| Woodland Park, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Borough — | |
| Map of Woodland Park in Passaic County (shown under its former name West Paterson). Inset: Location of Passaic County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. | |
| Detailed Census Bureau map of West Paterson in 2000 | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Passaic |
| Incorporated | May 1, 1914 (as West Paterson) |
| Renamed | November 3, 2009 (to Woodland Park) |
| Government[1] | |
| • Type | Faulkner Act (Small Municipality) |
| • Mayor | Pat Lepore (2011)[2] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.1 sq mi (8.0 km2) |
| • Land | 3.0 sq mi (7.7 km2) |
| • Water | 0.1 sq mi (0.4 km2) |
| Elevation[3] | 344 ft (105 m) |
| Population (2007)[4] | |
| • Total | 11,568 |
| • Density | 3,715.5/sq mi (1,434.6/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 07424 |
| Area code(s) | 973 |
| FIPS code | 34-79820[5][6] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0885439[7] |
| Website | http://www.wpnj.us/ |
Woodland Park (formerly West Paterson[8]) is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 10,987.
Woodland Park was formed as a borough under the name West Paterson, by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 25, 1914, from portions of Little Falls Township, based on the results of a referendum held on May 1, 1914.[9]
On November 4, 2008, the citizens of West Paterson voted to change the official name of the borough from West Paterson to Woodland Park.[10] The new name retains the initials "W.P." and is a reference to the community's wooded areas. At a November 10, 2008, community meeting attended by 200 residents, a number of residents demanded that a recount be held if the official results showed that the measure had passed. And in case the recount demand was unsuccessful, the group discussed filing a petition to change the name back to West Paterson, including discussion of how to raise the $33,000 needed to cover the cost of a special election in spring 2009 for voters to reconsider the name.[11] By November 25, 2008, the provisional vote counts had been tallied, and the name change won by 25 votes. The Mayor and Council approved Resolution R08-253 at the council meeting on Dec. 17, changing the borough's name to the Borough of Woodland Park, effective Jan. 1, 2009.[12][13] A referendum held on November 3, 2009 affirmed the name change.
Contents |
Woodland Park is located at (40.893698, -74.198904).[14]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a grand total area of 3.1 square miles (8.0 km2), of which, 3.0 square miles (7.8 km2) of it is precious land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) of it (4.53%) is water.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 3,101 |
|
|
| 1940 | 3,306 | 6.6% | |
| 1950 | 3,931 | 18.9% | |
| 1960 | 7,602 | 93.4% | |
| 1970 | 11,692 | 53.8% | |
| 1980 | 11,293 | −3.4% | |
| 1990 | 10,982 | −2.8% | |
| 2000 | 10,987 | 0% | |
| Est. 2007 | 11,568 | [4] | 5.3% |
| Population 1930 - 1990.[15] | |||
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 10,987 people, 4,397 households, and 3,025 families residing in the borough. The population density was 3,715.5 people per square mile (1,433.1/km2). There were 4,497 housing units at an average density of 1,520.8 per square mile (586.6/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 86.53% White, 3.16% African American, 0.08% Native American, 3.83% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.17% from other races, and 3.19% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.06% of the population.
As of the 2000 census, 34.3% of Woodland Park residents were of Italian ancestry, the 18th-highest percentage of any municipality in the United States, and seventh-highest in New Jersey, among all places with more than 1,000 residents identifying their ancestry.[16]
There were 4,397 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.2% were non-families. 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the borough the population was spread out with 19.6% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 33.9% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.
The median income for a household in the borough was $60,273, and the median income for a family was $67,292. Males had a median income of $47,389 versus $36,814 for females. The per capita income for the borough was $29,758. About 3.2% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.0% of those under age 18 and 3.0% of those age 65 or over.
The Borough of Woodland Park was chartered by the State of New Jersey to function under a variation of the Faulkner Act's, Small Municipality Plan C of the Option Municipal Charter Law form of government. The government consists of a Mayor and a Borough Council comprising six council members, with all positions elected at large. A Mayor is elected directly by the voters to a three-year term of office. The Borough Council consists of six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with elections take place in a three-year cycle, with the mayor elected one year and three council seats up for election in years two and three.[1] A government reorganization takes place on January 1 of every year, at which time a mayor-elect or newly elected council members are sworn in.
