| Roselle Park, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Borough — | |
| Roselle Park Welcome Sign | |
| Map of Roselle Park in Union County. Inset: Location of Union County in New Jersey. | |
| Census Bureau map of Roselle Park, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Union |
| Incorporated | March 22, 1901 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Borough (New Jersey) |
| • Mayor | Joseph Accardi |
| • Clerk | Doreen Cali[1] |
| Area[2] | |
| • Total | 1.22 sq mi (3.2 km2) |
| • Land | 1.22 sq mi (3.2 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation[3] | 79 ft (24 m) |
| Population (2010 Census)[4][5] | |
| • Total | 13,297 |
| • Density | 10,899.2/sq mi (4,155.3/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 07204[6] |
| Area code(s) | 908 |
| FIPS code | 34-64650[7][8] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0885380[9] |
| Website | http://www.rosellepark.net |
Roselle Park is a borough in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 13,297.[5]
Roselle Park was incorporated as a borough by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 22, 1901, from portions of Union Township.[10][11] The separation occurred due to a number of grievances based on a lack of sufficient public services, including; lack of a modern sewage system, poor schools, neglected roads, and minimal public safety measures.[12]
Contents |
Roselle Park is located at (40.665352, -74.268710)[13] at an elevation of 79 feet (24 m) above sea level. According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 1.22 square miles (3.2 km2), all of it land.[2]
The borough is bordered to the northeast by Union Township, to the northwest by Kenilworth, to the east by Elizabeth, to the south by Roselle and to the west by Cranford.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1910 | 3,138 |
|
|
| 1920 | 5,438 | 73.3% | |
| 1930 | 8,969 | 64.9% | |
| 1940 | 9,661 | 7.7% | |
| 1950 | 11,537 | 19.4% | |
| 1960 | 12,546 | 8.7% | |
| 1970 | 14,277 | 13.8% | |
| 1980 | 13,377 | −6.3% | |
| 1990 | 12,805 | −4.3% | |
| 2000 | 13,281 | 3.7% | |
| 2010 | 13,297 | 0.1% | |
| Population sources:1910-1930[14] 1930-1990[15] 2000[16] 2010[5][17] |
|||
The 2010 United States Census reported that there were 13,297 people, 5,002 households and 3,407 families residing in the borough. The racial makeup of Roselle Park was 73.7% (9,802) White, 5.9% (783) African American, 0.2% (20) Native American, 10.2% (1,354) Asian, 0.0% (2) Pacific Islander, 7.5% (1,000) from other races, and 2.5% (336) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.6% (3,809).[5][17]
As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 13,281 people, 5,137 households, and 3,416 families residing in the borough. The population density was 10,855.7 people per square mile (4,203.1/km2). There were 5,258 housing units at an average density of 4,297.8 per square mile (1,664.0/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 80.87% White, 2.42% African American, 0.11% Native American, 9.14% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 4.89% from other races, and 2.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.34% of the population.[16]
There were 5,137 households out of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.5% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.22.[16]
In the borough the population was spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.[16]
The median income for a household in the borough was $53,717, and the median income for a family was $63,403. Males had a median income of $42,623 versus $33,105 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $24,101. About 3.4% of families and 4.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.3% of those under age 18 and 1.6% of those age 65 or over.[16]
The first known settlement within what is now the Borough was built by Samuel Williams, in 1700. Galloping Hill Road was continually used by revolutionary war scouts, delivering messages to and from General George Washington and Governor Livingston. Galloping Hill Road also believed to be the route traveled by the British columns en route to the Battle of Connecticut Farms, battling the New Jersey militia the entire way. Son of American general William Crane, was bayoneted and killed by the British near what is now Galloping Hill Road and Colonial Road.[18]
Elizabethtown & Somerville Railroad passed through in 1839, as the first railroad in Northern New Jersey. The first store in the world to be lit by electric light was Stone's Store on Westfield Avenue, lit by Thomas Edison's carbon filament prototype. In 1907, the first poured concrete building in the world, now the Robert Gordon School, was built in Roselle Park using Edison's revolutionary process. Roselle Park was home to the factory and lab of Marconi Wireless Telegraph, and became the site of the first regularly broadcast radio station, "WDY".[18]
The Borough of Roselle Park is governed by an elected Mayor and six Councilpersons. Roselle Park is divided into five election districts, referred to as wards, with one Councilperson elected from each ward, and one Councilperson elected at large. The Mayor is elected to a four-year term and Councilpersons are elected to three-year terms.[19]
As of 2011[update], the Mayor Of Roselle Park is Joseph Accardi (R). Members of the Borough Council are Carl Hokanson (D - at-large), Eugene Meola (D-Ward 1), Marc Caswell (R-Ward 2), Tanya Torres (R-Ward 3), Modesto "Moe" Miranda (R-Ward 4) and Michael Yakubov (R-Ward 5).[19]
Roselle Park Borough is in the 7th Congressional district. New Jersey's Seventh Congressional District is represented by Leonard Lance (R, Clinton Township). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
