| West Windsor Township, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
| — Township — | |
| West Windsor Township highlighted in Mercer County. Inset map: Mercer County highlighted in the State of New Jersey. | |
| Census Bureau map of West Windsor Township, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New Jersey |
| County | Mercer |
| Incorporated | February 21, 1798 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Faulkner Act Mayor-Council |
| • Mayor | Shing-Fu Hsueh (term ends 2013)[1] |
| Area[2] | |
| • Total | 26.33 sq mi (68.2 km2) |
| • Land | 26.01 sq mi (67.4 km2) |
| • Water | 0.32 sq mi (0.8 km2) 1.22% |
| Elevation[3] | 79 ft (24 m) |
| Population (2010)[4] | |
| • Total | 27,165 |
| • Density | 1,031.7/sq mi (398.3/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 08550[5] |
| Area code(s) | 609 |
| FIPS code | 34-80240[6][7] |
| GNIS feature ID | 0882124[8] |
| Website | http://www.westwindsornj.org |
West Windsor Township is a Township in Mercer County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 27,165.[4]
Princeton Junction, with a 2000 Census population of 2,382, is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within West Windsor Township.[2]
A small portion of Princeton University is located in West Windsor Township.
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According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 26.33 square miles (68.2 km2), of which, 26.01 square miles (67.4 km2) of it is land and 0.32 square miles (0.83 km2) of it (1.22%) is water.[2]
| Princeton Township | Plainsboro Township | |||
| Lawrence Township | East Windsor Township | |||
| West Windsor Township | ||||
| Hamilton Township | Robbinsville Township |
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 1,711 |
|
|
| 1940 | 2,160 | 26.2% | |
| 1950 | 2,519 | 16.6% | |
| 1960 | 4,016 | 59.4% | |
| 1970 | 6,431 | 60.1% | |
| 1980 | 8,542 | 32.8% | |
| 1990 | 16,021 | 87.6% | |
| 2000 | 21,907 | 36.7% | |
| 2010 | 27,165 | 24.0% | |
| Population sources: 1900-1990[9] 2000[10] 2010[4][11] |
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As of Census 2010, West Windsor had a population of 27,165. The median age was 39.6. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 54.9% White, 3.7% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 37.7% Asian, 1.0% some other race and 2.6% reporting two or more races. 4.5% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[11]
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 21,907 people, 7,282 households, and 5,985 families residing in the township. The population density was 842.4 people per square mile (325.2/km²). There were 7,450 housing units at an average density of 286.5 per square mile (110.6/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 71.53% White, 2.76% African American, 0.08% Native American, 22.76% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.08% from other races, and 1.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.07% of the population.[10]
As of the 2000 census, 8.31% of West Windsor Township's residents identified themselves as being of Chinese ancestry. This was the fourth highest percentage of people with Chinese ancestry in any place in New Jersey with 1,000 or more residents identifying their ancestry.[12]
There were 7,282 households out of which 50.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.3% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.8% were non-families. 14.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01 and the average family size was 3.36.[10]
In the township the population was spread out with 31.8% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 6.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males.[10]
The median income for a household in the township was $134,353, and the median income for a family was $151,545.[13] Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $56,002 for females. The per capita income for the township was $48,511. About 2.0% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 2.3% of those age 65 or over.[10]
West Windsor was ranked 30th among the highest-income places with a population of at least 10,000 in the United States.
In 2008, Forbes listed West Windsor as the 15th most affluent neighborhood in the U.S., with a median household income of $134,353.[14]
AOL and NeighborhoodScout named West Windsor in 2009 as the best neighborhood to raise kids for its school district (top 7% in New Jersey, top 3% nationwide), prevailing family type (families with school-aged children), and neighborhood safety (safer than 97% of neighborhoods).[15]
Grover's Mill in West Windsor was the site Orson Welles chose for the Martian invasion in his 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds.
West Windsor Township was established by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 9, 1797, and incorporated on February 21, 1798.[16] From the time of its formation, until 1993, the Township was governed by a Township Committee, which had both executive and legislative authority. In May 1993, West Windsor Township residents voted to change their form of government from a Township Committee to a Mayor-Council form under the Faulkner Act.[17] The new form of government was initiated on July 1, 1993.
Under the current Mayor-Council form of government, the Mayor and Council function as independent branches of government. The Mayor is the Chief Executive of the Township and heads its Administration. The Mayor is elected in a non-partisan election and serves for a four-year term. The Mayor may attend Council meetings but is not obliged to do so.
