Jr. (Pine Beach, 2012), John P. Kelly (Eagleswood Township, 2010) and James F. Lacey (Brick Township, 2013).[22][23]
The Berkeley Township School District serves public school students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Schools in the district (with 2008-09 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[24]) are Bayville School (Grades k-4; 433 students), H & M Potter School (K-4; 449), Clara B. Worth School (K-4; 555) and Berkeley Township Elementary School (5&6; 529).
Students in public school for grades 7 through 12 attend the schools of the Central Regional School District, which serves students from the municipalities of Berkeley Township, Island Heights, Ocean Gate, Seaside Heights and Seaside Park.[25] The total student population in the district is approximately 2,400, instructed by 200 staff members. The schools in the district (with 2008-09 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[26]) are Central Regional Middle School for grades 7 and 8 (673 students) and Central Regional High School for grades 9 - 12 (1,436 students).
The Garden State Parkway is the primary access route, with one exit (constructed in March 2007) in the Township. U.S. Route 9 runs through the eastern-middle part of the municipality while Route 35 passes through briefly and ends at the park road for Island Beach State Park.
Notable current and former residents of Berkeley Township include:
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