Roselle Park is in the 21st Legislative District of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Thomas Kean, Jr. (R, Westfield) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Jon Bramnick (R, Westfield) and Nancy Munoz (R, Summit).[20]
Union County is governed by a Board of Chosen Freeholders, whose nine members are elected at-large to three-year terms of office on a staggered basis with three seats coming up for election each year.[21] As of 2011, Union County's Freeholders are Chairman Deborah P. Scanlon (Union, term ends December 31, 2012)[22], Vice Chairman Alexander Mirabella (Fanwood, 2012)[23], Linda Carter (Plainfield, 2013)[24], Angel G. Estrada (Elizabeth, 2011)[25], Christopher Hudak (Linden, 2011)[26], Mohamed S. Jalloh (Roselle, 2012)[27], Bette Jane Kowalski (Cranford, 2013)[28], Daniel P. Sullivan (Elizabeth, 2013)[29] and Nancy Ward (Linden, 2011).[30][31]
The Roselle Park School District serves public school students in Kindergarten through twelfth (12th) grade. Schools in the district (with 2009-10 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[32]) are Aldene/Ernest J. Finizio School (PreK-5; Virginia Gilcrest, Principal; 277 students), Robert Gordon School (K-5; James Salvo, Principal; 268), Sherman School (K-5; Mary P. Christensen, Principal; 326), Roselle Park Middle School (6-8; Jeannine Grasso, Principal; 471) and Roselle Park High School (9-12; Sarah Costa, Principal; 653).[33]
Roselle Park has a rich railroading heritage. A steam locomotive adorns the Borough seal, and the town is very welcoming to railroad enthusiasts.
The Elizabethtown & Somerville railway began laying rails through what would become Roselle Park in 1839. It eventually became the Central Railroad of New Jersey between Jersey City, New Jersey and Scranton, Pennsylvania. Throughout the years as traffic grew, the line would grow to four main tracks, and also offered trains of Reading Company and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.[18]
Roselle Park and Roselle formerly shared a rail station on the CNJ mainline. Passenger service East of Bayonne, New Jersey ended on April 30, 1967. Shuttle service between Bayonne, New Jersey and Cranford, New Jersey continued on for several years but eventually ended, resulting in the closure of the old station on Chestnut Street. The line continued to see operation as an access route to the NJTransit/NJDOT railroad shops at Elizabethport until the mid-1980s. It is currently out of service and unused, as the Conrail Elizabeth Industrial Track.
Competition would come as the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company realized that railroading was a more efficient mode of transportation for their coal than a canal system. They formed the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and began building Eastward in 1853. By 1872, they had reached Roselle, and formed the subsidiary Newark and Roselle Railway in order to continue building East to the Hudson River. April 1, 1976 the Lehigh Valley Railroad became part of the Consolidated Rail Corporation, also known as Conrail and became known as their "Lehigh Line". On June 1, 2001, Conrail was purchased and split between Norfolk Southern (60%) and CSX (40%), and became "shared assets". Conrail continues to operate the Lehigh Line. In addition to New Jersey Transit the line sees anywhere from 35-45 freights per day from four railroads; Conrail, Norfolk Southern, CSX, and tri-weekly Canadian Pacific (formerly Delaware and Hudson Railway). The track is Norfolk Southern's primary access route into and out of the New York City metropolitan area, and is also part of CSX's primary North-South corridor.
The Roselle Park Train Station offers New Jersey Transit commuter rail service as part of their Raritan Valley Line Service. This was a result of the Aldene Connection which opened April 30, 1967. Currently the station is located at milepost 16.0 on the Conrail Lehigh Line, on the corner of Chestnut Street and West Lincoln Avenue; the same location of the original Lehigh Valley station. In addition to local travel, from here, one take the train to Newark, New Jersey or New York City and connect to various modes of travel to nearly anywhere in the U.S. and Canada on Amtrak.
The town was also once served by the Rahway Valley Railroad. The line was exempted in 1991 by then Rahway Valley Railroad controller Delaware Otsego Corporation, and was given to the County of Union. It has remained dormant since. However, beginning in 2004, the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders began taking steps to reactivate the routes. They named the Morristown and Erie Railway as designated operator, and funded the beginning of Right-of-way renewal. Currently the Morristown and Erie Railway is awaiting further funding to complete the work. As of 2011, the project has halted and no further steps are being taken to reactivate the railway.
Route 28 passes through Roselle Park, and the Garden State Parkway skirts the western boundary of the borough. New Jersey Transit Bus Operations provides bus service on the 58 with service from Elizabeth to Kenilworth, New Jersey|Kenilworth, on the 94 to Newark and on the 113 to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City.[34]
Newark Liberty International Airport is approximately 10 minutes away, with hundreds of flights departing to and arriving from all over the globe daily. Linden Airport, a general aviation facility, is also in nearby Linden, New Jersey.
Notable current and former residents of Roselle Park include:
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||