The Mayor exercises executive power and appoints department heads with Council approval. The Council may adopt the municipal budget proposed by the Mayor, but revisions may be required by a majority of the governing body before final approval.
As of 2011[update], the Mayor of Woodland Park is Pat Lepore (D), whose current term of office ends December 31, 2011, and who also serves on the Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders. Members of the Woodland Park Borough Council are Council President Joseph Spinelli (D, 2013), DominickDi Domenico (D, 2012), Tina Gatti (D, 2012), Gary Holloway (D, 2013), Rita Pascrell (D, 2013), Joseph Spinelli (D, 2013) and Robert Vargas (D, 2012).[17]
Woodland Park is in the 8th Congressional district. New Jersey's Eighth Congressional District is represented by Bill Pascrell (D, Paterson). New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
Woodland Park is in the 34th District of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the New Jersey Senate by Nia Gill (D, Montclair) and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Thomas P. Giblin (D, Montclair) and Sheila Y. Oliver (D, East Orange).[18]
Passaic County is governed by a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders, who are elected to staggered three-year terms office on an at-large basis, with two or three seats coming up for election each year.[19] As of 2011, Passaic County's Freeholders are Freeholder Director Bruce James (D, term ends December 31, 2011; Clifton), Freeholder Deputy Director Pat Lepore (D, 2013; Woodland Park), Deborah E. Ciambrone (R, 2012; Wayne), Terry Duffy (D, 2013; West Milford), Greyson P. Hannigan (D, 2011; Paterson), Michael Marrotta (R, 2012; Wayne) and Edward O'Connell (R, 2012; Wanaque).[20]
Borough residents voted in November 2008 to change the community's name to Woodland Park. This close decision — the majority was only 33 votes according to early results — marked the fourth attempt to change the borough's historic name of West Paterson: voters rejected the names "Whispering Pines", "West Park," and "Garret Mountain" in 1989, 1995, and 2001 respectively.[21]
Such a change is not unique in recent New Jersey history: Dover Township in Ocean County became Toms River Township in November 2006,[22] and Washington Township in Mercer County became Robbinsville Township in November 2007.[23] Moreover, the Paterson vicinity has also seen a previous name change in recent decades, as the borough of East Paterson (located in adjacent Bergen County) changed its name to Elmwood Park in 1972.[21]
Both East and West Paterson changed their names in hopes of dissociating themselves from the larger city of Paterson, which is significantly poorer and faces higher levels of crime, while preserving their E.P. and W.P. initials. In West Paterson, proponents of name change claimed that their proposal would improve the borough's reputation and thus property values within the borough, as outsiders would be less likely to confuse it with Paterson. Conversely, opponents of changing saw no need to change, with businesses and the fire department fearing the expense of changing and the consequences of forgetting the community's history as West Paterson. Also, the name change has been marred with accusations of racism and discrimination due to the city of Paterson's lower quality of life and diverse minority demographics. Some Paterson residents and advocates have suggested renaming Paterson to East Woodland Park and West Elmwood Park.[24]
Residents who voted "NO" to the name change petitioned the municipal government in an attempt to change the name back to West Paterson. A referendum was held on November 3, 2009, and the proposal was defeated by 2248 votes to 2216.[25]
There is an unincorporated area called Woodland Park in the City of Summit, in Union County, adjacent to New Providence, New Jersey.
Students in public school for Kindergarten through eighth grade are educated by the Woodland Park School District. Schools in the district (with 2005-06 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[26]) is one K-2 elementary school — Beatrice Gilmore School with 232 students and the 3-4 Charles Olbon School with 321 students — and Memorial School with an enrollment of 396 students in grades 5-8.
For grades 9 - 12, public school students attend Passaic Valley Regional High School, which serves students from Little Falls Township, Totowa, and Woodland Park. The school facility is located in Little Falls Township.[27]
The Garret Mountain campus of Berkeley College is located in Woodland Park.
Notable current and former residents of West Paterson include:
|
||||||||||||||||||||