The Council is the legislative branch. The five members of the Township Council are elected on a non-partisan basis for four-year, staggered terms. At the annual organizational meeting held during the first week of July of each year, the Council elects a President and Vice President to serve for one-year terms. The Council President chairs the meetings of the governing body.[18]
As of 2011[update], the Mayor of West Windsor Township is Shing-Fu Hsueh, whose term of office ends December 31, 2013.[19] Members of the West Windsor Township Council are Council President Kamal Khanna (2013), Council Vice-President Diane Ciccone (2013), George Borek (2011), Linda Geevers (2013) and Charles C. Morgan (2011).[20]
West Windsor Township is in the 12th Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 14th state legislative district.[21] The city was relocated to the 15th state legislative district by the New Jersey Apportionment Commission based on the results of the 2010 Census.[4] The new district was in effect for the June 2011 primary and the November 2011 general election, with the state senator and assembly members elected taking office in the new district as of January 2012.[21]
New Jersey's Twelfth Congressional District is represented by Rush D. Holt, Jr. (D, Hopewell Township).[22] New Jersey is represented in the United States Senate by Frank Lautenberg (D, Cliffside Park) and Bob Menendez (D, Hoboken).
14th district of the New Jersey Legislature, which is represented in the Senate by Linda R. Greenstein (D, Plainsboro Township and in the New Jersey General Assembly by Daniel R. Benson (D, Hamilton Township) and Wayne DeAngelo (D, Hamilton Township).[23] The New Jersey Senate seat, which was vacant after the resignation of Bill Baroni, was filled by Tom Goodwin (R, Hamilton Township) on March 15, 2010. In a special election held to fill the remainder of Baroni's term, Goodwin lost re-election to then Assemblywoman Greenstein.[24] Benson was chosen to fill Greenstein's vacancy in the Assembly.[25] The Governor of New Jersey is Chris Christie (R, Mendham).[26] The Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey is Kim Guadagno (R, Monmouth Beach).[27]
Under Mercer County's form of government, the County Executive performs executive functions and oversees the day-to-day operations of the county and a seven-member Board of Chosen Freeholders acts in a legislative capacity, setting policy. As of 2011, the County Executive is Brian M. Hughes.[28] Members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders are elected at-large to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two or three seats coming up for election each year. A Freeholder Chair and Vice-Chair are selected on an annual basis from among its members.[29] County Freeholders are Freeholder Chair Pasqual "Pat" Colavita, Jr. (term ends December 31, 2012; Lawrenceville)[30], Freeholder Vice Chair Lucylle R. S. Walter (2011; Ewing Township)[31], Samuel T. Frisby (2011; Trenton)[32], Ann M. Cannon (2012; East Windsor Township)[33], Anthony P. Carabelli (2013; Trenton)[34], John Cimino (2011; Hamilton Township)[35] and Andrew Koontz (2013; Princeton Borough)[36][37]
NRG Energy has its corporate headquarters in West Windsor Township.[38][39]
West Windsor is the site of the West Windsor Campus of the Mercer County Community College.
Part of the Princeton University campus is located in West Windsor.
Plainsboro Township and West Windsor are part of a combined school district, the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District. Schools in the district (with 2009-10 enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics[40]) are four K-3 elementary schools — Dutch Neck Elementary School (763 students), Maurice Hawk Elementary School (827), Town Center Elementary School (706), J.V.B. Wicoff Elementary School (433) — Millstone River Elementary School (869) and Village Elementary School (651) for grades 4-5, Community Middle School (1,256) and Thomas Grover Middle School (1,096) for grades 6-8, and West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North (1,608) and West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South (1,613) for grades 9-12.
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South was ranked 16th and West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North was the 29th ranked public high schools in New Jersey out of 322 schools statewide, in New Jersey Monthly magazine's September 2010 cover story on the state's "Top Public High Schools", after being ranked 21st and 19th respectively in 2008 out of 316 schools.[41]
U.S. Route 1 serves the township, as does Route 64 (which is part of CR 526/571).
A few major county routes pass through. CR 533 (Quakerbridge Rd) passes along the western border with Lawrence. CR 526 and CR 571 are multiplexed together from the northwestern part until they split in the center of the municipality. CR 535 passes through in the south and serves Mercer County College.
Other major roads that are accessible outside the municipality are Interstate 295 (in Hamilton and Lawrence), Interstate 195 (in Hamilton and Robbinsville), and the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95) (in Robbinsville (Exit 7A) and East Windsor (Exit 8)).
Princeton Junction station, a Northeast Corridor stop on Amtrak and New Jersey Transit, is located within West Windsor. Amtrak's Keystone Service and Northeast Regional routes stop at Princeton Junction. Princeton Junction is ranked as one of the top ten busiest train stations in the Northeast.
Running between the Princeton Junction and Princeton stations is what is known to locals as the "Dinky." The Dinky is a one-car train that shuttles back and forth many times a day between the two stations. Traveling only 2.7 miles each way, it is the shortest regularly scheduled passenger route in the United States.[42]
NJ Transit bus service to Trenton is provided via the 600, 603, 609, with other area service on the 605 route.[43]
West Windsor was the site of the anthrax terrorism scare back in 2001-02. The post office was found to be infected with anthrax and several residents were sickened and killed.[44]
The Mercer County Italian-American Festival is held annually in West Windsor (on the grounds of Mercer County Park).
Notable current and former residents of West Windsor Township include:
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